John Barth
March, 1967
Seven years ago, John Barth's The Sot-Weed Factor, a kind of exuberant American Candide, gained a reputation as a "special" book, one of the most original novels to come along for some time. Giles Goat-Boy, Barth's latest, is an even more improbable comedy--and a great popular success at the same time. It is the story of a world divided into East Campus and West Campus, both of which possess ultimate weapons in the form of giant computers. The hero is George, or Giles, who thinks he is...
