The Amalgamation Polka
Encyclopedia
The Amalgamation Polka is the fourth novel by writer Stephen Wright
. The setting of novel is during the time of the Civil War
of the United States
. The plot is wrapped around the story of Liberty Fish and his travels after joining the Union army.
The New York Times
has compared the story to the obvious Heart of Darkness
, but has said the following as well: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
is a better bet (on the plot). Most of the people Liberty meets (and not just in the South) are what the Cheshire Cat would call 'mad,' from a shaggy hermit to the Georgia farmer who secedes from the Confederacy by reclaiming his little plot of land in the name of the Union."
The story concerns Liberty Fish, the son of two passionate abolitionists but whose grandparents were cruel slave-owners. The plot follows Liberty from his birth to young adulthood, his enlistment in the Union army, and his quest to find his grandparents whom he blames for the despair his mother feels. The tone has hints of dark humor, and at times can be heavily surreal.
Stephen Wright (writer)
Stephen Wright is a novelist based in New York City known for his use of surrealistic imagery and dark comedy. His work has varied from hallucinatory accounts of war , a family drama among UFO cultists , carnivalesque novel on a serial killer, to a picaresque taking place during the Civil War...
. The setting of novel is during the time of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The plot is wrapped around the story of Liberty Fish and his travels after joining the Union army.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
has compared the story to the obvious Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
, but has said the following as well: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
is a better bet (on the plot). Most of the people Liberty meets (and not just in the South) are what the Cheshire Cat would call 'mad,' from a shaggy hermit to the Georgia farmer who secedes from the Confederacy by reclaiming his little plot of land in the name of the Union."
The story concerns Liberty Fish, the son of two passionate abolitionists but whose grandparents were cruel slave-owners. The plot follows Liberty from his birth to young adulthood, his enlistment in the Union army, and his quest to find his grandparents whom he blames for the despair his mother feels. The tone has hints of dark humor, and at times can be heavily surreal.
External links
- Random House summary
- The New York Times review (includes a five minute reading from Wright)