Less of a book than a philosophical statement. Art.
Jonathan Safran Foer took his favourite book, The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz, and cut words out of the paper to reveal a new story.
Grammar is largely neglected, though, making the story mostly unintelligible. Tree of Codes more closely resembles confusing poetry than a novel.
Confused readers will find comfort in the explanatory section on page 139. (This book is all about page 139.) Here, Jonathan Safran Foer reminds us that while Tree of Codes was cut from The Street of Crocodiles…
“…there must have existed some yet larger book from which The Street of Crocodiles was taken. It is from this imagined larger book, the ultimate book, that every word ever written, spoken or thought it exhumed.” — page 139.
So there.
The production process is also worthy of admiration.
Tip: read one page at a time.
Related articles
- Does Jonathan Safran Foer believe it’s OK to kill animals? (thebeeteatingheeb.com)
- Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (kddidit.wordpress.com)
- Eating Animals author Jonathan Safran Foer wins converts (charlestoncitypaper.com)
- Weekend Bites: Jonathan Safran Foer’s Beard, Sacred Bones In The Desert, Dashiell Hammett Novellas, New Brighton, And More (vol1brooklyn.com)
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer Review (jadestar31.wordpress.com)
