War of the Encyclopaedists

War of the Encyclopaedists is a novel by Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite.[1] Published by Charles Scribner's Sons on 19 May 2015, the novel follows two friends, Mickey Montauk, a National Guard officer who is deployed to the Iraq War, and Halifax Corderoy, a graduate student at Boston University.[1][2] The deployment of Montauk separates the two and they stay in touch via editing a Wikipedia entry.[2]

War of the Encyclopaedists
Cover
Initial release cover
AuthorChristopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherCharles Scribner's Sons
Publication date
2015
Pages448 (Hardcover)
ISBN9781476775425

Background

The plot draws from the two authors' personal experiences, Robinson called the main characters "more despicable versions of us".[1] Kovite fought in Baghdad during the Iraq War between 2004 and 2005 and Robinson is a poet.[3] The authors met in 2005 at a poetry program in Rome, writing of this novel commenced in 2009 and took around 4 years to complete.[1]

Critical reception

Michiko Kakutani writing for The New York Times claimed that while the article can seem "ad hoc and overly stage-managed" with characters crossing paths with "startling ease", it does so in a "intimate" and "breezy" way, concluding with calling the novel "captivating".[2] Ben East of The Observer wrote that while the book accurately portrays both "bohemian academia" and "unpopular military operations", "the narrative itself never quite coheres into a satisfying whole".[4]

References
  1. Maloney, Jennifer. "'War of the Encyclopaedists' Debuts May 19". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  2. Kakutani, Michiko (2015-05-11). "Review: 'War of the Encyclopaedists,' by Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  3. "A poet and a soldier collaborate on novel about Seattle millennials". The Seattle Times. 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  4. East, Ben (2015-06-07). "War of the Encyclopaedists review – lost souls fail to deliver". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
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