Cadenza - (Essentials) by Ralph Cusack (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A pioneering work of autofiction, Ralph Cusack's genre-defining masterpiece Cadenza tackles time and memory, the past and the present, life and death--all wrapped up in his precise yet melancholic prose.

Drifting in and out of consciousness in his dentist's chair--this is where we meet Desmond, the narrator of Cadenza. Taking part almost entirely in a train cabin the narrative moves back and forth in time, without Desmond needing to leave his cabin. Whether it is the faulty memories of Mrs. N or romances of times past, Cusack's swift prose carries the reader from one movement to the next--at times utterly specific and descriptive, at others fleeting and atmospheric.

Through small vignettes tied together in Cusack's unmistakable style, we explore every corner of Desmond's mind--from pre-war hills of his childhood to the dreariness of a dentist's office in the 40s. Interwoven temporalities fight for our attention in the second ever title to be published from Dalkey Archive Press, written--as Gilbert Sorrentino says--"with an Anglo-Irish arrogance worthy of Beckett." Dismissed as an autobiography when first published, Cadenza is a pioneering work of Irish autofiction. Toeing the line between what is real and imagined, Cusack's stream of consciousness prose begs to be followed to the very last page.

About the Author

Ralph Cusack (1912-1965) was born in Dublin. As a young boy he studied under Evelyn Waugh. He trained as a painter and in 1943 he was a founder member of the committee of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. He settled in the south of France to grow flowers for the manufacture of perfume. Cadenza, originally published in 1958 and published by Dalkey Archive Press in 1984 was his first and only novel.