Literary Fiction · LightA writer sues a film producer for stealing his unpublished play, and the lawsuits multiply from there
A Frolic of His Own
A writer is hit by a driverless car, then sues a film producer over his unpublished play
Oscar Crease is in the hospital after he short-circuits his car's ignition while standing in front of it, and the driverless car runs him over. At home, he decides that a movie by the producer Constantine Kiester infringes the copyright on his unpublished play. Both works are about his grandfather, who hired two substitutes who met and killed each other at the Battle of Antietam. Oscar hires a lawyer, rejects a settlement and goes to trial.
More about this book
Who
Oscar Crease, a writer, his stepsister Christina, her husband Harry Lutz, a lawyer, and the film producer Constantine Kiester.
World
A hospital and a home in the Hamptons, with scenes from the play and film set in the Civil War.
What makes it different
It is largely about lawsuits and legal opinions. The title comes from a judicial opinion on vicarious liability, and it was the last of Gaddis's four novels published in his lifetime.
Feel
Satirical and talky. It won Gaddis's second National Book Award for Fiction, in 1994.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- A Frolic of His OwnWikipedia