Encyclopedia
Richard Horn
January 31, 2023 / 172 pages
ISBN 9798218122676 Paperback / $19.99

New edition of Richard Horn's forgotten literary oddity (and his only published novel), Encyclopedia, originally published by Grove Press in 1969.

A brief description from the October 24, 1969, TIME magazine review: "The hapless love affair of hopeful poet Tom Jones and wealthy, bohemia-bound Sadie Massey is cross-referenced in brief, satirical, encyclopedic passages from ABORTION to ZOO CAFETERIA."

The narrative is entirely multilinear, and the author's preface advises the reader not to read it from beginning to end, but rather to explore the book following the cross-references.

". . . a nice smattering of sex and on the whole is quite enjoyable."
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 7, 1969

"The author's treatment of the subject, the inventive structure of the book make it something with which the student of the novel ought to become familiar."
— Green Bay Press-Gazette, November 30, 1969

"There is some excellent comedy in the book and some of the descriptions of the swinging scene are extremely entertaining. Horn also has a very considerable gift as a parodist."
— The Province (Vancouver, BC), October 25, 1969

"It's a daringly original idea, but it comes off successfully and effectively. . . . Author and publisher alike are to be commended for their venture into the use of such an extraordinary device."
— Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, SD), November 2, 1969

"Surprisingly the style works."
— The Morning News (Wilmington, DE), November 6, 1969

"Richard Horn has it."
— The Cincinnati Enquirer, January 4, 1970