Books by Christopher Prendergast

A lifetime's reading of Proust's masterpiece

Adventures in Grammarland is set in a fantasy world, where words are people and where, because of bitter conflict and disunity in the past, the land is now oppressed by the tyrant Ignorance. A young lad, Josh, embarks on a quest in Grammarland that requires him to grasp the rules of grammar, to understand why the rules are so important and to face Ignorance, and his two sons Bigotry and Prejudice, in a final, cataclysmic battle that will seal the fate of Grammarland once and for all. On the way, he must cross the Bog of Disuse (where old words sink without trace) and deal with the foul-mouthed Giant Oath, the well-meaning but incoherent Misuse, and the Tautology family including Tautology's wife Verbiage, and their children Digression and Drivel. On the journey, Josh is accompanied by Syntax, who is a stickler for the rules of Grammarland, and Melisa, who understands the rules but also knows how to play with them constructively. Adventures in Grammarland turns what many see as a dry and obscure subject into an exciting adventure. The reader meets all the parts of speech and is shown how, when the words work together, they become more powerful than any enemy. This is a book for anyone, from the age of 9 to 90, who enjoys an exciting story, especially if they have an interest in language.

Septembers, Chris Prendergast's first novel, is a simmering tale of burning monuments, bad decisions and growing anger.

Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives developed in and around the work of Barthes, Kristeva, Genette and Derrida, Dr Prendergast explores approaches to the concept of mimesis and relates these to a number of narrative texts produced in the period which literary history familiarly designates as the age of realism.

Udgivet af Det danske Proust-selskab. Kirsten Thorup skriver blandt andet i sin artikel i Bulletinen: "I perioder har jeg brugt "På sporet..." som en Bibel - ikke sådan at forstå at der er noget helligt ved romanen, den er tværtimod yderst profan. Men jeg tager et af bindene - med den titel der nu passer til min sindsstemning - ud af reolen og slår op på en tilfældig side og er straks inde i romanens umådelige rum. Opslugt af teksten som af en gobelin, vævet i talrige farver og mønstre. Jeg bruger "På sporet..." dels til at komme ind i sprogets magiske verden ved hjælp af romanens overflødighedshorn af sanseindtryk og refleksioner, og dels for at samle mod: "Når Proust kan skrive sådan, kan jeg også". Jeg mener selvfølgelig ikke at jeg ønsker at skrive som Proust. Han er ikke noget litterært forbillede. Dertil er han for monumental og enestående. Men jeg stiller ind på hans bølgelængde for at blive inspireret af hans æstetiske radikalitet og frygtløshed og for at åbne mine sanser mod verdens vrimmel og derefter blive ført bagom tingenes virkelighed ind i den anden verden, helt ind i uendeligheden som er kunstens hjemsted."