I think Thomas Mann once wrote an entire chapter as a single sentence. Of course the German language lends itself to this...
Anya: We should drop a piano on her. It always works for that creepy cartoon rabbit when he's running from that nice man with the speech impediment. Giles: Yes, or perhaps we could paint a convincing fake tunnel on the side of a mountain.
'Touched'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Typo Boy - May 11, 2010 8:06:19 am PDT #11355 of 28344
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Gudanov - May 11, 2010 8:07:09 am PDT #11356 of 28344
Coding and Sleeping
In German, you can write an entire sentence as a single word.
Polter-Cow - May 11, 2010 8:08:23 am PDT #11357 of 28344
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
One of my favorite passages in Absalom, Absalom! includes a sentences that goes on for, like, at least half a page. And the other two sentences are really short.
Frankenbuddha - May 11, 2010 8:09:04 am PDT #11358 of 28344
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
In German, you can write an entire sentence as a single word.
Hell, "backpfeifengesicht" is practically a whole sentance.
Steph L. - May 11, 2010 8:32:19 am PDT #11359 of 28344
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
Oy, in the book I just finished, I had to slog through, no lie, a 103 word sentence/paragraph.
One of my favorite passages in Absalom, Absalom! includes a sentences that goes on for, like, at least half a page.
I was just about to ask Barb, "Faulkner?" Other contenders include Henry James and James Joyce. But mostly Faulkner.
Ginger - May 11, 2010 8:43:06 am PDT #11360 of 28344
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Absalom, Absalom! has a 1,287-word sentence.
Steph L. - May 11, 2010 8:46:49 am PDT #11361 of 28344
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
Oh, Faulkner. You wacky wordsmith.
Ginger - May 11, 2010 8:50:51 am PDT #11362 of 28344
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
The thing is, Faulkner has 1,000-word sentences that are worth reading, whereas many books have 10-word sentences that aren't worth the trouble.
Toddson - May 11, 2010 12:23:45 pm PDT #11363 of 28344
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
Lucius Beebe (who wrote a column for Gourmet) once produced a column that was a single sentence. When his editor (this was back in the days when editors would actually edit) complained, Beebe told him to break it up himself. The editor couldn't find anyplace TO break it.
I remember reading someone describe Beebe's writings as "so rococco you could carve grottos out of it."
Maysa - May 11, 2010 10:33:14 pm PDT #11364 of 28344
I wasn't quite able to get into it, but Garcia Marquez's The Autumn of the Patriarch also has sentences that go for pages and pages and are occasionally entire chapters (LONG chapters).