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The Sunlight Dialogues is a 1972 novel by the American author John Gardner. It is set in the 1960s in Batavia, New York.
The novel follows Batavia police chief Fred Clumly in his strange pursuit of a magician known as the Sunlight Man, a champion of existential freedom and pre-biblical Babylonian philosophy. As Fred Clumly believes in absolute law, order justice and a Judeo-Christian world view, the two butt their ideological heads in a number of dialogues, all recorded on audiocassette by Clumly. Each of these two characters attempts to exert power over the other -- Clumly with the law behind him and the Sunlight Man with his magic and violence -- until they wear down not only each other, but many of the other characters with whom they come into contact. A myriad of side-stories provides colorful background for the plot, including those of the Hodge family, the outlaw Nick Slater, and the heroic Millie.
[edit] Characters in "The Sunlight Dialogues"
- Fred Clumly
- Esther Clumly
- The Sunlight Man
- Domenic ("Miller") Sangirgonio
- Stan Kozlowski
- Will Hodge (Sr.)
- Mildred Jewel
- Will Hodge (Jr.)
- Luke Hodge
- Ben Hodge
- Vanessa Woodchurch
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- Kathleen Paxton
- Clive Paxton
- Nick Slater
- Vernon Slater
- Mickey Salvador
- John Figlow
- R.V. Kleppmann
- Mrs. Kleppmann
- Walter Benson/Boyle
- Marguerite Benson
- Oliver Nuper
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Works by John Gardner |
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| Novels |
Grendel · The Sunlight Dialogues · The Resurrection · The Wreckage of Agathon · Jason and Medeia · Nickel Mountain · The King's Indian · October Light · Freddy's Book · Mickelsson's Ghosts
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| Short stories |
"The Art of Living" · "The King's Indian" · "Dragon, Dragon" · "Gudgekin The Thistle Girl"
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| Biography |
The Life and Times of Chaucer
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| Didactic |
The Poetry of Chaucer · On Moral Fiction · On Becoming a Novelist · The Art of Fiction
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[edit] External links
