I was thinking about “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas”.

I don’t recall when I first read it, only a few years ago I think.

(checks goodreads…)

July 2023. So not that long ago.

The story is good, but the multimodal nature of the story telling is really fun.

Lots of footnotes. Letters. Other documents.

It’s great. We have to piece the story together across the styles/tones/documents/etc.

Truly “Ergodic Literature”.

Looking it up on Amazon now, it seems it is hundreds of dollars. What happened?

Let’s summarize it.

Plot

Here’s the plot, via deepseek:

The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James is a metafictional novel that blurs the lines between reality and fiction. The story revolves around an unnamed journalist who is hired to write the biography of the elusive and enigmatic artist Ezra Maas. Maas, a reclusive figure, is shrouded in mystery, with conflicting accounts of his life and work.

As the journalist delves deeper into Maas’s past, he encounters a labyrinth of unreliable narratives, cryptic clues, and dangerous individuals who seem determined to keep Maas’s secrets hidden. The investigation takes the journalist across the globe, from art galleries to underground networks, as he pieces together fragments of Maas’s life.

The novel is structured as a collage of interviews, documents, and the journalist’s own reflections, creating a fragmented and immersive narrative. Themes of identity, art, and the nature of truth are explored, as the journalist begins to question his own sanity and the reality of Maas’s existence.

In the end, the boundaries between the journalist’s life and Maas’s story become increasingly blurred, leading to a conclusion that challenges the reader’s perception of fact and fiction. The book is a complex, layered exploration of the art world, biography, and the elusive nature of truth.

Nod, seems about right from memory.

Plot Beats

And, the main plot beats:

  1. The Assignment: An unnamed journalist is commissioned to write the biography of Ezra Maas, a reclusive and mysterious artist whose life is shrouded in secrecy and conflicting accounts.
  2. Initial Research: The journalist begins his investigation by gathering information from various sources, including interviews with people who knew Maas, archival materials, and Maas’s own works. He quickly realizes that Maas’s life is a puzzle with many missing pieces.
  3. Encountering Resistance: As the journalist digs deeper, he faces obstacles and resistance from individuals and organizations who seem determined to keep Maas’s secrets hidden. He receives warnings and threats, indicating that his investigation is dangerous.
  4. Global Investigation: The journalist travels to different locations, following leads that take him to art galleries, underground networks, and remote places. Each clue he uncovers adds another layer of complexity to Maas’s story.
  5. Unreliable Narratives: The journalist encounters conflicting accounts of Maas’s life, making it difficult to discern the truth. He begins to question the reliability of his sources and the nature of reality itself.
  6. Psychological Strain: The intense and convoluted investigation takes a toll on the journalist’s mental health. He starts to experience paranoia and hallucinations, blurring the lines between his own life and the story he is trying to uncover.
  7. Discovery of Hidden Truths: The journalist uncovers hidden truths about Maas’s life, including his involvement in secret societies, controversial art projects, and a possible faked death. These revelations complicate the narrative further.
  8. Convergence of Identities: As the journalist gets closer to the truth, he begins to see parallels between his own life and Maas’s. The boundaries between the biographer and his subject become increasingly blurred.
  9. Climactic Revelation: In a climactic moment, the journalist realizes that the truth about Maas is far more elusive and complex than he ever imagined. The narrative suggests that Maas’s life and art are intertwined in ways that defy conventional understanding.
  10. Ambiguous Conclusion: The story ends on an ambiguous note, with the journalist’s fate and the true nature of Ezra Maas remaining uncertain. The reader is left to ponder the nature of truth, identity, and the art of biography.

Pretty weak summary.

Second attempt, via grok3:

“The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” by Daniel James is a complex, metafictional narrative that blends postmodern noir, biography, and mystery. Here are the main beats of the story:

  1. The Setup: The novel begins with journalist Daniel James receiving a mysterious phone call in the dead of night in 2011, offering him a substantial sum to write the unauthorized biography of Ezra Maas, a famously reclusive artist who vanished seven years prior (around 2005) while working on his final masterpiece. Maas’s body was never found, and the Maas Foundation is preparing to declare him dead.
  2. Ezra Maas’s Background: Maas is introduced as a towering, enigmatic figure in art and culture, born in Britain in 1950, who rose to prominence in the New York pop art scene of the late 1960s. Over decades, he became increasingly reclusive, his public presence managed by the wealthy and shadowy Maas Foundation. In 2002, he announced his withdrawal from public life to focus on his final work, only to disappear completely by 2005.
  3. The Investigation Begins: Daniel James, the protagonist (sharing the author’s name, adding a meta layer), starts his investigation into Maas’s life. He uncovers a web of contradictory accounts, cultural references, and fragmented evidence—letters, phone transcripts, emails, newspaper clippings—suggesting Maas was omnipresent in major cultural events yet unknowable, even to those closest to him.
  4. Descent into Paranoia: As James digs deeper, the boundaries between reality and fiction blur. He encounters a nightmarish world of fractured identities and sinister doubles, suspecting the Maas Foundation is erasing Maas’s legacy and possibly pursuing him. His pursuit of the truth becomes obsessive, driving him into a state of paranoia as he questions what’s real.
  5. Multiple Narratives Emerge: The story unfolds through four interwoven strands: James’s investigation, glimpses of Maas’s elusive life, a narrative from an anonymous source who takes over after James disappears, and a collage of “evidence” (documents, transcripts, etc.) that challenges the reliability of the account. This structure keeps the reader guessing about the truth.
  6. James’s Disappearance: Like Maas, James vanishes during his investigation, leaving the narrative to be continued by the anonymous source. This mirrors Maas’s own disappearance, deepening the mystery and suggesting a cycle of pursuit and erasure.
  7. The Unresolved Mystery: The novel resists a tidy conclusion. Maas’s fate—whether he’s dead, alive, or never existed—remains ambiguous. The anonymous narrator directs the reader toward an outcome, but the story’s labyrinthine nature, filled with philosophical musings on art, identity, and reality, leaves more questions than answers. Clues (numbers, footnotes, grammatical quirks) hint at a larger puzzle, but no definitive solution emerges.
  8. Metafictional Play: Throughout, the book toys with its own authenticity, blending real-world references (e.g., a Maas Foundation website) with fiction, making readers question whether Maas or even James might be real. It’s a self-aware exploration of storytelling, where the act of seeking truth becomes the story itself.

In essence, “The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas” is a metaphysical detective tale that defies conventional plotting, immersing the reader in a disorienting, thought-provoking journey through a hall of mirrors where art, identity, and reality dangerously intertwine.

Better.

Levels of Narrative

Via gpt4o:

In The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James, the novel is structured through multiple levels of narrative, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Here’s a breakdown of its key narrative layers:

  1. Primary Narrative – Daniel James’ Investigation
    • The novel is presented as a metafictional mystery, following journalist Daniel James as he investigates the life and disappearance of Ezra Maas, a reclusive artist. James compiles interviews, letters, emails, and other documents to uncover the truth.
  2. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas
    • Within James’ investigation, there is the “unauthorised biography” he is supposedly writing about Maas, forming a book-within-a-book structure. This biography includes fragmented information about Maas’ life, artistic works, and the myths surrounding him.
  3. Editorial Interventions
    • A mysterious editor periodically interrupts James’ narrative, inserting footnotes and redacting or altering passages. This creates an unreliable perspective and adds another layer of mystery, making the reader question the authenticity of James’ account.
  4. Maas’ Own Mythology
    • The novel explores the legend of Ezra Maas through various sources, including accounts from people who knew him, media reports, and artistic interpretations. These multiple viewpoints make it unclear whether Maas ever truly existed or if he is merely a construct.
  5. Self-Destructive Narrative Spiral
    • As James’ obsession with Maas deepens, his own life begins to mirror the enigmatic artist’s disappearance. The novel shifts from a journalistic investigation into a fragmented, self-referential narrative, questioning the boundaries between fiction and reality.

This multilayered structure creates a complex reading experience where the act of storytelling itself becomes central to the mystery.

Nod.

Might be time for a re-read.