Eunoia, a Novel by Christian Bok Uses Only One Vowel a Chapter

Posted by Alex in Book & Lit on October 30, 2008 at 1:32 pm


It took Christian Bok 7 years to write Eunoia – the word is the shortest word in the English language containing all five vowels.

Eunoia means "beautiful thinking" and it’s a very fitting title to Christian’s book, in which each chapter uses only one vowel!

From CHAPTER A – FOR HANS ARP:

Hassan Abd al-Hassad, an Agha Khan, basks at an ashram – a Taj Mahal that has grand parks and grass lawns, all as vast as parklands at Alhambra and Valhalla. Hassan can, at a handclap, call a vassal at hand and ask that all staff plan a bacchanal – a gala ball that has what pagan charm small galas lack. Hassan claps, and (tah-dah) an Arab lass at a swank spa can draw a man’s bath and wash a man’s back, as Arab lads fawn and hang, athwart an altar, amaranth garlands as fragrant as attar – a balm that calms all angst. A dwarf can flap a palm branch that fans a fat maharajah. A naphtha lamp can cast a calm warmth.

Link – Thanks Ali S.!


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COMMENT

14 comments to "Eunoia, a Novel by Christian Bok Uses Only One Vowel a Chapter"

  1. Ramunas
    October 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    From these few lines it's doesn't seem to be very catchy.
    Better as souvenir maybe.

  2. Colt Seaver
    October 30th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Reading that book would be akin to racing around in your car all day with the transmission in second gear.

  3. Corinne
    October 30th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    That's art. But it isn't literature.

    The tone has to be forced to perform a feat like that, like when people with no vocabulary try to write rhyming poetry, except this author must have read the thesaurus.

  4. DOJ
    October 30th, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    is there a chapter for 'y'?

  5. Max Power
    October 30th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    Ummmmm y isn't a vowel?

  6. Kitsune
    October 30th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    I actually got to listen to Bok read aloud-- he's an amazing vocalist-- and wrote the languages for Gene Roddenberry's "Earth: Final Conflict".

    He is fantastic at bringing the music of the language to life-- rather than a focus on the meaning, the noise of the words is the focus.

    And yes, I'm a language geek.

  7. ted
    October 30th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

    Just reading that excerpt made my eyes hurt. I didn't finish, and I have no idea what it was about. It completely defeats the purpose of human communication.

  8. Angstrom
    October 30th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    Seems pretty senseless, we geek the meme even then ... they sell very few.
    Me, my tender belfry stresses, tested when he expresses per these steps!

  9. Christophe
    October 31st, 2008 at 12:40 am

    It would take me 7 years to read it...

  10. Ursula
    October 31st, 2008 at 4:17 am

    Max Power, Y is sometimes a vowel, as in fly or cry. Have people forgotten EBN-OZN?

    I don't know, I found the prose excerpt charming in a gimmicky way. But it is a pure stunt, and reading a whole book of it would probably be like watching somebody juggle chainsaws for hour after hour. (I just tried, and I can't even do one sentence of it.)

  11. Mr. Binky
    October 31st, 2008 at 11:39 am

    NERD

  12. oezicomix
    October 31st, 2008 at 11:56 am

    can't wait to see the translation into german!

  13. john234
    November 10th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

    wow, what's with all this negativity? this is an incredibly impressive feat. georges perec has nothing on this guy.

    constraints can release creativity just as much as they can inhibit it -- rhyming poetry is a perfect example. granted, these particular constraints are rather extreme, but the general point stands.

    also, of course you wouldn't derive the same kind of pleasure from reading this book as from reading a normal novel. but so what? if you can't see the beauty in this, turn in your geek badge at the door.

  14. Julie
    February 14th, 2009 at 10:40 am

    Fascinating. I think I'd enjoy reading it. There's another book I was looking for when I found this page, wherein the author eliminates one vowel per chapter, ending the book using only the vowel I.


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