Well-respectedthroughouthiscareer,DouglasWoolfcreatedsomeofthemoststartlinglyoriginalworksofthetwentiethcentury.ThetwonovelscollectedherecreateadreamlikevisionofAmericawherehelplessnessprevailsandtheactionsofthesaneseemtingedwithmadness.Ya!takesplaceduringtheChristmasreunionofapennilessnovelistandhisteenagedaughteratthenightmarishhomeofasuper-Americanfamily;John-JuanbeginswithanamnesiacwhofindshimselfinaMexicanbordertownwithonlyhispajamasandwatchbeforebecomingpartofasurrealandsomewhatfrighteningcommunityorganizedaround“runners“thatcollecttrashalongthehighways.
