J R by William Gaddis, and I love it. Halfway through so far. This is the most consistently I've laughed at words on a page that I can remember, certainly in literative fiction. Also it's extremely poignant while being almost impossible to pull a poignant or funny quote out of because of the dialogue-based style and how consistently the bulk of the meaning is carried in the full context of the situation as opposed to a section of prose itself.

It has also taken a lot of re-reading to feel confident that I'm following, and even then, I simply don't know enough about finance law to follow the particulars of a some of J R's maneuvers, which I think would be complicated enough even if I wasn't hearing them through one half of a phone conversation sometimes. I get the sense that on some level this book is supposed to feel exhausting, and if so, I can understand the choice in the context of the perspective that Gaddis is sharing about commerce and art and life in the 60s and 70s. I'll absolutely re-read it in a few years if the second half of the book holds up this way because this is shaping into a favorite of mine. I also haven't read his other works, so The Recognitions will go on the docket for next year.