Wikipedia
***, a series of three asterisks, may refer to:
- *** (novel), by Michael Brodsky
- Ellipsis (…) or three asterisks in a line (***), a mark to indicate an intentional omission of a word or a phrase
- Typographical symbols used to indicate a section break in writing:
- (three asterisks in a row), also called a dinkus
- Asterism (typography) (⁂), three asterisks in a triangle
- (three asterisks in a row), a commonly used expurgation of part of any expletive, as in f***ing.
*** is Michael Brodsky's fifth novel. The title consists of precisely three asterisks, as mentioned on the book's copyright page as part of its Library of Congress cataloguing information.
The book centers on Stu Potts, working for Dov Grey, captain of industry, creating ***s out of raws. No underlying meanings for "***", nor for "raw", both of which occur frequently in the text, are directly suggested. Readers are left to struggle on their own. One reviewer suggested "*** seem to be (depending on the passage and on the mood of the reader) archetypal widgets, phenotypes or, occasionally, art."
*** is also metafictional. The novel begins with a "PROLOGUE" title page. No other title page appears in the novel, as if the entire novel is prologue. Early on, a short chapter consisting of instructions on the assembly of the book's "thought packets" is provided, offering contradictory advice. Towards the end, alternative plot lines are suggested and discarded, left for "the next time the story is told."