David Markson, whose postmodern novels looped and whirled with seemingly random observations, has died, his agent and former wife said today. Markson's books such as "Wittgenstein's Mistress" are demanding reads, and often discarded conventions such as plot and character development.

Markson never drew a large popular following -- New York  Magazine once listed his works as The Best Novels You’ve Never Read. But his abstract experimentation drew reverence from fellow authors such as Anne Beattie the later David Foster Wallace.

Before he sought to redefine the novel, Markson was just another poor schmo who had to pay the bills, so he knocked out detective novels and a western spoof that was made into the Frank Sinatra film “Dirty Dingus Magee,” according to the AP.

For tributes and other commentary on Markson, check out Sarah Weinman's blog, Confesssions of an Idiosyncratic MInd.