In the Heart of the Heart of the Country, Omensetter's Luck, and The Tunnel.
One work of this author begins with a section narrated by the author in which he declares his hatred of the characters he has created and concludes with a section narrated by a man watching over his sick wife.  In addition to that work about Edgar and the clairvoyant Ella Bend Hess, The Same Person, More Vital Data, and Household Apples are among the sections of one story by this author which includes such characters as the cat Mr. Tick, Uncle Halley, and the narrator's elderly neighbor Billy Holsclaw.  This author of Cartesian Sonata wrote a novel in which Jethro Furber leads a campaign against the protagonist following the hanging of Henry Pimber.  Another novel by this author follows a history professor who writes Guilt and Innocence in Hitler's Germany, William Frederick Kohler.  FTP, name this author of In the Heart of the Heart of the Country, Omensetter's Luck, and The Tunnel.
One work of this author begins with a section narrated by the author in which he declares his hatred of the characters he has created and concludes with a section narrated by a man watching over his sick wife.  
William H. Gass