Bootlove

[kjones at teleport.com]

>Perhaps so, but Vollman introduced me to the remarkable Bootwoman Marisa in The
>Rainbow Diaries (Stories?) and for that I am grateful - let me recommend it to
>all who will hear.

The Rainbow Stories was my introduction to Vollmann and is still
my favorite of his books. It's a great blend of reporting and fictional
technique. He covers San Francisco skinheads (such as Marisa),
prostitutes (his favorite subject), the Muslim Thugs, and the very strange
performance 
group known as the Survival Research Laboratories. It is full of both
flash and feeling and truly passionate and enlightening writing. Perhaps,
after publishing a book with "Rainbow" in the title, it's all downhill from
there.