Vollmann's Daunting Doorstoppers - anyone read all those?

[tbeshear]

Not a doorstop -- his shortest novel, basically a novella, Whores for 
Gloria, would be a good, quick way to sample one thematic thread of his 
work -- the San Francisco lowlife -- prostitution, drug addicts. This tiny 
book packs a big wallop.

Expelled from Eden: A William Vollmann Reader is a career sampler of his 
work.

Otherwise, I agree with the two selections below as a starting point for 
P-listers. Keep in mind -- You Bright and Risen Angels is like nothing else 
in his oeuvre -- it's a postmodern fabulation, a sort-of science fiction, 
clever, precocious, and flashy, but almost juvenilia compared to the rest.

One thing to keep in mind is that Vollmann is several authors. There's the 
Vollmann who explores the underclass and the sexual demimonde in works like 
Whores for Gloria, The Rainbow Stories, Butterfly Stories, Thirteen Stories 
and Thirteen Epitaphs, and The Royal Family.

Then there's Vollmann the postmodern historical novelist, with the (four so 
far) Seven Dreams books and Europe Central.

And there's Vollmann, the nonfiction writer -- the works of political 
journalism and philosophical speculation: Rising Up and Rising Down (his 
3000-plus page investigation of violence in society -- when is it justified? 
One volume of the work "Moral Calculus" attempts to codify the answers to 
that question. If you can find the full set -- not the one-volume 
abridgement, read it); An Afghanistan Picture Show (his misadventures among 
the mujahedeen), The Atlas (a mixture of reportage and fiction), Poor People 
(a book built around a simple question asked of many people he encounters: 
Why are you poor?), and Riding Toward Everywhere (his book about stealing 
rides on freight trains). Also, the upcoming Imperial, his history of the 
valley in Southern California by that name.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Kyllo" <jkyllo at gmail.com>
To: "Dave Monroe" <against.the.dave at gmail.com>; "p-list" 
<pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 1:30 PM
Subject: Re: Vollmann's Daunting Doorstoppers - anyone read all those?


> "You Bright and Risen Angels", because it's his first (and probably
> the most obviously P-influenced); or
> "The Ice Shirt", because it's the beginning of Seven Dreams and more
> representative stylistically of the rest of his oeuvre.
>
> Both are excellent imo
>
> J
>
> On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 6:04 PM, Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 2:18 PM, Brock Vond <wilsonistrey at gmail.com> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm also very tempted to dive into that series... tried Europe Central 
>>> and
>>> failed...
>>> thoughts on his huge set from P-fans?  worth it?  not worth it?
>>
>> Where should one start with Vollmann?
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> http://www.last.fm/user/Auto_Da_Fe
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