I mean, can you believe?

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

I read 'The Rainbow Stories' in the early 1990s, and was, being back 
then a student of sociology, very impressed: That's how social research 
should be done! Vollmann's ability to explore, without any prejudices, 
social micro-spheres, be it the red light district or the skinhead scene 
or whatever, is rare and precious. That said, I have to admit that I 
have difficulties with seeing the poetic qualities. When I read, at the 
turn of the century, 'The Royal Family' I didn't finish it because I got 
bored half way through and was sure to have learned all there was to 
learn from Vollmann about the sociology of prostitution. If you're 
interested what German writers have to say on this, you should read 
Hubert Fichte ('Interviews aus dem Palais d'Amour'), Wolf Wondratschek 
('Einer von der Straße'), or Clemens Meyer ('Im Stein' - this currently 
gets translated into English by Katy Derbyshire). A couple of months 
ago, I spent two afternoons with the German edition of 'Europe 
Central.'  All in all I read several hundred pages (including each and 
every footnote). What a disappointment! I mean, neither as a WW II novel 
- do compare it to 'Gravity's Rainbow!' -, nor as a novel about a great 
musician/composer living under a totalitarian regime - do compare it to 
'Doktor Faustus!'- this book works. It's not good at all. So, while I 
like Vollmann and think him to be a far better sociologist than most 
people who earn their money with it, I cannot see him as an artistic 
writer playing in the same league as Pynchon.


On 21.08.2015 18:17, Jan Devenish wrote:
> I love Vollmann and although he is unnecessarily wordy and hard-going 
> at times, his prose is stunning. While lacking the humor of Pynchon, 
> he has a deep knowledge of the world and the people in it (Mostly the 
> down-trodden).  He writes with a journalists realism, but with a 
> deeply poetic, evoking Hemingway and Melville. Like walking through 
> beautiful treacle, you need to take it slow, but it is enormously 
> rewarding.
> 'The Atlas' and 'The Rainbow Stories' I cannot endorse strongly 
> enough. I am yet to tackle the 'Seven Dreams' series, but will do when 
> I work up the arm strength to lift them.
>
>
>
> On 21 August 2015 at 17:50, Tommy Pinecone <endaflynn345 at gmail.com 
> <mailto:endaflynn345 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     " NYT raved about Franzen's new book. Is anyone shocked? Would
>     love to see the NYT rave about authors who aren't white male
>     literary darlings."- Jodi Picoult.
>
>     When being a white male, or a dead European white male, is a
>     derogatory term, you know everything is going down the drain.
>
>     That article is indicative of everything wrong with contemporary
>     literature. The resentment, female righteousness, mainstream
>     racism and sexism against white men.
>
>     Franzen shouldn't have to ask why the youth are cynical and
>     resigned, everything is reduced to nonsense nowadays; I would
>     elaborate but there is no need, I hope. But it is always
>     interesting, this lack of perception and discovery of profundity
>     in nonsense. I always wonder how these people would be in a
>     conversation because they often seem to have never had a
>     worthwhile thought or insight into anything.
>
>     Speaking of which, has anyone read Vollmann? I'd like to find a
>     living writer beyond Pynchon that I can tolerate.
>
>     On 21 Aug 2015 15:21, "Mark Kohut" <mark.kohut at gmail.com
>     <mailto:mark.kohut at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>         http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/21/jonathan-franzen-considered-adopting-iraqi-orphan-young-people
>
>         Yeah, writers are not necessarily the humanly best
>         folk..but???....considering adopting to learn how young people are
>         cynical and lack anger????  The mind boggles.....
>
>         TO ADOPT A HUMAN BEING for these purposes?
>
>         I have always thought the attacks on him---except for lack of
>         greatness in his works---were worse and more wrong-headed than
>         what
>         they attacked in him. He seemed ....decently 'authentic" but if
>         this is honesty, I prefer lies full of humanity.
>
>         Could this article be accurate?
>         -
>         Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>
>

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