Nathan "N.R."’s Comments (group member since Oct 28, 2012)

Nathan "N.R."’s comments from the William T Vollmann Central group.

Reposting, for your Summer Calendar needs ::

Just checked in at Viking regarding the forthcoming Last Stories and Other Stories. He's got a few readings scheduled.
http://www.penguin.com/search/authors...

July 21 @ Portland OR
July 22 @ Seattle WA
July 24 @ San Francisco CA
July 25 @ Skylight Books, Los Angeles

So if you're out there on the West end of that particular continent, mark your calendars now. More specifics at the link.



My apologies for seemingly having missed the date in LA ; it was hidden on a second page.

And sorry Josh that he doesn't appear to be passing over The Rockies this time out. Perhaps next year with The Dying Grass?

A French interview from 2004

"William T. Vollmann : L’Américain tranquille"
publié le 8 septembre 2004, par David Boratav

http://www.chronicart.com/digital/wil...

Sounds like a new CoTangent book ::

"New to me, since I think of him only as a novelist, were artist’s books by William T. Vollman [sic]. His most recent is a portfolio of woodblock prints that illustrate his own translation of the first stanza of the Nordic poem."
http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/eve...

biblioklept's got a little wrap=up post on EC ::
http://biblioklept.org/2014/06/05/wil...

New book review from Bill ::

"Twists of Hate: Two fictional takes on the war in Iraq"
http://bookforum.com/inprint/021_02/1...

"'WE HAD REACHED THE CROSS ROADS before noon and had shot a French civilian by mistake. . . . Red shot him. It was the first man he had killed that day and he was very pleased.' So far, this incident, and the style in which it is told, would be appropriate for either Redeployment or The Corpse Exhibition, two new works of fiction about the Iraq war, the first by Phil Klay, a former marine who served in Iraq during the surge, and the second by Hassan Blasim, an Iraqi filmmaker and writer who moved to Finland as a refugee in 2004. In fact it comes from a late Hemingway story called 'Black Ass at the Cross Roads.' The setting is France, sometime after D-day, when the Nazis are fleeing. The narrator’s business is to kill them as they go by."

As noted, Brain Pain has been reading Argall. I like the following post made by Vollmanniac Larou, providing his thematic sketch of the novel :: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Especially the genre identification of the four-so-far Dreams :: "Finally, it occurred to me that each volume of Seven Dreams belongs to a different genre, each appropriate to the period it is set in: The Ice-Shirt is a saga, Fathers and Crows is a chronicle, Argall is a picaresque novel (really the only "proper" novel so far, which is probably why I found it the most accessible and easy to read of the bunch) and The Rifles is a travel/exploration diary."

What are the Seven Dreams?

James wrote: "Terra Nostra seems like a candidate"

Possibly. Likely?

Aubrey wrote: "We'll have to exclude 'The Ice-Shirt'"

That wouldn't make any sense since the criteria derive from The Ice-Shirt and the other three extant Dreams.

Geoff wrote: "The Sot-Weed Factor comes to mind, but there is something nagging at me, telling me "it does not belong here". Oh great goodreads masses, tell me, why is it I feel such a thing? And could I be wr..."

Definitely not. The Dreams are designed for use in a classroom, ie, the historical material is central to their very existence ;; Barth couldn't give two hoots about history, as he explains to the Maryland Historical Society (cf one of those Friday books).

Aubrey wrote: "The Adventures of Augie March, Under the Volcano, Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West, Obasan. Nitpick away."

Can't say they sound right to my ear. Obasan, maybe, but the 'based on the author's own experience' would exclude it.

James wrote: "Haven't had the chance to read it yet, but I would think John Dos Passos USA Trilogy might be a good option."

Maybe. It would depend on the extent to which he takes sides ; the relationship of fiction to historical ; and the manner in which oppositions are set up within the novel.

Del Pasos's massive book, News from the Empire was nominated by Vollmanniac Geoff. Geoff?

Ms Young's unfinished work about the life and times of Victor Eugene Debs portrays the rule of the Boss in the nineteenth century ; the submission of the working class to the power of the Gatling gun. The rule of Capital is established in North American ; the people is railroaded.

There exist books which would seem to align themselves closely to the spirit of Vollmann's project of Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes. Here is what occurs to me as criteria for nomination ::

1) "North American".
2) Something historical, something fictional ; something larger than historical fiction.
3) A language larger than life, somehow Dreamy.
4) A cultural encounter/clash which has determined the structure of our real world today ; winners and losers ;; not to forget the role technology plays in this encounter/clash.
5) Probably some other things.
6) Nominators in this category should be well acquainted with the Seven Dreams ; this list of criteria is derivative and non=determinative.
7) Seven Dreams ; Seven Criteria

Bill reviews :: All the Light We Cannot See.

"Darkness Visible: ‘All the Light We Cannot See,’ by Anthony Doerr"

'All the Light We Cannot See is more than a thriller and less than great literature. As such, it is what the English would call “a good read.” Maybe Doerr could write great literature if he really tried. I would be happy if he did.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/boo...

Louis-Jean wrote: "032c focuses on William T. Vollmann’s photography:
http://www.powerhousebooks.com/?p=1961"

Two of these pieces are now html'd ::

"WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN: Conflict, Compassion and the Process of Understanding", an essay by Alexander Provan & "WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN: She Who Is So Lovely Is Drinking In That Loveliness I’ve Drunk", an interview. The issue of this periodical is 2010, and aligns with the release of Imperial.

Greg wrote: "De Sade's Last Stand was published in Esquire 1992. It eventually became part of Butterfly Stories under the "More Benadryl Whinned the Journalist" chapter with some revisions."

Thanks for the clarify. I was a little worried that my completionism instinct was compromised. ; )

Greg wrote: " have many signed editions"

Okay, so my advice in the other thread was not needed.

Most excellent to have had 22 years with Bill's books. I've had a short three years, but I'm approaching completionism by the end of this year. Also, this summer's Last Stories is my first new Vollmann release=(well, there was also the Dolores book)=anticipation build up. Even more eager for The Dying Grass next year.

You have an photos/bookporn to post?

Oh, and what info do you have on the De Sade book?

Greg wrote: "Thanks for posting this. I'm going to go to the July 22 event."

Make sure he signs all of his 25 books for you. ; )

A little bit about the CoTangents for those of you with US$5000 burning a hole in your pocket. An excellent investment!

http://www.bibliopolis.com/main/books...

Ken Miller's Vollmann File ; 105 photos. Click on any to get to the slide=show :: http://kenmilleropenallnight.blogspot...