William T Vollmann Central discussion
This topic is about
The Dying Grass
Seven Dreams
>
2015 The Dying Grass (Seven Dreams #5)
Jack wrote: "Chris wrote: "I'm speculating here, but I have a sense that the title could be, in part, an allusion to Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1855 and beyond). Since he's focusing on the soldier who hun..."Thanks for update Jack, but have you somehow managed to read it already?
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "The Kirkus blurbable review ::https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
"Telegraphic and episodic—so much so that it recalls the later work of Eduardo Galeano..."
Interesting, but how come Kirkus makes no mention of the reviewer's name? To top it off, the only way to reply to anything online these days is through f-book -- no emails or addresses to write to (i.e. no accountability anymore).
Chris wrote: "Jack wrote: "Chris wrote: "I'm speculating here, but I have a sense that the title could be, in part, an allusion to Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1855 and beyond). Since he's focusing on the so..."I'm reading the galley right now, only about 50 pages in so far.
Ordered my copy through local, independent bookseller -- full price, because I love my bookstore and want to support them. Hope you all do the same too. Looking forward to continuing with 7 Dreams and seeing where he goes with this one. One of these days I'll get to Imperial...
Jack wrote: "Chris wrote: "Jack wrote: "Chris wrote: "I'm speculating here, but I have a sense that the title could be, in part, an allusion to Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1855 and beyond). Since he's focu..."How did you get a copy, are you a reviewer? Wow. So have you read the other four published dreams? What's your take so far?
Geoff wrote: "Wait what's this new Gass??And of course I preordered The Dying Grass duh!"
Eyes: Novellas and Stories
Chris wrote: How did you get a copy, are you a reviewer? Wow. So have you read the other four published dreams? What's your take so far? "Yes, I am getting back into reviewing. Vollmann is also confirmed for the Utah Humanities Book Festival later this year. I hope to be able to interview him. I could fire off a quick review like the Kirkus one, but to me it's not about being the first review. I'll pitch the review to a few places depending on how it turns out. If I finish it quick enough, I'll try to read Argall as well before the pub date, since it's the one published Dream I've yet to read.
Here is my review of Fathers and Crows.
Oh, and I've pre-ordered a copy as well. And might get another fresh copy for him to sign when he comes to Utah.
I'm liking it so far; vintage Vollmann in all the good ways. Closest to F&C so far, but it's way too early to tell. It's nice having the major narrative much closer to the recognizable present.
Put in a request on netgalleys through the bookstore I order for sometimes. Maybe I will get a bit of a preview before the preorder comes in! I'm just too curious about the stylistic alignment and how it's going to work on the page.
Griffin wrote: "Put in a request on netgalleys through the bookstore I order for sometimes. Maybe I will get a bit of a preview before the preorder comes in! I'm just too curious about the stylistic alignment and ..."Hmmmmm.... I signed up for netgalleys, but didn't see any Vollmann. I did put in for the new Joshua Cohen book though.
Checked on there again, and it was there. Thanks for the tip. I have no idea if they'll let me get it, but I put in a request.
Looks like my netgalleys request was accepted. I cant download it til Saturday when i get back from my work trip.
So. .. I'm 50 electronic pages in so far. I have 53 more days to finish it on my drm ebook. Wish me luck. The book starts with a bit of a biting look at Rutherford B Hayes' election that reminded me just a smidge of Coover’s the public burning. Now we're on to the meat of the book. I haven't really gotten the hang of the formatting with the text indentation yet. It's interesting to hear the change in William the Blind's voice. I didn't feel like it was as pronounced between books in the other dreams (I have yet to read the Rifles).
sent an email to Kirkus (twice now) inquiring as to who exactly their reviewer was of this book -- no response. Seems suspect to me. Not familiar with Kirkus and their reputation, but any reviewerless review is highly questionable in my view. Probably computer driven drivel.
Chris wrote: "sent an email to Kirkus (twice now) inquiring as to who exactly their reviewer was of this book -- no response. Seems suspect to me. Not familiar with Kirkus and their reputation, but any reviewerl..."I'd be interested to know who it is as well. I could write a similar review to theirs with how far along I am in the book, but I thought, you know, actually reading the whole damn thing might be worthwhile.
I checked the kirkus website. All of their reviews are anonymous.
Pre-ordered from my local bookstore. $60 CDN. Because: fuck money. I also pre-ordered Last Stories and Other Stories in paperback. Oh god I have to catch up on all the Vollmann I still haven't read... (Imperial, F&C, You Bright and Risen Angels, The Royal Family...)
Alexander wrote: "Pre-ordered from my local bookstore. $60 CDN. Because: fuck money. I also pre-ordered Last Stories and Other Stories in paperback. Oh god I have to catch up on all the Vollmann I still haven't read..."I'm pretty sure you can eventually catch up if you read a Vollmann a year. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to take very good care of himself
but only if you are in the U.S :-(
Signed up! I'm going to win it!
Hoping to be able to cancel the amazon pre-order by winning this! The odds are pretty good right now: 25 copies and <300 people in the drawing.
I am right there with you Griffin.
Money talks. I'm still buying mine. I know the world we live in.
It doesn't get any better in mainstream than Kirkus. If Muchnick didn't write the review referenced above, she at least chose the reviewer.https://www.kirkusreviews.com/press-c...
Zadignose wrote: "Don't worry, you're right that it's only a placeholder. I hacked the publisher's account and accessed this final version of the cover that will go to print:"I think it's so cool that Zad's Dying Grass cover is the third result in a google=image search ::
https://www.google.com/search?q=vollm...
"Author of How You Are" [!!]
Oh man that panorama-ish shot of his studio from the New Republic article is delicious.
Geoff wrote: "Oh man that panorama-ish shot of his studio from the New Republic article is delicious."I'm going to install that very same carpet in my basement...
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "I'm going to install that very same carpet in my basement..."It is fantastic carpet.
Geoff wrote: "Nathan "N.R." wrote: "I'm going to install that very same carpet in my basement..."It is fantastic carpet."
It really ties the room together.
A kind Instagram friend with an ARC sent me the following pic which gives a sense of the layout - fascinating...
Jonathan wrote: "A kind Instagram friend with an ARC sent me the following pic which gives a sense of the layout - fascinating..."
That looks nice.
Woot.. I've trolled the whole internet.
Greatly appreciated!
I believe he has said that the page is geographic space - i.e the location of the text indicates closeness/distance etc? Anyone have any more info on this?
Jonathan wrote: "I believe he has said that the page is geographic space - i.e the location of the text indicates closeness/distance etc? Anyone have any more info on this?"
Many times its also how far it is from the idea. The first level might have Gen Howard talking to his aide de camp. The second level might include Howard's interior thoughts on what he's saying or often causing him to dwell on the past. The third level could be bitching from infantry soldiers, either about the march, having to hide liquor, Indians etc.
There are times when more than one person might be speaking on the first level. Howard might say something and he could be answered within that text with no apparent change in the speaker.
There are times when it is really effective and times when it is a little gimmicky. In essence I think it's done for the ease of the reader. I didn't feel like my understanding was lessened while reading the unformatted text on my eReader, but the formatted text did make it flow better.
By the way, it does look gorgeous on paper. Can't wait until my copy arrives. This is definitely a book where reading a physical copy would make a huge difference.
Well, went to Strand in NYC today to buy a used copy of the first edition of F&C they had for only $9—what do I see when I get to the V-section of lit but a pristine copy of The Dying Grass at a price of $27.50 two weeks before its official release date. I walked out with both (and a very heavy bag). Now Strand is somewhat notorious amongst independent booksellers for being a behemoth in NYC and putting books on the shelves weeks before they are supposed to officially be "released" and generally not giving a fuck, but I checked their online store just now and it appears they are "out of stock" of TDG—meaning that perhaps I got their only copy. I feel lucky today, and grateful for being able to cancel my amazon pre-order.
And though the book design isn't as nice as Dreams past, it still has its moments:
Griffin wrote: "Well, went to Strand in NYC today to buy a used copy of the first edition of F&C they had for only $9—what do I see when I get to the V-section of lit but a pristine copy of The Dying Grass at a pr..."Nice, can't wait for my copy to arrive.
Griffin wrote: "Well, went to Strand in NYC today to buy a used copy of the first edition of F&C they had for only $9—what do I see when I get to the V-section of lit but a pristine copy of The Dying Grass at a pr..."Not fair!
Nice review in Wall Street Journal today (somehow I was able to read it free on my iPhone). Can't wait to dig into this Monday! http://www.wsj.com/articles/an-unwinn...
Fantastic review. I am unspeakably stoked for this.
Christian Science Monitor review:http://m.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Rev...
"William Vollmann is our greatest literary warrior"
If anyone is around NYC, I saw a copy "used" at Unnameable Books in Brooklyn for $27 today.
William T Vollmann Central
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So is Dying Grass a bargain?
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