Only RevolutionsMark Danielewski
What the hell am I supposed to say about Only Revolutions? First off, I'd like to state that Danielewski makes me feel like a total moron. I have no idea what happened in about 50% of this book. Of course, there are the obligatory comparisons to Joyce and Pynchon, which reminds me that I don't care for those eggheads, either. But I like Danielewski! Really I do!
Allow me to explain what I do know about the novel. Only Revolutions is about two teenagers (who are always 16), Sam and Hailey, who may or may not exist at the same time. Sam lives from 1863-1963 and Hailey from 1963-2063. And yet, they manage to coexist. Or do they? Don't ask me. For the better part of today, I've been perusing the forums on the Only Revolutions website. Why are certain letters in gold? green? purple? Why do some pages feature a black circle on the upper right hand corner? What about this? that? AAAAAAAAHHHHHH. I'm just lucky I finished it with my sanity intact.
Then there's the pages themselves. Each page is cut into four: one half for Hailey, one for Sam. Their halves are then again divided into two, one for the narrative, and one for a block of history, which, I'll be honest, I didn't even bother to read. It's important somehow, but I honestly could give a shit. Here's a scan of one such page, taken from Amazon.com--it's not the best quality, but you get the point:
It is recommended that one reads eight pages of each at a time: eight of Hailey, then flip back to Sam's narrative and reread those eight pages. And of course, 8 is a double helix, an 0 stretched and twisted, or some random shit from the forums. Ahh, to have such free time. Man, I miss college.And while I find the book interesting (and clearly Danielewski is either a genius or absolutely, stark raving mad), I have this thing. It's called...a life. And I don't want to spend the majority of mine picking apart a book for all its myriad nuances and anomalies. I've got my MA in English. Been there, done that.
And that's not to say that I don't want my literature to be challenging. But this is just too much. House of Leaves was challenging--and mind-blowing--and yet I was able to comprehend what was going on. Damn you, Mark! I want to like this book, really I do.
That said, Only Revolutions reads more like poetry than prose, and there were some parts that were stunning in their beauty. I'll probably reread it at some point, because rereading House of Leaves allowed me to gain so much that I missed the first time around. I just wish I found more pleasure in reading Only Revolutions.In a nutshell: you better WORK! Turn to the left! Work it -- sorry, slipped into RuPaul. But you will need to work for Only Revolutions. Is it worth the payoff? Ask me after I reread it. In at least a year or two.
Bibliolatry Scale: 6 out of 6 for complexity and ambition; 2.5 out of 6 for ease and clarity
8 comments:
Hey, this is the best review of this book I've yet seen out there. I am umming and ahhing over whether to buy it at a cover price of £20 - usually I wait for the paperback, but Danielewski is such a publishing dominated writer I think it matters that you get it in his "intended form" - I just wish I knew what that was.
Impressed with the blog, I've reviewed House Of Leaves and I Am Legend over at my blog recently, I have to say I have stronger feelings on IAL than you do. Nice place you got here
Hmm... I like this place enough that I just linked to you, carry on the good work.
I agree that it is important to get Danielewski in his "original" form. I didn't find it to be as enjoyable as House of Leaves, though, so you may not find it worth the price.
Thanks for the link!
Cheers for wandering over to my blog, I've revised your link to something less abbrassive, more bookaholicish.
Wow, neat review and the book sounds fascinating! I'd love to own a copy simply because it sounds like a work of art...I feel fairly certain I won't try hard enough to understand what he's trying to say though! ;)
Unfortunately, Bibliolatry's one-year anniversary is fast approaching, and I haven't hit the 100 mark yet. This is extremely painful for me.
I've read about 80 thus far. Maybe I can jam in another 20 books in the next two weeks? Doubt it.
:( :( :(
But cute new pic, by the way!
Bibliolator:
Eggheads? For shame! Read the last paragraph of Joyce's short story, "The Dead," and then rethink that comment.
Have you read Gravity's Rainbow ignoring all the clever allusions and only for the exquisite language?
Chiron
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