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Trojka
W oślepiającym blasku trzech fioletowych słońc troje wędrowców – stara Meksykanka, zautomatyzowany samochód terenowy i brontozaur – od setek lat brną przez pustynię. Nie wiedzą, czy pustynia gdzieś się kończy, a jeśli nawet tak, to co znajdą na jej krańcu. Czasem napotykają idealnie zachowane, ale całkiem bezludne miasta. Nigdy nie spada ani kropla deszczu. Najgorsze jednak jest to, że nie pamiętają nic ze swojego życia przed pustynią – tylko nocą, w snach, przypominając sobie strzępy dawnych przeżyć.
Noc sprowadza jednak szaleństwo burz piaskowych, które zamieniają ich ciałami, w jakiejś metafizycznej odmianie zabawy w komórki do wynajęcia. Dysfunkcyjni i zdezorientowani, wielokrotnie zabijają się nawzajem, nigdy jednak nie udaje im się umrzeć. Gdzie są? I jak mogą stamtąd uciec?
„Trojkę” wychwalali za oryginalność i rozmach wizji tacy pisarze, jak John Shirley, Kathe Koja, Brian Stableford, Alan Brennert, Lance Olsen, Kathleen AnnGoonan, Brian Evenson, Paul Riddell, and Don Webb. Twórczość Stepena Chapmana wielokrotnie porównywano do dzieł Philipa K. Dicka, Terry’ego Southerna, Kurta Vonneguta, Mervyna Peake’a, Angeli Carter i innych znakomitości literackich. Chapman potwierdza swoją renomę „Trojką”, która jest pewnym kandydatem do miana kultowej powieści fantastycznej.
Noc sprowadza jednak szaleństwo burz piaskowych, które zamieniają ich ciałami, w jakiejś metafizycznej odmianie zabawy w komórki do wynajęcia. Dysfunkcyjni i zdezorientowani, wielokrotnie zabijają się nawzajem, nigdy jednak nie udaje im się umrzeć. Gdzie są? I jak mogą stamtąd uciec?
„Trojkę” wychwalali za oryginalność i rozmach wizji tacy pisarze, jak John Shirley, Kathe Koja, Brian Stableford, Alan Brennert, Lance Olsen, Kathleen AnnGoonan, Brian Evenson, Paul Riddell, and Don Webb. Twórczość Stepena Chapmana wielokrotnie porównywano do dzieł Philipa K. Dicka, Terry’ego Southerna, Kurta Vonneguta, Mervyna Peake’a, Angeli Carter i innych znakomitości literackich. Chapman potwierdza swoją renomę „Trojką”, która jest pewnym kandydatem do miana kultowej powieści fantastycznej.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1997
26 people are currently reading
1500 people want to read
About the author
Stepan Chapman
23 books13 followersStepan was born in 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, and studied theatre at the University of Michigan. In 1969, his first published story was selected for Analog by John W. Campbell. In the 70's, his early fiction appeared in four of Damon Knight's Orbit anthologies. He has performed in plays in the USA and England, and his comedies for children were produced for the Edinburgh Drama Festival. In 1997, the Ministry of Whimsy Press released his first novel, The Troika, which won the Philip K. Dick Award. - SF Site
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
February 9, 2014
I say this book saved me; some will claim it condemned me.
After a promising start as a young reader of fantasy and science fiction (and, yes, I admit it, a lot of Hardy Boys and comic books), I temporarily lost my way in the maze of teenage-hood and young adulthood. From the age of about 15 to 26, I hardly read anything that wasn't an academic textbook. There were exceptions, but they were rare. Still, this didn't stop me from browsing bookstores and libraries, on the off chance that an opening of time (ie, between semesters when I wasn't working on a senior thesis or Master's thesis) would coincide with an irresistible book.
Such an happy occurrence came my way in 1998, when I stumbled on Stepan Chapman's The Troika at our local Borders. Though it was a chain book store, the local staff, being Madisonians, were very good about finding more obscure titles. By this time, The Troika had won the coveted Philip K. Dick Award (for which I was once a finalist, but, alas, not a winner), so it was not wallowing in ignominy. Still, it was a small press book so it had not garnered a lot of attention outside of those who follow speculative fiction awards. And I was not one of those people at that time.
One of the employees, apparently, did follow the awards. This intrepid indie had done up a little review on a card and put it in front of the book, explaining (and I paraphrase) that the main characters of this work were a brontosaurus, a jeep, and an old Mexican woman who wander in a strange landscape lit by purple suns, exchanging minds whenever a sandstorm blows in. Add to that an assassin angel and a music box that contains the world and . . . well, need I say more?
I was thunderstruck. I read the book and was completely blown away. In hindsight, there are a couple of difficulties with the story, but no deal-breakers. Could it have been a bit more coherent? Of course, but take a look at the Dramatis Personae - how much coherence can you expect?
The Troika is a surreal romp. Not for those seeking a pastoral landscape with milquetoast characters. However, if you've got an existential streak, love language, and are looking for something at the nexus of science fiction, surrealism, high literature, and an acid trip, this is it. The first time I read it, I kept asking myself the question "You can do that"? I had no idea that something so bizarre could be so compelling and well-written.
So a spark was set off inside my head and heart. I thought, "heck, if Chapman can write something that strange, I can get some of the stuff in my head out onto paper"! And I did. This book was the trigger on the starting gun of my writing career. Hence, my statement at the beginning. I was saved in that a new window opened up in my life. Condemned, possibly, to become addicted to writing.
Since that fateful night when I picked up the book, I have developed a friendship with Stepan and have published a couple of his stories in anthologies I've edited. He continues to produce strange tales of wild imagination, as well as doing some cartooning (more on that in an upcoming review or two). I owe Stepan and The Troika much credit for having opened up the writer in me and introducing me to a very important part of my life. Thanks, Stepan. Here's to you, The Troika, and the happy accident that brought us together.
----------------
My friend, Stepan Chapman, passed away on January 27th, 2014. I share my thoughts, and my sorrow, here.
After a promising start as a young reader of fantasy and science fiction (and, yes, I admit it, a lot of Hardy Boys and comic books), I temporarily lost my way in the maze of teenage-hood and young adulthood. From the age of about 15 to 26, I hardly read anything that wasn't an academic textbook. There were exceptions, but they were rare. Still, this didn't stop me from browsing bookstores and libraries, on the off chance that an opening of time (ie, between semesters when I wasn't working on a senior thesis or Master's thesis) would coincide with an irresistible book.
Such an happy occurrence came my way in 1998, when I stumbled on Stepan Chapman's The Troika at our local Borders. Though it was a chain book store, the local staff, being Madisonians, were very good about finding more obscure titles. By this time, The Troika had won the coveted Philip K. Dick Award (for which I was once a finalist, but, alas, not a winner), so it was not wallowing in ignominy. Still, it was a small press book so it had not garnered a lot of attention outside of those who follow speculative fiction awards. And I was not one of those people at that time.
One of the employees, apparently, did follow the awards. This intrepid indie had done up a little review on a card and put it in front of the book, explaining (and I paraphrase) that the main characters of this work were a brontosaurus, a jeep, and an old Mexican woman who wander in a strange landscape lit by purple suns, exchanging minds whenever a sandstorm blows in. Add to that an assassin angel and a music box that contains the world and . . . well, need I say more?
I was thunderstruck. I read the book and was completely blown away. In hindsight, there are a couple of difficulties with the story, but no deal-breakers. Could it have been a bit more coherent? Of course, but take a look at the Dramatis Personae - how much coherence can you expect?
The Troika is a surreal romp. Not for those seeking a pastoral landscape with milquetoast characters. However, if you've got an existential streak, love language, and are looking for something at the nexus of science fiction, surrealism, high literature, and an acid trip, this is it. The first time I read it, I kept asking myself the question "You can do that"? I had no idea that something so bizarre could be so compelling and well-written.
So a spark was set off inside my head and heart. I thought, "heck, if Chapman can write something that strange, I can get some of the stuff in my head out onto paper"! And I did. This book was the trigger on the starting gun of my writing career. Hence, my statement at the beginning. I was saved in that a new window opened up in my life. Condemned, possibly, to become addicted to writing.
Since that fateful night when I picked up the book, I have developed a friendship with Stepan and have published a couple of his stories in anthologies I've edited. He continues to produce strange tales of wild imagination, as well as doing some cartooning (more on that in an upcoming review or two). I owe Stepan and The Troika much credit for having opened up the writer in me and introducing me to a very important part of my life. Thanks, Stepan. Here's to you, The Troika, and the happy accident that brought us together.
----------------
My friend, Stepan Chapman, passed away on January 27th, 2014. I share my thoughts, and my sorrow, here.
January 30, 2025
The first Philip K. Dick Award to go to a small press. Jeff Vandermeer published this when 120 other publishers declined it. Chapman was a very accomplished author with hundreds of short stories in high profile magazines way back in the days of what I consider the most entertaining science fiction boom, and boasting, I have heard, at least one enticing, unpublished novel. You will be hard-pressed to find any of his works, or I should say I will, since I am currently on the search for them and quickly becoming woe-befallen.
In this superb novel, a quirky trio of protagonists conspire within a bizarro setting to conquer the unique curse that shackles them to their reality. The machinations of their efforts, their internal development and the external factors actively tormenting them, make up the bulk of the book. Within the first chapter you learn that a Jeep, an old Mexican woman and a dinosaur journey together within an endless desert. All of them were once human. How did they become trapped in their absurd forms?
The answer is slowly elaborated through rich and detailed backstories, taking the reader through a truly spellbinding series of events involving space travel, microchips, cryogenics, a bowling alley, a warehouse stocking otherworldly goods, and much more.
The storytelling is memorable, while failing to nicely wrap up all the existential questions, leaving us with a concerning number of concerns, hinging on a delicate balance between utter bafflement and clever explanation. The characters have charm and individuality, displaying varying degrees of cynicism and resourcefulness, considering the situation.
There's nothing else like it out there, and it is highly readable. A yarn related with a page-turning flare reminiscent of pulp s-f while not eschewing poetic moments, in which it indulges liberally. A one-of-a-kind writer. I truly hope someone works up the necessary resources to publish his oeuvre in full, at least in ebook form. Pronto.
In this superb novel, a quirky trio of protagonists conspire within a bizarro setting to conquer the unique curse that shackles them to their reality. The machinations of their efforts, their internal development and the external factors actively tormenting them, make up the bulk of the book. Within the first chapter you learn that a Jeep, an old Mexican woman and a dinosaur journey together within an endless desert. All of them were once human. How did they become trapped in their absurd forms?
The answer is slowly elaborated through rich and detailed backstories, taking the reader through a truly spellbinding series of events involving space travel, microchips, cryogenics, a bowling alley, a warehouse stocking otherworldly goods, and much more.
The storytelling is memorable, while failing to nicely wrap up all the existential questions, leaving us with a concerning number of concerns, hinging on a delicate balance between utter bafflement and clever explanation. The characters have charm and individuality, displaying varying degrees of cynicism and resourcefulness, considering the situation.
There's nothing else like it out there, and it is highly readable. A yarn related with a page-turning flare reminiscent of pulp s-f while not eschewing poetic moments, in which it indulges liberally. A one-of-a-kind writer. I truly hope someone works up the necessary resources to publish his oeuvre in full, at least in ebook form. Pronto.
July 9, 2018
Exhausting, frustrating, a little sad, incredibly riveting. Along with Bleakwarrior and Lesabendio, this is one of the strangest novels I've ever read. And yet the author gave the readers enough of a blueprint to follow that this couldn't be classified as self indulgent fiction. It is very much reader friendly if the reader is willing to do the work.
December 16, 2014
Stop me if you've heard this one: a jeep, a brontosaurus and a Mexican woman are crossing an endless desert. They might be insane, they might be dreaming, they might not exist or there could be angels? Also robots? Merpeople? A demonic music box? And it's terribly moving. And beautiful. And helplessly strange and accessible. And weird. And highly HIGHLY recommend.
September 26, 2014
Certainly one of the strangest books I've ever read and I'm not actually sure I enjoyed reading it, but it's so massively complicated and surreal and beautiful and just weird.
It basically defines surreal.
It basically defines surreal.
August 28, 2025
Recommended review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Confession: I skimmed Alex's final "solo" section. That was altogether WAY too dense to read straight through, reminiscent of the final issue of Moore's Miracleman.
Confession: I skimmed Alex's final "solo" section. That was altogether WAY too dense to read straight through, reminiscent of the final issue of Moore's Miracleman.
July 17, 2011
"Trojka" przypomina długi, dziwaczny sen schizofrenika, który na dokładkę zażył wcześniej używkę naprawdę ciężkiego kalibru. Największą przyjemność z obcowania z tym literackim majakiem poczułem po przewróceniu ostatniej kartki. Niestety, nie zrównoważyło to dojmującego poczucia nieodwracalnie straconych cennych chwil życia, które mogłem poświęcić na lekturę, która a) jest ciekawa b) ma jakiś sens c) nie jest surrealistycznym - za przeproszeniem - rzygiem, kreowanym na sztukę wysoką.
Nurt - o ile można "Trojkę" w jakiś wpisać - fantastyki, który reprezentuje Chapman to zdecydowanie nie moja bajka, jednak fani Johna M. Harrisona pewnie będą tonąć w zachwytach i nie pozostaje mi nic innego, jak życzyć im przyjemnej lektury.
Nurt - o ile można "Trojkę" w jakiś wpisać - fantastyki, który reprezentuje Chapman to zdecydowanie nie moja bajka, jednak fani Johna M. Harrisona pewnie będą tonąć w zachwytach i nie pozostaje mi nic innego, jak życzyć im przyjemnej lektury.
June 29, 2021
Easily THE weirdest novel I've ever read, and the most surreal. But Chapman's beautiful, diamond-sharp prose is so clear, so precise, you never get lost. By turns hilarious, heartbreaking, mind-blowing, and FUN. An absolute joy to read!
June 14, 2011
Z czym kojarzy się Wam surrealizm? Z „Trwałością pamięci” Salvadora Dalego? Z „L’Ange du Foyer” Maxa Ernsta? A może, ogólnie rzecz ujmując, z onirycznymi wizjami, absurdami powstałymi w ludzkiej podświadomości i rzeczywistością, którą nie rządzą prawa logiki? Zapomnijcie o tym wszystkim. Oto bowiem przed Wami „Trojka” – powieść wyznaczająca na nowo granice swobody literackiej, normy estetycznej dopuszczalności i niezwykłość strumienia myśli bohaterów, którego jest w stanie śledzić i interpretować zagubiony jak jeszcze nigdy wcześniej czytelnik.
Zarys fabuły prezentuje się nietuzinkowo. Bezkresna pustynia, w nieokreślonym czasie i miejscu. Smagani palącymi promieniami trzech fioletowych słońc przemierzają ją wędrowcy – stara Meksykanka Eva, technologicznie zaawansowany jeep Alex oraz brontozaur Naomi. Nie wiedzą, dokąd idą. Nie wiedzą, skąd przyszli. Nie wiedzą, co robią. Nie wiedzą nawet, kim tak właściwie są. Jedynym pewnikiem jest powtarzająca się co wieczór burza piaskowa, po której ich osobowości lądują losowo w jednym z ciał. A także fakt, że są nieśmiertelni – na co komu jednak życie wieczne w warunkach, w których błogosławieństwem byłaby śmierć?
Stepan Chapman nieustannie gra z błądzącym po omacku czytelnikiem w ciuciubabkę – już, już niby daje się złapać, zostawiwszy pewne tropy, po których można podążać; już, już wydawałoby się, że zamysł autora staje się jasny, że wątki zaczynają układać się w logiczną całość, kiedy następuje kolejna zmyłka, kolejna ucieczka, a wizja całości wydaje się bardziej odległa niż na początku. Znów nic się nie zgadza. Kto jest narratorem? Kim są bohaterowie? Co wydarzyło się naprawdę, co było wyobrażeniem, co snem, a co snem we śnie? Gdzie jest rzeczywistość? Czym jest rzeczywistość? Czy jest rzeczywistość?
Formę podporządkowano treści. Styl Chapmana jest równie nieprzenikniony, jak umysły trójki wędrowców. Słowa układają się często w zdania niezwykłe, płynące donikąd, zdawałoby się – pozbawione sensu. Raz po raz wizje zmieniają się; autor odmalowuje przed czytelnikiem oniryczną krainę zamieszkałą przez rybo-ludzi i inne morsko-ludzkie istoty, fantasmagoryczny gabinet doktora Labirynta czy też budzący wstręt obraz rozpadającego się domu, w którym zalęgły się larwy i robaki. Wyobraźnia autora zdaje się być niczym nieograniczona, zachwyca i obrzydza, przyciąga i odpycha. Chapman bawi się słowem na przestrzeni akapitu, by za chwilę w jednym zdaniu podsunąć klucz do odczytania całości. A potem ten klucz wyśmiać. I tak raz po raz.
Trudno pisać mi o najważniejszych aspektach „Trojki”, jeśli nie chcę zdradzić zbyt wiele z fabuły. To powieść, w przypadku której bałabym się z całą pewnością powiedzieć, że zrozumiałam, co autor miał na myśli. Nie mam żadnej pewności, czy moja interpretacja całego dzieła ma cokolwiek wspólnego z tym, co Chapman chciał przekazać. A może wcale nie chciał przekazywać? Może to tylko książka napisana przez wariata, o wariatach, dla wariatów? Jeśli tak, to cudownie wpasowuję się w target, a mętlik w mojej głowie po lekturze „Trojki” można porównać do zagubienia Meksykanki, jeepa i brontozaura na bezkresnej pustyni ogrzewanej promieniami trzech fioletowych słońc.
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Zarówno tę recenzję, jak i wiele innych tekstów znajdziecie na moim blogu: http://oceansoul.byethost22.com/ Serdecznie zapraszam!
Zarys fabuły prezentuje się nietuzinkowo. Bezkresna pustynia, w nieokreślonym czasie i miejscu. Smagani palącymi promieniami trzech fioletowych słońc przemierzają ją wędrowcy – stara Meksykanka Eva, technologicznie zaawansowany jeep Alex oraz brontozaur Naomi. Nie wiedzą, dokąd idą. Nie wiedzą, skąd przyszli. Nie wiedzą, co robią. Nie wiedzą nawet, kim tak właściwie są. Jedynym pewnikiem jest powtarzająca się co wieczór burza piaskowa, po której ich osobowości lądują losowo w jednym z ciał. A także fakt, że są nieśmiertelni – na co komu jednak życie wieczne w warunkach, w których błogosławieństwem byłaby śmierć?
Stepan Chapman nieustannie gra z błądzącym po omacku czytelnikiem w ciuciubabkę – już, już niby daje się złapać, zostawiwszy pewne tropy, po których można podążać; już, już wydawałoby się, że zamysł autora staje się jasny, że wątki zaczynają układać się w logiczną całość, kiedy następuje kolejna zmyłka, kolejna ucieczka, a wizja całości wydaje się bardziej odległa niż na początku. Znów nic się nie zgadza. Kto jest narratorem? Kim są bohaterowie? Co wydarzyło się naprawdę, co było wyobrażeniem, co snem, a co snem we śnie? Gdzie jest rzeczywistość? Czym jest rzeczywistość? Czy jest rzeczywistość?
Formę podporządkowano treści. Styl Chapmana jest równie nieprzenikniony, jak umysły trójki wędrowców. Słowa układają się często w zdania niezwykłe, płynące donikąd, zdawałoby się – pozbawione sensu. Raz po raz wizje zmieniają się; autor odmalowuje przed czytelnikiem oniryczną krainę zamieszkałą przez rybo-ludzi i inne morsko-ludzkie istoty, fantasmagoryczny gabinet doktora Labirynta czy też budzący wstręt obraz rozpadającego się domu, w którym zalęgły się larwy i robaki. Wyobraźnia autora zdaje się być niczym nieograniczona, zachwyca i obrzydza, przyciąga i odpycha. Chapman bawi się słowem na przestrzeni akapitu, by za chwilę w jednym zdaniu podsunąć klucz do odczytania całości. A potem ten klucz wyśmiać. I tak raz po raz.
Trudno pisać mi o najważniejszych aspektach „Trojki”, jeśli nie chcę zdradzić zbyt wiele z fabuły. To powieść, w przypadku której bałabym się z całą pewnością powiedzieć, że zrozumiałam, co autor miał na myśli. Nie mam żadnej pewności, czy moja interpretacja całego dzieła ma cokolwiek wspólnego z tym, co Chapman chciał przekazać. A może wcale nie chciał przekazywać? Może to tylko książka napisana przez wariata, o wariatach, dla wariatów? Jeśli tak, to cudownie wpasowuję się w target, a mętlik w mojej głowie po lekturze „Trojki” można porównać do zagubienia Meksykanki, jeepa i brontozaura na bezkresnej pustyni ogrzewanej promieniami trzech fioletowych słońc.
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Zarówno tę recenzję, jak i wiele innych tekstów znajdziecie na moim blogu: http://oceansoul.byethost22.com/ Serdecznie zapraszam!
August 19, 2020
This one, oh this one is a surreal parable but also makes perfect sense. It's loaded with language and detail and technology and oddity but, as I was hoping, it still has so much soul.
And although it's about a brontosaurus, a jeep and an elderly Mexican woman, it's very human, more so than many more obvious ones.
And although it's about a brontosaurus, a jeep and an elderly Mexican woman, it's very human, more so than many more obvious ones.
April 21, 2015
The writing is incredibly vivid, ferocious, surreal. The picaresque narratives of the main characters' lives are really powerful; I didn't like quite as much the frame narrative that attempts to make it cohere - I'd prefer, if anything, it to make less sense.
January 27, 2012
Make no mistake: this book is WEIRD. There were a few times I almost abandoned it but there was something undeniably compelling about the storytelling that kept me plugging away and in the end I was paid off with an extremely satisfying conclusion.
Ostensibly this is the story of a sentient jeep, a talking brontosaurus, and an old Mexican woman crossing a desert. When the story opens up we don't know how long they've been crossing this desert but we get the sense it's been going on for a LONG time. Periodic sandstorms occur, during which the characters change bodies. Each of the three characters, Alex, Eva and Naomi, are stark raving insane. As they cross the desert they're subjected to one another's thoughts and dreams in the form of vivid and lucid hallucinations. The landscape frequently changes and what initially seems a series of bizarre, unrelated situations slowly and masterfully pulls itself together into a narrative. I won't give anything away regarding what's actually going on but if you attempt to read this book keep reminding yourself that there IS an overarching story.
Parts of this are incredibly difficult to read. Chapman is weaving a story using the tattered, phantasmagoric dreams of schizophrenics. You can imagine things get rather gruesome and, at times, seemingly nonsensical. And this is where it gets difficult. Initially it seems as if this is a series of disjointed episodes, many of which contradict the story's own internal logic. Throughout the first 3/4s of the book it felt like it lacked internal cohesion. Rest assured, there is a point to all of this and once you reach the end and see what it was Chapman was aiming for it becomes clear he pulled it off in a spectacular fashion. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to tell a clear narrative using patchwork bits of (at times) gory and violent hallucinations, dreams, and false memories.
Initially what struck me and kept me going was the imagery itself. The pictures this book draw in your head are difficult to describe. Picture Terry Gilliam making Alice In Wonderland with inhuman amounts of LSD and you're still nowhere near it. As the story progressed, however, I found myself drawn to the characters. At first none of them are very likable, let alone sympathetic. But I gradually found myself fascinated with each of them and, by the end, rooting for them to overcome the situation. The humanity Chapman imbues these mad characters with is perhaps what really turned me around and kept me reading until the end.
And the ending! The ending! It's not twist or a paradigm shift or anything. Chapman is too good for cheap GOTCHA gimmicks. No, none of that. But this story ends exactly as it had too, which is something that can rarely be said of even the best books.
Highly recommended but definitely not for everybody. For those who enjoy surreal, different stories and have the patience to soldier through until the end.
Ostensibly this is the story of a sentient jeep, a talking brontosaurus, and an old Mexican woman crossing a desert. When the story opens up we don't know how long they've been crossing this desert but we get the sense it's been going on for a LONG time. Periodic sandstorms occur, during which the characters change bodies. Each of the three characters, Alex, Eva and Naomi, are stark raving insane. As they cross the desert they're subjected to one another's thoughts and dreams in the form of vivid and lucid hallucinations. The landscape frequently changes and what initially seems a series of bizarre, unrelated situations slowly and masterfully pulls itself together into a narrative. I won't give anything away regarding what's actually going on but if you attempt to read this book keep reminding yourself that there IS an overarching story.
Parts of this are incredibly difficult to read. Chapman is weaving a story using the tattered, phantasmagoric dreams of schizophrenics. You can imagine things get rather gruesome and, at times, seemingly nonsensical. And this is where it gets difficult. Initially it seems as if this is a series of disjointed episodes, many of which contradict the story's own internal logic. Throughout the first 3/4s of the book it felt like it lacked internal cohesion. Rest assured, there is a point to all of this and once you reach the end and see what it was Chapman was aiming for it becomes clear he pulled it off in a spectacular fashion. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to tell a clear narrative using patchwork bits of (at times) gory and violent hallucinations, dreams, and false memories.
Initially what struck me and kept me going was the imagery itself. The pictures this book draw in your head are difficult to describe. Picture Terry Gilliam making Alice In Wonderland with inhuman amounts of LSD and you're still nowhere near it. As the story progressed, however, I found myself drawn to the characters. At first none of them are very likable, let alone sympathetic. But I gradually found myself fascinated with each of them and, by the end, rooting for them to overcome the situation. The humanity Chapman imbues these mad characters with is perhaps what really turned me around and kept me reading until the end.
And the ending! The ending! It's not twist or a paradigm shift or anything. Chapman is too good for cheap GOTCHA gimmicks. No, none of that. But this story ends exactly as it had too, which is something that can rarely be said of even the best books.
Highly recommended but definitely not for everybody. For those who enjoy surreal, different stories and have the patience to soldier through until the end.
October 20, 2016
This book virtually creates its own genre: the surrealist heart breaker. The "plot" is bizarre, and lots of other reviewers are having a field day coming up with summaries thereof, so I'm skipping that. I'll just say that this level of nonsense hasn't packed this kind of emotional wallop since, probably, Lewis Carroll. But instead of a satire of manners, we've got an expressionist portrait of mental illness, shattered into prismatic fragments with sharp -- and weird -- edges. Ouch!
March 20, 2025
Incredibly hard to pinpoint why this bizarre book was so incredibly moving.
The language is very dated and mildly-to-extremely offensive at times, but in a way that makes sense for the characters.
The story and characters are deeply complicated and messy. There are more questions than answers. The emotional core was nevertheless entirely worth every second for me. I cried like a baby and the ending was so satisfying in ways I could never have predicted.
Almost definitely rereading in the future. Definitely check out some warnings before you choose to engage, the horror elements are incredibly real and visceral. But so much of the prose felt like poetry. Incredibly innovative book, even almost 30 years later.
The language is very dated and mildly-to-extremely offensive at times, but in a way that makes sense for the characters.
The story and characters are deeply complicated and messy. There are more questions than answers. The emotional core was nevertheless entirely worth every second for me. I cried like a baby and the ending was so satisfying in ways I could never have predicted.
Almost definitely rereading in the future. Definitely check out some warnings before you choose to engage, the horror elements are incredibly real and visceral. But so much of the prose felt like poetry. Incredibly innovative book, even almost 30 years later.
September 18, 2019
This book defies a lot of things and for that it is wonderful. After one reading, I'm not entirely sure how coherent it always was, but that didn't stop it from being a visionary trip or five through landscapes and minds and more than a hint of madness. I read the Kindle edition that came out pretty recently (last 10 years or so?) which was called the author's preferred edition. Definitely didn't always understand why what happened happened or, for that matter, when, let alone what was real memory or dream or hallucination, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.
Read
October 16, 20235 stars for some of the sentences. So many times we were blindsided with a sentence we never could have imagined we could read in our lives. There's real madcap, surreal, disorienting, screwball poetry in here. I'm pretty sure we learned something about life too. But part of the problem with defying standard narrative structure and expectations is that this random collection of scenes begins to drag on, not particularly going anywhere - a valid reflection of the story itself but after awhile it begins to numb.
August 5, 2025
This was definitely one of the weirdest books i have ever read.
June 29, 2013
Nie polecam tej lektury tym którzy zaczynają przygodę z sf, chociaż ciężko mi to nazwać sf, nawet miłośnikom Dicka może nie przypaść do gustu ta książka. Surralistyczne opisy, dziwne postacie, sceny mocno mogą zapaść w pamięć, chociaż czasem są bez ładu. Lekturę polecam zaś tym którzy w literaturze sf szukają czegoś nowego i fanów Chapmana. Ostrzegam ta pozycja nie jest dla wszystkich.
September 5, 2012
Jedno co mogę powiedzieć na pewno o tej książce, to że było to ciekawe doświadczenie czytając ją, ale chyba to jednak nie moje klimaty.
May 21, 2020
Uczta Wyobraźni. Nie skłamali.
March 21, 2018
Dramat.
Read
February 12, 2020This is one of the weirdest books I've ever read, second only to
In Watermelon Sugar
.
As should be self-evident from the synopsis, the characters are stuck in an incredibly bizarre situation, and both they and the audience spend most of the story desperately wanting some answers. To make things even weirder, a lot of the "explanations" we're given only serve to make things more confusing, whether it's Eva's descriptions of being a fish priestess who refused to be sacrificed to Naomi's description of literally eating her father. It's... bizarre, to say the least.
There were some really heartwarming moments. I'm just not sure what to think of the rest of it, on several different levels.
As should be self-evident from the synopsis, the characters are stuck in an incredibly bizarre situation, and both they and the audience spend most of the story desperately wanting some answers. To make things even weirder, a lot of the "explanations" we're given only serve to make things more confusing, whether it's Eva's descriptions of being a fish priestess who refused to be sacrificed to Naomi's description of literally eating her father. It's... bizarre, to say the least.
There were some really heartwarming moments. I'm just not sure what to think of the rest of it, on several different levels.
November 27, 2018
Exhausting, frustrating, a little sad, incredibly riveting. Along with Bleakwarrior and Lesabendio, this is one of the strangest novels I've ever read. And yet the author gave the readers enough of a blueprint to follow that this couldn't be classified as self indulgent fiction. It is very much reader friendly if the reader is willing to do the work.
November 13, 2021
The prose is very very good at times, makes you want to highlight on highlight and some of the images could easily be inspiration for multiple artbooks. The PKD-esque surrealism is a bit tiring with the only constant thing being the characters, but them not being coherent either, but still worthwhile.
February 26, 2023
This is the most bizarre and most interesting books I have ever read. The language and imagery is really well done and unique. I want to go back and re-read it for sure. Completely unlike any other book I have ever read.
FYI, slurs used for intellectual disability (R), Asian descent (O), homosexual (F).
FYI, slurs used for intellectual disability (R), Asian descent (O), homosexual (F).
January 28, 2021
A pre-cursor to the anti-evolution of Jeff VanderMeer's novels. The story at first seems impenetrable, but if you try not to "understand" it too hard, you'll eventually get it. The ending seems a bit out-of-character for the rest of the book but will be satisfying to many.
July 29, 2018
Wow
I don't know if there are words to describe it, because it is weird as hell, but damn whatever this was is good
I don't know if there are words to describe it, because it is weird as hell, but damn whatever this was is good
November 15, 2018
Pikkusen liian järjetön vaikka sisältääkin näppäriä huomioita asiasta jos toisesta.
April 17, 2019
Wholly surreal venture across a desert and into the minds of three people who move across it, switching bodies every night. I wanted to write Chapman a fan letter.
October 31, 2020
This is one of the craziest books I've ever read. Highly recommend.
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