William T Vollmann Central discussion

With Europe Central Vollmann became a break-out international teen rock star with accolades from important organizations and copies sold in excess of 500.

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "copies sold in excess of 500."

Makes you wonder just how well (or rather unwell) his books sell.

Eric wrote: "Nathan "N.R." wrote: "copies sold in excess of 500."

Makes you wonder just how well (or rather unwell) his books sell."

I made that up. But apparently, this one got more attention than his books usually do. That is to say, it sold to people who didn't already have a WTV fetish. He knows that his books don't sell; he makes his money on the journalism.

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Eric wrote: "Nathan "N.R." wrote: "copies sold in excess of 500."

Makes you wonder just how well (or rather unwell) his books sell."

I made that up. But apparently, this one got more attention t..."

Don't hurt to have a doctor-wife, either.

Eric wrote: "Don't hurt to have a doctor-wife, either. "

That's true. But I think they've only been married 10 or 12 years, but I'm not sure.

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Eric wrote: "Don't hurt to have a doctor-wife, either. "

That's true. But I think they've only been married 10 or 12 years, but I'm not sure."

Yeah, I'm not sure, either; do know, though, that he dedicated Ice-Shirt to her.

Eric wrote: "Yeah, I'm not sure, either; do know, though, that he dedicated Ice-Shirt to her. "

As if I know much of his personal life, but I assumed that his wife he hadn't met yet in 1990, and the dedication was to a girlfriend of the time. I don't know. I don't know.

it's all in the chronology from Expelled from Eden.

Eric wrote: "it's all in the chronology from Expelled from Eden."

Damn. Why I've not shelled out for that one yet? I'll rely on your copy in the meantime. Just give me an "EfE" and I'll shut up with my second guessing.

WTV said he wrote a historical timeline for this one, but the publisher cut it out. Did it ever surface again, in some form?

Hadrian wrote: "WTV said he wrote a historical timeline for this one, but the publisher cut it out. Did it ever surface again, in some form?"

I've not seen it. I assume it was not included in the Expelled from Eden reader.

But I imagine that it is/will be included in his archive at Ohio State. What they have now is only from 1992-2001. I don't know if there is another Vollmann archive at another institution, or if OSU will get another batch in the future.
http://library.osu.edu/finding-aids/r...

The interview (2005) you refer to is here:
http://www.bookslut.com/features/2005...


Raintaxi review of Europe Central and Expelled from Eden:
http://raintaxi.com/online/2005spring...

I've just ordered a first edition hardback of this. It sounds magnificent. Can't wait.

I just finished this one on audio book. Looking forward to getting after it again when Brain Pain eventually tackles it. Does anyone have a list of the Shostakovich recordings examined in the book? I belatedly realized I should have been writing them down and getting them from my library to listen to. I'm hoping to rectify that error when I read the print version.

James wrote: "Does anyone have a list of the Shostakovich recordings examined in the book?"

Mala? Did you get the pieces cataloged? Maybe I put together a Vollmann Soundtrack thread.

And, James, how was the listening experience qua listening? Musical? I don't listen to books, but how does listening to a Vollmann compare with other books you've listened to?

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Eric wrote: "Nathan "N.R." wrote: "copies sold in excess of 500."

Makes you wonder just how well (or rather unwell) his books sell."

I made that up. But apparently, this one got more attention t..."

Apparently,he makes a lot of money from his art works & also fancy book objects.

"Mala? Did you get the pieces cataloged? Maybe I put together a Vollmann Soundtrack thread."

Spooky! You got sixth sense or what? I just logged in & what do I see– this comment!
I think I noted down the names as they appeared but maybe not all.

It was pretty dense to begin with, but it started to roll pretty quickly. I usually listen to audiobooks while I go on walks or do household chores.Typically, I wouldn't have listened to a more complex narrative like this one, but they ordered the audio version instead of the ebook version at my library. Unfortunately, I listened to several hours while shoveling snow this week. I was able to read The Sot-Weed Factor in print while I chipped away at this book on audio, so all in all it was a good thing.
The reader was very dry in his delivery and I thought he really brought to life some of the tics in Shostakovich's speech. The chapters where he goes over the music were pretty brilliant. I didn't find the repetitions like,"Elena, you're so lucky you didn't marry me" to be as annoying as some readers because they were a little like guide words. I ended up buying a print copy and referred to it at times if I felt like I was missing something. EU is a pretty rewarding read, and I think it will get better with a second look.

Mala wrote: "Spooky! You got sixth sense or what? I just logged in & what do I see– this comment!
I think I noted down the names as they appeared but maybe not all. "

Heh heh. I had assumed you were already a member of this little group. Welcome! You are my current go-to reader for all things EC. I've just created a Soundtrack thread, so if you find you've got a Shosti list, please post something there for our edification (with or without links, no matter).

Thank you! It sure feels like home :-)
I'll see what I can do but you know I might just mix some heavy metal there to subvert things. You know me ;-)

Finally did some mind-reading...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Beginning Europe Central as I will be writing about it in my MA dissertation.

Vollmann in Deutschland

Video from earlier this year for the release of the German translation of EC :: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYL9B-...

I listened to this one last year, but am thinking about doing an actual reading with the Brain Pain group in 2014. If so, my home work is going to include the Teaching Company course below. Probably worth folks time if they are going to tackle Europe Central.

Great masters. Shostakovich, his life & music [sound recording] /
by Greenberg, Robert .Teaching Company

James wrote: "Great masters. Shostakovich, his life & music [sound recording] /
by Greenberg, Robert .Teaching Company "

Well tune'd.

The German translation of Europe Central just won the "Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse" (which tends to get a lot of attention): http://www.preis-der-leipziger-buchme...

Larou wrote: "The German translation of Europe Central just won the "Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse" (which tends to get a lot of attention): "

Ah, hey thanks for the news. I had been waiting for word since I'd heard the nominations.

James wrote: "I listened to this one last year, but am doing an actual reading with the Brain Pain group in 2014. If so, my home work is going to include the Teaching Company course below. Probabl..."
I started this lecture series last night. I would say that it's worth listening to. The first hour was a good overview with 3 excerpts from Shostakovitch's music and a nice bit of context for the environment he was working in.

Testimony: The Memoirs. Seems like it could be a good place for further reading of Shostakovich. Good reads uber reader Jonathan gave it the 5 star treatment.

It is an essential work (though controversial and not to be taken as always historically "truthful" ). I think with a great artist like him, the best place to start is with his own words rather than those of some critic

Started EC yesterday. EXCITED!! I like it so far, I'm about 60 or so pages in.

Alexander wrote: "Started EC yesterday. EXCITED!! I like it so far, I'm about 60 or so pages in."

Seems like every good Vollmanniac is beating me to this one.

Here's a question for all you Vollmanites:
Is Elena Konstantinovskaya a real figure?
I was looking her up, but it seems most google results refer back to EC. I found this guy's blog (Richard Friedman; http://rchrd.com/weblog/pivot/entry.p...) and he seems to conclude that she is made up.
Then I found this website (http://www.siue.edu/~aho/musov/basner...) and he refers to her as a real person, going as far as to say that she was arrested in 1936. Or did he just get that from EC? I can't find any references on his page, but he seems to be in love with Shostakovich...
Someone please help me shed some light on this. She's kind of a major character of this book, if I'm not mistaken

Maybe she has another name, like a lot of russians...

Ok, I tried looking up Yelena Konstantinovskaya instead, and found this link, which seems way more legit:
http://www.musicacademyonline.com/com...

Hahaha, sorry everyone, I guess I just opened up a non-existant can of worms...

Alexander wrote: "Here's a question for all you Vollmanites: Is Elena Konstantinovskaya a real figure?"

I dunno. But while we wait for those who unlike me have read EC, I did find another review of EC ::

"Empathy for the Devil: More Tender But No Less Ambitious, William T. Vollmann Opens a New Chapter in His Already Prolific Career With Europe Central"
http://www2.citypaper.com/arts/story....

And I found more on Yelena:
http://voiceofrussia.com/radio_broadc...

Oh right. She's real. But turn to his endpiece, page 807, "An Imaginary Love Triangle: Shostakovich, Karmen, Konstantinovskaya".

"What about Elena Konstantinovskaya? She remains an enigma to me. But I certainly love her as much as I can love someone I never knew." --WTV

Another reason to be jealous of Germany.

"Literatur im Foyer: Kritiker-Quartet" is a thing on Television apparently. Here, July 2013, they discuss the newly translated Europe Central (@16.02).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0br-V...

New video with Bill talking about pictures.

Susan Meiselas & William T. Vollmann
from Hammer Museum

3/15/11 --- Susan Meiselas is a documentary photographer best known for her coverage of the insurrection in Nicaragua and her documentation of human rights issues in Latin America. Her awards include the Robert Capa Gold Medal, Leica Award for Excellence, and Maria Moors Cabot Prize. William T. Vollmann is the author of, among others, Imperial, Europe Central, winner of the 2005 National Book Award for Fiction; The Atlas, winner of the 1997 PEN Center West Award; and Rising Up and Rising Down, a finalist for National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction. (Run time: 1 hour, 8 min.)

http://vimeo.com/92310296

I know I'm only 200 pages into this, but unless something serious happens and Central goes completely off the rails, this is looking like "masterpiece" material. The voice/language here is so taut, refined, comfortable in its territory. It feels like an extension of what he accomplished with the Seven Dreams (that pan-historical, often satiric voice) just applied to different coordinates. It's so controlled...

A nice retrospective appreciation of this masterpiece:

http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/I...

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

Just finished EC. It was sweeping and epic, for sure. My one qualm with it would be that I didn't connect strongly with Shostakovich... Maybe I just need time to digest... My favourite chapter might have been Clean Hands

Alexander wrote: "Just finished EC. It was sweeping and epic, for sure. My one qualm with it would be that I didn't connect strongly with Shostakovich... Maybe I just need time to digest... My favourite chapter migh..."

Clean Hands, Opus 110, Vlasov's and Paulus's chapters, staggering writing in all of them. A real masterpiece, this book.

Geoff wrote: "Clean Hands, Opus 110, Vlasov's and Paulus's chapters, staggering writing in all of them. A real masterpiece, this book."
The writing IS impecible, but I felt like this book suffered from the achilles heal of post modern lit: fancy literary techniques at the price of connecting with the reader on a deep and profound level. I think Clean Hands, sections of Opus 110, the General's Chapters, Lenin's Assassin chapter, Kathe Kollowitz, the soviet poet (I forget her name) were relatively successful at doing this... I think if I wasn't comparing this book to other Vollmann books, like The Atlas or The Rifles, I wouldn't have noticed it as much as I do, because those two books in particular are possibly the most affecting and human books I know of... Vollmann has this way of making you forget you're reading and instead simply makes you CONNECT on this extremely deep and vulnerable and beautiful human level... I can't explain.

A recent book :: Leningrad: Siege and Symphony. Review'd by Peter Finn @ The Washington Post ::

"Book review: ‘Leningrad: Siege and Symphony,’ by Brian Moynahan"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinion...

'The Siege of Leningrad, the pitiless epic of the Nazis’ 900-day encirclement of the Soviet Union’s second city, is a story that has drawn many chroniclers — each with a special kind of bravery to attempt a fresh recounting. Brian Moynahan’s entry point is the performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony in the starving and brutalized city on Aug. 9, 1942, Day 335 of the siege and “perhaps the most magnificent, and certainly the most moving, moment ever to be found in music.” '

Vollmanniac=Shostakovichians take note!

I don't think I've seen this one before. Vollmann reads from EC in 2005 ::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y7TS...

Vollmann is not getting more than his due. It would appear that one might review a novel about Shostakovitch without mentioning Europe Central.

"From a historian’s point of view, the license allowed novelists is something to envy." --that sentence alone ought to be glossed by something from one of WTV's apologia.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n04/sheila-f...

I suppose one might if one had never read it or heard of this award-winning novel, which is the likely case. A Google search might have unearthed it.
But then, neither the LRB or the NYRB reviewed The Dying Grass, so perhaps WTV has become an unperson in high critical circles.