Brain Pain discussion

Part IV, Freydis Eiriksdottir, page 129 – 340

This is by far the longest part of the novel,and also it's most novelistic... although "novelistic" might not be the best term to apply, as it veers between reading like a novel (giving us psychology, character motivations and being mostly realistic) and reading like a saga (no insights into any kind of interiority of the characters at all, quite a few supernatural events). So maybe saying that Part IV is the most straightforward narrative would be more correct. It's of course comparatively speaking as there is just no way to ignore this novel's essential weirdness, pretty much every single sentence is steeped in it.

Lots of juxtapositions and parallels here - Freydis ascends to Asgard (Heaven?) and descends into Hel (Hell?) and (in what I think is one of my favourite parts of The Ice-Shirt) meets the same person in both places. Then there is Blue-Shirt and the Not-Really-A-God of the Skraelings who are also Younger Brother and Older Brother and who are set in parallel to Freydis and Gudrid.

Then there are those two themselves, who are obviously antagonists but who also share quite a few traits (I had to remind myself constantly that they are not actually sisters). While there are some statements as to Freydis' being evil in the novel and while we can probably all agree that she is not a very nice person, I agree with what Stephen said in last week's thread that matters are not quite black and white here. Not only are there (as Stepehn already pointed out) reasons for Freydis being the way she is, but it is made quite clear on several occasions that Gudrid is very manipulative and that the only real difference between her and Freydis is that thanks to her good looks she can get people to do what she wants without having to resort to Freydis' somewhat cruder means.

James mentioned culture clash as the overarching theme of this novel, but my impression was more that the actual confrontation between Norse and Inuit was an almost minor strand in the novel's global texture. All the most important conflicts seems to take place inside the two cultures - between Elder Brother and Younger Brother on the Inuit side (although Freydis gets used as a tool in that conflict) and between Gudrid and Freydis on the Norse side (and on a side note, it's interesting how the driving force on the Norse side of things are females). I am certain that the culture clash theme will get very important in later volumes of Seven Dreams but here it seems mostly being set up.

And of course I can't post here without giving some praise to Vollmann's writing which continues to awe and amaze me - Freydis' ascent of Blue-Shirt has some of the most intense prose descriptions of nature this side of Thomas Pynchon, and this is all the more impression as it is a very bleak landscape he is describing which consists of nothing but ice and more ice, with maybe a few rocks thrown in between.

Larou- I agree with the comment that the Gudrid/Freydis dichotomy is not just a good vs. evil one. It seems like Vollmann does leave room for a paganism vs. christianity comparison though. I would have liked to see more from the Inuit/ Micmac point of view, but I think the focus on the sagas doesn't really allow for that.

There were some things that kind of hung there for me, in particular, the mixing of the Younger Brother/ Older Brother myth and the epic battle between Amortortak and Kluskap. I might read that section again. I thought that scene was the culmination of the culture clash, although Amortortak loses, Ice still comes to Vinland, and the Norse eventually leave Vinland. The Axe-tales felt rushed to me. I felt like Vollmann could have taken more time expanding on that part.

I also loved the descriptive writing about nature, which I found a little surprising since my first contact with Vollmann was Europe Central. The continued use of myth/fantasy/supernatural events throughout the novel surprised me. I really didn't think it was going to be that sort of book coming into it.

This book is so original and different from anything I've read before that it has taken me some time to get used to it. I really think it merits a second read down the road. I read in an interview where Vollmann said that Fathers and Crows is better, so I'm pretty psyched about reading that one next.

I agree that the Freydis-Gudrid juxtaposition is laden with all kinds of significance and it would probably take an extended close reading to even begin to unravel them all. I guess that paganism vs. Christianity is just not a subject very close to my heart (being quite a-religious) and thus I was not paying much attention to that particular reading, but it is definitely there.

I still don't see much of a culture clash in The Ice-Shirt, though - to me, it's not so much cultures clashing as cultures glancing off each other. And when the ice finally comes to Vinland, it is as a result of Freydis killing the women, i.e. something entirely internal to the Norse that does not directly affect the natives at all.

The Ice-Shirt is the first work by William Vollmann that I have read, so I don't have anything else by him to compare it to, and it certainly is incomparable to anything else I've read, a class of its own. I very much share your sentiment about wanting to read the next volume in the series, or everyhing else by Vollmann, for that matter. 2013 is shaping up to be a very good reading year...

Larou wrote: "The Ice-Shirt is the first work by William Vollmann that I have read, so I don't have anything else by him to compare it to, and it certainly is incomparable to anything else I've read, a class of its own. I very much share your sentiment about wanting to read the next volume in the series, or everything else by Vollmann, for that matter. 2013 is shaping up to be a very good reading year..."

I second that sentiment!

I don't think of the work so far as being cultures clashing so much as cultures making first contact. I imagine that later in Fathers and Crows, where the contact is close and extended, that we will find much more clashing between Christians and Heathens. Is it June yet? (F&C discussion commences 6/17)

I could see that Jim. There hasn't been a lot of culture sharing in the first novel so calling it a "clash" is maybe going overboard. I like Larou's "glancing off each other" line. It's in the mix though, or else we wouldn't have had part two and three of the book and Vollmann would have stayed strictly with the Norse point of view.

Anyone willing to break down the the mixing of the Younger Brother/ Older Brother myth and the epic battle between Amortortak and Kluskap. I would have thought the planting of the Ice seed in Vinland would have hinged on that, but then Vollmann ties it to the massacre of the two brothers camp. I thought that was a little bit of an odd choice.

Very much looking forward to Fathers and Crows.

I want to apologize to everyone. The book for me has become flat and no longer enjoyable, despite what I consider an amazing discussion. Vollmann is a great writer. I believe he meant this to be a history and the fictional aspect to fill in gaps. My own obsession with fictional literature which focuses on the interiority of character's and their development finally won out. Again, please accept my apologies for dropping out.

Stephen wrote: "I want to apologize to everyone. The book for me has become flat and no longer enjoyable, despite what I consider an amazing discussion. Vollmann is a great writer. I believe he meant this to be ..."

No need to apologize. We all like what we like. Join in whichever book discussions you like!

Jim wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I want to apologize to everyone. The book for me has become flat and no longer enjoyable, despite what I consider an amazing discussion. Vollmann is a great writer. I believe he m..."

Thanks Jim.

Stephen wrote: "Thanks Jim..."

De nada!

Next week we'll be discussing our conclusions and the book as a whole. Please consider joining that discussion, as I'd like to explore opinions about Vollmann's formal choices and how they affect reader experience. If you're willing, please share the specific elements of the book that made it an unsatisfying read for you.