William T Vollmann Central discussion
His Books -- Fiction
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The Lucky Star [2020]
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According to Bill about a woman who is cursed to love everyone who loves her without reservation, however all those who love her are not immune from the jealousy of one another. Approximate verbatim description from Bill “as if Jesus were a woman who was fucking all of her disciples and the way that each disciple would deal with that kind of intimacy within such a close knit group that was centered around the object of their desire”
Griffin wrote: "According to Bill about a woman who is cursed to love everyone who loves her without reservation, however all those who love her are not immune from the jealousy of one another. Approximate verbati..."Thanks for that! I hope that explosion(premise) is limited to the page=count of a Gloria! oh man....
^^^ I heard this description as well (Griffin and I were on either side of him) and can second that it is basically verbatim.
From Amazon, finally a release date, March 3, 2020, and a new title, The Lucky Star. (Thank God.) Supposedly 544 pages, though a page count this early is unlikely to be accurate.https://smile.amazon.com/Lucky-Star-W...
Tom wrote: "From Amazon, finally a release date, March 3, 2020, and a new title, The Lucky Star. (Thank God.) Supposedly 544 pages, though a page count this early is unlikely to be accurate."I can breath again!!!!
[order'd]
FYI, Amazon now shows a cover picture for the novel and lists the pages as 672.
I have to say, I'm not currently psyched for Bill to return to this theme. Although I liked Gloria and Butterfly Stories... I wasn't thrilled with The Royal Family (although I realize some people love that book)I guess I'll wait and see. I think I'll finish his oeuvre first before tackling this one.
Does anyone know if this is a retitled version his book "The Lesbian" he was working on? I heard in an interview (a Bookin' podcast from March - which was great btw) that he was finishing up a new book about the Tenderloin entitled "The Lesbian", but Viking was having some issues with the title. So maybe this is that book and it ended up with a new title after all?
From the book's description, this is the same book originally called The Lesbian. Viking got its way, thank God. That was a terrible title.
nearly 1/3 of the way through this...I'm digging it, it certainly is a return to the world of The Royal Family, but the language is on the whole more mystical and dreamy, even stream of consciousness at times. Also, I think it should be called The Lesbian...because it is about a specific lesbian and lesbianism in general.
Possibly, but I can see why the publisher wanted a different title. (I just got your Conversations ... book from Amazon. Looking forward to reading it -- I've seen some of these interviews before, but quite a few are new to me.)
Tom wrote: "Possibly, but I can see why the publisher wanted a different title. (I just got your Conversations ... book from Amazon. Looking forward to reading it -- I've seen some of these interviews before, ..."Thanks!
In the afterword to The Lucky Star he discusses the situation of the title change a bit, giving more details, but I'd like to hear Viking's side of the story because I think they torpedoed a good opportunity for some productive controversy.
ATJG wrote: "New review out in SF Chronicle: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/book..."Thanks for this!
Tom wrote: "NY Times, with a negative review, not surprising.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/bo..."
The time when the Times could lay even the faintest claim to being a legitimate arbiter of literary taste is so far extinct that even the laughter elicited by their piteous state is now a ghost, echoing in the windswept wilds where newspapers and literature once lived before being confined forever to zoos.
That said, even this negative review made me salivate. Everything the Times reviewer singled out as being bad gave me shivers of anticipation, not unlike those experienced, no doubt, in the embrace of
NEVA.
Not reading reviews. Actually scrolled quickly down to post about my excitement, but mine eyes caught the gist. Book just arrived. Fuck if I'm an idiot, but I just like forming my own opinions. I make my bed, do my own lifting...That said, I also refuse skeleton keys. So...maybe I'm an ass? Figure Joyce would've supplied one for FW is he wanted that, or written it in such a way as to negate the small cottage industry of OPINION that forms these things. Case in point: the long-accepted Gravity's Rainbow skeleton--the one I ever did read, though just as a standalone--is fucking RIDDLED with errors. But we've all read Rainbow (and Rainbow Stories), and would likely have similar consensus. Those differences? That's our individuality. And I cherish all of yours, my sisters and brothers.
BUT:
To each their own; whatever anyone prefers is no business of mine. That said, I live in LA. The LA Times is that thing my cats piss on. It's an improvement. This has naught to do with our hero, WTV. It's just a shitty rag.
Before I return my soapbox and crawl back in my shit-festooned cave: criticism-in-adavnce seems counterintuitive to approaching Art on its own terms. Also: the fact that some spavined inkpot can dash a book BEFORE it has a chance at readership always irks me. So same with records. Talkies? Fuck em. That's what we have Goodreads for!
Getting to crack some new Bill today. A fucking salve during a tough period. What more could you need? Color me rainbows of thankful.
Happy reading to all of us
xx
Cody
Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Got mine!"Me too!!! Virtual hi-five, FAE?
(SLAP)
Me, too! I’m displaying it prominently on my desk, a token to the great future that awaits me.
Waiting on my copy. It takes longer to get in canada.
My audible preorder has arrived while I wait for the physical to arrive this afternoon. One for the ears, one for the eyes.
What do people here think so far? I’m on page 443 and say it’s OK. It’s not going to be one of my favorites, unless something changes or surprises.
I have the great privilege and joy of interviewing Bill when he's in Portland this weekend. This will be our 4th interview for KBOO Radio's Between the Covers show (archived on the kboo.fm site and as the "KBOO Between the Covers" podcast on iTunes and Google Play). We're focusing on The Lucky Star, of course. If you have any questions for him, please send them my way. I'll try to put the book in context of the transgender trilogy with The Book of Dolores and the as-yet-unpublished How You Are. And I have a copy of Daniel Lukes' Conversations, and will be referencing some of the information in those interviews. Great collection, by the way!
I'm about 400 pages in, and OK is pretty much what I think. It could have been improved by trimming. There's a stronger work buried inside a mountain of verbiage. Some of the prose is deeply purple as well. Editing is not a bad thing. I like The Royal Family as a portrait of similar themes. But maybe he'll stick the landing. I'm more a fan of the Seven Dreams books, Europe Central, and his non-fiction.
Vollmann stuck the landing. That doesn't wash away the book's problems, but the last section -- 60 pages or so -- is very powerful. The conclusion is tragic, inevitable and fitting.
Tom wrote: "Vollmann stuck the landing. That doesn't wash away the book's problems, but the last section -- 60 pages or so -- is very powerful. The conclusion is tragic, inevitable and fitting."There are incredibly strong sections. Many. There are many that are not. I think I'm just getting old in that I dig Bill's non-fic work more and more each year.
I generally enjoyed it, but think a someday reread would benefit me. The intentional overload of stimuli was somewhat opposite the goings-on in my life, which is a shit paradigm to give any book a fighting chance in. Considering that, it may very well be better than I thought. Tell you this: it's stuck with me.
Regardless, I am glad to have not read the word 'pubis' in my last few books. Unless Sophocles or Goethe somehow work those in, I think I'm pubis-free for a while.
Best to you, Tom
Cody
Just watched Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It” and there were some fun structural similarities. The movie is focused on Nola Darling, an enchanting woman seeing three men, each obsessed with her.
Tentative title. Work in Progress. As of interviews for No Immediate Danger, 2018.Title updated. Publication scheduled for March 2020.