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Good read. I know the gist of most of these stories but this is peppered with interesting anecdotes I was unfamiliar with. Good prose too.

(Spoilers)
Interesting sense of space with Yvonne and Gregory's deaths. For Yvonne, the garden and all its biblical connotations are burning, but it is as if she's been lifted to the heavens at the end. Gregory, for all his visions of scaling the volcano, is tossed into a ravine. It's there that you really notice the meaning of the title. The ending may be given away early but the description is very unsettling.

Lowry's writing is so immersive - his Mexico is so distinctive and tangible, it feels like stepping into the country every time I open the book, and into the memories of Geoff/Hugh/Yvonne/Jacques. I find the Consul's perspective often very troubling - this is the sort of book that makes you never want to pick up a drink again.

This is more of a note to myself, but recently I've been hankering for a new 5 star read, and figured I'd devote some time to searching for one, instead of grabbing the first thing I see off my bookshelf. This is the first one I've selected that I think might have a shot, and I am quite liking it so far. We'll see how long it takes to find that coveted 5-er :)

Interesting ideas delivered through very insipid language

Really good

I love the fluidity in Erickson's narration, how the prose dances through each character's life like flowing water. The vignettes, per se, are so human and poignant. I could keep reading this forever.

"He had eyes of a blue that vanishes with infancy only to return a lifetime later with old age; in all the years between, the blue journeys to some unknown place, presumed dead and, upon homecoming, is received with some resentment as it lays out a treasure of sights the eyes can never understand."

Has not gripped me in the same manner as Days Between Stations and the few pages I've read of Arc D'x. And yet, a handsomely written and well-realized book. I adore Erickson's brand of surrealism.

Slow going, but the book is very good.

I love the method of narration, and it's a great testament to the novel's quality that the tidbits of random lives we get are so profound. Many artists play with the idea of community and storytelling but it's the thoughtfulness deployed here which makes it resonate so. I had to pause for a moment, strangely affected by the death of a character I'd known for three sentences.

Main character is discomfitingly similar to myself. Fascinating read so far.

Sensational. Has me hanging on each word. To think that I barely cared for horses 400 pages ago - some of Danielewski's descriptions have nearly moved me to tears. Also, the framing of the narrative is ingenious.

jesus

Few things usher more joy into my life than the respective acerbic wit and floundering patheticness of Herron's characters. Calling this a "delight" is putting it lightly.

Fucking hell man the Kristallnacht chapter is going to haunt me forever

Eighty-five pages is an excerpt too brief to judge the novel as a whole (let alone the quality of author) but god damn, that segment is on par with the best works of literature I've ever come across. Simply incredible command of the language (conveyed with innovative manipulation of the medium). My socks have been knocked clean off.

The formatting and structure is nothing short of impressive, enough to counteract the thus-far flimsy cast of characters. A rare and brilliant usage of the visual possibilities of the literary medium. I'm glad enough that this exists, and downright lucky to have acquired a copy.

A delight per usual. Perhaps even funnier than its predecessors - I love the abundance of triple-entendres and surprisingly apt cultural references. While I typically find such overt mentions obnoxious, Herron has me chuckling along with every Pokemon Go jest. I don't know how he does it.

Some swathes of this novel have washed over me with relatively lacklustre prose yet others chapters have been nothing short of excellent. I admire the breadth of knowledge communicated through such esoteric references. The translation utilizes some excellent vocabulary - "carbuncle", "insufflate", et cetera. Consider me gripped for now.