Stewart Mitchell > Recent Status Updates

I usually struggle to connect with this particular period in history but Vollmann has managed to make it feel so real and graspable. And his clarity, his storytelling ability makes it so easy to keep track of dozens of characters. Astonishing stuff at this point - I can’t imagine the last few hundred pages being any less great.

The short paragraph that ends Part V and transitions into VI, which part I suspect is the beginning of the narrative this entire book has been building towards, is one of my favorite moments in any novel I can remember.

Vollmann is weaving in so many digressions, rocking the timeline back and forth whenever he feels like it, and yet everything is moving with such a strong sense of purpose that none of these detours feels unnecessary. At this point this is simply some of the best “historical fiction” I’ve ever read - bring on the next 500 pages.

Words once again failing me when trying to explain what makes Vollmann’s style so compelling here. Hopefully I’ll be able to write a coherent review when all is said and done. I’ve compared the experience of reading certain authors to eating candy; this book, on the other hand, is steak dinner with coffee.

Absolutely loving this so far.

Might as well start this one while praying that A Table for Fortune doesn’t get delayed again. I’m already finding it far more interesting than The Ice-Shirt, which was the weakest Vollmann I’ve read so far and put me off of the Seven Dreams series for a while.

Sorrentino continues to test my patience. This is great, there are plenty of pages that remind me why I adore this author, but I start to wonder if he’s proven his point after a few hundred pages. Almost done with book 2; I’m curious to see if the final part of the trilogy makes the ordeal worthwhile.

I’ve read so much about De Palma’s 70s work that it’s very refreshing to hear him talking about stuff like Snake Eyes and Raising Cane instead.

As expected, this is a pure treat to read.