Forrest’s Reviews > The Mill: A Cosmos > Status Update
Forrest
is on page 38 of 88
Here the narrative gets wobbly, teetering on the edge of coherence, threatening to fall into Dada at any moment. It's sometimes difficult to discern between playful intellectual brilliance and an utter collapse of reason. It's almost as if Kalischer weaves in and out of each, with no warning about what direction she is turning; blind curves ahead.
— Dec 17, 2025 08:25PM
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Forrest’s Previous Updates
Forrest
is on page 45 of 88
"On Sirius" is, by far the best section of the book. It's a gentle, smoothly flowing prose poem, not entirely lacking disjuncture, but not as chaotic as some earlier sections of the book. It is a piece that is of a piece, well-put-together, but not stodgy. I can (and have) wrap(ped) myself up in it. It is comfortable, but not so cosy as to be uninteresting. I wish the whole book was like this section.
— Dec 18, 2025 07:13PM
Forrest
is on page 32 of 88
"The Island of Destiny, or Encounter with the Caliph" is the first truly coherent narrative of this work. I hope there are more like it.
— Dec 16, 2025 09:33PM
Forrest
is on page 18 of 88
Hmm. What seemed to start out as a staccato poesis has descended into pure Dada. I understand that makes the work "of its time," but that doesn't excuse near-incoherence. The introduction was so promising . . . Now . . . ???
— Dec 15, 2025 07:17PM
Forrest
is on page 3 of 88
As with every other Wakefield Press book I've read, the translator's introduction, this time by W.C. Bamberg, is worth the ticket price alone. It's an extremely evocative piece about this essentially unknown author: well-researched (with a hint of the historiography involved, even), captivating, sympathetic, and enlightening. This is the fine scholarship I've come to (unfairly?) expect from Wakefield.
— Dec 13, 2025 08:09PM
