Bonnie G.’s Reviews > Europe Central > Status Update

"Why, she was as blonde as the smoke which now rises up from all the synagogues!"

Whatever else this book is, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. Vollmann inhabits these people, which one hopes he found a deeply disturbing experience.

(Relatedly, I keep wondering whether there was a decision to portray nearly all of the men as having the inner life of an incel, or whether the incel is Vollmann.)

I was thinking Vollmann's thesis was that history is a lie, but I have come to understand that Vollmann believes truth is a lie, and his argument is compelling. Also, I was thinking that "pussy-whipped." is misused to denote the misogynistic view that women control men with the power of the pussy. Vollmann gets it right. Hetero men disempower themselves and women they desire by imbuing the vulva with mythic powers.

It is not just that this is over 800 pages (2.45 lbs per my kitchen scale -- I was curious) it is that I have already had to do research on cabala and Lenin's sex life, and I am only 36 pages in. That said, I am already a little in love with this book. I consider this the counterweight to The Wayfinder. This is a different way to approach history through fiction, and so far I am a fan. Big fan. Huge.