Danielewski Cult,... Anyone familiar with this Author? (1 Viewer)

[zoom man]

I just received an Advance Reading Copy of Mark Z Danielewski's
Forthcoming (September 5) book->
Only Revolutions,
And man, it is like nothing I've read before....

Are any of you familiar with this author?,
This is his 2nd novel.

His first (6 years ago) was House of Leaves,
And I've never heard of it,
Even though the Washington Post heralded it as the
"...First major experimental novel of the new millennium...Dazzling."
Lots of ga-ga reviews like that.

This book I've got now, well, I should take pics....
It is so bizarre->
You need 2 bookmarks.

You need to read 8 'pages' of one character's view point,
Then flip the book over and read 8 of the next,
Then again.

There are exactly 180 words on each page,
And,...
Well, I just wanted to know if anyone has read this guy....
(Apparently he enjoys a huge cult on the web)
And if I should keep reading.

But it seems so,
What is the word?,
So-painstakingly-hard-to-be-different....

It's got a great story line though
(your 16 years old, forever)

I guess his first book was wacko like this too,
But different.
I'd think this one would be a publishers logistical nightmare!

 

[Rekrab]

I've got HOUSE OF LEAVES and have read the first 50 pages or so. Got sidetracked, but I plan to finish it. It is a highly strange book. Very artful horror. The only thing I can think of that compares is the literary horror of Thomas Ligotti. Both kind of follow in the footsteps of H. P. Lovecraft, using his model of realistic supernatural storytelling through carefully constructed back story with lots of accumulated documentation. Throw in some Borges and you get guys like Danielewski and Ligotti (who is freaking great, I feel) The critical hype over HOUSE is probably deserved, judging from what I've read so far. I didn't know his second book is out. I'll have to find a copy.

 

[zoom man]

 

[Rekrab]

HOUSE OF LEAVES has some bizarre formatting, as in the scan above from ONLY REVOLUTIONS, and whenever the word "house" appears, it's in blue ink. Gimmicks, yes, but HOUSE has this very ceepy, heavy mood that somehow justifies the gimmicks. I think that dark, dark mood, the pervasive horror he creates, is what's responsible for the cult following HOUSE has, not the formatting oddities.

 

[mjp]

If someone sent me a book printed half upside-down and in four different colors and said I should read 8 pages here and then 8 pages somewhere else, and it was full of shit like "allready," I think I would throw it off a cliff into the Pacific ocean and stand there and watch it sink, just to make sure it was dead.

But that's just me. What do I know.

 

[cirerita]

at least you didn't burn it :D

 

[mjp]

No, no. Leave it for the fishes. They like things like that.

 

[zoom man]

I'm not even sure the fish would like this one...
I'm on page 24 of both accounts
And not sure what I think.

This Advance Reading Copy is fetching crazy $ ($70 + !) on e-bay
So let's feed the fish something else.

 

[Rekrab]

Zoom man: That bad? Maybe I was full of crap when I said Danielewski is an exceptional writer. The adulation he received when HOUSE OF LEAVES came out seemed to be based on the intensity of readers' reactions; the book cast a spell over some people. It worked some kind of voodoo on them that couldn't quite be explained if you just looked at the text. One of those "the whole is more than the sum of the parts." And I sensed it had that going for it, at least for the first 50 pages or so that I read before getting sidetracked. Now I'm curious if my opinion will change when I finish the book. Maybe it was all hype, smoke and mirrors. I've been hoodwinked before. Let us know what you think of this second novel as you get deeper into it, assuming you don't give up on it.

David

 

[zoom man]

Will do,.... I'm not good at quitting a book.
I'll get through this, starting to get drawn in, actually.
It's very Leaves Of Grass like->
Lyrical and whimsy
But still kind of __________
What's the word?

This is either the next big thing
Or something accessible only to this guy's 'cult'.
David, keep reading House of Leaves, and let me know what you think

 

[hoochmonkey9]

I'm all for experimental literature, but flipping the book around every 8 pages? I don't need a physical workout, I get my workouts at the, uh....ummm...nevermind.

 

[zoom man]

Let us know what you think of this second novel as you get deeper into it, assuming you don't give up on it.

Well, I got to page 88, and
Well,
Now it's on e-Bay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8431709549&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

I wanted to see the House Of Leaves book,
So I found a signed one
(And that books looks infinetly more interesting, BTW)
And thought I'd offer them together,
Kind of jazz up the auction house ;) .
They should sell,
And if they do,
I will re-buy House of Leaves to read.... sounds really really freaky.
The other book, Only Revolutions,
Well,
I'll let somebody else work that sucker out.
I, too (hoochmonkey9), have better things to do with my hands :D

 

[hank solo]

Now thats a great signature in a book - no way to forge that one ;)

 

[zoom man]

Ok, sold to the highest (last minute-> 19 second(??!)) bidder...
I'm quite sure there is something I'm not getting,...
But I'm happy!