amazing work on this video. to hear someone articulate on the Seven Dreams is really a treat. if memory serves, Vol2 flowed so well compared to his other works, maybe it's the river rapid structure.
Thanks! I’m doing what I can to get the word out about this amazing œuvre. Good point about the river rapid structure. It is really amazing how he achieves that by blending Native myth (the underwater scalp) with Saint Ignatius’s framework.
I went blind, I lost my sense of touch, I was a bystander to the heat death of the universe, I was present at the birth of a second universe, I sat knee deep in cold water as life grew around me, I was eaten alive my nutrient-seeking plants, my consciousness was transferred to the body of a microscopic unnamed creature, I asexually reproduced into the most dominant species of atom eating organisms, I evolved and took shape into a new breed of man connected by hivemind, I conquered this world and the next, and all the while I still read this book. Pretty good read, solid 8/10
I just found this valuable series of videos on Vollmann. I've been reading his work since the mid-90s. I'd say that The Dying Grass is WTV's best novel, though Fathers and Crows and Europe Central are close behind it. Perhaps it's time for me to revisit F&C. Thanks for your work.
I can't wait to make a video for Dying Grass (and all the other Dreams)! F&C, I think, is still have favorite dream. But sometimes books hit me even better on the second read.
I can't wait for this. I'm going to at least start off the Seven Dreams chronologically. But out of respect for Vollmann, I'm waiting for it to get cold outside. It just seems like the right thing to do.
I think Vollman is an absolute genius writer in every aspect. Got turned on by 'Whores For Gloria' and 'The Rainbow Stories' and have been a constant reader of his since then, have not missed a word of his fiction.
Hear! Hear! I've got several WTV videos, including an early one on him in general. Just read Whores for Gloria last week. He can really do anything. And do it well. There's no one writing like him out there.
Currently reading Europe Central on Kindle. Doesn’t seem to be problematic. But with this one and his other work it seems books would be better. References, glossaries and maps etc. Living in Colombia it’s easier on kindle but not real difficult to get books shipped. Any thoughts? And thanks for turning me on to this guy!🙂
Thanks so much for your insightful and fascinating review of Fathers and Crows. Very timely too, as I am about 75% through F&C and enjoying this demanding, heartfelt and intellectual work. I look forward to your other (and future) video reviews! BTW, is that your home library behind you? I see some other of my favorites in there, viz The Man Without Qualities.
Thanks so much! That is my home library. Interesting that you picked out TMWQ as I’m participating in #Musil2020. Reading the whole book (all 1,700+ pages) in January and February!
Hey Chris, these past few months I’ve been chipping my way through the Seven Dreams(have finished F&C,Ice Shirt, The Rifles, didn’t finish The Dying Grass, currently reading Argall) and I would love to hear your thoughts on The Rifles, there’s a lot of really great writing in it and personally it might be my favorite of the five.
Leaf by Leaf only read one, Europe Central. Read at stoplights, bathroom work, walking wherever i could. Im going to get ice shirt and fathers and crows next time ive got some time to invest in them!
I've really been looking forward to your thoughts on this one! It's one of a small handful of "big ones" that are on the docket for this year, and it'll certainly be the next Vollmann that I read (well, maybe The Lucky Star will take precedence, but of his already published works it'll be next up). Great review, as always! And keep the long Vollmann vids coming!
I am so looking forward to Lucky Star! I was going to review it, but the editor gave me caution due to sensitive subject matter. Which only enhanced the appeal for me! Glad to hear Fathers and Crows is on deck for this year. Let me know. Thanks for the comments!
It's june 4-6 (I'd put a link but youtube might think it's spam; just google dfw2020conference). I'm sure Matt and others would be happy to meet someone who also read Novel Explosives (they had jim gauer on their podcast, the great concavity, if you want to look that up as well).
@@DHSayer As it happens, I interviewed The Great Concavity here: thecollidescope.com/2019/09/29/infinite-wallace-an-interview-with-the-co-founder-of-the-great-concavity/
You read this book in any place and situation. Maybe if it has been waterproof, you would have read it even in the shower. Just kidding. Awesome in-depth presentation of vollmann's masterpiece! You make me eager to read it again but unfortunately nowadays I have not a sufficient amount of time in which I can dive satisfactorily into fathers and crows. Amazing "fulmen in clausola" quotations!
Waterproof books-I love this idea! Hopefully you’ll get some extra leisure time soon to fit this one in. I know that you already have a packed plate of great literature (how’s Shakespeare going?). Thanks as always for your kinda words.
@@LeafbyLeaf , I m reading a tragedy /comedy/history play every week. For 38 weeks in total. Now I m just in the middle of this herculean labour. Thanks!
@@LeafbyLeaf You sure will man. I mostly follow channels about books, and with all honesty, yours is hands down the most interesting i've seen in years. Straight to the literature, no generic crap, great communicator, excellent taste in books. You seem very honest, very real. I will easily pick up any book you recommend purely based on what i've seen, I instantly liked you. And I found you like 30 minutes ago. Best wishes to you, I hope you get a big audience, the content is worth it.
Wow! Thanks for the generous words. I am definitely just a passionate reader who loves a certain strain of literature. As far as more mainstream/popular publications, there’s too much marketing of this already. I also don’t see the point in making videos or reviews to trash books, so I only review or make videos of books I think are worth reading. Lots of great content in the works!
I read a couple hundred pages in the library yesterday and enjoyed myself but I'm not quite convinced it's worth the time investment. I got CLASSICS to read...altho since I'm Canadian it feels necessary....maybe some day soon
Big Vollmann fan that I am, I will always encourage classics over his books. Since you’ve read the first couple hundred pages you’ve likely been infected. Wait until you feel the virus spread throughout and then you will be impelled to read the rest!
For a normal human being, such a work would probably take a lifetime or most of it, but Vollmann is no ordinary being. Probably is related to some ancient aliens.
OMG, man, you've read it _twice?_ And? And, I didn't know it was _sooooooo_ f'ing long . . . Great vid. I'd need to read this along w the audio ... I'm 😨 afraid! The education I'd get on the Jesuits in Quebec and the Natives, alone ... and I lile that first quote about "learning as much or more from fiction than non-fiction. I agree w that.
This is by far my favorite of Vollmann’s fiction. He is firing on all cylinders and shows that there isn’t anything he cannot do to perfection-imaginative writing, research, critical analysis, innovative forms, etc. There’s a lot of my own personal memories wrapped up in Québec, too, so I’m sure that heightens the experience for me. Still, it’s a great book. Nothing else like it.
Vollmann does have an amazingly complex and non-partisan view of things...at times, it's like Neil Young's classic CORTEZ THE KILLER song, only 900 pages instead of 9 minutes.
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amazing work on this video. to hear someone articulate on the Seven Dreams is really a treat. if memory serves, Vol2 flowed so well compared to his other works, maybe it's the river rapid structure.
Thanks! I’m doing what I can to get the word out about this amazing œuvre. Good point about the river rapid structure. It is really amazing how he achieves that by blending Native myth (the underwater scalp) with Saint Ignatius’s framework.
Picked up a beautiful copy of this recently, thanks for turning me onto this one.
My pleasure!
I also like the E.L. Doctorow quote that history tells us what happened, fiction how it felt.
Yes, that's it exactly.
I admire your enthusiasm and dedication
Thanks! 🙏
So glad I found your channel. Brilliant!
Me, too! Thanks!
Brilliant, thank you.
My pleasure!
I went blind, I lost my sense of touch, I was a bystander to the heat death of the universe, I was present at the birth of a second universe, I sat knee deep in cold water as life grew around me, I was eaten alive my nutrient-seeking plants, my consciousness was transferred to the body of a microscopic unnamed creature, I asexually reproduced into the most dominant species of atom eating organisms, I evolved and took shape into a new breed of man connected by hivemind, I conquered this world and the next, and all the while I still read this book. Pretty good read, solid 8/10
Hear! Hear!
I just found this valuable series of videos on Vollmann. I've been reading his work since the mid-90s. I'd say that The Dying Grass is WTV's best novel, though Fathers and Crows and Europe Central are close behind it. Perhaps it's time for me to revisit F&C. Thanks for your work.
I can't wait to make a video for Dying Grass (and all the other Dreams)! F&C, I think, is still have favorite dream. But sometimes books hit me even better on the second read.
I can't wait for this. I'm going to at least start off the Seven Dreams chronologically. But out of respect for Vollmann, I'm waiting for it to get cold outside. It just seems like the right thing to do.
Cold weather + Seven Dreams sounds divine!
I think Vollman is an absolute genius writer in every aspect. Got turned on by 'Whores For Gloria' and 'The Rainbow Stories' and have been a constant reader of his since then, have not missed a word of his fiction.
Hear! Hear! I've got several WTV videos, including an early one on him in general. Just read Whores for Gloria last week. He can really do anything. And do it well. There's no one writing like him out there.
@@LeafbyLeaf Agreed.
I’ve an upcoming review in Rain Taxi of the Conversations with WTV that recently came out.
Yeah, I think that, of the 10 Vollmann books I've read (or thereabouts), 'Father and Crows' and 'The Rainbow Stories' are his masterpieces.
Currently reading Europe Central on Kindle. Doesn’t seem to be problematic. But with this one and his other work it seems books would be better. References, glossaries and maps etc. Living in Colombia it’s easier on kindle but not real difficult to get books shipped. Any thoughts? And thanks for turning me on to this guy!🙂
Thanks so much for your insightful and fascinating review of Fathers and Crows. Very timely too, as I am about 75% through F&C and enjoying this demanding, heartfelt and intellectual work. I look forward to your other (and future) video reviews! BTW, is that your home library behind you? I see some other of my favorites in there, viz The Man Without Qualities.
Thanks so much! That is my home library. Interesting that you picked out TMWQ as I’m participating in #Musil2020. Reading the whole book (all 1,700+ pages) in January and February!
Hey Chris, these past few months I’ve been chipping my way through the Seven Dreams(have finished F&C,Ice Shirt, The Rifles, didn’t finish The Dying Grass, currently reading Argall) and I would love to hear your thoughts on The Rifles, there’s a lot of really great writing in it and personally it might be my favorite of the five.
Awesome! I'll be doing videos on each of the books, so this year will be _The Dying Grass_ and then _The Rifles_ . Stay tuned!
Great review! Vollmann is amazing!
Thanks! And I completely agree! Which are your favorites of his?
Leaf by Leaf only read one, Europe Central. Read at stoplights, bathroom work, walking wherever i could. Im going to get ice shirt and fathers and crows next time ive got some time to invest in them!
Luis corzo rosazza haha! Awesome!
Been waiting for this vid, one of the few big books I'll read this year :)
Thanks! Great to hear you’ll be reading it. Please come back and let me know what you thought!
I've really been looking forward to your thoughts on this one! It's one of a small handful of "big ones" that are on the docket for this year, and it'll certainly be the next Vollmann that I read (well, maybe The Lucky Star will take precedence, but of his already published works it'll be next up). Great review, as always! And keep the long Vollmann vids coming!
I am so looking forward to Lucky Star! I was going to review it, but the editor gave me caution due to sensitive subject matter. Which only enhanced the appeal for me! Glad to hear Fathers and Crows is on deck for this year. Let me know. Thanks for the comments!
Sup. Random question: are you going to dfw2020 in austin this year? Seems like something you'd be into....
Yes, it does seem like something is be into! Must find out more!
It's june 4-6 (I'd put a link but youtube might think it's spam; just google dfw2020conference). I'm sure Matt and others would be happy to meet someone who also read Novel Explosives (they had jim gauer on their podcast, the great concavity, if you want to look that up as well).
@@DHSayer Got it--looks great! Yes, Novel Explosives was excellent. Checking out that podcast now.
@@DHSayer As it happens, I interviewed The Great Concavity here: thecollidescope.com/2019/09/29/infinite-wallace-an-interview-with-the-co-founder-of-the-great-concavity/
G. S. Thanks for posting this, George! I’m really enjoying this podcast!
That quote from Karen S P.....classic.
L by L - wonderful vid.
My thanks.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
You read this book in any place and situation. Maybe if it has been waterproof, you would have read it even in the shower. Just kidding. Awesome in-depth presentation of vollmann's masterpiece! You make me eager to read it again but unfortunately nowadays I have not a sufficient amount of time in which I can dive satisfactorily into fathers and crows. Amazing "fulmen in clausola" quotations!
Waterproof books-I love this idea! Hopefully you’ll get some extra leisure time soon to fit this one in. I know that you already have a packed plate of great literature (how’s Shakespeare going?). Thanks as always for your kinda words.
@@LeafbyLeaf , I m reading a tragedy /comedy/history play every week. For 38 weeks in total. Now I m just in the middle of this herculean labour. Thanks!
Marina Maccagni sounds like a very fruitful labor!
What a fucking great channel! Wish I found you sooner. Subbed
Thanks so much! Hope to hear more from you.
@@LeafbyLeaf You sure will man. I mostly follow channels about books, and with all honesty, yours is hands down the most interesting i've seen in years. Straight to the literature, no generic crap, great communicator, excellent taste in books. You seem very honest, very real. I will easily pick up any book you recommend purely based on what i've seen, I instantly liked you. And I found you like 30 minutes ago. Best wishes to you, I hope you get a big audience, the content is worth it.
Wow! Thanks for the generous words. I am definitely just a passionate reader who loves a certain strain of literature. As far as more mainstream/popular publications, there’s too much marketing of this already. I also don’t see the point in making videos or reviews to trash books, so I only review or make videos of books I think are worth reading. Lots of great content in the works!
I read a couple hundred pages in the library yesterday and enjoyed myself but I'm not quite convinced it's worth the time investment. I got CLASSICS to read...altho since I'm Canadian it feels necessary....maybe some day soon
Big Vollmann fan that I am, I will always encourage classics over his books. Since you’ve read the first couple hundred pages you’ve likely been infected. Wait until you feel the virus spread throughout and then you will be impelled to read the rest!
@@LeafbyLeaf haha ....i can feeeeel it. good video btw
@@cola3173 Thanks so much!
Currently on The Ice shirt, thank you!
Enjoy!
For a normal human being, such a work would probably take a lifetime or most of it, but Vollmann is no ordinary being. Probably is related to some ancient aliens.
You know-I’ve been wondering if he isn’t some kind of demigod. Like Achilles. Or one of the Nephilim.
OMG, man, you've read it _twice?_ And? And, I didn't know it was _sooooooo_ f'ing long . . . Great vid. I'd need to read this along w the audio ... I'm 😨 afraid! The education I'd get on the Jesuits in Quebec and the Natives, alone ... and I lile that first quote about "learning as much or more from fiction than non-fiction. I agree w that.
This is by far my favorite of Vollmann’s fiction. He is firing on all cylinders and shows that there isn’t anything he cannot do to perfection-imaginative writing, research, critical analysis, innovative forms, etc. There’s a lot of my own personal memories wrapped up in Québec, too, so I’m sure that heightens the experience for me. Still, it’s a great book. Nothing else like it.
Vollmann does have an amazingly complex and non-partisan view of things...at times, it's like Neil Young's classic CORTEZ THE KILLER song, only 900 pages instead of 9 minutes.
Nice analogy!
Do I need to read the seven dreams in order?
Nope. In fact, he’s not even publishing them in order!
@@LeafbyLeaf Oh yes, just realized that Dream 4 is not even published and dream 5 and 6 are. I think I'll start with The Rifles
@@billypilgrim1 Indeed. As you wish. Enjoy! That's the one he almost died researching.
@@LeafbyLeaf That's what I love about Vollmann. He's a real "Method writer" (I guess gonzo writer would be a more correct term)
@@billypilgrim1 I like that!
the rainbow stories
Indeed! Future video.
Read "The Orenda"
Oh, this looks good--thank you!
Music is annoying.
My apologies. 🙏