William Vollmann Thread

File: Maximilian Res-Default.jpg (60KB, 1280x720px) Image search: [Google]

60KB, 1280x720px

just look at that face

what more is there to say

He's great. The way he approaches history is similar to Sebald but isn't quite as refined. Plus, Vollmann's histories are generally more "true" or, if they are not, the text is self conscious of the fact (or lack thereof).
His novels are generally long and pretty difficult. He researches the fuck out of them both through reading and living. I like his prose a lot. When he hits a stride, it's quite beautiful. However, Vollmann has a tendency to be wildly self-indulgent (like many American authors) and sometimes his prose is just too decadent. This happens mostly in his earlier work - his later work is much more refined. He used to try and pack as much information into a single sentence through sheer volume of wordage, but in a semi-recent Bookworm podcast he said he'd like to cram as much info into a sentence but rather through discriminatory word choice. This is quite daunting when one considers the length of The Dying Grass...
I would suggest starting with Rainbow Stories or Europe Central (the first being urban Vollmann, the second being historical Vollmann). I started with Thirteen Stories and Thirteen Epitaphs and, while I love it, it has plenty of rough stories which could be a turn off. The Ghost of Magnetism is a fantastic short story, though. One of my favorites (the major theme of the story is exile, so I can really relate to the story because of my own history, which is probably why I like it so much). I then read The Ice-Shirt which is good but a bit tiring to read. Vollmann said he wishes he could rewrite that book entirely. I think he's being hard on himself, but it was by no means great.

I can't speak for his nonfiction though I've read that Imperial is excellent (I got my father a copy which he's yet to crack open) as is his novel on Japanese Noh theater. I may check out the book on the Noh - I'm currently readin Seiobo There Below by László Krasznahorkai which heavily involves the Noh.

>>8903917
love me some vollmann. rainbow stories represent!

>>8904103
you cannot sustain a single thought.

>>8904764
You want me to back up my statements with evidence or something? Fuck off

>>8903917
He's terrible but most people here don't agree.

I bought Europe Central with some Amazon cards. Was this a mistake?

>>8904895
I read around 250 pages before the fall semester started and loved it but was under too much of a workload to give it the time it deserves. It's relatively difficult but not a Pynchon novel by any means.

>>8903917
He's terrible but most people here don't agree.

i'm most interested in the ice shirt
is it as cool as it sounds?

>>8904961
Read >>8904103

reminder that he cross dressed, smoked crack and sucked dick so he could write about hookers in his shitty short stories for his stupid fanbase of idiot hipsters who need novelty but can't say a damn thing about the quality and themes of vollman's work

vollman is third-rate

>>8903917
I refuse to read authors who are physically ugly

>>8904764
>>8905197
Guess why your posts lack credibility

>>8905206

Because they upset you?

>>8903917
>>8903917
>Ok /lit/ what the fuck is the deal with this guy?

He has no eyebrows.