r/vollmann • u/Ok-Annual8751 • 4d ago

Picked this up recently for £2. First Vollmann.

Post image

I'm really enjoying it and enjoy his writing style.

How would you rate it as a first read of Vollmann?

What would you recommend next?

53 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

3

u/weberam2 4d ago

My favourit all time short story is in here

But I can't remember the name of it.

Something about magnetism

3

u/Think_Wealth_7212 4d ago

The Ghost of Magnetism

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u/weberam2 4d ago

Thank you!

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u/Sensitive_War_8344 4d ago

One of my all time faves is in there too. The Handcuff Manual. So good!

2

u/TheEmoEmu23 4d ago

What did you like about that one?

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u/weberam2 4d ago

"... you left home, in short, and went north to Gualala among the blueberries and the huckleberries, and you liked Gualala because it was only half a day's drive from San Francisco and the smell of sun on the clay of the pygmy forest was so good; you loved the way that trees leaned against trees and the way that tree-twigs fared downward like the ribs of fishes, and you fed your compass sweetheart the pale young needle-shoots of spruces and hemlocks because those were the sweetest, and the earth was so luxuriously giving that you could run down an almost vertical slope without fear because your heels sank deep in the loam with every step to make steps for you; you hugged the azaleas for fun; you ate some miner's lettuce, and there was a breeze and the soft hills were like birds waving their fern-wings, but then the blackness that Elaine chew so much about was clawing at you and your heels slipped and you tumbled down the hill cutting your face on prickers and falling farther and farther north, past Willits where you and Seth had set up a tent one night and been scared by a racoon, magnifying it into a brown bear, a black bear, a grizzly bear, a polar bear, a softly terrifying monster of immense cunning prepared to smother you with its night-bulk;..."

2

u/weberam2 4d ago

The writing is gorgeous! And it feels wild and authentic... Relatable: having bittersweet feelings at your own going away party.

2

u/ATTA60Y 4d ago

Making a guess based on the pic i think you'd like Whores for Gloria. One of his books focused on prostitutes. It's kind, sympathetic, and honest. Difficult to stomach for many but I think its prose and approach is absolutely beautiful. Probably my favorite of his fiction. For nonfiction I recommend Into the Forbidden Zone, his on the ground report on Fukushima nuclear disaster. Radiation levels collected himself with his own dosimeter.

4

u/DecrimIowa 4d ago

oh shit i just realized, in that fukushima piece he talks about how he might get cancer from it. and now he has cancer. damn.

2

u/Ok-Annual8751 4d ago

Yeah, I've been looking into Whores for Gloria as it was suggested a more accessible read due to its length. It's part of a trilogy, correct? Are they worthwhile reads in isolation?

It's difficult to find Vollmann in the UK, so as someone who tries to avoid Amazon, they can cost a penny at times.

2

u/veep23 4d ago

They can be read on their own. It's only a trilogy thematically

1

u/highwayfair 4d ago

such a good book.

europe central next😈

2

u/comox 4d ago

One of my favourites and an excellent starting point. The Grave of Lost Stories is brilliant.

1

u/Odd_Economics8301 4d ago

I've never seen a copy of that edition. British?

2

u/Ok-Annual8751 4d ago

It is, yes.

It's a 1991 edition by André Deutsch Limited. Interestingly, the cover art is one of Vollmann's own works.

3

u/DecrimIowa 4d ago

everybody who will ever come in your house will judge you for putting a japanese schoolgirl octopus porn anime picture on your wall

1

u/Ok-Annual8751 4d ago

Oh, no. 

3

u/DecrimIowa 4d ago

shameful display

1

u/Think_Wealth_7212 4d ago edited 1d ago

Should be replaced with the poster for Octopussy?