Mark Z. Danielewski - Only Revolutions Options

[mrmcpheezy]

So, I was at Borders the other day picking up a couple books that were my Christmas presents for my sister. I was waiting for my mom to meet me there (we were about to go to the mall to find some stuff for my dad) and while I was waiting for her, I was just doing some casual browsing. I decided to see if they had any copies of Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, which is probably my favorite novel ever. They did, and on its cover was a sticker that said "Only Revolutions: coming Sept. '06". I immediately went to the information desk and asked about it. Apparently Danielewski had written another book, and somehow, I hadn't heard about it. I found it. I was holding it in my hands, looking at it, shivering. The mere thought of him having written a new book was almost too much for me to handle.

I told my mom I wanted it and she bought it for me as an early birthday present (my birthdays' on January 7th, btw). I wanted to start it that very day, but I had too much else going on, and I knew that once I started it, I wouldn't be putting it down for a while.

So, I waited until I got back to my apartment after all of my family's Christmas celebrations, and started it that night. At this point, I'm about a third of the way through it.

I'm not going to give any spoilers, but I am going to explain a bit about how the book is set up. The book is about two teenagers, Sam and Hailey, who are eternally 16 years old. The book is actually two books. Both sides are a front cover. From one side, Sam tells their story. From the other, Hailey tells their story. Also, on each page, printed upside down, is a page from the other person's story. So, the first page of Sam's story has, printed upside down, the last page of Haileys story. Each side is both a beginning and and ending. What the publisher's recommend you do (which is what I'm doing) is read 8 pages from one story, and then 8 pages from the other, then 8 pages from the first, so on and so on. When you finally reach the end of both stories, you'll also be at each of their beginnings.

I love it. Conceptually, at least.

I was quite surprised by the style of the writing. It's not at all like House of Leaves. I can't think of the term for it, but most of it reads like it's in the style where you just write down whatever comes to mind, without thought for grammar or structure. It's a very difficult book to follow, but it is starting to come together. Honestly, if it weren't written by Danielewski, I probably wouldn't continue reading it. But he's such a masterful writer that I trust him to find a way to make this journey worthwhile, as unclear as his intent might be right now.

So, I highly, highly recommend this book. Again, I haven't finished it, so I can't really say for sure how well I'll like it when I finish it, but I'm fairly certain that upon completing it I'll immediately want to read it again.

If you have the time to sit down and try to figure this book out, do so. And share your thoughts with me.

[edstipe]

I was quite surprised by the style of the writing. It's not at all like House of Leaves. I can't think of the term for it, but most of it reads like it's in the style where you just write down whatever comes to mind, without thought for grammar or structure.

Stream of consciousness.

Sounds interesting. I have never read House of Leaves -- do you recommend I start with that one first?

At the moment I'm making my way through Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead; it's a massive book, but I'm almost done with it, and I haven't quite decided what I want to pick up next.

[Tabucky]

Stream of consciousness.

Sounds interesting. I have never read House of Leaves -- do you recommend I start with that one first?

At the moment I'm making my way through Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead; it's a massive book, but I'm almost done with it, and I haven't quite decided what I want to pick up next.

Yeah. that's another good book. Hope you like it.

Feez, in college, or later this year, I may read House of Leaves. I remember you recommending it to me two years ago. When you're done with Only Revelations, tell me if you think it is better to start off with than House of Leaves. It certainly sounds like an awesome, interesting novel and format, I just wish I could read all the books that I have wanted to but haven't gotten to. I'm glad you're enjoying it though.

[mrmcpheezy]

Yeah. that's another good book. Hope you like it.

Feez, in college, or later this year, I may read House of Leaves. I remember you recommending it to me two years ago. When you're done with Only Revelations, tell me if you think it is better to start off with than House of Leaves. It certainly sounds like an awesome, interesting novel and format, I just wish I could read all the books that I have wanted to but haven't gotten to. I'm glad you're enjoying it though.

As I said in my last post, I definitely recommend House of Leaves first. It's a lot more coherent.

I'm always surprised how few people are familiar with Danielewski's work. Both of his novels are absolutely brilliant.