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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Books The New William Vollmann Book Goes On Sale Today!

Posted by on Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 8:22 AM

181d/1248898988-41wusrco33l._sl500_aa240_.jpgImperial, the newest novel by William T. Vollmann, goes on sale today. It is a novel about the history of Imperial County in California. Like many big books, it is about many different things, but the publisher is promoting it as being especially about immigration. It is 1344 pages long, costs $55, and weighs almost four pounds. You can find a copy of Imperial at the independent bookstore nearest you. Now you know what you're going to do with your weekend.

(If you're not in the mood for this kind of epic but you'd like to give Vollmann a try, I recommend Rainbow Stories and/or Poor People. If you're looking for something long by Vollmann that costs less than fifty dollars, I recommend Europe Central and The Rifles.)

 

Comments (7) RSS

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Matt from Denver 1
I've never been able to get into Vollmann, but I haven't tried the books you recommend either. Maybe it's time to give him another chance.
Posted by Matt from Denver on July 30, 2009 at 8:33 AM
2
Don't try to carry it home in this heat. Use a hand truck. Even Vollman warns that you'll likely break a toe if you drop it on your foot.
Posted by Toe Tag on July 30, 2009 at 9:11 AM
Gurldoggie 3
Weren't we just talking about more-and-less prolific authors? Man, I really don't know how Vollmann does it, but he sure churns out some material. Not everything he writes is great of course, but a surprising amount of his stuff is really beautiful and fascinating. I'm curious to take a look at this one. I noticed that it comes with a companion volume of photographs, also taken by Vollmann.

Matt, "Rainbow Stories" is definitely a good place to start, and "Whores for Gloria" is a relatively short novel that introduces a whole bunch of major Vollmann themes. He's worth a second look.
Posted by Gurldoggie http://gurldogg.blogspot.com on July 30, 2009 at 9:19 AM
levide 4
He still hasn't topped "You Bright and Risen Angels".
Posted by levide on July 30, 2009 at 9:35 AM
Matt from Denver 5
@ 3, "Whores For Gloria" was where I started. I still have my copy so I'll give it another whirl. (It's been 15 years or so...)
Posted by Matt from Denver on July 30, 2009 at 9:38 AM
6
On Kindle it only weighs 10oz and is $44.

Just sayin', Mr. Constant.
Posted by Karla http://underthewagon.com on July 30, 2009 at 10:38 AM
7
This is the funniest review ever. I want to read the book:

http://nymag.com/arts/books/reviews/5806…

Posted by MEC on July 30, 2009 at 3:55 PM

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