Mark Z. Danielewski
It may be unclear whether Mark Z. Danielewski is out to change the face of American literature or just to give novelistic storytelling a swift kick in the balls… but with the status of National Book Award finalist for his latest venture Only Revolutions (now available in paperback) he may very well accomplish both. Danielewski's debut, House of Leaves, was an extraordinary experimental horror novel full of mirrored texts, encrypted messages, extended footnotes from the story's varying narrators which created a grab bag full of mind blowing tricks and showcased Danielewski's unique voice. With Only Revolutions, Danielewski flaunts his talents and pushes the experimental nature of his novels even further.
Where House of Leaves portrayed a variant perspective and approach to the populist horror novel (taking the notions of Nabokov's Pale Fire), Only Revolutions is more a blend of experimental Joyce and Pynchon. Penetrating to the heart of American values, beliefs, and morals that set the foundation of the country, Only Revolutions plots the undying love between Sam and Hailey, two teenagers who stay sixteen no matter the passage of time, showcased in a sidebar of dates running from 1863-2063. Surveying the country in an ever changing car and an ever changing society, Sam and Hailey fight for their love of each other, which helps them survive in the direst of circumstances.
Much has been said of Danielewski's experimental nature and the inability of some to comprehend his work. Even many House of Leaves fans, familiar with the rabid difficulties of that novel, approach Only Revolutions with what seem to be equal parts disdain and reproach. Danielewski asks the reader to flip the book upside down every eight pages to alternate between the narration of Haley and Sam. The sidebar of dates, events, and information are difficult to deal with because it is uncertain whether they are essential or merely a device to show the passage of time and the bitter destruction of society that occur alongside the never-ending tale of Sam and Hailey. Furthermore, the style and rhythm of the novel works as a slam poem, throwing in constant alliteration and references, which makes the plot, oftentimes, difficult to decipher.
From the onset of Hailey's story, "Samsara! Samara!/Grand!/I can walk away/ from anything./Everyone loves/ the Dream but I kill it./ Atlas Mountain Cedars gush/ over me: --- Up Boogaloo!" Danielewski has no qualms with making his readers think and challenging their conceptions of the idea of "the novel." The circular nature of the novel and the variations on some of the same stories, told separately by both Sam and Hailey, make the novel continually daunting and may keep many away from this powerful piece of literature.
Despite these admitted difficulties, with some amount of focus, it is easier to read than many have given it credit for. Taking a cue from the meandering nature of Pynchon, Danielewski wanders with brilliant wordplay that packs one hell of a punch when keys of the plot are made clear. Sam and Hailey spend plenty of time having sex and admiring each other, which despite the repetition, is never offputing. Danielewski also spends plenty of time making references to specific events and moments in history that would take years to research fully, but remember that it is not all critically essential to the story at hand. The playful tales told by Sam and Hailey with the many characters who come through, such as the recurring Creep, are manageable and move the novel along at a brisk pace. There is plenty to be cherished in the playful sections of the novel. Even in the more confusing and difficult sections, the reader has gained so much love and admiration for the narrators that no matter the difficult circumstances, we as the readers, just as Sam and Hailey, want to continue along the journey.
As the journey continues and Danielewski's themes and motives become more realized, Only Revolutions makes a shift from a creative and fascinating novel into a work of art that will not soon be forgotten. From the brilliant moments of collision in the middle of the novel, where on page 180 Sam and Hailey finally share the same amount of space on a page, to the powerful realizations that come with the conclusion, Danielewski's "road novel" turns into a meditation on the tribulations of America and revolutionary Americans throughout all of time. While the cycle of our history may consist of death, destruction, and an unwillingness to work with those around us, it is through our neighbor-ship and an undying love of what we stand for that we finally understand the inability walk away from who we are and those we love. We all must persist through the revolutions of time and do our best to never betray each other.
by James Hansen
Wikipedia
Danielewski introduces Only Revolutions at a public reading on Youtube:
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