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In his
first novel, House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski told
a truly creepy story while undertaking experiments with form.
For example, one chapter featured text that spiraled around
the page, twisted, turned, and required readers to turn the
book upside down. However, in Only Revolutions, the
book is always upside down, depending on how one looks at
it. It even comes with reading instructions from the publisher.
The conceit
is this: The story is simultaneously told from two different
perspectives. Sam and Hailey are two kids who are perpetually
sixteen and take a road trip through history. Sam's story
starts at one end of the book, and then, when the book is
flipped and reversed, Hailey's story begins at the other end.
Page one of Hailey's story has page 360 of Sam's story inverted
on the page; their stories cross mid-book. The publisher's
recommendation is to read eight pages at a time from each
person.
The design
of the book is truly gorgeous. Removing the dust jacket reveals
some beautiful cover photography. The dual stories have built-in,
color-coded silk bookmarks. The text is multi-colored and
vibrant. Each character is allotted 90 words per page, and
a run-down of historical events that coincide with the story
takes up a sidebar that runs throughout the book. It's obvious
that a large amount of time was spent on the typesetting and
design of the book itself.
But,
beyond the prettiness of the volume, the story itself disappoints.
Sam and Hailey get in some trouble and have some interesting
sex, but the storytelling is clumsy-second only in awkwardness
to the constant flipping of the book. The structural limitations
Danielewski set for himself are too much for the plot to overcome.
Though
both are told in the same authorial voice, one of the fun
things about hearing the story from two different viewpoints
is the wealth of contradictions. The two teens are both proud
and always attribute weakness to the other party. One moment,
Sam is telling about how Hailey got sick and he nursed her
back to health, and when the book is flipped, Sam was ill
and Hailey had to save the day. Each character is the hero
of his or her own tale.
The style
is pure poetry, reminiscent of e.e. cummings: full of new
grammatical constructions and playful bop language. It is
both challenging and confusing. An example:
Halting
soon amidst bunches of
FUZZY DUCKS and YOOTS, I'm even these, lost,
stuck, an all Ts circle of Bennies and Left Wing
Luckies, circling ever back, to their gymband
pizzazz of bass, snare & brass, doling to
The Ongoing Hangover no hassles. Hailey
just
getting the rap on going double. She's trouble.
Evasive, even if everyone Dubuques
There
are truly fun, whimsical moments; the sex scenes evoke cummings
at his most playful. This style is entertaining in small doses,
but over the course of the entire novel, its tendency to obscure
and confuse far outweighs the good parts.
The things
Danielewski did well in House of Leaves are the things
he gets wrong here. If one were to remove the flash and dazzle
of Only Revolutions, it would reveal a heavy-handed
tale, stretched well beyond its limits.
(April,
2007)
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