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Ash's Reviews > Dhalgren
Dhalgren
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Dhalgren is a terrible work of genius. By that, I mean that the mechanical writing of the text is brilliant and falls into the category of masterpiece. It is also a terribly dull read.
The structure of the novel is amazing: the narrative loops, the integration of mythology, the accurate portrayal of psychosis, the dazzling postmodern language, etc. Absolutely stunning work.
Of course, the characters are unbelievably boring, the story is filled with lots of meaningless babble with no action, no one seems to have any real motivation to do anything (and when they do it is silly and pointless), and much of the content is social commentary on late-60s/early-70s culture but without any real bite. And this goes on and on and on for over 700 pages.
If you can overlook the absence of an engaging story and want to experience a completely unique literary structure, then give Dhalgren a read. If you want to actually enjoy reading a book, I suggest a pass.
The structure of the novel is amazing: the narrative loops, the integration of mythology, the accurate portrayal of psychosis, the dazzling postmodern language, etc. Absolutely stunning work.
Of course, the characters are unbelievably boring, the story is filled with lots of meaningless babble with no action, no one seems to have any real motivation to do anything (and when they do it is silly and pointless), and much of the content is social commentary on late-60s/early-70s culture but without any real bite. And this goes on and on and on for over 700 pages.
If you can overlook the absence of an engaging story and want to experience a completely unique literary structure, then give Dhalgren a read. If you want to actually enjoy reading a book, I suggest a pass.
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I thought this too as well, but then in breaks between reading i noticed a real anxiety for what was happning at points to Kidd, and realized there was connection forming between me and the characters.
To the point, except I cannot agree on the genius part, as I find the authors wordplay both blatant and tiring - the kidd's poet alter ego is called Newboy so the newspaper can run the headline 'Newboy in town', wow. I could not finish it, but more power to those who did.
I love this review
I can see how some would think Dhalgren dull or boring or seemingly pointless. I get it. And yet, I found it utterly captivating. I can't quite explain it. At a different time in my life I would have held this book in complete contempt and dismissed it as hippie-dippy bullshit (I once hurled The Sound and the Fury across the room in frustration). Certainly, my taste for literature has matured over the last few years as I've gotten older and more patient with things that don't offer immediate satisfaction, but I don't think that explains why this book doesn't resonate with some people. I've read plenty of reviews by people more sophisticated than I who hated it. I think it has to be something more personal than that. Something that's not quantifiable. And, maybe, that's part of the draw.
Couldn't disagree more
Couldn't disagree more
Dhalgren is definitely not for everyone. For some people it's torture. For someone like me, it's transformative, it informs my life and changes me a little each time I read it. The characters and events completely sucked me in. I attended a panel discussion celebrating its 40th birthday last year. The audience was filled with people who felt the same way about the book. I've heard it described as a flawed masterpiece. It seems science fiction readers have the most problem reading it and it seems to have more respect outside the field. I think that's because it's more Post Modern Fiction than it is Science Fiction.
I disagree with "dull read" and "boring characters," and I liked it a lot, but aside from that I agree with this review.
Not dull, dense. It takes attention. People find demanding works "dull". I only read it once, but I stuck with it.
It's way more interesting as a book about writing than it is for the shock value or the setting at this point.
The first paragraph of your review is spot on, but for me I would replace “dull� with “stupid to the point where I hesitate to even recommend this book to other people.� Seriously, “Yeah, basically it’s about these teenagers who experiment with their sexuality a lot and roam around a city disguised as dinosaurs because no one fucks with dinosaurs. But trust me, the prose is amazing.�
this is it. this is the review
Halfway through the book, these are my thoughts exactly. I'll give my own review once I'm done, but this is pretty much spot-on my feelings so far.
Still it is amazing and I'm glad I forced myself to finish!