The Rainbow Stories (Contemporary American Fiction) [Paperback]

William Vollmann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary American Fiction | Publication Date: July 1, 1992

Here are 13 daring and innovative tales dealing with "skinheads, x-ray patients, whores, lovers, fetishists, and other lost souls" who populate landscapes as diverse as ancient Babylon, India, and contemporary San Francisco. Part fiction, part reportage, these narratives are laced with a bleak and bitter humor, and portray a dazzling array of characters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Knockout stories and report age conjure up skinheads, prostitutes and biblical martyrs.from the prodigious Voll man, who has three hardcovers due out this year. Pantheon, Viking, and FSG are brining have forthcoming Vollmann hard covers.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

These long, interlocking short stories comprise an anthropological field report from San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, 20 years after the Summer of Love. The author's stated goal is simply to retell--"unaltered, unverified"--the stories told to him by down-and-out street people such as Brandi the prostitute, Marisa the neo-Nazi bootwoman, and Carolina the saintly wino. Much of the action takes place offstage, in trauma centers, detox wards, and autopsy labs, with extensive footnotes citing relevant textbooks of pathology and criminal justice. This is a far more coherent book than Vollmann's first novel, You Bright and Risen Angels ( LJ 5/15/87), and clearly places him in the front ranks of contemporary authors. Highly recommended, but definitely not for the squeamish.
- Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Later printing edition (July 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140171541
• ISBN-13: 978-0140171549
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Skillfully and imaginatively crafted, November 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rainbow Stories (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

The Rainbow Stories is a versatile demonstration of Vollmann's writing gifts. Thirteen stories, each based on a color of the rainbow (plus white and black, and the whole spectrum together), are each carefully tinged with the chosen color without laboring the point. A combination of journalistic observation, well-imaged interpretations, and visionary fiction, these stories range from ancient Babylon to modern San Francisco. The stories successfully demonstrate Vollmann's skill in describing the deepest horrors of mankind, the cold tremors of physical or psychological isolation, and the constant tugs of love and desire. Vollmann's gifts of description and his ability to detail the thoughts of the darkest and farthest reaches of humanity is thrilling and sometimes frightening.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I was there and this book is spto on. Yes the charactor ARE real!, April 28, 2006

By 

Ian Mouer (Richmond VA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rainbow Stories (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

"American fiction?" Not quite, I was there. In 1984 my girlfriend and I set of from VA to San Francisco CA looking for adventure. What we found was a world of decadence, violence, deviation, drugs and death that I feel lucky to have escaped alive from. William interviewed several of my roommates from my Tenderloin apt on Ellis Ave. Dickie Disgusting (AKA Frank Hutton) was an "Open High" school fiend of mine from "back east" that we hooked up with. He had gone out there to help start the notorious "SF Skins" that terrorized Height street. They were immortalized by "Camper Van Beethoven" when they were spotted bowling in the Height Street Bowling Alley. Boot Woman was also staying there with us. I knew Mark Dagger and a whole bunch of the characters in the book (and YES the sheep killing story is real, I have friends that did time over it). As crazy as the book is, the SF punk life was even more twisted than one can imagine but Vollman did a great job getting into the seedy world that was ours back then and capturing it in ink. I only hope that there are other survivors like myself back from then, until (or if) I see my old friends again, I can always pick up this book and remember them in their 2os with all their craziness and dysfunction. I will only five it 4 stars maily because it brought back some really painful memories too and I got a little bummed out after reading about the fate of one of the characters. These feelings caused me to have to put the book down for a while. Thank you William, it was a both a pleasure and a gift...
Ian Mouer Richmond VA.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lower extremity, April 30, 2001

By 

"pres4" (chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rainbow Stories (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

Reading Vollmann is like bumping into your girlfriend's mother as you exit the adult book store with a brown bag full of porn tucked under your arm. It's the shame of having secrets brought out into the light of day for others to gawk at, the shock of recognition, the pain that accomanpies knowledge. It's like being stared at....