Customer Reviews

Thirteen Stories and Thirteen Epitaphs

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I'm tired of the standard fare, of reviewers becoming so enraptured with surface, surface, surface, dubbing anything written by Vollmann as "a novel/collection of short stories about prostitutes." Sure, hookers play important roles in much of Vollmann's fiction, as they do in 13 Stories, but stopping at this point is a major injustice to (in my opinion) the greatest living American author and the countless readers who have dismissed Vollmann as some countercultural phenomenon. You see, Vollmann is anything but a "flash in the pan"; it is the works of Vollmann which will become the status quo in the literary canon within the next 100 years. I came to Vollmann through 13 Stories, and I think it is an excellent introduction to his work for anyone curious. It deals with his major themes (i.e. loss, despair, tainted love, obsession, etc.) and contains two of the most incredible short stories to come out of the 20th century, "The Handcuff Manual," a story dealing with an obsession with objects real and imaginary--invisible handcuffs, anyone?--and the ill effects caused when images overtake rationality and reality, and "The Grave of Lost Stories," an homage to Poe, where Poe is our protagonist who is thrust into the dark, gloomy landscape that inhabits his stories as a result of his inability to put his dark ideas onto paper quickly enough without losing them forever to the "Grave" of lost stories. Not all of the stories match up to the sheer brilliance of the aforementioned two, but 13 Stories offers no duds, no fluffy filler (the epitaphs juxtaposed with the stories add a dark and accuating touch to the collection), only a world of Vollmann's incredible prose and truly amazing and insightful mind

To be sure, Vollmann is the best writer out there today, excepting maybe Peter Kellegher and Nick Philliou, and I am not too certain even they can joust with the wit, grace, and indeed gumption with which Vollmann writes. And Thirteen Stories isn't even his best work!;which I find truly offensive. You know how people talk about who are todays great writers? To them I say, and I'm sure Vollmann himself would agree, look no further, you have found him, he is Vollmann. Unfortunately, the man's hands don't work too well any more from what I understand. Too bad. Read this or any other Vollmann book. The rest are pedestrian.

13 Stories, 13 Epitaphs is the second book by William Vollmann that I've read and I still am not quite sure what to make of him. The first was Butterfly Stories, a sordid tale of a journalist and photographer in Thailand chasing hookers, looking for the one with a heart of gold. 13 Stories is somewhat similar with several people who are homeless, jobless, and addicted drugs, as well as several whores. It's hard to judge his writing without considering the content he writes about, which is usually derelicts and people on the fringes of society. It makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable, I can't relate with the characters and don't find much redeeming about his stories, it doesn't seems like he has an overall plan, it's not necessarily a morality tale. I think I've had enough of his novels.