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pineapplesf t1_j5zqaad wrote

2666 was one of my favorite books last year. Rather than compare it to the difficulty of Murakami -- Id say it's more like Gravity's Rainbow, Infinite Jest, or The Familiar. They all take a while to understand what the author is going for. You many still not like the books methods or it's conclusion (which many people hate), but I believe the way it's written definitely achieves Bolanos goals.

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ThatCommanderShepard OP t1_j5zr6hx wrote

I’ve yet to read infinite jest but I definitely think I also gravitate towards Wallace’s writing style more than Bolaños. After reading Something To Do With Paying Attention I felt like I had read something human and plainspoken while I feel that Bolaños cynicism may turn me off a bit. He’s clearly a brilliant writer but maybe I need to under what style works for me best

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pineapplesf t1_j5zryat wrote

We all have our preferences. Personally I didn't like DFW or Ellis, I like Bolano and Danielewski, and am neutral on people like Pynchon or Eco.

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ThatCommanderShepard OP t1_j602vuu wrote

Oh man Danielewski is another tough one for sure. I have house of leaves but I’ve never taken the plunge, I hear so many conflicting things

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pineapplesf t1_j6055ad wrote

I loved house of leaves. It's a pretty good critique of postmodern media. I would argue it's not merely deconstructive but attempts to posit solutions without a return to modernity.

I think Danielewski gets a lot of misplaced hate for making postmodernism not only accessible but enjoyable. It's quite a bit more optimistic, empathetic, and kind compared to other lit fic. His books have a naive earnestness which is distinct from the sort of distanced cynicism of Don DeLillo or Will Self. The backlash against him feels very similar to the backlash against Bruno Latour and I suspect it's for similar reasons.

You can certainly not like Danielewskis style, which includes so much multimedia it can come off as gimmicky, but I think it's hard to argue that he's not effective with it. His Familiar series was super interesting and I'm sad that it was cancelled.

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ThatCommanderShepard OP t1_j608icd wrote

Oh! Speaking of multimedia I don’t ever see people mention this but his sister who performs under the name Poe is a musician and has an entire album inspired by House of Leaves. Apparently Danielewski even wrote many of the lyrics

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