William T Vollmann

This Northern CA explorer of the soul continues his manic, prodidgious, output, having his latest novel Europe Central receive a rather glowing review in the NY Times. Vollmann's prescence has hovered over me for years, almost haunting. His industry mocks me. It appears that he pens a 800 page novel every year, all of which bifurcate into either an exploration of the base end of the human spectrum or veer outward into his smoldering history of the North American continent and its subsequent populations whether indigenous or immigrant. What has been most tempting was Rising Up Rising Down: his six volume meditation on violence and terror. While the price alone was daunting, the seduction continued. I bought a collection of the best travel writing of 2002 last year at the Goodwill because of his 30 page story about canoeing on a polluted river in southern CA. He then surfaced again recently with a wonderful review of a biography of Pol Pot. Vollmann has explored Cambodia for years and speaks with a subtle confidence of such. The margins of society appear to always attract him, whether it be a Californian crackhouse, a Bangkok brothel or anywhere in Central Asia.

Europe Central appears to bridge a narrative about Shostakovic (my favorite composer) and his personal affairs during the Terror with a story of moral composure featuring several figures of the Wehermacht and the invasion of the USSR. Oh, to dream and ponder this grand nightmare?