Only Revolutions
Ratings13
Average rating2.3
15
Ratings13
Average rating2.3
Sam: They were with us before Romeo & Juliet. And long after too. Because they’re forever around. Or so both claim, carolling gleefully: We’re allways sixteen. Sam & Hailey, powered by an ever-rotating fleet of cars, from Model T to Lincoln Continental, career from the Civil War to the Cold War, barrelling down through the Appalachians, up the Mississippi River, across the Badlands, finally cutting a nation in half as they try to outrace History itself. By turns beguiling and gripping, finally worldwrecking, Only Revolutions is unlike anything ever published before, a remarkable feat of heart and intellect, moving us with the journey of two kids, perpetually of summer, perpetually sixteen, who give up everything except each other. Hailey: They were with us before Tristan & Isolde. And long after too. Because they’re forever around. Or so both claim, gleefully carolling: We’re allways sixteen. Hailey & Sam, powered by an ever-rotating fleet of cars, from Shelby Mustang to Sumover Linx, careen from the Civil Rights Movement to the Iraq War, tearing down to New Orleans, up the Mississippi River, across Montana, finally cutting a nation in half as they try to outrace History itself. By turns enticing and exhilarating, finally breathtaking, Only Revolutions is unlike anything ever conceived before, a remarkable feat of heart and intellect, moving us with the journey of two kids, perpetually of summer, perpetually sixteen, who give up everything except each other.
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One criticism I often heard of Danielewski's debut novel, House of Leaves, is that it seemed like there was a good horror story at the center but that it was undercut by all the postmodern wankery going on with footnotes, typefaces, formatting, etc. I count myself a House of Leaves apologist and thought that it was a rather weak argument. However, I now find myself in a similar position. Only Revolutions is an epic poem (or more accurately two epic poems) about Sam and Hailey, two seemingly ageless teenagers, and their wild adventures. The style is experimental, feeling perhaps like some cross between Finnegan's Wake and Ginsberg's Howl, but once I got into it, I found it quite moving, if sometimes a little opaque. I also like the fact that the book is written so that from one direction you get Sam's poem and if you flip it over and start reading, you get Hailey's poem. But much of the other elements, such as the sidebars of cryptic historical events or the colored o's just felt too much, distracting from an already challenging poetic tale.
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