The Rainbow Stories (Contemporary American Fiction)

Rating:
Summary: lower extremity
Review: 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....

Rating:
Summary: lower extremity
Review: 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....

Rating:
Summary: Skillfully and imaginatively crafted
Review: 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.