Most of the negative reviews are people who disagree with the politics of the characters. This is truly one of the stupider reactions one could have to a novel.

However, I have to say that I really appreciated the stylistic approach that Vollman takes to the idea of violent revolution in fiction. His work is truly a classic of west coast style paranoia literature.

It seems that this novel makes up an important part of the blueprint for those "information" obsessed post-modernists like David Foster Wallace. What's interesting is that it doesn't rely on a sense of verisimilitude for its direction of gravity. Instead, it creates a unique and captivating world that draws the reader in and makes them think about the complex themes of revolution, politics, and human nature.

Overall, I believe that this novel is a must-read for anyone interested in literature, politics, or the human condition. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who are willing to engage with its ideas and style, it has the potential to be a truly transformative reading experience.

I initially began by having a profound love for the style of writing in this particular work.

However, as I progressed through the text, it gradually became rather taxing on my mind and attention.

Nonetheless, I persevered and read it all the way through until the very end.

Despite the challenges that emerged during the reading process, I still find myself deeply enamored with the ideas and the unique writing style that the book presents.

The author's ability to convey complex thoughts and concepts in an engaging and thought-provoking manner is truly remarkable.

Even though there were moments when I struggled to keep up with the flow of the narrative, the overall experience of reading this book has been a rewarding one.

I look forward to exploring more works by this author in the future and seeing how their writing style continues to evolve and develop.

Enigmatic and mysterious wars have been known since ancient times. Consider, for example, Batrachomyomachia, also known as the Battle of the Frogs and Mice. As time flies and ages change, progress is unstoppable. Now, we are witnessing the clandestine and merciless battle of Electricity and Bugs.

Bugs represent the dark revolutionary forces. They are a throng of degenerates, gooks, bums, coeds, niggers, punks, do-nothing amateurs, squaws, lezzies, weevils, pill-bugs, dung-beetles, Ivy League larvae, sodomy-ants, Jew-hornets, commissar-grubs, filibusterers, imps, and crashing Indian bores. They make a concerted assault upon one of Mr. White's projects, leaving him feeling behind the eight-ball.

On the other hand, Electricity stands for the dark reactionary powers. These men, upon whom the destiny of the young Republic depends, are reactionaries in a sincere and unvarnished way. Their aim is to make us over. With sacks of flour and lead shot lashed to their burros, they subdivide the land into zones of investigation, each zone comprised of thirteen sectors, and each sector administered and burnished with all zeal, as is the right of its owner.

You Bright and Risen Angels is a grotesquely askew and sinister revolutionary chronicle. It is unbelievably rich in absurdity, depicting the history of the class warfare and the everlasting war of idealism and capitalism, as well as the face-off of dissenters with the establishment in bizarre and lustrous colors. There is a bug in every system.

This book demands a particular state of mind from me in order to truly relish it.

My Burroughs-addled, existentially-angst ridden, and wacked part of my brain took a liking to certain parts (those imperious bugs!), and I relished the satire. However, at other times, I craved narrative structure and sentences that could be read aloud without a hint of embarrassment.

Needless to say, it took me an inordinately long time to get through this book because at times it felt like a slog.

Yikes - this might sound like a negative review, but it really isn't. For me, I believe I needed to discover this when I was younger, more self-indulgent, and perhaps I would have liked it even more.

There are truly some creative juices that have gone into this book.

It has its unique charm and moments of brilliance that are worth exploring, even if it didn't completely resonate with me in the way I had hoped.

Nevertheless, it is a work that showcases the author's imagination and ability to think outside the box.

Maybe on a different day, in a different frame of mind, I would have a completely different appreciation for it.

Pro's:

The prose is rich, which makes the reading experience quite enjoyable. The authorial voice is clear and sometimes even funny, adding a touch of lightness to the text. The writer is truly talented, as evidenced by their encyclopedic knowledge and the rich references they incorporate. The interesting metaphors used throughout the work enhance the imagination of the reader. It is a feat of imagination that keeps the reader engaged. Moreover, the unpredictability of the story adds an element of excitement, making it difficult to put the book down.

Con's:

However, there are some drawbacks. The narrative can be incoherent at times, making it a bit challenging for the reader to follow. The lack of compelling characters may also cause the reader to lose interest. Additionally, the digressions are to the extreme, which can disrupt the flow of the story. The experimental narrative setup with two competing narrators, while interesting in concept, may not work as well in practice. Finally, the book can be long-winded, which may test the patience of some readers.

If you can't read this then you shouldn't. This simple statement holds a certain truth. Reading is a fundamental skill that opens up a world of knowledge and understanding. It allows us to communicate, learn, and grow. Without the ability to read, one may face numerous limitations in various aspects of life.

For example, in education, reading is essential for accessing information in textbooks, lectures, and assignments. It helps students to expand their vocabulary, improve their comprehension skills, and develop critical thinking abilities.

In the workplace, reading is necessary for understanding job descriptions, instructions, and reports. It enables employees to stay updated with the latest industry trends and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients.

Moreover, reading is a source of entertainment and relaxation. It allows us to escape into different worlds, explore new ideas, and gain new perspectives. Whether it's a novel, a magazine, or a blog post, reading can provide us with hours of enjoyment and inspiration.

In conclusion, reading is a vital skill that everyone should strive to develop and improve. If you can't read this, then it's time to take action and start learning. With practice and determination, anyone can become a proficient reader and unlock the many benefits that come with it.

I simply can't review this work.

Just click on the book's title above and read the description. Indeed, this is "the work of an extraordinary imagination." It is extremely weird and surreal, yet at the same time, it serves as a cultural satire.

And somehow, it all makes sense, in an impossible way. At least that's how it seems to me.

This is, without a doubt, the most artistic and "fun" of Vollmann's works. It has a dreamlike quality and demands a great deal of personal interpretation.

It constantly reminds me of the experience of looking at a painting, where every detail can be analyzed and understood in different ways, depending on the viewer's perspective and imagination.

The unique combination of strange elements and cultural commentary makes this work truly one-of-a-kind and a must-read for those who appreciate art and literature that challenges the norms.

Standing in line at one of Yellowstone National Park’s General Stores™, the beefy pink man wearing a JETER t-shirt and a \\n  YANKEES\\n jersey (.2.) ahead of me in the queue was trying to buy a Smucker’s® Uncrustables® sandwich product. He did it hurriedly and ineloquently, his face looking molten as if he had been beaten and melted by the sun all day and the steam from the geysers had gathered on his brow and cheeks, now shimmering like semen or surplus OFF!®. Despite this, numerous mosquito bites shone on his neck like tiny thermal anomalies.

The pale young girl at the register might have been attractive if not for her paper uniform that seemed to be cutting into her scalp and squeezing her forehead into her thick black eyebrows. She had a look of impatience and was starting to sweat, perhaps also experiencing menstrual discomfort. The Smucker’s® Uncrustables® was requested by the SPIRIT-OF-JETER. It always strikes me as odd that adult heterosexual men wear sports jerseys emblazoned with another man’s name, usually more virile and successful, as if trying to crawl into that other man’s skin, to show alliance and affinity with him, whom they will never meet. It is a very sexual gesture. If the same men were to be found rifling through Derek Jeter’s dresser and donning his briefs, they would hardly be met with the same public acceptance.
There was a moment of exchange-tension. As JETER-beguiler searched for change in his pockets, the pale register attendee shuffled uncomfortably, checked an empty bin in the smudged display case beside her, adjusted her paper cap, furrowed her suffering brow, and confessed “we’re out”. I thought for a moment of DEREK JETER number .2. of the \\n  NEW YORK YANKEES\\n being picked off first base by a quick throw from the ready stance of some nimble AL East lefty and the glee that would resound like church bells among us UNDERDOGS. “Yer OUT!”
Here’s a good place to explain what a Smucker’s® Uncrustables® exactly is. It is a pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich product, and its “hook” is that it comes with the crust ALREADY CUT OFF(!). Therefore, the labor of the consumer is reduced to a bare minimum. At most, one has to strain at a vacuum-sealed package with clenched fingers and then lift the sandwich to the mouth, and I suppose whatever calories are expended in chewing, swallowing, and eventual defecation. But let Smucker’s® do the talking: “Smucker’s® has discovered a new way to seal homemade goodness into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… without the crust! Uncrustables® are the perfect \\"grab-and-go\\" sandwich for families on the move. Simply keep them in the freezer, then pack them in your lunch in the morning. By lunchtime, Uncrustables® are thawed and ready to eat.”
You can imagine the convenience, especially for the beleaguered and hounded father on vacation, herding his noisy, bucktoothed brood and sexless wife from sight to sight, waiting for geysers to spew with mockery. For when was the last time plump wifey made him gush like that? Watching the bison migrate avec les infants over a desolate plain with a dim glimmer of doomed recognition, perhaps unconsciously wishing for the saving grace of a grizzly bear’s jaws that might rip and tear him free from these worldly bonds, only wanting for the respite and ease of a crustless, ready-to-devour peanut butter and jelly sandwich [like Mom used to make, she also used to cut off the crusts - Smucker’s® marketing team would have been mightily proud had they known that JETER-avatar had come to associate Uncrustables® with a primeval Mother-Figure], and perhaps a Coca-Cola® to slide down his gullet [the sun really beats down at these altitudes!] and a moment, just a moment, of precious silence as he gawps and chews and waits on an oak bench surrounded by Cowboy Culture for Ol’ Faithful to orgasm and the inevitable post-coital drowsiness of the crowds of tourists wandering off nonplussed and vexed and a bit moistened from spray [the girls untousle their hair with a blush], back into the womb of their tourist buses, not sure where their money went...
Jeter-impostor reels on his heels for just a second. The queue babbles like a noisy little mountain brook. The cheeseburgers audibly steam. Someone in the recesses guffaws. I smell ointment. “Well... hell!...” murmurs Derek Jeter’s real-world counterpart. And a few meters beneath my feet, I feel the slight thermal dynamic tremor of this populace earth falling into a symbolic, latent, pre-reproductive anticipation.

And so, what I find really interesting about You Bright And Risen Angels is that I think this, Vollmann’s first novel - a big, messy ball of electric prose, shooting out arcs like a Tesla coil charged with imaginative, pulsing WORDS, rampaging all over the place from Mars to the Arctic to the Amazon jungle to San Francisco to a boy’s summer camp within a single, blown-the-fuck-out sentence - that this is the book that has definitely convinced me of Vollmann’s genius. That is, from a very young age, this man was charged with a peerless intellect and imagination (it was published when he was 27). In its eclectic, schizo-ball of twining ideas, vaults of imagination, fuck-all sci-fi bizarreness, insect-amphetamine-buzz, one can find in utero the seeds of what were to become Vollmann’s preoccupations par excellence - the phenomena of power structures, especially those enacting violence and oppression on weaker subjects; the many-headed Hydra of societal violence; the darkest sides of colonialism and decadent capitalism/imperialism; the attempt at resurrecting the dignity and value of the cast-offs and cast-outs and pariahs of humanity (...hell, we could just say Civilization and Its Discontents); how economics shapes the world; the idea of revolution through literature; the intensely impressionistic sentences, flowing from a mind both taut to the extreme and hallucinatorily vibrating and discursive. The essences of Vollmann are here, present, fully birthed if a bit raw and unrefined - a prophecy of things to come - a harbinger of very good news. And I haven’t even mentioned how FUN and what a piece of ENTERTAINMENT this is! Oh my. Vollmann’s glorious, chaotic, undeniably funny and darkly intense first foray into the vibrating and humming beehive of LETTERS! Huzzah.

I actually never finished this book.

However, I came extremely close to doing so.

I truly liked what I managed to read.

Nevertheless, this particular work was just far too bulky and convoluted to read during my commute.

As a result, I ultimately gave up.

I would, indeed, consider picking it up again at some point.

But I think that, instead, I would rather attempt another one of his mammoth works.

Perhaps the next one will be more accessible and engaging during my daily travels.

It's always interesting to explore different books by the same author to see if there are hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Even though I didn't complete this one, I still have high hopes for what else he has to offer.

Who knows, the next book might become one of my all-time favorites.

A Portrait of the Anarchist as a Young Man

First and foremost, it's truly astonishing. The fact that Vollmann penned this at such a tender age is a clear indication of his inherent and unrivaled talent. This level of writing cannot be faked or replicated with mere showmanship. To be able to produce such remarkable prose in one's mid-20s is almost unbelievable. Depending on the edition you have, the photo of WTV either shows him with a gun to his head or smiling cockily against a wall. In either case, you immediately notice how incredibly young he looks.

This youthfulness is abundantly evident in the writing. No one could possibly claim that "You Bright and Risen Angels" is the work of a mature artist or a fully developed human being. It is the creation of a kid who is riding the wave of his own self-constructed mythology. Whether it's about shooting cops, shooting out the eyeballs of kids, or shooting heroin, Vollmann seems to be taunting the reader, asking, "Am I shocking you?" Well, perhaps not, but he is certainly entertaining the heck out of me. It's like the literary equivalent of "up against the wall, motherfucker." And if one were of the right age, I suppose it could even seem inspiring. The Author's Note alone is enough to scare off Christians and semaphorists. But the truth is, it's all so much fun that sitting here trying to analyze it takes away some of its significant life force. Just read the book, be glad you did, and remember how tough adolescence and early adulthood were for you. After all, we're on Goodreads, right? That's endorsement enough for you to read this book.

Some of his other works may be more highly regarded, but none of them inspire such giddy, reckless euphoria. "You Bright and Risen Angels" is a 635-page guitar solo wankfest, and I, Big George, have my lighter held high in the air.

The border is often narrow between a permanent temptation to commit suicide and the birth of a certain form of political consciousness.

This profound statement by Michel Foucault invites us to explore the complex relationship between the inner turmoil of an individual and the emergence of a political awareness.

Suicide, a permanent temptation for some, can be seen as a desperate act born out of extreme psychological distress. However, Foucault suggests that within this darkness, there is a glimmer of possibility for the birth of a different kind of consciousness.

This political consciousness may arise as a response to the individual's sense of powerlessness, oppression, or injustice. It could be a realization that personal struggles are not isolated but are connected to larger social and political structures.

By drawing attention to this narrow border, Foucault challenges us to look beyond the individual's suffering and consider the broader context in which it occurs.

Perhaps by understanding this relationship, we can find ways to address both the individual's pain and the systemic issues that contribute to it.

Ultimately, Foucault's words remind us that even in the most desperate of situations, there is the potential for transformation and the birth of a new kind of awareness.

At the tail end of William T. Vollmann’s sprawling epic about revolutions both metaphorical and historical, the reader is informed - in a footnote at the bottom of the page – that, “This is a bookish novel because I, the author, know little of life, and I, Big George, will reveal no secrets.”

In the beginning of the novel, this selfsame “author” (clearly Vollmann himself; utilizing a characteristic self-insertion that would become a trademark stylistic choice in a majority of both his fiction and non-fiction) lets the reader know that he is the one calling the shots as far as the plot is concerned. Of course, the important status of Big George is not to be overlooked, as he wields considerable power and influence over the author. Together, the two tell the story of the technological dawn of electricity, and how it was manipulated by wealthy landowners at the turn of the 20th century. What follows is a tale of power: the power of money, class, science, and war, and the resistance that power is met with when abused; in this case, by a marginal insect population.

If the aforementioned plot summary sounds oblique or starkly confusing, then it should. The narrative encompasses the stories and sub-stories of over thirty characters. There are five sections to the book: two abstractly poetic codas, and three dense sections squeezed in between. It’s told in voices that shift from second to third person perspective on a dime, and it's seldom clear exactly who is narrating at any given moment. No discernable chronology arises, rather one is simply alluded to. Some characters are prevalent throughout the entire story, while others show up for a minor vignette, never to appear again. Geographically, the primary setting is the Bay Area, but characters end up in the Arctic, as well as Afghanistan and parts of New York and Colorado. In other words, You Bright and Risen Angels, Vollmann’s debut novel is a structural and stylistic mess.

The good thing is that it’s a mess in the tradition of transgressive fiction such as Naked Lunch. In fact, the science-fiction and dreamlike elements of the storytelling techniques used, resemble that particular novel in the same way that Vollmann’s Whores for Gloria resembled that of a Hubert Selby Jr. story, albeit there is something ostensibly political about the value of this particular narrative. The intention seems to be to utilize exaggerated repulsiveness in order to make points about class alienation, but class alienation that is biological in some ways, e.g., the fact that the insects comprise the revolutionary faction in the book. Thomas Pynchon would be another easy influence (primarily in the historical fiction sense because the two share a similarly quirky sensibility when it comes to retelling stories of the past, especially those based on actual events) to peg on Vollmann, especially V. which shares the status of being an audaciously confident debut novel, even though he dismisses Pynchon’s influence in the same incredulous manner that William Gaddis had dismissed the influence of James Joyce when questioned by critics about similarities between the authors' respective books.

The importance and necessity of citing influences before discussing the actual plot summary is that, at this point in his career, Vollmann was creating a fictional world based purely on his own imagination, rather than one motivated by his experiences as a traveler and journalist. Always a writer willing to address the importance of the influence of his literary and historical forefathers (a quote is listed at the beginning of every chapter, and there are many), Vollmann worked with what he had in his head at the time, creating an overwhelming byproduct of his insane imagination; a culmination of the reading that informed his political perception of what revolution and power were all about.

The division of ideology, as represented through the characters in the story, is basically dualistic in that there are two competing factions, the human (presumably caucasian and militaristic) reactionaries and the insect revolutionaries. In the first section of the book entitled “The History of Electricity”, the story begins with the entrepreneurial rise of Mr. White. Mr. White, a financier, modeled after - who one can only assume would be that famous pioneer consumer of electricity - J. Pierpont Morgan, takes advantage of the technological phenomenon, using it to create a vast empire of wealth. Vollmann has his fictional characterization of greed compete with Edison, or at least briefly interact with him, which is a confusing aspect of the story. It’s more like Edison is simply mentioned alongside White in order to elucidate the importance of electricity in the construction of White’s fortune. It's worth noting that it's with historical fiction interludes such as these that the underlying logic of the plot falls into complications. The Society of Daniel is a school for electrical engineers designed in order to assist White in his competitive race for power, which, even early on in the story, already seems somewhat finalized, aims to suggest that Mr. White is the most powerful man in the universe (the universe of the story; again, one would assume that either the author or Big George are the most powerful).

As Vollmann forces the narrative along - at a dense and confounding pace - more characters are introduced. For the most part these are unsympathetic sketches. The reactionaries all work for Mr. White, with the help of his aid, Dr. Dodger, running the Society of Daniel. Again, as the chronology of the story moves rapidly back and forth – the gap being something between 1879 and the early 1980’s – the reader is able to grasp the basic gist of when and where a character is and what side of the class war they are on through cultural and technological allusions. Bug, the leader of the revolutionaries, is introduced through descriptions of a student union organization referred to as the “Kuzbuites”, a fictional revolutionary party that seems to suggest something Russian-sounding and revolutionary, such as Bolshevism. Bug is an insect (obviously), which is a detail metaphorically emphasized to suggest that he is a marginal figure, and something along the lines of Darwinian racism is illustrated in a childhood filled with acts of hatred and violence directed toward him simply because he is a bug. As he grows up, he becomes immersed in Kuzbuism, eventually outgrowing it intellectually. Subsequently after this, Bug forms a more sophisticated group of revolutionaries fighting against Mr. White and his imperialistic push for world domination.

There are so many loose ends, plot holes, unexplained character connections, and arbitrary storylines, that it’s difficult to settle on what aspect of this densely satirical novel to criticize Vollmann for. A majority of the novel truly reads like a bunch of disparate short stories and vignettes. While some of these are relevant to the plot, others function like silly jokes, punctuating this confusing story. His first attempt at the novel is not without its merits though. Vollmann writes with a sympathy that displays a moral concern for the socially oppressed; suggesting via the insect metaphor (which has a fair share of Kafkaesque connotations outside of the obvious bug thing) that most revolutionaries are condemned to a social existence in which they struggle their entire lives to no avail, discovering that their two most appealing options in life would be either suicide or treachery. While the actual characters themselves come off as shallow and two-dimensional, what’s being suggested by their placement in the story is importantly conveyed to the reader in a humanistic and thoughtful manner. It’s a book not without successful attempts at black humor as well. Vollmann insightfully criticizes the absurdity and occasional uselessness of ideology and intellectualism. In the end, the suggestion is that the bugs remain oppressed, but through the complexity and dense experimentation of the story, their struggle is told with a vested interested in the depravity of war.