THE DOLORIAD by Missouri Williams | Book Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ย. 2024
- A book review of Missouri Williams' The Doloriad.
Paperback, 226 pages
Published 2022 by FSG (Originally published in 2022 by Dead Ink Books)
ISBN: 0374605084
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Authors/artists mentioned:
Ottessa Moshfegh
Franz Kafka
László Krasznahorkai
Wolfgang Hilbig
Thomas Bernhard
Cormac McCarthy
Fernanda Melchor
Jonathan Edwards
Hieronymus Bosch
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#thedoloriad #missouriwilliams #bookreview
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Moral outrage and complaints from the crowd who reads for the plot is the truly great way to find good books. Also, I will read anything related or compared to Bernhard. Thanks for the review.
I tend to agree. Thanks for watching!
I'm almost 100 percent certain the structure is entirely intentional. Abjection. Indeed. Dolores is my favourite character. I drew her.
I'm always excited to see you've posted a review, and was especially excited when I saw you were reviewing this, since I knew you'd be fair. I asked for an ARC last spring (I was just so intrigued), but then read reviews and shied away. The snippets you read convinced me...what beautiful writing. I think I'll need to plug my nose, cover my ears (and eyes?) and dive on in.
Thanks for the kind words, Elizabeth! I think a lot of the negative reviews are simply the product of the wrong reader for the wrong book, which is fine. If you like novels for prose and atmosphere, rather than strictly for character and plot, I think The Doloriad is wonderful. Definitely brace yourself, hah, but I really enjoyed the reading experience!
I loved that book. Missouri Williams is an incredible writer. I couldn't look away! Her new short story, "The Vivisectors (I)," was just published online. It's phenomenal. Enjoyed your review!
Ohh, thank you for the recommendation! I've been meaning to see if she has written anything else. Agreed that she has real talent - I'm eager to see where she goes from here. Thanks for watching!
Haunting indeed
"The human project limped on..." I love that! The terrible school master and cruel, surreal atmosphere sounds fascinating. Fantastic review, Sean!
Thanks, Johanna! The surrealism is wonderful!
In fact there is an interview somewhere where Missouri Williams precisely states the main influence for this novel. As cognitively dysfunctional as I am I'd need to look it up, but they were a Czech writer 🙂
This is one I bought immediately after hearing about it but I’m nervous to read it! But I’ve got it on my list for next month so I’ll see how it goes. Excellent video!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
We must have similar tastes in regard of the grotesque because as soon as I learned of this novel -- quite some months ago -- I purchased it. Other books, however, have gotten in the way -- in the middle of 'The Books of Jacob' presently -- but your review prompts me to move 'The Doloriad' to the top of the TBR pile. Thanks for another informative, entertaining review.
Thanks for watching, Michael! The Doloriad is a pretty quick read, so it'll be a nice relief after The Books of Jacob!
@@travelthroughstories Yes, it will be a relief -- however I did sneak in Lapvona while reading TBOJ. I simply couldn't wait to read that one.
brilliant review, I found the character/plot/setting a little shallow but there's no denying the dense beauty of the prose
Probably preaching to the choir in this comments field, but I'm not a big fan of the word "nihilism" being used against a piece of art as though that label itself serves as a full critical argument for its failure. Even in a hypothetical case where a novelist's conscious worldview can be definitively nailed down based on extrapolations from a book they've written, there's still the question of why you would necessarily fault them for having a despairing attitude. It just seems ungenerous to me. "If you don't have anything nice to say . . ." as applied to the medium of Don Quixote & co - especially suited as it is to deal with contradiction and impasse.
That's a great point, Tobin. The term "Nihilism" especially brings with it all sorts of negative connotations which often results in a moral judgement of the book rather than any kind of critical analysis. I think I'll be more careful with using the term in the future as well.
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I wasn't a huge fan of lapvona but it was an interesting read. the doloriad had me obsessed!!
Agreed that Doloriad hit differently than Lapvona!
Very interesting discussion.
I've been reading more SF dystopian novels recently so maybe I'm more prepared to tackle non SFF novels with similar themes - don't know!
Intrigued by this book especially as you found the writing to be of high quality (probably can't handle Blood Meridian though😊).
Thank you! I haven't read too many SF books recently, so I'm not sure how this will stack up to that genre, though I'm sure there will be some overlap. The prose style was really enjoyable to read though.
I would also be careful with using the term nihilism to label an author or an outlook in a positive way even for aesthetic purposes. I think it's the same with accusing someone of solipsism, as when you get to that stage, you're so far removed (theoretically speaking) from being a good force in the world that your stance can only be ridiculed. Value and belief systems are rarely simple, but if generalisation is to serve a role, I think this kind of neutral labeling of art does more harm than good.
Excellent review, as usual, that touches on some big issues. I don't know if this anecdote is actually true, but it's something I picked up while writing an essay on Samuel Beckett:
Apparently, Beckett was attending a lecture on his own work, and the lecturer was going on and on about the futility in his work, before finishing his argument with "Beckett is a true aesthete, and as such, he doesn't really care about people's everyday struggles." Upon hearing this, Beckett stands up exclaiming: "But I do care."
...And then, The Unnamable ended up being interpreted as an inspirational quote.
The book sounds excellent, and passing moral judgment on a work of fiction is something we should be careful about. I think Goodreads is a major offender to common taste in this regard, both reducing the value of a book to a set of stars, and giving readers a wrong idea about gate-keeping. The combination of the two makes it a slouching beast, effectively harming the expert's opinion on classic literature where contemporary discourse is fragmented . There are too many people who feel entitled to broadcast opinions with limited credentials, and the idea that you can champion a work through Goodreads (where you curate your own recommendations) makes for an echo chamber. I wish that there was a way to incorporate great criticism with the Vox Populi, but right now, the challenge in this regard is immense. I hope the level of education at official institutions can somehow mitigate the form of censorship that affects books such as this one. When you see it bleed over into magazines and newspapers, it becomes much harder to make a difference as a critic, and especially if you're just a part of your media channel's total output.
And that's my rant for the day.
When I look for criticism, what I'm really looking for is consistency throughout aesthetic judgment and personal beliefs, and the ability to contrast the two. This book seems to exist in the same context as authors I have high regard for, so it will be exciting to see how I'll end up judging it.
That Beckett anecdote is hilarious. I suppose I should be a bit more careful labeling a work "nihilist" (I meant to suggest that it explores a "nihilistic philosophy" rather than it being itself nihilist), but I'm not sure that it's an entirely un-useful term. I definitely agree with your critique of Goodreads though, especially as the kinds of reviews that get pushed to the top are often the short and digestible quippy "reviews" that are more reaction than review. There's a big difference between a review and a reaction, and so many reviews on Goodreads (and BookTube and elsewhere - I'm not fully excluding myself from this) are simply reactions.
I had this out from the library in case it made the Booker but when it didn’t I looked at it and didn’t make space for it at the time, though does sound like I’d probably like it. Sounds like Quite The Time. I’m reading S. A story of the Balkans right now anyway, which is emotionally exhaustive enough lol
It's good fun! I've been meaning to get to S. for a while - I picked up a used copy a few months ago. It looks amazing(ly exhausting). Let me know how you like it!
I think I'm gonna have to check this book out. Wasn't really interested in Lapvona, but this sounds much more original and intriguing. And the prose in those excerpts you read sounds mouthwatering. My interest has been piqued... 😏
Lapvona did some interesting things with its medieval world, but I definitely agree that The Doloriad is more original and has a much better prose style. Interested to hear what you make of it if you decide to read it! It definitely gives off some early McCarthy vibes, which I know you're fond of.
This sounds interesting! Severance had a male cult leader type character and he was a dud overall, but in contrast, the matriarch character sounds really interesting. I'm scared to read any more Lapvonaesque books though, because I do have a morbid curiosity about them and I don't hate them, but they just put me in a sad/bad mood. 😅
Hah! You definitely need to space these sorts of books out over a period of time as they can be...quite exhausting. I'm excited to check out your review of Lapvona!
Sounds like a 'holy shit' novel... "Child of God" was the first of those I read, and Guyotat's "Eden, Eden, Eden" the most extreme.
Hah! I actually meant to mention Child of God specifically! There are so many similarities between McCarthy's decaying Appalachia and Williams' Prague. I haven't read Guyotat's "Eden, Eden, Eden," but now I'm intrigued...