'These Dreams of You' by Steve Erickson
Discussion has officially started for this selection!
Synopsis: One November night in a canyon outside L.A., Zan Nordhoc--a failed novelist turned pirate-radio DJ--sits before the television with his small, adopted black daughter, watching the election of his country's first black president. In the nova of this historic moment, with an economic recession threatening their home, Zan, his wife and their son set out to solve the enigma of a little girl whose body is a radio, broadcasting a future rhythm & blues that circles the sphere of time. Scattered across two continents, the family meets a mysterious stranger with a secret who sends the story spiraling forty years into the past, from '60s London to '70s Berlin, from the ground zero of civilization to a New World mid-air in its leap of imagination.
About the Author: Steve Erickson is the author of nine novels and two books about American politics and popular culture that have been published in ten languages. His work has appeared in publications such as Esquire, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times Magazine. He currently is the film critic for Los Angeles Magazine and the editor of the literary journal Black Clock, which is published by the California Institute of the Arts where he teaches. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the American Academy of Arts and Letters award in literature.
It's been a long time since I've read any of Steve Erickson's books. It's one of those things where I've been meaning to, and then I end up reading something else. So I'm really excited about this one.
Discussion has officially started for this selection!
Read our interview with Steve Erickson
So yeah, get to reading!
This is the next book I need to buy then eh?
Hmm, you are on a roll Pete, another author I haven't read before but have heard plenty of good things about. I hear this is quite a departure from his usual style. If that is the case, then which other novel should I check out by the guy? What's his best book? It sounds like it might be worth reading a couple by him before deciding if I like his stuff.
Started reading this a few days ago. It's real good.
Nice - I believe I'll join in on the fun for the first time since joining the community. This is something that wouldnt of come across my radar so I'm looking forward to it.
Arpil?
Typo Pete. haha.
Finally! Something I've already read.
@wickedvoodoo: I feel like this book continues in the style of Erickson's last novel, Zeroville. A little more linear than his older stuff, but still fantastic. If I were you, I'd probably start from the beginning and read his stuff in order, as he tends to reference his previous work. That being said, Zeroville is def one of my favorites. It's like a puzzlebox for film buffs.
I may read this...
Hey Josh.......
Wheres the Lit Recapper?!
LitRecapper was fun in the beginning, but soon became repetitive and boring to write. It may resurface from time to time (say, for out upcoming 6 month anniversary) but I think you're the only one who misses it.
Just sayin...who doesn't love a shout out for breaking into the top 5 on the workshop leaderboard.
Besides that, I haven't seen ANY of your articles. Whats up with that dude?
Something about the book club selection. I got nothing.
Ha. That's why you like it. Because you kept getting mentions.
And what do you mean, you've never seen any of my articles? They're all there for the reading.
Ahh you got me.
No, I mean here lately. I know you're the editor but no more articles?
I write two a month, buddy. But let's not derail the Erickson discussion, here.
Wait, where is the actual discussion?
Oh shit - I've been slacking! I'm only about half way. I should hopefully finish it up this week. I'm digging it though - but I'll ignore this thread until I get through it.
I'll have to procure myself a copy and see if I can contribute my 2 cents' worth... ;)
Ha Ha Ha - it's just finding the time, isn't it? I think time has done a runner, absconding with R&R. But I'll definitely try to squeeze this one in - sounds cool.
Got this for my birthday, will crack on with it so I can take part.
So... anyone here actually read the book yet?
Meh. Good writer, book not working for me right now. It's very highly-recommended and I enjoyed the prose. Not so much the "book" - it seemed like a long Rolling Stone or Esquire article that overstays its welcome. As I wasn't reading this in a magazine, I had to switch-off to other books constantly as the story became a chore...
Due to all the praise for Erickson, I'll consider These Dreams Of You one that didn't work for me but exposed me to a master prose-man. I'll look for Erickson's work in the future and check out his back-catalog...
I read 110 pages off and on today to finish this, and I have to say, it felt like a bit of a chore. I was digging it until about halfway through. Once it changed stories for a bit and focused on Jasmine and her meeting with RFK, the chance meeting with Zan, etc, etc it just seemed a) jarring to the flow; b) way to drug out; c) self-indulgent. And from there on out, I just pretty much stopped caring about the story.
Up until then, I was enjoying the story of Sheba, Viv's search & disappearance and the introduction of Molly, the nanny who came from nowhere. But like I said, the change of direction and page after page after page after page. After page of it took me out of the story way too much. Too many nights the book sat by my bedside where I didn't have the urge to pick it up. I think Boone's comment "overstays it's welcome" is spot on (as is the rest of his review).
With that said, some of the passages & writing is beautifully done. While I know the overall tone of this post is mostly negative, there were plenty of positives & thought provoking passages in this read. Enough so that I wouldn't write of Erickson and would be willing to give another one of his novels a try.
I'll be interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on this one.
^ What Otis said - and, might I add, the very well-written passages about crushing financial debt might have been too painful for me to enjoy the book.
The prose? Masterful.
The book didn't take for me as a whole - the Sheba parts were the most enjoyable...
I have not read one of his novels before. What would be your recommendation as an intro?
I am a little bummed that I never got round to reading (or even buying) this yet. Have been so busy this past couple of weeks. I may very well come back to this thread in the future tough.
Good news is I will be in the thread more for next months pick. I have that one already and will be reading it over the next week or so.
To quote myself:
I feel like this book continues in the style of Erickson's last novel, Zeroville. A little more linear than his older stuff, but still fantastic. If I were you, I'd probably start from the beginning and read his stuff in order, as he tends to reference his previous work. That being said, Zeroville is def one of my favorites. It's like a puzzlebox for film buffs.
For those who don't like the narrative shifting, I don't see how you're gonna like his earlier stuff. Some of his early works feel like they just stop halfway through and pick up with a whole new story. But if this book is too 'normal' for you, definitely start at the beginning of his catalog. It's a great way to catch all the cool little references Erickson makes to his own work.
Personally, I like how subtle Dreams is compared to previous Erickson. And he is one of the few authors who can write about race, religion and politics without making my eyes roll into the back of my head. I love the way he weaves together RFK, Obama's presidency and his own personal experience with being a white, adoptive father of a black child. Maybe the book doesn't have the most satisfying narrative, but thematically it comes full circle in a very profound way for me. And to give a novel like this a more defined ending or climax would only serve to diffuse it of that profundity.
I dig the vagueness, even though most of them are pretty obvious. Loved the Bowie stuff.
He really uses this to great effect in Zeroville. He uses a bunch of famous actors, filmmakers and musicians as characters, but doesn't explicitly tell you who they are. He also describes famous, classic and foreign movies without giving their title. Part of the fun, especially since I'm a film and music buff, was figuring out all the references.
As for the coincidences, I like those too, although I felt they were a little too obvious in Dreams. That's one of my only complaints. I kind of saw where he was going with the babysitter/Sheba's mother the whole time. I don't mind coincidence, but I don't like it to be too telegraphed.
I thought the second taxi/limo collision was pretty lame but the rest of the coincidences were ok with me - I mean, it's fiction. The woman who helped Zan was drinking at the same pub meets RFK and bangs Bowie who begats the mother of Sheba. Fine, it's fiction. It's fun.
I liked the vagueness of the well known figures as well, especially being a music fan and all that. I feel like I need to track down a copy of Tezeta as well (I've been to lazy to look it up).
I thought the ending was fine, they lose the house, they're sleeping in a abandoned rail car (or something) but they're together and they're a family. So that worked - the last 2/3 of the story was about reuniting and finding one another and having Sheba feel secure and moving forward as a family, so I'm good with that. I found that to be fulfilling.
My only main gripe with this one was that a lot of it could have been edited down. I found a lot of the writing to be a little to self-gratifying wankery - like a Trey Anastasio solo. It's good. But enough. We get it.
(if that makes sense. And that's only my taste)
I didn't care for this book, but I am pretty obsessed with almost all of his novels. It's not one of my favorites, but Zeroville his his most accessible novel besides this one, so it would be a good introduction. If you're okay with trying something that's not as accessible, I'd go with his first novel, Days Between Stations, instead. All of his novels before Zeroville go together while Zeroville is related in a very minor way and I don't think anything is lost if you read it first. You'll also really like it if you're a movie aficionado.
Pete - I don't doubt it's a standard, I need to go actually do some work with the day job but I'm going to research it a little later. In any case, that's a great recording. It made my morning web browsing that much more enjoyable. I love the subtle rhythm guitar going on in this.
@Pete: If I remember correctly, Tours is the one about Hitler's pornographer (amongst many other things). Great stuff. I also really like The Sea Came In At Midnight and Our Ecstatic Days. Those two kind of go together and make a great back-to-back read. Days has a sentence that starts on page 83 and runs through the text of the remaining pages, for the duration of the book, so you have to decide whether to finish the sentence before you finish the book proper. It sounds annoying, but is actually kind of cool.
Damn, I gotta go back and read his early stuff.
What did everyone think of the Sheba stuff? I thought it was laugh-out-loud funny. Don't you tell me what to do! I'm a professional!
When I interviewed Erickson, I asked how much of it was actually based on his adoptive daughter. He said his editor made him take stuff out because, even though it had happened, no one would believe a 4 year-old was that precocious. I want to meet that kid.