DogAndPanda: A Samuel R Delany('s Fiction) Reading Guide
If you're reading this, you have some interest in Delany, for any number of reasons and from any of many kinds of sources. I try to detail the appeal of some of his books, without anything close to a spoiler.
Delany's material can (roughly) be divided into two phases (there are two kinds of people in this world - those who put everything into one of two categories, and those who don't) - yes, the 'early' phase and the 'late' phase.
The early phase consists of what could be considered 'mainstream science fiction' in some broad sense. It includes most of his work up until the 1970s. Personally, I feel that Delany's talents don't (or didn't) lie in the plotting of a typical sci-fi book (much as James Tiptree Jr's also don't, in my opinion), and so these early works, while they have much to offer, may not really entertain someone looking for great old-school sci-fi (a la Harry Harrison, say). Still, the novella The Ballad of Beta Two is short, to the point, and interesting throughout - to say more would spoil it. The Fall of the Towers trilogy - written with full knowledge that one should never write a triology - also is very readable. Both books also have a lot of good and interesting ideas.
The later phase includes, well, everything else. From what I consider his 'realization' (where he more or less found his voice, and dropped any preconceived notions of what ingredients a book 'had' to have, whether or not he enjoyed them, they were helpful to the book, or he was even really good at them. In the interest of obscenely extended this parenthetical, I'll mention the strong parallels between the writings of Guy Davenport, of whom Delany has said he is a tremendous fan, who also seems keenly aware of what things are _not_ necessary in his stories).
Dhalgren
His most famous from this period is Dhalgren - a nigh-1000 page book which will irritate anyone looking for a standard science fiction novel, with its standard plot and standard resolution. Anyone looking for a book exploring 'inner city' slum life in the 1970s, and many things connected directly with Delany's life (he stated in his autobiography that he wanted to write about the things he saw that no one else seemed to be writing about), with a tantalizing notion of a plot that keeps just out of reach, this may be a good book to start with.
Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand
The book that really grabbed _me_, though, was Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand - a book, like Triton, which deals with, essentially, a single person in a very complicated futuristic world, full of (as the cover tells you) intruige, war, fantastic technology. Like his earlier book Triton, the character lives in this world, but doesn't really have much to do with these amazing space opera things happening in the background. Stars is, essentially, a love/lust story, with a good chunk of Delany social theory thrown in. The book starts with an approximately hundred page word prologue - if this does not grab you, this book is probably not for you. It dig grab me.
Dark Reflections
As of this writing, this is his most recent novel - and in many ways, one of his most accesable and most representative in some ways.
It chronicles (in three sections in backwards chronological order) the life of
someone who is described, by some, as an alternate universe Delany. I disagree with this description - there is only a superficial resemblance to Delany - it is someone who describes similarly to him if you ignore a lot of crucial details.
The main character of Arnold Hawley is a poet (not a writer) who ends up working for a college in Staten Island. The book details three different times in his life - the details of which I won't go into. I will discuss, though, how this
book is a great example of Delany skill at communicating the indivudual/mundane. Delany details 'uninteresting' aspects of this man's life - from his brief marriage, his attempts to come to terms with his homoesexuality, and his attempts to develop a career and, in fact, survive at all. Much as Tom Baker in his now-retired once-monthly "Baker's Dozen" series of answered fan questions, "being old is the pits" - and Delany details some of the ways in which this is true. Being poor is also the pits, and he shows this as well. The appeal and beauty in this book lie just as much in the details of Hawley's life as they do in the plot itself - which for some doubles the appeal of this book.
The Mad Man
The Mad Man is not a book for everybody - but like a lot of truly intense, specific art, anyone who is _is_ for will really enjoy it. The plot of this book is essentially the investigation of the murder of a Korean-American philosophy student in the 1970s by an African-American philosophy student in the 'present day'. Both characters are gay - and the book draws strong parallels between both of their lives, separated by decades (this much the back flap of the book will tell you). The book starts out with the statement "I do not have AIDS. I am surprised that I don't" - a deliberate reaction to Harold Brodkey's statement "I have AIDS. I am surprised that I do."
The Mad Man, like Dark Reflections, has a plot, but much of the pleasure of this book is, again, in the details that surround the plot - in this case, the descriptions of philosphical work, sometimes scatological sex with dirty homeless men, and researd into the death of the philosopher Hasler. If the thought of many details pages about a character with severe smegma (a la gorgonzola?) don't sound palletable, this book may not be the ideal starting point - but if they can be tolerated, if not enjoyed, then this could be a good place to start.
Atlantis: Three Tales
Atlantis is a compilation of stories Delany has written over the years which chronicle, somewhat fictionally (as really all autobiography must have some fiction) details of Delany's life growing up, as well as his imagined father's life (or at least, someone with his father's name - how accurately the book details actual events is not clear). Atlantis does not have any of the 'explicit' (in the mainstream sense) of The Mad Man, but has plenty of explicit content in a literal sense. Again, Delany's details of 'a day in the life', with the mundane as well as the interesting combined in a somewhat realistic proportion, may not appeal to everyone, but anyone interested in depictions of New York City through the years, Delany's life personally, or (in my mind) just plain good storytelling should enjoy this (shorter) book of his.
Soon to be discussed:
Dark Reflections
Flight From Neveryon
Some rambling:
Comments