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Meet Sam. You'll meet him initially on November 22, 1863. It is the Civil War. Sam is 16 years old.
Meet Hailey. You'll meet her initially on November 22, 1963. President Kennedy has just been assassinated. Hailey is 16 years old.
It just may turn out, however, that you'll meet Hailey before you meet Sam.
ONLY REVOLUTIONS is the newest creation from the incredible mind of Mark Z. Danielewski, the man responsible for driving readers crazy with HOUSE OF LEAVES. You have to give Danielewski credit when it comes to this new work because he obliterates any notions people may have had about his copying the format of the previous work. The only manner in which the two books are similar is that they are so far removed from any way you have ever experienced books.
Trying to describe ONLY REVOLUTIONS is not easy. Trying to explain its story is even more difficult. The easiest way to give an indication of the story is to merely explain that you have two characters, Sam and Hailey, and we follow them through the course of history. From November 22, 1863 until January 19, 2063, we move through history with Sam and Hailey, and all along this incredible journey they are forever 16. Life and the changes in the fabric of time are viewed through eyes of green and gold, always on the cusp of adulthood but never those of a child.
In looking at the layout of the novel, and it seems awkward to refer to it as such, you will see some things that strike you as odd right away. The book is double-sided. Sam and Hailey tell their story, and in order to get from one to the other you actually have to flip the book. This is a play on one of the themes: infinity, or eternity. Reading the book itself is circular, infinite. The page numbers are contained within a circle along the outside margin halfway down the page. Since the book has two sides, it has two sets of page numbers, each within their own circle, contained together within the main circle. As you turn pages and make your way through the tale, these circles revolve around one another, just as Sam and Hailey revolve around each other, just as their stories revolve around each other's, just as the reader is brought in and encircled by their tale.
But that's not all.
Along the inner margin of the pages you will find a date and a sequence of events through history. Some are mere events, some are snippets of quotes. Some talk of people who "go" where it is not too hard to understand after a brief time that to "go" means to die. When settling down with the book, the pages may seem overwhelming. There is the story text, the upside down text from the story running the other way, the history passages and revolving circles. In an effort to simplify the experience a reader may be inclined to ignore what seem to be meaningless historical tags. That would be a mistake.
Danielewski is a man whose words have meaning and context. The mess you see on the pages becomes more understood and easier to maneuver as the story is engaged. And the historical moments relate to the story. For example, during the time period of August 12, 1865, he writes in the story "By Forrests of pale harm," which, to my mind, is a reference to Nathan Bedford Forrest and the Ku Klux Klan, which is also referenced in the historical line on that page. The story and the history are one.
Which, I think, is the point. Sam and Hailey move through history, change history, experience history --- and they never age. Danielewski, by way of these two figures, tells us before the story starts, "You were there." The question is, is that simply implying innocently that we, as the readers, were present at all of these moments and experienced them all just as Sam and Hailey have? Or is it a pointed admonishment, implying that we were there and asking us why we did not do more to change the things that went wrong?
ONLY REVOLUTIONS is an astounding work, a mind-boggling epic poem one would expect if Pynchon, Benet, Homer and Joyce were miraculously smashed together into one brilliant writer. It will leave you confused, absorbed, drained, enthralled and wanting to go through it all again. It is a journey and you, as a reader, are a participant. You are no mere passerby. As they say, it is not the destination but the adventure that gets you there that matters.
The beauty within the complexity is that you most likely will not see ONLY REVOLUTIONS as I did. You may find things I never thought possible. And so too for others who read it on your recommendation. The publisher advises reading eight pages of Sam's story and then switching to eight pages of Hailey's story. You may decide to start with Hailey. You may decide to read straight through Sam first. Or vice versa.
However you take up ONLY REVOLUTIONS, you will not be engaging in a light beach read. This is quality work that, unfortunately, we don't see enough of.
--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard
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