The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May

Two of the reviewer's own Narrative Constructs* discuss the latest book (?) by Mark Z. Danielewski╔TQSNarconQ: Will Mark Z. Danielewski change the way we read fiction?TQSNarconA: There's a question I'm sure has been asked since the publication of his groundbreaking text , House of Leaves. He has definitely changed the way people read his fiction. His prose is a mash-up of style: Joycean, Pynchonesque; tone: Jacksonian, P.K. Dickish; and form: graphic novel, expressive typography, use of signicons (signs+icons), and fonts as identifiers. However, I don't think his influence is strong enough to trigger a paradigm shift in literature.TQSNarconQ: What has he written for us lately?TQSNarconA: His latest work is entitled The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May. It is the first volume (840 pages) in a proposed 27 part epic work revolving around 9 core characters.TQSNarconQ: Why is it called The Familiar?TQSNarconA: As far as I can determine the title most likely refers to the meaning: familiar: noun 9.Witchcraft and Demonology. an animal, as a cat, that embodies a supernatural spirit and aids a witch in performing magic. familiar spirit. excerpted from Dictionary.comTQSNarconQ: Wow, sounds spooky, what's it about?TQSNarconA: Well as I said there are 9 core characters, 9 points of view (not including the 3 Narcons, or Narrative Constructs, absurdly structured voices who barge in on the tale periodically), but 3 are immediately related to each other. So there are 7 distinct story lines, which may (at least I hope) by the end of the 27th volume, merge into one coherent narrative.The main story line is about a married couple from Los Angeles, California, Anwar and Astair, who have three daughters: the twins Freya and Shasti, and their very special epileptic daughter, Xanther, 12 years old (the X Factor of the tale). Xanther is Anwar's step-daughter, her real father, Dov, having been killed-in-action, a hero of a foreign war. Anwar and Astair have decided to buy a dog for the family in hopes of aiding Xanther with her debilitating condition. We pick up the action as Anwar and Xanther venture out on "one rainy day in May" to purchase a canine surprise. As it happens, and I won't spoil it for you, not that it hasn't been spoiled already, they get sidetracked, but arrive home safely..TQSNarconQ: That's it? That's the entire plot?TQSNarconA: Well it is only part 1 of 27. We also learn a lot of back story, like about Anwar's career as a video game designer (AI/Engine his specialty). And besides, a lot more happens in the chapters featuring the 6 other characters.TQSNarconQ: OK, who are these other characters?TQSNarconA: They vary from Jing Jing, a Chinese drug addict in Singapore, to Shnorhk, a taxi driver in Los.Angeles., to Isandôrno, a superstitious traveler in Mexico. From The Wizard (Cas) and her Orb in Texas to the gang leader Luther, and the detective Özgür both from L.A. They are a mysterious and random bunch, yet there are some common threads that can be drawn between them. For instance, each one of them can sense the faint cry of their so-called familiar (...), a plea for salvation.TQSNarconQ: What the hell is the point of all this quotidian trickery?TQSNarconA: To be honest, which, by the way, I cannot be otherwise, I haven't too much of a clue (one book's worth to be exact (840 pages)). Here's the thing, the reader needs to place some trust in the writer, otherwise the question of time and money spent can get a little dicey. I, for one, am willing to extend a soupçon of faith to the author, at least until Part 2 drops in October (the birthday of Book Jones)TQSNarconQ: OK, I just sneaked a peak at the title of this review. What in the reviewer's name is "The Question Song" a reference to?TQSNarconA: Why, Xanther's coping mechanism in the book of course. "Curiosity was her constant" says Anwar of Xanther. She vocalizes her anxiety in expectation of a possible seizure by asking series of questions until they mimic a song. Unverbalized, however ("how many raindrops?" (obsessed over on that rainy day in May)), they can lead to trouble.TQSNarconQ: I'm guessing you really enjoyed this new novel by MZD, as the author has been referred to. Is this correct and if so, to whom would you recommend it?TQSNarconA: You guessed right, partner, I did kind of enjoy this odd foray into combi-form writing and graphic story-telling. And I look forward to sharing more commentary about The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Forest at the proper time.If nothing else, the book itself is a beautiful object, a softcover tome which makes use of thick, art quality paper; if has an important feel and heft to it. Danielewski succeeds in plying his literary trade without seeming too pretentious, a tough trick accounting for the breadth of originality he invokes (I mean: there is even this from the top of the copyright page: "Because Fiction's province is the imagination and thus concerned with the argument of empathy over representation, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, no matter how familiar, shall be considered coincidences born out of the readers' very keen and original mind").Thoughtful open-minded and curious humans with patience to indulge on borderline eccentric art will reap some rewards from this particular volume. Books such as this often require supplemental material to garner a more substantial understanding and informed interpretation of their obscure themes and cryptic messages. A fairly comprehensive and scholarly resource can be accessed on line at https://thefamiliar.wordpress.com. One caveat: please do not read this book on an electronic device such as the Kindle, you will not take advantage of the full sensory experience.OK, TQSNarconQ that's it for now, We'll reconvene for the next volume in the Autumn of the year.TQSNarconQ: Promise?TQSNarconA: I will give you my word (Familiar), In full color, no less.╝* Rules governing the Narrative Constructs in this review do not apply to The Familiar's family of Narrative Constructs.

I don't know if one can really review book one in a series of 27.What would that even look like?So, I'm going to make some statements about the book, because some unusual things are being done here. You may or may not decide to read the book based on the observations. If you have read, or tried to read, the book or books, this might or might not be helpful.No spoilers.First: This is more like a very long first chapter than a novel. For those who like a slow build to their horror, this may be the ultimate. Character development and backstory are extreme, and engaging, but are not going to be tidied away in a few paragraphs. The reader will inhabit the lives of the characters.Second: The characters are many. I've heard this compared to the TV show "Lost". Well, I can see that. But only because there are not many other things you can compare it with in which many characters all have extremely strong and complex backstories. But it is not LIKE "Lost".Third: The author is taking an evolutionary step in writing. And by writing, I mean the actual act of how words are put on the page. I'm going to elaborate a lot on this, because it is possibly the most striking thing.I'm not sure if it was Stephen King who pioneered the use of italics for representing thought, or if he was just the first writer whose work I encountered to use the device. Most modern readers have come across this or something like it by now.Danielewski is now taking it to much higher levels, which, once the reader accepts them, and has trained the eye, lend to the reading experience. However, he introduces a LOT in one work. One's eyes resist being trained.For example, the point of view of each character will be written in a font specific to that character.The placement of the text on the page will vary depending on the setting of the chapter.Typeface and text placement are used to artificially slow or hasten the reading pace far beyond what a comma, dash, or ellipses might do.In an effort to give us a more stream-of-consciousness vision of the way each character thinks, the language will be tailored to that character's own...world view. This means a teen may have modern slang, a person in Singapore will be in a nearly indecipherable pidgin, a programmer may think using the phrasing of programming language, and a handful of foreign languages are thrown in untranslated. One character thinks using parenthetical phrasing much the way Emily Dickinson used dashes in her poetry.It does not even stop there.Some other literary devices are added in...sort of like living, interactive footnotes to prevent readers from having to look things up. Facts are added...in some cases, facts from the fictional construct of this constructed world. The footnote things argue among themselves.I think I give you some idea of what to expect...and also what has confused and or annoyed many readers.This is not a quick read and takes sincere concentration. Unfortunately, in some places, I feel the author perhaps got a little lost in the foreignness of some characters to the point that I was skimming along like a trapeze artist, grasping for something to get me from one page to another and just hoping I'd have some idea what was going on eventually. I don't like that feeling, because I have to assume it would not be in the book at all if it were not important.Fourth, as the series title suggests, this does involve, on some level, animals. If you are a person who has pets, loves them, works with them, or rescues them, you will be alternately annoyed and gratified by the various parts of this book. Not all of the characters have clues. Much research, however, was done.Fifth, this is a big, heavy, unwieldy volume. It is not easy to hold in the hands. The paper is of fine quality for the color illustrations and effects. Do not bother to try to read this on a Kindle. I can't imagine that working. Those with arthritic hands will be hurt by this.Sixth, and finally, with all that being said, there is a plot. I can see what is going on. I can feel it building, although I cannot see how all the pieces fit together yet.I have, at the time of this writing, read the second volume. The characters are strong.And I do want to know what happens next. I feel that something big is on the horizon, slouching our way. Slowly. Inexorably.But will I still care by the time the third book is released?Should I hope I live long enough for them all to be finished and then spend years of my life reading the whole thing?Or, should we, as the reading public, begin them now and speculate?In this way, the project is also like the TV show "Lost". while it aired, people speculated each week. Once it was done, others chose to stream it online and watch it from beginning to end.However, this appears to be a 27-volume work, and each book contains 800 or more pages.So what is that going to be like?I think we are going to need a new word.It's not a book. It's not a series.Whatever it is, I think it is going to change things.(...and whatever else anyone has to say about this writer, his mind is brilliant and unique, in that something this refined and detailed has sprung into it. It's breathtaking, and I can only begin to compare with the composers who were able to wake up with complete symphonies in their heads. This is, I think, like that. Will he be able to get it all out into the world? I have no doubt it is formed in his head. And that amazes. Try reading this, and be amazed.)

Be warned this author plays with the medium of the written page and so this book does not transfer well to Kindle. I will certainly buy the printed version but I feel CHEATED by the seller's lack of warning.

Arrived yesterday and I adore everything about it. Smashed through half of it today, utterly hooked.Only thing that keeps it from being 5/5 is the seller didn't sufficiently wrap it and so there is some minor damage to the spine which is a shame.

Big was my relief when I started "One Rainy Day In May" on Friday, part one in Mark Z. Danielewski's series "The Familiar", and on Sunday noticed I'd already gotten halfway in this 840 page book! Part because of his creative way of filling the pages, but also because this time there's a clear and easy to read story behind it all. Which I can't say of his "Only Revolutions". Relieved, because my to read pile also includes parts two through four. If this first part had been a monster, I don't know what I would've done. But luckily that's not the case. On the contrary, right now it's the best book I've read this year.Danielewski, and his "House of Leaves" was recommended to me after declaring myself a fan of the metafiction book "S", a collaboration between author Doug Dorst and film and television show creator J. J. Abrams. "House of Leaves" wasn't an easy book, even though it was intriguing. I was afraid "The Familiar" would be in the same style. But this book is much more approachable. However, some pieces are difficult to absorb (the character Jingjing in Singapore, and L.A. gang member Luther, whose dialogues are interwoven with street and latino lingo). Each character has a very distinct, unique voice, which is also presented in a visual fashion.I put the book down regrettably each night, when I could no longer ignore my needed hours of sleep. I'm looking forward to starting the other books.

A difficult book to read but totally worth it. The visual layout is beautiful. So far I've found the story a bit easier to take in than some of his previous books. I hear he's planning to do 27 of these. I may need to buy another bookshelf.

A great book. My daughter loves the way the book is put together inside with the different fonts and lays out.