Brain Pain discussion

This discussion covers Pages 380-600: To End of "The Rest of My Days: Lieutenant Bradley Scouts Ahead"

This comment doesn't particularly belong to this part of the book, but I was at around p. 450 when I thought of it, so I might as well share it here.

It seems that this book was conceived, in part, to undermine the view of history as the actions of great men. Uh-Oh Howard isn't so much in control of things as he and others might like. Joseph is nothing akin to the sort of leader the American's might suppose, as his society is not structured like a military hierarchy, and though every Indian action is attributed to him, they have little to do with either his will or his acts. Even in the midst of this, the men believe their leaders to be responsible for determining everything, though it's really the little people who do most of the acts of consequence.

But this doesn't relieve anyone of the moral burden implied by their own decisions.

And it seems far easier to do mischief than to do good, whatever one's intentions may be.

It is sometimes infuriatingly (I'm sure intentionally so) how naive/complicit/self-deceiving General Howard can be, as when he orders a trial for Red Cloud and the surrendered Nez Perces. He acts as though he can trust the-system/protocol/his-fellow-man when every experience he has had so far goes to prove that he cannot and should not. But when it's convenient to do so, he does so. Wood is more conscious of Howard's guilt than Howard is.

For further discussion:

p. 478
... and now for some reason the necklaces on Red Heart's daughter... remind him of the cross on the black velvet band around Grace Howard's neck, and the way her throat pulses so sweetly when I complement her piano playing...

How does Vollmann get away with it? He's still up to his shifting-narrative-voice tricks, as seen in Rifles, and starkly displayed in Europe Central. I like it, but it's surprising how it can flow and how it can be accepted... going from "him" to "I" then eventually back to "he" in the midst of a stream of words which don't demarcate the boundaries between dialog, thought, narration...

Zadignose wrote: "How does Vollmann get away with it? He's still up to his shifting-narrative-voice tricks, as seen in Rifles, and starkly displayed in Europe Central. I like it, but it's surprising how it can flow and how it can be accepted... going from "him" to "I" then eventually back to "he" in the midst of a stream of words which don't demarcate the boundaries between dialog, thought, narration..."


He has the ability to ignore his inner editor.

He probably has to ignore a few outer editors at well! Hehe. But good point, one has to be able to oppose the self-critical voice when the self-critic is in error.

It probably could be read on a kindle, but probably will not become available for that platform anytime soon because its unique formatting would not be suitable. Without multiple levels of indenting, it would make parsing even more difficult for the reader.

Zadignose wrote: "How does Vollmann get away with it? He's still up to his shifting-narrative-voice tricks, as seen in Rifles, and starkly displayed in Europe Central. "

Just to put in a word on behalf of this wonderful phenomenon. I just ran across this phrase, "pronomial blurring" (in American Fictions, 1980-2000: Whose America Is It Anyway?, page220). It's a strategy taken up by many mega-novels ; and McElroy's Women & Men takes it to an extreme.

Needless to say, I'm enjoying peeking in here, overhearing. And a word of thanks to Jim, especially, for bringing so much attention to Vollmann's books, esp. the Dreams.

I couldn't read any fiction for about a week; now I'm back.

I note that this book is paradoxically laconic despite being long. Most utterances or thoughts are brief, often truncated. There are many Shakespearean style ellipses, where a conversation seems to be going in real time, yet "offstage" a lot has happened, or we can just assume things move along in an orderly manner. E.g., "Wood, Fletch, assemble all officers captain and above at once." "Right away, sir. They're all present." It can get punchy when action starts rolling, as when the report comes in (p. 546-547) that the Nez Perces have peacefully bypassed Captain Rawn. The book's been like this at many points, but it stood out more starkly because I came back to it after an absence.

Also, it made me laugh when I read "The soldier chief has tried to make some wall across the cañon. He builds like a child; his accomplishment is nothing."

Zadignose wrote: "Even in the midst of this, the men believe their leaders to be responsible for determining everything, though it's really the little people who do most of the acts of consequence."

something something Ad Chapman. Wikipedia even gives him credit for firing the first shot at White Bird Canyon, and he doesn't even have his own page! And of course the Nez Perce have their warriors who undermine Joseph's authority and massacre the citizens. Vollmann loves latching on to obscure people in history: he writes a World War II book about a composer, names his Pocahontas book after some guy named Argall, so why not write a Nez Perce War book that features Ad Chapman, Lieutenant Wood, and White Thunder?

Since Chapman is mentioned again here, let me ask my silly question: was he the original Leroy Jenkins?

But, more on topic, I wasn't entirely fond of the characterization of Gibbon when he arrived on the scene, but I like his subordinate Bradley. When action ensues, the clunkiness of Gibbon's introduction is quickly forgotten. But, anyway, he was introduced blatantly as a contrast to Howard, so he felt a little more like a device than a human.

In contrast, I did quite like what came before... the bypassing of Rawn's fort. Even though it was forecast for us, it still seemed somewhat surprising. Which is a feeling I get about the book in general too. I mean although I surely *hope* that the book will end with the victory of all Indians over the Bostons... I suspect it's not going that way. But knowing what is inevitable, it's still suspenseful in its way.

Additional comment/question. Anyone still expecting to hear Blurick's name come up again?

And Doc... is he a man who is everywhere, or is he an archetype who is incarnated in many men? (I don't expect an actual answer to this one... He can be both, or neither, ambiguously).

Zadignose wrote: "But, more on topic, I wasn't entirely fond of the characterization of Gibbon when he arrived on the scene, but I like his subordinate Bradley. When action ensues, the clunkiness of Gibbon's introdu..."

Lt. Bradley was also a gifted writer who kept a journal during his time with the 7th Infantry. He was chief of scouts of Gibbon's Montana column that arrived upon the aftermath of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Does The Dying Grass go into same detailed biographies of the historical characters as Europe Central did?

Can't wait to get this book.

Cphe wrote: "I really would have liked to have joined in with this one - but quite beyond my budget at this time.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a second hand copy or hope that it is eventually kindalised."

I notice that Amazon is selling it for $30

Anne wrote: "Cphe wrote: "I really would have liked to have joined in with this one - but quite beyond my budget at this time.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a second hand copy or hope that it is eventually kind..."
Yep that's pretty steep, be my luck should I get for that price, the next day it will half that.

Another comment that could be relevant in almost any part of the book, but since we're in week three now, here's the place I'll make it:

One enduring mystery that fascinates me, that will continue to be mysterious no matter how many documentaries, news reports, or you tube videos I watch, no matter how many stories I hear, and no matter what I experience, is how disasters can often be much less disastrous that you'd expect, or much more disastrous that you'd expect, and there's really no rhyme or reason to it.

I'm talking about the fact that sometimes you can hit a city with eight hundred tons of bombs and shells, resulting in three deaths, while in another instance a hundred people can die because they were trying to cross a crowded bridge and they just fell and got trampled. Sometimes a guy can get a bullet to the head and then get up and live, while another can die after stepping on a sharp piece of glass.

In context of this book, however you attempt to visualize the combat, it seems that one force can and should overwhelm the other so completely as to produce a total victory and annihilation of the enemy, yet it often turns out the be a relatively small number of deaths and injuries. But then all hell can break loose and the bodies pile up. Massacres can occur, yet somehow large masses of people, horses, lodges, supplies, can be pulled out, fighters can withdraw under fire, and a decision is put off while another multi-week pursuit gets underway.

The book effectively communicates that chaotic, mysterious element of warfare, I think.

Vollmann also seems to understand (or his sources understand and he transmits) what marine corp theorists call "friction" (maybe other people call it that too): the fact that battlefield conditions quickly produce obstacles to progress and the successful execution of any plan.

He also gets how crazy logistics and supply can be.

Zadignose wrote: "Additional comment/question. Anyone still expecting to hear Blurick's name come up again?

And Doc... is he a man who is everywhere, or is he an archetype who is incarnated in many men? (I don't ex..."

"Where do I know you from?" "I was at ____ with you".

And was I misreading, or does he somehow teleport from Howard's command to Gibbon's?

He does somehow teleport from Howard's command to Gibbon's... unless there are two or more Docs, who are somehow all the same.

And I'd forgotten I wanted to mention that Red O'Donnell too is sort of an amalgam of all muleteers and sutlers to save to trouble of adding multiple characters with similar traits. We don't need to learn the names of six or seven additional guys just to get the idea that whisky smuggling was going on.