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"The more you think about a thing, the more bizarre or common it may seem."
"Are you an usher or a philosopher?"
"It depends on who you are."
The greatest things you'll ever accomplish are not supposed to be fun. Working out, for example, is supposed to feel like Hell on Earth because you're pushing your body to accomplish things it could not previously do. Endorphin and pride are supposed to kick in afterwards, in perspective. It is the same for many other thing including reading, past a certain point. I can't say that reading KILLER and VICTIM by Chris Lambert was a blast at any point, but it strangely made me feel like I was doing something important, like exploring uncharted territory or something. Lambert is a fresh, strong and self-reliant voice that invented a universe of an unspeakable beauty and an inexplicable foreboding. KILLER and VICTIM is not for everyone, but it knows what it has going for itself and where it is going. The act of reading it feels like contemplating a majestic and fearsome thunderstorm. There's nothing you can do but admire the forces of nature colliding.
There's an art show tonight. in Alexander, the first crowd-sourced city and the premiere metropolis in America, alongside New York. The fabric of reality itself seems to collapse during the Body Artists' performance and the lives of the people in audience seems to have been slightly altered, They're connected to one another now. They keep bumping into each other, write a new chapter of their lives together. There's another problem though, members of the audience seem to be tracked by a ruthless, thirsty killer with an addiction for life. Who never has enough life to feed the bottomless void inside of him. Oh, and there's this crazy photo shoot taking place in a burning field, too. That's just one night in good ol' Alexander, a city that seems to consume itself with its own intensity.
Chris Lambert, or at least KILLER and VICTIM, has many noticeable influences. The most obvious would be Don DeLillo, who Lambert shares obsessions for demented urbanism and human disconnect with. They also have a similar ear for understated dialogue, which I appreciate. The second most present influence in KILLER and VICTIM is David Foster Wallace. Chris Lambert's tendency to jump from sweeping landscape descriptions to moments of intimacy reminded me of Wallace's magnum opus INFINITE JEST a lot. It's not trying to be IJ, it's way darker, but it's a novel that was almost adequately replicates some its best traits. The loose and sometimes experimental form of KILLER and VICTIM also reminded me of James Joyce, who bent the form to the need of his story without a second thought. Lambert does this with the same playful energy. One of my college teachers used to say that the word "original" contained the word "origin" and KILLER and VICTIM is a unique, inspired construction. The reliance on the aforementioned authors' techniques and obsessions only makes it easier to like.
There's an art show tonight. in Alexander, the first crowd-sourced city and the premiere metropolis in America, alongside New York. The fabric of reality itself seems to collapse during the Body Artists' performance and the lives of the people in audience seems to have been slightly altered, They're connected to one another now. They keep bumping into each other, write a new chapter of their lives together. There's another problem though, members of the audience seem to be tracked by a ruthless, thirsty killer with an addiction for life. Who never has enough life to feed the bottomless void inside of him. Oh, and there's this crazy photo shoot taking place in a burning field, too. That's just one night in good ol' Alexander, a city that seems to consume itself with its own intensity.
Chris Lambert, or at least KILLER and VICTIM, has many noticeable influences. The most obvious would be Don DeLillo, who Lambert shares obsessions for demented urbanism and human disconnect with. They also have a similar ear for understated dialogue, which I appreciate. The second most present influence in KILLER and VICTIM is David Foster Wallace. Chris Lambert's tendency to jump from sweeping landscape descriptions to moments of intimacy reminded me of Wallace's magnum opus INFINITE JEST a lot. It's not trying to be IJ, it's way darker, but it's a novel that was almost adequately replicates some its best traits. The loose and sometimes experimental form of KILLER and VICTIM also reminded me of James Joyce, who bent the form to the need of his story without a second thought. Lambert does this with the same playful energy. One of my college teachers used to say that the word "original" contained the word "origin" and KILLER and VICTIM is a unique, inspired construction. The reliance on the aforementioned authors' techniques and obsessions only makes it easier to like.
She tells me she had written a play. I was afraid of this. Many of these encounters reach this point. The no-body in the presence of the some-body thinks it an opportunity to climb the ladder. They aren't wrong. Everything is an opportunity. Just like everything is life and death.
KILLER and VICTIM is a novel of human connection and creation. Chris Lambert writes intimacy in a lifelike and moving manner. Reading them feels like you're experiencing a unique night out yourself, a night where everything changes for you. What I think was the concrete that held everything together for KILLER and VICTIM though was the fleeting nature of these scenes. In Alexander, intimacy is consumed, dies and then idols are raised. Lambert doesn't put a lot of effort into describing his city because it speaks through its citizens. They are obsessed with creation and imbuing lifeless things with their image so that their memory will survive them. They seem prey to a muse that wants them all dead. I thought the themes of KILLER and VICTIM were exhilarating and made it worth working through the beautiful, yet challenging prose of Chris Lambert. The novel achieves the highest goal any novel could aim for: breaking down an unspeakably complex problem through fiction. In this case, the consuming nature of artistic creation.
We all read for different reasons. Some of us read to escape the grind of reality for a couple of hours, others do it simply because they enjoy the quiet time. I'm not here to judge that. I read to challenge myself. To broaden and redefine my perception of my own reality. Chris Lambert's KILLER and VICTIM aims to do just that, so this novel and I were a great match from the get-go. It's not everybody's cup of teat though and I believe that it'll attract either visceral love or visceral hatred, depending on the reader. I loved KILLER and VICTIM and I hope you will too. It's going to make you work for every sentence and paragraph, but it's a dangerous and exciting novel that'll lead you to places you've never been before as a reader and it's way more than I can ask out of a book. KILLER and VICTIM is a visceral experience that'll appeal to the most reckless readers only.
We all read for different reasons. Some of us read to escape the grind of reality for a couple of hours, others do it simply because they enjoy the quiet time. I'm not here to judge that. I read to challenge myself. To broaden and redefine my perception of my own reality. Chris Lambert's KILLER and VICTIM aims to do just that, so this novel and I were a great match from the get-go. It's not everybody's cup of teat though and I believe that it'll attract either visceral love or visceral hatred, depending on the reader. I loved KILLER and VICTIM and I hope you will too. It's going to make you work for every sentence and paragraph, but it's a dangerous and exciting novel that'll lead you to places you've never been before as a reader and it's way more than I can ask out of a book. KILLER and VICTIM is a visceral experience that'll appeal to the most reckless readers only.
