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Book Details

Dhalgren

85.7% complete
1974
200,000
1983
2 times
See 7
I - Prism, Mirror, Lens
II - The Ruins of Morning
III - House of the Ax
IV - In Time of Plague
V - Creatures of Light and Darkness
VI - Palimpsest
VII - The Anathemata: a plague journal
Book Cover
Has a genre Has a synopsis Has an extract Has a year read Has a rating In my library 
193
No series
© 1974 by Samuel R Delaney
This book about many things
must be for many people.
Some of them are

Joseph Cox, Bill Brodecky, David
Hartwell, Liz Landry, Joseph
Manfredini, Patrick Muir, John
Herbert McDowell, Jean Sullivan,
Janis Schmidt, Charles Naylor, Ann
O'Neil, Baird Searles, Martin Last,
Bob & Joan Thurston, Richard Vriali,
& Susan Schweers

and

Judy Ratner & Oliver Shank

also

Thomas M. Disch, Judith Merril,
Michael Perkins, Joanna Russ, Judith
Sherwin, & Marilyn Kacker
to wound the autumnal city.
May contain spoilers
Waiting here, away from the terrifying weaponry, out of halls of vapor and light, beyond holland and into the hills, I have come to
No comments on file
Synopsis* (may contain spoilers)
Dhalgren is a novel written by Samuel R. Delany and published in 1975, which has become a cult classic in the science fiction genre. It is a complex work of postmodern literature that ranges from surrealism to utopian fiction to critiques of race, gender, and politics that challenges readers to expand their perspectives on such topics in ways they might not have considered before.

The story takes place in the fictional city of Bellona, which has been struck by a mysterious disaster that has left it in a state of decay and confusion. The protagonist, a young poet whose real name is never revealed but who goes by the pseudonym of Kid, finds himself stranded in Bellona and unable to leave due to a force field that surrounds the city. As he navigates the chaos of the city, he encounters a diverse cast of characters living outside the norms of society, including gangs, anarchists, and artists.

The novel does not follow a traditional narrative structure and is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion. The reader encounters recurring scenes and characters that are viewed from different perspectives and in varying orders. There are also disruptions in the text itself, including gaps, unconventional punctuation, and blank pages that contribute to the dreamlike quality of the story.

One of the central themes of the novel is the nature of identity, particularly in relation to race and sexuality. Kid, who is a black man, struggles with his own racial identity and the way that others perceive him. He is also bisexual and engages in sexual relationships with both men and women.

Delany explores gender and sexuality through the character of Denny, a young woman who is referred to as a "boy" by some of the characters in the novel. Denny experiments with gender fluidity and is attracted to both men and women. The novel offers a powerful critique of gender norms and the expectations placed on individuals based on their sex.

The novel also critiques social and political power structures, particularly those of authoritarianism and capitalism. The gangs in Bellona operate in a collective manner, with power being distributed among different members rather than being centralized in one leader. This model of governance contrasts with the authoritarian regime that is attempting to take over Bellona.

Capitalism is also scrutinized through the character of Tak, who runs a successful business that sells discount furniture. Tak is at odds with the anarchist factions in Bellona but also provides a sense of stability to the city. The novel explores the tension between individualism and collective action, highlighting the problematic aspects of both models.

The city of Bellona itself is a character in the novel, and Delany uses it to examine the nature of human society and civilization. The city is a sprawling metropolis that has been left in a state of decay following the disaster. It is a place where the normal rules of society no longer apply and where individuals are able to experiment with new ways of living. It is simultaneously a utopia and a dystopia, a place where the promise of freedom and creativity is countered by the dangers of chaos and violence.

Dhalgren has been praised for its experimental style and the way it challenges readers to question their assumptions about identity, power, and society. Some critics have compared it to the works of James Joyce and William S. Burroughs for its innovative use of language and unconventional narrative structure.

At the same time, the novel has been criticized for its graphic depictions of sex and violence, which some readers have found disturbing or offensive. Others have found the nonlinear structure confusing and difficult to follow.

Despite these criticisms, Dhalgren has remained a beloved classic in the science fiction genre and an important work of postmodern literature. It continues to inspire new generations of readers to expand their perspectives and challenge their assumptions about the world around them.

Extract (may contain spoilers)
I recall / and want/ this wanting:
    Swinging up into the cab of a truck, miles north of Florida, and the driver asking how long you've been hitching, and the sunlight fills his lime-splattered lap and your rank jeans and he lets the radio play pop music for a while, for a while country; then twists the dial; your forearm burns on the outer edge of the door, your hair snaps and your cheek freezes, and the motion is spindled on the rush of music.  So you sit, just breathing, to hear and to move through the red and green country, with the sun in the tree-tops a stutter and bright explosions.
    The City suffers from the lack of it.
    But most of us /have/ come to here by way of it.

 

Added: 29-Dec-2002
Last Updated: 03-Apr-2023

Publications

 01-Dec-1980
Bantam Books
Mass Market Paperback
In my libraryI read this editionOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Dec-1980
Format:
Mass Market Paperback
Cover Price:
$3.95
Pages*:
879
Read:
2 times
Internal ID:
230
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-553-14861-3
ISBN-13:
978-0-553-14861-9
Printing:
15
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Credits:
Dean Ellis  - Cover Artist
DHALGREN

"...A portrait of a city called Bellona which has suffered a disaster so cataclysmic that the very fabric of the space-time continuum has been distorted... Buildings burn endlessly but are not consumed.  Radio and television broadcasts cannot enter or leave the city.  The sky is sealed with thick haze.  When it clears, strange portents are seem: two moons, a grotesquely swollen sun...

DELANY'S KALEIDOSCOPIC PROSE - AND HIS POWERFUL VISION OF A SOCIETY TRYING TO COME TO TERMS WITH CHAOS - MAKES THE WHOLE JOURNEY WORTHWHILE."

- Gerald Jonas, Penthouse

BY SAMEUL R. DELANEY
Author of Triton, Nova and Tales of Nevèrÿon
Cover:
Book CoverBook Back CoverBook Spine
Notes and Comments:
A Bantam Book / January 1975
2nd printing  February 1975
3rd printing February 1975
4th printing February 1975
5th printing April 1975
6th printing June 1975
7th printing September 1975
8th printing March 1976
9th printing May 1976
10th printing October 1976
11th printing January 1978
12th printing June 1978
13th printing February 1979
14th printing October 1979
15th printing December 1980

Fifteenth printing based on the number line
 15-May-2001
Vintage Books
Paperback
Order from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
15-May-2001
Format:
Paperback
Pages*:
832
Cover Link(s):
Internal ID:
231
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-375-70668-2
ISBN-13:
978-0-375-70668-4
Country:
United States
Language:
English
"a brilliant tour de force."
- The News & Observer (Raleigh)

In Dhalgren, perhaps one of the most profound and bestselling science fiction novels of all time, Samuel R. Delaney has produced a novel to stand with the best American fiction.

Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States.  Something has happened there...  The population has fled.  Madmen and criminals wander the streets.  Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky.  Into this disaster zone comes a young man - poet, lover, and adventurer - known only as the Kid.  Tackling questions of race gender, and sexuality, Dhalgren is a literary marvel and groundbreaking work of American magical realism.

"I consider Delany not only one of the most important SF writers of the present generation, but a fascinating writer in general who has invented a new style."
- Umberto Eco

"The very best ever to come out of the science fiction field... A literary landmark."
Theodore Sturgeon, Galaxy

"A Joycean tour de force of a novel, Dhalgren... stake[s] a better claim than anything else published in this country in the last quarter-century (excepting only Gass's Omensetter's Luck and Nabokov's Pale Fire) to a permanent place as one of the enduring monuments of our national literature."
- The Libertarian Review
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:

Related

Author(s)

Samuel R Delany  
Birth: 01 Apr 1942 New York City
Notes:
From the Random House Website:

After his seventh novel Empire Star (1966), Samuel Delany began publishing short fiction professionally with “The Star Pit.” It appeared in Worlds of Tomorrow and was turned into a popular two-hour radio play, broadcast annually over WBAI-FM for more than a decade. Two tales, “Aye, and Gomorrah” and “Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-precious Stones,” won Nebula Awards as best SF short stories of, respectively, 1967 and 1969. Aye, and Gomorrah contains all the significant short science fiction and fantasy Delany published between 1965 and 1988, excepting only those tales in his Return to Nevèrÿon series. A native New Yorker, Delany teaches English and Creative Writing at Temple University in Philadelphia. In July of 2002 he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Awards

1976Locus MagazineBest SF Novel Nominee
1976Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of AmericaNebula Award - Best Novel Nominee
*
  • I try to maintain page numbers for audiobooks even though obviously there aren't any. I do this to keep track of pages read and I try to use the Kindle version page numbers for this.
  • Synopses marked with an asterisk (*) were generated by an AI. There aren't a lot since this is an iffy way to do it - AI seems to make stuff up.
  • When specific publication dates are unknown (ie prefixed with a "Cir"), I try to get the publication date that is closest to the specific printing that I can.
  • When listing chapters, I only list chapters relevant to the story. I will usually leave off Author Notes, Indices, Acknowledgements, etc unless they are relevant to the story or the book is non-fiction.
  • Page numbers on this site are for the end of the main story. I normally do not include appendices, extra material, and other miscellaneous stuff at the end of the book in the page count.






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Presented: 28-Mar-2024 02:48:29

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