Well, this is pretty much a one sitting "book." * Although I have to confess that it took me two sittings...but they were short sittings. And I'm a busy bee.
I went for The Full Monty on this reading...scanned the QR code at the beginning of the first (0) chapter, played the "music" that it linked me to, and tried to finish reading the chapter before the music ended. It was a two page chapter & I'm a pretty good reader, so you'd think that that would have been easy...but you'd be wrong. Because the music was only about 30 seconds long. (Well, 38 seconds according to the online player, but the music doesn't come in until the 3rd second, and it ends at the 35th second, which is a lot closer to "about 30 seconds long" than it is to 38 seconds, isn't it?) Oh, sorry..."music." Because it was actually just a drum beat, which in my book doesn't qualify as music. (Speaking of which, you can check it out for yourself HERE.)
So while I was excited at the prospect of having music to go along with this "book," I was more than a bit unsatisfied with the reality of it. So unsatisfied that I actually started thinking about how it should have been done and how to fix it. The first thing I'd do is record myself reading each chapter out loud. Then I'd lay down the "music" and repeat as necessary to cover the reading of the chapter. And THEN I'd leave the first (0) one alone with the drum beats. But for the second (1) chapter...which (sorry for the SPOILER) is also just drums...I'd add in one instrument. And for the third (2) chapter...which (sorry for the SPOILER) is also just drums...I'd add in two instruments. I'm sure you can figure out how the rest of this goes. I think that would be a tasty dish to sit before.
And you know...I might actually do it. It would be pretty easy to put together using GarageBand. And I'd love to share, but doing so would upgrade me from Guy With Way Too Much Time On His Hands to Copyright Violator, and that's a bridge too far for moi. So if you're interested in this package...oh, wait a minute, it was pie (via allusion) a minute ago, wasn't it?...if you're interested in having a piece of this pie, you'll have to drop by the Manse some time for a Listening Party. And maybe some coffee and a Krasznahorkai chat.
ANYway....
In some ways this was a typical László Krasznahorka work. The long sentences. The curious sense of humor wrapped up in a healthy dose of what I suppose must be called cynicism...though it just seems like realism to me. But then there are some departures. There are actually some short sentences in some chapters, for instance. How short are they? Offhand I remember a couple of three words sentences...and one two word sentence! I mean...Jesus wept! Also, there were some vivid references to sex...and even a Fuck or two...and maybe I've forgotten--I tend not to notice that kind of thing--but I can't remember László ever going there before.
I don't want to go into any specifics of plot, but here are a couple of things that I find noteworthy:
The "music" for 9. Life might be a violin. Or a bandsaw. But it's the first piece (so far as my tin ear can tell) that isn't just percussion. (Well, there was that weird scratchy sound in 4. Relating to insanity, but in my book it was still percussive.)
The "music" for 11. Stations there were a few scraping sounds that almost sounded like a violin being abused.
In Chapter 13. Faith there is a reference to "the port of Split" where the narrator (presumably Homer) is waiting for a ship. Well. Split is currently a city in Croatia, but once upon a time is was called Spalato, which I only know because I read Istvan Tamas's The Students Of Spalato, and loved it so much that I (1) went for a deep dive on Spalato and (2) spent a lot of time looking for more books by Mr. Tamas; unfortunately to date I've only found (and purchased) one other work, though: Sergeant Nikola: A Novel of the Chetnik Brigades. It doesn't pay to fall in love with obscure and / or forgotten writers...not even in the 21st century.
Oh, by the way...the art. Or should I say "art"? You choose. But it is by Max Neumann, who has worked ("worked"?) with László Krasznahorkai before...on the "book" Animalinside. It's 40 pages, and there's a copy of it listed on Amazon for $1,495.19. Plus $3.99 shipping. Hmmm? Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a copy of this very limited (2,000 copy run) "book." And I will sell it to you for a little less than $1,495.19...and throw in free shipping, too. 🤙
I have to admit that I was not impressed with Mr. Neumann's "art" on Animalinside. And that I consider his "work" on Chasing Homer to be inferior to that previous effort. For one thing, the "art" doesn't seem to have anything to do with the story. It's pretty much the visual equivalent of a series of drum solos.
So...I don't think you should spend $20 for this "book." I do love László Krasznahorkai more than any other living writer (and more than most of the dead ones, too), but this just isn't enough bang for the buck.
Just sayin', sir.
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