The Lost Scrapbook
So my friend Brandmatt emailed me a while back and asked if I had heard of a writer named Evan Dara. I hadn’t. Matt said he was reading The Lost Scrapbook* and that it was great. O.K., so that was enough for me to get a copy … but when I looked for one, what I saw about it made me want it even more: “most accomplished first novel since William Gaddis’ [sic] The Recognitions,* and then his second novel was compared to Infinite Jest.* Oh boy. So I really had to get a copy. But it’s out of print. And I had just ordered one of the last copies available of William Vollmann’s Rising Up and Rising Down,* his seven-volume study of violence, which set me back $500 (though counter-intuitively ordered through what McSweeny’s advertised as a sale). But then William Vollmann himself had picked The Lost Scrapbook as the winner of a national fiction competition. So I ended up finding a used copy for $18. And though I’ve been super busy the past few days between teaching and work, I’ve managed to burn through 360 pages. And it is great. The comparisons with Gaddis and DFW are valid, though his voice is his own. He also has a kind of DeLilloan ear for a wide range of speaking voices. There are a lot of these voices in the novel, and Dara shifts more or less seamlessly between them. That aspect reminds me of my own abandoned novel Vox Americana (especially a one-sided telephone conversation1—I used that a few times … not that I do it very seamlessly … and, and … on rereading it, having abandoned it was probably for the best. So I guess I don’t have to bother going back and finishing it.). I’ve got 116 pages to go to see how Dara uses the eponymous scrapbook to tie everything together. But it’s worth reading for the sound alone.
1 An excerpt from an abandoned novel called Vox Americana:
Pat?
Max Hockney here. Wanted to touch base with you, make sure we’re on the same page.
We’ll set up a meeting…
Thursday? No good. Got a full platter this Thursday, three meetings.
Next Tuesday? O.K. Let’s pen that in tentatively. Wanted to jot down some notes, set an agenda for our meeting.
Yes, I understand you’ve raised a boner of contention…
No, I realize that, in terms of violence against women, you don’t want to beat around the bush…
Yes, but Crapper’s a little worried that when you present your concerns at the A&S meeting on rap studies, you’ll be like a bug in a china shop…
No, your concerns are certainly…
Yes, I always say, the squeaking wheel gets greased…
No, I don’t want to give you the bum’s rash, here, that’s why I want to meet with you, really hash it out before the vote at the big meeting.
Yes, but Crapper won’t whitewash this fellow, he’s got integrity, not afraid to call this Emcee Dirty a Spade…
No, I wouldn’t be afraid that he’ll…
Yes, I suppose that’s right, but R.S.…
No, that’s rap studies…
Yes, I think it really grabs you below the belt…
No, you see, as I was saying, some of the funding for R.S. may get channeled to other departments…
Yes, we’re all in the same bed here…
No, there’s no reason we can’t all divide the spoilage…
Yes, given current budgetary shortfalls, R.S. may give us an opportunity to kill two birds with one bush.
No, we’ll still air out any concerns you have.
Yes, as the First Lady of women’s studies, I’d like you to compile all the input from your colleagues, anything that might help the college get impacted …
No, I’m aware that, this time of the semester, your beaver is busy, just see if you can get your main concerns prioritized, then we can nickel and dime them.
Alrightie.
See you next Tuesday, then.
Bye now.