A review by laurareads87
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany

challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
 to wound the autumnal city. 
So howled out for the world to give him a name. 
The in-dark answered with wind. 


...so begins Dhalgren. I don’t know that a star rating can encapsulate my feelings about this book, but will attempt to convey something coherent about it. 


Dhalgren follows Kid (or the Kid, or occasionally Kidd), a 27-year old Indigenous man who arrives in Bellona, a large city somewhere in the US where it’s clear some kind of disaster has happened. Kid doesn’t remember his name, but he remembers some aspects of his past. Strange phenomena occur in Bellona – a doubling of the moon, a massive sun, many fires, strange fog – and Kid knows his perception of time is different than others’. 


There is a lot that is really compelling about Dhalgren. Delany is an extraordinary writer – his autobiographical writing is some of my favourite – and there are utterly poetic passages throughout the novel. There is a lot of commentary on racism, sexism, and classism; it is hard to read and perhaps a bit rooted in its time (Dhalgren was published in the 1970s) but thought-provoking nonetheless. There are lengthy musings on poetry, art, and the ways news media shape perceptions. There is at least one reference to the author itself and several to mythology, and the unconventional structure of the novel is brilliant, particularly toward the end. 


This is also a very challenging book to read, and not just because of its non-linear structure. Kid, the protagonist, is a
rapist
, and following him around for 801 pages cannot be called pleasant. Sexual violence is a pervasive theme, as is racism and racist violence – these should not be easy things to read about, and they certainly aren’t here. I do not, as a reader, need or want all books I read to leave me comfortable and unchallenged, but I’m also not going to say I think that this book is unproblematic. The book addresses sexual consent as a theme and it becomes a topic of conversation at several points, but I don’t think it’s handled especially well overall. 


Content warnings: sexism, misogyny, homophobia, biphobia, racial slurs, racism, antisemitism, ableism, death, murder, violence, child death, fire / fire injury, injury detail, blood, institutionalization, sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, and probably others I’m missing – quite graphic and very hard to read in places. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings