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Zanesville

door Kris Saknussemm

LedenBesprekingenPopulariteitGemiddelde beoordelingAanhalingen
635414,365 (3.33)3
WHO IS ELIJAH CLEARFATHER? Futuristic bioweapon or good old-fashioned messiah? Reincarnated ex-porn star or mutant information-age revolutionary? The man who awakens in New York City’s Central Park with no memory of his identity and the enigmatic message FATHER FORGIVE THEM F carved into the flesh of his back may be all of these things and more. Taken in (and then expelled) by a group of freedom fighters battling the soul-deadening Vitessa Cultporation, Clearfather is a stranger in an even stranger land. Following tantalizing clues that point to the gnomic Stinky Wiggler, and pursued by murderous Vitessa agents, Clearfather embarks on a surreal odyssey of self-discovery across an America that resembles a vast amusement park designed by some unholy trinity of Walt Disney, Hunter S. Thompson, and Hieronymus Bosch. Accompanying Clearfather is an unforgettable cast of characters–including Aretha Nightingale, an ex-football-playing drag queen; Dooley Duck and Ubba Dubba, hologram cartoon characters sprung outrageously to life; and the ethereally beautiful Kokomo, whose past is as much a mystery as Clearfather’s own. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, a savage, fiercely intelligent satire that is also a page-turning adventure and a transcendent love story, Zanesville marks the arrival of a brilliant new voice in fiction.… (meer)
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Toon 5 van 5
The American-born, Australian-educated Kris Saknussemm has created the most original novel of the year with this wildly imaginative near-future satire. Explaining exactly what goes on in this dense book – outside of a doctoral dissertation, which someone no doubt will write – is very difficult.

The amnesiac Elijah Clearfather wakes in New York City with the enigmatic message FATHER FORGIVE THEM F carved on his back. He joins a group of rebels led by Aretha Nightingale, a linebacker-sized drag queen, who are fighting the tyranny of the globally dominant Vitessa Cultporation. The freedom fighters uncover Elijah's powers. He sings pieces of old pop songs, causing reality-altering events to occur: People cease to exist, injuries heal, items disappear. The band also discovers clues to Elijah's origins. He is either the reincarnation (or clone) of a nearly forgotten 19th-century messiah or a 20th-century porn star – or possibly both. Fearing Elijah, the group expels him. The rebels leave him with a map pinpointing possible leads to his origin. Thus begins his trek across a very different America. As they say, "And then things got weird."

Saknussemm deftly and artfully exposes an underbelly of American society. At one point, Dooley Duck, a rebellious cartoon holographic image who demanded to be anatomically correct and later married Ubba Dubba, a cartoon orangutan, declares, "Forgive us for turning the promise of America into a commercial virus that threatens to destroy the other cultures and indeed the whole environment of the earth." Nothing is sacred. Religion, big business, pop culture, science, love, sex, and nearly everything else falls under Saknussemm's satirical stroke.

At times sobering and humorous, the tale of Elijah Clearfather represents a 21st-century reality with a unique clarity and vision. Volume One of the proposed Lodemania Testament, Zanesville is a zany, lyrical tale that, while a complete story, leaves the reader hungry for further experiences with Elijah Clearfather.

This review originally appeared in The Austin Chronicle, November 25, 2005. ( )
  rickklaw | Oct 13, 2017 |
I had some high expectations for this book, since I usually enjoy off kilter novels, however I found this one a bit lacking. It seemed to me that author Kris Saknussemm was trying too hard to shock the reader (through often unneccessarily graphic descriptions) and not enough effort on keeping the plot cohesive. ( )
  EJStevens | Dec 28, 2010 |
Zanesville is either the greatest literary joke of the twenty-first century or what will become regarded as a classic of early twenty-first century literature. That I am taking time to write this review says that I am of the second opinion.

Before going any further, I want to know who the real author is. I have a strong suspicion that Kris Saknussemm is a pseudonym. The brief bio just does not add up. You would have to live there to get the flavor of Pittsburgh as described here, and be familiar with the stretch from Pittsburgh to Zanesville, OH, so my guess is the author is Pittsburgh based. There are other tantalizing breadcrumbs leading back to this part of the country in the form of two works being published in the Antioch Review under the same name. Since Yellow Springs is not too far from Zanesville, if not from the area, the author seems to have spent some time here. Please come forward and tell us!

When reading Zanesville for the first time, put your mind on hold and just let it wash over you. Go with the flow and do not try to make sense of it right away. It is a wonderful journey and, if you are a fan of off beat fiction, you will enjoy your companions on the ride. Elijah Clearfather, the main character is in a class by himself. Is he really the reincarnation of some long dead leader of a long gone religious sect or is he an entire creation? Vanishing roadside signs, dispense words of wisdom, and warning, courtesy of Stinky Wiggler, a one-person version of the Grateful Dead. Ubba Dubba and Dooley Duck, two holographic advertising icons, provide a counterpoint to the story along the way.

The scenery is interesting as well. America is transformed into a possible future where all business is tied to a megalithic pharmaceutical company. The Strip District of Pittsburgh figures prominently in the story as the center of a bourgeoning trade in body organs for transplant. Kennywood, a Pittsburgh landmark amusement park, and possibly the oldest amusement park in America, is parodied, both in the past of the narrative and in an amusement park that is what Las Vegas has become in the present as portrayed in Zanesville. Our national choices in fast food has also taken some decidedly bizarre twists.

I will not let you in on any more as that would start giving the plot away. It is a wild ride, like one of the amusements featured in Zanesville. And just like any good amusement park, the author promises there will be more forthcoming. According to the blurb on the jacket, this will become a series known as the Lodemania Testament. I can hardly wait for the next installment, just as I cannot wait to find out if Kris Saknussemm is the real name of the author or not.

12/9/2007
OK, I sit corrected, there is a Kris Saknussemm. Poking around doing an Internet search, I found an audio interview with the author. There are certain things that still do not add up, but this was written by a real person. ( )
1 stem PghDragonMan | Dec 5, 2007 |
As I was reading Kris Saknussemm's debut novel Zanesville, I kept wondering, "In what part of the universe does this guy's mind reside?" I know it's an entirely different plane then mine -- but that's a good thing.

If forced to pigeonhole Zanesville, you would probably categorize the book as science fiction. But that is an understatement -- it defies categorization. How does Saknussemm describe the book? As "techno-theological post-American monster vaudeville." Now maybe you have a glimpse of why I was wondering what universe his mind inhabits.

Zanesville, which Saknussemm plans to be the first in a proposed series he calls The Lodemania Testament, actually starts in 1838 with the birth of Lloyd Meadhorn Sitturd, "one of the most neglected geniuses in history." As a young boy, Sitturd is whisked up into a tornado on July 4, in Dustdevil, Tex., only to be returned to the exact spot unharmed some 20 minutes later. On July 14, 1913, after a life as an inventor, businessman, recluse and cult leader, Sitturd again disappears in another tornado in Dustdevil, this time never to be heard from again.

Suddenly, we are in a post-apocalyptic America, where a man we will come to know as Elijah Clearfather awakens in New York's Central Park, not knowing who he is but believing he was deposited there by a whirlwind. This is an America far different than Sitturd's or ours. It is run by the Vitessa Cultporation. The California coast has disappeared in an earthquake called Bigfoot and the new center of "culture" in the western U.S. is LosVegas, Nevadafornia. McDonald's has been converted to McTavish's, which has replaced the hamburger with haggis ("sheep stomach with your choice of filling.") Modern technology consists of cyberneering, genetainment and neurotecture. America has survived (?) a Holy War waged by Al-Waqi'a. Much of the country is roamed by bandits, some of the Mad Max variety, with the cannibals among them distinguished by the Mickey Mouse flags they fly.

Balance of review at http://prairieprogressive.com/?p=686
1 stem PrairieProgressive | Jun 8, 2007 |
Toon 5 van 5
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Wikipedia in het Engels (1)

WHO IS ELIJAH CLEARFATHER? Futuristic bioweapon or good old-fashioned messiah? Reincarnated ex-porn star or mutant information-age revolutionary? The man who awakens in New York City’s Central Park with no memory of his identity and the enigmatic message FATHER FORGIVE THEM F carved into the flesh of his back may be all of these things and more. Taken in (and then expelled) by a group of freedom fighters battling the soul-deadening Vitessa Cultporation, Clearfather is a stranger in an even stranger land. Following tantalizing clues that point to the gnomic Stinky Wiggler, and pursued by murderous Vitessa agents, Clearfather embarks on a surreal odyssey of self-discovery across an America that resembles a vast amusement park designed by some unholy trinity of Walt Disney, Hunter S. Thompson, and Hieronymus Bosch. Accompanying Clearfather is an unforgettable cast of characters–including Aretha Nightingale, an ex-football-playing drag queen; Dooley Duck and Ubba Dubba, hologram cartoon characters sprung outrageously to life; and the ethereally beautiful Kokomo, whose past is as much a mystery as Clearfather’s own. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, a savage, fiercely intelligent satire that is also a page-turning adventure and a transcendent love story, Zanesville marks the arrival of a brilliant new voice in fiction.

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