Tough going, but worth it
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I found Dhalgren much easier going the second tiome I tried to read it, I think because in the interim I had read four volumes of Proust, and the narrative style is not dissimilar - quite a lot of stream-of-consciousness reflection on the central character's state of mind, and Dhalgren even has a long sequence set at a party reminiscent of one of Proust's soirées, though with more swearing, and various other social gatherings are set-pieces of the narrative.
Also, of course, while Proust is very naturalistically creating a recognisable picture of urban and rural France, Delany's city of Bellona is as much as anything a state of mind, detached from the rest of the USA, where strange things happen in the sky and the central character knows that his own sense of time is as badly skewed as the local newspaper's chronology. Where Proust's narrator doesn't have a name, Delany's central character has two, though neither is complete. Delany's other characters are more archetypal than Proust's - the strait-laced Richards family, Newboy the poet, Kamp the astronaut, Calkins the editor, Denny and Lanya the central character's lovers. I was not always entirely comfortable with the racial or gender stereotypes I thought I detected.
Sex, of course, is a little more frequent and a lot more explicit in Delany's book; he is unembarrassed about polyamory and bisexuality where Proust is horrified by "inversion" - although Proust too has a lot of sex, the most explicit scene so far is one the narrator overhears rather than one he participates in. The other major difference is that Delany's central character is a writer, and spends a lot of time thinking about the relationship between his own art and life, compared to Proust who is always observing: watching other people's plays, listening to other people's music, reading other people's books.
Dhalgren is a bit self-indulgent in places - I think I understand why the last section of the book is presented as a working draft, but the point could have been made without demanding as much of the reader. But I was relieved that the story of the central character's poetry was told without actually blocking out the text with his poems, a practice I wish other authors (eg A.S. Byatt) would follow.
Anyhow, it was tough going in places, but worth it in the end.
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a little extra info
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I agree with Jason's review and would add that this is very much the product of its time, very soul-searching, "find yourself", self-indulgent 70s. It's nostagia for some of us!
The literary style is one of experimentation, breaking into themes and patterns of prose that repeat, excerpts, poetic musings. Diverse methods are used disjoint the text and the reading of it. This gives it an expressive freedom, matching the libertarian concerns of the work and the time and place in which it was written. It could be a bit off-putting to those that have specific preferences as to how SF should be written. Space Opera it ain't. That's why I liked it so much! Good writing is not a matter of fashion or a restrictive genre style.
I think it's beautiful, but don't bother if you like a tight, explicable, neat tale with fast pacing and a big bang at the end. You won't find that here.
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Lots of style, not so much substance
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This is Delany's most controversial work, and has something of a paradoxical nature to it. It's a lengthy tale but not much of consequence seems to happen. Instead, the many characters indulge in everyday things; oh, and plenty of sex. Many enigmas are introduced towards the beginning that will keep you reading. However, don't get your hopes up too high of them all being resolved. The story frequently seems to hint at a deeper meaning but never delivers anything without ambiguity.
From a lesser writer, such a book would seem a total write-off. However, Delany's prose is good enough to carry it off, even if only just at times. Still, from a writer who made his name with tightly plotted masterpieces like Nova and Babel 17, it's inevitably going to come across as rather pedestrian in comparison. If you're looking for an introduction to Delany, I'd recommend those books. Dhalgren will go down better with those that just like the way he writes, and aren't particularly expecting much else.
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Jaw-dropping. Just awesome.
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What this man can't do with words ain't worth doing. This monster of a novel is Delany's masterpiece. Compelling and enigmatic, it follows the life of The Kid as he enters and learns to live in the strange city of Bellona. For reasons unknown, the city is dying: most of its people have left. Of those who remain, some have fallen into anarchy and a frighteningly uncompromising freedom, whilst others cling to their old ways and habits. The Kid himself has been crazy in the past and is terrified of falling back into madness; but in Bellona it is impossible to tell madness from reality. Relentlessly vivid (including desperately physical sex), the book sunk its claws into me for 900 pages and left me used up and gasping. No plot summary could even hint at the experience of reading this beast. Get it while it's in print.
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Avant-garde SF masterwork
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Though not to everyone's taste, and hard-going in parts, Delany's sprawling tale of a man's, and a city's, and a society's dance with madness is a unique and dizzying experience. As erotic as it is disturbing, it charts the progress of the Kid as he enters the city of Bellona, somehow isolated from the rest of America, with a dwindling population and slowly decaying social structure. Neither he nor the reader can ever be sure of what is real and of what matters, and the attempt to retain sanity in the absence of rules - or the attempt to create and maintain new ones - becomes increasingly desperate. If you like a challenging read and have an open mind, you may find this one of the most memorable reads of your life!
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