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William T. Vollmann

Born

in Los Angeles, California, The United States

July 28, 1959

Website

http://www.harpercollins.com/williamtvollmann

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction

Influences

Ernest Hemingway, Lautréamont, Yasunari Kawabata, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor ...more

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William Tanner Vollmann is an American author, journalist, and essayist known for his ambitious and often unconventional literary works. Born on July 28, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, Vollmann has earned a reputation as one of the most prolific and daring writers of his generation.

Vollmann's early life was marked by tragedy; his sister drowned when he was a child, an event that profoundly impacted him and influenced his writing. He attended Deep Springs College, a small, isolated liberal arts college in California, before transferring to Cornell University, where he studied comparative literature. After college, Vollmann spent some time in Afghanistan as a freelance journalist, an experience that would later inform some of his works.

His William Tanner Vollmann is an American author, journalist, and essayist known for his ambitious and often unconventional literary works. Born on July 28, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, Vollmann has earned a reputation as one of the most prolific and daring writers of his generation.

Vollmann's early life was marked by tragedy; his sister drowned when he was a child, an event that profoundly impacted him and influenced his writing. He attended Deep Springs College, a small, isolated liberal arts college in California, before transferring to Cornell University, where he studied comparative literature. After college, Vollmann spent some time in Afghanistan as a freelance journalist, an experience that would later inform some of his works.

His first novel, You Bright and Risen Angels (1987), is a sprawling, experimental work that blends fantasy, history, and social commentary. This novel set the tone for much of his later work, characterized by its complexity, depth, and a willingness to tackle difficult and controversial subjects.

Vollmann's most acclaimed work is The Rainbow Stories (1989), a collection of interlinked short stories that explore the darker sides of human nature. His nonfiction is equally notable, particularly Rising Up and Rising Down (2003), a seven-volume treatise on violence, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Over the years, Vollmann has continued to write prolifically, producing novels, short stories, essays, and journalistic pieces. His work often delves into themes of violence, poverty, and the struggles of marginalized people. He has received several awards, including the National Book Award for Fiction in 2005 for Europe Central, a novel about the moral dilemmas faced by individuals during World War II.

Vollmann is known for his immersive research methods, often placing himself in dangerous situations to better understand his subjects. Despite his literary success, he remains somewhat of an outsider in the literary world, frequently shunning public appearances and maintaining a low profile.

In addition to his writing, Vollmann is also an accomplished photographer, and his photographs often accompany his written work. Painting is also an art where's working on, celebrating expositions in the United States, showing his paintings. His diverse interests and unflinching approach to his subjects have made him a unique voice in contemporary American literature. ...more

Combine Editions
William T. Vollmann’s books

Average rating: 4.09 · 54,751 ratings · 5,093 reviews · 100 distinct works • Similar authors

	Europe Central 3.99 avg rating — 3,363 ratings — published 2005 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Whores for Gloria 3.74 avg rating — 1,642 ratings — published 1991 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rainbow Stories 3.98 avg rating — 1,333 ratings — published 1989 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ice-Shirt (Seven Dreams, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 1,312 ratings — published 1990 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Poor People 3.80 avg rating — 1,234 ratings — published 2007 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	You Bright and Risen Angels 4.05 avg rating — 1,107 ratings — published 1987 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Atlas 3.89 avg rating — 927 ratings — published 1996 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means – A Philosophical Framework: The Moral Calculus for War and Conflict 4.20 avg rating — 845 ratings — published 2003 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Butterfly Stories 3.71 avg rating — 906 ratings — published 1993 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Royal Family 3.97 avg rating — 812 ratings — published 2000 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by William T. Vollmann…

Series by William T. Vollmann

Seven Dreams (6 books)
by

William T. Vollmann

4.11 avg rating — 3,363 ratings

Rising Up and Rising Down (7 books)
by

William T. Vollmann

4.22 avg rating — 902 ratings

Carbon Ideologies (2 books)
by

William T. Vollmann

3.95 avg rating — 587 ratings

Shadows of Love, Shadows of Loneliness (2 books)
by

William T. Vollmann

4.33 avg rating — 43 ratings

A Table for Fortune (1 book)
by

William T. Vollmann

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating

More series by William T. Vollmann…

Quotes by William T. Vollmann (?)

“So he lent her books. After all, one of life's best pleasures is reading a book of perfect beauty; more pleasurable still is rereading that book; most pleasurable of all is lending it to the person one loves: Now she is reading or has just read the scene with the mirrors; she who is so lovely is drinking in that loveliness I've drunk.”
― William Vollmann

117 likes

“I just make the best book that I can and try to not worry about audience or if it will sell. The odds are against you, so why abuse your talent for the sake of a chimera? The only real pleasure for me in writing comes from pleasing myself. What readers think is interesting and illuminating (and it may even be correct), but that is nothing compared to the excitement of seeing a world develop. Besides, even though I like most individuals I meet, I have a pretty low opinion of people in general. So if I were to write for people in general, I would have to drastically lower my estimation of the intelligence of my reader. Rather than doing that, I write the way it seems the book has to appear. I don’t think that’s egotistic. There are often things I would like to include in my books—things about me personally and other materials—that I feel I have to leave out because they aren’t relevant to the book. I’m fairly ruthless along those lines, because I try to let nothing come in the way of what’s best for the book. If that means that the book won’t sell or that a publisher won’t buy it, then that’s my problem. I’ll suffer for that, but I won’t let the book suffer for it.”
― William T. Vollmann

tags: mccaffery-interview

47 likes

“I studied Comparative Literature at Cornell. Structuralism was real big then. The idea of reading and writing as being this language game. There's a lot of appeal to that. It's nice to think of it as this playful kind of thing. But I think that another way to look at it is "Look, I just want to be sincere. I want to write something and make you feel something and maybe you will go out and do something." And it seems that the world is in such bad shape now that we don't have time to do nothing but language games. That's how it seems to me.”
― William T. Vollmann

45 likes

See all William T. Vollmann's quotes »

Polls

Esprimete la vostra preferenza per la lettura di gruppo di settembre.

Cecità di José Saramago

11 votes, 22.0%

Satantango di László Krasznahorkai

9 votes, 18.0%

La città sostituita di Philip K. Dick

7 votes, 14.0%

Domani nella battaglia pensa a me di Javier Marías

6 votes, 12.0%

Questa è l'acqua di David Foster Wallace

4 votes, 8.0%

Un cuore così bianco di Javier Marías

3 votes, 6.0%

La storia dei miei denti di Valeria Luiselli

3 votes, 6.0%

Mr Vertigo di Paul Auster

2 votes, 4.0%

Il vagabondo delle stelle di Jack London

2 votes, 4.0%

Le perizie di William Gaddis

1 vote, 2.0%

Europe Central di William T. Vollmann

1 vote, 2.0%

Qualcosa sui Lehman di Stefano Massini

1 vote, 2.0%

Robledo di Daniele Zito

0 votes, 0.0%

50 total votes

19 comments

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