Burns is crafting a stunning trilogy. This middle volume continues to add layer after subconscious, surreal layer to a narrative that seems to exert a gravitational force--with each turn of the page one is sucked further and further into this world of dark fantasy and desire. It seems impossible to completely sort out or untangle what is real and what's not; nevertheless, my great appreciation for this book stems precisely from its difficulty. It does not yield easy answers. It demands you reread, you juxtapose images and pages, you recollect what you've seen and heard. I anticipate returning to it again and again in an effort to more fully appreciate the complexity of the narrative and the richness of its formal presentation. Can't wait for the last volume... still not really sure what to think of this series. it's definitely darker and twistier than i normally can handle. this installment (2 of 3, as i understand it) begins to twist together the fragments we get in X'ed Out, but there's still plenty left open-ended. i'll leave it at that. i'm intrigued to see how the rest of the trilogy plays out, more out of "where the hell is this going?" than anything else. but i'm not sure my head's in the right place for it at this point in time. we'll see.
What do You think about De Korf (2012)?
Dreamy, creepy, spaced-out story from Charles Burns
—Melville
