Our Ecstatic Days

by Steve Erickson

Book Overview

In the waning summer days, a lake appears almost overnight in the middle of Los Angeles. Out of fear and love, a young single mother commits a desperate act: convinced that the lake means to take her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 074326472X
• ISBN13: 9780743264723
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Erickson is a mad genius.

Just finished Our Ecstatic Days, and it has my head spinning. The separate narratives, the fact that he even has a page-to-page trailing, separate narrative interrupting the main text, the fact that he makes them actually, coherently MEET UP?! I loved the ride, Mr. Erickson. Saw and heard you read from this one in Berkeley and finally had the chance to sit down and read it.

Haunted and haunting

I had never read nor heard of Steve Erickson until Simon and Schuster asked for permission to use the lyrics for my song "Opal Moon" in his book. Before I gave permission, I requested a copy of a book so I could see what the writing was like. They sent me "Rubicon Beach" -- which I thought was strange and beautiful. Upon reading "Our Esctatic Days", I found that these two books might be companion books (in fact, one chapter is the beginning excerpt from "Rubicon Beach"), both living in the same world. I found the book compelling to read, and for those who have suffered a loss in their life, it will resonate.

Best Contemporary Fiction Writer Alive

Erickson is unparalleled in my mind as the greatest contemporary writer alive. As a voracious reader, I am in bookstores frequently. It is a rare visit where I don't check the "E" section of the fiction shelf to see if Erickson's got a new book out. The six year wait between "The Sea Came in at Midnight" and "Our Ecstatic Days" was torture. I imagine that Erickson's books have a special appeal to those of us who like to think of ourselves as more dialed-in to the vibrations of collective memory than others, but I would be hesitant to categorize his books into a specific genre (e.g. "post-apocolyptic surrealism"). What resonates with me personally about Erickson's books in general, and this one specifically, is their ability to replicate the lucid dream state- where things are both more real and unreal than in waking life. I'm sure the themes mean different things to different people; for me, they represent the possiblities of parallel lives, which is as comforting as it is disconcerting.

A bizzare yet somehow effective amalgam of styles

"Our Ecstatic Days" is such an unusual novel, it perhaps makes the most sense to discuss what it is not first. It is not a traditional novel in the sense that one character or group of characters progress through a chronologically coherent, or at least internally consistent timeline, to a definite conclusion. Moreover, it does not follow the traditional arrangement of text, or the general way one expects a story to unfurl. So, if you're not looking for something experimental, you've been warned, but I would encourage you to dismiss any preconceptions of what a novel should be and read on as this novel's content should surpass its structure for all but the most stubborn reader. All that said, "Our Ecstatic Days" is one of the most powerful, remarkable novels I have encountered in quite some time. Layering discussions of parenthood in general, motherhood specifically, chaos, empathy, and hope, this is the type of novel that will read differently to any two people. However, both would have to agree that author Steve Erickson's use of unique mishmash of genres and styles, and even his avant garde structures somehow has produced a novel that is not only interesting, but absolutely gripping. Trying to sketch out a plot would be next to impossible, but the general progression of the story involves one young mother Kristin's almost maniacal desire to see her son Kirk protected from an uncertain world. As a lake slowly submerges Los Angeles, she attempts to sacrifice herself in order to save him, but in the process unleashes a string of fractured and alternate realities that somehow are all interconnected, and only one of which is "real" in the most totalistic sense of the word. There are a host of critical interconnections between these realities, but the most compelling is the single line of italicized text that runs through the final two hundred thirty pages of the book, only to connect seamlessly with the conclusion of the alternate streams. This stream of consciousness should be read in its entirety prior to picking up the rest of the narrative thread, and quite effectively captures how an entire lifetime can unfurl in the blink of an eye. Moreover, it is a highly effective literal representation of the malleability of one's destiny, and perhaps one's past, that is central to Erickson's message. To offer much more wouldn't so much spoil the plot as distract from it and corrupt the progression Erickson has set forth. Suffice it to say that he makes impressive ninety degree turns in both timeline and voice that would be distracting if they weren't so effective and linking together events that are otherwise seemingly unrelated. As he ties in the iconic figure of the man in front of the tanks at Tiananmen Square and the iconic image of 9/11 the novel progresses in increasingly fractured timelines across eighty years, American revolutions, the rise of cults and a other events to numerous to recount. Hence do seemingly inconsequential inter

an amazing writer

"Our Ecstatic Days" is the latest in a career of fantastic books. Like the others, it is a delicious, delirious reading experience. As another (very positive) reviewer mentions, those who've read Erickson's earlier novels will recognize characters they've met before. The reviewer is correct, but this shouldn't make anyone feel obliged to "study up" before approaching his newest work. In fact, I would suggest that the less you bring to it the better. If you're really encountering this book on the terms it demands of you, you'll find yourself letting go of most of what you know about the world -- time, space, natural science, etc -- as it progresses. I loved the book and that's really my point here. One further point, and the main reason I've posted this review (the first time I've ever been moved to do so), is offered up in response to a previous post. If we're going to lump Erickson's new book into the "genre" of "experimental fiction" and then (go with me for a moment as I grapple with this logical fallacy) determine that it must therefore be just one more standardized piece of product like all others from this "genre," what sort of literary production are we to champion? I don't even mind calling experimental fiction a genre, though it's not the term I would use and seems inaccurate in describing Erickson's work, but once we do so there still has to be room in that genre -- as in all others -- for original voices and pioneering visions. Erickson's is a truly original voice. A voice that's poetic, hypnotic and authentic. One gets the sense that he knows he's not Tom Clancy and doesn't aspire to that mass appeal, instead simply writing the best, truest books he can generate. There is no claim to empire and one's attire, or lack thereof, seems completely irrelevant.