Solip

This intriguing first book by actor Baumann is slated as a novel, though its rich prose, and disjointed style is more akin to poetry. It reads as a mash up of the literary inheritance of writers such as Samuel Beckett and Gertrude Stein and the quotidian vernacular of pop culture narratives. However novel this impulse, it is hardly unique. It partakes in a small self-referential literary movement born out of the textual styles of Tao Lin and those published on HTMLGiant. What distinguishes Baumann is his attentive ear for assonance, lyricism, and poetic transformation of everyday language. Baumann's vertiginous prose, inexplicable punctuation, liberal line breaks, dreamlike crystallizations, and occasional all-caps are captivating tactics yet exhausting. His talent is evident but his style of writing is an acquired taste. The pounding cadence and ludic prose carries Baumann's book, making more interest than most of its ilk. (May)