New dynamics

As you may recall, N. wrote a new piece called an "after-the-fact lecture/libretto" (see #3). Not only are there stories about his bandmates, he also seems to have a fictional tale because of a few new names. One in particular is Dredj, who, actually, now writes some letters of his own to Angel of Dust. Dredj states, "The book spun my head with its implication of romance's nearness to but ultimate default on revolution" (85). Like N., Dredj seems to also possess an artistic and dramatic side of his personality. Next, in one of N.'s letters, he discusses Dredj by saying, "Please forgive "House of Dredj Revisited...Dredj's house of beauty" (109). Like many other characters, there are no definitive answers to who Dredj is or what he's doing. One possible inference is that Dredj is actually just an alter ego for N.; they both are very similar in character and address Angel of Dust the same way. Dredj may have a much larger role later in the story.

In regards to the central mysteries of Bass Cathedral, the strange cartoon balloons continue to appear spontaneously; however, not only are the balloons visible to N. and his bandmates, anybody can also see them, if they have Molimo m'Atet's album. Customers report, "balloons rise from the records surface, aalbeit there continues to be no pattern" (93). It almost sounds like these balloons are some kind of a threat to the band, for they constantly materialize from their discs. Another weird occurrence is the presence of the cowrie shells. Based on N.'s explanations, it seems that the shells sharply attack his body; he describes this strange and disturbing image: "unshattered, studding my forehead, visibly protruding...the usual feeling of impactedness was there" (86). N. also implicitly states that Dredj, whether him be someone different or N. himself, is also attacked by the cowrie shells. These odd things keep happening, but unfortunately, no one can explain why.

~ Outside Reading #4

Mackey, Nathaniel. Bass Cathedral. Grand Rapids: New Directions Corporation, 2008.