Sam: They were with us before Romeo and Juliet. And long after too. Because they're forever around. Or so both claim, carolling gleefully: We're allways sixteen.

Sam and Hailey, powered by an ever-rotating fleet of cars, from Model T to Lincoln Continental, career from the Civil War to the Cold War, barrelling down through the Appalachians, up the Mississippi River, across the Badlands, finally cutting a nation in half as they try to outrace History itself.

By turns beguiling and gripping, finally worldwrecking, Only Revolutions is unlike anything ever published before, a remarkable feat of heart and intellect, moving us with the journey of two kids, perpetually of summer, perpetually sixteen, who give up everything except each other.

Hailey: They were with us before Tristan and Isolde. And long after too. Because they're forever around. Or so both claim, gleefully carolling: We're allways sixteen.

Hailey and Sam, powered by an ever-rotating fleet of cars, from Shelby Mustang to Sumover Linx, careen from the Civil Rights Movement to the Iraq War, tearing down to New Orleans, up the Mississippi River, across Montana, finally cutting a nation in half as they try to outrace History itself.

By turns enticing and exhilarating, finally breathtaking, Only Revolutions is unlike anything ever conceived before, a remarkable feat of heart and intellect, moving us with the journey of two kids, perpetually of summer, perpetually sixteen, who give up everything except each other.

"A pastiche of Joyce and Beckett, with heapings of Derrida's Glas and Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 thrown in for good measure, Danielewski's follow-up to House of Leaves is a similarly dizzying tour of the modernist and postmodernist heights — and a similarly impressive tour de force. It comprises two monologues, one by Sam and one by Hailey, both 'Allmighty sixteen and freeeeee,' each narrating the same road trip, or set of neo-globo-revolutionary events — or a revolution's end: 'Everyone loves the Dream but I kill it.' Figuring out what's happening is a big part of reading the book. The verse-riffs narrations, endlessly alliterative and punning (like Joyce) and playfully, bleakly existential (like Beckett), begin at opposite ends of the book, upside down from one another, with each page divided and shared. Each gets 180 words per page, but in type that gets smaller as they get closer to their ends (Glas was more haphazard), so they each get exactly half a page only at the midway point of the book: page 180 — or half of a revolution of 360 degrees. A time line of world events, from November 22, 1863 ('the abolition of slavery'), to January 19, 2063 (blank, like everything from January 18, 2006, on), runs down the side of every page. The page numbers, when riffled flip-book style, revolve. The book's design is a marvel, and as a feat of Pynchonesque puzzlebookdom, it's magnificent. The book's difficulty, though, carries a self-consciousness that Joyce & Co. decidedly lack, and the jury will be out on whether the tricks are of the for-art's-sake variety or more like a terrific video game." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"A pastiche of Joyce and Beckett, with heapings of Derrida's Glas and Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 thrown in for good measure, Danielewski's follow-up to House of Leaves is a similarly dizzying tour of the modernist and postmodernist heights — and a similarly impressive tour de force. It comprises two monologues, one by Sam and one by Hailey, both 'Allmighty sixteen and freeeeee,' each narrating the same road trip, or set of neo-globo-revolutionary events — or a revolution's end: 'Everyone loves the Dream but I kill it.' Figuring out what's happening is a big part of reading the book. The verse-riffs narrations, endlessly alliterative and punning (like Joyce) and playfully, bleakly existential (like Beckett), begin at opposite ends of the book, upside down from one another, with each page divided and shared. Each gets 180 words per page, but in type that gets smaller as they get closer to their ends (Glas was more haphazard), so they each gets exactly half a page only at the midway point of the book: page 180 — or half of a revolution of 360 degrees. A time line of world events, from November 22, 1863 ('the abolition of slavery'), to January 19, 2063 (blank, like everything from January 18, 2006, on), runs down the side of every page. The page numbers, when riffled flip-book style, revolve. The book's design is a marvel, and as a feat of Pynchonesque puzzlebookdom, it's magnificent. The book's difficulty, though, carries a self-consciousness that Joyce & Co. decidedly lack, and the jury will be out on whether the tricks are of the for-art's-sake variety or more like a terrific video game. (Sept. 5)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"The daunting maze explored in Danielewski's Borgesian first novel, House of Leaves, only hinted at the depths to be plumbed in its intimidatingly innovative successor....You have to work at it, but it's a trip well worth taking." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"[A] fascinating read." Library Journal

"Only Revolutions should be paid attention to, if only because of how it embraces and utilizes new technology and how, in turn, that technology has shaped it. Those who take it on as pleasure reading are advised to keep Post-its — and patience — handy. The experience might be worth it." Los Angeles Times

"Needless to say, comprehension is gained only impressionistically....While masochistic grad students might flip out over Revolutions' gimmicky demands, most will find it impenetrable. (Grade: D)" Entertainment Weekly

"[An] alienating book that defies its audience to read it and then rewards those who do....[D]estined to become a classic or a curio depending on which direction its ride takes it." Oregonian

"Danielewski clearly wants to push the boundaries of the novel even further....Only Revolutions is, as its title promises, a true revolution — it wants to overthrow not just how we read, but what we read." Newsday

From the author of House of Leaves, comes a stunning shoot-from-the-hip American road novel about two wild and wayward kids who magically drive from the Civil War to the Iraq War and beyond.

Mark Z. Danielewski was born in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles. He is the author of House of Leaves.