When I finally realized how behind I am in my literary reports and reviews, I debated whether or not to go back and comment on each of the books that we've read or to just move forward with Killing Yourself to Live, which we just read. I decided to maybe tie all of the books together, because I would say, other than the Master and Margarita by:Mikhail Bugalov, all of the last several books have been entertaining but disappointingly shallow.
Without giving a summary of each book, including my own expectations and then utter letdown. In thinking about this pattern, definitely some of the books were much more disappointing than others. For example, Fingersmith had an active plot that kept me engaged and distracted from the fact that many of the characters were one-sided and lacked the necessary depth for me to really feel any connection to their problems and supposed intricacies. The same is true of The Island, although much more so, as Victoria Hislop's book is the written version of a Greek soap opera; selfish characters were seemingly selfish for no reason, other than the trait's necessity for the plot to advance.
Running with Scissors is almost certainly not shallow and packed-full of entertaining anecdotes from a terrible childhood. Augusten is surrounded by the most selfish characters possibly ever portrayed, in fact so selfish that they believe their selfishness is a selfless necessity for the betterment of society as a whole. While I'm sure based on real characters, Burroughs must be exaggerating them in order to make the book more entertaining. At some point the hyperbole of the characters becomes repugnant and Augusten, the character, becomes tainted by their behavior. I stopped rooting for him and became annoyed that he hadn't taken any action to rid his life of them. By the end I was glad the whole lot of them was out of my life as my reading time had become more stressful than entertaining. As to which character is the most hated, the jury is still out. (Sidenote: the movie in no way captures the characters that Burroughs created, save the mother.)
Along the same lines, Klosterman's account of his cross country road trip to visit sites where musicians became legendary through death, had such great potential but was ruined by Klosterman's focus on himself. It seems he used the book as an opportunity to sort through his own (pathetic) relationship problems. In this case, he is the obnoxious character. I was giddy with anticipation when I read the first chapter of the book, where Klosterman outlines the premise, but as I progressed, the author's disrespect for musicians and seeming nonchalance about the reasons that various events had such a profound impact was exhausting and enraging. Honestly, I think Klosterman has an amazing memory that he has saturated with musical trivia, which is nowhere near the same as feeling emotionally connected to music and the people that created it. This is coupled with long stories about women that I failed to see the relevance of. That said, there were a few moments of interesting analysis. I thought that what Klosterman wrote about Kurt Cobain's death was exactly what I was looking for after I read the first chapter. Sadly it was the last chapter and too little too late. Jane said she would have loved the book when she was 18 or so, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
More like the Particular Incompleteness of Potential Plotlines
Thank you Jane for hosting a wonderful meeting and serving a delicious cake, filled with genuine care. It seems that Aimee Bender's novel left many of us with lots of feelings, which we really delved into (perhaps overdelved to a point of demonizing) and were able to explore.
First, I think that all of us agreed that there were moments of the book that we loved and that the conceptual basis of the book is fantastic. That excitement, unfortunately, was snuffed as the plotline veered into strange and, honestly, uninteresting territory. The idea that Bender's main character can taste the emotion with which a cook makes a meal is fantastic and opens the door to so many different plot possibilities. I, for one, was enthralled through the first part of the book, excited to see where such an unusual and phenomenal trait would land the character. The possibility that not just a child, but a woman, with real insight and emotional experience, would be given such a gift/curse is tremendous. Unfortunately for readers, this road is never explored. The character avoids food and becomes emotionally detached. Throughout the book, any moment that may, through deeper exploration, have proved to deepen any of the characters is abruptly shallowed. Her love interest, whom she kisses once, suddenly gets married, an event at which the narrator is completely detached. Any possible story lines when real depth, especially given the main character's insight, are simply never approached.
Further, the second half of the book focuses on the older brother, who also possesses a hidden talent: the ability to disappear into furniture. Unlike his sister's talent, this skill carries with it no possible emotional insight upon which to build a story. He simply vanishes and people look for him, the implications of which are dealt with in one or two pages at the end of the book: some people are able to utilize their talents, while others never use theirs or avoid them. Hmmm...right.
Thus, the only person that the main character's talent ever illuminates is her mother, whose desperation is turned to an affair that, again, is never explored. Perhaps the reason the book is ultimately so frustrating is that the questions existed, but were left unasked by the author, despite them looming large in the minds of readers.
First, I think that all of us agreed that there were moments of the book that we loved and that the conceptual basis of the book is fantastic. That excitement, unfortunately, was snuffed as the plotline veered into strange and, honestly, uninteresting territory. The idea that Bender's main character can taste the emotion with which a cook makes a meal is fantastic and opens the door to so many different plot possibilities. I, for one, was enthralled through the first part of the book, excited to see where such an unusual and phenomenal trait would land the character. The possibility that not just a child, but a woman, with real insight and emotional experience, would be given such a gift/curse is tremendous. Unfortunately for readers, this road is never explored. The character avoids food and becomes emotionally detached. Throughout the book, any moment that may, through deeper exploration, have proved to deepen any of the characters is abruptly shallowed. Her love interest, whom she kisses once, suddenly gets married, an event at which the narrator is completely detached. Any possible story lines when real depth, especially given the main character's insight, are simply never approached.
Further, the second half of the book focuses on the older brother, who also possesses a hidden talent: the ability to disappear into furniture. Unlike his sister's talent, this skill carries with it no possible emotional insight upon which to build a story. He simply vanishes and people look for him, the implications of which are dealt with in one or two pages at the end of the book: some people are able to utilize their talents, while others never use theirs or avoid them. Hmmm...right.
Thus, the only person that the main character's talent ever illuminates is her mother, whose desperation is turned to an affair that, again, is never explored. Perhaps the reason the book is ultimately so frustrating is that the questions existed, but were left unasked by the author, despite them looming large in the minds of readers.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Never a dull moment while Trout Fishing in America
Richard Brautigan's tale of a journey through the Northwest and the mind (although it is never clear which one is which) is one that I would put in the poetry category before I would label it as fiction. Trout Fishing in America toys with every literary device born of the beatnik generation, but perhaps is most beautiful and telling in it use of various images. Jane marked this delightful passage:
"The next morning I got up early and ate my breakfast. I took a slice of white bread to use for bait. I planned on making doughballs from the soft center of the bread and putting them on my vaudevillian hook. I left the place and walked down to the different street corner. How beautiful the field looked and the creek that came pouring down in a waterfall off the hill. But as I got closer to the creek I could see something was wrong. The creek did not act right. There was a strangeness to it. There was a thing about its motions that was wrong. Finally I got close enough to see what the trouble was. The waterfall was just a flight of white wooden stairs leading up to a house in the trees. I stood there for a long time, looking up and looking down, following the stairs with my eyes, having trouble believing. Then I knocked on my creek and heard the sound of wood. I ended up being my own trout and eating the slice of bread myself."
This passage certainly shows Brautigan's knack for images, but maybe is not overly representative of the book as a whole. This passage is much more of a narrative than the bulk of the book. Other passages are strings of images, seemingly unrelated.
The beauty of such images is that the book gives you feelings, without telling you stories, which is truly challenging. Initially, I found myself trying to follow a succession of events and only after forgetting this method entirely, was I truly able to be taken by the book, although not always somewhere that I wanted to go.
In discussing the book, it was great to be reminded of moments that others had loved that I had forgotten or not noticed. Please share if there are any images or passages that stuck with you!
"The next morning I got up early and ate my breakfast. I took a slice of white bread to use for bait. I planned on making doughballs from the soft center of the bread and putting them on my vaudevillian hook. I left the place and walked down to the different street corner. How beautiful the field looked and the creek that came pouring down in a waterfall off the hill. But as I got closer to the creek I could see something was wrong. The creek did not act right. There was a strangeness to it. There was a thing about its motions that was wrong. Finally I got close enough to see what the trouble was. The waterfall was just a flight of white wooden stairs leading up to a house in the trees. I stood there for a long time, looking up and looking down, following the stairs with my eyes, having trouble believing. Then I knocked on my creek and heard the sound of wood. I ended up being my own trout and eating the slice of bread myself."
This passage certainly shows Brautigan's knack for images, but maybe is not overly representative of the book as a whole. This passage is much more of a narrative than the bulk of the book. Other passages are strings of images, seemingly unrelated.
The beauty of such images is that the book gives you feelings, without telling you stories, which is truly challenging. Initially, I found myself trying to follow a succession of events and only after forgetting this method entirely, was I truly able to be taken by the book, although not always somewhere that I wanted to go.
In discussing the book, it was great to be reminded of moments that others had loved that I had forgotten or not noticed. Please share if there are any images or passages that stuck with you!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Back on Track, although Lolita doesn't make it easy...
In celebrating life's lovely joys, from new babies to new jobs to new loves and experiences, it is difficult to find moments for thought or just sitting and not doing anything. More and more, I struggle with balancing getting involved with the things and people I love to be around and being alone to think and regroup. Weeks when I do too much, by Sunday my head is spinning and I'm completely exhausted and desperate to be alone. Weeks when I plan alone time, I get ansy and want to go out and see friends. Will I ever figure out how to plan just right?
That said, finding a quiet moment to read and then cracking open Nabakov's Lolita, is a bit counterintuitive. Not to imply that Lolita is poorly written or even not a proseful pleasure to read. Quite the opposite. It does however raise questions about the primal state of man that are not easy to grapple with, nor does it offer any resolution. In Lolita, famously, an older man falls helplessly in love with a pre-adolescent girl and will stop at no criminal behavior to keep from losing her. The book is a reflection on an adventure the pair shared to avoid suspicion of her imprisonment and an opportunity for her escape. The truly brilliant element of the book is that Nabokov allows Humbert, the pedophile, to tell the story, removed from the judgment of a third-party narrator. In doing this, Nabakov is forced to create a mental arena in which a man recognizes his lust for pre-teens, realizes its illegality, but must have the girl at any cost. Obviously, in his mind he is not crazy, but completely focused and logical about his pursuit, thus any air of judgment is nonexistent. Here the exquisite writing is crucial as readers are forced to ride the innerworkings of Humbert's mind and hear vivid accounts of his sexual encounters with Lolita.
The other point I have to make about the book is how oversimplified Nababkov's concept has been through pop culture. When the term "Lolita" is dropped into conversation or texts, it is often to label a pedophile. I think that Nabakov works very hard to create a highly complex character whose psychosis is much more inticate than simply a sexual preference for young girls. Humbert seems to truly prefer the unbridled mannerisms of young girls versus women who have learned to speak and behave a certain way. While certainly, physical characteristics play a role, it is more his obsession with simple, unmitigated thinking and behavior that perpetuates his unraveling. I would not say that at any point, Humbert's meditations win the reader's favor, but I would say that he is much more thoughtful and complex that the oversimplified pederasts on modern TV shows.
While Lolita is a tragedy and often heartbreaking to read, the writing is crisp, clear, deliberate, and at moments a pleasure to read. Unfortunately, it is difficult in these moments of brilliance to forget the previous imagery that is difficult to hear described.
That said, finding a quiet moment to read and then cracking open Nabakov's Lolita, is a bit counterintuitive. Not to imply that Lolita is poorly written or even not a proseful pleasure to read. Quite the opposite. It does however raise questions about the primal state of man that are not easy to grapple with, nor does it offer any resolution. In Lolita, famously, an older man falls helplessly in love with a pre-adolescent girl and will stop at no criminal behavior to keep from losing her. The book is a reflection on an adventure the pair shared to avoid suspicion of her imprisonment and an opportunity for her escape. The truly brilliant element of the book is that Nabokov allows Humbert, the pedophile, to tell the story, removed from the judgment of a third-party narrator. In doing this, Nabakov is forced to create a mental arena in which a man recognizes his lust for pre-teens, realizes its illegality, but must have the girl at any cost. Obviously, in his mind he is not crazy, but completely focused and logical about his pursuit, thus any air of judgment is nonexistent. Here the exquisite writing is crucial as readers are forced to ride the innerworkings of Humbert's mind and hear vivid accounts of his sexual encounters with Lolita.
The other point I have to make about the book is how oversimplified Nababkov's concept has been through pop culture. When the term "Lolita" is dropped into conversation or texts, it is often to label a pedophile. I think that Nabakov works very hard to create a highly complex character whose psychosis is much more inticate than simply a sexual preference for young girls. Humbert seems to truly prefer the unbridled mannerisms of young girls versus women who have learned to speak and behave a certain way. While certainly, physical characteristics play a role, it is more his obsession with simple, unmitigated thinking and behavior that perpetuates his unraveling. I would not say that at any point, Humbert's meditations win the reader's favor, but I would say that he is much more thoughtful and complex that the oversimplified pederasts on modern TV shows.
While Lolita is a tragedy and often heartbreaking to read, the writing is crisp, clear, deliberate, and at moments a pleasure to read. Unfortunately, it is difficult in these moments of brilliance to forget the previous imagery that is difficult to hear described.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Classics and Movies! Oh My!
As we take on a new year, book club has become decidedly our own. While the first year seemed plagued by how-should-we-behave-at-a-book-club feelings, this year I think that the format of the club has become very specific to what we actually enjoy. Yes, we are different, but I think that we have agreed on a level of seriousness that we can all manage.
That said, I am eager to read books that I think many of us feel we should have read by now, but haven't gotten to. I also think that having the option of watching the movie rather than read the book every month will make it a lot easier for several people to participate, especially the ladies that are moms or moms-to-be.
I am just starting To Kill a Mockingbird, but am excited to see how different it is to read as an adult rather than a 14 year-old. Really, all I can remember about this book is the guy that sat next to me in class while we were reading it....
That said, I am eager to read books that I think many of us feel we should have read by now, but haven't gotten to. I also think that having the option of watching the movie rather than read the book every month will make it a lot easier for several people to participate, especially the ladies that are moms or moms-to-be.
I am just starting To Kill a Mockingbird, but am excited to see how different it is to read as an adult rather than a 14 year-old. Really, all I can remember about this book is the guy that sat next to me in class while we were reading it....
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Implications of FEED
As we (by we I mean I) rush into Fall and struggle to meet all of our self-imposed deadlines, I was struck by the similarities between the MT Anderson's characters' urges and my own. I'm definitely not far enough into the book to write anything too in depth, but I thought that his description of the characters hunger for shopping and consumption were frighteningly close to our own current reality. I recently heard the term 'affluenza' for the first time, which is defined as a need to 'keep up with the Joneses' or make your life appear great to your neighbors through by purchasing the latest, hippest items. In Feed, Anderson's characters are literally stimulated by sales and their own buying-power. I wondered how soon the gap will be bridged, or even if it has already been, between identifying yourself with possessions (which currently exists) to being tittillated by the opportunity to do so. I guess to bring another thread into this thought, in China, with only public housing and a publicly assigned job, retail possessions were literally the only form of self-expression. Needless to say, people went to extraordinary lengths to appear a certain way and own certain items. As I begin to ramble, I just wonder how far the internet, our sense of self, and consumerism will continue to be intertwined in the future.
Because I am so behind, I not only have yet to comment of our last novel, Galapagos, but also never said anything about Alias Grace.
I realize that I have already said this to several of you in conversation, but I loved getting lost in time while reading Alias Grace. While the novel itself was set in the 1800s, the psychology and analysis was fairly modern. When I finally checked the publication date, I was shocked to see that it was written in 1996. Margaret Atwood's portrayal of the character was so perfectly placed in the period, yet completely complex. While slow and descriptive in parts, Atwood definitely inserted plenty of suspense and I didn't know how the novel would end until the very last page.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on November 9th. Send me suggestions of where we should meet. Hope everyone is well and coping with this abrupt shift to Portland Fall.
Because I am so behind, I not only have yet to comment of our last novel, Galapagos, but also never said anything about Alias Grace.
I realize that I have already said this to several of you in conversation, but I loved getting lost in time while reading Alias Grace. While the novel itself was set in the 1800s, the psychology and analysis was fairly modern. When I finally checked the publication date, I was shocked to see that it was written in 1996. Margaret Atwood's portrayal of the character was so perfectly placed in the period, yet completely complex. While slow and descriptive in parts, Atwood definitely inserted plenty of suspense and I didn't know how the novel would end until the very last page.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on November 9th. Send me suggestions of where we should meet. Hope everyone is well and coping with this abrupt shift to Portland Fall.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Ups and downs, but never bad
I know that by the time we met this month, many, in fact I think everyone that read, was still working on the marvelous "White Teeth". With everyone diving into summer headfirst, I think that it may have been difficult for anyone to find time to sit and enjoy a book.
When I did have time to read Zadie Smith's novel, I was instantly drawn into the community she creates. Regardless, of whether I had time to read this book for an hour or five minutes, I was always instantly there. Train rides flew and mornings whizzed by as I spent my time in England with a very interesting cast of characters. If I could describe the book with one word, it would likely be absorbing.
That said, every moment of the novel was good, but it wasn't always linguistically great. At no point did I wish she would just get on with it or attempt to skip pages without feeling guilty, rather, there were moments when I was blown away by Smith's descriptions and overwhelmed by the depth and humor of her characters. Unfortunately, these moments were sporadic, sometimes lasting for pages and other times just a sentence.
The story itself is very interesting and I think that Smith's knack for storytelling from a plethora of perspectives is phenomenal. Her ability to move seamlessly from one brain to another was amazing to witness.
In the end, I would recommend White Teeth with ease to anyone looking for an interesting and unique book. On the other hand, it will never make it to my list of favorites, but then again I can't just give those spots away.
So we're on to Alias Grace by: Margaret Atwood. This novel is based on the facts surrounding a 19th century murder investigation. I was tempted to read about the case online, but decided to wait until after I've read the book to learn more about it. Hope everyone enjoys this sunshiney book!
When I did have time to read Zadie Smith's novel, I was instantly drawn into the community she creates. Regardless, of whether I had time to read this book for an hour or five minutes, I was always instantly there. Train rides flew and mornings whizzed by as I spent my time in England with a very interesting cast of characters. If I could describe the book with one word, it would likely be absorbing.
That said, every moment of the novel was good, but it wasn't always linguistically great. At no point did I wish she would just get on with it or attempt to skip pages without feeling guilty, rather, there were moments when I was blown away by Smith's descriptions and overwhelmed by the depth and humor of her characters. Unfortunately, these moments were sporadic, sometimes lasting for pages and other times just a sentence.
The story itself is very interesting and I think that Smith's knack for storytelling from a plethora of perspectives is phenomenal. Her ability to move seamlessly from one brain to another was amazing to witness.
In the end, I would recommend White Teeth with ease to anyone looking for an interesting and unique book. On the other hand, it will never make it to my list of favorites, but then again I can't just give those spots away.
So we're on to Alias Grace by: Margaret Atwood. This novel is based on the facts surrounding a 19th century murder investigation. I was tempted to read about the case online, but decided to wait until after I've read the book to learn more about it. Hope everyone enjoys this sunshiney book!
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