In the Distance was named one of the two finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Unlike the other finalist, The Idiot, this novel is original in concept and execution and is highly memorable. I have never read a more evocative account of loneliness.
Haken Soderstrom arrives alone in California from Sweden around the time of the Gold Rush, having become separated from his beloved brother when he mistakenly took the wrong boat. He knows no English, and when he gives his name it sounds to English-speaking ears like "Hawk can," so he becomes known as Hawk. He knows he must head east, because he was supposed to be on a ship to New York and he will find his brother there. His first encounters include an obsessed gold prospector, a naturalist, a wagon train of settlers, and an unusual ally, but the loss of these only intensifies his aloneness when he retreats to the desert to avoid capture for a crime he didn't commit.
Hawk is separated from his fellow men by his language, by the fear his great height inspires, and, finally, by his undeserved fierce reputation. His life becomes a circle, with day after day repeating itself. The featureless landscape echoes his isolation.
I tremendously admire the writing skill of Hernan Diaz. The most impressive parts of the book are the times when nothing happens -- that's not easy to accomplish. Most novels depend on events to propel attention, but Diaz immerses the reader in primal emotions. The ending brings to mind the final pages of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Thank you to the Pulitzer Committee for drawing attention to this most excellent novel.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Sunday, May 13, 2018
FOUR SHORT REVIEWS
THE LIAR'S GOSPEL by NAOMI ALDERMAN (2012)
This novel is composed of four accounts of events from the life of Jesus: from the viewpoints of Mary, the mother of Jesus; of Judas, who betrayed him; of Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem; and of Barabbas, the rebel/thief who was chosen by the mob to live instead of Jesus. All are written from a very Jewish viewpoint, so Christian believers will most likely find the book offensive, as it does not present Jesus as the Son of God, but as one of many preachers stirring the passions of the Jewish people against the domination of the Romans. He is even portrayed as perhaps mentally deranged.
I have always felt it to be extremely impolite and in poor taste to write insultingly of someone's religion, whatever that religion may be. I would find equal fault with Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which denigrated the Muslim faith. Thus, I did not like this book at all, however well written it may be.
THE BRONTE MYTH by LUCASTA MILLER (2001)
This non-fiction book would be of interest only to those who already know something of the lives of the Bronte sisters. The author attempts to show how early biographers and literary critics, and then writers through the years following, portrayed the women, not as they were, but as prejudices and current literary preoccupations dictated.
This was particularly of interest to me, as I have long been fascinated with Wuthering Heights and Emily Bronte. I had not previously realized how scandalous and course the Bronte books were perceived to be by society at the time of their publications, and how doubly shocking it was to find out that women wrote them. Thus the literary writers of the time who recognized their worth tried to soften the criticism by portraying the maligned authors in a more flattering light, giving birth to the Bronte Myth.
THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS by ARUNDHATI ROY (2017)
I have read several novels set in India, written by Indian authors, and I can only come to the conclusion that India is a very unpleasant place to live for anyone not of the elite few. This one is no exception.
What is unusual about this novel is that the central character, around whom all the other characters revolve, is a transgender person, born a male and living as a female. Through a narrative that covers many years, a group of misfits and lost souls form a family in an abandoned graveyard. Along the way, I learned about the war with seemingly no end in Kashmir, which was entirely new information for me.
As with all the novels by Indian authors that I have read, this one tells a fascinating story filled with despair and heartbreak -- and love. This is a most satisfying and informative read. I recommend it.
THE BEGGAR MAID by ALICE MUNRO (1977)
Alice Munro is celebrated for her short stories. In fact, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. This volume is composed of interconnected stories about Flo and Rose, a step-mother and step-daughter. Taken together, the stories form a loosely connected narrative, which could almost be considered a novel, but not quite.
I much prefer the novel format over the differing structure of the short story; thus, I was frustrated somewhat when connections and motivations were omitted, which would have been present in a novel. That being said, these are outstanding short stories, revealing much more than is usual in the shorter form. For someone who enjoys the short story format, this will be a treat. For those addicted to novels, like me, it is nevertheless rewarding reading.
This novel is composed of four accounts of events from the life of Jesus: from the viewpoints of Mary, the mother of Jesus; of Judas, who betrayed him; of Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem; and of Barabbas, the rebel/thief who was chosen by the mob to live instead of Jesus. All are written from a very Jewish viewpoint, so Christian believers will most likely find the book offensive, as it does not present Jesus as the Son of God, but as one of many preachers stirring the passions of the Jewish people against the domination of the Romans. He is even portrayed as perhaps mentally deranged.
I have always felt it to be extremely impolite and in poor taste to write insultingly of someone's religion, whatever that religion may be. I would find equal fault with Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which denigrated the Muslim faith. Thus, I did not like this book at all, however well written it may be.
THE BRONTE MYTH by LUCASTA MILLER (2001)
This non-fiction book would be of interest only to those who already know something of the lives of the Bronte sisters. The author attempts to show how early biographers and literary critics, and then writers through the years following, portrayed the women, not as they were, but as prejudices and current literary preoccupations dictated.
This was particularly of interest to me, as I have long been fascinated with Wuthering Heights and Emily Bronte. I had not previously realized how scandalous and course the Bronte books were perceived to be by society at the time of their publications, and how doubly shocking it was to find out that women wrote them. Thus the literary writers of the time who recognized their worth tried to soften the criticism by portraying the maligned authors in a more flattering light, giving birth to the Bronte Myth.
THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS by ARUNDHATI ROY (2017)
I have read several novels set in India, written by Indian authors, and I can only come to the conclusion that India is a very unpleasant place to live for anyone not of the elite few. This one is no exception.
What is unusual about this novel is that the central character, around whom all the other characters revolve, is a transgender person, born a male and living as a female. Through a narrative that covers many years, a group of misfits and lost souls form a family in an abandoned graveyard. Along the way, I learned about the war with seemingly no end in Kashmir, which was entirely new information for me.
As with all the novels by Indian authors that I have read, this one tells a fascinating story filled with despair and heartbreak -- and love. This is a most satisfying and informative read. I recommend it.
THE BEGGAR MAID by ALICE MUNRO (1977)
Alice Munro is celebrated for her short stories. In fact, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. This volume is composed of interconnected stories about Flo and Rose, a step-mother and step-daughter. Taken together, the stories form a loosely connected narrative, which could almost be considered a novel, but not quite.
I much prefer the novel format over the differing structure of the short story; thus, I was frustrated somewhat when connections and motivations were omitted, which would have been present in a novel. That being said, these are outstanding short stories, revealing much more than is usual in the shorter form. For someone who enjoys the short story format, this will be a treat. For those addicted to novels, like me, it is nevertheless rewarding reading.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
THE IDIOT by ELIF BATUMAN (2017)
The Idiot was one of the two finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize. I don't understand that, at all. I would have thought that a book deserving of such serious consideration would be one that had something important to say and that stayed in the mind long after it was finished. This novel is clever and dryly humorous, but it has nothing new to offer and is immediately forgettable. It is a coming-of-age story, but the protagonist is one few will relate to.
Selin is a first-generation Turkish American who is an intellectually gifted freshman at Harvard in the 1990s. The story follows her through her first year of college as she makes new friends and adjusts to new surroundings, and particularly as she becomes obsessed with a fellow student through an e-mail correspondence. When she finally begins to talk in person to her e-mail "love," she finds that he has a girl friend and is about to graduate and leave for California. Nevertheless, she takes a summer job teaching English in a Hungarian village, because he is a Hungarian who is returning home and she may be able to see him there. They do meet. He leaves. She goes to Turkey to visit her aunts. The End.
I have obviously somewhat spoiled this novel for anyone who might want to read it, because I would recommend passing it by. It is narrated by the protagonist at an unnamed time after the action, in a semi-diary form. Much of it consists of mundane and boring actions and conversations which do nothing to advance the story. The tone, which is ironical and supercilious, is extremely off-putting, at least to me. The author does nothing to encourage sympathy or empathy for the protagonist. The author herself is a Turkish American who attended Harvard in the 1900s, so one aspect of the novel I found puzzling: all the students the protagonist encounters are first-generation Americans from other countries, mainly Eastern Europe, or international students. Did the author not attend college with any American citizens from Western Europe who had been here for generations?
Some of the action involves satires of the pretentiousness of Harvard professors, which are humorous. The author also has a felicity for apt and original metaphors. Still, these do make up for all the defects I perceive.
Despite the glowing reviews and honors awarded to The Idiot, I did not like it. Oh, well.
Selin is a first-generation Turkish American who is an intellectually gifted freshman at Harvard in the 1990s. The story follows her through her first year of college as she makes new friends and adjusts to new surroundings, and particularly as she becomes obsessed with a fellow student through an e-mail correspondence. When she finally begins to talk in person to her e-mail "love," she finds that he has a girl friend and is about to graduate and leave for California. Nevertheless, she takes a summer job teaching English in a Hungarian village, because he is a Hungarian who is returning home and she may be able to see him there. They do meet. He leaves. She goes to Turkey to visit her aunts. The End.
I have obviously somewhat spoiled this novel for anyone who might want to read it, because I would recommend passing it by. It is narrated by the protagonist at an unnamed time after the action, in a semi-diary form. Much of it consists of mundane and boring actions and conversations which do nothing to advance the story. The tone, which is ironical and supercilious, is extremely off-putting, at least to me. The author does nothing to encourage sympathy or empathy for the protagonist. The author herself is a Turkish American who attended Harvard in the 1900s, so one aspect of the novel I found puzzling: all the students the protagonist encounters are first-generation Americans from other countries, mainly Eastern Europe, or international students. Did the author not attend college with any American citizens from Western Europe who had been here for generations?
Some of the action involves satires of the pretentiousness of Harvard professors, which are humorous. The author also has a felicity for apt and original metaphors. Still, these do make up for all the defects I perceive.
Despite the glowing reviews and honors awarded to The Idiot, I did not like it. Oh, well.
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