A few authors have become the gold standards for their genres of writing. High fantasy novels are advertised as "in the tradition of Tolkien." Books featuring magical realism are compared to those of Garcia Marquez. Authors of Southern Gothic novels aspire to be compared to Faulkner. Toni Morrison has joined that select group of touchstone writers. Her particular style of writing about the African American experience, including as she does elements that can either be considered as literally supernatural or as symbolic, has profoundly influenced subsequent writers. Two recent bestselling novels come to mind -- The Underground Railroad and Sing, Unburied, Sing.
The plot of Song of Solomon follows Macon (Milkman) Dead from birth through his young adulthood, growing up in Michigan. As he matures he feels himself increasingly alienated, emotionally separated from his family and the females he uses to satisfy his lust. He even betrays his eccentric aunt, who has made him feel more at home than anyone else, when he steals what he supposes to be a bag of gold from her. Still in search of the fabled gold, he follows his aunt's tracks back to the South, where the Dead family originated. As he uncovers the past and the secrets of his forebears, he achieves a measure of self realization and an understanding of his place in the world.
Woven into this coming-of-age story are magical elements, such as a woman who has no naval and a man who can fly. Also prominent are the various reactions to being black in a white America.
I am certain that this novel speaks more directly to black Americans who would have a better knowledge of the situations and attitudes. To this white American reader, it provides a better understanding of black culture. And it is a darn good book besides. It received the National Book Critics Circle Award and Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.
Friday, November 16, 2018
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
SHORT REVIEWS OF 4 PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS
More short review of books I read this summer while deprived of television and the internet.
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by JUNOT DIAZ (2007) Second reading
A seriously overweight man of Dominican heritage, who is obsessed with fantasy and science fiction, continuously looks for love. This novel does not end happily-ever-after, but the plot is so intriguing and the language -- a mixture of Spanish and American slang -- so unique that I could overlook my emotional need for happy endings. This won the National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as the Pulitzer. Recommended.
THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE by OSCAR HIJUELOS (1989) Third reading
The life stories of a family of Cuban-heritage musicians who once gained a measure of fame when they appeared on the I Love Lucy television show with Desi Arnez. That doesn't sound very interesting, but it is, especially as enlivened by a large dose of sex. Recommended.
BELOVED by TONI MORRISON (1987) Third reading
An African-American woman who escaped from slavery to the North later kills her own daughter rather than see her returned to their former master. Later, she and her other children are "haunted" by the ghost of the dead child. Whether one believes the ghost to be literal or a psychological result of trauma matters little, because the impact of the novel is overwhelming, no matter the interpretation. This has rightfully come to be considered a classic. Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 for her body of work.
MIDDLESEX by JEFFREY EUGENIDES (2002) Second reading
The character at the center of the plot has a mutated gene which results in his/her being intersex, having characteristics of both male and female. Raised as a girl, he nevertheless feels male. A large portion of the book concerns the grandparents and parents of the character, and, for me, this diffuses the focus of the novel. Much is also included about the difficulties of immigrants (these are Greek) and the turmoil in Detroit during the 1960s. I feel that the novel takes too much of a scatter shot at too many issues to be as effective as it could have been if it had stuck to gender identification issues.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN by JOHN FOWLES (1969)
Third reading
I remember being very impressed with this novel when I first read it, and also when I read it a second time. Somehow, however, I seem to have lost my taste for postmodern literature. I now find that it seems pretentious and annoys me in its self-conscious cleverness.
The French Lieutenant's Woman starts out appearing to follow the conventions of a Victorian novel of the realist school, written much in the style of Thomas Hardy. A wealthy English man who is in line for a title is engaged to a very young and beautiful (but shallow) girl, even more wealthy than he, though from the merchant class. As the two are out walking, they observe a striking woman staring out to sea. The girl tells her fiance' that it is a French Lieutenant's Woman (a polite word for whore) who is hoping in vain for the return of her absent lover. Despite himself, the man becomes fascinated with the woman's tragic demeanor, and manages to "accidentally" come into contact with her in out-of-the-way places.
Clearly, complications are looming, but then Fowles intrudes himself, speaking as the author, letting readers know that this is a made-up story written in the 1960s. Any drama from the love triangle plot is then sucked away, at least for me. I am pulled away from the characters and can no longer live inside their story. The final insult to my enjoyment comes when Fowles provides three endings: one where the man marries the young girl anyway, despite his desire for the woman; one where he breaks his engagement and runs away with the woman; and one where he ends up without either, continuing as a bachelor.
The plot of this reminds me very much of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, with the three central characters also having many similarities and the time frame being approximately the same, although in different countries. But whereas The Age of Innocence is one of my favorite books, because of its poignancy and conflict between love and duty, this novel, because of its metafiction gimmicks, almost seems pointless.
I don't know whether to recommend this book or not. I liked it when I was much younger. Now not so much.
I remember being very impressed with this novel when I first read it, and also when I read it a second time. Somehow, however, I seem to have lost my taste for postmodern literature. I now find that it seems pretentious and annoys me in its self-conscious cleverness.
The French Lieutenant's Woman starts out appearing to follow the conventions of a Victorian novel of the realist school, written much in the style of Thomas Hardy. A wealthy English man who is in line for a title is engaged to a very young and beautiful (but shallow) girl, even more wealthy than he, though from the merchant class. As the two are out walking, they observe a striking woman staring out to sea. The girl tells her fiance' that it is a French Lieutenant's Woman (a polite word for whore) who is hoping in vain for the return of her absent lover. Despite himself, the man becomes fascinated with the woman's tragic demeanor, and manages to "accidentally" come into contact with her in out-of-the-way places.
Clearly, complications are looming, but then Fowles intrudes himself, speaking as the author, letting readers know that this is a made-up story written in the 1960s. Any drama from the love triangle plot is then sucked away, at least for me. I am pulled away from the characters and can no longer live inside their story. The final insult to my enjoyment comes when Fowles provides three endings: one where the man marries the young girl anyway, despite his desire for the woman; one where he breaks his engagement and runs away with the woman; and one where he ends up without either, continuing as a bachelor.
The plot of this reminds me very much of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, with the three central characters also having many similarities and the time frame being approximately the same, although in different countries. But whereas The Age of Innocence is one of my favorite books, because of its poignancy and conflict between love and duty, this novel, because of its metafiction gimmicks, almost seems pointless.
I don't know whether to recommend this book or not. I liked it when I was much younger. Now not so much.
Monday, November 5, 2018
HOTEL DU LAC by ANITA BROOKNER (1984)
This low-key novel won England's Booker Prize, which is somewhat surprising to me. While it is stylish, pleasantly written, and entertaining to read, it lacks any outstanding aspects or lasting relevance. It reads almost as "chick-lit," suitable for reading during summer vacation at the beach.
In fact, the heroine is a writer of popular romance novels, who has made a misstep at romance herself, calling off her wedding to a very nice (and dull) man at the last minute. It seems she cannot escape thoughts of her secret love affair with a married man. Advised by her friends to take some time away, she flees to a quiet hotel in Switzerland, where she encounters a small group of fellow exiles, all slightly eccentric.
Brookner has fun with her characters, so the books turns into something of a comedy, although a sad one. All are casualties of love, in one way or another. The heroine even receives a second marriage proposal, from a man who is anything but dull.
To Brookner's credit, what starts out following the conventions of a romance novel does provide some surprises, but in the end it just seems like chick-lit for moderate feminists.
In fact, the heroine is a writer of popular romance novels, who has made a misstep at romance herself, calling off her wedding to a very nice (and dull) man at the last minute. It seems she cannot escape thoughts of her secret love affair with a married man. Advised by her friends to take some time away, she flees to a quiet hotel in Switzerland, where she encounters a small group of fellow exiles, all slightly eccentric.
Brookner has fun with her characters, so the books turns into something of a comedy, although a sad one. All are casualties of love, in one way or another. The heroine even receives a second marriage proposal, from a man who is anything but dull.
To Brookner's credit, what starts out following the conventions of a romance novel does provide some surprises, but in the end it just seems like chick-lit for moderate feminists.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
THE GOLDFINCH by DONNA TARTT (2013)
Second reading
First read in December of 2013
Even though I read this just a few years ago, I decided to read it again since I just re-read Donna Tartt's other two novels. Here is the review I wrote in 2013.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Nothing is more satisfying to a reader than a big, thick book with a suspenseful plot and a multitude of interesting characters, all of whom come alive on the page. It's an added plus when the dialogue is natural and sounds distinctive for each character, and when the setting is so clearly described that a reader can visualize and feel the surroundings. Dickens could come up with such novels, and so, it turns out, can Donna Tartt.
The story begins in Amsterdam, with 27-year-old Theo Decker, terrified and ill, hiding out in a hotel room after an unnamed violent event. Through his narration, we are taken back to the thirteen-year-old Theo, who survives the terrorist bombing of an art museum which takes the life of his mother. Clearly suffering from survivor's guilt and PTSD, young Theo is taken in by the wealthy family of a friend, his alcoholic father having recently departed for parts unknown. We follow Theo from his life in New York as a private school student to the desolate outskirts of Las Vegas when his father reappears. Then it's back to New York as a partner in an antique business, before Amsterdam and a reluctant involvement with the criminal underworld. Binding the plot together from start to finish is a small painting, The Goldfinch, the reason Theo and his mother visited the museum.
Tartt is particularly successful in the depictions of the many characters, through both indirect personal descriptions and accounts of their actions and an abundance of distinctive dialogue. The alcohol and gambling addicted father, the antique restorer Hobie who becomes a father figure, the amoral Russian boy Boris who befriends Theo in Las Vegas--all seem so real I can see and hear them in my mind.
I have never been to New York. I have never been to Las Vegas. I have never been to Amsterdam. But I feel that I know them, through Donna Tartt, just as I know Victorian England, through Charles Dickens.
This seems like an old-fashioned novel in many respects, in that it tells an extended story in detail. That seems to be rather out of fashion these days. But it is a modern novel in other respects, in that it addresses both current and universal human predicaments. The realistic ending is not "happily ever after," but then whose life ever is?
Onward through the fog.
Highly recommended.
First read in December of 2013
Even though I read this just a few years ago, I decided to read it again since I just re-read Donna Tartt's other two novels. Here is the review I wrote in 2013.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Nothing is more satisfying to a reader than a big, thick book with a suspenseful plot and a multitude of interesting characters, all of whom come alive on the page. It's an added plus when the dialogue is natural and sounds distinctive for each character, and when the setting is so clearly described that a reader can visualize and feel the surroundings. Dickens could come up with such novels, and so, it turns out, can Donna Tartt.
The story begins in Amsterdam, with 27-year-old Theo Decker, terrified and ill, hiding out in a hotel room after an unnamed violent event. Through his narration, we are taken back to the thirteen-year-old Theo, who survives the terrorist bombing of an art museum which takes the life of his mother. Clearly suffering from survivor's guilt and PTSD, young Theo is taken in by the wealthy family of a friend, his alcoholic father having recently departed for parts unknown. We follow Theo from his life in New York as a private school student to the desolate outskirts of Las Vegas when his father reappears. Then it's back to New York as a partner in an antique business, before Amsterdam and a reluctant involvement with the criminal underworld. Binding the plot together from start to finish is a small painting, The Goldfinch, the reason Theo and his mother visited the museum.
Tartt is particularly successful in the depictions of the many characters, through both indirect personal descriptions and accounts of their actions and an abundance of distinctive dialogue. The alcohol and gambling addicted father, the antique restorer Hobie who becomes a father figure, the amoral Russian boy Boris who befriends Theo in Las Vegas--all seem so real I can see and hear them in my mind.
I have never been to New York. I have never been to Las Vegas. I have never been to Amsterdam. But I feel that I know them, through Donna Tartt, just as I know Victorian England, through Charles Dickens.
This seems like an old-fashioned novel in many respects, in that it tells an extended story in detail. That seems to be rather out of fashion these days. But it is a modern novel in other respects, in that it addresses both current and universal human predicaments. The realistic ending is not "happily ever after," but then whose life ever is?
Onward through the fog.
Highly recommended.
Thursday, November 1, 2018
LONESOME DOVE by LARRY McMURTRY (1985)
Second reading
Almost all Americans of a certain age are familiar with the plot of Lonesome Dove, if not from the book then from the the award-winning and extremely popular television series from the '80s. It has everything a Western should have -- former Texas Rangers, a whore with a heart, a cattle drive, cowboys, Indians, outlaws, hangings, stampeding cattle, battles with the elements, a sheriff chasing a killer, and so forth. It differs from the plots of traditional Westerns only in that it doesn't always deliver the expected. It also contains remarkable dialogue and a depth of characterization not usually found in the genre.
For those few not familiar with the story, it recounts the events of a cattle drive from South Texas to Montana, led by two aging Texas Rangers. It takes McMurtry more than 150 pages to introduce the major characters and actually get them started on the drive, and I found myself getting weary and bored. But once the author gets the story (and the herd) rolling, it moves at breakneck pace, with one cliff-hanging incident after another. McMurtry is quite a yarn spinner, so the rest of the 800+ page book held my attention to the end and didn't seem long at all.
I have never seen the television adaptation of Lonesome Dove, but surely McMurtry must have anticipated that his novel would someday be the basis of a screen treatment, because it seems to me to employ a very cinematic approach to novel writing. I believe one could write the screenplay using the author's dialogue exactly as written in the book. I intend to search for the video of the production to find out if that is so.
I would not classify this as Literary Fiction (high-brow, meaningful, etc.), but it is very good at what it does, which is tell a mesmerizing story. It is somewhat surprising to me that it won the Pulitzer Prize, but I recommend it as an example of how to take stock story elements and make them interesting again just through the vividness of the telling.
Almost all Americans of a certain age are familiar with the plot of Lonesome Dove, if not from the book then from the the award-winning and extremely popular television series from the '80s. It has everything a Western should have -- former Texas Rangers, a whore with a heart, a cattle drive, cowboys, Indians, outlaws, hangings, stampeding cattle, battles with the elements, a sheriff chasing a killer, and so forth. It differs from the plots of traditional Westerns only in that it doesn't always deliver the expected. It also contains remarkable dialogue and a depth of characterization not usually found in the genre.
For those few not familiar with the story, it recounts the events of a cattle drive from South Texas to Montana, led by two aging Texas Rangers. It takes McMurtry more than 150 pages to introduce the major characters and actually get them started on the drive, and I found myself getting weary and bored. But once the author gets the story (and the herd) rolling, it moves at breakneck pace, with one cliff-hanging incident after another. McMurtry is quite a yarn spinner, so the rest of the 800+ page book held my attention to the end and didn't seem long at all.
I have never seen the television adaptation of Lonesome Dove, but surely McMurtry must have anticipated that his novel would someday be the basis of a screen treatment, because it seems to me to employ a very cinematic approach to novel writing. I believe one could write the screenplay using the author's dialogue exactly as written in the book. I intend to search for the video of the production to find out if that is so.
I would not classify this as Literary Fiction (high-brow, meaningful, etc.), but it is very good at what it does, which is tell a mesmerizing story. It is somewhat surprising to me that it won the Pulitzer Prize, but I recommend it as an example of how to take stock story elements and make them interesting again just through the vividness of the telling.
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