By Salman Rushdie
Having only read Midnight's Children, I'm in no position to attempt to rank The Enchantress of Florence among Salman Rushdie's other works. I can only describe my reaction to Rushdie's latest offering.
The Enchantress is an old-fashioned adventure. Weaving together romance and action, intrigue and cinematic grandeur, Rushdie draws his readers into a vivid world of exotic empires and historic wonders where the rules that apply to mere mortals become fluid. The power of great men and women to create by sheer force of will and the power of a story to change a listener drive the novel.
Rushdie's prose is, as always, a pleasure to read. He works his favorite milieu, the intersection of East and West, to drive home the point that it is not man's differences that cause conflict, but his sameness. 'East and West' is enriched by a study of rulers and the ruled but the most thought provoking aspect of the novel is the examinations of men and women and how each gender achieves power.
Despite an abundance of parallel story lines, the narrative is easily followed. The tiny amount of confusion and fuzziness that cling to the edges of the story only add to the mystical feel of the novel.
Having lived in Italy for a time, I found the portions of the novel set in Florence to be especially vivid. I walked the streets that the character walked. I knew the history around which Rushdie wrapped his story. This, I think, really brought that portion of The Enchantress to life. While certainly not a book that requires an encyclopedia to get through, a basic grasp of the period helps the reader see many of the more subtle points Rushdie is making. I feel that I undoubtedly missed some of Rushdie's observations when the action moved to Akbar's court.
In the end, The Enchantress' greatest asset is the deep richness of the world that Rushdie's novel inhabits. It has all the best astributes of old studio blockbusters - sweeping scope, fantastic settings, stunning vistas, exotic locals - and a wonderful interior story, beautiful language, and fascinating characters.
Oct 3, 2009
Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure
By Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon is the undisputed master of rasing genre novels into (or nearly into) the realm of literature. "Gentlemen of the Road" was originally produced as a serialized adventure, published incrementally by the New York Times Sunday Magazine.
It shows.
But as always, Chabon makes a convincing argument that we should overlook what would normally be thought of as a failing. The adventures of a pair of Jewish con-men/mercenaries in 10th-century Khazaria feels like a very good mini-series on a channel like A&E (the way it used to be) or The BBC. Rousing action, battles and barfights, love and deceptions, politics and revolution packaged intelligently with quality actors and wrapped in Chabon's wonderful prose. While the chapters are at times disjointed, "Gentlemen of the Road" makes for an entertaining whole.
The depth and seriousness of "Kavalier & Clay" and "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" is replaced with swashbuckling action and the dust and mist of history, allowing the reader to relax and enjoy following Zelikman and Amram, a classic pair of bickering opposites, in their trip across an ancient and little known landscape.
Michael Chabon is the undisputed master of rasing genre novels into (or nearly into) the realm of literature. "Gentlemen of the Road" was originally produced as a serialized adventure, published incrementally by the New York Times Sunday Magazine.
It shows.
But as always, Chabon makes a convincing argument that we should overlook what would normally be thought of as a failing. The adventures of a pair of Jewish con-men/mercenaries in 10th-century Khazaria feels like a very good mini-series on a channel like A&E (the way it used to be) or The BBC. Rousing action, battles and barfights, love and deceptions, politics and revolution packaged intelligently with quality actors and wrapped in Chabon's wonderful prose. While the chapters are at times disjointed, "Gentlemen of the Road" makes for an entertaining whole.
The depth and seriousness of "Kavalier & Clay" and "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" is replaced with swashbuckling action and the dust and mist of history, allowing the reader to relax and enjoy following Zelikman and Amram, a classic pair of bickering opposites, in their trip across an ancient and little known landscape.
The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire
By Matt Taibbi
'The Great Derangement' is something of a mongrel. As a writer for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi covers a wide variety of subjects. At times 'Derangement' felt as if Mr. Taibbi had stacks of notes on three different subjects, each set too large for an article but too short for a book on its own, and his solution was to combine them all in one book and claim that the combination was in an effort to compare and contrast. At that he is only marginally successful.
Where 'Derangement' is more successful is in actually reporting from inside of each of the three 'worlds' he covers.
The infiltration of Pastor Hagee's megachurch in Texas is where Mr. Taibbi shines most. Although my personal religious leanings are very similar to the author's, I grew up in the church (if a much more 'main line' denomination) and I recognize the individuals that populate Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. He manages to differentiate between the zealots running the show, the crackpot 'yes-men' that form the middle management, and the actual believers in the pews who, while overly credulous, are really just looking for some answers, stability, and a sense of belonging in their life.
While Mr. Taibbi puts forward a more sympathetic portrait of megachurch parishioners, he has no problem allowing Hagee and his ilk to damn themselves. 'Derangement' is a record of Hagee's willingness to lie to his congregation to further his political ends and ingratiate himself with his Washington benefactors.
'The Great Derangement' attempts to provide 'balance' to his critique of Evangelicalism by comparing it to the '9/11 Truth' movement, something that Mr. Taibbi characterizes as 'left-wing' though I find that claim a bit dubious.
I accept that each one is based on a similar sort of fact-free, take it on faith, 'I-want-to-believe' sort of movement. That said, the Truthers don't have a major political party beholden to them or hundreds if not thousands of adherents positioned within elected and non-elected government. People who think that the World Trade Center was dynamited may try to convince us to adopt their point of view but they're not trying to pass laws and/or change laws so that conform with their ideology. Also, Tiabbi fails to make any real connection between the 'Truthers' and any tenet of Liberalism. Conspiracy theories, and this one in particular, have very little to do with political ideologies.
The final set of notes that Mr. Taibbi used to fill out 'The Great Derangement' was on the combination of corruption and gridlock in Congress. While the Truthers come off as goofy and the Hageeites come off as unsettling, Mr. Taibbi's inside look at how ear marks work is just crushingly disheartening. The amount of disfunction is staggering. One is left wondering how anything ever gets done.
In the end, Mr. Taibbi's strongest point, one that I don't remember him stating directly, is that in today's America, a person can choose from a buffet of ideas and ideologies and there will always be somebody willing to spout reality optional 'facts' that support that position.
'The Great Derangement' is something of a mongrel. As a writer for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi covers a wide variety of subjects. At times 'Derangement' felt as if Mr. Taibbi had stacks of notes on three different subjects, each set too large for an article but too short for a book on its own, and his solution was to combine them all in one book and claim that the combination was in an effort to compare and contrast. At that he is only marginally successful.
Where 'Derangement' is more successful is in actually reporting from inside of each of the three 'worlds' he covers.
The infiltration of Pastor Hagee's megachurch in Texas is where Mr. Taibbi shines most. Although my personal religious leanings are very similar to the author's, I grew up in the church (if a much more 'main line' denomination) and I recognize the individuals that populate Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. He manages to differentiate between the zealots running the show, the crackpot 'yes-men' that form the middle management, and the actual believers in the pews who, while overly credulous, are really just looking for some answers, stability, and a sense of belonging in their life.
While Mr. Taibbi puts forward a more sympathetic portrait of megachurch parishioners, he has no problem allowing Hagee and his ilk to damn themselves. 'Derangement' is a record of Hagee's willingness to lie to his congregation to further his political ends and ingratiate himself with his Washington benefactors.
'The Great Derangement' attempts to provide 'balance' to his critique of Evangelicalism by comparing it to the '9/11 Truth' movement, something that Mr. Taibbi characterizes as 'left-wing' though I find that claim a bit dubious.
I accept that each one is based on a similar sort of fact-free, take it on faith, 'I-want-to-believe' sort of movement. That said, the Truthers don't have a major political party beholden to them or hundreds if not thousands of adherents positioned within elected and non-elected government. People who think that the World Trade Center was dynamited may try to convince us to adopt their point of view but they're not trying to pass laws and/or change laws so that conform with their ideology. Also, Tiabbi fails to make any real connection between the 'Truthers' and any tenet of Liberalism. Conspiracy theories, and this one in particular, have very little to do with political ideologies.
The final set of notes that Mr. Taibbi used to fill out 'The Great Derangement' was on the combination of corruption and gridlock in Congress. While the Truthers come off as goofy and the Hageeites come off as unsettling, Mr. Taibbi's inside look at how ear marks work is just crushingly disheartening. The amount of disfunction is staggering. One is left wondering how anything ever gets done.
In the end, Mr. Taibbi's strongest point, one that I don't remember him stating directly, is that in today's America, a person can choose from a buffet of ideas and ideologies and there will always be somebody willing to spout reality optional 'facts' that support that position.
It's been a while...
It's been a few weeks since I posted anything here. That doesn't mean, of course, that I haven't been reading. A few quick posts in short order to cover my last few books...
Sep 9, 2009
A Wrinkle in Time
By Madeleine L'Engle
Some people find solace in comfort food. I have a habit of looking for solace in comfort books. A Wrinkle in Time is the literary equivalent of Mom's mac & cheese.
A Wrinkle in Time is the first book I remember reading. I remember loving Where the Wild Things Are and anything by Richard Scary but those were books that were read to me. I'm sure I read other things first, but Madeleine L'Engle's was my guide on my first solo trip into literature (or at least my first foray into grown-up "chapter" books.)
Even without any clear recollection of the plot, I remember being absolutely in love with A Wrinkle in Time and I decided, perilously close to 20 years on down the road, that I'd indulge my nostalgia.
Mom's Mac & Cheese may not impress many gourmet chefs and Madeline L'Engle's tale of a misunderstood girl doesn't compare to the great works of fiction, but like all great comfort foods, it doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is. And it's delicious. Soft, warm and Soul-affirming, A Wrinkle in Time takes you back to being curled up under the blankets in your childhood bed.
Some people find solace in comfort food. I have a habit of looking for solace in comfort books. A Wrinkle in Time is the literary equivalent of Mom's mac & cheese.A Wrinkle in Time is the first book I remember reading. I remember loving Where the Wild Things Are and anything by Richard Scary but those were books that were read to me. I'm sure I read other things first, but Madeleine L'Engle's was my guide on my first solo trip into literature (or at least my first foray into grown-up "chapter" books.)
Even without any clear recollection of the plot, I remember being absolutely in love with A Wrinkle in Time and I decided, perilously close to 20 years on down the road, that I'd indulge my nostalgia.
Mom's Mac & Cheese may not impress many gourmet chefs and Madeline L'Engle's tale of a misunderstood girl doesn't compare to the great works of fiction, but like all great comfort foods, it doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is. And it's delicious. Soft, warm and Soul-affirming, A Wrinkle in Time takes you back to being curled up under the blankets in your childhood bed.
Sep 7, 2009
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
By Susanna Clarke
'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' is in many ways more a piece of historical fiction than it is a Tolkienian fantasy. There is no wand waving or lightning and fireball battles between wizards. There is no epic 'good versus evil' battle at the end. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a character driven story about jealousy, ambition, and loss. The magic is almost incidental.
Ms. Clarke crafts an alternative version of England at the beginning of the 19th century - the twist being that magic has returned to England - that is so wonderfully immersive that you can nearly smell the damp earth and musty libraries.
Ms. Clarke has structured the book as a sort of post-action record compiled for posterity. This structure gives Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell it's most remarkable feature - its footnotes. These glorious footnotes explain bits and pieces of magical history to help us, the reader, understand references made by Strange, Norrel, and others. Each one is a jewel of compressed storytelling, a tiny window into the wider magical world beyond the confines of this book.
You get the feeling Ms. Clarke could write he own version of The Silmarillion, filling out a complete history of the world she's created.
Though the book starts off slowly, the writing is rich enough and the characters intriguing enough to get the reader into the meat of this book. Once there, read slowly to savor the world Ms. Clarke created. The end of the book comes much quicker than one would expect from an 800-odd page novel.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell masterfully mixes action, drama and comedy into a attention-consuming whole that left me with a wonderfully satisfied feeling.
'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' is in many ways more a piece of historical fiction than it is a Tolkienian fantasy. There is no wand waving or lightning and fireball battles between wizards. There is no epic 'good versus evil' battle at the end. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a character driven story about jealousy, ambition, and loss. The magic is almost incidental.Ms. Clarke crafts an alternative version of England at the beginning of the 19th century - the twist being that magic has returned to England - that is so wonderfully immersive that you can nearly smell the damp earth and musty libraries.
Ms. Clarke has structured the book as a sort of post-action record compiled for posterity. This structure gives Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell it's most remarkable feature - its footnotes. These glorious footnotes explain bits and pieces of magical history to help us, the reader, understand references made by Strange, Norrel, and others. Each one is a jewel of compressed storytelling, a tiny window into the wider magical world beyond the confines of this book.
You get the feeling Ms. Clarke could write he own version of The Silmarillion, filling out a complete history of the world she's created.
Though the book starts off slowly, the writing is rich enough and the characters intriguing enough to get the reader into the meat of this book. Once there, read slowly to savor the world Ms. Clarke created. The end of the book comes much quicker than one would expect from an 800-odd page novel.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell masterfully mixes action, drama and comedy into a attention-consuming whole that left me with a wonderfully satisfied feeling.
Jeeves and the Tie that Binds
By P.G. Wodehouse
'Jeeves & The Tie That Binds' was assigned reading for a college 'Humor in Lit' class. As so often happened to me in college, I managed to get through the class without doing the assigned reading.
What a mistake!
A week ago I happened to pick 'Jeeves & The Tie That Binds' up off of my bookshelf. I rarely so much as chuckle when reading, but P.G. Wodehouse's bumbling Bertie Wooster and his arch-English Butler Jeeves had me laughing out loud.
The story is a whirling cacaphony that includes Bertie's friend Ginger Winship standing for Parliment, money troubles, the Junior Ganymede club book (and it's dangerous contents), engagements, disengagements, theft, and every other manner of absurdity. Not that the plot really matters. P.G. Wodehouse's comic genius is in his wordplay and comic timing.
If you really want to delve into Wodehouse, you would find the ever present English obsession with class but you'd also be ruining a wonderfully light hearted piece of writing through over-examination. At only 208 pages, it's the perfect book for an airplane flight or a train ride.
'Jeeves & The Tie That Binds' was assigned reading for a college 'Humor in Lit' class. As so often happened to me in college, I managed to get through the class without doing the assigned reading.What a mistake!
A week ago I happened to pick 'Jeeves & The Tie That Binds' up off of my bookshelf. I rarely so much as chuckle when reading, but P.G. Wodehouse's bumbling Bertie Wooster and his arch-English Butler Jeeves had me laughing out loud.
The story is a whirling cacaphony that includes Bertie's friend Ginger Winship standing for Parliment, money troubles, the Junior Ganymede club book (and it's dangerous contents), engagements, disengagements, theft, and every other manner of absurdity. Not that the plot really matters. P.G. Wodehouse's comic genius is in his wordplay and comic timing.
If you really want to delve into Wodehouse, you would find the ever present English obsession with class but you'd also be ruining a wonderfully light hearted piece of writing through over-examination. At only 208 pages, it's the perfect book for an airplane flight or a train ride.
Aug 28, 2009
The Children of Hurin
By J.R.R. Tolkien
'The Children of Hurin' - in many ways an expanded chapter of 'The Silmarillion' - is the dark and tragic tale of Turin, the great Hero of Men in the First Age of Middle Earth.
Thousands of years before the events of 'The Hobbit' or 'The Lord of the Rings' the race of Men is proud and the Elves have yet to start their long decline which culminated with their leaving Middle Earth at the end of LOTR. The struggle between Morgoth and the Free Races in 'The Children of Hurin' is the struggle between great powers at their height. There are no reluctant heros in this tale.
After 'The Battle of Unnumbered Tears' Hurin, Human King of Belirand, was captured by Morgoth. When Hurin refused to give Morgoth the location of the hidden Elven city of Gondolin, Morgoth cursed Hurin's children. 'The Children of Hurin' is their tortured story.
Other reviewers have recounted the basic plot and I won't bore you by rehashing it. Instead, I'll give you my impression of the book.
'The Children of Hurin' is Tolkien at his darkest. You imagine this Middle Earth as a dark and frightening place, where even the power and fierceness of those on the side of 'good' is terrifying. This is the story of a cursed man. There are no bright spots, no comic turns, no Samwise Gamgee or Pippin to lighten the mood. This is a story where every character is some version of Boromir, Farimir, and the Last Steward of Gondor. Pride, deceit, struggle, violence and defeat dominate.
The language is slightly more archaic than that of 'The Lord of the Rings' but far less so than 'The Silmarillion,' giving us a very readable story. 'The Children of Hurin' is full of all the same detail and history that we are used to from Tolkien's other works. This story is every bit as good as the rest of the Tolkien canon. The Dragons, the swords, the magical cities and power of fate that Tolkien gave us in 'The Lord of the Rings' is here in spades.
For any true Tolkien fan, 'The Children of Hurin' is unmissable. For those who enjoyed 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' but failed to get through 'The Silmarillion' this new posthumous release is a great inroad into the history of Middle Earth.
'The Children of Hurin' - in many ways an expanded chapter of 'The Silmarillion' - is the dark and tragic tale of Turin, the great Hero of Men in the First Age of Middle Earth.Thousands of years before the events of 'The Hobbit' or 'The Lord of the Rings' the race of Men is proud and the Elves have yet to start their long decline which culminated with their leaving Middle Earth at the end of LOTR. The struggle between Morgoth and the Free Races in 'The Children of Hurin' is the struggle between great powers at their height. There are no reluctant heros in this tale.
After 'The Battle of Unnumbered Tears' Hurin, Human King of Belirand, was captured by Morgoth. When Hurin refused to give Morgoth the location of the hidden Elven city of Gondolin, Morgoth cursed Hurin's children. 'The Children of Hurin' is their tortured story.
Other reviewers have recounted the basic plot and I won't bore you by rehashing it. Instead, I'll give you my impression of the book.
'The Children of Hurin' is Tolkien at his darkest. You imagine this Middle Earth as a dark and frightening place, where even the power and fierceness of those on the side of 'good' is terrifying. This is the story of a cursed man. There are no bright spots, no comic turns, no Samwise Gamgee or Pippin to lighten the mood. This is a story where every character is some version of Boromir, Farimir, and the Last Steward of Gondor. Pride, deceit, struggle, violence and defeat dominate.
The language is slightly more archaic than that of 'The Lord of the Rings' but far less so than 'The Silmarillion,' giving us a very readable story. 'The Children of Hurin' is full of all the same detail and history that we are used to from Tolkien's other works. This story is every bit as good as the rest of the Tolkien canon. The Dragons, the swords, the magical cities and power of fate that Tolkien gave us in 'The Lord of the Rings' is here in spades.
For any true Tolkien fan, 'The Children of Hurin' is unmissable. For those who enjoyed 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' but failed to get through 'The Silmarillion' this new posthumous release is a great inroad into the history of Middle Earth.
Aug 17, 2009
Invisible Cities
By Italo Calvino
When I was in architecture school one of my assignments was to draw three cities from those described in Calvino's 'Invisible Cities.' His amazingly descriptive and yet vague recollections made for a great jumping off point.
Each chapter of 'Invisible Cities' is the narrator's evocative recollection of a fanciful and fantastic city. The descriptions are perfectly distilled in strikingly vivid yet dreamy prose photographs.
Loosen your ties to reality and let this book take you. Read it uncritically and let the scenery wash over you. There is no plot. There are no characters. This is a book about the intersection of reality, language, and the senses. It isn't to be missed.
When I was in architecture school one of my assignments was to draw three cities from those described in Calvino's 'Invisible Cities.' His amazingly descriptive and yet vague recollections made for a great jumping off point.Each chapter of 'Invisible Cities' is the narrator's evocative recollection of a fanciful and fantastic city. The descriptions are perfectly distilled in strikingly vivid yet dreamy prose photographs.
Loosen your ties to reality and let this book take you. Read it uncritically and let the scenery wash over you. There is no plot. There are no characters. This is a book about the intersection of reality, language, and the senses. It isn't to be missed.
Aug 13, 2009
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
By Jared Diamond
"Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" examined the environmental reasons for the collapses of various societies including the Mayan civilization in Mexico, the Vikings in Greenland, and the Polynesian societies on Easter Island, Pitcairn and Henderson Island, among other various societies. Not limited to examining failure, Diamond also provided explanations of the ways that societies recognized and avoided environmental collapse. Examples of these successes include Japan at the time of Tokugawa and the New Guinea highlands.
Diamond arranged his examination of collapsing societies around the five stress points that cause societies to fail: Environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, loss of friendly trade partners, and a society's responses to its environmental problems. Any one, though usually two or more can cause a society to collapse. Obviously, the more problems a society has the more difficult it is to avoid collapse. (The presence of hostile neighbors, climate change, environmental damage and a poor response to environmental problems is usually a more dire situation than just the loss of a trading partner - though not always.)
For all the time spent citing examples from history, "Collapse" isn't just a collections of facts about the past. Diamond also provides up-to-date evidence of the problems we face now. He exposes our own society as no more permanent than that of the Maya.
Diamond finds evidence of the coming collapse of our society in Montana, which he examines extensively. Lack of water to grow food is one of the great causes of societal collapse and Diamond shows the problems the western U.S. is having supporting its population. He also points to the many other small 'first signs' of coming problems such as the rich insulating themselves in gated communities.
For all the dire examples, Diamond doesn't damn western society. He doesn't declare that we've already driven off the cliff of un-sustainability but he does show us that we're quickly racing towards it. His examinations of what worked in the past, what didn't work in the past, and what is going on right now, show that the most important 'point' out of the five is the response a society has to the new environmental pressures. If we can formulate the right response, there's no reason why our society shouldn't be among the list of civilizations that side-stepped collapse.
"Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" examined the environmental reasons for the collapses of various societies including the Mayan civilization in Mexico, the Vikings in Greenland, and the Polynesian societies on Easter Island, Pitcairn and Henderson Island, among other various societies. Not limited to examining failure, Diamond also provided explanations of the ways that societies recognized and avoided environmental collapse. Examples of these successes include Japan at the time of Tokugawa and the New Guinea highlands.Diamond arranged his examination of collapsing societies around the five stress points that cause societies to fail: Environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, loss of friendly trade partners, and a society's responses to its environmental problems. Any one, though usually two or more can cause a society to collapse. Obviously, the more problems a society has the more difficult it is to avoid collapse. (The presence of hostile neighbors, climate change, environmental damage and a poor response to environmental problems is usually a more dire situation than just the loss of a trading partner - though not always.)
For all the time spent citing examples from history, "Collapse" isn't just a collections of facts about the past. Diamond also provides up-to-date evidence of the problems we face now. He exposes our own society as no more permanent than that of the Maya.
Diamond finds evidence of the coming collapse of our society in Montana, which he examines extensively. Lack of water to grow food is one of the great causes of societal collapse and Diamond shows the problems the western U.S. is having supporting its population. He also points to the many other small 'first signs' of coming problems such as the rich insulating themselves in gated communities.
For all the dire examples, Diamond doesn't damn western society. He doesn't declare that we've already driven off the cliff of un-sustainability but he does show us that we're quickly racing towards it. His examinations of what worked in the past, what didn't work in the past, and what is going on right now, show that the most important 'point' out of the five is the response a society has to the new environmental pressures. If we can formulate the right response, there's no reason why our society shouldn't be among the list of civilizations that side-stepped collapse.
Aug 4, 2009
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
By Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian' is an examination of man's nature when the constraints of civilization are broken.
Like McCarthy's other works, 'Blood Meridian' is set in 'The West.' Not Hollywood's 'Wild West' mind you, but a violent and frightening landscape of emptiness, dust and blood. You will find no show-downs between 'white hats' and 'black hats' at high noon here. America's national myth is drawn and examined and opened and destroyed to drive home the idea that 'Blood Meridian' is about us.
As everyone notes, the violence starts early in the book and it never abates. Mr. McCarthy forces the reader to look, compels us not to turn away. The horrific violence is the vehicle McCarthy uses to move the novel from a story on his pages to a narrative within the reader's mind. Once the reader follows the characters across the border between civilization and chaos we find that, like McCarthy's characters, the violence has stripped us of our humanity. We've left it behind.
As we read, Glanton and 'The Judge' become OUR king and OUR high priest. As The Kid's humanity slowly withers, we are compelled to recognize the degradable nature of our own humanity. The Kid is both the reader personally and a representation of the individual, both as part of society and opposed to society. If we are honest with ourselves we must allow Mr. McCarthy to show us that when faced with humanity's ever-present interior horrors (represented perfectly by 'The Judge') we are just as helpless as the pointedly nameless protagonist.
That is the true horror of 'Blood Meridian.' Not the blood. Not the guts. Not even the dead babies. The horror of 'Blood Meridian' is that at any time we are a one choice, one action, away from the world of 'The Judge.' The constraining forces of 'civilization' are tenuous at best. And once the thread of humanity has been broken we are all either members of Glanton's gang or its victims.
Mr. McCarthy's dense and at times difficult language paints a strikingly vivid picture. His word choice can be archaic and obscure, but no word (or sentence) in 'Blood Meridian' ever seems awkward or out of place. 'Blood Meridian' makes you work to understand what's going on, especially when McCarthy writes dialog. The 300 page book seemed much longer to me. While I occasionally found myself rereading passages the more likely reason was that Mr. McCarthy can construct two or three paragraphs that impart every detail of a hundred mile journey, all within half of a page.
'Blood Meridian' is not a pretty book. It does not fit within today's entertainment consumer's expectations. 'Blood Meridian' is Hieronymus Bosch, not Claude Monet. Don't let that dissuade you. Mr. McCarthy has created a novel sublime in its ability to frighten and disgust you. It's well worth the effort.
Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian' is an examination of man's nature when the constraints of civilization are broken.Like McCarthy's other works, 'Blood Meridian' is set in 'The West.' Not Hollywood's 'Wild West' mind you, but a violent and frightening landscape of emptiness, dust and blood. You will find no show-downs between 'white hats' and 'black hats' at high noon here. America's national myth is drawn and examined and opened and destroyed to drive home the idea that 'Blood Meridian' is about us.
As everyone notes, the violence starts early in the book and it never abates. Mr. McCarthy forces the reader to look, compels us not to turn away. The horrific violence is the vehicle McCarthy uses to move the novel from a story on his pages to a narrative within the reader's mind. Once the reader follows the characters across the border between civilization and chaos we find that, like McCarthy's characters, the violence has stripped us of our humanity. We've left it behind.
As we read, Glanton and 'The Judge' become OUR king and OUR high priest. As The Kid's humanity slowly withers, we are compelled to recognize the degradable nature of our own humanity. The Kid is both the reader personally and a representation of the individual, both as part of society and opposed to society. If we are honest with ourselves we must allow Mr. McCarthy to show us that when faced with humanity's ever-present interior horrors (represented perfectly by 'The Judge') we are just as helpless as the pointedly nameless protagonist.
That is the true horror of 'Blood Meridian.' Not the blood. Not the guts. Not even the dead babies. The horror of 'Blood Meridian' is that at any time we are a one choice, one action, away from the world of 'The Judge.' The constraining forces of 'civilization' are tenuous at best. And once the thread of humanity has been broken we are all either members of Glanton's gang or its victims.
Mr. McCarthy's dense and at times difficult language paints a strikingly vivid picture. His word choice can be archaic and obscure, but no word (or sentence) in 'Blood Meridian' ever seems awkward or out of place. 'Blood Meridian' makes you work to understand what's going on, especially when McCarthy writes dialog. The 300 page book seemed much longer to me. While I occasionally found myself rereading passages the more likely reason was that Mr. McCarthy can construct two or three paragraphs that impart every detail of a hundred mile journey, all within half of a page.
'Blood Meridian' is not a pretty book. It does not fit within today's entertainment consumer's expectations. 'Blood Meridian' is Hieronymus Bosch, not Claude Monet. Don't let that dissuade you. Mr. McCarthy has created a novel sublime in its ability to frighten and disgust you. It's well worth the effort.
Jul 29, 2009
The Age Of American Unreason
By Susan Jacoby
Susan Jacoby's 'The Age of American Unreason' has two basic parts. First Ms. Jacoby examines the historical roots of America's penchant for resisting intellectuals and intellectualism. Second, Ms. Jacoby fumes about the changes in our culture since the '60s.
The first portion of the book is without a doubt an excellent investigation and discussion of 75% of 'how we got to where we are now.' The second part of Ms. Jacoby's book is essentially 'The '60s and the o...more Susan Jacoby's book has two basic parts. First Ms. Jacoby examines the historical roots of America's penchant for resisting intellectuals and intellectualism. Second, Ms. Jacoby fumes about the changes in our culture since the '60s.
The first portion of the book is without a doubt an excellent investigation and discussion of 75% of 'how we got to where we are now.' The second part of Ms. Jacoby's book is essentially 'The '60s and the other 25% of how we got to where we are now' and is a bit more problematic for me.
Her basic premise for 'The '60s' is that the youth of the era, the baby boomers, divided themselves into two opposing camps. One was either a member of the counter-culture (a hippie) or of the counter-counter-culture (an anti-hippie) and the two sides haven't agreed on anything since then. To me, this seemed pretty logical. How many Republicans still see every liberal as a 'D.F.H.'
Her examination of how the Culture Wars, efforts to combat the Civil Rights movement and the rise of the Evangelical Movement promote unreason all rang true for me but, like most of the people reading The Age of American Unreason, Ms. Jacoby was preaching to the choir.
Where things bogged down for me was when Ms. Jacoby sounded a bit too much like every other geezer out there ranting about 'kids these days.' I'm less than half of Ms. Jacoby's age and at times she seemed too willing to condemn our culture simply because it is now very different from what it was when she was growing up.
Youth culture, technology and the studying of pop culture in college classes is not the end of the world Ms. Jacoby thinks it is. Yes, email has destroyed the letter. Yes, the vast majority of us are dependent on spell check. College classes studying 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' don't carry the gravitas of classes on Shakespeare or Chaucer or even Bram Stoker. I would argue that if a student can approach 'Buffy' with the same close reading and analysis she or he would have approached 'Cantubury Tales' that student has both learned to think about all the media they consume and has gained the skills to apply that mindset to 'the classics.' I digress...
Changes in how we transmit our thoughts and who sets our tastes in clothes do not, however, do anything to decrease our trust in experts or explain why Americans are peculiar in our celebration of being 'just folks' and our pride in our ignorance. This isn't to say that Ms. Jacoby doesn't address those things, but 'you kids stay off of my lawn!' attitude weakens her arguments.
In the end, The Age of American Unreason is a valuable and timely look at who we are as Americans. Sadly, it's scholarly style and mildly combative stance (and the fact that it's a book and not a TV show) ensures that those who need to hear Ms. Jacoby's message most will be completely unaware that it exists.
Susan Jacoby's 'The Age of American Unreason' has two basic parts. First Ms. Jacoby examines the historical roots of America's penchant for resisting intellectuals and intellectualism. Second, Ms. Jacoby fumes about the changes in our culture since the '60s. The first portion of the book is without a doubt an excellent investigation and discussion of 75% of 'how we got to where we are now.' The second part of Ms. Jacoby's book is essentially 'The '60s and the o...more Susan Jacoby's book has two basic parts. First Ms. Jacoby examines the historical roots of America's penchant for resisting intellectuals and intellectualism. Second, Ms. Jacoby fumes about the changes in our culture since the '60s.
The first portion of the book is without a doubt an excellent investigation and discussion of 75% of 'how we got to where we are now.' The second part of Ms. Jacoby's book is essentially 'The '60s and the other 25% of how we got to where we are now' and is a bit more problematic for me.
Her basic premise for 'The '60s' is that the youth of the era, the baby boomers, divided themselves into two opposing camps. One was either a member of the counter-culture (a hippie) or of the counter-counter-culture (an anti-hippie) and the two sides haven't agreed on anything since then. To me, this seemed pretty logical. How many Republicans still see every liberal as a 'D.F.H.'
Her examination of how the Culture Wars, efforts to combat the Civil Rights movement and the rise of the Evangelical Movement promote unreason all rang true for me but, like most of the people reading The Age of American Unreason, Ms. Jacoby was preaching to the choir.
Where things bogged down for me was when Ms. Jacoby sounded a bit too much like every other geezer out there ranting about 'kids these days.' I'm less than half of Ms. Jacoby's age and at times she seemed too willing to condemn our culture simply because it is now very different from what it was when she was growing up.
Youth culture, technology and the studying of pop culture in college classes is not the end of the world Ms. Jacoby thinks it is. Yes, email has destroyed the letter. Yes, the vast majority of us are dependent on spell check. College classes studying 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' don't carry the gravitas of classes on Shakespeare or Chaucer or even Bram Stoker. I would argue that if a student can approach 'Buffy' with the same close reading and analysis she or he would have approached 'Cantubury Tales' that student has both learned to think about all the media they consume and has gained the skills to apply that mindset to 'the classics.' I digress...
Changes in how we transmit our thoughts and who sets our tastes in clothes do not, however, do anything to decrease our trust in experts or explain why Americans are peculiar in our celebration of being 'just folks' and our pride in our ignorance. This isn't to say that Ms. Jacoby doesn't address those things, but 'you kids stay off of my lawn!' attitude weakens her arguments.
In the end, The Age of American Unreason is a valuable and timely look at who we are as Americans. Sadly, it's scholarly style and mildly combative stance (and the fact that it's a book and not a TV show) ensures that those who need to hear Ms. Jacoby's message most will be completely unaware that it exists.
Jul 28, 2009
Welcome!
First things first: This blog has nothing to do with the Kindle. Also, the books I'm reviewing aren't actually electrical. This is simply a place for me to review the books I read. The name of the blog came to me and I like it. It has no other significance.
My plan for the blog is rather simple. As I read books, I'll post my reviews here.
I'm pretty far reaching in my tastes, but I imagine most of the books reviewed here to be works of fiction. They'll fall anywhere and everywhere across the spectrum, from 'high literature' to 'schlock.' With a bit of luck, they'll stay closer to the 'literature' end. Non-fiction will undoubtedly make an appearance here from time to time, mostly in the form of current events, politics, and history.
I'll list the books I'm currently reading on the right. In all likelihood there will be more than one book listed there. I never used to do that but I find that now I can't read just one book. Go figure.
I will be posting a few old reviews over the next few weeks that I've written and posted elsewhere. I hope that anybody who happens to stumble upon this tiny little corner of the internet enjoys my reviews.
My plan for the blog is rather simple. As I read books, I'll post my reviews here.
I'm pretty far reaching in my tastes, but I imagine most of the books reviewed here to be works of fiction. They'll fall anywhere and everywhere across the spectrum, from 'high literature' to 'schlock.' With a bit of luck, they'll stay closer to the 'literature' end. Non-fiction will undoubtedly make an appearance here from time to time, mostly in the form of current events, politics, and history.
I'll list the books I'm currently reading on the right. In all likelihood there will be more than one book listed there. I never used to do that but I find that now I can't read just one book. Go figure.
I will be posting a few old reviews over the next few weeks that I've written and posted elsewhere. I hope that anybody who happens to stumble upon this tiny little corner of the internet enjoys my reviews.
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