That was certainly an adventure.
Barthelme's The Dead Father was an enjoyable, albeit perplexing read. Since my last update the group read aloud the Manual for Sons which discusses various aspects of fatherhood and what types of fathers you should look out for (the falling father being one of the most dangerous). It was in this section of the book that I found the quote that inspired me to get the book itself:
"He is mad about being small when you were big, but no that's not it, he is mad about being helpless when you were powerful, but no not that either, he is mad about being contingent when you were necessary, not quite it, he is insane because when he loved you, you didn't notice."
This largely sums up the purpose of the book-within-a-book as the fathers are often there to bother their sons. The startling conclusion, however, is that it is also the son's job to become the father, but to try to water down the role.
The chapters directly after quickly conclude the book. A horsemen who has been following the group is revealed, and quickly, as her name/position would imply, is sent away. Julie and Thomas have the most sterile and mechanical sex scene I have ever read, and the ways that people can make life so routine is revealed in the same way that humans can most affectionately express themselves. The book ends as one might expect, though it still is a bit unsettling.
Though a quick read, it deserves some time, and it would be a good idea to have a notebook or journal handy while you're reading. There are things that fascinated me that i know i am not recalling simply because there were so many additional things that ended up stealing my attention. This is the book that makes me wish i was in a "20-Century American Novel" class as I am sure it deserves more company.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Kitchen
The inside jacket of the book, mentions a phenomenon called "Bananamania" which I think is an awful name that describes what happened in Japan when Kitchen, written by Banana Yoshimoto was released. The book was huge there. I'll admit to being a little skeptical when I picked it up, and to partly picking it up because its on the short side and I'm trying to get through 25 books here. But, I wasn't really expecting to read it in one day, or to pretend to be working at my desk while I was really reading the damn thing. It's a really excellent little piece of fiction.
I think the thing that strikes me most about it is the disconnect between what the book is actually about, and the feelings that it leaves you with. Unlike Memories of My Melancholy Whores, which has a disturbing plot, and leaves you feeling rather disturbed, Kitchen is full of death and loneliness, yet leaves you feeling full of hope (not the Hallmark kind) and slightly amused. The book is actually divided into two separate stories (I guess the might technically be considered novellas). The first is about young people living in Tokyo who become orphans, and the second is about a girl whose boyfriend of 4 years dies suddenly and how she is coping with the grief. (See, sounds depressing, doesn't it?) The narration is honest and refreshing. There are are funny bits, and the author puts to words feelings that everyone has but is unable to clearly communicate (for example, I too have an unnatural love of kitchens).
I can't really think of anything else specific to say about it, other than that we only bought the book because we came across a cheap copy at a used book store in Ithaca, NY on our honeymoon (almost three years ago), and Charlie told Matt he should read it. And I'm annoyed that I didn't read it until now. See, this 25 book thing is starting to work (just don't tell my adviser about the whole reading in the lab thing...)
3 down... time to find #4
I think the thing that strikes me most about it is the disconnect between what the book is actually about, and the feelings that it leaves you with. Unlike Memories of My Melancholy Whores, which has a disturbing plot, and leaves you feeling rather disturbed, Kitchen is full of death and loneliness, yet leaves you feeling full of hope (not the Hallmark kind) and slightly amused. The book is actually divided into two separate stories (I guess the might technically be considered novellas). The first is about young people living in Tokyo who become orphans, and the second is about a girl whose boyfriend of 4 years dies suddenly and how she is coping with the grief. (See, sounds depressing, doesn't it?) The narration is honest and refreshing. There are are funny bits, and the author puts to words feelings that everyone has but is unable to clearly communicate (for example, I too have an unnatural love of kitchens).
I can't really think of anything else specific to say about it, other than that we only bought the book because we came across a cheap copy at a used book store in Ithaca, NY on our honeymoon (almost three years ago), and Charlie told Matt he should read it. And I'm annoyed that I didn't read it until now. See, this 25 book thing is starting to work (just don't tell my adviser about the whole reading in the lab thing...)
3 down... time to find #4
The Hobbit
I'll just come right out and say it. I love J.R.R. Tolkien. I loved the books when I was in fourth grade, and I still think they're great. I got the whole way through The Hobbit in about a week, and most nights, Matt had to force me to put down the book because I likely would have stayed up all night reading it. His mode of story telling is so descriptive that its easy to envision the hobbit's journey exactly. And, it's easy to identify with each of the characters in some way or other... The hobbit's humility and fear of leaving home, the dwarves love of song and treasure, the elves and their magical grace, and even the eagles and their unwillingness to get involved in the petty battles of the land creatures.
That being said, its hard for me to read the book without thinking about how it translates to film... something I'm not normally fond of doing, but is difficult to avoid, considering that our next Lord of the Rings Day is only 337 days away. And I'm not sure that it will make as good of a movie as the Lord of the Rings trilogy did. Mostly because, in the trilogy, the demarcation between good and evil is blatantly clear. But in The Hobbit, there are points when the main characters (a troop of 13 dwarves) acts stubborn enough that even I get a little tired of them. And the dragon (the main foe in the book) is killed by a character that we meet about three paragraphs before and know very little about. So, even if it does make a decent film, I'm not sure we'll be willing to extend LOTR day from 12 to 16 hours for it.... that remains to be seen.
Along those lines, though, the contrast between my reading of the book this time and last time (fourth grade) is also interesting, because I can now put the book in the context of the Lord of the Rings trilogies, whereas last time I read it as an isolated tale. It gives a little more weight to when Bilbo acquires the ring. And, there is a great story about when Bilbo names his sword Sting in a fight with a giant spider. Although the ring itself plays a pretty big role in the book, it acts more as a trinket that allows Bilbo to escape from some nasty situations due to being invisible. Getting the ring from Gollum is really more interesting because of the riddles the two pass back and forth rather than the monumental event that it ended up being for the people of Middle Earth.
And with that exceptionally dorky comment, I am going to end this post... But, I'll say that the book is an excellent little escape from reality, particularly when you're looking for themes of gathering the courage (and luck) to leave home, and the joy of returning to it after a long journey. Or, if you just want to laugh at some funny dwarf songs.
That being said, its hard for me to read the book without thinking about how it translates to film... something I'm not normally fond of doing, but is difficult to avoid, considering that our next Lord of the Rings Day is only 337 days away. And I'm not sure that it will make as good of a movie as the Lord of the Rings trilogy did. Mostly because, in the trilogy, the demarcation between good and evil is blatantly clear. But in The Hobbit, there are points when the main characters (a troop of 13 dwarves) acts stubborn enough that even I get a little tired of them. And the dragon (the main foe in the book) is killed by a character that we meet about three paragraphs before and know very little about. So, even if it does make a decent film, I'm not sure we'll be willing to extend LOTR day from 12 to 16 hours for it.... that remains to be seen.
Along those lines, though, the contrast between my reading of the book this time and last time (fourth grade) is also interesting, because I can now put the book in the context of the Lord of the Rings trilogies, whereas last time I read it as an isolated tale. It gives a little more weight to when Bilbo acquires the ring. And, there is a great story about when Bilbo names his sword Sting in a fight with a giant spider. Although the ring itself plays a pretty big role in the book, it acts more as a trinket that allows Bilbo to escape from some nasty situations due to being invisible. Getting the ring from Gollum is really more interesting because of the riddles the two pass back and forth rather than the monumental event that it ended up being for the people of Middle Earth.
And with that exceptionally dorky comment, I am going to end this post... But, I'll say that the book is an excellent little escape from reality, particularly when you're looking for themes of gathering the courage (and luck) to leave home, and the joy of returning to it after a long journey. Or, if you just want to laugh at some funny dwarf songs.
The Dead Father: Half way to the yellow stuff
The title does fit the chapters, I swear.
I am just past the half way mark of The Dead Father and I cannot wait to be able to read this book again. I see something of great value in it, but am just not quite there yet. It is an adventure in itself as the reader is thrown into a world that doesn't quite make sense and is forced to figure it out. Everytime I understand a societal relationship a little better I have a bit of pride in my accomplishment.
What, might you ask, is The Dead Father? No, you'd never ask this question because you would assume, as did a fellow co-worker today, that the book is about a father who is dead. This is half correct. The Dead Father is one of the main characters, and he is a jerk. He is a part-man, part-machine being that changes size. Sometimes he is giant and goes on killing sprees. Sometimes he is more manageable and simple demands impossible things from his "children". I assume they are his children as the Dead Father seems to create much. My favorite creation is the deity Libet, as explained in an earlier post.
There is something attractive about the usual simplicity of the language. The confusion comes from the language as well though, as there are assumptions that the reader knows things that the reader cannot. The book is "highly symbolic", but I am not quick to infer what the symbols represent. The Dead Father seems to be the dead father figure of the 1950s. The one that takes the credit for creation, and passes the blame on the rearing. The book was written in 1974, so I'm not sure how much that image of the father had disappeared. In that sense the Dead Father, being still alive, would seem more closely to represent an image that needed to be dead.
The side characters are also interesting though ambiguous. Emma, Thomas and Julie are the main ones, but there are more characters with equally usual names, and differentiation can be difficult. This is the type of book that I should be taking reading notes on; I am trying to convince myself that I'm doing it for fun though, so I refuse.
Juxtaposed to Kate's most recent Marquez read, this book has much happening, but with less plot. Each chapter is an episode in dragging the Dead Father to a land, whose name escapes me, so that he can recharge.
80 pages to go and I can't wait to read it again.
I am just past the half way mark of The Dead Father and I cannot wait to be able to read this book again. I see something of great value in it, but am just not quite there yet. It is an adventure in itself as the reader is thrown into a world that doesn't quite make sense and is forced to figure it out. Everytime I understand a societal relationship a little better I have a bit of pride in my accomplishment.
What, might you ask, is The Dead Father? No, you'd never ask this question because you would assume, as did a fellow co-worker today, that the book is about a father who is dead. This is half correct. The Dead Father is one of the main characters, and he is a jerk. He is a part-man, part-machine being that changes size. Sometimes he is giant and goes on killing sprees. Sometimes he is more manageable and simple demands impossible things from his "children". I assume they are his children as the Dead Father seems to create much. My favorite creation is the deity Libet, as explained in an earlier post.
There is something attractive about the usual simplicity of the language. The confusion comes from the language as well though, as there are assumptions that the reader knows things that the reader cannot. The book is "highly symbolic", but I am not quick to infer what the symbols represent. The Dead Father seems to be the dead father figure of the 1950s. The one that takes the credit for creation, and passes the blame on the rearing. The book was written in 1974, so I'm not sure how much that image of the father had disappeared. In that sense the Dead Father, being still alive, would seem more closely to represent an image that needed to be dead.
The side characters are also interesting though ambiguous. Emma, Thomas and Julie are the main ones, but there are more characters with equally usual names, and differentiation can be difficult. This is the type of book that I should be taking reading notes on; I am trying to convince myself that I'm doing it for fun though, so I refuse.
Juxtaposed to Kate's most recent Marquez read, this book has much happening, but with less plot. Each chapter is an episode in dragging the Dead Father to a land, whose name escapes me, so that he can recharge.
80 pages to go and I can't wait to read it again.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
From The Dead Father:
"The deity Libet who does not know what to do and is thus an inspiration to up all."
Memories of My Melancholy Whores
I realize that the title of this book may lead you to think that its an odd present for Matt to buy me for Christmas, but, for some reason, the book struck him as one I might like, and, he was right. Written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who (as the cover isn't shy to admit) also wrote One Hundred Years of Solitutde, and Love in the Time of Cholera, neither of which I have read in the past, the book is about a man in his ninetieth year who decides that his 90th birthday present to himself will be a virgin. The main character is just barely likeable... he lives by himself, and has paid every one of the hundreds of women he has slept with. Yet, upon seeing the 14 year old virgin, Delgadina, who he managed to secure in no small part due to the vast sums previously spent in the brothels, he falls in love with her, and his life is upended. From then on, his weekly newspaper column changes from a monologue about growing old alone to a romantic love letter to Delgadina; he stops listening to classical music and starts listening to boleros; and he can no longer read the classics, but instead switched to romantic writings. His love for her gives him the strength to confront his inner self for the first time, revealing that he "appears generous in order to conceal my meanness, that I pass myself off as prudent because I am evil-minded... that I am punctual only to hide how little I care about other people's time."
Not much really happens in the book, to be honest, but the prose is beautifully poetic and almost hypnotizes you into reading the whole thing (I basically read it in one sitting). Even the strange "relationship" between the 90-year old man and the 14-year old girl stopped being quite as disturbing by the end of the book. Although the main character isn't someone I would normally empathize with, the narration itself is so honest and human that its hard not to get sucked in. Although at the moment, I'll admit that I'm more focused on the girl in the story and the changes that love brings to his life, even as he retains his cynical side, the story also reveals the character's fears and concerns about aging and death, which I imagine will become more poignant in years to come.
In the end, Memories of My Melancholy Whores is a clever story about growing old, finding love, and remembering to confront your inner self periodically, even when you're terrified you're not going to find someone you particularly care for.
Not much really happens in the book, to be honest, but the prose is beautifully poetic and almost hypnotizes you into reading the whole thing (I basically read it in one sitting). Even the strange "relationship" between the 90-year old man and the 14-year old girl stopped being quite as disturbing by the end of the book. Although the main character isn't someone I would normally empathize with, the narration itself is so honest and human that its hard not to get sucked in. Although at the moment, I'll admit that I'm more focused on the girl in the story and the changes that love brings to his life, even as he retains his cynical side, the story also reveals the character's fears and concerns about aging and death, which I imagine will become more poignant in years to come.
In the end, Memories of My Melancholy Whores is a clever story about growing old, finding love, and remembering to confront your inner self periodically, even when you're terrified you're not going to find someone you particularly care for.
Into the Wild: Ch. 8-10
In Ch. 8-10 there is a shift in the book from telling the audience about Chris McCandless to telling them about various other people that resemble McCandless. There is then a very quick chapter that records his "death announcement". This being the second time I've read the book, it is so interesting to see, more in detail, how it is crafted.
Introduction
Kate and I, after hearing about the 80 books that President Bush read in 2006 have decided to try to start small, and do just the same. We will both attempt to read 25 books, while working (and not being president...yet). We are including a few books we started in '06 in late December, but we'll be sure to make it all even out in the end.
I (Matt) will be working in three categories at first. I will be reading The Dead Father by Donald Barthelme for my personal book; a student and I will be reading Joyce's Ulysses over the course of the next two quarters; I'll also include books that I read for classes that I'm teaching (Into the Wild by John Krakauer at the moment).
Kate will be going much faster as she will do a book at a time. Her first book is already finished (it took me awhile to get this set up) and it was Gabriel Garcia Marquez's new book Memories of My Melancholy Whores. She is now currently reading The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Expect updates from each of us as we get a chance to read a bit.
I (Matt) will be working in three categories at first. I will be reading The Dead Father by Donald Barthelme for my personal book; a student and I will be reading Joyce's Ulysses over the course of the next two quarters; I'll also include books that I read for classes that I'm teaching (Into the Wild by John Krakauer at the moment).
Kate will be going much faster as she will do a book at a time. Her first book is already finished (it took me awhile to get this set up) and it was Gabriel Garcia Marquez's new book Memories of My Melancholy Whores. She is now currently reading The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Expect updates from each of us as we get a chance to read a bit.
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