As with most 22-year-old American males, my childhood was
spent weaning from the electric mother of television and video games. (You
wouldn't know it, because I deleted it, but I just absent-mindedly capitalized
both "Television" and "Video Games" as though they were deified.) According to
some people that I read somewhere once, I can blame the electronic sedentary
behavior of my younger days for the attention deficit that I blame for my most
of my shortcomings (including not being able to write a succinct sentence
<ooh, "succinct sentence", I like that word-pair>).
ANYWAY!
To make a short story long, I've replaced (for the most part) the sweet,
light-giving life of the television for the cold pages of a book.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to allow your brain to meander endlessly and
still get anything out of a novel. So, like so many people I know, I have
half-read Tolstoys andDostoevskies
adorning my nightstand and desk like some dilapidated tent-city.
My
inability to finish anything by "The Russians" (close your eyes and give your
voice the snootiest possible tone whenever you say "The Russians";it's a lot of fun) has automatically
restricted me from the category of "well-read"by the literati. So, without even realizing it, I read two books in a
row by Russians! I'm not sure if either of them counts as part of "The Russians", but I have still gotten
away with pretentiously referencing both of them.
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
This
one's just long enough and has just enough characters with unpronounceable
names to warrant pretention. Although the setting is of course dated (19th
century Russia) and the targets (Russian landowners, or Barins) no longer exist, the satire is easily applicable to
modern-day life. After all, it's a small step from the frivolity and greed of
the Russian nobleman to the attitude of the Wall Street culture. The "hero",
Chichikov, is essentially a Serpent in the Garden character, a careful manipulator
of the narcissism that plagues the wealthy and impoverished alike. His mission:
collect the "dead souls", those peasants who have died under the watch of their
feudal lords, but still remain on the census. The main interplay is between
swindler and oppressor, begging the question of who the real licentious
character is. Gogol spares nobody, showing that the lazy and the workaholics
alike suffer from the same disease of personal hubris.
The
history and structure of the manuscript is sort of strange one, and leads to
some continuity that takes getting used to. He originally intended it to be a
sort of Divine Comedy. Part one of
the book is a beautiful, haunting, and hilarious panorama of Russian life
during serfdom; just as in Inferno,
there are several levels to our social hell, all reserved with different
punishments and trials for the different classes. Part II isn't exactly
different, and I don't see many analogues to purgatory. Apparently, Gogol had a
tumultuous time with the manuscript, destroying much of the final version. The
entire novel ends in mid-sentence, but that actually makes sense.
Some
have commented that the "dead souls" as a plot device makes the novel too
ridiculous to have any merit. Personally, I think the metaphor translates beautifully
to all the useless stuff we put value into, and makes the scenes of the
flabbergasted landowners all the more entertaining. Not to mention, while all
the characters in the novel are living, all save a couple seem to be dead in
soul.
Apparently, Gogol, who by the end
of his life had become highly entrenched in spiritualism, meant to write an
uplifting part III about the redemption of the human soul. Well, that's not
exactly how it turns out; but that's all I'll say for now.
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
The
next time I hear a politician reference 1984
in comparison to our social situation (especially one who supported the USA PATRIOT
Act), I'm going to take her or him hostage and make them read We. It is the prototype for all
dystopian literature to follow, and unlike 1984,
it is constantly poetic and beautiful. After all, Zamyatin's whole bent is that
our imaginations are the thing that a dystopian government would find the most
dangerous. Instead of a technical rundown of the way the omniscient state (One
State) works, we get sketchy details about day to day life. Buildings are
entirely glass, everyone's name is a number, and the Benefactor (essentially Big
Brother, except you meet him in this book) has the use of a giant machine that
zaps away his enemies.
The
whole book is a series of journal entries by the guy who's working on the
INTEGRAL, the government spaceship designed to bring the idea of this "perfect"
society to other planets. He starts breaking down into a neurosis whose
symptoms are moral conflict, emotional love, and dreams. He sees the state
doctor- and the diagnosis? He has a soul, a totally incurable and degenerative
disease! As you can see, the dystopian
context makes the everyday decisions we all make into a sadly hilarious drama.
Zamyatin's
prose-poetry is constantly biting and poignant, and the progression of the
narrator's "disease" is absolutely brilliant. The way the events and settings
are fantastical and imaginative lends it a higher calling than other dystopian
novels. It doesn't present a socialist or reformist agenda; although Zamyatin
himself was a socialist, he was much more interested in the importance of
preserving creativity and the human "soul", which got him exiled by both the
Tsar and Lenin.
It's so
easy for any of us to look at any of the classic dystopian novels and say, "If
I were there, I would realize it in a heartbeat! This is ridiculous, why would
anyone act like this?" Zamyatin, I think, realizes this, and constantly
lambasts "the ancients" (us) for their ways, satirically criticizing things
like free elections, etc., but also pointing out that the society of streamlined
logic and mechanization, metaphorically as well as literally, is very alive,
well, and growing.
I could
go into "America as dystopia", but that would be a subject for an entirely
different blog.
Several fun and creative nonfiction books have come in recently, and I'm very excited.
The Big Book of Dummies, Rebels, and Other Geniuses is a large hardcover volume that recounts the unlikely stories of 26 influential people. The individuals included range from artists to scientists to political activists to authors to entrepreneurs. The presentation is loads of fun: a mix of photographs and quirky sketches accompanying paragraphs of lively narrative and quotes.
From the introduction:
"Here is a portrait gallery of men and women who left their mark on literature, the arts, the sciences, and history, despite their chaotic beginnings. At school, many were declared mediocre, incompetent, slow - in a word, dummies!
Over time, history has bestowed genius and fame upon them... Encyclopedias describe them in hushed and serious tones, their pockets stuffed with virtues. But these pockets are more unevenly stitched than might be guessed."
Maybe this book is so striking to me simply because I know too many unappreciated geniuses - especially kids. Whatever the reason, I'm purchasing a copy for myself today.
Harlem Stomp!: A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance fills a gaping hole in our kids American History section.
The works of art, literature, and music from this era are among the best ever produced, but too often they are overlooked. This book is wide-ranging in scope and very informative, and the colors, pictures, and fonts do well to capture the energy and spirit of the Harlem Renaissance. Every middle or high school English teacher should have a copy!
Also noteworthy is a new Kingfisher book, The Middle East, a region that is written about very little, and almost never presented to kids. Its vibrant pictures and well-articulated descriptions of culture and history capture the beauty and complexity of this part of the world.
Welcome back, book fans! It is my fervernt hope to get caught up with reviewing last year's
books so that I can also discuss this year's books...you know, before the year is out. With that
in mind, I'm hoping to either have longer reviews or more frequent. We'll see how it all plays out.
Until then, here is the next batch of awesome and/or approaching terrible books.
52. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible! by Jonathan Goldenstein. (Humor)(B-) The catch with
this book is that you have to have a sense of humor and you have to have a pretty good working
knowledge of the bible. That makes this book somewhat exclusive to non-religious people who
have a sense of humor.
53. Skin Trade by Laurell K Hamilton. (Fantasy) (C) I've invested a lot of time in this series.
Enough that I figured spending four hours on her latest book made more sense than not. And
there were definitely some parts that I really liked. I'm pretty sure. But I'm a college educated
woman who, not to toot my own horn, is pretty intelligent. And I couldn't remember who was who
and what they looked like and where they came from and why I was supposed to care. For, like,
three-fourths of the characters in this book. Okay, so, Haven used to be called Cookie Monster
and he has blue hair? And he worked for the mob. So he can't get involved with the cops. But he
is her tiger to call? Wait, no, that's Crispin. Who is Crispin? Did I meet him. When? I liked
Auggie. He worked for the mob. Is he in the same area? Why didn't I see him? Where am I?
How am I not myself? Why is this so complicated? I need to make a diagram.
54.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. (Young Adult/Historic Fiction) (A) This book is amazing! I
read it for Young Adult book club and we all agreed it was so well written. My rule of thumb,
though, held true: no happy endings in Nazi Germany. I cried through the last three chapters of
this book. (Sidenote, not the only time I cried.) And yet, I think it brings up a pretty good point.
At what point do we hold people responsible for going along with the crowd? When they do it
without question? When they question but do not act? When they act but not hard enough? I do
not have any answers. I recognize that there is always shades of gray but also that we like to
soften history. We like to make our actions more palatable. This is a well written story that
depicts almost every side a person could be on during that time. Tragic but ringing truth.
55. The Sisters 8: Annie's Adventures by Lauren Baratz-Logstead with Greg Logsted and Jackie
Logsted. (Children) (B+) (Sorry to 180 on subject matter.) This was light, cute, and meant for a
younger reading set than I normally gravitate towards but I've always loved books/stories about
large, unconventional families. A set of octuplets find that their parents have gone missing (Are
abducted? Been killed? Who knows?) They DO know that a mysterious person has
communicated with them that they must each develop a special skill that will come in to play to
save their family!
56. The Sisters Grimm: 1 by Michael Buckley. (Children) (B+) Now this, while still younger, is
only a bit younger. It deals with more adult fare that is written superbly. If you are a fan of fairy
tales you might give this a try. Tough as nails "orphans" (who find out what happened to their
parents if not where they are being kept for rescue) aren't going to be fooled by anyone. Of
course, the giant didn't exactly trick them. He just picked up the car with Granny in it and walked
away. They can't turn their back on the only family they have left but they also know NOTHING
about the family line of work: fairy tale detective sleuthing. YES!
57. Ghost World by Daniel Clowes. (Graphic Novel) (Unable to rate due to personal bias). This
really captures exactly the feel it was going for - I just didn't appreciate it. I have trouble
witnessing people be humiliated and I will forever be haunted by the guy they set-up thinking he
was going to meet someone who he might connect with. We all want that in life. To connect, to
be loved, to love in return. And he'd done all the right things. He looked normal (actually, nearly
precisely like my dad which might be why it was hard on me) he was thoughtful to bring a flower,
and he waited in case she was just running late. I still tear up thinking about it. WHY. WHY.
Sorry. Like I said, haunted. I'm not sure I would recommend reading this unless you like
depression and/or your awkward teenage years.
58. Guide to the Ghosts of Lincoln: 3rd Edition by Alan Boye. (Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror) (D)
OH, man. You'd think this would be awesome, right? Ghost stories. TRUE ghost stories. True
ghost stories set right here in Lincoln! And yet...I had some serious issues with the editing.
There was a lot of devolving into how the author was intricately involved in some aspect of the
story.
59. Finger Lickin' 15 by Janet Evanovich. (Mystery/Awesomeness) (B+) Oh, man. See, the
classic debate is Ranger vs Morelli. And I have to ask myself, why just one? Why can't she love
both? This is pretty much everything you would expect from a Stephanie Plum story. Which,
since I love them, was what I had hoped for and received.
Going on, favorite quote of all the books happens in this installment. Lula: Fire! Fire! We're all
going to die! We gonna burn like we was in h*ll! (Needless to say, they did not die in a fire.)
Note: Next in the series, Sizzling Sixteen , was just released!
