fogbound.net




Sun, 30 Nov 2003

The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor

— SjG @ 4:26 pm

John Barth, Mariner Books, 1991

Rarely do I read a book and get to the very end still undecided whether I really like it or really dislike it. This, however, is such a book.
Barth interweaves tales of legendary Arabia with modern New England, and does it in a way that’s compelling. Portions such as the narrator’s first experiences of love and sexuality are poignant, believable, and touching. Other portions, such as the endless plot twists in Sindbad’s world, feel too long and, eventually, contrived.

Filed in:

The Innocent

— SjG @ 4:25 pm

Ian McEwan, Anchor Books, 1999.

Disturbing and compelling, the better parts of this story take place inside the head of a very young British agent in post-war Berlin. The surrounding story (dealing with the historical events and cloak-and-dagger logistics of Project Gold) is interesting, but the real fascination is watching our protagonist make the mistakes of youth, and then much more serious mistakes. As suggested by the title, we delve into innocence in all its meanings, as well as what happens as innocence meets up with experience and evil.

Filed in:

Sun, 16 Nov 2003

I Thought My Father Was God, and other true stories from NPR’s National Story Project

— SjG @ 4:24 pm

Edited by Paul Auster, 2001, Picador Press.

There are some really good stories here. Some are touching, some are profound. We see that Auster is particularly interested, however, in stories that feature touching coincidences. This wouldn’t bother me, except that after a few, the Twilight-Zone-ish “coincidence … or something deeper?” theme starts to feel hokey.

Filed in:

Sun, 9 Nov 2003

Five Books of the Lives, Heroic Deeds and Sayings of Gargantua and his Son Pantagruel

— SjG @ 4:24 pm

Francis Rabelais, 1532 and later, as translated by Sir Thomas Urquhart and Peter Antony Motteux, read as an e-book from BlackMask.com.

Way back in college, I had overheard educated people refer to Rabelais’ work as “The Porky’s of the 16th Century.” While I sincerely doubt anyone will remember the film Porky’s five hundred years from now (does anyone remember it now, a mere twenty-some years later?), I can see why Rabelais has endured. This particular book is longer than it needs to be, but it contains a curious mixture of moralizing and ribaldry. You can almost hear Rabelais chuckling through the centuries as he tweaks the nose of the establishment, while simultaneously espousing its values (e.g., Pantagruel’s morality lectures to Pantaglais).
Rabelais was fond of, and possibly one of the earliest users of, what I call “list humor.” This involves interrupting a story with a list of specific details, which start out reasonable, and become increasingly absurd, not the least so because of the length of the list. He also clearly enjoyed mixing ridiculous exaggeration into the midst of more prosaic descriptions. Modern readers may experience a bit of the Shakespeare/Bible Copycat Syndrome (“I thought that book was just a big bunch of cliches…”) and may find the book a bit long, but I’d recommend giving it a try.

Filed in: