A Big Ol' Pile of Books

This past Friday marked the 5th anniversary of my first book review on this blog about The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. It's hard to believe it's already been five years, as it really doesn't seem that long ago that I decided to embark on this mission.

For the longest time, I had expected to be finished after five years. In fact there was a time I thought I'd be done in four! Now that I'm older and wiser, I figure I might be done in a year and half, and that two more years is probably more realistic. I've read 76 books from the list in those five years, which is more than one a month. I've also read about 170 non-list books in that time. I guess if I had stuck to only list books, I would have been done quite some time ago, but I also might have succumb to madness. Really, I don't think my pace has been that bad when put into perspective, and 76 books really is a lot of books. 

And from this testimony of your own sex,

Thinking back to my previous read, Under the Net, it dawned on me that there was something fairly unique about it, that being it featured a male protagonist but was written by a woman.  And this would be the same case the other way, a male author writing a female character; it doesn't happen very often.

Looking back at the 58 books I've read so far, I only see two other books that truly fit into this category.  Number 56, Death Comes for the Archbishop, was entirely about a man, written by Willa Cather, while Atonement centers around a young woman, written by Ian McEwan.  There may be a couple of others I suppose, as one could argue that Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky featured a female protagonist, but I would respond by saying that although Kit had the most 'screen' time, she wasn't the main character.  And while Lena Grove is quite central to Light in August, she takes a seat to some of the more powerful characters in that book.

Thinking about it, it makes sense this would be the case, as one tends to be more familiar with their own sex, and hence better able to write a character that shares that trait.  It reminds me of a great Hemingway quote about a writer being able to omit a lot of details, "If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them."  While I think he was probably more talking about plot or settings, the same would apply to characters.  Naturally, a woman would know more about being a woman, which would show through her writing.

Of course this isn't to say that one can't write a character of a different gender, and there are no shortage of examples.  Atticus Finch is one of the giants of fiction, written by Harper Lee, ditto for Rhett Butler written by Margaret Mitchell.  But in neither case are they the central character of the book, no matter how important they were.

But I wonder why Under the Net made me think about this, when clearly there are other examples.  Never once do I remember pondering this question after finishing Atonement or Death Comes for the Archbishop.  I think the reason is that neither of those books featured a character I really enjoyed reading.  Jake Donaghue was one of my favorites so far and really sticks out in my mind, while the Archbishop and Briony do not.  In fact, I already don't remember the Archbishop's name (or if it was even given) and I'm not a hundred percent sure that Briony is correct (it is, but I had to look it up and probably wouldn't have remembered if I hadnt' found it such an odd name).

I also think the above Hemingway quote is bang on in this instance.  While Willa Cather was fascinated and well educated in the setting and time period in which she placed her novel, perhaps she wasn't as much an expert on the male psyche.  Conversely, I would never have guessed Under the Net was written by a woman, had that not been completely obvious from the cover and multiple other sources.  So many of Jake Donaghue's thoughts made me feel as if somebody understood how I thought things through.  Ironically this is what two people have told me was the reason they loved To the Lighthouse so much.  Perhaps that's why I didn't; I'm not a woman from the early 20th century.

As an update to my reading, Revolutionary Road is excellent.  And while there have been some rather intense moments, I haven't felt the need to use my cyanide pill yet.  However, I know things are going to turn for the worse, and the set-up is already there for it to be a complete nosedive (the mood, not the quality).

#56 - "Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather

How quickly some books seem to go, whilst others drag out forever.  Happily, this was one of the quick ones, my 56th book from Time's list; Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.  Sure it isn't the longest book at 297 pages, but I'm always a little weary of books from the 1920's.  I find they can be quite dated and as a result, my attention often wanes.

Jean Marie Latour is a French Bishop heading from Ohio to the newly acquired territory of New Mexico, to re-establish the Roman Catholic church in the area after years of neglect and corruption.  He lives in the area for several decades, not only helping the church but also establishing himself as an honored, respected member of the community.

Reading this book, I found myself enjoying it all the way through, as it was both well written and interesting.  However, I found myself a little confused at times, unsure of what was happening.  By the time I had reached the halfway mark it had become apparent what was going on.  Each chapter of this book was its own distinct story, unconnected to the others.  Characters I would meet at one point, would never be heard from again, almost as if the book was only a collection of short stories featuring this French Bishop, instead of a novel following his journey through this new and exotic land.

A little bit of follow-up reading shows this may be the case.  Ms. Cather said she intended the book to read like a Native American legend, duplicating the oral history so prevalent in 19th century New Mexico.  If that is the case, I must say mission accomplished.  Looking back at the book, it almost reads like a transcript from a wake, where people share their favorite stories of the deceased, but don't at any point try to chronicle his life.

It may seem that a book like this would risk being quite boring, or not really having any point.  As I recall, Del Griffith always had a series of 'amusing annecdotes' to tell, but I'd be hesitant to pick up any book he might have penned.  But I suppose through excellent writing and an interesting set of characters, the book never wanes.  It was an enjoyable read, a pleasant diversion if you will, and one that while not over the moon about, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anybody.

Notes:
With this book, Willa Cather joins several other authors who have won Pulitzer Prizes, but had a different book selected for this list.  But unlike the others, her winning-novel, One of Ours was written before 1923 and hence ineligible for inclusion.

While I never would have considered it to be a 'western' in the classic sense, others seem to, as it was named the 7th best 'Western Novel' of the 20th century by the Western Writers of America.  I suppose that means, although unintentionally, it was a fitting read for the week leading up to the Calgary Stampede.


Next up will be Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  Chock up another one for books and authors I know nothing about.

And you're right, if there was a Del Griffith book, I'd probably be first in line to pick up a copy.  But you know what I mean!    

#55 - 'Money' by Martin Amis

I finished Money  by Martin Amis last week, but haven't had a chance to post anything.  It was my 55th book from Time's list, and part of the only father-son combo on the list, as Martin's father Kingsley penned Lucky Jim.

Without a doubt this was a book I enjoyed, and also one I am finding I enjoy more and more, the more I think about it.  It sort of reminds me of reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which when I first finished I was fairly neutral about, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.  Soon I was raving about it to strangers on the street, but am unsure to this day what it was I found so intriguing.  The same thing goes for Money; I'm not sure what was so great about it, but it was a very entertaining read.

Following John Self, a wealthy, slightly self-absorbed, alcoholic, porno/advertising director, the book chronicles a few months in his life, split between New York and London, as he goes through the process of producing a Hollywood movie.   He spends his time doing two things really, spending money, and lots of it, and drinking.  Throughout the movie making process he meets different movie stars, each with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as a sorted cast of characters.


As I said, there isn't anything that really stand out about this book, so I find it difficult to say why I enjoyed it.  But I think the appeal of the book is in its honesty, which I mean in two different ways.  First off, John Self, while narrating, doesn't really hold anything back. He always tells the reader what he is thinking or what he is doing, regardless of how shameful, embarrassing or shocking it may be.  Secondly, John is an honest character in that he seems real.  There isn't anything particularly extraordinary about him, and he hasn't found himself in any extraordinary circumstances either.  He is just a normal person, living his life.  This 'real person' type comes across quite well and allows the reader to feel as if they are actually just sitting in on or observing someone else's life.  And because we always know what's going on in John's head, we really come to know him quite well.  In the end this is what makes him such a sympathetic character.  As a result, I found myself happy when things were going well for John, worried when they weren't.  I love it when a book enables me to become emotionally vested in the story and/or characters.

But perhaps the best part of the book is the plot twist at the end, which reminded me of "The Sting."  Of course I can't really say why, as that might give too much away.  In fact perhaps I've already said too much.  I suppose you'll have to read the book to know what I'm talking about.



Next up is Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.  It's one of the oldest books on the list, and while I haven't been able to post this past week, I have been able to read, which means I'm almost finished this one.


And a Happy 4th of July to all my American readers out there!