#58 - 'Under the Net' by Iris Murdoch

I finished Under the Net a couple of days ago, my 58th book from the list.  It was a fun, entertaining read, featuring at times a complex story with some interesting characters.  As I've mentioned before, it very much reminds me of Lucky Jim and The Sot-Weed Factor for its sympathetic and perhaps socially clumsy main character, as well as its comedic value.

Jake Donaghue is a failed writers, sometimes translator, and general bum, loafing around 1950's London, mooching off friends for money, food and lodgings.  After being dismissed from his most recent residence, he calls on old friend and former flame, Anna.  While she doesn't take him in, she does help him out by sending him to her sister, star of stage and screen, Sadie, who is only too happy to help a man down on his luck.

But it turns out, Jake might have received more than he bargained for, and soon finds himself in a fiendish plot involving an aging movie dog (Mister Mars), a stolen manuscript for one of the world's worst books and a love 'square' involving his long estranged friend Hugo.

Under the Net is successful because it doesn't really strive to be anything more than a light-hearted comedy.  Despite Jake struggling to find a place to live, and never really having any decent prospects, the novel doesn't chronicle a man in a desperate situation.  Nor does it ever try to take it's self too seriously, even at moments where there is a bit of a serious undertone to the rather absurd happenings.

The best part, at least for me, was the characters, specifically Jake Donaghue.  Obviously the man is not without is faults, in fact he has more faults than virtues, but he is a lovable character because of this.  Almost bumbling through his adventures, Jake finds himself in awkward situations only because he has made poor decisions which have put him there.  But through it all, he always has a laid-back, almost care-free attitude, which for whatever reason, I found quite comforting.

After having become so attached to the protagonist, there was a time, near the end, where I feared things would not work out for him. I worried that a novel that had been so fun and funny, would end on a sour note. Well not necessarily a sour note, but a less than ideal note. I always contend that all the good books are depressing in a way, but I suppose there are always exceptions. This would be one of them.

The writing itself is entertaining and at times I even laughed out loud.  I think Catch-22 and The Sot-Weed Factor  are the only other books from the list to have accomplished this.  While I know it was a funny book, I wonder how much my laughs were the result of having just finished Things Fall Apart, which didn't feature anything close to a laugh.

Next I'll be reading Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, which I know little about and have not seen the movie.  However, I was advised to have a cyanide pill with me at all time whilst reading, so I can kill myself when it becomes too depressing.  Comforting.    

Marry, our play is, the most lamentable comedy,

I about two-thirds of the way through #58, Under the Net by Iris Murdoch.  It counts itself of a member of the large group of books from this list that I have never heard of, which means I knew nothing about it before I started.  Well I am happy to report that it is a great read.  I had mentioned in my previous post that it reminds me of The Berlin Stories, which I suppose would continue to be true, as I find myself truly wrapped up in the characters and the setting (in this case, post-war London and Paris).

But now that I have read so much more of the book, I now find its closest relative to be Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.  Under the Net features the hapless Jake Donaghue who is innocent, unlucky, and lovable all at the same time, exactly the same way I found Amis' Jim Dixon.  I think the reason I find these characters so extraordinarily entertaining is because they themselves are so thoroughly un-extraordinary.  Neither man has done anything particularly remarkable and neither man finds himself in especially unique circumstances; they're both just regular blokes, and I'm reading about their amusing adventures.  It's great entertainment.

While I had heard that Lucky Jim was a comedy more or less, I had never heard anything of the sort regarding Under the Net.  And for whatever reason, I was not expecting anything that would make me laugh.  Perhaps the title threw me off, but I can't think why.  While the words 'under' and 'net' don't have me thinking comedy, nor do they have me thinking grim or depressing.  To furhter my prejudice, when I picked the novel up from the library, I was introduced to Ms. Murdoch herself with a photo on the back cover.  I don't know if some kind of zany expression or a kooky costume would better represent comedy, but the author's photo does not prepare me for laughter.  In fact, it led me, more so than the title, to think that this would be a deep, serious, and let's face it, bummer of a novel.  But I suppose this goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover...er...back cover.

Iris Murdoch, Wacky Author

#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!

A heavy reckoning for you, sir.

I was able to finish The Sisters Brothers a couple of days ago, and my preparation for this Tuesday's event with Patrick deWittt seems to be going alright.  So, I've been able to begin my 49th read from the list, with John Barth's The Sot-Weed Factor. 

Once again I'm reading a book I don't know anything about, which I guess has been the case with many of them so far.  But with The Sot-Weed Factor, I'm finding nobody knows anything about it.  Telling people this is the book I'm currently, reading, I've yet to hear a 'oh yeah, I read that,' or even a 'ooh, I've always meant to read that, I've heard it's great.'  In fact, I haven't even heard a 'I am aware of that book's existence.'  But I don't take anything from this as some of my favourite reads so far fell into the same category.  I know very few people who have read Lucky Jim or The Berlin Stories and they've been two of the greats in my opinion.  But neither of those two approach the anonymity this one seems to.  It really is a mystery; a chameleon on the stacks, blending in with every book around it.

Set in the 17th century, the book is following Ebenezer Cooke through his developmental years.  I'm really not that far into it, so I can't really say anything more and I don't have any idea where it's going.  It must be going a lot of places though, as it weighs in at almost 800 pages.  My last few books have all been, shall we say, 'briefer.'  Of the last twelve, only The Blind Assassin has broken the 400 page barrier, at 521 pages.  Of course there's nothing wrong with a long book, but it does make for a different reading experience.

In the case of books I've enjoyed, like Gone with the Wind, a big book allows the reader to really immerse themselves into the story, the setting and the characters.  The fact that it's 900 pages doesn't really matter.  Of course when I read a book like Infinite Jest, which I didn't enjoy at all, 1,100 pages seemed like some kind of torture.  I was immersed, in my misery, drowning in a sea of disappointment.  Yes, a long book can be a real double edged sword.

The other thing about reading really long books, is the experience of physically reading them.  Big books are, of course, heavier, bulkier, and generally more of a pain to tote with you everywhere you go.  Some of my clearest memories of reading Gone with the Wind are of my arms falling asleep as I read in bed, holding the book with two hands above my head.  With Infinite Jest, I remember the difficulty in packing the book.  It was too large to fit into any pockets, too large to comfortably hold with one hand, and heavy to lug around.
But perhaps the worst part, or rather my least favourite part of reading a long book, is that it takes me longer to read.  That in itself doesn't really bother me as it should take longer, there's more to read!  What bothers me is that I tire of people saying to me, 'are you still reading that?'  They don't mean anything by it of course, but I always find it a little discouraging, because what they are saying is, 'are you still reading that?'

When you read a book for two months, as I did with Infinite Jest, it seems to become a part of you, and people you meet in that time period think of you as 'the Infinite Jest guy.'  I don't want anybody to think of me as the 'sot-weed guy.'  I suppose I had better make haste, to avoid this most unusual of nicknames.

Yes, I have gained my experience.

When I started tackling this list over 16 months ago, my goal was to expand my reading horizons; to explore books that I wouldn't otherwise tackle. And for the most part, I would say it's been successful so far. I've been able to experience books I loved but had never even heard of, such as The Sheltering Sky and Lucky Jim, and I can now say that although I didn't enjoy them, I have indeed read To the Lighthouse and Infinite Jest. Without a doubt, I'd say I'm the richer for it. But as I near the halfway point (on schedule too I might add), the experience has done so much more than just introduce me to titles or authors I didn't previously know.

This summer I was fortunate enough to talk about these books on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC radio. Not only was it a fun opportunity to discuss something I enjoy, with others, on the radio, but it was also very educational. Prior to being on the radio, my reading habits as far as this list was concerned were fairly straight forward. I picked a book, read it, wrote a blog, and moved on to the next one. The order or the speed weren't really paramount to anything. And since I was only blogging about them, I could simply spill my thoughts out onto the page and was done.

Being on the radio forced me to not only read quicker, doing a book a week, but also to pay more attention to what books I was reading. I had to make sure I was reading books from different kinds of authors and of differing styles, so as not to bore my listeners with the same thing each week. I also now had to answer other people's questions about these books; no longer was this a one-man show. This offered me a lot more insight into what I was reading, and offered me the chance to see this project from somebody else's perspective.

But most importantly, this reading project has allowed me to become more involved in the book community with people who share my passion for reading. I’ve met others who are reading and blogging their way through this same list (most notably Robert and Matt), and I’ve met people who are simply following my journey because they find it interesting, and hopefully a little educational.

I’ve also now become involved with WordFest, Calgary’s annual literary festival being held in October, as their Festival Blogger. This will give me the chance to work with other avid readers, and expose me to the world of publishing. I’ll be blogging about my experiences at WordFest, offering a behind-the-scenes look, and talking to authors from around the world. It should be a lot of fun, and I’m really looking forward to it!

It also means that I have a few more books to read. While I’ll still be continuing my journey through The List, I’ll also be exploring some of the books from WordFest. I’ve started with Funeral for a Dog, the first novel by German author Thomas Pletzinger. Also attending WordFest will be Lev Grossman, author of The Magician King and literary critic for Time magazine. He’s one of the guys who put this list I’ve been reading for the past year and a half together. I can’t wait to talk to him about it.

As for an update on said list, I have indeed started reading Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry, which will be my 44th book. Again, I don’t know anything about it.

O, 'tis the sun that maketh all things shine

I spent the weekend in the mountains, which is why I had been able to finish Lucky Jim so quickly.  If only I could spend more time on vacation, I could probably finish this list in less than four years!  Anyway, I had made sure to bring two books with me on this little trip, in case I was able to finish the first.  In this case, the second book was to be  I, Claudius, which I had picked up from the library at the same time.  However, despite have placed the book in a prominent position near the door, to make sure I didn't forget it, it somwhow didn't make it into my bag.  I was now faced with over 24 hours in the mountains without anything from The List to read.

It was then I remembered the bookshelf in my room, which was filled with an assortment of fiction and non-fiction books, including an old copy of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.  The List would be able to continue unabashed for the rest of the weekend.

I've liked all the Hemingway books I've read in the past, and this is one of the few I haven't read.  So this should not only allow me to continue to read, but also to continue to make good progress, as I expect to like this one as well, and naturally I read books I enjoy a little faster.  I, Claudius will have to be #18.

#16 - "Lucky Jim" by Kingsley Amis

Luck Jim is finished, number sixteen on The List.  Good progress has been made after taking so long to finish To The Lighthouse over the summer months.  As much a humour novel as a character study, Kingsley Amis is able to combine laughs with a great story, making Lucky Jim a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Amis' first novel follows a regular guy, a college professor, as he struggles with social gaffes, awkward situations and for the most part failure in every aspect of his life, be it socially or professionally.  Jim Dixon is described as an unlucky man.  Of course, like everybody who considers themselves to be "unlucky", he puts himself in these situations everyday.  Most of Jim's shortcomings arise from his childish behaviours or his yearning for strong drink.  Not really a matter of luck, but what makes Jim different is he doesn't seem to care.

Part of a post-war class of Britons who weren't as concerned with upward mobility or more precisely nobility, as previous generations, Jim Dixon doesn't aspire to be anything he isn't.  He is content having a job at a middle of the road college in rural England.  He doesn't strive to become a department head, and he doesn't aspire to move up to a college in London.  He just wants to be able to earn a steady paycheck with minimum effort, that allows him to enjoy a few pints every night from the local pub.  Maybe he isn't so unlucky after all, maybe he's actually quite lucky.  How many people are fortunate enough to know their place int he world, and not get caught up in trying to reach unreachable goals?

The book won the Somerset Maugham award for fiction in 1955, which is handed out each year to an author under the age of thirty-five.  Almost fittingly, both the novel's protagonist and author disgusted the award's namesake, Somerset Maugham.  Part of the old guard and a grand pupa of inter-war British literature, Maugham described both the book, it's characters and it's author as 'scum.'  He hated the change they represented in the post-war period, a move from nobility to equality, complaining about people on 'government loans' being able to attend college, and only for the purpose of 'getting a job', not for cultural enlightenment.  The horrors!  I think it's safe to say this probably gave young Amis lot of satisfaction and accomplished exactly what he set out to do in his writing.

Notes:

Kingsley Amis' son Martin Amis also has a book on The List, Money.

Evelyn Waugh is mentioned in Lucky Jim.  So far, there's been one mention of one book from The List in another (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in The Corrections) and now a mention of an author from The List in a book from The List.


You can read Time Magazine's orginial review from May 27, 1957 right here.

Often give us soldiers the lie: but we pay...

I started reading my 16th book last night, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.  The book was published in 1953, making in the fourth book I'll have read from the 50's.  I haven't yet read any books from the 70's or 90's, so when I was at the library, I had tried to find a book from either of those decades; sort of a way of evening out the list I guess.  However, none of the nine books on The List from those two decades were available at my local branch.  In fact one book, Dog Soldiers, isn't even available in the entire Calgary Library system.  Might I have to actually buy one of the books from The List?

#15 - "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf

I finished To the Lighthouse today.  It's the third shortest book I've read so far, but took almost twice as long as any other.  I blame summer weather, golf courses, the Stampede and beer on patios.  The real reason it took so long however, was a combination of the aformentioned things and that I really didn't like it.

The problem I had with this novel is the style in which it was written.  Instead of describing actions or using dialogue, most of the book consists of describing different characters' thoughts and emotions.  The book also jumps from one character to another, making it very difficult to follow.  One review I found even said that plot was secondary to philosophical introspection.  I don't even know what that means, other than I'm not going to like it.  How am I supposed to follow a book that doesn't really have a plot, or even any descriptions for that matter.

Throughout the entire novel, I never really had a feel for any of the characters or settings and was unable to picture them in my mind.  I guess the good thing is, if I ever see the movie, I won't be dissapointed with the casting.  "That actor filled the blank face I had in my mind perfectly!" I'll exclaim leaving the theatre, or more likely from the couch.

The plot, a term I use very loosely, centered around a family's desire to visit a lighthouse in Scotland in 1910, and then their actual visit to the same lighthouse in 1920; after half the family had died.  I don't know if lighthouses were a lot bigger attraction a hundred years ago, but I don't see myself itching to visit one for ten years.  Anyway, a bunch of stuff happens in the middle, or rather nothing happens, but all the characters think about how nothing happened.  They all seem to wonder why they couldn't have visited the lighthouse ten years earlier.  Of course, they could hvae, as the trip only involves a thirty minute boat ride, but they didn't because the father thought it might rain.  That's really the reason they didn't go.  I'm not kidding.  But after ten years, the remaining family members were able to risk rain, and visit the lighthouse.  The book however ends just as they arrive, so we never even find out what's so great about the goddamn thing.

I have to wonder what's wrong with me.  This book received high praise from Time Magazine when it was first released in 1927, and again when The List was put together.  Perhaps I'll mature, with regards to literature, as I continue reading the list, but again, I didn't like this book.  Only Naked Lunch surpassed it in...un-readability.

I visited the library today, and picked up two more books, I, Claudius and Lucky Jim.  Both continue my trend of not knowing anything about the book before I read it.  I, Claudius was mentioned in a episode of "Cheers" I saw recently though, as Frasier exclaimed "We can go upstairs, I have all twelve episodes of I, Claudius on tape!", much to Sam's chagrin.  I like to think that I have more sophisticated reading tastes than Sam Malone, but only time will tell.

As for fines, it turns out I incurred $1.05 on both To the Lighthouse and The Power and the Glory.  That brings my fine total to $5.90.  And if you were wondering, I returned both those books today, which means I've been renewing Power all this time, even though I finished reading it almost two months ago.  It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I wanted to conserve fuel, and not drive to the library twice.  Let's go with that.


You can read the original Time Magazine review from May 30, 1927 right here.