Even though I knew this novel is consistently lauded as one of the best ever written it still exceeded my expectations in every way. Allison’s creativEven though I knew this novel is consistently lauded as one of the best ever written it still exceeded my expectations in every way. Allison’s creative force shoots out in all directions, and from every page, without apology, without fear. The character of Ras the Exhorter expresses a belief in black separatism that still feels radical and also, rational. I loved the way every character is eloquent and expressive, too, no matter what their situation--even Jim Trueblood, who manages to defend his incestuous relationship with his daughter in a way that leaves his white listener, a 'multimillionaire' from New England, feeling drawn in, and sympathetic, almost as if Trueblood has somehow exonerated himself. I still really don't know what to think, or what it means, but I know this is one of the greatest books I've read.
Since I read this novel, Richard Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground has been published, and it makes for a great co-read with this novel—many of the same themes and metaphors are explored in a completely different way in this earlier, previously unpublished novel by Ellison’s mentor....more
Wow. This novel is an utterly lush, hyperventilating, humid, and vividly rendered story, of people tearing one another apart. I loved it. It's ridiculWow. This novel is an utterly lush, hyperventilating, humid, and vividly rendered story, of people tearing one another apart. I loved it. It's ridiculously emotional and yet it never tips into the merely melodramatic, because the language is so gorgeous, and because the happenings, well, they just keep happening--one unexpectedly vivid and tumultuous scene after another.
Quite apart from the story, the novel approaches greatness because of the very different voices in which the story reveals itself--in fragments of letters and diaries and accounts, told from the points of view of many characters, each with his or her own prejudices and gaps in knowledge. The voices range from the meticulous and somewhat timid voice of "the pharmacist," to the over-the-top, gothic proclamations of Andre'. Each voice is unique and each adds to the story in unexpected ways....more
This novel rings brilliant changes on topics such as vomit--"The stew-like puddle stank beside the mattress"--and it does a wonderful job of representThis novel rings brilliant changes on topics such as vomit--"The stew-like puddle stank beside the mattress"--and it does a wonderful job of representing characters whose main way of spending their lives is to grow stupefied together on booze or drugs or occasionally sex. All the characters speak in a witty-gritty way that I admire, but it almost felt as if Robinson is so good at all of the above--especially good at drunken dialog, for instance, or of writing characters who make stupid choices, or writing scenes that ignite with a sudden flash of violence--that it got to be too much for me, where it was a story that moved in circles rather than forward. I'm still a big fan but I felt Robinson's writing strengths eventually overwhelmed the actual story....more
There are some lovely, keen observations, and there are passages of unbelievable tenderness and insight--insight not just between characters, but alsoThere are some lovely, keen observations, and there are passages of unbelievable tenderness and insight--insight not just between characters, but also between the author and her characters. Ward extends compassion to each of these fictional beings, to these extremely damaged people, and she made me care for them even when they were at their worst....more
I didn't really enjoy reading this book. But I loved it anyway. It felt more like a primary resource discovered in a dusty part of the smithsonian arcI didn't really enjoy reading this book. But I loved it anyway. It felt more like a primary resource discovered in a dusty part of the smithsonian archive than it felt like a living novel. I can see why it stayed unpublished for many years. It's intellectually and ideologically complex, and it doesn't fit into any of the easy categories that were available to African American writers at the time (if they wanted to be published that is). I'm thinking for instance of Richard Wright's simplistic and polemical acceptance of communist thought in the last half of Native Son. This book in contrast is self-critical and questioning and not at all simple. It mocks the attractions of communism as a possible way toward racial equality, but it is equally skeptical of other -isms. Because it is so much more a 'head' story than a 'heart' story it reminds me far more of Lionel Trilling's novel The Middle of the Journey than of other Harlem Renaissance fiction--it's a novel of ideas, so much so that I could almost feel McKay debating between alternatives in his head as he wrote. Fascinating but not for the usual reasons....more
Hmm, okay, reading this book was something like being continuously nudged in the ribs by somebody worrying I hadn't appreciated the joke enough, untilHmm, okay, reading this book was something like being continuously nudged in the ribs by somebody worrying I hadn't appreciated the joke enough, until my ribs were covered over with tiny purple bruises...more
Sweet, slow, gentle, charming, preposterously sentimental--which for me was a good thing, a marvelous thing, because it allowed me to enter the heart Sweet, slow, gentle, charming, preposterously sentimental--which for me was a good thing, a marvelous thing, because it allowed me to enter the heart of the child in this novel without worry, and to experience the world his way. I absolutely loved reading this novel....more
To me Konrad Lorenz's essay "The Taming of the Shrew" in his collection King Solomon's Ring is a wondrous example of great field biology writing. In iTo me Konrad Lorenz's essay "The Taming of the Shrew" in his collection King Solomon's Ring is a wondrous example of great field biology writing. In it, Lorenz delights in describing the behavior of the water shrew, and he does so with meticulous, loving detail, and through this tiny lens, focused on one tiny animal, I can't help but be struck with wonder about how beautiful and complicated the natural world is.
In contrast, Coyote America is filled with breathless anecdote and extends in every direction, introducing topics only tangentially related to coyotes. As a result it felt shallow to me. It felt like the author assumed I would need to be constantly entertained and distracted by interesting anecdotes or I'd lose interest.
It seems to be a style of science writing that has become pervasive, and maybe it reflects accurately the distractions of modern media on our reading attention, but I don't like it. By the end I was very much yearning for a re-read of Voyage of the Beagle, a book whose author knew that animals in themselves are worthy of being studied closely, and need no distraction or amplification to hold a reader's interest...what current science writers no longer seem to believe....more
Every other Everett novel has been a 5 star memorably great read for me, but this one was a miss. The narrator struck me as self-indulgent rather thanEvery other Everett novel has been a 5 star memorably great read for me, but this one was a miss. The narrator struck me as self-indulgent rather than sincere.
The novel is written as an interwoven story of three time frames in the narrator's life, titled "Paris," "House," and "1979."
I flat-out disliked the "Paris" chapters. I had a general cranky attitude about the story of this man skanking about with a much younger woman behind his wife's back--perhaps it's a sign of current events that I couldn't just be ok with that story line and it didn't seem to offer any new insights about extramarital relationships. It seemed cliche'.
I also thought the "House" sections were a little too standard with the portrayal of parent vs. teenager dynamics being quite average even if Everett is an excellent prose stylist. Not Everett's best.
I liked the "1979" chapters best, but they read more like chapters of a T.C. Boyle novel than an Everett novel. Boyle is a terrific writer, but in his stories everything gets sewn up too neatly for my tastes. That's how the "1979" story line felt to me. Everything got resolved very neatly, rather than getting resolved profoundly...and "profoundly" is the level of storytelling I've come to expect from Everett.
So however readable the story fell well below the terrific standard I've come to expect from this author....more
The Sarah Book. Well. The prose startles, not in a flashy way but in a lovely way, like the feeling when you're watching a maple tree on a windy day aThe Sarah Book. Well. The prose startles, not in a flashy way but in a lovely way, like the feeling when you're watching a maple tree on a windy day and you really start to notice all those greens. The writing is delicate, in other words, and surprisingly beautiful--surprising because it's telling the story of a divorce that is so wrenching and painful that the book kept taking me to the edge of wanting to stop reading.
But then just when I was most strongly thinking "ok, I can't read this any longer" the author arrived at an anecdote so hopeful--of a woman who experienced enduring, abundant love in her married life--that my feelings about the divorcing couple resolved into something very rich and forgiving. The anecdote is only a few pages long but it arrived at a perfect place in the narrative and made everything okay again, in a way that was mysterious and powerful to me.
I don't understand how it works but I'm glad to have read it. Twice....more
This novel is an excoriating look at the way privileged people can excuse their self-congratulatory and selfish behaviors, both to themselves and to oThis novel is an excoriating look at the way privileged people can excuse their self-congratulatory and selfish behaviors, both to themselves and to others, by convincing themselves that their choices are motivated by selflessness.
The characters in this novel excel at finding a social cause that aligns with their own best interests. They are good at thinking they are good, even when they are behaving selfishly and stupidly. As I read I couldn't help but examine my own beliefs and actions in a more critical light and to reflect on how many of my beliefs align with the way I want to live anyway, and require no real sacrifice or commitment on my part. Good fiction can allow for this kind of self-examination. I enjoyed the unrelenting clarity in this story and the many examples of how people can justify their self-absorption by claiming the high moral ground.
Things I could have done without: I didn't like the portentous title. Also, much of the novel requires a leap of faith that all those intellectual arguments interrupting the action (there are long sections of both interior monologue and of unconvincingly intellectual dialog between characters) are worth the pages devoted to them.
The biggest disappointment to me was that the ending which left cliffhangers hanging for way too long while the characters think about their choices and the backstory is filled in and the characters expound on their choices with one another. By this time in the novel it really was too much thinking and not enough feeling for me. What could have been touching or reflective or epiphany-like in these ending pages felt stilted and stuffed with digression instead.
A hauntingly beautiful and yet brutal story. It's a hard combination to pull off, and Miller does it. Lyricism can be used to make ugly things too preA hauntingly beautiful and yet brutal story. It's a hard combination to pull off, and Miller does it. Lyricism can be used to make ugly things too pretty and bearable but I never felt that Miller walked into this trap--instead, his poetry of expression allowed me to look straight into the story, and to see the humanity and uniqueness of his characters.
Augustown also manages to tell a lot of story in a little book--only 250 pages. In these ways I prefer it to Marlon James's bludgeon of a masterpiece, A Brief History of Seven Killings. With Augustown, I was better able to enter the book and to enjoy it on its own terms....more
The novel seems to want to present me with all the sadness in the world, and all the bleakness of recent history, and it seemed determined to remind mThe novel seems to want to present me with all the sadness in the world, and all the bleakness of recent history, and it seemed determined to remind me of all the meannesses that people can heap upon one another (some of it through neglect) (some of it through evil acts)--and yet even as the novel forced me to face these things, at its center was a beautiful hope. The novel is a paean to the power of language, and to the mystery of human interaction, and to the way small daily gestures of kindness can reverberate and magnify upon themselves across the years.
I think that's what it was about, anyway. That's what it was about for me, today. More than most novels, this novel felt like a dialog, where I was part of the creation of story, and where the feelings an image or a scene gave to me, however personal, were being acknowledged and even invited in by the text.
It left me feeling sad, and it left me also feeling very much in love with my own family, somehow. I felt more appreciation for all that is idiosyncratic and flawed, and f0r those who try to think new thoughts rather than just going along with what everyone else thinks....more
Author Sukegawa begins with a social issue and works backward, choosing a story to fit the theme, rather than allowing the theme to grow from story. NAuthor Sukegawa begins with a social issue and works backward, choosing a story to fit the theme, rather than allowing the theme to grow from story. Normally this approach would result in a novel with all the taste of a middling Lifetime movie. But what happens here instead is a beautiful paean to the virtues of patience, of forgiveness, and of friendship against all odds. The story itself is simple, and the writing is simple, but within the simplicity there is so much written here about the Japanese way of life, both the good and the bad. The novel could have been saccharine but it just isn't, not on any level. The tender care the author gives to each of his characters makes this book a small masterpiece....more
Along with The Doll's House by Rumer Godden, this child's picture book demonstrates the aristotelian concept of "catharsis" as well as any other work Along with The Doll's House by Rumer Godden, this child's picture book demonstrates the aristotelian concept of "catharsis" as well as any other work of drama/fiction I've encountered, and shows exactly how powerful children's literature can be.
apr 14 2021 i'm upvoting this book, my friends, because it's time we all had a good cry......more
This novel felt uneven and thin and overwrought to me, all at once. I found myself resenting the novel for trying to make me feel things that the pro This novel felt uneven and thin and overwrought to me, all at once. I found myself resenting the novel for trying to make me feel things that the prose couldn't deliver. The story followed predictable patterns--there was no surprise. The writing in some parts had the feel of a kludgy autobiography--for instance the careful way the author explains what "colored" means in South Africa. The author's tendency to over-explain at times felt like an annoying slip in diction, from intimate to formal and back again. I didn't like the blank spaces in the text. They felt like a portentous attempt to fall toward silence that was unearned and maybe also a little lazy. The blank spaces should have been filled with more story, more depth, more.
I would have been more forgiving if it had been marketed as memoir. As literature it didn't make it....more
Characters in this novel felt to me as if they were moving and speaking to one another while in a constant stupor. They enjoyed staring at things thatCharacters in this novel felt to me as if they were moving and speaking to one another while in a constant stupor. They enjoyed staring at things that didn't seem very interesting to me, perhaps as a way for the author to show them preoccupied, sad, or nervous. God knows. As in: "For a moment she stared at the eyebrow tweezers that lay on the little shelf fixed to the inside of the closet door."
As I read I kept being distracted by questions, as in: "did people really talk all the time about nothing in the fifties?" and "was a dictaphone really the private-detective's secret recording device in the fifties?" and "did department stories really used to have departments devoted entirely to dolls?" and "Hmm, is this road trip just a lame plot excuse for these women to have time together away from their men, rather than an organic part of the story?" and most of all: "why do the other people in Carol's family have such weird names?"
A nothing-book, but completely and compulsively readable, like the early Stephen King novels. Co-written by Richard Chizmar which I don't really get wA nothing-book, but completely and compulsively readable, like the early Stephen King novels. Co-written by Richard Chizmar which I don't really get when it reads so much like vintage King....more
"Dorothy Dix" was the pen name for Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (1861-1951), who was famous and beloved in the early 20th century as a writer and journ"Dorothy Dix" was the pen name for Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (1861-1951), who was famous and beloved in the early 20th century as a writer and journalist and advice columnist. Some of her books are now quite bizarre and repulsive and have aged badly--her first book for example was a collection of "folk wisdom, written in Negro dialect, as conversations between Mirandy and persons of her race," published in 1914, and it would be difficult to find a more representative example of the pervasive crushingness of systemic racism at work in early 20th century American culture. Dix's "Her Book" in contrast is a witty collection of essays about how to achieve a happy family life and it still feels quite sage. As I read I kept thinking "wow, this is really good advice." Of course it's also a peek into the world of early 20th century domesticity, but the differences between then and now were far less than I would have expected. The book reminds me in its tone of Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People," and deserves to be as well-known....more
A fascinating and rigorous and moral and ruthless examination of the nature of "truth" in fictional representations of the Holocaust--how fiction can A fascinating and rigorous and moral and ruthless examination of the nature of "truth" in fictional representations of the Holocaust--how fiction can reveal the truth, and when it obscures it instead. ...more
Loading...
