This is what my head looks like.Scroll down there to read about the books I'm reading.
It's all very fascinating.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Book 36 : Martin Dressler : The Tale of an American Dreamer - Steven Millhauser
I'm glad that I didn't know much about this book before I read it. If I had known how much mythology and how many famous parabals were included, I likely wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much. I have this thought that I don't like fantasy or magical realism, but I'm finding that there are more exceptions to this rule than I'd thought. This book was certainly an example of one of those exceptions.
The book takes place in the '30s and begins with young Martin Dressler working in his father's cigar store. As time, and the book, carries on, he takes a job at a local hotel, opens a cigar shop in its lobby, is promoted within the motel, opens his own chain of diners and achieves many other layers of success. With each added success, Martin is increasinly surprised at just how far he's gotten and continues to shoot even higher. So high, in fact, that he eventually falls.
This book is written like a biography. While there is dialouge dispersed throughout, it's told in a very linear way and I was left feeling that the author was mostly guessing at his characters emotions.
There are many themes throughout this book, but the one that stuck with me the most is of Martin as a dreamer. He begins modestly but takes on such feats as opening a city within a hotel. This hotel has many levels underground, complete with full city blocks, zoos, theater districts, parks with ponds and on and on. He also befriends two ladies. One of them he marries, one of them he respects. We're left watching his failed marriage and wishing that he'd married the one he clearly cared about. However, he is not interested in the practical. His hunger is only for the oft silent beautiful sister.
In summation, I enjoyed this book very much. I'm interested to read more from this author and if I didn't all ready have many books in queue, I would probably re-read this one to get more of a feel for some of the myths I missed the first time.
"Do you believe that the actor on the stage is really a villain? Let me ask you something else. If he isn't a villain, then is he a liar?"
8/10
YTD:
Books read : 36
Pages read : 10,375
Currently reading : Veronica - Mary Gaitskill & Early Autumn - Louis Bromfield
The book takes place in the '30s and begins with young Martin Dressler working in his father's cigar store. As time, and the book, carries on, he takes a job at a local hotel, opens a cigar shop in its lobby, is promoted within the motel, opens his own chain of diners and achieves many other layers of success. With each added success, Martin is increasinly surprised at just how far he's gotten and continues to shoot even higher. So high, in fact, that he eventually falls.
This book is written like a biography. While there is dialouge dispersed throughout, it's told in a very linear way and I was left feeling that the author was mostly guessing at his characters emotions.
There are many themes throughout this book, but the one that stuck with me the most is of Martin as a dreamer. He begins modestly but takes on such feats as opening a city within a hotel. This hotel has many levels underground, complete with full city blocks, zoos, theater districts, parks with ponds and on and on. He also befriends two ladies. One of them he marries, one of them he respects. We're left watching his failed marriage and wishing that he'd married the one he clearly cared about. However, he is not interested in the practical. His hunger is only for the oft silent beautiful sister.
In summation, I enjoyed this book very much. I'm interested to read more from this author and if I didn't all ready have many books in queue, I would probably re-read this one to get more of a feel for some of the myths I missed the first time.
"Do you believe that the actor on the stage is really a villain? Let me ask you something else. If he isn't a villain, then is he a liar?"
8/10
YTD:
Books read : 36
Pages read : 10,375
Currently reading : Veronica - Mary Gaitskill & Early Autumn - Louis Bromfield
Book 35 : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson
When I saw that the Pulitzer prize winning author James Alan McPherson was currently teaching at the school I may attend in the fall (the University of Iowa), I decided it was time I got around to reading Elbow Room. It had been on the to-be-read shelf for years, mostly because it's a collection of short stories - and I think I've made my feelings on short stories clear by now.
I can't really say that there was a particular story in this collection that stood out to me, or that I found particularly interesting or well written. There also wasn't a story that I felt was poorly written, or that lost my interest while i was reading it.
In the end, I was entertained enough while reading the stories but they did not leave a lasting impression on me. This is my typical experience with short stories.
Sophocles - 5/10
YTD:
Books read : 35
Pages read : 10,082
Currently reading : Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden & Martin Dressler : The Tale of an American Dreamer - Steven Millhauser
I can't really say that there was a particular story in this collection that stood out to me, or that I found particularly interesting or well written. There also wasn't a story that I felt was poorly written, or that lost my interest while i was reading it.
In the end, I was entertained enough while reading the stories but they did not leave a lasting impression on me. This is my typical experience with short stories.
Sophocles - 5/10
YTD:
Books read : 35
Pages read : 10,082
Currently reading : Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden & Martin Dressler : The Tale of an American Dreamer - Steven Millhauser
Book 34 : Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes & Sophocles
This book contained three plays, Lysistrata by Aristophanes and Electra and Oedipus the Kingby Sophocles.
While I loved Lysistrata, I was not a huge fan of either of Sophocles' plays.
Lysistrata was straight up funny, which I was not expecting. You don't think of plays from 400 B.C. as being particularly scandalous, funny or interesting but it was. The basic premise is that in order to end a war that's been going on forever, the women decide to withhold sex from their husbands when they return for a break. Hilarity ensues and I loved it.
There was also an interesting anti-war message, in particular a speech given by Lysistrata, the orchestrator of the sex with holding scheme, who goes on about how all wars are civil, as we are all brothers. It's interesting and sad that nations are still fighting over the same thing they were thousands of years ago.
As far as Sophocles goes, I'd already read Oedipus, though it was years ago. I don't have the patience to enjoy being beaten over the head with the Chorus' constant reiteration of what I already understand. I can see why these plays are taught in school, as they do paint an interesting picture of times long gone, but they didn't do a wonderful job of gaining my interest.
Aristophanes - 8/10
Sophocles - 4/10
YTD:
Books read : 34
Pages read : 9,796
Currently reading : Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden & Martin Dressler : The Tale of an American Dreamer - Steven Millhauser
While I loved Lysistrata, I was not a huge fan of either of Sophocles' plays.
Lysistrata was straight up funny, which I was not expecting. You don't think of plays from 400 B.C. as being particularly scandalous, funny or interesting but it was. The basic premise is that in order to end a war that's been going on forever, the women decide to withhold sex from their husbands when they return for a break. Hilarity ensues and I loved it.
There was also an interesting anti-war message, in particular a speech given by Lysistrata, the orchestrator of the sex with holding scheme, who goes on about how all wars are civil, as we are all brothers. It's interesting and sad that nations are still fighting over the same thing they were thousands of years ago.
As far as Sophocles goes, I'd already read Oedipus, though it was years ago. I don't have the patience to enjoy being beaten over the head with the Chorus' constant reiteration of what I already understand. I can see why these plays are taught in school, as they do paint an interesting picture of times long gone, but they didn't do a wonderful job of gaining my interest.
Aristophanes - 8/10
Sophocles - 4/10
YTD:
Books read : 34
Pages read : 9,796
Currently reading : Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden & Martin Dressler : The Tale of an American Dreamer - Steven Millhauser
Book 33 : Now In November - Josephine Johnson
This book was easily the best book I've read this year. It's hard to say, so soon after having read this book, how much it will still be with me in the long run but I do believe it will remain as one of my Top 5 books ever read.
If you like The Grapes of Wrath you will love this book. In fact, TGoW is my all time favorite book and yet I still think that Johnson did a better job of telling the story of the Great Depression.
Now in November won the Pulitzer in 1935, 5 years before The Grapes of Wrath won it. It tells the story of a family on a farm in Nowhereville, America who is having trouble making their mortgage. People starve to death. People are evicted from their land. People die choking on the clouds of dust. The local teacher lady goes crazy. It's all very depressing and very touching and extremely moving.
The writing style is very simple. I found myself reading this book much more slowly than I normally do, as I wanted to give the words time to drip down and seep in. That sounds retarded but no one reads this anyway so that's fine.
In summation : This book should be required reading in every American high school.
'"The things we felt most are hardest to put into words. Hate is always easier to speak of than love. How shall I make love go through the sieve of words and come out something besides a pulp?"
10/10
YTD:
Books read : 33
Pages read : 9,641
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles
If you like The Grapes of Wrath you will love this book. In fact, TGoW is my all time favorite book and yet I still think that Johnson did a better job of telling the story of the Great Depression.
Now in November won the Pulitzer in 1935, 5 years before The Grapes of Wrath won it. It tells the story of a family on a farm in Nowhereville, America who is having trouble making their mortgage. People starve to death. People are evicted from their land. People die choking on the clouds of dust. The local teacher lady goes crazy. It's all very depressing and very touching and extremely moving.
The writing style is very simple. I found myself reading this book much more slowly than I normally do, as I wanted to give the words time to drip down and seep in. That sounds retarded but no one reads this anyway so that's fine.
In summation : This book should be required reading in every American high school.
'"The things we felt most are hardest to put into words. Hate is always easier to speak of than love. How shall I make love go through the sieve of words and come out something besides a pulp?"
10/10
YTD:
Books read : 33
Pages read : 9,641
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles
Book 32 : The Dying Animal - Philip Roth
Right after I finished this book I watched Elegy, which is a movie based on the book. I'd say you could skip the book and go straight to the DVD.
It's not that I didn't enjoy it. I just don't know that I would have enjoyed it if I didn't know as much about Roth's background as I do. Because you see, it was based directly on a situation in his life.
That situation is basically that he's an old man but he still loves the young ladies. He is a professor at a major university, sets his sites on a Cuban girl in his class and begins sleeping with her. Eventually he does weird things like lick blood off of her legs.
The book is a pretty self-indulgent undertaking. It is clearly just him trying to make sense of the affair and an attempt to discern why it affected him so much. I don't think he quite accomplishes that but I did end the book feeling like I'd gotten some useful insight into his own life and how it's affected a few of his other books.
Overall : I would not recommend this to anyone who is just starting out with Roth. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend it to a Roth fan who hadn't read both The Professor of Desire and The Breast.
7/10
YTD:
Books read : 32
Pages read : 9,410
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles
It's not that I didn't enjoy it. I just don't know that I would have enjoyed it if I didn't know as much about Roth's background as I do. Because you see, it was based directly on a situation in his life.
That situation is basically that he's an old man but he still loves the young ladies. He is a professor at a major university, sets his sites on a Cuban girl in his class and begins sleeping with her. Eventually he does weird things like lick blood off of her legs.
The book is a pretty self-indulgent undertaking. It is clearly just him trying to make sense of the affair and an attempt to discern why it affected him so much. I don't think he quite accomplishes that but I did end the book feeling like I'd gotten some useful insight into his own life and how it's affected a few of his other books.
Overall : I would not recommend this to anyone who is just starting out with Roth. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend it to a Roth fan who hadn't read both The Professor of Desire and The Breast.
7/10
YTD:
Books read : 32
Pages read : 9,410
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles
Book 31 : The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara
The good news is that if I were interested in an entire book focusing on one battle during the American Civil War, this would have fulfilled that interest.
The bad news is that I don't give a fuck about the American Civil War.
I only read The Killer Angels because it was required of me to finish my Pulitzer challenge. After I finished it I read a few reviews and was shocked to find that many, many people think that it's the best book ever written.
First of all, there is little to no emotion in it. It is basically a fictionalized first person account of the battle at Gettysburg, told from numerous points of view. The fact that parts are written from Lee's POV and Chamberlain's POV, etc. should have meant that I'd be left with a sense of how it felt to be dealing with this huge battle that neither side thought they had the chance to win. Yeah, no.
I didn't give a shit about any of the characters. I didn't get any insight into their feelings or really their thoughts, beyond what they thought of the decisions in the battle (i.e., which flank to attack) and one guy's haunting images of his wife (I think she was dead? I wasn't clear on that and I really didn't care).
I also felt it would have been a unique opportunity to get into the background of what really sparked the American Civil War, but it didn't. There are a few mentions of some of the Rebels not supporting slavery and that the war wasn't about slavery to them but there's never really an explanation for their feelings.
There was one character I liked, Kilrain. He was talking to a Union man who told him that, while he was fighting them and would continue to do so, he respected the Rebel soldiers and found them to be gentleman. Kilrain went on an anti-gentleman tirade, which I enjoyed and will post below.
Overall: I just felt that this book was extremely cold and boring. Obviously it had some historical relevancy but if you're going to take the time to do this much research in order to write a fictional book, I would think you would take enough liberties to give the major players some actual personalities and feelings - otherwise why wouldn't you just write non-fiction?
This isn't about equality. There is no equality. The Great White Joker in the Sky dooms us all to stupidity or poverty from birth. No two things on earth are equal or have an equal chance, not a leaf nor a tree. There's many a man worse than me, and some better, but I don't think race or country matters a damn. What matters is justice. 'Tis why I'm here. I'll be treated as I deserve, not as my father deserved. I'm Kilrain, and I God damn all gentleman.”
3/10
YTD:
Books read : 31
Pages read : 9,254
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles
The bad news is that I don't give a fuck about the American Civil War.
I only read The Killer Angels because it was required of me to finish my Pulitzer challenge. After I finished it I read a few reviews and was shocked to find that many, many people think that it's the best book ever written.
First of all, there is little to no emotion in it. It is basically a fictionalized first person account of the battle at Gettysburg, told from numerous points of view. The fact that parts are written from Lee's POV and Chamberlain's POV, etc. should have meant that I'd be left with a sense of how it felt to be dealing with this huge battle that neither side thought they had the chance to win. Yeah, no.
I didn't give a shit about any of the characters. I didn't get any insight into their feelings or really their thoughts, beyond what they thought of the decisions in the battle (i.e., which flank to attack) and one guy's haunting images of his wife (I think she was dead? I wasn't clear on that and I really didn't care).
I also felt it would have been a unique opportunity to get into the background of what really sparked the American Civil War, but it didn't. There are a few mentions of some of the Rebels not supporting slavery and that the war wasn't about slavery to them but there's never really an explanation for their feelings.
There was one character I liked, Kilrain. He was talking to a Union man who told him that, while he was fighting them and would continue to do so, he respected the Rebel soldiers and found them to be gentleman. Kilrain went on an anti-gentleman tirade, which I enjoyed and will post below.
Overall: I just felt that this book was extremely cold and boring. Obviously it had some historical relevancy but if you're going to take the time to do this much research in order to write a fictional book, I would think you would take enough liberties to give the major players some actual personalities and feelings - otherwise why wouldn't you just write non-fiction?
This isn't about equality. There is no equality. The Great White Joker in the Sky dooms us all to stupidity or poverty from birth. No two things on earth are equal or have an equal chance, not a leaf nor a tree. There's many a man worse than me, and some better, but I don't think race or country matters a damn. What matters is justice. 'Tis why I'm here. I'll be treated as I deserve, not as my father deserved. I'm Kilrain, and I God damn all gentleman.”
3/10
YTD:
Books read : 31
Pages read : 9,254
Currently reading : Elbow Room - James Alan McPherson & Three Classic Greek Plays - Aristophanes / Sophocles
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