A Modest Proposal

This is a short review for a short piece. I won't spoil it, but this was a very enjoyable read. Full of words that you might want to look up, which coat and serve to hide the main purpose of the satirical essay. Surely my pleasure for this piece has to do with my own beliefs and appreciation for dark humour.
I'd recommend this to anyone who is not easily offended, who is interested in Irish history or happens to be an admirer of satirical works. I'm reminded of Voltaire's Candide.

Death of Ivan Ilyich

Yay! Er...not sure if I should say Yay to a story about death.

I'd never read Tolstoy before, so I thought I'd give him a try. My intended minor (whenever I get to transfer...) is Russian & Slavic Culture, so I might as well start now. I chose these two stories because one appears on the 1001 list, and it jumped out at me at the library!

I'm not sure if all Russian literature is like this, but these two short stories were heavy. Full of weight (thanks for this mode of thought, Kundera!) and gravitas. Dealing with death, right choices and redemption, they are certainly not beach reads. I preferred the second story to the first, though the ending of the first was compelling.

What struck me (spoilers!) was the difference between the two characters in Master and Man, as far as how they deal with life and death. Vassili was a trivial, easy to dislike sort of man, who was wholly concerned with profits, no matter the human cost, while his servant Nikita, though troubled by family problems and personal addictions, was an affable fellow. Long story short, in the end Vassili, after turning his back on Nikita in an extreme snowstorm, comes to save him and in doing so, dies. Much like Ivan, he is concerned with how he lived his life, what mistakes he might have made. In his death, he is reborn and redeemed. Death, in the eyes of a viewer, is his gift. Yet as for Nikita, though during the storm he doesn't want to die, he is rather resigned after the debacle. He has tired of all of life's difficulties and just wishes it to be over. It almost makes the gift that Vassili gave worthless. The juxtaposition of these two deaths made for a haunting story.
Even though I would have to anyway, I'm looking forward to reading more from Tolstoy. I read a bit about his personal life, and I'm curious to how it coloured his writing.

Quotes:

(This is from the introduction to the book, and I just thought it was interesting because I adore Lawrence) "Tolstoy is like D.H. Lawrence----on occasion astonishingly repetitive, frequently clumsy. Both allow the thoughts of their characters to suffuse an apparently objective narrative. Unlike the controlled exploration of free indirect discourse in, say, Joyce's Dubliners, what we find in both Tolstoy and Lawrence is the instinctive imaginative projection of the sympathetic author."

-Both are from The Death of Ivan Ilyich- "Everything is always the same. Then hope glints---like a drop of water. A drop lost in a turbulent ocean of despair. And everything is pain again, pain and misery and everything always the same. It is dreadfully sad on his own...."
"There, in his childhood, was something really pleasant that you could live with, if it were to come again. But the person who had experienced that happy time was no more: it was like a memory of another person."
"He heard these words and repeated them in his soul. "Death is finished," he said to himself. "There is no more death."

So it goes...

Slaughterhouse-Five!

I originally got started with Vonnegut on the recommendation of an on-line...acquaintance? I was forewarned of his eccentric style and unconventional themes, and was told to start with Slaughterhouse-Five. I didn't, and read Cat's Cradle instead, and Breakfast of Champions and Sirens of Titan soon followed. I finally picked up Slaughterhouse-Five, expecting a master-piece. Well, that's not quite what I received.
It's a rather quick read, which I think is part of the problem for me. I wanted more of the story, though I'm thinking now that the point really isn't with the plot but more the ideas behind the work, which is something I should know by now, after reading some of his other novels. Perhaps I was over-hyping the book; I expected some sort of time-travel epic (ugh, I hate that word now, thanks worthless internet nerds!) and instead got a concise story with a distinct aftertaste. I'm told that this story is one of the great anti-war reads, but I'm not quite sold on that claim.
Yet, I did enjoy it. For instance, the repetition of "So it goes" found a fan in me. Vonnegut's simple style belies his universal and terribly important themes. However, I feel that his ideas are better realized in Sirens of Titan, a favourite of mine. Though not just focusing on war, it had a much bigger impact on me than this book did.
Another selling point! What I often find so annoying in other works is not to be spotted here: unnecessary information. Vonnegut gets straight to the point, though perhaps not chronologically. He doesn't waste words, and every paragraph is an investment to your pleasure and enlightenment. Even the books I've liked least (Cat's Cradle) were worthwhile.
Ultimately, I'd recommend Slaughterhouse-Five just as my friend did. It would surely be an excellent litmus test for whether one would enjoy Vonnegut's style. I've many of his works left to read, so I may change my mind about some of what I've said here. But I think the basic ideas will stay the same: this is a necessary, enjoyable read, but definitely not the only work one should read of this wonderfully imaginative author.

Quotes:
"Another time Billy heard Rosewater say to a psychiatrist, "I think you guys are going to have to come up with a lot of wonderful new lies, or people just aren't going to want to go on living."
"One thing was clear: Absolutely everybody in the city was supposed to be dead, regardless of what they were, and that anybody that moved in it represented a flaw in the design. There were to be no moon men at all."

American Pastoral

American Pastoral.

My opinions aren't quite clear to me when it comes to this book. Usually I can definitively say where I stand with a text, but American Pastoral challenges that notion. The first third of the book, I felt, was uninteresting. Perhaps because I wasn't aware of the narrator and his life (as this was the first novel I'd read by Roth), who knows. But I didn't feel drawn to read by the story as it was playing out. I'm not one for reminiscing on times lost, at least on a grand level like that. Memories interest me when they are tragic- not when they consist of growing up in "innocent" America. This doesn't mean that the text was inherently bad; it might speak of my generation's inability to relate to the experiences of our parents. Either way, only when the plot progressed and the focus left the narrator and his stories did I become more interested. The character of Seymour (I rather dislike saying "The Swede", pardon me) was one my sympathies fall on, which I'm sure was the author's intention. Innocent, hard-working and reliable, Seymour embodied the American ideal of the "Every-man", which was pushed upon him by his immigrant parents. Watching his life get better and better, while knowing that it was soon fall apart was difficult: it was hard not to root for him. As he agonized over what moment has caused his daughter's downfall, one gets the sense of just how grand was Merry's act. Though my sympathy dwindled toward the end with twists that were revealed, I still, after completing the book, felt for Seymour. How can I not? Society has trained me to love the "Good-boy" Archetype, which is very much what Seymour is--just an embodiment of all the hopes and expectations of the time. With the wars and seemingly disappearing innocence, that type was needed more than ever. It satisfied a need that I'm not sure still exists today.
What also interested me, other than Seymour's psyche, was Merry and her life. At first I was disgusted with her (partially her appearance; sorry!) and her actions. How could she find fault with the deaths in Vietnam and then not only condone but commit murder herself? Whining at the dinner table and being just the little rebel with your friends does nothing, just as terrorism achieves nothing. I originally picked up this book because it referenced another work I'm familiar with, Franz Fanon's Wretched of The Earth. Without getting side-tracked by my opinions on that, I'll just say that I took issue with her logic: Colonialism in Algeria differs greatly from any of her perceived enemies. Though, that's not to say, that I am a supporter in any way of War or America's actions in regards to foreign policy. I just found her rather naive. Yet, as she changed into a Jain, I related much more to her plight. Jainism, especially ahimsa, has always been an interest of mine. Enthralled I was by Seymour's (read: America's) take on Merry's philosophy. I take much of my personal beliefs from the religion, so I found myself an opponent of his reactions. Yet, I saw very much what this father did: how every thing was a passing phase for his monster. Merry also functioned as the antithesis of the American dream and Seymour himself, and perhaps to Western culture and values.
I suppose I can sum up my personal reaction much more succinctly. I would not re-read this book. Going through Seymour's mind, while interesting, was arduous. I did not particularly enjoy any passages or feel them resonate with me; but they were something I'm glad I came into contact with. I questioned my own beliefs and struggled with my own notions of what truth really was. For that reason, this is a book worth reading.


Thoughts while reading:

16/June/2010- I'm around page 175 right now. At first it was hard to get into. I'm just not that enthralled by baby boomer memories, which I suppose I should feel bad for admitting. My interest was piqued, however, when the focus shifted from the narrator's old pals and the way things used to be, and onto "The Swede" and how his life fell apart. The language is simple but not juvenile and Roth's insight into Levov's psyche is what is keeping me reading. He doesn't seem to hide anything, and I'm hooked on the honesty. I'm laughing a bit at Merry's feelings, which I'll expound on when I finish.

Quotes:
"Yes, alone we are, deeply alone, and always, in store for us, a layer of loneliness even deeper. There is nothing can do to dispose of that. No, loneliness shouldn't surprise us, as astonishing to experience it might be. You can try turning yourself inside out, but all you are then is inside out and lonely instead of inside in and lonely."
"There is no protest to be lodged against loneliness-- not all the bombing campaigns in history have made a dent in it."

Midnight's Children

Placeholder for review of Midnight's Children.

16/June/2010- It's picking up pace now that the narrator has been born. Before, I was bored and a bit unwilling to continue. With so many more pages left, I hope that I don't lose interest again.


Interesting quotes from Midnight's Children:

"To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world."

"I learned: the first lesson of my life: nobody can face the world with his eyes open all the time."

"Everything has shape, if you look for it. There is no escape from form."

"Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence."

The Rainbow

The Rainbow- D.H. Lawrence

Though I finished this before I created this blog...I'll post it anyway. This is a short, shallow review.

Originally posted on Goodreads:

Though I related more to the characters in this text (in comparison to Sons & Lovers), especially Ursula, I felt that it was somehow...lacking?
I enjoyed seeing contrasts between the couples and their anguish in trying to fully connect with one another. I know that the Cathedrals were an important motif in this novel, but I didn't feel that they spoke to me. Of course, judging merit solely on my relationship with the work is rather foolish. From what I understand, the contents of this book were very controversial at the time it was authored, which does not surprise me. Its take on nationalism and its forthright, beautiful sensuality alone make it worth reading. The depth with which Lawrence goes into each character's wants, fears and very essence act as a bonus, and for me, a reason to delve more into his oeuvre. Though slow at times, this was a great way to spend a few evenings.