Thursday, November 13, 2008

Finn

Now here's an exciting recommendation: The novel Finn by John Clinch. He's constructed an entire character, Huck's father, from the brief references to him in Huckleberry Finn. It is a literary novel full of rich symbolism. Mark Twain utilized the first person point of view. He told Huck's tale from Huck's viewpoint. In Finn John Clinch uses an omniscient narrator. Amazing thing is that it works! There are incredibly beautiful poetic passages. No wonder Clinch says that his style echoes The King James Bible and William Faulkner. The narrative is not chronological and can be confusing. I read the novel twice in order to grasp the time line, as well as to appreciate the language of the book. I belong to a book club here in Florida, but I think I was the only member truly excited by this novel. I came to the meeting with passages underlined, things to discuss, and, most importantly, questions about how did everyone else feel about Finn? He is most definitely not a sympathetic character, but I found myself understanding him, even excusing him for some of his evil deeds. Am I gullible? Or did the author make him complex enough to allow some sympathy? Unfortunately, we never got to discussing this in the book club. No one else took the time to fully appreciate this novel. I know that sounds elitist and a bit snobbish, but I feel that a discussion group could spend hours with this one and still be going strong. Oh well. There must be others who view the work as I do. If you're out there, let me hear from you. Oh. I forgot no one reads this blog.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Joyce Carol Oates

I've only recently discovered Joyce Carol Oates, even though I've known of her for decades. Can't tell what prompted me to read her work now. She is probably the most prolific writer alive with, I believe, forty novels to her credit, plus short story anthologies, essays, and plays. She's a Gemini, for those interested in the astrological sign of the authors they read. I didn't know that until after I started reading her stuff. Seems I gravitate to Gemini writers.
The book that I found particularly intriguing is The Falls. Oates has a way of drawing the reader in with unusual characters in unusual situations. In The Falls a young man commits suicide by jumping into Niagara Falls on his wedding night, while his wife is asleep. Didn't he ever hear of annulment or divorce? Seriously, it wouldn't have made a difference given the time he lived and who he was. The novel never strays from being engaging, intriguing. Oates takes risks with the plot that worked for me. There is one scene, however, that I'd love to discuss with someone else who's read this work. This book is perfect for a book club, if I belonged to one, which I don't. In Florida, the book clubs I find meet too early in the day for me.
The mood of The Falls is dark, brooding. Yet it surprises constantly and satisfies at the end. I won't go into plot beyond telling the opening scene.
I just finished Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates, a small novella with more characters behaving strangely, but so believably. Oates has complete confidence that the reader will "buy" the people she creates. I have absolutely no trouble suspending any disbelief when reading her work. For me there isn't much disbelief to suspend. After all, I've conquered One Dimensional living.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

One Dimensional Living

Yes, I achieved entrance into one dimensional living on Cape Cod recently. I am the first to accomplish this denial of the other dimensions. I am a nihilist at heart. Compression into one dimension is not what the body favors, trust me. All our organs, cells, tissues are used to the cozy arrangement of height, width, and depth. There is a price to pay for squeezing oneself into just one dimension: Pain, compression fractures, the bends (when you decompress), and all the other stuff that flesh is heir to. Shakespeare knew about this long ago, and that is the esoteric meaning of that quote. Nevertheless, I have experienced something that would make me do it all again in a flash: the unbearable lightness of being. I do not recommend one dimensional being for weight loss, by the way. No, there are easier ways to accomplish that: Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, Jenny Craig, and starvation come to mind. No, ULB, the Unbearable Lightness of Being is a spiritual state and must be approached with all the caution, training, and dedication that one might give to playing a Chopin Etude, or preparing for initiation into the Masons. In another Blog entry, I will attempt to describe the Nirvana-like state of existing in one dimension and one dimension only. You would think, after all, that I wouldn't be able to recall the experience, since my brain was flattened into a virtual pancake. But, what my grey and white matter lacked in the other two dimensions, it gained in the "splat" of one dimensional existence. All one's intelligence is spread out in one gigantic splotch. Oh, the beauty and the truth and the joy! Do not attempt to do what I did! The training process is grueling. Contact the proper associations before you even dream of diminishing yourself. I am truly honored to even be here reporting to you my experience with The One. Be patient. Await more information. I forsee us all there One day soon. They also serve who only sit and wait. Ah, that is what Milton was talking about, after all!
Blessed be, you all.