O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

I really enjoyed most of this little book. It had a slow start, and the love affair between the two young people that ended in trajedy was disappointing, but the novel had it's moments. The author claimed the book was about the land, but I'm not buying that.

It shows its age, I think, written in 1915. As long as you don't expect the close psychic distance of a modern novel it can be engrossing. She uses an omniscient viewpoint with a detached feeling - at least that's my opinion.

The tragic love affair is disappointing. I think I need some more foreshadowing to make it work. If the husband had shown his anger before, or threatened someone with violence, the tragic ending of the love affair might have been more convincing. And it is very difficult to believe that the sister forgives the murderer at the end.

There are moments, and quotes, that are excellent writing. Highly recommended.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

A wonderful book that is very informative as well as educational. It will increase your enjoyment of reading fiction, as well as point out the areas where you may need to improve your own "reading quotient" for better understanding. My weak point? Shakespeare. Long, long ago, I remember reading Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet - and possible King Lear - but what I remember from that exposure is limited.

This book points up techniques that almost every writer at the Critique Circle seems to be missing. Underlying form and structure. Everyone always tries to be new and fresh, but some inclusion of universal symbols would drastically improve everyone's writing - my own included.

One Matchless Time - A Life of William Faulkner by Jay Parini

It's good to finally get the facts about Faulkner's life, at least as reported by Jay Parini. The stories I always heard about his drinking are, for the most part, true, I suppose. Some of the other stories, about the conflict between Faulkner and Hemingway, don't seem to stand up as well.

I was disappointed in Faulkner's early life. He is almost exactly the age of my grandfather, so it is unavoidable for me to draw parallels. "Big Pop", as we called him, was born in rural, lower, Alabama. He was raised in a foster home, left when he was thirteen, worked his way around the south in lumber mills, before finally settling down and raising my father and uncle. Faulkner, on the other hand, was born into privilege, never finished school, never succeeded at any job, drank, visited prostitutes, and generally sponged off his parents and friends for decades. It's tough for me top admire his personal life when I can make those comparisons.

Of course I admire his writing, and there is no denying that he worked extremely hard - once he got into the swing of things. One thing that does strike me as very familiar about his life is his extreme shyness. I can certainly identify with that. Maybe it's a Southern thing, a fear of being inadequate, of being embarassed by those better than us and more educated.

The biography is excellent, and I highly recommend it.

Back to the Library

My book budget has been strained to the point of breaking, even after discovering the powells.com used bookstore. Today I went back to the library, the first time in thirty years or so. Libraries and I don't get along well, since I can never remember to return books.

I got a card at the South Fulton Library, which is crammed with people using the computers, but few people actually checking out books. That's wierd. I guess libraries had turned into computer labs. They do have books though, although not as many as I had hoped. I checked out a collection of Faulkner short stories (including "A Rose for Emily") and a couple of other books.

Now let's see if I can remember to take them back.

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

I loved this strange, dark little novel. It actually came bundled with "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and some other works - all good. It's very much the opposite of "The Poisonwood Bible", which I also just finished. "Wise Blood" is ambiguous. If the author is preaching I can't tell it, but there is a powerful message. In that sense it's a much more satisfying read for me than "Poisonwood", since it was so preachy towards the end. At least in "Wise Blood" I am left to make up my own mind about the meanings of the strange actions of the characters, and that's the way I like it.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

I was in love with this book - at first. In the beginning it was engrossing - I had to read it. It's a very fresh way of writing, very reminiscent of Faulkner in the way that she weaves the different viewpoints of the girls, all in first person. I was intrigued and captivated.

About two-thirds of the way, though, the author got on her soapbox, and the characters and plot seemed to become secondary. No doubt the issues are importnt - African colonialism, the poverty of third world countries, capitalism/communism. etc. Unfortunately that is not why I read novels. If I want that I will read her essays instead.

It was very disappointing. Honestly, I felt cheated and let-down by the turn that the novel took, after such a promising beginning.

I was also surprised that the character Leah stayed with her husband, essentially repeating the mistake that her mother made with her father. True, their husbands were quite different, but Leah could have left and secured a future for her children free of famine and mal-nutrition and instead chose to stay - just like her mother did.

My disappointment aside, the book is definitely required reading.

Massive Rejection Day

I got seven rejection letters in one day. They were all from Byline magazine, and it was, of course, my fault, since I sent in all seven submissions at once. It was to be expected they would all be returned at the same time.

Still, it was a big shock. I knew they were rejections before I opened them. Something about the way they looked, all the same size and format, tipped me off that only bad news was inside. Oh well, I'll recover.

GWA monthly contest - first place!

I got first place in the Georgia Writer's Association January '06 monthly contest for my short story "The Edge of Memory." The theme was "deja vu." So maybe it's not the pulitzer, but I love entering these little contests. It definitely keeps me writing.

Evensong by Gail Godwin

I'm ashamed to say that I am giving up on this novel too, for the time being. I got halfway through the second chapter and was bored with it. A lot of backstory, and none of it very interesting. Nothing had happened yet of interest. Maybe I can come back to it when I have more time.

The kind of novel I want to write

It was Steve Berry that advised me, in a talk he gave to the GWA, that authors should write what they love. He said that because the author ends up living with the novel, sometimes for years.

So what kind of novel do I love? It doesn't fit a specific genre. Novels like "Hell at the Breech,""Bastard from Carolina,""The Shipping News,""The Secret Life of Bees" - those are the types of novels I want to write.

I am reminded of the old story that Bach learned to compose by copying out the music of the composers who came before him. Is that an anecdote, or is it true? A critical study of the novels I admire would certainly help me, I think. I lack an example, or knowledge of the techniques and tools, to do that. I suppose I could pick a novel and outline it, make a scene list, note the development of the characters. A little research on the internet might help, but I'm not sure what to search for.

Surely there are college textbooks about the critical study of a novel?

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

An overwhelming book, so good it makes me jealous. This may be the first Pulitzer prize winning book I have ever read that really impressed me and moved me. If only she had used a few more complete sentences. Just kidding, but she does have a style that relies heavily on sentence fragments. It fits the main character, since he is a newpaperman, but it takes a little getting used to.

update: After reading Accordian Crimes, I can see the Proulx used the incomplete sentences as a literary device, since she didn't do it in her other novel.

Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

Attempted to read this way back in 2006 and just couldn't get into it. But I found it again while going through my library and decided to give it another try and was surprised by it this time. I guess I just had to be in the right mood. It is surprisingly good, once it gets going, telling the story of two Jewish cousins (Kavalier and Clay) who make it big (sort of) in the comic book business. Loosely inspired by the life of Will Eisner, there are a lot of plot details that make this an excellent read.