Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow

"Man loses everything, finds himself." In 487 boring pages. Or it could be a modern Pilgrim's Progress, since every character seems to be a prop, foil, or soundboard for the narrator, who uses them to expound on his theories of life. The characters should have been named Greed, Avarice, Sloth, etc.

So I guess you can tell I'm not very impressed. Characters I don't care about or identify with (including the narrator), minor characters that are just cardboard, and the narrative is overloaded with phony intellectual arguments.

But it's better than the Updike novels, although that is not saying much. In the spirit of Faulkner's advice, I read everything, and learn from the good as well as the bad.

Of course this is a pulitzer winner, and Bellow also won a Nobel prize. What does that say about my opinions?

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

Part epistolary novel, part historical novel, part confessional novel, this is almost a great novel - only the last chapter mars its record. It's the story of a modern man, racked by a crippling disease, who is writing the history of his grandparents. Actual letters are used from a semi-famous woman writer and artist - the version of the book I bought had a nice introduction explaining the mechanics of the novel.

The fourth chapter of the section "On the Bough" has to be one of the best chapters I have read in a Pulitzer prize winning novel. It has suspense, characterization, and a vivid setting. Exceptionally well done.

On the other hand the last chapter is a huge disappointment. It violates the "don't lie to the reader" prime directive. It's a dream, and the read is not told it is a dream until it's over. Very unsastifying, the kind of thing that makes me want to throw the book against the wall, and it definitely leaves the book with a bad taste in the mouth.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

A manic book, written for laughs all the way. Ignatius is funny, but so are all the other characters and strange situations. I'm surprised Hollywood never made a movie of this - or perhaps the major character would be too hard to understand.

The novel was a little repetitive, I think, but the author handled the multiple viewpoints very well. Especially since it was published posthumously - I wonder if there was any editing of the original?

Ironweed by William Kennedy

What a strange book - I'm certanly glad I read it. It's skillfully done, and I can't really categorize it. The main character is a skid-row bum in 1938 who sees the ghosts of people from his past. He abandoned his family, stayed gone 22 years, came back to make peace, then left again. If he had stayed, then his time away would have been wasted. Of course it was wasted anyway, but that's the story as it was presented.

It was interesting that it was mostly in one viewpoint, third person, past tense. But occasionally the author sneaked peeks into other viewpoints. It was very well done.

A Primer of the Novel by David Madden

A very informative little book. It doesn't go into a lot of depth, but it does provide a starting point if you want to do more research. The bibliography is excellent, as is the index.

It's divided into two parts, the first on the "Types of Novels", the second on the "Art of Fiction". His classification of novels includes many types I have never heard of before. The art section is fairly cursory, but still informative.

Now, what I need is a book on the history of the novel.

Joseph Conrad anecdote

Here's one I never heard before:

Joseph Conrad's wife locked him into his study, as she did every morning. When she released him for lunch, she asked, "Joseph, what did you do this morning?"

"I put in a comma," he replied.

After lunch, she locked him in again. When she released him for dinner, she asked, "And what did you accomplish this afternoon, Joseph?"

"I took the comma out," he replied.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

What can I say about this that hasn't already been said? It only takes a couple of hours to read this novella, another Pultizer prize winner, but I shudder to think how long it took to write. Or should I say, how long it took to distill? That's what it seems to me, a distillation of the story down to it's essential elements.

Pulitzer reading project update

Twenty-seven down. Everything from 1947 to the present is fifty-five books (there were five years when there was no award), so I am halfway! That doesn't include the novels before 1947. Why the arbitrary year 1947? Because I read All the King's Men (and loved it). Once I get all these read I will consider going before 1947 - we'll see.

I buy the books, fifty dollars worth at a time, from a online used-book store. By purchasing firfty dollars worth I get free shipping. A few of the books I have gotten from the library, but I really love having my own copy. The used books are cheap, just a few dollars, and well worth it.

Once the reading spree is over I'll compile a list of lists, listing the best and the worst, in my humble opinion.

The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron

What would be your reaction, if, after spending years writing a novel, after publishing it to critical success, after receiving the pulitzer prize for it, to have it denounced and attacked as racist? It would devastate me. This version of the novel contains an afterword by the author that is as important to read as the novel.

Not long after publication, politically correct Black writers started to attack this novel as racist. I don't see it. It's fiction, and portrays an entirely feasible account of the little-known Turner that rings true. At least it does to me. I haven't read the criticism of the novel. Are there alternate tellings of the story that would make sense? Surely. It's FICTION. Is this novel racist? Not by any means. To call it racist is probably to misunderstand the definition of the word.

Reading about the controversy over this novel doesn't make me eager to write a historical novel about Tsali, or a novel about my experiences during desegregation in 1970.

The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

I can't say enough good about this little novel. Welty is one of those author's who can come up with perfect imagery to illustrate her point to the reader. I'm sure it's a lot of hard work, but she makes it seem effortless and unobtrusive.

I hate to compare this book with "A Summons to Memphis", but I will. Everything in Memphis takes place in interior monologue, overdone "telling, not showing". The first two-thirds of "The Optimist's Daughter" is perfect "showing, not telling". Everything takes place through dialogue and action. At times it is difficult to understand just what is going on, what the purpose is, where the book is headed. You really have to pay attention, and in that sense it reminds me of "The Great Gatsby". It is masterfully done.

Only after things start to reach for a climax does Welty resort to letting the main character tell us what she is thinking, just when it is appropriate, and even then there is still plenty of action and imagery to move things along. I can't say anything bad about this little novel.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

This novel has a great start, and a unique voice. Written entirely as prayers or letters, it is captivating right from the beginning.

Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the way through, the author gets on her soapbox and starts pontificating (through her characters) about everything from reefer to rubber plantations. Very annoying. I hate it when authors start preaching. The same thing happened with another novel that dealt with missionaries in Africa, "The Poisonwood Bible". Must be something about the subject.

It also seemed like the author went to great lengths to come up with a happy ending. She pulls a lot of strings to get everyone back together to live happily ever after.

But it's a great read. I need to get the DVD and look at it again and see how close it is to the novel.

A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler

Looking to study the short story at its finest? This is your book. Like Lahiri's excellent collection, one of the few collections of short stories awarded a pulitzer. "Fairy Tale" is my favorite.

Rabbit At Rest by John Updike

Why do I dislike this novel so much? The writing is excellent, there is no doubt of that. Pick any page and you can find something impressive about the writing. Updike is particularly good at finding the right image to get his point across to the reader.

But the characters are mean and uninteresting. From Rabbit down they are boring, mean-spirited, and selfish. The kind of people I try to avoid in real life, so why am I reading a novel about them? The story is also boring. There is nothing memorable about this book.

So I took out my bookmark and set the book aside. Next in the stack was "The Color Purple", and it only took a few pages to be hopelessly hooked on the character and story of Celie. The contrast could not be greater, and I have nothing good to say about "Rabbit At Rest".

Oh, and another thing, I have never seen so many typographical mistakes in a book. Who proofread this edition?