Hot Latin Lovers! This is the story of the life of Maria Garcia, the beautiful Cuban dancer from the author's previous novel, "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love", which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. "Mambo Kings" had more hot sex scenes than all the previous Pulitzer Prize winners combined, and this novel continues in that same tradition.
Maria grows from a poor illiterate child in rural Cuba, to a dancer in the pre-Castro nightclubs of Havana. She meets Nestor Castillo, one of the brothers at the heart of the Mambo Kings, and inspires him to write the classic love song that is the title of the novel.
The story follows Maria through her life, as she loves many men, has a daughter, escapes from Cuba to the US, marries, and so on. Always, her love for Nestor is something she cannot forget.
In an odd twist, the author shows up in his own novel as a character!. I cannot remember this happening in any of the other thousands of novels I have read. It's an intriguing twist to the story, and adds some verisimilitude, leaving the reader wondering what is real and what is fiction.
The novel is well done and satisfying, the love scenes are hot and graphic, and the portrayal of Cuba and Cubans realistic. Highly recommended.
Showing posts with label book opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book opinion. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Whole World by Emily Winslow
A unique and interesting novel, a true literary mystery. Set in Cambridge, the story follows a group of loosely linked students, professors, a policeman, and their families, as they encounter a series of odd occurrences, disappearances and even murder. The plot is Gothic in nature, full of family secrets, hidden pasts, and violent passions.
But the unique part of the novel is the manner of telling the story. It's a first person serial, with each character telling their share of the story from their own viewpoint. That's nothing new, but usually the first person serial characters return over and over, as in Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying". In "The Whole World" each character has their say only once. It's an effective technique, and generates a real page turner of a novel as the complicated plot unfolds layer by layer.
An excellent read, on many levels.
But the unique part of the novel is the manner of telling the story. It's a first person serial, with each character telling their share of the story from their own viewpoint. That's nothing new, but usually the first person serial characters return over and over, as in Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying". In "The Whole World" each character has their say only once. It's an effective technique, and generates a real page turner of a novel as the complicated plot unfolds layer by layer.
An excellent read, on many levels.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Chopin by Jim Samson
This if one of the Master Musicians series from Oxford University Press.
This biography takes an interesting approach. The chapters alternate between history and musical analysis. So a chapter will detail Chopin's early life, and the next chapter will discuss his early compositions during that period. I think that's an effective approach - those readers who are not interested in detailed musical analysis can skip those chapters, and those readers who are interested in the music can use it as a reference.
Of course, no book on Chopin can succeed without dealing with the elephant in the room - his relationship with George Sand. I think this book does an excellent job of reporting the facts that can be verified about their life together without vilifying Sand or even placing blame. It's much better to report the facts and let the readers reach their own conclusion.
Now that I have read it I'll weigh in with my opinion, for what's it worth. Obviously they would not have stayed together as long as they did (9 years?) if each had not gotten something of value from the relationship. The fact that they were probably platonic after the second year means that it wasn't sex that keep them together. Sand mothered Chopin, and he let her. She provided stability and a place of refuge for him. She nursed him back to health several times. She also reinvented her past to suit her own purposes, probably to justify her own actions. Chopin seemed easily manipulated by Sand's daughter, who at least provided the immediate reason for the breakup.
But I don't think the facts, as presented in this book, support the idea that Chopin would have lived much longer and written more and better music if he had not lived with Sand. In my opinion the opposite is probably true. She provided some stability in his life during his most productive periods.
So read this biography and make up your own mind already!
Link to Amazon: Chopin (Master Musicians Series)
This biography takes an interesting approach. The chapters alternate between history and musical analysis. So a chapter will detail Chopin's early life, and the next chapter will discuss his early compositions during that period. I think that's an effective approach - those readers who are not interested in detailed musical analysis can skip those chapters, and those readers who are interested in the music can use it as a reference.
Of course, no book on Chopin can succeed without dealing with the elephant in the room - his relationship with George Sand. I think this book does an excellent job of reporting the facts that can be verified about their life together without vilifying Sand or even placing blame. It's much better to report the facts and let the readers reach their own conclusion.
Now that I have read it I'll weigh in with my opinion, for what's it worth. Obviously they would not have stayed together as long as they did (9 years?) if each had not gotten something of value from the relationship. The fact that they were probably platonic after the second year means that it wasn't sex that keep them together. Sand mothered Chopin, and he let her. She provided stability and a place of refuge for him. She nursed him back to health several times. She also reinvented her past to suit her own purposes, probably to justify her own actions. Chopin seemed easily manipulated by Sand's daughter, who at least provided the immediate reason for the breakup.
But I don't think the facts, as presented in this book, support the idea that Chopin would have lived much longer and written more and better music if he had not lived with Sand. In my opinion the opposite is probably true. She provided some stability in his life during his most productive periods.
So read this biography and make up your own mind already!
Link to Amazon: Chopin (Master Musicians Series)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment by James R. Gaines
This book needs to get an award just for the length of the subtitle!
Entertaining, excellent, and approachable history. Not a biography, but an examination of the lives of J.S. Bach and Frederick the Great inspired by their famous meeting. Late in Bach's life, he journeyed to the court of Frederick (where his son, C.P.E. Bach, was a court musician). Summoned by Frederick, he was presented with a theme and asked to compose a fugue on it in three parts. Back improvised the fugue, to the astonishment of everyone. Later, when Bach returned to Leipzig, he composed and had printed the "Musical Offering" on Frederic's theme and sent it to the court.
The author does a lot of creative reading between the lines to fill out the historical record. That is what makes the book so enjoyable, presenting the facts and giving an entertaining interpretation. He fills in the history of Bach and Frederick, and casts their meeting as a collision of the serious baroque music of Bach with the lighter music favored by Frederick, and uses that as a metaphor for the change from the religious reformation to the birth of the Enlightenment.
Link to Amazon: Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (P.S.)
Entertaining, excellent, and approachable history. Not a biography, but an examination of the lives of J.S. Bach and Frederick the Great inspired by their famous meeting. Late in Bach's life, he journeyed to the court of Frederick (where his son, C.P.E. Bach, was a court musician). Summoned by Frederick, he was presented with a theme and asked to compose a fugue on it in three parts. Back improvised the fugue, to the astonishment of everyone. Later, when Bach returned to Leipzig, he composed and had printed the "Musical Offering" on Frederic's theme and sent it to the court.
The author does a lot of creative reading between the lines to fill out the historical record. That is what makes the book so enjoyable, presenting the facts and giving an entertaining interpretation. He fills in the history of Bach and Frederick, and casts their meeting as a collision of the serious baroque music of Bach with the lighter music favored by Frederick, and uses that as a metaphor for the change from the religious reformation to the birth of the Enlightenment.
Link to Amazon: Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment (P.S.)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor
Grim. Depressing. The story of a group of heroin addicts, alcoholics, psychopaths, and street people. The injection of heroin is described in disturbing detail. Not exactly Dickens' Drood in the opium den. Dickens softened the impact of Drood's drug use by including his characteristic virgin female and comic relief. There is no softening of anything in "Even the Dogs". Don't even wish for a happy ending. Nobody gets out of this one alive or recovered or even with any hope.
Which is not to say that the writing is not good. I think it is. The author does an excellent job of portraying the single-minded obsession of the addicts with acquiring their next fix, at whatever cost. I question the decision to turn this into a novel. There is quite a bit of repetition. Considering the distasteful subject matter I wonder why it wasn't shortened and presented as, for instance, the centerpiece of a short story collection, including other stories that could have buffered the hopelessness of "Even the Dogs". I can't see this selling many copies or being commercially successful as a novel.
One thing that the author does which is interesting is the inclusion of a "Greek Chorus" of dead addicts that comment on the action and scenes. That is the basic structure of the novel. One of the group has died alone in what we in the US would call a "crack house" and a small amount of backstory is woven into the narrative and commented on by the chorus as the body is discovered and autopsied.
So, I have to give it a good rating because of the fine writing, but I would not recommend this to any but the most hardened of readers.
Link to Amazon: Even the Dogs: A Novel
Which is not to say that the writing is not good. I think it is. The author does an excellent job of portraying the single-minded obsession of the addicts with acquiring their next fix, at whatever cost. I question the decision to turn this into a novel. There is quite a bit of repetition. Considering the distasteful subject matter I wonder why it wasn't shortened and presented as, for instance, the centerpiece of a short story collection, including other stories that could have buffered the hopelessness of "Even the Dogs". I can't see this selling many copies or being commercially successful as a novel.
One thing that the author does which is interesting is the inclusion of a "Greek Chorus" of dead addicts that comment on the action and scenes. That is the basic structure of the novel. One of the group has died alone in what we in the US would call a "crack house" and a small amount of backstory is woven into the narrative and commented on by the chorus as the body is discovered and autopsied.
So, I have to give it a good rating because of the fine writing, but I would not recommend this to any but the most hardened of readers.
Link to Amazon: Even the Dogs: A Novel
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Beethoven Compendium by Barry Cooper
Not a biography, but an examination of everything Beethoven by four different editors. Not the type of book you would read from cover to cover, but an exhaustive reference to his life, influences, music, writings, portraits, career, students, and so on and so forth. Highly recommended for the serious amateur, music student, or professional.
Link to Amazon: The Beethoven Compendium (A Guide to Beethoven's Life and Music) [UNABRIDGED] (Paperback)
Link to Amazon: The Beethoven Compendium (A Guide to Beethoven's Life and Music) [UNABRIDGED] (Paperback)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
What's most amazing about this book is the time that it was written - late 40s, published in the early 50s. Yet it pretty accurately predicts most facets of the civil rights movement for blacks, good and bad. In fact, the first scene in the book, the "battle royale" contains, in miniature, most of what happens later. Black man rewarded by white, reward turns out to be denigrating, blacks fight amongst themselves, whites are pulling the strings, and so on and so forth.
My advice, if you are reading this edition, is to skip the introduction - read it later if you want to. The author does quite a bit of pontificating.
The novel also is somewhat heavy-handed with the symbolism. Everything is a symbol, or can be viewed as a symbol. That gets old quickly, especially when it is so obvious.
Link to Amazon: Invisible Man
My advice, if you are reading this edition, is to skip the introduction - read it later if you want to. The author does quite a bit of pontificating.
The novel also is somewhat heavy-handed with the symbolism. Everything is a symbol, or can be viewed as a symbol. That gets old quickly, especially when it is so obvious.
Link to Amazon: Invisible Man
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald
An entertaining and original novel, about an orphan baby who was "loaned" out to a Home Economics "practice house" back in the 1950s. Henry House (House for practice house and practice baby) is raised in his first year by a succession of students in one-week shifts. He proves to be so irresistible that he is adopted by the teacher. The novel is essentially a coming of age story, and follows Henry's attempts to make sense of his curious upbringing and difficulties with relationships with other people. It's an intriguing premise, inspired by an actual historical practice baby, and a well executed novel.
Link to Amazon: The Irresistible Henry House: A Novel
Link to Amazon: The Irresistible Henry House: A Novel
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
This Dickens' novel focuses on the hardships of the industrial movement in 19th century England. The characters are weavers, mill owners, the children of members of parliament, and an orphan girl of a troupe of traveling players. Some portions are overly melodramatic, in my humble opinion, but that's just Charles Dickens. It's still well worth a read.
Link to Amazon: Hard Times (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Link to Amazon: Hard Times (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sometimes we're always real same-same by Mattox Roesch
An interesting novel, set in an Eskimo village. Cesar, a teenage gang-banger from Los Angeles, moves with his mother back to her old home in Alaska. It's Cesar's cousin, Go-Boy, that eases the culture shock for Cesar. This is a coming-of-age novel, and it follows Cesar and Go-Boy, Cesar's mother, and his new girlfriend, as Cesar adapts to life in Alaska.
Cesar is an unlikely choice for a protagonist. It's tough to be sympathetic to a gang-banger, especially when we learn that he earned that label by participating in a gang-style rape. It's not clear if he actually raped the girl or if he just assisted, but it adversely affected my opinion of the character. Near the end of the novel, Cesar attempts to rationalize his part in the rape by claiming that everyone is guilty of something, an argument that seems immature at best:
The character of Go-Boy steals the novel. He is a perpetual optimist with his own odd mix of religious beliefs. It is inevitable that his optimism will crash in the face of repeated real-life failures, and that crash forms the real climax of the book. It is Go-Boy's journey that is more compelling and interesting, and his character that is more sympathetic. We see Go-Boy's struggle through Cesar's eyes, and Cesar learns much from Go-Boy.
An interesting novel, giving the reader a glimpse of modern eskimo culture that few will ever see.
Link to Amazon: Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same
Cesar is an unlikely choice for a protagonist. It's tough to be sympathetic to a gang-banger, especially when we learn that he earned that label by participating in a gang-style rape. It's not clear if he actually raped the girl or if he just assisted, but it adversely affected my opinion of the character. Near the end of the novel, Cesar attempts to rationalize his part in the rape by claiming that everyone is guilty of something, an argument that seems immature at best:
And here we all are, standing on this ground. Sure,none of these people have ever participated in a gang rape. None of them have ever seen anything so ugly. But in a way, they have. In a way, every person here has raped someone. Every person in the world has raped someone.
The character of Go-Boy steals the novel. He is a perpetual optimist with his own odd mix of religious beliefs. It is inevitable that his optimism will crash in the face of repeated real-life failures, and that crash forms the real climax of the book. It is Go-Boy's journey that is more compelling and interesting, and his character that is more sympathetic. We see Go-Boy's struggle through Cesar's eyes, and Cesar learns much from Go-Boy.
An interesting novel, giving the reader a glimpse of modern eskimo culture that few will ever see.
Link to Amazon: Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same
Friday, August 21, 2009
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Subtitled: Or the Evening Redness in the West
McCarthy's war novel. Not war between nations but the more elemental and basic desire of man to war on his fellow creatures to advance himself.
At times it reads like a heroic epic poem, at times like a biblical chronicle. There are no heroes here - the characters give free reign to their basest cravings and desires. Violence is ubiquitous. The central character - the kid, is curiously minimized. He appears at the beginning, and again at the end, but in the majority of the novel, as the hideous exploits of the roving warriors are told, the kid is curiously absent from the narrative. We know he is there, that he takes part, but we are not seeing the action through his eyes or even getting his reactions to what happens. In a sense he is everyman, or any man, caught up as a teenager in the war.
The character of the judge is the god of war. He is ruthlessly self-centered. Nothing exists that he does not destroy. He controls and manipulates everyone that he meets.
An unsettling read - grit your teeth and bear it.
Link to Amazon: Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
McCarthy's war novel. Not war between nations but the more elemental and basic desire of man to war on his fellow creatures to advance himself.
At times it reads like a heroic epic poem, at times like a biblical chronicle. There are no heroes here - the characters give free reign to their basest cravings and desires. Violence is ubiquitous. The central character - the kid, is curiously minimized. He appears at the beginning, and again at the end, but in the majority of the novel, as the hideous exploits of the roving warriors are told, the kid is curiously absent from the narrative. We know he is there, that he takes part, but we are not seeing the action through his eyes or even getting his reactions to what happens. In a sense he is everyman, or any man, caught up as a teenager in the war.
The character of the judge is the god of war. He is ruthlessly self-centered. Nothing exists that he does not destroy. He controls and manipulates everyone that he meets.
An unsettling read - grit your teeth and bear it.
Link to Amazon: Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
Friday, August 14, 2009
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
Draw a line from William Faulkner through the midnight dark of the human soul and at the end of it you will find Cormac McCarthy, picking over the bones of murderer and murdered, like some oracle seeking the truth of the ways of man and god. McCarthy’s god is, at best, indifferent. At worst, malevolent and sadistic.
This is the story of Lester Ballard's descent into hell. Ballard is a piece of work, a real child of god. McCarthy tells it in stark and simple prose with black humor. Ballard, with the cunning of all men, learns to take advantage of his situation, preying, like the "Son of Sam" murderer, on lovers parked in cars along lonely mountain roads. In his depravity, Ballard takes advantage of the dead female bodies.
No one can tell stories of this kind better that Cormac McCarthy. After reading it I felt depressed and blue for days, wary that a sadistic god would laugh when I was struck down by some depraved child of god.
Link to Amazon: Child of God
This is the story of Lester Ballard's descent into hell. Ballard is a piece of work, a real child of god. McCarthy tells it in stark and simple prose with black humor. Ballard, with the cunning of all men, learns to take advantage of his situation, preying, like the "Son of Sam" murderer, on lovers parked in cars along lonely mountain roads. In his depravity, Ballard takes advantage of the dead female bodies.
No one can tell stories of this kind better that Cormac McCarthy. After reading it I felt depressed and blue for days, wary that a sadistic god would laugh when I was struck down by some depraved child of god.
Link to Amazon: Child of God
Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
Draw a line from William Faulkner through the midnight dark of the human soul and at the end of it you will find Cormac McCarthy, picking over the bones of murderer and murdered, like some oracle seeking the truth of the ways of man and god. McCarthy's god is, at best, indifferent. At worst, malevolent and sadistic.
Set in the mythical southern Appalachia of Faulkner, this novel is sparse and stark. It follows an incestuous brother and sister. She bears his child; he abandons it to the elements. The baby is taken by a passing tinker. She sets out to find the baby. The brother sets out to find her. Along the way they encounter good and evil in many forms. Look for no happy ending here.
Link to Amazon: Outer Dark
Set in the mythical southern Appalachia of Faulkner, this novel is sparse and stark. It follows an incestuous brother and sister. She bears his child; he abandons it to the elements. The baby is taken by a passing tinker. She sets out to find the baby. The brother sets out to find her. Along the way they encounter good and evil in many forms. Look for no happy ending here.
Link to Amazon: Outer Dark
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
A Romance on Three Legs by Katie Hafner
Subtitled "Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano"
The characters make this creative non-fiction book about Glenn Gould's search for the perfect piano. There is Gould himself, of course. The author does not make a judgment about his mental health, letting his actions speak to the reader. Think the character of the detective Adrian Monk from the popular TV series. To me Gould seems to have obsessive-compulsive character disorder as well as being borderline autistic.
Gould could not find a perfect piano with a piano tuner-technician to keep it perfect, and that character is the practically blind piano tuner Verne Edquist. Edquist's story is, to me, as fascinating as Gould's. Raised on a poor farm in Saskatchewan, he was forced to attend a school for the blind where he learned the rudiments of his trade, working his way up through the ranks of piano tuners to become the best.
The third major character of the book is the piano itself, one of the few Steinways manufactured during the war years when the factory was re-tooled for the war effort. That it was constructed at all seems a miracle. Gould found it languishing in a department store in Canada. He was looking for a super-light action and a clean sound, and it was Edquist that brought that sound out of the piano.
A lot of fascinating details are also revealed about the Steinway Artist program as it existed after the Second World War. Once an artist signed an exclusive contract with Steinway they were supplied with pianos and even piano tuners when they toured.
Unfortunately, shipping Gould's Steinway led to the end of it's useful life, at least for Gould. It was dropped five feet on a loading dock and the plate was cracked. After it was rebuilt, even Edquist was unable to get it back to the pre-accident condition that Gould obsessively desired.
This is a non-fiction book, so the facts get in the way of a happy ending, but it's still a fascinating account of two interesting men and the piano they shared.
Link to Amazon: A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano
The characters make this creative non-fiction book about Glenn Gould's search for the perfect piano. There is Gould himself, of course. The author does not make a judgment about his mental health, letting his actions speak to the reader. Think the character of the detective Adrian Monk from the popular TV series. To me Gould seems to have obsessive-compulsive character disorder as well as being borderline autistic.
Gould could not find a perfect piano with a piano tuner-technician to keep it perfect, and that character is the practically blind piano tuner Verne Edquist. Edquist's story is, to me, as fascinating as Gould's. Raised on a poor farm in Saskatchewan, he was forced to attend a school for the blind where he learned the rudiments of his trade, working his way up through the ranks of piano tuners to become the best.
The third major character of the book is the piano itself, one of the few Steinways manufactured during the war years when the factory was re-tooled for the war effort. That it was constructed at all seems a miracle. Gould found it languishing in a department store in Canada. He was looking for a super-light action and a clean sound, and it was Edquist that brought that sound out of the piano.
A lot of fascinating details are also revealed about the Steinway Artist program as it existed after the Second World War. Once an artist signed an exclusive contract with Steinway they were supplied with pianos and even piano tuners when they toured.
Unfortunately, shipping Gould's Steinway led to the end of it's useful life, at least for Gould. It was dropped five feet on a loading dock and the plate was cracked. After it was rebuilt, even Edquist was unable to get it back to the pre-accident condition that Gould obsessively desired.
This is a non-fiction book, so the facts get in the way of a happy ending, but it's still a fascinating account of two interesting men and the piano they shared.
Link to Amazon: A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano
The Art of Practicing by Madeline Bruser
Subtitled "A Guide to Making Music from the Heart"
A very useful guide to practising a musical instrument, with tips on everything from physical to mental preparedness. Some of the advice is evident and common sense, some is unexpected.
Link to Amazon: The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart
A very useful guide to practising a musical instrument, with tips on everything from physical to mental preparedness. Some of the advice is evident and common sense, some is unexpected.
Link to Amazon: The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl
I did not care for this at all. I have also read The Dante Club by the same author. He's carved a little niche for himself, writing novels with a literary tie-in.
It's worth examining in detail just to understand what bothers me about the novel - so I don't commit the same errors.
The protagonist is an idiot for most of the novel. Naive and bungling, yet unbelievably lucky. Not convincing that he would abandon everything to find out the truth about Poe's death. Mystery novels have a long history of the dumb sidekick, but in those cases the sidekick is not the focus of the novel - the detective is. It's not the mysteries of Dr. Watson, it's the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. In this case neither of the detectives grab the readers imagination, leaving us with this idiot for a protagonist.
Too close to the truth, which, in this case, is boring. I realize the author did a lot of research into Poe's death so that he could wrap his novel around fact. It's boring. You see a mystery about the death of Poe on the bookstore shelf and what springs to mind? Something macabre, something obsessed with being buried alive, something dark and gloomy and fantastic. Instead we get a not-very-cohesive story about Poe being overcome by a single drink of alcohol and spurned by his friends. It's supposed to be fiction, OK? No one expects the truth. It should be a story worthy of the man who wrote The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of Usher.
The writing style, while it might be appropriate for a novel of the period, is too cumbersome and long-winded for a modern novel with modern readers. There are plenty of examples of historical novels written in a compelling and captivating manner. March and The Year of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks are good examples.
So I didn't like it. Will I read another novel by Pearl? Probably, with the hope that he improves.
Link to Amazon: THE POE SHADOW
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
This novel is worth studying just to understand how McCarthy constructed it. Yes it is violent and hopeless, but it is also riveting and compelling.
My understanding of the construction of the novel is that McCarthy took the novel apart, separated it into two parts, and put it back together. The compelling part is a linear telling of the story of the stolen money and the chase. In this part the writing is restricted to only what can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, smelled - the senses. There are no reflections by the characters, no feelings, no rhetorical questions, and no flashbacks. Essentially all of that has been removed and placed in the other part of the novel, in which the character of the Sheriff addresses the reader. There is no action in this part, only a discussion by the Sheriff in first person of his life as a sheriff and his feelings about what he has observed. The two parts alternate, with the Sheriffs first person musings in italics.
It works, very well. Makes me want to try to imitate it.
Link to Amazon: No Country for Old Men
My understanding of the construction of the novel is that McCarthy took the novel apart, separated it into two parts, and put it back together. The compelling part is a linear telling of the story of the stolen money and the chase. In this part the writing is restricted to only what can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, smelled - the senses. There are no reflections by the characters, no feelings, no rhetorical questions, and no flashbacks. Essentially all of that has been removed and placed in the other part of the novel, in which the character of the Sheriff addresses the reader. There is no action in this part, only a discussion by the Sheriff in first person of his life as a sheriff and his feelings about what he has observed. The two parts alternate, with the Sheriffs first person musings in italics.
It works, very well. Makes me want to try to imitate it.
Link to Amazon: No Country for Old Men
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Loser by Thomas Bernhard
I usually give a questionable book at least a hundred pages before I give up on it. Not this book - I stopped reading at about page 25. It's a long soliloquy; it's one claim to fame seems to be that it is written in one long paragraph. Not strictly true - there are four paragraphs. I can sum up what I think it is about in one sentence - "If I can't win, I won't play." It's not about music, as you might think. It's about giving up when you can't be the best. I read far enough to learn that the narrator did not pursue a musical career because he loved music, but to spite his family. He abandoned his career because he could not play as good as Glenn Gould. There seems to be no plot, no setting, and very little characterization. It's just the narrator rambling on and on in incoherent sentences. Perhaps that is a problem with the translation. The first thing in this edition is an apology from the translator.
I don't have much sympathy with the narrator, of course. I am an amateur musician and writer. Should I give up playing the piano because I am not Glenn Gould? Should I give up writing because I can't get published? I know one thing - I gave up on reading this book.
Link to Amazon: The Loser: A Novel
I don't have much sympathy with the narrator, of course. I am an amateur musician and writer. Should I give up playing the piano because I am not Glenn Gould? Should I give up writing because I can't get published? I know one thing - I gave up on reading this book.
Link to Amazon: The Loser: A Novel
Thursday, July 23, 2009
An Equal Music by Vikram Seth
A novel of music and obsession. Michael Holme is a violinist, the second violin on the famous Maggiore String Quartet. A decade earlier, instead of pursuing a solo career, he left his teacher in Austria and retreated to London. He also abandoned the love of his life, Julia. Imagine his surprise when he sees her on a London bus. She shows up at one of the quartets concerts, and they begin an affair, since she is now married with a son.
There is a surprising plot twist here, which I will not reveal, since to do so would spoil the surprise and the book for the reader. But the twist does bring up some interesting moral questions. To what lengths would you go to play the music that you love with the person that you love? Would you risk your own career? Would you risk the careers and reputations of your friends and colleagues?
The decisions made by Michael are interesting to question and debate, something that would make this a good book club selection. His character is, for me, too self-centered and indecisive, although the author does an entirely convincing job portraying Michael's character.
The descriptions of the music and the musicians ring true, and musicians of any instrument or style of music should find the book an interesting and enjoyable read.
Link to Amazon: An Equal Music: A Novel
There is a surprising plot twist here, which I will not reveal, since to do so would spoil the surprise and the book for the reader. But the twist does bring up some interesting moral questions. To what lengths would you go to play the music that you love with the person that you love? Would you risk your own career? Would you risk the careers and reputations of your friends and colleagues?
The decisions made by Michael are interesting to question and debate, something that would make this a good book club selection. His character is, for me, too self-centered and indecisive, although the author does an entirely convincing job portraying Michael's character.
The descriptions of the music and the musicians ring true, and musicians of any instrument or style of music should find the book an interesting and enjoyable read.
Link to Amazon: An Equal Music: A Novel
Body and Soul by Frank Conroy
Now this is a good novel. It has everything: fully developed characters, an interesting setting, enough plot to keep the novel moving forward, and music. It's the story of Claude Rawlings, from his earliest memories to the premier of his piano concerto with the London Symphony. Claude grows up in post World War II New York - he is a war baby. His mother is a 300 pound, taxi-driving, army-boot-wearing, communist sympathizer who locks him in their basement apartment while she drives her cab. Hidden in the back room is a small 66 key piano, and Claude teaches himself to pick out the songs he hears on the radio.
In a lucky break (one of many in the novel) Claude befriends a music store owner down the street who recognizes the young boys talent and gives him his first piano lessons. Only later do we find out he music store owner is a Polish refugee who also happens to have been the premier composer of his generation. The lucky breaks continue for Claude throughout his career, as he makes friends with people who can teach and help him.
Readers who have shared the experience of piano lessons as a child or teenager will find much to identify with. Readers who are musicians on any instrument will recognize their own struggles in Claude's journey.
Only after some emotional stress enters Claude's life, and his too-easy road becomes uncertain does his music really soar. Several small mysteries keep the novel moving forward. Who is Claude's unknown father? What will happen to his mother and his old friend, his first piano teacher. Will he find love?
The novel is a complete package, a very satisfying read, and an accurate portrait of a young musician. I highly recommend it.
Link to Amazon: Body and Soul
In a lucky break (one of many in the novel) Claude befriends a music store owner down the street who recognizes the young boys talent and gives him his first piano lessons. Only later do we find out he music store owner is a Polish refugee who also happens to have been the premier composer of his generation. The lucky breaks continue for Claude throughout his career, as he makes friends with people who can teach and help him.
Readers who have shared the experience of piano lessons as a child or teenager will find much to identify with. Readers who are musicians on any instrument will recognize their own struggles in Claude's journey.
Only after some emotional stress enters Claude's life, and his too-easy road becomes uncertain does his music really soar. Several small mysteries keep the novel moving forward. Who is Claude's unknown father? What will happen to his mother and his old friend, his first piano teacher. Will he find love?
The novel is a complete package, a very satisfying read, and an accurate portrait of a young musician. I highly recommend it.
Link to Amazon: Body and Soul
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