September 7, 2008

• The finer things

  While my last entry focused on this summer’s crappiest read, there are so many good things that I’ve read this summer that are deserving of blog attention. Lets take a look at these finer things, shall we?

  McSweeney’s (issue 28)
  Edited by Dave Eggers
  Most of the time, I think this lit rag is annoying. I like how fancy it looks–McSweeney’s is the AIGA’s little darling, after-all–but overall the publication’s editorial courtship of smarty-pants hipsters who’d rather choke on irony than say anything sentimental just irritates me.

  Regardless, I subscribe to McSweeney’s because I’m interested to see how Eggers and his crew are contributing to the fun literary movement we’ve presently got dancing underfoot. Plus, each issue of McSweeney’s is different from the next in terms of design and editorial focus, meaning that there’s always a chance that it could get better. And in issue 28, better it got.

  Eight little books all puzzled together to create two large and beautiful illustrations, issue 28′s focus is on the fable; contemporary authors weave modern-day versions of tall tales. “The Box” summed up the day’s headlines. “The Guy Who Kept Meeting Himself” stopped my heart for a minute. “The Book and the Girl” made me cry. I read each fable, one right after the other, and found fresh joy in each. I was reminded that fables introduce dubious plots that oftentimes make little sense until the last line is delivered. Best of all, I discovered that no matter how old you are when you read a fable, it is still perfectly acceptable for animals to talk.

  Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenter
  By J.D. Salinger
  Okay. I admit it. It wasn’t until I went to see a band with the same name that I remembered: “Hey! That’s a Salinger book I’ve been meaning to read!” I liked the band a great deal and so I thought I’d probably like the book.

  I underestimated things here. I loved the book. It is hilarious.

  In this short novella, Buddy is a spectacularly insecure soldier who takes a short leave of duty to represent his family at his brother Seymour’s wedding. Only dear Seymour, given to bouts of debilitating introspection, has decided to stand his bride up at the alter, unannounced. Motivated by immaturity and sheer social retardation, Buddy finds himself crammed into a boiling hot car with the bride’s aunt, the matron of honor and her husband, and a deaf and dumb old man in a top hat. En-route to an anti-celebration at the home of the mother of the bride, the group is stalled when an annoyingly jubilant parade blocks the way. Social niceties soon flake away to bickering and prodding. Buddy squirms in his seat, forced to figure out where he stands, who is is, and how much he is willing to take.

  Armageddon in Retrospect
  by Kurt Vonnegut

  For as much sorrow as I felt when Vonnegut passed away last year, this collection reminded me of just how lucky I am to have had my life-span overlap with his for a brief period of time. He makes me laugh, he makes me cry, he reminds me of how sacred this thing called life is. And I think he made a lot of other people feel these things too. And I got to share a world with them. So he did a lot more than write books, Vonnegut did. He changed attitudes. Armageddon in Retrospect‘s twelve writings on war and peace do nothing less.

  Other goodies ‘o’ the summer…
  You Must Be This Happy to Enter
  by Elizabeth Crane
  I give it five out of five arbitrary gold stars. Just read it. It’s too fun to review. Zombies. Reality tv. Lots of exclamation points. Excellent!!!!!!!!

  Sweetness in the Belly
  by Camilla Gibb
  I give it three out of five arbitrary gold stars. But this book has been translated into a billion languages and has won loads of awards, so I think I’m the only one whose been this stingy with the star-giving on this book.

  What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
  by Haruki Murakami
  I give it three out of five arbitrary gold stars. When he’s not writing international best sellers, Mr. Murakami is a distance runner! Who knew?! Loved all the talk about running, but not sure if non-runners are going to like this. Although, my husband said he understood me better after reading it, so I think that says something.

  Currently Reading…
  Currently, I’m making my way through Gravity’s Rainbow by Mister Thomas Pynchon. It’s a big book that requires a lot of attention, so it may take a while. But so far, at page 50: I’m laughing my ass off.

  My favorite character so far is Pirate, the army captain with the rooftop banana patch who forces himself to ignore whatever catastrophic air raids are happening out of doors to make his squadron a homemade banana breakfast. Banana waffles, banana frappes, banana omelets, banana sandwiches, banana casseroles, mashed banana “mold in the shape of a British lion rampant,” banana french toast,banana oatmeal, banana kreplach: seriously, any and all things banana are to be had at this breakfast.

  I also laughed out loud like a madwoman at a scene where a group of lab-workers are trying to dognap a pooch living in the rubble of a bombed-out apartment complex. The captain of the operation steps into a cast-off toilet and is unable to extract his foot. So he hobbles through the scene trying to net a dog with one leg as a toilet.

  Aside from being hysterical, so far I’ve found Gravity’s Rainbow to be truly beautiful. I’ve had to slow down the pace at which I usually read for this book, as the sentence structure is long and winding and never easy to anticipate. But not always. Here is a sample of simple, plain-faced writing that I read and re-read just for the thrill of it:

  “There’s never much talk but touches and looks, smiles together, curses for parting. It is marginal, hungry, chilly–most times they’re too paranoid to risk a fire–but it’s something they want to keep, so much that to keep it they will take on more than propaganda has ever asked them for. They are in love. Fuck the war.”

  Looking forward to…
  Tales of Moonlight and Rain
  by Ueda Akinari
  First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this book are Japan’s finest examples of occult literature. I hope to be done with Gravity’s Rainbow by Halloween so that this can be my spooky-time read.
  
  Orkneyinga Saga
  author unknown
  Written around the year 1200, Orkneyinga Saga is a viking myth ripe with battle, murder and sorcery.

  I
  by Stephen Dixon
  This author is championed by the McSweeney’s crowd and so I’m not sure that I’m going to love him. Sometimes I adore the McSweeney’s darlings; sometimes I abhor them. But I’m always curious. This one is about a man raising his daughter while caring for his wife, victim of a debilitating disease. Sounds like a horrible thing to read in the midst of a gray, Chicago November (this is, I’m guessing, when I’ll get around to it)! But the book jacket promises that the story is told with “Dixon’s trademark honesty, lucidity, and expansive humor” so I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
  
  Lanark: A Life in 4 Books
  by Alasdair Gray
  Mister Gray is a cornerstone of Glasgow life. He is also a famous author. I’ve read a handful of his short stories and they never cease to make me smile.

  Granta
  Issue 102–The New Nature Writing
  I’m behind on my Granta reading. And I’ll probably be even more behind by the time I get to 102. Unlike McSweeney’s, I love Granta cover to cover, issue to issue. I’ve not yet been disappointed.
  ___________________________________________________________________________
  What are some of the finer things you read this summer? What books are you looking forward to?

  • 11:40 pm
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