This was overwhelming. A punch to the gut, in the good way. And as seems to be typical for Wolff, based at least on the two books of his I've now readThis was overwhelming. A punch to the gut, in the good way. And as seems to be typical for Wolff, based at least on the two books of his I've now read, so deceptively simple. There's so much happening, and it's so nuanced and complicated, and yet the language feels so plainspoken and straightforward and you have NO IDEA how it is he's doing so much with so little.
That said, I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. I'd say maybe the first half is only interesting to pretty voracious writers/readers. It centers around a scholarship boy at a boarding school where everyone is obsessed with proving their worth through great writing, and is very much about writing and reading. It goes on at great length about Robert Frost, then Ayn Rand, then Ernest Hemingway, and the effect that reading those writers had on the narrator's outlook on and approach to life. I found it really engrossing but don't think everyone would. Actually it reminded me of "The Accidental Masterpiece" by the art critic Michael Kimmelman, which talks about different artists and ways of applying art to your life and demonstrating ways that it can serve as a sort of filter for experience. It felt like Wolff was doing the same thing here - talking about writers and demonstrating how reading could filter this boy's, and thus anyone's, view of the world.
By the second half, things take off - there's less explanation of the protagonists's interior thoughts and more plot, action, etc. Time speeds up and suddenly a million things happen in like ten pages and somehow the book is no longer simply about writing and reading, it's about EVERYTHING - all the fundamental questions of life, morality, truth, etc. etc. etc. (insert every other big abstract important word you can think of here.) I'm too overwhelmed by the amazingness to give a remotely coherent summary of it all but basically: yeah. Read this. Also Tobias Wolff is now my spirit guide.
This was gorgeous. For the first 90% of the book I thought it was a well-written but pretty straightforward tale of immigration, and I enjoyed it but This was gorgeous. For the first 90% of the book I thought it was a well-written but pretty straightforward tale of immigration, and I enjoyed it but also didn't think it was anything special. Then I got to the end and it became so much more. I am wowed....more
This was amazing, and funny, and poignant, and yet so simple and plainspoken at all once - enough so that I have trouble even figuring out why it was This was amazing, and funny, and poignant, and yet so simple and plainspoken at all once - enough so that I have trouble even figuring out why it was so great. If I someday wrote a memoir that was about one-tenth as good as this then I could seriously die happy....more
My copy had "and other stories." Five stars to "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," which was lovely and strange and austere in a way I find really resonant,My copy had "and other stories." Five stars to "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," which was lovely and strange and austere in a way I find really resonant, 2-3 stars to the other stories, which lacked plot and felt more like sketches and notes for the beginnings of stories. ...more
**spoiler alert** I really enjoyed this and there were many parts that were incredibly moving, especially the chapter about the lonely old guy and his**spoiler alert** I really enjoyed this and there were many parts that were incredibly moving, especially the chapter about the lonely old guy and his relationship to Christopher McCandles, whom he wanted to adopt as a grandson. But there was also something odd to me about the authorial voice, which I'm not sure I can quite articulate. Well here goes:
The book seemed to be a contradictory mix of forthcoming and not. I haven't read any of Krakauer's other books but I am guessing that he usually writes in a dramatic but invisible way (also guessing this based on one of the media quotes in the book praising him for the way he removes himself from the action.) In any case this book was written in a terse style that relied heavily on quotes and compiled evidence and would lay all these things out in a usually objective way so that they would speak for themselves, without the author coming forward to talk about his own opinion on the matter. Half reportage, half narration. But then over the course of the book the author's perspective/opinion comes more front and center, culminating in a couple autobiographical chapters where he talks about some early life experiences of his own and how they influence his view of McCandles. Which was really interesting, but there was a disjuncture between this sudden subjectiveness and the overall neutral tone he tries to take for most of the rest of the book. I also found his language to be an odd, also contradictory combination of terse and flowery. Everything moves along at a fast, straightforward clip, but at the same time there are tons of adjectives, for example, "The salt air carried the rich stink of tidal life," and lots of cliched phrases like "I was balancing on a house of cards" or "I imagined people watching baseball on television...drinking beer, making love." I even want to say there was a sentence I came across along the lines of "The mountain is a unforgiving mistress" or something like that.
Anyway I'm not sure what my point is...I guess maybe I wish he would have gone more with one approach or the other. The completely neutral, objective narrator approach or completely emotionally forthcoming and talking more about his own role and feelings in the action as he travels around interviewing all these people. I mean, it's just weird to throw out a super-dramatic, emotional paragraph like this -- "I was stirred by the dark mystery of mortality.... I caught sight of something in the glimpse, some forbidden and elemental riddle that was no less compelling than the sweet, hidden petals of a woman's sex" -- and then suddenly go back to writing in a pulled-back, "I'm invisible again," just-the-facts newspapery style. Also, less adjectives.
Anyway those were all the thoughts I was having about the writing and other boring technical stuff. The actual story itself, though, is superb. So overall my feelings about the book are very positive even though it probably sounds like I'm just dwelling on all the negatives....more
loved this. good mix of meditative/philosophical/abstract versus concrete/rooted in real details. also, one of those perfect joan didiaon-esque book lloved this. good mix of meditative/philosophical/abstract versus concrete/rooted in real details. also, one of those perfect joan didiaon-esque book lengths where you can read the whole thing in a day. and really inspiring, crystal clear, deceptively simple writing. ...more
Fabulous and very wide-ranging collection of writings portraying both the negative and positive aspects of the immigrant experience, comprising fictioFabulous and very wide-ranging collection of writings portraying both the negative and positive aspects of the immigrant experience, comprising fiction, poetry, and memoir. I was impressed too by the wide range of nationalities that were represented. Many of the memoir excerpts made me want to buy the full books....more
The wonderful, funny, and oddly poignant Ian Frazier piece alone, about the Polynesian territory of Tokelau ("Birth of a Nation?"), makes this book woThe wonderful, funny, and oddly poignant Ian Frazier piece alone, about the Polynesian territory of Tokelau ("Birth of a Nation?"), makes this book worth reading. ...more
somehow it seems weird to rate this book with stars, because you end it feeling dispirited about china, and it is strange to translate a negative feelsomehow it seems weird to rate this book with stars, because you end it feeling dispirited about china, and it is strange to translate a negative feeling to 'four stars! i really liked it!' but, this is a really well-done and informative book. that's about as much as i can manage without feeling even more dispirited about china. ...more
Holy moly this was incredible. Very Faulkner in that he created an entire southern county & minutely detailed the ways everyone's lives were interconnHoly moly this was incredible. Very Faulkner in that he created an entire southern county & minutely detailed the ways everyone's lives were interconnected. And very Tolstoy in the completeness of the world he created. I definitely want to read his two short story collections now.
Also I read a profile about the author and apparently he wrote this thing in 3 months, because he writes in his head first & pretty much has everything mapped out before he starts physically writing, which is just insane. Also, dude won a Pulitzer and a genius grant and apparently doesn't even own a mattress. ...more
I borrowed this from a friend of mine, who said as she handed it to me, "Actually, you can keep this - I kind of hated it. Everyone in it was so annoyI borrowed this from a friend of mine, who said as she handed it to me, "Actually, you can keep this - I kind of hated it. Everyone in it was so annoying - I was just like, stop whining." After reading it, I can definitely see what she was talking about, but despite all its flaws -- very wink-wink surfacey razzle dazzle without a whole lot of psychological depth -- I still really enjoyed it. I guess because just the surface alone was still impressive and amazingly detailed and entertaining, and showed a first-time writer playing around in his toolbox of tricks and really enjoying it, which was fun to witness. And it came off as smart enough that I would venture to guess that his subsequent novels pull back on the need to show what he can do, and allow more room for characters to slow down and think and get a little deeper. I haven't read any of his other books yet though, so I'm just guessing here.
I would say it's like, you're given a set of characters who are all stereotypes of the American (or Canadian) abroad, & then you're given details of their backgrounds, and then they proceed do do things and it's all surface action from there, and it's left to the reader to use that information to fill in for themselves whatever family issues, world view, philosophy, etc. they think would motivate these characters to act the way they do, using the background information that we were given but that wasn't necessarily linked to their actions. I don't know if that made sense.
Also, painless fun vehicle for learning a little bit about Hungarian history and politics....more
I loved the first essay in this SO much that it made all the other ones pale in comparison. For that reason, it's hard for me to figure out how much II loved the first essay in this SO much that it made all the other ones pale in comparison. For that reason, it's hard for me to figure out how much I liked this book overall.
I guess I would say that judging it as a *book* I thought that some of the essays could have been organized a tiny bit better and that I wish the writer gave us just a tad bit more of himself. There's something a little bit removed about his tone, somehow, even in scenes where he's actually there IN the scene speaking about himself and the things he's doing.
But on the other hand, judging it as a guide to thinking about art, or more accurately as a jumping-off point for one's own thoughts and approach to art, it was pretty great. Or to put it another way, the editor in me would have pushed the author a little harder during the editorial process, the reader and art-seeker in me will totally reread this and has also added his previous book to my "to buy" list. ...more
Some of the stories, about being an awkward teenage boy getting into various humiliating situations on the edge of darkness/violence, I felt like I neSome of the stories, about being an awkward teenage boy getting into various humiliating situations on the edge of darkness/violence, I felt like I needed to be a guy to fully "get" emotionally, but this book also included two of the greatest and most moving short stories I've ever read - "The Conductor" and "The Noble Truths of Suffering," both of which are available online if you Google them. Wonderful combination of beauty, humor, quirkiness, and ordinary human pathetic-ness. ...more
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