This is an excellent novel about exiles from a country we in the U.S read (and even hear) little about these days: Libya. Its first-person narrator isThis is an excellent novel about exiles from a country we in the U.S read (and even hear) little about these days: Libya. Its first-person narrator is one of these exiles, as are his eponymous friends. But this novel strives for more than a story of these men and, to a much lesser extent (and not Libyan), women, that is, it is about the experience of being an exile, especially in unintended ways (exile thrust upon us). While the experiences are fresh, the experience is pretty familiar from other novels and memoirs. For this reason, as well as, for example, a frame that is weak and superfluous, and prose that is well formed but not notable, I didn’t find this highly praised novel as special as most others have....more
It becomes increasingly clearer as I age that bildungsromans are not for me, and yet there are some that are so wonderfully written that the genre doeIt becomes increasingly clearer as I age that bildungsromans are not for me, and yet there are some that are so wonderfully written that the genre doesn’t matter so much. This is true of this short, very Scottish novel, whose tight (but not exclusive) third-person narrative voice, as well as its descriptions, are things of beauty even while the protagonist is your usual smart misfit out against a not particularly interesting world that is, despite itself, made interesting by the author....more
What a fresh reading experience! This third-person narrative stays close to the pair of protagonists with an unusual relationship that consists primarWhat a fresh reading experience! This third-person narrative stays close to the pair of protagonists with an unusual relationship that consists primarily of doing something extraordinary together several times a summer in the English countryside. It’s a novel about artistic vision and work, as well as living a unique, alternate lifestyle. The limited dialogue is primarily idea-oriented, and the narrative is often beautiful and always compelling....more
This is the fourth of Jon McGregor’s novel I’ve read, and the one that grabbed me the least. One reason is that, in this novel, McGregor chose to pickThis is the fourth of Jon McGregor’s novel I’ve read, and the one that grabbed me the least. One reason is that, in this novel, McGregor chose to pick a very ordinary situation peopled by very ordinary people. His wonderful writing, and his special skill with repetition, made the ordinary special enough for me to get through what could otherwise have been dull. A 3.5....more
This and Rita Bullwinkel’s Headshot (which I tasted immediately before) are new, short debut novels by women about women, with third-person, essentialThis and Rita Bullwinkel’s Headshot (which I tasted immediately before) are new, short debut novels by women about women, with third-person, essentially omniscient narrators (Bullwinkel’s more omniscient and opinionated than Brown’s) who get very close to their protagonists (of which Brown’s has only one, Bullwinkel’s many more). Both novels are smart, fresh, and well written. And yet I put down Bullwinkel’s after 50-some pages and flipping ahead, while I was caught by Brown’s from beginning to nearly the end.
What is the difference, at least with respect to this reader? I don’t think it’s the huge gulf in subject matter (girl boxers vs. literature student), because Bullwinkel’s intrigued me more than Brown’s (and yet, getting into the subject matter, I found myself definitely preferring the bits of Shakespeare sonnets (which I have closely read, although long, long ago) to a world that was opened up to me; ah, the familiar . . . ). No, I think it’s the fact that Bullwinkel’s rest primarily on two things: the psychological and the quirky, neither of which is particularly appealing to me, although I recognize the unmoving place of psychology in contemporary literature (as opposed to modernist and post-modernist literature), and how dull would most fiction be without the quirky, although it can be overdone, like the drop shot in tennis.
Brown’s novel rests on phenomenology, that is, a focus on the nature of subjective, conscious experience, which is why her novel has to be (and is) in the present tense (as is Bullwinkel’s). Phenomenology means a more tight and descriptive, and for the most part plainer (except when the protagonist rises above her daily routine) work, but this too appeals to me more. I wasn’t crazy, however, about the way Brown ended her novel (can’t say about Bullwinkel), but you can’t please all the people . . ....more
The blank verse in this novel is excellent but, after a great start, I found myself less interested in the plot and the characters, and the verse wasnThe blank verse in this novel is excellent but, after a great start, I found myself less interested in the plot and the characters, and the verse wasn’t enough for me. Just not the right reader for this....more
This is one of those rare novels where I say to myself pretty early on � “There’s no way the author can sustain this� � and yet he does. It is also onThis is one of those rare novels where I say to myself pretty early on � “There’s no way the author can sustain this� � and yet he does. It is also one of those rare novels that, if I were to describe it in terms of character, plot, etc., I’d never pick it up, and yet it’s a wonder, a unique reading experience, a novel of rhythm in terms of both sound and thought. The best way to describe it is as a novel consisting of repeated forms with changing contents. Another way to describe it is as a novel where one has to qualify everything one says about it. It’s this, yes, but that, as well. It’s satirical, but empathic to its targets, and serious without taking itself too seriously, but never really playing the fool. Quietly over the top. And for someone who's not crazy about dialogue in novels, the fact that this novel consists almost totally of dialogue didn't matter; in fact, it was the perfect choice. This novel is the best reason there is to visit Manchester (England, England)....more
When Harvey’s Orbital won the Booker Prize, I felt it was time to read the Harvey book on my e-shelves. What a fantastic writer! What a debut!
Too mucWhen Harvey’s Orbital won the Booker Prize, I felt it was time to read the Harvey book on my e-shelves. What a fantastic writer! What a debut!
Too much marketing emphasis is put on a character’s dementia and, while Harvey uses it in the best way possible � to create motifs, it is a relatively minor part of the novel until the last third or so, when it becomes a drag on the novel, or so I felt, more of a restriction than an opening up of Harvey’s wonderful prose....more
I love the fact that this is a philosophical trilogy in the manner of Karel Čapek’s Three Novels, held together not by character or plot, but by a parI love the fact that this is a philosophical trilogy in the manner of Karel Čapek’s Three Novels, held together not by character or plot, but by a particular theme, in this case the effects of choice (and refusal or inability to make a choice). However, this much cleverer work tries to tie the parts together in a way that doesn’t really matter, but is clever.
The first part is smart, sometimes moving, sometimes too strident and in your face, that is, the old telling instead of showing (which I think is mostly bullshit), in a way that didn’t work for me. But I found the publishing satire enjoyable. I skimmed through much of the third part, a rather ordinary Indian family story, except that the family is small and the choices and constraints on choice are painful. The second part was the mama bear for me, the most surprising and unsettling of the three....more
As I get older and my memory becomes increasingly ineffective, my joy in reading is more about the moment � the quality of the prose, the play with idAs I get older and my memory becomes increasingly ineffective, my joy in reading is more about the moment � the quality of the prose, the play with ideas, the flashes of brilliance � than with structure or theme. Thus for me Rachel Cusk (Rachel Cusk 2.0, that is) is the perfect fiction writer. In her new novel, it doesn’t matter that I often can’t tell which character is which, where we are, or what to expect. Cusk intends to be breaking basic rules of novel writing, so I’m not much worse off than the young. And the prose is excellent, the ideas about art and the making of art intriguing, and the flashes of brilliance sometimes blinding. Does the novel work as a whole? I don’t know. But I do know that I thought seriously about starting it all over again to see better how it works. I may still do so later this year....more
Is the bonding between mother and infant an appropriate subject for a novel? Perhaps even an epic subject? Of course, nothing is inappropriate for a �Is the bonding between mother and infant an appropriate subject for a novel? Perhaps even an epic subject? Of course, nothing is inappropriate for a “long form� that is so inclusive, including essayistic considerations of the novel itself, as in Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, which the narrator-mother in this novel is reading. And as in this novel, too.
The Long Form is too long or, should I say, too epic, but that is the opinion of a grandfather. It does contain many wonders, including a near lack of dialogue, itself considered inappropriate, it appears, by most contemporary Anglo novelists, for whom plays, films, and TV series don't seem to provide enough dialogue. The novel also contains a wide range of approaches to the epic topic, to which Briggs brings a great imagination, an orneriness that just won’t let her do the expected, and the masterful writing chops of an experienced translator. Even though there were moments when I felt I couldn’t take any more, this is a novel that I highly recommend for anyone who likes to experience something totally different, and very well put together....more
A wonderful literary entertainment, playful in multiple respects, employing satire, parody and pastiche, word play and character play, dueling voices,A wonderful literary entertainment, playful in multiple respects, employing satire, parody and pastiche, word play and character play, dueling voices, and a lot of downright silliness, without ever going over the top. It does, however, overplay its hand and takes its structural elements a bit too seriously.
But I can’t imagine these characters, so fun on the page, taking three-dimensional form in a movie. It would foreground the grotesque aspects that are only background in the novel....more
I read this book, which had been sitting in my Kobo for a while, upon learning of Priest's death at the beginning of this month. It’s my first of his I read this book, which had been sitting in my Kobo for a while, upon learning of Priest's death at the beginning of this month. It’s my first of his books, but not my last. I’ve read that Priest has done all sorts of things, but this one is (in accordance with its title) effectively inverted science fiction, that is, instead of steeping science in fiction, fiction is steeped in science. Or is it vice versa? Or not? (I could tell you more about the relation between science and fiction in this novel, but that would be telling in a serious way).
What distinguishes this volume of workmanlike prose and a young man’s adventurous bildungsroman in and around a dystopia is the details, which are all-important and no, not really, as well the protagonist’s movement south and then north, or no, it’s hard to know who and what’s moving in what direction, but the moving parts of this novel work in the most unusual ways. What distinguishes this volume is its wonderful uncertainty, and the certainty of its characters. Just like life?...more
This is the third Jonathan Buckley novel I have read, and it supports my feeling that he is one of the best practically unknown writers writing in EngThis is the third Jonathan Buckley novel I have read, and it supports my feeling that he is one of the best practically unknown writers writing in English today. River is about the telling of stories, with stories told at various removes, for example, a story told to someone who tells it in the novel’s context, which allows the novel to travel far while primarily sitting in a room. Sort of like reading.
There’s also bits about language, dying languages, former languages, learning and translating languages. Language, like storytelling, can both broaden and narrow life, as the novel’s title suggests (in context). The only negative in the novel was the last section, which simply didn’t interest me. A 4.5....more
Having loved Rachel Cusk’s last four novels, I have collected copies of her early novels and finally picked this, her debut, off my shelves. What a wrHaving loved Rachel Cusk’s last four novels, I have collected copies of her early novels and finally picked this, her debut, off my shelves. What a writer she already was, at least in her narration. She was so sharp and clever that her dialogue looks droopy in comparison. But underneath all the wonderful play, this is chick lit with a vengeance, and I figured I have several more of her early novels to enjoy. A 50-page taste of this one was enough....more
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