This, by an author I have heretofore respected highly, left me scratching my head. The book inside the book is not written as high fantasy, nor as a fThis, by an author I have heretofore respected highly, left me scratching my head. The book inside the book is not written as high fantasy, nor as a fairy tale or fable. It's an omniscient historical narrative about Gustav Vasa, a real person, with lots of tedious political information and no reason to care unless you ALREADY know the history of 16th C Sweden.
Once the history lesson is over, the characters meet to discuss Gardner's pet issues: morality, the meaning of our time on Earth, and so forth. Kirkus, when the book came out, called it "pretentious and didactic". I agree.
I turned to ChatGPT : Tell me what the fuck I just read, please.
"Freddy's Book" by John Gardner explores several key themes:
The Power of Storytelling: The novel emphasizes the importance and impact of storytelling. The frame story and the inner story both highlight how tales can shape perceptions and convey deeper truths.
The Nature of Evil: The presence of the Devil as a character in the inner story raises questions about the nature of evil and its role in human history and personal struggles.
The Artist's Struggle: Freddy's character represents the artist's struggle against societal norms and expectations. His "monstrousness" is a metaphor for the artist's unique and often misunderstood perspective.
Historical Fiction: The inner story, "King Gustav & the Devil," blends historical events with fantasy, exploring how history can be interpreted and reimagined through fiction.
Father-Son Relationships: The strained relationship between Freddy and his father reflects broader themes of familial conflict and the struggle for acceptance and understanding.
Thank you, ChatGPT. You're much more generous than I. This was, in my opinion, a failed novel by a writer of middling talent whom I once revered, 50 years ago....more
I'm puzzled why i enjoyed this so much. Morris does a remarkable job of telling the story of growing up without lapsing into sentimentality. But if I'I'm puzzled why i enjoyed this so much. Morris does a remarkable job of telling the story of growing up without lapsing into sentimentality. But if I'd had such a shit of a father, I'd have written about that aspect. Morris never says a bad word against his father. There are large voids left unexplored, and the picture I come away with is undeveloped. What drives fiction is desire and its conflict with reality, and Morris's narrator doesn't seem to want anything in particular. We see the world he inhabits, but not how he feels about it, nor what he wants from it. His life is one upheaval after another, yet if he wishes things were otherwise, you'd never know it. And that, for me, is where it stops ringing true. ...more
Reminds me of Salman Rushdie. Historical fiction written as if the old myths and legends were true, that there really were blemmies and skiapods, and Reminds me of Salman Rushdie. Historical fiction written as if the old myths and legends were true, that there really were blemmies and skiapods, and so it reads as a fantasy. The final portion dragged on too long, I thought. A fun read. ...more
Perhaps, if I weren't also a writer of historical fiction, I'd cut Mr Vidal some slack. But the amount of infodumping here is just too much, and instePerhaps, if I weren't also a writer of historical fiction, I'd cut Mr Vidal some slack. But the amount of infodumping here is just too much, and instead of a novel, we have what I go to great to lengths to avoid in my own writing: nonfiction. Vidal gave his protagonist an excuse for this up front for this (he's blind and is dictating his memoirs, and his amanuensis is always asking for more information). The first-person voice is that grumpy old crank, Gore Vidal, and he spends five hundred pages telling what he knows and thinks about the time period. A far cry from Julian and Burr. ...more
There's a trend (dying out now) in publishing for retellings of ancient myths. It started with Madeline Miller's success with Circe. Forty-some years There's a trend (dying out now) in publishing for retellings of ancient myths. It started with Madeline Miller's success with Circe. Forty-some years ago, buds Burgess and Vidal talked about putting their own spin on the past. Vidal went on to become a master of historical fiction, and his works challenge the received wisdom.
But where Gore Vidal loves to topple our idols, like Hamilton (in Burr), this book is so close to the original I can't help but wonder what the point was in writing it. This is my first Burgess, and when he has Jesus walk away from the cross, it looked like it would be a similar sort of book to, say, Julian by Vidal. 100 pages in, it just seems a retelling--a dramatization, if you will--of the Acts chapter of the New Testament, with no regard for the historical timeline. Paul and Jesus were not contemporaries, for example. Supposedly, Burgess was a lapsed Catholic, as am I. But his book sounds like an apologia. Burgess still has one foot in the sacristy door. He has turned "Luke" and "Matthew' into actual men, which is straight out of Sunday school. All of the accumulated cultural baggage Rome added on is here pushed back down onto the known facts, so that we have Luke the doctor, e.g.
For a more complex, nuanced, and challenging look at the NT, I would recommend The Last Temptation of Christ. (The book is MUCH better than the movie.)...more
This might more accurately be titled "Baxter's Views on Literary Fiction and the World Of Today." As if you took John Gardner's "Art of Fiction" and dThis might more accurately be titled "Baxter's Views on Literary Fiction and the World Of Today." As if you took John Gardner's "Art of Fiction" and deleted anything to do with craft, leaving nothing but personal opinions about this thing called writing. I would only recommend this for writers of contemporary "literary" (as opposed to "genre") fiction. I write historical fiction, which Baxter dismisses out of hand as "genre," though that would mean, for instance, that most of Faulkner is genre. Good bye Margaret Atwood, farewell Salman Rushdie, adios GGM. Kind of silly: to stipulate that only fictions written about your own time period are valid works of art....more
Reminded me of Vargas's The War of the End of the World. The book begins as a novel and becomes, by stages, non-fictional, concerned with historical bReminded me of Vargas's The War of the End of the World. The book begins as a novel and becomes, by stages, non-fictional, concerned with historical battles and politics, with the main character shuffled off to the sidelines until the end, while some hundred or so names parade by, filling up two hundred years to little purpose. Would have made a nice novella. ...more
Written four years ago when Trump I had just begun, the lessons then apply now, as the Democratic Party hasn't learned anything from 2016. This book hWritten four years ago when Trump I had just begun, the lessons then apply now, as the Democratic Party hasn't learned anything from 2016. This book helped to de-program me from the liberal bubble I've been in for years. Highly recommended, especially if you find yourself revising your long-held beliefs in light of a Trump's win.
Though Frank doesn't make the point explicitly, I can't help but conclude that truly Progressive movements arise only in response to crisis (the Depression, race riots in the 1960's). A sobering idea....more
As a member of the educated White class in America, I understand the temptation to label those in the working class as maggots, stupid, misinformed, dAs a member of the educated White class in America, I understand the temptation to label those in the working class as maggots, stupid, misinformed, disinformed, or, as here, mentally ill. Lee, who has "worked with" violent criminals, assumes her knowledge allows her to disregard the past 40 years of the gutting of the middle and lower classes, going back to Reagan, and just baldly state, with nothing resembling evidence, that a sick leader can infect others. Just by watching him on YouTube. This sounds like the plot of an old B movie, not a cogent analysis. Invasion of the Mind Snatchers. Infinite Jest used this idea, that watching a video would drive you crazy, but that was satire. Lee is serious.
The lower classes have been left to rot by the Democrats, and so they have latched on to a huckster promising them a solution. He won't help them, but that doesn't matter. That's how mad they are. Sticking it to the libs means giving the upper class the finger. As if calling MAGAts "stupid" weren't bad enough, now we have shrinks calling them crazy.
Meanwhile, the corporate class sits back and laughs while we fight amongst ourselves....more
Pro tip: Mrs. Lowder and Aunt Maud are one and the same person! She is also Maud Manningham, for some reason. LikeReading "Wings" for the first time.
Pro tip: Mrs. Lowder and Aunt Maud are one and the same person! She is also Maud Manningham, for some reason. Likewise, Mrs. Condrips (awful name!) is Marion, Kate's sister. I had to read the first two chapters twice before I figured this out. As if the Victorian's habit of referring to women by their deceased husband's names weren't confusing enough, James can never settle on a variation and stick with it. Sometimes Mrs. Stringham is Susie or Susan Shepherd, all in the same sentence. Why?
Favorite adverb: Beautifully. James uses it once a page, seems like. One problem with that is that, without synonyms, we don't know which meaning of "beautiful" he is employing. It's curious that, though I'm sure James felt he was writing for the ages, he went out of his way to narrate using current idioms which have been lost to time. We step through the story one point-of-view per chapter, and so James had to decide *who* to have tell each part. I had to read a synopsis online to find out that Densher and Kate have sex. Naturally, James doesn't spell it out. I suppose we are to assume it from her staying in his rooms? What was once obvious is no longer so, as his readers no longer live in his world. I would love to find an annotated edition of James. ...more
While I applaud a book about the adult experience of ASD, calling this a "support guide" is misleading. I was looking for a book to give family memberWhile I applaud a book about the adult experience of ASD, calling this a "support guide" is misleading. I was looking for a book to give family members to help them understand my ASD. While there is recent data here, I see no point in talking about 8 senses, etc. The book reads like a speech, a public policy paper, not a guide. Where are the interviews with people on the spectrum? Where are the inspiring stories of Temple Grandin and others who have succeeded on their own terms? Has the author any experience in this area, or is this just based on googling? I tend to think it's the latter. I won't be recommending this to my wife. ...more
I enjoyed Casey's story. I was diagnosed with ASD in 2023, at age 65. I found it helpful to hear from another person on the spectrum who also has no fI enjoyed Casey's story. I was diagnosed with ASD in 2023, at age 65. I found it helpful to hear from another person on the spectrum who also has no friends. We're not anti-social. We just don't feel the need. Small talk and chitchat are the oddest part of NTs for me. I'm recommending this book to family members who want to understand me better. ...more
I read this without reading "Sanctuary" first. That could be why I couldn't follow the "play" portions. The historical narrative (which seems to have I read this without reading "Sanctuary" first. That could be why I couldn't follow the "play" portions. The historical narrative (which seems to have nothing to do with the play) is interesting. A strange book, possibly due to WF getting involved with 20-something coed at this time. ...more
It kept my attention for 20 pages at a time, I'll give it that. Clear sentences of reasonable length confined to a single subjThus endeth the Snopes.
It kept my attention for 20 pages at a time, I'll give it that. Clear sentences of reasonable length confined to a single subject. Phew. I seem to recall hearing that Faulkner's subject was the human heart. Given that none of his characters are admirable or "sympathetic" (likable), he seems to have had a cynical view of his people. He grants redemption to no one. ...more
I wonder who WF was laughing at in this supposedly comic novel. I feel like there's an in-joke I'm missing. Are the Snopes carpetbaggers? Were familieI wonder who WF was laughing at in this supposedly comic novel. I feel like there's an in-joke I'm missing. Are the Snopes carpetbaggers? Were families like this endemic in the South? A clue, please. This seems a patchwork of subplots, and we never spend time in Eula's POV and she seems the most interesting character here. Even read as the middle of a long novel, this is pretty weak as a story. Who is our protagonist? Whose story is this? What's their goal? The strangest was the final chapter, where for some reason a trainload of mixed race Snopes arrive unannounced (and having nothing to do with the preceding book). These children are depicted as ruthless, wild, conniving savages. Possibly the most racist bit of writing I've seen from Faulkner. He was okay with Blacks, but "Indians" were the Other for him, looks like. A serious WTF way to end the book. ...more
I gave this a try. Unreadable, even by WF's standards. I will just have to let this one go. I gave this a try. Unreadable, even by WF's standards. I will just have to let this one go. ...more
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