Now reading...

[erwbol]

A cure for cancer.

[A Lark Ascending]

I tried reading that a few years back, just to have my prejudices confirmed.

I found he'd done that conclusively by page 100 and began to find it repetitive. Never finished it.

[Leeway]

THE PRINCESS CASAMASSIMA - Henry James (1886)

I was led to read this longest and probably most obscure of James' novels due to the title character, who also appeared in James' previous novel, Roderick Hudson. She's quite a fascinating character, so much so that James himself became fascinated with her and used her in the two novels, the only time I think he carried over a character from one novel to another. Her transposition is mostly successful, although it obviously lacks some of the novelty and originality of her initial appearance in Roderick. The Princess, nee Christina Light, BTW is the offspring of an Italian nobleman and an American mother (these things matter in James). Her title comes from her marriage to an immensely rich Italian nobleman from an ancient lineage whom she of course despises.

The Princess Casamassima finds the title character in London, where she grows bored with high society, disposes of her mansions and furnishings, and takes up revolutionary politics, extending her reach into the underworld of radical plotters and international syndicates. She forms intimate relationships with two men, Hyacinth Robinson, a book binder, the son of a French mother and English lord, the latter stabbed to death by the former out of rage and jealousy, and Paul Muniment (munificent and monument?), a chemical plant worker and utterly resolved revolutionary. The novel moved towards a violent revolutionary act: will it be consummated?

Some of the things I found quite interesting about this novel:

1) The first 150 pages (in which the Princess does not appear) or so are quite markedly Dickensian in tone and language. I suspect that in the literary equivalent of a BFT, passages from TPC could fool a few people into thinking it was Dickens. There are even some Dickensian characters, including a nervous, spinsterish English lady given to good works, who yet seems a bit absurd, and Muniment's sister, Rosy, who is bed-bound due to curvature of the spine, yet brightly seems to know everything going on in London. In fact, Hyacinth, small, part-French, dandified, may be said to start off as a Dickensian character to end as a Jamesian figure. The language of the novel parallels that development, moving from Dickensian to Jamesian, starting with the appearance of the Princess. There is more humor here than one might expect, although it is quite dry.

2) Long before Tom Wolfe coined "radical chic" to described the parties given by Leonard Bernstein and other intellectuals, celebrities and socialites for radical groups, James had written a "radical chic" novel. This is really the strongest aspect of the novel. James goes quite surprisingly deep in to the politics of revolution, the condition of the masses, the validity of democracy, and the preservation of culture and the arts, as the characters and circumstances develop. I suspect this is James' most thorough examination of the issue. The ending of the novel is not easily guessed, a testament to James' open-ended treatment, yet it is both powerful and enigmatic.

[kinuta]

[ejp626]

Wrapped up the Death of Ivan Ilych, which has some memorable sections, particularly when Ivan finally thinks over his whole life and realizes that he wasted it after all. Kind of the anti-Christmas Carol, as it were, as it is far too late to do anything about it. (And Tolstoy is honest enough to make it clear that had he recovered, he would have gone right back to the same correct but empty life of before.)

I didn't care for The Devil at all, so, for me, Tolstoy is only a 2 out of 5 for his short novels, which is a low success rate for sure.

I just started Lessing's Briefing for a Descent into Hell. I certainly am aware that quite a bit of literature from the late 60s and early 70s shares this interest in madness and, along with Laing's Knots, questions whether normal people are "sane." I think this approach has really fallen out of favor, perhaps in part due to the emptying out of mental hospitals with many mental patients ending up as the homeless. It is much easier to tell yourself that "No, I'm not crazy" when the reference case shifts so dramatically. I also wonder if literature is generally returning (even more) to its function as an escape valve as the economy gets increasingly pinched for the middle class. They don't have time to ponder whether they are crazy (or if the whole rat race is a rigged game and they are frauds for participating, see Ivan Ilytch) and when they do read it is more for pleasure. I haven't really made up my mind about Descent yet, but I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be a "keeper," simply because my shelves are so over-crowded now.

Edited November 4, 2014 by ejp626

[ejp626]

I also read Margaret Laurence's A Jest of God, which seems to have a number of parallels to Lessing's Briefing for a Descent into Hell, which I am now going to try to read pretty soon. But it is ultimately a bit more restrained, since Laurence is Canadian after all.

I don't know where I got this idea about Briefing for a Descent into Hell, but it was completely wrong. Aside from the parallels Leeway mentioned (DeQuincey and Burgess), I have to wonder if Barth's The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor drew on the earlier sections of Briefing. I knew pretty early on that this wasn't what I was looking for, and I bailed within a day. I doubt I'll ever come back around (to finish it) but you never know.

I'm finally reading Herzen's My Past and Thoughts, in conjunction with Isaiah Berlin's Russian Thinkers, which will then be capped off with Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia, which as Stoppard freely admitted, was entirely inspired by these two sources. I was fortunate enough to see the whole cycle of plays earlier in the year, and they were really something else. Perhaps the most intelligent theatre I've seen in a long time.

[paul secor]

I've read it before but I'm perusing this right now:

[Leeway]

THE HAPPY FOREIGNER - Enid Bagnold - (1920).

I've decided to pick up Virago Modern Classic editions when I come across them. Most are O/P I believe. The Happy Foreigner is the story of Fanny, an Englishwoman who has joined the French First Aid Unit (FANY) and becomes a driver for the French Army at the end of the First World War. The descriptions of wartime France and Germany and the conditions under which these FANY drivers lived are truly interesting and memorable. The women drivers are determined to do their job no matter the conditions or obstacles, to do it as well as men, wresting these battered Panhards and Renaults over the destroyed countryside. The novel is also the story of Fanny's love affair with Julien, a French officer. Fanny's philosophy is to live only for the present, to not allow herself to be subservient to any man, or any one, to maintain her independence of thought and action. There are some nice little touches in the story, clues to Fanny's character. When Fanny arrives in France, she brings with her a leather driving coat, field rations, and one pair of silk stockings. When Fanny begins her romance with Julien, she is billeted in a room with a stag's head over the bed. At the end of the affair, Fanny is billeted in the top floor of an old deserted house; when Julien arrives, she must let down the front door key on a string. Fanny also reminded me of the later Beats: on the road, driving endlessly through the country, seeking meaning only in the moment.

[BillF]

THE HAPPY FOREIGNER - Enid Bagnold - (1920).

I've decided to pick up Virago Modern Classic editions when I come across them. Most are O/P I believe. The Happy Foreigner is the story of Fanny, an Englishwoman who has joined the French First Aid Unit (FANY) and becomes a driver for the French Army at the end of the First World War. The descriptions of wartime France and Germany and the conditions under which these FANY drivers lived are truly interesting and memorable. The women drivers are determined to do their job no matter the conditions or obstacles, to do it as well as men, wresting these battered Panhards and Renaults over the destroyed countryside. The novel is also the story of Fanny's love affair with Julien, a French officer. Fanny's philosophy is to live only for the present, to not allow herself to be subservient to any man, or any one, to maintain her independence of thought and action. There are some nice little touches in the story, clues to Fanny's character. When Fanny arrives in France, she brings with her a leather driving coat, field rations, and one pair of silk stockings. When Fanny begins her romance with Julien, she is billeted in a room with a stag's head over the bed. At the end of the affair, Fanny is billeted in the top floor of an old deserted house; when Julien arrives, she must let down the front door key on a string. Fanny also reminded me of the later Beats: on the road, driving endlessly through the country, seeking meaning only in the moment.

I'm sure my wife has read that. I must ask her about it.

As for me, I've just finished this:

I particularly like what it says about the jazz life on the road in those days. The anecdotes are irresistible! It also fills in the gaps about Kenton's private life which Michael Sparke's biography - which I read recently - leaves.

(Thanks John for the recommendation.)

Edited November 7, 2014 by BillF

[Leeway]

THE HAPPY FOREIGNER - Enid Bagnold - (1920).

I've decided to pick up Virago Modern Classic editions when I come across them. Most are O/P I believe. The Happy Foreigner is the story of Fanny, an Englishwoman who has joined the French First Aid Unit (FANY) and becomes a driver for the French Army at the end of the First World War. The descriptions of wartime France and Germany and the conditions under which these FANY drivers lived are truly interesting and memorable. The women drivers are determined to do their job no matter the conditions or obstacles, to do it as well as men, wresting these battered Panhards and Renaults over the destroyed countryside. The novel is also the story of Fanny's love affair with Julien, a French officer. Fanny's philosophy is to live only for the present, to not allow herself to be subservient to any man, or any one, to maintain her independence of thought and action. There are some nice little touches in the story, clues to Fanny's character. When Fanny arrives in France, she brings with her a leather driving coat, field rations, and one pair of silk stockings. When Fanny begins her romance with Julien, she is billeted in a room with a stag's head over the bed. At the end of the affair, Fanny is billeted in the top floor of an old deserted house; when Julien arrives, she must let down the front door key on a string. Fanny also reminded me of the later Beats: on the road, driving endlessly through the country, seeking meaning only in the moment.

I'm sure my wife has read that. I must ask her about it.

I would certainly enjoy having her perspective on it.

Want to mention one other aspect of the book, Bagnold's view of the American troops, towards whom she is clearly ambivalent. On the one hand, she admires their energy, their generosity, their good cheer. On the other hand, she criticizes their disregard for the French, and the lack of any effort on their part to get to know the people they have been fighting with and for. Indeed, the seem to get on better with the German, whom they have been fighting against. She also found the Americans' lack introspection and unwillingness to go below the surface a notable deficiency. Bagnold sets several scenes around the Americans; they clearly interested her.

[BillF]

THE HAPPY FOREIGNER - Enid Bagnold - (1920).

I've decided to pick up Virago Modern Classic editions when I come across them. Most are O/P I believe. The Happy Foreigner is the story of Fanny, an Englishwoman who has joined the French First Aid Unit (FANY) and becomes a driver for the French Army at the end of the First World War. The descriptions of wartime France and Germany and the conditions under which these FANY drivers lived are truly interesting and memorable. The women drivers are determined to do their job no matter the conditions or obstacles, to do it as well as men, wresting these battered Panhards and Renaults over the destroyed countryside. The novel is also the story of Fanny's love affair with Julien, a French officer. Fanny's philosophy is to live only for the present, to not allow herself to be subservient to any man, or any one, to maintain her independence of thought and action. There are some nice little touches in the story, clues to Fanny's character. When Fanny arrives in France, she brings with her a leather driving coat, field rations, and one pair of silk stockings. When Fanny begins her romance with Julien, she is billeted in a room with a stag's head over the bed. At the end of the affair, Fanny is billeted in the top floor of an old deserted house; when Julien arrives, she must let down the front door key on a string. Fanny also reminded me of the later Beats: on the road, driving endlessly through the country, seeking meaning only in the moment.

I'm sure my wife has read that. I must ask her about it.

I would certainly enjoy having her perspective on it.

Want to mention one other aspect of the book, Bagnold's view of the American troops, towards whom she is clearly ambivalent. On the one hand, she admires their energy, their generosity, their good cheer. On the other hand, she criticizes their disregard for the French, and the lack of any effort on their part to get to know the people they have been fighting with and for. Indeed, the seem to get on better with the German, whom they have been fighting against. She also found the Americans' lack introspection and unwillingness to go below the surface a notable deficiency. Bagnold sets several scenes around the Americans; they clearly interested her.

Ah, yes, the love-hate relationship of Brits and Americans :-)

As for my wife, I'm afraid I misinformed you. She tells me she hasn't read The Happy Foreigner: it was Bagnold's National Velvet, which she read at the age of 12 and later saw as a film:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Velvet

[paul secor]

THE HAPPY FOREIGNER - Enid Bagnold - (1920).

I've decided to pick up Virago Modern Classic editions when I come across them. Most are O/P I believe. The Happy Foreigner is the story of Fanny, an Englishwoman who has joined the French First Aid Unit (FANY) and becomes a driver for the French Army at the end of the First World War. The descriptions of wartime France and Germany and the conditions under which these FANY drivers lived are truly interesting and memorable. The women drivers are determined to do their job no matter the conditions or obstacles, to do it as well as men, wresting these battered Panhards and Renaults over the destroyed countryside. The novel is also the story of Fanny's love affair with Julien, a French officer. Fanny's philosophy is to live only for the present, to not allow herself to be subservient to any man, or any one, to maintain her independence of thought and action. There are some nice little touches in the story, clues to Fanny's character. When Fanny arrives in France, she brings with her a leather driving coat, field rations, and one pair of silk stockings. When Fanny begins her romance with Julien, she is billeted in a room with a stag's head over the bed. At the end of the affair, Fanny is billeted in the top floor of an old deserted house; when Julien arrives, she must let down the front door key on a string. Fanny also reminded me of the later Beats: on the road, driving endlessly through the country, seeking meaning only in the moment.

Sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to look around for it.

[ejp626]

Grabbed a couple of books for an upcoming plane ride. One of which is Jonathan Levi's A Guide for the Perplexed. It really comes across as wanting to be a mix of Umberto Eco and Calvino's Invisible Cities, though in truth I find it a more Baroque version of Jan Morris's Last Letters from Hav. I'm trying to be fair, but it just seems a bit labored, as if Levi was trying way too hard to turn out a hit. I'll probably give it about 100 pages and then drop it if I still don't care about any of the characters.

Edit: Not surprisingly, I didn't like it and skipped almost all of it and skimmed the last 35 pages. Overly convoluted and quite pretentious.

Edited November 11, 2014 by ejp626

[Leeway]

THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER - Rebecca West - (1918).

Another Virago Modern Classic, another World War I novel, another "women's war novel" as they are usually (and somewhat incorrectly) called. This is the story of Chris Baldry, flower of English manhood and a fine specimen of the gentry, who has gone off to the war, leaving three women behind: Kitty, his brittle, superficial, materialistic and snobbish wife; Margaret, his first love, now a dowdy but generous matron, very "earth mother"; and, Jenny, his adoring cousin, who lives with Chris and Kitty, and narrates the story.

We learn very little about the war, except that war has been hell on Chris, and so he is sent home to Baldry Court--minus the last 15 years of his memory, that is, the period of time he has been married to Kitty. Chris sets about reliving his love affair with Margaret, much to the anger and despair of Kitty and Jenny, who attempt to bring him back to the present.

At the heart of this book is a ripping social critique of the gentry and upper classes, of puritanism, of class-consciousness, of materialism, although oddly, not of Chris himself. Jenny is probably one of the most unreliable narrators I've encountered recently, one minute ripping into Margaret, the next minute viciously attacking Kitty (even physically attacking her once). There is mordant humor here, although if West intended a comic effect, she plays it very subtly. The social polemic predominates. It has been suggested that West intended an attack on H.G Wells; and his menage, and although West denied it (what else could she do?) it makes sense to me. One does feel there is more than one agenda at play here. West has created her own "A Nest of the Gentry" or maybe, "A Nest of Vipers."

[BillF]

THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER - Rebecca West - (1918).

Another Virago Modern Classic, another World War I novel, another "women's war novel" as they are usually (and somewhat incorrectly) called. This is the story of Chris Baldry, flower of English manhood and a fine specimen of the gentry, who has gone off to the war, leaving three women behind: Kitty, his brittle, superficial, materialistic and snobbish wife; Margaret, his first love, now a dowdy but generous matron, very "earth mother"; and, Jenny, his adoring cousin, who lives with Chris and Kitty, and narrates the story.

We learn very little about the war, except that war has been hell on Chris, and so he is sent home to Baldry Court--minus the last 15 years of his memory, that is, the period of time he has been married to Kitty. Chris sets about reliving his love affair with Margaret, much to the anger and despair of Kitty and Jenny, who attempt to bring him back to the present.

At the heart of this book is a ripping social critique of the gentry and upper classes, of puritanism, of class-consciousness, of materialism, although oddly, not of Chris himself. Jenny is probably one of the most unreliable narrators I've encountered recently, one minute ripping into Margaret, the next minute viciously attacking Kitty (even physically attacking her once). There is mordant humor here, although if West intended a comic effect, she plays it very subtly. The social polemic predominates. It has been suggested that West intended an attack on H.G Wells; and his menage, and although West denied it (what else could she do?) it makes sense to me. One does feel there is more than one agenda at play here. West has created her own "A Nest of the Gentry" or maybe, "A Nest of Vipers."

My wife's recommendation for Rebecca West is The Fountain Overflows. (Regret to say I've never read any.)

[Leeway]

THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER - Rebecca West - (1918).

Another Virago Modern Classic, another World War I novel, another "women's war novel" as they are usually (and somewhat incorrectly) called. This is the story of Chris Baldry, flower of English manhood and a fine specimen of the gentry, who has gone off to the war, leaving three women behind: Kitty, his brittle, superficial, materialistic and snobbish wife; Margaret, his first love, now a dowdy but generous matron, very "earth mother"; and, Jenny, his adoring cousin, who lives with Chris and Kitty, and narrates the story.

We learn very little about the war, except that war has been hell on Chris, and so he is sent home to Baldry Court--minus the last 15 years of his memory, that is, the period of time he has been married to Kitty. Chris sets about reliving his love affair with Margaret, much to the anger and despair of Kitty and Jenny, who attempt to bring him back to the present.

At the heart of this book is a ripping social critique of the gentry and upper classes, of puritanism, of class-consciousness, of materialism, although oddly, not of Chris himself. Jenny is probably one of the most unreliable narrators I've encountered recently, one minute ripping into Margaret, the next minute viciously attacking Kitty (even physically attacking her once). There is mordant humor here, although if West intended a comic effect, she plays it very subtly. The social polemic predominates. It has been suggested that West intended an attack on H.G Wells; and his menage, and although West denied it (what else could she do?) it makes sense to me. One does feel there is more than one agenda at play here. West has created her own "A Nest of the Gentry" or maybe, "A Nest of Vipers."

My wife's recommendation for Rebecca West is The Fountain Overflows. (Regret to say I've never read any.)

Thank you, I'll make a note of that. My reading of West, and indeed of H.G. Wells (her lover), has been sparse; it's a literary era I have not delved into much, so will try to do so.

[BillF]

THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER - Rebecca West - (1918).

Another Virago Modern Classic, another World War I novel, another "women's war novel" as they are usually (and somewhat incorrectly) called. This is the story of Chris Baldry, flower of English manhood and a fine specimen of the gentry, who has gone off to the war, leaving three women behind: Kitty, his brittle, superficial, materialistic and snobbish wife; Margaret, his first love, now a dowdy but generous matron, very "earth mother"; and, Jenny, his adoring cousin, who lives with Chris and Kitty, and narrates the story.

We learn very little about the war, except that war has been hell on Chris, and so he is sent home to Baldry Court--minus the last 15 years of his memory, that is, the period of time he has been married to Kitty. Chris sets about reliving his love affair with Margaret, much to the anger and despair of Kitty and Jenny, who attempt to bring him back to the present.

At the heart of this book is a ripping social critique of the gentry and upper classes, of puritanism, of class-consciousness, of materialism, although oddly, not of Chris himself. Jenny is probably one of the most unreliable narrators I've encountered recently, one minute ripping into Margaret, the next minute viciously attacking Kitty (even physically attacking her once). There is mordant humor here, although if West intended a comic effect, she plays it very subtly. The social polemic predominates. It has been suggested that West intended an attack on H.G Wells; and his menage, and although West denied it (what else could she do?) it makes sense to me. One does feel there is more than one agenda at play here. West has created her own "A Nest of the Gentry" or maybe, "A Nest of Vipers."

My wife's recommendation for Rebecca West is The Fountain Overflows. (Regret to say I've never read any.)

Thank you, I'll make a note of that. My reading of West, and indeed of H.G. Wells (her lover), has been sparse; it's a literary era I have not delved into much, so will try to do so.

Over the years I've read quite a few of Wells's books.. As a science fiction fan I love The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and, to a lesser extent, The Invisible Man - as well as the short stories. Of the non-science fiction novels, I'd recommend The History of Mr Polly and Kipps.

[johnblitweiler]

I have no memory of the few non-sf novels by H.G. Wells that I read many decades ago. Except that his snobbery in "The Research Magnificent" was so repulsive that I never read another of his writings.

[BillF]

My second Middleton and I preferred it to the first, Holiday. Story of marital woes in a classical music and English Midlands setting. Beautifully written.

[A Lark Ascending]

Standard British crime novel set in nice town. Enjoyed it though rather sad to see the most attractive character felled just before the end.

In the early Soft Machine years at present - a little bit of inevitable overlap with the Soft Machine bio of some years back but intriguing. A more fragile character than I imagined.

[ejp626]

I'm maybe 20% into the second part of Herzen's My Past and Thoughts (Ends and Beginnings from Oxford Press). It's good but I think Isaiah Berlin blew it up just a bit much (putting it on the same level as War and Peace ). Herzen himself thought of his memoirs as comparable to David Copperfield. I would be enjoying it a bit more if my expectations hadn't been raised quite so high...

[johnblitweiler]

After sleeping on Philip Roth forever, I finally read The Plot Against America and I Married A Communist. His characters' dilemmas are moral and complex and subtle. They may have been his last 2 novels - especially his utter seriousness, his indignation are engrossing. After those 2 explosions I can see why he gave up writing.

[Leeway]

THE STARCHED BLUE SKY OF SPAIN - Josephine Herbst (1892-1961).

Herbst is an interesting literary figure. Born and raised in Iowa, she formed a passionate devotion to literature and writing, and became a ubiquitous figure on the Bohemian and radical left scene of the 1920s and 1930s. This book is a collection of four autobiographical pieces, describing her Iowa upbringing; her life in Manhattan, Connecticut and Maine with her husband John Herrmann, also an author (Herrman's first novel was banned by U.S. Customs; he later became involved in the Whittaker Chambers-Alger Hiss affair, and fled to Mexico with his new wife and the FBI at his heels, where he lived an "Under the Volcano" life); her time in Weimar Germany; her travels to Communist Russia in the '30s; and her experiences on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War (the title piece, and best of the group), where she hung out with Hemingway and DosPassos. Along the way, Herbst talks of her friendships (or at least relationships) with Katherine Ann Porter, Maxwell Anderson, H.L. Mencken, and Hemingway (who turns up everywhere). Later in life, Herbst was befriended by Alfred Kazin (whose prose has an interesting similarity) and Saul Bellow. I believe she ended up in an old stone house without plumbing buried in the Pennsylvania countryside. Anyway, an interesting figure, one admires her feeling and her intellect, her literary passion and her political commitment, and although she must be considered a minor writer, she was a writer nonetheless.

[jlhoots]

After sleeping on Philip Roth forever, I finally read The Plot Against America and I Married A Communist. His characters' dilemmas are moral and complex and subtle. They may have been his last 2 novels - especially his utter seriousness, his indignation are engrossing. After those 2 explosions I can see why he gave up writing.

Should win the Nobel, but they don't seem to want to give it to an American.

[niels]

I hear this more often, but fact is the US is second on the list of nobel laureates by country, so this is not a correct statement. I think the list of nobel prize winners can certainly be debated ( I mean writers like Tolstoy, Proust, Borges, Kafka and Nabokov never won), but on average I think it is a pretty strong and correct list. As for the writers who still have a chance at winning, I would go for Milan Kundera (now that's someone who should have won it allready in my book), Wieslaw Mysliwski, Alessandro Baricco ( little bit of an outsider, but a personal favorite) or Haruki Murakami (I personally think his books are a little to "light" to win, but I can't think of a serious writer who managed to receive such a rockstar like status).