THINGS I'M READING
Been a difficult winter holiday _ in fact, not much of a "holiday" at all. That said, I've been trying to catch up on my work and reading when I have the time.
THE BRAINDEAD MEGAPHONE - George Saunders. I have a soft spot for Mr. Saunders mixed with the purest sort of love that only jealousy can afford. This guy has it all: a "genius" grant, a nice job at my alma mater, wife of 18 years and at least one genuinely great book _ Pastoralia. I also have enjoyed his contributions to the New Yorker (more envy there) and his short stories. He also seems to be a genuinely nice guy. It's sickening. Saunders is very funny, and I admire the way he can make something quite trite seem quite heartfelt, and perhaps vice-versa. He also has an antic sense of humour quite close to my own.
Funny thing is: I had a chance to get this book, a collection of Saunders' essays for the well-paying GQ and NYer (yet more envy) twice, for free. Each time I thumbed through it and got something else. For some reason it just didn't grab me. This month a copy came into my local library, so I finally took a peek at it.
I'm still not feeling it. Some of the pieces in this collection feel like, well, what they are: Tourist pieces published in glossy magazines for white bourgeois folks about subjects that seem exotic (Dubai. A boy in India who has been meditating for seven months.); others seem like easy targets (the title essay is about the banality of TV news, and it's too gentle to make much of an impact) and still others just fall flat (the British, a "Shouts and Murmurs" piece that ran in the New Yorker that parodies an advice column but goes on too long to be really sharp). The one really worthy essay is his dissection of Donald Barthelme's "The School," and its worthy because the source material is so rich and he does a fine job of telling you why and how it works.
Saunders is glib and cheery, and makes everything pretty light _ this is a rare and admirable gift. That said, this is a pretty light collection. I have pretty high hopes for Saunders (go read "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" and you'll see why) every time I see his name in print, so perhaps my reaction stems from overly high expectations. And, perhaps I am being unfair in implicitly comparing him with David Foster Wallace, a master of the form who wrote perhaps the best essay of the year with an introduction to the "Best Essays of The Year 2007" volume that blew the rest of the book into little shreds. Still, Saunders is vital, and you could do worse wasting a few hours with this book. After all, you could be reading the truly braindead Glenn Beck.
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO Junot Diaz
I just started this one, and so far, it's pretty great. Diaz has the patois of the Latino-American-geek kid down pat and seems to really inhabit his characters. His depiction of the paunchy, geeky Oscar (who will come a cropper) and his lithe, put-upon sister Lola are outstanding, as are his descriptions of the cruelties of the immigrant experience in urban America. I'd read it.
CRAZE: Gin and Debauchery in the Age of Reason - Jessica Warner
The good: This is a good history of the first recorded "drug epidemic," which was the sweep of cheap gin flooding a country that previously had no knowledge of "strong waters." It's also a good social history of the early 1700s in London and provides a real good look at the class differences gin inflamed during a period wherein Europe underwent huge political and social changes.
The bad: It's pretty repetitive, and I don't think this is Warner's fault. I have a feeling this book suffered a bit from a disease afflicting a lot of modern books: lack of an editor. Editors these days are primarily packagers and buyers, and the reasons are wholly economic: After spending $7m on the new Thomas Wolfe book, the editor is going to spend his or her time toiling over that as opposed to the mid-list titles they paid $30-40K for.
The real good: Daedalus books is selling this book super-cheap right now. If you don't know Daedalus, it's a very good remainder house that sends out a bi-weekly catalog of new remainders. A great place to pick up slightly out of date HCs and paperbacks. Read 'em and then give 'em to your library.
CITIES_John Reader
Just starting this one. I've been told it's impenetrable, and so far it doesn't seem to be about cities at all, but rather about the author's life. That's not bad, just an observation.
Been a difficult winter holiday _ in fact, not much of a "holiday" at all. That said, I've been trying to catch up on my work and reading when I have the time.
THE BRAINDEAD MEGAPHONE - George Saunders. I have a soft spot for Mr. Saunders mixed with the purest sort of love that only jealousy can afford. This guy has it all: a "genius" grant, a nice job at my alma mater, wife of 18 years and at least one genuinely great book _ Pastoralia. I also have enjoyed his contributions to the New Yorker (more envy there) and his short stories. He also seems to be a genuinely nice guy. It's sickening. Saunders is very funny, and I admire the way he can make something quite trite seem quite heartfelt, and perhaps vice-versa. He also has an antic sense of humour quite close to my own.
Funny thing is: I had a chance to get this book, a collection of Saunders' essays for the well-paying GQ and NYer (yet more envy) twice, for free. Each time I thumbed through it and got something else. For some reason it just didn't grab me. This month a copy came into my local library, so I finally took a peek at it.
I'm still not feeling it. Some of the pieces in this collection feel like, well, what they are: Tourist pieces published in glossy magazines for white bourgeois folks about subjects that seem exotic (Dubai. A boy in India who has been meditating for seven months.); others seem like easy targets (the title essay is about the banality of TV news, and it's too gentle to make much of an impact) and still others just fall flat (the British, a "Shouts and Murmurs" piece that ran in the New Yorker that parodies an advice column but goes on too long to be really sharp). The one really worthy essay is his dissection of Donald Barthelme's "The School," and its worthy because the source material is so rich and he does a fine job of telling you why and how it works.
Saunders is glib and cheery, and makes everything pretty light _ this is a rare and admirable gift. That said, this is a pretty light collection. I have pretty high hopes for Saunders (go read "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" and you'll see why) every time I see his name in print, so perhaps my reaction stems from overly high expectations. And, perhaps I am being unfair in implicitly comparing him with David Foster Wallace, a master of the form who wrote perhaps the best essay of the year with an introduction to the "Best Essays of The Year 2007" volume that blew the rest of the book into little shreds. Still, Saunders is vital, and you could do worse wasting a few hours with this book. After all, you could be reading the truly braindead Glenn Beck.
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO Junot Diaz
I just started this one, and so far, it's pretty great. Diaz has the patois of the Latino-American-geek kid down pat and seems to really inhabit his characters. His depiction of the paunchy, geeky Oscar (who will come a cropper) and his lithe, put-upon sister Lola are outstanding, as are his descriptions of the cruelties of the immigrant experience in urban America. I'd read it.
CRAZE: Gin and Debauchery in the Age of Reason - Jessica Warner
The good: This is a good history of the first recorded "drug epidemic," which was the sweep of cheap gin flooding a country that previously had no knowledge of "strong waters." It's also a good social history of the early 1700s in London and provides a real good look at the class differences gin inflamed during a period wherein Europe underwent huge political and social changes.
The bad: It's pretty repetitive, and I don't think this is Warner's fault. I have a feeling this book suffered a bit from a disease afflicting a lot of modern books: lack of an editor. Editors these days are primarily packagers and buyers, and the reasons are wholly economic: After spending $7m on the new Thomas Wolfe book, the editor is going to spend his or her time toiling over that as opposed to the mid-list titles they paid $30-40K for.
The real good: Daedalus books is selling this book super-cheap right now. If you don't know Daedalus, it's a very good remainder house that sends out a bi-weekly catalog of new remainders. A great place to pick up slightly out of date HCs and paperbacks. Read 'em and then give 'em to your library.
CITIES_John Reader
Just starting this one. I've been told it's impenetrable, and so far it doesn't seem to be about cities at all, but rather about the author's life. That's not bad, just an observation.
I think we're just conditioned when we see "Titans" and see W-O-L-F-- to just move on to the next thing!