Greetings, Saloners! I hope you all had a good week of reading. Mine was mixed. I gave up in the middle of one book, which always makes me sad, but I started another that’s pretty fabulous so far. Here are the details:
American Pastoral (Philip Roth)
I strongly believe that life is too short to waste on bad reads. This one, however, was complicated by the fact that a) it won a Pulitzer so it must be A Good One, and b) it’s my book group’s pick for this month and we’re meeting on Tuesday to discuss it. There have been other times when I’ve not finished a book in time for the discussion, but this is the first time I’ve ever deliberately decided to do so.
So, what’s so bad about American Pastoral? Well, first of all, there’s the uninteresting subject matter, which I described in last week’s post. I was so happy to get so many comments in response to that post, and a lot of people mentioned books they liked despite not liking the characters or subject matter. Clearly, good storytelling and taut prose can overcome a lot. Too bad American Pastoral doesn’t have either.
Always in the back of my mind while I was reading, I kept thinking “Okay, okay, I get it!” (I had the same problem with Roth’s The Plot Against America, by the way.) For example, when the wife wants to sell the house but the husband wants to keep it — because it reminds them both of their departed daughter — we don’t need descriptions of every damn detail of the house and what the daughter used to do there. I’d give you a quote to show how long and boring and repetitive it is, but I don’t want to waste the bandwidth. ;)
What I Loved (Siri Hustvedt)
I’ve gotten into the habit of skipping over to my library’s website and placing holds on books whenever I read a good review. Which is very often these days, thank you Sunday Saloners and Weekly Geeks. The problem is, I haven’t done a good job of keeping track of which book comes from which blogger. So, please, who do I have to thank for Siri Hustvedt’s What I Loved?
I’m not very far in yet, but so far I’m fascinated and impressed and in a hurry to finish this post so I can get back to reading it before the rest of my family wakes up.
I love it when writers do a good job of describing art (in this case) or music. That’s because, by definition, those things are non-verbal modes of communication. Eww, that sounded pretentious, but you know what I mean. How can you write about a painting? People do it all the time, of course, but I am always pleased and impressed when it’s done well. What’s Bred in the Bone falls in that category (of course) and also Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood. Are there any others you can think of?
11 Comments
I have a bit of a Philip Roth problem. I loved Goodbye, Columbus. I despised Portnoy’s Complaint. I am not sure I have ever hated a book as much as that one! We had to read it for a class on the immigrant experience in America. I found it repulsive, and I still can’t figure out what it is so critically acclaimed!
My favorite insult for a book I’ve hated is that it needlessly contributed to deforestation.
I think Charles Williams’ descriptions of the two central paintings in All Hallows’ Eve is the writing about art that sticks in my head most. I am not sure anyone could paint something that actually lived up to his description, but if some artist did, it would really creep me out.
Oh dear. I have a Philip Roth coming up for my reading group in June. I haven’t read anything by him before, so really don’t know what to expect. Any views on ‘The Human Stain’?
Margaret Atwood is a master of description – one of the best in my opinion. :)
I havent read Philip Roth before. I totally agree that that life is too short to waste on bad reads. Sorry you didn’t enjoy American Pastoral.
Hmmm, I enjoyed reading Mark Salzman’s description of classical music in The Soloist. Then again, I’m not really that knowledgeable about classical music so I don’t know if that would help.
I know what you mean about The Pulitzer factor. I haven’t read Roth, but as mentioned on my Salon post today, I’m about to start The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and I’m going into it with an attitude. We’ll see…
Smallworld, I don’t get it either. I am the daughter of a Jewish immigrant, but there is nothing in this book that resonates with me at all.
Veronica, ha ha! I’ll check out Charles Williams, whom I’ve never heard of before.
Ann, I LOVED The Human Stain! It’s hard to believe the same author wrote both. And he wrote them fairly close together, so I can’t conclude that, say, his early work is better.
J.Kaye, based on the one book by her that I’ve read, I have to agree. :)
Bookworm :) — Glad to hear I’m not the only one! I do feel guilty sometimes about not finishing books, but not guilty enough to keep slogging through.
Lightheaded, I will definitely check him out; thanks!
Laura, yeah, it is very different when you read a book knowing it won a prize like that. Most of the Pulitzer Prize-winners that I’ve read (a very small number) were books I liked a lot, but I always feel like I’m reading them despite the fact that they won.
This is one of my very favorite books of all time, so I’m so thrilled to read that you’re enjoying it!!!
Andi — yes! It was your blog that sent me to the library for this. Thank you for the great recommendation! :)
I highly doubt my blog would ever send you to the library for anything other than a dictionary.