Tough Finding Time...

...to read, but I grabbed a few minutes today.  I like the book, but it is not the sort of book that you "just can't put down."

I did find a couple of passages that I really like:

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother.  A child is a child.  They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing."  I have this discussion with a friend all the time - one who does not have children.  She cannot understand this precise sentiment - just because you're grown - just because you're not A child any more - does not mean you're not MY child any more.  That sentiment never changes.

The main characters were going to the carnival, and Morrison says they (and the other Blacks on their way there) were "breathless with the excitement of seeing whitepeople loose" doing magic, clowning, without heads or with two heads."  Hilarious!!

Starting slow

Got the first three chapters of Beloved in.  It starts kind of slow, but a lot is going on.  Everyone is hiding something, and there is definitely too much cow fucking for my taste.  Just suffice it to say I will NEVER understand the male sex drive.

Other than that, I love the way Morrison writes.  She paints such a vivid picture with words, and although that may seem a strange statement, not very many authors, in my opinion, are able to do that well.  Her description of the hell that the ghost puts Sethe and Denver through is really quite vivid, and I can picture every moment.

Another One Down

All finished now, and I can't say I'm a big fan of the ending.  I wanted a revolution, a glimmer of hope for the human race, but, alas, it was not meant to be.  I suppose it's a commentary on just how pervasive government leis can become - they keep saying the same things over and over again until you wind up believing them.  A complete degradation of mind and spirit, something I believe the Communists and Fascists were quite good at. 

I would definitely be interested in seeing the movie they made - to see how they portray the torture Winston goes through.  The rest of the book would be fairly straightforward to shoot, I think, but that part would be difficult.  So difficult, in fact, they might just skip over most of it (especially under the time constraints of a film).  that could be another project - watching the movies that were made of all of these books.  I'm pretty sure they have all been adapted.

But enough of that - on to the next novel.  The ninth book on the list is the most recent novel to make the list - Beloved by Toni Morrison, which was published in 1987.  The synopsis tells me it will be somewhat easier subject matter (but not that easy) than the only one of her books that I've read thus far - that was The Bluest Eye, and that is one dark, depressing book.   Beloved won Morrison the Pulitzer Prize in 1988, and she also won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.  Slavery during the Civil War is not something I have read many novels on, but I am well  versed in the history of this time period, so I think I will get into the book right away.

Time's Up

Winston just got caught by the Thought Police, so I find it a good time to make a couple of comments.  Over two-thirds of the way through this book, and I am struck by how thought-provoking it really is.  His  vehement condemnation of Communism makes one wonder whether it is just the concept that so thoroughly offended him (which we know he wrote about in at least one other book as well), or whether he was intimately versed in the subject.  I will look that up and get back to you.

Favorite quote:  "Has it ever occurred to you that the whole history of English poetry has been determined by the fact that the English language lacks rhymes?" Winston Smith may not have found that important or interesting, but I find it hilarious.


ETA:  After reading a couple of things, it seems that the world in which 1984 takes place is a little more on the Fascist side than the Communist side - a website entitled something like Ayn Rand's Lexicon terms the difference as Fascism is dictatorship by the rich with Communism being dictatorship by the poor.   In other words, pick your poison, but you're going to die either way.

Apparently, Orwell did spent a great deal of his life writing about and fighting for the poor and downtrodden, a cause he obviously felt very passionate about.  It seems much of his work was intended to bring their plight into the public eye, which I hope it did.

Moving along...

Over halfway through the novel now, and I find myself thinking that Orwell really hated the Nazis.  Although he does not mention them, this entire book seems to be about them.  The concept that so many "ordinary citizens" just go along with what the ruling party says screams Nazis to me.  After all, how many said they were just doing what they were told?

1/4 Done

Got through quite a few pages last night, and my thoughts so far:

I am definitely right - there is no such thing as a Utopian novel.  All are dsytopic in their own ways.

Winston's thoughts about how the prole could easily rise up and overthrow the government is an interesting idea.  You would think that would be true - that by sheer numbers, you could win, but I don't history bears that out.  Otherwise, the genocide in Rwanda would have never happened.  There, the general population of  Tutsis, who were definitely fighting back against the very minority Hutus, would have easily won if quantity were all that mattered.  The rub?  The Hutus had the power and the weapons. 

That is just one example of colonization where "quality," distinguished as power and might int he cases I am speaking of, has triumphed over quantity.  You could easily substitute the Spanish in Central and South America or the English in what is now the United States into my example up above, and the result would be the same.  Overwhelming numbers of people do not often win over power and might, even though that would be the desired and righteous result in many cases.

Love the way Orwell writes., by the way, especially after just finishing a Faulkner novel.  I really don't like stream of consciousness writing (therefore, really not looking forward to the last book on this list of mine - Ulysses by James Joyce); I prefer actual sentences indicating complete thoughts.  Call me old-fashioned!

Better as a poem, I think

The Blankness of the Page

I sit here staring

at the blankness

of the page

wondering

if I could ever do it. 

would inspiration

ever come? 

It actually had come

many times

in a flash of a title

or a snippet of a line 

but nothing more

no words

no sentences

no pages

had ever come. 

was that because

I had nothing

meaningful to say

or because I had

no idea

how to say it?

I believed that I had

something to say

but knowing what words

to set down

on that blank page

ah, there was the rub

how to put my thoughts

together

in such a way

that they would form

meaningful thoughts

to someone

besides myself. 

what it came down to

was this – if

I did finally write

how would I know

whether anyone

would read it? 

but finally, I knew

that it mattered not

if anyone read it –

just that I wrote it.

The Blankness of the Page

I sit here staring at the blankness of the page, wondering if I could ever do it.  Would inspiration ever come?  It actually had come, many times, in a flash of a title or a snippet of a line.  But nothing more.  No words, no sentences, no pages had ever come.  Was that because I had nothing meaningful to say or because I had no idea how to say it?

I believed that I had something to say, but knowing what words to set down on that blank page – ah, there was the rub.  How to put my thoughts together in such a way that they would form meaningful thoughts to someone besides myself.  What it came down to was this – if I did finally write, how would I know whether anyone would read it?  But finally, I knew that it mattered not if anyone read it – just that I wrote it.

Slow Start

Went to the Witte Museum with the family today, so all I got to read was Chapter1:1.  I am struck by how alone Winston feels.  Lost in an evil "Utopia," all he wants is a comrade, someone who feels the same as he does about the government.  Hopefully, he has found that with the man he notices during the Tow Minute Hate.  It seems to me that those who bind together to take down the government and their "Thought POlice" may be the salvation of everyone.

Victory is mine!

Done, done, and done - with The Sound and the Fury (and Faulkner) forever!!  That makes me happy.

Just looked at Spark Notes, and this stood out to me:  "The Sound and the Fury requires intense concentration and patience to interpret and understand."  These are two traits I do not wish to employ at this time to this particular endeavor.

Two things in particular stand out to me.  One is whether or not Quentin really is the father of Caddy's daughter.  He tries to confess as much to their father before he commits suicide, and Jason hints at the same thing when speaking to their mother.  Could it be what Faulkner really meant?  The criticism I have seen does not seem to think so, but there is no clear evidence in the text pointing either towards that conclusion or away from it, so it remains a possibility in my eyes.

The other thing is - and I hate to admit it is something I actually like - is the way Faulkner uses Black vernacular when the Black characters speak.  I find it very disciplined of Faulkner to go to all that trouble, and I wonder if it is meant as an homage or derogatorily.  I tend to think the latter as there seems to be an awful of bigotry (and misogyny) throughout the novel, but it almost comes across as the opposite.

Anyway - enough of that.  Onward and hopefully upward!

Next up - 1984 by George Orwell.  First published in 1949, this novel is the origin of the phrase "Big Brother is watching," a phrase that has become somewhat ubiquitous in our vocabulary, especially due to all of the surveillance that has become commonplace in the last 20 years or so.

I have never read this book, but I am a big fan of dystopian novels, so I am sure I will enjoy it.  I had an "argument" with a professor once when I said there is no such thing as a Utopian novel.  He disagreed, but what Utopia ever works out?  In every novel of this genre that I have ever read, some group is always shunned, exiled, or destroyed in order to make the world a "better" place for the elite group.  Utopian?  I think not. 

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Another forty pages down - I just might lick this sucker yet!  Only 100 pages left!  And at least this chapter is a little easier to read - the narrator is not an idiot, and Faulkner decided to use punctuation for a change, both on regular sentences and dialogue.  Gives me much less of a headache, but I think I'll still hit up Spark Notes when I'm through to really find out what the novel was all about.

My new poem

Forget all you’ve heard

A headache you will incur

Underneath the accolades

Lies total psychotic raves

Keep reading until the sun glows

No punctuation ever shows

Every sentence pages long

Rescue me from so much wrong

 (Hope you noticed the first letters of each line) 

Well, I feel better now!!

Okay, okay, okay...

This infernal book is divided into basically four chapters: April Seventh, 1928, June Second, 1910, April Sixth, 1928, and April Eighth, 1928.  I have FINALLY made it through the second one.  With a three-day weekend coming up, PRAY for strength for me to finish this book up.  My goal of reading these 26 books in one year is looking bad right now, but it's okay if I don't make it, right?  NO - I will persevere and make my goal!  It's just fitting leisure reading (if anyone could call Faulkner that) in with everything else going on.  But, as Walt Disney once said, KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Darn the luck...

So busy working on my article today that I did not have any time to read Faulkner - ain't that a shame!  The good news is I think my article is ready for submitting- it's what you might call a fluff piece, but it will be my first published article, and it's going in a trade journal, which is a bonus, so I'll definitely take it.

Lord, Help Me

I swear I will make it through this book even if it takes medication.  I am now halfway through, and it's just as annoying as the last time I read it.  I see glimpses of good writing and then he goes and blows it with the habit of no punctuation and rambling sentences.  My big problem is that I just can't figure out how people can go around saying how great his writing is - I just cannot get there.

Finally Making Progress

I've gotten about a third of the way through The Sound and the Fury, and I really don't like it any more than I did the first time I read it.  Faulkner is - what's the word - taxing.  I understand it better than before, but I just don't like his style of writing.  He may have picked on Hemingway's style of writing, but I'd take it over Faulkner any day.  Luckily, this is the last time I will be reading this (or anything by him, most likely).  Anyone out there who can give me one good reason why I should read Faulkner any more?  I am willing to listen to any and all arguments in his favor, but they may ultimately fall on deaf ears.

Torture

I am not going to make it through this book.  I swear I get a big headache just by picking this book up.  I really am trying, but I cannot see the art in it.  Maybe it's just me.  Naw - that can't be it!

Can't See it in My Plans

It's been a really long, stressful day, and I just can't bring myself to read any Faulkner.  I have enough of a headache from all the mountain cedar in the air - I shouldn't have to put up with The Sound and the Fury as well, right?  So, as Scarlett O'Hara would say, tomorrow is another day.

Whoo Hoo!!

Got through another 12 pages - gotta celebrate the little victories, right?  The second section, if I recall, is a little easier going, so I hope I get there soon.

A little help please

I'm trying, but this first part is written from the point of view of a retarded 33-year-old, so it makes it sort of difficult - much more of a chore than a pleasant read.  I am, however, a whole 30 pages in, so score one for me!!  My goal is to finish this in three days (so I can get it over with), but I'm not feeling hopeful.  I'm feeling that headache coming on...

Did I mention...

...how much I hate Faulkner?  Already dreading going to pick this book up today - I have read it before, and I am not joking when I say it gave me a headache.  Maybe since I'm almost done with my Master's degree in English, I will appreciate it more now?  Here's hoping!

All Done

Wow - did that book go quickly, especially for a book with no real plot.  As I said, though, it really is an easy read.

The book chronicles two days in the life of a troubled teen, and he spends those days trying to figure out what direction he would like his life to take.  He never seems to get anywhere with those thoughts, however.  The death of his brother several years before has profoundly affected him, and nothing seems to make sense any more.  That's why everyone seems so "phony" to him - with his emotions so torn up all the time, he feels as if no one gets it or him.  It's teenage angst to the hilt, but he has a better reason than most.  Hope the shrink can help him break on through to the other side.

And now, I'm depressed - unfortunately, the next book on the list is The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.  I am NOT looking forward to reading this book again, but maybe I will gain an appreciation for him that is DEFINITELY not there right now.  This is the last of the books that made 9 of the 11 lists, but I think it's there just because people think they're supposed to like it.

This book, written in 1929, was apparently not successful right away (there's a big surprise - all it did was give me a headache!), but now some consider it the greatest American novel.  Why, I don't know, but I will suck it up and re-read it.  Don't be surprised, however, if it takes me a LONG time to get through it.