The Trial, by Kafka

 I finished this yesterday morning, but forgot to post about it. 

Spoilers below:

Holy shit! The ending. WTF?! 

This whole thing, Jeez. Bureaucracy. Crazy. No idea what the charge is. Or was. Or if the trial had started. Or not. Or what the hell the lawyer(s) were talking about. Or the court officials. 

And most of the people Joseph K runs into work for the courts. Like in some countries I've lived in. Oy. 

The women, though. Again, male writer. A product of the author's age, or written this way purposefully? 

I told my wife The Trial is as much a dystopia as We or even 1984. Only not as far developed, K's world, I mean. But she reminded me that this book could be a critique on the justice system in Kafka's country at the time. Then we couldn't decide if that was France or Germany or ???  Or I could simply accept Hannah Arendt's theory that "no man is free from guilt."

I liked it, overall. I have to accept that a) the author didn't want his book(s) published (supposedly) and 2) that the author didn't want K, or the reader, to know what the crime was. Ugh.

Spoilers above ^^^

Not sure when/if I'll read another Kafka. This one was a family book club choice from my SIL, so I thank her for this choice. Wikipedia puts this book in four genres (sub-genres?): philosophical, dystopian, absurdist, paranoid fiction. I think I can agree on all counts. Phew!

Money in the Bank, by Wodehouse

 Another great read from the Master. Interesting that the wife and I were talking recently about some authors' inability to write women. Specifically we were discussing Hemingway, his Maria in Bell Tolls was ugh. So plastic, subservient and boring. 

But Wodehouse, no. His female characters have pluck, have personalities, lead themselves equally in most cases. Mrs. Clarissa Cork, woman on the savannah, killer of beasts, she was spectacular. Ditto Anne Benedick. Yet, Mr. Wodehouse still writes them with a care that I appreciate; I still want my characters to fall in love and live happily ever after. This he does so well. 

I got this book recently in a great deal from a bookstore in Oregon. They popped up on Abebooks with several Collector's Wodehouse editions in great shape and low price. So I bought four. Of course. And now I have to stay away from their presence on the website for fear of buying more. 

Poetry

 Not a big poetry guy, but there are two poems that I just can't get enough of: Goblin Market and Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. What do we do with poems? Italics? 

When I start Goblin Market (every year or so), I wonder: Did Rosetti not follow her English teacher's rules? 

“Come buy our orchard fruits,

Come buy, come buy:

Apples and quinces,

Lemons and oranges,

Plump unpeck’d cherries,

Melons and raspberries,

Bloom-down-cheek’d peaches,

Swart-headed mulberries,

Wild free-born cranberries,

Crab-apples, dewberries,

Pine-apples, blackberries,

Apricots, strawberries;—"

Where's the rhymes? Now, Childe Roland, that's another thing altogether.

MY first thought was, he lied in every word,  

That hoary cripple, with malicious eye  

Askance to watch the working of his lie

On mine, and mouth scarce able to afford

Suppression of the glee, that purs’d and scor’d;

Its edge, at one more victim gain’d thereby. 

That's the start of perhaps the best poem in English. (Idylls of the King may be a contender.) 

No, I don't read a lot of poetry. Yes, I read these two poems often. What do you think?

Honey for the Bears, by Anthony Burgess

 Another great book by Anthony Burgess. Why is he only known for A Clockwork Orange? Yes, yes, that book is brilliant. But I'm batting 1.000 for 3 books so far. And I'll keep coming up to the Burgess plate as long as they are this good.

Spoilers below:

Paul Hussey (Gussey, по-русски!) is bringing several dozen hi-tech dresses into Leningrad to sell, with the intent of giving most of the money to his best friend's (his very best friend's) wife. The Soviets have other ideas, though, as one would expect in the early 1960s. 

His wife is ill when the book opens, and except for one fun night with a bunch of drunk westerners, she's out of the picture, hospitalized. Sadly for Paul, it is in the USSR that he discovers not only his wife's indiscretions but also realizes he's not too sure about his own sexuality. (Thankfully, that's not a big part of this book.) 

He doesn't sell the dresses, but still leaves the USSR without them, regretting not giving one Russian mother the white one for her daughter's wedding. And his shadows, agents/comrades Karamzin and Zverkov, prime examples of the species, are done so well I wonder if Burgess had spent time in the Soviet Union and been pulled into secondary. 

The Russia of Burgess's book is a Russia I recognize. The food, the drink, the government agents. The Russians. Paul's teeth play a major role and the departure scene, Leningrad to Helsinki on the Alexander Radishchev, is one of the funniest I've read that isn't in a Wodehouse or Sharp. 

Spoilers above.

Like I said, Burgess is genius. I have yet in my Kindle Tremor of Intent and The Doctor is Sick. Unsure which of those, when I'm ready to read him again, will be next. And I must complement the publisher and whomever designed the cover: Respectable English gentleman with sputnik (spoot-nick, not spyut-nick) as his head. Nicely done.

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Hemingway

 Not my favorite of Hemingway's books. Not by a long shot. "Read" this one on Audible. 

Spoilers follow.

Set in '30s Spain. War. Right up my alley, falling between the Wars as I like. Some interesting parts to this book. The author gave us the feeling of Spanish in his dialogues; thee, thou, wouldst, those sorts, in line with the informal you (tu) of español. 

The guerrilla warfare part of this long novel was great. Could come from a textbook on asymmetric warfare. I don't know enough about the Spanish civil war (beyond the wonderful, and perhaps my favorite Picasso, painting Guernica), but one doesn't have to know that much to read this book. 

But good God, ok, I get it Robert Jordan, I mean, Roberto: you love Maria. OK. ¡suficiente! Dear God by the end I was praying for her death. 

One thing I like about Hemingway's writing (A Clean Well-Lighted Place...so perfect!) is he doesn't follow the rules. None of this "dump the adverbs; show don't tell; use verbs other than say." Every single dialogue in this book except maybe two times IIRC used "he said" or "she said." Once I remember "he insisted" and there was another one I took note of but can't recall now. Refreshing.

Still, that too-perfect love crap--if I had read it cold not knowing the author I would have immediately known it was a male author. So unrealistic. Great ending though! (No, my prayer was not answered.)

Spoilers done.

This is on my Classics 50 list, so that's one more off the list. Still 40-something left, but also still four and a half years!

The Double, by Jose Saramago

 This is my first Saramago that I've read. My wife loved Blindness. I couldn't get into it years ago when I attempted it. But this one...

Spoilers:

There's no real chapters. There are breaks between scenes, but not always. Sometimes the POV changes within one of these sections. But otherwise, this is pure stream of consciousness stuff. Not even dialog. Or, rather, dialog is separated by commas, all within the same paragraph. Very strange. 

The Double deals with two identical people. Not twins. Not closely similar. But the exact same person. A scar that one of them gets when younger, the other one has. Everything the same. Yes, even the penis. 

There are women involved, and yes, each one sleeps with the other's woman. But the ending...unsuspected. It really shocked me.

Spoilers done.

While reading this, another Saramago came up in Kindle deals: The Cave. Certainly a future read.

The Clicking of Cuthbert, by PG Wodehouse

 Wasn't sure what I'd think of a golf story. I mean, I've learned a lot about quidditch, I mean, cricket, from Wodehouse stories. But golf? Golf is a boring game. Yes, I know there are techniques one must master in order to be good at the game, but still, boring. Baseball possibly more boring. Don't care.

But these stories are funny. Mostly due to the situations these golfers get into, and mostly due to women. Golfers attracted to women-golfers, or supposed golfers. Or women finally finding the man she loves, reminiscent of the romances she reads, on the links. 

This book really is a series of short stories, the common thread being "the oldest member" of a particular golf club. Not my favorite Wodehouse, especially after reading Laughing Gas. But still...

The names of the clubs. I had to research some etymology. Wodehouse uses "niblick" quite often. I guess you golfers know this, but for us non-golfers, a "niblick" is a "small, narrow-headed iron golf club," and has been in use in English since the mid-1800s. There was also, IIRC, a "mashy niblick," but of course now I can't find a website about it. What we really need is a website of all the golf terms found in Wodehouse. 

I only read this due to the FB Wodehouse Book of the Month club. Otherwise I would not have chosen this book. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

 I never would have read this, but my wife speaks so highly of it, so thought I'd give it a try. 

Holy crap! This is literature. Don't think of Bradbury as "just" a sci-fi author. This man could write. The descriptions, especially of the carnival, are so well done that I would put this guy, or at least this work, up there with Master and Margarita. 

There were some scary moments, and I can see that when this was written (early '60s), this would have been read by young kids (13-16) who would have understood all these "big words" that the same generation today won't understand. Absolutely lovely. 

I was one of those of my generation (I'm in my mid-50s) who (probably) only read Bradbury's short story "The Veldt" (or something like that). I recall that story being good, but I was in my teens, so who the hell knows (don't ask me what I think about Stranger in a Strange Land nowadays, or God forbid, Ringworld). 

This. Book. Rocks. Read it. You'll love it. 

In other news, wife and I will probably watch the movie this weekend. I know nothing of it, so this'll be fun.

April 2022

 April was a good month for books. 

• Napoleon Symphony, by Anthony Burgess. As discussed last month, I finished this one on 1 April. What a great book. I loved it and will read more from him. As evidenced by last month's purchases.
• Harlequin House, by Margery Sharp. Love this woman. Great Brit lit.
• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Great book. Family book club choice. We watched the old Oskar Werner movie too. One of the best opening lines ever.
• Tiu Toskana Septembro (That Tuscan September), de Corrado Tavanti kaj Istvan Ertl. Bonega itala romano detektiva, originale en Esperanto. Rapid-legebla. Tamen, antaŭvidebla fino.
• God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Vonnegut. Strange, of course. 
• The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Nope, don't get it. 
• Laughing Gas, by P.G. Wodehouse. My now all time favorite. Freaky-Friday type. Hilarious.
• The Sirens of Titan, by Vonnegut. Even stranger. 
• The Classical World, by Robin Lane Fox. Great one-volume history of ancient Greece and Rome. 

And my purchases:

• Middle Egyptian Literature, by James Allen. In my Glyphstudy group, someone will be leading a translation project later this year, most probably "The Debate Between a Man and his Soul." I'll most likely, at least, audit it. 
• The HarperCollins Study Bible. I thought I'd read the Bible over a year-long period. We had this Bible decades ago and I loved it for its footnotes, esp. the historical and linguistic notes. I've fallen a few days behind, but so far so good. 
• The Novels of Iris Murdoch (Henry and Cato; The Italian Girl; The Philosopher's Pupil). Kindle deal for $2.99. Never read her, but everyone says she's good. Probably start with the Italian one.
• For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Hemingway. Was my Classical Spin selection, but I missed the deadline. Will probably pick it next for the family book club. One Audible credit.
• Death of a Russian Priest, by Stuart Kaminsky. Read his first Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov book and loved it. When this showed up for 99 cents, couldn't say no.
• The Assistant: A Novel, by Bernard Malamud. Heard he was good, I think Bloom liked him. Kindle deal, $3.
• The Catcher in the Rye. Family book club choice.
• The Double, by Saramago. My wife absolutely loved Blindness. I may try that one someday. This one looks awesome, and was only two bucks.
• Beau Geste, by P.C. Wren. I heard about this book years and years ago. Bought first edition (hb, dj) for a good price, $25.
• Take Nine Spies, by Fitzroy MacLean. Greatest generation. Definitely was a curmudeon. This study on espionage looked good. hb w/dj, $3.

Language-wise, started reviving my BCS in April. Did two lessons in the big Alexander & Elias BCS text and on lesson three in Hippocrene's Croatian. My class with the DLI instructor starts Monday afternoon and I can't freaking wait!

The Classical World, by Robin Lane Fox

 Dear reader(s), you know me. I loves me some classical history. Granted, most of what I've read in this genre is ancient Egyptian, so I felt I needed a good one-volume which covers Greece and Rome. This one I got at the library, looked through and thought it was good, so got it cheap on Audible. 

Spoilers follow:

Ancient Greece and Rome are both dead.

Spoiler fin.

It really is a very in-depth study. Can't really specify what I liked best about it. The descriptions of the blood sports were horrible, and the hypocrisy of the Romans not liking sport due to its connection to Greece where they practiced in the nude, yet Romans created more and more cruel blood sports, like hanging victims barely within reach of hungry wild animals so that they were eaten slowly but surely. Or putting giraffes in the arena with really hungry lions. Or tying two wild animals together and letting them kill each other. 

Had no idea some of those emperors would build artificial lakes and re-enact famous sea battles, only the actors actually fought to the death. Horrible. 

Of course there is more, and what I liked about this book versus some others I'd gotten out of the library (and not bought thank the gods) was the matter-of-fact way the author dealt with the homosexuality of those times. Wasn't a big deal, basically. He didn't try to make the entire history revolve around this or that Caesar's love for his boy-toy. It just happened. And in a society where women were sheltered and hidden, and rape was treated harshly, hard to not expect young, hormone-high youth to mess around. Bottom line, thank you RLF for not making it the central tenet of your book. 

Sirens of Titan, by Vonnegut

 His weirdest yet. Ok, yes, I've only read four of his, but, damn. How this author wasn't tagged immediately as a sci-fi author, I'll never know. 

Spoilers:

I'm following Rachel's suggested reading order. Glad I almost did it in order (I read SH5 first, that's 3rd in Rachel's list). Planet Tralfamadore shows up again in this gem. Even more interesting, an idea he expounded on in his short story "Harrison Bergeron" shows up here, 3 years prior to the publishing date of that short story. I'm of course talking about making everyone equal by making strong(er) people to wear weights. When I read about the bags of shot on one character's arms and legs, I thought: Wait a minute, I've read this before. 

Initially I thought it was from Ayn Rand's Anthem. Wrong. When I searched, Vonnegut came up. I should have known. 

I can't say I noticed any characters that were in the previous three novels I'd read, but I know he does that sort of thing. I also don't want to research it for fear that I'll learn something about future novels of his I'll read.

Spoilers done.

I love this man's books. Can't wait to read the next in the sequence, Cat's Cradle.