Too many virtuous heroes - a poor view of reality

Dead Souls is a satirical story about a swindler, Tchitchikov, trying to swindle in various backwater villages. As Gogol characterizes him:

"But all the same I have not taken a virtuous man for my hero. And I may even say why I have not. Because it is high time at last to let the poor virtuous man rest; because the phrase 'virtuous man' is too often taken in vain because they have made a regular hack of the virtuous man and there is not a writer who has not ridden him to death, lashing him on with whip or anything that comes to hand; because they have so overdone the virtuous man that there is not a shadow of virtue left about him, and his nothing but skin and bone; because it is through hypocrisy they invoke the virtuous man; because the virtuous man is not respected. No, the time has come at last to trot out the rascal! And so let us trot out the rascal!" pg. 43

Tchitchikov is described as the hero throughout though his actions are generally reprehensible. He is an excellent anti-hero. Gogol provides wonderfully satirical sketches of the people that Tchitchikov attempts to befriend and take advantage of. The brief descriptions of individuals are vivid and engaging. Unfortunately, people appear and disappear very quickly.

 Gogol writes frequently in a conversational style, directly to the reader,

"And which of you, full of Christian meekness, not in public, but alone in private, at the moment of solitary inward converse, asks in the depths of your own soul, this painful question: 'Is there not a bit of Tchitchikov in me too?'" pr. 75

If everyone has a little bit of Tchitchikov in them then we must all be somewhat superficial and rascally. That might not be so bad according to Gogol. Especially if we do not expect to find virtue everywhere, or expect ourselves to be too virtuous. Perhaps virtue is valued because it is rare, and not something one claims for one's own.

Who are the barbarians?

The Barbarians Are Coming, another sidewalk acquisition, has a surprising trajectory.

Sterling is a young and dedicated chef. Having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) he is attempting to make his way in the world. Unfortunately, in his professional life it is assumed that since he is Chinese he should cook Chinese food. He does not like cooking Chinese food. When his parents surprise him with a mail-order bride he does not say thanks either. Instead he marries his Caucasian girlfriend, Bliss.

A significant section of the latter part of the book is narrated by Sterling's father, Genius. He reminisces about his arrival in New York and an affair that he had. This secret past, which occurred before his wife arrived at Ellis Island, haunts him.

The writing is quite amusing and provides caricatures of all characters. Only Sterling and Genius have any real spark of life though. The other characters, especially women, seem mysterious to them and also to the reader. The lack of depth creates bland characters and makes for a bland and predictable plot. 

Two stories unentwined

There is a lot of potential for In the Shadows of the Sun to be a great book. There are two narrative threads, unfortunately, which stay very separate and once they do join together they don't seem to really entwine.

The book begins with Jack's story. Jack is fighting in the Pacific theater and through his eyes is narrated the Bataan Death March, which he survives. The second narrative thread is the story of Jack's family in New Mexico. They are having their own interpersonal troubles. Additionally, the government appropriates their ranch land as a bombing range. Jack's family is misinformed that he has died, but then when he resurfaces he is welcomed home.

The problem with this book is that these two experiences the book describes never meld together. Only 35 pages of the 238 page book take place after Jack has returned to New Mexico. There is very little narration by Jack or resolution to the story. There is no integration between the brutality which Jack experienced and the changes that have occurred back home. Each story is interesting independently, but together they don't work. Perhaps there is no resolution that Parsons could see for Jack to reintegrate or continue in the civilian world.

Dysfunctional families and daughters

A Thousand Acres (Jane Smiley) and Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald) can be classified under the category of sexual abuse stories. Though this is reducing each to a simplistic definition it is the most descriptive heading for them. The (shocking) turning point of each book is the sexual abuse that occurred by the father with his daughters.

A Thousand Acres begins when the three daughters are grown up. The family patriarch is a horrible tyrant and not too surprisingly it turns out he molested his daughters when they were young. However, the youngest daughter was not molested which makes for yet more drama. What I enjoyed about this novel was that the point of view was that of the middle sister, Ginny, who sounded both genuine and provided excellent narration. For example,
"Ty and I didn't pursue our conversation, didn't thrash out what it was I had learned or what it meant. I acted more decisive and made rules. I sensed that Ty disapproved, but it was a touchy subject, and I was afraid to talk about it because I hated friction with Ty. It was easy to discount his unvoiced opinion, too." (pg. 155)
By giving Ginny a voice and letting her describe the events from her point of view our understanding of the situation is shaped by what she says and doesn't say. The reader may guess about what is happening, but since we only have her narration, and no one's reality is exactly right on, the plot is more interesting. Smiley got the narrative point of view right.

 Fall on Your Knees is set in an even harsher time and place - Cape Breton Island at the turn of the last century. It is a multigenerational saga focusing on James and Materia and their daughters. What makes the book somewhat interesting is that Materia's family is Lebanese. Why anyone accustomed to Lebanese weather would live in such a cold place is a mystery. This detail adds some realism to the book, as fact is often stranger than fiction. One wonders whether the book is based on real people from the historical record. If so, the rest of the story is sad. The father James is abusive of his wife, and his three daughters. Unlike A Thousand Acres the narration of the story switches between the many different characters. This allows for a much more nuanced understanding of the story, not to mention the longer historical period encompassed. However, this also makes the story seem to be less personal, and more historical. One never quite escapes from the historical detail as one can in A Thousand Acres. An example of this narration, "Mahmoud never wants to see Materia or her husband or her children or any evidence of them ever again. The only communication he's had with the Piper family for the past nineteen years has been the business arrangement with James, and they've both done well out of that while never once coming face to face. But that's over now." (pg. 159)
MacDonald's approach is, as illustrated by this excerpt, less personal. It makes for less interesting reading and the surprise ending is more surprising since information was withheld, rather than the reader having a narrator with a limited point of view. This method allows for wider scope though.

Both of these books showcase dysfunctional family dynamics. The relationships between family members are unhealthy and abusive. The sisters in both books are mean and cruel to each other over the course of their lives. Due to isolation and powerlessness they have no one else to be cruel and mean to. Would I read these books again? Probably not.

Book club selection

The book club has chosen new titles. Sadly, The Robber Bride has already been pushed back to March for discussion because we are so far into February.

March: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

March:     The Arrival by Shaun Tan  

April:       Anleitung zum Unglücklichsein (Situation is Hopeless, But Not Serious: The Pursuit of Unhappiness) by Paul Watzlawik 

May:        The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 

Everything according to plan...

Acquiring books by chance is something I enjoy as much as when I specifically choose a book. One that I rescued from a lonely sidewalk is The Bridge of San Luis Rey. It is a good book for character development and description as it has vignettes about each character.

Set in Peru, Thornton Wilder opens by narrating the breaking, in 1714, of a rope bridge which spans a deep riverine chasm. Five people were crossing the bridge when it broke and they fell to their deaths. An eye-witness to the break, was Brother Juniper who, being religious, wonders whether the deaths of these five particular people had some meaning or was a random act of nature. To that end Juniper decides to collect the details of their lives. In so doing he hopes to form a picture of each person and understand why they died.

The following four chapters bring these characters to vivid life, though Brother Juniper's question does not really seem to be answered. Though I enjoyed the stories of each character and learning how they intersected with one another, the conclusion appears to be that there was no plan. Brother Juniper's compilation of facts addressing the deaths is burned publicly as is he at the end of the story.

realism

Often, I will judge a book as good or bad by how convinced I am that the world portrayed is realistic. Sometimes books succeed in creating a realistic sense by focusing on the outer environment, sometimes on the inner lives of the characters. What distinguishes A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is the melding of the outer world and inner lives.

The premise of the story is the intersection between a lower middle-class woman, a pair of low-caste migrant tailors, and an upper-caste college student. Or, between a middle-aged woman who has abandoned hope, two young men full of hope, and an older man who still harbors hope for his nephew, if not for himself. Hope can be defined in a variety of ways, and is by each of these individuals. But in each shape it is faith in the world and fellow humans.

Dina, in an effort to maintain financial independence from her overbearing brother, rents a room in her house to Maneck, who is a college student. Simultaneously, she advertises for tailors to work for her home-sewing business. As these individuals get to know each other and fill the roles that were previously empty the world(s) which each individual inhabits seem a little bit brighter and happier. Sadly, this hopeful mood wanes and by the end of the novel hope has shrunk back to the stingy thing it had been at the beginning.

I was very surprised by how sad and isolated each character had become by the end of the novel. It was worth  reading, but only if followed by reading more optimistic writing!