A Chess Story

Stefan Zweig published this short story in 1941 as "Schachnovelle." It is set aboard an ocean liner sailing to Buenos Aires. The narrator, whose motivation is curiosity about the chess mind, sets out to entice the famous fellow passenger Czentovic to play a chess game. Czentovic, we are told, is a chess master who lacks both social and intellectual skills, but has an innate talent for chess. Cz's entire life story is revealed to the reader and then the narrator sets out to see Cz at play. This requires strategy but once Cz has been induced to play a game against the narrator and other passengers they lose the game. Then during the second game a mysterious man appears and suggests winning moves they can make. The group of amateurs win. The narrator, intrigued, follows the mystery man. Mystery man relays his story, as follows:

He, Dr. B, was a monarchist banker in Austria when the Nazis arrive. He was imprisoned, and interrogated for months. During this time he started to break down and was desperate for something to focus his mind on so as to withstand the interrogations and remain sane. He, luckily, steals a book of famous chess games from a jailers jacket. He studies this moves, until they are memorized then he makes up new games in his mind. He does this for months and finds it quite useful as a way to focus his mind and retain sanity. Then he decides to play both sides at once, white and black, and his mind  compartmentalizes. He suffers a breakdown, and a fever and finds himself in a hospital. His doctor diagnoses him with a chess mania and suggests he not play again. The doctor also diagnoses him as insane and so he escapes from the Nazis.

Back on the cruise ship Dr. B plays another game against Cz. This time Cz antagonizes Dr. B with slow play and Dr. B starts to regress into "chess madness." The narrator, tells Dr. B to not regress and Dr. B, losing the game exits.

It is a good story, psychologically accurate, and intense (compared to Stein it is dated though). The author Zweig and his wife, Lotte Altmann, committed suicide in February 1942 due to the dismal future prospects.

A little Stein

Gertrude Stein, writing in the first half of the last century, experimented with words, phrases, and sentences. In Three Lives the writing is not so different from the psychological modern style of writing, but Tender Buttons pushes the boundaries of word meanings to an extreme. To me Stein's writing seems less dated, and more contemporary, because elements of her style have come to be used widely.

"Three Lives" consists of three unconnected life portraits, "The Good Anna," "Melanctha," and "The Gentle Lena." "Melanctha" was the most interesting of these and the lengthiest. The woman portrayed is complicated, difficult and ends sadly (as do Anna and Lena). The conversational style is deceptively simple and much information is conveyed by the repetitive language.

"Tender Buttons" is what?

"This cloud does change with the movements of the moon and the narrow the quite narrow suggestion of the building. It does and then when it is settled and no sounds differ then comes the moment when cheerfulness is so assured that there is an occasion" (pg. 298).

I do not claim to understand. It is readable, but pointless, as far as I can understand it. Although, those with a background in literature probably have more interesting things to say about "Tender Buttons" than I do.

1q84

A central characteristic of Murakami's 1q84 lies in its place and time. The book begins with Aomame exiting 1984 Tokyo and entering 1q84 Tokyo, though she does not realize the transition immediately since the new universe is only infinitesimally different than the Japan of 1984. Aomame and Tengo alternately narrate each chapter and the connection between the two of them is gradually revealed.  Morality does not restrain Murakami characters. This is a mythic novel (as is Kafka on the Shore) in which nothing can be taken as first presented. Sex is not merely sex, but can serve other purposes, personally and in society. Family may or may not even be family.

Aomame does notice that police are wearing semi-automatic pistols instead of revolvers and thinks that she has simply missed the news. For the reader, this change signifies a more militaristic Japan than that in the world Aomame came from. Later, when Aomame acquires a gun, she is advised that "'According to Chekhov...once a gun appears in a story, it has to be fired.'" Interestingly Murakami does not obey this precept, which he puts into a character's mouth. Neither Aomame's gun, nor the police guns are used, which demonstrates that Chekhov is incorrect. Perhaps Murakami just wanted to demonstrate that Chekhov could be wrong, or perhaps show that reality is more complicated than a Chekhov play. Chekhov is mentioned prior to this, when an excerpt about the Gilyaks from Sakhalin Island is read aloud. It is an ethnographic description of a way of life, and Gilyak interaction with Russian explorers/colonizers. 

One note about the English translation - the title is 1Q84. When it would look better as a lower case q - 1q84. That looks more like 1984, which would be more fitting.

Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood

My favorite pregnancy book for the beautiful writing style and informative value is Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood. It is written by Sandra Steingraber and the first part is organized according to folk names for the monthly moons. It begins with the "old moon" and ends with the 9th "harvest moon." After which the book concludes with several chapters on the experience of new motherhood. Pregnancy books tend to be organized according to a nine month calendar which can be very repetitive for anyone who has read more than one so the labeling of each month with a different name was a nice change.
What is unique about Steingraber's writing is that she does not just detail the development of the fetus. Instead, she discusses development and how it can be negatively effected at each stage of fetal development. This is unusual as most books about pregnancy avoid topics that are not necessarily under a pregnant woman's control.

The driving force behind the book seems to be  not only to bring awareness to environmental pollution, but to change the plane of conversation about ecological degradation. Steingraber poses her question to her husband,
 '"Why is there no public conversation about environmental threats to pregnancy?"'
 and a more structural question 
'"Why does abstinence in the face of uncertainty apply only to individual behavior? Why doesn't it apply equally to industry or agriculture?"'

The answer given is that pregnancy is personal whereas industry and agriculture are public. To provide people with the information that Steingraber is giving is overwhelming. A pregnant woman can not do anything to change the state of the ecological environment so really it is better not to talk about it. Let women obsess about what they can control. It makes sense that our culture would encourage women to worry about how much coffee they are drinking. Many women already keep track of what they eat for dieting purposes. So making pregnancy and environment a personal issue prevents women (and people in general) from advocating for environmental protection and remediation.

This is one of the few pregnancy books which has a message that could be meaningful beyond pregnancy, and beyond one's first pregnancy. Because most books about pregnancy after one's first pregnancy are for me, beyond tedious.

It has been almost a year since I posted here. These are the last set of books we read in the book club:

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse
Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Consolation by Anna Gavalda

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.