Hello Gentle Reader
There are always books in our lives that we do not finish. There is nothing there. No momentum, no character with who we can emotionally engage with, a poor writing style – or awfully too complex writing style; perhaps at times just the fact that there is a pretentious drilling of a message. Whatever the reason, it caused for a great decree of being fed and placing the book down and not looking at it again. Some authors can write complicated novels, and get away with leaving a lot out or not completely following through with the some hinted at aspects of the story. One such example would be Haruki Murakami’s “Kafka on the Shore,” which is completely obscure and oblique; however it manages to get away with it, by telling an interesting story but also because of Haruki Murakami’s ease and simple style allowed him to disarm the reader, and get away with it. Questions remain but it wasn’t a complete let down, it was more of open ended ending that allowed for readers to interpret or fill in the plot holes themselves, allowing for at least on some degree more participation from the reader.
Some novels have some rather contrived and rather one dimensional character at best. The most recent character would be Isao Iinuma from Yukio Mishima’s “Runaway Horses,” whose complete obsession with honor and suicide lead me to hold quite annoyance, especially with his emotional immaturity which was always hidden behind his placid façade of discipline. Even his predecessor Kiyoaki Matsugae appears a spoiled overtly introverted person whose inability make action leads him to sit and move with the tide and philosophise about the nature of the tides themselves. Yukio Mishima may have regarded these characters as sensitive and disciplined and holding the sensualities of romanticism. In my opinion they were two characters that needed a good, smack with reality. However with endurance I got over the flaws of these two characters with such great joy happily pointed them out to me, with every scene and chapter they were in. Yet with pushing aside my judgement and opinions of the characters, and was able to appreciate the full mature style of Yukio Mishima in his later works, before his own untimely death by his own hands.
Other books through the years just never were able to do it for me. One of them being “The Savage Detectives,” by the late (and I don’t doubt talented writer) Roberto Bolano. After eighty some pages, and no real character development, a lack of descriptions and the feeling that the prose itself was wandering like its own drifting characters, who like dead logs or branches in a tranquil canal. Two attempts were given to the narrator and his drifting halcyon (with some serrated edges) journey, but both times left with nothing but a failure on both the author and my part, to be engaged and to be have a reason to be engaged. This did teach me something as a reader. Some authors get away with little action in their introductory phases. However on the contrary others cannot pull this off. For those authors, make sure you have engaging characters. Young voices who are arrogant or cocky, or feel that they the world owes them something is not going to do it. Neither will an apathetic narrator. Makes sure there is at least someone with a shred of personality. This comes back to Yukio Mishima and his characters, especially Isao Iinuma and Kiyoaki Matsugae, who’s only defining traits, appears to be the most horrible traits possible. Thankfully there is Honda. However with perseverance, and Mishima’s own literary talents, and getting so far through the novel already, there was no turning back.
One of the more recent ones was, Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize winning novel of two thousand and nine “Wolf Hall.” It has received rave reviews from critics and readers a like. Personally I felt that the novel itself felt into a period dictated by the circumstances around it that made it so successful. At the time the television show “The Tudors,” were running, documenting the life of King Henry VIII. “Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel follows the life of statesmen Thomas Cormwell, who was part of the court of King Henry VIII. This is set in the early fifteen hundreds. It utilizes a lot of real historical characters – the primary one being Thomas Cromwell. All of the fictional characters meant nothing to me – except the brief instances where names like Henry or Anne Boleyn are mentioned (at least in what I read). The problem for me came down to no real characterization. Yes it’s a historical novel, which utilizes real historical characters, which in itself is a risqué act itself, because someone will always say that the personality or actions themselves are not up to snuff with ‘historical,’ records. Hilary Mantel played it safe. The characters themselves already have engrained personalities, and the mentioning of their names should already allow for them to be spoken by themselves. Then why do I ask myself was this book six hundred pages long? I felt it was overwritten, from what I had read, and also the prose itself was rather bland. There was no life to it, based on the characters lack of personalities for me. One does need to face it. I am Canadian, and I am rather ignorant to all things that are English and medieval English history. Therefore I need more than just the basics and livelier characters, rather than historical predetermined puppets. Also no I have never watched the television show “The Tudors.”
To use Yukio Mishima’s novel(s) “Runaway Horses,” as well as “Spring Snow,” they are both set in the past, and are great examples of historical fiction. They recount Japanese society in the early twentieth century. “Spring Snow,” is set in the Taishō period, and the lingering effects of the Meiji Period had ended. “Runaway Horses,” is set after the Taishō period, and uses many historical references of political uncertainty and the militarization of the country of Japan of the time, such as the May fifteenth incident in which the prime minister was assassinated. However the characters themselves are completely fictional. They have their own personalities, as well as the historical periods are both backdrops but also part of the story, and are not well described, but it does not feel necessary. What is known is what is essential. The ex-samurai’s disenfranchisement in the late eighteen hundreds, the May fifteenth incident, all of which reflect Isao’s own disciplinary action and military devotion.
This is by far the most recent by days. Jonathan Lethem is a writer who is often remarked as a slipstream writer. Whose own background or early reading experiences are rooted in genre fiction, pulp novels, and the golden age of comic books. Yet Jonathan Lethem himself is a writer who has obtained mainstream success and has gone past the lowbrow culture that some people are quickly willing to defend, and even accept as something more than what it is on the surface. However at some point in time we all somewhat fall down into those low brow culture traps. As Jonathan Lethem however explains in an interview, that it all comes down to taste. He watched “The Brady Bunch,” and “The Twilight Zone,” and when he began to figure out which one was not worth it anymore he stopped watching it. He was a voracious reader, reading everything, which has led to his own seamless writing abilities to incorporate different elements of very misplaced elements of genre into the mainstream. Such as a sentient and anthropomorphic kangaroo who works for the mafia from “Gun, With the Occasional Music.” His most recent novel is “Chronic City,” and I should have known from the title that it wasn’t going to be a novel that I was going to like. However it was on sale, and it sounded interesting. However through my reading of this book, it has become nothing more than a bunch of people with rather similar personalities, a drift in a world, who only drink, hold dinner parties, and smoke pot – and try to rekindle long dead flames of careers long since passed, or try to suck all there is out of what is left over of their careers. The novel itself is a saturated McDonald’s burger at a whopping five hundred pages – which wouldn’t be so bad if there was an interesting character in the book, or at least something interesting to say. Instead al l there is, is a bunch of pot smoking red eyed super high people who discuss philosophical matters, and cultural matters. It’s a world of low brow pop culture, Tourette Syndrome with names dropping left and right. Films I’ve never heard of placed alongside names like Marlon Brando , Gretta Garbo, and Alfred Hitchcock. The supposed merits were lost on me, and the sense of being alienated from a book irritated me, so in the end I gave up. The insular characters trapped in their own marijuana filled world had no interest to me, and with my own discriminations against pot, and the entire industry of drugs – from the drug lord to the jackasses that carry them left me with nothing more than annoyance.
Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.*
M. Mary
