Collected Miscellany

In my continuing effort to educate myself by reading classic literature, I recently read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It was a quick and fascinating read but I am almost at a loss of how to capture it or review it. Being a good blogger, however, I will soldier on.

Perhaps a quick summary would be beneficial and possible. The book, as obvious from the title, relates the day of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov a prisoner in a Soviet slave labor camp. This Ivan Denisovich is a prisoner, or “zek”, in a Soviet slave labor camp. Shukhov has been sentenced to ten years simply because he was captured by the Germans in WW I. He escaped and rejoined the Red Army but was immediately suspected of being a spy. His denial only led to brutal beatings to the point where he signed a “confession” to save his life. In the story Shukhov has nearly served his entire sentence. The story follows him through his day – from reveille at five AM until he falls asleep that night.

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I have to run off to Home Church so I can’t stay and post. I will, however, offer you this interesting quote from this neat little book I picked up:
Fighting Words: Writers Lambast Other Writers.

Take Hemingway. People always think that the reason he’s easy to read is that he is concise. He isn’t. I hate conciseness – it’s to difficult. The reason Hemingway is easy to read is that he repeats himself all the time, using “and” for padding.
– Tom Wolfe, on Ernest Hemingway

Since starting my new job I have been trying to digest a lot of new information. As a result I haven’t been able to concentrate on long and deep works of non-fiction. So I turned again to the Penguin Lives Series. This time it was Woodrow Wilson by Louis Auchincloss.

Like the Lincoln volume, this is a complex subject covered in a brief biography written by a novelist. In this case the book is a mere 125 pages long, so in reality it is an extended essay. Certainly it is far from an exhaustive biography or even a survey of the literature. Instead it is just a glimpse into some of the issues and ideas that were involved in the life of Woodrow Wilson. As such I found it an interesting and worthwhile read.

Auchincloss focuses on Wilson’s personality and its impact on his decision making and relationships. He begins by describing the 1919 stroke that left Wilson bedridden and largely incompetent. He goes on to describe the “strange hiatus in American Governance” that followed. In essence, Wilson’s wife Edith and his Doctor, Admiral Cary Grayson, concealed Wilson’s true condition and watched as the Cabinet tried to carry on with out an active President. Auchincloss uses this as an introduction to the concept of “two Woodrow Wilsons.” Auchincloss believes that Wilson’s strokes had a negative impact on his temperament and personality, making him at times “querulous, petulant, and unable to take care of business” with any efficiency.

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Not every book you read can be Dostoevsky or Eric Voeglin. Sometimes you just need a light hearted but entertaining book to pass the time and relax. A while back I was in need of just such a book. I decided on No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley. I enjoy the younger Buckley’s satirical humor and the topic – presidential shenanigans and the resulting media reaction – seemed likely to produce a laugh. So with the ever dangerous Amazon One Click the book was speeding its way to me. I recently finished the book and thought I would share my thoughts with you.

First off, the book is a rather obvious satire of the Clinton years. It centers around an unfaithful President married to an ambitious but loyal wife. The President is frequently visited by an actress/singer named Babbette who, when she isn’t “advising” the President, likes to believe she is working for peace in the Middle East. When it appears that the First Lady has killed her husband the resulting “Trial of the Century” mocks the lawyers, media, and the public that creates and craves such a circus. Caricatures of Barbara Streisand, the OJ trial, and the nightly talk shows on CNN fill the book.

The book, however, is not just a big crack on William Jefferson Clinton and his friends. It is basically a satirical look at our media culture with a murder mystery intertwined. As Buckley uses lawyers, reporters, politicians, and Hollywood personalities as fodder for jokes and satire he keeps the plot moving with the technical details of both the trial and the underlying mystery: did the First Lady kill the President? I won’t spoil the ending for you but it is one last crack at the odd obsessions of our time.

So, you ask, was the book worth reading? As I stated at the start, this is not serious literature. But if you enjoy ribald and satirical commentary on popular culture, Buckley does it quite well. The most interesting part from my perspective was the constantly battle to keep the upper hand as the trial progressed. Trials are interesting because they involve human beings that are notoriously fickle and unpredictable. Lawyers must work very hard to insure that they get the information across they need to while at the same time suppressing information that might hurt their case. As the twist and turns of Buckley’s “Trial of the Century” unfolded he kept you wondering how all the strings were going to be tied up neatly by the end.

Overall, however, I must say that I was not particularly engrossed by the book. I chuckled quite often at the gibes and inside political jokes but it was not a book I was compelled to pick up when I got home. No Way To Treat A First Lady would make a good light reading book to take on vacation or to read on the bus on the way to work, etc. It will bring a smile to your face without requiring a great deal of concentration.

Loyal readers of this blog will know that I am a sucker for a short, well-packaged book on an interesting topic. So it is no surprise that I was snared into picking up The Afterword by Mike Bryan. It is bright orange (or green depending on your copy) and comes in under 200 pages in a 4 X 6.5 inch package. On top of that it is a fascinating experiment, especially as a first novel. It is written as if it were the afterword to a best selling novel about a man who discovers that he is divine. As such the book is an odd yet intriguing discussion touching on culture, religion, literature, and a number of other areas of life. Its two main themes, however, seem to be the art of constructing a novel and the role of faith and meaning in modern life.

The sections that touch on the process of constructing a novel are interesting, especially if you are a writer. Bryan artfully discusses and describes the process he used to construct and manage his novel, despite the fact that this novel is fictional.

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Continuing on my reading of fantasy fiction with religious themes I decided to finally read A Canticle for Leibowitz. It is a classic of science fiction and I had heard intriguing bits and pices of it on the radio one night, so I thought it might make for an interesting read in these troubled times.

I will be frank with you, I didn get it. I mean it was an interesting read and the author obvioulsy has a creative imagination and the talent to describe what the future might be in a post-apocalyptic world, but what exactly he was trying to say was beyond me. Unless of course it is simply the sixties No Nukes movement in fiction form. In that case it was a bit of a bore.

Perhpas, my lack of knowledge of Catholicism or latin prevented a deeper understanding. Maybe, the fact that huclear holocaust was avoided in my lifetime lessened the power of the story. Or perhaps I simply wasn’t able to concentrate enough on the symbolism and meaning beneath the story as I read chuncks of it in the evening before bed. Whatever the reason, I found the book interesting in parts but largely obscure and surreal. The plot, such as it was, left me scratching my head. A couple of the characters were interesting but they were not developed long enough to really hold my interest. I felt like I need some sort of guidebook or translation that would illuminate the parts I was missing.

So here is my request: If you have read it please tell me what you thought it meant or what you thought the author was trying to say. What is the significance of all the latin and Catholic references? Is it pro-Catholic, anti-Catholic, or ambivalent? Is this book really considered a classic of science fiction? If so why? Or perhaps it is really just an example of the literary genere that grew out of the fear of nuclear war. Any input or references to more information would be appreciated. I promise to report back on anything I find.