Cat's Cradle

Another recently read book was Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Cat's Cradle. This was another novel about the nature of human beings. It focused on the two subjects of modernized warfare and politicized religion. The creation of the atom bomb (also of the fake substance ice-nine) is completed by a character that has no interest in any normal social behavior. He is a scientist that cares only to tinker with things and play, and not with the repercussions of his actions. The U.S. military takes advantage of this by giving him ideas to tinker around with until he invents something that can benefit their cause. Hence the creation of the atom bomb and the creation of ice-nine, a substance that was made because the general of the Marines was tired of his men crawling around in the mud, but didn't realize that solving the problem of mud would in essence be the end of the world as we know it. As we explore the mind of Felix Hoenikker through the narrator's interviews of people around him, we also learn about the government of San Lorenzo and the history of that nations political and religious system. The government was founded by two men who wanted to create a sort of utopia for the people there. They first invent a religion based on lies (lies that are admitted lies that you can better your life through believing) and then attempt to spread it together. When they realize that religion is best practiced under persecution one of the founders is "chased" into the jungle and the other places a ban on the practice of said religion (Bokononism). Because of this Bokononism is accepted by all who live on the island as their religion. At the end of the novel, the sons and daughters of Felix Hoenikker give away their inheritance of ice-nine for personal gain and it is used by one of those to whom it was given. After it is used the world is introduced to a new ice age, where bokononists are encouraged to end their sufferings by eating the ice-nine that surrounds them.

I have really enjoyed all of Kurt Vonnegut's novels that I have read and this one was not an expection. His ability to reflect reality in a ridiculous and humorous way while still giving a highly refined and sensitive perspective on life is something that reaches me on levels much higher than true religious or socially sensitive works. The critique of modern science was dead on and the idea of religion being a lie, yet worth it for the qualitiy of life, is actually a great reflection of how I can sometimes view my own spirituality when I am in doubt. Not that I completely give in to my doubts, but that I am comforted by the idea that even if it all turns out false in the end, I am a better person because of my faith.

It is hard for me to reflect on a novel when I have so few criticisms, so I would say that how I feel about the book is completely communicated within the pages of Cat's Cradle. So if you are interested in how I summed up the book, you should just read it.

Candide

I recently read the short novel Candide by Voltaire. This was a unique story about the nature of mankind written by a very pessimistic philosopher. In the story the main character, Candide, goes through numerous ridiculous and depressing situations, losing friends and family and lovers along the way. All through these situations Candide believes that everything that happens is good and providential because that was what he was taught by his mentor. "All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." is his and his mentor, Pangloss'es motto. By the end of the book each one of his friends is thought to have been killed by some tragic end, but then discovered to have survived whatever incident had befallen them. By the end of the novel everything seems to have turned out the way Candide had wanted it, but it is concluded with Candide being unhappy and unsatisfied with the perfect life of which he had dreamed.

The story was very comical and I enjoyed reading it, but I cannot claim to agree with Voltaire's position of the human condition. It seems in the end that he believes that life is just a series of unfortunate events that we were merely placed into and are expected to live through. Although Candide and his mentor are both unwavering optimists, by the end of the book you see that they are both fools that cannot be believed. Even Candide himself resigns that their motto that all is for the best is not truly the case in this or any other world.

Candide was written as a response to infamous "the problem of evil", and leaves the reader just as confused and indecisive as any college course on the subject would. My personal beliefs on this subject is that we don't see "evil" in it's proper form. Pain and death are not evil, they are natural. What we should be questioning is the nature of man and how we are the creator's of pain and suffering through selfishness and ignorance. This could be a world that doesn't have evil if all could realize that our purpose on life is to love one another.

Northline

Northline by Willy Vlautin is a very sad book. It was also a quick and captivating read. This is the second novel I have read by this author and I was not disappointed. His dialogue is believable, his narration is sensitive and his characters are relatable and lovable. I think Willy Vlautin may be destined to be to Reno and the rest of the high western desert what Faulkner was for the South. When I read his books I feel as if I see these characters everyday. When he introduces a character, I usually place a common face seen down at Pete's or 1918 Lounge in the place of his descriptions. That is a quality that made Northline much more sad, yet much more life altering than it could have been. Needless to say, this was a great book with a touching and moving story. (It also came with a pretty sweet soundtrack. A book with a soundtrack, who knew?)

Northline was written from the prospective of a young woman who has crippling social anxiety. She has an awful speed addicted boyfriend that is abusive. She lies to everyone around her to avoid any type of self exposure, and she runs from all of her problems by drinking enough alcohol to create more problems from which to run. Allison is one of the most flawed and self afflicting characters I have seen in a long time, and yet she is also one of the most used and abused as well. The story is about her attempting to fight against herself and her antagonists by moving to Reno and detaching herself from her shady past completely. Along the way she meets many characters that are as depressed and victimized as herself, but many of them have some sort of coping mechanism that she lacks.

After reading this book there wasn't much interpretation to be done, it is pretty straightforward. Vlauting introduces us to some of the most disgusting sides of our culture's lower class and doesn't judge most of the people involved. He merely gives us a realistic view into the lives of those we see and choose to ignore or don't understand. We get to make up our own minds about whether Allison is a weak individual destined for failure or a victim to be cared for or an immoral degenerate to be avoided. All of those things are likely, and not one of them is completely true, this is why the novel is so compelling to me. It is intensly real, and intensly senstive. I don't have much else to say except that anyone reading this should probably go pick up a copy soon. Or just borrow mine.

Naked Lunch

I couldn't handle this one. I got about 70 pages through in an afternoon and my brain exploded. I know there is some sort of redeeming value to it, like scared straight or something, but I know I am not going to try heroin any time soon. You figure with all the literature and films and songs about the insanity that revolves around that drug people would have stopped using it by now. I think it is disturbing that some people actually celebrate the culture of it.

I think I need to take a shower.

The Razor's Edge

"The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."

That is the epigraph at the beginning of The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. The novel is about the spiritual journey of a young American searching to reconcile the existence of a higher creative power with the existence of evil. The story is based on a supposedly real young man and his circle of friends, including Maugham himself who narrates the story from his own limited point of view. The Razor's Edge chronicles nearly twenty years of Larry Darrell's search for meaning in the world. You not only get to know Larry through Maugham's prospective, but also through numerous other characters whom the author used to diversify the view of Larry's spiritual quest. It is hard to say how much of the book is based on actual people or real occurrences because he writes as an involved reporter would, but still claims the book as a novel. Also the poetic nature of each characters life lends me to believe that he fudged on reality quite a bit to make this a true work of literature.

I enjoyed the novel quite a bit and couldn't help but compare my own life to the life of Larry, a man who shunned the American way of working hard and making a fortune to pursue a life of unending inquiry and piety. Obviously I have not left the country for solitude and study, nor have I refused marriage and unnecessary material possessions for the complete independence Larry believes is necessary for spiritual transcendence, but I still relate myself to him because he does not easily cave to the social norms that are being pressured upon him by those around him and his ability to ignore the material world that consumes and eventually ruins those around him. I am no where near Larry in many aspects, and I wouldn't want to be either. He sees independence and complete earthly freedom as spiritual transcendence, this view abandons human connection and tends to be so self focused that the relationships formed are genuine while being disposable. I believe that people need each other and that God created us to love one another and not to attempt to become one with the Almighty through clear and complete focus on the self.

The Razor's Edge is a worthy novel for anyone interested in a unique view of spirituality. I think anyone who reads it will see themselves in at least one of the characters presented and hopefully learn a thing or two about who they are or could be.

Lutherans. Who knew?

Diana and I went to a Lutheran Church today (Trinity Lutheran Church). It was the second time we had been to a Lutheran Sunday service and was a good experience for me. I have always appreciated the ritual involved in liturgy focused protestant churches. It, to me, emphasizes historical unity with the church as well as unity with the current global church. I enjoy the communal lessons and the congregational participation. I was emotionally moved by their emphasis on being gracious and generous, it was nice to visit a church that was very outwardly focused instead of the often inward focused message I have experienced at most evangelical churches. It is hard because, being raised in a Nazarene environment, I feel uncomfortable with the stiffness of the service, and yet I do very much love it and see why it is done. I feel like once I am used to the process of the Sunday service, I would be able to get very much out of it, and feel a deeper satisfaction than I have felt from past church experiences.

Angle of Repose, Pt. 2

I just finished the novel from my previous post, Angle of Repose. This is a sort of historic novel that chronicles the marriage of Oliver and Susan Ward. It is sort of historic because it is directly based on the letters of Mary Hallock Foote, the wife of engineer Arthur De Wint Foote (designer of the Arrow Rock Damn and Boise's irrigation system), but the author narrates from the prospective of their grandson and takes enough liberties with the story to make it a clear work of fiction. Apparently there is controversy surrounding the book because Stegner used direct quotes from the letters of Mrs. Foote, but did not credit where he used those quotations. The story chronicles about 30 years of the couple's marriage. The couple were Eastern Americans that moved into the Western frontier in order to establish Oliver as an engineer, but ended up staying in the West. Oliver became a regular frontier man while Susan reject the rough Western culture by attempting to retain her status as a lady of gentility.

It is frequently noted throughout the novel that it is not about the couple's children, the west, engineering or the narrator (who constantly interjects into the novel facts about his own life), but it also can't help but be about all those things. The novel obviously makes connections between the marriage of the Wards and all the previously mentioned things that the book is not about, when in fact it is about all those things and much more. The story of the Wards marriage is written with the underlying hint that all the world is constantly a repetition of the past. We will all make the same mistakes as our parents, grandparents, and neighbors while our children can't help but follow in our footsteps. The end of the novel does not leave out hope for humanity to change it's ways, but it doesn't tell us if the change we hope for happens or not.

I enjoyed the beginnings of Oliver and Susan Ward's relationship and was looking forward to seeing them prosper into a Victorian family to look up to as role models, but as the book went by and the title Angle of Repose became more clear I realized that this story is much more realistic than I had wanted it to be. I wished for a happy ending and was given something else. Not an unhappy ending, but something other than a joyful conclusion.

The story had so much to say about the Frontier culture, the Victorian American culture, and current culture that it is hard to write about each theme of the novel without writing about the next so I will try to keep this theme analysis short. It seemed to me that one fo the major themes I thought about while reading this book was the dependence the Victorian lady had from her husband. The dependence was accepted as necessary to both Oliver and Susan, but was obviously trying to their relationship. After many failures in Oliver's career, Susan began to resent him for not giving her the life a true noblewoman deserves, the fact that she depended so much on him for her happiness and well being was sickening to read at times and was possibly the reason I had times where I struggled to read at a good pace. Susan was not without her talents, she was an illustrator and published author that was able to support the family while her husband was out of work or foregoing a paycheck, but having to use her own skills and money to support the family caused an obvious resentment between the couple. This to me is a very common thing that can still cause major problems in relationships today. Marriage is still not always seen as an equal partnership. It is commonly seen as an extended fatherhood or a way for a woman to survive in the world. If the husband is not offering a livable salary and the wife has to work it is commonly viewed as unideal. The husband is usually still seen as the provider and protector, while the wife is the helpless caretaker that can offer great things to the family, but not to the world at large. I feel a sadness that this is still commonly part of marriages in our modern times because it devalues both the male and the female involved in the relationship and puts unwanted expectations on both husband and wife. Perhaps someday we could get over this view of marriage, but I don't know if I will ever see the day.

To conclude, I thought this was a great novel. It gave me much to think about and analyze while being written with an entertaining voice. I could probably write a much longer analysis of the novel if I wanted to, so perhaps we will see a part three to this post.

P.S. I want to look like Wallace Stegner when I am his age. (or right now).