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).

Angle of Repose Pt. 1

I am currently through a little over half of this large novel. It will probably be the longest novel I have ever read at only 569 pages. I suppose I have read a few books that are in the 400 page realm, but finishing this will truly feel like an accomplishment. The novel is a historical story of an engineer and his genteel wife living in the western United States in the late 1800's. This is the second novel I have read this month with a hefty amount about romantic relationships. Also the second novel with a female heroin, coincidence? I am not sure. I didn't know that either book would be either romantic or have a female main character, so it must be coincidence. I don't have too much to say about the book at this moment. I just wanted to write a little bit because it has been so long since I have finished a book and written a reflection on it.

It has been a strange read for me, because it has been at times both addicting and hard to get into. I am not sure why that is, but something about Stegner's prose makes me love reading as well as eagerly await completion so I don't have to read any longer. I think it might just be a case of wild mood swings or something, but usually I can either read a book nonstop forever or barely get through one. This one I can either barely get through or read nonstop. I am just as confused about it as this paragraph is confusing.

Anyhow, full analysis of Angle of Repose coming soon....

Seize The Day

Seize the Day is possibly the most depressing book I have ever read. I would place it in the same category as The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. It is the story of a middle aged man who has failed at everything he has tried. He was a failed actor, a failed husband, a failed salesman, and a failure in his father's eyes. The story follows him as he spends the last of his money gambling on the stock market with a untrusted "expert" trader. As you read through this story you find that he is looking for something that no one has given him, and that is love and kindness. Each character he encounters or reminisces about wants something from him he cannot offer or wishes him harm. The story is focused on themes of loneliness and despair as you see Wilhelm (the main character) at his last straw and beyond. The story ends with just as much depression as it had in the beginning.

I didn't have much thought or emotion while reading this book, and I don't know if I would recommend it to anybody unless they first showed interest in it. Although it was well written, I was constantly reading with the feeling that I couldn't wait for it to be over. I may have learned somethings from it, but I will have to think about it for a while before I could easily share what those things may be.