From the Lists: #24 Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio (1919) is often referred to as the first modernist novel. More a short story cycle that a novel, the narrative  breaks free from the standard narrative form of protagonists and antagonists in linear narratives. Rather it is composed of short vignettes focusing on the lives people living in and around a small Midwestern town. The thread that holds the cycle together is young George Willard who works for the local newspaper. Since his job is to talk to the citizens of Winesburg, he becomes the holder of their secrets - both past and present.

While there have been hundreds, if not thousands of books about small town anywhere, what makes this books so memorable is that it bucks the romantic notion that small town life is a Mayberry-esque utopia. Instead, the residents of Winesburg have secrets and personal demons. Sherwood's small town is a place of extreme isolation where the smallest deviation from the norm is exaggerated until it comes to define you.  

Sherwood Anderson

Each story in Winesburg, Ohio focuses on a single resident, their history, and their current circumstances. Most of the stories begin with hopes of youth that are soon replaced with the disappointments of adult life. Whether it is the farmer who seeks divine intervention, the hotel keeper's daughter, the lustful minister, the banker's wife, the lonely music teacher, the soft spoken hermit, or our hero George Willard, the truths on which they base their lives eventually prove to be their downfall. As Sherwood states in the opening chapter: "It was the truths that made the people grotesques. The old man had quite an elaborate theory concerning the matter. It was his notion that the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood."

"... Down the middle of the street? Naked?

As if it were not enough that their disappointment in discovering their heartfelt beliefs about themselves were false, add the judging eyes of their neighbors. Whether actual or paranoid delusion, it is the judgement of their peers that acts to amplify the characters' shame and isolation. Imagine Clara and Aunt Bee sitting together over a piece of pie, gossiping about peeping tom ministers, accused pedophiles, pregnant teens, depressed housewives, or young adults dying to leave for the big city? 

People talk of cities as being places that grind you down, where people are dishonest and crime is rampant, But, in the city it is easier to put aside our failures, dust ourselves off, and move on with our lives. Our odd behaviors are not as noticeable in a large crowd. Sheer numbers almost guarantee that no matter how different we are, we will find someone with the same thoughts or beliefs. The city, after all affords us a bit of anonymity. Unlike Winesburg, Ohio, where everyone knows our shame and there are no second chances.

Recommendation
Although my personal experience of growing up in a small town "may" have colored my opinions about the book, it was reminiscent of Spoon River Anthology (1915). The stories are short and the writing is tight, however it does read a bit like an adult bedtime story. The language reminds me of parables or fables where the lesson is always "Do not be too rigid in your thoughts about your life and how it will turn out. It will always be different that imagined. And, whether it is a success of a failure,  others will define you as they wish, regardless of how much effort you make to define yourself." Not a particularly uplifting thought.

Next up: #23 The USA Trilogy by John Dos Passos

From the Lists: #26 The Wings of the Dove

My love / hate relationship with Henry James culminates in The Wings of the Dove (1902). A story about Kate, a beautiful, but down-and-out social climber, who pimps her fiance, Merton, to Milly, a rich, terminally ill, American orphan, in the hope that he will inherit her fortune upon her death.  (How's that for Jamesian sentence structure?)

Like James' other novels, there are really no good girls or boys in this story of having and wanting. Even the idealistic love between Kate and Merton, a journalist, is eventually corrupted by the societal machinations of Kate's Aunt Maud and Milly's traveling companion Mrs. Stringham - who, coincidentally, were school mates back in the day.

While Kate is willing to throw off Aunt Maud's "sponsorship" to be with Merton, she is also keenly aware of her struggling father and sister who look to her marriage prospects as benefit to themselves:  "...[T]he more one gave oneself the less of one was left. There were always people to snatch at one, and it would never occur to them that they were eating one up. They did that without tasting."(p. 23) Of course it's easy for Kate to disdain the grasping of others when later justifying her own grasping, manipulating, lying, and betrayal as serving your "higher" purposes.

It appears that a fabulously wealthy, orphaned, American heiress with only a few months to live, really brings out the local London aristocracy. Upon her arrival, balls, dances, dinners are suddenly arranged. The Spring season is extended and the Summer exodus from London is postponed, all for a chance to meet and woo this heiress. What's most interesting for the reader, is that James gives you no clues as to who is in on the plot, who are pawns, and who are the victims.

In many ways, while reading this novel, I was reminded of Downton Abbey - particularly Cora's marriage to Lord Grantham, which included a dowry large enough to save the estate. In Milly's case, the lucky man would only need be married a few months at most, and a fortune would be at his command. Not a bad deal for a slightly tarnished estate or unlanded title holder. Yet, with all these suitors, Milly only has eyes for a poor, secretly engaged, journalist, who coincidentally is our male romantic lead, Merton.

In the end, this is a morality tale about love and greed, innocence and guilt, faith and compromise, which makes it all the more sad. The novel's first act is filled with love, innocence and faith as evidenced by the vows Kate and Merton exchange to conclude the first act, "I pledge myself to you forever." Merton exultant replies, "And I pledge you - I call God to witness! - every spark of my faith; I give you every drop of my life." Sadly, because this is literature, the lesson is not going to be eternal joy and bliss. Instead, the tale will end with a harvest of fruits planted, tilled, and fertilized with greed, compromise, and guilt.

Thinking about Henry James

In reading The Golden Bowl (#32), The Ambassadors (#27), and now The Wings of the Dove, I found myself settling into the parlors and receiving rooms of upper middle class London at the turn of the century. There is a bit of a scandalous undercurrent to all of these stories, there are unreliable narrators, internal dialogs, as well as character types and places his readers would have known or heard about. I think that being a part of and/or understanding this segment of society provided James with some shortcuts that the present day reader is lacking. Once I fell into the habit of reading between the lines and not fully trusting James' narrators, I think I took on more of the persona of his original audience. After all, why write something down when your reader's imagination will add the perfect amount of scandal and spice for the book to provide a rush of titillation in addition to the pleasure of moral superiority?

Next up: #24 Winesburg Ohio

Goodbye 2013 - Hello 2014!

I realized as I was pulling myself together for this entry that last year, I completely failed to post a list of 2013 resolutions. The bright side of that oversight is that I don't have to hang my head in shame for not accomplishing everything on the 2013 list of resolutions. But, it also means I have nothing to pin to my aspirational accomplishments board.

In 2012 there was some pressure to deliver once those resolutions were posted, but many good things came out that list. 

Looking back, 2013 was a year of continued efforts, transitions, and separations.

• I have continued my studies at the Kadampa Center. Not only have I continued the Discovering Buddhism classes, but I became a supporting member of the Center in October and took my lay vows in December, which allowed me to officially update my Facebook Beliefs field to Buddhist. 
• I continued my push through the 100 Best English Novels of the 20th Century - only 15 more to go. 
• I resisted a very strong desire to leave my current job in search of another once my best work buddy Arjay got his dream job at another company. Ten months later, I am so happy I resisted the temptation of possibly greener pastures. I now see a definite future for myself at Lulu that I hope will see me through many happy years of employment.
• I ended my relationship with Carl. Although for me it was the right thing to do, I regret my lack of compassion in how it was executed. It was callous, cowardly and needlessly hurtful to him. 
• I came to the realization that a 50 year old body has its limitations after injuring my foot during a pleasant afternoon run, which was immediately followed by a back injury just prior to the holidays.

Now that we are nearly two weeks into 2014, it's time to publicly declare my resolutions for the coming year.

With you as my witness, I resolve:

• Meatless Mondays shall continue (as will a slow expansion of meatless meals throughout the week).
• From this day forward, there shall be no television viewed in the home on Sunday before 7:00 PM. (This is a compromise resolution. Initially there was serious thought that there would be no television at home, but unlike my dear friend John M., I am unable to relinquish my last connection to pop culture.)
• There shall be at least one blog post per week for 2014, including a midyear update to this list.
• Yoga shall be added to the fitness regime.
• There shall be at least two dinner parties planned and executed in my home as a way to show my appreciation for the family and friends who graciously feed me throughout the year.
• There shall be a new volunteer opportunity identified to which I can offer my talents. 
• There shall be a plot summary and character sketches written for a novel I have been considering for some time now.
• There shall be less than five books remaining to read on the list of 100 Best English Novels of the 20th Century (Stretch goal is to complete the list by the end of the year).
• A visit to the Asian branch of the family for late 2014 or early 2015 shall be planned. (Stretch goal: Trip to include cycling trip from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Cambodia. I may be looking for a traveling companion on this trip, but I can offer you a free place to stay in Singapore!)
• There shall be a colonoscopy (Lemmie Winks shall be rescued).
• There shall be a legal document composed for the disposition of my worldly goods upon my death.

Most importantly, I hope to create the causes for happiness in 2014. That means I must resist the gravitational pull of the sofa and my favorite reading chair. While my home is the place I feel most content, it can also be a barrier to experiencing the adventures of life.

To my friends, I hope you have a joyful year, absent of regrets and filled with people who make you laugh.

Happy 2014