From the Lists: #44 Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley

Sometimes working through the list is an academic slog. The books are too cerebral, too experimental, or too outside of my sphere of experience to fully appreciate them. Then along comes #44 Point Counter Point (1928) by Aldous Huxley in which the clouds part and the sun returns.

Where Conrad's Nostromo was often described as the War and Peace of central American banana republics, Point Counter Point would be considered the equivalent for London's post WWI privileged arts community. The central character, John Bidlake, is a once famous Victorian artist who is now more known for his sexual exploits than for his art. His children, their spouses, lovers, acquaintances, and employees form the novel's intoxicatingly diverse world.

What I found most intriguing while reading this work was Huxley's ability to create and interweave a cast of characters whose lives are both distant from and seemingly immediate to my own experience. And, while I will most likely never live on an estate or be the head of a national socialist party or a famous artist on the party circuit, I could easily equate each character within the novel with someone I know in my life.

The connections between the characters in the novel are maintained through either blood relation to John Bidlake, marriage to a Bidlake sibling, employment by the family, and those people who are by nature drawn into the orbits of the famous. Huxley simply drops the reader into the thoughts and conversations of his characters. Like in life, tidbits of information are hinted at, implied, or casually dropped with maliciously gossipy intent during intimate dinners, tea, or cocktail parties. The upper classes prove their "modernity" through casual sexuality and general acceptance of loose morals. Rebelling against the publicly displayed Victorian morals of the middle classes, the rich and privileged flaunt their desire for excitement through late night drinking, carousing, and casual affairs - always searching for the next thrill.

Of course it is not all fun and games - otherwise this novel would become just another moralistic story of excess. Rather, Huxley perfectly balances the tawdry with the respectable, the unorthodox with the traditional, the Victorian moralist with the Jazz age flapper, the conformist with the anarchist, and the love match with the socially advantageous marriage in order to create a world recognizable by readers of all social strata.

Recommendation: Two enthusiastic thumbs up for the writing style, character development, and story. I admit that I am often eager to complete a book from the list in order to move on to the next. In this case I wanted to linger in Huxley's world more thoroughly exploring these characters, hanging on their words, existing in their orbits for just a while longer.

Connection: In my meditation class, our teacher often speaks of how all things are connected. In this case, I have a small connection to this novel. One of the plot crises occurs in the Mews at Hyde park, which were once part of the royal stables, but were later converted into fashionable townhomes. Coincidentally, I have been in one of these homes, visiting a friend who lived in London. It is a small world, indeed.

Thought from the bar stool

Here is a thought for amateur bands who play in bars; louder is not always better.  It is just louder.

From the Lists: Manly Men Doing Manly Things Badly

Ernest Hemingway (1928)

After the European obtuseness of Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway's terse masculine prose comes as a welcome relief for reading in the sun. Billed as the "quintessential novel of the lost generation," The Sun Also Rises (1926) is a debauched romp through Paris and Spain by American and English expats and tourists following the first world war.

In Hemingway's world, drunken evenings of bar hopping stretch into brisk mornings spent in cafes over coffee. Every meal is heartily satisfying. People do things. They love and break up. They fight and make up. Grudges are soon forgotten. Large sums of money are spent pursuing pleasures. The weather is sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Sentences are short and declarative. And perhaps in spite of the clipped writing style, Hemingway's world seems more rich and tactile than those of other writers who spend so much of their time setting a mood before anything actually happens. 

The novel is probably most well known for its depiction of the bull fights held during the festival of St. Fermin - including the practice of young men running with the bulls through the streets of Pamplona.  However, the pageantry of the bullfight and festival is simply the backdrop for broken relationships, bankruptcies, betrayals, and apathetic acceptance that occurs among a group of friends as they plan, prepare, and travel from Paris to Pamplona for the festival.

Since this novel is mostly told through either gossipy or drunk dialog, there is very little character exposition that is not tinged by jealousy or colored by feelings of unrealized love. And, much like an extended episode of Seinfeld, none of the characters learn or grow during their exploits. Everyone is pretty much in the same place developmentally as they were at the beginning of the novel. Perhaps that is why I enjoyed it so much. It is reminiscent of my younger days when things happened and people did things, but the copious amounts of alcohol lubricated our conversations and relationships.

On a side note, I do have a few connections with this novel including a visit to Hemingway's home in Key West, Florida. If you find yourself there with a few hours to spare, you should take the tour. It is well worth the money. Also, toward the end of the novel when Jake meets Brett in Madrid, they have a dinner of suckling pig accompanied by several bottles of rioja wine at Botin. I too have eaten this dinner. Yum! Ricisima!

Recommendation: Two thumbs up if you are looking for a fun book with no moral lesson - just guys doing guy stuff.

From the Lists: Joseph Conrad Tag Team

Joseph Conrad

Like the D. H. Lawrence grouping in my last literary blog installment, the next two novels are by Joseph Conrad. Most readers will recognize him as the author of Heart of Darkness (#67), but he also has three other novels on the list: #85 Lord Jim, #47 Nostromo, and #46 The Secret Agent. One can only marvel that someone whose first language was Polish, was so proficient in languages that he landed 4 novels in the 100 best English novels of the 20th century.

Heart of Darkness (1902) is probably the most widely-read of Conrad's works in that it is pretty much required reading in American high schools and colleges. The movie Apocalypse Now (1979) was also loosely based on this novella, thus insuring its longevity. However, Conrad considered Nostromo (1904) to be his masterpiece. The author, a notorious complainer, often wrote while working on the serialized release of the book that this work would lead to his death by exhaustion. As a reader, I too was nearly brought to death by the lack of action within the novel.

Nostromo

As someone who appreciates the art of writing, I feel a little guilty about the above pronunciation, but boiled down to its essence - this novel is a bit like a Central American War and Peace - complete with a long list of characters with complicated histories, but without the war and with very little peace. Imagine your country is in a civil war and you are chasing the action, but you always arrive just a few hours late or you are stranded just a few streets away from the action. In this way, the narrative is quite inventive in that all the action is related through the experiences of people who are recalling events the reader just missed experiencing. Since the events in the novel are all filtered through unreliable narrators motivated by greed, nationalism, jealousy, and love - the reader is left to draw their own conclusions about the action, the characters, and their motivations.

What I did find quite interesting, and somewhat contemporary in the novel is the continued debate about the importance of business in civil society. Conrad proposes through his characters that without commerce, there can be no civilization. That a successful business venture results in roads, railroads, harbors, hospitals, churches, and commerce that would not otherwise exist. Without these arteries of commerce, European style society could not flourish. 100 years later, this idea seems to still be hotly debated. The flip side to this argument is that prosperity also fuels the less noble tendencies of man leading to war, suffering, and needless death and destruction.

The Secret Agent

The second book in this tag team, The Secret Agent (1907), had a bit of resurgence in popularity following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. However, instead of religious radicals planning and executing an effective attack, this work is loosely based on a bungled attempt by anarchists to initiate a social revolution by bombing the Greenwich observatory in England.

While the author's intent in Nostromo is literary, The Secret Agent is blatant satire. Its characters are caricatures of notable anarchists of the period. The characters personify all the stereotypes of the shiftless anarchist - they are over-weight, under-educated, frequently jailed, or making their livings off of wealthy women or by selling French pornography. Based on the phrenological sentiments of the day, their craniums are all described as lumpy due to the criminal quality of their thoughts and their skin is sallow and oily. Apparently bad intentions make for bad health and unsightly appearance. Let this be a lesson!

As with all good satire, such as The Daily Show, one must be informed on the issue being discussed to understand the humor - hence the prodigious number of footnotes included in this edition. An early 20th century Londoner would no doubt understand the satiric intent of this novel and get the joke, but the ironic skewering of figures who have been largely lost in the sweep of history, tends to lose its humor when read by a contemporary audience.

Recommendation: Of these two novels, it is difficult to choose one over the other as I am unenthusiastic about both. I suffered great frustration in the first and found the second somewhat difficult to read - a bit like being the new guy in a group of friends who communicate using only inside jokes.

Cliches, Metaphors, and Thrills

There are several cliches, metaphors, and similes that come to mind when I think back over the last few weeks.

• Life is not a sprint, but a marathon
• It's not the destination that's important, but the journey
• On your deathbed you will not wish you had spent more time at work
• Money can't buy happiness
• Time flies when you are having a great time
• Everyday above ground is a good day
• Life is like a box of chocolates

You get the idea. But, it seems that I have been on the up side of the roller coaster for the last several months. And, that is not a bad thing. The up side is where the anticipation builds to the point where you can't hold in the excitement any longer. Your heart pounds, your breathing quickens, giggles slip out, and your whole body clenches in anticipation of what is just over the horizon.

At the moment, I am poised in that moment just at the top of the first big rise, at the apogee, where the thrill of what is to come battles with the desire to go back to the safety that lies behind me. However, I bought the ticket and strapped myself in, I have no choice now but to take a deep breath, lift my arms above my head, enjoy the plunge,  and scream in exhilaration - regardless of what lies ahead.

On the up side of this ride, I am finishing up my "double duty." My consultancy gig with my former employer is winding down so I will soon have my evenings free again. I have wrapped my head around the demands of my new job and embraced the challenges it poses. Everyday, I am eager to arrive in the office and do my best to assist people in fulfilling their dreams of publication. While, it will be some time before I have even a yeoman's understanding of the publishing business, I am starting to feel a bit more confident.

As I head over the top of this first hill, I have several huge projects to complete as we continue to rewrite and improve our publication applications. Tucked in among all this work, I have also been asked to join the team heading to New York City for Book Expo America (BEA) in early June. This is the largest publishing event in North America. I will there with our marketing and executive teams rubbing elbows with the players in the industry.

I love the city.
I love creative people.
I love my life.
I love the roller coaster!

Seen and Heard: REP's 8

Readers know that I am a bit of a booster for Raleigh Ensemble Players (REP) and their "provocative, powerful, and penetrating" theatrical productions. Perhaps my love of their work (fan-boy) is due to my penchant for Modernist (difficult) literature, my brief history on the stage (high school), or my firm belief that every life is a musical (I hear your music). No matter, last night's dramatic reading of Dustin Lance Black's 8 moved me to tears, spontaneous applause, and a new insight into a difficult and often divisive subject. The script was tight, the characters human, the direction spot on, and the talent - simply unbelievable. The cream of our rich, diverse theater community was on display delivering a one-night-only performance that was close to perfection. 

On its most basic level, the play was taken from the transcripts of the federal court challenge to the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which revoked the rights of same-sex couples from marrying. Think Law and Order, without the murder, but with all the human drama, the courtroom arguments, the complainants' back stories, and the media - all honestly and artfully portrayed as recorded in the official record.

This work should be required viewing for all North Carolinians before entering the ballot box to vote on this very same issue - ironically on May 8th. I can only hope that the first amendment to our constitution will not be one intended to single out a group of people in order to deny them civil rights and basic dignities surrounding the most personal, private, and joyous aspect of their lives. Most people are unaware that one of the rights slaves gained upon emancipation was the right to marry. Several freedmen wrote that this right was among the most cherished, proving that they were indeed free.

And, as hard as it is to believe today, it was only 40 years ago that it was illegal in some states for inter-racial couples to marry. It is obvious that the institution of marriage continues to evolve from arranged marriages to business relationships to romantic love matches benefiting those who choose to participate. As stated in last night's closing argument: "We will all be more American the day after same-sex marriage is recognized as a legal and basic right than we were the day before."

The polls are now open for early voting.
Vote early - vote often.

Long Time, No See

Wheel of Life

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since my last posting. Time flies when you are living your dreams....

Who am I kidding? I have been swamped with work and just haven't had time to organize my thoughts into a coherent, entertaining essay. However, following dinner with my friends Clodagh and Jerry last night, I realized that I am in a rare place of happiness. I have found a blissful moment where the hectic swirl of the world seems far away.

Since I am five weeks into the new job, the radio silence can be lifted. As you may remember, I accepted a new position at Lulu Press in March. Although I am no longer working in my beloved downtown Raleigh and I have to actually drive to the office now, I am thrilled with my work and excited by the team of highly dedicated and creative people with whom I get to spend my days. I am still drinking from the fire hose, so to speak, but I am getting my head around the job and I am eager to get to the office every morning.

Of course that is not how it started. Sometime around 2:00 PM on my first day, I started wondering if I had made a horrible mistake. So many new faces, names, personalities to learn - not to mention that I barely understood a third of what people were talking about in meetings. And, boy, you better believe these people do have some meetings. I have learned that being the oldest person in the room sometimes has its advantages in that I can use my experience and distill it into a varnish of artificial self-confidence. After all, these people didn't know that I was really a walking meat bag composed of jitters and self-doubt. Simply raising my hand and reminding people that I am the new guy, seems to jolt everyone back into English - for a few minutes anyway. Fortunately, I am picking up the jargon pretty quickly, thanks to Google.

Since those tentative days and sleepless nights, I feel that I have begun making a contribution to the success of the company. Perhaps only a small contribution at this point, but I do see a bright future for myself there and hope to stay as long as they will have me.

As to my former position, well, I am still moonlighting for them in the evenings. I just couldn't leave them in the lurch. Somehow I think this generosity has contributed to my recent karmic happiness, but it could also be the consultant-level hourly wage they are paying me that has smoothed the way for paying off the credit card, insurance, and future vacation debt yet to be incurred during my upcoming visit to the Greek Isles in August.

Life is good!