Arco Iris De Gravedad?

Gather all lines together. This opening line was held by many critics to allude to “Against The Day” being Thomas Pynchon’s swan song. There must have been a few red faces in academe when his publisher released the publication date for “Inherent Vice” last year. This pointless speculation is lampooned in 2666’s “The Part About The Critics” where literary scholars had been relentlessly predicting the drying up of the elusive Archimboldi’s output only to be continually undone by further publications.

This coincidence seems to reflect a further correspondence - Bolano’s novels with their multiple narratives and cuts & jumps between periods, places and cultures bear more than a passing resemblance to Pynchon. The narrative arc of both 2666 and “The Savage Detectives” echo “Gravity’s Rainbow” (although the same could probably be said of any book that begins and ends in, figuratively, the same place). Even the search for Archimboldi/Cesarea Tinajero via enormous diversions and digressions parallels the search for the rocket. However “Gravity’s Rainbow” is, in comparison, less concerned with sex and death.

This ultimately is what 2666 is all about - There’s a sense in which “2666” is an uninterrupted meditation on death. Woody Allen said the difference between sex and death was that at least with death if you were caught doing it on your own no one would laugh. Bolano’s epigraph for 2666 is less comic, a line from Baudelaire “An oasis of horror in a desert of boredom” - Santa Teresa in the desert of Sonora? Or, for a man who saw chaos and violence just beneath the surface of the everyday, a metaphor for life - the cradle that rocks above the abyss?

In Order To Figure You Have To Count.

2666 is the latest (and last) “novel” from Roberto Bolano. It’s a book in five parts, four of which were ready for publication before his death from liver failure in 2003 .Although intended for publication in 5 parts (he was aware of his increasing popularity and saw this as a way of providing a more stable income for his family) his wife and his literary executor took the decision to publish the parts in one volume (as they believed Bolano would have decided had he lived.)

I’m part way through “The Part About The Crimes” the section dealing with the serial murders of upwards of 300 women in Santa Teresa in Sonora (a thinly disguised Ciudad Jaurez that Bolano has likened to Hell)

Unsurprisingly for a writer staring into the abyss the central themes of the novel are violence and death. “The Part About The Crimes” is by far the longest section and catalogues in fairly flat prose and forensic detail the brutalisation and murder of scores of women. For the most part these women work in the maquiladoras (US assembling plants) and their deaths merit the briefest investigation by the Mexican police. Bolano counterpoints this casual indifference with the interest shown with the crimes of the “Demon Penitent” - A sacraphobic with a penchant for pissing on church floors and “offing” the odd priest. As Guadalupe Roncal, a fellow journalist, says to Oscar Fate regarding the murdered women of Santa Teresa:

"No one pays attention to these killings, but the secret of the world is hidden in them."

In “The Part About Fate” Prof. Albert Kessler, an authority on serial murderers, makes a comparison of the treatment of the sacking of the Paris Commune with the coverage of a knife sharpener’s murder of his wife and his elderly mother. The thousands of slaughtered communards rate barely a mention yet the knife sharpeners crime is splashed across the news pages of Europe:

“…..How come? The ones killed in the Commune weren't part of society”

As a poet (when asked whether he considered himself a poet or novelist he said “A poet, because my poetry makes me blush less”) and outsider maybe Bolano was concerned about whether he would pass unnoticed. On the strength of 2666 he needn’t have worried.

One Thing Leads To Another.

As has already been said, one of the occasional joys of this book club is the discovery of a new favourite author (Haruki Murakami, Scarlett Thomas & Michael Chabon for me) It’s usually an expensive find. I realise it’s a little obsessional but If I’m really impressed with an author I tend, almost immediately, to trawl through Abe books and buy up the back catalogue. This wouldn’t be quite as much of a problem if I didn’t have a fetish for first edition hard backs. ( If the spitting image sketch (?) of Bernard Levin writhing on a bed of hardbacks is playing in your minds eye right now, I’m way ahead of you) So the high-fiving of a bookclub choice is always a bittersweet moment.

What prompted the post? Well, other than a desire to keep the blog rolling a pristine signed copy of The Yiddish Policemen’s Union arrived today. Who knows maybe one day I’ll even get round to reading it!

For De Mille, Young Fur-Henchmen….

There’s a section of Gravity’s Rainbow detailing the criminal activities of, I think, 30 fur-coat-stealing dwarves. They auditioned en masse for a part on a galleon in a biblical epic but failed to get parts. Apparently “For De Mille young Fur-Henchmen can’t be rowing” This “pun” on the expression “Forty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong” would have been completely lost on me but for the Steven Weisenburger companion.

Would I have enjoyed the book any less if I’d remained in the dark? Probably not. Whilst it’s possible to treat books as puzzles to be solved, If they’re any good they ought to work as plain old stories. This is true of anything by Pynchon. He may occasionally be wilfully obscure (the sections on Quaternions in “Against The Day” would defeat anyone without a Maths degree) but he also writes gorgeous prose and wonderful shaggy-dog stories.

In just the same way TMITHC works as an alternative history without needing to be aware of Dick’s ideas on simulacra. In fact pretty much everything he wrote can be seen as riffs on two concerns – “What is human?” And “What is real?” ( It’s an open question whether this is the result or the driver of his paranoia )
However I think it’s still possible to read “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?” as hard boiled detective fiction with a sci-fi edge and treat the philosophy as a gloss.

Is this true or am I getting my excuses in early?

The Man in the High Castle

Just a quick post - not about a Book Club book. I finally got round to reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Not sure why I have not read it sooner, but better late than never, I suppose.

I may have already said, but my main criteria for judging a book are: did I enjoy it? Was it a page turner? Am I sorry to have finished it? Would I press it into the hands of a stranger and urge them to read it?

Well, TMITHC ticked several of those boxes, but my main feeling at the end was: what was all the fuss about? It is well documented what a ground-breaking classic it is, and how it helped to pave the way for alternative histories. But when I finished it, I thought it was an enjoyable, intriguing read, but an all-time classic?

It shows how stupid I am, but I had to read reviews on Amazon, and look at its entry on Wikipedia to appreciate all of the nuances I missed, the many interpretations that could be read into the text.

And on reflection, I love this book. I think in future when I am approaching a hallowed text, I will read the "spoiler" reviews up front, so that I can more fully engage with the book.

What do you reckon?

Top 3 Book

Even though I only chose it for our group, and didn't ACTUALLY write it, I am still enormously pleased to report that The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay has ended up in our Top 3 books of all time.

It is clearly about more than picking a book that will score highly - the most important thing for me in a book is one that will provide intellectually stimulating enjoyment. Honest.

But a Top 3 book - I wanted to cry when I heard the news, but I stayed strong. After all, I am currently growing a beard, so I have to be a man.

Review of our March 09 Northern Readers meeting

We met as planned at Apotheca in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. The Northern Quarter seems to have expanded massively over recent years, as I remember it as a collection of shops and bars around Oldham St, Tib St and the old market. That's the effect of city living for you.

Apotheca seemed quite a friendly place, with a good selection of trendy beers on draught served in tall glasses, at not TOO ridiculous prices. As I am off booze at the moment, I was disappointed that they did not have any Fentiman's Ginger Beer - though I did have one of that brand's "Curiosity Cola" drinks. Much nicer than Coca Cola, but I could still feel the enamel being stripped off my teeth with every sip.

We ate at the adjoining Dough restaurant, which has been open since October 2008. I have to start with a criticism: the service was incredibly slow, especially given the fact that it was only about two thirds full, and they had what seemed like dozens of staff roaming around. However, when the food did eventually turn up, the pizzas were absolutely delicious - my Florentina was the best pizza I have eaten in years. Highly recommended - and the waiter even listened to my gentle griping about the service, and seemed eager to improve.

The book itself (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) was very well received, and provoked lots of intelligent-sounding discussions. I chose it after searching around online for weeks - I was originally going to get a PopScience book, but stumbled upon the Michael Chabon book, and placed my order for 5 copies.

I won't give it an in-depth review here. In fact, at meetings my usual level of critique is not much more in-depth than "I liked it" or "I did not like it". I leave it to the others to raise the level of debate. However, the book manages to sustain its pace througout its 600+ pages, and it vividly brings to life the wartime and post-war era in New York, when it seemed anybody with artistic skills and a little imagination could make a stab at a (short-lived) career during the boom of comic books.

One of the joys of the book group meets are "discovering" authors to cherish - though the downside is the impact it has upon one's bank balance. Michael Chabon looks set to join Haruki Murakami, Magnus Mills and Scarlett Thomas on my "must buy" list.

The Savage Detectives

I'm not really allowed to say anything about the choice yet because each discussion begins with a justification of the book choice. (This can range from the confessional to the shame-faced ) and we tend not to play with the format. So I'll keep it factual.

This is our next book. Whilst I toyed with the idea of "2666" two things served to dissuade me. 1 - The price and 2 - The size ( 900+ pages). I'm not suggesting we don't have the stamina for it. It's just that I couldn't fit 4 copies in my bag!

March 09 book club - where to meet

Well, seeing as it is my book choice (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) that is being reviewed, I get the pleasure of choosing the restaurant, but the pain of paying for the meal. A mixed blessing, but it does feel good to "treat" my friends to a meal every so often.

I won't reveal the restaurant, as it is all part of the fun not knowing what you will be getting. However, can we meet for a pint at the rather poncy-sounding Apotheca Bar in the Northern Quarter. This is a link to their minimalist website, and location is found here on Google Maps.

I have booked the restaurant for 9pm, so can we meet at the bar for around "8ish".

Please make sure that you have eaten something for tea before you come out in order to minimise my outlay on the meal - there is a Credit Crunch, after all.