Author: a literary explorer

Circling the Sun-Paula McLain

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Circling the Sun is Paula McLain’s newest novel-centering on the life of Beryl Markham from her childhood in Africa to her famous solo transatlantic flight. Growing up in Kenya during the golden age of British Colonialism she spent her childhood training horses with her father and as a young adult mingles with Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Bror Blixen, Denys Finch Hatton and the Happy Valley set.

Although well-known and somewhat infamous in her time Beryl Markham became more of an aviation footnote until the 1980’s when a letter was found from Hemingway detailing how great her memoir West with the Night was-leading to a reissue of the memoir and more interest in her remarkable life.

Having read West with the Night and McLain’s The Paris Wife I was eagerly anticipating this fictionalized account of Markham’s life. McLain does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of her childhood, her romances and her unconventionality. Markham a great beauty was the first registered female horse trainer in Kenya-she worked hard, took chances, made mistakes and did not shrink from the consequences.

I thoroughly enjoyed the richness of Circling the Sun and wanted to spend more time with Markham and her exploits.

A God in Ruins-Kate Atkinson

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A God in Ruins is considered a companion novel to Life after Life-both center around a member of the Todd family of Fox Corner during WWII and in the case of AGIR including post WWII. I am admittedly a huge Kate Atkinson fan loving both Life after Life and Behind the Scenes at the Museum (I have not read any of her mysteries)-so I was very excited to finally sit down and start A God in Ruins.

Teddy is the golden boy of the Todd family-he is the source for all of his Aunt Izzie’s wildly popular fictional character Augustus’ escapades. He is closest to his sister Ursula whose story(ies) is(are) told in Life after Life. When the war breaks out Teddy becomes a bomber pilot/wing commander/hero/much loved by his squadron/POW camp survivor-after the war marries Nancy Shawcross (literally the girl next door), they have a daughter Viola who in turn has two children-Bertie and Sonny. The narrative does not adhere to a strict chronological timeline-companion chapters such as his childhood/Bertie and Sonny’s are lumped together contributing to the tension of some of the story lines.

Some of the most compelling passages are the flashbacks of Teddy’s wartime experiences reminding me that this really is a novel of WWII. The flashbacks are haunting in their brutality both in what is experienced and what is done. His last bombing mission to Nuremberg is as vivid as they come. By contrast Teddy’s life is rather ordinary after the war-he is a man best suited to country life, becomes a nature writer, a husband, father and grandfather. Where Teddy is extremely likable-he decided if he survived the war he would always be kind- Viola is unlikable albeit very funny at times-she is a terrible mother,has difficulty with loving,being loved and is deeply resentful of her father. Her pivotal moment comes late in the book which is also one of the crucial turns in the novel.

As Teddy’s post war life unfolds I found myself pondering the often asked question of how does an ordinary life compare to having participated in extraordinary circumstances. Teddy’s post war life is somewhat bland-yet Teddy still retains all of the qualities that made him a hero and when asked by Nancy to commit a specific act he evaluates his role in the war.

Atkinson known for turning our perceptions of storytelling on its proverbial head jolts the reader near the end of the novel. I must admit I was not expecting this and it took a little time to digest and appreciate but I do and am so glad that I read AGIR. The novel ends with hands down one of the best final lines for a novel:

“But please stop reading now.”

The Bridge of San Luis Rey-Thornton Wilder

/ a literary explorer

On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travelers into the gulf below is the celebrated opening of this 1928 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Brother Juniper a Franciscan monk witnesses the tragedy and contemplates why were these 5 souls vs. another 5 souls doomed. He decides to investigate their lives and determine the divine reason for this tragedy-at one point devising a grading system for people ranking goodness, piety, and usefulness.

Wilder who received a Masters in French from Princeton openly admitted that the first character the Friar investigated- the Marquesa de Montemayor was based on Madame de Sevigne-famous for her collected letters to her daughter which along with several other of Thornton Wilder’s works is now next on my reading list. The Friar’s investigations take approximately 6 years and during that period the Marquesa’s letters to her daughter are published and become a cause celebre as well as providing invaluable insight into the character of the Marquesa.

The five victims include the Marquesa, her companion, a scribe whose is a twin, a friend/mentor of The Perichole and The Perichole’s son. The investigations act as flashbacks and as the reader you learn the history of each of the 5 victims and how their stories are intertwined whether through the Abbess or the celebrated Actress The Perichole. Through the five you experience a broad spectrum of Peruvian society-the Aristocracy, life in the theater, convent life, the life of twins, an explorer and the struggle of the poor. I was surprised at how in depth the depictions were given that this is a rather short novel (a bone of contention for Wilder’s publisher who decided in the original printing to add illustrations and very large margins to make the book appear larger).

One of the reasons I loved the Bridge of San Luis Rey is that Wilder does not answer the question of why but allows the reader to contemplate all of the moral ambiguity in tragedy. He allows you to be the arbiter on the “correctness” of each individual’s fate including the Friar and he does this in a writing style that is clear and direct.

The last few sentences have often been quoted and quite simply are beautiful:
“But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”

I, Claudius-Robert Graves

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While avoiding Gibbon’s History of the Roman Empire (a task I will complete at some point) I picked up Robert Graves historical fiction novel- I, Claudius. Published in the 1930’s I, Claudius tells the story of the Julio-Claudian dynasty from the death of Caesar to the crowning of Claudius after Caligula’s assassination. The book is in memoir format- Claudius is a lively narrator and would be “true “historian hoping that if he hides his memoirs they will be recovered in a century when it is safe tell the actual history.

Because Claudius is born with a limp and stutter he is able to be an unseen chronicler and avoid the “power” maelstrom becoming the last man standing. Intrigue, jealousy, divorce, murder, filicide and rape are just some of the acts committed by the monarchy in Rome during the period. All of the major roman players are center stage, Augustus, Livia, Tiberius, Germanicus, Agrippa, Julia and Caligula with such notable minor players as Livy. Claudius memoirs take the reader from Rome to the provinces-Egypt, Syria and Germany. You meet Caligula (little boots) as a young boy much loved by his parents and the Roman army, see Tiberius in love and witness the precarious tightrope between the Senate and the Roman’s distaste for an inherited monarchy.

Graves conversational writing style makes this a fun read and after completing I, Claudius I am tempted to pick up the sequel Claudius the God.

The Luminaries-Eleanor Catton

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I had put off reading this Man Booker prize winning book for a year or two and am sorry I didn’t pick it up sooner. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton is so many things but first and foremost it is a great read. The story starts as Walter Moody interrupts a meeting of 12 men discussing an event-is it a murder, a swindle, or an unknown crime. Catton interestingly uses the 12 zodiac signs as a descriptor of the 12 men and their characters and actions in the unfolding narrative.

Taking place in New Zealand in the 1860’s during the gold rush-a man is missing, a man is impersonated, an old murder is unearthed, opium is used, there is a shipwreck, a Maori tribesman plays his part, an indentured Chinese man tells his story and two star crossed lovers find/lose/find each other. I loved Catton’s parody of the 19th century novel – each chapter commencing with a brief description of what to would transpire.

Although I had some initial concerns on the flow of the narrative once I found the rhythm of the story it flowed really well and as the various crimes are elaborated and all the twists and turns are followed I couldn’t put the book down.

The Saga of Gosta Berling-Selma Lagerlof

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Selma Lagerlof was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature so I have always been curious about her work but had never given it the time it deserved. The Saga of Gosta Berling one of her most well known works is an unexpected surprise-a series of morality tales with a heavy dose of magic realism.

The reader follows Gosta Berling a defrocked Minister-he leaves due to his requiring alcohol to avoid the poverty and starkness of his position to being saved by the Majoress and becoming one of 12 Cavaliers at a wealthy country estate-Ekeby. Most of the cavaliers had been soldiers during the Napoleonic wars and provide various interludes interspersed in the narrative of Gosta’s life and loves.

Evil makes its presence known early on when the cavaliers believe that their Savior the Majoress is actually in league with the devil and gives up the soul of her 13th cavalier each year. The cavaliers sign a blood oath against the Majoress requiring her removal from Ekeby and placing them and Gosta in charge for a year.

Lagerlof interweaves tales such as Wolves snapping at the heels, sinister woodlands, sloth and avarice to guide Gosta and the cavaliers through their year of being in charge. What I liked most about the book was that her use of magic realism adds rather than detracts from the narrative giving the reader a clear picture of a complex scenario much like a fairy tale.

Crossing to Safety-Wallace Stegner

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In the past year I have become a huge Wallace Stegner fan-The Angle of Repose was probably my favorite book read in 2014. Crossing to Safety is a deeply absorbing and as Stegner referred to it a “quiet book”. The story of the friendship of two couples is told in the span of a day. Larry and Sally Morgan and Sid and Charity Lang meet in Wisconsin young and starting their academic careers-they share a love of literature. They are the combination of Eastern intellect (The Langs) and Western intellect (The Morgans). Larry is the dedicated and ambitious writer and Sid the hidden poet /at heart good teacher/lacking drive- Sally the supportive spouse and Charity the exacting partner. You follow them through summers in Vermont (a true east coast tribal affair),WWII, a year in Florence and ultimately the last day back in Vermont to visit a dying friend.

There are successes and tragedies-moments of intense emotional clarity and compassion and moments of exactitude and manipulation but through it all there is an abiding friendship. Early on you learn of Sally’s polio later you learn of the Lang’s generosity in their support. You identify with Larry’s drive, Sid’s kindness, Sally’s motivation to not be a burden, and Charity’s relentless desire for the best for her loved ones. Interspersed are some extremely funny moments-Moe one of the Lang’s son-in-laws and a highly respected and published economist refers to the Lang women as a pride and perhaps everyone should recognize it as such and why that is alright with him and some extremely touching ones-Larry’s still wanting to throttle the Doctor that nearly cost him both Sally and his daughter during their daughter Lang’s delivery even twenty five years after the fact.

Stegner effortlessly has the reader evaluate the importance of ambition and success, what it is to be bound to another, can adversity deepen a relationship and how perhaps the inner workings of a lifetime together should only be the province of the participants. He shows us that life is quiet and complicated and that there is beauty in simplicity and nature. Crossing to Safety is the type of book that you take with you into your day and are the much better for it.

The Blazing World-Siri Hustvedt

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Immediately from the title you know that your heroine will be an exceptional and controversial character. “The Blazing World” was the title of a work by Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle. While Margaret Cavendish published under her own name a rarity in the 17th century for a woman- Siri Hustvedt’s heroine Harriet Burden decides to utilize 3 male artists as her “masks” to expose the art world’s dismissiveness towards female artists through an equation of her work-their name.

The novel reads like an exhibition catalog with varying viewpoints, interviews, personal remembrances and fabricated criticisms. You follow Harriet through her marriage to Felix Lord the philandering Uber Art Dealer, lukewarm reception to her exhibitions, motherhood, marginalization, widowhood and her decision to morph her art into a quasi-collaborative process taking on a certain amount of persona from her male mask. Harriet is quoted in the book as utilizing the “masculine enhancement effect”.

Philosophical references play a crucial part in the narrative. Rune’s work The Banality of Glamour is a direct reference to Hannah Arendt’s attributed statement of the Banality of Evil when discussing Eichmann. Rune is Hannah’s “Third Man” and by far the most successful and destructive of her collaborations.

The book is much more complex than a simple straight art narrative exposé in the style of the Guerilla Girls. Harriet has a lot of rage towards the men in her life-a distant father, secretive husband and duplicitous collaborator. I liked Harriet. Yes she is deeply flawed, but she is also loving and creative and interesting and I look forward to exploring more of Hustvedt’s work.

The Best Day the Worst Day: My Life with Jane Kenyon-Donald Hall

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I stumbled onto this memoir ( thank you Oyster books!) and basically finished it in one sitting.  For those unfamiliar with Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall -they  are both poets, married for 23 years and sadly parted because of Jane Kenyon’s untimely death.   Even though an unexpected illness does take up a large percentage of the memoir what I found so moving was that it was the story of a happy marriage, of two incredibly bright/funny/engaging individuals. I loved  Donald Hall’s description of how as a couple they dealt with giving joint readings-Donald Hall for most of their marriage being the more well known of the pair.  Their solution was an A/B rotation with some amusing results.  It is easy to romanticize the idea of two poets living together in a New England Farmhouse, but what I liked so much about this book was the stark reality of life as a couple and as working poets.

Although it is never easy to read a memoir of loss-this memoir is both parts cathartic and uplifting.  I am still touched by their commitment to each other and their writing.

The Green Road-Anne Enright

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Anne Enright’s most recent novel The Green Road is an engaging and punishing narrative. You meet the Madigans an Irish family from County Clare at a critical moment-an announcement is made at a Sunday dinner. You then are given a glimpse into their lives and meet them all together again as they grudgingly reconvene at a Christmas dinner some 25 years later. What was particularly interesting to me was that when you meet the Madigan children-Dan (the ex- Priest ?), Constance(the home maker), Emmet(the missionary) and Hanna(the would be actress) you are introduced to only the potentially pivotal moments in their lives – they have reached the point of change, a decision must be made or potentially tragic moment overcome. I thought this would be disconcerting since it wasn’t a straight narrative but just a captured moment albeit one that included depth but I realized I had a very clear picture of who they were, the choices they made and the approval sought.
The Christmas get together is relatable on so many levels-the childhood alliances, the festering resentments, the miscommunications, the manipulations and the glue that binds them all together as the Madigans. Here the narrative thread is continued and even though many of the scenarios are unresolved they felt complete.
To me Enright is one of those writers that makes you wince and laugh at the same time. She is clear and concise and always seem to hit it out of the park each time she publishes.