Neal Stephenson Takes The Long Road

Neal Stephenson writes long, very long, books. And that’s how I like them. I’ve read his Baroque Cycle as he calls his three books that begin with Quicksilver, continue with The Confusion, and wind up with The System of the World. Each of these books runs beyond 800 pages, giving the reader plenty of words for the cover price.

What I enjoy about Stephenson’s books is the integration of historical events and characters with the fictional ones. He weaves these two seamlessly, supporting them with facts, so that in the end its one giant story about the world. While not all of it is true, it could have been. I prefer this to science fiction or fantasy books, neither of which have I been able to get through. (Exception: Jules Verne) Furthermore, Stephenson is not afraid to take detours to flesh out the context of the action. Too many books I read today drop the reader in from space without a decent explanation of the setting. The writer expects the reader to know what 1950’s Dublin is all about, or what’s going on in terms of present-day European skullduggery, or how religious practices of some distant tribe create social mores. Sorry, I have quite a diversity and depth of knowledge, but it is your job, dear writer, to create the world of your story for me to read. If that takes a few more pages, please, indulge me. After all, I didn’t pay the cover price to read a magazine article.

Yes, that was criticism in the previous paragraph. Some critics have lambasted Stephenson for not editing or condensing his work. My humble opinion is that he should leave it the way it is or add more. I mentioned his work in an early post about the “brevity cult” (his term). Well, the “brevity cult” is alive and well in this era of attention deficit disorder. However, just because some people can’t stay focused doesn’t mean the rest of us should be short changed. Good characters and enthralling plots don’t bog down in long books; they engage the reader, giving him solid footing to travel along the novel’s journey.

So, Neal Stephenson takes the long road. I’m right there with him.

Published in: on October 2, 2008 at 12:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Summing Up

W. Somerset Maugham wrote a great book titled, The Summing Up. It is a biography of sorts in that it’s about himself and his philosophy and experience writing books and plays. Reading this book is like having one long conversation with a person of diverse experience and knowledge. In fact, I recommend a glass of whiskey while you’re enjoying the text, just to properly set the mood.

Maugham started life in odd circumstances, having been raised by an uncle in France but then going to England where he became a physician. This training and his early experiences in poor hospitals provided him with material for Liza of Lambeth. He took up writing full time and became quite a sensation in both the theatre and the world of publishing. At one point he had several plays onstage simultaneously.

What I enjoyed most about Maugham’s reflection on life was the honesty. He takes a hard look at his own desires, how they played out, and how they became something other than he expected. He doesn’t simply make a list of accomplishments or brag about them. He delves into the background, motivation, and even into how some of them were interpreted by the public and critics.

I’m not sure how popular his works are these days. I know that The Painted Veil was made into a movie recently. It was a good attempt but lacked the depth that the book contains. That book contains some of the best character development I’ve read, presenting all the subtleties and contradictions inherent in people. His other works, including Cakes and Ale, will probably seem dated and therefore quaint to today’s readers. But they’re worth a look as the stories tend to be timeless.

Published in: on October 1, 2008 at 7:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Richard Russo, The Bridge of Sighs

Having enjoyed Russo’s novel, Empire Falls, I decided to read deeper into his list by picking up The Bridge of Sighs. The book is one long train running. Like a train, it takes a while to get up to speed. Also like a train, it has many compartments. It starts with a first-person narrative as one of the main characters (a man who has had the nickname “Lucy” since first grade) writes a memoir mixed with a town history. The story then skips to his boyhood friend (“Noonan”), who left town at the end of high school and has never returned. This sets up the central framework of the book.

Through the course of the narrative, the reader meets most everyone in the small town of Thomastown, New York. Lucy and his relationships reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly of life in a one-company town. His naive father, his prescient mother, his rascally uncle, are the early people in his life. However, as he grows up he exists in a decaying place. Ultimately, he and Noonan part a couple of times, the second time for good when Noonan has to escape the law.

Like Empire Falls, this Russo book pries into the deepest recesses of people’s lives. He changes perspective in order to reveal different points of view of the same incident. This is where the story can be very powerful. However, at times the repetition grows tedious. Either way, Russo will take you on a long ride that can be insightful and enjoyable.

Published in: on September 18, 2008 at 12:42 pm  Comments (1)  
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Benjamin Franklin, American

It’s no secret that Benjamin Franklin is my gold standard for quality when it comes to all things American. Lately, I’ve delved into a biography by H.W. Brands titled, The First American. The book starts off with our man Mr. Franklin before King George’s Privy Council. The king’s men give old Ben a wicked dressing down. As Mr. Brands says, a lesser man would have been humiliated. Not Benjamin Franklin. He knew this was the end, as in the end of his loyalty to Britain. It was also the beginning, though the revolution wouldn’t kick off for about two more yeas.

I’ve heard various discussions here in Philadelphia about Ben Franklin, his habits, his lusts, his failings. This is pop culture balderdash that deserves no more than a passing mention in non-permanent media outlets. In this regard I subscribe to the policy of letting the man without sin cast the first stone. Every human is fallible and subject to human weaknesses be they of the flesh, the emotions, or simply errors in judgement. In fact, I’d venture to say Ben Franklin had quite a few less flaws than many other so-called great men.

Thus, there is no shame, and in fact worthy pride, that Ben Franklin is held up as not only a founding father of the United States of America, but also an example of how to conduct one’s life. He was tolerant, ambitious, learned, and wise. What frightens me most is the view of the current crop of leadership held against his silhouette. The damn fools mucking up in government today seem hell bent on the abandonment, if not outright destruction, of the principles Franklin and his band of 19th Century radicals fought to establish. Today’s leadership palls in comparison. The founding father’s had their brawls, feuds, and fights. However most of them were more a matter of how to implement a successful strategy than over what the strategy should be.

And so in this election season, I’ll judge candidates by the Franklin Standard. If they bow to opinions beyond the border, if they see the United States as a cow to be milked by whiners and half-wits, and if they refute the proven principles of limited government over the self-reliant, well, then they’ll get neither my vote nor my sympathy. On the other hand, if they lead with boldness, unafraid to speak well of a nation that has done so much for so many, and put forth a platform that recognizes the necessity of individual solutions to seemingly collective problems, then I will make my mark by their name.

As Benjamin Franklin once said of the newly formed United States of America, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Published in: on September 12, 2008 at 3:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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