Fall reads, #1

Hello everyone. I read two books recently. I thought I would review them.

Brideshead Revisited
by Evelyn Waugh

Two words: British Gatsby. Seriously! Sad rich people in postwar societal disillusionment chase down obsessive dreams, have torrid affairs, drink away their sorrows in fancy clubs and yachts and polo matches, and die or become morbidly depressed, exhausted by their gluttonous lives and exquisite misery, though Brideshead is tame, even, prosaic, vague and painful at turns, whereas Fitsgerald's Gatsby is loud and syncopated. It is possibly the most English book I have ever read. (And I've read Pride and Prejudice.) The cameraderie between the depressing Nick Carroway and obsessive Gatsby, and the strange, drawn-out, mutual fixation (and homosexual attraction?) between tormented Ryder and decadent, flighty Sebastian is very similar. Waugh deftly chops language like a sushi chef. He is a master, in turns comedic and painfully honest, and crafts the saga of Ryder's hollow life and his quest to fill it with relationships into a train wreck you couldn't possibly tear your eyes away from. I devoured this book in 48 hours because I couldn't stay away. Also interesting was the main theme of God, religion and the search for meaning, left appropriately unresolved. Probably my favorite chunk of the book was a narrative musing of Ryder on love. I think it captures the essence of chasing perfect love and satisfaction in fallen people: “Perhaps all our loves are merely hints and symbols; vagabond-language scrawled on gate-posts and paving-stones along the weary road that others have tramped before us; perhaps you and I are types and this sadness which sometimes falls between us springs from disappointment in our search, each straining through and beyond the other, snatching a glimpse now and then of the shadow which turns the corner always a pace or two ahead of us.” 

BOTTOM LINE: A splendorous British extravaganza of decadence, emptiness and misery. Read if you love Gatsby, the roaring 20's, and great writing, and don't mind feeling gutted and terribly sad when it ends.

Certain Women
by Madeleine L'Engle

This book is a mishmash of every element Madeleine L'Engle loves and is good at in her adult fiction -- a huge family with a lot of mystery and pain; a female protagonist who doesn't know who she is or how to deal with her emotions; sensitive, not-too-overwrought spirituality tucked into charming older mentor characters; death, and dealing with it well; the backdrop of the New York City acting community in the 60's. If you're like me, which means that you go on pilgrimages to the Strand whenever possible, make a beeline for her shelf, and buy any book of hers there that you don't own yet, then Certain Women will feel very familiar to her other works. What I noticed in this work of hers especially is her ability to weave different angles and different times together into a cohesive story -- some of the book is set on a boat in Alaskan waters, where protagonist Emma's famous actor father David has chosen to die gracefully, surrounded by his ex-wives and children, and the rest is spent following Emma through her life in flashbacks. She must deal with her past as she deals with accepting that her father is dying. Woven throughout is the theme of King David from the Bible and comparing him with the actor. Like L'Engle's book A Ring of Endless Light, which was one of the first youth adult books ever to address death and grieving well, I can imagine Certain Women will have an emotional poignancy and meaningfulness for women who have experienced sexual abuse, which is a strong element of Emma's story -- but unlike the meaningful coming-of-age novel, the meat of Certain Women's plot is too bulky and ambitious. I mean, eight wives? Really? I had a hard time keeping track of them all. Also, Emma is just like Camilla, or Poly, or Katherine, or Vicky, or Elizabeth, and pretty much all other L'Engle protagonists except for weird 'ol Meg Murray. 

BOTTOM LINE: I loved this book mostly because I loved Madeleine L'Engle, not because it was her best stuff.