Good Books » Postscript

Shakespeare: Always Worthwhile

R/T — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:54:00 +0000

Here is something from The Millions that is worth your attention: an essay by Kevin Frazier on A. C. Bradley and his analysis of Shakespeare’s four major tragedies.

I would offer further comment here and now about Frazier, Bradley, and Shakespeare, but instead I will settle down for the rest of the day for a long overdue reunion with Bradley’s superb book.

Postscript: As for anyone who wants to savor wonderful Shakespearean criticism, you need go no further than A. C. Bradley and (since I cannot resist offering a more recent critic, just for the sakes of irritating a couple of readers with whom I have disagreed in the past) Harold Bloom.

Postscript from Kobos

R/T — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:52:00 +0000

As Mr. Derrea departed the world of Kobos, he listened, wondering if anyone would really say anything. Ironically, upon encountering only silence, his disappointment was not really disappointing. He instead, in simple reflection, remembered something from Shakespeare: “The rest is silence.” What a surprise!

“The Party” (and other irksome words)

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:43:00 +0000

In the following excerpt, feel free to replace the words “the party,” “revolution,” “dictatorship,” “persecution,” and “torture” with others that you may think may be more appropriate for the here and now. After all, simply changing the words might lead you to see more clearly the kind of change you can believe in.

“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. [The Party is] not interested in the good of others; [the Party is] interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness; only power; pure power. [. . . N]o one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand [. . .]?”

Well, that last part is worth repeating:

“Now do you begin to understand?”

Postscript:

Sometimes I read (or reread) a book that has such a profound effect upon me that I stagger under the impact of the experience. My reading of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four in the middle of April 2010 is one of those experiences. The prophetic ironies of Winston Smith’s ordeals very much bother me. What about you?

“We shall meet again in the place where there is no darkness.”

Something New from Library of America

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Steven Riddle (at his superb blog) offers readers (including me) this wonderful discovery: The Library of America has been posting short stories (and other short works) for readers. Check it out through Steven’s site, which you can access here.

Postscript: I am particular fond of Library of America books, and I have promised myself that someday (when I win the lottery) I will buy the complete catalogue of LOA editions.

Note: The direct link to the LOA site is here.

Stephen King Talks About Short Stories

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:55:00 +0000

Some people enjoy reading short stories, and some people–for a variety of reasons–avoid them. What about you? Why?

Before answering, consider the following:

Go to the link listed below, and view the brief video and hear prolific writer Stephen King talk about why people tend not to read short stories any more:

http://www.simonandschuster.com/multimedia?video=27791775001

POSTSCRIPT:

My rapidly shrinking attention span (which perhaps has something to do with aging) makes me a devoted reader of short stories, and novels often require more of me than my mind can lately muster. Perhaps someday–as the attention span shrinks even further–I will be found reading the same short story over and over again (without having remembered that I had read it previously). Given that scenario, I wonder which short story it should be. Perhaps it would be Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral.” Or it might be Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Or–more likely–it will be one of Flannery O’Connor’s late (final) stories. Do you have one short story that stands out above all others?

Reading Theodore Dreiser’s SISTER CARRIE

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:52:00 +0000

During my rereading of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (published in 1900), I want to pause today and take special notice of the sentences that begin Chapter VII:

“The true meaning of money yet remains to be popularly explained and comprehended. When each individual realizes for himself that this thing primarily stands for and should only be accepted as a moral due—that it should be paid out as honestly stored energy, and not as a usurped privilege—many of our social, religious, and political troubles will have permanently passed.”

Now, setting aside my other critical considerations (especially any analysis of the naturalistic novel as Dreiser’s fin de siècle social criticism), I would instead urge readers to consider the novel’s narrator’s moral characterization of money as “honestly stored [earned] energy” that ought not be paid out as if it were a “privilege” to which people feel that they are otherwise entitled [when they have not earned it].

The bracketed interpolations included above, of course, are mine, and I hope they help to reinforce this simple point, one that bears restating and helps make Sister Carrie (at least in some parts) relevant reading in 2010:

There is (or at least there should be) a moral component to money in that is (and ought to be) earned (as “stored energy”) and should not ever be an (unearned) entitlement. Because people (especially political leaders) either do not understand or do not respect this principle, and because entitlements [emphasis added] have become so problematic in the political economy, we remain plagued by serious “social [. . .] and political troubles.”

Postscript:

After writing Sister Carrie, Dreiser, later in his life, became an enthusiastic but unorthodox communist, and I realize that I am somewhat upending and reversing what might have been his intended meaning in the sentences cited above, but I suspect he would very much appreciate the unpleasant ironies of the late 20th and early 21st century, especially with respect to the debate over money being regarded as either “stored energy” or “usurped privilege.”

The FInal Five Postings

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

The five postings appearing below will be the final offerings from me at NOVELS, STORIES, AND MORE. After this posting, this blog will be “terminated.” I have many reasons for making the decision to cease activity on this blog, and none of those reasons would be very interesting to anyone.

To those of you who have made the blogging adventure pleasant and worthwhile (and you know who you are), “Thank you. Please keep in touch.”

So, with that having been said, with the demands of my job calling me elsewhere, and with not much else to say here, I offer this clear and concise metaphorical wish to everyone:

“Fair winds and following seas.”

Postscript:

Of course, as I am ever responsive to the fickle finger of fate (with a tip of the hat to Rowan and Martin of Laugh-In), I reserve the right to “terminate” the “termination” and resume blogging in the future. I’ll notify the small band of loyal visitors if this blog is ever reactivated.

Etiquette and the Blog Environment

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Here is the link to a recent exchange between me and another reviewer (Edward Champion) on the occasion of his Chicago newspaper review of a Gail Godwin book. (You may wish to access the review itself within Mr. Champion’s blog in order to understand more completely my initial comments and all that followed.)

Here is another link to a separate blog (hosted by Frank Wilson) where the exchange provoked more discussion.

There is, I think, much to ponder and criticize in our back-and-forth comments; as far as I am concerned, the unpleasantness of the comments reminds me that the blog environment can too often be unruly, unpleasant, and uncivil.

Therefore, beyond the example of the linked exchange, I think that a larger issue presents itself in the form of these questions:

Are there not (or should there not be) commonly agreed upon “rules of etiquette” for comments in the blog environment?

Why do those who offer comments sometimes do so in such offensive ways?

Perhaps–in the instant case–both parties (myself included) are culpable of offensive commentary; therefore, should I have remained silent or commented differently?

What is the solution for communication breakdowns in the blog environment?

What do you say about all of this? Have you had similar experiences? Would you care to share your “lessons learned”? I encourage your feedback.

Postscript:

In spite of Mr. Champion’s advice, I have not considered throwing myself from the top of a skyscraper. However, I am giving serious consideration to trying his recipe for fudge.

Good Southern Fiction!

admin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:26:00 +0000

If you want to know what to read next, consider this list of five Southern novels recommended by Elizabeth Spencer.

If you simply consider the source of the recommendations, you have all the reasons you need to go immediately to the library or bookstore and get copies of the five books.

(Postscript: I admit to being surprised by a couple of Ms. Spenser’s selections. How about you?)