Guesses At Nothing

We are not alone!!!

"A number of frail girls... prisoners in the top room of a circular tower, embroidering a kind of tapestry which spilled out the slit windows and into a void, seeking hopelessly to fill the void: for all the other buildings and creatures, all the waves, ships and forests of the earth were contained in this tapestry, and the tapestry was the world" -- Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49

Last night while thinking of tonight's author, I picked up my copy of The Crying of Lot 49 and reread the first and second chapters. I am looking forward to reading a few more chapters tonight. Now there is a great book. Every sentence, every word points towards a larger meaning, some subtext or another, that is as ambiguous as it is meaningful. Flamboyant character's names such as Pierce Inverarity, Dr. Hilarius, and Oedipa Maas (not to forget "Mucho" Maas) are carefully chosen to create humor and meaning. The whole book. If I had to choose one word to describe Thomas Pynchon's writing style in The Crying of Lot 49 it would be meaningful.

Below is a painting done by Remedios Varo that plays a role in the book:

The NET is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it.-- William Gibson

Gibson's writing portrays a world in which technology is pervasive. The futuristic devices in his work are part of the environment much in the same way that computers (and other technologies) are in our world. A notebook computer is just a notebook much like a spoon is a spoon. Technology exists to solve problems. Nano robots provide real-time protection from graffiti. Celebrities are completely virtual. Think Lara Croft. Or Buzz Lightyear. Gibson is even credited with having predicted the internet. I don't know if he predicted blogs or not, but he has one located here.

Another author who lived boldly. Another author who I desperately need to read more of. I like his short story Hills like White Elephants in particular. I don't know if I have ever read another story that says so much without saying anything at all.

The next author I chose not so much for his literary work (which is far reaching), but for the way he led his life. Jack London's famous credo states:

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

These seem like words that we should all take to heart. Existing is easy. Even rocks can do it. But living! Living takes effort and the pay off if you do it right is... there is no better word I can think of than fulfillment. Jack London certainly led a life of fulfillment. Besides his literary work; which includes such masterpieces as the novels The Call of the Wild and White Fang and the wonderful short story To Build A Fire, London also worked manual labor jobs at a cannery, as a sailor and often lived the life of a hobo. He was married several times and was an ardent socialist who ran unsuccessfully several times for mayor. On top of all that, he was self educated. And his writings are masterpieces. No plain old igneous could have done all that. And certainly not a sedimentary.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. -- Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

You know, the farther I get on this "project" the more I realize that this list reads like a list of state mandated high school reading. My choices may be fairly obvious, but I guess the reason is because they (for the most part) are powerful authors who have captured the imaginations of millions. Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is certainly on the high school reading list and it is certainly because of the way it evokes emotions in the reader. It is told from the perspective of a young girl, innocent and naive, and through her eyes we get to be a child again. In the process we learn that the world can be a cruel and nasty place but also that there is good in the world that can be found in places where you least expect it. Things are not always as they seem, people can't be judged by their appearances and (in Harper Lee's world) goodness prevails. Yep, there is a reason that all these great books become required reading and I think that it is because they capture something ethereal that we can all relate to in someway, but are hard pressed to explain. I am not, or never have been a young girl raised by a benevolent lawyer in rural Alabama, but I can relate with the character (and the other characters in the book) to the extent where I empathize with her. I am sure I am quoting someone here, I have no idea who, but when we see each other we see ourselves.

Then there is the one who started it all. Anton Chekhov. Taking writing classes I always heard about how great Chekhov was and especially about "Chekhov's Gun"; the idea that if you introduce a gun into a story then by the story's end it better go off. It is a good lesson in how to build suspense and eventually climax. Chekhov's other famous quote has something to do about the entire story (and I am paraphrasing) being found in an ashtray. The idea is that mundane and ordinary objects or events can be the start of a great story. Of course I haven't read a lot of Chekhov, but the stories that I have read are all simple in their delivery but are also very intricate in how they play upon your emotions.

If you would like to read some Chekhov online, there is a great collection of his stories available online.

Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke. -- Herman Hesse, Steppenwolf

Continuing on with authors who wrote about mysticism and Eastern philosophy, I move to Herman Hesse. Hesse, a German author who had mental problems early in life, later gained literary notoriety and wrote many books, poems, and short stories. Hesse also won a Nobel Prize for his work The Glass Bead Game I have read several of Hesse's books including, Siddhartha, Demian, and Steppenwolf; my favorite being Steppenwolf, but all three being wonderful books deep with mystery and spirituality.

Siddhartha, the first book I read, deals with the life of a young Brahmin who seeks enlightenment. He becomes discouraged and tries to drown himself in a river when he hears the river calling "Om" and finds enlightenment. The river is ever flowing, ever moving toward the sea but still in each moment, and becomes a metaphor for Siddhartha's quest for enlightenment.

Demian, the second book that I read, also deals with enlightenment in a way, though through the eyes of a young boy who befriends Demian, another youth who leads the main character towards the path of self-realization. The novel deals heavily with duality, mainly through the concept of Abraxas, a simultaneous God and demon who rules all.

And lastly there is Steppenwolf, or,"Wolf of the Steeps", the last Hesse novel that I read. The story deals this time with an older protagonist who catches a glimpse of an advertisement for the "magic theater" whose entrance is "for madmen only!". The book revolves around the text The Treatise of Steppenwolf which talks again about the duality of man, partly as "high" and human, and also "low" and animal like. The protagonist eventually gains entrance into the magic theater which is disconnected from reality.

I mainly enjoy Hesse's work in that it explores the self and what it is to be human in the context of society. There is a dual nature to Hesse's self, and it is explored in his works. I greatly enjoy his writing and am inspired by it. If only we could all have as lofty ideals as Hesse.

It may be that if I lead the life I've planned for myself it may affect others; the effect may be no greater than the ripple caused by a stone thrown in a pond, but one ripple causes another. -- W. Somerset Maugham

I've only read one book by Maugham, The Razor's Edge, and it turned me on to a genre of books that I really enjoy that deal with mysticism and Eastern thought. It was a bit of a departure from Maugham's other writings and it was before its time in a way as about a decade later the Beats popularized writing about the East. It revolves around the travels of an American World War II veteran who returns from the war lethargic after losing his friend in battle. He eventually moves to Paris as an expatriate, then travels on to the Far East where he finds spirituality and ultimately happiness. The book has been portrayed on screen a couple of times, one of which being a movie that Bill Murray starred in and was deeply passionate about. He co-wrote the screenplay and signed on to Ghostbusters with Columbia Pictures promising to greenlight the flick.

Franz Kafka

I have to include Franz Kafka just because of how influential his work became.  Kafka, born in Prague in 1883, wrote wild tales, most of which were unpublished until after his death.  He ordered the executor of his will  to destroy his writings but luckily they were saved, though some of them were confiscated by the Gestapo and have been lost.  After his death his works were published and were met with high critical acclaim.  Their surreal and absurdist nature are hard to classify and many critical interpretations of his work have been offered.  Also, his original compositions in German use a trait of the language that allows for long sentences that span entire pages often with the "punch" coming just before the impact; which makes them tough to translate.  Kind of makes me want to brush up on my German.

The Metamorphosis

His most famous work and the only finished work that could be considered of novel length is The Metamorphosis.  It is the tale of Gregor Samsa, a man who awakes in the form of a giant bug.  As he awakes he laments mainly on the awful state of the weather outside and does not really notice his transformation.  In fact, throughout the book he makes an effort not to be conscious of his physical state.  Nobody else seems to care about his form except that he becomes a burden.  They care for him reluctantly and eventually ignore him until he dies.  It is this kind of writing about surreal alienation that makes Kafka a legend.

All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them. -- Catcher in the Rye

 

How could any red blooded American boy who has been through the public high school system not include a bit about J.D. Salinger? Salinger is of course most famous for his novel The Catcher in the Rye; which is the tale of a young student who gives up on school, and his travels back to his family. I first read this book at what could be considered a young age; around thirteen, and I remember being proud that I had read it, but not really knowing too much about what it was about. I guess I probably thought I did, but it wasn't until I read it again that its true power got to me. When I read it the second time I was totally flabbergasted by how little I understood the first go round. There was one passage in particular that I really "got", that is quoted in the beginning of this post. I took it to mean that Holden, as a young man, was understanding that with children you have to let them learn by themselves. They might do dumb things, and they might get hurt, but you have to let them be their selves and at least try new things. I don't really remember, but that seemed like the climax of the book for me. It seems like a good philosophy.

Salinger is also famous for his reclusive lifestyle. After gaining so much notoriety, he totally disappeared from public life. I always pictured him living up in the hills somewhere on some dusty country road, but I don't know if that was the case. But it makes for a good story anyway....

Heh, not sure if this guy saw my project, but here is 30 Poems in 30 Days.  It promises to be much more organized then my bit, and will also probably take place in an actual thirty day time frame, but I can't help but to say, I thought of it first.  :)  Any ol' way, I think that I will submit a poem or two. 

"Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official slogan." -- Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

If you have been reading my links at the top of the site, you may have noticed an article about Ray Bradbury. He has just turned eighty-seven and apparently doesn't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks of him or his work. But I don't expect him to read this anyway, so I will indulge myself. I chose Ray Bradbury because of his novel, Fahrenheit 451, but looking at his Wikipedia entry, I am stunned by how much he has written. Plays, novels, short story collections, children's books, screenplays, tele-plays, non-fiction, poetry; you name it. I'll definitely have to check out some more of his work. That has been half the fun of blogging my favorite authors. I am constantly discovering how little I know and in the process I have renewed my interest in reading. It has been fun so far.

Anyway, Fahrenheit 451, I read it a couple of years ago and it struck me as having had "come true" in some sense or another. I mean, the way that we have become so immersed in TV culture; it seems that fact and fiction often become interchangeable and that intellectualism has been transformed into a liability (socially speaking) rather than an asset. I know it is not all as bad as it seemed in the novel, but there may be more than a grain of truth there. At the time the idea struck me profoundly. How often is the topic of conversation last night's episode of whatever? Most of us follow some show or another and in some way feel that we "know" the characters whose lives we follow. At least I know I am guilty. I guess the question boils down to the age old argument of whether theater's purpose is edification or entertainment. What exactly is it that TV teach us?