Virginia Woolf - Between the Acts

I love Virginia Woolf. I really do. This short novel was assigned for my class which just finished yesterday (8/8) and was themed Modernism and Postmodernism for British literature (honestly, though I enjoyed the literature, postmodernism is a tricksy beast that doesn't like to be pinned down). Between the Acts is the last novel Virginia Woolf wrote before committing suicide and it was published by her husband shortly after her death.

It's set in a small English town, not too far away from either London or the coast, where there will be a pageant that evening. It predominately follows the Oliver family, Bartholomew, his widowed sister Lucy (Mrs. Swithin), his son Giles and his wife Isa (they have two young children, but the kids aren't a huge part of the novel). Other central characters include Mrs. Manresa (with whom Giles is having an affair), William Dodge (her companion), and Miss La Trobe (the author of the play). The pageant play at the heart of the novel has to do with English history.

To me, the most interesting part of the novel was Giles Oliver's absolute fury towards practically every other character, and his relationships with Isa, Lucy, and Mrs. Manresa. I wrote a really lovely paper about this novel ("Impotent Patriarchy and Shifting Gender Roles" if you were interested) so at the moment I am thinking about the novel more analytically rather than for entertainment.

I also got to read a few of her essays, some of which were assigned for class and another that I read to support the paper I wrote. "Modern Fiction" and "Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown" were assigned and were fun to read. Woolf had a sort of wry humor in her non-fiction that was highly entertaining to me. I also read "Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid," which was just a lovely piece of writing. All three of these essays are available in their entirety online, so I highly recommend you read them!

Kazuo Ishiguro - An Artist of the Floating World

I really should have gotten these Cosmopolitan books out of the way first. They're starting to fade a bit in my memory! This novel follows Japanese artist Masuji Ono and takes place post-WWII. He reminisces about his youth and the idyllic "floating world", described as the "nocturnal realm of pleasure, entertainment, and drink", and about his part in the war.

Ono became a propaganda artist during WWII and ultimately and adviser to the Committee of Unpatriotic Activities, which is exactly what you think it is. He lost contact with all of his old teachers and pupils, most of whom did not approve of or agree with his decision to become more politically involved with the war. At the crux of the novel, it is revealed that Ono inadvertently caused his favorite student to be arrested for being "unpatriotic" and held in a sort of internment camp for the duration of the war.

His attitude toward his own actions changes drastically throughout the novel. In the beginning he is unashamed of his behavior during the war, even when his association with the Committee of Unpatriotic Activities (and by extension the government that is perceived by Japanese citizens to be the cause of the dropping of the atomic bombs) even when this negatively affects his younger daughter's chance at a marriage. However, by the end, he admits that he did make some mistakes and that he does bear some responsibility for the outcome of the war. In fact, his daughters become concerned that he will commit suicide to restore honor to his family and atone for his mistakes during the war like several other key government figures did during the novel.

The novel is full of beautiful imagery and I really enjoyed it. There was quite a bit of time jumping as Ono was constantly drifting back into the past. I would definitely be interested in reading some of Ishiguro's other novels, especially if they are as well-written as this one.

Hari Kunzru - Transmission

Yet another Cosmopolitan novel assigned for class, Hari Kunzru's Transmission follows Arjun Mehta, a gifted programmer from India who is hired by a sketchy company who ships Indian programmers to America to work as cheap immigrant labor.

After experiencing many disappointments in the U.S., which didn't match up at all to his vision of the American Dream that was promised by his new employers, Arjun is hired by a big data company. However, budget cuts force Arjun, as a non-American citizen, to be one of the first programmers to be let go. In desperation to keep his job and not have to return home in disgrace to India, Arjun creates a very sophisticated virus that quickly mutates out of control, causing a global crisis that turns him into a wanted cyber terrorist.

Along with Arjun's story, the novel follows Guy Swift, a young English entrepreneur, his girlfriend Gabriella, and Leela Zahir, Bollywood star and unknowing face of Arjun's virus.

There is a lot of humor in the novel and I found all of the characters and their plot lines to be compelling and interesting! One of my favorite parts is after Guy's company has been hit by Arjun's virus and his suave controlled life is spiraling out of control. He's having a bit of a breakdown and has sort of fired his only technical support, who is unfazed at losing his job and "would be in the pub if Guy changed his mind."

As the reasons for Caedmon's nonchalance started to dawn, sitting down no longer seemed appropriate. For a while Guy flounced around the building with his phone pressed to his ear. Then he noticed he was flouncing and made an effort to stride with masculine purpose. It made no difference. No one would listen. No one would help. Like many business people he had a quasi-theological view of computers. They were important and mysteriously beneficial, but it was the job of the priesthood to engage with them. Finding himself with no technical support was like standing naked before the judgement of God. He had no idea how to proceed, no way of even gauging the seriousness of his predicament.

At this point he realized he was vocalizing. And that his staff was staring at him. 

I could really visualize this scene with Guy, who you see very quickly in the novel is kind of smarmy and full of hot air (which is expected given his youngest billionaire in the world status), having a good freak out, pacing around and talking to himself. Maybe not even talking, but "vocalizing." Maybe you need to read more about Guy's character to get the humor of the scene, but it cracks me up every time! I really enjoyed Transmission and I'm definitely interested in reading some of Kunzru's other work.

James Kelman - You Have to Be Careful in the Land of the Free

What a mouthful for a title! It definitely fits in with this novel. To be honest, I wasn't overly fond of You Have to Be Careful in the Land of the Free, which was another novel required for my Cosmopolitanism class.

This novel is referred to as a "jeremiad," which is basically an extended rant about the state of the world. In fact, the name of the narrator was named after this genre, Jeremiah Brown. Jeremiah is a Scottish national who has lived in the U.S. for fifteen years. He has an estranged (maybe ex-, I can't recall) wife and young daughter and is going back to Scotland to see his sick mother.

The entire novel takes place in a span of a few hours the night before Jeremiah's flight as he barhops and reminisces and drinks. Oh boy, does he drink!

I wouldn't say that this was anything close to light reading. It is complex, quasi-stream of consciousness, and partially in Scots. Even visually, it is not easy to read. There is very little white space, no chapter breaks, no section breaks. Here's a little sample for you (Jeremiah has a foul mouth, so I've censored him!)

Mine was a compulsive, obsessive, addictive personality, the usual--plus I felt like a beer and the company of human beings; human beings, not tubes in a box or words on a page, and masturbation enters into that. In other words I was sick of myself and scunnered with my company, physically and mentally. And why was I gaun hame! I didnay even want to go hame. Yes I did.

No I didnay.

Yes I did.

No I didnay. No I f***ing didnay. It was an obligation. Bonne Skallin man it can only be an obligation. The faimly were there and one had to say hullo now and again. Posterity demands it of us.

This is from the very beginning of the novel (page 2, to be precise) and does a good job of showing a bit of the Scots dialect that permeates the novel and the writing style. He does converse with people occasionally, but it isn't traditionally formatted. No quotation marks at all. Jeremiah's dialogue is just mixed into his narration and the other people are expressed in italics. This goes on for over 400 pages and doesn't really much of a plot in the usual sense.

The novel was interesting in relation to the class, but I don't know that I would pick up another Kelman if it is like this one! It was a bit of a struggle to get through. You definitely need a quiet place to focus.

 

 

 

Saturday - Ian McEwan

This novel follows Henry Perowne, neurosurgeon, through a single Saturday in which not much really happens. Okay, that isn't entirely fair. Perowne does change emotionally/mentally and there is a traumatic encounter for his family. However, looking at plot alone, there isn't much going on. This was another novel assigned for my cosmopolitanism class and the second most difficult to read.

I'm not the biggest fan of Ian McEwan (whose most well-known work in the U.S. is probably Atonement). I don't care for his writing style, which can seem a bit condescending, especially in this novel. McEwan researched with an actual neurosurgeon for two years, which I highly respect, however the novel is at times weighed down by lengthy medical jargon. Throughout the titular Saturday, Henry frequently drifts into memories of procedures he has completed and they are needlessly complicated. To be fair, the climactic moments of the novel hinge on Henry's ability to perform a complex procedure, but for the most part, I could have done without the technical language.

That being said, I could understand why this novel was included in a class on cosmopolitanism. It takes place not long after 9/11 in London and in the opening scene, Henry sees an airplane rapidly descending through his bedroom window. His first thoughts are that it is another terrorist attack. Later in the day, the central conflict is indirectly caused by an anti-war parade blocking a main street.

Henry's family is unrealistic. Henry himself is a successful neurosurgeon, his wife (if I remember correctly--it has been a while since I read this one) is a successful lawyer, his daughter a successful poet, his son a successful blues musician, his father-in-law a renowned, award-winning poet. They are all attractive and well-liked. The apparent perfection of the Perowne family complicates the cosmopolitan aspects of the novel because they are ensconced in their own little upper-middle class world and even though there are moments where they think of other people in the world (Daisy, the daughter, for example vehemently protests the war for humanist reasons), they are undoubtedly privileged.

Their perfection actually makes them unlikable to me, the reader, because I can't relate to any of them. If you like McEwan, you'll probably enjoy this one, but keep a medical dictionary handy because you'll need it!

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

I've been dying to talk about this book! It was assigned to me in the middle of the spring semester for a Brit lit class focused on cosmopolitanism. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of cosmopolitanism, at its most basic level, it is viewing humanity as a whole rather than separate countries/ethnicities/religions. We are all human and therefore all deserving of compassion. It's a really nice ideal, although there are conflicting opinions of what precisely cosmopolitanism means and how it should be implemented.

If you're interested, I would suggested looking into Berthold Schoene, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Martha Nussbaum to get a better understanding of cosmopolitanism.

David Mitchell's 2004 novel, Cloud Atlas, contains quite a few aspects of cosmopolitanism. There is an overarching theme of inter-connectivity and understanding/accepting differences. The book itself was a joy to read with an interesting format. I've seen C.A. described as a Russian matryoshka, or nesting doll, because of its layout. There are a total of six stories within the novel and they are laid out like this:

• 1. Adam Ewing, a lawyer making a business trip across the Pacific (1800s)
• 2. Robert Frobisher, a musician working as an amanuensis for an ill composer (1930s)
• 3. Luisa Rey, a journalist investigating a nuclear energy company (1970s)
• 4. Timothy Cavendish, a publisher in trouble with shady characters (2000s)
• 5. Sonmi~451, a fabricated clone working in a fast food restaurant (c. 2200s)
• 6. Zachry Bailey, a goat-herder on Hawaii in a post-apocalyptic society (2-400 years later)
• 5. Sonmi~451
• 4. Timothy Cavendish
• 3. Luisa Rey
• 2. Robert Frobisher
• 1. Adam Ewing

Each story is cut in half until you reach Zachry, which is also the furthest point in time, and then returns in reverse chronological order. So you begin and end in the same place, which ties in with a cyclical theme of the novel. The stories span over quite a large period of time, are each written in a different style, and are referenced within each other. For example, Robert Frobisher reads Adam Ewing's travel journal, Luisa Rey reads Robert Frobisher's letters, etc. 

It sounds more complicated than it really is; I promise that it isn't so difficult! Cloud Atlas is a lovely novel. I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks after reading it. I also highly recommend the film version. The movie didn't do well critically, and there were some issues with actors portraying different ethnicities (which was a little visually jarring at first, I admit), and the format was different (all six stories weaving in and out of each other continuously rather than the nesting doll form), but I found it to be quite enjoyable. Beautiful soundtrack and wonderful acting. That being said, I would read the novel first. :)