Samuel Butler’s The Way of All Flesh was #12 on the Modern Library 100 (a cheat, since it was written before 1900 but published posthumously) and made the Bloomsbury 100. I don’t usually give up on books, but I’m setting this one aside, at least for now, after making it through less than 15% of the book.
I’ve got two major problems with the novel. One is the sentences, which are positively Proustian (despite coming years before Proustian sentences existed) and meander between dependent and independent clauses that made me dizzy and, worse, disinterested. But the bigger problem for me was Butler’s creation of a central character for whom he has nothing but a deep, pathological loathing. George Pontifex is a weak, insipid man, barely capable of an independent thought, much less an independent decision, and Butler obviously hates him. George’s father, Theobald, is apparently a stand-in for Butler’s own father, so while I guess it’s OK to work out your daddy issues in novel form, the combination of the two characters makes the book start out at the top of a downward spiral, and 40-odd pages in I was still descending. I guess I should never say never – I did return to Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Instead I’ll start Richard Russo’s Nobody’s Fool
What happened to the comments on the old posts? Was having a look at the board games post over the weekend and there were no comments. Hope they aren’t permanently gone.
Brandon, Keith addressed this – corrupted database. Here are his exact words:
“the last five weeks of posts and comments are gone, and I can see that a good chunk of comments from before that are toast as well because the backup file was partly corrupted too. I can restore some, if not all, of the posts, but the comments are probably gone. C’est la Web 2.0, I guess.
If there’s something you know I posted since 10/30 that you want to see restored, leave a comment on this thread. You may also want to ignore some of what shows up in your RSS reader for the next day or so.”
Joe Gordon elected into the HOF by Veterans Committee. How is this justifiable without including Dick Allen or Deacon White? Just awful.
On a music note (what a pun)… “The Way of All Flesh” also is a 2008 album that certainly didn’t disappoint, from a French heavy metal band called Gojira. It’s not for everyone — definitely heavy, with the expected harsh vocals — but for anyone who likes his or her music more challenging and complex than catchy, this one’s about as good as it gets among ’08 releases.
…not a salesman, just forever sticking up for one of the most misunderstood music genres.
Bob, thanks for the information. I had a look around for that type of post, but missed it.
Keith,
I hope you enjoy Nobody’s Fool. I really liked it. I’ve enjoyed all of Russo’s books. And his collection of short stories (The Whore’s Child) was also good.
I thought Nobody’s Fool was laugh-out-loud funny on numerous occasions.
It’s always good to see other people give up on books that are considered great; it makes me feel a little better about giving up on Ulysses half-way through.
PML – watch out, Sara K will hound you till the end of time if she sees that you gave up on Ulysses. And maybe longer.
Nick – 90 pages in, and yes, it’s laugh-out-loud funny.
Keith, Did I miss The Bridge of San Luis Rey? I don’t see it where I thought it would show up in your chronology. I read it in high school and hated it then. I read it just a few months ago again to see if I would appreciate it in my more advanced age. Hated it all over again. I would be interested in your post.
I gave up on Ulysses, too! I like Joyce’s short story we read earlier this year in lit. class “Dubliners,” but trying to read Ulysses nine different times over the summer was a pain. The guy wrote Ulysses with the express purpose of trying to impress upon the reader that he was smarter than him–which is a great way to prove exactly the opposite. Apparently, Ulysses is a modern take on The Odyssey, but the only odyssey is trying to get through 100 pages of the book and still believe that somehow you’ll someday make it to the end.
Randy – haven’t written it up yet. Was neutral on it.
I second Nick’s thoughts on Nobody’s Fool and Russo in general. While Empire Falls was great, I think Fool is his best, but perhaps that’s because it’s his funniest.
@Keith – Hopefully she won’t be too rough on me. I will eventually pick it back up and finish the it though.
Ok people, I need some help. My friend (let’s call him “Aron”) is looking to buy a novel that his sister, a crazy feminist-in-denial, will enjoy. Any ideas?
Aaron B.,
Something by Bukowski.
Thanks JKGaucho
In fairness Aaron B., I should tell you that Bukowski is considered in some (many) circles as the anti-feminist and a misogynist. That may be good for your friend’s sister.