The Biographer’s Tale by A.S. Byatt

Naive critics are accustomed to saying that life is random, things do not turn out, or present themselves, in life with the glittering appositeness and fated inevitability that they do in literature. Everyday experience contradicts this silly wisdom every day – The Biographer's Tale

My first encounter with A.S. Byatt was through a borrowed copy of Possession for which I am, to this day, grateful. It was not only because I was able to, god forbid, relate, being a Literature graduate and not unfamiliar with the tedious but fulfilling process of reading, analysis and research. It was because Possession had a great set of characters, an even better story, and a pleasing density of language that had me running for my own copy.

Enter The Biographer’s Tale.

 

Phineas G. Nanson is a postmodern literary theory graduate student, working on a dissertation called “Personae of female desire in the novels of Ronald Firbank, E.M. Forster and Somerset Maugham.” In the middle of a lecture on Lacan, he realizes that he cannot go on with what he is doing. He embarks himself on a mission to work with “concrete” things (to say “real” is debatable, especially in his acquired post-structuralist mindset) and his first step was to abandon his dissertation for the more “other-centric” discipline of the biography. Initially thinking the biography a “gossipy” form, Nanson promptly changes his mind after reading the work of biographer Scholes Destry-Scholes and, in fact, decides to write a biography of the biographer.

And so it begins. Like Possession, we are given a firsthand look into the process of research and in Nanson’s case, to start out with almost nothing. Given the fact that Scholes Destry-Scholes is no popular figure, Nanson has an exceptionally hard time piecing scraps of documents together to form a somewhat coherent whole. We are shown parts of an Ibsen biography, as well as those of Francis Galton and Carl Linnaeus. In this process, as almost all stories go, he is able to look into himself as well as Scholes Destry-Scholes by the end of it. In addition, fans of history and literary theory will have a ball with the smattering of the terminology and the names close to their hearts.

I’m going to be honest (hey we’re all honest folk here at Prose Portal) and admit that although I enjoyed it on the whole, reading this book was pretty slow-going. It is not, shall we say, as fluid an experience as it is reading Possession. I believe that one reason is that ¾ of the novel is comprised of the actual fragmented research material that Nanson is assembling. Of course, while these parts are essential and interesting at the most, they also resulted in “rushing” the story itself. Perhaps that is what Byatt aimed to do – to muffle both biographers and pay tribute only to the complexities of biography – and by that route she succeeds.

Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game

Let's play the Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game!

According to waxy.org:

First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on "Customer Reviews," and sort them by "Lowest Rating First." Hilarity ensues!

An example entry:

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

• "It was poorly structured, the story is unclear and it is not very memorable."
• "Anyone who is an ancestor to that worthless excuse of an American novelist should be offered sincere consoling and extreme sympathies."
• "The love story was predictable and the characters were obnoxious."
• "It's just so haphazard and bad that people mistake it for being good."

Of course, for those that aren't quite classics, it's still quite interesting to contrast the highest ratings versus the lowest ratings.

Let's see..

This review gives 4 stars out of 5

I have rarely read a book as bad as this: several times I wanted to hurl it across the room. Turgid claptrap! I only carried on because my reading group was reading it. However, out of the six women that attended, only one had lukewarm praise for it; the rest of us thought it drivel. I wish there was a libary for forgotten books: it would be a worthy candidiate!

This woman gave it 4 out of 5 (could these two be in the same reading group/book club?)

I enjoyed reading this book very much. The characters are written about in great depth; they were all so colorful. This was a book read for a book club, I probably would never have picked it out for myself, but I am so glad that I read it.

The book they're talking about? The Shadow of the Wind.

Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan (Book 11 in the Wheel of Time series)

Link to the book on Amazon

On TV, what usually differentiates a mini-series from a series is that a series keeps on going until the writers/sponsors/fans/cast members give up. It's only then when the writers come up with a neat way to tie things up and end the series. Until that happens, you usually get no closure.

Case in point, every Transformers episode ends with "You may have won the battle Prime, but you haven't won the war!". Queue Starscream screeching "Retreat!" and next scene would be a bad joke between Spike and Bumblebee. That is of course, until Transformers the movie, where Optimus Prime gets killed. (yes.. get over it.)

I started the Wheel of Time series in 6th or 7th grade which was.. 1995. The first few books had already come out (about 5 I think). I am now two years past college, and Robert Jordan is keeping faithful to the writeup he places at the end of his novels, which is "to keep writing til they nail shut his coffin."

With a new installment coming out every year or two, it's a pain to try remembering all of the characters in the Wheel of Time universe. Yes, he's taken Tolkien and world-making to a new level. I used to be able to re-read the series from the start every time a new one came out to refresh my memory, but at the 11th book, with each a good 700 to 900 pages long, it's getting to be a little trying.

Some long time ago, I had the feeling that things were beginning to take shape, and that the three main heroes would wind up at the end of their quest at about book 8 or 7. At the end of each book though, you get the feeling that.. they've won the battle, but it's just another battle. Perhaps it's keeping in theme with the Wheel of Time concept, that things just keep getting spun in and out of the wheel, and that the Pattern it weaves repeats itself throughout the Ages. Maybe there is no end to the series?

For those who are not familiar with the series, The Wheel of Time follows Rand al'Thor a typical farm boy as he discovers that he is the Dragon Reborn, a messiah-type figure tasked to defeat the Dark One at the Last Battle. The setting is an alternate universe complete with various races that are a mix from our own universe (maybe you can spot a little European, Japanese, Native American, Chinese, etc.) and its own languages.

Although it seems to dwell in the same genre as Tolkien (a fantasy-type alternate universe), there are differences in Jordan's work. Jordan is a student of history, and it shows in his work. Battles, campaigns, governments and rulers plotting against one another are all more detailed and vivid. Jordan also gives a more prominent role to women. The series is not lacking in strong female characters.

Specific to this installment, it is typical Jordan fare, and it is as always, interesting to follow the character and event development. However, given the fact that Jordan has found the time to write a sort of prelude to the series, A New Spring, it seems like he is taking his time to finish this series.

So if you think you're up to it, be prepared to read until they nail shut your coffin.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

For every reader, there comes a moment when he comes across a writer, the writer, who will change his life. Suddenly, what he thought was a solitary experience, had apparently been written about and experienced by other people, fictional or no. It is a strange comfort to see your thoughts and feelings expressed either in such familiar, or even an elevated language, one that beautifully affirms the understanding of your presence.

In Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s “The Shadow of the Wind,” we meet one such reader.

For his tenth birthday, Daniel Sempere is brought by his father to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and asked to join in its secrecy. As is the custom for first-time visitors, he is given leave to choose one book, just one, among the thousands quietly nestled in the shelves of bygone eras, to guard for life. He is immediately drawn to “The Shadow of the Wind,” written by a Julian Carax, and it is at this point where he, unknowingly, opens a volume of complications. For one, he wanted to know everything about his curious acquisition, and, with well-placed questions, discovers that his book is the last copy not only of that title, but of all Carax’s works in existence. Furthermore, his goal is obstructed by a man smelling perpetually of smoke and paper, intent on getting a hold of “The Shadow of the Wind.” This unlikely chain of events compels Daniel to chase after any information on Julian Carax he could get, introducing the reader to an unforgettable set of characters. There is Clara, the blind scholar Daniel first falls in love with, the crazy Fermin who is a scientist, philosopher and a madman but, above all, we come to know Julian Carax, whose life Daniel unearths a strange and almost miraculous affinity to.

“Destiny is usually just around the corner. Like a thief, a hooker, or a lottery vendor: its three most common personifications. But what destiny does not do is home visits. You have to go for it.”

“The Shadow of the Wind” is at once mystery, thriller, coming of age, and romance. Zafon’s skill in shifting between past and present enables the reader to see into both pre- and post-war Barcelona. However, despite Julian’s and Daniel’s “age-centric” obstacles – avoiding the army, worrying about the family business – they are linked by the timeless thread of growing up, loving and surviving. Finally, there is the universal relationship with literature that is conveyed in every page, be it described in the characters or projected directly onto the readers.

(On a personal note, I’m worried that people will compare it to “Da Vinci Code” because of its “mainstream” appeal (it has been in the Spain best-seller list for over a year), and the fact that it is being made into a movie. Despite that, I am positive that even the choosiest of readers will enjoy this novel.)

About Mika

Although Javi had the idea of introductory posts, I'm going first because he's still playing the modesty card.So.

I'm actually pretty stubborn when it comes to reading and my "route" was much like everyone else's – from Enid Blyton, Bobbsey Twins, Babysitters Club, Camp Sunnyside Friends, etc., I moved on to Austen, Bronte, Tolstoy, etc. I rarely go past fiction and even there, I stay within the classics and/or the authors I'm already familiar with. I guess you could say i'm skeptical about the newer stuff, although I've had my fair share of them. I'm trying to read more poetry but that's not going too well because the ones my friends recommend aren't readily available in Manila.

This community is going to help everyone a lot in venturing out of our respective comfort zones. As Jaemark said, we're going to have to "fight for our book," so I'm excited about what everyone can haul up The important thing is to be able to tackle a wider scope than usual.

About the Author: Javi

I thought it would be appropriate to make an introductory first post because:1) this is a multi-person blog.
2) I need to buy some more time, before I write my real first piece.
3) so you know what kinds of books to expect from me.

So I'll try to make this brief and book-centric.

I think the first kinds of books that I actively sought out were non-fiction informative books like the Sesame Street encyclopedia (I remember pleading with the encyclopedia salesman if we could just buy one copy, and I had to pick out my favorite letter, I can't remember what), Ladybird series books (like How Does An Aeroplane Work). Later on I moved on to Hardy Boys, and then proceeded to Marvel comics, and then fantasy authors such as David Eddings and Robert Jordan, and then moving on to then bestselling author of the moment Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Rising Sun). I then progressed to doing a sort of roots movement, reading classics like The Brothers Karamazov, and the Lord of the Rings series just to get to know the books and authors that started it all.

In more recent memory, books I've liked include titles by Nick Hornby most especially About A Boy and High Fidelity, a little Gaiman (recent works but not yet Anansi Boys), and I've been getting into non-fiction (Freakonomics, Tipping Point, Blink, and some other perhaps not generally well-known business/IT field authors) because of work.

I was a pretty good student in English class, but I don't think I'm that sharp, so don't expect any extraordinary literary analysis out of me. What I do want to give you, dear reader, is as personal an insight as possible into the books I will read.

The Sea by John Banville

"There seems something more speakingly incomprehensible in the powers, the failures, the inequalities of memory, than in any other of our intelligences." – Jane Austen “Mansfield Park”

In John Banville’s Man Booker Prize winning novel “The Sea,” we meet Max Morden, an art historian in his sixties who is, through no fault of his own, inextricably tied up with both the idea and the reality of death. Shortly after his wife Anna’s lost battle with cancer, Morden retreats to the seaside village where he had spent many a childhood summer. It is here that we meet the few people in his life, both past and present. His rented room is part of the summer house that was always commissioned to the Graces, the family he marks his childhood by. It is with them that he feels his first yearnings. He struggles with his frustrations at being on the bottom rung of the social hierarchy, just because they rented chalets instead of real houses for the holidays. He is envious of the easy life, the stability that the Graces exude and represent for him, what with the powerful twin relationship between Chloe and Myles from which, try as he might, he would always be excluded. He also discovers the beauty of self-possessed women in the Graces, a far cry from his repressed and socially inept mother.

“Had it been in my power I would have cancelled my shaming parents on the spot, would have popped them like bubbles of sea spray, my fat little bare-faced mother and my fathe whose body might have been made of lard.”

Interspersed with memories of his childhood are those of Anna and their daughter Claire. We see the physical and emotional process of the disease taking hold of them both individually and as a family. In addition, Morden’s already strained relations with Claire was further tested upon Anna’s death, being that she was not in favor of her father’s move to the seaside village where he would be disconnected from “reality,” as she saw it. We see, however, that his life away from the territory where the memories of his wife covered him like a shroud, brought him even closer to understanding their connection, her death and, eventually, his own.

“Has this not always been my aim, is this not, indeed, the secret aim of all of us, to be no longer flesh but transformed utterly into the gossamer of unsuffering spirit?”

Although the novel is largely about death, what really grips the reader is its surrender to memory as the main device in telling the story. Every page is a wonderful articulation of just how powerful it is, though not entirely trustworthy. Morden, in not a few pages, is seen to tussle with his loose rein over “Madam Memory,” as he calls it. It is important to note, at this point, that Max Morden’s traits as a narrator are familiar to Banville fans. In fact, according to this article, his narrators are usually said to be “articulate males who, for one reason or another, conscious or no, hesitate and prevaricate.”

Be that as it may, “The Sea” offers the reader more than just a story told by a fumbling, aged widower. It is a charming account of friendships, first love, and a graceful coming to terms with mortality. Indeed, Morden shares in spurts of words and emotion, his outbursts not always linear. But it is always fluid, always natural. For the truth is, memories either sidle up to us or catch us unaware, but always in waves.

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me

During my trip to LB last week, I actually kept the copy of my university clearance between the pages of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, a book I finally finished just this past weekend.

I actually bought my first Murakami novel a couple of years ago. I was at Powerbooks at Megamall after work, looking for something new to read. The bestsellers display had a pile of books written by Murakami, whose name I had previously heard of but of whom I knew little about. I looked around a bit and finally settled on a copy of Dance Dance Dance, in part because it shared the name of a Beach Boys song, and in part because the blurb talked about a psychic teenage girl who listened to the Talking Heads.That book was a good, exciting read, and after reading more about his work on the Internet, I started pining for his other work. Norwegian Wood was the book that made Murakami a cultural sensation in Japan, and I finally got a copy last month from Lynn. The novel borrowed its name from the title of the John Lennon song.

It differed from Dance Dance Dance in that it dealt less with the surreal and was more of a straightforward love story. Our hero is an average Japanese college student in the late '60s. Reeling from the death of his best friend, he finds comfort in the company of his best friend's girl, with whom he falls in love quite deeply. But the girl is very troubled and she goes away to get treatment for depression, while he is left to deal with the world outside. At university, he meets a dynamic young co-ed whose mission in life, it seemed, was to capture his heart.

The novel was surprisingly funny and simple. There are descriptions of typical dorm life, with odd roommates and weird characters, to which even I, who spent some time living in dorms in high school and college, could relate. He also pokes fun at would-be critics, with a girl asking the hero, "You aren't trying to talk like that Caulfield boy, are you?" perhaps realizing the comparisons the two would generate.

Most of the adventures are set in a Tokyo proudly displaying all the affectations of Western popular culture. We see our hero reading F. Scott Fitzgerald, taking a job at a record bar, picking up girls at bars, and listening to lots of Beatles records. It's a great backdrop for a book about love and loneliness.

Nick Hornby said, "The only reason trendy pop groups don't write songs like the Beatles did is that they can't." In a way, this is true as well for books like Norwegian Wood. It's not the easiest thing in the world to write about love, and about falling in love with a girl so deeply that it becomes heroic. We've seen a lot of people try and fail, and that is why the world is littered with banal pop songs and cheesy television shows and movies.

But Murakami definitely pulls it off, and quite brilliantly. He captures the loneliness and the happiness, the hope and the hopelessness that falling in love is all about. It is beautiful, heartbreaking, pitch-perfect, and the feeling stays with you for a while, even after it is over.

Just like a Beatles love song.