Reviews from the past

The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass (German)

A great novel. Wholly original. The big scenes are almost always successful, often to an inordinate degree – they amaze (such as the mother eating fish till she dies; and the appalling episode which precedes that one, about the horse head and the eels). It’s also a confusing book, elusive in its specifics, but successfully imparting an emotional impression. It’s a dark look at life, at this world. Little Oskar is one of the most imposing characters in fiction – him and his drum. His self-centeredness, his cruelty, his vulnerability. I sense that this book is partly about sexual longing (as for great sex scenes, the ones between Oskar and Maria are near or at the top; in fact, it’s when I read those scenes that a feeling for Oskar swept over me). The prose is perfectly attuned to its character and subject – dense, heavy, perverse, powerful. * (1 other book by this author is reviewed)

Lucy - Jamaica Kincaid

I disliked Lucy. Maybe I have a problem with women being so blunt, especially when it comes to sexual matters (such as Lucy’s having sex with two men in the same day, with no compunction – ugh). Since we’re in her mind, we get a big dose of Lucy (Lucifer – and she likes that name). She’s selfish, extremely self-absorbed, depressed, ungrateful (she’s blessed in her circumstances – blessed!). She acts badly, has errant emotions that are mean-spirited, and she blames it all on her overpowering mother. On the last page she’s weeping about wanting so much to love someone, but she didn’t devote one lousy sentence in the book to the four little girls she was au pair to. Spare me your tears, I thought. Still – here’s the rub: my strong response shows how honest a writer Kincaid is; surely she knew what a bad impression she was making, but she did it anyway. I was left wondering about Lucy: did she grow up to become a decent person; did she get the love she wanted; did she relinquish her consuming hatred for her mother? (3)

The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. - William Makepeace Thackeray

Very readable, entertaining, funny – and much more. At first I thought Barry was simply a rogue, but about halfway through I realized he was a monster. He’s revealed to be what he is through his own words; the degree that Thackeray succeeds is more than admirable – it’s a feat. Barry boasts and lies, but we see the ugly truth. I felt the terrible wreckage left in one man’s wake. Barry’s values are mercenary, and in his pursuit of them he tramples on anything in his path. This is a moral tale and, in its powerful ending, a cautionary one. * (1)

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline - George Saunders

Odd – plot, setting, style of humor, perspective, characters, etc. Oddity is Saunders’ shtick. But the oddity is predictable; he uses the same basic formula in story after story. Even the underlying view of human nature and the moral point of the stories is the same: the world, on the brink of apocalypse, is mad, we need to show compassion (which most can’t). Everything is entertaining, but I suggest you read the best of the lot – “Bounty” – and skip the others. Of course, after you read one of these stories you won’t take my advice; you’ll read them all. And therein lies Saunders’ ticket to success.