Book Review: "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike

          I’ve promised myself not to fall too far behind on these anymore, so here’s a review of a book that I just finished up on Monday night.

***

          Rabbit, Run by John Updike explores a young man’s struggle to cope with the banalities of suburban life in mid-twentieth-century Pennsylvania. The novel follows Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a kitchen device demonstrator and former high school basketball star, who lives in a small apartment with his pregnant, alcoholic wife and two-year-old son. Rabbit, who feels that the walls of his world are closing in on him, abandons his responsibilities throughout the course of the novel.

          The story is very tight and focuses exclusively on a few months of Rabbit’s life, during the time that he seeks to discover the thing that is missing in his life. The story itself is not the most compelling, but Updike explores his characters and themes with such depth that he is able to elevate it from the mundane. It is not a happy tale, and Rabbit is not an easy character to relate to. He is selfish; his actions are worthy of contempt. Though readers might not empathize with the reasons behind Rabbit’s actions, Updike’s skill, at least, enables readers to understand Rabbit’s motives.

          Updike uses the novel as a case study in which to explore relatable human themes, such as religious faith, the nature of love and lust, and life ambitions. The role of faith is played out in rich dialogues between Rabbit and a local Episcopalian pastor, Reverend Eccles, who tries to bring Rabbit back into the fold. Together, they pose many questions, but fail to reach many conclusions regarding the nature of God. Updike does not use the exchanges to deliver moral lessons or foist religion on his readers; rather, he uses these dialogues to explore the human condition and the very nature of faith. Similarly, he uses Rabbit’s actions to explore themes of love and lust, but never presents a moral position through his narrator. Updike’s style is to present the facts of his story to his readers, and let them draw their own conclusions, without leading them one way or the other, but it is clear that Updike is also using his novel to explore these themes for himself. The effect is that the reader embarks on their own journey of discovery alongside Updike’s narrator.

          Rabbit, Run is noteworthy for its beautiful use of language. Updike writes the novel in the present tense, creating a sense, for the reader, that they are experiencing the story’s events as they occur. As others have noted, the use of the present tense also gives the novel a poetic quality. The novel’s use of intense imagery brings the prose an even greater poetic quality.

          In terms of artistic quality, this is one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time. The story, however, leaves something to be desired. Luckily, Updike does not drag the novel out excessively. He tells his tale in the space needed to tell it, and then brings the novel to a very fitting conclusion. This is certainly not Updike’s best work—in the sense that it is not his most highly acclaimed—but it should not be disregarded, and is certainly a modern American classic worth reading. The novel is the first of four books about Rabbit Angstrom, and it is the later novels that have received the most acclaim. I do plan on returning to the series.

JCM

30 January 2014

Book Review: "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

          Perhaps it was the close proximity between when I last saw the film version of The Princess Bride, but the book read a lot like a screenplay. In fact, it was while watching the movie version that one of my roommates planted the idea in my head that I should read the book. So, after finishing Tree of Smoke, a large and dense novel, which I reviewed earlier this week, I decided to try something a little lighter. The book version of The Princess Bride was fast paced, the dialogue was well-thought out and designed to provide comic relief (this is a comedy after all) and to move the plot along. That the author is also a screenwriter came as no shock to me. (Goldman has worked on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, and The Stepford Wives, the latter two of which were adapted from books.) There were a few variations between the movie version and the book, but for the most part, the book and movie were strikingly similar. In fact, they were so similar, that I’d feel safe telling any school kid that they could write their book review without ever reading the book (of course, I would never suggest that or condone such behavior).

          The Princess Bride is a frame narrative. It begins with a semi-autobiographical version of William Goldman trying to track down a book, The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, for his son’s birthday. As a child, Goldman came down with pneumonia, and while he was bedridden, his father had read the book to him. He searches frantically, calls literary agents and used book stores, and is finally able to track the book down. To his disappointment, the book is not the fairytale that his father had read to him, but rather a cumbersome satire on the country of Florin. His father had only read him parts of the tale. Goldman sits down, with the book in hand, and recreates the book as his father had read it to him. Goldman’s recreation, along with his interjections and running commentary, forms the majority of the novel The Princess Bride.

          The novel is an outstanding piece of creativity. S. Morgenstern’s version of the text exists only in the fictional realm of Goldman’s novel (as does the country of Florin, and probably a good amount of the “autobiographical” parts). As a whole the novel is engaging and fast-paced, though at times it can be too abrupt. There are a few weaknesses in the tale, things that are not explained well enough to make sense, instances where the fictional and fantastical world that Goldman creates does not feel well-enough fleshed out.

          The layers of irony and satire run deep throughout the book. Morgenstern’s fictional text is ostensibly a satire on Medieval Florin. Mirroring this, Goldman’s fictionally pared down version of the tale is a tongue-in-cheek satire on publishers, the film industry, and American family life in the 1970s. His satire is witty and mild biting (maybe “nibbling” would be the best way to describe it). Sometimes it is difficult to determine if Goldman is deriding his subjects or simply having a little fun with things that he knows well and holds dear.

          Overall, The Princess Bride is a fun book that is certainly worth the read if you are in the mood for fantasy, comedy, and tongue-in-cheek satire. If the film version is well-ingrained in your mind, however, don’t pick up the book, because you will gain little further delight from reading it than you have already gained from seeing it played out on screen.

JCM

16 January 2014

Book Review: "Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson

          Admittedly, I’ve fallen a little bit behind on my book reviews. It has been a bit too cold to sit in the basement, where I’ve set up my desk, and type out a review. Everywhere else in the house can get a bit distracting. I have two reviews coming up, and I thought I would take advantage of the warmer weather to write one today. Hopefully, the other will follow within a week, or at least before I finish reading my next book.

          Denis Johnson’s sprawling novel Tree of Smoke follows the exploits of several CIA operatives, their contacts, and acquaintances in Vietnam during the 1960s. The operatives’ mission is ill-defined, but their leader, Francis Xavier Sands—often referred to as the Colonel in homage to his status as a retired air force colonel—is charismatic enough to gain the unwavering support of his subordinates, and even elicit the admiration of his peers and rivals. The Colonel, already a legend in the intelligence community, wants to elevate his legacy to immortal proportions. His nephew, William Sands, from whose point of view the novel is predominantly told, wants to create his own legacy. First he must convince his uncle that he is capable of more than curating his uncle’s files. The cast of characters surrounding them range from disillusioned soldiers and sailors to Viet Cong double agents to Vietnamese who want to escape the turmoil of their country and are willing to sell their services to any bidder who can help them.

          The novel is an intricate character study of men’s ambitions, the lengths that they will go to in order to accomplish those goals, and the events that can break men down. Though it is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, it is not the politics of the war or its violence that take center stage; rather, the novel focuses on the role of knowledge and information in the war. It examines the psychological bearing that the war and living in it can have on a person. More importantly, it shows the ways in which information or misinformation can be disseminated to have a devastating effect on the thought processes of combatants and command structures.

          The novel itself is a tree of smoke. Readers encounter events from multiple sources and witness firsthand the various channels that information can pass through to alter the same general tale. This is not an espionage novel, but is a novel at espionage, and as such readers must learn who to trust, and use the evidence that Johnson provides through multiple characters’ perspectives in order to draw conclusions about “truth” in the novel.

          The novel’s primary form of characterization is dialogue. It is easy to get lost in the quick exchanges between characters, but it is important that readers not allow seemingly unimportant or offhand quips whizz by them. Though succinct and seemingly banal at times, each character’s dialogue is carefully crafted and gives a striking perspective into the ways in which they will act and think. The novel’s poignancy is not found in its storyline, but rather in its dialogue, where each character’s personality is shown most vibrantly. The nuances of their tones and behavior during conversation show how they have changed over time, and how their motives or situations have changed also.

          This is an excellent novel, and is certainly worth the extensive amount of time and concentration it takes to read it. Be prepared to pay attention, and don’t worry if things don’t make sense right away. Remember, the story is intricate, and all, or at least all that Johnson wants to reveal, will become obvious with time.

JCM

13 January 2014