Sunset Limited

This weekend, I saw Cormac McCarthy’s play The Sunset Limited: a wonderful, if a bit schematic, reflection on faith and reason and overly-educated intellectuals. The premise was contrived: a white, aging ex-professor has attempted to throw himself in front of a train, only to be rescued by a black, born-again ex-con. The entire 1h 45m is spent around a kitchen table, the ex-con trying to convince the ex-prof to accept the Word. All the while, the bitter, used-up nihilist of a professor is not having any of it.

Painfully overbearing at times, yet with the wonderful zingers and allusions to Kafka and Schopenhauer that one would expect from a serious novelist.

And, as an added benefit, Mr. McCarthy himself was sitting just in front of me (the play took place in a very small side theater). Behind me was the director of the play, along with a bunch of the Steppenwolf ensemble members. Chicago rules sometimes..

I’d like to write a letter (a real one, on paper) to Cormac, just to ask him if that’s the best and only answer he can find to being as literate as I’d like to become someday – whether reading too much, whether being too cultivated only leads to disillusionment, general unhappiness and suicide.

Update: I just found a little retrospective on the play by one of my new favorite actors, Austin Pendleton.

Dream Life Of Sukhanov

Another book I can wholeheartedly endorse – Olga Grushin's first, The Dream Life of Sukhanov.

I might have to skip out on reviewing Absurdistan, my friend Eric was right, it's just not funny.

New Updike Novel

Just received word that I'll be reviewing John Updike's upcoming novel Terrorist, which comes out on June 6th.

I've never read any Updike novels before, but I've been meaning to. Of course, I've read a lot of his essays and criticism, because the man writes an incredible amount. His review in the New Yorker on Houellebecq's The Possibility of an Island is snarky and fun. 

Top 25 Redux

Slate has just published a piece by Meghan O'Rourke about the nytimes' best work of American fiction in the last 25 years that came out yesterday. She argues that the newspaper is skewed towards long books by big names (duh) and provides a playdoyer of sorts for the consideration of shorter ones.

It does seem strange to see Toni Morrision up there with that group of old, white men.

Everyman Review

A Canadian paper just picked up my review of Philip Roth’s Everyman. I’m not particularly happy with it for various reasons (mostly because it’s poorly written and my editor chopped it up a bit) , but it’s out there, and there is nothing I can do about it now.

Otherwise, the book was vintage Roth, to the point of being almost a rehash of all his other personas he’s tried out throughout the years. A watered-down version of Zuckerman. But, of course, this being Philip Roth, the book was also amazingly well written most of the time.

Higher education in France

Here is an article from the nytimes on why being a student in France is close to unbearable.

People often ask me why I left Paris to come to Nothwestern for my Phd – the simple answer is money. Computers, stipend, access to professors, clean buildings, resources etc. And a degree that counts for something. As much as I loved the people and the city, I needed something a bit more serious..

Best American Fiction?

In a great display of pomp and circumstance, the nytimes has chosen the best American novel in the past 25 years: Toni Morrison's Beloved.

I've never read it.

Some of the also rans: DeLillo's Underworld, Roth's American Pastoral, Updike's Rabbit books and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. There are a lot of other books listed there that also received votes. Quite a few by Roth, including Eric's favorite book: The Plot Against America.

I've read five of them.

“Snotgreen” = hyphenated.

While on the subject of very long, difficult reads, McSweeney's just unearthed some early feedback that Joyce received from a writer's workshop he participated in while working on Ulysses. A wonderful look at the creative process in progress, here are some samples:

Unclear where and when this is set.

…

Caught some allusions to The Odyssey. Nice.

…

Kick-ass work, JJ, but way too long. Have you considered turning this into a short-short?

War and Peace

Shout out to my brother Joe, who just finished War and Peace.

Saramago and Roth reviews

My review of Jose Saramago's Seeing has just gone on the wire, as usual, it is picked up first by the Canadian press.

Additionally, I just sent off my review of Roth's Everyman. I imagine should also be coming out this weekend, so check your local papers.

Finally, I'm now working on Gary Shteyngart's Absurdistan, which I picked after having read a glowing review in the nytimes. According to the press release info that came with the book, it will be featured on the cover of this week's New York Review of Books.