Wilkinson88
Whereas Mrs Bridge was a superb portrayal of how a middle-aged woman adjusts to the monotony of suburban life interwoven with various themes, Mr Bridge is more straightforward in its approach showing how a deeply unlikeable individual can be materialistic and dead set in his conservative ways. His idea of a treat is to clip stock certificates to the Christmas tree. The core idea of the book that Mr Bridge cares more about accumulating wealth to ‘provide' for his family than providing any love to them is a good one
Unique and startling in how it dissects the mythology of Hollywood filmmaking. A novel that attempts to distinguish between how reality shapes the movies and how the movies shape reality itself.
Vikar is a troubled young man who arrives in Los Angeles in 1969, bearing a tattoo of his favourite film on his shaven head, trying to escape from a strict religious upbringing and an oppressive father through his love of cinema. The plot consists of his relationships with characters in the movie industry, his obsession with film and an encounter with a mysterious bit-part actress (Soledad) who may just be the unacknowledged daughter of Luis Buñuel.
The structure of the book is similar to a film ironically. Every brief chapter is built around a conversation, an observation, a Hollywood location, or a simple event. The episodic nature of the narrative perfectly complements the way a film could be cut and edited. Besides, as Vikar himself says fuck continuity. Needless to say, certain scenes are much funnier than others. A remarkably insightful discussion of movies between Vikar and a burglar whom he surprises in his apartment immediately comes to mind.
Also, cinematic references galore to the determent of the book, actually. Though I enjoyed reading what other characters perceive the directorial differences between a John Ford and Howard Hawks picture to be or how Bunuel invokes social commentary in his films, it became difficult to shake off the feeling that Erikson was showing off with his knowledge and opinions of film.
Lastly, the ending is pretty substandard, but I don't know how I would have concluded it either.
That said, I believe Zeroville is a very good book.
A pitch-perfect novel. I think one of the many uses of Goodreads is the ability to discover works of literature that would have probably escaped me otherwise. This was on the Penguin modern classics list, I believe, and if it weren't for my desire to want to be a list completionist, then Mrs Bridge would have escaped me entirely.
What puts Mrs Bridge in the same category as other writers like Yates, Carver or Updike who have made astute observations about the suburban lifestyle of American society? Initially, the novel reads as a simple, straightforward portrait of a housewife, India Bridge and her devotion to her husband and three children. Yet much like the above writers, the text is much more layered than that. Evan S Connell deftly interweaves a variety of themes. Family relationships, privilege, the repression of social mores, and the longing to find one's individual self are scattered through the 117 short vignette-like chapters, each with its own title.
Most importantly, the reader gets a clear sense of the world that Mrs Bridge inhabits. Her life is not only filled with the challenges of being married to Mr Bridge, the rearing of her three children but just as important, keeping in line with the issues and concerns of her social setting. Mrs Bridge strives to find her place in the world she inhabits. Connell also demonstrates how the culture that Mrs Bride resides in can shape her views. For example, an earlier scene in the book has Mrs Bridge keeping a careful eye on her daughter's, Carolyn, relationship with a coloured girl, Alice Jones succumbing to the prejudice of her time.
The prose is outstanding, and many of the chapters end with a sense of closure. Consequently, each chapter is either a self-contained miniature event or things are left up for the reader to interpret. For example, this is how chapter 90 ends in which Mrs Bridge's son comes to realise that he has not fooled his mother about the reason why he crashed her car: “Although she had not said a word, he perceived that in some fantastic manner she sensed the complete truth, and he reflected that in matters however distantly related to sex she possessed supernatural powers of divination”.
Overall the narrative device used, the fact that the themes and issues Connell tackles are still relevant today, and it's the profound insight Mrs Bridge gives into the conditions of married and family life that make it a timeless masterpiece.
If Goodreads had a half star rating, I'd put this closer to 3.5 than a four. This is, at times, a beautiful recreation of Hugo's experiences as a boy living with his German mother and an Irish, nationalistic, father set amongst the backdrop of 1950's/60's Ireland. Though both parents clearly have different parenting styles, they are both united by nostalgia and a longing for a return to the good old days. The father yearns for an Ireland he imagines so much that he forces his children to only speak in Irish. The mother speaks about her own desire for Germany to return to where it was before the Nazi's occupation. It is this thematic strand that is captured pretty well.
Unfortunately, the scattered nature of the writing style is a bit of a downer. In every chapter I found, there was a tendency to go from subject to subject. For example, there are two chapters one after the other that discuss his father's friend, school experiences and relatives. I would have preferred a less is more approach here.
When I studied Olivia Laing's The Trip to Echo Spring: Why Writers Drink in a contemporary literature class a few years ago, the lecturer Mike McCormack suggested Dead as Doornails as a similarly useful text in its exploration of how writers can be gripped by alcoholism. The only difference being was in his view, Dead as Doornails had plenty of humorous moments. Though certain sections in Dead as Doornails are definitely funny, thematically reading about how three of some of the most talented Irish writers of all time succumbed to the drink is pretty morbid stuff.
Still, the link between alcohol and creativity is something that has generally fascinated me. Could someone like Flann O Brien have written some of the unique forms of metafiction in At Swim Two Birds without Alcohol in his life? Borstal Boy is considered Beehan's masterpiece but would a sober Beehan have undertaken it? I'm speaking from personal preference here, but I wouldn't have minded if Cronin had explored this discourse in the book.
Also, the Soho section of the book didn't enthral me like the rest, but I initially thought the book's entirety was about these three writers.
Satisfactory epilogue to the series. It does struggle to justify its existence at times since Anabelle isn't a fascinating character. For the most part, Updike is really providing an update on what's happened in the area since Rabbit's death, e.g., what happened to Charlie Stavros and Springer Motors. Still, the ending is good, and I always enjoy how he interweaves cultural and political discussions of their time into the stories. In this one, it happens to be a heated Thanksgiving debate on the Clintons or American Beauty. Have to agree with Pru's thoughts on the latter btw.
A great ending elevates a stodgy and repetitive middle section. Also couldn't help but shake the feeling that Leo and Kira weren't the most intriguing of characters. Andrei's moral dilemma and his awareness of the corruption and the tyranny that engulfs his party is a more compelling subplot. Nonetheless, it sometimes works as a powerful commentary on a system that has no interest in people like them.
There are moments in this that definitely work. Schultz's and Theresa's relationship feels nicely done; for example, encapsulating the realist style that Baker is trying to evoke. And the ending is perfect would love to see how a stage production could reimagine it. However, it does feel a tad slight at times as if the barebones concept of five people in an acting class isn't quite enough to work for 90 + pages. Still, the theatre nerd in me mostly appreciated this.
This was disappointing considering it is listed on the Best American plays list and it's Pulitzer prize win in 1998. It pretty much has nothing to say over the traumas of sexual abuse of a young girl by her uncle and fails to show the emotional turmoil that Lil Bit would surely go through. There is also a notable lack of character development in which Lil Bit never seems to learn from her mistakes or any sort of character arc for anyone and thus I felt continuously disconnected from the play.
Oh and use of the choruses felt redundant adding very little to a plodding text
Though it's potentially revealing in regards to the mindset of someone with suicidal thoughts and the play cleverly twists conventions by making it unclear whether she's talking with a doctor or to herself, the way in which the play was structured made it a slight challenge to fully engage with it. It reads more like a long poem. One could certainly argue however that was the point of the piece given how it can be looked at as Kane's real-life suicide note.
It is one of the few books I've read that captures the pain of mental illness, and I'd be curious to see how directors would adopt this as a theatre piece considering there are no stage directions given
Short and sweet. I like the vivid imagery of it but only in the academic world could this somehow be analyzed and scrutinized in the way that it has been lol
Giving this a rating even though it was a DNF at 20%. A somewhat disappointing trudge through 1940's Hollywood. Friedrich provides a chaotic chronology that bears little relation to the previous subject matter. For example, he mentions the screenwriting battle between Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles on Citizen Kane and then delves into Bertolt Brecht. I'm sure Brecht's influence is remarkable, but I would have preferred more stories that dealt with what happened behind the scenes.
Also, for a book about Hollywood in the 1940's it really isn't about it at all. We don't get enough of what actually happened in 1940's Hollywood. How was the city growing and changing? What industries made Hollywood click besides movies? And what impact did the movie industry have on Hollywood as a whole? Not covered here. What was Hollywood as a city and a factory-like in the pre-war era? Not covered here.
I'm looking forward to eventually reading this myself, but I'm also impressed that a few people here have managed to get an early copy of the book.