Rain Light
by W. S. Merwin
All day the stars watch from long ago
my mother said I am going now
when you are alone you will be all right
whether or not you know you will know
look at the old house in the dawn rain
all the flowers are forms of water
the sun reminds them through a white cloud
touches the patchwork spread on the hill
the washed colors of the afterlife
that lived there long before you were born
see how they wake without a question
even though the whole world is burning
Passage through the ice
Franz Kafka’s manuscript from The Trial, 1925
Over at the New York Times, the lovely Elif Batuman has a great article about the battle over Kafka’s literary estate.
I admit, I felt a painful clench of disappointment when the honorable Ms. Batuman referred to the legal battle over Kafka’s estate as “kafkaesque”—so easy, so pat, I sneered, faithless—but then:
“It is unclear how much of Brod’s estate is still housed in the Spinoza Street apartment, which is currently inhabited by Eva Hoffe and between 40 and 100 cats.”
It kind of is.
Herbert George
Carson McCullers (via psychotherapy) (via stephaniesays)
Oh Carson.
zanmcquade replied to your link: Here Comes the Rooster - The Morning News
If The Marriage Plot wins I will be very, very disappointed in all of the judges. Harbach all the way.
I haven’t yet read The Art of Fielding so probably I shouldn’t say anything until next week or so when I do get to it. However, I love talking confidently about books that I know nothing about, so I won’t abstain. You may be right about Fielding’s chances—everyone who’s read it seems to love it. I have a premonition of dislike for myself. (And yes, am fully prepared to do whatever it takes to atone for this bold statement if I turn out to adore it.) I feel like I’ve read all the sports literature I’ll ever need between Exley and DeLillo’s 50 page dramatization of “The Shot Heard Around the World” at the beginning of Underworld, so if Fielding has even the slightest of heavy-handed metaphorical trappings around baseball I’m going to hate it. Also, my archnemesis Franzen saw fit to blurb enthusiastically about it not once but twice which gives me a lot of suspicion—if Franzen likes it then I must, out of sheer contrariness, not. Which isn’t fair—maybe they just have the same agent—and all of my reasons are terrible really—but I honestly would never read it if not for some outside force like the Rooster compelling me to do so. Still, it might be a very enjoyable final to have the two against one another and not just because their covers are so similar. Two extremely novelly novels (I’m assuming on the Harbach based on reviews), both set in or near universities—Barthes versus baseball. That win depends much on the backgrounds of the various judges, as does every decision in the game, I suppose, and I haven’t yet (and may not—I’m not obsessed here or anything) investigated the judges and tried to build their sense of taste in order to strengthen my own predictions. The Marriage Plot is deeply flawed—my biggest problem with it was that it tried to have its cake and eat it, tried to be a postmodern critique of the Marriage Plot novels of yore while still completely being one; it was unclear in its intentions and suffered for that, not a full success at either—but at least one of its flaws—the weakness of the sole female protagonist Madeline—may be a strength as it allows some readers to project themselves into the novel through her fuzzily outlined character. Also, I at least found it a quick, gripping read—I went through it in a day flat—which may lead to the Unputdownable Fallacy, in which a book is falsely accorded some sort of excellence just because it’s utterly compelling. And historically the ToB loves books that make readers feel smart—think Cloud Atlas, Wolf Hall—so all of the quotes from French Theorists and religious mystics might really work in its favor. That’s the basis of my prediction.
I’ll be wildly disappointed if 1Q84 wins, myself. That’s the 1/2 book that I haven’t been able to bring myself to finish because I found it so disappointing. It does have a lot of popular appeal, though, and a lot of people seem to love it even while recognizing its myriad flaws, so who knows.
Here Comes the Rooster - The Morning News
(Even though I think this list is kind of horrible but what can you expect, it was a poor publishing year) I am spasming about with glee tonight. The Rooster is the most fun on the internet in March for bookish types and I’ve been looking forward to it for months now. I’ve read 7 1/2 of these already and will, of course, read the rest, even the ones that give me hives to even think about. Thoughts:
- Actually grateful for the lack of David Foster Wallace (even though I cannot believe it—along with 1Q84 and the Eugenides I thought for sure that was a shoo in). I’m not ready to read it, not sure if I ever will be. Posthumous publications—I have issues with them.
- Tea Obreht and Karen Russell? Both? At once? Ugh. How disappointing. One or the other, not both, that’s my rule. They’re both so overhyped—I’m fairly well convinced that they only get so much attention because they’re both young and female and pretty. It’s certainly not because of their stunning talent, particularly in Obreht’s case. If I had to grudgingly allow one I’d go with Russell (Swamplandia! did have its moments; I think Russell might grow into a good author but for now her structure is weak and her influences too obvious) and replace Obreht with something from Open Letter or New Directions or even a NYBRC—in short, something that’s actually good. That said, I predict that Swamplandia! will do well.
- Also inexplicably popular: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt. This is a book I did not appreciate except for its potential to make a good movie someday but I won’t complain too much about its inclusion—it’s their token genre pick and I’m just thankful that they didn’t go for the equally beloved Ready Player One (awful) or The Magician King (unreadable).
- Ann Patchett is an odd inclusion for me. I guess it fits—I’ll never forget The Lacuna debacle a few years ago, and how near it came to beating the far superior Wolf Hall—as she’s a similar author to Kingsolver, but I don’t really think of either as “literary” or, ahem, “prizeworthy”—they’re bookclub reads: acceptable quality, just edgy enough to inspire discussion, but not transgressive or interesting. (Please note: I read the Patchett and liked it just fine for what it was. I gave it to my mother. She liked it.)
- Book I was planning never to read and now feel like I must: Salvage the Bones. I know it won the NBA, usually a good indicator of quality, but everything about this looks painful and indulgent. Sure, fine, write about Katrina, but does your main character have to be fourteen, black and pregnant? That’s dicey, with lots of potential for horridness. Also I remember this being billed as one of those “searing narrative voice” novels which is always a red flag. Resentment.
- I’ve been planning to read The Stranger’s Child but was going to skip Ondaatje’s newest. I can’t speak with confdience having read neither, but in terms of style and historical setting and possibly even intent these seem similar enough that I think they should have chosen one or the other not both. Lots of judges will find them dull—even I find it dull, thinking of reading them, and I like this type of book. Both very safe picks, neither strong enough to win. It seems to me that they erred on the conservative this year more than others—there’s no Anne Carson equivalent here.
- Previously unknown book that I’m most excited to read even though it is about WWII and has children for the main characters (a risky combination): The Last Brother by Natacha Appanah
- Should probably win but won’t because its author is smarter than you (and me) and shows it and people either won’t get it or will feel inferior and push it away despite its merit: Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt
- Will come close to winning but won’t because it’s just too damn long and many judges won’t finish it (and also because it’s either terribly written or terribly translated [who knows] for huge stretches of its considerable length): 1Q84
- Will win: Eugenides, The Marriage Plot, but only if the judges lean towards the pretentious-literate. It’s such a booklover’s book, tailored for anyone who’s ever been young and in love with words and at a loss for how to live beneath their weight. Not to mention: love triangle, DFW-inspired character, easy to read, lots of opportunities for the reader to feel clever. I’m not sure, but I think there’s a lot to relate to in this one for bookish judging types.
It was very peaceful… (by estelle & ivy)
Miss Suzy! Oh my goodness oh my goodness I loved this book so much as a small child and had completely forgotten about it until today. Overwhelmed with nostalgic delight.
I love this photo. So many “historical” daguerrotypes show solemn faces (which makes sense if you only have a few photos taken in your life!) But you can practically hear the laughter in the last frame.
(Source: golden-notebook)
