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The Conservationist Nadine Gordimer
267 pages
The Conservationist is an in-depth character study of Mehring, a South African businessman-cum-farmer. His success in industry provided the means to buy a 400-acre farm, which serves primarily as a tax write-off. In his quest for material success, Mehring has lost his wife and a mistress. His teenage son attends school some distance away, and has become increasingly independent -- estranged, perhaps -- from his father. Mehring mistakenly views interaction with the black laborers on his farm as a meaningful relationship. In reality, the South African class structure ensures their relationship remains distant.
I found Mehring to be a fairly despicable and pathetic character, which I believe was Gordimer's intent. He is a philanderer, at one point fondling a young lady he'd never met for the better part of a long-haul flight. Yech. And while at times he seems to appreciate the natural beauty of his farm, he has no one to share it with him. His time spent at the farm is empty, a way to pass the weekend or to hide from social obligations.
This was a difficult book to read because the main character was so unlikeable, and it revolved much more around character than plot. However, Gordimer writes some pretty amazing, descriptive prose that brought the South African scenery to life. Despite my rather lukewarm reaction to this particular novel, I will definitely be reading more of her work. (
) I read this book for the Celebrate the Author challenge: Nadine Gordimer was born November 20, 1923.
Kaddish for a Child not BornImre Kertesz
95 pages
I lived in such a way that the Germans might return at any time; thus I didn't quite live. (p. 45)
This book is a holocaust survivor's first-person narrative exploring the impact of imprisonment at Auschwitz on his adult life.
Then she asked me whether I suffered or perhaps even still suffer from my Jewishness aside from what I had to suffer in the past. I answered ... that I have carried this sin as my sin even though I have never committed it. (p. 56)
As the title indicates, the narrator is mourning the child he never had. His marriage fell apart after he emphatically refused to have children: No -- it should never happen to another child, what happened to me: my childhood. (p. 71)
This is a short book written in a free-form style, and yet was not an easy read. It is probably best read in small pieces and then digested through contemplation. I was not in the mood for this kind of book and probably should have set it aside. Nonetheless, I could see that, if read with proper attention, it could be a quite powerful book. (
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The Good EarthPearl S. Buck
260 pages
Pearl Buck's classic novel is an epic portrayal of agrarian China near the turn of the twentieth century, leading up to the 1912 Revolution. The novel opens on the wedding day of Wang Lung, a poor farmer. His wife, O-lan, has spent her youth as a slave for a wealthy family in town. Up to this time, Wang Lung has had to care for his father in addition to farming the land, and he is simply glad to have someone to cook, clean, and tend to his father while he works the land. His relationship with O-lan develops, in a traditional way, as she bears him children and works with him in the fields. During a time of widespread crop failure, they migrate to a southern city and learn to survive in far different conditions. But the pull of the land is strong, and eventually Wang Lung and his family return to their home town and prosper as farmers and landowners.
Over the years the family experiences birth, death, marriage, and war; happiness as well as suffering. Buck brings the characters of Wang Lung, O-lan, and their children to life. Wang Lung could be rather distasteful by modern, western standards, even when he was simply trying to provide the best for his family. At other times, he was motivated by selfish desires and made decisions which would be harmful viewed through any cultural lens. And I felt sorry for O-lan, who was helpless under his partriarchal rule.
Towards the end of The Good Earth, Wang Lung prepares to pass his land to his sons, just as China is preparing to pass over into a new era of its own. My edition of this book included a reader's supplement with cultural notes and photos of weddings, markets, and ordinary people which helped bring the story and the time period to life. This book is more than just an epic family saga, it also paints a fascinating picture of the life and customs of a country on the brink of dramatic change. (
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Independent People
Halldor Laxness
470 pages
Independence is the most important thing of all in life. I say for my part that a man lives in vain until he is independent. (p. 29)
Bjartur of Summerhouses is an Icelandic crofter, having earned his independence after 18 years in service. He is a proud man who works hard and has little time for emotion: For once the crofter was rather at a loss for words, for to him nothing had ever been more completely unintelligible than the reasoning that is bred of tears. He disliked tears, had always disliked tears, had never understood them ...(p.296) Bjartur establishes his homestead, marries, and raises a family, but he is entirely focused on retaining and strengthening his independence, often at the expense of relationships. His children grow up uneducated and ill-prepared for the rapidly-changing world in the first half of the 20th century. Bjartur is conservative to the point of being reactionary, and refuses to acknowledge the realities brought on by politicians and economic conditions.
This epic novel takes place over many years, following Bjartur through good times and bad. Bjartur was not the most likeable character. His single-minded pursuit of independence and financial security meant that most of his family were unable to realize their full potential. Their emotional needs were largely unmet. And Bjartur experienced losses of his own, but It had never been a habit of his to lament over anything he lost; never nurture your grief, rather content yourself with what you have left...(p. 450)
While Independent People is sobering and often sad, I also found it moving. With its expansive scope and tough characters, it reminded me of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, which I also enjoyed. It is not an easy read, but is well worth the effort. ( 
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Like The Complete Booker and The Pulitzer Project, Read the Nobels is an opportunity to read award-winning authors. I read 3 Nobel winners in 2007, which is pretty pathetic progress. In 2008 I’d like to read another 8-10, several of which will also count for my personal Reading Across Borders challenge. These include:
- 2006 - Orhan Pamuk - My Name is Red (DNF 2/23/2008 - review)
- 2004 - Elfriede Jelinek - The Piano Teacher (DNF 8/16/2008 - review)
- 2002 - Imre Kertész - Kaddish for a Child not Born (completed 10/24/2008 - review)
- 2001 - V.S. Naipaul - In a Free State (completed 4/23/2008 - review)
- 1998 - Jose Saramago - Baltasar and Blimunda (DNF 8/2/2008 - review)
- 1991 - Nadine Gordimer - The Conservationist (completed 11/25/2008 - review)
- 1955 - Halldor Laxness - Independent People (completed 8/29/2008 - review)
- 1954 - Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea (completed 8/9/2008 - review)
- 1938 - Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth (completed 10/23/2008 - review)
Complete List of Nobels Read (with links to reviews where available):
2007 - Doris Lessing - Love, Again
2006 - Orhan Pamuk - My Name is Red (review)
2004 - Elfriede Jelinek - The Piano Teacher (review)
2003 - J. M. Coetzee - Elizabeth Costello
2002 - Imre Kertész - Kaddish for a Child not Born (review)
2001 - V.S. Naipaul - In a Free State (review)
1998 - Jose Saramago - Baltasar and Blimunda (review)
2006 - Orhan Pamuk - My Name is Red (review)
2004 - Elfriede Jelinek - The Piano Teacher (review)
2003 - J. M. Coetzee - Elizabeth Costello
2002 - Imre Kertész - Kaddish for a Child not Born (review)
2001 - V.S. Naipaul - In a Free State (review)
1998 - Jose Saramago - Baltasar and Blimunda (review)
1993 - Toni Morrison - Song of Solomon, Beloved, Paradise, Love
1991 - Nadine Gordimer - The Conservationist (review)
1991 - Nadine Gordimer - The Conservationist (review)
1983 - William Golding - Lord of the Flies
1982 - Gabriel García Márquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude (review)
1962 - John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath (review), East of Eden (review)
1955 - Halldor Laxness - Independent People (review)
1954 - Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea (review)
1938 - Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth (review)
1955 - Halldor Laxness - Independent People (review)
1954 - Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea (review)
1938 - Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth (review)
Once again, I'm going to throw a Nobel prize-winning author's work at the wall and move on to something else. This year I've been making a concerted effort to read Nobel winners, especially since so many of them give me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of authors from other countries. Unfortunately, I've been disappointed by many of my choices.
I was unable to finish Orhan Pamuk's My Name is Red, Jose Saramago's Baltasar and Blimunda and, as of today, Elfriede Jelinek's The Piano Teacher. I finished, but despised, V.S. Naipaul's In a Free State. Only Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea has made a positive impression. What's up with that? I'm planning to read a few more Nobel winners this year: Halldor Laxness, Imre Kertész, and Nadine Gordimer, and I'm hoping for a more enjoyable experience. But I have to say I rushed rather headlong into reading the Nobels, assuming that anyone who has garnered such international acclaim would be worth reading. And it's been disappointing. I
have enjoyed the Booker, Orange and Whitbread/Costa winners much, much more.
How about you? Do you read prizewinners? What's your favorite prize?
My review of The Piano Teacher is hardly worth its own blog post ...
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The Piano Teacher
Elfriede Jelinek
280 pages
This review will be very, very short, because I really disliked this book and was unable to finish it. Erika Korhut is a young woman who, having failed in pursuit of a career as a concert pianist, now teaches piano in Vienna. She lives with her domineering mother who controls every aspect of Erika's life. Erika has no friends, and no romantic relationships, and her mother ensures it stays that way. At the time I abandoned this book, Erika was already engaged in self-destructive behavior, which was about to continue through a relationship with one of her students. But I found the characters lacked depth and were completely dispicable. I didn't care what happened to Erika and was really disappointed by this work from a Nobel prize-winning author.
Elfriede Jelinek
280 pages
This review will be very, very short, because I really disliked this book and was unable to finish it. Erika Korhut is a young woman who, having failed in pursuit of a career as a concert pianist, now teaches piano in Vienna. She lives with her domineering mother who controls every aspect of Erika's life. Erika has no friends, and no romantic relationships, and her mother ensures it stays that way. At the time I abandoned this book, Erika was already engaged in self-destructive behavior, which was about to continue through a relationship with one of her students. But I found the characters lacked depth and were completely dispicable. I didn't care what happened to Erika and was really disappointed by this work from a Nobel prize-winning author.
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The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
128 pages
When reviewing a classic like The Old Man and the Sea, it's difficult to find something to say that hasn't already been said. This concise novella packs a punch in 128 short pages. Santiago is the old man in the title, a Cuban fisherman who has gone more than 80 days without a catch. He's a lonely man, ridiculed by other fishermen and forced to fish alone after losing his assistant (forced by his parents to fish with another, luckier, fisherman). Santiago decides to go further out into the sea than the other fishermen and, sure enough, snags a marlin larger than his boat.
The rest of the book recounts Santiago's efforts to reel in the fish (this task alone takes more than a day), and then bring the fish back to port. He demonstrates powerful mental and physical strength as he combats the marlin, sharks, hunger, fatigue, and loneliness. Much has been written about this work's themes of pride and redemption, and comparisons to Hemingway's late career. And while there are certainly symbols and messages in this book, it's also a great story that holds your attention the entire way through. (
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Baltasar and Blimunda
Jose Saramago
In Portugal during the 1700s, Baltasar returned home from war and fell immediately in love with Blimunda, a woman with the power to "see inside" others. They encounter a priest on a quest to build a flying machine, and begin working for him in pursuit of the same goal. And then it all got a bit far-fetched.
I wanted to like this book, and I gave it a good try by reading more than halfway through. However, the characters lacked depth. Baltasar and Blimunda, supposedly deep in love, seemed like two people going through the motions of life, let alone their relationship. Saramago uses the story to take satiric shots at the church and the monarchy, which provided mild amusement, but overall I was disappointed in this book.
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In a Free StateV.S. Naipaul
246 pages
In a Free State is a collection of short stories -- one more of a novella -- about expatriates living outside their home country. Naipaul has a good vantage point, being somewhat of a "wanderer" himself: of Indian descent, born in Trinidad, and living most of his life in England. He is well positioned to lay bare the perceived glamour of far-off lands. However, this book did nothing for me. Nothing, nada, zilch. The characters were largely unlikeable. They were mostly male, and his female characters were appallingly shallow. And then I found it impossible to get past Naipaul's misogynist history, having psychologically abused his wife for many, many years. It's disappointing to read a Booker prize-winner, from a Nobel prizewinning author, and have it fall so flat.
This may be my shortest review ever, but there's really nothing more I have to say. (
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My Name is RedOrhan Pamuk
413 pages
I really enjoy reading prize-winning authors. I have a long-term goal to read all Booker, Pulitzer, Orange and Nobel winners. But with my latest read I learned that just because an author won a prize, and just because umpteen people have raved about said author, doesn’t mean I will enjoy their work.
Orhan Pamuk won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature. My Name is Red is set in the late 16th century during the Ottoman Empire. The central figures are artists, miniaturist painters working for Sultan Murat III, who had several books produced during his reign, all including the work of prominent Ottoman miniaturists. The book is a mystery, beginning with the murder of a miniaturist. The story is told from numerous points of view. All of this initially intrigued me, but I didn’t make it past page 85. The intricacies of miniaturist painting, the parables and cultural references, the unbearably slow development of the mystery … I found myself getting lost, re-reading, and repeatedly falling asleep in my chair.
So you might think I’d just move on. But I’m really bothered by this. I can count on one hand the books I didn’t finish in the past year. And this is a Nobel-winning author; an expert panel found his body of work worthy of such a prestigious prize. What have I missed? Was I crazy to throw My Name is Red at the wall? Comments please!
P.S. By the way, later today I will “move on." I plan to start The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar.
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Aloi from Aloi Reads is hosting the Read the Nobels challenge which, like my very own Complete Booker, has no time limit. I love reading prize-winning authors, and this complements The Complete Booker and The Pulitzer Project nicely. I also enjoy "reading across borders" (books by authors from outside the US), and a number of the Nobel winners represent countries I haven't "read" yet.
In fact, I've read pathetically few of the Nobel authors. I've included links to reviews where I have them.
2007 - Doris Lessing
- Love, Again
2003 - J. M. Coetzee
- Elizabeth Costello (but I didn't finish it! Is that cheating?)
- Song of Solomon
- Beloved
- Paradise
- Love
- Lord of the Flies
1982 - Gabriel García Márquez
- One Hundred Years of Solitude - completed 4/6/2007 (review)
Having enjoyed The Odyssey, I really wanted to like Omeros, too. However, the story didn't "flow"; it seemed to dart all over the place, with some sections set in the Caribbean, and others in London and America. I couldn't find the "glue" that made it all hang together. Significant events, like the death of an important character, were told in such a way that I had to re-read the passage to "get it." However, the story of the major and his wife, living out their final years on the island, was most poignant. Some passages in this work were quite lyrical, and I enjoyed the rhythmic language. However, my overall impression was less than positive. (