Howdy to all. *tips hat* It is once again that time where writers ask each other strange questions so they can answer in long, convoluted ways in writing for other eccentric writers to read. In other words, there is a tag about. I was tagged for this, the Bookworm Tag, by Grim Writer (thanks, Grim!), so let's get to it. (I think the rules are just to answer the questions, make new ones, and tag somebody - so mostly standard. I shall add a beautiful font to make it more fun.)
1. What are some of your unpopular literary opinions?
Oh boy... Is there a limit to how many...? And how unpopular are we talking here? Unpopular with most people, or unpopular even with this blog circle? I have plenty to offer of both, I think, but probably my most unpopular opinion would be my firm conviction that modern writing is children's fluff - if not utter drivel. No, I don't mean it's just morally bad writing. I mean it's bad writing. Some of it's very enjoyable - one of my favorite fantasies, The Goose Girl, is a more modern book. Still, though, it's nothing to some Oscar Wilde or C.S. Lewis, much less Alcott or Shakespeare or Chesterton. The more modern writing style -- by which I mean writing in a way that is sheared in descriptions, settings, and character and in which relatability or "feels" are the emphasis and main quality -- is like junk food: enjoyable and potent, but leaves you unfilled or with indigestion. So, yes. There's my old, curmudgeonly rant for the day. I'll go back to reading my Homer now, and I expect to hear plenty of war cries in the near future.
2. What's a great book you've read that you've never seen [heard?] anybody else talk about?
Well, my friends, sit down please. Turns out I'm not done rambling for the day. Make yourselves comfortable - it might be a while.
WHY HAS NO ONE TALKED ABOUT THIS BOOK???
...
...
...
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome Jerome. Yes, like my uncle said, it sounds like the beginning of a corny joke. Yes, the writer's name is actually Jerome Jerome. (Or, Jerome K. Jerome, to be precise. I believe it stands for Klapka. No, I'm not kidding... And, yes, it is his birth name.) And, yes, there is a brilliant little subtitle in some copies (To Say Nothing of the Dog).
My point is that the book is a work of comic genius; it's simply dripping with comedy. I mean, if you say the plot out loud, it really doesn't sound like anything special, I'll grant. It's basically about three characters who have very little knowledge or expertise on boating going on a boating trip (to say nothing of the main dude's dog, as the subtitle helpfully clarifies).
It's so much more than that, though. It's a huge slice of English Victorian life, seen through the lenses of patriotism, Romanticism, modernism, stoicism, history, culture, language, fashion, music, a whole lot of food, the common man, and many other things, positively riddled with humor. The skits and the main characters (Harris, an absent-minded society man who knows everything about the best food and drink; J., a self-professed philosopher and chronically lazy hypochondriac; George, a tired, grouchy teller with many and also no talents) are hilarious, of course... but you get much more than just a light novella. Like I said, the book is really not so much a picture of three rough-around-the-edges Englishmen as it is a picture of Victorian England as a whole, with all the culture and thoughts and hopes and dreams and traditions.
The book often drifts in thoughts - fitting through the main character's perspective, as he fancies himself something of a philosopher, historian, poet, and great intellectual in general. We'll have a scene of the fellows trying to open George's can of pineapple one minute (one of the best comic sequences in the book, I think), and we'll have the tale of a tragic suicide on the bank of the Thames the next. We can flit from a conversation about the foibles of fashionable ladies when boating to musing on what time or art or value is. It might sound like it would give a bit of vertigo or a stiff neck, but it actually works quite well. Somehow, Mr. Jerome fashioned the book to be seamlessly and sensibly meandering, somewhat like a real chain of thought or the centric, ill-fated trip on the Thames. It's really a stupendous piece of writing, if you think about it. I know I couldn't make my life experiences or trains of thoughts so readable.
If you haven't heard about it before... well, you're not alone. Nobody seems to have. When my British Literature teacher back in high school announced the next reading assignment in class - an assignment preceded by acknowledged standards like Beowulf, Gawain and the Green Knight, Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, and Hamlet - my first thought was one of utter confused disdain. What the heck is this random book? There was only one person in class who had read it before, and only one other who had even heard of it. It was like somebody suddenly coming up to you and talking to you all about how famous your cousin you've never even heard of is. Suddenly, this random Joe Schmoe (or John Bull or what have you) book was being promoted with the classics and taking up valuable space and time on our reading list.
It was worth it, people. Get torches and pitchforks, if you will, but I would put this book with those classics again if compiling a list of greats. I believe that it well merits its tiny spot alongside Conan Doyle and Jane Austen and Shelley and such. In other words... if you haven't heard of it, I understand. Now that you have heard of it, go read it. ("So let it be written, so let it be done!")
3. Around how many books do you read in a year?
Pfft, it's funny that you think I would know this. I truly have no idea. Judging from my few book posts of last year, I read about four full books in a month, average. Assuming it was that way all year and the year was representative and all that, I read about forty-eight books a year.
4. Describe your favorite setting to read a book in.
I like reading on my bed or on the couch in our family room, but I tend to fall asleep if I read in either place, so they're not quite optimal. I like reading outside if it's pleasantly warm and pretty out (like it has been this week). Because of room cleaning, I have no bedding on my bed right now, though, and it's not as tempting to fall asleep. This might be my new favorite place to read.
5. Who's your favorite folklore character and why?
Ooh, I like this question. I don't know if I've thought about it in depth. Honestly, not really folklore I know a lot about nor that I grew up with, but I really like the Monkey King in Oriental literature. Essentially, he's a somewhat arrogant comic figure who, while very talented in his own rite, gets into hot water and gets taught a lesson fairly often. (He also sometimes causes problems that take a frustratingly long time to get resolved, but I suppose we'll gloss over that.)
Actually... I almost forgot about Zorro. Does he count? He started out as a folk character, even if he's not anymore. (I guess that's sorta like the reverse of how Sherlock Holmes is a bit of a folk character now even though he started out in regular literature.) I don't know a lot of the more complicated, branched-out stories, but the basic Zorro story is just darn good stuff.
However, lest I do injustice to a perennial folk character that I have always loved, let's go with Robin Hood.
6. Thoughts on horror and psychological thrillers?
Okay, I really want to write a post on this sometime. I guess the short version of my thoughts is that - done well - I really enjoy them, and I think they have a vast potential for communicating any kind of deeper message or idea among genres. There are so many things to be considered with the genres, and so many different genres within them, so it's definitely worth another time's discussion.
7. Favorite literary villain and why?
Hmm. I think it'd be a little too difficult to name just one, but I can toss a handful. Of course, there are some that I've used as examples of good villains before, like Dracula or Chauvelin from The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Ooh, actually, I really have to give props to the villain in the first Lord Wimsey book, Whose Body?. I really don't want to spoil it, ach. (If you're really sharp at guessing characters or are reading the book right now, just skip this part.) Really, what made him such a perfect villain was that Sayers just took a couple of commonplace modern ideas and took them to their logical end to form his worldview. It made perfect sense why he would murder someone - seeing things from his point of view, it seemed like the only sensible thing to do. I read Whose Body? for the first time right after re-reading some of Chesterton's essays in Heretics and Orthodoxy, and it was amazing how well Chesterton's criticisms of some secular philosophies applied to the villain in Sayers' book.
I don't know if I would say the villain of Whose Body? was my favorite literary villain ever, but he is objectively one of the best villains I can think of off the top of my head. I guess some other names I could toss out would be the Un-Man in Perelandra; Rupert of Hentzau from Prisoner of Zenda (just 'cause I liked him - he wasn't a super complexly written villain or anything); Edmund in King Lear.
8. Favorite death scene in a book?
Now, I do have an answer for this one - Augustine St. Clare in Uncle Tom's Cabin has one of my favorite death scenes ever. He was a character who was so noncombative and lax for most of the book, and then finally he takes a stand and does something worth doing. He dies a good death, going back to the Catholic Faith that he was brought up in and his daughter believed in so fervently. Now, it's true he didn't die perfectly - in that he didn't put his promise to Tom in writing, which causes most of the problems that happen afterwards - but he did die well. Even though the proofs of his previously weak character are on all sides of him as he goes, he still puts forth the last effort to fix everything even though his death is unexpected and quick.
9. Do you read poetry, and, if so, what is your favorite poem?
I most certainly read poetry, but, once again, I don't think I can name one favorite. The Tiger by William Blake is pretty classic, as is The Captain's Daughter by James T. Fields. If only for the sheer beauty, genius, and skill of the poem, though, The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes might be my favorite poem - maybe. It's definitely one of them.
10. Favorite child character in a book?
That's a hard one, considering I tend to strongly dislike or be indifferent towards child characters in books. I did become rather fond of Megan's young cowboy chap in The Time-Traveling League (that was what that book was called, right? - it's been so long since I've read it). I really enjoyed the segments of Myles as a kid in Men of Iron, too. Other than those two, I'm really not sure. Kids in books tend to be really annoying or vanilla.
To end, I shall tag Megan and To Be a Sennachie, if they haven't done the tag yet (or even if they have and feel like it again). Here are the new questions:
- Who are your favorite parent characters in a book?
- What book really should have had a sequel?
- What book should never have had a sequel in a million years? (I expect a hefty answer for this one.)
- What is the best book-to-movie production you've seen (it can also be book-to-play or book-to-musical)?
- What is the worst book-to-movie production you've seen (same as above)?
- What's one book that you would like to see rewritten?
- What's one character in literature that could use their own book?
- Hardback or softcover notebooks for writing? (It's an important question!)
- Number one song to write to right now?
- Fantasy or sci-fi?
Well, that's all for now, folks. I will be off the blogging sphere for at least a couple weeks while I get moved into my summer arrangements, but I will still try to read and comment on all of your lovely posts! What are your thoughts on children characters in books? Any splendid villains you think need mentioned?
