Friday 6 October 2017

Books we read

                                                      Image result for rocks in the belly
I belong to a book club and, of course, I read books not of my choice. Actually, this was the whole point of joining the club. That and the possibility of discussing the books with like-minded people. But, it somehow does not work for me very well and I wonder why. I always have been individualistic and do not like to be directed in my actions. Maybe this is the reason why I look at the club books in a negative way? I think, however, that there is more to it than that. I, often, do not find the books relevant and I question the time spent on reading things I do not learn from, enjoy or even approve of. The book I am reading now is Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer. A young Australian writer and his first book. I must say that it is well written book and because it is well written its depressing impact is rather profound. Does it make the book worthwhile reading? I would say that the effect of reading the book may be even harmful for somebody of more sensitive feelings. Like me. I have been reading the book for a couple of weeks now, I could not take more than a couple of short chapters in one go. I felt dirty, sticky, ill, depressed and generally horrible. This power of the book makes it perhaps a good book. I am asking myself a question though, how relevant it is to me? What does it bring into my life in addition to depression? And I do not find a good answer. One could say that I should watch a comedy show or a film or read a funny book if I want to be entertained. But I not always want to be only entertained. I want the time I spent on reading to bring some new thoughts relevant to my life (to any life in fact), even some answers to existential questions or at least some insightful observations.

Dostoevsky is not a cheerful lecture, but I consider his books worth reading, even if one should read them with caution. My literature teacher at school was saying that two Dostoevsky's books read one after the other present a danger to one’s emotional life, more than two present a danger to the reader’s life. Jon Bauer wrote only one book so far and I think it is save to read this one book, but I wonder why I should put myself through the process of reading it. I think, I got the message the author wanted to pass. People are cruel, parents can profoundly hurt their children psyche, bad is inherent to our nature, what you soak in at your early years will show up in your later life, cancer is a very cruel illness, sex is good to get you out of the dumps, if only for a short moment, we’ll all die at the end.  This is what I got out from the book, this and a very unpleasant sticky feeling. This is a very brutal book in my opinion.

The life truths the book reveals have been known to me for a while, I find them pretty obvious and not particularly worth spending hours on reading the book and pondering on the intended messages.
One observation, however, caught my attention and this is the uncertainty of what we actually experience versus what belongs only to our feelings, predispositions and imagination. The hero, who is unnamed in the book, wonders if the drama created in his life was a result of actual neglect by his mother or his own blinding jealousy of her feelings towards foster children who lived with the family. Reflecting on it, I am not sure myself what the deciding factor was, because both aspects were there.  The mother was not attuned sufficiently to her son feelings and sometimes behaved in the way I would consider neglectful or even cruel. On the other hand, the eight-year-old boy was predisposed to see live as negative and scary. However, a loving, careful mother should have seen his sensitivities and act with more care. 

I am glad that I am trough with the book and I will try not to be too critical of the book choice in the forthcoming book club meeting. Especially, that the situation will change and soon the members of the group will be picking themselves the books to read.


I find The Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara by far the best book I have read the last year, but this is not the book I will be recommending for the group. My three candidates are Pamuk’s The Red-Haired Woman, Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend and the new Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. I started reading the last book only today, but I know and love the film made based on the novel. So, I have high hopes I will love the book as well.

8 comments:

  1. I try and avoid reading all depressing books by first reading some reviews and / or by asking people who have read it about it. I have not read the other two but The Remains Of The Day is indeed a very readable book.

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  2. Yes, I do similar things with exception of this local library club where the book are selected by some library staff. For the next year the rules will change so I hope for the positive change, but if I need to quit the club for the reasons of inappropriate for me selection of books, I will do that.

    Thank you for your comment on The Remains of the Day, I have seen the film and loved it. So far the book is also enjoyable. I may read another book of the same author later. Have you come across anything you would recommend?

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    1. Not from the same author. I am right now on a Lee Child, Ken Follet and some Indian authors. Somehow I am not in a mood to read the more serious stuff.

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    2. The same with me, but at the moment it is my time for more serious books. The Remains of the Day is to me a serious book, but written in a way that it is easy and pleasant to read. I will take the writers you mentioned into considerations for later.

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  3. Book club in my library is a bit strange. We do not discuss books recommended for reading, just everybody presents her/his reflection on the book read in last 4 weeks.
    I got impression, that nobody reads a book recommended by somebody else, and this is OK for me. At least it motivates for some preparation for each meeting.

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    1. This is a good way, I like it. I often write about books I read to sort out my thoughts, taking to someone is even better. I sometimes think that my taste in books is difficult to share, hence my concern how my recommendations will go. I think you are in a similar position. Polish twist? Or maybe we are too serious readers.

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    2. When I look at the list of books read this year - over 25 positions - I cannot find any specific taste. I have some tendency to stick to widely recognized writers, but there are also few total strangers.
      When in the library, I always look at the tray with recently returned books. What other people are reading?

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    3. In such a case my theory is wrong if you pick from the books recently returned. I typically follow recommendations of my Polish friend Raf and now Booker and Nobel prize winners are on my radar. I also follow The Guardian book club.

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