Newsletter: reading to the rescue ...
The turkeys are everywhere this November ... everywhere except in these two brilliant novels.
I learned the other day that novels are flying off the shelves after Trump’s election. It makes sense. Among so many other things ranging from the Dems who did not vote, to the women voter wave that failed to materialize to a young generation strangely attracted to a climate denying GOP, history has let us down. The cavalry did not ride up and over the hill, the soldiers were thrown back on the beaches of Normandy, Lincoln lost to a lesser man. It is way too early to spend too much time figuring out 11/5. Its consequences will be revealed over time. History saddens me for now. The present, at present, overwhelms the past. Thus, I share this pull toward the metaphysical relief of serious literature and the timeless echoes it brings with it. The following two books were extraordinary reads for different reasons. They were read right after 11/5.
I wonder why I had never heard of We Burn Daylight by Bret Anthony Johnston. It is clearly one of the best novels of the past couple years. I suspect its subject, the Branch Davidian siege in Waco that lasted 51 days and left 86 dead, felt too grim to reimagine. It captured the nation’s attention in a nasty “breaking news” rush at the time news had just begun to “break”. It was a visual feast, a law enforcement nightmare and all centered around that most American of phenomenas, the religious cult. Whether it be the Kool-Aid of Georgetown or the stenciled sneakers of Heaven’s Gate, the lure of such mindless self-immolation has always been deeply unnerving for me. It may have begun with the Manson murders where my family knew one of those slashed that night. Anyway, a neighbor suggested I read Johnston’s book and after a hesitant start, I flew through it. 11/5 gave me a push of sorts since the Waco siege was a flashpoint for the rise of right-wing militias and an alt right that blew up on social media a decade later. The siege also fueled the rage of the Oklahoma City bombers which to this day remains the deadliest homegrown terrorist attack in our history. Of course, the nut jobs in Montana and the woods of Maine might argue that Waco gets that title. Thus, the difficulty of the subject …
We Burn Daylight is a based on real events and a lot of research. It qualifies as historical fiction; however, it reads very differently. It is an emotional jigsaw. There are no easy answers, no clear good guys or bad guys. Much is told through the eyes of two adolescents from different ends of the siege but connected in a way that brings more than a dash of “Romeo & Juliet” into the picture. The fact that Johnston puts a love story in the midst of all this madness is his greatest achievement. Just as the star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s timeless tale throw into glaring relief the absurd extremism of the world that begat them, Johnston’s teenagers bring a contrapuntal complexity and depth to this tragic and ultimately utterly wasteful conflagration. The narrative is kept intact by another entirely different and very effective documentary touch that gives one valuable context to this whirlwind. It is a novel of real artistry that reads like a page-turner.
It is not perfect. It has an Epilogue … so often a slippery editor inspired slope best left alone. Libby at Carnegie Hill’s wonderful Corner Bookstore loved the book and unpacked the ending perfectly. I cannot reveal anything because it IS a page turner; however, Libby’s central point is that the Epilogue does not square with the rest of the book in any sense … thus our “editor” suspicions. Regardless, this is a book that will provoke and enthrall in equal measure.
I was upset that the Booker did not go to Percival Everett’s brilliant instant classic, James. It felt like a British snub to a very American novel. The winner was Orbital by Samantha Harvey and I might have snubbed her as well if it were not for the literate crew at the Corner Bookstore suggesting I give it a try. It is a small book in every sense but one – its subject. I hoped to read its 206 pages quickly and move on. No such thing …
The 3rd century Roman philosopher, Longinus, defined the five sources of SUBLIMITY as “great thoughts, strong emotions, certain figures of thought and speech, noble diction, and dignified word arrangement”. He suggests that the sublime is where the soul is released and revealed. This formal and lofty introduction is where I retreated to in order to find a way of capturing this 206-page ode to our Earth, humanity and the stars. It is SO beautiful. You are with six astronauts (including cosmonauts) in an aging space station that circles the globe 16 times a day, each orbit unique in its path and its reveal. There is no traditional plot. There is no traditional narrative. The book cannot end because its subject will not allow it. What is the subject? What is NOT the subject? Its sublime prose almost obfuscates its most deeply bittersweet message. This is a climate change novel. From that perspective, it will break your heart. I do not want to try to capture Orbital’s wonder. Just read it. Sorry Percival … close call at the plate.
As an aside …
While walking from the grocery store, I was sifting through my reactions to Harvey’s novel and the concept of cognitive dissonance (thank you Malcolm Gladwell) came to mind in relation to its heart-rending lament to our unique planet. Gladwell employs cognitive dissonance when addressing how the world allowed Hitler to rise to power knowing full well what the consequences would be (listen to his Revisionist History podcast on Hitler’s 1936 Olympics). The basis of this disorder is rooted when a set of facts point to a disturbing reality that can only be addressed by a profound change in behavior. To put it simply, if you believe in the facts then you must change your behavior. If you value your behavior too much, you must change the facts. The world is hotter. The floods are more frequent and worse. It no longer rains … it RAINS. Droughts are biblical as are the new hurricanes and typhoons. Every human being feels part of this at some unconscious or conscious level but the behavior (including mine) remains fundamentally unaltered … thus the fake news, the conspiracies. This aside is another attempt to convince you to read Orbital.
Thank you for reading …
Acknowledgements: Libby & Nick & Chris at the Corner Bookstore, Jane Smithers, and Jim L’Heureux