On the Over-Explanation of Art
Two weeks ago, at the movies, I saw the “Behind the Scenes” trailer for Les Miserables. I will definitely see the movie despite how much Anne Hathaway annoys me; it looks like she really kills it in this movie. Still, I found the Behind the Scenes trailer…
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Quarter-Life Cooking: Fajitas and Spicy Corn
While I’m not saying I’m a domestic goddess (that’s exactly what I’m saying), I do know that my…
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Quarter-Life Cooking: Fajitas and Spicy Corn
While I’m not saying I’m a domestic goddess (that’s exactly what I’m saying), I do know that…
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Mindy Kaling: “A Rapist of Peace and Quiet”
A rom-com obsessed OB-GYN with a heart of gold (see: takes patients without insurance) tries to…
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Flashy TV Writing: I’m Okay With It
People have criticized The Newsroom for being too preachy, too flashy, too intelligent-sounding.…
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Moonrise Kingdom
Go see it. Go see it. Go see it.
I honestly didn’t know anything about the movie before I went. I…
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Buns’s Book Club: The Privileges by Jonathan Dee
Cynthia and Adam Morey have legit everything. They’re a gifted couple whose blessings seem as limitless as their money. In the hands of a lesser writer, the lives contained in The Privileges could be the stuff of a fluffier novel, but in the hands of Jonathan Dee they present a subtle and nuanced experience of a specific family’s life. The world that Dee creates is so dense, his writing is so precise, that Cynthia, Adam, and their two children are anything but the dismiss-able rich people we’d (perhaps) like them to be.
I read books very quickly and am often disappointed by how swiftly a book flies by, jarred by having to exit a world I’ve only just learned the rules of. The Privileges moves steadily, always forward, because there is life in every sentence. No throwaway lines, no filler dialogue.
Critics of the novel might say that it lacks major conflict — the Moreys are infatuated with each other and have enough money to “deal” with any problems that may arise. Still, there is enough emotional exploration as well as a bit of high-stakes drama to keep you interested, to keep it feeling real. The Moreys have a specific set of problems: they are fabulously wealthy, and must learn to deal with the responsibilities that accompany their private jet and home in Amagansett.
Because the book has such rich texture, I found it to be a delightful entrance into one family’s life — the Moreys do not seem to speak for any group, nor does the writer expend too much time or emphasis on explaining them to the reader. If there are some relationships that aren’t fleshed out (Adam’s dealings with his children seem distant without explanation), observations provided by the omniscient narrator supply enough of what seems like wisdom to make the whole thing seem worthwhile.
The book reminds the reader that, whether you like it or not, rich people have feelings, too.
Buns’s Book Club: A Hologram for the King
Did I buy this book because of its cover? Maybe. The shiny cover begs to be placed on a living room bookshelf, where it may appear to be an ancient copy of Moby Dick or A Passage to India. When I realized it was Dave Eggers’ new novel, I was sold immediately, though the price of $25 did give me pause.
The title sounded boring, but the cover looked exciting – exotic designs framed the bronze title, the phrase “the king” enticed me.
Dave Eggers is a do-gooder, someone who wants to change the world for the better, inform people through writing, and enable other people to do so, too. Anyone can deduce this by looking at his extra-curriculars: besides writing his own novels, Eggers has founded two literary magazines, The Believer and Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, and a non-profit tutoring organization, 826 Valencia. In 2006, Eggers published a work of non-fiction, What is the What, the story of Sudanese Lost Boy Achak Deng. Many criticized Eggers for presuming to be able to tell this person’s story; many celebrated his desire to do so. Personally, I found What is the What to be a poignant account of a horrific experience. Despite Eggers’ ability to rely on the idea of “truth,” the characters in that book felt three-dimensional and weres revealed to the reader through actions and thoughts that didn’t seem to come from one source or experience. The characters, in other words, felt whole.
A Hologram for the King is the story of consultant Alan Clay, who travels to Saudi Arabia in the hopes of making a deal with King Abdullah to provide the IT for his new Economic City. Eggers creates vivid pictures of an unfinished city at a standstill and presents a variety of characters: the English-speaking cab driver, unfazed by the contradictions of his homeland, young tech-workers happy to spend all day watching movies in the middle of the desert, a surprisingly brazen female Saudi doctor. Alan’s story is created by the economic crisis; his daughter will not be able to continue attending college if he doesn’t make this deal, and Alan feels only partially to blame for his financial downfall. America doesn’t make anything real anymore, the book often points out.
The story is crafted well; the pace is steady but not slow, Eggers masterfully sprinkles Alan’s history into the narrative, side-plots are enjoyable and last just long enough. Secondary characters serve to bring Alan into new circumstances: a wolf hunt in the mountains, snorkeling, a rowdy embassy party. Still, it is perhaps that very fact that made the book fall flat to me. Alan seemed to serve only as a representative of America’s problems; I had trouble sensing his humanity, his individuality. The character that I hoped would bring this out was his daughter, Kit, whose future relies on her father’s success in Saudi Arabia. But Kit is offstage for the entire book; Alan’s letters to her remain unsent, and she feels too much like a literary “reason” for Alan to need what he needs. Secondary characters, too, feel placed specifically to show the reader something about Alan which, perhaps, is what all secondary characters are there to do, but as a reader I felt all too aware of it. Early in the novel I understood that this was a tale of the effect of the economic crisis on one man’s psyche, even its effect on his progeny. What would have made the book transcend what I already knew from the newspapers would have been more specificity, more psychological interrogation, less subtly implied emotions. Perhaps any man would be disappointed if he couldn’t provide for his daughter. Still, I wanted to know the specifics of Alan’s experience, I wanted to feel for him more, rather than just understand his plight.
A Hologram for the King is a parable, but for those who like to fall into a world, to feel their characters’ urgent needs and desires, Alan Clay’s story may feel dry and hopeless, despite the lovely descriptions of exotic locations and the relevance of the subjects explored. Relevance, to me, need only be part of the story.
One of the Funniest Videos I’ve Seen
Do you ever feel silly saying that you’re a writer? Urban Dictionary (obviously the most credible dictionary on the Internet) defines a writer as “an unemployed author,” a definition I find funny but also one that touches my deepest insecurity, the same insecurity I know many of my writer friends to have. Sometimes, when asked what I do, I want to make something up rather than mumbling “I’m um, trying to be a writer,” only to be followed by the questions, “What are you writing?” and “What’s it about?”
Perhaps this insecurity is best treated with some humor; the funniest jokes, I find, are those that touch on our greatest anxieties, that feel too close to the uncomfortable truth. So, writers, this is for you.
Watch, laugh, then get back to that novel.
(Thanks to Peter for sharing this with me)
