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What's the next book? I need something to read.

O You Pretty Pioneers

Ok so I have a confession to make. I have not read the last two book club books. By the time I was able to get The Children's Hospital from MCPL I didn't have time to read it. And there are like 5 holds on The White Tiger. So instead, I grabbed one of the few books of mine that is not yet in a box and I hadn't read before. It was O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.

And let me tell you something, Willa Cather is a badass. That book is awesome. The prose is super tight and descriptive, like Steinbeck or Hemingway. But the scope of the narrative is also vast, like a big Russian novel. So when you combine the two, you get this sweeping panorama of frontier life without the plodding, drawn-out plot. It's awesome. I'm not going into too much detail because I'm the only one that read the thing, but suffice to say that I highly recommend it.

Now I have to go back and read My Antonia, which I hated in high school. I hated lots of stuff in high school that turned out to be cool, and I expect this to be one of the bigger ones.

THE NEXT BOOK

Since we don't yet have a book for this month, I'm taking it upon myself to choose the next book as:

The White Tiger: A Novel
By Aravind Adiga

This book is about an Indian taxi driver who, embroiled in class struggles, commits murder. It is the debut novel for this Indian author, and has apparently won the Booker Prize (whatever that means). Lets hope the protagonist is in fact the ultimate bad ass.

I have such violent dreams, and yet they are never nightmares

I thought The Children’s Hospital was fantastic, and definitely one of the best books I’ve read all year.

I was about to lavish praise on Chris Adrian for his vivid descriptions of life at the hospital and the various medical procedures/conditions, but wikipedia tells me he has an M.D. and has been specializing for his residency in pediatric hematology/oncology residency in San Francisco. So I guess he didn’t have to do much research…

This book in general had a very dream-like quality to me, and I felt myself stopping at several points and seriously wondering if it was going to have one of those terrible Wizard of Oz/Alice in Wonderland endings where Jemma wakes up and finds out it was all a dream, and she had just fallen asleep during a particularly intense night of her medical training. In that sense, it does seem like the entire novel can be interpreted as some kind of strange, anxious dream of Jemma’s, told from different perspectives of characters inside her dream. Jemma is clearly presented as a dreamer in general, both in the bits from her childhood and as an adult – exemplified by the weird interaction with the nun at catholic school, who catches her daydreaming and tells her daydreamers will end up in Purgatory for their sins. Anyway, I can definitely see what unfolds after the flood as having explicit connections with Jemma’s past or “present” – manifested as either events or people in the hospital. For instance, Jemma’s former close relationship with her protective brother (and the pact they made never to marry) causes her anxiety about intensifying her relationship with Rob – this seems to manifest in her dream as her brother, in angel form – jealously pushing away those to which she becomes close. Or Jemma’s magical healing powers may be a response to her perceived helplessness to fix all of the really sick children she encounters in the hospital. I realize these are two obvious examples, but its what came to mind.

I’d have to agree with Mr. Wertz’s point about the blanket of dread that hangs over this book; I definitely at no point could shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. I certainly don’t think it ruined the book for me, in fact it seemed to make me appreciate the loving, positive moments in this book more (perhaps because they were so fleeting).

I absolutely loved the speech that Vivian gives right before she sort of goes nuts and confines herself to the upper floor. For some reason, it struck me as exactly how I’ve been feeling lately about humanity – biding our time on an inevitable trip to our individual and collective deaths while distracting ourselves with Twitter and reality TV. Although Vivian’s speech is crude, what I liked about her monologue (straight, desperate, and precisely to the point) is what I hate about similar philosophical statements in books like Atlas Shrugged (rambling, preachy, and vague). I don’t think its far-fetched to compare humans on this Earth to a bunch of people on a floating-hospital – we’re both seemingly killing time with more and more elaborate dumb shit, but can’t seem to identify what we should be doing that’s “better”.

The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian

To be honest, I picked this book primarily because the day I started reading it, John asked me to pick a book. I know it's a bit hefty, and especially after having finished it, I recognize that there's a lot here to wade through. I think that the reading experience will be equal parts rewarding and frustrating. There will inevitably be times when you can't put it down, and times where you can't seem to pick it back up. That said, if you start this book, and get to a point where you care about the characters, do whatever you can to finish it. I think you'll be glad that you did.

Spoilers ahead folks, read at your own peril.

A few weeks ago I watched David Lynch's Eraserhead for the first time. I'm generally not much of a Lynch fan, and watching his first film did absolutely nothing to change my opinion. If anything I find myself even more of the opinion that he does things just to do them, and people call him a genius for it. But I digress. The one positive I can pull from the film is what he does with tone. With setting, and lighting, and dialogue (or lack thereof), and especially sound, he imposes a sheer dread throughout every last second of that movie. While any discernible message or coherence is generally lost on me, I couldn't help but be impressed with how disconcerted I felt just watching it. At any rate, that's the best way for me to articulate the way I felt reading this book. That same constant sense of dread that permeates nearly every moment. I suppose that's a given; in a story about the apocalypse you're bound to see some terrible things happen. But it's not just the dissonance that comes from being thrust into a world of the dead. Dread abounds everywhere; In the assorted grisly afflictions some of these children are struggling to live with (seriously, when you read about Harlequin Fetus, I dare you not to google it...good lord); in the characters, whether it's their own personal guilt brought to light, the way they interact with one another, the struggle to find love or intimacy or just normalcy in a situation of which they have barely any control, the lack of trust you have as a reader for nearly every character other than Jemma; and particularly, in those moments when the recording angel narrates his story, or we catch glimpses of the terrifying hero who was Calvin, and you find yourself wondering "whose side God is really on?" This is a book and a story that wash over you in a way that requires an emotional response. There are characters you hate and characters you want to love and characters that scare the shit out of you. Ishmael in particular never settled with me, and the validation I may have felt for never trusting him was overpowered pretty effectively by how terrifying he becomes. I felt betrayed by Vivian when she abandons everyone to answer the ultimate question. A question which, incidentally, remained unclear through the end of the book, perhaps intentionally. And isn't it just heartbreaking to see what becomes of Rob, him perhaps more than anyone deserving a little dignity, and having so little? Though I never cried for any of them I did dream myself into their hospital on three separate occasions, so I guess that's something.

I'll admit that while I couldn't make my way through the first 4/5's of the book fast enough, the last bit slowed me down. That last leg of the story, where the botch is tearing through the adult population, and no one seems to trust Jemma (because they've all just "gotten over" her performing nearly 700 miracles...um...what a bunch of dicks?) is frustrating and tedious. Still, once you get over that hump, and Jemma's alone in the hospital with infantile Rob and terrifying Ishmael and unrecognizable Pickie, it's clear the tedium was necessary. It's not as though the characters don't find it frustrating and tedious to watch idly as their peers all drift away into ash with no explanation, so close to some kind of ending. And Jemma's final moments on the roof, as she struggles through her final trial, then herself drifts away, are remarkable, and sad, and very, very final. As she, now herself some kind of apparition, watches the children make their way into the new world, it seems appropriate that we stay next to her. If the new world isn't for her, then it's not for us either.

I loved the mash-up of reality and surreality: the descriptions of life as an angel, or the pliability of the new hospital. In particular, Jemma's miraculous awakening to her power is one of the best extended sequences I've read in a long time. It's exhausting just to read. The slow renaissance of the Replicating Mist throughout the book is well constructed and considered, and never seems fantastical, though it inevitably is. I suppose that once you've established a world where, yes, God exists, and yes, he's flooded the world again, and yes, your hospital is your vessel to the new, perfect world, you open up a bag of tricks that is essentially bottomless.

I often wondered if this book would mean more if I had a stronger sense of biblical history. I'm sure it would, and that's a little frustrating. Still, as best as I can tell, the theology remains some what ambiguous to the end. I suppose angels are Christian, and it seems clear that it's a monotheistic system, but other than that it's not entirely clear. And it's better that way. This is a fresh start, where all the old rules or ideas or dogmas are being thrown clear of the new path. It's up to children now to figure it out, and that seems right to me. Or at least more interesting.

So yes, I thoroughly enjoyed The Children's Hospital. It's a vast story that changes directions over and over. When the end finally arrives, it defies expectations, and inexplicably meets them. Mostly, it's a book you have to feel and not consider.

THE NEXT BUK

Ok Nerds,

The next book shall be:

The Children's Hospital
by Chris Adrian.

It's a tale of the apocalypse told by an angel and focusing on God's chosen survivors. I've started it, and so far I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. Read it, or don't read it, but if you don't read it, your opinion won't mean anything.

Boom roasted,
Pertz

fortress of suckitude

so. i didn't really like this book.

well, i really liked the first half. it was kind of meandering and unfocused, but i felt it was good overall. however, the second half kind of just killed it for me. actually, i think the final 50 or so pages kind of ruined it for me.

this book is pretty unlike most of lethem's other stuff. his work tends towards the surreal, post-modern genre mashup like kabo abe or george saunders. this one felt more like a memoir he'd been working up to writing for way too long. and to me, it feels like he gets too involved with the telling of the story and loses himself in details that feel unnecessary at times.

the characters are definitely interesting, but the way the story breaks down at the end feels incomplete to me. it sort of trails off and feels unfinished, like there is something more that needs to be said. maybe i was hoping for a reunion with his mother or i wanted to see mingus and dylan reunited, but it just felt like the story sprialed out of control and kind of gets muddled in its own intentions.

i read it all, though, so i guess it wasn't so terrible, but this isn't something i'll likely revisit again in the future.