Beth’s Books: From Here To Eternity by James Jones

This is #62 on the Modern Library’s Top 100 list, and yes, I’m still plugging away at that list!

I started this last summer, but got a little bogged down in it, so I set it aside for other books after making it about halfway through. (It’s an 860 pager, so I’d already read what would normally be considered a fairly good-sized book.) I recently returned to it, and I was still struggling with it a bit. Although Jones was very descriptive, he tended to get a little too wordy at times, and I was to the point where I was almost ready to give up...but I was over 60% of the way through (I read this on my Kindle), so I decided to keep going.

I’m so glad I did. By the time I got about 85% of the way through, the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, and after that, I just didn’t want to put it down.

You can read the synopsis elsewhere. A very brief description is that it takes place in Hawaii, with the main location an Army base, in the time leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor and our entry into WWII. We get to know several characters quite well, including Sgt. Milt Warden and Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt, and I came to care about these characters very much. We follow them through various Army-related and decidedly NON-Army activities, such as love affairs, drunken binges, and visits to town and its bars and whorehouses. One of the main reasons I kept reading was because I wanted to find out what happened with some of these characters.

The main thing this book gave me was a glimpse into the lives of the WWII-era soldier. I have never read or watched anything that brought them to life as much as this book. I read the restored version rather than the original 1953 heavily edited version. All the profanity, all the sex, all the anger and hostility and human frailty is there. With the passing of several decades, I believe we have come to see WWII veterans as noble warriors, and have mythologized the Greatest Generation to a remarkable degree. I’m not saying this is wrong. My Dad and several of my uncles were WWII veterans, and they were remarkable men who did remarkable things.

However, they weren’t saints. I don’t know how much of a hellraiser my Dad was during the war, although I know he was a bit of a one before he joined the Army! He didn’t talk about the war much, and it wasn’t until I was probably in my late twenties that he told me a few stories. I think he had his share of fun...there was one story he told me about wandering around some city in North Africa with one of his buddies. It sounded like they were having a pretty good time!

This book showed the bravery as well as the humanity. The soldiers weren’t all innocent young rubes who walked on water. They were ordinary men who went into an extraordinary situation and sometimes did extraordinary things; sometime they just did ordinary things. Like every other human being.

I am very glad that I persevered on this book. I enjoyed the weaving together of the characters’ stories, but most of all, I enjoyed it for the sense it gave me of what my Dad might have been like as a young soldier, about 15 years before I was born. I don’t think that his experience was necessarily like those of some of the guys in the book, but I bet he knew guys who DID have similar experiences. It helped me to think of them as human beings rather than vague “Greatest Generation” demi-gods.

That makes me appreciate even more what they did.

Stuff and Thangs

My, how time flies when you’re doin’ stuff and thangs like Rick Grimes! Here almost two weeks have gone by, and I haven’t written one word here.

Nothing major has been happening. I’ve been healing up from my abdominal hematoma and going through some blood work because my doctor wanted to check for any clotting disorders. I’m not overly worried about that; clotting disorders don’t run in my family, and I’m not a bleeder. It hasn’t been too much of a hassle, although I wasn’t real pleased with my service at my former place of employment. It was unpleasant enough (they had to stick me three times, and I have great veins) that I sent an email to the VP who runs lab operations, my former head honcho boss. I wasn’t mean about it, but it really was a quality issue, and I believe she’ll address the problem. I’ve gone back to working out, and I should be able to start lifting weights again...I’ll try that tomorrow.

As you can imagine, I was all wigged out and excited about the season finale of “The Walking Dead.” Some people seemed to be disappointed by it, but I loved it. Badass Rick is back, and I think he’s going to be more badass than he ever was. October seems like it’s a long way away!

I went to our local library with Cousin Shane and my sister Diana to do some research on a family tragedy from almost fifty years ago. One of our cousins was brutally murdered by a local cop, and although Diana remembers it well, Shane and I were quite young when it happened and we only know what little we’ve read in some saved newspaper clippings or have been told by family members. It was very sobering to page through the microfilm and see the story unfold as it happened. It was the frontpage headline the day after it happened, and we all got pretty quiet as we read through these stories. We also are thinking about contacting the county where the trial happened and seeing if we can get the trial records. We figure those are public record, so I wouldn’t think it would be a problem. I wonder if you can get that stuff digitally now? No idea, but we do want to learn more about it.

Ken was on a business trip for the latter half of the week, and I had lunch with Shane and Matt one day, and dinner with my friend Dan from college one evening. Sheeba has kept me good company at home, and I’m never lonely with books and movies.

Ahhh, books...mostly I’ve been lost in Bookland. I got through the third book in the Strain trilogy, although it was a struggle. I liked the first two books quite a bit, but was disappointed in the third one. But since it’s a trilogy, you kind of have to finish it, right? Just like you have to watch the third Godfather movie although it is nothing compared to the first two. Then I picked From Here to Eternity back up. It’s part of the Modern Library Top 100 list, and I got a little over halfway through it last year before I put it down for more fun, summer-type reads. It’s really a slog, but it’s good enough that I DO want to finish it. Interesting characters in interesting situations, if sometimes the writing gets excessively wordy. It’s almost 900 pages, so progress is slow. This will sound terrible, but I’m wishing that Pearl Harbor would hurry up and happen, because I want to see how these characters react to it. I also need to see the entire movie (I’ve only seen parts of it), because I see that Montgomery Clift plays one of the best characters, Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt, AKA Prew. I want to get through it soon, because I have lots of good books to read, including the next one on the ML List, Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Also speaking of books, I ordered a new Kindle, a Paperwhite. My Kindle Keyboard hasn’t crapped out, and I’m still using it and it’s been a good and faithful companion, but the battery is starting to drain much more quickly. Amazon was offering a deal where you could pay for it over about four months with no interest, so that was pretty much impossible to pass up, especially since I knew I was going to have to order one soon, anyway. I’ve had my eye on the Paperwhite for a while, so I went ahead and ordered it. It seems easy to navigate, and I love the slightly backlit screen. It’s still very legible in the sun, so I’m quite pleased with it. I’m looking forward to reading my first book on it!

Let’s see...we’ve got a couple of Broadway shows coming up at the Morris, tickets to see Presidents of the United States of America with Shane and Matt in Indy in June, and our annual Florida vegecation in July. We’ll fit some minor league baseball games in there, and just plan on enjoying the summer. One of the best things about it will be the warmth. Man, it’s been a long winter for so many of us. We’re usually greening up nicely by now, but all the snow just recently melted. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all more than ready for warm weather and some greenery!

I know this wasn’t a super exciting entry. Just wanted to catch up, and I’ll try to bring some fireworks next time. You know I’ve still got fireworks…! I just need to work up some good outrage about something. It’s only a matter of time.

Beth’s Books: Classics

I have GOT to make a graphic for these book entries!

I’ve really slacked off on my reading lately as I caught up on back issues of Rolling Stone. I’ve been in music mode for a while now, and I really enjoyed diving into that as we began to get some nice weather and I was able to sit out on the deck. Now that I’m all caught up, I’m getting back into some books.

After a book about politics, I decided to get back to the Modern Library Top 100 list. I’m on #62, From Here To Eternity, and I started it today. It’s a monster, over 800 pages, so it might take me a while to get through, but I can say that it grabbed me from the beginning with its clear and accessible writing (although I don’t understand all the WWII-era slang). The novel was published in 1951, and since there is already talk of prostitution and “the clap,” I’m going to bet that it was a bit controversial at the time!

This isn’t a review...I’m just barely into it! But I love it already for a couple of reasons. First, since it is set on a military base in Hawaii in 1940, it makes me think of my Dad. Not that he was ever stationed in Hawaii, but the characters are the kind of guys he would have been stationed with. It makes me think of my Dad in that situation, and these are happy thoughts. One of the characters is even a Chief Warrant Officer, which is what my Dad was. I also love the snappy banter that is so evocative of movies from that era. The rapid-fire dialogue can be a little hard to follow, but you can imagine people saying it.

I love this exchange between a couple of soldiers.

“And remember,” Warden said, “Mon-sewer O’Hayer says you got to straighten this mess up sometime today.”
“Your face,” Leva said.
“Your mother’s box,” Milt said, “Get to work.”

See? Snappy banter! Can’t you just picture these guys talking to each other? I sure can.
But what really got to me was this descriptive line.

“...two electric bulbs like burning tears dangling from the ends of chains increased the gloom.”

*swoon*

Now that is some fine writin’ right there. Anyone who is a reader or who enjoys writing will appreciate that particular turn of phrase. I’m still in awe of that line. It jumped out at me immediately.

I’m happy to be getting back into this list, because what I’ve found with many of these Top 100 novels is that the writing is just mind-boggling. There are current writers who can do that to me; Stephen King is one of them. In Joyland, the line that jumped out at me was, “When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction.” Perfection! And so true. Some more than others!

I’ve noticed that many of these literary classics have more of such amazing lines. Lines that don’t just make me say, “Hey, that’s good,” they make my jaw drop and make me say, “Holy SHIT, that’s good!”

Some of these books have been a slog, and there have been a couple where I conceded defeat. (James Joyce, anyone?) But I’ve also revisited a few that I’d read years before and enjoyed from a new perspective (A Clockwork Orange, for example), and found some new favorites that I never would have read without this list (Angle of Repose). It’s been a lot of fun branching out a bit with some of these books, and it’s fun to get back into it.

Happy reading, Citizens!

1000 pages of wonder

I have mentioned here that I was reading The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. It is #70 on my book club list. I finished it last night, and now I’m going to gush about it for a while.

It took me a while to finish the entire thing. All four books combined are over a thousand pages, but since it was divided into four books, I decided to break it up a little bit and read other books in between. So a month and a half later, I’m finally done!

It was undoubtedly worth the time, though. On Shelfari, I was giving the individual books 4 out of 5 stars, but the entire Quartet gets 5 stars, and I named it a “favorite.” This book just blew me away.

First of all, the writing is awe-inspiring, and I’m not tossing that term around willy-nilly, half-cocked, or even helter-skelter. There were times when I’d pause in my reading and think, “Wow.” There were times that Durrell’s description of WWII-era Alexandria were so vivid that I could see and hear it in my mind. The way he would describe a sunset, the atmosphere, the quality of candlelight...I honestly don’t recall any book I’ve read that had such beautiful writing and imagery. That is probably what stood out for me the most.

I also enjoyed the device of telling the same story through different perspectives; the first three books are written in this manner, and the last one moves forward in time from one character’s point of view. It makes for an interesting read to see that there is more to the story than we initially realized, and it also gives great insight into the characters. Why did they do this? Why did they react this way when another character reacted differently? What secrets are being kept?

As for the characters, I was amazed to find that I came to care about them so much. It’s always a joy to be so absorbed by the story and by the writing that you feel drawn into these people’s lives; you begin to feel that they are friends. A scene toward the end had me sitting with my hand over my mouth, almost in tears. “Noooo!” Of course, when you spend a thousand pages and a month and a half with someone, you’re bound to get a little attached! As with all my favorite books, I was a little sad to see it end. There was a hopeful sense at the end, so I’m going to think that there were happy times ahead for them all.

I don’t know if this book is for everyone. It does get “wordy” (Not that that’s always a bad thing...this book wasn’t gratuitously long. Durrell chose his words wisely and well.), there is a lot of French thrown in there (thank you, Google Translate!), and it’s more character-driven than action-packed. But if you love wonderful writing, you can’t go wrong with this book. I was charmed. I’m even smiling as I write this, thinking about how beautiful it was.

This book is a perfect example of why I’m glad that I’m sticking with the book club list (the Modern Library 100 Best Novels). It’s not a book I ever would have picked up on my own, and I’m very happy to have read it. There have been a few others on the list that I feel that way about, and I’m sure there will be more to come. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it is books like this one that make my life richer, and make me so grateful to be a reader. What a remarkable gift for a writer, to be able to foster such feelings in a reader!

On deck: Summer for the Gods, about the Scopes monkey trial, and the next on the book club list is The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. Good reading!

Playing catch-up

Whoops, that week sure went by fast! It was kind of a blur, too, because part of it included a health scare for a couple of family members, and that can really get your stress levels soaring. I’m happy to report that everything worked out okay!

We also had tickets to our last Notre Dame basketball game of the season, and got to see them beat West Virginia by 27 points. We’re watching them play St. John’s at the moment (the game just ended, and ND lost, darn it), and this evening we have tickets to our last hockey game of the season, against Michigan State. We’ve really enjoyed our games this year...now let’s hope we can get tickets for all the home football games this year! I love all three sports, but the football experience is my favorite. Tailgating, baby!

I’ve been dealing with an issue or two, and as is often the case in such situations, I retreat into books and/or music. I’ve been concentrating mostly on books this time around (but I could also write a separate entry about the song “These Days” by Foo Fighters, and I just might). The next book on my book club list (the Modern Library Top 100 novels, if you recall) is The Alexandria Quartet by an English writer, Lawrence Durell. (The picture I’ve posted here is Pompey’s Pillar, a remnant of the Roman presence in Alexandria.) It actually consists of four books, and the first is Justine. I don’t mean for this to sound pretentious, but I am really captivated by this book. It’s some of the most beautiful writing I’ve ever encountered. The way he describes Alexandria (the one in Egypt, not the one in central Indiana!) makes me almost capable of seeing it, hearing it, and smelling it, both the good and the bad.

When he writes of the characters and situations, I can see them in my mind, see the way they look and the expression in their eyes. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that was able to so completely create the images in my mind. I’m actually in awe here! Check out a few of the lines I loved so much that I highlighted them in my Kindle and wrote them in my notebook:

“He is a rare figure among the diplomats in that he appears to possess a vertebral column.”

“His heart has withered in him and he has been left with the five senses, like pieces of a broken wineglass.”

“...for those of us who feel deeply and who are at all conscious of the inextricable tangle of human thought there is only one response to be made—ironic tenderness and silence.”

That last one especially spoke to me. It reminded me of a quote from Jodi Picoult that Cousin Shane posted the other day: “Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” I am very much a loner and a quiet person (I have my moments when I can talk a mile a minute, but they’re few and far between, and fairly exhausting.). Shane and I agreed that we both enjoy our solitude as well, but there is a reason I’m rather withdrawn, and there is a reason I often don’t say much. Sometimes there’s no point in saying it, sometimes my thoughts are too complicated to explain easily, and sometimes I realize that it’s probably best to not reveal my hand.

I’m very fortunate that Ken is pretty similar in that regard.

Anyway, I’m not very far into this book—all four volumes of the Quartet are probably about 1,000 pages, so I’ll be working on this one for a bit—but this is some truly lovely writing. I think I’m really going to enjoy this one, and this is why I’m so happy to be getting back into the list. When an author’s writing style is literally awe-inspiring, it makes me happy. When I most needed a book to “take me away,” I found one to take me all the way to WWII-era Egypt. Not too shabby!

I’m just waitin’ on a friend

I had a very pleasant lunch today with my pal Jim from the lab! (This isn't a current picture--this is from the last time we were out with some other lab friends.) We met at Granite City Brewery, and it was Jim's first time there. He seemed to really like the atmosphere and food, and was excited to see that they have 25¢ wings on Mondays. We gabbed and ate for a couple of hours, talking about everything from his Mom's recent surgery to politics to Notre Dame football. It's always great to see him, and thanks for lunch, Jimi! Next time it's on me!

It was kind of funny...I got there about ten minutes early, so I was waiting in the foyer. The hostess saw me and asked, "Are you Becky?" I said, "No, I'm Beth, and I'm waiting on a friend." (The Stones song is going through my mind now.) She said, "Beth, yeah...I must have written it down wrong. He's here." So I follow her, and we come up to this booth and she stops. There's a fairly small guy with glasses and brown curly hair sitting there. Jim is a big guy, with short, mostly grey hair. Sometimes he even shaves his head. And he doesn't wear glasses. I said, "Uh...not the guy I'm meeting." The hostess was like, "Oops, sorry!" I went back and sat in the foyer again, and a few minutes later, Other Beth came in. Yes, her name really was Beth. What a weird coincidence!

I appreciate all the thoughtful comments I got on my entry yesterday concerning President Carter's remarks about racism. I made it explicitly clear that I was not equating everyone who is against Obama's policies with racists, and that I believe that the worst and most hateful of the protesters that are anti-Obama are the ones who are often motivated by racism. I don't think I could have been any more explicit than I was. I stand by my remarks, and I still agree with President Carter. However, the Obama administration is treating this as a distraction from the important work of health care reform, and does not want the focus to be on any discussions of racism. I can understand that to a certain extent; President Obama addressed the issue of race during the presidential campaign, so why should he have to do so again? I will respect their wishes and not continue the discussion to any great length until after health care reform is passed, but I do think it is something that can and should be discussed.

Jim and I talked about it at lunch today. We agreed that it is hard to pin down, but you know when a remark makes you feel uncomfortable. We have both resolved to speak up when we hear something that bothers us. It's always tempting to keep the peace and not start any sort of debate, but I've come to believe that silence is tacit acceptance of such remarks and behavior. You don't have to start a fight with anyone, but you can simply say, "I don't think that's a fair remark" and let your feelings be known. Until we all start speaking up, the sub rosa thread of racism will continue to run beneath the workings of our country. I don't believe we can eradicate it, but we can certainly do our best to show that we believe it to be shameful behavior.

I'll say little more about the subject...for now.

After I got home today, I was excited to dive back into Angle of Repose, and I finished this afternoon. I won't give any spoilers, because I know Laurel is reading it now. I will say that it is one of the best books I've ever read. Not only did I love the plot, I found the writing wonderful. I have a few passages that I wrote down in my journal, and I know you'll be thrilled to find out that I'm going to share them with you! [grin]

A wandering dog of a night wind came in off the sagebrush mesa carrying a bar of band music, and laid it on her doorstep like a bone.

I love that. I really do.

Civilizations grow by agreements and accommodations and accretions, not by repudiations. The rebels and revolutionaries are only eddies, they keep the stream from getting stagnant but they get swept down and absorbed, they're a side issue. Quiet desperation is another name for the human condition.

This book was published in 1971, so all the uncertainties, violence, and upheaval of the 60's made its way into it. I found it interesting to see what was happening at the time reflected in the writing.

...her white summer handbag like a white kitten in her lap...

More excellent imagery. God, that is some kickass writing. I was just delighted with this book, and it's one of the reasons I'm glad I'm reading the books on the Modern Library list. (Thanks for starting the group, Jillian!) It's gotten me to read some books that I never would have read otherwise, and I've enjoyed some of them very much. After I had finished the book and posted on our Google group site, I read what another member had to say about the book (I think she was the only other member who read this one). Oddly enough, she was not so enamored of the book, and actually put it at the bottom of her favorites! This member lives out of state, so I've never met her, but I have to chuckle that we're so opposite on which books we've enjoyed. My previous favorite from the list was The Magus, and she put that right at the bottom. Isn't it strange to see what strikes different people? I suppose that is the way with all art or literature. What speaks to one person leaves another completely indifferent, or sometimes even disgusted. It's fascinating to me to see the different reactions some of these books generate.

Oh, and we had another nice life is like a box o' chocolates moment! Both Ken and I got comments from Scott the Botanist, who was on the Swamp Angel tour from last weekend. He has a blog, too, and is working on a write-up of our tour. I'll link to it as soon as he posts. How cool that he found our entries! He might be sorry...I can see myself picking his brain about native plants!

Mail call

When I got the mail today, I had a present! Oh boy oh boy!

The incomparable David Dust recently ran a little contest. He had interviewed an Australian artist named Rona Green (read the interview here--she does really cool anthropomorphic animal stuff) and was giving away a print that Ms. Green had donated. No, I didn't win the print, but he also had a handful of buttons that he was giving away, and I emailed him soon enough that I was able to get one. Isn't he cute? Thank you, David, you're a peach! I'll add it to my button collection.

And yes, I do have a small collection, and this particular blast from the past found me a couple of months ago. I was looking for something in the garage, and came across the strip of fake black leather with staples all over it onto which I'd stuck various band buttons (plus a couple of non-band items) I'd gotten back in college! I had it hanging on my dorm room wall. I have no idea how it made its way into the garage, but I'm glad I never got rid of them. I brought them in and cleaned them up (I didn't save the fake black leather with staples all over it, though) and was just delighted to see my old friends. (Click the pic for better detail.) I really like the square London Calling one, and the RIP Sid Vicious one, but I have to admit I still love the "I'm not strange, you are" one. Ha! I think my Dust bunny pin makes a nice addition. I'm not sure yet what I'll do with them all, but I suspect they'll end up framed. I love my pop culture! "New York London Paris Munich, Everybody talk about...Pop Musik!" (A Silver Squirrel to anyone who knows the name of the band that did that song. No cheating by googling it...it must be a part of your personal memory banks!)

I also had a nice email from my friend and former coworker, Jillian. I miss her...she always laughed at my lame jokes! (One day, she had on striped socks in fall colors. I said, "Your socks are cute! Very autumnal." She said thanks, and I said, "Hey...they're Autumnal EquiSOX! Get it?!" I'm sorry, but that's just a classic, if I do say so myself.) Jillian is the one who started the book club, and apparently it's being changed up a little bit. For every three books on the Modern Library's list, a member picked at random will choose a book they want everyone to read. I told Jillian she's much nicer than I am. I would have been like, "Nope, we're sticking to the list." And if they wanted to read other books, I'd have said, "Then start your own club." I guarantee that any of my former coworkers who might be reading this are going, "Yep. She would have." Ha ha!

I told Jillian that I'll be opting out of the extras. I'm behind as it is, and I've got more books than I know what to do with, so I don't need to add any more. What I'm enjoying about the Modern Library's list is that it's getting me to read books I never would have read otherwise, and some of them I've enjoyed very much (The Magus, The Sheltering Sky), so I want to keep to that list, along with the handful of dozens of maybe a hundred, okay?! books I've got waiting in the wings. I guess people had pretty much stopped reading the books, and that's a shame. I hope everyone picks it up again--and maybe this will give me a chance to get caught up!

This is off-topic, but I picked up a TracPhone today, so you all can rest easy. [wink] I'll activate it when our Sprint contract is done at the end of this month. Looks like it's fairly simple to use, and I didn't even worry about getting a camera phone! *gasp*

Even more off-topic, have you ever had a mad craving? I'm not talking about chocolate, either. I thought of cottage cheese last night, and it's been a while since I had any. I just had to have some, so I got a container today and ate a big bowl of it. Man, I love that stuff. Ken hates it, so I know he'll never secretly eat my cottage cheese.