From the Fog, Ideas Exit

Sometimes I do my best thinking when I allow my thoughts to drift aimlessly.  Whether it's going for a walk among the trees or staring out the window during a long drive, my imagination always finds ideas waiting in the distance. 

Writing a novel is like putting together a puzzle where, upon opening the box, you discover not every piece is there. It becomes a search for those missing fragments that will complete the picture. And though a lot of the pieces look as if they go together, you still have make them fit in the correct places. 

Allowing yourself to get lost is sometimes how you find your way. 

Fiction Friday (13)

Over the course of the past two weeks, I've read a number of books, due in no small part to the blackout post Hurricane Sandy. It's amazing how much faster one can read without the distractions of television or internet. With nothing but a flashlight by the fireplace, I tore through four books in three days. As a result, I now have quite a backlog of reviews to share and decided it was time for another installment of Fiction Friday. Today I've picked two books that couldn't be more different. However, I've always thought it important to stretch one's tastes in matters of art. Enjoy.

Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell
(Simon & Shuster, 2000)

There are a lot of familiar elements in this book, the sum of which left me with the sense that I had read it before in various pieces in other novels. There are certain tropes which work well in Middle Grade fiction, particularly books geared to get the attention of librarians, and subsequently, awards committees. In that way, this book felt a little like those movies that are made with Oscar hopes in mind.

The novel follows Dovey, a spirited young girl defying social conventions and speaking her mind, in a southern accent, all things that award committees can't seem to resit. She lives with her family in the hills above town where she takes care of her deaf brother. More award bait. During the course of the story, the son of the town's wealthiest family establishes himself as Dovey's antithesis, though to be honest, that entire line of reasoning felt a little flimsy to me. As events transpire, the story turns into a slight mystery. The subsequent trial gives a nicely presented look at justice disparity between rich and poor, though once again, I couldn't shake the feeling that somehow I'd encountered all of these events before, most notably in To Kill a Mockingbird.

All in all, a very solid book for Middle Grade readers. Everything is well done and the story's themes are strong. It's a fast read and I enjoyed it...it just wasn't all that unique or original. 

The Counterlife by Philip Roth
(Penguin, 1986)

One of the things that always strikes me about Roth's work is the meticulous detail he pours into a story and its characters. The world in his novels is so fully realized and researched that they become immediately engrossing. The Counterlife is no different. It follows the lives of two brothers, one a successful novelist living in New York and the other a dentist from the New Jersey suburbs, both dealing with their Newark Jewish heritage in very different ways throughout the course of the novel. In many ways, this is a book about the changing identity of the American Jew and how that role relates to the Israeli view of Judaism. While the political and social investigation is fascinating, I found the books other theme to be far more intriguing.

As much as anything else, this is a book about how the novelist tends to write his or her own life, coloring the events of reality with fiction. This theme invades the narrative so effectively that several passages within the novel are immediately discounted later as the imaginative interpretation of the novelist character. By the end, the book shows how the writer's way of life affects those closest to him.

While this is a strong book, with many exceptional qualities, it wasn't a favorite of mine. At times it seemed to be weighted down by its own attempts at undercutting the narrative. And perhaps had the lives of the characters been more immediately relatable to me, I would have felt closer to it. Still, it's a fascinating and informative read.

Post Election America...

I have few thoughts on the outcome of the election this week that I thought I'd share. The most interesting to me was one that occurred to me two days before. I was playing around with CNN's clickable electoral map, which if Florida goes blue, I will have accurately called every state, when I noticed that it looked an awful lot like the divided map of the Civil War. (See below)

Of course, the territories are not filled in, but when you look at the states, it's eerie that after all this time, we seem to be returning to a similar geographic divide when it comes to ideology, with a few exceptions, most notably my birth state of Virginia. Of course, it's not as clear cut as that since there are pockets of blue in those red states and pockets of red in the blue ones. Which brings another age-old struggle into play...rural vs. urban. And the always American divider, race. All of this begs the question, have we've really moved very far on these issues in the last 150 years or so, or is it simply a matter of changing demographics causing the once opposition to become the majority? 

Which brings me to the other thing that keeps me shaking my head since the election...

I live in New York's 19th Congressional District. Before redistricting took place for this election, it was formerly the 22nd District, represented by one of the most liberal members of Congress, who ran unopposed in the last election and has since retired. This year, a Republican was elected to represent the new 19th District. Given that this district includes some of the most liberal pockets of the country, I couldn't understand how that could be. 

Then I started looking at all the redrawn districts in New York and found some disturbing things. The way the new lines were drawn, the percentage of white voters went up in ever district upstate. (See here) Now this isn't that surprising given a Republican controlled House. The party in charge is going to draw lines most favorable to keeping them in power. And knowing that Republicans base their entire strategy on winning a large percentage of the white vote, it makes sense that they want to increase their base in each district. 

But the result is that in nearly every district, the percentage of minority voters has gone down and fallen below state averages. As a result, there are many people in the state of New York, and I imagine others, being represented by politicians that actually don't hold the same interests of the people they represent. 

If you look at the number of Democratic senators, elected by state wide vote, and then look at the House with it's overwhelming Republican majority, it simply doesn't make sense. This is nothing new. It's the same dirty politics that happens after every Census. But I think it's important that we are aware of it, because it is simply another tool used to disenfranchise us as voters. There is a huge area of New York currently being represented by someone who does not share our values. A county that goes 60% for Obama is represented by a Republican. I can't help but feel our voices have been absorbed into silence when it comes to the House of Representatives.

Weekend Music Roundup (Hurricane Edition 2)

It seems like every year now I'm going to be forced into one of these Hurricane edition posts. (See last August 28th's post for Irene). With the storm hitting us up here in the mountains, though not nearly to the devastating extent as it did the coast, or even with the same drenching wrath of Irene, the wind whipped up a frenzy of falling trees, leaving power lines laying on the ground. As a result, my music listening for the week was limited to the amount of precious battery life I was willing to drain from my iPod. So instead of album reviews, I leave you with a playlist recapping the events:

My thoughts before the strom, "Sandy, be a sweet girl to me..." The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional




Childhood memories of the Jersey shore. Bruce Springsteen - Sandy (4th of July, Asbury Park)




Three days of no power - The Ponys - Turn the Lights Out




My thoughts after being reconnected and seeing my old home town. Paloma - New York

Straight from the Sewers

I spent much of last weekend catching up on animated television by watching all the episodes of Nickelodeon's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. I had no plans to care about this series until I caught a few minutes of the premiere a few weeks back and was captivated by the look of the show. Still, I put off watching it...until now.

This is one of those shows, like the new Thundercats, that has gotten everything right. They could have easily gone in the wrong direction, but wisely, the show decided to create a comic book feel for our heroes in a half-shell. I love the way the backgrounds look like comic book panels and the occasional still frame pauses that look like print. 

The four turtles have been given more depth than they had in the original series. Michelangelo, my least favorite from the original, is now my favorite character. The lovable misfit of the bunch is such a great character and gives the group a real dynamic. Leo as the leader-in-training is also a nice touch. The bad guys have also been stepped up, made much more sinister and cunning than The Foot ever was. 

This now makes four '80s cartoons from my childhood that have been given amazing second chances, along with Transformers Prime, the previously mentioned Thundercats, and the short-lived, but quality G.I. Joe Renegades. Now if only Hollywood had the same good sense as the networks then maybe we'd have entertaining movie version as well instead of the schlock they throw out there in an attempt to ruin the name of great properties.

Weekend Music Roundup

This was one of those weeks of unexpected new releases from bands I was unaware had a new release scheduled. I love those kinds of weeks, especially when the bands are among my favorites. In the midst of that, I also rediscovered some things that I'd neglected for too long and decided to include those as well. And in case you ever wondered how I make these lists, basically I get up on Sunday's, look at the albums waiting to be reviewed, and pick ones based on what I feel like listening to that day. It is rare that I don't listen to the album as I write the review, just in case something fresh hits me. Anyway, plenty here to digest. Enjoy.

Manic Street Preachers - National Treasures-The Complete Singles: Though a contractual Best Of called Forever Delayed was released in 2002, it wasn't complete by any stretch. This double album, with nineteen tracks on each, includes every song the band has released as a single, in chronological order. Reviewing these kind of albums is tough, because it is essentially a review of the band's career, in this case, one of the greatest bands of the last twenty years in my opinion. You really hear the band progress from their early rebellious Motorcycle Emptiness phase, into their If You Tolerate This era of epic beauty and tragedy, and finally onto the reflective current period. What shows through is the consistent brilliance of one of the most political bands of all time. Impossible not to give this 5 stars. 

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Psychedelic Pill: After reuniting with his oft backing band earlier this year for their take on Americana, the Godfather of Grunge and Crazy Horse have given us this double album of goodness. I have to admit to being weary of this album. Though one of my all time favorite songwriters, Neil's recent albums, while not embarrassing by any means, have tended to bore me. But I gave this a go, mostly because of how much I enjoyed Americana. I'm glad I did. This easily his best album in decades. The opening epic 27minute track "Drifting Back," is not only amazing, I would suggest it deserves mention among Neil's best. The rest of the album is also extremely strong, lacking any real wasteful tracks. I love the way his past material sometimes creeps into these songs, like the past is blending with the present. Psychedelic Pill is proof that great artists always have the potential for greatness, it's the reason why we dedicate ourselves to following their work.

Andrew Bird - Hands of Glory: With his second album of 2012, following springs stellar Break It Yourself, Andrew Bird continues to be in top form. These nine tracks are less ambitious than those on the other album, but no less amazing. There's more of indie folk vibe here as compared to the more chamber folk sound Andrew Bird usually delivers. The only question I have is which of the two will make it higher on my best of the year list because right now it's really hard to tell, both are fantastic.

Godspeed You Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!: The gloomy Canadian drone rock band has had a bit of cult following ever since 2000's Lift Yr. Skinny Fists... album, one that I own and enjoy, though never really understood completely the reverence in which it's held. They return here with their first full length album in 10 years and not much has really changed. Consisting of two 20-plus minute tracks and two 6-plus minute tracks, their instrumental music never fails to create vast soundscapes. It's very weighty album, though, as I've always felt with them, probably not as weighty as they would like to believe judging from their Joycean choices of titles. Still though, quality through and through, but personally I think Earth does this type of thing slightly better.

  

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am...: Far from new, I've had this album since 2006, the year it was released, and the band has remained a favorite of mine ever since. I decided to include this album on this week's list because I pulled out the CD the other day and listened to it for the first time in probably over two years. I found myself re-blown away by how aggressive and original it still sounds today. It's a raw and emotional observation on life in the modern age, full of justified cynicism and tongue in cheek wit. But above all of that, it rocks as hard as anything The Stooges ever did. There's a good reason why this album made waves in the UK. Definitely should have made more waves here in the US. 

The Music Tapes - Mary's Voice: Julian Koster's fourth release as The Music Tapes in the last 13 years is a beautiful record. One of the members of Neutral Milk Hotel, Julian has been involved in many of the Elephant 6 projects since it's early days. The Music Tapes has always been his baby, and has always attempted to make imaginary worlds that sound almost like field recordings from a circus that never was. This album isn't any different. There are lot of accordion/saw interludes between the traditional songs, but those songs are some of the best on any of his albums. "To All Who Say Goodnight" is absolutely amazing.

The Way the Wind Blows

Whenever I'm working on a novel, there are these moments in life where I find myself transported into the events taking place. Yesterday I caught this flock heading south in formation, flying under the approach of winter that lingered in the overcast. I heard them coming long before I saw them and watched as they passed above by me. It was exactly the kind of thing I could imagine happening to my two main characters. 

In moments like this, I find myself drifting deeper into the story. The world of my fiction and the world outside grow to look alike and my life gets intertwined with the characters. Everything merges. Life blends with imagination and imagination influences reality. Alas, that is the life a writer chooses to live.