A dystopian flight of fancy by Ray Bradbury, read by William Roberts. I was disappointed by Roberts' work on Bryson's The Lost Continent, but his straightforward style worked well for the unsubtle, confused Guy Montag.
Montag is a fireman in a world where firemen don't prevent fires, they start them. Firemen burn books, the houses of anyone discovered hiding books, and, occasionally, the people themselves. Bradbury uses this conceit to explore the theme of oppression and the meaning of human existence.
The oppressor is explicitly self-imposed by society in Montag's world; Bradbury doesn't assign the role of villain to faceless government agents, but to his protagonist and his friends. The rules about owning books came only after the vast majority of the population had given up reading voluntarily. Montag's wife, his co-workers, their friends; they all live for the moment, avoiding real interaction with each other or with the natural world. As a consequence their lives are empty of real meaning, and they seek oblivion either through the literal mechanism of attempted suicide, through reckless thrill-seeking behavior, or through immersion in mass-produced insight-free entertainment.
Montag is jarred free of his rut when he meets and briefly befriends an unusual teenage girl, a new neighbor. Clarisse catalyzes in Montag a process of re-evaluation; he steals a book from a home he is raiding. He reveals to his wife a secret trove of other stolen books. In desperation he seeks out a former English professor and hatches a scheme to overturn the fireman system. But he is unable to control the passionate, unfamiliar emotions he experiences. He lashes out, putting himself in more and more dangerous situations. He commits a horrible crime and is hunted out of the city, ultimately meeting up with a group of refugees from civilization whose goal is preserving the knowledge lost in books.
I was fascinated by the duality of the themes; the symbolism of fire has a duality that is reflected in Bradbury's judgements. The fires that burn books are the only outlet for normal human passions that this society allows itself; a destructive power. At the conclusion of the book, the city is destroyed by fiery bombs.The fire of the sun (entropy?) is also referred to as a destructive force that humanity must combat. Yet when Montag comes upon the group of Harvard Hobos, they are gathered around a flickering campfire that throws illumination on their group - fire is the source of the light of knowledge.
Likewise Bradbury categorizes entertainment and knowledge as a duel-edged sword. Fiction in books is good, and broadens the mind; televised entertainment is bad. Figurative art is good; abstract art is bad. Interacting with others in a relaxed, 'natural' fashion on a front porch, conversing or just sitting in silent though is good. Interacting with others while watching canned entertainment, or talking about cars or tv shows = bad
Bradbury narrowly avoids tripping over these somewhat arbitrary distinctions by anchoring true meaning in interaction with the natural world. Clarisse is special because she spends time outside, and spends time observing things and people minutely. Montag's redemption comes when he is finally expelled from the city into the countryside around it. The natural world - birds, trees, sunshine - is the wellspring of experience from which meaning is created and made one's own.
I don't know how I feel about that conclusion, but it's interesting that it reflects a book I've failed to read effectively, The Spell of the Sensuous, which claims the same thing.
It's impossible to read this book without comparing it to modern society and wondering how close we are to Bradbury's world of deliberate ignorance. Bradbury's message is ultimately hopeful, but coming as it does after a nuclear holocaust, it's a pretty ultimate hopefulness.
Reading Journal Entry: Lucky Child, by Loung Ung
Disclaimer: I work with Loung on speaking engagements.
In Loung's first memoir, First They Killer My Father, she told the story of her survival of the war in Cambodia, and how she lost half of her family. In this second work she tells the story of the second half of her life, after she emigrates to America with her older brother, interlacing chapters about life recovering in Vermont with stories written from the viewpoint of her older sister, Chou, who was left behind in Cambodia.
She does a surprisingly believable job with her sister's voice.
Recommended.
In Loung's first memoir, First They Killer My Father, she told the story of her survival of the war in Cambodia, and how she lost half of her family. In this second work she tells the story of the second half of her life, after she emigrates to America with her older brother, interlacing chapters about life recovering in Vermont with stories written from the viewpoint of her older sister, Chou, who was left behind in Cambodia.
She does a surprisingly believable job with her sister's voice.
Recommended.
WOOT!
I arrived shortly after 8:00 AM, but the special Author's Breakfasts/Luncheons were sold out already except for Sunday, and all the autograph tickets were gone. Later I spoke to someone who was staying nearby and had arrived to stand in line at 6:30 AM. She wasn't at the front of the line. I decided I didn't need to see Gary Trudeau as much as I thought - to get into the city that early I would have had to catch a 6:10 train.
We connected with some people, and I came away with a ton of loot. I earned that loot, though - I stood in line for it, I carried it around in flimsy free booth bags for 10 hours, and dragged it back to Westchester on the subway/train (you should see what my hands look like after 3 days of that!). Through the rain. Uphill, both ways.
Highlights:
Orson Scott Card
Ruben Bolling (author of Tom the Dancing Bug)
The graphic novel panel
Gregory Maguire (snagged a copy of Son of a Witch)
George R. R. Martin
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
The breakfast Sunday morning, with Barbara Ehrenreich, Umberto Eco, and John Irving, hosted by Bob Herbert, was great. The food was awful, but the banter was extaordinary.
Pictures will have to wait until I can download them from my camera tomorrow.
Quote from Brad Meltzer: "Just because your fiction is serious doesn't mean it's serious fiction."
I got to meet Michael Stradther, author of A Treasure's Trove, who gave me a signed copy of the book. It's been very much in the news lately since the discovery of one of the treasures. I'm working busily to decode the clues and find me some bling-bling.
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/d4eo/
The most impressive new project I saw was a collection of photographs taken in Iraq by four photojournalists, titled Unembedded. A very different perspective. I can't wait to see the whole thing.
http://www.chelseagreen.com/2005/items/unembeddedpa
We connected with some people, and I came away with a ton of loot. I earned that loot, though - I stood in line for it, I carried it around in flimsy free booth bags for 10 hours, and dragged it back to Westchester on the subway/train (you should see what my hands look like after 3 days of that!). Through the rain. Uphill, both ways.
Highlights:
Orson Scott Card
Ruben Bolling (author of Tom the Dancing Bug)
The graphic novel panel
Gregory Maguire (snagged a copy of Son of a Witch)
George R. R. Martin
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
The breakfast Sunday morning, with Barbara Ehrenreich, Umberto Eco, and John Irving, hosted by Bob Herbert, was great. The food was awful, but the banter was extaordinary.
Pictures will have to wait until I can download them from my camera tomorrow.
Quote from Brad Meltzer: "Just because your fiction is serious doesn't mean it's serious fiction."
I got to meet Michael Stradther, author of A Treasure's Trove, who gave me a signed copy of the book. It's been very much in the news lately since the discovery of one of the treasures. I'm working busily to decode the clues and find me some bling-bling.
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/d4eo/
The most impressive new project I saw was a collection of photographs taken in Iraq by four photojournalists, titled Unembedded. A very different perspective. I can't wait to see the whole thing.
http://www.chelseagreen.com/2005/items/unembeddedpa
BEA Day 1 & 2
I feel like I've been inside a caleidoscope for the past two days. I've been having a ball. My feet are killing me. And I've been making full use of my cameraphone.
More later.
More later.
Argh
Well, I missed the whole thing tonight. No Billy Crystal for me. I'm sure it was mind-blowingly awesome.
The Book Expo of America
I am very excited about the next few days. I will be attending the Book Expo of America in NYC which starts Thursday night and runs through Sunday. I am looking forward to getting authographs or handshakes from, among others:
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
James Patterson
George R. R. Martin
Carl Hiaasen
Gregory Maguire
Gary Trudeau
And that's just the beginning. I've been going over the schedule and I am going to have to clone myself to see everything I want to see.
My biggest challenge is to avoid being completely star struck.
I'll try to update throughout the conference. The first big event is the opening ceremony with Billy Crystal, which should be a big hit.
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
James Patterson
George R. R. Martin
Carl Hiaasen
Gregory Maguire
Gary Trudeau
And that's just the beginning. I've been going over the schedule and I am going to have to clone myself to see everything I want to see.
My biggest challenge is to avoid being completely star struck.
I'll try to update throughout the conference. The first big event is the opening ceremony with Billy Crystal, which should be a big hit.
The Poems and Songs of Robert Burns
My grandmother was born in Scotland. My family has an annual Robert Burns dinner which I have so far not managed to get to. I am familiar with bits and pieces of the poet's work, and it was a delight to recognize these favorite, oft-quoted lines in this excellent production.
Dan Cairney performs the well-known classics as well as some more obscure works. The material is challenging, and he rises to the task with glee; he gives full throat to the Scottish dialect and accent and doesn't hesitate to speed up to an occasionally galumphing pace when the material demands. Including the text with the tape would have been a nice touch, especially for the general public.
My favorite work was 'The Cotter'; my favorite line, from 'Ode to a Louse':
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!
Dan Cairney performs the well-known classics as well as some more obscure works. The material is challenging, and he rises to the task with glee; he gives full throat to the Scottish dialect and accent and doesn't hesitate to speed up to an occasionally galumphing pace when the material demands. Including the text with the tape would have been a nice touch, especially for the general public.
My favorite work was 'The Cotter'; my favorite line, from 'Ode to a Louse':
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!
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