Sunday, July 8, 2012

Put down, picked up, written

I got 130 pages into Kim Stanley Robinson's latest, 2312, before resignedly setting it down. The story takes place across our solar system, with humans (and altered variants of humans) living on other planets, moons, and asteroids. A death in the family causes our protagonist to be drawn into a tale of interplanetary intrigue . . . which is pretty much all I learned about where the plot was headed. I think the focus was going to turn around the idea of somehow fixing globally warmed Earth. The book reads something like John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar (which borrows stylistically from Dos Passos's U.S.A.) in its use of chapters that contain snippets of information that seem to be randomly gathered from various data sources. Other chapters hold straight-out explanations of future scientific achievements, such as terraforming and making livable asteroids. Even the narrative chapters that follow the story shift point of view every time, maintaining a third-person anonymous narrator but varying which character gets the interior attention. The writing was excellent—and I want to especially praise a chapter in which the main character returns to Earth; Robinson captures how that must feel to be an Earthling who has spent a great deal of time away, as there's something unique about being on this world, where humans can breathe and where water runs and the sun isn't too close or far off. Despite the fine writing, the constant interruptions in the narrative flow cost the novel, I think. Are they needed in order to understand the story? I don't know, but the book was going to take too long, it wasn't holding me, and a clumsy character introduction sank it for me.

I also set aside, though with less reluctance, Jess Walter's new novel, Beautiful Ruins. I hadn't read Walter, and the first chapter, taking place in a sad, imaginary town below the line of Italian coastal towns that form the Cinque Terre, was wonderful, introducing an interesting character and demonstrating a witty tone and clever phrasing. Unfortunately, the novel shifts, in its second chapter, from the humble town and protagonist in 1962 to some profoundly unlikable modern folk involved in Hollywood. The tone I'd liked now grated, and the writing felt forced. Why am I reading about these people? I wondered. Well, I would read about them no more.

Perhaps shamefully, I also stopped progress (arguably, the novel itself stopped its progress) on Malcolm Lowry's "classic" (so it is viewed), Under the Volcano. Its story of a besotted and bewildered and cuckolded ex–Mexican consul is minutely told in the style that has its origins in Proust, but the plot, such as it is, proceeds like a tired and meandering burro. One wanted to urge it to "Giddup," but it stuck to its pace—and actually seemed to slowing down the farther it went. I did not want to wait around for it to keel over where it stood. I read about a quarter of the novel, so at least now I know something of it, if not how it ends (though I suspect a sad conclusion for our "hero").

Under the Volcano put me in the mood for denser stuff than Walter's novel, and something more assuredly literary than Robinson's quite literate writing—and so I turned to Conrad's Lord Jim. I'm about a third of the way through and loving it. Conrad is just so much fun, full of marvelous phrasing and wild overstatement and grand moments of physical drama and human suffering. No, the plot doesn't fly along, but there's a sense of movement, and the voice is compelling. Plus, he's already fooled me twice about where the story is going.

I also read the first story in Fred Chappell's new collection, Ancestors and Others. Seeing the list of works by Chappell dismays me: How have I never heard of him? The first story, a five-pager entitled "The Overspill" (I have no idea why the first tale is italicized, both in the title and throughout, unless it's meant to serve as some kind of preface to everything that will follow), tells of a boy and father who build a garden and a bridge during the boy's mother's absence. It's exciting and emotional, and the ending is stunning. It reminds you, after my above disappointments, of what surprises are possible in fiction.

Lastly, as I await publication of and reaction to "Unearthed," forthcoming in the September Asimov's, out in a few weeks, I'm getting a fair amount done on "Absolute Zero," the next Old Man tale. There's a twin-streamed plot, and I'm writing very drafty sections first, mostly (there's one solid scene and much scattered dialogue), in order to make sure the structure is in order. Should be a fun one.

10 comments:

Luke said...

It was Under the Volcano which decidedly turned me off from attempting to read The Modern Library's "top 100" novels.

Calvin said...

I have 2312 but haven't yet started it. Full disclosure: Robinson was one of my early teachers in SF and writing, so I am admittedly biased. On the other hand, some of his novels work better for me than others.

William Preston said...

Luke,

I just looked at that list:

http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

I've read a fair number of things on it, and there's a lot of great stuff there. I do think the Cheever recommendation is odd: I don't think anyone would recommend a Cheever novel (they list The Wapshot Chronicles) over his short fiction. They seem to be specifically avoiding short fiction, but then they've got Winesburg, Ohio . . . which is as much a novel as Dandelion Wine. Anyway, there's still a lot of great material.

It looks like the readers' choice list was taken over by Scientologists and Objectivists. Nice.

William Preston said...

Cal,

It's clear that KSR writes well and knows what he's doing, but the only thing of his I've finished is his novella on the atomic bomb drop. I started the Mars trilogy, but the characters didn't engage me . . . and I don't have the stamina for these giant tomes.

Calvin said...

You might try his first novel, Icehenge, which is really three linked novellas. It's one of my favorites of his, mostly because the writing is very tight, and the story is glittering and sad, like the Icehenge monument itself.

(In other news, I sold a story to Interzone....)

William Preston said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Cal. I'll have a look.

But more importantly: CONGRATULATIONS! Great venue. Have you ever seen the mag for sale in the States? I've only ever read it via PDF.

Luke said...

I liked the first 10 or so so much that I tried to continue reading down the list, but then hit Under the Volcano, I, Claudius, and an American Tragedy in short succession, none of which I could make much headway into and so abandoned the list.

Calvin said...

:)

It's "only" a semiprozine, but I agree it is a venerable venue that launched many a career. The one I know best is Steve Baxter, who's now co-written a book with Terry Pratchett.

If I have seen Interzone in print in the U.S., it was years and years ago. I'm assuming it's primarily if not exclusively pdf now.

William Preston said...

Luke,

Yeah, I can see some books I'd skip. Read Waugh, if you haven't. You ought to get a kick out of him.

William Preston said...

Cal,

I think Interzone got demoted. Too low a pay rate? (Really, the pay rate for all of them was higher back in the '50s! Short fiction is no way to make a living these days.)