Jane Austen is Still Awesome

The title is an obvious statement, as several popular movies can attest, so what I should have entitled this entry is: "Jane Austen's books are still awesome." For all the admiration of Austen's stories, one wonders how many people actually still read the books. A number of us do, I'm sure, but there are undoubtedly leagues of people who have only acquainted themselves with Austen through the movie screen, and that, as William Deresiewicz contends in his memoir about his experiences reading Austen, is a shame.

Deresiewicz reads the six novels and is changed by them in a number of profound ways. He learns to listen to others and he understands the ways in which he needs to change to find love. He grows up as a result of reading Austen's canon. These days, growing up is profound enough, but what struck me as more profound than that was the fact that he let himself be changed by these novels. People read all the time - for enjoyment, for school - but how often do people read - and I'm specifically talking about the classics here - books to be CHANGED? In this quickly moving world, how many of us are reading books and reflecting on what those books say about how we are living our lives?

I found this book to be pretty wonderful, and I couldn't read it fast enough. Deresiewicz re-invigorates Austen for us by, simply, reading her, thinking about what she says, and allowing himself to evolve as a result of her messages. He does not experience this through the movies, nor does he passively read the books for the plot and characters. He absorbs these novels and, as a result, he thoroughly understands not only how Austen has persisted, but WHY she should persist.

For anyone who thinks that Austen's novels are old and hard to read, dust off your copies, grab a dictionary, and allow yourself to be transformed. Of course, before you get started, take a look at A Jane Austen Education. You'll be happy you did.

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield

Everything ill that can happen to a person happens to the Vicar of Wakefield: death, fire, treachery, theft. In a broad sense, the story functions as an 18th century Book of Job. It's a charming look at how a person's faith in God and adherence to morals can sustain a person through hard times. The novel, Goldsmith's only fiction, is a charming read, more simple than Austen but less funny than Smollett. Written in the 18th century, it is an example of the novel in its earliest form, and Goldsmith follows the prevailing fiction habits of the day, creating a story that functions not only as satire, but also as morality tale. Goldsmith resists the epistolary form and opts for a first-person narrative, allowing us to the see events through the benevolent, and stubborn, eyes of the Vicar himself, Dr. Primrose. (I suspect this is where one of my favorite sayings derives: led down the primrose path. Dr. Primrose is misled quite often.)

Some critics have argued that Primrose is a silly man, a person easily double-crossed because he trusts too easily. There is some evidence to support this, but Primrose can also be interpreted as patient, faithful, well-meaning, a man who follows his values even if it would be easier to forget them. Heaven is the ultimate goal, and, though having a pleasant time in the temporal world isn't a bad thing, the most important point to consider is one's relationship with God, not how you're faring in wealth or comfort. By the end of the novel, Primrose's spate of bad luck begins to stress credulity, but Goldsmith is quick to point out the happenstances of life, the bits of coincidence that either shine propitiously or ruinously on someone's fate. Good things happen just as quickly as bad things, and one has to be prepared with good behavior and a strong family to take advantage. Just when I began to wonder if this novel is merely a list of bad moments, luck returns, concluding the novel with a satisfying wedding - another habit of (some) 18th century fiction. Primrose is anything but silly. He is an example of someone who believes in the divine plan, the notion that life will work out if one follows the rules, and if it doesn't, heaven exists to salve the wounds life imposes.

As with all great fiction, though, The Vicar of Wakefield asks us to reflect on our own behavior - in this instance, how one acts in the face of adversity. Regardless of belief in God, Primrose's behavior broadly stresses the importance of acting well as its own means to an end. Things may not always work out - though they ultimately do for Primrose - but at least a person can adhere to correct values and good behavior in the process. Those who do usually end up in a good place.

Friday's Catch 5.6.11

Harper Collins wants e-books replaced after 26 loans. I guess that's when the covers start falling off.

No Catcher in the Rye sequel for us.

An ode to sentences.

Another big book to get lost in.

A new view of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor.

The book isn't dead! It's on a contraption!

New technologies reinforce old modes of communication, rather than replacing them.

In defense of literature.

Virginia Woolf and The Free World

A variety of books have been lying about the Red Room Library these past weeks, and here's a short list to begin to make up for my reading-induced silence.

The Virginia Woolf Writers' Workshop by Danell Jones

This short and helpful book distills Woolf's wisest words about writing through the imagined setting of Woolf's own writing workshop. What would it be like, Danell Jones asks, if Woolf had taught a writing course? Jones combed through Woolf's diaries, letters, novels to cull quotes and tips about writing from one of the 20th century's most influential writers. Structured around "lectures," each chapter ruminates on a single topic important to fledgling writers. The chapter on reading, entitled "Reading," is the best. I read this in one sitting and will probably read it again in the next week. It's a fascinating little book and provides a unique shortcut to the chaff of information Woolf provided about writing.

The Free World by David Bezmozgis

This seems to be the year for novels from The New Yorker's 20 under 40 writers. Tea Obreht, Karen Russell and David Bezmozgis were all recognized with this honor and have all published novels in 2011. Though Bezmozgis presents The Free World as a novel, it is really (a very, very long) short story. The novel analyzes the no-man's land of life in exile for a family of Russian Jews. Bezmozgis is a master of fine language and character creation, but the necessary elements of a novel - plot development, character development, resolution, etc - remain untouched, making this novel feel like one large inhaled breath...with no relief. What starts out as a promising premise with fresh characters and a unique setting fizzles to a whisper.

Exactly

"I have sometimes dreamt that when the Day of Judgement dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards - their crowns, their laurels, their names carved indelibly upon imperishable marble - the Almighty will turn to Peter and will say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming, with our books under our arms, "Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading."

--Virgina Woolf, "How Should One Read a Book?"