F, a novel. Daniel Kehlmann

F is a thought provoking and wonderfully written/translated novel by the young German author Daniel Kehlmann. It is the story of a father and three sons, from two failed marriages, who all are finding their way in the world with some difficulty. The father is a wanna-be writer and free spirit who walks out on two marriages. His children are damaged goods, each in their own way, but with a lot of common ground. Every reviewer speculates what the “F” stands for. Failure? Forgery? Fraud?

Each chapter is in the voice of one of the characters and tells his story and evokes his psyche. Son number one is an athiest Catholic priest. He is quite likeable in his wandering “what do I make of the world” thoughts. A pair of identical twins are from dad’s second marriage. One is a mentally unstable financial advisor, whose agnst is palpable. His twin is, like dad, a wanna-be. In this case he’s a painter, who in fact becomes very successful: by forging a body of work that is sold as the paintings of his long-time lover. I found this character to be quite intriguing and was impressed by Kehlmann's thoughts on making art, the art world, and forgery vs “real”.

That sense of forgery versus real is perhaps the heart of all the characters and the novel. In a very real sense, these men are not frauds. Like all of us, they are trying to find their way to who they truly are in this world and have settled for a compromise version of this. Kehlmann, by contrast, is the real deal. He is an author to watch for.

Lost for Words, Edward St. Aubyn

I’m generally an easy mark for books about writing, so I happily read Lost For Words. Edward St. Aubyn created a clever satire of writing prizes, wrapped in a British comedy of manners. He has a sharp eye and pen for the human condition, and the difference between our public and private personas. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of the vividly portrayed characters: judges, writers, editors, poseurs, lovers, and lovers scorned. Usually, I don’t enjoy this multi-view format. But St. Aubyn really captured the voice of these characters, their views, prejudices, and blind spots, despite being written in the third person. Often when I read books in this structure I find the author’s voice droning on in each character, but not so in Lost For Words. Most chapters have some wonderful one-liners in that character’s voice and world-view, but somehow universally applicable to all of us: “…she had the special affliction of a novelist, of wanting to be the author of her own fate and take charge of a narrative whose opening chapters had been written by others with terrifying carelessness.”

The squabbles between the judges were priceless, especially if you’ve ever cast a jaundiced eye at the treatment of writing, music or art by the haughty academics of the ‘60s & ‘70s, who somehow still hold sway in our world. One judge’s trumpeting of “relevance” made me laugh & cry, it was so true to life and annoying! I tip my hat to St. Aubyn for capturing it, along with many other forms of hubris, with such a light touch. Have fun!

Joshua Ferris: To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

This has been a disappointing year in my library. I've read quite a few novels, but none were great. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is not great, but after a slow start, is very good: thoughtful, funny, and worth a read. It explores identity, family, history, religion, faith & doubt, from the viewpoint & first person monologues of a self absorbed 40-something man, Paul O'Rourke. Most of his dry, acerbic commentaries are quite funny. His unsuccessful love life is a fulcrum for the big issues in the novel. In his doomed romances he attaches himself to the in-laws, trying to make himself into something he’s not: first Italian, then Jewish. Both times this of course does not work out. Paul is lost, depressed, not really lonely, & wants to believe in something, although he is an atheist. So, he piggy-backs on the families and faiths of his girlfriends. Hence, his awkward & sometimes laughable foray into Judaism with Connie, who is his receptionist. By the way, the dynamic in the office between this obtuse man and his staff is also quite humorous.

A website appears for his practice, which he did not create. It soon is adding comments about an ancient, extinct Old Testament tribe whose faith is....Doubt. Many of the site's comments could be construed, out of context, as anti-Semitic. This causes problems with ex-girlfriend’s family.  He contacts a lawyer & tracks down the people who put up his website. But, he ends up being drawn into them and listening to the story of the ancient lost Ulms & Doubt. A billionaire hedgefund manager is contacted by the same group, and both are told that they might be descendants of the Ulms. Fraud? Con? Real? Regardless, it opens up a Pandora's box for both men of a search for identity, meaning and...doubt. This novel foretells big things from Ferris.

Lazar: I Pity the Poor Immigrant

My very literate friend, Warren, highly recommended Martin Amis' most recent novel, The Zone of Interest, set in a Nazi concentration camp. I told him it sounded great, but I was steering clear of intense, dark stories for the time being. Oops. Zachary Lazar's I Pity the Poor Immigrant hooked me with its stories of Meyer Lansky's attempt to gain Israeli citizenship & a current murder of an Israeli poet, whose work did not favor Israel's Palestinian policies. These arcs are linked and intertwined by two characters.

OK...Sounds intriguing, so I bought it at my favorite indie bookstore that is still standing. The novel is intriguing, and very well written & structured. It is also intense, and explores the dark aspects of the lives of these four characters. Some of this is tied into the the political and human issues of Israel & Palestine. But, Lazar doesn't seem to take a strong political position on this. Rather, he explores the anger & violence that is prevalent through all of the threads in the novel: Lansky & other mobsters, Holocaust survivors & the immigrant life, radical Israelis & Palestinians. In the end, I suppose this is what the book is really about: anger & violence, how it permeates our world, and decisions we make about it, whether we want to or not. Lazar handles a number of profound issues and does this with a deft touch. There are no preachy digressions or gratuitous violence. The stories & characters are believable and human. At the start, it might have sounded like I was talking you out of this book, but it is a worthy read.

Familiar, J. Robert Lennon

This slim novel is a haunting tale of identity and memory, by an author new to me, J. Robert Lennon. Elisa Brown is driving home from her annual visit to her son's grave, as the story opens. She notices that a crack in her windshield has disappeared. By the time she returns home she has become aware of many other changes. The basic outlines of her life are the same, but important things have changed. She keeps this disturbing event a secret from her husband, and gingerly navigates her same/changed life: a different job, a marriage counselor that she did not have before, and two sons, who are now estranged, and both alive. She struggles with the fear that she has gone mad and in desperation visits the world of pop-physics to learn about parallel universes. But, she is inextricably living in this one, and slowly comes to terms with who she is and her old memories. We all are dealt surprises in our lives, some more dramatic than others. These can change our lives and who we are. If this has not happened to you, then continue to enjoy your good fortune! Familiar casts a troubling look at this phenomenon.

On the Floor, Aifric Campbell

I rarely read novels or non-fiction based on the world of finance & investments. I had enough of the real thing for 35 years, and I have other interests! But, this book was well reviewed and I gave it a shot. Aifric Campbell spent 15 years at Morgan Stanley and became the first woman managing director on their London trading floor. She left to earn a PhD in creative writing and now teaches. The novel is set in 1991 and is the story of a successful trader, Geri Molloy, and her journey to get there. It captures the frat house, mostly male, world of trading at that time, & what that meant for a smart woman who wanted to succeed.  She evokes this world with humor, and also leavens it with Molloy's judgments of the highly paid, heavy drinkers working the phones. Campbell also develops the trader's broken family, her years of hiding remarkable mathematical abilities, & the viciously serious manipulations of her biggest client. One weakness in the story was Molloy's destructive drinking after a heartbreak, which became cloying. The ending of the novel is a bit unlikely, but choices made on the last page redeem that. There are flashes of great writing, & I look forward to reading Campbell's next novel.

Tim Parks: Sex is Forbidden

Catchy title, eh? Tim Parks again delivers his dry humor and wry observations on the human condition. This was not always an easy read for me, likely due to my own Buddhist-vipassana-fatigue, combined with the structure of the book. It's likely that you do not suffer from my affliction, so this well written novel might be quite enjoyable for you. The story is told by a wild rocker, Beth, whose life is in crisis. She goes to a meditation retreat in Britain and stays as a server in the kitchen for 9 months. It happens to be a Buddhist center teaching vipassana meditation. So, much of the book is the stream of consciousness observing and thinking in Beth's head: about her boyfriend in the band, her older married boyfriend, her family, her life of excess, meditation, the teachers & servers at the retreat, and the tragic incident that led her there. Beth is a very entertaining character, who by the way, breaks most of the rules at the Dasgupta Institute. She wanders into the men's dorm, forbidden, and reads the diary of troubled man, reading & writing forbidden. On her next trip into the dorm she writes in the man's diary, "You love your pain too much." ! I loved thinking about his reaction to finding these words in his diary. While their lives don't intersect, their stories do begin to intertwine via Beth's reflections. A nice conceit. If you meditate, Buddhist or not, you might enjoy Beth's questions and observations as she pushes herself deeper into her practice.

Tim Parks' journey as an author is an interesting one. He has written 16 novels, and also became well known for his memoirs as an ex-pat Brit living in "domani domani" Italia. He has lived near Verona since 1981. The first of his books that I read was Italian Neighbours, 1992, quite humorous. In 2010, he published another memoir, Teach us to Sit Still, A Skeptics Search for Health and Healing. Here Park describes his struggle with long-term chronic pain and his frustrating encounter with the medical machine. In the second half of the book he begins to consider meditation to help himself heal. I'm guessing that his latest book grew out of that experience. 

Don't just do something, sit there....and read this book.