#2 The Adventures of Augie March by: Saul Bellow

Well, I’m back! *Let me add here that I finished this post 1/2 an hour ago but it got erased thanks to my internet going offline. I’m sorry to say that this post may not be as good as the one I originally wrote but I am going to try my best!

I just finished the second book on my list of 100 two days ago and have finally found time to visit the blog and give my thoughts.

To begin I have to admit that I haven’t always been a great lover of classic literature, I also admit that certain novels grow on me with time, and when I see certain works through the p.o.v. of others I may change my mind completely. With that said this novel really pulled me into its story and had some surprisingly familiar settings. (The main character’s home town is Chicago. He frequently moves around and out of the state to Michigan and some of its lesser known cities. As a native Michigander I was overjoyed to be familiar with cities like Benton Harbor and Saugatuck. It really gave the novel extra depth). The story as a whole chronicles the life of a young man named Augie March and illustrates his life as he fights a familiar battle that many young adults my age are facing today. It is that panic inducing question:

Life, what am I going to do with you?

From this question stems the adventures that makes up Augie’s life in Chicago as a young man and which haunts him continually as he makes his way into young adulthood, into other countries, into new jobs, and into the countless arms of different women. What struck me about Augie’s character was that despite his struggles to find himself and his place he has a type of luck that most of the people I know today do not have the fortune of possessing. He aimlessly wonders around the city and literally has jobs thrust at him from all sides (some of them better than others). His resume would definitely be shocking (to many of us with little or no work experience) because he goes from news boy, to personal assistant, to shop keeper, and salesman in the span of a few chapters. Augie also reminds me of people I know and myself because he puts on a front that defies his young age. Towards the end of the book Augie is still a young man but is one that has experienced more than many people will have experienced in their lives. He has a relatively absent childhood and is expected by his family and friends to consider concepts that are beyond most adults.

Augie is somewhat of a hero in his own right because he lives the kind of life that upper-class America likes to pretend doesn’t exist. My friends and I frequently discuss how easy it is for some people to detest those living off of welfare and government groups like the D.C.F. when they themselves have never actually experienced the type of mortification that comes with seeking that type of assistance. I don’t mean to scold people here but it is a valid point to make. Augie brings to light this particular type of lifestyle in a way that I really appreciate. What most people have to realize is that being poor and looking for help is basically admitting: “I can’t do this by myself,” which I think takes a lot of courage. Real poor people aren’t lazy – they are struggling in the worst way.

Augie March and his family (which consists of his mother, older brother Simon, younger brother Georgie, and Grandma Lausch – who is actually not related) live in Chicago in an apartment where Grandma Lausch is the head of the household. Although the exact events leading up to Grandma Lausch’s arrival are not perfectly clear Augie explains that she was left in the care of the March family by her two sons who weren’t able to take her into their own homes for whatever unknown reason. Her character is one both comical and frightening (though still endearing in the end). She gives a sort of “tough love” to the family and sets a pattern in Augie’s life that he will have to face in the future.

Augie already has difficulties as a teenager with his mother, who is gradually becoming blind and his brother Georgie who lives with an unnamed type of mental disability while trying to conform to the model of success that Grandma Lausch has presented to him. Although Augie is easily molded at first it is apparent as he grows older that he isn’t anything like his older brother Simon (who seems to do everything right). We follow him through odd jobs, his first crush, and later through his stints of thievery and misconduct. Thus his adventures begin.

Outside the apartment and the watchful eyes of Grandma Augie is manipulated by others. In many ways this manipulation is a great theme in the novel. Augie finds himself constantly being pressed into different molds by his co-workers, friends, family, and even lover’s. It seems like most of the time he exudes a carelessness that brings him both trouble and success but never any long lasting happiness. He is often swayed by some very romantic ideas of wealth, love, and prosperity only to find them unrealistic and sometimes frightening.

In one of the most memorable instances Augie is lead into accepting the hand of Lucy Magnus (the wealthy cousin of his brother’s wife Charlotte). Although the young couple shares a relatively good physical relationship Augie seems to merely tolerate Lucy and her superficial affection. Near the inevitable end of their “engagement” Augie comes to the aid of Mimi (his neighbor, friend, and suspected lover) who needs desperate medical attention after a botched abortion. While helping Mimi he is spotted by an old enemy and as he suspects the news of his involvement with Mimi spreads through town and eventually reaches Lucy and her family who assume that Augie is the father of Mimi’s child. Lucy ends the relationship and Augie walks away with relative detachment.

As seen in his relationship with Lucy Augie allows himself to be pulled as if on a current, strong, and uncontrollable. This current takes him from his home state of Illinois, into Michigan, across the border into Mexico, and finally across the world to places like Europe.

I hate to insult the depth and beauty of the novel by attempting to give some type of summary of the work here because it would be virtually impossible even with unlimited time. I’d also like to leave some things for the next reader to find out for themselves. On that note interpretation is an important part of reading a novel. I am very aware of the fact that there are plenty of people who can totally disagree with me about the nature of this novel, the themes, or the questions it posses.

What was foremost in my mind throughout my reading of this novel is that of life, the adventure, the journey that we all embark upon in order to find meaning, what makes our lives rich, full, and worthy. Augie try’s life at either end of the spectrum as a lower-class citizen without enough to eat and as the almost adopted son of a wealthy family who would have given him everything, but finds that neither can give him any kind of self-fulfillment.

On his journey Augie acquires a select group of friends who add to the novel in a great way. They each teach him lessons on how to survive (through stealing textbooks and selling them to college students), about loyalty to friends despite the cost, and to seriously consider what he wants (not what others want). On the subject of characters I found that the descriptions of characters were both entertaining and unforgettable. Women are frequently described by the curve of their lips, the slope of their breasts, and their manner of speech (which differed from one to another). I fear that some women might not like these characterizations if they aren’t used to a blunter male author. I on the other hand found them both humorous and brilliant.

Finally I’d like to add some notes about the writing and the author of the novel. My copy of the book was published in 1949 and I borrowed it from the USF library in Tampa. I was overjoyed at the fact that it is almost falling apart, taped in numerous places, and it carries with it that musty smell. I like to think about whom else had this very copy in their hands. What did they think of the novel? Of Augie and his adventures?

This book although reasonable (medium) in size is a deep read. Its complexity is spread over twenty-six chapters and 536 pages. The author Saul Bellow is a master at expanding on the thoughts, ideas, and emotions of his characters and frequently utilizes metaphor and simile to do so. He also employs the comma sometimes extending a single sentence over the length of half a page. Although his writing style can be daunting it should in no way keep any reader away from this novel and the story it tells.

In the end as I stated before it is impossible to give a full account of this novel and the question’s it has brought to my mind. As I stated in the beginning Augie is on an all too familiar mission to find his way in the world; a world full of people ready and willing to mold him into their vision of perfection and success. He is faced with plenty of sorrow, danger, and love. What I’d like to take away from his experiences is that experience is the fruit of life. Despite their ability to be good and bad, pleasing and detestable, or simply empty they are experiences none the less.

So I will end this post with a lengthy quote from Augie himself. Think about what he says and interpret it as you will. (It was my favorite section of the entire book).

Augie: “I thought if I knew more my problem would be simplified, and maybe I should complete my formal education. But since I’ve been working for Robey I have reached the conclusion that I couldn’t utilize even ten per cent of what I already knew. I’ll give you an example. I read bout King Arthur’s Round Table when I was a kid, but what am I ever going to do about it? My heart was touched by sacrifice and pure attempts, so what should I do? Or take the Gospels. How are you supposed to put them to use? Why, they’re not utilizable! And then you go and pile on top of that more advice and information. Anything that just adds information that you can’t use is plain dangerous. Anyway, there’s too much of everything of this kind, that’s come home to me, too much history and culture to keep track of, too many details, too much news, too much example, too much influence, too many guys who tell you to be as they are, and this hugeness, abundance, turbulence, Niagara Falls torrent. Which who is supposed to interpret? Me? I haven’t got that much head to master it all. I get carried away. It doesn’t give my feelings enough of a chance if I have to store up and become like an encyclopedia. Why, just a question of time spent in getting prepared for life, look! A man could spend forty, fifty, sixty years like that inside the walls of his own being. And all great experience would only take place within the walls of his being. And all high conversation would take place within those walls. And all achievement would stay within those walls. And all glamour too. And even hate, monstrousness, enviousness, murder, would be inside them. This would be only a terrible, hideous dream about existing. It’s better to dig ditches and hit other guys with your shovel than die in the walls” (Bellow 455).

I hope others will take courage and seek to enjoy this novel as much as I did. Happy reading. Go out and exist through experience.

On to book #3 on the list of 100!

Work Cited: Bellow, Saul. The Adventures of Augie March, a Novel. New York: Viking, 1953. Print.

#1 Gone with the Wind by: Margaret Mitchell

My hope in reading these books is not to give a “summary” of the work that anyone can find by typing the title into their web-browser. Instead  I want to talk about the book, how I responded to it, and what is beyond the surface of the story behind the cover.

Gone with the Wind is a piece popular in more than one medium (both film and print) and is well-known to most of the world. Most people can quote a famous line of dialogue without having ever picked up the book or the movie.

Initially the story that unfolds is about the American Civil War and how it and the reconstruction that follows changes life in the South (particularly Atlanta, Georgia in 1864). At heart it chronicles the struggle of Scarlett O’Hara (the main female character). Unlike most of the female characters in the novel Scarlett (or Katie Scarlett as her father calls her) is impulsive, willful, and determined. Rhett Butler who becomes her third and final husband in the book states at their first meeting, “And you, Miss, are no lady.”

No, Scarlett is not a lady as defined by the society of her time, rather she is a survivor. She has the unique ability to adapt and thrive when change comes to the South at the hands of the Yankees. She marries three times (at first to rouse jealousy in Ashley Wilkes; with whom she suffers unrequited love) and twice more in order to grasp security in an unstable world both for herself and her family.

Throughout the novel Scarlett is depicted as selfish and somewhat cruel – what is interesting is that (in my understanding) she cannot be otherwise. It is true that everyone has a choice to be “good” like Melanie Hamilton Wilkes (the wife of Ashley Wilkes and sister-in-law to Scarlett via Scarlett’s first marriage) or “bad” as Rhett Butler is made out to be, but the choice to be “good” for Scarlett meant starvation, poverty, and submission to both the tyranny of the Yankees and Carpetbaggers and to southern society, which demanded her continued pride and allegiance to the fallen Confederacy. Yes, she can be a self-centered fool but she is also a strong woman unwilling to yield. For Scarlett (unlike the ladies and gentleman of Atlanta who are unable to let go of “the old south”) tomorrow is another day, another opportunity, another chance.

My response to the work itself is not what I thought it would be. In paperback the novel is more than intimidating (1,472 pages) and the winner of the 1937 Pulitzer Prize it demands all of your attention the minute you get past the preface. But as the title suggests the reader is swept up in the story, the setting, the war and those fighting it. I was amazed by the history embedded in novel including the events leading up to the fall of Atlanta. The detail that fills the pages is vivid beyond imagining, from the cotton fields of Tara to the war-ravaged streets of Atlanta.

In my reading I was surprised to find that the picture of the south given in Gone with the Wind was one I was not familiar with. I understand that there is no real way to get at the “truth” of events when you have a “he said, she said” argument but it is interesting to note that the southern characters in the novel make it a point to state that the northern understanding of slavery and plantation life is incorrect. Although Scarlett and her peers frequently refer to their servants as “darkies” and employ the “n” word from time to time they count them as part of their family not their property. Also, I like to think that the type of suffering that the south endured (their losses etc.) were not unheard of in the north. War is devastating on all sides.

Finally there is the “love story” between Scarlett and Rhett. Their relationship throughout the novel is unlike any in most romantic literature. They are constantly at odds with one another because they are alike and are unafraid to work against society in order to get ahead. Rhett admits that he loves Scarlett, “Because we’re alike. Bad lots, both of us. Selfish and shrewd. But able to look things in the eyes as we call them by their right names.” Both Rhett and Scarlett are unbearably honest and in many ways they suffer from it. In the end Scarlett realizes that she loves Rhett (almost to her own astonishment). It is here that I found the irony in her character. She unlike many southerners was able to look ahead and leave the past where it belonged. Regardless of that ability she couldn’t see what was right in front of her. She clung to the idea of Ashley Wilkes and what he represented (his honor and station in society). In Rhett she found her equal, a friend who understood her better and more completely than anyone else, and who became her third husband. Her epiphany (as many know) came too late. In the final chapters of the book beyond the loss of two husbands, two children, both her parents, and the world she once knew Scarlett honestly pronounces her love to Rhett. It is not a happy ending as we see Scarlett’s nightmare become reality. She runs through the mist to her home and to Rhett only to find that he is leaving. Despite all her pleading he decides to return to Charleston (his home) and the society he scorned throughout his entire life. Scarlett, true to her character looks to tomorrow. She decides she will return to Tera (her plantation home) to gather her strength and move forward.

DEEP BREATH EVERYONE: As the first book on the list of 100 to be completed I have to say it was an excellent start. I am giving myself two weeks per book (regardless of length) and I have to say that if they are all as good as this one it wont be as hard as I thought. I’m not saying that there wont be some struggles on my part (God knows what this year will bring academically and socially) but I have to admit that I went through this book in less than 5 days. In comparison to the Academy Award winning 1939 film Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh the book obviously covers so much more. Although I love the film (seriously) I have to point out that the book gives a much more accurate portrayal of Scarlett’s character. She is not just a spoiled hard-headed brat. Also a key character (Will Benteen) is not present in the movie. He is a very perceptive confederate soldier who helps Scarlett with Tara and marries her sister Suellen.

I also felt that Ashley Wilkes is not the victim he seems to be in the movie. I admit that in the movie I always found his and Scarlett’s relationship confusing and I never got a clear idea of what was going on between them. In the book it is completely different. He is frankly very annoying. Although Scarlett is much to blame for not really “seeing” Ashley and therefore destroying her chances of happiness with Rhett, Ashley allows Scarlett to cling to the possibility of a loving relationship (that could be if only Melanie were not in the way – which as we find in the end is not the case). Now that I’ve ranted about my dislike for Ashley Wilkes I’d like to think that I am finished (for now).

The book was excellent. Now on to book #2!

Work Cited: Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind. New York: Pocket, 2008. Print.

Me vs. 100 novels in 365 days!

So, for some strange crazy reason I have decided to find a list of the top 100 novels of all time!

After reading the list I have decided to take it on as a “side project.” Although I am a part-time student finishing my degree and am working on M.F.A. ap’s I am going to challenge myself to read the entire list this year.

Book #1 is Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Round 1 begin!