Sunday Salon — Man Gone Down, Reader Gone Down
By Kristen on Apr 13, 2008 in The Sunday Salon
Happy Sunday! I have done very little reading today, but for a very good reason. My mother and grandmother visited my husband, sister and I this weekend from Michigan and just left an hour ago. We had a wonderful “girls” weekend — went to flower show, saw a “The Lady with all the Answers” (a one-woman show about Ann Landers — very well-done and interesting), went to a bunch of our favorite restaurants, and watched The Memory-Keeper’s Daughter (unfortunately… ugh…). Here is a picture of us at the flower show (check out my grandmother’s snazzy coat…):
So, reading was relegated to just before bed and a little bit this afternoon, but here are my literary ramblings this beautiful Sunday…
Last week I started Man Gone Down and had a quite positive first impression. Well, that first initial enthusiasm is dimming as I get further into the novel.
I am currently about half-way finished and can best describe my current experience of the novel as one of “vertigo.” The mind of the narrator swoops from the present into the past and back into the present quickly and with little warning — it seems nearly everything in his present triggers a memory from his past, which wouldn’t be quite as irritating if he wasn’t steeped in self-pity despite having attended an elite private high school and Harvard. Not that a private education insulates anyone, especially someone marginalized or not accepted in this setting, but he really seems burdened by past discontent and unable to appreciate anything good in his life (like his wife and two sons — who were only in the first few chapters and were at least as interesting as the narrator, if not more so). I want to hand him a copy of Tolle’s book and say, “Live in the present! Let the past go!” Sigh…
Although a novel, Man Gone Down really feels like a memoir, and my favorite memoirs are of people I genuinely find interesting or clever — I’m afraid he is neither at this moment. I believe this novel would’ve benefitted from a strong editor — cut, cut, cut!! I finally finished an entirely too long section on a construction job that seems to have no purpose to the greater whole and felt endless.
So, that’s my Sunday Salon for today! I will finish Man Gone Down before I leave for Arizona on Thursday and am packing Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Freakonomics, Sophie Kinsella’s Remember Me?, and anything else I can stuff into my carry-on!
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I understand what you mean about more editing needed. I see more and more. Love the picture. You all look so happy!
It’s nice to have family visits.
J. Kaye | Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
Thank you! We really were happy — even though it was snowing on April 12th…
Love the discussion you have going on your blog today — trying to “objectify” the art of reading and reviewing is endlessly fascinating!
Kristen | Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
Sounds like “Man Gone Down” is…um…going down. Hehe, sorry for the pun, just couldn’t resist. Hope it gets better for you. I’ll be checking back to see how it ended up.
I’m loving browsing your blog.
Mrs. B. | Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
Thank you!! I noticed last week that you are reading C.S. Lewis and I’m curious what you think — I read Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters a few years ago and both were thought-provoking. I was fortunate to see a stage production of Shadowlands in London that was so moving…
I hope Man Gone Down gets better, too!
Kristen | Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
Snowing.. my goodness!! Our high today was 101 degrees. Love the picture!
lisamm | Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
Ouch… thankfully I’m heading to Phoenix in a few days to thaw…
Kristen | Apr 14, 2008 | Reply