Play It as It Lays

Play It as It Lays

By: Joan Didion

1970

Hollywood, where dreams go to die.

Breton Easton Ellis' Clay from Less than Zero found it difficult to merge into traffic on the highways surrounding his fictional arts college. On the other hand Didion's Maria feels drawn to the empty expanse of the freeway. One can see the connections between these two novels as they deal heavily with the confusion and expectations of youth. Ellis has cited Didion as a strong influence on his early work, and Play It as It Lays illuminates a vision of Hollywood as pitiless, materialistic, and shallow.

I was also interested in this novel because of the connection to another dark novel about Hollywood, Nathaniel West's The Day of The Locust. (I know it's not on the list, but in those early years I thought it was. I do not regret reading it at all.) Locust is a novel that explores the underworld of Hollywood parties where disparate and marginalized actors attempt to find exposure in an industry that easily swallows up naive and unguarded optimists. Play It as It Lays is another animal altogether. 

Maria is a semi-successful actress who is haunted by her mother's strange death which may or may not have been a suicide. The book is less concerned with the icky underbelly of Hollywood but more focused on attempts to manage fame and family, while preserving one's identity. Maria appears confused, withdrawn and sexually promiscuous and turns to prescription drugs and alcohol to deal with her pervading anxieties which only deepen her depression. This may incite pathos in some readers, but Didion is not looking for us to pity Maria, her function as a protagonist is to invite the reader to critically think about cultural and political issues surrounding feminism.

Maria's disposition is arguably correlated to her pregnancy and the abortion she is implored to endure. After her visit to a doctor who says the scraping of her uterus should be "music to her ears" she dreams of dead infants and consequently her body reacts horribly to the procedure. The novel is detailed with bloody placentas and ever flowing menstrual blood which  prompts Maria to rethink her family life, especially her young daughter who has been institutionalized for a mental disorder. Since Maria is surrounded by frivolous, often misogynous people, she cannot find an outlet for the emotional turmoil she is experiencing. She spends time on the phone with her ex/husband where she cannot express herself and often responds to his empty empathy with derision and disassociation. Furthermore, this 1960's Hollywood saw the beginning of rumour magazines that sought to bring the sordid lives of stars to public newsstands. While Maria has amorous relationships with two-bit actors, she steals cars and winds up in prison; her circle of "friends" know her every indiscretion, (because they are frequent readers) and criticize her for her actions. Strangely, the one piece of information that does not circulate to her friends is her abortion. Her circle is more centred on her reputation, rather then her emotional state and her body. 

Summatively, this novel really impacted me in a number of ways that made me critically examine notions of power. It reminded me of Foucault's concept of Biopower, which argues that power is exerted over the body by particular groups who hold power. Seeing as this novel is from 1970, it was written after the initial women's liberation movement, and the proliferation of "the pill." I believe Didion is reflecting on these historical moments with Maria's abortion and the way men force her to destroy her unborn child without taking into account her feelings and attachment. Maria feels powerless over her own body, and although culturally and socially she is supposed to be reclaiming her body, there are still forces that impede her empowerment. Didion, arguably, wants her readers to see that these historical moments for women are important and should be celebrated, and that people should remain focused on creating an environment which promotes equality, celebrating one's identity and the reclamation of women's bodies. A statement that should be always present in cultural politics, and continues to be a contentious issue to this date.

Grade:

A

The Light of Day

The Light of Day

By: Graham Swift

2003

I have no qualms with authors finding inspiration for their novels in other revered titles. Graham Swift ran into controversy in 1996 when critics found numerous structural similarities between his Booker Prize winning novel Last Orders and one of my favourite books, As I Lay Dying by Faulkner. While I have not read Last Orders, since it isn't on the list, I have found that the two novels that are included on the list share similarities to other important works of literature. Waterland borrows the same ending as Gunter Grass' Cat and Mouse, while his 2003 novel The Light of Day draws similarities to Joyce's Ulysses. While it is important for novelists to acknowledge the importance and impact Ulysses has had on literature, it is also paramount that novelists distance themselves somewhat from arguably the greatest modernist novel ever written. 

I found myself, while reading The Light of Day, creating a mental checklist of all the similarities between the two novels, which impeded my connection and suspension of disbelief. Both characters are male pedestrians seeking personal understanding during a single day. They both cook, visit a cemetery/graveyard, worry about their existent/non-existent children. Formally, their voices are communicated to the reader in the form of stream of consciousness. 

While Swift adopts narrative, stylistic, and formal devices, (arguably perfected by Joyce), his protagonist's journey lacks a certain epistemological understanding of masculinity. Swift understands that Joyce's work was centered on the reader becoming aware of how men are perceived and regarded in society by having his protagonist show his weaknesses rather than pronounce them directly to the reader. But I feel what he is trying to convey is too derivative of a novel written eighty years before, without much of a reinterpretation or critical examination of masculinity. The protagonist's issues are so deep seeded in the novel they require careful analysis, which undermines the novels deceptively simple prose. 

Really, the one thing that does stand out as a high point would be the preface. "All is fair in love in war." I mean Swift proves his intellectual bravado by employing a tired cliche before his novel. It actually does put the novel in perspective seeing as the protagonist declares himself to be averse to reading and literature. Swift uses this expression to illuminate his protagonist in a meaningful way that highlights his ordinariness and simplicity.  

Grade:

C

The Jungle

The Jungle
By: Upton Sinclair

1906

"Now, because we’re so jaded, we’ve consumed so much, our attention can only be grabbed in a violent way. So (perfume) is always advertised by these constipated, exo-skeletal bitches who are sneering at you and it’s called something horrible like "Homicide"! "Dysentery"! "Urban Dysentery" for boys and girls!"

Dylan Moran

Well I don't think the protagonist from Sinclair's The Jungle makes perfume during his time spent in the factories of Chicago during the during of the 20th century, but he does spend quite a long time being exploited by a corrupt system that keeps him and his family desperate, poor, and reliant. The illusions of freedom and the possibilities that freedom affords people attract our humble protagonist and his naive family to work in some of the most horrible working conditions I have ever read or seen. The descriptions of the killing floors and the especially the fertilizer plant make your stomach churn and curtail your eating habits if you enjoy or simply eat processed meats. 

Sinclair describes a horrifyingly pervasive catalog of atrocities to exploit his readers into indoctrination. Every chapter appears to simply out-horrify the preceding chapter with stores of forced prostitution, starvation, still births, and corruption. While the reader begins to react to these events, they begin to wonder what kind of social change can be implemented to positively impact the workers. Well, Sinclair does not hide what he believes is the only answer. Socialism. 

Now because socialism becomes a central theme to the novel, critics have started the discussion of whether or not this novel is flat out propaganda. And if it is propaganda, can it still be considered art? Well in relation to this discussion, Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of The Will"  has been reclaimed by critics for its artful merit while continuing the discussion of whether or not it is considered art. In addition, and that's why I used the above quote by comedian Dylan Moran, marketing and advertisements have become synonymous with selling products through association. That is, when someone watches a commercial of a happy family eating cereal bars they will associate cereal bars with family harmony. And it has got to the point where commercials are beginning to resemble The Jungle a catalog of fear inducing or right out disgusting images to promote a product.

Sinclair employs the same tactic with his novel. When one reads it Sinclair wants them to associate positive social change with socialism. Actually that is a little bit ironic seeing as the change this novel did have on the American public, was the implementation of an accountable system for food processing. The FDA was created as part of a reaction to this novel. Which means that people were more concerned, or at least they felt they could make more of an impact, about the food itself than the people who make the food. I am sure Sinclair is frustrated this novel is primarily associated with food production rather than a system that is more humane to people.

Grade:

B+

Self Condemned

Self Condemned

By: Wyndham Lewis

1954

Why is it people feel they need to travel abroad to European countries to gain a sense of enlightenment and self actualization? It's strange when people from Western countries recount their journeys to France and Germany speaking of how they have become more cultured and knowledgeable once they have traveled across the ocean.

For Lewis it was the opposite. He came to Canada with his wife before the second world war to escape the proximity to violence and death. Many writers and critics have focused on how this novel has painted a horrible picture of Canada during the war. In defense, I will say Lewis subverts the mythology of Canada as being a neutral and inviting place by detailing the poverty and strife all people endured around the world.

The protagonist's wife commits suicide in this novel because she feels that her environment confines her and sets her up for impending failure. Critics have pinpointed this event as misogynistic.  But I feel that this moment in the novel is less about Lewis' misogyny than how the war affects men and women. She is not a weak person. She made a decision to end her life based on living through the horrors war brings, like Virginia Woolf. It is a moment of agency that cannot be denied. 

I have defended this novel in a number of ways because I feel it has been shafted by a number of critics who simply reduce it to an "anti-Canadian novel", but I feel it is much more. It's a balanced and controlled novel which illustrates reflection, understanding, and strife like few war time novels (away from the battlefield). I make this point because Lewis supposedly sympathized with Hitler leading up to the war and he has been marked by his political predilections to this day. This novel assisted Lewis in atoning for his past political oversights. And let his audience know the he was wrong to make such affiliations. I have not read many novels that discuss what Canada was like during WWII and I will have to check the 1001 list for more.
  
I will say that this is one of the best novels that I have read this year. Lewis' prose is even more impressive in that he wrote the novel while he was blind. I feel this novel is a great autobiographical recount of his life in Canada and a great work of humility.

oh yes, and his paintings in the novel supplement a great reading experience.

Grade:

A

The Glass Key

The Glass Key

By: Dashell Hammet

1931

  During my first degree I took a course in Film Noir. The cardinal motif that perpetuates through the genre is its style. These stories have a particular aesthetic that was dark with a morally reprehensible centre. These films and stories became popular in the U.S., arguably because of the anxiety people felt during and before the war. 

The Glass Key is a well known novel that taps into the anxiety people felt during this time. The characters are attempting to solve a murder that may or may or may not have been committed by a revered politician. Hammett appears to be tapping into the distrust and skepticism people felt for elected officials and their ability to manage an impending war.

While Ned uncovers the corruption and lies that caused the murder, the reader meets several forgettable characters that become conflated by their sameness and lack of identity. Many pulp stories have countless characters but few novels actually use this motif to formally reflect on on conventions of the genre. The best example would be The Big Sleep where countless characters die without their murders being solved. The superfluous unsolved murders in the The Big Sleep engage the reader in thinking critically about pulp novels which assists the genre in being understood as more than low art fantasy. The bottom line is that there are similar better pulp novels on the 1001 book list, but still important for its historical relevancy.

Grade:

B-

The Sense of a Beginning

   Why bother being resistant to the fact that every day experiences are only validated once they are posted on the internet.

I have been reading from the 1001 Books to read before you die for a number of years now and I have been vigilant and faithful. 

This space will contain qualitative and quantitative assessments of novels. Since I am an educator I am obsessed with letter grades so I think I will use them for the time being. I will also be including pictures and other stuff on authors.

Here is a link to my Goodreads account, which has helped me research and track my reading over the years. It has been instrumental in keeping me accountable and interested.

Oh, and here is one of my favourite photographs.