The Pleasure of My Company
By Steve Martin.
Ok, so I’ve been watching A LOT of Steve Martin. L.A. Story – my favorite (and if I ever visit that city I want to visit the LA of Steve Martin) Three Amigos – hilarious. The Jerk – ok, but it was his first movie. Shopgirl – Lovely.
Now his novella:
I’ll just say that this might be the most tender and funny story I’ve come across. (While Wendell Berry is most certainly moving, he’s not exactly…funny.) Daniel, a somewhat brilliant code maker/breaker and programmer, is extremely isolated by his obsessive/compulsive disorder that keeps him from crossing the street, moving out of his apartment, or owning a telephone. But like everyone he’s looking for love and companionship. Steve Martin’s comic timing and Daniel’s struggle to break from his loneliness are perfectly in sync, heartbreak following comedy in harmony.
Daniel is a fine narrator for his own story. He’s aware of how his own hang-ups make him appear to others, and he’s quite eloquent when it comes to describing his disorder. But he’s also observant of others around him. Slowly and almost without effort he develops relationships, first with his neighbors and then his visiting nurse/psychiatrist. As he allows these relationships to develop on their own, he takes great leaps of courage to push beyond his boundaries. His courage and quest for connection combine in perfect heartbreak and hilarity.
Steve Martin has proven that he is indeed a man of many talents, actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. This isn’t some crappy celebrity biography, or some children’s book whim (Madonna should never do anything other than be a material girl). It’s a wonderful piece about relationships, fear, love, and logic. It helps that Steve Martin is a mighty fine writer. He’s character’s voice never wavers. He has a strong sense of the story he’s telling. He knows when to back off and not lay down the sentimental stuff to thick. He’s funny.
This book is delightful.
Fred enjoyed his new biography, Born Standing Up. Check out his website.
www.stevemartin.com
Bone Volumes 1-2
By Jeff Smith
I’ve been skipping around a lot in my reading. Jumping from here to there. I’ve also been sick over the past week, and my head just couldn’t focus for long, all the words would start to turn fuzzy. But I’m back in the pink of health and ready to tell you all about Bone, a indie comic book series that was originally released in 55 issues from 1991 to 2004. And it’s been collected by Scholastic and reissued in individual volumes.
(check out wikipedia if you want more info)
The story is a fantasy adventure who’s central character, Fone Bone is a charming, brave hero who looks a bit like a Smerf or Peanuts character. He’s instantly likeable, warm, and from the very first panel you’re routing for him. I love being swept off my feet by a character.
Once I was in the comic it was a delight to find that the writing is expertly timed. Each joke comes with the right visual and language that only reminds me of the work of Bill Waterston. Like a perfectly timed joke, Jeff Smith knows how to draw/write what’s funny. In between the light laughs are wonderful moments of sadness, disappointment, and fear. Bravo. Bravo.
I’m only up to the second volume of a series of nine, but so far the characters are well rendered and have developed a group dynamic that’s going to make for some good reading in the future. I don’t want to speculate to far in advance, and predict problems. So let’s just say that some of the plot developments in the second volume were vague and unexplained. I didn’t get a good sense of what was really going on, but I’ve got faith that all will be explained in the following issues. Right now I’m happy just to follow world that Jeff Smith has created.
Bone has been around for a while, and anyone in the comics world has read it…so I’m a little out of the loop…..but I finally got here. I’m in love with it. It’s funny, smart, entertaining. It’s everything that good fiction should be. And not only is he using words to tell the story he’s DRAWING the damn thing. Sorry for being so slow, but it’s truly incredible to take two mediums and combine them to tell a story. I’m impressed when writers to a good job sticking with one medium. But to draw the thing…well color me impressed.
Check out the website!
The Appeal
by: John Grisham.
So you know how a few weeks ago I talked about how I rarely read genera fiction….well I just worked my way through the new John Grisham book, The Appeal. (Way to play the hypocrisy card, I know) But come on! I work at his publishing house, and they put this on in my inbox as a freebie. I didn’t go looking for it on a shelf….it was IN my inbox. It’s like giving a new pair are shoes to a puppy….those shoes will be ripped to shreds in a matter of hours. So there, I’ve read my first legal thriller. I’m a big fan of shows like Boston Legal and Law and Order. Plus I’m a sucker for films like Michael Clayton and the Pelican Brief. Right away I know I’ll probably enjoy this more than say…a historical romance (I’m sure this isn’t going to be another Golden Tulip).
How was it? Not bad. But, I still like my court-room dramas to come from film, the immediacy of TV/film seems better suited to the timing of a court room. But, the book isn’t bad. The writing is solid. Grisham keeps things simple and quick. The pace is nice, and he knows how to move a plot a long and how to slow it down to build up the suspense. All in all it’s a nice ride.
But….the characters. I don’t mind when a TV show simplifies a character, and relies on visual stereotypes and cultural myths to create “real” people. It’s all a part of Hollywood. I get it. The point is to create a character as quickly as possible and get them doing things. However, I expect more from a book, when you’re reading a book you’ve got the space on a page for characters to develop. I understand that in a thriller the goal is the same: get to the plot as quickly as possible and get people hooked. So I was a little disappointed to find that the characters in Grisham’s book were the same ones that you find in ANYTHING (movie/TV show) churned out for mass-market consumption. The evil corporate bad guys are just that…greedy, evil, sleazy, and powerful, nothing more. The good guys are poor, church going, smart, family oriented, white, kind, and generous. Nothing more. The good guys get regular exercise, are up on all current affairs, and get the recommended amount of fiber too. Jeeze… who writes a character based on general statistics and myths of the “common” man? I don’t care who you are. No one is all sweetness and light. Everyone has something dark/interesting/secret about them. They can be kind, generous, loving, and good, but they have SOMETHING that makes them worth writing about. Every character has something about them that makes them come alive from the page. Sadly, ALL of these characters were missing that something. They were missing that spark that changes the good writing to great writing. Grisham was missing that thing that makes characters worth reading and watching.
The whole thing is so purely plot driven that I’ll just get my crime drama from TNT, and skip the disappointment of a good writer that could be so much better.
