How to Recover from the Election No Matter What Your Party

There's nothing like a heated presidential election to keep a person focused on current events. But now that the election is over, you might find your eye drifting over to your shelf of unread fiction. Mine sure is. It seems like a wonderful antidote to the negativism of a very negative campaign--to be lost in someone else's fictional world for awhile, to get some emotional distance from the events of the past weeks, to be reminded that our petty human minds can, at times, create something wonderful and great.

That's why I'm digging in. Here are the first five unread novels on my shelf--

The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt

The Human Stain, by Philip Roth

Giles Goat-Boy, by John Barth

Lincoln, by Gore Vidal

The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammett

So what are yours? And which of mine should I read first?

Comments

[Paul.Noonan]

The System of the World - Neal Stephenson
The Deptford Trilogy - Robertson Davies
Song of Susannah - Stephen King
Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon

Roth and Vidal are too political for election recovery reading. I'm not familiar with Barth but it sounds interesting. I'd go with The Thin Man, although you might just rent the movie (which is of coure quite excellent) and start with Tartt.

[Evan]

Paul: Good suggestions. I liked Stephenson's non-fiction book "In the Beginning Was the Command Line"--great for those of us who really do long to get the command line back on our computers.

Gravity's Rainbow--an all-time favorite. As an undergraduate English major, my Pynchon infatuation took place about a year before my Nietzsche infatuation. In fact, I once presented a paper on Gravity's Rainbow in a graduate-level seminar. I'm sure my classmates thought I was a punk.

There are a number of Pynchon references on this weblog, including this post: "Do You Know This Law Firm?"

[George Wallace]

Evan --

Unless you insist on being a Barth completist, you can safely give "Giles Goat-Boy" a miss. I reread it about a year ago and was dismayed to discover how poorly it has aged. Most of the truly embarrassing aspects of the late 60's are on display, the satire of academia is too in-jokey, the symbolism is laid on with a steam-powered trowel, and there's a troubling streak of misogyny thrown into the mix. It was almost enough to spoil Barth for me altogether. Fortunately, I've since re-read "The Sot-Weed Factor" and his first novel, "The Floating Opera," and my fondness for him has been restored.

Take Paul's advice on the Deptford Trilogy, or anything else by Robertson Davies. He was Canada's great underappreciated gift to late 20th-century literature, funny and all-embracing in his humanity. His final book, "The Cunning Man" is exceptionally good, too.

[ambimb]

Dude, quit reading and start writing.

But if you're going to read, I've heard many people say "Little Friend" is nowhere near as good as "Secret History." I haven't read it, so this is totally hearsay and would be inadmissible in a real court of criticism.

[Rufus]

Next up on reading list is Roth's the Plot Against America. I didn't like the Human Stain, but I highly reccomend American Pastoral and Sabbath's Theater from his more recent books. I also just got a book called How to Dunk a Donut: the Science of Everyday Life, in order to indulge my inner geekness. The best work of fiction I've read in the past year, however, is Jonathan Lethem's the Fortress of Solitude. It just came out in paperback and it's outstanding.

[haikuEsq]

I am greatly enjoying David Maine's first novel -- The Preservationist, a wry look at what it must have been like for Noah and family as they built that ark and dealt with the animals and flood.

[Evan]

haikuEsq: Your description of Maine's novel reminds me of Heller's God Knows.

Lots of good reading advice in these comments . . .

[PaulNoonan]

I may have to move Pynchon up the list. I'm about 500 pages into The System of the World and I've been gradually reading Davies, which is very good but quite dense. I'll probably finish the former in the middle of next week and I was trying to decide what to start next. I've heard that those who like Stephenson's fiction tend to enjoy Pynchon quite a bit too. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Federalist No. 84]

Fiction? For shame.

Check out Evan Thomas, The Man to See: Edward Bennett Williams. Walden or any of Emerson's essays are also a good read (and re-read).

If you must have fiction, Gerry Spence's Half Moon and Empty Stars is a good read, as is The Little Prince, Catch-22 (and it's sequel, Closing Time). I also enjoyed Keep the Aspidistra Flying (protagonist decides whether to continue fighting against a White Picket Fence life) by George Orwell; and Point Counter Point (critique of "intellectuals" and their trappings) by Huxley. I also recommend The Screwtape Letters. Even if you don't believe in God, it's a good primer on our human weaknesses and how people prey on them.

[Evan]

Federalist No. 84: The Screwtape Letters--There's a suggestion I didn't expect to see. As a kid, I read the Chronicles of Narnia, and got to The Screwtape Letters that way. (Both by C.S. Lewis, of course.) I've been through it twice, though not recently.

Thanks for the suggestions. I ordered the Evan Thomas book on Amazon, even though it's not fiction. I'll put it on my non-fiction shelf.

[Federalist No. 84]

I'll put it on my non-fiction shelf.

There's a difference? ;^> Seriously. My favorite fiction books are those that read like non-fiction. I really enjoy a book where the author tells us a story, but in telling us the story, lets us spot themes and truisms. The very best have a brilliant character whom the author uses to wax philosophical.

[Evan]

All mentions of shelves in the post or comments is purely metaphorical. Actually, I have books everywhere--on shelves, on the floor, at the office, in the basement, in huge stacks, under the bed, in my closet, etc. I've pretty much had to quit buying books until I can get caught up. Although, as you might have noticed, I just ordered one. It's a disease!

[Dylan]

My Pet Goat.

[Nic]

My Pet Gloat, by Walter Olson

[sarni]

How about poetry? I don't know your feelings on that - some people find the mere suggestion of rhyme horrifying. Personally, I find that TS Eliot restores my faith in the world and humanity, but it's a case of whatever rocks your boat.

[Evan]

sarni: I'm certainly not anti-poetry. In fact, next to my bed, I've got an anthology called "Contemporary American Poetry." I like to look for that astonishingly unique turn of phrase in which poets specialize. Other than that, though, my attention span is too short for poetry. You've got to really concentrate.

[Helen]

Evan and anyone else who loves to read, here are some of my recent fiction raves:
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
Morality Play, by Barry Unsworth
The Barsetshire Chronicles (6 vols.), by Anthony Trollope, as well as his Palliser series (also 6 vols.)
The Golden Gate: A Novel In Verse is an amazing book by the very talented Vikram Seth. Notwithstanding that it's written all in sonnet form, it's a page turner and a lot of fun, and doesn't exact great feats of concentration from the reader. I also loved his most recent novel, An Equal Music.
And here are some nonfiction recommendations (they all read like fiction):
Confederates In The Attic, by Tony Horwitz
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson
Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer
Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, by Scott Berg

I read The Human Stain and thought it was very good, though it doesn't make it onto my list of favorites. Haven't read Giles Goatboy, but I do concur with George Wallace's recommendation of The Floating Opera, and his post reminds me to put The Sot Weed Factor back on my list.

[Evan]

I'm reading the The Sot-Weed Factor at the moment--it's taking me quite awhile even though I'm finding it very enjoyable. My problem is that I read too many books at once. For example, parents of children in my 15-year old daughter's English class were urged to read the books the kids are reading--One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Catcher in the Rye, The Joys of Motherhood (Buchi Emecheta), etc. So I've had to detour for that, reading some a second time and helping with the required papers. After The Sot-Weed Factor, I'll turn to some of the novels mentioned in this comment thread.

[Kirk Jepsen]

Those of you who have C. S. Lewis on your to-read list: don't forget Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.

[CM]

Some less intellectual, but utterly engrossing, picks from me:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

On my shelf (and all being read at once, depending on what mood I'm in):
The Brethren by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong
Three Junes by Julia Glass
She's Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan

[Richard Bingham]

About once every couple of years, but always after a national election, I read Les Miserables. Why you might ask would anyone re-read a 1450(+/-) page novel so often, particularly after a ridiculously negative, and frustrating (to all sides) campaign? Simply because Les Miserables reminds us that at least since the French Revolution, not a damned thing has changed, particularly the politicians! Not even the characters have changed, only the names, and we can assign them to whomever we chose. So why worry?