299. The Professor's House

The Professor's House
Willa Cather
1925
Around 250 pages

There's about one female author for every ten entries on this List. I wish Willa Cather in particular was better represented. Professor's House is a weird choice as well, when she's best known for O, Pioneers! or My Antonia. I guess they were trying to subvert expectations, but excluding works from female authors is about as unsurprising as it gets.

Professor Godfrey St. Peter is a 52 year old man on the brink of a mid life crisis. He has a wife, who is a typical nag obsessed with status. He also has two married daughters. His eldest daughter was originally engaged to Tom Outland, before his untimely death. Tom was a student of Godfrey's, and the family's fond reminisces of him form the centerpiece of the novel.

Every novel, no matter how terrible, poses one question: is life worth living? Godfrey is rather obviously searching for the answer to this question. I actually like stories about men who deal with their crises in more interesting ways than buying a sports car and banging the yoga instructor. 

The most remarkable element of this novel is the structure, which is either seen as masterfully fragmented or jarringly disjointed depending on how cranky you are that day. I'm leaning toward the former. Still, I feel like Cather had better novels to offer. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Willa Cather didn't gain popularity until the 1980s with the rise of the feminist movement. 

Many critics still ignore The Professor's House in her canon, largely due to its structure.

UP NEXT: The Artamonov Business by Maxim Gorky. He's always a barrel of laughs.

298. Billy Budd

Billy Budd
Herman Melville
1924
Around 160 pages

It's a bit unexpected to have another Melville novel pop up after all this time. This was an unfinished work at the time of Melville's death. With the help of his long suffering widow, and the contributions of scholars and biographers, the Billy Budd as we know it today was published.

Which leaves you wondering how much Melville really had to do with this. If Melville had his way, I know this would have been at least 800 pages. Instead, we get a tidy and succinct novella. Very out of character if you ask me. 

In 1797, Billy Budd is shanghaied into service with the Royal Navy. Billy is handsome and has a stutter, which is Hollywood's favorite disability (that way, they can still be hot!). His likability invokes the ire of John Claggart, the ship's masters-at-arms. John falsely accuses Billy of conspiracy to mutiny, and Billy responds brutally. The other officers must deliberate on what to do with Billy.

I can see the appeal of this novella, particularly for those studying law. I just don't like Melville very much, if Melville was even in there that much. I don't like it when authors' estates attempt to finish incomplete works. I'm still mad about what they did to Michael Crichton. But moving on to Melville.

He has a stupid beard, he beat his wife, and he was a talented drone. I'm glad to see the last of him.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into an opera that I never want to hear.

Beau Travail (a 1001 movie!) is loosely based on this novel.

UP NEXT: The Professor's House by Willa Cather. Looking forward to it!

297. The Green Hat

The Green Hat
Michael Arlen
1924
Around 230 pages

I've been tantalizingly close to the 300 milestone for awhile now, and I'd like to seal the deal. The only problem is I'm not really looking forward to these next few entries. Maybe they will surprise me. Magic Mountain surprised me.

The Green Hat was a widely read book when it was first released, but now you would be hard pressed to find anybody who's heard of it. I suppose its popularity largely came from the novel being "provocative" and now we aren't so thirsty. It's a somewhat forgettable tale about Iris Storm, a woman who presents herself as somebody of easy virtue. 

Our narrator is fascinated by Iris Storm in a way that I certainly wasn't. I found him to be a little flowery, occasionally funny, and a tad moralistic. I'm also not a big fan of the Great Gatsby-like style, where everybody is called "darling" and drinking and driving.

Not terrible, but didn't make a big impression. 

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to screen, with Greta Garbo playing Iris.

Catapulted Michael Arlen into celebrity status.

UP NEXT: Billy Budd by Herman Melville. This novella proves Melville can be succinct when he wants to be.