709. The Name of the Rose

The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco
1980
Around 540 pages

Some bad dates you know are going to terrible as soon as you are seated. But I actually thought I was going to love Umberto Eco when I settled down with this novel. A medieval murder mystery just sounds sexy. But Umberto Eco is the professor you don't want. He is so determined to show off his intellect that there is very little room for anything else. 

This sounds like a story Dan Brown would come up with, although if I said that in front of any Umberto Eco fans I would probably get my teeth knocked out.  In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk, a Benedictine novice traveling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological disputation. The monastery is disturbed by the death of Adelmo of Otranto, an illuminator. A second murder follows the first, and god this sounds way more intriguing than it actually is.

Like I said, Eco writes likes a professor, so the narrative is weighed down by mathematical, historical, theological, and political significance. When you actually peel back the layers, the heart of the story is a compelling mystery with a clever wrap up. And there were sequences in this novel I enjoyed, even if you feel Eco's self satisfaction on every page.

If I weren't so interested in this time period, this would have been an absolute slog to muddle through. I can't imagine Eco being happy with a movie adaptation, because it couldn't possible communicate the breadth of his intellect. And the poor chap needs that.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Sold over 50 million copies.

UP NEXT: City Primeval by Elmore Leonard

708. Smiley's People

Smiley's People
John le Carre
1979
Around 385 pages

This is our last John le Carre on the List! While I won't wax poetic about his time with us like I do for some of our more frequent contributors, I did look forward to all his entries. And I'm not sure there are any more spy novels left. So it's rough to see him go, but at least we are leaving on a high note.

One thing I won't miss is writing summaries for spy novels. Basically, our old friend George Smiley is called out of retirement, because nobody is allowed to retire in this biz. You'd think they would know that by now. One of his former assets, an émigré general, is found murdered. In the course of his investigation, he discovers a clandestine operation run by his nemesis, Karla.

Le Carre isn't doing anything really new here, but it's a solid entry in the adventures of Smiley. I find his writing to be a little austere for my tastes. But he always nails the dismount, which isn't easy in a novel like this with so many loose ends to tie up.

Brace yourself laddies. Eco is on his way.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Gary Oldman has hinted that a film adaptation might be in the works.

UP NEXT: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

707. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Milan Kundera
1979
Around 320 pages

How can you dislike a novel with that title? The best Kundera is still to come, but this is a pretty good layover.

The novel contains seven different narratives, that are connected by the themes of laughter and forgetting (that English degree was not wasted on me!). It's been awhile since we have been treated to any magic realism, so I was happy to see it deftly handled by Kundera here. Personally, I was most invested in Tamina's story. The only one I didn't enjoy was the orgy chapter, because I didn't get the reference, if there was one. Maybe it was just an orgy scene.

Kundera is an odd duck, but I like him. And he earns a star for the title alone.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship in 2019.

UP NEXT: Smiley's People by John Le Carre

706. Shikasta

Shikasta
Doris Lessing
1979
Around 365 pages

Oof. The next sci fi novel after The Hitchhiker's Guide was bound to hit the ear wrong. I know it's an unfair comparison, but this seems like something Isaac Asimov would write. I thought we all agreed we needed more fun in the genre. Okay, I guess that was just me, but still.

Shikasta is the first in a five novel series. Canopus is a galactic empire that colonizes a young planet they name Rohanda. They nurture its humanoids and accelerate their evolution. When the Natives are ready, Canopus imposes a "Lock" on Rohanda that links it via "astral currents" to the harmony and strength of the Canopean Empire. Two other empires also establish a presence on the planet: Canopus' ally, Sirius  and their mutual enemy, Puttiora. The Sirians confine their activities largely to genetic experiments on the southern continents, while Puttiora remains dormant, waiting for opportunities to strike.

So this is just kind of a snore to get through, although considering it is the first entry of a series, the action might pick up down the line. I'm always disappointed by Lessing's prose, which struggles with pacing. In Lessing's defense, Douglas Adams is a tough act to follow on this List.

Another skippable entry. Damn, we were doing so well for a while there.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Shikasta comes from the Persian word, meaning "broken."

UP NEXT: The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera

705. A Bend in the River

A Bend in the River
V.S. Naipaul
1979

Around 280 pages

There's something about Naipaul that I find dreadfully dull. I try to hang in there through his plodding stories, but I always find myself just wanting it to end. V.S. Naipaul, J.G. Farrell, A.S. Byatt...we are not having much with luck with the two-initial authors.

Salim is a merchant trading in an unnamed African country that has recently achieved their independence. Feeling insecure about his future, he buys a business from Nazruddin in a town at "a bend in the river." When he moves there he finds the town destroyed by the locals, in a show of anti imperialism. Salim remains uneasy even as he gradually becomes essential to the town.

This reminded me heavily of Joseph Conrad, and I wasn't the biggest fan of his writing style either. Neither are offensive authors, but they aren't particularly compelling either. I had a hard time getting a read on Salim as a character, and I wasn't that invested in how he fit in, like I was in Christ Stopped at Eboli.

Skippable.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

In 2001, without specifically referring to this novel, the Nobel Literature Prize Committee indicated that it viewed Naipaul as Conrad's heir as the annalist of the destinies of empires in the moral sense: what they do to human beings.

UP NEXT: Shikasta by Doris Lessing

704. Burger's Daughter

Burger's Daughter
Nadine Gordimer
1979

Around 360 pages

Any novel that gets banned is worth reading, because there's something in there that the Powers That Be didn't want you to think or feel. So if a banned book is enjoyable, that's just a happy bonus. 

Burger's Daughter tells the story of a group of white anti-apartheid activists looking to overthrow the South African government. Set in the mid-1970s, the main narrative concerns Rosa Burger as she comes to terms with her father Lionel Burger's legacy as an activist in the South African Communist Party. The point of view shifts between Rosa's internal monologue (often directed towards her father or her lover Conrad), and the omniscient narrator.

This is a dense and difficult novel, and because it is so rooted in real life, it does not have a neat ending. Still it is worth the read, especially if you are American like me and didn't learn about apartheid in school. It's upsetting, but why wouldn't it be?

I'm still holding on to the hope that we can have a novel from Africa that isn't a depiction of deep suffering. But in the meantime, the authors have been good at their craft.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

While Burger's Daughter was still banned in South Africa, a copy was smuggled into Nelson Mandela's prison cell, and later a message was sent out saying that he had "thought well of it." Gordimer said, "That means more to me than any other opinion it could have gained."

UP NEXT: A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul

703. The Safety Net

The Safety Net
Heinrich Boll
1979
Around 315 pages

Once again, we are saying goodbye to an author who has been with us for awhile, although I am certainly more ambivalent about bidding Boll adieu than I was with Murdoch or Calvino. Here's my official Boll ranking, for your records.

1. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
2. Billiards at Half Past Nine
3. The Safety Net
4. Group Portrait with a Lady

So we are not exactly leaving on a high, but this was still a decent entry. I think I am getting spoiled from the last few entries on this List. Fritz Tolm is an aging former art historian, now newspaper publisher, who is elected as head of the Association, which is a secretive power center in West Germany. Boll never feels comfortable in one point of view too long, and it can have the effect of making his novels too decentralized. 

I have a feeling Boll's life was way more exciting than his stories. But we are still parting on good terms with The Safety Net.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

In 1977, after the abduction of Hanns Martin Schleyer, 40 police searched Böll's house based on an anonymous tip they received that named Böll's son as an accomplice to the kidnappers. These claims turned out to be unfounded. The Christian Democrats placed Böll on a blacklist after this incident.

UP NEXT: Burger's Daughter by Nadine Gordimer

702. If On a Winter's Night a Traveler

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler
Italo Calvino
1979
Around 260 pages

Continuing our run of impressive novels, we reach our farewell to Calvino. The List is killing off more likable characters lately than Joss Whedon. Here's my official Calvino ranking:

1. Invisible Cities

2. If On a Winter's Night a Traveler

3. Our Ancestors

4. The Castles of Crossed Destinies

5. Path to the Nest of Spiders

As you can see, this one was only slightly edged out of being on top due to the awesomeness that is Invisible Cities. But I have to give Calvino credit here, he wrote a story in second person that didn't make me want to throw it across the room. I'm not sure that has ever happened before.

The main character in the first part of each chapter is the reader. I always knew I would be a star! The story begins with us reading a book, only to realize that all of the pages are out of order. We then go to a bookstore to get a new copy. At the bookstore, we meet a beautiful girl, Ludmilla, who shares our love of books. We develop a relationship while on the quest for the rest of Calvino's book.

So that's the frame narrative, and then we also get the first chapters of ten different novels. If a different author took on this premise, it might have been a post modernist mess, but thanks to Calvino's steady hand, it works. And I always love books that examine the acts of reading and writing. 

A fitting farewell to one of the most creative writers on the List. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The 2021 video game If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers was named after the book.

UP NEXT: The Safety Net by Heinrich Boll

701. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
1979

Around 220 pages

I actually dressed up like Arthur Dent in high school on Halloween. I strutted down the hallway wearing my bathrobe and holding my towel, just waiting for the prom invitations to start pouring in. This will always be one of my favorite novels, and remains the funniest book I've ever had the pleasure to read.

Broadly speaking, the story follows the adventures of Arthur Dent, who is the last surviving man after the Earth is destroyed by Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Dent was rescued by Ford Prefect, an alien writer for the electronic travel guide The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

Adams is a hilarious writer, and I just have to put some of my favorite quotes here, although it's hard to narrow it down:

• "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
• “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.”
• “If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.”
• “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”

All of his humor is peppered with wisdom as well, so it really does feel like a guide to navigating the galaxy. Marvin the Paranoid Android the best literary invention of all time. There are just so many elements to love in this story: the dolphins, the Vogons' poetry, Zaphod Beeblebrox, to name a few. This really shook up the scifi genre, which was a rather dreary affair before this.

Truly an essential read, it makes the weight of the world just a little bit lighter.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Eoin Colfer continued the series with a sixth novel. This book, entitled And Another Thing..., was published in October 2009, on the 30th anniversary of the publication of the original novel. Why can't they leave well enough alone?

When Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster was launched into space on the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018, it had the words DON'T PANIC on the dashboard display and carried amongst other items a copy of the novel and a towel.

UP NEXT: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

700. The Cement Garden

The Cement Garden
Ian McEwan
1978

Around 140 pages

700! Now we are officially entering the home stretch, and rounding off with some of my favorite novels of all time. This is the era of John Irving, Ian McEwan, and Douglas Adams. What a time to be alive!

Four children want to keep their mother's recent death a secret, as they have already lost their father and don't want to end up in foster care. They encase her body in concrete in the basement and attempt to live on their own. This involves the older two siblings, Jack and Julie, filling in as mother and father, if you catch my drift.

Ian McEwan is a favorite author of mine. I wouldn't call this his masterpiece, but all of his novels are brilliant and built on a fascinating premise. This is a disturbing read that I'm sure would make King and Poe proud. 

Some of the authors of our "shocking" reads are so eager to unsettle us, that you can practically sense the desperation, but I never get that feeling with McEwan. There is something about his prose that is very calm, even when he is dwelling on distasteful.

Happy to have you on the roster Ian!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1993.

Several critics suggested that the plot bore a close resemblance to Julian Gloag's Our Mother's House. McEwan denied having read that work and no formal charges of plagiarism were filed.

UP NEXT: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

699. Yes

Yes
Thomas Bernhard
1978

Around 140 pages

Only one more novel until we reach 700! I'm also pumped to finish up the 70s. It's been a weird decade.

The opening sentence of Yes is 477 words long, which is certainly less memorable than "Call me Ishmael." Our narrator is a scientist working on antibodies. He meets a Persian woman at an office in rural Austria. His long talks with the woman give him meaning, but they both still want to kill themselves because it's a Bernhard novel.

Well, this certainly wouldn't be my book of choice if I was trying to read myself off the ledge. I guess there's a slight controversy if Bernhard chose doctor assisted suicide, or died by heart attack. I wouldn't be surprised if he had died by suicide, with the way he writes about it here. 

We still have a few Bernhards on the List, so he will have even more time to bum us out.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Often criticized in Austria as a Nestbeschmutzer (one who dirties his own nest) for his critical views, Bernhard was highly acclaimed in other countries.

UP NEXT: The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

698. The Virgin in the Garden

The Virgin in the Garden
A.S. Byatt

1978

Around 430 pages

Iris Murdoch was her mentor, so A.S. Byatt already had a heavy advantage coming into this List. Unfortunately, I found this to be bloated and difficult to get through, but I know Byatt has better novels down the pipeline.

In Yorkshire, the Potters (the non magical ones, sadly) are preparing to celebrate Elizabeth II’s coronation. Stephanie is tired of their overbearing father and resolves to marry the local curate. Marcus gains a crazy new teacher and suffers increasingly disturbing visions. And Frederica has a love affair with a young playwright.

I had to look up where Byatt went to school, because I just knew it had to be Oxford or Cambridge. Turns out, it was both, which I didn't think was legal in England. She writes exactly as a university student would. While I appreciate allusions as much as the next nerd, it does feel like she is trying to impress her professors. I would want to impress Iris Murdoch too, so I get it.

We were almost getting into Umberto Eco territory with how much work that was to read. Looking forward to better Byatt to come!

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

In a 1998 interview with Philip Hensher, published in The Paris Review in 2001, Byatt commented on a piece which John Sutherland had written in The Bookseller claiming that The Virgin in the Garden was "completely unreadable, and that he and a colleague of his and mine at University College had a bet about whether any of them could finish it and none of them could! He actually published that. So I'm always deeply surprised when anyone says anybody is reading it."

UP NEXT: Yes by Thomas Bernhard

697. The World According to Garp

The World According to Garp
John Irving
1978

Around 610 pages

I don't think John Irving does himself any favors with his titles. To me, The World According to Garp sounds like a Disney Channel series. Despite this, he is one of my favorite authors of all time and I am quite happy to welcome him to the List family.

The novel follows the life of T.S. Garp. He was conceived by his mother Jenny raping a braindead Technical Sergeant. Jenny raises T.S.  alone, and becomes a feminist icon after the publication of her autobiography. Garp, as you can imagine, doesn't have the healthiest relationships, but he is devoted to his kids. 

The characters in Irving's novels are so rich and nuanced, and, surprisingly for the 1970s, that extends to the transgender character, Roberta, who is the most emotionally stable person of the bunch. His character work is comprehensive without sacrificing pacing or action.

Tragic and funny, which is about as true to life as you get. 

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

In 1981, Time magazine quoted the novelist's mother as saying "There are parts of Garp that are too explicit for me."

UP NEXT: The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt

696. Life: A User's Manual

Life: A User's Manual
Georges Perec
1978
Around 580 pages

Wow, we are saying good-bye to quite a few familiar faces on this List. Is anybody else feeling the season finale vibe? We are close to the big 700 after all. Anyway, unlike with Iris Murdoch, this won't be a tearful farewell. Maybe just a quick handshake and pat on the back.

I've been curious about this book for awhile, based on its title alone. But my library has long denied the existence of Perec, so I never had luck tracking it down. I wasn't too excited about it once I realized it was penned by Georges Perec, who always seemed more interested in adhering to pre existing literary constraints than telling a compelling story. This turned out to be the best Perec work yet, so I'm glad we can part on graceful terms.

Our main character is Bartlebooth, which I guess is an allusion to a Herman Melville story (never read that one) and a Valery Larbaud novel (who?). He is obsessed with creating watercolor paintings of landscapes, then having the works turned into jigsaw puzzles to solve. Now, this is a life's mission I can support. I would dedicate my life to jigsaw puzzles as well, if my cats weren't constantly destroying them. Anyway, he then wants to dissolve the solution in a detergent so there will be no trace of his work left behind. Kafka should have thought of that.

Perec always treats novels like they are scrapbooks, and there is plenty of that here. There's also a 70 page index, grids, and probably hundreds of other easter eggs that scholars can geek out about in their theses. I more enjoyed the story despite of, rather than because of, these devices. I liked the Twilight Zone ending and Bartlebooth as a character, even if I still don't get the reference.

This one outstrips the others by a good half mile.

1. Life: A User's Manual

2. A Void

3. A Man Asleep

4. W, or the Memory of Childhood

5. Things: A Story of the Sixties

So farewell Perec. Glad he didn't live in the time of A.I., which could easily follow all these rules he slavishly devoted himself to.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Considered Perec's most famous novel.

UP NEXT: The World According to Garp by John Irving

695. The Sea, The Sea

The Sea, The Sea
Iris Murdoch
1978

Around 500 pages

I absolutely adore Iris Murdoch, and when I have served my sentence for this List, my next goal will be to read everything in her oeuvre. Unfortunately, there is a lot of Thomas Pynchon to go before that happy day arrives. Sadly, this is her last entry on the List, but at least she is leaving us with a masterpiece of a novel.

Charles Arrowby is an accomplished playwright and director, settling down to write his memoirs. He decides to live in a house by the sea while he writes, and encounters his old childhood love, Mary Hartley Fitch. Charles becomes obsessed with her, even though she hasn't aged particularly well and she is married.

Unreliable narrators are disastrous if handled incorrectly. I was in awe of the way Nabokov handled point of view in Lolita. Somehow, with Nabokov at the helm, it was bearable to remain in Humbert Humbert's head for longer than eight minutes before having to stop the ride. And Murdoch does the same thing here. Our narrator has a very different read on his own behavior from everybody else in the story, and the reader understands that despite Charles' self-justifying commentary. Characteristically, the story is also peppered with literary and historical allusions, and brilliant descriptions about the environment. 

This ranking is a tough one for sure:

1. The Sea, The Sea

2. The Black Prince
3. The Bell

4. Under the Net

5. A Severed Head

6. The Nice and the Good

Thank you for your existence Iris. Please don't leave me here alone. 

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

According to Xenophon's Anabasis, "The Sea! The Sea!" (Thalatta! Thalatta!) was the shout of exultation given by the roaming 10,000 Greeks when, in 401 BC, they caught sight of the Black Sea from Mount Theches in Trebizond and realized they were saved from death.

Won the Booker Prize, obviously. Have you seen the other entries lately?

UP NEXT: Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec

694. The Singapore Grip

The Singapore Grip
J.G. Farrell

1978

Around 560 pages

I keep thinking I will like J.G. Farrell. Given the context of his novels, he had the opportunity to be the English Tolstoy. Maybe if he hadn't died so young, he would have been, but I've never been fully satisfied with the works we've had.

Farrell once said to George Brock, "the really interesting thing that's happened during my lifetime has been the decline of the British Empire." And he really explores that here, with the Blackett family. Walter Blackett, the British head of Singapore's oldest firm, is trying to squash the constant strikes from the natives, while remaining blind to the political and class changes around him.

His juggling of real life events with his characters was skillful, but I never seem to care very much about his characters, who are meant to represent the short-sightedness of the British colonists. So I get why they are written that way, but it's a pretty obnoxious group.

I've been waiting for Farrell to have a big drop the mic moment in vain for a while now, but it never happened. I see his appeal if you want to explore historical conflicts that don't get much coverage in a fresh way, but it never feels like the execution is there.

Only six more to go until the big 700!

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a television series in 2020.

UP NEXT: The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

693. The Passion of New Eve

The Passion of the New Eve
Angela Carter
1977
Around 190 pages

The List is getting hornier as we get closer to the 80s. Unfortunately, the List is so pervy that any "sexy" read is typically peppered with pedophilia, necrophilia, racism, and incest. 

The novel is set in dystopian New York, where militant groups take over universities and Rodents of Unusual Sizes have taken over the city. Evelyn is a male English professor left destitute, who develops an intensely sexual relationship with Leilah. Eventually, Evelyn is um brutally transformed into Eve. I like it better in Orlando when the character just wakes up a woman. 

It's weird that this comes right after Delta of Venus, as both are very sexually explicit novels written by women who manage to elevate their smut with artful prose. I suppose it's a personal matter which book is more upsetting to read, for me it was this one.

Her prose is worthy of praise, but there are definitely some scenes I wish I could get out of my head. Can we take a break from porn soon?

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Inspired in part by the Greek myth Tiresias, who was turned into a woman as a punishment from the goddess Hera.

UP NEXT: The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell

692. Delta of Venus

Delta of Venus
Anais Nin
1977
Around 250 pages

We've had some wild justifications on this List from people who have written erotica. But Anais Nin might top them all. Delta of Venus was a collection of short stories written for a private client known simply as "Collector". The "Collector" commissioned Nin, along with other well-known writers (including Henry Miller), to produce erotic fiction for his...erm...private use. His identity has since been revealed as Roy M. Johnson, a rich American businessman who had discovered the Healdton Oil Pool. There are definitely worse ways to spend your money.

Erotica is willing to go places other genres won't, so I don't dismiss it completely. That being said, I certainly don't enjoy reading the more disgusting entries on this List. This collection had its share of upsetting content, but hey, Mr. Johnson wouldn't have been satisfied with anything else. 

 

Nin could have phoned this one in for her wealthy patron, but she's so talented that she can't help but add literary flourish to some very graphic descriptions. I am definitely interested to read more of her work that wasn't written for a rich lecher.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1994.

She jokingly referred to herself as "the madam of this snobbish literary house of prostitution, from which vulgarity was excluded."

UP NEXT: The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter

691. The Shining

The Shining
Stephen King
1977

Around 450 pages

A horror novel! A rare treat on this List. I guess so much of the List is steeped in horror that the List thinks this area is well-covered already. If we were going to limit ourselves to one Stephen King entry, I would not have chosen this novel (that honor goes to my girl Misery), but this is still a fun read.

Jack Torrance is a struggling writer and alcoholic who accepts the position as the off-season caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. He brings his wife Wendy and his son Danny, who, unbeknownst to his parents, has psychic powers. Danny sees ghosts at the hotel, and forms a bond with the chef Dick, who has the same powers as Danny. Jack unravels to an epic degree. The movie was so well cast, that's it difficult to not to picture Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, even if the story is different.

I know Stephen King was unhappy with the adaptation, but I do think Stanley Kubrick improved upon the story in a lot of ways (the topiary animal scene was a little much). The novel places more of an emphasis on the evil of the hotel, rather than Jack being an axe-wielding lunatic, so it wasn't as frightening to me. And I do always find myself wishing King could just tie things up a little quicker, a lot of his novels feel bloated.

I always love it when Stephen King writes about the process of writing.  A compelling, if not genuinely scary, iconic horror classic. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

After writing Carrie and 'Salem's Lot, which are both set in small towns in King's native Maine, King was looking for a change of pace for his next book: "I wanted to spend a year away from Maine so that my next novel would have a different sort of background".

King opened an atlas of the United States on his kitchen table and randomly pointed to a location, which turned out to be Boulder, Colorado.

UP NEXT: Delta of Venus by Anais Nin

690. Dispatches

Dispatches
Michael Herr
1977
Around 260 pages

I had actually read this before, when I was earning my English Non Fiction Writing degree. But it's a good read so I'm welcoming it warmly to the syllabus. 

Dispatches describes the author's experience in Vietnam as a war correspondent for Esquire magazine. We get cameos from other famous journalists, but Herr also embroidered the story with fictional and composite characters. Sounds like real journalism to me!

Herr returned to the United States intending to produce a book about what he’d seen there immediately, but 18 months after his return, he suffered a nervous breakdown due to what he saw and stopped writing for five years, until it was ultimately published in 1977. That must have been a hellish five years for him, when he was probably desperate to inform the American public about what was going on, while simultaneous being paralyzed by PTSD. 

We haven't had too many novels about the Vietnam War, although a traumatized 'Nam veteran has showed up now and again. But this is exactly how I would want the topic handled, with a voice that is never preachy or overtly sentimental.

Herr said: "Everything in Dispatches happened for me, even if it didn't necessarily happen to me."

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Featured in the book are fellow war correspondents Sean Flynn, Dana Stone, and Dale Dye, and photojournalist Tim Page.

UP NEXT: The Shining by Stephen King

689. Petals of Blood

Petals of Blood

Ngugi wa Thiong'o
1977
Around 435 pages

I like to think by the end of this List we will have spent time in every corner of the globe, even if we spend more time in some countries than others. 

The story follows four main characters: Munira, a teacher who is having trouble getting the community to trust him; Karega, a teaching assistant who becomes enamored with socialism; Wanja, the woman in the story who naturally has to be the victim of sexual violence; and Abdulla, a shopkeeper who lost his leg in the Mau rebellion. 

The author is heavy-handed in his politics, and I wish men would stop writing about women being raped. Of course, I don't like it when women do either, but it feels less gratuitous. It's a messy story, with flashbacks and an omniscient narrator that doesn't fully succeed at fleshing out any of his characters.

My List time in Africa is never very fun. It would be great to read a real celebration of the people there that isn't steeped in oppression and misery. I'm not sure if those stories even exist, or if Western culture just ignores them. Probably the latter.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

The title Petals of Blood is derived from a line of Derek Walcott's poem 'The Swamp."

John Updike suggested that Ngugi's desire to permeate the plot with political ideas detracts from his writing.

UP NEXT: Dispatches by Michael Herr

688. Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon
Toni Morrison
1977
Around 340 pages

I go back and forth with Toni Morrison. Often she is brilliant, but we do reach a threshold on misery at a certain point when it almost seems like satire. This novel is closer to the latter category, and once again makes breast milk disturbing.

Our main character, Macon Dead III, earns the nickname Milkman, because he is still breastfeeding into an uncomfortable age. His aunt Pilate is a big figure in his life, along with his cousin Hagar, who he forms a sexual relationship with. Pilate and Macon find bags of gold in a cave, but don't take them due to fear. Still, Macon is motivated by the desire to obtain the gold he missed out on.

Okay, that wasn't the best summary, but Morrison's novels are always so action-packed with weird events that it's hard to give a spoiler-free overview. This definitely falls in the middle for me, with Bluest Eye and Beloved standing out much more than this novel. Pilate is a highly memorable character, and this novel is packed with metaphors to write essays about in English class.  

So I don't think she tanked her third entry on the List, but I don't think she did anything particularly new here either.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The novel has faced several challenges and bans in schools throughout the U.S. since 1993.

In 2010, the novel was challenged and later reinstated at Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.

UP NEXT: Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

687. The Hour of the Star

The Hour of Star
Clarice Lispector
1977
Around 100 pages

Last time, Lispector told us a story about a woman who freaks out after seeing a cockroach. As somebody who recently moved to an apartment that hadn't been cleaned this century, this definitely hits different. It might actually be the map of my future. So I had a better time with this entry, which didn't so vividly remind me of my own life.

Our narrator Rodrigo addresses the reader directly (which is a rather old-fashioned approach that I love), and discusses the process of writing a story. The story he tells is about Macabea, an impoverished 19-year-old, living in Rio. She lives a pretty rough life, which is made worse when her boyfriend leaves her for her coworker.

So this was a fresh take on a fairly simple story, with a neat little twist at the end. Maybe not the most remarkable work in our canon, but I'll take a short, digestible novel any day. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Published shortly before Lispector's death.

UP NEXT: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

686. In the Heart of the Country

In the Heart of the Country
J.M. Coetzee
1977
Around 150 pages

Coetzee is a big deal in my community (which consists of me and two cats), as he accounts for about one percent of this list. Yeah, take a moment to digest that juicy tidbit. But this was a rough, intentionally disturbing read.

Magda is the white daughter of a widowed farmer in the Western Cape. She fantasizes about killing her father, and she feels extremely trapped in her situation. There is a violent rape scene that I definitely could have lived without, and definitely spoiled the entire experience for me, even if I got where Coetzee was going with it.

This is only his second entry, so he has plenty of time to impress us yet (I guess I should say impress me, my cats are never impressed). 

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Coetzee has explained that the numbered paragraphs should act like film scenes.

UP NEXT: The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

685. The Left Handed Woman

The Left Handed Woman
Peter Handke
1976
Around 90 pages

It has been a rough few entries, so I'm pleased that Handke is here to get us back on track. And I appreciate that he always keeps it short and bittersweet.

A woman's marriage is at the end, leaving her alone with her eight-year-old son. Which I guess isn't truly alone, but would still be lonely. Anyway, there is heavy emphasis on just how alone this woman is. I liked his subtlety here. In the end it is always a good thing to be out of an unhappy marriage, but Handke didn't go overboard celebrating her independence in a light-hearted way, because she's not a light-hearted character.

I also think the Left-Handed Woman is a brilliant title. It really captures the character well, who is just a little bit out of step with the world. And he left me wanting more, which is what you always want from a novel.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Handke directed the film adaptation.

UP NEXT: In the Heart of the Country by J.M. Coetzee

684. Ratner's Star

Ratner's Star

Don DeLillo
1976

Around 440 pages

Don DeLillo is going to be with us for a long time, so it's important to start off a good note and make a quality first impression. He didn't, but I'll try to be cordial about it.

Billy Twillig has won the first Nobel Prize ever to be given in mathematics. In the near future, Billy is sent to live with 30 Nobel laureates and asked to decipher transmissions from outer space. Thomas Pynchon is annoying, and writers that try to write like Pynchon are irritating too. And novels that may have inspired David Foster Wallace are the worst of all.

A sprawling stories that isn't tethered to any likable characters or realistic dialogue. That was cordial, right?

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

DeLillo said that the structural model was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

UP NEXT: The Left Handed Woman by Peter Handke

683. The Public Burning

The Public Burning
Robert Coover
1977

Around 545 pages

I had successfully blocked out Pricksongs and Descants from my memory, so I went into this thinking that this was my first Robert Coover. Then I felt a familiar unease with his style, and it all came flooding back to me. 

The novel is focused on the Rosenberg trial, but it's a very messy and experimental retelling. After all, you can't get a more unreliable narrator than Richard Nixon. This will be a tough read for non Americans readers, as it is heavily rooted in American culture and makes many obscure era-specific references. It was a tough read for me as well, for different reasons.

This is a very ugly version of America, which is not entirely inaccurate, but still makes for an unpleasant read. I feel like name dropping to this degree is only enjoyable if you are deeply invested in the era, but I don't share that feeling for the McCarthy era, maybe because I find the entire thing too depressing. 

I should be used to the abrupt changes in format by this point in post-modernism, but dammit I still hate it. It just feels so gimmicky to me, and I think it is much more admirable to sustain a novel in a consistent voice, rather than constantly switching the style from play format, to newspaper headlines, to the ravings of a mad politician. American politics are weird, I get that, but Coover set out to be ten times stranger, and that was hard to get through.

Thankfully, we are done with Coover, and his unfortunately Ulysses-esque tendencies.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Having published the novel, once it became a bestseller, Viking immediately abandoned all support, and withdrew copies without explanation. Coover's editor, Richard Seaver, speculated to Coover that Viking management believed success would attract lawsuits.

UP NEXT: Ratner's Star by Don DeLillo

682. Interview with a Vampire

Interview with a Vampire
Anne Rice
1976
Around 350 pages

I can't fault any piece of art that may have helped bring Buffy the Vampire Slayer into existence. Of course, it's hard to separate the novel from the film adaptation and the creepiness of a child actor being involved in telling this story. And Tom Cruise is scary in any context. But the novel itself is very readable, and is easy to see why it spawned so much material.

We get the life, and in this case un-life, story of Louis, who was sired as a vampire in 1791 by Lestat. Lestat and Louis then became immortal companions, despite Louis's disgust at Lestat's merciless feeding on humans. Lestat does whatever he can to keep Louis with him, including giving them a surrogate vampire daughter, who has to spend eternity as a five-year-old girl. Ick.

It's interesting to see the cultural viewpoint of vampires shift here, demonstrating that these creatures are capable of being the hotties we know and love today. Again, I support anything that helped craft the greatest television show of all time, so I don't mind that this is a little trashy.

Rice manages the horror element well. Claudia's situation is a total nightmare. A fun read, but I didn't feel any desire to continue with the series after this. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Rice wrote the novel while grieving for the loss of her daughter, who died of leukemia. 

Adapted into a television and comic series.

UP NEXT: The Public Burning by Robert Coover

681. Cutter and Bone

Cutter and Bone
Newton Thornburg
1976
Around 320 pages

It is a rare treat on this List to get something as light hearted as a thriller. I guess light-hearted isn't quite the right description for a novel about a Vietnam vet's obsessive murder investigation, but I'm comparing it to all our Auschwitz stories. And most of our authors aren't concerned with being "fast-paced" or "thrilling."

Richard Bone's car breaks down and he sees somebody dispose of something that might be a body. His friend Alex Cutter, a veteran from 'Nam, certainly thinks so, and concocts a conspiracy theory about the murder that involves local tycoon J.J. Cord. 

I feel like this novel was born simply because Thornburg wanted to use the names Cutter and Bone, which are admittedly, awesome. It's pretty standard thriller fare, and reminds me of something Dashiell Hammett would write, with our hero taking on powerful enemies that represent the worst of capitalism. Cutter's war background was an added layer, giving the entire story Rambo vibes.

A fun diversion from some of the clunkier entries on the List.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film by director Ivan Passer as Cutter's Way, which starred John Heard as Cutter and Jeff Bridges as Bone.

UP NEXT: Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice