824. The Music of Chance

The Music of Chance
Paul Auster
1990
Around 220 pages

I love novels that have such a strange central concept. You can tell one weird idea came to the author, and then they just ran with it.

Jim Nashe is a fireman with a two-year-old daughter and wife who has just left him. After coming into some family money, he decides to travel across the country in a Saab, and the money runs out fast. He meets a young gambler named Jack Pozzi, and they scheme to fleece a couple of millionaire bachelors, Flowers and Stone. Unfortunately, their scam fails so they have to become indentured servants to the two men, who want them build a wall on their grounds that nobody will ever see. 

Paul Auster is an amazing storyteller and a master at absurdist novels. Flowers and Stone were great villains, and the ending was both surprising and satisfying. You continue to impress me Paul!

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1993 starring James Spader and Mandy Patinkin.

UP NEXT: Stone Junction by Jim Dodge

823. The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien
1990
Around 250 pages

We've been in a bit of slump, but Tim O'Brien is here to breathe some life into this blog! Unfortunately, the subject matter is so upsetting that it's still not enjoyable read, but at least it's high quality.

This is a collection of short stories concerning the Vietnam War, from the perspective of a platoon of American soldiers. Many of the characters are auto-biographical, so we have another author dealing with his trauma through writing. Good for them. My favorite story was "The Man I Killed" where O'Brien imagines a life story for the man he killed in My Khe.

We have had a few of these fictionalized war memoirs. I guess they want to protect the identities of their comrades committing war crimes, or maybe the truth is just too extreme to look at directly. It's interesting that this book focuses on PTSD as much as the events of war. We haven't seen too many authors address what life looks like after for the survivors.

Well written and well structured. Definitely a haunting read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

A film adaptation of the book, directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Tom Hardy, is currently in pre-production.

UP NEXT: The Music of Chance by Paul Auster

822. The Midnight Examiner

The Midnight Examiner
William Kotzwinkle
1989

Around 320 pages

As much as I love the name Kotzwinkle, I haven't been too impressed by his work, and I don't think he is worthy of two entries. If it's the first page, and I am already grossed out, I don't feel like the rest of the novel has much promise.

Howard Halliday is the editor of the Midnight Examiner, which is a trashy tabloid (I guess that's redundant). It's an absurd story with absurd characters, set against the grimy backdrop of New York City in the 80s. 

This is very male centric humor, so that aspect completely fell flat for me. It definitely gets off to a slow start, I guess it picks up towards the middle, but by then I was completely uninterested in the characters. Next!

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Kotzwinkle wrote the story for Nightmare on Elm Street 4. 

UP NEXT: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

821. Possession

Possession
A.S. Byatt
1990

Around 510 pages

Here on this blog, we are Team Margaret Drabble all the way, so I wasn't really looking forward to this read. She comes across to me as a duller version of other writers, like Donna Tartt and John Fowles. 510 pages were not necessary for this work.

Literary scholars Roland Michell and Maud Bailey find that the socially antagonistic relationship between Victorian era poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte may have concealed a secret connection as lovers. Michell and Bailey form their own bond as they race to be the first scholars to spill this tea.

A large part of this book is devoted to the poetry that dutifully captures Victorian era melancholia, which I'm sure is pleasing to the romance crowd. This is too sentimental and saturated for my tastes, although I expect Umberto Eco would be impressed.

None of the twists are all that exciting, and I don't find her writing style particularly engaging. Next!

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Written in response to The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Adapted into a 2002 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart.

UP NEXT: The Midnight Examiner by William Kotzwinkle

820. The Buddha of Suburbia

The Buddha of Suburbia
Hanif Kureishi
1990
Around 290 pages

I was intrigued by the title of this work and this is definitely a fresh perspective on a time in England that I am not too familiar with. But some novels you just don't click with. I think in this case, the disconnect came from his style, which was a bit on the rambling side.

The novel is autobiographical and tells the story of Karim, a teenager who, naturally, dreams of getting out of the suburbs. I guess he's tired of being an island of hope in a sea of sameness (points if you get that reference). Through his work with two theater companies, Karim gets to meet people from different backgrounds, including Terry, who is an active Trotskyist and wants him to join up, or his love interest Eleanor, who is upper middle class but pretends to be working class.

So a coming of age novel that I couldn't relate to at all. Not very much happens and the characters were pretty insufferable (see above, re: Eleanor). But I'm glad the List just keeps getting gayer in storytelling, that's always fun.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

David Bowie wrote and performed the soundtrack for the BBC drama and was a huge fan of the novel.

UP NEXT: Possession by A.S. Byatt

819. A Home at the End of the World

A Home at the End of the World
Michael Cunningham
1990
Around 345 pages

Having enjoyed The Hours, I was interested in checking out the rest of Michael Cunningham's work. He reminds me of John Irving, with his talent for creating rich characters who experience really strange turns in life. Although if I had to choose between the two, Irving still comes out on top. 

Bobby and Jonathan become friends and experiment sexually when they are younger. This List is really leading me to believe that every man's adolescence was peppered with homoerotic experiences, whether or not they choose to pursue those encounters in their adult life. My formative years were not nearly that interesting. In any case, Bobby lost his family, so Jonathan's parents take him in, and we get point of view chapters from the boys, Jonathan's mother, and Clare, the woman they both become involved with.

Jonathan's mother points out that every generation thinks the world is going to end, but it never does. These characters really did seem to make decisions based on some unnamed dread, and I enjoyed exploring their complexities. This was also an interesting time in history to examine. I really liked Clare's disappointed retelling of her experience in Woodstock. It was just a music festival after all.

So a really good novel. I felt like the ending was a bit cliche, but still worth a read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

An excerpt was published in The New Yorker, chosen for Best American Short Stories 1989.

UP NEXT: The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi

818. Like Life

Like Life
Lorrie Moore
1990

Around 200 pages

We are in the 90s, otherwise known as the decade of Amanda! And we usher in the new decade with Lorrie Moore, who I fell in love with after reading Anagrams. Unfortunately, I could only find a free audio version of this short story collection, which is not my preferred method of consumption. 

This collection (ahem, not a novel, ahem) features eight short stories, all written in Moore's trademark humorous and philosophical style. Her characters are clever and goofy, and she definitely thrives in the short story format, as she is capable of coming up with concise and shrewd lines.

I definitely see myself reading all of her work in the future, once the List makes me stop hanging out with Salman Rushdie.

RATING: *****-

Interesting Facts:

In 1980, Moore enrolled in Cornell University's M.F.A. program, where she was taught by Alison Lurie.

UP NEXT: A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham

817. A Disaffection

A Disaffection
James Kelman
1989
Around 340 pages

A stream of consciousness novel written in a Scottish dialect does not make for an easy read. So I struggled through this one, even if I related to Patrick Doyle being a Bitter Betty.

Patrick is an unhappy teacher who is in love with another married teacher, Alison. Patrick discovers he is to be transferred out of his present school which is the result of Patrick asking for a transfer, although Patrick has no memory of doing so. The rest of the novel concerns Patrick's visit to his parents one weekend and then to his brother Gavin's home.

I know a lot of teachers, so the musings about the nature of the profession were amusing. Teachers are always entertaining when they are complaining. But the pacing was slow and as an American it was a bit inaccessible. 

But hey, if you're a Scottish male teacher, this may be your book soulmate.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

UP NEXT: Like Life by Lorrie Moore

816. Sexing the Cherry

Sexing the Cherry
Jeanette Winterson
1989
Around 170 pages

I was interested in this novel based on the title alone, although the cover is even more intriguing than the name. So far, I've been pretty underwhelmed by Jeanette Winterson, but it might be one of those "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" things.

The story follows the journey of a mother, known as The Dog Woman, and her protégé, Jordan. They journey in a space-time flux, across the seas to find exotic fruits such as bananas and pineapples; and across time. The mother is a giant and marked by hideous, flea-ridden smallpox scars but her son is proud of her. Oh, and it includes the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Because we are wacky and postmodern, we also get tiny drawings of fruit throughout the story. I enjoy any novel that incorporates fairy tales, so that was fun. But it was a little too surreal and hallucinogenic for me. Time travel makes me queasy.

The Listmakers love Winterson, so we'll be seeing more of her down the line.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Winterson came out as a lesbian at 16 and left home.

UP NEXT: A Disaffection by James Kelman

815. Moon Palace

Moon Palace
Paul Auster

1989
Around 320 pages

Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London didn't make the cut on this List, which is surprising. Yeah, it's a memoir, but I thought the List loved bending the rules of what makes a "novel" for white Englishmen. Oh well. Anyway, this novel reminded me heavily of that story, as both explore the question: is there artistic merit in living a life of destitution?

Marco Fogg is an orphan and his Uncle Victor his only caretaker. Fogg starts college, and nine months later moves from the dormitory into his own apartment furnished with 1492 books given to him by Uncle Victor. I wish I had an Uncle Victor. Unfortunately, he dies before Fogg finishes college and leaves him without friends and family. Marco inherits some money, becomes an introvert, spends his time reading, and thinks, "Why should I get a job?" Fogg eventually loses his apartment and seeks shelter in Central Park. He meets Kitty Wu and begins a romance with her after he has been rescued from Central Park by Kitty and his college friend Zimmer.

Paul Auster is a beautiful writer, and he does an excellent job making us care about a character that you mostly want to shake. I'm also predisposed to be sympathetic to any character who just wants to read and not pay any of their bills.

This felt like a huge step up from The New York trilogy in terms of breadth and theme. It's fascinating watching an author slowly master his craft.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Moon Palace was a popular Chinese restaurant for students when Auster was studying at Columbia.

UP NEXT: Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

814. London Fields

London Fields
Martin Amis
1989
Around 470 pages

Kingsley Amis briefly reared his ugly head on this List again, but now we are back on our Martin reads. As I have made abundantly clear, I prefer the younger Amis, but this was still a rough read. It felt like a worse version of a John Fowles novel, and I'm not surprised the movie adaptation was a mess.

The story is narrated by Samson Young, an American writer living in London who has had writer's block for 20 years and is now terminally ill. He meets Keith Talent, a small time criminal and aspiring professional darts player, at Heathrow and later encounters Nicola Six who knows that she will be murdered a few minutes after midnight on 5 November 1999 and is searching for her killer.

This is a very meta story, and like most meta stories, it is firmly lodged up in its own ass. None of the characters are likable, and of course Nicola is a strange composite of male fantasies, rather than a real person. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the setting of this one and it's interesting to see Amis' version of 1999.

Skip!

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Film adaptation bombed and Amber Heard was nominated for Worst Actress.

UP NEXT: Moon Palace by Paul Auster

813. Billy Bathgate

Billy Bathgate
E.L. Doctorow
1989
Around 325 pages

I'm not the biggest fan of gangster stories, so this was kind of a snore for me. E.L. Doctorow is kind of a snore in general actually. I think that's the price of including so many real people in his stories. It doesn't exactly hold up as evergreen prose.

Billy Behan is an impoverished fifteen-year-old living in The Bronx with his mother. One afternoon, Billy is present when infamous Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz arrives to inspect a shipment of illegal beer. When Billy demonstrates his skill at juggling, an amused Schultz calls him a "capable boy" and tips him. Billy is later accepted into the gang. Isn't this just The Bronx Tale?

The Bronx Tale actually came out in 1989 as well, so that's a weird coincidence. Women in mob stories don't really have a lot to do, but I still enjoyed Drew Preston, the rich socialite and love interest for Billy, as a character.

Still one more Doctorow to go, sigh.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Runner-up for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize.

UP NEXT: London Fields by Martin Amis

812. Remains of the Day

Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro
1989
Around 260 pages

I would like to be reincarnated as a butler in Oxford who has intense sexual tension with the housekeeper of the estate. I think I would thrive in that environment, especially if I could take a motor tour of England after. I would call this Ishiguro's masterpiece if he didn't have so many other options to choose from.

Stevens is an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington. We learn that Lord Darlington was a Nazi sympathizer; and Stevens is in love with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper at Darlington Hall, Lord Darlington's estate. The novel starts in 1956 after the recent death of Lord Darlington, with Stevens receiving a letter from Miss Kenton, describing her married life. His new employer, a wealthy American named Mr. Farraday, encourages Stevens to borrow his car to take a well-earned vacation—a "motoring trip". Stevens accepts, and sets out for Clevedon, North Somerset, where Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) lives.

Much like Ishiguro, I love England, so I was happy to travel with Stevens as he roams the countryside. If I weren't so terrified of pulling a Matthew Broderick, I would take the same trip. A butler is the perfect encapsulation of the English spirit, and I enjoyed Stevens' contemplation about what exactly he has given up by choosing this life. 

Just a beautiful novel, and definitely a must read.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Won the Booker prize.

Adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1993.

UP NEXT: Billy Bathgate by E.L. Doctorow

811. The Melancholy of Resistance

The Melancholy of Resistance
Laszlo Krasznahorkai
1989

Around 385 pages

The Melancholy of Resistance sounds like it is going to be a very depressing novel about Nazi occupied Hungary. Much to my surprise, it's actually about a circus which boasts a giant stuffed whale. The List always keeps you on your toes!

Word spreads in the small Hungarian village that the circus folk have a sinister purpose in mind. We get a fair amount of memorable characters, including the evil Mrs. Eszter and her weak husband; and of course our hero, Valuska, who is pretty much the only noble person around.

We only have had one previous Hungarian entry on this List, so it's nice to drop by this country. Krasznahorkai creates a very eerie setting and story. I suspect Bulgakov would be proud. But it's still set up as a rather grueling read, with periods of long, unbroken text.

So a good read if you want to pick up something otherworldly.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Krasznahorkai adapted the novel into a screenplay for the 2000 film Werckmeister Harmonies, directed by Béla Tarr.

UP NEXT: Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

810. The Temple of the Familiar

The Temple of the Familiar
Alice Walker
1989
Around 420 pages

I love novelists that create their own multiverse. Walker features the leads of The Color Purple as background characters, which is a nice touch.

This is a more ambitious narrative than her previous work. We get the interwoven stories of Arveyda, a musician in search of his past; Carlotta, his wife who lives in exile; Suwelo, a black professor of American History who realizes that his generation of men have failed women; and Fanny, his ex-wife about to meet her father for the first time.

Walker is a beautiful writer, although I have to admit this leaned more into the stream of consciousness side of things that I tend to dislike. I actually enjoyed her previous work more, which focused on fewer characters and wasn't so scattered. And once again, we get supremely unlikable characters, but that's just her style.

So worth reading but not her masterpiece.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Walker has published 17 novels.

UP NEXT: The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai 

809. The Trick is to Keep Breathing

The Trick is to Keep Breathing
Janice Galloway
1989
Around 240 pages

I was 27 not that long ago (I swear), and yeah, it's a weird time. Actually waiting for an age that's not weird time. So this was more relatable to me than your typical postmodernism work.

Our protagonist is Joy Stone, whose anorexia is so severe that she no longer gets her period. She also has a drinking problem and loves to read women's magazines. Galloway unpacks how women are encouraged to be passive in their life, and the effect this can have on your general well being and mental health.

This story is presented in a rather unconventional way, which fits the narrative about a young woman unraveling. I didn't enjoy it as much as Lorrie Moore, for example, but still a nice story on female psychology, which isn't a subject that gets a lot of attention on this List.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Shortlisted for both the Whitbread First Novel and Scottish First Book awards.

UP NEXT: The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker

808. The History of the Siege of Lisbon

The History of the Siege of Lisbon
Jose Saramago
1989
Around 315 pages

Jose Saramago and I haven't had our true love's kiss yet, but so far we are getting along okay. Hopefully, we reach the next step in our relationship soon.

Raimundo Silva, assigned to correct a book entitled The History of Siege of Lisbon, decides to alter the meaning of a crucial sentence by inserting the word "not" in the text, so that the book now claims that the Crusaders did not come to the aid of the Portuguese in taking Lisbon from the Moors. The second plot is Saramago's recounting of the siege in the style of a historical romance.

We also get a love story between Raimundo and his editorial supervisor Maria Sara. So this is a very meta narrative coming from somebody who clearly adores history. Of course, my knowledge on the siege of Lisbon is non existent, so it was a little hard to get into that part. But it was an interesting commentary on our interpretations of history and how fluid it is.

So worth reading but kind of disappointing compared to our other recent novels.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Reviewing for The New York Times Edmund White wrote: "I found the verbal pierce and parry of the two proofreaders' courtship the most persuasive and vivid aspect of the novel. The rest of the writing can sometimes seem to be nothing but digressions."

UP NEXT: The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway

807. Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquivel
1989
Around 260 pages

I still remember the first time I read this novel. I couldn't put it down, and read it all in one sitting. Actually, I was lying on the floor reading it, for reasons unknown. I guess it was just that good!

The novel is divided into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year, and each chapter comes with a Mexican recipe that correlates to a specific event in Tita's life. Tita de la Garza, our main character, is 15 years old at the beginning of the novel. She lives on a ranch near the border with her controlling mother, Mama Elena, and her older sisters Gertrudis and Rosaura. Pedro Muzquiz is their neighbor, with whom Tita falls in love at first sight. Pedro asks Mama Elena for Tita’s hand in marriage but she forbids it, citing the de la Garza family tradition that the youngest daughter must remain single and take care of her mother until she dies. She suggests that Pedro marry Tita's eldest sister, Rosaura, instead. In order to stay close to Tita, Pedro decides to follow this advice.

I don't think there is any other novel that gets me so excited about food. Due to the magical nature of food in the story, it has literal effects on the people eating based on the emotions of the person preparing it. What a brilliant way to tell an emotional story. 

Esquivel is a beautiful writer, and her use of magical realism would make Murakami and Marquez proud. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going here.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Won the American Booksellers Book of the Year Award for Adult Trade in 1994.

UP NEXT: The History of the Siege of Lisbon by Jose Saramago

806. A Prayer of Owen Meany

A Prayer of Owen Meany
John Irving
1989
Around 640 pages

Usually when we reach the end of a well-known author's works on the List, I do a little ranking. I guess I would put The World According to Garp in bottom place, but I simply cannot pick between this novel and Cider House Rules. They are both too good, dammit.

Owen Meany is a character like no other, although if I had to compare him to a literary character, the obvious choice is Oskar Matzerath. Both characters have dwarfism, and I'm sure the similarities are intentional, as they share the same initials. John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany grow up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960s. Irving always include so many strange twists and turns in his plot that I don't want to give away too much. Suffice to say, things are going to get weird.

I will never forget some of these set pieces. The manger scene, the baseball game, the mannequin...so many moments in this novel are unforgettable. I've tried to recreate my best estimation of what I think Owen Meany's distinctive voice sounds like, but I think I just sound like Voldemort. And I might have scared my partner a little bit when I was practicing.

An absolute masterpiece with a brilliant ending. I'm really going to miss Irving.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The 1998 feature-length film Simon Birch, was loosely based on the novel and starred Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt and Jim Carrey. 

The movie does not share the same title as the book or the character names at Irving's request; he felt that it would "mislead the novel's readers to see a film of that same title which was so different from the book."

UP NEXT: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

805. The Book of Evidence

The Book of Evidence
John Banville
1989
Around 225 pages

Atwood, now Banville, and we have Irving coming up! Somewhere in my youth and childhood, I must have done something good.

Freddie Montgomery is our unreliable narrator who tells his life story, recounting the events leading up to his arrest for the murder of a servant girl in one of Ireland's "big houses." Freddie was an Anglo-Irish scientist who, after living abroad for many years, returns to his family home seeking money. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his mother sold the family's collection of paintings, and Freddie attempts to recover them, leading to the eventual murder of a maid.

I'm not familiar with the crime that inspired this novel, although apparently the real life murderer Malcom Edward MacArthur (why do killers always have three names?) attended an interview with Banville at Trinity College after he was paroled. That must have been awkward. 

I really enjoy Banville's prose, even if I've had enough novels that unpack the psychology of men who commit violence against women for a lifetime. So not my favorite Banville, but still a decent read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Banville released a sequel, Ghosts, in 1989.

UP NEXT: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

804. Cat's Eye

Cat's Eye
Margaret Atwood
1988
Around 420 pages

I love Margaret Atwood, and we certainly earned this read after some of the clunkers on this List. Once again, Atwood astonishes me with her range and emotional intelligence.

Elaine Risley is a painter who goes back to her childhood town Toronto for a retrospective on her art. She had a somewhat unconventional childhood, as her father's entomology work kept them traveling a lot. At the age of eight, she becomes friends with Carol and Grace, although that friendship shifts after the addition of a new girl, Cordelia. Has there ever been a boring character named Cordelia?

I love it when characters reflect on their past, and Elaine is a very relatable protagonist. I'm sure all women have those memories of childhood bullying or weird social dynamics that still affect how you see things today. Atwood did a wonderful job capturing those adolescent insecurities that you carry into adulthood. Also, "the mean girls" in media tend to be very cartoonish, but Atwood created compelling characters in Carol, Grace, and Cordelia.

Not my favorite Atwood because she has so many masterpieces to choose from, but I would still consider this essential reading.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Finalist for the 1988 Governor General's Award and for the 1989 Booker Prize.

UP NEXT: The Book of Evidence by John Banville

803. Foucault's Pendulum

Foucault's Pendulum
Umberto Eco
1988
Around 625 pages

I guess this is known as the thinking man's The Da Vinci Code, as people love to tear Dan Brown down for the sin of achieving mainstream popularity. I'm not saying that all of his works are masterpieces, but Brown is much more fun than Eco. 

Foucault's Pendulum is divided into ten segments represented by the ten Sefiroth. Three Milanese editors cook up "the Plan," a hoax that connects the medieval Knights Templar with other occult groups from ancient to modern times. This produces a map indicating the geographical point from which all the powers of the earth can be controlled — a point located in Paris, France, at Foucault’s Pendulum. Some believe that the title refers to Michel Foucault, because of Eco's friendship with the French philosopher, but the author "specifically rejects any intentional reference to Michel Foucault"—this is regarded as one of his subtle literary jokes. What a crack up. 

Once again, there is an interesting narrative that is buried in Eco's exhaustive prose and historical allusions. Disliking Eco is considered the ultimate intellectual failure, but I'm not sure writing an enjoyable novel is high on his priority list. Instead, he wants to create some scholastic tome that terrifies his audience into submission. 

If you have the patience, there is some juicy occult intrigues in there, but for me the overall reading experience wasn't worth it.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

When asked if he had read The Da Vinci Code, he said, "I was obliged to read it because everybody was asking me about it. My answer is that Dan Brown is one of the characters in my novel Foucault's Pendulum, which is about people who start believing in occult stuff."

UP NEXT: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

802. The Beautiful Room is Empty

The Beautiful Room is Empty
Edmund White
1988
Around 240 pages

I had a professor who was part of the Stonewall riots and he was probably the coolest person I have ever met. What an amazing time to be alive.

Continuing from A Boy Own's Story, we get White's semi-autographical experience as a gay person in the 1950s and 60s. 

I don't have too much to say about this one. White is a talented writer, and really has a way with conveying life experiences through a series of vignettes that is very digestible and real. And the more novels that acknowledge the existence of gay people, the better.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

White cites Jean Genet, Marcel Proust, and André Gide as influences.

UP NEXT: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

801. Wittgenstein's Mistress

Wittgenstein's Mistress
David Markson
1988
Around 250 pages

This is a novel in the style of Samuel Beckett, heavily praised by David Foster Wallace. If you aren't running for cover based on that description, you have poor self-preservation instincts.

Kate is typing away on her typewriter, recording every thought that goes through her mind. It is heavy with allusions, and oh my gosh, does it drag for only being 247 pages. I guess if you are interested in solipsism, this will scratch that itch. I won't judge you if that's the case, you probably don't even exist.

Skippable, and I think I've had enough Wittgenstein on this List.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Rejected 54 times before publication.

UP NEXT: The Beautiful Room is Empty by Edmund White

800. The Satanic Verses

The Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie
1988
Around 550 pages

800! Given the publication of The Satanic Verses has been directly related to many deaths, enjoying it as a novel doesn't really seem to be the point of its inclusion here. For me, his style is too similar to Thomas Pynchon and I just spend the entire time counting down the pages, waiting for it to end.

The Satanic Verses consists of a frame narrative, interwoven with a series of sub-plots that are narrated as dream visions experienced by one of the protagonists. The two protagonists, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha, are both actors of Indian Muslim background. Farishta is a Bollywood superstar known for playing Hindu deities while Chamcha is an emigrant who works as a voiceover artist in England. At the beginning of the novel, both are trapped in a plane hijacked by Sikh separatists, flying from India to Britain. The plane explodes over the English Channel, but the two are magically saved. In a miraculous transformation, Farishta takes on the personality of the archangel Gabriel and Chamcha that of a devil. 

I really don't enjoy extended dream sequences, which unfortunately make up a good deal of the novel. Like many novels that cause panic, its message is largely misunderstood. But I've never enjoyed Rushdie's exhaustive style, so it's a no for me.

 

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Fearing unrest, the Rajiv Gandhi government banned the importation of the book into India.

In 1989, Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini declared a fatwa against Rushdie, resulting in several failed assassination attempts on the author, who was granted police protection by the UK government, and attacks on connected individuals, including the Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi who was stabbed to death in 1991.

UP NEXT: Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson

799. The Swimming Pool Library

The Swimming Pool Library
Alan Hollinghurst
1988
Around 360 pages

Only one more to go before 800! Can you believe it? If I walked away now, I would be able to squeak out a C+ on the List. But of course, I can't walk away now because I'm a psycho.

William is a hot young gay man, although I was initially confused about his gender because he kept referring to his tits. He saves the life of an elderly aristocrat who has a heart-attack in a public lavatory during an orgy, and the man asks him to write his autobiography. 

Is the opportunity for homosexual encounters really so rampant and I'm just oblivious? It seems like you can't walk into a gym locker room or public bathroom without turning down at least three sexual partners. Anyway, this was a decently paced novel, with a very smug narrator. I was interested in watching the relationships develop, and the ending was satisfying. 

Plus there was a ton of gay sex, so what else do you want?

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 1988, Edmund White called it, "surely the best book about gay life yet written by an English author."

UP NEXT: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

798. Oscar and Lucinda

Oscar and Lucinda
Peter Carey
1988
Around 530 pages

I found this novel in a smallish bookshop in upstate New York, where there were angry placards everywhere demanding that you put novels back where you find them. This was lucky, because my library pretends Peter Carey doesn't exist. Which is a shame, because I like him a lot.

Oscar Hopkins becomes an Anglican priest, and Lucinda Leplastrier is a young Australian heiress who buys a glass factory. They meet on the ship over to Australia, and discover that they are both gamblers. Lucinda bets Oscar that he cannot transport a glass church from Sydney to a remote settlement in Wales. 

Prince Rupert's drops are significant to the story. For those that don't know, these are drops of glasses that can withstand the blow of a hammer, but will explode if their tail end is slightly damaged. This is an excellent motif to frame a novel around. Oscar and Lucinda were great characters, even if Oscar was annoying.

A solid narrative, maybe a little too long and melodramatic. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Won the 1988 Booker Prize.

Adapted into a 1997 film.

UP NEXT: The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst

797. Libra

Libra
Don DeLillo
1988
Around 480 pages

I have not been clicking with Don DeLillo so far, but we finally connected, and I may be changing my opinion on him. It's like going out on a date with somebody because you are bored, and then surprisingly having a fun time. Non fiction novels suit the man.

Basically, we get a fictionalized/totally accurate story of the JFK assassination. A group of CIA agents who were unhappy with the Bay of Pigs fiasco orchestrate the killing using Lee Harvey Oswald, who was an easy scapegoat with his Soviet Union ties. 

This isn't a historical mystery that fascinates me. I don't find JFK to be a particularly sympathetic victim, and the cover up is so obvious that there's not much intrigue for me there. Of course, it's different if you were alive then, but by the time I hit the streets, this was old news. That being said, this is a meticulously crafted story and DeLillo paints a compelling portrait of Oswald.

Definitely my favorite DeLillo so far, I'll be interested to see where he goes from here.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Won the first International Fiction Prize sponsored by The Irish Times as well as a nomination for the 1988 National Book Award for Fiction.

UP NEXT: Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

796. The Player of the Games

The Player of the Games
Iain Banks
1988
Around 290 pages

Elon Musk seems to enjoy this novel, which is definitely damning praise. But I love the concept explored in this story, with a society structured around a complex game that determines political and social status. This definitely satisfies my inner (and outer) nerd.

Jernau Morat Gurgeh, a famously skillful player of board games and other similar contests, lives on Chiark Orbital. The Culture's Special Circumstances inquires about his willingness to participate in a long journey but won't explain further unless he agrees to participate. Gurgeh spends the next two years traveling to the Empire of Azad, where a complex game is used to structure society. The game itself reflects the player's own political and philosophical outlook. By the time he arrives, he has grasped the game but is unsure how he will measure up against opponents who have been studying it for their entire lives.

This is a radical shift from The Wasp Factory, and I tend to think that Banks thrives more outside of science fiction. Still, this was a fresh concept and even though we were coming in on the second novel of a series, I felt comfortable in the world that Banks crafted. This is a universe that of course is nowhere near as fun as the Adams-verse, but Asimov would definitely be proud.

This might be our last significant science fiction novel, but of course, I'm wrong all the time and tend to force milestones. Speaking of which, happy 796!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

A film adaptation was planned in the 90s, but ultimately abandoned.

UP NEXT: Libra by Don DeLillo

795. Nervous Conditions

Nervous Conditions
Tsitsi Dangarembga
1988
Around 205 pages

We are on novel number 795, but we are still checking off firsts! This our first novel from Zimbabwe. It's also the first book published by a black woman from Zimbabwe in English. So I'm excited to explore this corner of the world, particularly from a female perspective.

The novel begins with Tambu telling us her brother Nhamo died, and she's not sad about it. The only thing Tambu desires is to attend school, but her family is very poor and does not have enough money to pay her school fees. Tambu’s uncle, Babamukuru, suggests that Tambu take Nhamo's place and attend the missionary school by his house.

I thought this novel started very strong, but didn't necessarily sustain its momentum for its entire run. Still, this is a significant landmark in post colonial and feminist literature, so it's worth reading. And I thought it was skillful that she was able to highlight so many big concepts, with a relatively straightforward and simple story.

I also think the title is brilliant, taken from a Jean-Paul Sartre quote: "The condition of native is a nervous condition."

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In May 2018, the BBC named Nervous Conditions as one of the top 100 books that have shaped the world.

UP NEXT: The Player of Games by Iain Banks

794. The Child in Time

The Child in Time
Ian McEwan
1987
Around 265 pages

Ian McEwan is another author capable of shattering my heart into a million pieces, and for this novel, he writes about the worst thing you can think of. I'm not a parent, but even I understand that the worst thing that is capable of happening to a human being is losing a child. I imagine a lot of people are unable to pick this novel up with such a dark central concept.

Stephen Lewis loses track of his three-year-old daughter Kate at a supermarket. Naturally, he develops a drinking problem and his wife moves away and becomes a recluse. McEwan details the pain of loss, guilt, and grief so well that it's hard to believe he's not speaking from experience.

I can't honestly recommend this novel, as it will definitely make your heart ache, and there are other wonderful McEwan reads where he doesn't twist the knife so brutally. But of course, this is a five star novel. I can't imagine choosing such a disturbing subject to write a novel about. Just thinking about having to be in that headspace...McEwan is a braver man than I.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a BBC television film starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

UP NEXT: Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

793. Cigarettes

Cigarettes
Henry Mathews
1987
Around 305 pages

After so many bangers in a row, we were due for a slump. Thankfully, this is more middle of the road than bad, but it's still a letdown after hanging out with Adams and Drabble. How easily we get spoiled.

Allen is married to Maud but having an affair with Elizabeth, who lives with Maud. We get to see the characters that inhabit New York City’s art and business world in the early 1960s. This was a fresh concept, and executed well.

Not much to complain about here, but not much that drew me in either. I did love the ending, but in general thought the prose was a little too dense and detailed. 

So a decent novel, but Adams is a tough act to follow.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Mathews, among other literary figures, makes an appearance as a party guest in Paul Auster's novel 4321.

UP NEXT: The Child in Time by Ian McEwan

792. The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul

The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul
Douglas Adams
1988
Around 260 pages

Another Douglas Adams to coo over! I love all my Dougy novels, but I actually enjoyed the main mystery of this novel more than its predecessor. And it also contains one of my favorite opening lines in all of literature: "It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the expression 'As pretty as an airport.'" So true, especially for the Pittsburgh airport.

Dirk Gently is back, and once again he is solving the mysteries of the universe. The main mystery concerns Dirk's decapitated client, an explosion at Heathrow, and a mad eagle. Usually, I don't enjoy novels described as "surreal" but this was definitely a surreal, madcap adventure.

Sunday afternoons are a pretty gloomy time, and he captures that despair well. It's a strange talent he has, that he can be so outrageous and philosophically accurate at the same time. Unfortunately, that was the last Adams novel on the List. So what's the point of going on?

Oh yes, John Irving.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adams had intended to follow it with a third such novel, The Salmon of Doubt, but he died before completing it.

UP NEXT: Cigarettes by Harry Mathews

791. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Douglas Adams
1987
Around 310 pages

Douglas Adams is the funniest author I have ever read, so I'm delighted that we get to experience two of his works in a row. He's such a quotable writer, and I have to include some my favorites here:

1. "Gordon Way's astonishment at being suddenly shot dead was nothing compared to his astonishment at what happened next."

2. “He seemed more like a succession of extraordinary events than a person.”

3. "There had been a nasty moment when his life had flashed before his eyes but he had been too preoccupied with falling and had missed all the good bits."

Dirk Gently is the anti Sherlock Holmes. Holmes works by eliminating the impossible theories, while Gently lives in the impossible theories. He also loves pizza, so I really vibe with this guy. The story is very complicated to explain, but like other Adams' stories, the narrative is peppered with quirky set pieces and characters. I particularly enjoyed the sofa permanently stuck in the stairwell, and the Bach reveal. 

Very British and incredibly charming. I wouldn't expect anything less from our Doug. 

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The genesis of the novel was in two Doctor Who serials written by Adams.

This novel caused Adams to become acquainted with the well-known scientist Richard Dawkins.

UP NEXT: The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul by Douglas Adams

790. The Radiant Way

The Radiant Way
Margaret Drabble
1987
Around 400 pages

I was not aware that Margaret Drabble and A.S. Byatt were sisters, what a twist! Apparently they are/were on rough enough terms that they both refuse to read the others' works. These family rivalries are so juicy. Well, I declare myself House Drabble in the literary wars, because I absolutely loved this novel. 

The Radiant Way follows three Cambridge educated women, who are all knowledge professionals. Liz s husband Charles is leaving her for a younger woman. Alix teaches English literature to female prisoners, and forms an uneasy connection with one of the inmates. Esther is...obsessed with her house plant, I guess? She's kind of the weak link in the trio.

This was a very strange novel, with a serial killer lurking in the background who decapitates his victims. And then the main character's last name is Headland? It's all very weird, but it works. All of her characters felt very real. Alix, Charles, and Liz in particular are richly drawn, and so much is communicated by just observing them do completely ordinary things, like vacuuming or fulfilling work obligations. The murders in the backdrop of this story give the novel an edge, and demonstrates just how much horrific violence we ignore on a regular basis, thinking it will never touch us.

This felt like a blend between Margaret Atwood and Iris Murdoch, which is a magical combination. Brilliant from start to finish. A.S., does that kill you?

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Writing in The New Criterion, Donna Rifkind describes the novel as a continuation of "constraining sameness which keeps Drabble as a writer wandering around the same circle, treading the same ground." Ouch.

UP NEXT: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

789. The Afternoon of a Writer

The Afternoon of a Writer
Peter Handke
1987
Around 90 pages

This will be a relatable story to any aspiring artist, as Handke spends 90 pages chronicling the afternoon of a writer crippled by writer's block. 

Handke does very well in this space, with self-sabotaging characters battling some deep internal struggle. And he always keeps it short and sweet, which is appreciated. Anybody who has experienced creative roadblocks should click with this story, and maybe find some inspiration there as well.

Unfortunately, this is the last Handke on the List. He's definitely an author I want to revisit, once I have shuffled off this mortal coil. I mean, ahem, finish the List.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 1973, he won the Georg Büchner Prize, the most important literary prize for German-language literature, but in 1999, as a sign of protest against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Handke returned the prize money to the German Academy for Language and Literature.

UP NEXT: The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble

788. The Passion

The Passion
Jeanette Winterson
1987
Around 160 pages

After a string of bangers, we get something more in the middle of the road. But I'll take it, I know there is much worse in the pipeline.

Henri is a young French man who joins Napoleon's army and becomes Napoleon's personal chef. We delve into the past of Henri, who participated in the French invasion of Russia, and Villanelle, a young woman who helped them with the Russian villagers.

It was interesting how Winterson contrasted the placidity of Henri's culture with the passion of Villanelle's. I don't think the magic realism was very seamless, but everything moved along swiftly enough, and she chose an intriguing historical backdrop for a setting.

Unfortunately, I can't muster up much passion for The Passion.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

On 5 November 2019, BBC News listed The Passion on its list of the 100 'most inspiring' novels.

UP NEXT: The Afternoon of a Writer by Peter Handke

787. The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia
James Ellroy
1987
Around 350 pages

Here's another disturbing read that I really enjoyed. Maybe I am getting creepier in my old age. More likely these authors actually have talent beyond unsettling their audiences, which is more than can be said about some of the other aberrations on the List.

James Ellroy provides a fictionalized solution to the infamous Elizabeth Short murder. If you have gone your entire life without reading about this crime, congratulations! Enjoy that ignorance my friend. The narrator of the novel is Bucky Bleichert, a veteran who is promoted to a detective on the LAPD. He becomes embroiled in the Short case, and naturally, becomes involved with some dames along the way.

Humanity is so sick how we fixate on certain violent crimes (mostly against attractive young white women), then completely ignore other victims (everybody else). This is a fresh take on the noir genre, which by now is more than stale. Hollywood is a well chosen hellscape for Ellroy to take on. Hammett would be proud.

Not an easy novel to stomach, but a good read if you are looking for something well written and morbid.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a 2006 film by Brian De Palma, which flopped. Leave 80s novels alone, De Palma.

UP NEXT: The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

786. The Bonfires of the Vanities

The Bonfires of the Vanities
Tom Wolfe
1987
Around 690 pages

I really did not enjoy The Electric Kool Acid Test, but I loved this. So I'm not totally crazy for continuing to read authors that I hate. Sometimes they can surprise you! 

The story centers on Sherman McCoy, a successful New York City bond trader. While driving through the Bronx with his mistress Maria Ruskin, they perceive two black men to be threatening. Fleeing the scene, they accidentally hit one of the men. The hit and run case is seized upon by many career and fame-hungry participants, including district attorney Abe Weiss and journalist Peter Fallow.

Getting behind the wheel is crazy. One minute you are a normal person doing errands, the next minute you could be a killer. Of course Sherman wasn't doing errands, but Wolfe still did a good job of making Sherman oddly sympathetic. He really did an excellent job capturing exactly how these cause celebres play out on the judicial and media level. It's...disheartening, to say the least. 

I can totally see how this could flop on screen, since so much of the brilliance of this novel is in its subtle commentary, which doesn't always translate to movies well. Great pacing, and one of those novels that doesn't feel nearly as long as it is.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a critically panned movie in 1990.

Ran in 27 installments in Rolling Stone. 

The title is a reference to the historical Bonfire of the Vanities, which happened in 1497 in Florence, Italy, when the city was under the sway of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola, who ordered the burning of objects that church authorities considered sinful, such as cosmetics, mirrors, books, and art.

UP NEXT: The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

785. The New York Trilogy

The New York Trilogy
Paul Auster

1987

Around 310 pages

Welcome to the party pal! I'm excited to reach Paul Auster, who I have been a fan of a long time. Luckily, the Listmakers are Paul Auster fan boys too, so he will be with us for awhile. I think he may be overrepresented on this List, but I would defend the addition of this entry.

The New York Trilogy is, unsurprisingly, a trilogy of novels that were originally published separately, but are now published as one volume. City of Glass features a meta examination of an author of detective fiction who becomes a private investigator. Ghosts is about a private eye called Blue, trained by Brown, who is investigating a man named Black on Orange Street for a client named White. The Locked Room is the story of a writer who lacks the creativity to produce fiction (otherwise known as the Amanda story) so steals from his childhood best friend.

So the second story is pretty gimmicky and makes me want to rewatch The Reservoir Dogs. But I enjoyed the trilogy in general. We have seen many authors on the List insert themselves into the story as a character, but Paul Auster might wield that technique the best. 

Auster is about as experimental as he gets here, but the stories are so quick and digestible that I actually found the style very palatable. Happy to have you here Paulie.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 2016, Edward Einhorn adapted City of Glass as a play Off-Broadway.

UP NEXT: The Bonfires of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe