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

784. Beloved

Beloved
Toni Morrison
1987
Around 325 pages

124 was spiteful.

That has to be one of the best opening lines in literature. This is definitely my favorite Toni Morrison novel, and fulfills all the potential promised in her earlier works. We are on a great run of novels lately.

Beloved centers on Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman, and her 18-year-old daughter, Denver, who live at 124 Bluestone Road. The site has been haunted for years by what the family believes is the ghost of Sethe's eldest daughter. Sethe's sons, Howard and Buglar, ran away from home by the age of 13, which she believes was due to the ghost. After Paul D, who was enslaved at the same plantation as Sethe, forces out the spirit, a young woman named Beloved shows up. 

I love that this is essentially a horror novel, seamlessly blending the hell that is American history with the supernatural. I loved experiencing Sethe and Beloved's increasingly twisted relationship, and Morrison, as always, came up with plenty of disturbing reveals that made for a riveting reading experience.

Just flawless, from start to finish.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Made in a 1998 film starring Oprah Winfrey.

UP NEXT: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

783. Of Love and Shadows

Of Love and Shadows
Isabel Allende
1984
Around 305 pages

Isabel Allende always shatters my heart into a million pieces, and looks good doing it, dammit. I can't complain about the quality of this novel, but it was definitely a tough read for me.

Irene is an engaged magazine editor living under Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Francisco is a handsome photographer and comes to Irene looking for a job. Irene and Francisco first meet working together on a magazine article about Evangelina Ranquileo, a strange farmgirl who seems to possess supernatural powers. Their investigation eventually forces Irene, a child of privilege, to acknowledge the atrocities committed by the state.

I guess human beings need to see war crimes up close to care about them. Otherwise we would simply collapse under the weight of all the violence and misery committed daily. Irene was an excellent choice as a vessel for the reader as she unearthed horrifying discoveries. Allende is one brave lady.

In addition to its historical importance, Allende composes a beautiful love story, and we all get to picture Antonio Banderas in the lead role. Yay.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film starring Jennifer Connelly and Banderas.

UP NEXT: Beloved by Toni Morrison

782. The Pigeon

The Pigeon
Patrick Suskind
1987
Around 80 pages

Perfume is a tough act to follow, so naturally this falls a bit short compared his other novel. But this is still a great novel. That's the trouble with being so talented, everybody will always compare your good novels to your great novels.

Jonathan Noel doesn't really want to leave his apartment, which is a very relatable feeling. He has a boring job as a security guard. One day, he discovers a pigeon in his room, and he leaves, hoping the problem resolves itself on its own. Again, relatable.

I like stories that take place in one day, and chronicle ordinary events. Johnathan is a great character who really has no business being a protagonist, and that's always fun. A little too quick to make a huge impression, but an enjoyable story.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a stage play in London in 1993.

UP NEXT: Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende

781. World's End

World's End
T.C. Boyle
1987
Around 460 pages

How do you write a novel that spans nearly 300 hundred years, without feeling like the novel is completely overstuffed and bloated? Gabriel Garcia Marquez knows the answer to that question, but T.C. Boyle does not.

Boyle tells the story of several generations of families in the Hudson Valley. In the 17th century, the Van Brunts, a poor farming family, were subjugated by the wealthy landowning Van Wart clan. Fast forward to the 60s, and history has repeated itself. Walter Van Brunt is under the thrall of the dirt-eating Depeyster Van Wart, an heir to the Van Wart estate, and his hippie daughter, Mardi. Like his ancestor, Jeremias, Walter loses his foot. The part about the loss of his foot was actually my favorite section. Not sure what that says about me.

I know by now that I don't enjoy hallucinogenic prose, and this was just too sprawling for me, with too many unlikable characters. I prefer Garcia Marquez's style when telling stories about characters who eat dirt, thank you.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Winner of the 1988 PEN/Faulkner Award for American Fiction.

UP NEXT: The Pigeon by Patrick Suskind

780. Enigma of Arrival

Enigma of Arrival
V.S. Naipaul
1987
Around 400 pages

I haven't been the biggest fan of V.S. Naipaul, so I wasn't particularly excited to read his fictionalized autobiography. However, since this focused so much on Naipaul's culture shock after leaving Trinidad and Tobago, it managed to be somewhat interesting. Somewhat.

Most of the action of the novel takes place in England, where Naipaul has rented a cottage in the countryside. At first, he sees the area as frozen in time, but as he works on another book, his view of the place starts to shift. Naipaul then reflects upon our perceptions of our surroundings and how much these perceptions are influenced by our own prejudices.

I always find Naipaul's novels long and dry, so if he has good stuff that is buried in there, it's stuck under long drawn out passages and slow pacing. But he did have profound takes on travel and our own nationalist assumptions, so that's something.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Naipaul's landlord is modeled on his real-life landlord Stephen Tennant (1906–1987), a 1920s socialite and a "bright young thing" who is also the model for the Hon.

UP NEXT: World's End by T.C. Boyle

779. Taebaek Mountains

Taebaek Mountains
Jo Jung-Rae
1983
Around 3800 pages

Since the beginning of this project, I've known that this entry was going to be an issue. The only translation of this Korean novel is in French, and those copies are very rare. Like, only exist in one library in Botswana rare. So I knew I could concede defeat like a mentally sound individual, or obsessively track it down, even if it meant going to Botswana. 

Before I booked my ticket, I decided to give the Inter Library Loan system a try. When filling out the request, you were required to input the maximum dollar amount you were willing to spend. So I actually had to ask myself how much value I put on being able to finally complete this project. The answer wasn't high enough, apparently, so they canceled my request. Then I submitted the request again, this time with a $1000 cap. Because after all, it's not like they had my bank information on file, she thought to herself nervously as she went to sleep. I just needed to get the request approved!

Well, turns out they came through, and I didn't have to pay anything! The library receipt told me though I saved $1500 so I guess I will still wrong. My version came through Yale Library, and yes, I was very apprehensive while they were in my possession.

So the other issue was that this was in French. My French is actually okay, having taken French for seven years, so I was lucky in that regard. Still, getting through this was a grueling process. I felt like an old maester, painstaking poring over ancient scrolls far into the night. It's so difficult for me that I would hate reading my favorite book in French, so this story never held a chance of containing an enjoyable reading experience for me. But it did contain some interesting historical information which of course pisses off the Powers That Be.

Slaying this giant was like killing Voldemort. The war is finished, we just have to deal with some Death Eaters now. Then we can all call it a day.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

15700 pages of manuscripts were used.

UP NEXT: Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul

778. Lost Language of Cranes

Lost Language of Cranes
David Leavitt
1986
Around 350 pages

The recent entries have felt very modern; this one referenced Star Trek, for heaven's sake. Just a reminder that we are nearing the terminus of this journey, as we get closer to present day. The end is nigh!

Basically, we get the story of Phillip, who comes out to his parents Rose and Owen. Rose is fairly homophobic, Owen is less so, as he is a closeted homosexual. The "lost language of cranes," refers to an article Phillip's boyfriend's roommate reads about a child who emulates cranes as this was the only thing he would see out of his window from his cot, and his parents weren't around. He was then sent to a psych ward.

I don't really have strong opinions about this novel either way. All of the characters seemed to represent different points of view, without really feeling like human beings. The story told here explores themes very familiar to the LGBTQ community, but outside of that, I didn't really find much to praise about the writing.

I think it wrapped up a little too neatly to be true to real life, but that's novels for you.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted as a TV film in 1991.

UP NEXT: The Taebaek Mountains by Jung-rae Jo

777. Anagrams

Anagrams
Lorrie Moore
1986
Around 230 pages

Well, that snuck up on me. I had never heard of Lorrie Moore, or Anagrams. Isn't it magical how your new favorite book could always be around the corner?

This is a difficult novel to summarize. Moore mixes and matches three characters, Gerard, Benna, and Eleanor, first in a sequence of short scenes, then in a longer narrative. So the main characters function like letters in an anagram. 

This was a genuinely laugh out loud funny novel that contained deep moments of philosophical observation. A story like this might seem gimmicky, but I thought she executed this unique concept brilliantly. Just a delight to read from start to finish, and what a jaw-dropping ending.

I was also surprised by how modern the story felt, we really are getting on in years.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Her first story to appear in The New Yorker, "You're Ugly, Too," was later included in The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike.

UP NEXT: Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt

776. Matigari

Matigari
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
1986
Around 160 pages

Rivers of Blood made me want to scrub my brain clean, but this was more...well, enjoyable isn't really the right word. It feels a little weird that the author made such a point to not write in English, and then I read the English translation. Sorry Ngugi.

The story begins with Matigari burying his weapons under a fig tree after killing imperalist Howard Williams. Matigari resolves to handle conflicts peacefully going forward. However he is appalled by the current state of the country, as he thought that after his fight for freedom his people would have better lives. He then decides to dig up his weapons and fight for his country with violence.

Ngugi is a badass, and I'm unsurprised that he ended up having to flee Kenya. The pacing was good. Muriuki, the boy who lives in a wrecked Mercedes so thinks he is better than the other boys who rummage the scrapyard, is a character that is definitely going to stay with me. 

He nails the ending too. It's heavy handed, but effective.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

He subsequently renounced writing in English, and the name James Ngugi as colonialist. By 1970 he had changed his name to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and began to write in his native Gikuyu.

UP NEXT: Anagrams by Lorrie Moore

775. The Old Devils

The Old Devils
Kingsley Amis
1986

Around 380 pages

I'll be honest, I thought Kingsley Amis was already dead at this point. We already welcomed his son on the List, so um, maybe it's time to step aside? I've always found Amis to be a very bitter man. Although he is still winning prestigious awards at this point, so I take it not everybody agrees. Maybe Martin does.

Alun Weaver, a writer of minor celebrity, returns to Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend of Weaver's old acquaintance Peter Thomas. Alun begins associating with a group of former friends, including Peter. So he spends his days drinking daily in the pub with the men, he cuckolds most of them.

As with his previous work, Amis uses fiction to skewer people he hates in real life, like Dylan Thomas. I always find his comedy ineffective and mean-spirited. I wish Amis would go gently into that good night.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Won the Booker Prize.

UP NEXT: Matigari by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

774. An Artist of the Floating World

An Artist of the Floating World
Kazuo Ishiguro
1986
Around 210 pages

I love Ishiguro, and if I don't give this novel five stars, it's only because he hasn't reached his full potential as a writer yet. Hey, this rating system isn't an exact science.

Artist Masuji Ono creates propaganda for Japan in World War II. Well, things get a little awkward in the aftermath of the war, as Ono is seen as a traitor after the fall of Imperialist Japan, for leading his country astray. As an older man negotiating the marriage of his daughter, he has time to reflect on his past and his choices.

Ishiguro handles the unreliable narrator technique masterfully by subtly letting the reader know Ono's memories and perspective can't be entirely trusted. I've always found Japanese culture fascinating, and I loved the insight into all the post war shifts in values and attitudes. Like Nabokov, Ishiguro has such a unique perspective being a citizen of the world.

Another novel that proves we are all just cogs in the machine, man.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Shortlisted for the 1986 Booker Prize and won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award.

UP NEXT: The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis

773. Extinction

Extinction
Thomas Bernhard
1986
Around 325 pages

Every time we've had a Thomas Bernhard novel on this List, I've thought "oh, there's still another one?" Well, we've finally reached his final entry. Here's my official ranking of this cranky bastard.

1. Concrete

2. Wittgenstein's Nephew

3. Correction

4. Old Masters

5. Yes

6. Extinction

As you can see, this is the bottom of the List, which might be because of Bernhard fatigue. 

Franz-Josef Murau is the intellectual black sheep of a powerful Austrian land-owning family. Murau lives in Rome in self-exile, obsessed and angry with his identity as an Austrian, and resolves never to return to Wolfsegg, the family estate. When he hears of his parents' deaths, he finds himself master of Wolfsegg and must decide its fate.

Man, Bernhard is not happy to be Austrian. And he's made that abundantly clear in all his novels. He's kind of a Negative Nancy in general, so a little of him goes a long way. Of course, I can be a Negative Nancy too, but I don't share the same contempt for art. 

Definitely belongs on Bernhard's B-side.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Bernhard never met his father.

UP NEXT: An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro

772. Marya

Marya
Joyce Carol Oates
1986
Around 320 pages

This a lesser known Joyce Carol Oates work, and it's kind of easy to see why. She's a talented writer, so of course there is still quality here, but it just didn't grab me as anything remarkably original. And since she goes on to write greater works, this doesn't feel like an essential addition to the List.

Marya Knauer suffers the early violent death of her father and abandonment by her mother, leaving her with a permanent sense of dislocation and loss. Marya aspires to be a successful writer and is determined to find the mother who gave her away. 

Oates always dives deeply into the psychology of her characters, making for a very real and intense reading experience. I didn't like Marya, which made the 320 pages drag a little. It's hard to not get frustrated when characters are constantly sabotaging themselves.

Not really an improvement from Them, but you'll enjoy it if you click with Oates' dark style.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Oates writes in longhand, working from "8 till 1 everyday, then again for two or three hours in the evening."

UP NEXT: Extinction by Thomas Bernhard

771. Watchmen

Watchmen
Alan Moore
1986-87

Around 420 pages

And now for something completely different! We have our first and only graphic novel on the List, which is not a medium that I know anything about, and truthfully, don't care about in the slightest. But this was a good pick if we have to represent books with pictures, and is more fun than anything Sebald ever came up with.

New York City detectives are investigating the murder of Edward Blake. With the police being as useless as this genre requires, costumed vigilante Rorschach decides to investigate. Rorschach deduces Blake to have been the true identity of The Comedian, a costumed hero employed by the U.S. government, after finding his costume and signature smiley-face pin badge. Rorschach believes he has discovered a plot to terminate costumed adventurers and sets about warning four of his retired colleagues.

So this felt way too long, but I understand that it is a serialized work, and not meant to be binged. I don't really enjoy superhero works. I hate it when they are quippy and have zero stakes, and I hate when they take themselves really seriously when they are dressing up in silly costumes. This leaned on the more serious side, although we weren't quite in Joker territory thankfully.

I'm not the intended audience, but I'm sure this slaps for people who like comics. The only superhero I'll support is Buffy Summers.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

On Time's List of the 100 Best Novels as one of the best English language novels published since 1923.

Watchmen was one of the two comic books, alongside Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, that inspired designer Vincent Connare when he created the Comic Sans font.

UP NEXT: Marya by Joyce Carol Oates

770. Foe

Foe
J.M. Coetzee
1986
Around 160 pages

I lowkey love it when authors put their own spin on previous List books a la Jean Rhys with Jane Eyre. This time, Coetzee is putting his twist on Robinson Crusoe. It was enjoyable, although I still think he is overrepresented and this one could have been cut.

Susan Barton is on a quest to find her kidnapped daughter who has been taken to the New World. During a mutiny on her way to Lisbon, she is sent adrift, lands ashore, and meets Friday and Robinson. 

It seems surprising that Coetzee would turn his attention away from South Africa to revisit the plot of a 300 year old novel, but of course, he is a master of metaphor so there's still contemporary social commentary. Friday has lost his tongue to former slave owners, and the novel's themes include regaining a voice through writing. 

So a pretty fast read, and I'll be interested to see where Coetzee goes from here. It  seems like he is trying to do something different than his previous work. It's admirable when successful artists grow and change, rather than spew out the same work over and over again.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Coetzee revisited the composition of Robinson Crusoe in 2003 in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

UP NEXT: Watchmen by Alan Moore