Wandering around in many fields of thought now. But I’ve always been inclined to sample many things at once.
The 600+ page biography of William S. Burroughs (Call Me Burroughs). Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf. The Great Gatsby. Shakespeare’s “Richard II.”
I’ve read Steppenwolf
several times, and listened to the audiobook once already. Now I’m about two thirds of the way through
the audiobook again. This time I’m
feeling much more critical about it.
What I notice most of all is the pacing; that’s a
strange thing to notice, eh? Shouldn’t I
be struck by the whole idea of a man who is psychologically or spiritually half
man and half wolf? Shouldn’t I be
stunned by a novel from 1923 that resonates so much with later historical periods
of drugs and sex? Hesse became quite the
rage in the U.S. during the 1960s!
Yet, what I notice most, making my way through this six-CD
set, is the pacing. After one CD, Hesse
has barely introduced the main character and his background. After two CD’s (one third of the way through
the book) he’s just met his first other main character. Half-way through the set (end of CD 3) and
the bare hint of a plot has emerged. After
four CDs—about where I am now—a few other characters have appeared, and we’re
moving towards an actual event. “This man is seriously depressed!” I had thought to myself through much of the
beginning. Now I wonder about him as he
consorts with people who use drugs, sell their bodies, sleep around. No wonder the Nazis burned this book!
About Burroughs there is much to say—but what, exactly; and how to say it?
I don’t know yet. Meanwhile
Gatsby—both movie and book—and Richard II hover in the back of my mind.
Yes—I relate to literature!
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