I feel very conflicted about American Pastoral. On the one hand, I found it to be more thought-provoking than the average novel in its heart-breaking exploration of American decline. On the other, I found it often boring and too long. This isn’t that unusual when reading the books with the literati’s seal of approval, but it was different from the other Roth novels I’ve read. I don’t recall being annoyed by the writing style in Portnoy’s Complaint or The Plot Against America. Maybe I’ve just grown more impatient as a reader over the past few years. Perhaps this is a reflection of a new form of American demise Roth did not live long enough to comment on: the loss of attention span symptomatic of TikTok brain rot. I am hesitant to be negative about a book that received such critical acclaim, but at the same time I have read a lot of “classics” that didn’t make me this bored.
Miscellaneous Writing
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Hopefully, one (I) can be forgiven for wondering what the hell this book is actually about. Yes, there are obvious themes, and even a final tell-all raging monologue, but 440 pages is a lot of hand-wringing for what Linkin Park so eloquently summarized as “in the end, it doesn’t even matter”. Journey to the End of the Night is a chaotic, gloomy novel that often left me feeling depressed. The colloquial writing is easy to read and often beautifully prosaic. Celine has a good sense of humor, and the various historical settings make for an interesting plot. Still, it can be a slog to read a hero’s journey to discover that people are rotten and indignity is all there is.
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I finally finished this epic narrative history of the Civil War. This volume, though it followed a decade after the previous one, is stylistically the same. There are fewer major campaigns, with Lee and Grant at a stalemate for basically a year. Meanwhile, Sherman’s campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas are practically unopposed. I feel like I’ve already shared my major observations, so this will be a few disparate remaining thoughts I have.
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The second volume in Shelby Foote’s epic continues where the first leaves off. It is stylistically the same and just as enjoyable of a read. In fact, I enjoyed it more because the Union Army finally starts to win major battles. At first though, the Union army picks up where it left off at Antietam: fumbling, still searching for its leaders, and losing the war. Fredericksburg gets Ambrose Burnside relieved. Chancellorsville spells the end for “Fighting Joe” Hooker. Lee goes on the attack only to be somewhat miraculously repulsed at Gettysburg by General Meade (the third commander of the Army of the Potomac in as many months). We see Grant rising as a star: he has shaken off the mistakes of Shiloh and launches a brilliant, indefatigable campaign to seize Vicksburg and later free the besieged Union army at Chattanooga. Foote ends this installment in July of 1863. The Union army has bifurcated the south along the Mississippi. The Confederate Army has lost Tennessee and cannot defend the heartland against the overwhelming Union troops. Any hope of foreign intervention is lost. The end seems to be near for the Confederacy.
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It was their good fortune, or else their misery, to belong to a generation in which every individual would be given a chance to discover and expose his worth, down to the final ounce of strength and nerve. (164)
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My third presidential biography brought me to an oft-forgotten patriot, Jimmy Carter. I was interested in Carter for a number of reasons. First, he went to the Naval Academy, but wasn’t an admiral or war hero like previous presidents, and I was curious how his military service related to his political career. Second, he is widely regarded as a failed president, and I wanted to learn why and to what extent. Third, I’m currently living in Georgia only a few hours from his presidential library and wanted to visit as an informed citizen. Finally, he is one of the few Americans to become president, and that makes him worthy of my attention.
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We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-
industrialacademic complex. - President Dwight D. Eisenhower (in an alternate universe) -
This is a reflection on the life of George H.W. Bush based on John Meacham’s biography of George Herbert Walker Bush *Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush.” George H. W. Bush (Bush 41) was an impressive character. While his legacy and one-term presidency is overshadowed by Reagan and George W., I enjoyed learning more about him. While his political accomplishments may be more modest than those of other presidents, and he’s certainly less of a household name, he led a full life. He’s someone that others would strive to be like regardless of his political accomplishments. I’ll share a few themes of his life that I found interesting.
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This was the most challenging book I’ve ever read. I’m fortunate to have read it as part of a Catherine Project reading group. The prose is always beautiful, but sometimes it is tiresome. There is a certain resentment I feel towards a writer who is so guarded and ambiguous that there is little hope of discerning his true meaning. Works from the beginning of civilization manage to be comprehensible by regular people, yet Mann writes with a modern tongue and still can’t communicate clearly. He apparently said it should be read twice, which seems inexcusably indulgent and pretentious. I am a far cry from a literary snob. Still, I enjoyed it and found in each of the characters something remarkable. While I didn’t fully understand it and will not be revisiting it a second time (damned be Mann and his narcissism), there are certain themes that I found profound, which I will touch briefly on below.
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This is a reaction to David McCullough’s biography of Harry S. Truman. This book is part of my effort to read a biography of every President. This is an ambitious goal and will likely take a few years, but I feel better knowing most biographies will not be 991 pages. Also, shoutout Grover Cleveland, who served as President non-consecutively so there are only 45 biographies to read.
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Because I believe that other humans are the most interesting and valuable thing in the world. This will be a running log of mildly interesting casual encounters with strangers.
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He entered through the patio door when an unsuspecting victim went out to grill some hamburgers. He had embarked, along with several thousand of his kin, to escape the heat of the Colorado summer and find some solace at elevation as his kind had done for generations. When he saw the open door, he sensed the cool air conditioning. Instinct led him into the greatest battle of his life.
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The airport is a hell of a place. When I fly, I spend hours observing my fellow travelers. Each airport denizen is forced to navigate a modern Collosseum in order to be free. While not specifically optimized to stress people out, I imagine someone purposefully trying to stress people out would have come up with something similar. It doesn’t help that the average traveler has a high baseline of anxiety.
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I’ve heard that a good way to get quickly to the heart and soul of an American region is to get a haircut. Barbers tend to be the “born and raised” types who can quickly familiarize you with a place, and making conversation is in their job description. Well, if you want to get to know the heart and soul of many places, oversee a large-scale trucking operation. Truckers come from every corner of the Republic (and the world), and the solitude of their work leaves them starved for conversation and volunteering all kinds of information. It’s the good stuff too, that which eludes the polite small talk that usually governs initial encounters.
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Every year, around 100 million people tune into watch the Superbowl, an annual sporting event informally elevated to a national holiday. There’s a reason: football (in the American-style) is the greatest sport and I can prove it. The dynamics of football create an extroardinary display of athleticism and strategy and a premium viewing experience.
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I finished Fleishman is in Trouble weeks ago, but it has lingered in my mind, which is something I consider to be a hallmark of a worthwhile piece of art. Ross Douthat, in a recent column, describes the show primarily as a struggle to exit Daniel Markovits’ Meritocracy Trap and cope with the challenges of a marriage teeming with meritocratic potential. I think this is a sound exegesis, but I want to offer an alternative/complementary take. While my fiancé dreaded the show because of its depressing take on marriage, I think this anti-marriage sentiment is merely surface level; upon further examination, the show is primarily reactionary and urges its viewers to get married and stay married.
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Dear Alex,
I hope you enjoyed your trip to Europe. They have such pretty castles there. I am doing fine. I wish I heard from you more. I would appreciate another puzzle or two. The garden is doing well.
Love, Mom
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Phil sat by the gate waiting for boarding to begin. An extreme winter storm had brought temperatures in Denver to -20 F. Weather-associated delays swept across the Denver International Airport. Impatient travelers berated powerless airline employees. It’s a curious thing how people who are frustrated primarily by a lack of control over a situation gain relief from pretending that others have control and are somehow sabotaging things.
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TLDR: Flying can be miserable and it seems like they could fix it.
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We’re trapped in a novelty arms race.
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TLDR: A Man Called Ove is gripping, entertaining and beautiful, but only to a certain audience and it will not be a literary classic.
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TLDR: The Rational Optimist is a long, well-researched, and, at times, dry book that inspires hope for the future with statistics and a refreshing appreciative attitude.
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What’s the last book you read? What were the main points? You probably don’t remember as much as you would like.
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I’m starting a blog, and there are many reasons to scratch your head. What does a 20-something-year-old have to say? Who cares? Who will read it? And on and on. This is more than some millenial rite-of-passage, but not by much. Here are my reasons:
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Foreword
I wrote the following short story in the summer of my sophomore year of college. I was driving from Washington D.C. to New York and became obsessed with this story. I had just read The Trial, Churchill and Orwell, Crime and Punishment, and Brave New World, which pretty obviously informed it. I was also very immature and more interested in culture war topics than is healthy. Nevertheless, here it is.