tales of love and loss

I bought a book on-line recently: a vanity-press published novel by Jamie Boud who writes a good blog and takes amazing photos. I had just finished a disappointing book that sold millions of copies (Richard Bach's The Bridge Across Forever) and I was feeling pissed off at the world of publishers who knowingly sell crap ... because it sells. Buying a self-published novel felt like a statement of defiance against the presses who often publish for the lowest common denominator and make millionaires out of questionable talent while talented writers can’t get a look in. In addition, I felt like it was a small way to support a struggling fellow artist. (I'm still waiting for mine -- any takers? :) Since Envy the Rain is also a novel of love and loss, I thought it would be interesting to make the comparison between the two.

After that kind of build up, and with something to prove, it was a tall order that Jamie's book needed to fill. In short, I enjoyed it. It was a page turner, unlike Bach's book which I had to force myself to finish. It reads like it comes directly from journal entries and with that comes an honesty and directness that I appreciate. He doesn't dress up his raw emotions with New Age philosophizing like Bach -- just lays his experiences on the table without pretending to have all the answers. On the other hand, the characters had little substance, maybe due to the journalistic nature of the book, and he appears to gain little insight from them and his experiences with them. It's almost like he's built a gritty, tragic -- if slightly overcrowded -- framework, but still needs to fill in the spaces. Knowing it's a first novel, I'm looking forward to what comes next.

Books of love and loss: my favourites combine beautiful prose with history, intrigue and deeply complex characters. My top two: Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and Lawrence Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet.

(Apologies to the friend who recommended Bach's book to me. He may have read it at a time in his life when many of the philosophies and sentiments resonated and, having had that experience many times myself with all kinds of books, understand how useful that can be. I remember how I thought Of Human Bondage was the most perfect piece of fiction ever written at a time in my life when I felt like Maugham was speaking directly to me.)

Addendum: I got this quote from Al recently and, in the spirit of the critic who doesn't take her own words too seriously, wanted to add it:

"Critics are eunuchs in a harem: they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they are unable to do it themselves."
Brendan Behan