LitPicks - September '08

Beyond the Pale: some subjects seem too horrific to think about, let alone write about. But our authors this month tackle the unthinkable —and in doing so get us to sympathasize with characters we would otherwise condemn. Life is shown in its irreducible complexities.

A Lighter Touch | Wonderfully Written | Great Works       



Skinny Dip
Carl Hiaasen, 2004
355 pp.

Joke: guy dumps his wife overboard. She hits the water and wonders, "We've been married only two years...what did I do to deserve this?" Struggling for life, she runs down a list of possible offenses, including overcooked chicken, dozing during hockey games and—this is good—belong to a weekly book group!

Shouldn't be, but this is funny stuff, and that's Carl Hiaasen for you.

Hiaasen, also a writer of children's fiction (Newberry Prize for Hoot), is best known for his mad-cap comedic crime stories. He uses humor to make the most despicable thugs endearing, in this case a guy named Tool. Even the murderous husband, Chaz, can't bring himself to kill anyone, even when he's got a gun pointed in the right direction.

It won't spoil things to tell you that the Joey, the "dumped" wife, survives and plots revenge on Chaz. Along the way, she uncovers dasterdly deeds to despoil the Florida everglades. Hiaasen's stories usually have a serious political undergirding, but his humor deflects any preachiness.

In all honesty, I don't think this book will generate much discussion unless you want to talk about big political topics—environmental protection and political corruption. (There are no reading guide questions from the publisher.) But maybe you're tired of intense debates and want a break. This is a book to sit back with—and have a hoot. Who can't use that!

Oh, one more thing: there's some pretty frank sexual lingo used, which may or may not be to your liking. Just to let you know.

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Nineteen Minutes
Jodi Picoult, 2007
464 pp.

By Molly Lundquist
I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed with Picoult's book, but it contained enough really good stuff to recommend it as a LitPick.

Part of what's disappointing is the gimmicky cliff-hangers. Picoult is too good a writer to fall back on chintzy tricks—though I admit she kept me turning pages till 3 a.m. Other things in the book miss the mark, too, but maybe I'll blog about that sometime...and look for your comments.

What's admirable about Nineteen Minutes is the daring risk Picoult took with her subject matter—school shootings—and presenting it from shifting points of view. She achieves the near impossible—building sympathy and understanding for the young shooter and his family.

The real reason I hope book clubs will select this work is because of the rich discussions it should generate—about family and society. Picoult presents us with a mother lode of ideas, moments, and observations that clubs can take off on. Here are just a few that struck me:

• How culpable are good parents when their kids do bad things?
  
  
• There's a painful moment when the mother of a survivor wants to continue a close moment she shared earlier with her daughter. But with her hand on the door knob of the girl's room, she turns away. I know that moment—and the fear of being rebuffed by your children.
  
  
• Who creates the toxic teen culture in which popular kids dominate and taunt others? Who and where are responsible adults who can protect the underdogs. Or can they?
  
  
• A character comes to believe that life is a series of "what ifs," in which the margin between safety and disaster is frighteningly narrow. Interesting to contemplate—can we control our own destiny? How much of it?

There's much more to discuss about Picoult's book; I've barely scratched the surface. But it's a book that will yield terrific conversations.

So be sure to see our Reading Guide for Nineteen Minutes.

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Lolita
Vladamir Nabokov, 1955
317 pp.

By Molly Lundquist
Lolita has achieved iconic status as a literary masterpiece. But it's disturbing, highly disturbing, because of its subject matter, pedophilia. Even worse, you find yourself taking the side of...rooting for... identifying with...ohgod-ohgod...a pedophile. And you find yourself laughing. The pedophile is a wickedly funny narrator.

How does Nabokov do it? He uses point of view—and turns it on its head. Point of view (see LitCourse 7) is how authors get us to identify with certain characters—we see the book's events through their eyes, and usually they're the good guys.

In this book it's the pedophile, Humbert Humbert, who filters his world for us. We see and feel the way he wants us to (almost). It's hard to resist a controlling narrative voice, especially one so brilliant and witty.

The most egregious example of narrative control (there are so many) is how we wait, breathlessly, for a drugged Lolita to fall asleep so that Humbert can finally—yes, finally!—have sex with her. In our anticipation, we become his accomplices! Oh, Lord. Thankfully, to save our souls, horror and distress eventually settle in.

Is Lolita is satire? Comedy? Tragedy? It's shows us the freedom of America's vast open spaces, while at the same time its heroine is enslaved to Humbert (and he to her). It's about lust, hypocrisy, enchantment, language, games, imprisonment of the soul, love, and insanity. Scholars have wondered whether, from Humbert's venue in prison as he tells his story, any of it ever happened, or happened the way he tells us.

I wish I could explicate this novel for you, but I can't. I'd need to enroll in a graduate level seminar on the book to fully understand it. But it's a fabulous read—fabulous in the real sense of the world. You won't find the book easy reading (because of subject matter and density of Nabokov's prose), but when you finish, it's hard to come out from under its spell.

Lolita has spawned two movies: a 1962 one with James Mason, and a 1997 one with Jeremey Irons. Neither can capture the enchantment or the humor.

Use our Lolita Reading Group Guide—to help you focus on specific aspects of this brilliant book.

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