Sinclair Lewis

I’ve just finished Lewis’ Elmer Gantry.  I enjoyed it even though the religious question is no longer of particular interest to me.  Some of his other works have affected me much more… My favorite is probably Arrowsmith, but It Can’t Happen Here comes a close second.  Main Street and Babbitt aren’t bad either.  Here’s a textbook witty Lewisism:

“Elmer had, even in Zenith, to meet plenty of solemn and whiskery persons whose only pleasure aside from not doing agreeable things was keeping others from doing them.”

Elmer Gantry did have one disagreeable passage for me – a slightly egotistic and tactless reference to himself as an author, placing himself in a line with H. G. Wells, H. L. Mencken, and Bernard Shaw, and using the opportunity to thumb his nose at critics with a parenthetical and satirical  sideswipe at his own Main Street.  At the time of Gantry‘s publication, Lewis had already gained widespread and enthusiastic for his work (not yet the Nobel,) but it’s my opinion that even the big shots could employ a little humility here and there.

Castaneda, Gogol

In an uncharacteristic aberration from my regular routine, I’ve just finished a (debatably) non-fiction book.  The Art of Dreaming by Carlos Castaneda was absolutely fascinating.  I’m a believer.  I’ll be sure to post when I find my hands.

I’ve also recently read the short stories of Nikolai Gogol and the short novel by the same, Taras Bulba.  I loved his short stories.  He’s absolutely hilarious.  I couldn’t help feeling, though, that my relative ignorance of the mechanics of Russian culture left me in the dark about a lot of the work.  Taras Bulba was a difficult read – again, the culture barrier, compounded with the medieval setting.  I also felt that the piece’s style did not come naturally to Gogol.  It seemed forced, artificial.  His strong points were humor, surrealism and satire.  Historical romance didn’t feel right under his pen.  Perhaps it was just the translation.  Dead Souls is and forever will be my favorite of his.  Read it.

My reading habit has come to a pause, for the most part.  I’ve been living too much in the world.  It’s not a bad thing.