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Dirda on Books
Hosted by Michael Dirda
Washington Post Book World Senior Editor
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001; 2 p.m. EDT
Washington Post Book World Senior Editor Michael Dirda takes your questions and comments concerning literature, books and the joys of reading.
Dirda's name appears weekly in The Post's Book World section. If he's not reviewing a fat literary biography or an ambitious new novel, he's likely to be writing a lighthearted essay about the joys and burdens of living in a house filled with way too many books. Although he holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Cornell, Dirda is still smart enough to be an unabashed fan of "The Simpsons," noting that "the show's genius derives from its details." He also loves P.G. Wodehouse, intellectual history, children's books and locked-room mysteries – just the sort of range you'd expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner for distinguished criticism.
These days, Dirda says he spends inordinate amounts of time mourning his lost youth and daydreaming ("my only real pastime"). Otherwise he just reads books and writes about them, with occasional visits to secondhand bookstores in search of treasures. He claims that the happiest hours of his week are spent sitting in front of a computer working on his reviews and Readings columns. "Do not imagine that I regard my taste for literary artifacts as anything but shameless and vulgar," Dirda says, "I have sunk so low as to covet Edward Gorey coffee mugs. I yearn for a bust of Dante to place on a bookcase."
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Michael Dirda: Welcome to Dirda on Books. We'll be trying to get back to some semblance of normal life--a lost dream, after last week--but I'll also be willing to answer questions and discuss anything bookish that might pertain to the Attacks. I found the whole week personally more traumatizing than I expected--but I was lucky not to lose anyone I love . . . in the Attacks. Anyway it's been a hard 10 days and we must be grateful for what relief can be found in books, music, friendship, and in the memory of past happiness.
WEll, that sounds pretty lugubrious. Let's hope for something a little more upbeat for the next hour. Get a grip, Dirda. On with the show.
North Tonawanda, N.Y.:
With the events of last week, I'm sure more people are interested in learning about terrorism. Can you recommend any books on terrorism? I learned a lot from reading Le Carre's LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL.
Michael Dirda: Yes, the le carre book is a first-rate introduction to the allure and rationale of terrorism. Before last week I never thought much about this subject, though. Besides Drummer Girl, the classic work of fiction is Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, in which terrorists plan to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. ONe might extend definitions a bit to include 19th-century anarchists--here one might try E.H. Carr's terrific biography of Michael Bakunin, the founder of anarchism, and author of the phrase: "The passion for destruction is a creataive passion." Along with this, you might also read some of the Russian novelists, say, Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and Dostoevsky's The Devils (aka The Possessed). This latter contains the most harrowing scene in world literature: the suicide of Kirilov.
Buffalo, N.Y.:
I'm trying to get back to "normal." I'm reading Ed McBain's MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. What are you reading to bring you back to normalcy?
Michael Dirda: Well, I've been reading my usual books for review: New York Review Books has a wonderful semi-autobiographical novel about growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950: "A Way of Life, Like Any Other," by Darcy O'Brien. It's very funny. I also greatly enjoyed a novel by Sandor Marai, called Embers, about an old General who has waited 41 years to avenge himself on his oldest friend. It's a very elegant, autumnal novel, published in Hungarian in 1942--a real classic, as good as anything by Mann or Joseph Roth. I'm also thinking of writing something about Conan Doyle and The Hound of the Baskervilles, it being the 100th anniversary of that classic.
Washington, D.C.:
Michael,
Don't worry, I don't think anyone's gotten a grip yet.
It seems like years ago now, but you were great at the book fair. Your intros were charming and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole fair.
I read in the fall preview about a book called "The Distant Land of My Father" set in 1930s or 40s Shanghai that sounded pretty good. Any advanced word?
Michael Dirda: Hmm. I haven't heard about this yet, but Shanghai in the 1930s sounds like an exciting place to escape to. I picture Sidney Greenstreet in a white suit, or Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, or Marlene Dietrich, The Lady from Shanghai (if memory serves).
Glad you found my intros charming. I was hoping a late night talk show might come out of them, but so far I haven't gotten a call. As it is, I had four literary events cancelled or postponed--one in New Orleans this weekend, which I could have used as a chance to clear my mind and relax and think about life, the future and everything. Oh well. Too many people had far worse weeks, and those of us relatively unscathed should count our blessings. And possibly seize the day.
Arlington, Va.:
Could we add Day of the Jackal to the list for New York? Perhaps not terrorism per se, but close enough for me.
Can you tell me more about this book? I always wanted to know how accurate the history was and more about the author's research.
Michael Dirda: There was a conspiracy against De Gaulle by some of alienated military men, and I think an assasination attempt, but I presume that most of Forsyth's chilling novel is fiction.
Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Dirda,
I just returned from the U.K. While exploring the book shops over there, I noticed many authors that I had never heard of before (many of which appeared to be Helen Fielding imitators). I wound up buying a new novel by Will Self as his was one of the few names I recognized. Still there are probably good English, Scottish, and Irish authors that aren't getting much attention in the States. Do you have any suggestions for any U.K. authors we should be on the look out for?
Thanks.
Michael Dirda: Sure, a week ago Sunday I reviewed Iain Sinclair's Landor's Tower--he is a favorite there, but litlte known here. Check out the review. Other wonderful British, Irish, Scottish novelists include: Alasdair Gray, Jim Crace, John Banville, the late Penelope Fitzgerald, A.L. Kennedy, and dozens more. It's hard to know where to stop.
Re: Terrorist books:
"Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy" by Paul R. Pillar published by the Brookings Institute is a well-grounded study. Fairly up to date as well.
Michael Dirda: THanks
Niagara Falls, N.Y.:
Do you have an opinion about Elizabeth Benedict's recent novel, ALMOST? I read her 1980s novel, SLOW DANCING, which was a National Book Award runner-up. Her sex scenes are terrific but her plots are weak.
Michael Dirda: Well, that's a good enough recommendation for most of us. But alas I've not read either of her novels. Anyone want to confirm Niagara Falls--and who should know better--on the sex scenes? And, the weakness of the plotting too, of course.
A note from Cambridge, Mass.:
O, it is excellent to have a giant's strength,
But it is tyrannous to use it like a giant...
Could great men thunder
As Jove himself does, Jove would ne'er be quiet,
For every pelting, petty officer
Would use his heaven for thunder.
Nothing but thunder. Merciful heaven,
Thou rather with thy sharp and sulfurous bolt
Split'st the unwedgeable and gnarle'd oak
Than the soft myrtle. But man, proud man,
Dressed in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he's most assured,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As makes the angels weep; who, with our spleens,
Would all themselves laugh mortal.
--Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, II:ii
Michael Dirda: THe man could write. No question about it.
Somewhere, USA:
Did you find it hard to read and review books? I know it was hard for me to concentrate at work last week, but trying to concentrate on a book while the world comes crashing down seems daunting.
Michael Dirda: Actually I welcomed the escape into books. That helped, along with various personal crises--some problems never go away though the world crumbles about us. But I did, and do, feel fairl stressed out at times. At one point I woke up from a dream in which I"d been trying to sell my house in suburban Washington and couldn't give it away because people didn't want to be anywhere near the capital. Now, is that shallow or what?
Lockport, N.Y.:
I wouldn't consider DAY OF THE JACKAL a terrorist novel. It's more of a caper novel, if anything. One of Tom Clancy's novels, I think EXECUTIVE ORDERS (forgive me, they blur together), has a group of terrorists hijacking a 747 and crashing it into the Capitol. Talk about Life imitating art!
Michael Dirda: Thanks. though it pains me to recommend Tom Clancy on these elevated literary chats. On the other hand, I do love James Bond movies and they are all about terrorists of one sort or another.
Washington, D.C.:
I read something the other day about Fay Weldon and her new book. The piece was saying something to the effect of her having, for all intents and purposes, sold advertising space to Bulgari, and this could be the beginning of a downhill slide for liturature. What are your thought on this? What are your thoughts on her other books. Are they kind of light beach reads, or worth taking a look whenever?
Also, have you read Fury (Rushdie's new one)? I got the ground beneath her feet, having loved Midnight's Children and The Moor's last Sigh, but It didn't really do it for me. Do you think Fury is going to be worth reading for me?
Michael Dirda: Fury has been getting mostly mixed and negaive reviews. I think the Moor was Rushdie's last really first-rate book. I can't imagine many companies trying to advertise through books--Frankly, I was hoping Levenger's would take up my own Readings as the sort of book their customers would enjoy.
Washington, D.C.:
Have you read "The Correctors" yet? I've been hearing so much advanced buzz and then there was a pretty scathing review this morning, I think in the NY Times.
Michael Dirda: THe Corrections. by Jonathan Franzen. My colleauge Chris Lehmann admired it a great deal and wrote enthusiastically about it. In other words, I haven't read it yet--though I wish I'd reviewed it for someone. I haven't seen the TImes piece you mention. What were the grounds for criticism?
Washington, D.C.:
During the past week, America has come together in a remarkable sense of unity. How about your suggestion of books where the triumph of human spirit has overcome a devastating tragedy?
Michael Dirda: I'm supposed to be thinking about this question and some related matters for a possible essay for OUtlook, so I'll defer my answer.
Salem, Ore.:
Hi,
I read a little about how the text of the "Lord of the Rings" has had various errors. With that in mind, do you recommend a particular edition or publisher, or would you recommend not worrying about the errors and just read any?
Michael Dirda: All books are likely to have errors, at least until scholarly variorum editons come along. I wouldn't worry in the slightest about whatever minor blemishes have crept into the Ring trilogy. It's a magnificent book--indeed, one about the triumph of good over unspeakable evil (see previous question). Also, you don't have much choice in text: Except for ancient Ace paperbacks, all the editions are from Houghton Mifflin and their authorized paperback publishers (Ballantine, I think--at least it used to be).
Manassas, Va.:
Not a question, but a comment:
I participate in a book group that meets on second Fridays. Last week we met, and though I didn't know if anyone would show up, given the horrible events of last week, I had a full house.
After a week of being glued to the TV, seeing over and over the terrible images that still hang over us -- it was a kind of guilty pleasure and a huge relief to sit with friends in comfort and relative safety, and discuss someone else's make-believe problems (we were discussing one of the Oprah books, so there were LOTS of wrenching problems to talk about).
I can't remember if you're involved in the online book discussion group -- do you participate in any face-to-face book groups?
Michael Dirda: Yes, I spoke to the Baltimore Bibliophiles on Wednesday night--they decided to go ahead with their meeting both as an escape from the horrors of the previous day and as an assertion of humanistic values in a dark time. That sounds pontifical but you know what I mean.
By online discussion do you mean The Washington Post Book World Book Club? I do do these, when I have a book up for discussion. (So far I've talked about Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness; Ford's The Good Soldier; Larkin's poetry, and next month: Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping. That'll be on October 25.)
Bethesda, Md.:
Mr. Dirda, I am so pleased that you are having your session today. Despite the fact the discussions often refer to depression, despair and bad teeth, I always find them enlivening and renewing. I can use some cheering up in view of recent events!
Question -- I confess that I'm rather new to the literary world. I have read all my life, but nothing too challenging since my distant high school years. I recently "discovered" Faulkner. Read "As I Lay Dying" and was amazed and delighted (and troubled that it took me so long to get around to reading him). Now am starting "The Sound and the Fury." But I find these books difficult -- I know I am missing so much. I wondered if you could recommend a collection of commentaries, specific experts on Faulkner, or some other type of materials that would help me better appreciate these novels. Or do you think it's better to just read and re-read until a book makes sense rather than seeking out the views of others? Thank you.
Michael Dirda: Well, I do believe in engaging with the text directly and there's nothing wrong with rereading until things get clear or clearer. But Faulkner is hard. You might look in the library for a series of line by line commentaries that exist for some of the novels: For instance, my friends Dawn Trouard (editor of the Faulkner Journal) and Edwin Arnold produced the companion to Sanctuary. You might also look at The Faulkner/Cowley Letters--discussions of how Cowley produced the Viking Portable F and Faulkner in the university--questions from students about his work. Cleanth Brooks wrote two of the classic expositions of th enovels, and David Minter offers the best compact biography. Joseph Blotner's is the standard authoritative life, but it's a huge volume, or more accurately, two volumes.
McLean, Va.:
Mr. Dirda,
I thought you did a very good job introducing David McCullough at the book fair -- did you get a chance to talk to him? His talk was fascinating -- unexpectedly so.
By the way, Rita Hayworth was The Lady from Shanghai -- a great but flawed Orson Welles film, as were most.
Michael Dirda: Ah yes. I had a feeling that might not be right. On the other hand, Marlene should have been the lady from Shanghai.
Alas, no, I didn't talk to McCullough then. But we had met earlier, back in 1993 when we both got Pulitzers.
Washington, D.C.:
Hi Michael, I'm glad to have the chat back. I was wondering if you knew anything about Arundhati Roi's (spelling?)(God of Small Things) new book. I saw a mention of it in an online magazine, but the link didn't work, so I couldn't find out anything else. I haven't seen it in stores or anything. Have you heard anything?
Michael Dirda: So far as I know, Roy has only produced a slender paperback reprinting three polemical articles about Indian affairs and politics. I haven't heard about a new novel, though I stand ready to run off to Kerala with the woman. I interviewed her at the Smithsonian and was completely smitten.
22201:
Hi Michael: A bit off the topic, but I'd like your take.
Writing is my passion and I'm taking classes at local writing centers. I'm considering getting an MFA, but really wondered how much it would help me? I figure as long as I'm writing and taking local classes, I'm covered.
Can you tell me the advantages of an MFA, aside from the obvious? I know you're schooled in such things and appreciate your thoughts on the topic.
Michael Dirda: MFA--They do give you a chance to practice your writing, receive feedback from teachers, listen to visiting authors, and--with luck--make contact, through mentors, with agents. Even though I've taught in these programs, I confess to mixed feelings about them: I think the best thing for anyh would be writer is to read and read and read. And then write and write and write.
South:
I know this is a forum more dedicated to reading books, but here goes: I saw on the news a couple of days ago that the book industry is going to be affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. Since a lot of publicity junkets are now being postponed and canceled, the release of some books is being delayed. And I'm sure that due to the decrease in travel, travel-book publishers will be greatly affected. What are your thoughts?
Michael Dirda: I really don't know. But I would think that, barring utter panic and fear thorughout the country, most authors will want to go out and sell their books. IN other words, I expect publishing to return to business as usual, or at least close to usual, as quickly as possible.
Boston, Mass.:
Mr. Dirda,
In an attempt to move on from last weeks horrors, I'm actively trying to collect the best of Restoration drama to add to my library. So far the anthologies I've looked at don't really cut it. I'm looking for the best of Wycherly, Dryden, Congreve, etc. The Mermaid (or "New Mermaids") series, which collects four or five plays in single volumes devoted to a certain playwright, looks very promising. Do you know of them?
Michael Dirda: yes, The old Mermaids were standard volumes--roughly the size of trade paperbacks, published ealry in the century. But the type is a bit muddy and uninviting. There are a couple of series--REgents Drama is one--that reprint the plays in handsome authoritative texts. I have The Country Wife in this format. There's nice Congreve hardback edited by F.W. Bateson, and an even nicer, though slightly outmoded, set of Congreve from Nonesuch edited by the legendray Montague Summers. He was said to be seen about Oxford in the company of either a pale young man or a jet black cat--but never with both at the same time.
Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.:
If you like Rushdie, try Haroun and the Sea of Stories. It's a delight through and through, with all of the allusions of The Ground Beneath Her Feet and none of the pretentious banality. I generally like his work and was hugely disappointed with TGBHF. Haroun has a vivid plot, dynamic narrative, and that wonderfully imaginative and pop-culture packed style.
Michael Dirda: thanks
Alexandria, Va.:
Hi, Mike,
I'm so glad you are holding your talk today. I need the break!
I've been reading your Readings on and off this summer and saw a mention of the World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore. Was that the Constellations one in --1982? That was the first WorldCon I've attended. Jim Henson spoke; I found out the Muppets were "descended" from Wilkins and Wontkins (coffee commercial puppets) and I went on the midnight tour of Edgar Alan Poe sites, readings included. And I haunted the used book bins, too.
Michael Dirda: I suppose it must have been 1982. That's the one where I mention Lucius Shepard, Terry Bisson and Howard Waldrop?
Downingtown, Pa.:
Michael,
Will you be taking the time to read the new translation of "The Tale of Genji?" I know how time consuming it is. I read the Waley translation when I was around 19, over 40 years ago. But I've not touched the Seidensticker translation, which has been sitting on my shelf since I bought it in a lovely boxed edition in 1977. One of these years.
Michael Dirda: I read the Waley about seven years ago. Like you, I've meant to read the SEidensticker and now I'll have the Royall Tyler around as well. When will I get to any of them? I don't know, since I had to leave town for three weeks to find time to read Waley. Still, it's a great book and I really should reread it before I pass across the bridge of dreams.
Washington, D.C.:
What do you think about the latest book by Stephen King and Peter Straub being reviewed in the much sought after space of page 2 in Book Week, usually occupied by a Jonathan Yardley review of something more substantial? I, for one, am not amused.
Michael Dirda: What! I thought page 15 was the much sought after page in Book World.
Yardley was on vacation. King and Straub are both major popular writers. THis is a major book. We had a good review by Neil Gaiman, generally regarded as the finest graphic novelist around, as well as a very good novelist period (I reviewed his latest, American Gods). In other words, the play of that review seems perfectly reasonable.
Spring Valley, Calif.:
Michael, I was glad to see your name on the lineup today. We're told to get back to normal activities, and I know many of us normally spend an hour with you on Thursday.
When our world was shaken last week, I felt the need to find some book or author to read that fit the occasion. I decided on Annie Dillard and I just finished "Teaching a Stone to Talk." I found much that was appropriate and/or comforting.
Michael Dirda: Yes, Dillard would be a good hcoice for such a time.
Downtown-Smithsonian Mall, Washington, D.C.:
Hi Michael:
Just watched a 1980 movie "The Dogs of War," based on Frederick Forsyth's book. This is a story with greater topicality than ever before considering the events of the past week. It's about mercenaries who go into an African country and dispose of a dictator/despot. I've seen this before but always thought it was an original screenplay. As the credits roll by I learned FF authored the book of this story. But anyway if you've come across this book by Forsythe what's your opinions?
Michael Dirda: I know he wrote the novel, but I haven't read it. HIs early books were all pretty good; his later ones have been more. . . problematic.
Adams Morgan:
I'm a big fan of 'literary mystery' novels and have just run my way through Elizabeth George and P.D. James' novels (just about all of them in the last two summers--I can only seem to read mysteries when it's sunny and gorgeous outside.) Any suggestions for similarly 'literary' mystery authors, with a decent sense of character and emotion? And what do you think of James? They don't have to be British (although it helps...)
Michael Dirda: Try Edmund Crispin and Michael Innes--donnish delights.
Alexandria, Va.:
I wondered what you thought of two books I have enjoyed recently: Richard Russo's Empire Falls and Reiken's Lost Legends of New Jersey.
Michael Dirda: Alas, I haven't read them, though I did like Reiken's first book a great deal.
Well, it's after 3 and I need to get back to my regularly appointed rounds. Until next Thursday at 2, keep reading!
From an editor:
Advice for would-be writers: Like Michael said, read, read, read and write, write, write, and when you're ready to get published:
1. Do request the publisher's submission guidelines and don't just throw your whole manuscript in a box and send it. Many publishers only need (and have the time to read) a couple of chapters.
2. Make sure that the publishers you send your work to actually publish the type of material you are sending them. If you want your children's book published, and the publisher you send it to doesn't publish children's books, you're wasting everyone's time.
3. Before you send your manuscript, do some research. What kind of competition would you face if your book was published? Are there a lot of books out there on the same topic? (Check Books in Print.) Include a brief account of this information along with your manuscript submission.
4. After you've sent in your manuscript, don't expect to hear anything for several months. Publishers receive thousands of submissions, and it takes a lot of time to go through them all. So, be patient and don't harass the editorial department.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
Michael Dirda: P.S. This just came in. Thanks
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