Michael Dirda (The Post)

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Dirda on Books
Hosted by Michael Dirda
Washington Post Book World Senior Editor
Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002; 2 p.m. ET

Washington Post Book World Senior Editor Michael Dirda takes your questions and comments concerning literature, books and the joys of reading.

These days, Dirda says he still spends inordinate amounts of time mourning his lost youth, listening to music (Glenn Gould, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, The Tallis Scholars), and daydreaming ("my only real hobby"). He claims that the happiest hours of his week are spent sitting in front of a computer, working. In the fall of 2000 Indiana University Press published "Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments," a selection from Dirda's Book World columns. He hopes to bring out a companion volume soon.

Dirda joined The Post in 1978, having grown up in the working-class steel town of Lorain, Ohio and graduated with highest honors in English from Oberlin College. His favorite writers are Stendhal, Chekhov, Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh, T.S. Eliot, Nabokov, John Dickson Carr, Joseph Mitchell and Jack Vance. He thinks the greatest novel of all time is either Murasaki Shikubu's "The Tale of Genji" or Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu." In a just world he would own Watteau's painting "The Embarkation for Cythera." He'd also like to spend six months in Florida writing a book that would become a runaway best seller, a critical success, and the hottest cinematic property of the year. A guy can daydream, right?

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. Perhaps it's time we gave this program an acronym, though DOB sounds a bit odd or even dob. For the next hour we'll talk about anything related to books. Just fire away.
It's a gray day here in Washington, last night was really cold, but today just seems . . . gray. A Dirda sort of day, if you follow this inadvertent chronicle of my shifting, well not that shifting, moods. The kind of day I'd rather be in Orlando or New Orleans or Oxford, to mention some favorite sultry venues. How pleasant it would be to wake up there just after dawn and go out to breakfast at Panera's or Mandino's or to .... Must stop these endless reveries and turn now to this week's ardent queries. Or Pappas's in New Smyrna Beach . . . Stop torturing yourself Dirda and turn to the questions.

New York, N.Y.: What kind of story is the "Tale of Gengi?" Is it a kind of mythology, similar to the Arthur legend or a medieval romance like "Tristan and Isolde?"

Michael Dirda: The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu describes court life in Heian Japan, around the year 1000. Chiefly it follows the various intrigues that result from the amorous entanglements of Prince Genji. The style--in Waley's translation at least, the one I read--is delightful, leisurely, Proustian. (The book, only in part because of its length, has been called a Japanese Proust--as well as the world's first novel). I have an essay on the book in my collection Readings.

Arlington, Va.: Hi Michael,

Since it's Christmas time, I'd like to ask a question regarding religious literature. Namely writing by Catholic monks piqued my interest lately. Currently I'm reading Thomas Merton's "Seven Storey Mountain" and feel as though the clarity of voice radiates such peace -- very inspirational. So, on the subject of monastic musings -- any comments?

Peace be with you.

Michael Dirda: I suppose we all long for peace of heart at this time of year, and those lucky among us find it--in love, family, music, reading.
There's a whole vast literature dealing with monkish matters. You might start with Helen Waddell's charming anecdotal The Desert Fathers, then maybe The Love of Learning and the Desire for God by Jean Leclerc, a moving account of monkish attitudes to thought and art, and then maybe some of the work of David Knowles--there used to be a selection of pen portraits, called Twenty Five Medieval Lives or something like that, drawn form his big history of English monasticism. Of course, the relevant bibligorpahy in Knowles's Evolution of Medieval Thought or Gordon Leff's similar book would give you leads. As for modern monasticism, there exist interesting recent books by Peter France and Isabel Colegate. Oh, and you might check out Robert Byron's book on Mount Athos.

Fairfax, VAa.: Hi Michael.

Read a review of "The Child that Books Built: A life in Reading" by Francis Spufford. Seems like something that's right up your alley, nostalgia-wise. Have you seen it? Your thoughts?

Michael Dirda: I saw one or two reviews and realized it was somewhat like my own forthcoming memoir of books and growing up, so decided I'd better not read it. Everyone says it's terrific, and I know Spufford writes well, having read around in his book on arctic exploration. The only thing I might register against the book is that it seems a little more sensitive and English and Winnie-the-Poohish than is my usual taste.

Aronk, N.Y.: Ross MacDonald was regularly mentioned in the company of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler when he was alive; one hears less and less about him now. Do you think his books will last?

Michael Dirda: Well, he was always a follower. Even Lew Archer takes his name from Hammett--remember Spade and Archer in The Maltese Falcon. I do think he will last, but probably as a major detective story novelist rathre than a major literary figure, which Chandler and Hammett have become. I think The Chill, for instance, is a great, doom-ridden novel. Perhaps he grew too soft and poetic in the end? But don't we all?
I suspect then he will always be read, but by the same people who care about James M. Cain, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, John D. MacDonald, Edward Anderson and Chester Himes. All of whom are, of course, better writers than half of those now on the best seller list.

Alexandria, Va.: I am currently reading Imre Kertesz' Fateless, and am finding it to be very touching and wonderfully written. I am wondering if you have any other recommendations of this Nobel Prize winner's works, and if you could tell me why his work is so difficult to find in bookstores? I had to special order my copy on-line, as all bookstores I went to did not have any of his work in stock. Do you think that now that he has won the Nobel prize, his books will become easier to find? Thanks!

Michael Dirda: I've never read Kertesz, alas. So far as I know off hand Northwestern used to publish him--is that where Fatless comes from? No doubt his books will be reprinted in the coming months.

Boston, Mass.: Did you ever see the first Lord of the Rings film? If so what did you think of it?

Michael Dirda: I saw it on television. I thought the beginning in the village was a little slow, but on the whole it seemed pretty wonderful. The first glimpse of Aragorn--the shadowy figure in the corner smoking a pipe--is particularly terrific. The one false note I felt was the kind of dismissive shrug that Gandalf gives when he thinks he's defeated the Balrog--just before its tentacle drags him into the abyss. Gandalf would never have let down his guard that way. I sure hope that's not in the book.

Gaithersburg, Md.: Do you ever listen to books on tape? And do you find yourself reacting to it differently than when you read them? I've been listening to "A Confederacy of Dunces" and it's great, but it seems to be a slightly different book than when I read it (twice). I wonder if it's because I've lost control (not being able to skim or re-read at will). BTW, recording I've been listening to is great; I borrowed it from a Montgomery County library.

Michael Dirda: Glad for the lead on Confederacy. I like audio books quite a bit and have mentioned them periodically on this program: Jeremy Irons' Lolita, the Naxos editions of The DEcline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Ted Hughes and Alan Bennett reading T.S. Eliot. and dozens more. It does seem like a slightly different expereince from reading--more enchanting in some ways, if one can lull oneself into the right mood. That's why longdistance drives alone are probably the best.

Charlotte, N.C.: Re: monastic writings. If you're willing to do some between-the-lines work, there is a wonderful book on, of all things, the dog-training methods of The Monks of New Skete (also the name of the book). How they perceive and interact with these intelligent and non-judgmental creatures provides a sort of life philosophy. Wonderful, wonderful reading.

Michael Dirda: Yes, there are in fact three books by the Monks of New Skete. On the ohter hand, I know a man who bought a dog trained by them and he had lots of trouble with its agressivness--strange. I suppose there's something in manyh of our souls that yearns for the imagined peace of the monastery--the quiet evenings, the Gregorian chant in the backgorund, the monastery garden, meditative strolls on gravelled walks .. .

Washington, D.C.: Hello Michael -- How is your book coming along?
Also, what books are you giving as gifts this year?

Michael Dirda: The books is being read now by my editor, and I'll be doing some revisions on it the next week or two. I have plans for one or two other books now perculating.

Takoma Park, Md.: Just finished Sandor Marai's Embers. Much better in retrospect than while reading -- people were SOOO annoying but the book was gorgeously constructed and very deep.

Comments? Can we expect some less airless Marai to be translated soon?

Michael Dirda: Glad you liked it, sort of. Supposedly we will be seeing more of Marai in the years to come. That's what the publicity material or dj copy suggested.

Pleasantville, N.Y.: I have been interested in books by Doris Lessing lately, SF-tinged ones such as The Fifth Child and Ben in the World, though I haven’t tried the Canopus series yet. But I did try The Golden Notebook and the first book in the Children of Violence series and found myself bored by their themes of awakening women; this seems a retread of early feminism to me, uninteresting now that we have lived through that revolution for a generation. Am I selling these earlier books of hers short?

Michael Dirda: Well, if you don't like The Golden Notebook I would guess that Lessing isn't for you. The Fifth Child is contstructed like a thriller though, so you might try it next. But yes, such is the fate of pioneers like Lessing, Beauvoir, Millett, Greer et al.--to seem old fashioned and obvious suggests how far they and their books and ideas have forced society to come.

Alexandria, Va.: I've decided to tackle War and Peace next year. I didn't get too far when I tried about fifteen years ago. Any recommendations on translations, strategies for completing it, etc. Is it worth it?

Michael Dirda: Read the Maude translation. There's an old edition with maps and chronologies, part of a series edited by Clifton Fadiman, and these may help you keep the storyline in place. Just go with the flow. YOu might skip a little when Tolstoy starts telling you at length about his theory of history.

Silver Spring, Md.: Marai's Embers stimulated the best discussion my book group has had in ages. Not everybody "liked" it, but we kept busy for two hours arguing the moral and character issues.

I'll read the next one translated, for sure.

Michael Dirda: thanks

Washington, D.C.: Recently there have been several reissues and new translations of Ital Svevo's works. In particular, I'm interested in reading "Zeno's Conscience" which I understand is one of Svevo's best. Any comments on the book or on his works in general?

Michael Dirda: The previous translation by Beryl de Zoete--longtime companion of Arthur Waley, by the way--is a kind of classic (as The Confessions of Zeno), though the new version by William Weaver (as Zeno's Conscience) should be more accurate. It's a wonderful, wonderful book. The story of a man who keeps trying to give up smoking, but also the story of a life, a family, of Trieste, of our times. Svevo's other great novel--and though a lesser work one I quite love, even more than Zeno--is called As a Man Grows Older, about a guy who embarks on a "rational" love affair only to see things spin out of control. There's a new translation of this too, called I think Senilita (the original title) by--is it Elizabeth?--Brombert. With an introduciton by VIctor Brombert, the distinguished comparatist at Princeton. You know he was a close friend of Joyce who helped him with his English.

The Turtle Moves!: Hi Michael -- I know you're a Terry Prachett fan, and was wondering if you've read the latest in the City Watch series, "Night Watch."

I loved it. It's darker and not as silly as some of the other books, but wonderfully rich in character and text. Plus there are still plenty of laugh out loud moments.

Michael Dirda: I reviewed it a couple of weeks back and did point out its darkness and complexity. YOu might be able to call up the review online--I know it was posted on varoius Pratchett sites because I received lots of mail from Pterry fans.

Arlington, Va.: Mr. Dirda -

Good afternoon. I began reading "Soul Mountain" ealier this year but simply couldn't get into it. I found it somewhat plodding and frankly not terribly interesting. As it was written by a recent Nobel prize recipient, I fear I'm missing something; I can't tell what it is though.

Any thoughts on the book and how I may want to approach it again?

Many thanks.

Michael Dirda: Havne't read it. My view is that if a book doesn't work for you, then try something different. The world is full of good reading.

Arlington, Va.: Hello Michael: Will be in London between the holidays. Any tips on interesting used book stores located there? Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Michael Dirda: Charing Cross and Cecil Court are traditional places for used books. But it's been a long while since I was in London. Have fun.

Nostalgic: I am in a very nostalgic mood. Suggestions for something shorter (<400 pages)? Thanks and Merry Christmas.

Michael Dirda: Nostalgic--wistful or bitter? Something from childhood or an adult book? How about Joseph Conrad's "Youth"--a long short story about the passing of youth. ABout looking for something out of life that while it is expected has already passed, unseen, "together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions."

Fairfax, Va.: Michael,

I saw the mention in today's Reliable Source about the book Secrets of the Tomb, a nonfiction about the Yale secret society Skull and Bones. I read and enjoyed the book, which was refreshingly unusual. I've noticed that conspiracy theorists on the Web are grumbling, however, that the media ignores this book because it addresses the secret society of the President at a time when the media is loathe to criticize him. So what I'm wondering is whether reporters in the book media generally tend to follow the news media in terms of the topics considered appropriate, or whether they operate completely independently.

Michael Dirda: People who write about books and people who write about the news tend to be aware of each other, but neither really follows the other. I personally believe there is something in our human genome that gives us a proclivity to believe in conspiracies and also to want to belong to secret societies. Even revealing this could get me killed, did I not possess the Good Mark of the Phantom.

Chicago, Ill.: I'm terribly embarrassed to ask this but I suppose it's best to do it anonymously (and you're the best person to ask!) -- how do you pronounce Evelyn Waugh's name?

Michael Dirda: Just like it's spelled. I'm actually not entirely sure whether the Evelyn should be Ev uh lin or Eve un lin. Have heard it both ways. Waugh should be pronounced Wah. When I was a kid I never knew how half the words I read were pronounced.

Re: Svevo: Many thanks for the reply and suggestion. Yes, I read a lengthy piece in the New Yorker on Svevo and it detailed his interactions with Joyce. That and the NYer author's recommendations motivated me to search out Svevo.

Michael Dirda: I wrote a piece on Svevo years ago too--one of my best--geared to his wife's memoir. It has been an annoyance to me for 25 years that I--and some of my colleagues--write wonderful things (he said immodestly) that the world never sees because the Washington Post only appears in Washington. I should have gone to work for the New York Times. Michiko, are you listening? Retire and I'll take over your job.

Sacramento, Calif.: 100 years or so ago there was a great deal of decoration on books -- relief pictures covers, edges that would display pictures when fanned -- maybe growing out of the arts & crafts movement. Is anything similar going on now by mass market publishers of hard cover books? Without their dustjackets books are so bland these days.

Michael Dirda: Your best bet is children's picture books. There are lots of pictorial and typographic experiments in them. Some are practically livres d'artistes. Just browse around the children's section sometime. Occasional fine press books do have some of the adornments you mention. Why not hit the used book stores and collect early books? I have a small collection of books I bought simply for the cover illustrations--usually stamped gold embossed swirls or figures. Lovely things.

Fairfax, Va.: You asked last week for me to re-post my suggestions for discussion themes for 2003.

Here you go:
Worst use of literary quote in advertising
Worst film adaptation
Best 'forgotten' classic
Books to read when cooped up on a snow day
Books to read when stuck in an airport
Guilty pleasure reading

Michael Dirda: Let's have a vote. First person to suggest one of these topics for our first session in January carries the day.

Farragut, Washington, D.C.: Michael,

Have you read Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones"? I'm curious as to your reaction.

Michael Dirda: Nope. I like the genre of books written by narrators who are actually dead (Flann O'Brien's Third Policeman, Gene Wolfe's Peace, etc.), but this book sounds cutesy to me. I'm probably dead wrong.

Silver Spring, Md.: I bought Vikram Seth's An Equal Music after seeing your comment on the cover. I was thinking about taking it on a tropical vacation. Or would it be better enjoyed here in the cold with a warm mug of something?

Michael Dirda: My comment is taken slightly out of context, as I had lots of problems with the book. It's a touching love story, beautifully written, but so, so , so sentimental. I couldn't decide finally whether it worked or was kitsch. There was a certain Hallmark card quality to it. But parts are beauitful. Read it here, in case you hate it, so you can get something else. For a tropical vacation--why don't I ever get these things? Dawn invite me to Orlando--I'd read more restful novels, Agatha Christie, or possibly Lolita.

To Arlington, Va.: I tried reading Soul Mountian as well and had the same feeling. I tried enjoying it, reading it, "getting it" but I just couldn't. It is one of the few books that I haven't been able to finish.

Michael Dirda: thanks

Tenleytown, Washington, D.C.: Dear Michael:

Welcome from another Oberlin non (and un) musical graduate. The most amusing set of pronunciations I have heard are of the last name of John LeCarre, running from Les Car to Lay Cair Ray, to Lekker A, or the ever popular, the classy spy fiction guy.

Michael Dirda: Cute.

Arlington, Va.: RE: Reading words.

I was crushed to learn the pronounciation of "inevitable." In my mind's ear, I always read it as in-vite-able, which made sense to me, as in, welcoming!

Michael Dirda: Yes, indeed. I always wrote Eye Ther and people always though I was writing EE ther.

Cleveland Park: Michael --

Do you think writers and other creative people are more likely than others to experience depression -- even mild depression? Do you think this is a necessary precursor to the creative process? Feeling a little blue myself these days, but I like to console myself by saying the answer to both questions is yes.

Thanks -- and good to have you back.

Michael Dirda: Yes to both, though it's nothing to be proud of. Writers spend so much time in their own heads they're bound to go a little crazy. Plus they live in dream worlds where things go precisely as they wish, while the real world persists in THWARTING US at every turn. No wonder we grow frustrated, melancholy. But it's also why we write: There, on the page, we can create any kind of happiness we want--and the creation process itself is happiness.

Sandor Marai: I have been interested in reading the Embers, but have put off by the fact that the English version was translated from a German translation, not from the Hungarian original. Why does this still happen in this day and age? Hungarian may be a difficult language, but I'm sure the publisher could have found a couple of hundred people able to translate it.

Michael Dirda: Don't know why. But it's unlikely to get anothre translatoin now.

Arlington, Va.: How about most overrated book?

Michael Dirda: Most overrated book it is--that will be the discussion topic for our first meeting in January. Remind me if I forget.

Books by dead narrators: Don't forget Daniel Pinkwater's Afterlife diet. Funny, silly and dark.

Sebold is better than you think.

Michael Dirda: Nothing is better than I think.
AFterlife Diet is good, but it is an amalgam of stuff he did to better effect--I think--in his kids books, especially the Snarkout Boys novels, Alan Mendelsohn, and one or two others.

you're right about Lovely Bones: It's terribly cutesy and, in my opinion, hugely overrated.

Michael Dirda: thanks

Definitive book on Martin Luther: Hello Mr. Dirda,

My boyfriend, who is German-Italian, mentioned the other day that he would love to read a really superb book about Martin Luther. I thought I might try to find him this for Christmas. (His Mom is Lutheran, his Dad Catholic -- thus the special interest).

Any suggestions on a really top-notch book about him?

Thank you!

Michael Dirda: You might try Roland Bainton's Here I Stand--an old classic. Or Erik Erikson's Young Man Luther-a famous psychobiography. There's probably a more up to date volume but I can't think o fit.

Golden Notebook: Hey, it wasn't a retread then. It was (and is) a primary source.

But possibly mired in its moment, unlike some other Lessing.

Michael Dirda: OK.

Washington, D.C.: Dumb question. I'm reading Jordan's wheel of time series. How does one pronounce the apostrophe in Ba'Alzamon or Rand Al'Thor. Is it a pause?

Michael Dirda: I've been waiting a dozen years for that question, thinking the day would never come. Both are pronounced just as you think. Actually I don't know. Surely there's a WHeel of Time web site where this matter can be debated for a couple of weeks? Pardon my teasing.

Takoma Pinkwater Fan: Yeah, but Afterlife Diet was ostensibly for adults, and some of them might have read it.

Agreed the ones you mentioned are far far better and more emotionally resonant.

Michael Dirda: Thanks.

Washington, D.C.: Michael -- Let's do guilty pleasures.

Michael Dirda: Let's do guilty pleasures later--that sounds almost salacious. How about the following week?

Takoma Park, Md.: Dead wrong? hah hah hah.

But you are wrong about Sebold. Some weight and some lightness and little cutesiness.

Michael Dirda: Gosh, I didn't even think that pun. Sometimes I amaze myself. Surely the subconscious is quicker than my typing fingers.

Alexandria, Va.: Good afternoon, Michael!

Why does Christmastime draw one to fantastic literature, ghost stories, etc.? I pulled out some of George Macdonald's books for rereading these next two weeks. His beautiful The Day Boy and the Night Girl is the most sublime, wise fable I've ever read. Any Macdonald favorites?

Michael Dirda: Christmas is a time of recurrence, of repeated ritual, and that makes us feel receptive to more spiritual and profound feelings, thus leading toward mystery and the supernatural. Phantastes.

Silver Spring, Md.: Michael -- I just love your columns and this online program!

I've become a fan of Russell Banks, author of "The Sweet Hereafter" and other novels. I believe he teaches at Princeton. Have you read him and are there other contemporary or not so contemporary authors similar to his values and topics?

Michael Dirda: THanks for the comments. Yes, I think he's at Princeton too. I can't think of good writers like Banks just now--he does have a variety of styles--think of that pastiche he did of Robinson Crusoe or the early trailer park stories. You might try the John Gardner of October Light.

Crystal City, Va.: Re: Doris Lessing, having lived in sub-saharan Africa, I recommend the author's The Grass is Singing. The book marvellously captures the sexualized tension between African and Colonial peoples, within the larger plot of european-claimed existence in Africa. Surprisingly (though in a way maybe not), the book has some of the most hilarious episodes--to make one laugh out loud -- of anything I've ever read.

Also, does anyone have anything to say about Lessing's "The Sweetest Dream?"

Michael Dirda: Thanks. I have acopy of The Grass is Singing and will give it a try sometime soon.

Used books in London: Charing Cross Road has only one or two left. I was pleasantly surprised by the five different GOOD ones I found in Greenwich. And you get to take the fascinating Docklands Light Railway to get there.

Greenwich also has some good antique/junk stores that have books as well, cheaper than the big stores but less selection naturally.

Michael Dirda: thanks

Baltimore, Md.: I have a historical fiction fetish, particularly those books that offer a "sights and smells" type of immersive environment (Patrick O'Brian, for instance). Do you have any other recommendations?

Michael Dirda: George Macdonald Fraser's novels about Flashman; Bernard Cornwell's books about Sharpe; Kenneth Roberts novels about early America (ARundel, Rabble in Arms); Robert Graves Claudius novels and Sgt. Lamb novels.

And that my children is it for htis week. My fingers grow weary and I must return to my Book world labors. May the holidays bring you brightness and books. And we'll be back in a couple of weeks. Till then keep reading!

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