Reading Roundup, May 2024: Ships, Birds, British Classics and More
So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan (Bookshop|Library)
This slim volume contains three short stories, and all of them are pretty bleak stuff. To be perfectly frank, I found none of the male characters in this collection to be relatable at all, and though they serve as symbols for some of the worst misogynistic impulses in society, I didn't find much depth or consideration of them or any of the other characters in these stories. The stories overall convey a spirit of rage and disgust, which...fair enough, but it's just not very interesting. Keegan is still an exemplary stylist, I just wish there was more to think about here.
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann (Bookshop|Library)
I've read most of David Grann's long-form narrative non-fiction stories, and I was somewhat disappointed with this one. Grann sets out from the very beginning that there are myriad conflicting stories delivered by various members of each of the factions that develop in this tale, and that he only seeks to lay out what everyone said happened and let the reader decide. I found this approach one that did not match up well with Grann's narrative style. It seems to me such a story done in that way demands a strong - or stronger - point of view. It's a gripping story, no doubt, but one that Grann ultimately fails to do justice to due largely to this choice.
The Birds that Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness by Kenn Kaufman (Bookshop|Library)
This book is not solely about John James Audubon, though he is the scaffolding for much of what Kaufman explores. Instead it's a mash-up of capsule histories of both early American ornithology and the development of Linnaean taxonomy in the era, combined with an exploration of Audubon's artistic talent and skill, combined with a consideration of the ethics of birding. I've read Kaufman's Kingbird Highway in the past, and while that one is rightly considered a classic, this one is the work of a more mature writer, birder, and person. And it comes at a particularly timely moment as the American Ornithological Society begins its efforts to replace eponymns in common North American bird names.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (Bookshop|Library)
I remember plowing through this one years ago and being absolutely charmed. I plowed through it again, but I had forgotten the terribly sad ending. This one's still a personal favorite.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (Bookshop|Library)
I have read only one other book by Ishiguro prior this one, Never Let Me Go, so I had pretty high expectations of this one. And it definitely delivered. I have never seen the Merchant-Ivory film version, but I have seen the trailer, and for the first half to three-quarters of this book it wasn't quite gibing with the "doomed romance" vibes from the trailer. But then as the book closes and Ishiguro's narrator reveals more and more about what's really going on, it's quite tragic and pathetic. And as a commentary on not only Stevens's devotion to the system of service he has been raised/indoctrinated in, but also on postwar Britain itself, and maybe just maybe on conservatism generally, this novel is quite illuminating.
The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian (Bookshop|Library)
This is another installment in the Aubrey-Maturin series that feels very brooding to me. I find as Stephen's mood goes, so do the moods in these books (not to take anything away from Jack, who has his own trials in this one). This one starts out with some neat, disorienting writing as the Surprise chases the Franklin in an ocean in turmoil due to oceanic volcanism. It continues from there to brood on democracy vs. tyranny, individualism vs. hierarchy, and sectarian strife before the party finally arrives, after four entire books, in South America to undertake the mission set up so long ago. And as so often is the case, the mission is a complete failure, with the characters extricating themselves and looking forward to the voyage home. My reading during this one was fairly fragmented due to other demands on my time, which is unfortunate because such a complex book deserves more attention than I was able to give it, but it is certainly one I'll be looking forward to on the next circumnavigation.