Randy's reads in 2024

Welcome. Here you will find a mix of literary fiction, a bit of non-fiction, and a few surprises. I’ve been part of the 75 Books Challenge for thirteen years.

I live in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Books read in 2024

January
1. The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht
2. Retirement Income for Life: Getting More Without Saving More by Frederick Vettese
3. A Terribly Serious Adventure: philosophy and war at Oxford, 1900-1960 by Nikhil Krishnan
4. The Whole Animal: stories by Corinna Chong
5. My Trade is Mystery: seven meditations from a life in writing by Carl Phillips
6. The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt
7. What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott
8. The Book of Goose: a novel by Yiyun Li

March
9. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
10. Life Ceremony: stories by Sayaka Murata
11. Some Trick: thirteen stories by Helen DeWitt
12. The Vulnerables: a novel by Sigrid Nunez
13. The Last Samurai Reread by Lee Konstantinou

April
14. I Remember by Joe Brainard

May
15. Poverty Creek Journal: On Life and Running by Thomas Gardner

My top five reads of 2023:

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
Sibylla, herself a rather dauntingly intelligent person, gives birth to Ludo, a boy capable of learning Ancient Greek at 4 (but who isn’t!) and, latterly, many other languages including Japanese. What he yearns for, however, is a father and with gritty focus he sets out on a quest to find one.

The Idiot: a novel by Elif Batuman
Selin is in her first year at Harvard. She’s frighteningly intelligent, but also naive, open to possibility, but at risk of being hurt. She doesn’t always make great choices. But she survives one scrape and then another. Her enthusiasm for life is infectious. If you don’t tire.

West: a novel by Carys Davies
Cy Bellman has been captured by an idea. An idea of giant beasts which just might exist beyond the horizon. The only way to find out is to head west, leaving behind his 10-year-old daughter, Bess. Will he keep his promise to return?

Telephone: a novel by Percival Everett
Zach Wells is nearly as rocky as the fossils he investigates. Only his 12-year-old daughter, Sarah, softens his heart. Her sudden aggressive decline due to Batten disease sends him into a tailspin from which he might not recover.

The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
Not everything that you see on a sleeping car of the fastest intercontinental train in 1929 ought to be seen. And after 48 hours with no sleep, a fair bit of what you see may not even be real. Baxter does his best to see what he ought, and to act in the best traditions of sleeping car porters.

1. The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht

What are the mysteries? No one knows but the everyone fears them. So when the king sends out his knights in search of them, everyone is a bit let down when a captured mystery turns out to be so ordinary. And each further mystery revealed lessens the air of mystery further. And yet in the grand scheme of things, in the universe as a whole, over eons of time, the mysteries persisted and lived happily.

What does it all mean? I can’t say that I know. It’s as much a mystery as the curious technique that Watterson and Kascht employed to create their haunting images. Part etching, part photo-realism, part grotesquerie. The images hold one’s attention. And perhaps that’s enough.

Gently recommended.

If you can spare 15 minutes, I highly recommend this video in which Watterson and Kascht describe their method of collaboration. https://youtu.be/HHND7L1wUl0?si=hQJCaqFohxZk3Kvg

Welcome back, Randy! Your first sounds pretty interesting!

Happy reading in 2024, Randy!

2. Retirement Income for Life: Getting More Without Saving More by Frederick Vettese

If you are at or near retirement age, then you will undoubtedly find this book helpful. It is aimed at a Canadian audience. It begins with a straightforward scenario of a couple at retirement age with a set of initial conditions, such as the amount they have in RRSPs, TFSAs, non-tax-sheltered investments, etc. Then it explores how much they can draw down these sources of retirement income and in what mix, including later sources of income such as CPP and OAS, in order to ensure that they continue to have funds throughout their retirement. Frighteningly, there are lots of ways they could end up falling short in their later life. Vettese then recommends enhancements that they could undertake to ensure that doesn’t happen.

I found it a clear-eyed view of retirement. The enhancements he recommends are sensible. But more important, I found my current anxiety around retirement somewhat eased.

Gently recommended. (Or just win the lottery; that works too!)

3. A Terribly Serious Adventure: philosophy and war at Oxford, 1900-1960 by Nikhil Krishnan

Between 1900 and 1960, academic philosophy underwent a significant transformation in the United Kingdom. This was a time when mathematical logic gained prominence. Sensible language itself was analyzed into its formal logical structure. The very possibility of truth-claims was given an appropriate logical basis. And then most of that was set aside, except for the careful attention placed on language and language games. So much, so Cambridge. What on earth was going on at Oxford while the centre of British philosophy had so clearly shifted to the fens? The answer, as laid out here by Nikhil Krishnan, is that a fair bit was happening, even if much of it was catching up to those people at the other place.

Oxford, like Cambridge, had to first throw off the yoke of 19th century British idealism. It probably did take something like logical positivism, as represented by A.J. Ayer’s youthful book, to sweep out the attic. Fortunately Ayer’s aggressive verification principle yielded the ground eventually to more subtle investigations of the language, both ordinary and philosophical, that held us all in its sway. First Gilbert Ryle reformed the philosophical treatment of mind and action, and then J.L. Austin showed how much could be learned simply by attending to what we actually do with words. Neither were exactly aping their Cambridge cousins. This was new and exciting stuff. Later, despite Ayer’s dismissal of ethical claims as nonsense or mere partisanship, a collection of fine women philosophers (Foot, Anscombe, Midgley, Murdoch) found that there was indeed a great deal that could be said about ethical claims. And that, perhaps more than anything else, gave Oxford the edge in the late running.

Krishnan tells his tale with enthusiasm and verve. He doesn’t gloss over the challenges of the philosophical positions being explored. And, for the most part, I think he presents them fairly. Of course there is a natural tendency in such an account to slip teleology into one’s description. Academic philosophy, no matter which 60 year period one examines, might just be a bit more non-linear. And failing teleology there is always the salacious anecdote. Not, I think, very illuminating about the philosophical ideas in play. But I suppose a bit of spice makes the meal more appealing.

Is there anything distinctive about philosophy at Oxford in those years? Yes and no. As ever, individuals such as Ryle or Austin or Anscombe have a huge influence on what counts as philosophy, at least locally. And in Ryle’s case, since he was instrumental in introducing the B.Phil. degree to Oxford, that influence went far beyond his philosophical ideas. Krishnan might wish there to be something else at play, such as the tutorial system of pedagogy, but that is not unique to philosophy at Oxford, nor to Oxford (in Cambridge a tutorial is called a session). Rather what holds this group of philosophers together is that they, more or less, were focussed on a small set of issues and that they, more or less, thought the only people worth responding to were other Oxford philosophers. Twas ever thus.

Gently recommended for those with a taste for such things.

4. The Whole Animal: stories by Corinna Chong

The thirteen stories collected here are never less than solid. I’m not sure any completely leapt out for me, but moments here and there are certainly memorable. There is a tentativeness perhaps, which may be deliberate, that makes them seem as though they aren’t saying all that they could. But that might be just a case of the reader looking for something specific rather than letting the stories speak for themselves. Indeed, now as I reread the list of story titles, I find that each story can be recalled vividly. Which must surely indicate that they have had a stronger impact on me than I suspected.

I will pick out “Thieves,” “Fixer,” and “Kids in Kindergarten” as perhaps my favourites, but I would probably pick three others tomorrow. They were all worthy of being picked as someone’s favourite. I look forward to reading what Corinna Chong writes next.

Recommended.

5. My Trade is Mystery: seven meditations from a life in writing by Carl Phillips

These brief essays canvas a range of topic surrounding the life of a writer. Carl Phillips is a poet, so the focus is his personal relationship with the writing of poetry. But the themes apply more widely, indeed very likely beyond the realm of writing altogether. And in any case, Phillips’ writing is a pleasure to read from any perspective, a form of belles-lettres I suppose.

I’m not sure that the essays have much practical guidance for the young writer, other than perhaps the chapters on stamina and practice, for surely it will take stamina and a lot of practice to embark upon a life in writing. But it is delightful to follow Phillips’ own exploration of his personal relationship with writing. And perhaps that is enough.

Gently recommended.

6. The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt

Marguerite’s maman is a woman of high standards. She goes to Scotland to purchase a bolt of fine tweed. But she takes that tweed to London to have it made into clothes. Linen is purchased in Ireland but is cut for clothes in Paris. There are other strictures to her routine and Marguerite has taken all of them on board. So the sudden disappearance of Marguerite’s “parents” is less traumatic than might be expected. Even that these characters had made off with $100 million dollars of Marguerite’s real inheritance is not troublesome for her. She had, after all, been given a perfectly splendid education, and expressing dismay now would certainly display mauvais ton.

Helen DeWitt’s creation is an absolute delight. So measured and controlled. And, despite her youth, so wise. Even the brevity of the book is not distressing. An excess would, in Marguerite’s understanding, be mauvais ton.

Definitely recommended. Enjoy!

>11 RandyMetcalfe: I loved that book too. Marguerite was indeed very wise. I also read and loved another book by Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai. I read it a fair number of years ago, and highly recommend it if you haven't read it.

>12 arubabookwoman: Yes, I did read The Last Samurai just last year. I agree with you. It’s an excellent book.

Good thread. Thank you for taking the time out to provide your thoughtful views on the books. I have added The Last Samurai and The English Understand Wool to my purchase list. Will give one of them a go.

7. What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott

In the sixteen short pieces collected here, Alice McDermott touches upon a variety of themes relevant to the writing life. Or, more simply, life. Not strictly a self-help book for writers, it nevertheless reveals numerous lessons she has learned both as an accomplished novelist and as a teacher of would-be novelists.

She writes in an engaging fashion that is always readable, full of insight and wit. And in passing it is often highly illuminating. I especially liked the essays, “What About the Baby?,” and “Only Connect (Eventually)”.

Gently recommended for the would-be novelist in all of us.

8. The Book of Goose: a novel by Yiyun Li

Agnés and Fabienne were wild children, outcasts by choice, daring all, at least in their own minds. Years later, Agnés reflects on what made Fabienne so special and how their hopes and dreams, which were really Fabienne’s hopes and dreams, got tangled in the grasping aspirations of adults in the “real” world. Even the lovely idea of writing a book together gets corrupted. Though perhaps Fabienne could see what might be coming when she chose to insist that no one know of her involvement in Agnés’ stories.

Most of this novel is a linear remembrance by Agnés of those few years of their youth when she catapulted to fame as a supposed child prodigy author. But her greatest regret was that their game ended up separating these two bosom friends. Agnés endures mistreatment and worse at the hands of adults in Paris and later in England. Always though she longs to return to her friend, Fabienne.

This is wonderful writing by Yiyun Li. Fresh and alive, yet as might be expected, full of insight into the very nature of composition and creativity and more. I found Agnés’ story to be fully captivating, though I wished there were more of Fabienne especially in the latter half of the novel. Her driving force, once removed, cuts both Agnés and the novel adrift, at the mercy of a thoroughly unpleasant character in Mrs Townsend. And this probably contributes to the feeling that the ending is less than what one might hope. Even you can’t put your finger on exactly what it is you were hoping for.

Easily recommended, though with slight reservations.

9. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisaw

This is a book of two halves. The first half follows the disappointment of Takako as her apparent love-life disintegrates before her eyes. She abandons her job and eventually takes refuge at the Morisaki Bookshop owned by her uncle. There she lives in a room above the shop and slowly recharges her batteries under the care of her very kind uncle and his eclectic set of devoted customers. Once she is able to confront her deceitful “boyfriend” she is well on her way to recovery.

The second half of the book is centred on Takako’s uncle, Satoru, whose wife Momoko had left him five years earlier. Her sudden reappearance sends shockwaves through the whole used-bookstore community. Satoru enlists his niece’s help in ferreting out both why Momoko left and why she came back, and, more important, whether she is back for good.

This second story is ultimately both very sad and heartwarming. So be prepared for tears and joy. Such sentimentality is perhaps not unusual in Japanese popular fiction and no doubt explains why this book was such a success in Japan.

Gently recommended.

10. Life Ceremony: stories by Sayaka Murata

Just no.

11. Some Trick: thirteen stories by Helen DeWitt

The stories in this collection remind you repeatedly that Helen DeWitt is fiercely intelligent. Many of her protagonists are also fiercely intelligent. And it would be fascinating to witness her sitting down with them at a dinner party, but rather too frightening for one to attend. Many of these stories are from her early days in Oxford and efficiently take that as their setting. Others are set about the world and unsurprisingly involve characters with a profusion of languages. The subjects of the stories range wildly but all involve some sort of intellectual problem that needs resolution or at least confrontation. You will either find such esoteric manias thrilling or distressing.

The writing is always crisp and sometimes pointed. It can border on the introspective but interiority of this form is typically also expressive in some fashion. Probably best not to worry too much about it; just go along with the story and it will work itself out.

Easy to recommend but probably not for everyone.

12. The Vulnerables: a novel by Sigrid Nunez

There are connections in life, even a life in the midst of a pandemic, that tie our personal joy and pain to those of others. The narrator of The Vulnerables is a writer trapped by circumstance (the circumstance of not owning a second house in the country as it appears most of her friends do) in New York City during COVID. If you recall those early months of 2020, you may also have had the sense that nothing was beyond strange. Even finding oneself in a friend’s palatial Manhattan apartment taking care of their parrot while one’s own apartment was being used by a doctor from Oregon volunteering her services in New York City. If a volatile youth joins you in the apartment — the former caretaker of the parrot — then that too is just one of those things that happen in life. And eventually, perhaps, one’s writer’s block will ease. Maybe.

Filled with beguiling discussions of art and life and seemingly random enthusiasms, Nunez’ novel takes its time to form a clear picture. Like the brain fog often identified as both a symptom of the illness and of isolation anxiety. But give it time and it will reward your patience. A gentle, thoughtful, very human take on vulnerability in uncertain times.

Recommended.

13. The Last Samurai Reread by Lee Konstantinou

Readers who were enthralled by or even bemused by Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai may be looking for some intelligent discussion of the novel. If so, Lee Konstantinou’s contribution to Columbia University Press’ “Rereadings” series may be just the ticket. He promises a fresh approach incorporating methodologies from sociology and anthropology which, he thinks, help to appreciate just what DeWitt has attempted and possibly accomplished with her novel. His account is supplemented with numerous interviews with key players in the publishing process for the novel as well as, especially, with DeWitt herself. It makes for an interesting yet engaging read.

Konstantinou’s thesis is that The Last Samurai, in effect, reflects its own troubled publishing history. The challenges DeWitt faced, some of which were self-generated, find analogy in Sibylla’s and Ludo’s story. It is a bold claim that may risk Konstantinou taking on the folly of Roemer, whose fallacious critical reasoning set Sibylla on her path to destruction (or salvation). Yet, I think he does enough to at least merit consideration for his comprehensive interpretation. Or at least it makes for diverting reading, whether or not you find it ultimately persuasive.

Recommended for those who have read The Last Samurai and are ready to think about it anew.

14. I Remember by Joe Brainard

As the afterward by Ron Padgett makes clear, Joe Brainard’s I Remember is a meticulously crafted set of remembrances that only have the superficial appearance of being off-the-cuff. Brainard worked on various sets of his “I remember…” selections over the course of years, painstakingly printing them out by hand. Perhaps this is why there seems to be so little that is superfluous. Even very small remembrances seem utterly apt. It is surely a difficult technique which must often produce fatuous results in the many writing schools where it has been adopted as an exercise.

I found that the collection both reveals a very particular Joe Brainard to the reader even as it seems to cast a veil over him. But maybe that’s because I’m a suspicious reader. And there really isn’t a need to be here. Perhaps. In any case, this makes for a sometimes pleasant and always interesting read.

Recommended.

15. Poverty Creek Journal: On Life and Running by Thomas Gardner

The fifty-two reflections gathered here mark the course of a year. They are knit out of the narrator's run that day and a particular poem or philosophical writing, sometimes the condition of the run foregrounded and at others the poet’s insight. They amount to meandering meditations. Sometimes the thoughts are broadly sweeping. But more typically they are very particular and personal. The narrator touches upon his life as a literature professor, his children, his parents, and his siblings, especially his younger brother who dies near the beginning of this year.

The writing is measured and calm. Enthusiasm for his running life as much as for the poets whom he treasures is evident. And though collectively they can create a sort of blur, they are never less than patiently putting one idea after another, like a good run.

Gently recommended.

Nice to see you posting, Randy.

Your last book appeals to me.