Before we moved in.
by James Brush
Year: 2007
In case you care…
- “Cannonball” – Soulive* – Doin’ Something
- “Drive” – REM* – Automatic for the People
- “La Grange” – ZZ Top – Tres Hombres
- “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
- “Concierto de Aranjuez” – Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain
- “Tuff Boyz” – Sonic Youth* – Goo (Deluxe Edition)
- “Camarillo Brillo” – Frank Zappa – Over-nite Sensation
- “Ice Cream Jeep” – Calexico* – Spoke
- “Serenade for the Renegade” – est – Strange Place for Snow
- “Cumberland Blues” – Grateful Dead* – Workingman’s Dead
- “The Whales Are Coming and Boy Are They Pissed” – The Mermen* – Live at the Haunted House
*’s by the ones I’ve seen live
This is amazing. It’s from an interview with writer Shiela Kohler (who?) about the apparently dying institution of print book reviews and the emergence of lit blogs via Critical Mass (h/t to Conversational Reading for the link):
Q. Does your work get reviewed/discussed much on literary blogs? If so, how do those reviews compare with print reviews of your books?
A.Occasionally someone may mention my books in a blog. I believe the dangers of this indiscriminate reporting on books is that people who have no knowledge of literature can air their views as though they were of value and may influence readers. Critics may not always be right, of course, but at least they have read and studied literature, the great books, and have some outside knowledge to refer to when critiquing our work.
Sometimes a writer’s own words and arrogance will turn me off their work faster than any bad review of their work in print or – perish the thought – on some dirty blog rising from the fever swamps (like so much poison gas) to taint the discourse of the learned and influence the unwashed masses with his irrelevant and dangerous opinions. Sheesh.
Venturing deeper than The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings into JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth is to enter into one of the greatest literary achievements ever: a fully complete world with history, mythology, scholarship, languages and legend. It is utterly breathtaking to read the great tales of the first age in The Silmarillion – stories of ancient battles and great heroes that were thousands of years old when Lord of the Rings begins. Indeed it is this vast work of myth hiding underneath Lord of the Rings that creates the illusion of depth and history that makes Tolkien’s world feel so much richer than most other fantasy worlds.
The rabbit hole goes deeper for those inclined to read the verse versions of some of the tales in The Lays of Beleriand or the earliest imaginings in The Book of Lost Tales. I have those two, but haven’t yet gotten to them. I’m working on Unfinished Tales now, but it’s the most finished of those unfinished tales that has recently gotten me interested in going deeper than The Silmarillion with The Children of Húrin, until now known only as one of the unfinished “great tales.”
Apparently after many years of studying his father’s papers and unfinished and unpublished manuscripts, Christopher Tolkien has managed to put together a complete version of this great tale of the First Age without having to do any editorial invention or interventions save for the occasional transition.
The Children of Húrin takes place in the First Age of Middle-earth, nearly 6500 years before Lord of the Rings and recounts the tragedy of the great warrior Húrin, who after being defeated in battle by the Dark Lord Morgoth is forced to watch as his children- primarily his son, Túrin Turambar – live their lives and battle against the curse of Morgoth that has been placed upon them.
Tolkien’s Túrin, son of a great man, raised by Elves and filled with both wrath and pity, reminds me of a darker version of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. Unlike Aragorn, though, Túrin’s life is cursed. He leaves the Elves after a misunderstanding leads to violence and lives among outlaws where his adventures bring him heartbreak in increasing measure until he must finally face the dragon Glaurung whose torments have fallen heavily on Túrin.
The cool thing about The Children of Húrin is its accessibility. It’s intended as much for the hard core fan who already knows the story (from its peicemeal presentations in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Lays of Beleriand and The Book of Lost Tales) as for the casual reader who has read Lord of the Rings but nothing else of Tolkien’s work. Despite the fact that the story has been around for decades and that many people are already familiar with the saga of Túrin Turambar, it is nice to have the work presented as a consistent whole and makes a wonderful addition to the Tolkien canon.
As interesting as the story is, I found myself equally enjoying the appendices in which Christopher Tolkien explains the process of putting the story together as well as how this completed version differs from the other unfinished versions.
The book itself is a handsome hardback with black-and-white illustrations by Alan Lee with occasionaly full-page glossy color paintings of key scenes. Reading it made me wish more books were so beautifully presented, but then Tolkien books are special.
Some of the books on Lost are more significant than others. The books that are actually shown are the most significant. If they’re shown and discussed they’re probably of greatest importance. Of lesser importance, but still relevant are those that are referenced by characters, referenced as the titles of certain episodes, and those that are referenced by certain events within the show.
When a book makes multiple appearances, it’s certainly worth thinking about a bit more. This post will take a look at three books that have reappeared in recent weeks.
Carrie
Carrie is a third season addition to the Lost book list. It was the subject of Juliet’s book group meeting in the first episode of season 3 (“A Tale of Two Cities”). Because Juliet wanted to read it and it was mentioned that Ben didn’t, it gave the first hint of dissension in the ranks of the Others, although at the time we didn’t know that Juliet was an Other or that Ben was “Henry Gale’s” real name.
We learned later that Carrie is Juliet’ s favorite book and it made several appearances in the most recent Juliet episode “One of Us.” After reading Carrie, I suggested that this implies that Juliet, like Carrie, does not belong anywhere, and – ever the outsider – she will exact her revenge on those who have tormented her, likely the Others. Likely Ben, especially if siding with the survivors might be her best shot at getting off the island, something that must surely seem more possible to her with the arrival of Naomi the Parachutist. Juliet isn’t on the Others’ side, nor is she really on the surviviors’ side.
She’s on her own and like Carrie killing the promgoers, Juliet will happily exact a terrible revenge on Ben if given the chance, though she may have to get in line behind Locke when it comes time to hand Ben his ass.
Watership Down
I think Watership Down has made more appearances and had more references than any other book on the show. It may even be the first literary work to appear, making its debut in “White Rabbit.” Sawyer found it in the crash; it had been Boone’s book, and when Boone saw Sawyer reading it in “Confidence Man” it was “proof” that Sawyer might be sitting on Shannon’s asthma medication, a turn of events that eventually got him “tortured by a real live Iraqi and a spinal surgeon.”
I wrote about Watership Down and some of the many parallels between it an Lost a few months ago, but seeing Sawyer rereading it again in “Left Behind” brought something else to the fore.
In Watership Down, the female rabbits die on the way to the new settlement leaving the rabbits of Watership Down with no way to reproduce and continue their colony. Sound like the Others? The good rabbits stage a raid on another warren, a totalitarian state, to liberate the female bunnies from the forces of the evil General Woundwart and his authoritarian regime. Not unlike what seems about to happen on Lost, except that the Others are the totalitarian society, at least as long as Ben is in charge.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
While The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has not actually been shown, it was referenced in Ben’s alias and alibi from last season: ‘Henry Gale’ who crashed his hot air balloon on the island.
We got another reference in the title of last week’s episode: “The Man Behind the Curtain.” In it Locke accuses Ben of being “the man behind the curtain” while arguing that there is no all powerful, all knowing “Jacob” from whom Ben take orders.
Last summer, I read and wrote about The Wizard of Oz:
The journey down the Yellow Brick Road ultimately becomes one of self discovery similar to what the characters on Lost experience during their adventures on the island. They too have what they thought they lacked ultimately allowing them the ability to change themselves and find redemption. The Wizard of Oz is about reaching one’s potential, a concept we see time and again on Lost, and also an apparent goal of the Hanso Foundation.
The example that springs to mind first is that of John Locke who finds within himself the strength, the ability to lead, and the conviction that he never knew he had. It’s worth remembering that Henry claimed to be coming for John because he was “one of the good ones.”
It is in this most recent episode that Locke’s trip down the Yellow Brick Road finally lands him before the Wizard. For the first time in his life, he is filled with self-confidence and conviction. Over the past few episodes we’ve seen Locke finally transform into what he has wanted to be all his life: a leader of men.
Naturally, this scares the hell out of out charlatan wizard, Ben. Despite the Norman-Bates-arguing-with-Mother feel of the Jacob scene in “The Man Behind the Curtain,” it’s clear that Ben believed there is a Jacob, and I’m thinking he’s not crazy. There is a Jacob, and my wacko theory is that Jacob is John Locke. Locke doesn’t know it yet, nor does Ben; it’s a future Locke that Ben knows as Jacob.
I’ve always been fond of the alternate reality/alternate timestream theory of the island, and I like the timestream aspect of it lately. Of course it means that Locke has to survive the gunshot wound he received from Ben who fears that Locke is about to become the new leader (dare I say savior?) of the Others, a role that I can’t help but think would have been Mr Eko’s if the actor hadn’t wanted to leave the show.
Another Wizard issue (as I mentioned last summer) is that The Wizard of Oz also suggests the lost continent-Atlantis-Lemuria theory:
The Wizard of Oz also brings us to the Lost Continent Theories in which we are meant to wonder if the survivors are actually on the remains of Lemuria, a Pacific Ocean version of Atlantis. This is implied by the four-toed statue that Sayid sees in the season two finale and by the fact that psychic Edgar Cayce (worth looking into since so many of his ideas correspond to what we see in Lost) “confirmed” the existence of Lemuria (and Atlantis).
Cayce believed that the citizens of Lemuria had psychic abilities and were both technologically and spiritually advanced. He also referred to Lemuria as Oz.
Adding in the many Alice in Wonderland references throughout the show, including in “The Man Behind the Curtain,” and that the title of the season three finale is “Through the Looking Glass,” the alternate time/reality aspect of the island is looking more and more plausible.
As to Locke’s return, it reminds me of The Shining (by Stephen King, who has two books on the Lost list so far.) Imagine Locke standing in a men’s room. Someone who has been on the island for an eternity without aging (Alpert?) informing Locke that he is Jacob, the island’s caretaker:
“You’re the caretaker, Mr Locke. You’ve always been the caretaker.”
And while we’re at it, let’s not forget that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Sound like Jack Shepard?
And what about Walt? Oh, yeah, that’s right… “Walt isn’t here right now, Mrs. Torrance.”
Okay. I’m getting carried away here.
For some good reading and more ‘serious’ and in-depth (and less book-oriented) analysis of “The Man Behind the Curtain” visit:
- Apropos of Something where Jess awards points to each character in the weekly “lost-vivor” posts. Here’s the one for “The Man Behind the Curtain.”
- DarkUFO has an interesting run down of the episode and also wonders if Locke might be Jacob.
- Brian at Lost…and Gone Forever does an impressive analysis as usual including some good theories about how Ben came to be with the Hostiles.
- The Tyco Times presents an unusual theory (h/t Holli for the link) about little Annie.
[saveagrey]
I just realized I hit ‘save’ instead of ‘publish’ on this yesterday. Oh well, a day late, no songs short, and some really interesting guitarists in this mix.
*’s by the ones I’ve seen live…
- “Subterranean Homesick Alien” – Radiohead – OK Computer
- “Drunken Butterfly” – Sonic Youth* – Dirty
- “Loretta’s Scars” – Pavement* – Slanted & Enchanted
- “Moron” – The Dead Milkmen* – Eat Your Paisley
- “Outta Hand” – Dinosaur Jr* – Without a Sound
- “The Lost City of Refuge” – …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Worlds Apart
- “Animal Farm” – John Scofield – Überjam
- “(Take a) Beetle to the Badlands – The Slip* – Angels Come on Time
- “Hoverin'” – The Amps – Pacer
- “Unchained” – Willie Nelson* & Johnny Cash – VH1 Storytellers
OK Computer is probably my favorite album of the ’90s.
In ’92, I saw Pavement open for Sonic Youth at Liberty Lunch. They were probably supporting the albums listed here and probably played those songs. It wasn’t a great night for SY (three attempts at “Sugar Kane,” three busted strings), but Pavement, a band I’d never before heard, was a revelation.
I don’t know how many times I saw the Dead Milkmen at Liberty Lunch, but I never missed one of their shows from ’89-’93. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more consistently fun act.
Dinosaur Jr fits right in with SY and Pavement for brilliant guitar weirdness. I finally got to see them last year.
If I was ten years younger, I’d probably never miss a Trail of Dead show. But, I’m not so I buy the CDs and pretend I’m cool. I am, however, just the right age for someone like Scofield and I do like him.
The Slip was a great ACL Fest discovery from a few years back. The Amps were Kim Deal’s post-Breeders low-fi experiment, and for my money, more interesting.
Willie & Cash. That would have been cool to see.
The other day I noticed the prickly pears were blooming on the trail near the house. I’ve never seen so many blooming around here so I assume it’s all the rain we’ve had the past few months.
I haven’t spent much time trying to photograph flowers so I figured I’d give it a go.
It was humid out – thick Texas spring air – and a bit overcast, but not unpleasant.
It will be summer in a few weeks. These spring days are going fast, but despite the heat, I look forward to another summer of hiking the local trails.
I love cactus flowers. They seem so transitory, blooming so quick that they’re easy to miss if you don’t make the time for them.
There’s a bee in that flower. I hope he finds his way back to his hive.
Guest Blogging at In the Pink Texas again: Kicking the Pledge Up a Notch
It’s about adding ‘under God’ to the Texas pledge. And it’s about chili and Chile.
Last night when we were re-watching Donnie Darko, I was struck by a scene in which Donnie’s English teacher tells the class that a famous linguist once described ‘cellar door’ as the most beautiful combination of words in the English language.
What struck me is that one of the two books I’m currently reading (Stephen King’s On Writing) has a picture of a cellar door on its cover. It’s a nice picture, bright and sunny, all fresh paint and flowers, probably meant to suggest the secrets of the craft that he meditates upon in the book or perhaps the way in which writers draw upon the contents of their own personal cellars in their writing. Either way, a cellar door.
In the introduction to the book, King relates a story about a conversation with Amy Tan in which she says no one ever asks her about the language in author Q & A’s. It made me wonder if the cover isn’t a nod to that famous linguist’s notion about the most beautiful combination of words in English. I’m only a few pages in, so maybe he makes the choice of cover image clear later on, but I can’t help but wonder if this is a nod to that famous linguist.
But who is this linguist? Was it a made up bit for Donnie Darko or is it an actual claim? According to Wikipedia, the linguist is none other than JRR Tolkein. This is interesting because the other book I’m reading now is Tolkein’s Unfinished Tales.
This kind of synchronicity occurs frequently with the books I read and the movies I see. I often feel that I’m reading certain books at the right time, the moment in my life in which they’ll have the greatest impact on me. Sometimes I get a yen to read some book that’s sat on my shelf for years and it always seems good that I didn’t read it earlier or later.
Whatever it is, it never ceases to fascinate me, and I find it interesting that there should be these layers of connections between the two books I’m reading and the movie I saw last night.
I’m waiting for my ipod to play something from Miles’ Cellar Door Sessions before the day is out.
As to the most beautiful combination of English words? I don’t know what I’d choose. I never thought about it until today, but something keeps creeping into my head when I think of it: Ever since my first astronomy classes I’ve loved event horizon which evokes feelings of secrets and darkness, mystery and light, distance and time, and the terrible beauty of nature. At least for me.