The roots to Jacob M. Appel’s novel can be traced back to the eighth century BC. That is when Homer wrote his epic poem, The Odyssey. Now bear with me. In 1922, James Joyce, in an attempt to match the characters and happenings of Homer’s poem, published Ulysses. And in 2013, Appel publishedThe Biology of Luck. Okay, so what. Well, Joyce’s novel and Appel’s novel are both one day (in June) occurrence novels. Secondly, Joyce’s protagonist is Leopold Bloom and Appel’s is Larry Bloom. Thirdly, both novels are in big cities, Leopold walks the streets of Dublin and Larry walks the streets of NYC. Both characters meet some very strange people. So there you go, a little literature history. Jacob M. Appel, in a question and answer interview at the book’s end, admits that he paralleled parts of his novel after Homer’s and Joyce’s books. Also, I have read some minor criticism about Appel’s prose...too hard to understand. What? Try reading China Mieville’s neologisms without consulting a dictionary. Appel’s novel is written in an prestigious composition, very easy to understand without having to ‘google’ a word. I also thought the book within the book stratagem was very clever. Enough, lets get to the story.
Larry Bloom, a nondescript and balding NYC tour guide has written a novel about his dinner date, Starshine Hart, the most beautiful girl in the City (according to everybody in the novel). The story unfolds with Larry taking a group of Dutch visitors on a tour of the city after he visits the local post office. He meets his group at Grant’s Tomb where a protest is taking place. Larry hustles the group to their first destination. Meanwhile, we meet Starshine in the first chapter of the book Larry has written. She lives in a flat with her dingbat roommate, Eucalyptus, a scrimshaw artist with many cognitive problems. The reader finds out that Starshine has two main squeezes: Colby Parker, the heir to a lawn chair tycoon, and an aging former Weather Underground revolutionary, Jack Bascomb. I mentioned in the first paragraph that there were strange characters in this story but wait more to come. In the interim, the letter Larry picked up is from the publisher Stroop & Stone. He decides that he will open the letter at the dinner with Starshine to find out if his book was accepted and to express his undying love to her at the same time. Some big plans for a portly unappealing man wooing the most beautiful girl in NYC (some say in the world).
In the ensuing pages (Larry’s continued tour), and the emerging chapters (Starshine in Larry’s novel), we meet many strange exotic New Yorkers. Does this make any sense to you? If you read this delightful novel, it will. You will encounter: Bone, the one arm super of Starshine’s building who can fix or get anything done; Ziggy Borasch (great name), a failed writer and sometimes maniac philosopher; Kalkhazian, the opinionated Armenian florist; Snipe, Larry’s self-serving boss; Rita Blatt, the homely sexist reporter from The Downtown Rag; and, the annoying Dutch tourist, Willem van Huizen. Somehow, Jacob M. Appel harmonizes all these characters before the story ends. Then comes the ending, ah, the ending. Is it real time or just another chapter in Larry’s proposed novel? I read that many reviewers highly criticized the conclusion. I, for one, think that the ending was absolutely brilliant. The concept that life is fleeting and only takes one day for everything to revise has enthralled many authors into writing memorable novels. I believe this is one of those novels. I am impressed with all the innuendos that are left dangling throughout the novel. By the way, what’s Appel trying to tell us when he consistently mentions Walt Whitman and Herman Melville? I’m not saying that this work challenges Homer or Joyce, but it is the perfect novel for your local book club discussions. I think that the hoi polloi will embrace this novel; therefore, I highly recommend this novel.
RATING: 5 out of 5 stars
Comment: Lets talk about a few one day occurrence novels other than the ones I mentioned in the review. Among Aniya Wells' picks are:
Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf: “The fearless, essential author used one of her most beloved novels to bravely discuss issues relating to mental illness, feminism, human sexuality, existentialism and more. Centered on the Clarissa Dalloway of the title, the book starts with her pondering the decision to marry her husband rather than another man or the woman she loves. Meanwhile, World War I veteran Septimus Smith grappled against post-traumatic stress disorder and symptoms that many literary critics believe parallels the author’s painful battle with bipolar disorder and depression. The eponymous character serves as an outlet for Woolf’s feminist and bisexual leanings, while Smith’s gradual descent provides a scathing commentary on the ways medical professionals rush and marginalize their mentally ill patients. Many of the themes she explores continue to impact today’s society as well.”
Seize the Day (1956) by Saul Bellow: “Like many, many other memorable protagonists created by the incomparable Nobel Prize recipient Saul Bellow, Tommy Wilhelm faces down a particularly grim midlife crisis. Unemployed and isolated from his father, kids and wife — who won’t even grant him the courtesy of a divorce — he spirals into a writhing existential dilemma that only a master such as Bellow could compellingly portray. Set during the 1950s, an era when a clearly defined middle class began coalescing in the United States, Wilhelm’s struggles intend to parallel this shifting societal change. What makes the novel so impressive is how it effortlessly weaves in social commentary, interpersonal reflection and a realistic, appropriately emotional conclusion all within the events of one exceptionally crowded, deeply personal day.”
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick: “Even those who (unfortunately for them!) never picked up a Philip K. Dick, originally from Illinois, novel in their life still know some elements of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? thanks to Ridley Scott’s iconic film adaptation Blade Runner. As one can probably expect, the movie took some liberties with the original story, though both remain classics in their own right. Dick’s novel presents a day in the life of bounty hunter Rick Deckard, tasked with deactivating some incredibly advanced androids known as Replicants. As time marches on, the protagonist wrestles with some serious questions regarding the nature of life and sentience. With so many ridiculously human robots about, his assignment begins blurring lines between the organic and the technological — a phenomenon that inspires plenty of ethical opining both within and without the covers.”
How’s that for a three pack?
James Joyce on the cover of Time Magazine, 5/08/1939:
No comments:
Post a Comment