Right Livelihoods: Three Novellas

by Rick Moody

book data

92 ratings, 3.18 average rating, 26 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		14%
4		25%
3		32%
2		21%
1		6%

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published

June 6th 2007 by Little, Brown and Company

binding

Hardcover, 256 pages

isbn

0316166340 (isbn13: 9780316166348)

description

RIGHT LIVELIHOODS begins with a cataclysmic vision of New York City after the leveling of 50 square blocks of Manhattan. Four million have died. Alber...more

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02/05/09

Bookmarks Magazine added it

The expression "right livelihood" refers to a Buddhist's duty to reject any occupation that causes harm to other living beings; Moody uses it as a satirical reference to the paranoia and confusion perpetuated by the main characters in Right Livelihoods. Critics found the novellas uneven, pronouncing the predictable, unconvincing "K&K" the least successful of the three, while claiming that the acerbic political parody in "The Omega Force" compensated for the unlikabl

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01/06/09

Ben Babcock rated it:

bookshelves: 2009-read, anthologies, from-library, not-my-cup-of-tea

Read in January, 2009

Sad to say that this book was almost painful to read. Rick Moody's character sketches are confusing and unnecessarily complicated. When I eventually manage to figure out what's going on, I usually don't like it, and I don't feel any reason to identify with the protagonist. None of the three novellas left me yearning for more. Worse still, none left me with the vaguest impression that I'd absorbed some sort of narrative. They mostly gave me a headache.

In "The Omega Force,"...more Sad to say that this book was almost painful to read. Rick Moody's character sketches are confusing and unnecessarily complicated. When I eventually manage to figure out what's going on, I usually don't like it, and I don't feel any reason to identify with the protagonist. None of the three novellas left me yearning for more. Worse still, none left me with the vaguest impression that I'd absorbed some sort of narrative. They mostly gave me a headache.

In "The Omega Force," the protagonist is a retired doctor who may-or-may-not be senile and who may-or-may-not be in the middle of a government/foreign conspiracy that may-or-may-not exist. As he spirals deeper into megalomania, only the reader is around to watch him give into his basest urges--to conduct an invisible orchestra via the "Dance of the Stick."

My trouble with "The Omega Force" stems from the lack of a focal point of conflict. Should I feel sorry for Dr. Van Deusen because he's delusional, and this is causing trouble for his marriage and his relationship with his son? Should I feel tense because no one will believe him about the convoluted conspiracy only he thinks he has discovered?

The second novella, "K & K", is the only one told from a third person perspective. It's third person limited, though, so we're still treated to the thoughts of the deranged main character. I actually liked the story at the beginning; I thought it would be a delightful descent into officeplace humour--who's stuffing the suggestion box?! Ultimately, however, Moody treats us to a postmodernist ending that takes all of the delight out of deduction (not that he had put much in there in the first place).

"The Albertine Notes" was perhaps the best novella of the three, but I won't go so far as to say it was good or even great. The concept of a memory recall-enhancing drug that actually allows one to change the past through quantum indeterminacy is intriguing, for sure. Unfortunately, the use of the first person perspective meant we experienced everything from a drug addict's point of view. While that was interesting, it was also confusing. Time travel and quantum theory is confusing enough when you don't have drugs involved. And while I realize I'm disregarding the fact that "The Albertine Notes" has, buried deep within it, the skeleton of a profound theme, that's only because the narrative was confusing enough that I lost the thread of the theme every time it surfaced for air.

I'm not going to apologize if it turns out that these were incredibly simple and their points just managed to fly over my head. It's not that I dislike having to work to comprehend a story's point. I trudged through The Name of the Rose one page at a time--and I loved it. On the other hand, Right Livelihoods was not enjoyable. The book's cover copy says, "Only Rick Moody could lead us to feel affection for the misguided, earnestly striving characters in this alternately unsettling and warm, always remarkable trio of novellas." I don't feel that affection? In fact, looking back at many of my reviews, a lack of sympathy for the main character seems to be one of my most common complaints. Am I actually a sociopath? If so, and it's this book that finally made me realize it, what does that mean?

If I ever write a long, confusingly-narrated novella about it, I'll let you know....(less)

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12/16/08

Jim rated it:

Read in January, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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08/21/08

MyFleshSingsOut rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, short-stories

Read in March, 2008

I started reading the first "novella" and became bored with it.

I moved on to the third and final "novella" which was worthy of a three star rating. Moody's only attempt at working within the (loosely defined version of the) sci-fi genre. In fact, the whole reason the story came about was that McSweeny's asked him to write a sci-fi story. NYC has been decimated in a nuclear attack, the city is gripped by desperation and chaos and millions of people seeking to ...more I started reading the first "novella" and became bored with it.

I moved on to the third and final "novella" which was worthy of a three star rating. Moody's only attempt at working within the (loosely defined version of the) sci-fi genre. In fact, the whole reason the story came about was that McSweeny's asked him to write a sci-fi story. NYC has been decimated in a nuclear attack, the city is gripped by desperation and chaos and millions of people seeking to forget themselves or at least their selves of the present. A fictional chemical compound begins to proliferate throughout the city's illegal drug trade/consumption networks. This substance causes the user to vividly relive past memories, like, really relive them, with no ability to differentiate the artificially induced memory from "real life." Many confusing and interesting social, psychological and philosophical implications follow. It reminded a little bit of the mostly cheesy but conceptually great (“on paper” so to speak) film Strange Days featuring Ralph Fiennes in which he peddles other people's recorded experiences which you can pop into a minidisc looking thing strapped to your head and vividly relive as if you are that person having that experience.

I went back to the first "novella" (I can't help but poke fun with "scare quotes" at this book's use of the term "novella". It's like a Tourettic tic or something...) and finished it. I liked the basic underlying ideas that seemed to bubble under the surface and the drunken, eldery and increasingly delusional central character has some hilarious moments (like in the way that senility can sometimes be funny) but I continued to get the feeling that something else should happen and was merely met with more mundane descriptions of mundane things. Moody tends to do this to me: I get the feeling something revelatory is just around the corner but it rarely ever emerges. I find myself rereading the last paragraphs of his stories over and over, squinting my eyes for something I may have missed, something redemptive or interesting or meaningful—even in an "anti-sentimentalist" kind of way—and I rarely every see it. Consequently I can't even remember how most of his stories or "novellas" end even a day or two after finishing them.

I didn't start the second/middle "novella" before returning it to the library.

I will ¾-heartedly recommend the last one.
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07/28/08

John rated it:

bookshelves: novellas--edgy---magnificent

Read in August, 2007

recommended to John by: many & McSweeney's
recommends it for: readers who like a laugh & a challenge

Moody has contributed a number of glittering nuggets to our literature, and is best known for the more restrained early novels, made into movies. Yet in that longer form, I'd choose PURPLE AMERICA as his most feisty and moving, and for Goodreads I'll put my shoulder behind the wheel of these three novellas. I'd characterize the set as a triangulated vision (triangulated, in keeping with the classic menage-a-trois for novellas, established by John Barth in CHIMERA) of groaning WASP America's ev...more

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07/06/08

Brian rated it:

Read in July, 2008

In reading a review of another science fiction book, an Amazon commenter suggested this book as an example of excellent reading, in particular the third novella contained within this collection, entitled "Albertine Notes."

Moody describes a post-disaster New York in which typical Gothamite characters find a new way to deal with their grief: a drug called Albertine. One dose sends you on a vacation into your memories, and as a side effect, makes it harder for you to recall ev...more In reading a review of another science fiction book, an Amazon commenter suggested this book as an example of excellent reading, in particular the third novella contained within this collection, entitled "Albertine Notes."

Moody describes a post-disaster New York in which typical Gothamite characters find a new way to deal with their grief: a drug called Albertine. One dose sends you on a vacation into your memories, and as a side effect, makes it harder for you to recall events without the drug. This is a play on the actual effects of heroin, and would have been an immensely clever trick on the part of the author had he not mentioned it outright. While our protagonist suffers to differentiate the real from the drug-induced memories, so too does the reader. I must give Moody credit for recreating the drug experience, but it makes for an unpleasant read. Without giving away anything, expect characters to appear from nowhere, change their name mid-paragraph, and then disappear just as rapidly. Seriously, one of the major characters goes by up to four different names on the same page.

The prose is reminiscent of Edith Wharton, which is to say, wholly inappropriate for this setting. Perhaps only the most pretentious of the posthumans would indulge in french idioms in casual conversation, and even then, not REPEATEDLY. The Albertine Notes delivers a somewhat satisfying ending, and as mentioned previously, is told with some measure of skill. Because of this, I cannot dismiss it out-of-hand, however, it is a labor to finish, and I'm not sure it was worth it.

All that said, I started reading the first novella, something cloyingly titled "Omega Force." I couldn't get past twenty pages. The self-indulgent prose is offensive, and the banter of the protagonist (Jay Gatsby minus the charm or the money) is hard to swallow. I might try the last remaining novella in the book, K&K, but the dolorous chore that was reading Albertine, compounded by the slap in the face at the onset of Omega, the chances that I'll get through the rest of the book are slim. (less)

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03/29/08

SirRoger rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, i-heard-about-it-on-npr, library, short-stories

Read in April, 2008

I'm rounding up to 4 stars from 3.5. As my tags show, I heard about this book on NPR. In the radio interview, I believe they talked mainly about the third story: The Albertine Notes. I actually liked the first two better, although once I started understanding what was going on, I enjoyed 'Albertine' too.

The Albertine Notes is about a drug where the 'high' is memory. It gives you extremely detailed, vivid recollections of your memories. Some people are able to shoot up and then...more I'm rounding up to 4 stars from 3.5. As my tags show, I heard about this book on NPR. In the radio interview, I believe they talked mainly about the third story: The Albertine Notes. I actually liked the first two better, although once I started understanding what was going on, I enjoyed 'Albertine' too.

The Albertine Notes is about a drug where the 'high' is memory. It gives you extremely detailed, vivid recollections of your memories. Some people are able to shoot up and then change things in their memories, affecting 'real' life. It's all about drugs, consciousness, reality/memory, and time travel in a not-too-distant futuristic setting.

The first few pages were kind of confusing, and I wasn't that interested initially, especially since it seemed to launch into a history of the drug, and I wasn't sure why I should care. But then once I 'got' the world of the story, it became exciting. The story has a futuristic feel a la Bourne Identity or Fight Club, or other similar stories.

The second story, K & K, involves the office politics and drama in a small insurance company. The "office manager" aka secretary aka go-fer discovers some disturbing notes in the suggestion box and tries to figure out who could have written them. Moody's writing is hilarious in a subtle understated sort of way where if the reader gets the jokes, he gets the feeling that the characters in the story don't.

The first story, The Omega Force, was my favorite. The main character is a wealthy-ish retiree on a small island who does his darnedest to figure out the mysterious conspiracy of the Omega Force. He's delightfully eccentric, and Moody is hilarious as he slowly unfolds the story, leading the reader to understand the depths of Dr. Van Deusen's dementia. My favorite moment: the dance of the stick.

Each of the three stories has a central character that is largely unaware of the truth about his/her situation. It's "The Unreliable Narrator." The humour and suspense comes from this disconnect: you first see things the way the character sees them, then you begin to piece together another perspective. The Omega force does this best, and is the strongest of the stories, although they are all enjoyable and worth reading.

Recommended. Occasional swearing and/or sexual references.(less)

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03/23/08

Anna rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Once upon a time, I considered Rick Moody to be one of my favorite contemporary authors. It was all because of his first collection of short stories, The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven, where his prose left me breathless and inspired. That collection, as well as his handful of early novels that were all about people just trying to DEAL with life's chaos, seemed to be paving a brilliant path for this writer.

And then something happened. Around Demonology, I think, Moody's writi...more Once upon a time, I considered Rick Moody to be one of my favorite contemporary authors. It was all because of his first collection of short stories, The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven, where his prose left me breathless and inspired. That collection, as well as his handful of early novels that were all about people just trying to DEAL with life's chaos, seemed to be paving a brilliant path for this writer.

And then something happened. Around Demonology, I think, Moody's writing just sort of lost something, some vital electrical current that had made his earlier words jump off the page like live wires. It was as if he had disconnected from the reality where his best characters lived, and instead retired to a faraway world where no one would interrupt his tangential thoughts as he traced the outlines of characters' shadows. I should have stopped reading him after The Black Veil, which may be the worst book I've ever forced myself to read all the way through (and I did, dutifully, page by awful page, because I believed in Rick Moody's writing prowess that much). If not then, I should have stopped reading after The Diviners, not quite as horrid as Black Veil's attempt at memoir but still pretty damn unreadable.

This latest work, Right Livelihoods, is not actually as awful as the previous two. Moody seems to have regained some clue about character development, at least, and has returned to his familiar territory of lost people in a lost world. There is an aging, delusional public official on a quixotic quest to rid his upscale community of terrorism; a lonely office worker bent on eradicating conspiracy in her midst; and a shell-shocked writer trying to navigate the drug-crazed landscape of post-apocalyptic New York City.

But instead of renewing my faith, this may be the book that actually finally gets me to stop reading him. Not because it's so bad, but because it's so mediocre. After I closed the book, I realized there is nothing to recommend it: it was neither good nor bad, just completely unremarkable and forgettable. And of all the literary sins Rick Moody has committed, mediocrity is the one I can never forgive.(less)

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02/03/08

Alex V. Cook rated it:

Read in February, 2008

This book was a delight after reading the Palahniuk's Rant. Where Master P stretches two or more presposterous ideas across each other until they become a taut web over which his Huck Finn characters are doomed to scramble, Moody starts with the character and allows the complexities of the worlds they inhabit to be illuminated over time, as if they are slowly illuminating a cave by placing candles on the outcroppings.

In each of the novellas, the charater is embroiled in an environmen...more

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11/28/07

snackywombat (v.m.) rated it:

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: city dwellers

This is a difficult book to write about because its three novellas are so very different. Their distinctness allows them to stand alone as separate works but jumping from one to another proves difficult because there is no cohesion. Even in a good collection of short stories, the characters and elements change, but there is some strand--a voice or tone--that stays constant, or the experience can be jarring. Reading Right Livelihoods felt like Moody was, genius-ly in some cases, experimenting via...more

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08/28/07

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in August, 2007

(The much longer full review can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

As long as there's been artists, there's been fans of artists; and as long as there's been fans of artists, there's been the question of artists' oeuvres, a fancy French term for "body of work." You see, we nerdy fans of the arts love not only ingesting the latest book or movie or CD by our favorite artists, and judging its worth on its own terms, but also compa...more

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07/24/07

Ellen rated it:

Read in September, 2007

Each of these three novellas give Moody's traditional hypersensitive prose some kind of . The most successful by far is "The Albertine Notes," a dystopia set in a near-future New York where half of Manhattan has been destroyed by a bomb and most of the population is addicted to a drug which promises to bring back pleasant memories. A reporter is dispatched to Brooklyn, where the cartel and the first addicts are believed to have lived, and gets caught up in this convoluted underworld. I...more

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08/21/07

Rory rated it:

Read in October, 2007

rick, you're making ME moody. i've loved every story you've ever had published in any "best of" anthology. i adored "demonology" and pushed it on strangers.

but lately...you're less the astonishingly compelling writer man i've loved and more laureate-y and obscure. i really struggled to finish any of the these three novellas, and only managed the last, "the albertine notes."

amy benfer, on salon, said this of moody:

"And then ...more

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09/07/08

Billy rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Billy by: John Connolly
recommends it for: Everyone I Love

Okay, I must admit, I slogged through the first two stories and thought everything was OKAY, but nothing great....

Until the last of the three Novellas: "The Albertine Notes". Again, things that resonate and resound and rebound and there you are and there it is. It is a crucial, rocking a fat ass, awesome fucking story that I founf totally foreign and yet uncomfortably familiar.

Then I reread the whole damn collection two more times. And the first story? IS HILARI...more

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04/29/09

Daniel rated it:

Albertine Notes is pretty decent, for a good dystopia fix, but the other two are mince. It also has a different title in the UK but it has slipped my mind.

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10/15/08

Liz rated it:

Read in November, 2008

These novellas are just okay...but maybe I am just expected too much from Moody.

The Albertine Notes is by far the best of the three--I doubt anyone could argue against this--and it only highlights how mediocre the other two are.

But all of Rick Moody's signature moves are here in this writing: nervous breakdowns, melancholy junkies, italic frenzy and 5 syllable diction. I think anyone familiar with Moody will like this book, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.

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08/15/07

Liz rated it:

Read in August, 2007

All you haters: Please stop hating on Rick Moody. He is one of the only writers with a hip, po-mo aesthetic who I can actually stomach. Alright, so Right Livelihoods is not his most impressive work. It's not on par with Garden State, or The Ice Storm, or even The Diviners (which I really loved). But as a work of "post-September 11" fiction (a designation that makes my skin crawl a bit) I found it satisfying, clever, and thought provoking to an extent rivaled only by the Lemony Snic...more

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06/16/07

Jamil rated it:

bookshelves: drugs, nyc, pkd, sampled, science-fiction

Read in June, 2007

so i actually only read the one novella I was interested in, "The Albertine Notes", but i give the book three stars on that basis. it's yr standard quote literary unquote writer slumming in the genre fiction aisles kinda routine. 'cept it's a pretty good tale, about memory and loss and fractured time. it's Rick Moody doing Ballard and PKD like the blurbs say. it also mines territories similar to Vurt and DMZ. oh yeah, and it was totally confusing to read, but still riveting ...more

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10/22/08

Kevin rated it:

Read in October, 2008

Note to self: Novellas tend to suck. Really, how many really good novellas have you read? This book is a collection of three writing exercises that never should have been published. The first novella at least held my interest a little. The third I couldn't finish. My new theory is that if you're an author with a story to tell and it doesn't fit into either short story or novel form you need to rethink your story.

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11/12/07

Joslyn rated it:

bookshelves: shorts

Read in November, 2007

i guess i just need to stop reading rick moody. i always feel like he's joking or winking or being tongue-in-cheek and will switch tones or perspectives or characters soon, but then it lasts the duration. i can't say what it is that strikes me as so insincere, even dishonest, about his narratives but it leaves me cold even when the 'facts' of the story interest me.

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