David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "character-driven"
Avenue of Mysteries
John Irving hasn't written such a contentious book (at least one that I've read) since CIDER HOUSE RULES, which in my mind was a brave book, risking Irving's livelihood, as it was brazenly pro-choice.
Irving does this again here as he targets Benedict XVI's ambiguous approach toward the poor in his banning of the use of contraceptives. But Irving doesn't go all agnostic against the church as there's quite a bit of mysticism in AVENUE OF MYSTERIES. That's where Dorothy and Miriam come in. They're literary groupies of noted author Juan Diego Guerrero whom he meets in a trip to the Philippines to honor the father of a diseased friend of his. Dorothy and Miriam can't be seen in a mirror and they don't show up in a picture taken by a tourist with Juan Diego. What the heck is going on here? He has sex with both, but the mother, especially, appears out of nowhere.
Let's back up a bit. Juan Diego is a slum kid who with his sister, Lupe, lived in a dump in Oaxaca, Mexico, with their protector, Rivera, who sincerely loved them. His mother worked as a cleaning woman for the Jesuits during the day and as a prostitute at night. There's some question whether Rivera is Juan's father. But Juan Diego teaches himself to read by rescuing books mostly thrown out by the Jesuits who have a school and an orphanage nearby. There's further weirdness in that Lupe can read minds, and no one can understand her except Juan Diego. She seems to be speaking an ancient Aztec language. The Jesuits want Juan to go to their school because he's one of the smartest of the smartest; he even teaches himself to read English.
Lupe hates the statue of the “Big Mary” in the Jesuit church, probably because the statue of the Lady of Guadalupe is much smaller and relegated to an inferior part of the church. The weirdness continues. Big Mary seems to come alive at times. Then there's Edward Bonshaw, a priest in training, who falls in love with a transvestite. He and Flor eventually raise Juan Diego in Iowa City where Edward is an English professor. Somebody decides the best place for the kids is probably the circus, where Lupe would function as a mind reader and Juan Diego would be her interpreter, but the real reason she eventually gets the job is because the lion tamer is afraid of the male lion and he wants Lupe to read his mind. She can; she can also read the minds of the female lions. The lion tamer is one bad dude and he gets his just desserts, destroying the circus in the process.
As an older man Juan Diego is on beta blockers for his heart, but he feels diminished and tired when he takes them. He also takes half of a Viagra tablet. When he meets Miriam and Dorothy he increasingly forgets to take the beta blockers that diminish his sex drive.
The final major character in the novel is Clark French a former student of Juan Diego's who is a more accomplished author in the Philippines than Juan Diego. Clark is religious and he won't shut up. He also managed Juan Diego's affairs on the islands. He and Clark argue religion constantly and literature. Juan Diego thinks literature is always influenced by the author's life (as was Irving's in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP); Clark insists that it's about the imagination, his reason for denouncing Mark Twain as a major writer. Juan Diego was happiest in Oaxaca; most of the book is about his dreams about his former life; it's the real reason he doesn't take the beta blockers. They interfere with his dreams. A key clue to the import of Miriam and Dorothy is that they're both wearing black at the end; I wouldn't have been surprised to see them carrying cycles and sporting hoods.
There's an argument among authors. Should you outline or plan your novel or should you let the characters tell the story. This book is so weird that Irving was obvious choosing the second approach.
Irving does this again here as he targets Benedict XVI's ambiguous approach toward the poor in his banning of the use of contraceptives. But Irving doesn't go all agnostic against the church as there's quite a bit of mysticism in AVENUE OF MYSTERIES. That's where Dorothy and Miriam come in. They're literary groupies of noted author Juan Diego Guerrero whom he meets in a trip to the Philippines to honor the father of a diseased friend of his. Dorothy and Miriam can't be seen in a mirror and they don't show up in a picture taken by a tourist with Juan Diego. What the heck is going on here? He has sex with both, but the mother, especially, appears out of nowhere.
Let's back up a bit. Juan Diego is a slum kid who with his sister, Lupe, lived in a dump in Oaxaca, Mexico, with their protector, Rivera, who sincerely loved them. His mother worked as a cleaning woman for the Jesuits during the day and as a prostitute at night. There's some question whether Rivera is Juan's father. But Juan Diego teaches himself to read by rescuing books mostly thrown out by the Jesuits who have a school and an orphanage nearby. There's further weirdness in that Lupe can read minds, and no one can understand her except Juan Diego. She seems to be speaking an ancient Aztec language. The Jesuits want Juan to go to their school because he's one of the smartest of the smartest; he even teaches himself to read English.
Lupe hates the statue of the “Big Mary” in the Jesuit church, probably because the statue of the Lady of Guadalupe is much smaller and relegated to an inferior part of the church. The weirdness continues. Big Mary seems to come alive at times. Then there's Edward Bonshaw, a priest in training, who falls in love with a transvestite. He and Flor eventually raise Juan Diego in Iowa City where Edward is an English professor. Somebody decides the best place for the kids is probably the circus, where Lupe would function as a mind reader and Juan Diego would be her interpreter, but the real reason she eventually gets the job is because the lion tamer is afraid of the male lion and he wants Lupe to read his mind. She can; she can also read the minds of the female lions. The lion tamer is one bad dude and he gets his just desserts, destroying the circus in the process.
As an older man Juan Diego is on beta blockers for his heart, but he feels diminished and tired when he takes them. He also takes half of a Viagra tablet. When he meets Miriam and Dorothy he increasingly forgets to take the beta blockers that diminish his sex drive.
The final major character in the novel is Clark French a former student of Juan Diego's who is a more accomplished author in the Philippines than Juan Diego. Clark is religious and he won't shut up. He also managed Juan Diego's affairs on the islands. He and Clark argue religion constantly and literature. Juan Diego thinks literature is always influenced by the author's life (as was Irving's in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP); Clark insists that it's about the imagination, his reason for denouncing Mark Twain as a major writer. Juan Diego was happiest in Oaxaca; most of the book is about his dreams about his former life; it's the real reason he doesn't take the beta blockers. They interfere with his dreams. A key clue to the import of Miriam and Dorothy is that they're both wearing black at the end; I wouldn't have been surprised to see them carrying cycles and sporting hoods.
There's an argument among authors. Should you outline or plan your novel or should you let the characters tell the story. This book is so weird that Irving was obvious choosing the second approach.
The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire series)
THE COLD DISH is the first in the LONGMIRE series. It's quite a bit different than the TV series.
First off, Walt is kind of a goofball, and Vic tolerates him more than respects him. That's probably not the case, but she calls him names like fat****. That would ordinarily get you fired in most sheriff's offices.
Henry is also bigger and seems to be a very good shot with a Sharp's rifle, the murder weapon in Walt's most recent case. Somebody is shooting four boys who were tried for raping Henry's niece, Melissa Little Bird. They were found guilty, but the judge gave them limited sentences in juvenile facilities.
Whoever is killing the boys is shooting them at a very long distance, 500 yards. Walt could make that shot, as could Henry, and Melissa's father. Lonnie, who's missing his legs, and Omar, a Buffalo Bill like character who's an expert on the Sharp's rifle.
In the middle of the book there's a kind of surprise. Walt is reflecting on his life—he's met a woman, Vonnie, who seems very interested in a relationship. Then there's the surprise. Martha, Walt's deceased wife, didn't really love him. Walt stuck it out because of his daughter, who is now a lawyer who doesn't call her father often enough. I don't remember hearing that in the TV series. Vic is also enduring an unhappy marriage, and she cares about Walt more than she lets on.
There are some interesting minor characters: Lucian, the old sheriff, is living in a senior citizen's home. Walt plays chess with him once a week. In this book, Walt hires Lucian as a dispatcher for two days a week. He's an old-time western sheriff who sort of made his own rules as a case progressed, but Walt respects him and leans on him for advice. Turk is Lucian's nephew, an announced candidate for sheriff after Walt retires. Walt wants Vic to take his place.
THE COLD DISH is just another instance of the book being better than the TV show. Walt has a sense of humor in the book. He also has a great deal of respect for Native American spirituality. There's a scene where Henry is wounded and Walt has to carry him back to safety in the middle of a blizzard. He almost freezes to death. He hears bells and sees ghostlike Cheyenne Indians who lead him out of danger, left with frost bitten ears and hands. You might want to read this section twice. I had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in there Vic was also coming to his aid.
You won't be able to guess who killed those boys. But I'll give you a hint: remember the old adage, “It's always the one you least expect.”
First off, Walt is kind of a goofball, and Vic tolerates him more than respects him. That's probably not the case, but she calls him names like fat****. That would ordinarily get you fired in most sheriff's offices.
Henry is also bigger and seems to be a very good shot with a Sharp's rifle, the murder weapon in Walt's most recent case. Somebody is shooting four boys who were tried for raping Henry's niece, Melissa Little Bird. They were found guilty, but the judge gave them limited sentences in juvenile facilities.
Whoever is killing the boys is shooting them at a very long distance, 500 yards. Walt could make that shot, as could Henry, and Melissa's father. Lonnie, who's missing his legs, and Omar, a Buffalo Bill like character who's an expert on the Sharp's rifle.
In the middle of the book there's a kind of surprise. Walt is reflecting on his life—he's met a woman, Vonnie, who seems very interested in a relationship. Then there's the surprise. Martha, Walt's deceased wife, didn't really love him. Walt stuck it out because of his daughter, who is now a lawyer who doesn't call her father often enough. I don't remember hearing that in the TV series. Vic is also enduring an unhappy marriage, and she cares about Walt more than she lets on.
There are some interesting minor characters: Lucian, the old sheriff, is living in a senior citizen's home. Walt plays chess with him once a week. In this book, Walt hires Lucian as a dispatcher for two days a week. He's an old-time western sheriff who sort of made his own rules as a case progressed, but Walt respects him and leans on him for advice. Turk is Lucian's nephew, an announced candidate for sheriff after Walt retires. Walt wants Vic to take his place.
THE COLD DISH is just another instance of the book being better than the TV show. Walt has a sense of humor in the book. He also has a great deal of respect for Native American spirituality. There's a scene where Henry is wounded and Walt has to carry him back to safety in the middle of a blizzard. He almost freezes to death. He hears bells and sees ghostlike Cheyenne Indians who lead him out of danger, left with frost bitten ears and hands. You might want to read this section twice. I had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in there Vic was also coming to his aid.
You won't be able to guess who killed those boys. But I'll give you a hint: remember the old adage, “It's always the one you least expect.”
Virgil Wander
Leif Enger first came to fame when he published PEACE LIKE A RIVER in the early 2000's. It was a about a dad and his daughter who loved Robert Service's Alaska poems and tried to write her own. She was a great character. He has since published two more novels, VIRGIL WANDER being the third.
This book is mostly character-driven. Virgil, the narrator, runs a run-down movie theater in Greenstone, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior. He's just been involved in a car accident, driving off a cliff into the lake. A good Samaritan happened to see his car fly through the air and splash down and save him.
The plot, such as it is, starts with the disappearance of Alec Sandstrom, a Mark Fidrych like character whose erratic fastball, he called the Mad Mouse was good enough to throw a perfect game for the Duluth Superior Dukes. Alec disappeared when he flew a small plane over the lake and never returned, leaving behind a wife, Nadine, and a small son, Bjorn.
So we want to know what happened to Alec and we want to know about the weirdo Adam Leer, who was once a Hollywood producer, but only produced one hit movie. The book is also about kites. A character named Rune shows up in Greenstone; he just happens to be Alec's father, although he didn't know about it until it was too late. Now he's a master kite builder and flyer who makes these amazing flying machines, one of which is a big dog.
Virgil hires Bjorn to work at the theater; in no time at all he becomes a better projectionist than Virgil and also brings in new movie-goers with his charming pre-movie pitches. Virgil has a thing for Bjorn's mother, although she's a lot younger. Virgil also has an illegal stash of old movies, one of which, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” was Alec's favorite movie. Bjorn loves it. Virgil didn't steal the movies, and he's looking for a way to send them back to the studios without being blamed for stealing them. He's not the original owner.
There are a few twists later on in the novel, but they don't amount to much. This is about Virgil, Nadine, Bjorn, Rune and a few other minor characters who live in the seemingly dying town of Greenstone, which has lost its taconite mine. But they're a sturdy bunch and fun to hang out with for the time it takes to read 300 quality paperback pages.
This book is mostly character-driven. Virgil, the narrator, runs a run-down movie theater in Greenstone, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior. He's just been involved in a car accident, driving off a cliff into the lake. A good Samaritan happened to see his car fly through the air and splash down and save him.
The plot, such as it is, starts with the disappearance of Alec Sandstrom, a Mark Fidrych like character whose erratic fastball, he called the Mad Mouse was good enough to throw a perfect game for the Duluth Superior Dukes. Alec disappeared when he flew a small plane over the lake and never returned, leaving behind a wife, Nadine, and a small son, Bjorn.
So we want to know what happened to Alec and we want to know about the weirdo Adam Leer, who was once a Hollywood producer, but only produced one hit movie. The book is also about kites. A character named Rune shows up in Greenstone; he just happens to be Alec's father, although he didn't know about it until it was too late. Now he's a master kite builder and flyer who makes these amazing flying machines, one of which is a big dog.
Virgil hires Bjorn to work at the theater; in no time at all he becomes a better projectionist than Virgil and also brings in new movie-goers with his charming pre-movie pitches. Virgil has a thing for Bjorn's mother, although she's a lot younger. Virgil also has an illegal stash of old movies, one of which, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” was Alec's favorite movie. Bjorn loves it. Virgil didn't steal the movies, and he's looking for a way to send them back to the studios without being blamed for stealing them. He's not the original owner.
There are a few twists later on in the novel, but they don't amount to much. This is about Virgil, Nadine, Bjorn, Rune and a few other minor characters who live in the seemingly dying town of Greenstone, which has lost its taconite mine. But they're a sturdy bunch and fun to hang out with for the time it takes to read 300 quality paperback pages.
