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Falconer
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Matt, I am the Great Went.
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rated it 3 stars
Apr 07, 2014 12:19PM
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Ooh, foreshadowing. Readers may remember that Dave is not a fan of Kesey.
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I'll be reading along this month too. What the hell.
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The last third of the novel finally connected with me. The first half was rough, the mind droppings of a self-important and un-self-aware protagonist. The 10+ pages of Farragut's letters to Marcia, the governor and the bishop just about did me in. The one character we have any insight into is so shallow and naive. "Why is this book called 'Falconer' and not 'Farragut'?" I finally figured it out when Cheever fleshed out the other characters; I found Jody, the Cuckold, and Chicken fascinating. How the events at the wall affected both inmates and guards was riveting -- the guards' terror, the administration's successful ploys of keeping prisoners in the dark while distracting them (and allowing them to distract themselves) with meaningless bullshit. The violent quashing of the uprising told in a single paragraph of almost passionless commentary in "the voice of a woman who might sell you a packet of cigarettes anywhere in the world" was pitch-perfect.
And then the last several scenes blew me away: Farragut mistakenly receiving last rites, then washing Chicken's body with care, and now the flashback to Zeke murdering his horrible older brother, who was essentially the worst version of himself. Suicide's a mortal sin, so I guess this was his best solution. And finally Farragut's "death" and rebirth -- now I didn't want the book to end, where after the first 100 pages I had been praying for it to end.
I didn't get a "great American novel" vibe, but I finished the book very impressed with what Cheever had pulled off. I'm going to try to find some of the reviews blurbed on the cover of my 1991 PB edition (NYT: "One of the most important novels of our time... Read it and be ennobled.") and find what more learned readers found that I missed.
Can't wait to hear what y'all have to say.
Just read some reviews that brought up two points I found interesting. First that Cheever's prose alternates between high-flown and ugly very easily. It's an apt analysis of Farragut's descriptions of his life before prison versus those of his existence in Falconer.Second, that the combination of Farragut (inadvertently) kicking drugs and his reaction to the riot at Amana made him less of a lone actor and more of a member of the Falconer "community." And this change leads directly to his ability to free himself, in whatever way you care to define the term.
I loved listening to your discussion, guys. My #1 takeaway from the novel is that every person and event is filtered through Farragut's perceptions, and as he becomes a deeper character, so does everyone around him, seen from his viewpoint. This may be my biggest problem with the first two-thirds of Falconer, and the reason I finally connected in the third third.I didn't love Cheever's prose style, but it kept me going even through parts of the book I didn't care for. So that's a compliment...? I'd probably be happier with Cheever in smaller portions, if this novel is any indication. He is going somewhere, I'd just like to get there more quickly.
When I said I didn't want the book to end, it was because it had finally gotten through to me, not because I wanted to spend any more time with Ezekiel Farragut. Matt (I think) implied that his character arc was quite complete by book's end, and I believe that's so.
Thank you for the kind words. I do agonize over these little posts since they're my only contribution to the discussion. I could expand on this one a bit more, but I need to start on The Sound and the Fury, so I'll leave it there.
And in conclusion,
(view spoiler)
