The Portable Veblen - Chapters 01 - 10 (September 2016)

[Marc]

This thread is for discussing the first ten chapters of the book. Please avoid any spoilers beyond chapter 10.

[Casceil]

I've read the first half of the book, and I am loving it. The writing is crisp and quirky. Veblen is a character I can relate to. I'm not so sure about Paul. He and Veblen seem to have very different values. I'm not sure what kind of future their relationship has.

[Marc]

Very much agree with you about the writing, Casceil--a real pleasure to read. I'll be curious to see whether your opinion of the characters changes any by the end of the book. That whole issue of values and how to merge two sets (or just two people) gets established pretty early. Did you dislike Paul or just find it hard to relate to him?

[Casceil]

I don't seriously dislike Paul, but I have a mild dislike for him. His attitude toward squirrels bothered me, as did his casual attitude about experimenting on animals. (I got some insight on his dislike of squirrels in the second half of the book, but that is for later discussion.) Veblen's mom seems a bit crazy, but once you meet Paul's family it becomes apparent that neither of the newlyweds will be getting any prizes in the way of in-laws.

[Amanda]

Almost everyone that I have seen describe this book uses the word quirky and I couldn't agree more. I'm not really liking Paul too much at this point. He feels like one of those guys that thinks once they are married he will be able to change all the things he doesn't like about Veblen and keep only what he does.

[Marc]

The squirrel might be the only "normal" character in this book!

[Amanda]

I'm definitely getting that feeling Marc :)

[Mike]

This is the first book I've read with this group. Halfway thru, I'm finding the book highly readable and the situation relatable, but not a lot of depth to the characters.

[Peter]

Mike, what do you think of the prose? I found it rather lyrical in places.

[Mike]

Peter, I found the prose lyrical in the sense that it has a good cadence, or flow to it. One thing I forgot to mention - I'm not sure what to make of these pictures/photos - kind of adds to the whimsical nature of the story, but is there some hidden significance to the pics that I'm overlooking?

[Casceil]

I thinks some of the pics added a little clarity, but if they were supposed to serve some larger purpose, I missed it. The characters develop more depth as you continue reading. Paul, particularly, turns out to have hidden depths.

[Amanda]

I finished the first half and I'm not seeing how Paul and Veblen are going to make it. Talk about mismatched values. The conversations about the wedding plans are pretty funny.

I really like the pictures. I just think they are fun and add even more quirkiness to it. My favorite so far as has the Muumuu. That whole scene at dinner was hilarious.

[Whitney]

I just started this, and definitely pleasantly surprised by the prose. It had the initial attraction of taking place in my home town, which so far Mckenzie has captured quite well, especially the squirrel at the center of things.

Palo Altans have long had a contentious relationship with the ubiquitous squirrels. When I was a kid, it wasn't uncommon to hear gunshots indicating one of our aged neighbors was taking aim at the grey squirrels stripping their walnut tree. [Cranky quibble of the day. The squirrel on the book cover is a fox squirrel, not the western grey that is haunting the attic in the book.]

[Amanda]

Whitney wrote: "I just started this, and definitely pleasantly surprised by the prose. It had the initial attraction of taking place in my home town, which so far Mckenzie has captured quite well, especially the s..."

I'm glad to hear she captured the area well. Too bad whoever did the cover art didn't do a bit of research!

[Casceil]

I also thought she captured the area there. I spent a few months there in the mid-1980's. My apartment was on Sand Hill Road, near the campus, so I had a better mental image of that area.

[Caroline]

I've finished the first half and am yet to warm up to the book. I really enjoy Mckenzie's prose but am not excited by the characters or storyline. I normally like quirkiness but am not loving the squirrels, though I do like Veblen. I'm definitely not a fan of Paul!

Veblen appears to be childlike in some respects, though she has her life together, a home she loves, and tends to take care of her mother and Paul. Paul wants to come across like a serious adult and professional but seems immature. I find his fits over his parents and brother pretty tiresome, especially for a man who just turned 35. I'll be curious to see how the characters develop throughout the remainder of the book. Part of me hopes Veblen finally goes to Norway!

[Casceil]

Now that you mention it, Caroline, both Veblen and Paul seem very young in some ways. With Veblin, I get the sense that she did not have any autonomy or get to make any decisions for herself until she finally got away from home. Paul seems to be a work in progress. He does develop and mature a lot over the course of the book.

[Viv]

I agree, Casceil, that both Veblen and Paul seem very young, or at least very immature. I am finding it much easier to warm to Veblen than to Paul, especially with his jealousy and resentment of his disabled brother.

The writing is a delight to me - there are so many sentences where I just smile and go back and read them again. Although this is a funny book, I think it also raises quite serious thoughts regarding marriage and family and fitting in. For example, the conversation about sweetcorn really made me think about how, when you marry someone who doesn't like something that you do like, it can close that pleasure off to you. I guess marriage (or any relationship) is a series of compromises in the end!

[Hugh]

I have read about a quarter of the book - I was enjoying it a lot at first but I am starting to find the tone a little annoying - maybe it's the quirkiness of the humour and I am reluctant to be too harsh at this stage. An intriguing mixture of subjects - for me the romcom angle is the least interesting part.

[Caroline]

Hugh, I agree with the romcom angle not being very interesting - and I am normally a sucker for that kind of thing. I know it works out for many people in real life, but I tend to hate it when books, movies, or tv shows do the "we've been dating 3 months - where does our relationship go next? Let's get married! Oh, and let's get married right away!" thing.

They should know things like whether they use anti-depressants, went to college, or how they get along with their families or each other's families before they get engaged unless there's some compelling reason not to. Neither of them seems like a hopeless romantic or desperate for an elaborate wedding ceremony or to have children right away. In the first half of the book, their engagement feels like Paul is trying to control things and prevent her, the anti-Cloris Hutmacher, from getting away while Veblen says yes because it's her shot at a normal life (whether she actually wants one is TBD).

[Peter]

My thoughts on the book: you've heard of literary thrillers? This is a literary romantic comedy! It is a fairly common rom-com plot and setup, but with high quality prose, more fully realized characters, extensive research, and (somewhat) addressing real issues. It is a rather curious thing to have created, and not quite like anything else I have read.

These things have the odd consequence that on the whole, while The Portable Veblen could make a decent movie, that art form would necessarily lose many of the unique things about the book.

[Marc]

The all new "literary romantic comedy" -- priceless turn of phrase, Peter!

[Whitney]

I do like that term. I haven't read anything else like this either, but it's not something I would have sought out if it hadn't been a pick in this group.

I am finding the "com" moments to be a lot less comedic as we find out about the families. Veblen's talking to animals has a different tone when we find out that her mother would shut her off from all other social contacts, and also that she would do things like cut grasshoppers in half in front of her screaming daughter.

I have friends with mothers who fall / fell into a similar category of "narcissistic schizophrenic" (at least in my completely inexpert knowledge of categories of mental illness). I was always amazed at how calm and solicitous they were with the troubled parent. I would definitely have come down more on the snitty Paul way of dealing with things.

[James]

Whitney wrote: "I am finding the "com" moments to be a lot less comedic as we find out about the families. "

I’m about half way through and I have been struggling to enjoy this book. I know I should pay no attention to cover notes but it did say it was ‘riotously funny’ and ‘hilarious’ (twice). So my mind-set on starting out obviously was wrong.

Melanie is a poor soul and Linus is a saint. The Vreelands make a really good job of living with a difficult situation. I can’t find any reason to laugh at these folk. (I’m assuming that’s what's supposed to make this hilarious). And then there's cranial surgery and war veterans!

I was thinking of giving up on this but Chapter 11 may have saved the show for me. In fact, I find the best sections are those where Veblen and Paul are alone together – their banter is the most humorous and enjoyable part.

Please say something to encourage me to keep reading!

[Whitney]

As I continue to read, the super inaccurate marketing of this book becomes even more apparent. It's not riotously funny, but it is people dealing with their baggage with frequent necessary humor.

I'm not sure I'd call Linus a saint. Yes, he's completely dedicated his life to taking care of someone who is ill. But he also made Veblen accept the role of being responsible for her mother's moods, which is not a healthy thing to foist on a child.