The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen
by Rudolf Erich Raspe
read: 2012
Guardian 1000 Novels

I'm a bit tired of writing "I don't remember much about this book," so let's come at this from both ends.   The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen is the most recent book I've finished.

I wonder sometimes about my affinity for the novel as an art form.  It's easy to say, "it's timeless," but the truth is that the novel is only about 400-500 years old.  It really wasn't a viable medium before the invention and adoption of the printing press in the fifteenth century.  Movies, of course, have only been viable technologically for 100 years.  I'm accustomed to thinking of the novel as a "more legitimate" art form, but part of that is its failure as an entertainment medium.  TV is more entertaining than books, so books must be art, right?  Of course that's a silly simplification.  I do wonder at times if the novel (and perhaps, the written word in general) is something of an anachronism.  Why would a modern writer choose to work in this art form rather than telling his story through a more accessible medium like TV?

For me, I find the written word more thought-provoking.  A moment is a moment on film, but a moment can be a sentence, a paragraph, or a chapter in a novel.  Filmmakers can choose different camera angles, but an author can break down the sight, smell, or touch of the scene.  He can even choose to ignore external stimulus and bring the reader into the hidden world of a character's thoughts.  The novel is a more open format, because it isn't confined by communicating only what can be seen or heard.  Master filmmakers can fill in these gaps as ably as the best writers, and the written word isn't without its limitations as a medium, but the idea that writing can take us to a more personal, hidden place carries water.

Why this long-winded introduction?  Just to say that, while I prefer the novel to the moving picture, there are certain genres that work for me better in film.  The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a collection of outrageous tall tales of the Baron's heroic journeys across the world (and even to the moon), is one.  The Terry Gilliam film (a loose adaptation) is terrific, funny, full of great visual imagery, and titillating to the imagination.  Reading similar material in book format just feels flat and monochrome and lifeless.