Frankenstein

Frankenstein
by May Wollstonecraft Shelley
read: circa 1997
Guardian 1000 Novels

Frankenstein is arguably the forerunner of modern science fiction, with the titular Victor Frankenstein conducting scientific experiments on the reanimation of human flesh. This has become trite horror movie fodder, but Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley paints neither Frankenstein nor his monster in an unforgiving light. The creature does terrible things, but they all stem from his frustration from being brought into a world that hates and fears him, with no hope of happiness. Frankenstein commits the novel's great sin, creating the monster in the first place, but he's no supervillain, just a man swept up in too much pride and ambition. Like all great science fiction, Frankenstein is concerned not just with the hypothetical science, but how humans affect and are affected by those scientific breakthroughs.

The Man Who Was Thursday

The Man Who Was Thursday
by G.K. Chesterton
read: 2013
Guardian 1000 Novels

I'd never even heard of G.K. Chesterton until the last year or so, when I noticed several writers I like quoting him. After reading The Man Who Was Thursday, it was easy to see why. It was written over one hundred years ago but the prose style is still fresh and unique. The story is of an undercover police officer who infiltrates an anarchist society, only to find some of the other members are also cops. Some of the scenes should be tense, but the mood is always comic and absurd. As the novel moves on more and more religious symbolism creeps in, giving it a deeper undercurrent. I enjoyed The Man Who Was Thursday and I'm looking forward to checking out more Chesterton.

Tree and Leaf

Tree and Leaf
by J.R.R. Tolkien
read: 2013

Tree and Leaf is not a novel but a collection of two of J.R.R. Tolkien's earlier works. Pairing them together emphasizes how the themes in the essay "On Fairy-Stories" resonate in the story "Leaf: by Niggle." Tolkien was a devout Christian. Today fantasy novels come under attack for being occult and against Christian values, but Tolkien didn't see it that way. He spells this out explicitly in "On Fairy-Stories," making the case for both the recreational value of fantasy and also its ability to expose the reader to wonder, wonder that ultimately can only come from God. He also makes the case implicitly in "Leaf," telling an allegorical story to prove the value of art and its role in helping people find faith and salvation.

These are the first readings in Professor Corey Olsen's course on Tolkien. I just finished Lord of the Rings, and it'll be interesting to see how he relates Tolkien's world view to his magnum opus, which is much longer and more subtle than "Leaf."

The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone
by T.H. White
read: circa 1994
Guardian 1000 Novels

The Sword in the Stone was one of the required books for summer reading heading into ninth grade. I remember that Merlin (apparently Merlyn in the book) perceived time backwards (so he remembered the future but didn't notice the past), which seemed pretty neat. I never read the rest of the Once and Future King series.

Moonraker

Moonraker
by Ian Fleming
read: 2013

So the novel Moonraker doesn't have Roger Moore in space, but it is still a bit silly. Hugo Drax is a classic Bond villain, and the scope of his villainy - the destruction of London!- is the sort that Dr. Evil mocked in the Austin Powers movies. Somehow the characters seem in less immediate danger than in Casino Royale or Live and Let Die, which gives things a Moore-ian feel.

Through three novels, I'm struck by Bond's relationship to the women in the stories. He's presented as a promiscuous playboy and a commitment-phobe, but he develops real feelings for the women he encounters. That has never really come through in the films for me, other than maybe the Daniel Craig Casino Royale.

Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die
by Ian Fleming
read: 2013

Casino Royale is the first James Bond novel, but Live and Let Die is the first real James Bond novel. Casino Royale takes place in just one location, and it's a subdued and largely internal book - Bond never even kills anyone. Live and Let Die, on the other hand, is full of action from start to finish, spans from Harlem to St. Petersburg to Jamaica, features battles on land and sea, and has a more cinematic pace and scope. Mr. Big is a much more imposing villain than Royale's Le Chiffre, and his showdowns with Bond are more satisfying. This is the James Bond I know.

The Way of All Flesh

The Way of All Flesh
by Samuel Butler
read: 2013
Modern Library #12, Guardian 1000 Novels

The Way of All Flesh, like a lot of old books (and while not published until 1903, it was written between 1873-1884), is a bit tough for a modern reader to get into, but once I got used to the prose style I really liked it. It was very funny at times; the narrator's tale of his meal of "bread and butter" (which turns out to be a feast complete with oysters) with pompous school director Dr. Skinner is cutting satire, and the doctor's prescription of a palliative zoo visit late in the book (with the note that large animals are better for healing) is bizarre, absurd, and hilarious. Is it the twelfth-greatest novel of all time, as the Modern Library / New York Times folks named it? I don't think so, but I did enjoy it.