Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" by Tosh Berman

 

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Tosh Berman Read it here!

"I'm Open To Anything" by William E. Jones (We Heard You Like Books)

 

January 16, 2021

I spent the morning reading the last pages of a novel by William E. Jones called "I'm Open To Anything" in the bathtub. I do a lot of reading in the tub because it's a private zone where no one can reach you. Bathrooms are a unique location for such excellent isolation. I have made some of the most serious decisions while sitting on the toilet or in the bathtub. Many work decisions came from the tub and reading the finest literature, such as Bill's book. 

Without a doubt, this novel has the most provocative cover for a book. The cover photograph is by the author and undoubtedly a conversation starter but in some company, not an entrance to communication. "I'm Open To Anything" reads like a memoir of a man's journey into the sexual world of Los Angeles. For reasons I don't fully understand, as a straight man (whatever that means these days), I love the Gay/Lesbian underground subject matter. I admire society's society and how it stays away from the mainstream world in such a fashion that it's invisible unless you know the secret password to that sensual and emotional landscape. 

Jones's novel is one of the great Los Angeles books, and he's an author who knows the city well and understands its sexual energy. All his encounters in these pages are fascinating and mostly with Latin men of all sorts. Jones has a deep appreciation for other characters to tell their tale. Here we get a Revolutionary, a book store owner, and various others who roam the same landscape as the author's character. For those interested in the craft and technique of fisting, William tells it in beautiful prose. It's great to read an author who can articulate his sexuality and practice. It's lovely to spend time in the tub with this book. 

"I'm Open To Anything" by William E. Jones

ISBN: 978-0996421898 We Heard You Like Books

"Self-Portrait with Russian Piano" by Wolf Wondratschek; translated by Marshall Yarbrough (FSG)

 

ISBN: 978-0-374-26049-1

 

"Self-Portrait with Russian Piano" is an interesting title to this dream-like narrative of an unknown narrator having a series of cafe meetings with a Russian pianist named Suvorin.  The novel goes from first-person to third and beyond, as we get a series of stories about a great musician's life. Does the title hint that the Suvorin is giving the story about his life, or is it more of an imagined or made-up landscape by our mysterious narrator? 

I never heard of Wolf Wondratschek, whose name sounds like a James Bond villain, but that is probably because I'm a Californian fellow with love for the exotic - real or not real.  The location is set in Vienna and a series of cafes or an Italian restaurant.  Suvorin mostly orders water and is keen to talk about his life to this stranger.  He is old, a widow, and it seems that he may have met a new and one presumes a young lover.  We are never sure what is fact or fiction, but we do get the full personality of Suvorin, in that reminds one of an eccentric Glenn Gould.  Like that pianist, Suvorin grew to dislike the sound of applause from a live audience.  He prefers silence or a meditative series of moments after performing a piece. 

The duality is that it is a book about music and the dream-like encounters one has in life, and perhaps a bit of a self-conversation among the pros and cons of culture in a city like Vienna.  Wonratschek is an amazing writer, and this tightly told work in short chapters, which reads like a short story to me at times, is quite remarkable. 

"I Hate The Internet" by Jarett Kobek (We Heard You Like Books)

ISBN: 9780996421805 We Heard You Like Books

"I Hate The Internet" by Jarett Kobek (We Heard You Like Books, 2016)

San Francisco has always been an odd city to me.  There are many wonderful things about it, but then the technology internet companies moved in, and sort of changed the landscape from the literary beats with great bars to Google world.  Yet the city houses one of the great bookstores in the world, the iconic (rightfully so) City Lights, but alas, the literary tradition does continue on, which is Jarett Kobek's novel "I Hate The Internet."   Yet, the novel doesn't prowl through the streets of Dashell Hammett or Jack Spicer, but the sorry state of Google, Facebook, which is now tattooed on the image of San Francisco.  On the other hand, it can be any city in America that embraces a technology that brings riches to a few, yet can leave a greater population empty - as in desire and promises not full-filled. 

I read very little of contemporary novels, but I have to say Kobek's book is really rooted into the "now."   I have never read a book that is so now, and not only that, it is a great novel.  It is my ideal of fiction writing in which it is about ideas, culture and politics. I imagine if Guy Debord wrote fiction it would be like "I Hate The Internet."  Kobek pretty much describes the dangers of the computer world, and what it promises to be, as in opening up new worlds for the consumer/visitor, but more likely the sole purpose is to either collect your personal information, or sell you something.  It's capitalism, but taken on to another tech level.   

There are characters, that are both real and fictional, or fictional real, but what is interesting to me is when Kobek breaks down the ills which are the American world, that is basically defined by Google and other sites.  Without a doubt, the Internet is quite useful, but there is also a price that goes with it, and in many ways, it is sort of the death of a culture that was once much loved.  Or, at least those who lived a long time, or have a memory of a life before the Net.  Excellent commentary on the American 21st century. 

- Tosh Berman

"Submission" by Michel Houellebecq

ISBN: 978-0-374-27157-2 FSG

"Submission" by Michel Houellebecq (FSG)

A beautiful romp through France in the 21st century.   No, not really.   On the other hand, Michel Houellebecq's new novel "Submission" is a witty commentary on the issues of French/European culture, religious politics and of course the main subject of this novel, the great French author of the 19th century J-K. Huysmans.    The best part of the novel is when the main character who is a literary professor, discusses Huysmans.    

My favorite type of novel is one where the author writes about ideas, and "Submission" is very much about ideas.   Popular media would label this book as being Islamophobic, but I think Houellebecq is really criticizing the modern world, and not praising anyone.   In a way, he reminds me of Swift, in that he looks at culture from a distance, and pokes holes into it.  

 I admire Houellebecq as a craftsman writer.  He knows how to tell a tale, and is often funny.   I enjoy reading him, and I enjoy being in his company on the written page.   But beyond that, I think he is quite hollow.  There is something vapid about his presence.  Serge Gainsbourg had bite, but Houellebecq to me, is a distant ghost of such men of past generations.  Still, I enjoy the ride that he takes me through his writing.  And to be honest, I would rather that this book just focus on Huysmans.  Politics is bullshit. 

The beauty of reading a Houellebecq book is that you feel the lecturer at the Sorbonne is Houellebecq.  In fact, he's the biggest character in the whole book, of course.  It is like reading a Woody Allen short story, where you can hear and actually feel the Woody presence.  There is nothing wrong with that, in fact, it's great.  So readers of Houellebecq's work wants to experience the Houellebecq experience.  In many ways, he's a bigger presence in one's life.  He drinks, he smokes, he fucks.... what is there not to like about him?  On the other hand, like life itself, it's an illusion of sorts.  It really depends if one follows the illusion of the writer as a great thinker.   Houellebecq to me, is a great entertainer.  

- Tosh Berman

"Autoportrait" by Edouard Levé (Translated from the French to English by Lorin Stein)

ISBN 9781564787071 Dalkey Archive  

Without a thought in my head, I went to Stories Bookstore and Cafe in Echo Park, and decided to purchase a copy of Edouard Levé's "Autoportrait."   I have heard of this book through Dennis Cooper's blog, and reading about "Autoportrait" made me curious to go get the book itself.  After purchasing it, I went directly to the Echo Park Library, or Edendale Libray as it is officially known, to start reading the book.   I didn't leave the library till I finished the entire book. 

Once you start it, the writing of this short work of literature (not sure if it's officially fiction or memoir) is hard to stop reading.  Rarely have I ever read a book where I was compelled to read the whole thing in one sitting.  I'm glad that I did, because I think if one stops reading "Autoportrait," you would lose the rhythm of the language and sentences.   Basically "Autoportrait" is a collection of facts regarding the writer's life and thoughts.   There are sentences like "I get excited by the idea of reading the biography of an author I love, then when I actually do it I lose steam."   Which is perfectly factual in a sense, but I'm not sure if he really means all biographies he feels that way, or just some.  Perhaps the one's that are 'only' about his favorite writers.   The book is actually full of sentences that can be either meaningful and quite textural, or just the facts sir, in the style of Jack Webb's narration in the TV show "Dragnet."

For me as a reader, the textures and pacing of the language he uses is quite hypnotic.   As I mentioned it was hard for me to put down this book, not because I wanted to know what will happen in the end, but just where he is going with this style of writing and format.    The book is very similar to the writings of George Perec and Joe Brainard - two writers he mentions in passing in "Autoportrait."     Joe Brainard's "I Remember" is very subjective, because it is how he remembers a certain time in his life, yet Levé is working in the same format, but the results are different.   Perec likes to play literary games, and I think Levé was a fan of both writers (just what I read out of this book - by his style alone) that in many ways, reads like a tribute to Brainard and Perec.    "Autoportrait" doesn't have a lot of psychology, in fact, it is almost reading the surface of someone.  Yet, one picks up little clues here and there.  Towards the end of the book, he mentions a friend who before going out to play tennis he went back to the house to shoot himself.   Which describes a person who thought out his suicide, but then I started to think why did he make arrangements to play tennis with his wife.  There is a coldness in the text that is disconcerting.   I did know that Levé committed suicide, so perhaps he was thinking about the nature of taking one's life.  On the other hand, Levé seems to have a full-life before his end.  He traveled well, and it seems he loved and had relationships, so the mystery of why one would do something like that, is still a mystery in this book as well.  

When I read "I Remember" I get a full portrait of its author Joe Brainard.   I don't feel that way after reading "Autoportrait."   It is not a work of full exposure of a human being, but maybe just the facts of how one lives in their lives.    Brainard is like Proust, and Levé is a minimalist by design.   It is obvious he's a man who likes structures, or has a belief in the world of the system.   Yet, that specific structure doesn't tell much.  But then again, what is there to tell?  "Autoportrait" is a remarkable piece of literature, but it is also I think a good book about the art or the artlessness of 'good writing.   Those who write, should be for sure, read this book. 

Edouard Levé

 - Tosh Berman

"List of the Lost" by Morrissey

978-0-141-98296-0 Penguin Books (British Import)

Without a doubt, and clearly, one of the oddest literary works by a pop singer ever.   It is really beyond the category of good or bad.  On one level, it's brilliant.  The truth is if this book was or is simply OK, then that would be a crime against both artificial and real nature.   While reading this, the name Ed Wood Junior comes to mind.  In that, it's a work by an artist who follows no rules except their own.   On one level, it's brilliant that he's working with Penguin, and knows its history quite well.   The cover and design of this book are genius-like.   But how does he arrange to get a book like this released to the world - and within the Penguin empire?

"List of the Lost" is like no other book.   It truly goes beyond even taste.   For me, it is probably the most Morrissey-like work, in that he has a platform where Morrissey discusses all his obsessions such as vintage AmericanTV shows, and politics.  Since the narrative takes place in the 70s there are American politics, but it reads from the point-of-view of a foreigner.  Although the narrative takes place in Boston, it is really that country called "Morrisseyland."   It's not the United Kingdom, Europe, and for sure, not really America.  Yet, it's interesting how Morrissey looks at American culture.  In his style, he re-invents the U.S. culture to suit his own aesthetic.  And this is what makes him a real genius.   I know he's annoying at times, but like the boy with the thorn in his side, he's endlessly fascinating.    And although this book is beyond pain or pleasure, it is truly a work of this man.  The truth is I love Morrissey.

"The End of the Story" a novel by Lydia Davis

Without a doubt, one of the great books on writing that is not non-fiction, but in fact a work of fiction.  On one level, a narrative (of sorts) regarding the beginning and ending of a relationship, or what we are led to believing is a relationship.  One is not sure, since we're getting the story or narrative from the author -for all I know she maybe making this all up, or it could be a demented diary of sorts.  Fragmented, yet totally readable, the narrator comments on every aspect of her relationship with a younger free-spirit.   She is a college professor who does translations (Lydia is a well-known and great translator) who is writing a novel.  "The End of the Story" is about her relationship or at the very least, based on her affair with this younger guy.   It is also the dread of finishing a novel or a work of literature.  One thinks that it is due to the end of a romance, but it goes down more serious than that.   So far, this is her only novel, and honestly she doesn't need to do another one -because this is very much a perfect work.  Also I enjoy her short (short) stories so much, I never want her to stop that.   Lydia Davis is a great American (but French loving) writer.   If I was teaching writing in a class, for sure the authors I would bring up are: Richard Stark, PG Wodehouse, and of course, Lydia Davis.  A writer can learn a lot from these masters.

Choukitsu Kurumatani's "The Paradise Bird Tattoo (or, attempted double-suicide)"

I never heard of Kurumatani before I picked this book up at the Downtown Kinokuniya Bookstore here in Los Angeles (excellent bookstore by the way).  I wanted to read something new by a Japanese writer, and I didn't want to go down the thriller or horror route - which now seems to be new trend in contemporary translated-into-English Japanese literature.

"The Paradise Bird Tattoo" is very much of a quiet modern noir novel that deals with an individual who is slowly losing it in contemporary Japan.   He's an office bee worker, where he gets no pleasure, and decides to go on to a world that has no beginning or ending.  A vagrant of sorts. Most of the narrative takes place in a low-rent apartment building where the leading character gets involved with the neighbors.  All either a little bit off or criminal minded.

Kurumatani captures the quiet despair of the little guy who is sort of floating on the tide of human waste and disappointment.  While reading the book I thought of the films by Jim Jarmusch, because the characters float in and out of the narrative, while having one main figure staying there for the whole ride (narrative).  There is also a touch of Kafka, but without the humor.  Interesting writer, and I will keep him in mind for the future.

"Paris Trance (A Romance)" a novel by Geoff Dyer

My favorite type of novel is one that is about mood and has very little narration or story.  "Paris Trance (A Romance)" fits that category perfectly.   Two couples who are best friends and then eventually they separate, especially one of the male characters - who ends up drifting off to London to ...do nothing.   The one consistent aspect of this book is characters who do nothing except exist.   Paris is the perfect background to this type of world where one travels from sex to love to eating to eventually nothing. 

In many ways "Paris Trance" is very much like a French new wave film.   Charming, but a  sadness takes over the (non)narrative.   Also it deals with the nature of change, and when and if changes happen.  This is my second Geoff Dyer book.  The first one I read was his essays on jazz figures "But Beautiful."   Both books reflect on a time that is perfect, but there is a mood shifter around the corner...