Marcel Proust's "Sodom and Gomorrah," (from "In Search of Lost Time)

 

Tosh on Proust's "Sodom and Gomorrah"

"Life for Sale" by Yukio Mishima; translated by Stephen Dodd (Penguin Classic)

ISBN: 978-0-241-33314-3

I think I read everything that is translated into English by Yukio Mishima.  Recently three more works came out, which means the Mishima estate is allowing more translations of his excellent writing.  "Life for Sale" is very much a pulp-style story.  It reminds me in of parts of the books by Edogawa Rampo.  Not in its violence, but its pulp-style of prose writing.  And this is very much a page-turner, with some absurdity attached to the narrative.  Mishima wrote this book in 1968, almost exactly two years before he committed suicide.  There are great lightness and humor, but there are substantial traces of the Mishima aesthetic throughout the novel. 

The book takes place during the student riots in Shinjuku, and the 'spring' of the counter-culture in Japan.  Mishima was very much the opposite of those students, yet, I suspect he admired them as well.  The same with the Hippies taking LSD.  Anything going against convention was the sugar in Mishima's tea.   In 1968, this was the height of his right-wing stance, as well as having his private army.  On the other hand, Shuji Terayama, the great writer, filmmaker, and playwright, was making his mark in Japan as a combination of Artaud and Fellini.  Both are important figures of the Shinjuku life in the 1960s.  

The story is about a man who tried to commit suicide for no real reason; he survives.  He then decides to sell his life to whoever comes to his apartment.  Money is not an issue, but a lot comes his way.  I will say no more because of the fun of reading this book are the twists and turns.   I think some will think of "Life for Sale" as a minor work, but for me, it's my favorite Mishima. 

"The 120 Days of Sodom" by The Marquis de Sade / Translated by Will McMorran & Thomas Wynn (Penguin Classics)

ISBN: 978-0-141-39434-3

What is there not to like about the new translation of Marquis de Sade's "The 120 Days of Sodom?"  Will McMorran and Thomas Wynn translate it, and their work brings Sade's language/writing to the contemporary world.  This doesn't mean it's full of Urban language slang words, but it reads extremely well.  And oddly enough this is the first time I've read "The 120 Days of Sodom."  

What's interesting is not the sex, which of course it is a big part of the book, but the Sade organized his series of narratives that reflect on a society falling apart.  It's not precisely a turn-on type of book or even a 'dirty book,' but more of a work that deals with the structure and how it tells its tales.   On one level, it's a book that takes place in an imaginary landscape, especially regarding the castle that the action takes place. One has to walk to the location, so therefore it is highly unlikely no one will come unannounced.   Also, the four main libertines are a duke (royalty), a bishop (religion), a judge (the law) and a financier (economy).  After that, then we have groupings of family members, Harem of young girls, Harem of young boys, and Eight fuckers (all well-hung men).  It's very much a stage-set with everyone in the story playing an essential role in a social structure. 

The sex is crazed and usually exposed in a frenzy mode of action, with lots of poop offerings of all sorts.  So it demeans people which is part of the turn-on but also to expose the power system in place as well.  Or at times, playing with the 'role' of power and it plays in a sexual context.   For sure, Sade's book doesn't read like a sex book, but more of a critique of overall power, family structure, and political power.   It's a dangerous book because it works on different levels.  One as a sex book (which it is, but as mentioned not that sexy) and two, a political/social critique. 

The Penguin edition (2016) is a handsome book, with a cover image by Surrealist/DADA Man Ray, and interesting endnotes at the end of the book.  Very close to being an annotated edition, and readable.  For those who admire narratives like Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange," or even a 1960s William S. Burroughs novel, Sade's work is very much a cousin to those works.  Burroughs and Burgess expose a system in place, and Sade did that a few centuries ago.    A brilliant book that needs to stay in print forever, because like "Gulliver's Travels," "Candide," and others of that style, this is a remarkable political / social observation.  

- Tosh Berman

"How To Be A Brit" by George Mikes (illustrations by Nicolas Bentley) - (Penguin)

ISBN: 978-0-241-97500-8 Penguin

I'm attracted to the Penguin classic design book and when I saw "How To Be a Brit" at the Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles, it brought back memories of me going to used bookstores in London and finding old Penguin paperbacks from the 1940s.  That it has illustrations going through the entire book is an additional plus.  I didn't buy it.  Two weeks later I saw it at a Tokyo bookstore that has an English language section, and they had a stack of this title.  For sure, the perfect book for the foreigner visiting another country.  Still, I didn't buy it.  It wasn't until I got back from Japan that I went back to The Last Bookstore, to locate this damn book. I did and went to the library to get other titles by George Mikes.

I have a fascination with books by foreigners writing about another culture. Mikes originally came from Hungary and lived in London for most of his life.   In a sense, he became more British than the British, and on top of that, he knew there is a cultural difference between the British and everyone else.   Some of the commentaries are out-of-fashion, but for me, that's not a problem.  Even the subject matter is not that important to me.  What's important is Mikes' language and his funny observations that border on being stereotyping, but that's OK. 

"How To be a Brit" is actually three short books put together.  "How to be an Alien," How to be Inimitable, and "How to be Decadent," which sadly has no Sadian touches, but more with how the every day British treat themselves. Nicolas Bentley's illustrations throughout the book are charming, funny, and a reminder of Robert Benchley's world.  In fact, there are traces of Benchley in Mikes' work.  Both are the absurd humorists commenting on the everyday life of... well, people. 

"When I Was Old: Simenon on Simenon" by Georges Simenon

I'm a fan of the writer's journal.  Basically, nothing really happens in a writer's life, except what's in his or hers head.  Georges Simenon is no different.   This journal takes place in the early 1960s -in fact, it ends in spring 1963.   Simenon is in his late 50s and often his journal writing deals with aging and his life with the family.  What's interesting about him is one, he's close friends with Charlie Chaplin and Henry Miller (all three lunch or have dinner together) and also a friend of Gide and Blaise Cendrars.   

As a writer myself, I'm totally fascinated with a writer's writing schedule.  Simenon wrote hundred of novels in his lifetime and at the time of writing "When I Was Old," he was contracted to write six novels a year.  How can one possibly do something like that?  Also, he had a full family life.  A wife, young children, and then occasionally having sex with four women in one night.  Which doesn't seem to be that much of a big deal for this busy writer.  Still, he suffers from depression, has strong doubts and thoughts about his daily take of alcohol.  Very much the normal Joe, except he can write six novels a year, and most, are pretty good books.  

Early this year I read John Cheever's journal, which is very similar to Simenon's book.  Both are into self-examing their purpose in life and their art.  And real life enters the picture with respect to drinking, love, and family.  And both were successful writers at the time of their common journals.   I recommend this book to anyone who is writing or having trouble sitting down and getting the work done.  Simenon was a very disciplined writer and had his life organized pretty well.   Which makes him sound dull, but believe me, he's not a dull man whatsoever.