The Writer's Life 4/29 - Carbon

Londoner Tom McCarthy became a critics’ darling with his first novel, Remainder, published in 2007. Among a recent batch of donations was the fifth of his six novels, C. I knew from the beginning it would be difficult. I hoped it would be rewarding. Unfortunately, it was not. I’m one of these nuts that almost always finishes what he starts. I was tempted to give up on C several times. Not that there aren’t interesting aspects in it. It’s just that it’s bogged down by minutiae, tedious detail relating to early 20^th century science. It also goes off on bizarre tangents and is written in a style that I found clunky. It is the story of a young man whose father is an eccentric inventor and head of a school for deaf children. The novel is divided into four parts, each under the title of a word beginning with C. The first details his adolescence, particularly his participation in a pageant put on by the school, and his relationship with his brilliant older sister. The second has him in WWI aviation, which he experiences through the haze of heroin addiction. The third revolves around post war London night life, more drugs, and two nights at séance. The final part has him in Egypt on an assignment he does not quite grasp. This may be one of those books only the most intelligent among us would get. McCarthy’s work has been compared to that of James Joyce and Thomas Pynchon. One thing I can say, it is not quite as difficult as any I’ve read by those authors. It’s described as existential, but addresses the smaller rather than larger questions. I wasn’t able to relate to the character, who is so aloof and whose thoughts are more puzzling than any bizarre ones that have crossed my mind. I give McCarthy credit for research and for daring to be different and uncommercial, but this is a novel with limited appeal. 72 users at Amazon have rated it, forging to a consensus of three on a scale of five. Yet it does have a decent sales rank, 191,890^th at last look, eight years after its publication. There are at least 12 million books listed there. If I were to rank all the novels I’ve read, C might be at the very bottom. At the moment I can’t think of one I enjoyed less. By the way, the C stands for carbon, on which life on earth is based. I know this because of an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, where Data, the android, analyzes a previously unknown planet, describing it as carbon-based.


In 2012 NFL commisioner Roger Goodell was paid 44 million dollars. I have no idea if that was justified or not, but I bet there are many equally qualified people out there who would do the job for a million per. I wonder how much each season ticket holder would get if 43 million were returned to them. Maybe it wouldn't be that much. Then again, anyone who can afford what pro sports teams charge these days probably doesn't care.


The floating book shop had a visit from two stalwarts today. Crazy Joe, the scourge of local radio talk show hosts, went into a rant on his thesis on immigration, and it wasn't pretty. "Send 'em back," he demanded, "it's not a one-way street." He attracted the stares of passersby. Why anyone would let an issue like that upset him so is beyond me? I felt sorry for him. At least Ol' Smoky was in a mellow mood, reminiscing about old DJ's like Cousin Brucie and Alison Steele, the Nightbird. "I can't stop talkin'," he said. "Maybe it's the benzedrine makin' a comeback."
My thanks to Alan, who bought a Brad Thor thriller, and to the Russian gentleman who purchased The Cold War: A History by Martin Walker.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

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