The Writer's Life 4/13 - Fish Story

As I've said many times in this blog, it's almost impossible for an artist to create material that hasn't been done before. The freshness comes from style, personal touch. Such is the case with Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan, who was born in Tasmania in 1961. I chose to read it precisely because it seemed unusual and, boy, is it ever. The protagonist is a non-violent criminal, a maker of furniture he passes off as antiques. For this crime, he is sent to a penal colony at Van Dieman's Land, a part of the island south of Australia. Set in the late 1820's, 404 pages minus the many blanks, the novel details the harshness of life there. The prisoner's cell floods at each high tide, and he must tread water in order not to drown. Mediocre artistic skill enables him to spend a lot of time outside his cell. The encampment's surgeon tasks him to paint the fish common to the area. He also does portraits, mostly of the Commandant, an ambitious man, apparently mentally ill, who uses the convicts to build a circular one-mile railroad and a mahjong hall he hopes will attract gamblers but fails miserably. The conditions are horrific and the treatment of the inmates brutal. Of course, the natives do not fare well at all. When they begin succumb to disease, the surgeon ships barrels of their heads to England for scientific study. The book within the book contains a history of the prison - or does it? There is so much contradiction in the narrative that it's difficult to know what actually takes place and what simply may be the product of a fevered imagination. I've chosen to believe all of the events occurred. So what is the book about? Certainly, colonization is at the forefront, and it's not a flattering portrait. I also take it as existentialism, although the protagonist would probably scoff at that. Here are excerpts: "...he simply came to accept the world of endless labor, ceaseless brutality and pointless violence..." "... hiding our shame at how we were both made to be gaoled and gaoler..." "... all life, properly understood, is a savage dream in which one is shuffled about... constantly in danger of being lost..." "... I have lived a life of meaningless for this one moment of meaning & these things which I now know, & the knowing of which will flee my mind & heart as abruptly as they have entered..." "These two feelings, this knowledge of a world so awful, this sense of a life so extraordinary - how am I to resolve them?" We in the modern western world are fortunate not to have to endure conditions that would have one think such thoughts constantly. We have myriad distractions to distract us from the futility of it all. Unfortunately, many pockets of the world continue to suffer horrendous torments. The novel is very hard to evaluate, as it is all over the place and tends to meander - intentionally, the author even supplying a line defending segues. Above all it is unusual. It is by no means an easy read in terms of content or style, the latter appropriate to the era in which it takes place. 100 users at Amazon have rated Gould's Book of Fish, forging to a consensus of 3.5 on a scale of five. I won't argue with that. This is daring, ambitious work, a challenge that requires patience, outrageousness and acceptance of contradictions. The reader should keep in mind that all humans behave contradictorily at times. One of the themes is that all is one, the history of one person revealing that of the entire human race. The author has received many awards. Gould's... was the third of his seven novels. He has also written four works of non-fiction. He adapted his own novel, The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1998) to the screen and directed it. Reviews were mixed.

Modern Tasmania is a state of Australia, population more than 500,000. Although it was discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, it was claimed by Britain in 1803. Eventually, 65,000 inmates were housed there. Its most famous citizens are actors Errol Flynn and Simon Baker. It is a popular vacation spot. In fact, it was visited recently by Gary, a frequent visitor to the floating book shop. A Tasmanian devil is the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial. Here's a pic:

And here's the cartoon version:

And here's a pic of Tasmania's capital, Hobart:   

My thanks to the young woman who bought two kid's books. Although business was slow on this day despite glorious weather that had folks smiling, two visitors made the session worthwhile. Bruce, who once wrote plays and was sidetracked by life, said he'd downloaded A Hitch in Twilight to his Kindle. Thank you, sir. Another gentleman whipped out his autograph book from his junior high graduation in 1957. He showed me an entry made by a Harold Kaplan, which he claims is Gabriel Kaplan of Welcome Back, Kotter. He then showed me an email about a reunion signed by a Gabe. He said he was floored when Kaplan told him he'd based the iconic TV show on that eighth grade class. Wiki does not list his name as Harold and his age was 12 in 1957. He may have skipped a grade or perhaps it was an older brother who had signed the book, although I was unable to find evidence of one. The guy, who was a bit flaky, said he was showing the entry and the email to all the girls and they were gaga over it. I asked about Travolta and he said Kaplan was no longer in touch with him. Is true or a fish story? I have no idea.

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