Dirda On Books Michael Dirda Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 17, 1999

Michael Dirda The Washington Post

Michael Dirda's name appears weekly in The Post's Book World section: – If he's not reviewing a fat literary biography or an ambitious new novel, he's likely to be writing a light-hearted essay about the joys and burdens of living in a house filled with way too many books. Though holding a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Cornell, Dirda is still smart enough to be an unabashed fan of "The Simpsons," noting that "the show's genius derives from its details." He also loves P.G. Wodehouse, intellectual history, children's books and locked room mysteries--Just the sort of range you'd expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner for distinguished criticism.

These days, Dirda says he spends inordinate amounts of time mourning his lost youth and daydreaming ("my only real pastime"). Otherwise he just reads books and writes about them, with occasional visits to second-hand bookstores in search of treasures. He claims that the happiest hours of his week are spent sitting in front of a computer working on his reviews and Readings columns. Never afraid of self-criticism and in fact pretty good at it, Dirda once noted: "Do not imagine that I regard my taste for literary artifacts as anything but shameless and vulgar. I have sunk so low as to covet Edward Gorey coffee mugs. I yearn for a bust of Dante to place on a bookcase."

Michael Dirda: Hi again! Please feel free to ask me any questions about Book World, reading, publishing, collecting, my own reviews or columns, what have you. This is an ongoing discussion, so remember if I don't get to your question this week, try next Wednesday at this same time. On with the show!

Washington, DC: Michael,
Is there any author, or perhaps type of book (e.g. bindings, private press, etc), that you collect in a serious, consistent way? And do you have certain standards when you purchase a book? Thanks.

Michael Dirda: I'm not really a serious collector in the way you suggest: I'm a Reader. I do try to gather all the books by my favorite writers, of which there are a great many, and this often means buying first editions. Who are these authors? Cyril Connolly, Randall Jarrell, Janet Flanner, M.F.K. Fisher, Edmund Wilson, Robertson Davies, W.H. Auden, George Saintsbury, Ruth Rendell, John Dickson Carr, and dozens of others. In short, many of the people I write about. My wife, I should say, is a serious collector of books about paper and papermaking, and I've helped her in finding such material. AS for standards--I prefer firsts in jacket, but will settle for any version of the text if I have to. It's the words that count most.

oeplArrEDmun

Rockville, MD: How much of an autobiography do you feel needs to be true? Is is acceptable to base certain events on things that happened to someone else and then pass it off as something that happened to you? I'm thinking specifically of Rigoberta Menchu's book. I understand she allegedly did this to draw attention to the plight of her countrymen, a lofty ideal. But what if someone does it for a less praiseworthy goal?

Michael Dirda: Ah, autobiography fields a constant tension between design and truth--that is, to make one's life into some kind of work of art requires design, but once you start imposing a form, you start distorting the random, chaos of most of our lives. It seems to me that most autobiographies have to fudge a certain amount, if only because people can't remember precisely what their father used to say at the dinner table. So we recreate our sense of his words, and before you know it fiction has entered into play. Never trust memoirs. On the other hand, an autobiographer has an implicit pact with the reader to tell the truth, and if we discover that he's made up things, his whole work seems tarnished. These are tricky matters.

Washington, DC: I recently read "The Dark Knight," a graphic-novel (read: really big comic-book). To my surprise this tale of a retired Batman was actually good. It criticized the media and government, as well as hero worship. Have you read it ? Do you feel comic books can gain respect?

Michael Dirda: About 10 or 12 years ago I read a number of graphic novels--Ronin, American Flagg, etc--and found them exhilarating. I loved comics as a kid and still do, though I can't say I've kept up with graphic novels as much as I'd like. Neil Gaiman, Harvey Pekar, Frank Miller, and a few others are certainly artists. It seems to me that graphic novels are taken somewhat more seriously now, but there's still so much dreck--soft-core porn, techno-violence--in the field that most readers won't really give them a try. Alas.

Washington, Dc: Have you visited the Strand in NYC, and, if so, what did you think of it? I happened to be reading some old issues of the "Saturday Review" (which should be revived by the way), & noticed an ad for the then 40+ dealers of the 4th Ave. (NYC) booksellers' group. Made me nostalgic! Now just a few, alas.

Michael Dirda: The only reason I go to New York is to visit the Strand. Well, that's not entirely true--I also visit Academy, Barnes and Noble, Skyline and a few other bookshops. Yes, the Strand is great. Calvin Trillin once wrote a characteristically lovely profile of three strand-hounds, local book collectors who visit the store every day. I once lived in an apartment two blocks from the Strand for three weeks and spent at least three hours each day in the store. Good times.

Washington, DC: Thanks for reminding me last week of Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" (you named it as a favorite book) -- re-read it over the weekend and can definitely agree that it would be among the top-ten I'd need to have on a desert island!

What do you think of another old favorite I recently re-read: Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men"?

Love your column and having you on-line is terrific!

Michael Dirda: I love All the king's Men--the rhetorical flights, the portrait of Willy Stark, the tragic love affair of Jack Burden, the wonderful last lines ("Anne Stanton, now my wife. . . ). I'd list it among the dozen best American novels of the 20th century. I also like Warren's poetry and criticism--he did a great reading of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, back in the heyday of New Criticism.

Tucson, AZ : Love your new forum! Did you get the bust of Dante yet? Do you get the opportunity to enjoy the occasional mystery or suspense novel? I put aside Whittaker Chambers and other heavy reading for a break and thoroughly enjoyed False Accusations by (Dr.) Alan Jacobson. Kept me gloriously oblivious to the world around me all the way to the startling denouement. Sometimes I find an "escape novel" is just what the doctor, metaphorically speaking and coincidentally in this case, ordered! Continue your forum with great success!

Michael Dirda: No bust of Dante yet. I always read mysteries on vacation, usually Golden Age stuff. Michael Innes, John Dickson Carr, Edmund Crispin, Christie, Sayers, sometimes Cornell Woolrich. My favorite kind of mystery is the locked room puzzle; I also like humorous capers a la Donald Westlake (God Save the Mark is one of the funniest books ever). Still, I don't get much time to read for pleasure. It's still a pleasure to read, but that's not quite the same thing.

Arlington Virginia---Chris: Hi, Michael: what are your favorite books of literary criticism?

Michael Dirda: Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism--the big picture. William Empson--Seven Types of Ambiguity--the close-up. Erich Auerbach, Mimesis--the wholse scope of European literature.
E.R. Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages--an amazing encyclopedic volume.
Randall Jarrell, Poetry and the Age; Kipling, Auden & Co,
W.H. Auden, The Dyer's Hand.
James Agee's movie criticism. Virgil Thomson's music criticism.

Washington, DC: I recently started reading Thomas Pynchon's novel, Gravity's Rainbow. What do you think of Pynchon's work?
Thank you.

Michael Dirda: I'm a great admirer of Pynchon, but then who is not? You might check out my review of Mason & Dixon; I assume it's archived online somewhere. He is certainly the central American novelist of our time--unless that title belongs to William Gaddis, or possibly Don DeLillo.

Fairfax VA: What do you think of handbooks for Joyce's works, like Anthony Burgess's "ReJoyce" and which ones do you suggest?

Michael Dirda: Burgess is always wonderfully readable and provocative. For other handbooks, the standards are the books by Frank Budgen and Stuart Gilbert; there's a big volume of Annotations to Ulysses (I think by Don Gifford) and a similar one for Finnegans Wake. For people starting Joyce, first read the stories and novels without worrying about critics, then Richard Ellmann's biography--still the greatest literary biography of our time. Hugh Kenner has written several good books on Joyce, many with annotated bibliographies. Have fun! There's a lot of Joyce stuff online.

New York, NY: I find new and good comic novels or even humorous writing so hard to find. Peter Lefcourt can be counted on for a novel every few years. David Sedaris seems to be very popular. But are there any other humor writers out there to recommend?

Michael Dirda: I compiled an annotated list last August of my 100 favorite comic novels (one book per author, else P.G. Wodehouse and TErry Pratchett would make up half the list). Look for it in the Post archives, I assume. My own favorite writers include Wodehouse (the Master), Max Beerbohm, Evelyn Waugh, E.F. Benson, Edmund Crispin, David Lodge, Pratchett, Tom Holt, Stella Gibbons (Cold Comfort Farm), Tom Sharpe, and many others. I have a partiality for English humorists, as you can see. Among Americans, try Donald E. Westlake's capers.

Detroit, MI: Hi Michael,

Thank you, on behalf of my friend Roseanne, who's a romance writer, for reviewing romances in your recent column. Is there a possibility that the new, improved Book World will devote space - perhaps a monthly basis - to romance reviews?

Jim Justus

Michael Dirda: I'd like to see us do more for romances, but the sheer quantity of material out there is rather daunting. Still, we do do a fair amount with hardbacked romances, and will keep after them. As I wrote in my essay on Ruth Glick's Harlequins, the books were far more enjoyable, well written and moving than I would have expected.

bethesda, maryland: do you know of any good bookstores for someone interested in collecting cookbooks and books on culinary history. I've heard of a place called Kitchen Arts, in NYC I think, but am not familiar with it.

Michael Dirda: If you ask any largeish second hand bookshop for help, Im sure they have directories and can point you to a specialist in cookery books.

Washington DC: Seems to me that we aren't reading European authors in the way that we (ie, "serious" readers) read them in the 50s and 60s. Has the European influence lessened over the last 20 years? Or am I just getting myopic?

Michael Dirda: Well, literature has become like art--a library without walls. These days we read Japanese novelists (Murakami), Latin AMerican magic realists (Garcia Marquez), lesbian Brits (Jeanette Winterson), Italian historical novelists (Eco) etc. etc. My own training is chiefly in European literature, and so I regularly try to write about favorite authors: Lampedusa, Bulgakov, Calvino, Perec, etc. Frankly, I wish that people in general read more than just American books and looked beyond the best seller list for guidance.

Baltimore MD, Mark: Hey Michael, I love your reviews. Are you familiar with the work of Mark Leyner, esp. "Tetherballs of Bougainville"? I think it's entertaining, intellectual fare. What do you think of his stuff?

Michael Dirda: Read a little Leyner--not enough. He seems hilarious to me.

Washington, DC: Speaking of comic novels, have you read Christopher Buckley's novels? I loved "Thank you for Smoking", about a tobacco lobbyist. He's a member of the merchants of death (lobbyists for tobacco, guns, and other unhealthy things)and is the victim of a very funny assassination attempt (the weapon -- nicotine patches).

Michael Dirda: Chris Buckley is a friend of mine, not a close one, I should add. And I have this quirk: I find it difficult to read the books of people I know as friends. Their personalities and faces seem to set up a block for me. So, no I haven't read THank You for Smoking, but many people have told me that it's hilarious. I know Buckley is a fan of Tom Sharpe, am obscenely funny British novelist.

Washington DC: Love your Book World column! I am a fan of medieval Italian literature, in original language--St. Francis, Dante, Boccaccio, etc. Do you read/review books in their original language? Do you pleasure-read in a second language? Thanks!

Michael Dirda: I was a medievalist in grad school, who switched to European romanticism. I read French well (I taught in a French lycee years ago), German haltingly, Italian with a trot, and Latin, with facing page ENglish. I also have studied Old English, Middle High German, and medieval French. But that, of course, was in another lifetime, a long while back.

Arlington, Va: Michael:

You mentioned your regard for John Dickson Carr, an enthusiasm of mine, although I like the Henry Merrivale novels by Carter Dickson better. But surely you don't believe that Carr was a great writer or stylist, do you? I imagine it is more the plot that the style that makes Carr interesting.

Michael Dirda: I love the atmosphere of the Carr books--what seems almost certainly supernatural is gradually revealed to be very rational indeed. I think he's a better stylist than often credited: See the wonderful opening to The Burning Court. I wrote a 10,000 word essay on Carr for a two volume reference book on mysteries edtied by Robin Winks and Maureen Corrigan--it's up for an Edgar this year. If you like Carr, you should read Douglas Greene's superb biography. I think HM a little too silly compared to Gideon Fell.

Washington, DC: How does one get a position as a book critic? I know that education is important -- I have a Master's in English -- but I wonder if there is a general track one follows to break into "criticism" as a career. What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a critic?

Michael Dirda: You need to have read a lot--and I mean a lot, not just the standard books taught in modern English classes. And you have to be able to write entertainingly. Try doing some reviews for local papers; accumulate a few clips; and then send them to the place where you'd like to appear. Above all, be very lucky.

Washington, DC: Here's a (sad) sign of the times. Recently, I was looking for a copy of "The Man who was Thursday" by Chesterton, especially the Penguin paperback with Kingsley Amis' introduction. I stopped into Mystery Books on Conn. Ave. and, approaching a female employee, inquired after the book. Her deadpan response, seriously, was: "I'm afraid that's not really in fashion these days." My jaw hit the floor (shiny white teeth and dull silver fillings scattering across the thin carpet) as other customers averted their eyes or smirked at my indiscretion. I guess even small, independent bookstores are susceptible to the insidious influence of TV talkshow hosts. Eventually I found refuge at Kramerbooks (so fashionable). There I found several copies of "The Man," together with other Chesterton selections In a fit of pique, I also bought The Complete Father Brown. God love a well-stocked bookstore!

Michael Dirda: I'm surprised Mystery Books didn't have Thursday--one of myh favorite books. I've never forgotten that haunting description of the sunset at the end of the first chapter, where Chesterton says something like it looked like the end of the world. Love the Father Brown stories, as do all right-thinking people. Have you ever read The Napoleon of Notting Hill, in which the boroughs of London battle each other? I think it's his second-best novel.

Arlington VA: Hi Michael, I love your reviews! I have two questions, so I'm cheating: what do you think of historical novels as a genre (and do you have any titles you especially like?)? And what fiction/poetry would you suggest about the Vietnam War? Thank you!

Michael Dirda: Do like historical novels: The recent mystery An Instance of the Fingerpost, by Iain Pears is wonderful and very true to the 17th century. Anthony Burgess's novel about Shakespeare is a tour de force--Nothing Like the Sun; and The Name of the Rose is really a lot of fun (just skip the Latin, if it bothers you). Bruce Weigl has written powerful poems about Vietnam; Tim O'Brien's Going after Cacciato and The Things They Carried are among the best fiction on the war; for nonfiction, try Michael Herr's Dispatches.

Madison WI: What is/are your "desert island book(s)?"--the one(s) you would choose to read and reread if you could have no others?

Michael Dirda: Desert island book--that's a hard one. Bernard Shaw asked for a blank notebook. Somebody else chose The Boy Scout's Manual. I'd probably choose Montaigne's essays (in French).

alexandria, va: hi there, michael.

Ive recently been reading a lot of Arthurian tales--which i've always poo poohed but now am thoroughly enjoying. I started with Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave, moved on to The Winter King, and was delighted by the Mists of Avalon. Do you have any suggestions on other non-traditional versions of the legend?

Christina

Michael Dirda: Thomas Berger's Arthur Rex. T.H. White's Once and Future King.

Washington, DC: Thank you for this opportunity to chat. I think that Book World is a wonderful publication. I especially enjoy your reviews and columns. What's a "typical" day like at Book World?

Michael Dirda: There are no typical days, alas. Just imagine lots of chaos and hustle. In truth, to answer your question would take an entire hour. Catch me at a talk sometime.

okayama, japan: Michael,

I have a 3 year old son who can't get enough of picture books(richard scarry, thomas the tank engine etc.). He loves dogs, throwing and kicking any kind of ball and beating up on his dad. Is there anything recently published that you would recommend for him?
Thanks.

Michael Dirda: I'm a great fan of Daniel Pinkwater, William Joyce, William Steig, James Marshall, James Stevenson and Chris Van Allsburg. Nearly all their picture books and books for young readers are superb.

Arlington, VA: Have you ever read a book more than 3 times, and if so, which ones?

Michael Dirda: Yes, Stendhal's La vie de Henry Brulard and Nabokov's Lolita, for example. I tend to dip into favorite books more often than reread them. But then I'm saving some rereading for my later years. There's still an awful lot of primary material I want to read for the first time.

New York, New York: First Question: You previously mentioned in a Q&A your list of the best 100 comic novels. I seem to recall that you supplemented this list a few weeks later. How can I get a copy of both?

Second Question: This is really more for Book World generally. As you may know, the New York Times currently makes all past book reviews available in the Archives. In fact, they're free. It's a great reference tool - especially for used book fans. Has the Washington Post thought about offering the same service? (P.S. I realize I'm just another one of those internet types that expects everything to be free, but I thought I'd ask.)

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Michael Dirda: I'm a novice as far as the Internet is concerned, and I can't quite answer how much of the Post's archives is available online to the public. I would think a fair amount, but I could be all wet. I'll check into this.

Arlington, Va.: Like everyone else here, I love to read -- mainly fiction, although I'll throw in a few good history/current affairs-type books now again (The Prize, etc.). And although I even minored in Literature in college, I truly truly loathe literary criticism. I don't understand why people simply can't read books, and enjoy the beauty of the language, the suspense of the story or the insight they take into their own lives.

What's your take on the subject?

Michael Dirda: In most cases, people should just read the book. But sometimes we become intrigued with a writer's subtleties and artistry, want to know more. Then go to the critics, but only then. And never forget that they are secondary, not primary. Of course, this doesn't apply to reviews--you should read them every Sunday in Book World. See you all next week!