Dirda on Books – Transcript Michael Dirda Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, August 11, 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 lighthearted essay about the joys and burdens of living in a house filled with way too many books. Although he holds a PhD 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 secondhand 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. "Do not imagine that I regard my taste for literary artifacts as anything but shameless and vulgar," Dirda says, "I have sunk so low as to covet Edward Gorey coffee mugs. I yearn for a bust of Dante to place on a bookcase."

Washington, D.C.: Is it appropriate to ask about Book World's selection process for books to review. There was something about it in Sunday's edition. It has seemed to me that you go quite light on books about science, for example. Is there some kind of subject matter balance you try to achieve?

Michael Dirda: Hi, this week and through the fall, I will be answering questions from Orlando, Florida, where I am a visiting professor at the University of Central Florida. I'm teaching a course in literary journalism and another titled Adventures in the Book Trade. But, at least a few of you will be happy to know that I'll still be writing my weekly reviews and essays for Book World, as well as conducting this weekly on-line chat. Doubtless, as the semester advances, I'll write some kind of essay about the experience of teaching at a university--for me, the road not taken. In the meantime, bear with me as I learn to use this new computer and doubtless make more than my usual number of spelling mistakes, since I try to answer these questions as quickly as possible. So welcome to Dirda on Books, dateline: Orlando. On to the first question:
Book World tries to cover science books in two ways: major books earn regular full length reviews, while more specialized studies are generally part of a regular round-up feature. This latter is written by the various members of the Post's science section. In general, we do try for a balance in the kind of books we cover, with a slight emphasis on Washington books (i.e. political matters) and literary fiction and nonfiction. Nearly everyone feels that we slight some genres or subject matters, but this is hardly intentional--we are constantly making judgments about what seems like a Book World book and what doesn't. And, of course, our selections also reflect the tastes and interests of the editors.

Bethesda MD: Having often read your praises of Cyril Connolly, when I located an inexpensive volume of Enemies of Promise in a local bookstore, I eagerly perused it. Indeed, I am pleased to say, it was one of the mst enjoyable reads I had in ages. Mr. Connolly sturck me as a 20th centurry Dr. Jonson--opinionated, erudite, stern, yet appreciative of a great artist--with some Boswell built in. Thank you.

With some regard to your latest BookWorld article, I wonder whether you agree with Connolly's assirtion that "The health of a writer should not be too good, and perfect only in those periods of convalescence when he is not writing."

Again, thank you for this and all of your suggestions throught the years.

Michael Dirda: Surely, I have not lived in vain if I've managed to make one more fan for Cyril connolly. now that you've read Enemies of Promise you should go on to his masterpiece, The Unquiet Grave--a journey through a dark night of the soul, filled with moody, wistful epigrams about the literary life, lost love and much else.
An old mentor of mine, Robert Phelps--an authority of Colette and the literary life--once told me that a reader should know three things about a writer he was interested in: where he got his money, the condition of his health, and the nature of his sex life. These do seem to me central to any voyeuristic approach to literature. Robert was a great epicurean of letters, as was Cyril connolly.

Washington, D.C.: I recently visited the Margaret Mitchell house in Atlanta and was surprised to learn that "Gone with the Wind" is the second best-selling book of all time. It apparently still sells 250,000 copies a year more than 60 years after its publication.

Have you read it? If so, why do you think it has struck such a cord with readers around the world?

Michael Dirda: You know, I never have read Gone with the Wind, though I used to test fans of Scarlett O'Hara by asking them to describe her. Invariably they would start by emphasizing her beauty. But the one thing I do know from the novel is its first sentence: Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful. . . I suspect that its popularity is a testimoney to the power of a great rousing love story, set against one of the most tempestuous periods of American history and one that focuses on a heroine that many young women identify with. Do many men read the Mitchell book? I wonder. As a teenager, I dismissed it as a girl's book. And do many people read it after adolescence?

College Park, MD: In addition to relying on book reviewers such as yourself whose opinions I regard highly and my own knowledge of authors and personal preference, I pay attention to "author blurbs" that have now become de rigeur. Could you offer an opinion about the genuine nature and dependability of such endorsements? I have never read anything about the process of an author's seeking and receiving comments from popular and critically acclaimed authors.
Finally, I hope you had a wonderful vacation, and I wish you the best in your new endeavor; as a high school English teacher, I can say that the act of teaching can be rewarding and exhausting -especially the paper grading-; your students are a fortunate lot.

Michael Dirda: You need to be leery of blurbs. If the jacket of a book simply says, "He's a better writer than I am"--Stephen King, then you can be fairly sure that King is a friend, helping out a fellow horror novelist. Virtually all blurbs are the result of friendship and obligation, rather than critical judgment (though that may enter into the opinion expressed). Only the quotes attributed to a periodical are taken from actual reviews. So if the same quote from King was followed by the words, The Washington Post on the paperback edition, you can figure King reviewed the book in hardcover for Book kWorld, and is expressing an honest critical judgment. Obviously, publishers try to blur these distinctions as much as possible.

Fairfax, Virginia: I believe that you recently said that delving deeply into one author is, in your opinion, more beneficial than delving shallowly into many authors.

I'm planning a trip to Key West and have therefore thought that I might want to read as much of Hemingway as I possibly can before the trip. Do you think it wisest for me to read his -- or any author's -- works in the order in which he published them? Would it be beneficial to see how he grew as a writer, how his powers increased?

Michael Dirda: Depends on how much time you have. Certainly, if you think you can read all the major work you could trace the appearance and abuse of certain themes, you would be able to see the arc of the career and the reputation, etc. This is the way most colleges would teach a Hemingway seminar. However, if you can only read two or three books, you might want to use other criteria--for instance, those written while he lived in Key West or those with a Key West or Cuban backdrop. In my own case, I tend to read a new author's most important or successful work first--I figure if the big book doesn't work for me, then the lesser ones won't either. In the case of Hemingway, most people would agree that his early work is his finest: The Sun Also Rises and the short stories.

Chantilly, VA: Who is the greatest SF writer right now? Are there any good books a must for an avid SF fan?

Michael Dirda: The greatest living sf writers are Gene Wolfe, Jack Vance, Ursula Le Guin and J.G. Ballard. All of them chafe a bit under the sf rubric (for different reasons). Certainly, to restrict titles to books by these four, one should read the four volumes of Wolfe's Book of the New Sun (starting with The Shadow of the Torturer), Vance's The Dying Earth and The Star King, as well as his best short stories; Le Guin's classic, The Left Hand of Darkness (about which I will be doing a Book world Book Club presentation early next year), and some of the early Ballard novels and stories--I like The Drowned World in particular. Obviously, one should also read a few other books, such as the influential Neuromancer, by William Gibson. All these books are beautiuflly written, genuine works of art, and not shlocky products like much best-selling sf geared to Star Trek and Star Wars.

dc: What are some literary mags for publishing short fiction? Internet mags?

Michael Dirda: Most of the quarterlies publish fiction--The Paris, Hudson, Southern and Kenyon Reviews. There are also literary mags at most of the country's universities--at least those with writing programs. I don't read fiction online yet--though the day may be fast approaching.

Arlington, VA:
I hope you had a great vacation. Glad to have you back. My question is about reference books. Which dictionary do you use and why is it your favorite? Do you ever use a thesaurus when writing?

Michael Dirda: I use an old American heritage dictionary, bought when I was a freshman in college. It's particularly strong on roots and etymologies. I also like to look things up in the Oxford English Dictionary, in part for the examples of word usage over the centuries. i do use a thesaurus, a beat-up copy arranged in the original manner--you look up words in the index and are directed to the proper section in the body of the book. The dictionar style of modern thesauruses doesn't work as well for me. I am, however, a great aficionado of reference books and at home live surrounded by numerous oxford companions to this and that, guides to the bible and classical mhythology, etc. I like to know things.

Herndon, Va.: The classics are replete with incidents of rape, pillage and plunder as well as references to the "higher values". Is it the way things are said or the value of the authors' insights that compel you to recommend them over modern books detailing similar happenings today? I offer Herodotus, Thucydides and Homer as prime examples of authors who have captured the viciousness of the ancient world. Other examples abound.

Michael Dirda: You've answered, at least in part, your own question: yes, the style and the authorial insights are important. But I mainly recommend the classics because they are great patterning works--that is, the stories they tell have been taken up again and again in western literature and one needs to know the originals to see how authors have played variations on them. Think of Odysseus as he is presented in Homer, then Dante, then Tennyson, then Joyce. In my ideal education scheme young children would be thoroughly grounded in the Bible, classical mythology and the major folktales of the world. These are primary, foundational works.

north potomac, md: i'm trying to break out of my england-only reading habits. any suggestions on non-english authors who write with a similar style? i've been stuck on austen, trollope, thackeray etc. and would like to start widening my horizons. i like amusing, light fare.

Michael Dirda: By English, I presume you mean British. Certainly, if you like amusing books, you might try Peter de Vries, Randall Jarrell's Pictures from an Institution, perhaps the novels of John P. Marquand, the brilliantly funny comedies of Dawn Powell (I like The Locusts Have No king in particular). These are a start.

Mt. Rainier, MD: One of your suggestions a while back involved a trio of African writers whom you highly praised. I had been thinking off handedly that I should try some of these people as a 'broadening' exercise, but your suggestion pushed me to finally do it. I found Chinua Achebe's "Man of the People" to be just incredible. It could have been written yesterday, it is so terribly applicable. Yet the ending was not so depressing; Mr. Achebe managed to find some light in the darkness. Certainly I will have to find more of his books. Someone tells me he is alive and well at one of our universities? -Thanks so much, sometimes a very little push is all we need!-

Michael Dirda: Last I knew Achebe was teaching at, I think, Union College in upstate New York. he's suffered from something of a writer's block over the past10 or 15 years. HIs most famous novel, much taught in schools, is Things Fall Apart.

Arlington, Virginia: Are there any weekly book clubs in my area that you know of? My husband and I are both interested in participating in one and we can't seem to find one. Please help. karen

Michael Dirda: Well, Book World is about to inaugurate an online book club--see announcements in recent book worlds. Most libraries and bookstores know about local book clubs and they canprobably help you. I myself have mixed feelings about book clubs: I think many tend to make fairly safe or obvious choices, rather than encouraging people to follow individual tastes. But, hey, anything that gets people to read more is OK in my book.

Ocean City, MD: I often have the feeling that many novelists have "one good book" to write, often their first, and many of the rest are weak attempts at following them and maintaining the author's flow of production? Would you comment on your own more wide-ranging and professional observations on that issue?

Michael Dirda: Certainly some writers' first books are their best--Hemingway is a good example of this. But real novelists often take a while to find their voice and subject matter--nobody prefers the early novels of Balzac to pere Goriot or Lost Illusions. And, of course, some great writers do developm, try new sorts of writing with each book: There are arguments for any of James Joyce's books as his best one. In general, I think this cult of the first books is one to be wary of--unless you're a collector. The first editions of first books are generlaly the most expensive and desirable.

washingtonpost.com: To learn more about the Washington Post Book Club please visit here

Adams Morgan: I'd also like to encourage you to write more about authors most of us may not have heard of. I found out about Hermann Broch and Jean Giono from reading critical review pieces in The Nation; they're not the type of writers who pop up in classics lists, though they should. Any hints from you on the relatively obscure?

Michael Dirda: I write about "obscure" writers all the time, sometimes to the complaints of my colleagues: I've done long pieces during the last couple of years on Joseph Roth, Georges Perec, Mikhail Bulgakov, Murasaki Shikubu, Thomas Bernhard, Paul Celan, Raymond Queneau, etc etc. All are wonderful writers, too little known--as are Broch and Giono.

Arlington, VA: I had the urge the other day to re-read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but my fiance's copy is a dog-eared, 25-year old paperback set that I'm afraid will fall apart.

I'd like to buy a new set and was wondering if there is a particular edition to recommend, particularly with respect to the binding and quality of any added artwork.

Michael Dirda: Houghton Mifflin has just published a one-volume omnibus paperback of the three novels. They also do various hard back editions; but you might want to check a few used bookstores--there have been so many printings of the book you might find an edition you like for only a few bucks.

Herndon, VA: Mr. Dirda: Let me belatedly praise your excellent commentary in "Horizon" on "Lunar Fiction." One point of disagreement - I would argue that Robert Heinlein's best work on the subject was not "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress." I prefer the novel-novella "The Man Who Sold the Moon," which was the basis for the George Pal movie "Destination Moon," which you also mentioned. Steve from Herndon

Michael Dirda: You may be right about the Heinlein, but most readers tend to feel that The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was teh last "good" Heinlein before he got bloated and self-indulgent.

Orange, Va.: Welcome back, Michael. What do you recommend in the way of "humor" books, particularly those that are not only funny but have good, literate writing and interesting plots? Am I asking for too much?

Michael Dirda: I really should get my list of 100 great comic novels on line--people seem to hunger for advice on these. In general, here are five to begin with: P.G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters, Evelyn Waugh, Decline and Fall, David Lodge, Small world, Randall Jarrell, Pictures from an Institution, and Terry Pratchett's Mort or any other Discworld book.

Alexandria, VA: What literary works do you think are "musts" for anyone who would like to be "well read?"

Michael Dirda: Your best bet is to look for Clifton Fadiman's perennially reprinted handbook, The Lifetime Reading Plan, or consult the works reprinted in the Great Books of the Western World.

DC: OK, I need a bit of explanation. How could you list the best SF writers and not mention Phillip K Dick?!? I don't even particularly like SF, but I recognize his vast importance to the genre.

Michael Dirda: Philip K. Dick is dead, and I only listed living writers. I bow to no one in my admiration of PKD, but my questioner was after contemporaries. Otherwise I would have to point to Wells, Stapledon, Sturgeon, Bester, Zelazny etc.

Orange, VA: Michael, hope you had a good vacation. Any recommendations on books that are funny, literate, well-written and have interesting plots?

Michael Dirda: See previous questions five comic novels suggestion.

Washington DC: I signed up for the Post's Book Club. It is touted to start Sunday but there are no concrete details beyond that.
Can you give us the scoop?

Michael Dirda: More informatnion on the book club will be forthcoming over the next few weeks. Jonathan yardley will be leading off the discussions with Peter Taylor's The Old Forest and Other Stories.

englewood, nj: What is your opinion of Richard Ford?

Michael Dirda: Anybody who admires James Salter and Eudora Welty is OK in my book. But I've never read Ford, I'm sorry to say. I did look into Independence Day and something about the style didn't appeal to me, but since it went on to great success, I was apparently failing to see its merits.

Washington, DC: There is a certain type of book I enjoy. I call it the "beautiful life" book. It often portrays the lives of wealthy, attractive, cultured people who feel unhappy, unfulfilled or anxious despite their fortunate and gracious existences. The writing in the books is usually quite beautiful and lyrical. The books' plots vary, but often, they do not have a solid plot but are rather about life, family, relationships. The work of James Salter, Michael Cunningham, Iam McEwan, Virginia Woolf, Alice Munro falls into this category. Can you suggest other novels or short story collections that may qualify?

Michael Dirda: You might like Iris Murdoch. Or, a slightly different tack: try Lampedusa's great novel The Leopard--a lyrical, heart-breakingly wonderful book about the decline of the aristocracy in Sicily. Terrific film by Visconti, too.

Dranesville Va: What is the best book that I can use to help me develop my reading skills?

Michael Dirda: I'm presuming you're just learning English? Try someone with a straightforwad, plain style: Agatha Christie, for example, or Hemingway. If you, in fact mean your critical reading skills, you might try one or two classics on how to read: Ezra Pound's ABC of Reading, Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism, Erich Auerbach's Mimesis, Leo Spitzer's Linguistics and Literary Criticism, William Empson's Seven Types of Ambiguity.

Billings, MT: Have you read, and if so, what do you think about Mark Fabi's Wyrm?

Michael Dirda: Alas, havent read this novel. Should I?

Sioux Falls, SD: I recently finished Thomas Harris's book Red Dragon. I could not put this novel down. However, upon completion I rushed out to buy Hannibal and was very disappointed. Have you read this "bestseller"? I almost found it difficult to read.

Michael Dirda: Most reviewers found hannibal a distinct disappointment. You should try The Silence of the Lambs after Red Dragon, and I suspect you will be gripped and frightened.
Well, folks, that's all for this week--look for me next Wednesday at 2 when I will again be broadcasting live from the beautiful campus of the Universitiy of Central Florida in Orlando. Till then, Keep Reading!