Dirda on Books – Transcript Michael Dirda Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 1, 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."

Herndon, Va.: A comment to the reader from Sterling who couldn't find your Book Club selection: I picked up a copy of "The Old Forest and Other Stories" at McKay's Used Books in Centreville. They generally have a good collection of "classics" both modern and otherwise.

Michael Dirda: More people should check out used bookstores--they're usually a great resource for readers and you can often pick up real bargains, especially if you haunt them regularly. Hope that other members of the new Book club are able to find the Taylor. I know they'll be able to buy copies of my title, le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness (but that won't be discussed until December or January).

The Last Colony: At the risk of asking a question I have a hunch you'll not answer ... what is your favorite DC-area bookstore?

Michael Dirda: You're right, I don't think I can answer that question. But I will say it's not a new bookstore. For me there's no substitute for the pleasure of browsing through a huge warehouse of books, not knowing what you will find. There's a hint of an answer there.

Washington, DC: I'm sorry, Michael, but you're persistent praise for "Blood Meridian" couldn't carry me past the first 90 pages. I gave up. Might I find "All the Pretty Horses" an easier read? Perhaps "Horse" could prep me for a return to "Blood." I don't prefer "light" material, but "Blood Meridian" seemed aimless, maybe even -dare I say- pointless. An unfair accusation, having only read 90 pages, or a common refrain?

Michael Dirda: No, I wouldn't feel apologetic. Blood meridian is one of those books that divide people--a lot of reviewers hated it too, found it too gorey, too Faulknerish (or pseudo-Faulknerish). But for me it worked--as a searing--is that a book review word or what--vision of the west and of a complex almost religious progress. Pretty Horses is in some ways McCarthy lite. Far easier to read and like.

Foggy Bottom: Hi Michael,

I'm new to town, and have an odd question: Do you know a quiet, pretty, inspiring place in the city to read or write? Sometimes I need to get out of my one-bedroom where I write and my husband also works and I realized that I haven't found replacements for my hideouts in my old home--a local library, with big old windows and a fireplace, or a university library, with long, dark tables, high ceilings and a church-like hush. -Aside from a Xando, where I try to tune out the music and nurse my $3 latte for hours.- I hardly ever drive, but use Metro. Thanks.

Michael Dirda: Welcome to the club. I too long to find a place to escape to in the evenings and have never really found one. Takoma park has a nice coffee shop or two. In my grad school days I took to frequenting the local McDonald's--wrote half my dissertation there--and still will go to fast-food restaurants and sip coffee for an hour with a book. Some are quieter than others. The only alternative, I suppose, is to check out the various public and universitiy libraries. Certainly, some bookstores, especially the megastores, invite reading, since they provide chairs, magazines and coffeeshops.

Washington D.C.: Michael,
Know of any foreign mindbending sf better than most english sf?
In an essay, Ursala Leguin praised 'We' by Evgenii Zamiatin
as one of the best sf novels but my russian coworker disliked it-gag w- spoon-
and said The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov
is better.

Michael Dirda: Zamyatin's We is an important and appealing book, despite your friend's opinion. It probably influenced both 1984 and Brave new World, both of which it resembles. In some ways, it's art may be a little Socialist Realist, but I liked it and it's worth reading. There's a new Penguin translaltion by Princeton prof Clarence Brown, but the old Mirra Ginsburg is also good.
I love The Master and Margarita--certainly one of the half dozen greatest 20th-century Russian novels. It's about the devil in the 20th century and love and the Crucifixion and Communism. Funny, satirical, sexy, engrossing. There's a new edition recently out, but the Michael Glenny translation has long been standard.
As for foreign sf, try Italo Calvino's t-zero and cosmicomics, Stanislaw Lem's The Futurological Congress, and much of Kobo Abe's work (japanese). Twenty years ago, a publisher had a series of Russian sf in translation and these titles turn up regularly in used bookstores: look for the Strugatsky brothers Roadside Picnic and Far Rainbow.

Toronto, Canada: A while back, someone asked about the current whereabouts & work of Hugh Kenner. I don't think many people in America are aware of this, but 2 years ago Prof. Kenner delivered the prestigious Massey lectures on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. They have since been released as a book entitled THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY. The book is availabe in Canada and also, I think, in the U.K. and Australia. I'm note sure if there was an American edition.
But my real point in writing was to ask a question of Michael: I want to add my voice to the chorus of praise your reviews and essays have received in this site. I especially enjoyed the parody of different genres you did a while back. Are we ever going to see a collection of THE BEST OF DIRDA?

Michael Dirda: thanks for the info on Kenner--I'll have to search for the book: He's one of my favorite writer/scholars. At the moment, I'm putting together a collection of my Readings essays--and, if all goes well, there should be a book of these next year. If that goes well, I may try to sell a similar collection of my reviews--but that's hoping. I'm also hoping to expand one of my recent pieces into a small book. So I'm busy, but I find it hard to fit in extra work, what with the weekly pieces and now the two classes i teach down here in Florida. But thank you for your kind words.

Chevy Chase: Could you tell us what makes a good bookstore a great bookstore? And what makes a lousy bookstore a good bookstore?

Michael Dirda: For new books a great bookstore has the books you're looking for, plus others you want and didn't know you wanted until you saw them on the shelf. For used books, a great used bookstore is one where you find titles you've been looking for for years, at an incredibly low price, and that has good turnover, so that every time you visit you find fresh stock to drool over.

Vienna, Virginia: I'm reading the Dr. Doolittle series by Hugh Lofting to my 4-year-old. The first book was from my own old childhood copy, and I was startled to find some rather racist passages. The second book we borrowed from the library; it was a re-issue with an afterward by Lofting's son explaining carefully that some passages had been changed in accordance with modern sensibilities. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The son said it was done in order to make it possible for a new generation to enjoy the works, without offending anybody. What are your thoughts?

Michael Dirda: I read the son's revised versions to my youngest, and thought about these issues then. In general, I'm against such tampering with texts and believe that parents should simply explain or talk about any objectionable passages. Certainly this should be the case with classics like Huckleberry Finn. But if you look at Doolitte books as primarily entertainment, I think one might regard these slightly bowdlerized versions as the equivalent of our modern retellings of Grimm fairy tales. The originals tend to be much more violent and bloody than the versions we know.

WDC: DC has a lot of great public places to read. The West Wing of the National Gallery has those little enclosed areas with lots of green plants and such, that's a great spot. Outdoors, try the little enclosed garden areas on the lawn of the Capitol -especially on the north side-. Or anywhere in or around National Cathedral. There's oodles more -- this would make a great message board topic!

Michael Dirda: thanks for the leads. Hope our previous questioner is still here to check these out.

Crystal City, Va: Did that Russell Hoban novel you mentioned some time ago ever find an American publisher? And did you ever find Hogfather yourself?

Michael Dirda: Yes--Indiana Universitiy Press brought out a new edition of Riddley Walker, with a brief afterword and lexicon by Hoban. It is, I think, one of the dozen best books I have reviewed in what I laughably think of as my career. As it happens, Pratchett and I corresonded after my review and he sent me a signed copy of Hogfather. It's now been published here in America. Haven't read it yet, but am told it's one of the grimmer Discworld books.

Fort Worth, Texas: Some years ago, a "Simpsons" episode had Homer going into space aboard the shuttle. As the other Simpsons watched the launch on TV, Lisa recited the following lines, to the bewilderment of the rest of the family: "How doth the hero strong and brave, - A celestial path in the heavens pave."

Any idea where that's from or how I can find out? Thank you.

Michael Dirda: I remember the episode--had the great sequence in which Kent Brockman imagines we are being invaded and he immediately starts to kowtow to the imagined insectoid conquerors. But I don't know where Lisa's poem comes from--doubtless something obvious that will expose me as a laughing stock wherever books are read. By the way, yeardley smith, who does Lisa's voice, is the daughter of a longtime post staffer, J.Y. Smith, for many years the lead obit writer on the paper.

Silver Spring, MD: Aha! A warehouse, you say? Would your favorite store be Second Story Books in Rockville? Personally, I like the Book Cellar in Bethesda and Imagination Books in Silver Spring.

Michael Dirda: I won't comment on your guess. But anyone who likes used books knows that making the rounds of all the stores is the only way to feed the addiction. I like everything from looking at fine modern firsts in elegant surroundings to pawing through ex-library books on the 25 cent shelves at the local public library.

Washington, D.C.: For a nice quiet place to read I like to crawl down a manhole near my apartment, and sneak into the sewers. I have a favorite ledge away from the rats where I can catch a few rays of light. If you can bear the smell, it's actually quite cozy.

Michael Dirda: Beyond the facile sarcasm, is there any point to this comment?

Mt. Vernon, Virginia: I'm about to re-read for the tenth-or-so time, Austin Tappan Wright's ISLANDIA. Do you know of any sort of Islandia organization?

Michael Dirda: You know, this is another of those books I've never read and always meant to--I even have a fairly decent first of the book. Some years back I did meet a few times Wright's grandson, Tappan King, who was an sf editor and was, I think, involved in a kind of sequel. I suspect that Islandia must have an internet group of some sort; have you checked? It clearly sounds from your enthusiasm that I've been missing out on a treat.

Alexandria,VA: Recently I picked up and read two books by Mark Helprin, A Winter's Tale and A Soldier of the Great War. I was knocked out by both these books. Any idea if we can expect something new from this talented writer?

Michael Dirda: Helprin is, from all accounts, a somewhat prickly character--deeply conservative politically, etc. But he is, at his best, a wonderful writer. I particularly like the stories in Ellis Island. But, alas, I don't know what he's working on now. For a while he had an elaborate contract for several books--including three fairy-tales, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg (the first was Swan Lake--not like the ballet at all). But the fairy tales are done, and I suspect the contract is complete. So we'll jsut have to wait and see.

Washington DC: About a great place to read and write: The LIbrary of Congress! It's right near the Capitol South metro, has a beautiful historic reading room, and you can even plug in your laptop. Researchers Cards are required, but easy to apply for. When I was getting my Masters at Georgetown I far preferred it to the university library.

Michael Dirda: When I first came to DC, I'd go up to Captol Hill, have a coffee and donut at Sherrill's (mean waitresses), and then settle down for the day in LC's main reading room. You're right: it's really inviting and cozy. I haven't reallyu used it in years, so I don't know how comfortable it is in its current incarnation.

DC: Re: public reading places. I give a qualified endorsement to the area around the National Cathedral, especially the nearby forest. If you're careful about your spot, you can sit on a bench in the woods and feel like you're miles away from the city. In the formal gardens, though, you'll probably be interrupted by busloads of tourists, and local residents tend to use the Bishop's Lawn as a neighborhood picnic-play-meeting spot--which has its own appeal, but means it doesn't work that well as a reading and writing spot.
In a similar vein, my reading club is starting to get desperate about finding a meeting place that's quiet enough to really discuss a book and still has food, drink, and Metro proximity. We're about to give up on Xando. Next stop may be Childe Harold's. Any other suggestions?

Michael Dirda: No suggestions, I'm afraid. I tend to be a solitary reader, like only random Brownian noise, etc. But perhaps others can add to this string of good places to read in DC.

washington, dc: For the person looking for a good quiet place to read, I'll share my favorite place. The National Gallery of Art has a indoor courtyard with water and sculptures. It has the musuem hush, the soft sound of the water, and chairs and benches along the side. I've never seen anyone else read there, but I absolutely love it.

Michael Dirda: Yes, I've walked through there, and it does look like a great place to read. Thanks.

Ross Jorski Gainesville GA: I am trying to get a book reviewed and I was wondering if you might know who I could contact at the Washington Post, or at other publications, to submit the book. The book is titled The Wave Principle of Human Social Behavior and the New Science of Socionomics by Robert Prechter. If you are interested I would be happy to send you a copy.

Thanks for your time,
Ross

Michael Dirda: As for any new title, your publisher should simply send a copy of the book to Book world. The editors will look the book over and if it seems appropriate to our audience, they'll assign it to a reviewer. There's really not much mystery to the procedure. The book sells itself.

Olney, MD: The only books my 19 year old son seems to really enjoy and re-read are the William Gibson books esp. Neuromancer.Can you recommend authors that have a similar style in the cyberpunk genre that I can get for him -ok... and for me too!-?

Thanks.. as usual a great chat.

Michael Dirda: Well, Gibson has a new book out in a few weeks--I just reviewed it: All Tomorrow's Parties. It concludes the sequence that started with Virtual Light and Idoru. You should go back to the masters behind the cyberpunks: Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination, and Philip K. Dick, especially Martian Time-Slip, The Man in the High Castle, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the loose basis for the film Bladerunner). Current writers likened to Gibson include Neal Stephenson, whose recent Cryptonomicon has been creating quite a stir, Bruce Sterling (who wrote the steampunk novel The Difference Engine with Gibson) and the made and imaginative Paul Di Filippo, who has severa titles from Four Walls Eight Windows.

Philadelphia, PA: My favorite reading spot in DC always was under one of the tall trees on the Georgetown University front lawn. Another good spot is along the Potomac near the Lincoln Memorial.

Michael Dirda: Take note, readers

Alexandria VA: I just finished COLD MOUNTAIN after stopping last year . . . couldn't get through the first two chapters before, but went back to it after some rave reviews from friends who told me to hang in there. You have discussed setting as a character, and this novel surely took that to a new level. Assuming this has happened to you, what is the best book you've read that you thought you couldn't get through?

Michael Dirda: I never thought I'd find the time to read Murasaki Shikubu's The Tale of Genji--it's the great Japanese classic, one of the world's masterpieces, but as long as Proust. But I was able to spend a month at Duke and took it along as my main reading: I now regard it as one of the greatest reading experiences of my life. In general, though, I'm usually fairly persistent with books and tend to finish most of those I begin. The one great classic that has defeated me three times is Don Quixote--for some reason I get a hundred pages in and start finding myself bored. I suppose it's because I know the general outline of the story. On the other hand, everyone tells me that its second part is even better and more artful than its first half. I suppose it's time to try again. One can't go through life only having read a hundred pages of Cervantes.

Washington: Best reading spot in town: By the cascading fountains in Meridian Hill-Malcolm X Park on 16th Street!

Michael Dirda: Againk take note, readers! But isn't this spot a little dangerous?

Vienna, VA: What's your favorite Wodehouse novel or short story? "Uncle Fred Flits By" always reduces me to giggles, as does "Crime Wave at Blandings."

Michael Dirda: Uncle Fred Flits By is my favorite story. My favorite novel is Leave it to Psmith, though most aficionados would choose The Code of the Woosters or Brinkley Manor. I also love The Mating Season, which some regard as little over the top.

arlington, VA: Have you noticed a recent trend toward demagoguery in book publishing? I realize less are being printed and less are being bought but it seems that those that want to convert the masses to their views, be it Suze Orman or that Danny Seo in the Post this week, seek to print up their views so others can conform to them. Once they get on TV, there's no escape.

Michael Dirda: Can't say I have seen more or less "demagoguery." But books are often written by people with views to espouse, and with today's media hungr for copy, many of these polemicists and propagandists will have their hour in the sun.

Michael Dirda: Well, that's about it for this week, folks. Life here in Florida has been a bit hectic--I've been teaching literary journalism and a course on book culture at the University of Central Florida. It's been fun--the road not taken, since I once planned to be a college teacher--but I'm not sure I'm cut out for the classroom. Not that anyone has to worry--I'll be back at the Post full time in January. In the meanwhile, my reviews and essays will start up again in September, after a month's vacation this august. I'm currently on a Colette binge--you can guess that I'll be writing about her soon--but I've obviously brought far too many books down here. I did find a scarce Wodehouse I'd been looking for--Ice in the Bedroom, so I'm having a pretty good time. Until next week, at this same bat time, on this same bat station, keep reading!