Sunday, May 29, 2005
Saul and Patsy by Charles Baxter
Charles Baxter is one of my favorite contemporary American authors. I was first introduced to his work by my sister who was writing her thesis on his first book First Light for her masters in Contemporary American Literature. I was very fortunate to have had a sister who studied English as her undergrad and Literature for her masters degree. I have always been a voracious reader, but without much direction. When I was in high school she was in college and bringing home lots and lots of assigned books to read that she encouraged me to pick up when she was done with them. So through her course work, I ended up reading extensively the classics and the contemporaries, and I had someone knowledgeable to discuss them with. I guess she was my first book club.
So, back to Charles Baxter. Feast of Love came out in 2000 and I loved it. It was such an interesting look into the love of a community. So of it going right and some going drastically wrong. I had not been paying attention in the years since, and happily stumbled upon Saul and Patsy a few days ago while looking at books.
I have been fortunate to have read some really original and interesting books lately and Saul and Patsy just continued that trend nicely. I am afraid that since I had three good books in a row I might now fall back into some crappy book slump having used up all the luck I had.
Saul and Pasty is so incredibly subtle in its humor, joy and sadness. It is the story of two people who are so in love with one another that their world revolves around their enjoyment of one another. Saul and Pasty fulfill one another with their love of language, theories, and discussions.
They are city people who move to a small town in Michigan so that Saul could follow his ideals and become a teacher. The central theme of the book really is about relationships and isolation. Baxter is known for his themes of Mid-Western isolation. How do outsiders become members of a community? How do outsiders change when they fit themselves into a new community and learn and incorporate manners that are foreign to them? What are the boundaries of intended or unintended relationships?
There is enough information out there about the book’s plot so I am going to forgo that discussion and just say how much I enjoyed the style of the book and the movement of the plot line. The dialogue was beautiful, intelligent and humorous. I laughed out loud and felt compelled to read passages to those unfortunate to be sitting near me. The story forced the characters to examine their lives and perceptions of happiness and how well they believed they knew their families and communities. I really enjoyed that the plot was not easy to predict. It is divided into three parts and each one is a movement that makes up the whole with indications for the next part, but it does not give itself away.
Just go read it. Yes, it is sad in places, but such an intelligent humorous insightful book.
So, back to Charles Baxter. Feast of Love came out in 2000 and I loved it. It was such an interesting look into the love of a community. So of it going right and some going drastically wrong. I had not been paying attention in the years since, and happily stumbled upon Saul and Patsy a few days ago while looking at books.
I have been fortunate to have read some really original and interesting books lately and Saul and Patsy just continued that trend nicely. I am afraid that since I had three good books in a row I might now fall back into some crappy book slump having used up all the luck I had.
Saul and Pasty is so incredibly subtle in its humor, joy and sadness. It is the story of two people who are so in love with one another that their world revolves around their enjoyment of one another. Saul and Pasty fulfill one another with their love of language, theories, and discussions.
They are city people who move to a small town in Michigan so that Saul could follow his ideals and become a teacher. The central theme of the book really is about relationships and isolation. Baxter is known for his themes of Mid-Western isolation. How do outsiders become members of a community? How do outsiders change when they fit themselves into a new community and learn and incorporate manners that are foreign to them? What are the boundaries of intended or unintended relationships?
There is enough information out there about the book’s plot so I am going to forgo that discussion and just say how much I enjoyed the style of the book and the movement of the plot line. The dialogue was beautiful, intelligent and humorous. I laughed out loud and felt compelled to read passages to those unfortunate to be sitting near me. The story forced the characters to examine their lives and perceptions of happiness and how well they believed they knew their families and communities. I really enjoyed that the plot was not easy to predict. It is divided into three parts and each one is a movement that makes up the whole with indications for the next part, but it does not give itself away.
Just go read it. Yes, it is sad in places, but such an intelligent humorous insightful book.
# posted by lyskie @ 3:30 PM 
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Ooh, I read this book, too! (Maybe it was recommended by you and I forgot?) Anyhow, I liked it, way better than Feast of Love, for some reason.
Had a chance to listen to Charles Baxter. He read at Minnesota State University. His prose is fantastic, and he's a nice man, too. I like many of his short stories and his collection of essays about writing. It's called Burning Down the House.
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