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Childhood’s End

Wed, 1 May 2013 10:56:06 -0700

Our next meeting will be hosted by Al on Tuesday, May 14th. We are reading Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke. Many have borrowed from the iconic imagery of the Overlords appearing suddenly over every city, for instance, think of the opening scenes of Independence Day. Unlike the gimmickry of the movie, Clarke’s tale is far more believable.

DESCRIPTION
The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city--intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began.

But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind . . . or the beginning? ~Book Cover Synopsis

REVIEWS
• Technological extrapolation, the enthronement of reason, the "cosmic viewpoint", alien contact, and a "sense of wonder" achieved largely through the manipulation of mythic symbolism are all important elements in this visionary novel.…[W]e are shown three rational utopian societies and mysterious glimpses of extra-sensory powers. Reducing all of these, however, practically to the status of leitmotifs, the theme of alien contact is expanded to include something close enough to the infinite, eternal, and unknowable that it could be called God; yet even this being, called the Overmind, is rationalized, and assumed to be subject to natural laws. ~David N. Samuelson - DePauw University
• [The Overlords] function as both a prospect of the possibilities of technology and as figures of tragic limitation, and in doing so they mediate between the two stages of progress. At the beginning of the novel they represent an advanced technology, admirably rational, a model for mankind, a goal for progress. By the end of the novel we discover that they represent the dead end of technological progress, and they become admirable mainly for their refusal to succumb to despair. While we can admire their superior science and morality at the start, we can admire their stoicism at the end.  ~John Huntington - DePauw University
• Most pundits will agree that the noblest theme in all our literature is the destiny of man.… The question is faced squarely and answered with frightening candor in "Childhood's End." Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the twenty-first century—a first rate tour de force that is well worth the attention of every thoughtful citizen in this age of anxiety.… This review can only hint at the stimulation Mr. Clark's novel offers. Above all, it must be emphasized that this is not a gloomy book, despite its holocausts. It is true that the invaders from outer space manage to steal the big scenes. But homo sapiens fights back to the end with resourcefulness and wit. What's more, he rarely allows himself to be upstaged, even when he is faced with his own extinction. ~William Du Bois - Books of the Times
• In what may be Mr. Clarke’s most suggestive and disturbing novel, “Childhood’s End,” an alien race of Overlords, with apparent generosity, establish a utopia on Earth, eliminating human warfare and ushering in an era of plenty. But it is no accident that when the Overlords are finally described they have the appearance of Satanic creatures, complete with “the leathery wings, the little horns, the barbed tail.” Whatever attitude comes through — and it is almost always fraught with ambiguity — religion suffuses Mr. Clarke’s realm. He demands the canvas of Genesis and upon it he enacts experiments in thought. All science fiction does this to a certain extent, trying to imagine alternative universes in which one factor or another is slightly different. What if carbon were not the fundamental element in life forms? What if a society existed that never experienced nighttime? Mr. Clarke’s enterprise, though, is at the edges of the frame: trying to examine the moments when things come to be and when they come to an end. ~Edward Rothstein - NYTimes, from Clarke’s Obituary

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 14:49:14 -0800

Our next meeting will be hosted by Janet on Monday, April 8th. We are reading Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman. Note there our a limited number of copies at the San Francisco Library with holds on the next borrowable copy.

DESCRIPTION
Amazon Best of the Month, March 2009: While this latest memoir from Susan Jane Gilman (former Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress) appears to be a saucy account of international sexcapades, it quickly reveals its whip-smarts, sucking you into a story that brilliantly captures the "ecstatic terror" of gleefully leaping from your comfort zone--and finding yourself in freefall. It's 1986, and newly minted ivy league grads Susy and her friend Claire have never left the U.S. when (inspired by a "Pancakes of Many Nations" promotion during a drunken night at IHOP) they hatch a plan to circle the world, starting in China, which has just opened to tourists. From the moment of arrival, they're out of their depth, perpetually hungry, foolish, and paranoid from relentless observation. Claire, who carries the complete works of Nietzsche "like a Gideon Bible," seems more capable than Susy until encounters with military police, hallucinatory fevers, and a frantic escape from a squalid hospital expose cracks in her psyche that utterly derail their plans. Rich with insight, dead-on dialogue, and canny characterization, Gilman's personal tale nails that cataclysmic collision of idealism and reality that so often characterizes young adulthood. Be prepared to wolf down the final hundred pages in one sitting. --Mari Malcolm

REVIEWS
• This is riveting stuff; part coming-of-age story, part travel journal, part political thriller, and completely unputdownable. ~Elaina Richardson - O[prah] Magazine
• [For those of you who plan to read Behind the Beautiful Forevers, it] was quite simply my favorite read of last year. It is astonishing long-form narrative non-fiction that deserves to be read. I would strongly recommend that whoever hasn't read it, skips anything that tells you anything about the plot and let yourself be as taken by surprise as possible. I would, however, recommend reading the afterward first!!!! On a similar note, I commend to you Sugata Mitra's fabulous TED talk.  ~Nikki

This Is Where I Leave You

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 14:45:28 -0800

Since I am posting this after we have already met to discuss This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, I’ll confine the content to my synopsis and snippets of your comments.

Review Synopsis
A rare happenstance, we all enjoyed reading Tropper's book. Naturally, there were varying opinions on why and to what degree.

As Janet mentioned in her regrets email, there was at least one ROFL with every episode, so much so that as Betty pointed out it became formulaic after awhile. Despite the structured repetition of the technique, we felt Tropper made it work well. Although Eric thought the humor often bordered on the immature, I wondered if it had to do with how we revert to childhood antics when brought together with our siblings in trying circumstances.

Jackie worried that the ease of reading the narrative belied enough discussable substance, while Eric found it darker than Tropper's injected humor implied. This led to a nice debate among us all on whether the characters were awful people or just normal folks acting oddly in an awful situation. Were they callous, or masters of obfuscation (hiding their feelings)? As they say, each of us grieves in our way, and whether these characters were grieving over the death of their father or not, each was grieving over something in their lives during the shiva. We all agreed that Tropper made us identify with the characters and told the story well.

It was noted that this book was a nice counterpoint to last month's selection of The Warmth of Other Suns.

Comments from club members
• ROFL with every "episode." I do love the "art" of sarcasm and this book was predicated on perfecting it. I could "hear" the perfect timing of line delivery as well. Almost like Jon Stewart was delivering the lines, pauses, replies. I liked the way it was written as well--economy of writing and dialog--one of a few books that "said" things in 10 words when it needed 10, not 25. Tropper made me care about almost every character and found the good in them as well as understood their dysfunction. I could also see myself in this family--Trooper also communicated that line between fun/dsyFUNctional perfectly.  ~Janet
• I enjoyed the book and like many, I was surprised at the number of times I laughed out loud. I particularly thought the scene where Judd walks in on Jen and Wade in his bedroom was hilariously written. I feel Tropper has a keen perception of the psychology of people as they try to do the best they can to find meaning and happiness in life, while they deal with their own and others' limitations (known and unknown).  Having said that, I found there wasn't much depth to the book and that it read like a TV situation comedy (although a good one). And then about 2/3 of the way through the book I was getting somewhat tired of these characters and their problems as there really wasn't much plot development to sustain my interest or characters to really car for, but I still laughed to the end. I, like Eric, found some of the material immature, particularly the physical fight scenes between brothers Paul and Philip and then Wade and Judd.   I discerned some darkness conveyed as subtext in this laugh-out-loud book. Tropper seemed best at describing and accentuating the foibles of people and all the limitations we have in life, be it aging and mental and physical decline, or not being able to make meaningful connections with people, etc. (If Tropper thinks the 30s are bad try late 50s). Tropper is a very talented writer and I would like to see him take on a story with stronger character development, evolving plot structure---and his signature laugh-out-loud humor.  By the way, Tropper is doing the screenplay for a movie based on his book with Tina Fey and Justin Bateman. Should be interesting. ~Al
• One warning about reading the rest of his books--I immediately read two more, and then a third, and grew tired of his style. So, if you do want to read more Trooper, do it over a longer period of time. ~Debra