On the flight home from Florida a few weeks ago, I read Notes of a Desolate Man by Taiwanese writer Chu T'ien Wen. The book a short, impressionist
novel about the attempt of the narrator to recapture the past through the act of writing. (Hey Proust!) The
narrator, a man -- although the author is a woman, to the extent that matters (and I would say it doesn't in this case, to her credit) -- lives in Taiwan; he is perhaps not old but is not young either -- we
know that he identifies strongly as a ‘baby boomer’ (and not at all with Gen-X) -- and he reflects on different episodes
of his life, primarily revolving around his friendship with another gay man
(the narrator is gay) who has recently died of AIDS. Also covered are an early love affair with a
dancer and an ongoing relationship with another man to whom he is “married”
(in the ceremonial sense only).
The book at times feels as much like an essay as a
novel, as the narrator ruminates on everything from politics, sociology and – most of all
– art and literature, making reference to a wide range of authors and filmmakers (and scholars) who helped to form his understanding of the world as a non-heterosexual and also provided the
bonds of friendship, particularly with his dying friend (with whom he came of
age).
Ozu, Visconti and Fellini are all discussed at
length, as is Goethe and Levy-Strauss. The prose is dense and poetic, i.e., the opposite of action-packed, which is not at all a criticism but rather a warning to anyone who might pick this up looking for a 'light read.' I tend to prefer novels written with a more traditionally lyrical style (the back cover not inaccurately describes the text as 'postmodern,' and the narrator employs many familiar tricks, i.e., tense changes, non-linear narrative, and so forth), but any failure on my part to embrace it should be considered more a reflection on me than a problem with the book, which is beautifully constructed and filled with a depth of melancholy and (very slight) redemption that is entirely appropriate to the subject matter.
It's to our own country's continuing shame that more writers of all stripes haven't tackled the subject of AIDS in a serious manner (unlike say, 9/11, the treatment of which is obv de rigeur). Notes of a Desolate Man is a book you won't forget too soon, even if it only takes a few hours to read.
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04/05/2010
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ORDER HERE
A RADICAL NEW MYTH ABOUT SEX, FAITH, AND THOSE OF US WHO WILL NEVER DIE
A young boy wanders into the woods of Harlem and witnesses the abduction of his sister by a glowing creature. Forty years later, now working as a New York City homicide detective, Gus is assigned to a case in which he unexpectedly succumbs to a vision that Helen is still alive. To find her, he embarks on an uorthodox investigation that leads to an ancient civilization of gods and the people determined to bring them back.
In this colossal new novel from the author of The Metropolis Case, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice collides with a new religion founded by three corporate office workers, creating something beautiful, illogical, and overwhelming. Part sex manifesto, part religious text, part Manhattan noir—with a dose of deadly serious, internet inspired satire—#gods is a sprawling inquest into the nature of faith and resistance in the modern world. With each turn of the page, #gods will leave you increasingly reborn.
Praise for #gods
“#gods is a mystery, an excavation of myths, an index of modern life, a gay coming-of-age story, an office satire, a lyrical fever dream, a conspiracy. One of the most ambitious novels in recent memory—and a wild, possibly transformative addition to the canon of gay literature—it contains multitudes, and seethes with brilliance.” —Mark Doten, author of The Infernal
“Matthew Gallaway’s #gods is a novel so brilliant, so funny, so full of strange and marvelous things, I couldn’t stop writing OMG WTF I <3 THIS SO MUCH in its margins. It’s rare to find a novel that so dazzlingly reinvigorates age-old meditations on faith and f&!*ing, art and eros. Luminous, enterprising, and sublimely cheeky, #gods tells the story, the myth, the dream of the human soul in all its glorious complexity.” —Suzanne Morrison, author of Yoga Bitch
“Matthew Gallaway’s storytelling manages to be both dreamy and serious; lean and luxurious. His words carry an incantatory power of mythic storytelling where beauty and savagery wrap around each other like bright threads in a gorgeous tapestry.” —Natasha Vargas-Cooper, author of Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America
“If the ancient gods were just like us, only more so, then the same could be said for this strange, wonderful book, in which the mundane sorrows and small triumphs of very ordinary lives glow ever so slightly around the edges, sometimes quite literally. At once an oddly romantic send-up of dead-end office culture and an offbeat supernatural procedural, #gods is terrifically weird, melancholy, sexy, and charming.” —Jacob Bacharach, author of The Bend of the World
'It’s to the credit of Matthew Gallaway’s enchanting, often funny first novel that it doesn’t require a corresponding degree of obsession from readers, but may leave them similarly transported: the book is so well written — there’s hardly a lazy sentence here — and filled with such memorable lead and supporting players that it quickly absorbs you into its worlds.'
-- The New York Times
Music: Death Culture at Sea and Saturnine
Listen or download songs and records from my indie-rock past with Saturnine here and Death Culture at Sea here.
Music Video: Remembrance of Things Past
Watch the rock opera Remembrance of Things Past written and performed by Saturnine and Frances Gibson, starring Bennett Madison and Sheila McClear.
Video: The Chaos Detective
The Chaos Detective is a series about a man searching for 'identity' as he completes assignments from a mysterious organization. Watch the first episode (five parts) on YouTube.
Any reason for the repetition of the two photos?
Speaking of memories, I spent some of my four-day weekend trying to put into practice my new philosophy, "I mark only the hours that shine," a quote that I first read attributed to Edie Beale (of Grey Gardens) but upon researching it discovered that it's from a sundial in England. Duh. Anyway, in a mid-life attempt to make my life more pleasant, I am trying to remember only the good times and good things from my past. Not an easy thing to do.
The book you wrote about sounds interesting, but a little heavy for me right now.
Posted by: Robert le Diable | 04/06/2010 at 11:43 AM