California Reading

The Voyage Out Book Group reads regional fiction. We focus on a certain locale for three months, and then we pack our bags and move on. I’ve always been excited to start the next region. From the American South, to Japan, to Africa, and many more, we’ve had a great trip, so far. But I have to say, I was a little weary of our newest region, California. With the exception of In & Out Burgers and burritos, I’m not a big fan of the left coast. I don’t want to read about San Francisco Beatniks, and I don’t care about surfing. What do you read about a culture that is paper thin and incredibly young? But then we chose our three books: Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia, and Ask the Dust by John Fante.

One of my favorite people in the world is my friend Lindsey. I asked her once to recommend any book in the store, she handed me Joan Didion’s sparse novel about Hollywood, Play It As It Lays. I walked up to the registers and bought the book, that’s all the motivation I needed, but for those of you who need a little more inspiration, I’ll say this, if you are asking why you should read Didion, I can only assume that you haven’t read her. If you had read anything by her, you’d know that she needs no justification. She’s simply an American treasure who should be held up there with Carver, McCarthy, Roth, and Welty as the best this country has to offer. We’ll be talking about this book on September 26th at 5pm. Come on by, talk about the book, and meet Lindsey. She’s very nice.

On Halloween we’ll be discussing Salvador Plascencia’s experimental novel The People of Paper. Originally published by McSweeney’s, the book chronicles the lives of California’s migrant population, with vagaries that include gang bangers who pick flowers, Hollywood starlets, and origami masters, this is an odd book. I predict vastly differing opinions, which always makes for a fun group. You don’t have to wear a costume, but you can!

Our last book in our California trip is Fante’s most highly regarded novel, Ask the Dust. Like Plascencia, Fante writes about the immigrant experience, but this time we’ll read about the Italian immigrant experience of the early twentieth century. Arturo Bandini, Fante’s autobiographical character, is a young writer who falls for Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress. I’ve been eying Fante on my bookshelf for years, and I’m glad we decided to give this book a shot. We’ll discuss this novel on the 28th of November.

Everyone is welcome, so come on by. We’re a good bunch, and we love to meet new people. You can keep up with us on facebook or email me (thevoyageoutbookgroup@gmail.com) for our monthly letter. Can’t wait to see ya’ll there.

–Brian Contine