Sometimes the best books to talk about aren’t the best books to read. The Voyage Out Book Group just finished a three-month journey through French Literature. We began with J.M.G. Le Clezio’s first novel The Interrogation, moved onto Marguerite Duras’s The Ravishing of Lol Stein, and wrapped things up with Jean Cocteau’s The Holy Terrors. This is a strange trilogy, with all the books containing incredible highlights and obvious deficiencies. All the books have wonderfully fleshed out characters with disturbingly vague outcomes and motivations. Our book group has been traveling the world for over two years now, picking regions to study, and I’ve never been more excited to see what my fellow Voyager’s thought about books than during our trip to France.
Le Clezio’s heavily structured novel follows a young man named Adam Pollo who has either deserted the army, or escaped from a mental institution. A large chunk of our conversation dealt with that structure, trying to figure out what happened when, and why the author chose to leave the questions asked by the simple plot unanswered. After we left those unanswerable questions unanswered, we spent a long time talking about Le Clezio’s odd little introduction. The introduction is as funny as it is intelligent, and provided ample material for our most heated debate of the meeting. If you need to like the characters you’re reading about, stay away from this book, but if you don’t mind a little ugliness in your literature, this first novel from a future Nobel recipient might be what you’re looking for.
Duras’s book was recommended by one of the stalwarts of our group, Dauphin. Dauphin has been with the group since it began, and he’s the most insightful reader I’ve ever met. It’s wonderful to go to a meeting and be shown, despite a close reading, just how much you missed. The Ravishing of Lol Stein is one of Dauphin’s favorite books and, like Le Clezio’s, it ain’t all pretty. Lol Stein is a traumatized voyeur who spends her time following people while they practice their own deviances. Without giving too much away, I’ll give three pieces of advice to anyone who wants to read this slight novel: please pay attention to the narrator, question everything, and take the long way to understanding.
Cocteau is one of the most interesting people in the history of literature. He knew all the important players in the birth of Modernism, and he was influential in fields to include fiction, poetry, theatre, art, and film. The Holy Terrors is his most enduring work of fiction, and is one of the most curious books I’ve ever read. Centering on two orphaned teens, the book combines juvenile folly with high Modern style. I should also add that I loved the drawings.
Even though all of these books have flaws, and may even be a little ugly, any would be a welcome addition to your book group, and they were a joy to read with mine. I’m blessed to learn and argue and laugh with a diverse and thoughtful group of readers every month. If you’d like to join us, feel free. We meet the last Sunday of every month at 5pm. We’re beginning our Balkan cycle this month with Aleksandar Hemon’s Nowhere Man. If you want more information, please email me at thevoyageoutbookgroup@gmail.com or just come by the store and ask for Brian.
– Brian Contine, BookPerson, moderator of the Voyage Out Book Group, and all around awesome reader.
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