City Of Night, John Rechy
I read this book because I heard that it was the inspiration for Gus Van Sant' film My Own Private Idaho. River Phoenix's character is apparently based on the same transcient faceless narrator and I think if you enjoyed the film the book makes an interesting companion.
Many of the same themes are present, with some fascinating character portrayals that resonate strongly in the film.
The book and film both seem to explore this concept of 'otherness' and 'difference'. Van Sant has said sexuality is more complex than the labels 'straight' and 'gay'. In the novel a lot of the hustlers and 'scores' don't refer to themselves as 'gay' or 'homosexual' but use a common derogative terms such as 'fag' and 'fairy' to express their faux masculinity and aggression in the vernacular. The danger and debauchery the characters entertain themselves with also seems like a performance but one that is often the result or masking of deeper more complex emotional fears about identity and sexuality.
As a psychological study it is fascinating, but the narrative and plot are meandering and oblique in the extreme. Often the scenes resemble cryptic dreams and the laconic indifference of the narrator to those around him creates an overwhelming sense of dispair and darkness. Despite the bleakness of the character, the story does give some fantastic descriptions of New York in that era from a very hazy beatnik perception.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
The Thief's Journal by Jean Jenet. Reviewed 1/06/2009
The Thief’s Journal, Jean Jennet
I read this book because I'd heard of Genet from the director Todd Haynes (Poison and I'm Not There) and was also mentioned by Jean-Paul Sartre who regarded him highly. The Thief’s Journal was repudiated to be his most famous novel and I found it to be beautifully written and subversive as it was supposedly a semi-biographical account of the author's life as a convict and prostitute.
The novel's narrative explores the ugly underbelly of Parisian life and the course of journey through central Europe during the rise of fascism. Genet's portayal of faceless narrator who is almost completely lacking in identity or humanity is fascinating, as if by making things desolated and examining morality he's trying to imvert the persona of his characters and self-destructive themes. I belive this has an allegorical meaning as the prostitute moves chameleon like through the dark passages and decadence of Nazi occupied territory. Here corruption and deviance become internalized in the narrator as he escapes from persecution for his homosexuality. He writes about the evil of masculinity and homosexuality as a kind of deity and self-destructive emancipation from the oppressive behavior of civilized society.
The plot is essentially a stream of conscious, with Genet digressing upon memories and escapist fantasies towards the petty thieves and hoods he encounters.
I don't know if there's any connection to Burroughs but the author's rejection of plot, his realism and peripheral interest in history and icons draws some resemblance. I would also draw some comparisons to the unconventional characters and style of Gus Van Sant's early films Drugstore Cowboys and My Own Private Idaho which explore the psychological lifestyles of these outsider characters without moral or political judgment.
I read this book because I'd heard of Genet from the director Todd Haynes (Poison and I'm Not There) and was also mentioned by Jean-Paul Sartre who regarded him highly. The Thief’s Journal was repudiated to be his most famous novel and I found it to be beautifully written and subversive as it was supposedly a semi-biographical account of the author's life as a convict and prostitute.
The novel's narrative explores the ugly underbelly of Parisian life and the course of journey through central Europe during the rise of fascism. Genet's portayal of faceless narrator who is almost completely lacking in identity or humanity is fascinating, as if by making things desolated and examining morality he's trying to imvert the persona of his characters and self-destructive themes. I belive this has an allegorical meaning as the prostitute moves chameleon like through the dark passages and decadence of Nazi occupied territory. Here corruption and deviance become internalized in the narrator as he escapes from persecution for his homosexuality. He writes about the evil of masculinity and homosexuality as a kind of deity and self-destructive emancipation from the oppressive behavior of civilized society.
The plot is essentially a stream of conscious, with Genet digressing upon memories and escapist fantasies towards the petty thieves and hoods he encounters.
I don't know if there's any connection to Burroughs but the author's rejection of plot, his realism and peripheral interest in history and icons draws some resemblance. I would also draw some comparisons to the unconventional characters and style of Gus Van Sant's early films Drugstore Cowboys and My Own Private Idaho which explore the psychological lifestyles of these outsider characters without moral or political judgment.
The Outsider by Albert Camus. Reviewed 1/8/2009
Albert Camus, The Outsider
I knew of 'the stranger' after it was mentioned in other works by Charles Bukowski and Sartre’s Nausea. It reminded me of the doom and loneliness that are the central basis for Gnut Hansum's The Hunger, Nausea, Factotum and elements of Kafka.
Also, while the phrase "Killing an Arab" I recognized from the Cure song as a clever literary reference.
I think anyone can identify with the isolation and apathy of the central narrator, as he meanders aimless from person to person, and denies any emotional attachment to object or concept. He is accused of shooting his victim in cold blood during the court scene, which later becomes significant because his earlier repression or callous behavior during his mother's funeral is used as a reflection of his cruelty.
However, I think we can recognize a boredom and imagination in Mersault's vision that reflects Camus's artistic sensibility, an inner subjectivity that leads the character to his death. Camus argues that the character refuses to lie and only cares for "truth"; this truth only seems to represent the character's futility and trivial indifference towards the world around him.
I think you can describe the character's murdering of the Arab, as a kind of catharsis and attempt to destroy the illusion he sees around him. It seems lack any logical sense, but is somewhat echoed later in the trial as the judge and prosecution attempt to resolve the crime by condemning him as guilty. A guilt that Mersualt does not recognize, since his crime was apparently random and without motive.
A dark novel, probably regarded for its narrative technique than ideas of philosophy or existentialism.
I knew of 'the stranger' after it was mentioned in other works by Charles Bukowski and Sartre’s Nausea. It reminded me of the doom and loneliness that are the central basis for Gnut Hansum's The Hunger, Nausea, Factotum and elements of Kafka.
Also, while the phrase "Killing an Arab" I recognized from the Cure song as a clever literary reference.
I think anyone can identify with the isolation and apathy of the central narrator, as he meanders aimless from person to person, and denies any emotional attachment to object or concept. He is accused of shooting his victim in cold blood during the court scene, which later becomes significant because his earlier repression or callous behavior during his mother's funeral is used as a reflection of his cruelty.
However, I think we can recognize a boredom and imagination in Mersault's vision that reflects Camus's artistic sensibility, an inner subjectivity that leads the character to his death. Camus argues that the character refuses to lie and only cares for "truth"; this truth only seems to represent the character's futility and trivial indifference towards the world around him.
I think you can describe the character's murdering of the Arab, as a kind of catharsis and attempt to destroy the illusion he sees around him. It seems lack any logical sense, but is somewhat echoed later in the trial as the judge and prosecution attempt to resolve the crime by condemning him as guilty. A guilt that Mersualt does not recognize, since his crime was apparently random and without motive.
A dark novel, probably regarded for its narrative technique than ideas of philosophy or existentialism.
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