"Mysteries Of Winterthurn" by Joyce Carol Oates, Some Responses to Reading It!

In the past, I have read and written on this blog about at least one of Joyce Carol Oates' books, "Where Is Here" which is a collection of short stories which I liked a lot. I have also read some of her short stories which have been published independently elsewhere. I have to say that this book, "Mysteries Of Winterthurn" which is generally described as a novel is an interesting book. There are parts of it which I like a lot. There are other parts of it which fail to impress me. First and foremost, I would not say flatly that I see it as a novel. I think of it much more as a Short Story Cycle which is generally described as a collection of short stories with several common aspects including common characters, common setting, a rational timeline which is evident across all the stories, and in most short story cycles all the stories are viable if viewed as being independent of the others. The book is composed of three stories which are also arguably novellas ranging in length from 150 pages to almost 200. The stories have a common protagonist, Xavier Kilgarvan, who is a young man of about 20 or so years in the first story and a man of nearly retirement age in the third. The stories progress across his lifespan in a rational timeline, but there is a sizeable gap of time between each subsequent story and the next. All three are set in Winterthurn a rural,small town in New England. All the stories share a common cast of lesser characters. Each story involves murders which Xavier works to solve since all are unsolved at the time of his initial involvement. The writing style in these stories is very different from the style in the short story collection which I mentioned above. That writing style is reminescent of the work of Edgar Allan Poe or other major writers of early American mystery or detective stories. I believe that Oates set herself the task of emulating as closely as possible the writing style which is generally seen in early American murder mysteries or the English examples such as the work of Conan Doyle. The language is cumbersome, verbose, and replete with words and terms which have nearly fallen out of use in spoken English in America today. I commend Joyce Carol Oates on that effort to emulate the earlier style of writing. She did an excellent job of making the book appear to almost be a 19th century work in the genre. But it is a cumbersome read in today's world. I have to admit that as I read the book I was unmotivated to read it straight through from beginning to end. I had to take a break between the stories, read other works by other authors which were written in more modern styles. After reading another book following each of the stories, I was able to motivate myself to return and complete the book. I have to admit that I rarely, if ever, begin a book which I do not finish reading. I firmly believe that if I begin a book I owe the author an obligation to complete it. That author has spenta sizeable chunk of their time writing the book,obtaining a publishing contract, and marketing the book with public appearances, book signings, and other promotionial work such as radio and television interviews. If you are a devoted reader of murder mysteries, you might love this book. If you are not such a reader, you might stop long before you reach the end.

"Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets" by Stephen Crane

Many time on this blog, I have mentioned that I often buy books at what I refer to as "junk stores", Goodwill, Salvation Army Thrift Stores, etc. I find all kinds of less common books in such places. One of my favorite little places to buy such books is at a little shelf outside the door of the snack shop, gift shop near the entrance to Pavilion H at the University of Kentucky Hospital. It is actually located in the hall between the entrance to Pavilion H, the old main hospital section, and the kiosk where patients sign in. I believe the little gift shop is operated by some arm of the hospital auxillary. The little book shelf operates solely from donated books which must come from a variety of sources including medical staff, auxillary members, patients and their visitors and might contain anything at any given time. All the books sell for some minimal price, usually 75 cents. Due to the fact that my wife has frequent appointments at the Kentucky Clinic across the street, I often take a long walk around the medical buildings in order to get my exercise, cruise past the little bookshelf, about 2 feet wide and 4 shelves high, browse what it contains, and buy anything that interests me. My last purchase there included the book I am writing about now, "Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets" by Stephen Crane, the author of "The Red Badge of Courage" which is a much better known book. The edition of "Maggie..." which I found there is actually A Norton Critical Edition which contains a great deal of critical and historical material in addition to the full text of "Maggie..." which is actually a novella of only 58 pages. But this edition also contains about 200 more pages of the supporting writings, photographs, and maps of New York City in the late 19th century. It was edited by Thomas A. Gullason, Ph. D., an English Professor at the University of Rhode Island. It is an excellent piece of work both from the simple aspect of being a fine novella by one of America's best early novelists, and by virtue of being a fine piece of editorial work by someone who clearly understood his materieal well. The book was originally published in 1893 and the text Dr. Gullason used is that original text. He has wisely not fiddled with the language of the time, has inserted numerous and sometimes voluminous footnotes to provide extensive information about the language used, geography at times, and other aspects of life in New York City in the late 19th century. I read the book with my wife Candice as we do nearly every day. I read aloud from our chosen book as she washes our breakfast dishes. When she finishes, I rinse the dishes. We take turns choosing the books we read and it is an exercise that works well for us in terms of both literature and personal relationship. This was obviously a fast read, in terms of the text of novella alone. In light of its brevity, it was a very nice book to read. Crane's writing does use some now antiquated words at times but he was a fine novelist as anyone knows who has ever read "The Red Badge of Courage". His writing style was actually much more modern in nature than most of his peers at the time. The novella still stands up to just about anything from any modern author in today's times. Maggie is the oldest daughter of a poor, Irish, working class family living in an early tenement in New York. Her mother is an abusive, alcoholic. Her father is an abusive, heavy drinking wagon driver in the streets of the city. Her brother Jimmie is a street urchin with a violent nature. The entire family and every one around them is simply striving to stay alive in a very hostile environment. As Maggie matures into a young woman, she becomes enamored with a friend of her brother named Pete who is a bartender and passes himself off as being much more than he actually is in terms of his money, lifestyle, worldly ways, etc. Maggie falls for Pete, leaves home to be with him after a particularly violent incident with her mother. She is wined and dined by Pete early in their relationship, taken to concerts, bars, and other forms of entertainment and comes to believe that Pete will improve her life. As the novella progresses, it becomes apparent that Pete is a womanizer who is totally in everything purely for his own satisfaction. Eventually, Maggie leaves Pete after he tires of her and moves on with an older woman whom he considers more interesting, charming, and attractive. Maggis is rejected by her mother and the family as a "fallen woman", and dies on the streets. It is obviously a very dark novella filled with poverty, alcoholism, womanizing, prejudice toward minorities, and nearly everything negative that New York offered in the 1890's. But it is a fine novella and well worth reading. If you can find a copy, get it, read it, and come to understand the poverty that immigrant working class families suffered in the early days of our country. And, in light of the recent hatred, animosity, and aggression toward the immigrants who once were and still are the real builders of our country, it is fine novella to read in today's politically disastrous times.

"Tales From The Red River Gorge" by Maribeth Wagner and B. Camp (Pseudonmyms)

Recently, on October 12, 2024, I attended the Alice Lloyd Appalachia Day Homecoming at Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Knott County, Kentucky, with my wife Candice and a good friend, Eugenia "Genia" DeCoursey Hall. I had completed high school at Pippa Passes in Knott County High School many years ago and attended two summers of Upward Bound at Alice Lloyd College. I also attended Alice Lloyd College after graduating high school but did not obtain a degree there. But I enjoy occasionally attending some event there because I usually run into people I have known but not seen for many years. On this trip, I encountered Dennis B. Campbell, a Knott County native, Alice Lloyd alumnus, and a retired psychiatrist with whom I worked in my prior life as a substance abuse and mental health therapist. Dennis is now occupying at least part of his time as a writer of fiction books which he publishes on Amazon and was selling his books at the homecoming event. In explanation of the two author names on this book, Dennis told me that his wife also writes and this book was a joint project. We never got into a discussion of who wrote what in the book or what system of coauthorship they employ. The book is composed of two novellas set in the Red River Gorge and the two books also have a few common characters. The first novella is entitled "The Red River Gorge Killer: A Romantic Suspense Thriler". The story involves the main character, Lori York, a 26 year old woman from West Virginia who is the CEO of a coal company which she inherited from her parents. She loves to hike and spend time in the woods and wilderness. The antagonist is a serial killer from Northern Kentucky who is very fastidious about what he considers his mission to kill women and he is portrayed as hating all women. He attacks Lori but failes to complete her murder. She regains consciousness and is rescued by a group of hikers from Eastern Kentucky University and a local search and rescue group including one who is a local doctor working in Winchester, Kentucky. It transpires that Lori regains consciousness from the attack with a serious case of amnesia. The doctor, who is not her attending physician when she reaches his hospital, arranges for her to live temporarily in a Bed And Breakfast which his sister owns and operates. A Kenucky State Trooper is assigned the assault case and works closely with Lori both in the search for her attacker and her identity. The young doctor, Adam Cantrell, is also very helpful to Lori who chooses the name Holly for herself since she doesn't remember her own and was found near a holly tree at the scene of her assault. The story move quickly and the serial killer eventually learns that Holly is staying in the Red River Gorge area and he returns in an attempt to kill her. Holly and Adam are both lovers of target shooting and, as their relationship develops, he takes her shooting on his family farm and provides her with a pistol and ammunition in order for her to be able to protect herself if the attacker returns. The killer does return and has learned where she is living. He enters the B & B, attacks Adam's sister and Holly kills him. She and Adam have fallen in love in the meantime, and when she regains her memory they become a couple. The book has a great deal of local information about the Red River Gorge area and I suspect the serial killer is based on someone Dennis Campbell possibly knew in his professional life. This is not a perfect novella, but it is readable, entertaining, and worth the time it takes to read it. The second novella in the book is entitled "Lost In The Red River Gorge: A Tale Of Wilderness Survival". The two major characters are two small children, Cody and Chloe, who are lost in the gorge after their drug addicted father takes them on a weekend paddle trip down the Red River for which he is not adequately qualified or equipped. Their canoe overturns and the father drowns leaving two children, aged 7 & 5. Their mother has taken them camping and hiking many times and has taught them as much as she could about the woods, wildlife, flora and fauna, and the dangers of life in a wilderness area. The children strike out on their own seeking a way out of the wilderness after heavy rains close off the possiblity of simply hiking upstream to the spot where their father had parked his truck. The encounter a variety of problems including a coyote attack, little or no food, no sleeping bags or tent, and no real knowledge of the geography of the portion of the gorge in which they are lost. A couple of the characters from the previous novella show up in this one including Adam Cantrell's sister who is a good friend to the children's mother. The children do an amazing job of surviving the wilderness long enough to be found and rescued. This novella is a feel good read which can be found on Amazon along with all of Dennis Campbell's several books by seaching the titles or the name B. Camp. He writes in several genres including postapocalyptic, fantasy, and even one western type novel. Here is a link to his page on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B.+Camp&crid=32NNNUPYNYO2S&sprefix=b.+camp%2Caps%2C169&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Revisiting An Old Favorite, "The Subterraneans" by Jack Kerouac

 

 

I was first introduced to the work of Jack Kerouac about 1974 or so by my friend, mentor, and professor Bob Snyder.  At about the same time, he introduced me to Kerouac, Mildred Haun, and Francois Villon.  You can't ask for a much better threesome of authors to come to know.  Since then, I have read every word I can find by all three.  I devoured Kerouac's work much like a famished person just rescued from a long stranding in a wilderness would have devoured a good breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuits, gravy, and fried apples.  I have returned more than once to one or another of Kerouac's books over the years and every time I am deeply impressed by the skill with which he wrote, and the obvious rapidity of his working style.  "The Subterraneans" has always been one of my four or five favorite Kerouac novels.  Some people refer to it as a novella since it is only about 150 pages.  But for me, it is much a novel as any of his other novels.  It is also one of only two novels in his oeuvre which come across as totally loving, sweet, beautiful, without any level of animosity, anger, fear, or any other negative emotion.  

The novel is about a love affair between the narrator, Leo Percepied, an alter ego of Kerouac himself, and a beautiful young African American woman named Mardou Fox.  The affair is brief, meteoric, heart warming, trusting, and everything an unforgettable love affair should be despite coming to an end which is described in the most simple terms: "And I go home, having lost our love.  And write this book."

When it's over, it's over, and yet it leaves an impression on the reader just as deep and meaningful as it has left on the character Kerouac created due to whatever previous events in his life that served as the impetus for this wonderful, loving little novel might have been.  I suspect this won't be last time I ever pick this sweet little book up to read once again.  And every time I do that, I always find myself thanking God for both Jack Kerouac and Bob Snyder.