Weekend Reads...

This is a picture of what I did this past weekend. Well, that wasn't all I did. I cleaned the garage, did some laundry, etc. My wife took the pictures without telling me but was quick to suggest that I post them here. She particularly wanted everyone to see our house (well, the back of it). Also this weekend, I finished Ian McEwan's "Amsterdam," and it was as good in the end as it was slow starting out. I did have some difficulties when I began "Amsterdam" but the story really took off. McEwan combines four major characters whose major outcomes are decided by two sort of minor characters. As I wrote earlier, the major characters all share the fact that at one point or another they had been Molly Lane's lovers. (The story begins at Molly's funeral). George Lane happens to be one of the minor characters. He is married to Molly throughout her illness and eventual death. Vernon Halliday and Clive Linley, along with Julian Garmony had all been Molly's lovers. Let us begin with Vernon. Vernon is the chief editor of "The Judge," a struggling newspaper in London. He comes across some information on Julian Garmony (whom he despises), and some photographs of Garmony in drag (Garmony is foreign minister and running for Prime Minister). The pictures were taken at the time when Garmony and Molly were lovers. In a true genius of a twist, it is George Lane who offers the photographs of Garmony to Vernon for publication on "The Judge" in order to discredit Garmony's run for Prime Minister before it actually begins. The strategy of ruining Garmony backfires on Vernon and he ends up losing his job. Clive Linley's main obsession in the story is the composition of the "Millennium Symphony." He is one of Britain's leading composers and this piece seems to mark the point in his career as to how will he be remembered. Both Vernon and Clive made a pact with each other that in the case of severe illness--just as Molly had died--they would take each other out.

Ian McEwan must have some musical training, especially in composition. His passages on how Clive struggles with the composition of the "Millennium Symphony" are solidly credible and as fine a piece of writing on music as I have ever read. He does so with the basis of Clive's intense struggle after the death of Molly and his own introspective torture along the way. The end (which I am not going to give out here) is a wonderful mix of tragedy and resolution, masterfully done in a fantastic use of language--simply precise and not a word wasted. I highly recommend this novel. It was on my pile for a long time. I started reading the day I bought it but the beginning, like I said, was slow going and strange in setting, so I stopped. I am glad I picked it up again.

McEwan's "Amsterdam"

Four main characters take center stage in this short novel by Ian McEwan. Clive Linley, Vernon Halliday and Julian Garmony were all, at one point or another, Molly Lane's lovers. They all share that in common. However, their relationships are far from simple. Clive and Vernon do get along, and at Molly's funeral (at the beginning of the story) they share their sadness at Molly's passing. Julian, on the other hand, is England's foreign secretary--a man in line to become the next Prime Minister. Early on Clive and Julian clash. Clive is a music composer who has been commissioned by the government to write a "Millennium Symphony." I have only read around 25 pages so I really can't go much further than this today. There's the scene at the funeral, and afterwards Clive goes home to work on his masterpiece and we find the third person narrator giving the reader a sketch of Clive's career and efforts. So far, the story is very intriguing and I foresee a great amount of reading this weekend.

I did say I was not going to post anything more on "The God Delusion," but something happened yesterday that made me realize Dawkins was more right than wrong about the negative influence of religion. Religion is making me sad. As I said on the previous post... it's isn't God's problem... it is what people make religion to be. I rather say out loud that I hate/despise someone than pretend that because I am so "holy" those emotions do not knock at my heart. This is reason enough to believe that people use religion to deceive themselves and act hypocritically to those around them. I rather NOT believe than be a hypocrite. I am not sure exactly how to explain this, and I feel that I don't want to keep posting items that do not deal with books directly, but it is hard to understand how people can be so mean, egotistical, downright nasty, and still claim themselves to be followers of Christ. Like I said, I rather turn away from Christ than be a hypocrite. I do believe, but I confess that I am very far (and getting farther) away from Christ's teachings. The only consolation I have is that at least I am being true to who I am... with all my massive imperfections.