Scott Freeman

What I’ve Read: Dancing With The Classics

I didn’t post this last Wednesday due to holiday travel so today is a super-sized installment of book reviews. I’ve read a bunch of classics over the last two weeks as I try to rectify my deficiency in that regard.
Today I’ll be beginning a five-star review process. Five star reviews will receive the Official Scott Freeman Seal of Approval (OSFSOA). All books available on the sidebar.

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut–Vonnegut is quickly becoming essential reading for me. With an incredibly deft hand he is able to meld social satire and commentary better than anyone. Cat’s Cradle is a wickedly funny end of the world tale. It is in turn a send-up of the escalating arms race of the 60s, a reverent assessment of the strides of technology and a warning of the dangers of blind adherence to religion. He was awarded a Masters Degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago for this work. Only Vonnegut could make me long to read the writings of Kilgore Trout. This book is Five Stars (OSFSOA)

The Fall by Albert Camus–I know that it is somewhat obvious to criticize The Fall for being overwhelmingly bleak and depressing. How could I expect anything but a completely pessimistic view of human nature from Camus? Yeah, life is meaningless. I get that. We are a sad and sorry lot. Check. I guess I’ve left my Existential days behind and I have begun to bank a little bit more in the innate goodness of man for this book to be a complete hit with me. However, Camus makes great note of our proclivity to benevolence only for our own gain. My quibbles aside, it’s still a foundational work. 3 and a half stars.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy–I’ve been a tad scared off of Tolstoy but this short novel was a marvelous read. It is an in depth look at the anguish of death. Ivan Ilyich is slowly dying and as he slides toward those final moments he must look back at his life and determine what was of value. Although it explores similar themes as The Fall this is a much more redemptive, hopeful and poignant work. Five Stars (OSFSOA)

Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley–Or better titled, “Look How Smart I Am.” 25 years after he wrote the classic Brave New World, Huxley wrote a series of articles proclaiming how we were quickly becoming like the world he had described. The book is a mix of prescience (over-population, scarcity of resources) and outdated concepts (extolling the virtue of DDT, Eugenics). If you want a look at Huxley’s thoughts of his earlier work, read it. But otherwise 2 stars.

Seize the Day by Saul Bellow–Seize the Nap is more like it. I expected more from Bellow, having heard so much positive. But this was a snore-fest. I found myself online looking for Cliffs Notes just to tell me how it ended. One Star.

All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque–Wow. And more wow. I was not excited about reading this, having seen the movie back several years ago. But this turned out to be one of the most gripping and harrowing books I’ve ever read. It is a novel that vividly recounts the horrors and atrocities of war from the point of view of a German soldier on the front lines. You won’t read a better fictional account of the pointless nature of nations warring against nation. Beautiful and gruesome. FIVE STARS (OSFSOA)

Cell by Stephen King–I listened to this traveling over Thanksgiving and greatly enjoyed it. My best description would be Oryx and Crake meets The Day After Tomorrow meets Night of the Living Dead. Nothing beats a good zombie read. Campbell Scott reads the audio version and as always he is stellar. He read Oryx and Crake as well. Four Stars.

Great stuff all around but King’s work put a taste in my mouth to read something that’s been written in the last five years. I think I’m going to take a break from the classics and go get something at the library today that is more contemporary. Any suggestions? I’d like something scary, dystopian or otherwise end-of-the-worldish.

Any thoughts on these books I’ve mentioned?