The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

Reading The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, I enjoyed the breezy southern style Percy used throughout. The sense of place in the novel was amazing. Percy has (had? I don't know if he's dead or not) a great ability for description that really encompasses all the senses in a way that is almost hard to define.

This 1962 National Book Award Winner seems to have fallen into the theme of the award winning novel about ennui. While I have already read several award winners who depict young men battling with their own sense of ennui, their disconnect from their time and place, I felt like Percy achieves his own place in history with a particular flair. His character, the moviegoer of the title, Binx weaves in and out of the New Orleans with loads of style.

Overall it's a book I enjoyed, a quick read that was a good time, though, like with The Fixer I can't think of much more to say.

The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon

Last night I finished reading the book version of condensed soup. Hendrik Willem Van Loon's The Story of Mankind was the first ever Newberry Award winner in 1922. Van Loon set out to record the history of humankind for his grandchildren and selected events from thousands of years of history. His criterion for an event to be mentioned was whether or not the event had a significant influence on the global sphere.

This 292 page book starts back with pre-historic man and flows up through World War I. My own disconnect with this book I think is 2 pronged. For one, Van Loon's theory (for which he spends far too much time mea culpa-ing about not including more) that the only important events in history are the ones that rocked the global stage. This "greatest hits" approach to history gives the shallowest, most superficial view of how our cultures have evolved and how certain events have come to pass.

The second objection I have to Van Loon's "story" is that along with his apologies for cutting out certain events and flows of history, he tries to maintain that he wrote the "story" as a neutral party, not injecting his own opinion. Yet, this tale is riddled with his own prejudices and thoughts. Many of which are wildly racist (and granted, it was written in a much different era), but this white protestant man takes many a stab at the Romans, the French, the Catholics, and many others.

What I am most looking forward to is comparing this book to the other winners of the award to see how they have evolved from this first winner and from the era of the first winner.

White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Earlier this week I finished reading White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of the Man Booker award in 2008. It's a book I enjoyed immensely for the voice of the narrator and the biting social commentary it laid at the feet of the Indian subcontinent.

Munna/Balram/The White Tiger narrates the story of how he went from a small village boy to a driver to a murderer and now successful entrepreneur. His path and his struggles are all artfully narrated as letters to the visiting Chinese leader who will be arriving in India shortly. The sense of place Adiga creates with his descriptions is pretty incredible, and Balram's colloquial voice is enjoyable.

It is hard to rejoice in the picture he paints of corrupt government, the ugly reality of the monied class, and his own struggles with family obligation. These are all a dark undertone to Balram's perky letters. But, overall it lends a great balance to the book. Adiga walks a fine line with his writing, but the final result is a cutting social commentary with a great satirical feel.

I enjoyed reading White Tiger and found it a quick, easy read. I'll be interested to see what else comes from Mr. Adiga.

Update

Last night I finished White Tiger which was the 2008 Booker winner. I've got to get my self up to writing the review...but it's coming.

I also started the very first Newberry award winner The Story of Mankind.