The Plains by Gerald Murnane

The Plains by Gerald Murnane is an Australian modern classic about a man who goes to the Plains region of Australia for a filmmaking project. But, first, he must get to know the Plainsmen and what makes them tick. He finds a patron, a wealthy landowner willing to pay him to spend time reading diaries and documents on the Plains to research his film.

~~~Warning: This next paragraph may contain spoilers. Skip it if you are planning to read The Plains and want to be surprised, please!~~~ 

The storyline in The Plains is predictable, at least in part, but still managed to surprise and tickle me. It's told in three parts. In the first part, the narrator travels to the Plains and hangs out where the Plainsmen do, hoping to learn about them and understand them enough to create his film. At the end of the first section, he finds his patron. In the second part, the narrator (I don't recall whether or not he was ever named) is living with his patron, admiring the patron's wife, and spending most of his time in the library of the patron's estate. In the final section, years have passed and the narrator realizes he has become a Plainsman, himself. But, I won't tell you what happens to his filmmaking process because it's worth discovering if you're at all interested in reading the book. And, it's quite funny.

It's safe, now. 

I got of whiff of the slyness of the author's sense of humor when the narrator made a comment about not knowing quite when he left Australia. That's like saying you aren't quite sure when you left America as you entered Kansas. But, I think it's likely I would have missed out on a lot of the subtle humor if I hadn't read the introduction, which was written by a writer who was so impressed by The Plains when he first read it that he started corresponding with the author. I highly recommend reading the intro, if you have this copy of the book.

I found the beginning and the last section of The Plains a little difficult until I stopped thinking so hard about what the author was trying to say. Oddly, The Plains made more sense when I put less effort into figuring it out.

Recommended with a note - The Plains is a very Australian book and you have to kind of shift your mindset to get it if you're not Australian. It's best to embrace the quirkiness. It's not often I read a book that's more difficult the harder you try to understand it but this is definitely that kind of book.

Side note: The Plains caught my eye in an Australian bookstore because I grew up on the American Plains and have a fondness for wheat, which would get blown into our yard during storms when I was young; there was a wheat field not far from us at the time (it eventually became a Walmart, ugh). I didn't buy a copy when I was in Australia but my husband went back there on business, after we vacationed Down Under, and I sent him with a list. The Plains was at the top. He tried to read it and found it a little too weird.

Reminder: I've gone to every-other-week Monday Malarkey posts, so there will be a Malarkey post next week.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit by Juliana Gray

I suppose scorn makes one feel more clever, in the same way that indignation makes one feel more moral. 

~p. 197

Emmeline Truelove was the personal secretary to the Duke of Olympia, till his recent death. Now, a young man by the name of Maximillian Haywood has inherited the duchy. But, he has gone missing. At the behest of the newly widowed duchess, and with the charming and dashing Lord Silverton accompanying her, Miss Truelove must head for the Mediterranean to unravel the mystery of the future duke's disappearance.

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit contains a wild, almost bizarre blend of adventure, mystery, characters who may or may not be entirely what they seem, potential for romance, ghosts, time travel, magic, and some very informative history paired with mythology.

The vast majority of the book follows Truelove and Silverton as they pursue clues to Haywood's whereabouts. Somewhere along the way, they pick up another man, a gentleman and scholar by the name of Mr. Higganbotham. Silverton is a gorgeous spy and a cad, Higganbotham an, at times, slightly daffy intellectual. After finding a fresco that appears to be fake in the palace of Knossos, which is being dug up and preserved, and repeatedly facing danger, the myth of Ariadne takes on a deeper meaning. But, what does the myth have to do with the missing duke? And, will either of the men pursue an understanding with Truelove or are they toying with her?

Recommended with postscript - I was absolutely immersed in A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, all week. It's only about 430 pages long (technically, that meets my old definition of "chunkster" from the days when I came up with the Chunkster Challenge, but it's not far over the line) but there's so much happening that it took me a long time to get through the book. I love the fact that A Most Extraordinary Pursuit has interesting characters but is plot-heavy. I love the Edwardian time period and the language. I really love-hated Lord Silverton. I pictured him with the face and hair of Luke Norris (Dr. Enys in Poldark) but with a wicked twinkle in his eye, Edwardian clothing, and a bit of a swagger.

There were portions, however, that didn't work for me. There are two ghosts: the ghost of Queen Victoria and Truelove's father. Both visit Miss Truelove but it's Queen Victoria who tries to guide Emmeline and the ghost of her father contributes little. There are two men who may have romantic interest in Truelove, but one is known for enticing and abandoning women. The other is a either an enigma or exactly what he seems. Higganbotham almost completely fades away within the last 100 pages; he's there, but he's no longer key. Are we to distrust Higganbotham or simply dismiss him? Has his interest waned for good or will he appear in the next book? Because, herein lies another issue. A Most Extraordinary Pursuit is not a stand-alone. Although it's mostly wrapped up, at least one bright red thread is left dangling; clearly the story will continue.

Also, toward the end of the book, the mythology became extremely confusing. I thought the author did a fairly good job of interspersing bits of the tale of Ariadne and Theseus between chapters and explaining the characters (I'm not knowledgeable about mythology) till that last 50 pages or so. Then, it became suddenly overwhelming, to the point that I began to skim over the mythological portion. I didn't mind the craziness -- there is even a paranormal aspect, a magical touch -- but the author nicely warned her readers that she'd asked permission to take the book to extremes and it was granted. Well, she certainly did that. The book is wildly adventurous but it's also rather strange.

In the end, I gave the book 4 stars and I would, in fact, like to see where Juliana Gray (more commonly known as Beatriz Williams) takes Miss Truelove in future installments, but I also felt a slight bit let down and perplexed after the last 30-50 pages. And clearly I need to bone up on mythology.

There was also one particular feature of the book that I believe could have been minimized, if not left out entirely, and that was Truelove's repetitive seasickness. It was neither important to the plot, nor necessary for character development at any time, in my humble opinion, although perhaps it was meant to show us that Silverton could display compassion and kindness. I would have preferred that the author minimize those scenes; they were not fun to read at all.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt

Isabel very kindly censored the title of this book but Ullshit is just not as interesting a title as On Bullshit, is it? So, the post is not censored, although you have to appreciate the pretty view.

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt is a tiny book (undersized and only 67 pages long) that explores the way we deceive other people and, sometimes in the process, ourselves.

My husband handed me his copy of On Bullshit when I was having a particularly frustrating day. Friends who are aligned with the political party I consider to be the more deceptive of the two were repeating misinformation and they absolutely, utterly believed everything they were saying, even though a few quick searches online easily proved all of that information false. I said, "I don't understand how they can fall for the spin," and my husband said, "Here, read this. It'll explain everything."

Sure enough, there is one particularly telling passage that fit the concept of baloney in politics. Unfortunately, it was about 8 - 10 pages' worth and you need to read the entire passage in order to grasp the concept of how even those who are doing the "bullshitting" are able to convince themselves that they are telling the truth. So, I'm not going to pull a quote out of this particular book. But, I do think it's worth reading if you're feeling overwhelmed by the fact that people around you are not only spouting nonsense but believe what they're saying.

Recommended with a note of caution - I found this particular book very helpful during a day of angst but it should be noted that if there's a large word available, Frankfurt has found it. So, the book is a little on the ponderous side. As I was reading, I realized it's a book that you need to read repeatedly in order to fully understand it. But, I enjoyed it and it eased my mind a bit. And, then I deactivated my Facebook account a few weeks later, anyway, because it really doesn't help knowing why people believe the bullshit. It still gets on your nerves.

©2015 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.