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I sure am! Vrooooom!
Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It’s been awhile since I read Graham Greene, and I picked this one up partly because I generally like his stuff, and partly because this was a little different from his other books I've read so far: a comic pastiche of Cervantes’ Don Quixote, in which a priest named Father Quixote is promoted to Monsignor after helping a visiting bishop who is stranded in El Toboso. This alarms the local bishop, who doesn’t particularly like Father Quixote’s unorthodox approach to his parish. He tells Quixote to take a holiday first (while he figures out a way to replace him), and so the monsignor departs in an old Fiat named Rocinante with the now ex-mayor of El Toboso (also a Communist), who serves as his Sancho Panza.
Along the way there is much discussion of Catholicism vs Communism over bottles and bottles of wine, as Quixote and the Mayor amiably explore the similarities and differences between their opposing beliefs, and where they see themselves fitting into their respective dogmatic structures. Meanwhile, Quixote – who has never travelled outside of El Toboso and thus has a very innocent view of the world – spends the night in a brothel and watches a porn film, both times without realizing what they are. By the time the national police take notice, word of his exploits get back to the bishop, who decides Quixote has gone mad and takes drastic action.
Having never read Don Quixote, I can’t say whether those who have will get more out of this, and either way your impression of this may also depend how you feel about the Catholic Church, Communism and/or characters who talk at length about both. For me, while it's admittedly slow at times, I was drawn in by the book’s exploration of the price of even gentle non-compliance with rigid, dogmatic authority. Monsignor Quixote is not a rebel – he simply sees the world, the people in it and his faith differently than the Church he serves. It's telling that he gets in trouble mainly for associating with The Wrong People – even though the Gospels tell us Jesus did exactly the same thing. It’s also remarkable in this day and age to see two characters discussing politics and religion without screaming talking points at each other, and remain good friends afterwards. We used to do that, you know. Anyway, I liked it.
Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy by Stanisław Lem
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stanislaw Lem’s The Star Diaries is a collection of satirical stories narrated by Ijon Tichy, a scientist cosmonaut who tells tales of his explorations of the galaxy and encounters with all sorts of weird science. When the stories were translated into English, they were published in two volumes – The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy, and Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy. (This edition of the latter also includes the story “Professor Donda”, appearing in English for the first time.) I mention all this because while Memoirs of a Space Traveler is essentially more of the same, there’s a reason for that, and it’s also not a bad thing, as I do like Lem, and I enjoyed The Star Diaries.
If there’s a difference, it’s that the majority of these stories (ironically, given the title) don’t involve space travel at all. They mostly chronicle Tichy’s earthbound encounters with crackpot scientists, most of whom either want funding or at least someone who understands what they’re trying to do – several of which involve playing God in some form or fashion (to include an ill-advised attempt to use time travel to re-create the universe so that it turns out better than the original). One exception (and one of the best stories here) is “Let Us Save The Universe”, in which Tichy warns of the devastating ecological impact of rampant space tourism.
As with much of Lem’s other works, the big attraction for me is his tendency to take an idea and run with it as fast as he can in the most insane direction possible – such as “The Washing Machine Tragedy”, which starts with two scientists competing to build a better washing machine and ends with a roomful of lawyers arguing whether a cyberneticist who has transformed himself into a swarm of robots in outer space is (legally speaking) a robot, a human or a planet. Also, while “Professor Donda” may be problematic in terms of its depiction of Africa (as Elizabeth Bear points out in one of the most brutally honest introductions ever), it does foresee a time when Earth becomes so dependent on computer systems that wiping them out would catapult us back to the Dark Age. Prescient!
Capricorn One by Ron Goulart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m a fan of Ron Goulart, but I’ve only ever read his novels and short stories – I’ve never really read any of his series contributions for existing characters (i.e. Vampirella, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, etc) or his film/TV novelizations, mainly because they’re really hard to find. Also, I’m not big on film novelizations these days. But when I saw this one, I had to pick it up for two reasons: (1) Capricorn One is a fun movie, and (2) I wanted to see how Goulart wrote someone else’s story.
And he writes it pretty much the way he writes his novels – mostly dialogue, with minimal descriptions of characters and action. His style of humor also creeps in from time to time, mainly in the scenes with the reporter Caulfield, who here is less like Elliot Gould and more like one of Goulart’s usual protagonists in speech and manner (it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the movie, but I’m pretty sure Gould never once used the word “Yang!” as an expletive).
What’s really striking is how well paced it all is. You probably know the story – three astronauts are forced to fake the first landing on Mars. The movie is fun but does drag in a few places. But when you read it like this, it’s a brisk, zippy page-turner of a story, thanks in no small part to Goulart’s economic prose and pacing. The main downside is that many novelizations expand on certain points to plug in plot holes and help certain story elements make more sense – Goulart doesn’t do that, so the film’s story flaws remain intact. But it’s still entertaining, so there you go. Yang!
FUN FACT: Apparently two novelizations were commissioned for the film. Goulart did the US version, while Ken Follett wrote the other one (as Bernard L. Ross) for the UK market. Apparently Follett’s version expands on Caulfield’s character and his relationship with fellow TV reporter Judy Drinkwater, and adds a coda explaining what happened to him after the final scene in the film.
View all my reviews
Life on Mars,
This is dF
Monsignor Quixote by Graham GreeneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
It’s been awhile since I read Graham Greene, and I picked this one up partly because I generally like his stuff, and partly because this was a little different from his other books I've read so far: a comic pastiche of Cervantes’ Don Quixote, in which a priest named Father Quixote is promoted to Monsignor after helping a visiting bishop who is stranded in El Toboso. This alarms the local bishop, who doesn’t particularly like Father Quixote’s unorthodox approach to his parish. He tells Quixote to take a holiday first (while he figures out a way to replace him), and so the monsignor departs in an old Fiat named Rocinante with the now ex-mayor of El Toboso (also a Communist), who serves as his Sancho Panza.
Along the way there is much discussion of Catholicism vs Communism over bottles and bottles of wine, as Quixote and the Mayor amiably explore the similarities and differences between their opposing beliefs, and where they see themselves fitting into their respective dogmatic structures. Meanwhile, Quixote – who has never travelled outside of El Toboso and thus has a very innocent view of the world – spends the night in a brothel and watches a porn film, both times without realizing what they are. By the time the national police take notice, word of his exploits get back to the bishop, who decides Quixote has gone mad and takes drastic action.
Having never read Don Quixote, I can’t say whether those who have will get more out of this, and either way your impression of this may also depend how you feel about the Catholic Church, Communism and/or characters who talk at length about both. For me, while it's admittedly slow at times, I was drawn in by the book’s exploration of the price of even gentle non-compliance with rigid, dogmatic authority. Monsignor Quixote is not a rebel – he simply sees the world, the people in it and his faith differently than the Church he serves. It's telling that he gets in trouble mainly for associating with The Wrong People – even though the Gospels tell us Jesus did exactly the same thing. It’s also remarkable in this day and age to see two characters discussing politics and religion without screaming talking points at each other, and remain good friends afterwards. We used to do that, you know. Anyway, I liked it.
Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy by Stanisław LemMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stanislaw Lem’s The Star Diaries is a collection of satirical stories narrated by Ijon Tichy, a scientist cosmonaut who tells tales of his explorations of the galaxy and encounters with all sorts of weird science. When the stories were translated into English, they were published in two volumes – The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy, and Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy. (This edition of the latter also includes the story “Professor Donda”, appearing in English for the first time.) I mention all this because while Memoirs of a Space Traveler is essentially more of the same, there’s a reason for that, and it’s also not a bad thing, as I do like Lem, and I enjoyed The Star Diaries.
If there’s a difference, it’s that the majority of these stories (ironically, given the title) don’t involve space travel at all. They mostly chronicle Tichy’s earthbound encounters with crackpot scientists, most of whom either want funding or at least someone who understands what they’re trying to do – several of which involve playing God in some form or fashion (to include an ill-advised attempt to use time travel to re-create the universe so that it turns out better than the original). One exception (and one of the best stories here) is “Let Us Save The Universe”, in which Tichy warns of the devastating ecological impact of rampant space tourism.
As with much of Lem’s other works, the big attraction for me is his tendency to take an idea and run with it as fast as he can in the most insane direction possible – such as “The Washing Machine Tragedy”, which starts with two scientists competing to build a better washing machine and ends with a roomful of lawyers arguing whether a cyberneticist who has transformed himself into a swarm of robots in outer space is (legally speaking) a robot, a human or a planet. Also, while “Professor Donda” may be problematic in terms of its depiction of Africa (as Elizabeth Bear points out in one of the most brutally honest introductions ever), it does foresee a time when Earth becomes so dependent on computer systems that wiping them out would catapult us back to the Dark Age. Prescient!
Capricorn One by Ron GoulartMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m a fan of Ron Goulart, but I’ve only ever read his novels and short stories – I’ve never really read any of his series contributions for existing characters (i.e. Vampirella, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, etc) or his film/TV novelizations, mainly because they’re really hard to find. Also, I’m not big on film novelizations these days. But when I saw this one, I had to pick it up for two reasons: (1) Capricorn One is a fun movie, and (2) I wanted to see how Goulart wrote someone else’s story.
And he writes it pretty much the way he writes his novels – mostly dialogue, with minimal descriptions of characters and action. His style of humor also creeps in from time to time, mainly in the scenes with the reporter Caulfield, who here is less like Elliot Gould and more like one of Goulart’s usual protagonists in speech and manner (it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the movie, but I’m pretty sure Gould never once used the word “Yang!” as an expletive).
What’s really striking is how well paced it all is. You probably know the story – three astronauts are forced to fake the first landing on Mars. The movie is fun but does drag in a few places. But when you read it like this, it’s a brisk, zippy page-turner of a story, thanks in no small part to Goulart’s economic prose and pacing. The main downside is that many novelizations expand on certain points to plug in plot holes and help certain story elements make more sense – Goulart doesn’t do that, so the film’s story flaws remain intact. But it’s still entertaining, so there you go. Yang!
FUN FACT: Apparently two novelizations were commissioned for the film. Goulart did the US version, while Ken Follett wrote the other one (as Bernard L. Ross) for the UK market. Apparently Follett’s version expands on Caulfield’s character and his relationship with fellow TV reporter Judy Drinkwater, and adds a coda explaining what happened to him after the final scene in the film.
View all my reviews
Life on Mars,
This is dF
