Valentine's Day is all about love -- and one thing I love is a great novel that inspires me to read the author's other books.
Something I hate? You'll have to look near the end of this post for that!
I recently finished my first Margaret Drabble book, The Sea Lady, and was very impressed. So I clicked on that author's bibliography, asked it to "make my day," and it did -- by listing 16 other Drabble novels to eventually enjoy! I'm sure I'll like at least some of them as much as The Sea Lady, a poignant 2006 book about a flamboyant woman and quiet man who meet decades after having a complicated relationship as kids and young adults.
Naturally, I thought about other times a top-notch novel started me on a canon-esque binge to read the author's other works, and what the resulting experience was like.
For instance, I loved Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (who shares Drabble's first name and birth year), and followed that novel with many other Atwood titles. It was a very happy few months of 2011 reading, made happier by liking some of her novels -- including The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, and The Blind Assassin -- even more than the excellent Cat's Eye.
(Actually, Cat's Eye was my second Atwood novel. I greatly admired The Handmaid's Tale a quarter-century ago, but inexplicably didn't try another of her books until last year.)
Speaking of acclaimed Canadian authors, I first read L.M. Montgomery in the form of the superb The Blue Castle (what a love story!). Then came Anne of Green Gables (almost as good a book), various Anne sequels (okay), and the semi-autobiographical Emily trilogy (great).
Barbara Kingsolver? I started with her magnificent The Poisonwood Bible, then enjoyed the nearly as amazing Prodigal Summer, then backtracked to three likable earlier novels (The Bean Trees, Animal Dreams, Pigs in Heaven), and then read my third-favorite Kingsolver book: The Lacuna.
I don't want to ramble on too long, so here are thumbnails for five other author canons:
-- The Grapes of Wrath was my first John Steinbeck book, and nothing could top it among his other wonderful novels. But East of Eden was a very respectable second.
-- Germinal got me hooked on Emile Zola when I initially read him. It remains my favorite of his, though titles such as Ladies' Delight and The Beast in Man are strong runners-up.
-- The Count of Monte Cristo is how I first encountered Alexandre Dumas. It outshines his other novels (no Chateau d'Ifs, ands, or buts!), even though many other Dumas books are compelling.
-- I "met" Cormac McCarthy on The Road, which was absorbing but not even in his top five after I subsequently read his previous novels. My favorites are his mid-career Blood Meridian and All the Pretty Horses.
-- The engrossing Ivanhoe came first for me when reading Sir Walter Scott, but I ended up preferring Scott novels such as Quentin Durward and The Heart of Midlothian. (Glad I was able to mention the word "heart" when writing on Valentine's Day!)
Sometimes, an author's other books don't even come close to the first title one tries. For instance, Charlotte Bronte's Shirley and Villette are good but her Jane Eyre -- one of literature's great love stories -- is much better.
The hate (actually, more sadness than hate) mentioned in this post's second paragraph is the emotion one feels after finishing a beloved author's canon. "That's all there is; there isn't any more," sayeth Madeline's narrator.
Yet if novelists you admire are still alive, new titles may arrive in the future. And if the writers are past protagonists on Earth, there's always re-reading!
One more point about author canons: I've often (though not always) found that the best novels are written somewhere in mid-career. That's because an author has gained writing experience and life experience, but is usually not yet repeating themselves in some ways.
Do you agree or disagree with this mid-career-peak thesis? And when you love the first book you read by an author, do other novels by that writer live up to your expectations?
But for me it was Walker Percy.
In college, I was taught by progressive Josephite nuns with a taste for literature about tortured, conflicted Catholics: Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory," lots of Flannery O'Connor, the Anglo-Catholic musings of TS Eliot, and Percy's "Love in the Ruins," which bore the subtitle "The Adventures of a Bad Catholic at a Time Near the End of the World." It made a great impression on me, and I went on to read the rest of his novels.
I suppose most would say "The Moviegoer" is his masterpiece, but all these years later "Love in the Ruins" still sticks to my ribs like few novels do. Percy's fiction canon is pretty slim, but, as Spencer Tracy said, what's there is cherce.
As for the great Vonnegut, I wonder who the equivalent authors are today who have that kind of following among high schoolers and collegians. Perhaps the "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" writers a few years ago, but there must be other novelists currently loved by students!
John Irving’s breakout novel The World According to Garp was actually his fourth book. So, I sought out Setting Free the Bears, The 158-Pound Marriage, and The Water Method Man, then others going forward. Then, Last Night in Twisted River (2009) . I got a 100 or so pages in and could not finish it, unusual for me. Normally I force myself to finish any book I start. Maybe I fell out of love or as you get older, you have less time to spend on something that is not enjoyable.
Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides. I had to go back and read earlier works like The Great Santini, The Water is Wide, and Lords of Discipline.
Irving and Conroy may not be top-shelf (like Boyle, Auster, Delillo) but I believe they are serious novelists.
Atwood again. The novel which set me onto the rest of her work was The Handmaid’s Tale. Currently reading The Year of the Flood which is very compelling. I don’t think I’ve touched it in four days because I’ve been reading student papers and exams.
Just a few examples.
I need to try more of Pat Conroy. And Margaret Atwood? I think she's one of the greatest novelists ever, not just of our time.
I haven't read nearly enough of Daphne du Maurier yet, but recently enjoyed "My Cousin Rachel" and her great time-travel yarn "The House on the Strand."
I like that you started your list by discussing some under appreciated Canadains and would add one to your list Mordecai Richler.A friend gave me his hilarious the Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz which led me through his ouvre until I lighted on Solomen Gursky was Here.This may be the most under rated novel published in the seventies it is kind of a history of canada told in the style of magic realism as practiced by Gunther Grass with the Tin Drum. It seems to me a shame that Mr. Richler is so neglected ,quite possibly due to his admitedly suspect politics but if you want a serious read that will make you laugh out loud you could do much worse.
I've had Mordecai Richler on my to-read list for a while (probably because you recommended him so highly under a past post!), and will eventually get to him. He sounds too good to miss.
Thanks for your usual great comment, donnyraindog!
I haven't used an eReader yet. I wrote a post a few months ago about being a holdout, and, after many commenters extolled the benefits of eReaders, I feel more open to perhaps buying one eventually.
On the subject of canons, I forgot to ask, have you read anything by Umberto Eco?
That is much of the reason I have my kindle-to keep old friends close. For me, the Kindle was the way to go-the e-ink reads like print. It's close to the size of a paperback but holds an entire library.
But....you will encounter those that really dislike the very idea of them.
2) I believe it was Doris Lessing who coined the term "plethoraphobia" to describe the feeling of being in the stacks, surrounded by great books, and knowing you'll never be able to read them all.
Maugham is not the greatest writer ever, but his gift for observation is superior to most and his prose is like a smoothed over Hemingway.
Oh and I totally agree on The Count of Monte Cristo. One of my most favorite novels of all time.
I've embarrassed to say I've never read Maugham. I just put him on my list after reading your great description of his work, and will at least try "Of Human Bondage."
I love how you were inspired to read a novel after seeing it mentioned in another novel.
Thanks for the excellent comment, NiMRODPi!
Usually the first book I read from an author makes a lasting impression, but I manage to get passed it if others are trully better. Sometimes I even forget which one was the first.
This is the case with Edith Wharton. I can't remember which one of her books I read first, but I prefer The House of Myrth.
I recently started reading books by Haruki Murakami. The first one was Norvegian Woods, which was a disappontment, but I immediatly followed with Kafka on the Shore, which I found beautiful and made me want to continue. My favorite by him up to now is The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
My first Dumas was The Three Musketeers. It got upstaged by The Queen Margot, my favorite, even though I know The Count is the best.
My first from Jane Austen was Pride and Prejudice. This is the case where I started with the masterpiece. The others are good, but everyone knows this one is her best.
The first novel I read by John Irving was A widow for a year. I read most of his work, loved almost everything, but this one will remain the best to me, and I know it is sentimental more than anything.
At one point, I read "The Three Musketeers" and several of its sequels consecutively. It was "all D'Artagnan all the time"!
"The House of Mirth" -- the second Wharton novel I read, after "Ethan Frome" -- is tremendous, but I like "The Age of Innocence" a bit better. Sort of like A-plus vs. A-plus-plus for me.
Like you, "Pride and Prejudice" is my favorite Austen, though I know that's not a universal opinion among that iconic author's fans.
I've never read Haruki Murakami -- now on my list thanks to your words about his work!
Interesting-I rarely read anything by the same author in a row. Maybe, that's why. I'll have to give it some thought. I often go back to an author that I enjoyed but always read something else in between.
A few favorites of mine....Barbara Kingsolver you mentioned and I've read many of hers (that were nice) although her Poisonwood Bible stands alone as her crowning achievement I think. John Steinbeck novels I've enjoyed at different times in life although I did read/re-read (and enjoyed immensely) a collection of five of his novels in a row when I lived in Chile. I believe Steinbeck is the only author that I've read consecutively in recent years.
I've enjoyed several of Upton Sinclair's (The Jungle when I was younger but recently discovered others like The Money Changers). Kurt Vonnegut, Larry McMurtry, John Grisham, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, James Michener, Isabelle Allende, Oscar Wilde...so many books, so little time.
My current reading is divided largely between Kindle books (mostly free classics) and books I find at my local used bookstore. I just finished Bridge of Sighs (Richard Russo) and had also read his excellent Empire Falls some time ago. Also "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout-a lovely book and I'll look for more of her novels.
And I always look for the titles and authors that you and your commenters mention.
But since many of my books have been borrowed, I do often read books out of chronological published order, so I generally have no sense of when the author was at his or her peak. I do agree with you 100% on Charlotte Bronte's books, though, since I did read Jane Eyre first and have read it several times since, but once was enough for her other novels. In L.M. Montgomery's case, she actually wrote some of the Anne books out of order (I believe she was under pressure from her publisher).
Thanks for reminding me about Quentin Durward, I did enjoy that book and should put Walter Scott on my panic button list for when I finish all of Wilkie Collins' books. Also Dumas. I have read many of the books of a similar author, Rafael Sabatini (being an old movie fan has led me to some authors I would not otherwise have been aware of).
I hope your mention of The Blue Castle will inspire other posters to read it.
I didn't realize L.M. Montgomery wrote some "Anne" sequels out of order! Perhaps that explains why some aren't as good as others. My favorite sequel featured the captain character; I'm forgetting which one that was. I do hope my periodic mentions of "The Blue Castle" inspire people to read it; they'll be VERY glad they did!
Don't remember if I mentioned this before, but I read and enjoyed Wilkie Collins' "A Rogue's Life" after you noted how great even some of his lesser-known novels are. More Collins planned!
Sir Walter Scott is definitely a very readable author. Most of his historical novels were set in Scotland, of course, but "Quentin Durward" was an exception with its Scottish character going to France.
Would you believe that I haven;t read A Rogue's Life yet, so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it - I have not gotten to that one yet, and now can't wait to read it. (Have two others to read first.) I recently read "Poor Miss Finch" and enjoyed that one. My sister recently sent me a link to site where all his books are posted online and can be read for free, but I would rather pay the money and get a real book.
I visited Walter Scott's home in Scotland, Abbotsford, years ago, and it was like the setting of a book itself. Beautiful and atmospheric, with a labor of love feeling everywhere, too.