SOUNDTRACK: STARLIGHT MINTS-Change Remains (2009).
This is the fourth disc from the Starlight Mints. Their music is hard to describe at any time, but this disc complicates things even further.
The number of genres they cram into this disc is impossible to count. However, there seems to be a very heavy concentration of a sort of punk/disco feel. The disco beats (and telltale bass lines) are very strong yet the noisy guitar and instrumentation removes the disco sheen.
And that overall sense sums up the disc fairly well. It’s got this poppy aspect to it, but there’s a sinister undercurrent. In my review of their earlier discs, I described them a having a Pixies influence. And while that’s still true (the sinister part (and the vocals definitely sound like Black Francis)) their sound has evolved away from a grungy rock into a more keyboardy feel.
The opener is a short instrumental that sounds like a cartoony James Bond theme. The next few tracks have a good 90s alt rock feel (although “Zoomba” mixes it up with some jazzy horns). But it’s the second half of the disc where the disco sounds really come to the fore.
And, lyrically, the band is all over the place. It’s always fun to see what’s coming around the corner (as when the rocking “gallop along” comes out of an otherwise mellow dancey track). Starlight Mints are definitely not trying to sell billions of records, but they are no doubt building a delightful niche fan base. And I’m one of them.
[READ: Week of January 18, 2010] 2666 [pg 1-51]
And so begins the Infinite Summer-like reading of 2666. I don’t know if this reading group has a catchy title yet (I can’t even think of a jokey one right now), so for now, 2666 it is.
I don’t really know what I’m in for with this book. And as such, I’m not entirely sure what thee posts are going to turn into. Unlike with Infinite Jest, which was confusing from the get-go, this novel starts out in a rather straightforward manner. So, I think for the foreseeable future I’ll do some plot summary and comments.
2666 is divided into 5 books (which were originally supposed to be published independently). The first book is 161 pages and is called The Part About the Critics.
I had no idea what this book was about. I’d heard it was a great, difficult read, and that was enough for me. I like to go into books fairly blindly, so that’s nothing unusual. The back cover blurb says that it centers around Santa Teresea, which I suspect has something to do with Juarez, Mexico. So, okay, I get the idea that we’re in for a harrowing tale about murdered women in Mexico.
So, imagine my surprise when the book opens with fifty-plus pages about 4 scholars of a little-known German writer. And imagine my further surprise when the language of the book is fairly easy to read.Over the course of several paragraphs we meet the four main characters of this section. The thing they have in common is their love of the author Benno Von Archimboldi. Archimboldi is a minor German author who has been little published outside of his home country. Events of this chapter see his rise to minor prominence (with a Pulitzer nomination). However, at this point in the book, no one knows who the author is, where he lives or even what he looks like (except that he is very tall). The four characters have all written scholarly work about Archimboldi, and through professional conferences they learn about each other and eventually become friends.
In order, we meet:
Jean-Claude Pelletier, born 1961. He lives in France and was the first to translate Archimboldi into French.
Piero Morini was born in 1956 in Italy. He has also fallen in love with Archimboldi and has done extensive scholarship. Over the course of the chapter we learn that he is wheelchair-bound and prone towards a weak constitution and a somewhat depressive character.
Manuel Espinoza is from Madrid (I don’t think his birth year is given). Espinoza discovered Archimboldi through his love of German writers. But since he did not speak or read German, his academic peers dismissed him. He quickly set about getting a degree in German and became a respected critic in both German and Spanish.
Liz Norton is from England. She is younger than the men (her birth year is not given but it is noted that she is 26 in 1996.) She is the least accomplished academically of the four (the men have all attained tenure and are either on track to be heads of departments or have already achieved that position), but her scholarship is very strong, and she quickly proves herself to be a formidable intellect.
The story thus far is written in a rather prosaic style. Incredible details are given about how the four came to know Archimboldi, their academic successes and who spoke at which conference where they meet. Their deepening friendship (at great expense via Trans-European phone calls) is also delved into. Much detail is also given about their particular takes on Archimboldi, but I’m not going to spend time on that (watch, that will all be significant later, somehow).
Over the years, the four friends reach the pinnacle of Archimboldi scholarship. And yet, they are still unable to learn any biographical information about the man. They speak to his publisher, but even the publisher receives only letters with no return address. Archimboldi is essentially an unknown quantity.
And then, the scholars meet a Swabian gentleman (which is a region of Germany). He claims to have met Archimboldi when the author first arrived to meet with the publishers. This gentleman (whose name is not given) was Archimboldi’s guide during his stay. Interestingly, the Swabian’s story is the most complex thing in the book so far. He tells a story about a woman who in turn is relating a story about her and her husband from many years ago. It is a fascinating story about a gaucho and a horse race. And, as you get absorbed in the story, you try to figure out exactly what this has to do with Archimboldi or anything we’ve read so far.
Well, at the end of her story, she asks if anyone understands the moral. Archimboldi who was there for the telling, chimes in what the meaning is. Although even his is a rather enigmatic answer. But this is the Swabian’s extent of his knowledge of Archimboldi. Suffice it to say it is not enough for our friends.
They learn more about the author when they are finally given an audience with the publisher’s wife. She had met him many many years ago, bit remembers very little about him (he was very tall). And she has not seen him in years.
While all of this is progressing, a budding romance is developing. Or actually two. Pelletier and Espinoza both fall for Liz. It takes them several years to act on this feeling, but both independently decide to do something about it at around the same time.
I had assumed that romantic overtures would destroy their foursome, but that proved to be incorrect. Liz welcomes first the advances of Pelletier. They meet at her house and quickly move to her bed. A short time after, Espinoza invites her to Madrid. After dinner, they quickly jump into his bed. She reveals to both men that she is involved with the other and the men are okay with that.
Despite the fact that Liz is happy with both men, she acts differently with each one. She opens up more about personal items to Espinoza (who seems uncomfortable with it). And is more or less business like with Pelletier. She even compares them sexually (Pelletier has incredible stamina: 6 hours with no orgasm, while Espinoza is like a fun quote from Red Dwarf: “small portions but so many courses” achieving orgasm two or three times a night.)
Morini is not upset by this activity (it is unclear whether he desires Liz at all). But when he learns about Liz’ ex husband and that she feels she is finally over him, he begins having nightmares about her. Morini’s nightmare is given a fairly lengthy section, although unlike the Swabian’s story it is fairly straightforward.
As the section ends, Morini travels to London to meet Norton (and unusual trip for him since he rarely travels except for conferences). After a dinner with her in which he fails to reveal what is on his mind, he wheels himself to a park called The Italian Garden. While catching his breath with a book, a man (who reveals himself to be a bum) sits next to him.
The bum, whose name is Dick, relates a very detailed story (and it seems that the stories that are not directly related to the plot (so far) tend to be the lengthiest and most discursive) that he used to work a a company that printed slogans on mugs. Over the years the slogans began to be less clever and more photo-centered, with oftentimes lewd pictures. It made him begin to despise his job. And so he quit. (This, of course reminded me of (500) Days of Summer which I just watched).
Dick asks Morini what he is reading. It is called Il libro di cucina di Juana Ines de la Cruz by Angelo Morino. It’s about a Mexican nun and it contains recipes from the nun’s kitchen. As the section ends, Dick asks Morini to read some of the names of the recipes in the book. And as he does so, he notices that Dick has fallen asleep.
Oh, and Morini is the only one of the four thus far to have read anything about the killings in Sonora, Mexico. And that’s all we the readers have been told Mexico, too.
COMMENTS
At this point it’s hard to know what to think is important and what is just background information. There are many details, and while they are not hard to keep straight, there are just so many of them that it’s hard to know what to kep prominent. And yet, the book is a delightful read. The style is fluid, the facts float around in beautiful sentences And, I’m delighted to say that the translation is really engaging. It’s easy to forget the importance of a good translator (until you read a really bad translation). [Of course, I haven’t read the original, so she could be way off what is actually being said, but her English is great.]
I’m very curious to see how this story is going to migrate to Mexico. And, of course, all of the minor story angles are quite intriguing at this point too. I’m still waiting for the book to get outrageously difficult. So, we’ll see.
All is quite good thus far, though.
For ease of searching I include: Bolano.
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