SOU
NDTRACK: JOHN PRINE-“New Train” & “Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody” (1995).
We’re staying at a beach house for the 4th of July. There’s John Prine on the iPod. I’ve never heard him before, although I have of course heard of him.
We listened to several of his tracks and I enjoyed them quite a bit. Midway through the second or third track I realized that his music is absolutely perfect for hanging around eating brunch at a beach house. I can’t remember a single thing about these songs, and I probably couldn’t even find them again on the iPod, but they were perfect for the mood. Okay, they were on a playlist and were easy to find, which is why they are titled now.
I can’t wait to check out Quicksilver Messenger Service!
[READ: July 3, 2010] “Here We Aren’t, So Quickly”
I enjoyed Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close very much, although I haven’t read his first novel (or his nonfiction piece). This short story is, not gimmicky exactly, it just feels awkward. It is quite short (two pages), but it resolves itself quite slowly.
The opening paragraph is many sentences that start with I (“I was not good at drawing faces. I was just joking most of the time”). The second paragraph is many sentences that start with You (You were not able to ignore furniture imperfections. You were too light to arm the airbag”). And the story proceeds alternating bits of data from one side to the other, back and forth. I found it very difficult to read.I assume it’s because even though these factoids were given I had no frame of reference for these people and the factoids were so randomly parsed that they were barely enough to create anything. Plus, I think it may be very difficult to read multiple short declarative sentences that start with I or You.
Eventually the subject turns to We and that makes things much better. And finally the whole trope is discarded and we learn just what is happening between these two. In fact, I enjoyed the story from the title line (three paragraphs from the end) quite a bit, certainly much more than the rest of it.
I’m not sure that this showcases Foer’s talents, but it certainly shows that he’s not afraid to take risks.
There’s a Q&A with him here, which indeed addresses the experimental nature of the story.
I Just Read About That... 
I’m surprised you like John Prine, I would think he would be too country for you?
This might more country than folk, but I dig this duet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5axlwCBXC8
Andrew, I listened again, and yes, more country than I would like. But at the time it seemed more Jimmy Buffett than anything else (and I don’t particularly like Buffett, but I understand why people do, and, when I’m relaxing at the beach, it makes sense. The duet is interesting. Their vocals seem almost parody twangy, and yet the song is so simple, instrumentwise, that it doesn’t really feel country. I like a song that breaks genres.
It probably would have been more apt to call this piece a cameo and I think distinguishing it as such would save many from the anticipation of elements of dialogue, rising action, etc. one comes to expect from a “story.” Nonetheless I feel like this is a wonderful piece of writing that captures so many of the paradoxical elements of life. The sentences come off as both momentary jogs of thought spit down quickly in a journal as well as musings of an old man reflecting on a relationship with a hindsight bias prescription. The writing nudges the idea of the little choices and inclinations of character which turn out to define who we are…and who we aren’t, and how we quickly end up being those people who we weren’t planning on being.
It’s funny how giving something a different name can change your perception of a piece. When you have a “story” there are certain expectations that the piece should live up to. But you’re right calling the piece a cameo definition changes what you think of it. I think sometimes as I reader I can get stuck on what a story should be rather than accepting it for what it is. Of course, sometimes a story is just bad, and no matter what you call it, it’s not going to save it. That’s not the case here though, it is an affecting story, and it’s well done. But you have to get past that “story” angle of it first.