Couple o' books

Before starting Baudolino, which will hopefully tide me over to the Saturday morning, I finished a couple books.

When Jane Smiley's Moo came out a while back I wasn't too interested, despite the accolades it received. Perhaps I am just turned off when any novel is described as a Midwestern novel or a novel of the heartland (Gilead, Plainsong... both fine novels that I resisted for some time before giving in). I am surrounded by said heartland and it frightens me more than a little bit once I venture forth from my urban cocoon. But I remember Eric saying he liked it, so I picked it up last week. It was a smooth, enjoyable read in the genre of university books, of which there seem to be an inordinate amount, probably since more authors work at universities than, say, in commercial real estate. A solid book, but not as great as Russo's Straight Man, which has to be my favorite university novel. (Yes, it far surpasses any of those David Lodge books or Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim. These British university books are typically caustic whereas their Yankee counterparts are gently and lovingly satirical.) Whenever I think of Finny the Goose I crack up, including right this second.

I also read Ha Jin's War Trash, another highly praised novel that I put off for a while. I had read his Waiting and found it wanting, despite the heaps of critical praise. For a novel about two people putting off getting married there was absolutely no zing of sexual chemistry or love. I know, that was probably the point but why do I need to read a humorless book about a stagnant relationship when there are stagnant relationships all around me? Perhaps if I were middle aged, discontent and yearning I would have found it more moving but instead I found it mediocre. War Trash was a more compulsive read. As it was set in a POW camp during the Korean war I did learn a lot about the period but I ultimately think I just don't like his style. Eh.