Charles Baxter

Perhaps I should have taken as a sign how many years this book sat on my shelves without my reading it, but there have been plenty of books I neglected so long that I loved when I finally read them. I had almost culled this a few times, but I finally picked this up for a "Michigan author" prompt for a reading challenge. (This takes place in Michigan and Baxter had been living in Michigan when he wrote it.)

I was vaguely annoyed with this book from early on. I wanted to like Wyatt, but never really connected with him. And then something about the whole falling in love in college bit rubbed me wrong. But where this book really fell off the rails for me was the scene with the illicit dumping grounds. Such a huge violation of my sense of justice and the environment and I GET IT, YOU HAVE BIG FEELINGS ABOUT YOUR COUSIN, BUT YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY HERE THAT IS BIGGER THAN THAT AND JUST... NOTHING... COMES FROM THAT? IT ONLY EXISTS TO FORESHADOW WORSE VIOLATIONS TO COME?!

I should have known full well then that this book was just Not For Me, but I forced myself to finish it for the reading challenge when I should have let this go. So now you have to hear me whine about it.

I did not care for this.… (mer)

there were parts of this that i quite liked, and that showed his writing ability really nicely, but i think that overall this was the kind of pretentious book that is too too pretentious to be good. the characters - in particular the younger characters - felt like the way an older guy would write younger people, not like real younger people. the women, too, actually.

the conceit here could have been interesting but overall i don't think it really worked all that well. but as i said, i did like some of the writing.

"My inner life lacks dignity."

"Driving me home, Harry told me -- how could I not know it? -- that Jackson Pollock had cut off the tip of his little finger at the ag of seven. Seven! Jesus Christ. Not even my pain is original."

"Hugging him, you kind of collide with his stomach before you get to his face, but that was okay. My dad's stomach is like the foyer to the rest of him."

"Chloe's enemy is now mine, however, and my feeling is:...I am ready for him. I am pleased to have an enemy who is not symbolic."… (mer)

Month of November 2022 - The Thief Books

The Soul Thief by Charles Baxter (2007; 2009 ed.) 210 pages.

Setting: 1970’s New York

I’m not too sure what I just read. The author writes in a way as if we should be reading between the lines and understand his meaning, but does not give us any real information to go on. I felt the story was all over the place about nothing, really. But, I kept reading, thinking the ending would help pull it all together. Notta! If I can’t figure out what you are writing about, you get a 1-star.

College students, Nathaniel Mason
and Jerome Coolberg, an odd genius who thinks he can acquire everyone’s soul (by driving them crazy??), have met at a geek’s party for artists. Jerome develops a weird obsession and life-long interest in Nathanial’s life.

He starts by stealing Nathanials clothes…and wearing them, then his furniture. Nathanial’s crush is found to be Jerome’s girlfriend. Then, when Nathanial falls in love with a lesbian he has been sleeping with, she is raped and beaten by, I think, Jerome’s orders, to a group of thugs. I still don’t see the relevance of this to the story at all.

But, Jerome twists all the stories around of what is going on with Nathanial until he has a mental breakdown and doesn’t know what’s real and what isn’t.

Nathanial moves on and gets married and has children. Jerome keeps track of Nathanials whereabouts, and every milestone of his life. Some years down the road, Jerome contacts Nathanial, and asks him to meet him in San Diego, where he will reveal the big secret to Nathanials past life.

Jerome hands Nathanial this book, “The Soul Thief”….Nathaniel’s life.

… (mer)