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A tale of two books

By Gloria Diaz

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Fort Wayne Reader

2015-04-21

I love to read. I’ve always wanted to read. I get edgy if I’m stuck in traffic, and I have nothing to read. I have books in the bathroom, for when I’m on the toilet. I have books in my bedroom, because I read right before I go to bed. There are books in my living room, and books in my car.

So I’m loving my literature class right now. I’ve been introduced to some interesting short stories, and some cool novels. But for some reason, I forgot to buy one of the novels we’re reading. I decided I’d borrow it from the library and instead of marking the book, I’d take notes on Post-Its.

I’m doing a project for another class, and so I decided to browse through the 5 for $1.00 rack at the main library for material. Even though I was looking (or supposed to be looking) for job-hunting and résumé books, I couldn’t resist seeing what was up for grabs. I found a book that had been turned into a movie. I’d seen the film, but I’d never read the book. I knew this was dangerous. I really enjoyed the movie, but I had to read something for class. I decided I’d read a little bit of the assigned novel for class, then dive into the book I was really interested in.

And I discovered I don’t have willpower. The book I got for a quarter, Little Children, was luring me like a hungry fish with a particularly tasty bait in front of it. As much as I liked the movie, I liked the book even more. It had all those wonderful little details that movies don’t have time for. I devoured it pretty much that first night, then I read it again. I wasn’t surprised that I liked it so much, and the author, Tom Perrotta, also wrote Election, which was also turned into a movie that I loved. As with Little Children, I’ve seen the movie, but hadn’t read the book. I’m sure I’ll love it. I’m not sure if it qualifies as literature, although I’m sure if you dig deep enough, you can find some literary-type themes.

The novel I’m reading for class, No Country for Old Men, is not doing it for me. When I first started reading it, I was reminded by Hemingway, whom I am not a fan of. This novel was also turned into a movie, but I had no interest in seeing it, and now, more than three-quarters of the way through the book, I’m still not interested in seeing the movie. We’ve seen clips of it in class, but it’s definitely not a chick book. I’m having problems keeping the characters straight, and Cormac McCarthy’s lack of apostrophes is making this more of an exercise in proofreading than pleasure.

I have a feeling this novel is going to be like The Great Gatsby was in the first half of the class. I read it in high school and didn’t like it. I read it again in grad school, and I still don’t like it. And I’m afraid No Country for Old Men is going to be the same thing. Not holding my attention, problem with who’s doing what to whom, and the “deeper” meaning of it all is not going to sink in.

Meanwhile, I’m wallowing in the pleasure of Little Children. Part of the reason why I saw the film was Jackie Earle Haley’s return to film. If you are of a certain age, you’ll remember Haley as cool biker kid Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears. The last time I saw him in a film was Breaking Away, and every so often I wondered what happened to him. In Little Children, he played a recently released sex offender, and while it doesn’t sound like a dream part, it shed new light on Haley, who had been running his own production company in San Antonio, Texas. Out of nowhere, Haley took the part of Ronnie James McGorvey, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. It got Haley back into acting again, and I was glad of that. I’d heard buzz that he was great in the part, and he is. Disturbingly great.

I sort of feel guilty for liking this book so much. But it’s a glimpse into a Gen X lifestyle that I’ll never have a chance to live (and I’m glad about that.) But it’s interesting and comforting to know that something you’ve missed out on wasn’t necessarily so cool in the first place.

And in the case of No Country for Old Men, I guess I’ll have to ignore the lack of apostrophes when it comes to the contractions, and wonder what that means. But if anyone asks me to “call it” when flipping a coin, I’m going to run for my life. Because I’ve read enough to know what comes next. Or, what could come next.