Silence and the Roar -- Doc's Minutes and Observations

Shrewdness in attendance -- Doc, Liggett, Mike, Glenn, Phil, Clark, Ed.

 

Background-- Sirees received the English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation; his works are banned in his home country Syria.  Silence was originally published in 2004; it was translated into English in 2013.

Here is my take--  The central theme is survival under a dictatorship.  "Silence" is complacency.  The "Roar" represents opposition and resistance.  Is it fair to compare it with other dystopian works?  Orwell, Marquez, Barry (Bohane)?  As I see it, Middle Eastern opposition authors utilize parables, surrealism, magical realism and absurdist approaches to convey their message.   I thought of Rushdie (magical realism/surrealism), Mafouz (sadness, tragic realism).   Rushdie questions religious intolerance, while Mafouz focuses on social and economic awareness; Midaq Alley's work is timeless.  Rushdie’s Satanic Verses is more personal and contemporary.  I believe Sirees’  Silence and the Roar is more thematically aligned with opposition Chinese authors, Mo Yan for instance, or Latin American authors such as Marquez and Bolano.  Are there parallels to Kafka?

How does Sirees' work fit in the Shrewdness' list of books?  The Apes generally read “safe” works, penned by dead and dying white guys.  Our book list contains a good number East Coast, elite, anxiety riddled authors, as well as some middle-American and Western themed writers.  The latter tended to explore isolation, loneliness, fierce individualism, respect for “The Land”, and they questioned how societies develop as well as the inevitable concomitant costs of development.  Sirees' work is a refreshing departure from the Ape norm.

Our discussion came back to the clash of cultures.  How can a society such as portrayed in Roar, continue to exist?  Some pointed out the “cult of personality” syndrome as the way despots come to power.  Glenn asked, "What was the book's take-away?".  Ed wondered how the schism between East and West (democracy vs totalitarianism) will be resolved.  In the end, Mike gave voice to what we all had been thinking, that is, we are glad to live where we live.

The Forge served us well. A great location.

Life Among the Giants

All Apes were accounted for sans Clark and Tim. John K Joined us from the sunny climes of Solvang to help guide us through this giant “sausage” (thanks Glenn) of a book. More on the sausage later. As is Ape-custom, each picker has some 'splainin to do' regarding the hows and whys of his choice. John splained that aside from the fact that he liked the book, he had a personal connection with the author. John described him as a beguiling raconteur. I was curious about Roorbach's background and looked up his wiki bio. It reads a little like the Life Among the Giants; he played piano, bartended, worked briefly on a cattle ranch, was a carpenter, plumber, and handyman and … . All of this before enrolling in Columbia's creative writing program. James Lee Burke served a similar apprenticeship, one that served to deepen his characters and setting. The same can be said about Roorbach.

What was the Ape-verdict? Split decision! Apes who were fantasy fanciers reacted positively, while those who prefer their fiction grounded in plot and credible/likable characters were less enthralled. No doubt, it was a “rollicking romp” of a read and all agreed that Roorbach is a fine writer. Most felt that there was enough good material to warrant three novels. Glenn suggested the book might be best characterized as a sausage, lots of ingredients (which you may not want to scrutinize too closely) culminating in a satisfying result. Other than that, the Shrewdness engaged in its usual nitpicking ritual. Most felt that the book was overly long and uneven. That is of course Doc's oft-repeated (and sometimes lone) refrain, but in this case the Shrewdness was in agreement. To illustrate, here are a some style samples that irritated one Ape – “I dressed in a fury, made a violent breakfast, ….” What is a violent breakfast? “She was silent so I filled the woods with my voice ...” “swum naked as a newborn”. Doc expressed a similar sentiment. Roorbach's frequent reference to vines seemed to set him off. Enough nitpicking! In the end, it was a good read, an even better discussion, and it was great to have John K join us.

Hal