Erik's Book Club: July Selections

My pace slowed considerably this month, down from 6 to 4 books.  That's what happens when you read longer books. 

By far, the most important book I read was Amy Sohn's "The Man who Hated Women."  Every American who cares about women's rights should read this book.  It chronicles the era of Anthony Comstock (circa 1870-1910), a crusader who made it his personal mission to rid the nation entirely of what he considered pornography, as well as contraception.  He lobbied Congress and was able to get the Comstock Act signed into law.  Basically it outlawed all publication or transmission of any material related to sex and contraception.  Even worse Comstock was granted the power of a postal inspector, so he could personally enforce this draconian law.

Sohn tells the stories of the various men and women (mostly) who Comstock viciously hounded, arrested, and prosecuted--ruining these progressive's lives so thoroughly that he drove several of them to extensive prison time, even suicide. Though he died in 1914, the Comstock Act was enforced in some forms until even the 1960s.  This book should serve as a cautionary tale and should inspire us to rise up against the MAGA and Evangelical extremists who are utilizing strategies that are shockingly similar to Comstock's and their ultimate goals are pretty similar too. Roe v Wade will soon be repealed and the misogynistic MAGA crowd won't stop there.  When they say they want to "Make America Great Again" one of their principal pillars of thought is a return to the repressive Comstockian society of the 1880s.  Sadly, that might be where we're headed, but I hope you consider reading this extremely highly recommended book--perhaps it might inspire you to resist where the U.S. seems to be going.

My second book is "The Setting Sun" by Osamu Dasai. It is a novel written by one of Japan's leading writers of the 1930s and 40s.  Dasai was a troubled, tragic figure and his book which depicts the life of the collapsed aristocracy right after WWII, is a masterpiece which helped set the course for Postwar Japanese Literature. While I appreciated the book because I read a great deal of modern and contemporary Japanese literature, it might be one of the most depressing books I have ever read in my life. Unless you have similar literary interests to mine, I would recommend avoiding this book. Most of us don't need extra sadness and depression in our lives to occupy us in our spare time.

An antidote to sorrow is my third book, Sweet Sweet Revenge, LTD by Jonas Jonasson.  If that name sounds familiar, that means you might actually read my book clubs postings as it is the third book I have read by Jonasson this year.  Like the first two I read, this one is amusing anarchy with plot twists falling all over the place. What makes this book different is that it is underneath, a satirical indictment of right-wing extremism, Nazis, and other miscreants who exist in the Swedish context.  It's also a magnificent defense of the modernist movement in art.  I can't explain it here and do it any justice, except to say, it's a book that's great fun to read and will brighten your day.  HIghly recommended, unless you are a MAGA fascist or a Swedish Nazi, then either you wouldn't understand it, or you might decide to burn it if you did.

Finally, I grazed through the Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke.  He's one of my favorite poets and I haven't really read him since I was studying to be a high school English teacher in a time and place that seems as far away as though it happened on another planet light years distant.  My sense is the average person is completely unfamiliar with Roethke, but I have always enjoyed his poetry and, in my estimation, he is an important bridge between older and newer poetic sensibilities. I like his poems because they get to the heart of the matter.  I remember what is was like to teach poetry to 10th graders, so I never recommend poetry to anyone because it's not most people's thing, but if you have a poetic heart or mind, Roethke is definitely worth a try or a re-visit.  

Even if you never pick up anything I recommend, try to read one book this month. Travel somewhere your soul's never been.