What's currently on your bedside table?
I'm an avid reader, so my bedside "table" is actually three completely overloaded tables at the moment. There are the usual suspects, great literature that inspires and reassures me, from Cervantes, Mann, Nabokov, Joyce, Calvino, Hesse, Kafka, Austen, Cather, the Brontes, as well as some John Fowles, John Le Carre, Italo Svevo, Sigrid Undset.
I'm reading Justin Cronin's The Passage, which is creepy and strange, and I only recently read the Steig Larssen trilogy, which I loved. I recently ordered and received an out of print copy of Irwin Shaw's 1969 classic, Rich Man, Poor Man. I'm thrilled to have that right next to me. It's an American story, but much of it takes place in the South of France. I read it for the first time as a teenager living in the Bronx, and I thought, Good God, there's a whole world out there. By the time I was 15, I had made my first trip to Nice. I thought, this is where I want to be. I still hope to end up in Europe someday.
I've been working on a second novel, so I haven't been reading too much fiction lately. My novel-in-progress is set in the Vietnam era and it centers on the homecoming of a soldier who has been altered irrevocably by his experiences, as most soldiers are. My character, however, has experienced a deep philosophical epiphany - in addition to the more or less usual hardships that warriors endure. He returns home to a world that can no longer serve him, and he has to figure out, after so many years of sacrifice, how to serve his home.
For this I have been drawn to the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, the essays of Montaigne, and the writings of Emerson and Thoreau. I've also re-read Abraham Maslow's Toward a Psychology of Being (1968), which I first encountered in college. I'm not sure how seriously Maslow's ideas on self-actualizing are received in the field of psychology these days, but to my purposes, that is irrelevant. The book has an energy and a life that is rare. Maslow was clearly driven while writing it, and there is a refreshing dynamism that comes through to the reader. I'm no psychologist, but I believe Maslow is saying that until one's basic needs are met, or simply named/addressed/confronted, one cannot possibly self-actualize, that is, achieve a higher self. One is at risk, then, of projecting onto reality their own "need deficit," thereby skewing their perception of reality. A vicious cycle. He offers some clear cut lists, which is terrific. I always appreciate a good list. It's all positive and nice, and since I'm not treating anyone, I can enjoy it wholeheartedly. He has an essay devoted to "Peak Experiences" or spiritual epiphanies, which is of particular interest to me.
Which book/s would you recommend right now?
Oh, I always recommended Italo Svevo's Confessions of Zeno. It's one of my favorites. Svevo was a friend of James Joyce's from Trieste, Italy. The novel, which was originally self-published, is about a comical upstart stuck in an Italian Bourgeoisie family. Zeno, who is receiving psychoanalysis throughout the book, is a critical witness to mediocrity who is too weak to be honest and strike out on his own. Ultimately, he behaves subversively. He is a heroic non-hero. A great protagonist, nicely rendered. I dream of buying the rights and casting Roberto Begnini in the role. I don't mind putting that out there because I might never get around to it, and Begnini and I aren't getting any younger. I would just love to see it done!
I suggest reading the Maslow book. He was brilliant and positive, and his thinking was original. Look out for his Hierarchy of Needs, and his writings on "being-cognition" and "being-values."
For those interested in an ethnographic American experience, I enjoy Willa Cather's My Antonia, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Carson McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Toni Morrison's Beloved. Of course, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye are wonderful, but the books first mentioned, are a bit quieter, a more introspective dive through American culture and experience. I love Charles Bukowski, too, and recently re-read Post Office, and Ham on Rye.
Which book/s are you planning to take with you on your next journey?
Sadly, I'm terrified of flying. I make sure to carry along works that are enormously engaging and easy to read. Unfortunately, these are not always the easiest to carry. The last time I traveled through Europe with my three kids, we each had our own copy of the last Harry Potter book. The big one. It was so silly. It added about 25 pounds to the weight of our luggage! I do like to read Austen regularly, so maybe the next time I travel, I'll bring the entire set and read them through in sequence. Or maybe the Twilight series, which I need to finish.
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Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann is published by Corsair.
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