Good morning,
MORE BOOKS—THE BRAD SERIES
Today, keeping with the weekly theme of lists of great books, one more list. Previous lists: Ten decades of best books, book club books, sports books, dystopian books. This one is a special list of what we call “The Bradley Sonnenberg Library.” Each year our family gets together and chooses a book that we believe is evocative of Brad and his interests. We share that book with a small group of friends but I think it time to share that list with a broader group of friends:
The Stranger, by Albert Camus. A regular theme of Brad's was the quest to understand the meaning of life, our purpose in the world and the absurdity of the human condition. One of his favorite authors was Albert Camus. The protagonist in The Stranger is hardly a sympathetic character. He is indifferent to the world around him and the suffering of others, cynical, detached and devoid of sensitivity or remorse. His response to the absurdity of the world is to withdraw, become hardened and find little purpose in life.
Brad's favorite work by Camus was the more hopeful The Myth of Sisyphus, in which Camus imagines the plight of the Greek mythological character Sisyphus, condemned to push a stone uphill for eternity. Each time the stone nears the top, it rolls back down, to be pushed uphill yet again. In this essay, Camus confronts the meaning of life. Camus, ever hopeful, states that one must revolt against the absurdity of life, concluding at the end of the essay, that "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber. The Guardian said it was astonishing and "This is a big novel – partly because it has to construct and explain its unhomely setting, partly because it has such a lot of religious, linguistic, philosophical and political freight to deliver – but the reader is pulled through it at some pace by the gothic sense of anxiety that pervades and taints every element." From the Charlie Jane Anders review in Gizmodo: Michael Faber's new novel The Book of Strange New Things pulls a neat trick. At first, you think it's going to be about a human trying to explain our culture — and specifically Christianity — to aliens on the planet Oasis. But at some point, you realize it's about the fate of humanity, instead. And that's when it gets powerful.
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonegut. Slaughterhouse Five is the story of an American soldier in World War II who witnesses the fire-bombing of Dresden. It is part autobiography, part anti-war polemic, part comic novel, part meditation on religion, free will and humanity, and part science fiction adventure. It is, as are all Vonnegut stories, satirical, iconoclastic and irreverent. Bradley often laughed with Glenn about Vonnegut’s juvenile drawings in his novel, Breakfast of Champions (his favorite being a representation of a human anus). The fact that Slaughterhouse Five was banned by many schools and libraries is enough to recommend it.
Rothko: The Color Field Paintings. We chose this book because it was reflective of Brad’s love of art, particularly Rothko. He didn’t just look at art; he communed with it, studied it and became a part of it. We visited many art museums together and, while his appreciation of art transcended various eras and genres, he was most interested in the surrealists and the abstract expressionists, including Dali, Magritte, Picasso, Pollock and deKooning.
Rothko’s work draws the viewer in, demanding their complete attention. Rothko wanted his large works, particularly the Color Field paintings, to fill the viewer’s entire field of view, urging viewers to stand back from the painting at different intervals, as close as 18 inches away. From this point, with their hands around their eyes like blinders, they could enter into and experience the work without distraction.
Panda’s Helping Paw, by Andrea Sonnenberg. This was the first book Andrea wrote to address questions of mental illness through picture books for younger children. It is a tale of animals who learn that one friend’s depression is just like a broken arm of another friend. Brad suffered from depression and no doubt would have welcomed a way to bring this challenge out in the open, as a way to help others.
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, by Art Spiegelman. This graphic novel is the story of the author’s father’s experiences during the holocaust. We love this book not just for the story, but for its style. Brad was a fan of all kinds of storytelling. His interest in graphic novels began with comics but evolved into reading more complex stories that incorporate images alongside words. In this story of the holocaust, the Jews of Europe are drawn as mice and the Germans and Poles as cats and pigs. It is inspired, creative, and moving, receiving critical acclaim. It was the first graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Themes like those explored by Spiegelman are timeless and, sadly, chillingly familiar. Who would have believed that a story based on the antisemitism of Nazi Germany would have relevance today, some 80 years later, in what we would like to think are more “civilized” times? Yet, antisemitism, racism, and the vilification and persecution of “the other” sadly are alive and well in the 21st century. The images and descriptions in Maus are even more powerful today than when it first was published.
Next week, more books.
Have a great day,
Glenn
Thanks for sharing us a glimpse of what Brad would have shared... Its so pleasing to see how lively you make his memory never-ending.