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"Bright's Passage" by Josh Ritter

3/27/2013

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Picture
Title: Bright's Passage
Author: Josh Ritter
Genre: General Fiction
#Pages: 193
Date Published: 2011
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Recommended?: Yes


In his seventh studio album, The Beast in Its Tracks, released on March 5th, it is indisputable that Josh Ritter has a knack for songwriting. However, in his debut novel, Bright’s Passage, it is questionable whether this prowess translates to prose.

The protagonist in Bright’s Passage, Henry Bright, is a deceivingly average young man. After growing up on a small farm in West Virginia, he has the good fortune of surviving World War I, where he had been stationed in the French trenches. What proves unique about Henry Bright, however, is not his good luck or his own actions, but what guides them—an angel, called the Voice. Yet, while the Voice helps Bright survive the war, his advice is not always sound. He instructs and misguides Bright in his struggles during the aftermath of the war, advising him to marry Rachel, a neighbor and his first cousin—a fact that neither the Voice nor Henry find to be an issue. Following that advice, Bright rescues Rachel from her evil father, marries her, and starts a family. However, just when it seems that their lives might work out, Rachel dies in childbirth, leaving Bright alone with an infant son. Shortly after, the Voice speaks again, this time informing him that his son is the Future King of Heaven, born to replace Jesus. Upon the Voice’s prompting, Bright buries his wife, sets his house on fire (which subsequently sets the entire forest aflame), and leaves in search of a new home for his son and himself. However, Rachel’s evil father and his two sons are in close pursuit, looking to steal Bright’s son from him. The story continues with a full-fledged chase and with the ultimate good winning out in the end.

Cliché? Yes. However, Bright’s Passage remains a heartwarming story of a father’s love for his son. Regardless of this, the relatively poor character development distracts from the story’s lyrical and well-written passages. I found the characters one-dimensional. The good characters: entirely good with no serious faults; and the bad characters: purely evil. As a fairytale this would not be a shortcoming. In a novel with an otherwise realistic setting, though, it is difficult to imagine people so distinctly black and white. Consequently, the credibility of the narrative is somewhat compromised. Furthermore, I found that there were too many blatant religious allusions that would have been far more impactful had they been understated. This novel would have done well as a religious allegory; however, I don’t think Josh Ritter intended it to be read that way.

On the other hand, this novel was extremely well researched. The chapters that recall Bright’s time in WWI were historically accurate and strongly added to the novel’s credibility. My largest problem with the piece was the repetition of certain colloquialisms used over and over again. After a while they became rather distracting. For example, in a 195-page novel, how often can someone really “bite his knuckle” in worry or pain or panic?

All things considered, at certain moments Bright’s Passage echoes Josh Ritter’s expertise for storytelling that is seen so clearly in his songwriting. Yet, over the course of the novel it is apparent that Ritter is far more comfortable with the process of lyric writing than prose writing. As a result, I left Bright’s Passage disappointed. What I expected was an extension of his songs—a ballad in prose form. That wasn’t what I found and perhaps because of this expectation my disappointment in the novel was partly my own fault.  If anyone has ever listened to Bob Dylan’s music and then read his book, Tarantula, they would have a similar reaction to the one I had to Bright’s Passage. However, unlike Tarantula, Bright’s Passage has a linear plot line and the makings of a great novel, if only it had been tweaked or the author had had a bit more experience. All in all, I would recommend it, even if only to be read as an inside look at a successful artist’s thought process. I think that it is a good start in Ritter’s literary career, and if he can take what he has learned from writing this novel and harness some of his profound story-telling expertise that is so evident in his songwriting, his second novel will be a greater literary success.   



Review by Christine Degenaars, CSOM '15


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"Save Me the Waltz" by Zelda Fitzgerald

3/25/2013

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Picture
Title: Save Me the Waltz
Author: Zelda Fitzgerald
#Pages: 225
Genre: General Fiction
Date Published: 1932; Republished 2001
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Recommended?: Yes


Earnest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Elliot—these are the authors that occur in one’s mind when thinking of the “Lost Generation”. They were men, writers, disillusioned with a world destroyed by war. Yet, there was more to this time period and the literature produced during it. There were women; there was Gertrude Stein and Hadley Hemingway. There was Zelda Fitzgerald.

            In her only novel, Save Me the Waltz, Zelda Fitzgerald describes the familiar dissolution of the American dream felt by many of the authors of 1920s. However, unlike other writers of the period, she describes these themes through a woman’s perspective. Save Me the Waltz is the semi-autobiographical account of a young woman from the South, Alabama Beggs, specifically detailing her marriage and her life with the artist David Knight. At first, she is enthralled with the late-night parties and the ritz and glamour that come along with her marriage to David. However, she soon sees the emptiness of such a life and turns away from her husband and into herself. In Paris, she recognizes her dream to become a great ballerina and begins to take lessons in a nearby dance studio. After months of practice and weeks of neglecting both her family and her customary lifestyle, she becomes exceptionally close to fulfilling her dream. She moves to Italy and performs in a ballet. However, soon after, her dream is shattered by an infection, which leaves her incapable of dancing again. Upon recovery, she returns to America with her husband and daughter to attend her father’s funeral. The novel ends with her and her husband resigned to complacency, seemingly content in mutual disillusionment.

            For anyone who is interested in the Lost Generation, Save Me the Waltz is a necessary addition to his or her library. It brings full circle the thoughts and attitudes of many of the writers of that time – illuminating a woman’s perspective from an era that is described largely and almost singularly by men. With events taken from her personal life, the novel gives a different point of view on the workings of Zelda and F. Scott’s relationship, a marriage that has long incited the interest of readers. Drawing on many of the same themes as Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night and written at relatively the same time, Save Me the Waltz parallels many of the plot points of what has become, arguably, Fitzgerald’s most famous work. Consequently, Save Me the Waltz is an interesting juxtaposition to that novel and good companion for those reading it. Zelda Fitzgerald’s writing style, with a devoted attention to minute details, makes Save Me the Waltz a thoroughly engrossing read and one that can very successfully stand on its own as a great and unjustifiably overlooked piece of literature.


Review by Christine Degenaars, CSOM '15


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