Detective Fiction - Book 6: "Devil in a Blue Dress" by Walter Mosley

With everyone loving The Big Sleep last week, I was curious to see what they thought of Mosley's detective novel. I had never read it myself, so I didn't have any preconceived notions regarding the novel.

Well, we had quite the range of reactions. Personally, I thought it was okay. One read really did not enjoy it, and the other two had positive feelings. Our conversation began with the language, like it did with The Big Sleep. The readers did not feel as grounded in the 1940s as they expected to be. The language was a bit more modern, which led them to drift around in their mind in regards to when and where this story took place. Granted, Chandler actually published The Big Sleep in 1939 as opposed to Devil being published 61 years later. Additionally, the readers felt many of the characters fell flat; they were entirely one-dimensional, making it hard to invest in them or their motives or feelings. One reader in particular had a hard time with Daphne and why everyone in the novel was so interested in her. "She was so flat and we really don't know a lot about her."

One reader suggested the novel would've been better had it not been a detective novel. The scenery is cool and the era is cool. But the investigative wandering detracted from all of that. The readers commended a sense of realism in the novel, especially in depictions of bar scenes as well as race relations. The relationship between rich white men and Easy Rawlins felt complex and real to the readers. Easy has a way of expressing a sense of internalized racism; he realizes that he is accepted as a man to some, but attributes his mistreatment to his skin color, while Mosley hints that it could be due to his socio-economic status. This leads to an existential crisis of sorts for Easy. Where does he fit in? Who are his friends? What do people want from him?

Speaking of Easy...is he a hero in the story? In many of the scenes, he just so happens to be there and is more of a pawn or a passive actor. He is being saved by others. He feels like he is being manipulated by someone else, which he kind of is! He's a gum shoe, for sure, but he doesn't seem to make a lot of things happen all by himself.

Every once in a while, the author would throw in a "zoot suit" or some kind of cultural marker to remind the reader when the book is taking place. It feels forced.

We compared Devil to The Big Sleep. Both have a man hired to find a woman. Both have a simple crime that becomes more complicated as the novel goes on. And both novels have a cast of characters introduced at different points and the readers has to make sense of who they are and their level of importance. It's just that, according to this reading group, Raymond Chandler pulls it off to a greater degree.

Next week, we venture into dystopian fiction with a book most people read in high school--Animal Farm by George Orwell. So tune in next week!

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Mosley, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of Walter Mosley as well as some information on Devil in a Blue Dress. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is a link to an essay from 2001 by Marilyn C. Wesley on power and knowledge in Devil in a Blue Dress. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Detective Fiction - Book 5: "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler

My heart is very full after this meeting. The readers LOVED Chandler's masterwork of detective fiction The Big Sleep. We had an enthusiastic conversation around it. The first thing the readers gushed about what the language (of course). Not only is the dialogue top-notch, but Chandler has some rather poetic moments, like when he describes the ocean or even something like death (spoiler, the Big Sleep = death). The first bit of our discussion was just bouncing around from page-to-page, reading passages we had underlined and found memorable. To put it simply, it was a lot of fun. As we got talking more about the novel, we wondered about Marlowe's past. With his alcoholism, what burdens from his past are plaguing him? The readers also commented on the balancing act he performs: he doesn't open up emotionally when others are around. There are a few moments when he's alone and lashes out, but aside from that he is constantly masking his feelings, whether it is with alcohol or his quips. He is quite defensive of himself and his role.

One connection that I hadn't thought of, but one of the readers pointed out, is the detective's name, Marlowe. The first book we read was Heart of Darkness, and the main character's name in that is Marlow. We had to discuss what similarities they might have. Both characters dive deep into a corrupted world, they become a part of it, so to speak. Chandler says Marlowe is a "part of the nastiness" at the end of the novel.

There is a web of characters that somehow make the novel somewhat lifelike. Marlowe's original mission is complicated by the people he meets and the roads he goes down. The readers related that to their own lives. People come and go, and sometimes our attention is taken by them for a brief moment. Chandler is not so concerned with plot, but more with characters and atmosphere. And that's great, we all agreed. We weren't too concerned with the novel getting resolved in a neat little now because, he, that's what happens in real life. For example, we don't find out who killed the chauffeur, and we don't really know what Ms. Regan has over Eddie mars, two things that are unsolved as the novel ends. But they are not fundamental to enjoying the novel or getting caught up in the story and the characters.

Chandler telegraphs his code of ethics of detectives at the end of the novel. In Chandler's eyes, the detective is a man of principle and does what he is supposed to do. In a way, Chandler laid the groundwork for generations of detective fiction that follow. Marlowe's stoicism, attitude towards females, and even his attitude towards homosexuals all go towards building up an ethos for a literary detective. In closing out the discussion, we talked about Marlowe as a "knight" of sorts. Did he rescue some damsels? Is he heroic? You'll have to decide for yourself when you read it.

Next week, we're reading 1990's The Devil in a Blue Dress, an updated take on the detective novel that is sure to give us a peek at a different side of things.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Chandler, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of Raymond Chandler, as well as some information on The Big Sleep. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is a link to an essay from 2003 by Megan Abbott (a great crime writer in her own right) on masculinity with Philip Marlowe. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Survival Fiction - Book 4: "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Fresh of the heels of Robinson Crusoe, we dove right into Andy Weir's bestselling novel The Martian. So we'll dive right in on this post.

Off the bat, we talked about how relatable Mark Watney is as a character (not his specific circumstances). His approach to problem-solving (sitting down and thinking through things) is something we have all done. The readers really gravitated (no pun intended) towards his approach, his humor, and his determination. These all helped make him more human.

The next turn we took was a deep discussion about a situation that occurs approximately halfway through the novel. And that's the relationship between China's space program and NASA. The readers were interested in what China would actually do if they were faced with the choice of sacrificing their own space exploration to help possibly rescue a stranded American on Mars. How would the media cover this event? The more bureaucratic elements of the missions were of great interest to our group. And this led into a conversation about the value of a single human life, and the opportunity and costs associated with rescuing Mark Watney. Did they invest in his rescue to simply save his life? Were they thinking of his potential once he gets back to Earth?

When comparing The Martian to Robinson Crusoe, it's evident that science in The Martian supplants the role that religion plays in Crusoe. In a way, they both explain God's role in saving these stranded men. Granted, Watney never says he prays or things about God--he relies solely on science. A believer might say God uses science to make the universe work. And both use science to varying degrees in order to survive. As closing note, we talked about how Crusoe and Watney both cultivate their temporary homes, and the micro-economies that comes as a result. Watney only had potatoes, where Crusoe had more options.

Mark Watney is his own hero. And what is essential to his character in this novel is his humor. He's a fun character, the readers enjoy spending time with him, which makes the novel just that much more readable. He's not overtly cynical or pessimistic. His self-reliance and "Macgyver-ness" make him appealing.

It was a pretty straight forward conversation, we didn't get too deep in the weeds of the novel, but took it at face value, more or less. Tune in next week where we read one of my personal favorite novels The Big Sleep.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Weir, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of Andy Weir, as well as some information on The Martian. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is a link to an essay from 2017 by Thomas Strychacz on potato farming in The Martian. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Survival Fiction - Book 3: "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe

 I did not plan on our first three novels correlating the way they did, but we discovered that Heart of Darkness, The Drowned World and Robinson Crusoe all talk to each other in certain ways. The readers noted the treatment of the "savage" in Crusoe and how the island natives are viewed and treated as lesser, more like commodities. They also noted how Crusoe had a sense of mastery and ownership over the island, perhaps a similar (but less innocent) feeling Kurtz had over his territory. in Heart of Darkness. There are also some heavy imperialistic overtones in the novel that resonated with anyone familiar with Heart or similar words.

I usually let our conversation snowball naturally, but I had a question of which I was curious to hear their answer to."Why has this novel remained so popular over the last 300 years?" It is arguably the first novel, at least in the western world. It's inspired it's own genre of fiction (Robinsonade). One reader linked it to those "desert island" questions we hear. "What would your five movies/books/albums/etc. on a desert island?' Robinson Crusoe looks at what life might be like on a desert island. The notion of being stranded on an island is a questions people enjoy wrestling with. We all live to imagine ourselves as these inspired, crafty survivors. Another reader suggested this novel is the inspiration for the reality television show "Survivor." But above the desert island aspects of the novel, they were struck by the sense of adventure and ingenuity in the novel. What Crusoe experiences is something nobody else will experience. Being based in a realistic world allows for readers to be transported and imagine what it was like. One reader thought at length what he would do were he in Crusoe's shoes, especially in regards to building boats and caves and cultivating a farm. He would set his book down and think about what he might do.

In the last part of our discussion, the readers related the novel to their own situation of being in prison.Crusoe had to "scavenge" for social interaction. Crusoe could not be picky with Friday and quarrel over differences in lifestyle, worldviews, or opinions. They found common ground. The readers could relate to this. They are in a hyper-controlled/restricted environment and have to make the best of what's in front of them. They have very little they can control. The simplicity and minimalism of Crusoe's island boils things down to what's important and essential. Crusoe didn't have to worry about politics or social structures or things of that nature. Many of the religious dogmas and doctrines that bog the modern world don't matter. It's only his relationship to God, to Friday, and his self-reliance. We started to touch on the ideas of rebirth and repentance but alas, we ran out of time! 

Next week, we are reading a novel that falls in the Robinsonade tradition: The Martian. We're swapping out a desert island for the red hellscape of Mars.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Defoe, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of Daniel Defoe, as well as some information on Robinson Crusoe. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is an essay from 2012 by Geert Vandermeersche & Ronald Soetaert on landscape, culture, and education in Robinson Crusoe. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Psychological Fiction - Book 2: "The Drowned World" by J.G. Ballard

Trying to find a contemporary novel to weave Conrad's work into took a bit longer than I anticipated. But when I read about Ballard's The Drowned World, I thought I found a worthy partner. The novel depicts a future in which global warming has caused most of the earth to become uninhabitable. There's a group of scientists who research ongoing environmental developments in London that has been flooded and abandoned. When I was reading about it, I had an image of people on ships sailing through dark and murky territories, which certainly occurs in Heart of Darkness.

Anyway, let's get to the discussion. Up front, one reader loved it, one really did not like it, and one was right in the middle. So we were set for a nice, rounded discussion. Initially, they jumped ahead to next week's book, Robinson Crusoe. In Crusoe, nature was feared and something to be tamed. That was written in 1719. By the time the 1960s came around, we had national parks and nature was actively being preserved for appreciation and recreation. It was not as scary. In Ballard's novel, however, nature has really taken over and the humans are more devolved; they submit to nature, as society is no longer alluring or a serious alternative.

The readers liked the multiple characters, even if we don't get to go in depth with them. But we talked about how we wanted even more description of the climate and environment. The book felt like it was written in the '60s. One thing we all appreciated about the novel is that we were not bogged down with inventing new kinds of technology. Often times in science fiction, the author needs to introduce new tech, ideas, and things like that. Not here.

We talked a lot about genetic history/memory. What is passed down in our "genetic" memory i.e. survival instincts? There's this aspect of the idea that once man is immersed in nature, the primal part of him starts to emerge and take over. Like in Heart of Darkness, the collapse of society draws these men towards nature, which in both cases, has lead to a craving for power, a digression in any kind of civilized advances that man made.

The characters in Drowned don't seem to matter much, or at least their relationships don't. The isolation of the individuals is what matters. Man alone in the natural world is what Ballard seems to be driving home. In Drowned, Kerans seems to be a "terminal" patient, meaning that he accepts what is going to happen. He seems content to embrace the change and destruction. Crusoe is the opposite--he is never terminal, only hopeful and determined that his current situation will not be his end.

We briefly touched on the inversion the biblical Adam at the end of the novel. Drowned's Adam retreats into a jungle where the biblical Adam retreats from the garden. The water and the planetariums seem to symbolize a womb, suggesting a rebirth for the earth, as well as some of the characters.

It was a lively discussion that led us into a lot of rewarding rabbit holes. Can't wait to dive into the world of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe next week.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Ballard, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of J.G. Ballard, as well as some information on The Drowned World. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is an essay from 1997 by Patrick A. McCarthy on allusions in The Drowned World. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and Audible.

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Psychological Fiction - Book 1: "Heart of Darkness" & "The Secret Sharer" by Joseph Conrad

We have 3 readers for our first group. They are all seeking some mental stimuli, as well as an outlet; something to break up their regular routine during their stint in prison. Eager and energetic, I could tell this was going to be a great group and we were going to uncover nuance and details to illuminate the texts.

In our first official meeting, we discussed two works from Joseph Conrad. We read and talked about one of the most famous works of literature of all time, Heart of Darkness, as well as a lesser-known work of Conrad's, The Secret Sharer. The first thing the group brought up is the difference in style between these two works. They wondered if The Secret Sharer was written after Heard of Darkness (it was). They remarked that the story of Secret itself gripped them more than the plot of Heart, even though Heart has a lot more to unpack.

We talked about what the captain in Secret might gain from hiding Legatt, the stowaway on board. This lead into a discussion of whether Legatt might not be a real person or if he is a figment of the captain's imagination. One reader wisely noted that his is a story told from memory, and the captain might be filling in blanks from his memory. How reliable is this narrator? Another reading mentioned since Legatt is naked in the beginning, this portrays him as a blank canvass, so to speak, for the captain to project himself on. With the descriptions of the naked Legatt, the readers (all of whom are gay) said they suspected Conrad was gay himself. This evolved into a conversation regarding how each reader brings their experiences, lenses, and worldviews to each book they read and how this effects our experiences.

With Heart, the group was going back-and-forth on whether or not the novel is anti-imperialist, straight up racist, or just merely observing norms and culture of the time. They were repulsed with the way natives are described and treated in the novel. They were quick to remember the novel is a framed narrative, meaning Charlie Marlow is telling the narrator a story who is in turn relaying it to the reader. So there is some buffer between the story and the reader. The realist style and language made it a bit of a slog for some of the readers, but one reader has read it quite a few times and said it gets richer and richer with each reading.

We rounded out the discussion by talking about the psyche of the main characters, their sense of isolation, and how their surroundings impact their state of mind. Every main character is a sailor, which makes sense as Conrad spent a lot of time as a sailor. Conrad writes about how the ship is the home and the sea is the country. Even with this notion in mind, Marlow and the captain from Secret feel uneasy as they are out on the water, not knowing what is beyond the waters and shores where they are traveling. The further they get into their respective journeys, they start to lose their sense of the world and question who they are and why they do what they do.

It was a great discussion and bodes well for next week's reading of J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World.

Here is a link to an info sheet provided to the readers. It has a brief biography of Joseph Conrad, as well as some information on the novellas. I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is a 1977 essay by Chinua Achebe on Heart of Darkness. You can also buy the book we read on Amazon, IndieBound, and AudioBooks.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on Conrad, his work, and anything else related in the comments!

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.


Thanks! And keep reading.

-Elliot

Utah Prison Education Project Reading Group: Classic Models, Contemporary Models

The University of Utah Prison Education Project (UPEP) is sponsoring a reading group in the Lone Peak facility at the Utah State Prison. The group meets one day a week (sometimes every two weeks, depending on the length of the novel). Books are provided to individuals free of charge due to generous donations from friends, family, and others. The goal of the reading group is to facilitate critical thought and discussion while building community. This is the first UPEP offering in the Lone Peak facility.

Each Reading Group consists of novels with some sort of theme or unifying idea in mind. For the first group, we will pair one classic novel with one contemporary novel; in other words, novels that are associated by theme, genre, and other characteristics. We will discuss the contemporary texts with a focus on determining whether they have the makings of a classic novel. We'll also talk about what makes the classic novel classic. Dissecting stylistic and structural choices made by each author, we will talk about the effectiveness of each text and how it highlights universal themes and/or resonates with broader issues and ideas.

Here are the book pairings:
Set 1:
Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad (1902 & 1910)
The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard (1962)

Set 2:
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)
The Martian by Andy Weir (2011)

Set 3:
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939)
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (1990)

Set 4:
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)
On Such A Full Sea by Change-rae Lee (2014)

I hope you enjoy following along. Feel free to share your own thoughts on these novels, and if you have suggestions for other books that would pair well, please share those as well!

If you'd like to learn more about the UPEP, please click here.
If you'd like to contribute to the UPEP general fund, click here.
If you'd like to buy some supplies for classrooms at the Utah State Prison, check out this Amazon wishlist.
And if you'd like to buy a book for the book drive, check out the wishlist here.

Thanks! And keep reading.


-Elliot