Drinking Archives - Bob on Books

Great But Unreadable

Have you ever tried to read a book that for one reason or another is “great” but just haven’t been able to finish it? I recently asked a question about books people found confusing. I was surprised by how many “great” authors made the list including Joyce Carol Oates and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Of course, topping the list for many was James Joyce’s Ulysses.

It’s book award season and I think the belief among many in the reading public is that the books nominated for these awards are ones most people won’t find readable. I think part of the suspicion is that most people have never heard of most of these books before they made the lists, let alone read them.

The most recent instance of this is this week’s nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Laszlo Krasznahorkai was hardly a household name before this week. I doubt his newest novel will do much to change that (but read the review below). In English it runs four hundred pages and consists of one sentence. One period.

This is not always the case. Han Kang, last year’s Nobel winner is someone I found challenging to read, yet whose voice drew me in. The Pulitzers for fiction in recent years include authors like Percival Everett, Barbara Kingsolver, Colson Whitehead (twice) and Anthony Doerr.

My own opinion? I think great literature will often require a certain amount of attention that “mind candy” books do not. They will require us to wrestle with hard things. But it does not seem to me that obscurity, turgid writing, or lots of “deadwood” are ever excusable. Is it too much to ask that a mark of great books is that the writing be readable?

Five Articles Worth Reading

So, speaking of four hundred page sentences, Garth Risk Hallberg reviews Herscht 07769 by Laszlo Krasznahorkai. In “This Novel Has Fewer Periods Than This Headline. It’s 400 Pages Long.” Hallberg discusses the novel as well as previous works by the author.

A lot of ink has been spilled on the causes of global populism. But after considering nine possible reasons and allowing for complexity, Francis Fukuyama argues that one reason stands out in “It’s t h e Internet, Stupid.”

Any of us who live in Ohio will tell you that there are at least two Ohios. There are the big cities and then the small, working class rural towns. Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, a book by Beth Macy, explores the culture of Urbana, Ohio, where she grew up. “What Happened to Ohio?” is an article adapted from the book.

The drinking of alcohol is on a decline. Sloane Crosley considers the drinking culture of authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and asks “How Sober Should a Writer Be?“

Finally, as a reviewer, I’ve gotten a glimpse of the challenges of making ends meet as a writer. David Berry describes “How I Managed to Write a Book without Going (Too) Broke.” It will give you a renewed appreciation of the gift we are given with every book we read and why protecting author’s rights matters so much.

Quote of the Week

Poet and novelist Ciarán Carson was born on October 9, 1948. He puts into words the challenge any of us who write have when trying to express what is in our minds:

“How do you say a thing at all, at the end of the day? How do you say what’s in your mind? And as soon as you say what you actually have in mind, it’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Miscellaneous Musings

Marce Catlett, Wendell Berry’s latest Port William story arrived at my doorstep today. I am so profoundly thankful that Mr. Berry has lived to the age of 91 and continues to bless us with stories, reminding us placeless Americans of the importance of place and community and what we lose when we neglect and lose these.

One example of someone who cares for place is Ethan Tapper. In How to Love a Forest, he recounts his decision to buy a poorly managed piece of forest land in Vermont. Then he narrates vignettes of how he is seeking to restore the land, using his forestry training. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t mean leaving it alone. From pruning to cutting down diseased and invasive growth, he writes about how humans can promote healthy forests.

David McCullough’s latest book History Matters is a posthumous collection of his essays and lectures, mostly previously unpublished. He recommends a number of others who were influential on him including Paul Horgan and his book, Great River on the Rio Grande. I was so intrigued, I ordered a copy, not noticing the 900+ page count. Thus, I’m hoping for 900 pages of great, readable prose.

One of the trends in the past several years that I’ve observed is the growth of micro-breweries, brew pubs, sports bars and other drinking establishments. I’m not a teetotaler. My son and I like to meet up at a sports bar most weeks and solve the problems of the world. Occasionally we’ve visited some local wineries to taste different wines and educate ourselves about the differences. When I visit different cities, I like to try the local brews.

It is interesting that alcohol use has become far more accepted even in many Christian communities that once would have been dry. I have friends who have phone apps on which they log the different beers they drink and rate them and compete to see who can log the most. Most of us have concluded that the Bible doesn’t prohibit drinking, only excessive drinking or drunkenness.

But, I wonder, in shaking off the abstinent ways of a conservative past, do we laugh off the warnings?

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.” (Luke 21:34)
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;whoever is led astray by them is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks (Isaiah 5:22)

I could go on but this is probably more Bible than some of you want. But these verses call attention to the dangers of drunkenness leading to debauchery or the excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures. Alcohol is a factor in most sexual assaults on campuses. Excessive alcohol use can weigh down the heart and depress. It can inflame tempers. The last passage is a warning against binge drinking.

But many would say they don’t drink to excess. What is interesting is to ask the question, what constitutes excess?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 recommend no more than one drink a day for women, two for men and that drinking above this can lead to increased risks of many harmful health conditions
Excessive drinking then is defined as having 8 or more drinks a week as a woman, 15 or more as a man.
Many may not exceed these limits but still binge drink in which women drink more than 4 drinks in 2 hours, men more than 5 drinks in the same time at least once in 30 days. Drinking in this amount raises blood alcohol content above .08, or the legal limit for driving in most states.
Drinking to this level 5 or more times in 30 days qualifies as heavy drinking.

(Sources for this are the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).

We know the risks of drinking and driving but have we taken on the risks to health, and also the risks we take in the form of risky behaviors when alcohol impairs our judgment? Perhaps more profoundly, do we consider the risks to relationships where we say or do those things we might later regret when sober, when we act with violence in word or action?

More serious yet is Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), a more precise way of speaking of alcoholism. There is a list of questions that the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism proposes to assess if you or a loved one may have an AUD:

Had times when you ended up drinking more, or longer than you intended?
More than once wanted to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn’t?
Spent a lot of time drinking? Or being sick or getting over the aftereffects?
Experienced craving — a strong need, or urge, to drink?
Found that drinking — or being sick from drinking — often interfered with taking care of your home or family? Or caused job troubles? Or school problems?
Continued to drink even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends?
Given up or cut back on activities that were important or interesting to you, or gave you pleasure, in order to drink?
More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or having unsafe sex)?
Continued to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem? Or after having had a memory blackout?
Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want? Or found that your usual number of drinks had much less effect than before?
Found that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, nausea, or sweating? Or sensed things that were not there?

Alcohol abuse and alcoholism affect roughly ten percent of the American population. It touches people of every walk of life including those in ministry and other professions. The American Bar Association has identified this as an important concern for lawyers whose incidence of alcohol abuse or alcoholism may be double that of the general population.

Why this departure from my usual blogging on books? It is because I’ve been reminded recently of the destructive consequences of alcohol abuse in the life of an acquaintance who seems in the process of destroying his life. It called back memories of a brilliant and talented man I knew who sacrificed marriage, family, and work and drank himself to death. I’ve seen alcohol abuse contribute to suicide. I think of others whose alcohol abuse fueled family violence. Sometimes I’ve been involved in helping their children face the brokenness and pain and break that cycle in their own lives.

So for all of us who drink, and particularly if we find ourselves drinking more than we did in the past, I would encourage us to measure our drinking against the benchmarks and questions in this post, or ask someone we love to be honest with us. Don’t be that person who gets lost in the lie of saying “I don’t have a problem.”