Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanesi

So I'm not sure why I keep choosing books that feature middle aged men experiencing moments of epiphany, but it really seems to be a trend. Must be something in my subconscious - or maybe that I've been on a kick of reading things that appeared on "Notable Books of 2009"- type lists and the authors of many of those are probably - you guessed it - middle-aged men. Anyway, Geoff Dyer's Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanesi, which I finished yesterday, definitely fits the bill, but twists things around a little. The book is divided into two parts with two settings (unsurprisingly, Venice and Varanesi) and two narrators, though the main character, Jeff, seems to be the same. I enjoyed the first half, set during the Biennale, more than the second. I chalk this up partly to curiosity about events like the Biennale, partly nostalgia for my trip to Venice last spring, but mostly to the fact that Jeff, awkward, uncomfortable, and self-conscious as he is, actually seems to be happy for most of that section of the book, a refreshing change from the other narratives I've read recently, which primarily involve the main character going from misery to vague acceptance and nobody actually gets to be happy - not unhappy seems to be the grail there. Jeff's happiness clearly is going to be shortlived - I had hope, but the signs were against it - but it does underscore how little it takes most of us to actually be happy: someone we like who likes us back. That's it. And, honestly, I gotta agree; this jibes with my experience exactly. It's nice when it lasts; it made me sad for poor old Jeff - a older Nick Hornby type who clearly has spent too much of his youth worrying about what's cool - when it became clear that it wasn't.

I didn't respond to the second half as much; it twists out of my realm of experience into a life with little grasp on reality, almost reminding me of the uncomfortable ending of The Egyptologist. And, to be honest, if the narrator of the second half is the Jeff we've gotten to know in the first, I don't quite understand his psychology...it didn't work for me. The best part was the rich descriptions of Varanesi, a place that intrigues me but that I don't quite want to visit.

In general, I enjoyed the book, but no raves.

Next up: Lark and Termite...I'm about 100 pages in and I'm enjoying it...I didn't think the Korean war stuff would hold my interest (even though I was once an manaical MASH fan), but there was just enough of it before we shifted back to the family drama stateside. And some strong female characters too!