So, to continue my soul-searching, I picked up Pickwick Papers. And since then, Dickens' former association with 'misery, deprivation, suffering and all things gray' has been rendered void. This is a rambunctious, gleeful and high-spirited book, whose pace never flags, and whose love for the English language is so married to the narrative that I chuckle at the very thought of it. Witticisms, ingenious word-play, delightful verbosities, all combine to create a warm and genial experience. The plot is a series of (mis)adventures of an earnest and knowledgeable gentleman and his troupe of mismatched friends, who proceed on a quest for scientific and human discovery. And the fun begins....
But not everyone is a humanist with a deeply sympathetic social perspective like Dickens was. The times are accomodating writers with non-existent talents and no social-conscience whatsoever. Bestseller lists include self-help books, Barbara Cartland(who was a jolly old dame who churned out romances at the rate of one a fortnight), Tolkien and Marquez alike. A routine thriller(done to death in so many different ways) becomes the talk of the entire world because it spins a deft yarn, and little more. The tales of a bespectacled boy-wizard in playschool enter the list of the 50 best titles of the century. And I rest my case....
Do I need offer further proof of the cultural bankruptcy of my generation, whose profile demonstrates an indefinable angst, a pathological fear of greatness, of clarity, of coherence? I so often hear my friends complain they weren't exposed to books as a personal form of education earlier, but it never is too late, is it? Where is the time,...another wails. I greet him with a mixture of scorn, pity and disbelief. I let it lie. They aren't the worst offenders....
Along comes another to compose a panegyric on the latest easily-consumable doing the rounds. I affect some enthusiasm for the 'convoluted plot', coupled, of course, with kinetic chases, preposterous exposition, obligatory romances....you name it.
There is little I can do. We are beginning to hold true excellence at arm's length, denying its existence, and settling for the substandard, the base, the contrived, giving short shrift to the very purpose of all art, which is in essence, to uncover that elusive kernel of human truth, in the process. But I cling to the hope that maybe not all is lost. We may yet be redeemed. Art may survive, a shadow of its former glory, but maybe we shall learn to appreciate genuine worth and give the pretenders a wide berth.
To be continued...
6 comments:
art evolves with time.
but very few works of art stand the test of time.
and in a period where time is the ultimate constraint, cheap and fast thrills, trivial pleasures are what people seek.
thats why da vinci and potter adorn every households bookshelf, even the ones who never possessed a bookshelf before.
in a wrld whr ppl prfr shrt 4ms, hw da ya thnk dey can rd fat bks?
Defeatist, and plain lazy. We are headed for the gutters, I tell you.
@naresh - yes , hp and danbrown are undoubtedy bad , but can you actually define art or literature? like a 'fast thrill' in the 21st century can be called a 'revolutionary masterpiece' in the 22nd century?
which should be accepted?
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jvpoirot
@jvpoirit...
Hi Vaishali.
As for the definition of 'art', as I remarked earlier, it is simply something that furthers the understanding of human nature and deepens our experiences to that end. As simple as that. 'Cheap thrills' constitute art not.
Critical platitudes pander shamelessly to modern-day pop-cultural mores. No wonder Dan Brown is making pots. I wonder what Rowling is going to do, now that her 'epic' series is nearing its death(completion).
@kumar - she (jkr) is going to write 'fairy tales for children' ( no , really!) , after hp under a 'pen name' and that is the world's well kept secret!
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jvpoirot
Wouldn't be surprised if the fairy tales became a staple for adults eventually, much as Harry Potter is described as 'The books entangle adults, and are full of wit, wisdom and wonder. Who could ask for a more magical experience?'...courtesy CNN.com, "perfect for adults" and so on.
I cannot imagine a more benumbing state of affairs than that. But then, I said the same about the Harry Potter series as well, and what have we here? A cultural phenomenon.
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