David Malouf - Ransom

The First Tuesday Book Club is a bit of a strange subject for me. I never really watched it, even though I knew I should be. It's honestly hypocritical of me to complain that "people don't read enough" (said in high-pitched whiny voice when no one at the pub has read Catch 22 or similar), while ignoring a popular culture attempt to incorporate reading and - more importantly - discussions of literature into television.

theage.com

Also, I'm a pretty big fan of Marieke Hardy (which I might have mentioned before). As well as writing an amazing popular blog under the pseudonym of "Ms Fits", which has sadly been discontinued, and appearing on Triple J Breakfast radio with Robbie and the Doctor, she also writes for TV shows like "Packed to the Rafters", "Last Man Standing" and "Neighbours" amongst others. And there is more. She also designs clothes, is politically active, and writes for magazines, newspapers and so forth. Marieke is the modern day Renaissance man.

So there is really no excuse for my not being a FTBC fan (acronyms are very in, very now). Which is why I'm going to give it a shot this month. I'm going to read the books, I'm going to watch the show, and I'm going to discuss the merits in a pompous and superior tone.

The books for the next episode are F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (which is also the text for the nation's 'big read') and David Malouf's "Ransom".

So "Ransom" is yet another retelling of the "Illiad". Like most people, this sentence alone is enough to make my eyes roll back into my skull for a good old pensive stare into predictable cliché. However, do not be too quick to judge. Malouf knows what he is doing. There are no attempts to revisit the Trojan horse, there are no nail-biting melodramatic scenes of Paris or Helen (indeed they receive only passing commentary) and, happily for me, there is nothing in Achilles description which prevented me from picturing Brad Pitt in my mind's eye. 

(I'm just going to need a moment...)

As he details in an 'afterword' (I love afterwords! I love reading something within a book which demonstrates how the author functions and is inspired. Screw you, Barthes, the author is not dead to me!) the book's "primary interest is in storytelling itself - why stories are told and why we need to hear them, how stories get changed in the telling - and much of what it has to tell are 'untold tales' found only in the margins of earlier writers" (Malouf, 2009, p 223). 

Take THAT, dominant discourse! Malouf is challenging the historical voice of authority by recounting the emotional growth of King Priam in his challenge to recover the body of his son. Similarly, the friendship which develops between Priam and his cart driver Somax upsets the social structure the text itself presents.

I particularly liked how Malouf depicted Hermes. After pages of conversation between Somax, Priam and an 'unidentified youth', "Priam's eyes opened wide. He wondered how he had not seen it before. 'My lord,' he breathed. 'My lord Hermes!' " (2009, p 158). 

Certain images and scenes within the work pop up repeatedly. Though this could have been an annoying and rather painful technique, I felt that the recurring description of the daughter-in-law cooking 'griddlecakes' to be particularly sympathetic and beautiful:

"The daughter-in-law, she's a good girl, uses her fingers - it's a trick you have to learn - and if she happens to burn them she pops her fingers into her mouth quick smart". 

My only real issue with the work was Malouf's depiction of the narrator. (Warning: Severe Literary Wank Ahead). You see, I'm down with an omniscient author, I can see how they are useful. Especially for complex works, it's difficult to avoid. However, Malouf enters the head space of almost every single character. And often within a section. Now, call me old fashioned, but I feel that any change of headspace needs not only to be well marked through white space (or similar) but also to have a distinct purpose. Much of what is communicated through the private thoughts of his characters could as easily have been accomplished through inter-character dialogue.

So would I recommend for you to read "Ransom"? Yes I would. If only to be able to actively participate in First Tuesday Book Club with Marieke the champion.

Do I believe it will radically alter your view on life or literature? Probably not. And that isn't a criticism. "Ransom" is an enjoyable read, a comfortable and easy read. It is well written, satisfyingly quirky and charming. It is well-suited to grey rainy days in accompaniment with a doona and a Hot Chocolate.