The First Line...

by Suzanne Buchert

“The Monsters, Mary Shelley & the Curse of Frankenstein” by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
“It actually was a dark and stormy night.”

“An Invisible Spectator, A Biography of Paul Bowles” by Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno
“It was unseasonably warm in New York City on the morning of December 30, 1910.”

The subjects of this month’s books are authors who lived several centuries apart, Mary Shelley (1797-1844) and Paul Bowles (1910-1999).  Although Shelley lived and wrote in the early 1800’s, her name is not unknown today due to the lasting fame of her character, the monster who is mistakenly known as Frankenstein.  Bowles, on the other hand, although a well-known composer and author of the early and middle parts of the last century, has faded into almost complete obscurity.

I chose these two books for, as usual, rather obscure and convoluted reasons.  My interest in Shelley is based mostly on her connection with the poet, Lord Byron, and of course, her husband, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but she was also the daughter of an 18^th century feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft.  As an English Major in college, my favorite literature  courses featured the Romantic poets, many of whom lived fascinating, avant-garde lives.  Byron, Shelley and Keats were the epitome of these poets.  Their poetry was beautiful, lyrical, readable, and enjoyable.   They lived fast, and died young and their immense popularity during their lifetimes made them the rock stars of their era.  Byron, and his entourage, which included a valet, and a personal physician named Polidori, spent a summer in the lake district of Switzerland with Shelley, his wife Mary, and Mary’s sister, Clare, who was pregnant with Byron’s child.   The five principles in this group spent a number of stormy evenings that summer reading ghost stories and were eventually challenged by Byron to each write a story of their own.   Mary Shelley was the only one of the group to complete the task with a book, “Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus” that has lived on through the centuries. 

Paul Bowles was a member of the avant-garde of his time also; a protégé of composer Aaron Copeland and others, he was befriended by Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas and other writers and artists known as the Lost Generation living in Paris in the twenties.  When he and his wife, Jane, established their lives in Morocco, they led the way for a group of Beatnik poets who spent time there during the 50’s and 60’s.  He was a very successful composer and writer who has been nearly forgotten in recent times.  He also often supported himself through translating works of others, most notably works by North African authors.  I know of no one who reads his books, don’t know of any of his music being performed today.  My knowledge of him came in large part from the 1990 film made of his novel “The Sheltering Sky”.  I was intrigued by the mystery of his life in Morocco and that is why I picked up his biography.            

Contrasting the two opening lines of these books gives the reader an insight into what is to come.  Both authors delve into psychological connections between their subject’s lives, especially their relationships with their parents and their fiction.  The Hoobler’s are able to balance their analysis to proportions that do not inhibit the story.   Sawyer-Laucanno, does not.  He runs rampant with the early years of Bowles life to the point that I nearly gave up.  I set the book aside for a while and then convinced myself that when this person finally connected with all the interesting characters of the 1920’s Paris scene, the book had to become more interesting.  And finally, I came to Part II and the narrative did become infinitely more interesting.

A quick search on Google gave me lots of biographical information on both authors, and even an official Paul and Jane Bowles web site authorized by the heirs of their estate, whoever they may be, as there were no direct descendants.  Will I now search out Bowles writing?  No, although I am intrigued by Bowles the composer and might look into his music.  Will I read Mary Shelley’s book?  No; I’m more of a Vampire aficionado.  However, except for the early section on Bowles life, I would recommend both books to persons having an interest in feminism and/or Romantic poets (Shelley), and 20^th Century writers and artists (Bowles).

Suzanne Buchert and her husband, Keith, own several restaurants.
Her hobbies include cooking, reading, traveling, weight lifting,
and having coffee with her friends.

sbuchert@hotmail.com