"Willard & His Bowling Trophies", tragic surrealism

Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mistery
Richard Brautigan

Two couples. Three brothers. A bird sculpture surrounded by bowling trophies. Sex. Depression. Sadomasochism. Greek tragedies. Violence. A fated destiny. Who else other than Richard Brautigan could create a novel with that material?

"Willard and His Bowling Trophies" is surreal again, a trademark than everyone who has read any of the works from Brautigan should expect. But this time surrealism is not in the stories per se, as they are (even it is oddity) credible, but in their connection. Willard and the trophies are the elements, the objects that links the stories. A bird and trophies that seem to be alive, that can be the symbol of many things, or nothing else than (silly) objects.

It is also pure Brautigan in what refers to style. Odd poetic prose, a disarmingly simple yet affecting writing, with bombastic turns of phrase. You'll find yourself saying what?, or laughing, or feeling completely appalled.

And that's what makes "Willard" different from other Brautigan's books I have read. I found this novel really sad, even depressing, very close to "An Unfortunate Woman" in that sense, or like "In Watermelon Sugar", but without any utopia. The forthcoming tragedy, even if surreal, is almost evident from the very first page, and its focused on the masochistic couple. The husband is a pathetic character, and his suffering (also literally) wife, a silent mourning, frustrated one. Sex, that should pleasant and the best expression of love between the two, is not enjoyable anymore. The Logan brothers turn their stupidity, but also innocence, that at first might be hilarious into a violent seek that reveals an evil side, some sort of anger against humanity developed by such a trivial fact (getting their trophies stolen). It's a novel about fate, in which circumstances, and people, are weird, and tragedy is the end of the road.

To me, and this is the fifth book I read from him, Brautigan's work is always fascinating, because he is a unique writer, a counterculture icon, with an unparalleled view for literature, and an extraordinary braveness in the stories he penned. But despite much more linear and less confusing than “In Watermelon Sugar”, "Willard" is, again, not a book for everyone. Being such a straightforward novel, I personally think the lack of humour harms it. Everything is quite absurd indeed, but its depressingly absurd this time.

SCORE: 6/10

"In Watermelon Sugar", Richard Brautigan's utopia

In Watermelon Sugar- Richard Brautigan

Some novels are very easy to review. Some others are quite hard. And then, you have Richard Brautigan’s books. “In Watermelon Sugar” might be his hardest work to rate. But I will try.

Brautigan, one of our favourite nuts, said he based the book, published in 1968, on his life in Bolinas during the 60s, a place known for their semi-communal, isolated lifestyle. But I’ll bet you anything Bolinas has nothing to do with the unique landscape where “In Watermelon Sugar” takes place. Let me “welcome” you to iDEATH.

iDEATH seems to the main house/meeting point of some sort of commune where things are made of watermelon sugar, pine wood and stone, each day has a different colored sun and some disturbing things happens. The worst of them, explained by the narrator, being the tension with inBOIL, a man who rebelled against iDEATH, living on the Forgotten Works, a close and forbidden area, where they make whiskey and keep the remnants of a former civilization. Confused? We haven’t finished yet. There are also “The Tigers”, who were (maybe not) real tigers, that were annihilated by people, violence and many deaths, and two love stories, one that ended due to the dramatic turn of events between iDEATH and inBOIL, and another ongoing while the narrator digs deep in the account of the story he is making (he is trying to write). Oh, I forgot to mention the last tiger was killed on a spot that later evolved into a trout farm.

How to interpret “In Watermelon Sugar”? I don’t really know, but the truth is that I keep thinking from time to time, almost two weeks after having finished the book. So at least one thing can be said for sure: its and addictive (admittedly, strangely addictive) work. iDEATH’s environment and origin (the battle against “The Tigers”) could be seen as a post-apocalyptic new beginning for the world. This sort of paradise, where things are made thanks to the interaction with nature, where there’s no money and no possessions, is threatened by inBOIL, “keepers” of the memory (the stuff) of the past civilization. Margaret, the narrator's previous “lover” looks like a very important character to me, representing the person that, raised within iDEATH idiosyncrasy, is tempted by inBOIL’s forgotten stuff. A revision of Eve’s myth betraying the garden Eden? I’m very eager to read your interpretation.

With its brutal end and confusing development, “In Watermelon Sugar” is not a book for anyone. I personally think the absence of humour, one of Brautigan’s trademarks, makes it less enjoyable. The feeling of absurdity and surrealism, ever-present in his books, is still there, but this time, with the metaphorical/allegorical resource, adopts a much “altered” voice. It’s still Brautigan’s deformed mirror, and his braveness and ability to at least try to reinvent literature. But I miss his ability for making me laugh while he shows how stupid we, humans, have become.

SCORE: 6,25/10

"A Confederate General from Big Sur", a tale of the pre-hippie America

A Confederate General from Big Sur- Richard Brautigan

Reading Richard Brautigan is such an experience. He is not your average writer, in terms of writing style, structure, storytelling or novel conception. You might have the feeling you don't have any clue where is the novel driving you to, but the ride is so unique and surreal the final destination is completely secondary. Maybe "A Confederate General from Big Sur" is not as explosive as "Trout Fishing in America", but the result is also pure Brautigan, therefore, a joy to read.

Don't get its title confuse you. This is not a novel on the Civil War. But it deals with a more recent period of the USA history: the 60s. With being young and trying to achieve freedom while confronting society and oneself. Brautigan wrote, in his messy and hilarious way, about the pre-hippy era.

But Brautigan never preach, or pontificates. His weapons are surrealism, humour and chaos. No one uses metaphors and similes like he did, and the scenes, while maybe disjointed one from the other, are powerful and enchanting in their own. "A Confederate"'s premise and is simple. Jesse tells us his story/adventure with his pal Lee Mellon, searching for information about Mellon's grandfather, supposedly a general in the Civil War...  But that idea is quickly forgotten, replaced by a tale of the 60s in the Californian landscape. Being Brautigan, the plot and structure is still quite linear. But that doesn't mean he wasn't attempting to subvert the boundaries of literature. So if you were looking for a canonical book, with a defined plot and a satisfying end, this is not for you. Here you will have, more than 100.000 ends. Literally.

It was his first novel, so you can see some confusion, some struggle between his striking lyricism and experimental treatment of fiction and a more traditional prose. But despite its shortcomings, "A Confederate"  offers a rewarding dose of Brautigan's freedom, of Brautigan's reinvention. The reinvention of literature. The reinvention of history, thanks to his "crazy saint" characters, experimenting with free love, drinking, drugs and a sense of rebellion, living and writing their own past and present. The reinvention of humour, used, like Valle-Inclán did, as a factor to deform and question the absurdities of reality. At the end, Brautigan's vision wasn't a happy one, but a very sceptical, even scared look of a world that was becoming more hostile for humanity, thanks to the behaviour of humans. But his books were capable of exposing that contradiction while making us smile.

SCORE: 6,75/10