The Dead Father
Donald Barthelme
The Dead Father by Donald Barthelme is a postmodern exploration/parody of Freud’s views on fatherhood and children’s relationships with their fathers. It reads like a mix between James Joyce, Lewis Carroll, and William Golding.
The Dead Father is a massive, ancient man. He is wise and childish, generous but demanding. The Dead Father is like a demigod, but his origins and powers are never explicitly known. He journeys with an entourage of younger people, who apparently, have to move him via a cable. The destination and purpose for the trip are a mystery.
Along with making a statement about father/child relationships, Barthelme considers the role of women. The way that women relate to men and each other is a significant component of the novel. There are only two women in the caravan, among many men. The way they are treated and allow themselves to be treated is, perhaps, meant to be representative of contemporary society.
The book is charming, although not for everyone. The dialogue is almost never differentiated. Quotation marks are never used, and the only way one can tell when a different character is speaking is by the change of paragraphs. Barthelme rarely indicates which character is saying which line. That can be confusing, but it hardly matters since there is little character development or plot. Much of the book is apparently nonsensical. The Dead Father is certainly worth reading, but I can’t see a lot of people being able to tolerate it.
The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine or the Hithering Dithering Djinn
Donald Barthelme
How could anyone resist a postmodern children’s book like The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine or the Hithering Dithering Djinn by Donald Barthelme? The illustrations are woodblock prints from the 1800s. The story is charming and quirky; perfect for the slightly odd child.
A Home at the End of the World
Michael Cunningham
Before reading Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World, I somehow got the impression that it was revolutionary in fiction for redefining family for contemporary times. While riveting, it actually reinforces traditional ideas about family.
Bobby and Jonathan grow up together in Cleveland. They meet in middle school and quickly become friends. Bobby’s brother and mother have died; his brother in a ridiculous freak accident, and
his mother from grief and sleeping pills. Bobby is mysterious and hip, entranced by marijuana and music. Jonathan is shy and sheltered, having spent most of his childhood inside entertaining his lonely, out-of-place mother. Jonathan soon falls in love with Bobby. Though essentially straight, Bobby loves Jonathan also. Eventually Jonathan moves to New York to go to college. Bobby is left at home, now living at Jonathan’s house with Alice and Ned, Jonathan’s parents. As an adult, he is orphaned when his father dies in another unlikely accident. Bobby contentedly stays in Cleveland, working at a bakery (Alice taught him how to cook), until Alice and Ned move to Arizona for Ned’s health.
With no reason to stay in Cleveland and nowhere to go since he isn’t welcome to go with Alice and Ned, Bobby calls up Jonathan and goes to New York. Jonathan is living in an apartment in a bad-but-interesting neighborhood with his best friend Clare. Clare is an older woman (nearing forty) who is eccentric for eccentricity’s sake. She has inherited a small fortune from a nouveau riche grandfather but lives off of money from selling her found-art jewelry. Jonathan is dating Erich, “Dr. Feelgood,” a bartender with whom he has nothing in common. He works as a food critic for a successful newspaper that was never expected to be successful. Their life is capricious and chic.
Bobby, Jonathan, and Clare quickly become very close. They begin to think of themselves as a family, and adopt the nickname “the Hendersons.” Inevitably (things can’t be idyllic for long in post modern fiction), Bobby and Clare fall in love. They consummate their love, and, for a while, everything is fine. Clare pressures Jonathan to have Erich over to the apartment for dinner. He gives in, and Erich comes over. It’s awkward, but they all end up having a good time. The next morning Jonathan is gone. Clare and Bobby are hurt, but there isn’t really anything they can do.
After some time, Clare and Bobby receive a call from Jonathan. Jonathan’s father has died. Bobby and Clare travel to Arizona for the funeral. Before leaving, Clare discovers that she is pregnant and chooses to hide that fact. Jonathan picks them up from the airport and they go to his parent’s house. Alice and Clare immediately dislike each other. Jonathan and Bobby are tense, and ultimately fight to relieve their tension. After fighting, they are the best of friends again. However, Clare is upset and feels awkward in the strange situation. They decide to rent a car and drive back to New York, stopping to see the Grand Canyon on the way.
Clare begins to have morning sickness by the time they get to the Grand Canyon. She fights some with Bobby and Jonathan. While in the car, Clare becomes extremely irritated and tells Bobby to pull over, without saying that she intends to walk the rest of the way. Jonathan and Bobby chase after her. She tells them about the baby, and they decide to all three raise it together equally.
Bobby’s childhood dream is fulfilled when the three decide to buy an old house in Woodstock, so that they can raise their baby, Rebecca, out of the city. Jonathan and Bobby open a restaurant. Clare chooses to stay home and take care of Rebecca. After becoming settled, they invite Erich over for the weekend. Erich shows up at the train station gaunt and sickly. He has AIDS. Clare, Jonathan, and Bobby feel sorry for Erich and, after several weekend visits, end up inviting him to stay with them. He grows more and more feeble, while Rebecca grows more cognizant. With Ned’s ashes in the house, and Erich dying, Clare feels overwhelmed by death. She decides that she can’t let Rebecca’s first memories be of death. Clare takes Rebecca to visit her mother with no intention of returning. Bobby senses that she is leaving for good. The three declining men are left alone.
The entire book is trite in several ways. The ending is the normal postmodern attempt to have a moment of affirmation cap a lifetime of meaninglessness and tragedy. The characters have predetermined fates and they are constructed wholly by the events of their lives. For instance, would Jonathan have been gay if it weren’t for his smothering mother? Probably not. All of the characters were stereotypes. It seems like Cunningham was trying to write a meaningful novel, but never knew what he wanted it to mean. Despite being disappointing and flawed, it was interesting and enjoyable.
