Within 24 hours of announcing my intentions of reading an alphabet of shorter fiction (short stories, novella – I’m still trying to determine the dividing line), I was exhorted twice, from completely separate sources, to ensure that Bartleby The Scrivener received my attention. That coupled with a dinky “Art of the Novella” edition accelerated its rise to the top of the TBR.
I’ve never read Melville before – Moby Dick in its epic grandness is far too daunting but 64 pages of Bartleby is a much more attractive proposition. This novella has gained much recognition since it was published to critical disdain in 1853. With hindsight it can be viewed as a precursor to absurdist literature, a genre that those giants of C20th literature, Camus and Kafka, developed to its full potential.
This does not augur well; Camus and Kafka have both driven me to distraction in the past (yet strangely I find myself contemplating revisiting both ….). Fortunately I found Bartleby much more palatable – more gentle in its absurdism – no big black beetles for a start. Bartleby is simply a man who refuses to abide by the rules – doesn’t pull his weight – isn’t a team player – simply prefers not to do anything his employer asks of him. The employer – the narrator of the tale – at first tries to accommodate his wayward employee because Bartleby is a sympathetic and gentle soul. Matters escalate. The simple way of interpreting events is that Bartleby gets his comeuppance. A revelation at the end, however, transforms the tale from slight comedy to a tale of existential import, divesting both employer and reader with more than a little guilt.
However, some big claims were made by the recommendees …. life-changing? Comments please!
Sounds interesting. I’ve never heard much of Melville aside from Moby Dick, so I’m glad you brought this one to my attention.
No, not life-changing. It was a good fable, though. Hey, I can’t even think of a life-changing story! That’s a huge deal!
I’ve always been daunted by Moby Dick as well, so this might be the place to start.
i have to speak up for Camus though- read The Plague and your opinion of him might improve.
Moby-Dick is terrific, though part of my saying that might be my relief at having got through it. Yes, it’s almost surreally boring in parts, but that somehow seems part of the ‘fun’, and surely reflects life on board ship too. Plus, two pages from the end and I discovered a reference that had been used in The Simpsons!