"Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanesi", Geoff Dyer
When it comes to books by Geoff Dyer I am so completely biased that what is written here may be unreliable. Whether it's his novels, travel writing, essays, war history, or his perspectives on jazz, painting, photography, or literature, everything he writes is read here.
"Jeff in Venice, Death in Varenesi" is his latest novel, published in April and somehow unknown to me until last week. This novel is really two novellas joined at the hip by one main character. The first is set at the Biennale, Venice's every other year indulgence in some of the most entertaining and bizarre "art" displays possible, or improbable. As a journalist taking in the scene in the day and participating in its seemingly incestuous celebrations each night, our jaded protagonist Jeff is revitalized, or is he drained of his last strength. The second story sets Jeff in Varanesi, called India's holiest city, on a spur of the moment brief reporting job that extends into weeks and months. The chaos and unpredictability that ensue make this city a tableau for a Dyer tour de force of writing.
Yeah, I actually wrote "tour de force" like some formal book reviewer. This is just an appreciation.
The two tales in "Jeff in..." are completely different but at the same time one in the same. Jeff leads a middle-aged muddled life in London, going through the motions of a reasonably successful free lance journalist career, churning out work that he no longer cares about and not getting any psychic charge out of seeing his name in print as he did in his earlier years. His Biennale and Varanesi experiences are both serious and almost ludicrous breaks from his stagnant London routine, and he immerses himself completely in them, or literally almost immerses at the close in Venice and completely does so at the Varanesi conclusion. Both trips are a purge of a life that he fell into and now is stuck with, a home that is simply a consequence of birth, a mordantly repetitive set of activities, and a future that is completely unclear.
"Jeff in Venice, Death in Varenesi" is his latest novel, published in April and somehow unknown to me until last week. This novel is really two novellas joined at the hip by one main character. The first is set at the Biennale, Venice's every other year indulgence in some of the most entertaining and bizarre "art" displays possible, or improbable. As a journalist taking in the scene in the day and participating in its seemingly incestuous celebrations each night, our jaded protagonist Jeff is revitalized, or is he drained of his last strength. The second story sets Jeff in Varanesi, called India's holiest city, on a spur of the moment brief reporting job that extends into weeks and months. The chaos and unpredictability that ensue make this city a tableau for a Dyer tour de force of writing.
Yeah, I actually wrote "tour de force" like some formal book reviewer. This is just an appreciation.
The two tales in "Jeff in..." are completely different but at the same time one in the same. Jeff leads a middle-aged muddled life in London, going through the motions of a reasonably successful free lance journalist career, churning out work that he no longer cares about and not getting any psychic charge out of seeing his name in print as he did in his earlier years. His Biennale and Varanesi experiences are both serious and almost ludicrous breaks from his stagnant London routine, and he immerses himself completely in them, or literally almost immerses at the close in Venice and completely does so at the Varanesi conclusion. Both trips are a purge of a life that he fell into and now is stuck with, a home that is simply a consequence of birth, a mordantly repetitive set of activities, and a future that is completely unclear.
posted by John Borden at 6:19 PM
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