Really enjoyed reading your review althought I have not read ‘The matter with Morris’ and I don’t want to anyway because I don’t particularly like David Bergen’s style or content or his particular biases. I read his short story collection first, and found a disturbing tendency toward the objectification of women, and it was heightened moreso when I read A year of lesser. SOmehow, Bergen cannot write women characters without making them wholly victims of their emotions or their hormones. So, I wasn’t surprised when I read early descriptions of ‘Morris’ with the ‘sexy’ psychologist wife (puhleeze) and Morris’ frquenting of prostitutes. That seemed to me to be gratuitous and now that I read your thoughtful words, falling completely flat as a story device.

I did try to go back to Bergen (I’m a Manitoban too) and I read The Retreat, but that was a waste of time.I think you nailed it when you said, he starts out with a great premise or beginning and then you wonder where or why he ends up where he does.

About the quality of writing, and need for editing and revision and re-revision, I agree wholeheartedly. What saddens me is , I went to a lecture given by David Bergen at the University of Winnipeg, just before Morris was published, I think, and he went to huge lengths to describe how Bellow and JOhn Updike influenced him and how he wanted to create fiction that incorporated elements of Bellow in particular. But I don’t think the craftsmanship of either of those writers impressed Bergen much, knowing in particular, that Updike was frequently edited quite harshly by his New Yorker editors. You would think Bergen would have sought the same.

For me, for someone to be doing that they’d have to be in a complete breakdown. It is after all describing someone who stops strangers at the street and asks them nonsensical questions.

I’ve encountered people like that, most of us have, they’re usually a long way from anything anyone would want to be. Is that reflected?

Does it address the responses? I suspect people would be frightened by him, by this crazy person who accosts strangers.

Perhaps I’m overthinking it, but I’m not convinced.

On the editing issue, Craig is right I think about the superbooks (in terms of sales I mean). It’s noticeable that when series’ writers get hypersuccessful the later books in the series get bigger. It’s partly market demand I think, the buying public for these books associate volume with value, but also I think a shift of power from editor to author. The first Harry Potter, which I read but didn’t take to, was relatively slim and about what you’d expect from a children’s book. The latter ones were behemoths making Franzen and Seth look restrained. Rowling is far from alone in that.

I hope the publishers that are choosing to pursue fewer, but better, books succeed. They’ll not make millions, but they may get a dedicated following and at least publish books worth reading. I suspect that’s what most publishers go into the business hoping to do anyway, it can’t be for the money.

I too wondered about two novels referencing deaths of troops in Afghanistan. My explanation is that this is the first conflict since the Korean War for Canada — so it is an experience that the country’s fiction writers have not been through before. As well, the current military practice of “embedding” inexperienced, gullible reporters (rather than having experienced foreign correspondents cover it only) has produced a number of fawning accounts about the Canadian forces. My guess is that the novelists are fully aware there is another side. Urquhart probably found modern echoes of elements of The Stone Carvers (see my response to your comment on that thread); Bergen’s Giller winner was about a Canadian who had fought with the U.S. in Viet Nam — so I’d say both had reasons (at least in their heads) to include Afghanistan in their novels.

Interesting that the story features a “journalist” — although I’m not a fan of columnists, because, to be honest, it’s not really journalism, is it? It’s opinion. And what are bloggers but columnists with a worldwide audience?

Anyway, can’t say this book has piqued my interest, even with the journalistic element. But thanks for the honest review.

Guy: It was that quote that led me to conclude “this novel cannot be saved.”

I won’t bother with this book as you obviously didn’t enjoy it very much!