The Novel, Who Needs It? by Joseph Epstein

As an essayist, I find the writings of Joseph Epstein appealing. I don't always agree with him, but what he says, and how he says it, can be quite engaging. The Novel, Who Needs It? is a longish essay, or a shortish book. In eighteen meandering sections--some very short, some very long--Epstein argues the novel is "the supreme literary genre." There is much wisdom sprinkled throughout the book, but his succinct conclusion is worth noting:  "Without the help of the novel we lose the hope of gaining a wider and . . . more complex view of life, its mysteries, its meaning, its point. . . . The novel at its best . . . seeks to discover deeper truths, the truth of the imagination, the truth of human nature, the truth of the heart." In answer to the question posed in the book's title, Epstein notes that we all need the novel ("even people who wouldn't think of reading novels"), and in this "great age of distraction we may just need it more than ever before."

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is the sequel to Aristotle and Dante Discovery the Secrets of the Universe. Published almost ten years after the first book, it nevertheless begins at the point the first book ends. Basically it covers the final year of high school, and the summer after, for the two teen protagonists of the title. The sequel is also rather longer than the first book. Parts of it are pretty good, part of it are contrived. As Aristotle comes out of his shell, three girls who were formerly despised antagonists become his instant best friends, and Dante recedes into the background for too much of the book, before petulantly bringing about a contrived ending. The book has the cheesy feel of a Hallmark tv movie, G-rated, with both melodrama and tragedy. Overall it was slightly disappointing, but readable.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I watched the new film Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe before I knew that it was based on a novel. It is a coming of age story of two Mexican-American teenage boys, set in El Paso in the 1980s. The film is well-acted and visually compelling, with an initial a slow pace that leads to some of the subsequent important scenes feeling rushed, with the motivations of characters mixed or unclear. This flaw made me wonder how these scenes were dealt with in the novel itself. And hands-down the novel is better in many ways, including with the particular issues which brought me to read the book. A high proportion of the dialogue in the film is taken directly from the book, but the words are moved around and put into different scenes where they don't track completely smoothly in terms of context. I suppose this is a common issue with the process of turning a book into a film, but the it seemed a problem to me even before I read the book. Overall I liked the film, but the book is better.