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Obama, McCain and the books they read
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to various reports, John McCain’s favorite books include “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Barack Obama has mentioned “Song of Solomon” and “Moby-Dick.”
No one ever mentions “Naked Came the Stranger” on these lists, do they?
Anyway, the San Francisco Chronicle tracked down several authors who live out there on the left coast and asked what we might make of their reading preferences. Richard North Patterson, Maxine Hong Kingston and Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, agreed to play, and the Chronicle ran their assessments here.
I was particularly intrigued by novelist Patterson, who offered this:
“McCain is a student of history and he’s interested in the military. He has a fundamentally heroic view of the world. That his favorite character is Robert Jordan (from “For Whom the Bell Tolls”), who faces death stoically in the service of a cause that is likely to lose, speaks a lot to his feelings not only about heroes, but about character - the willingness to stand fast in the face of difficulties and defeat. It speaks to his self-concept.
Obama’s is a different list. It’s the list of a reflective man, I think, of someone who sees complexity. “Song of Solomon” speaks to his diverse American experience. “Moby-Dick” is essentially about someone who is an obsessive who can’t see the folly of his obsession and its potential costs. To me, Obama is someone who takes in multiple points of view and is not afraid of complexity.”
I’m sure not even reading lists are immune to partisan sniping at the moment, but they do provide a different insight. Your thoughts?
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By margaret
November 3, 2008 11:01 PM | Link to this
heh, I like Gary Snyder’s take on it: that the lists don’t reflect either candidates fave books. I would figure McCain to go for the survialist theme in Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and Barack might be too embarrassed that he found value in the latest Charlaine Harris novel. heh, I’d like to see the true confessions.