Official Review: High'd Up by Dennis James Bartel
Posted: 29 Jun 2020, 17:27
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "High'd Up" by Dennis James Bartel.]
High'd Up, written by Dennis James Bartel, revolves around the existential struggles of James Meier. In the first part of the book, readers meet the protagonist during a tumultuous time of his life. He had left his family in Pittsburgh to study in Los Angeles. When his mother got hospitalized after a stroke, James went back home, where he tragically found his father's corpse. Samuel Meier, a rather prominent Pittsburgh businessman, had died of a heart attack.
Back in LA, James had no job, and his only friend was Stace, a drug dealer. Most of the time, James was "high'd up and trolling for solace through the lives of the Great Composers." He had taught music history at Cal State and was particularly fond of Robert Schumann. The German composer plays a big part in the novel; he makes several appearances and speaks directly to the protagonist. This relationship is central, for James projects aspects of his life on Schumann, and so are his relationships with three women: Juny, Emily, and Susan.
I found several positive aspects in this intense story. I appreciated the vigor of the author's writing and the breadth of James's existential conflicts. Bartel's style is straightforward and punchy, and readers get invited to contemplate the turbulent inner world of a conflicted young man. The complexities of romantic relations, especially sex, is the fundamental theme.
What I enjoyed the most about the novel was how Bartel used classical music as background to his fiction. James works out certain aspects of his karma by establishing parallels with Schumann. For instance, they both have nightmares about their fathers. The protagonist also thought of the composer's teaching experiences at the Leipzig Conservatory, which he believed were as unsatisfactory as his at Cal State.
Speaking of negatives, I felt that the depiction of sexual encounters was gratuitously graphic and excessively vulgar. This aspect was what I disliked the most. The disaffected protagonist was notoriously obsessed with sex, and his libido gets depicted as a problem to be overcome. His view of women was not only dualistic but also borderline misogynistic; they were either devils or saints, with no middle ground. For instance, James observes that Juny has a "kind of female arrogance," and it bothers him. On the other hand, he worships Emily, whom he sees a saint.
In closing, I rate High'd Up 3 out of 4 stars. Due to the vulgar depictions of sexual encounters and the dualistic female characters, I am taking a star away from the rating. Still, it is a good book that I recommend to readers who enjoy classical music. If you are bothered by graphic and rather crass depictions of sex, you should skip it.
******
High'd Up
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
High'd Up, written by Dennis James Bartel, revolves around the existential struggles of James Meier. In the first part of the book, readers meet the protagonist during a tumultuous time of his life. He had left his family in Pittsburgh to study in Los Angeles. When his mother got hospitalized after a stroke, James went back home, where he tragically found his father's corpse. Samuel Meier, a rather prominent Pittsburgh businessman, had died of a heart attack.
Back in LA, James had no job, and his only friend was Stace, a drug dealer. Most of the time, James was "high'd up and trolling for solace through the lives of the Great Composers." He had taught music history at Cal State and was particularly fond of Robert Schumann. The German composer plays a big part in the novel; he makes several appearances and speaks directly to the protagonist. This relationship is central, for James projects aspects of his life on Schumann, and so are his relationships with three women: Juny, Emily, and Susan.
I found several positive aspects in this intense story. I appreciated the vigor of the author's writing and the breadth of James's existential conflicts. Bartel's style is straightforward and punchy, and readers get invited to contemplate the turbulent inner world of a conflicted young man. The complexities of romantic relations, especially sex, is the fundamental theme.
What I enjoyed the most about the novel was how Bartel used classical music as background to his fiction. James works out certain aspects of his karma by establishing parallels with Schumann. For instance, they both have nightmares about their fathers. The protagonist also thought of the composer's teaching experiences at the Leipzig Conservatory, which he believed were as unsatisfactory as his at Cal State.
Speaking of negatives, I felt that the depiction of sexual encounters was gratuitously graphic and excessively vulgar. This aspect was what I disliked the most. The disaffected protagonist was notoriously obsessed with sex, and his libido gets depicted as a problem to be overcome. His view of women was not only dualistic but also borderline misogynistic; they were either devils or saints, with no middle ground. For instance, James observes that Juny has a "kind of female arrogance," and it bothers him. On the other hand, he worships Emily, whom he sees a saint.
In closing, I rate High'd Up 3 out of 4 stars. Due to the vulgar depictions of sexual encounters and the dualistic female characters, I am taking a star away from the rating. Still, it is a good book that I recommend to readers who enjoy classical music. If you are bothered by graphic and rather crass depictions of sex, you should skip it.
******
High'd Up
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
