Stephen Barkley
Hal Hartley makes an insightful observation about the Peanuts’ world in the forward to this volume:
Perhaps it’s the very sparseness of the Peanuts world—the anywhere at anytime simplicity of its universe—that allows us to see the world we ourselves actually move through. It provides a mirror into which we can pour our preoccupations and memories. (xi)
Despite the date of these daily strips—1965 to 1965—the situations resonate with everyday life over fifty years later.
Charles Schulz was good looking at an event from a number of perspectives. On September 19, 1965, Snoopy’s doghouse burned down. On September 20th, Snoopy just looked and cried (he lost his Van Gogh, after all). Most interesting was the way Lucy rationalized the event:
- “He was probably smoking in bed.” (September 21)
- “You know why your doghouse burned down? Because you sinned, that’s why. That’s the way these things always work.” (September 24)
- “A little tragedy now and then will make you a better person! Man was born to suffer!” (September 26)
This mix of anthropology, philosophy, and theological reflection is what elevates this strip above its contemporaries.
Schulz, Charles M. The Complete Peanuts 1965 to 1966. Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2010.
I’m glad that you continue working your way through The Complete Peanuts, and the volume above is of a particularly fine vintage. Of course, I was nine when the first strips of this volume appeared, so I might be biased. I have been fortunate to collect the first twenty volumes of this series, up to 1990, which you I see you have also reviewed. The strip is a treasure for millions.
On to other things, I had cause to briefly mention Wyndham’s “Consider Her Ways” on a Facebook page, The Science Fiction Book Club. It appears to be a favorite among the members, especially those from the UK. I found your blog years ago when searching for comment on the story, if you recall. Anyway, many of us on that page have pushed to make Triffids our monthly read, but it seems to fall just short. We’ll keep trying. I’ve yet to read a novel by Mr. Wyndham!
The May book on the Club page was _Children of Time_, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which won the Clarke Award a couple of years back. Perhaps you’ve read and reviewed it already; I’ll have to check. I immensely enjoyed the book, and think you might, too, though I know time is short and the book is 600 pages long. I found it a quick read, however, and satisfying through the end. It does in part deal with the theology, philosophies, and social structure of an uplifted species. The human characters are wooden, but I ignored that. And I enjoyed the British spelling and punctuation conventions. I don’t get out much!
If time and interest permits, we would love to have you on the page, though I don’t know if you do FB. We are a lively and international bunch. Our leader is a librarian from small-town Massachusetts. This month’s read is Bester’s, _The Stars My Destination_.
Be well. And thanks for reading.
Thanks for the comment, Steve. I only have so much time these days to enjoy Science Fiction. For what it’s worth, here’s a link to all the SF books I’ve read over the past ten years or so.
http://stephenbarkley.com/category/books/science-fiction-books/
Thanks for the link. Enjoy the summer.