Sarah Vowell: still trying to decide how I feel.

Sarah Vowell is one of those authors I respect but I don't particularly love. If I'm being completely honest, I'd say I'm pretty neutral about her. Our relationship, if you can call it that, is this: I always put her new books on hold at the library, but I never say, "Yippee!" when they come in for me. I don't know why this is.

Her latest, The Wordy Shipmates, is a case in point. I picked it up at the library and decided a few days later to peruse it while I made supper. (Are you starting to see why I burn a lot of suppers and have a very messy stove?) And really, I thought, this might be the Vowell book that tips me from respecting her books into loving them. It's a popular history of the Puritans who settled in Massachusetts after 1630 (Vowell points out these Puritans aren't as well known as their Mayflower compatriots, who arrived roughly a decade earlier), their political and religious beliefs, and most particularly the individuals who dreamed of keeping political influence out of their church and founding a "city on the hill"--most notably, two men named John Winthrop (Massachusetts Bay Colony governor) and Roger Williams (one of Rhode Island's founders).

For the first forty pages or so, she totally had me. The history's interesting and the writing's snappy. Consider her opening line:

"The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don't mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed."

And it continues:

"Here we arrive at the reason why this here tale of American Puritans is more concerned with the ones shipping off from Southampton for Massachusetts in the Arbella in 1630 than with the Pilgrims who sailed from Southampton toward Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620: because the Plymouth colonists were Separatists and the Massachusetts Bay colonists were not.

Before I explain that, I will say that the theological differences between the Puritans on the Mayflower and the Puritans on the Arbella are beyond small. Try negligible to the point of nitpicky. I will also say that readers who squirm at microscopic theological differences might be unsuited to read a book about seventeenth-century Christians."

That's good writing. She's funny. She's smart. And I love, for the most part, where most of her logic ends up (as in the case where she deduces that preemptive wars to "spread democracy" all started when Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, thereby causing the Church of Rome/Church of England split, thereby encouraging the Pilgrims to settle in America, etc.). But, as much as I loved the first fifty pages, by the time I made it to page 100, I was ready to be done. Isn't that weird? It happens to me EVERY TIME I read a Sarah Vowell book.

I do have a couple of thoughts on why this might be. For one, there's no chapters in this book, just section breaks, and I like chapters. Preferably short chapters, so I can really feel like I'm getting somewhere. I need a good chapter ending, for one thing, to feel good about putting the book down. Without chapters I'm adrift. Secondly, as much as I like the writing, it always seems to me that Vowell needs some larger organizing principle. Her text always feels a bit rambling to me; like I'm not sure where we're going or how we're getting there.* And third? I've never been all that interested in American history, which is the territory Vowell usually covers. I did perk up a bit when she started talking about the Magna Carta, a copy of which, by the way, was the document I most enjoyed seeing when I visited Washington D.C.**

But overall, it was still a good read. I'll definitely get her next book too. But I'm still kind of hoping it has chapters.

*The only part of high school education I really enjoyed was writing five-paragraph essays. I LOVE five-paragraph essays. Introduction with theme statement, three supporting paragraphs, conclusion. Form following function. Beautiful.

**I know. I'm a terrible American. I've been told.

Comments

[Brian]

I like Vowell a bit more than you do as a rule, judging from this post. I thought she improved so much from the lackluster Take the Cannoli, in which only the first essay worked, to Assassination Vacation, which I thought worked quite while beginning to end. But you nailed Wordy Shipmates right smack on the head. And I think I reached the same conclusion at the same point, around page 100 when I once again went looking for a break from her rambling, a new chapter, and still could not find one. It was a useful editorial exercise for me, but as a reader it was a bit torturous.

[Citizen Reader]

Brian,
I've found, interestingly enough, many more male fans of Sarah Vowell than female fans. Either I just know more guys that I talk about books with, or maybe her fans skew male. I wonder if that's true, and why it would be. The history connection?

Either way, I do like her, I just don't love her. And I'm rather glad you had the same reaction; I had no idea I was such a slave to the chapter format. Good to know I'm not the only one looking for those chapter breaks!

[Tripp]

I have some friends who try to get me to read Vowell, but I have resisted for some reason. It isn't the history thing, as my interest in US history has increased in recent years. The rambling you describe isn't very appealing.

[J.S. Peyton]

I wouldn't say that I love Sarah Vowell, but I really enjoyed "Assassination Vacation." I'm reading "Partly Cloudy Patriot" right now, but I'm having a hard time getting into it for some reason. There are chapter breaks so that can't be it. = ) Anyways, I'd still like to read "The Wordy Shipmates." I'll probably wait for the paperback, though.

[Citizen Reader]

Tripp,
Well, add me to the list of people trying to get you to read Vowell. After all, it's a short book and it tells a not very widely explored story of American history. And, I'd totally be interested to hear what you have to say about it! (I can, after all, forgive rambling when it clocks in at under 250 pages--unlike most modern literary fiction, which seems to be coming in at 500 to 600 pages of rambling. Bleah!)

[Melanie]

Any American who loves a five-paragraph essay is a Good American to me.

[Citizen Reader]

J.S.,
Well, if you feel like you can articulate what's not doing it for you about "Partly Cloudy Patriot," let me know. That was another one I tried, and enjoyed for a while, but couldn't finish. Weird. I will want to hear what you think of this one too.

[Citizen Reader]

Melanie,
Five-paragraph essays forever! Solidarity, American sister.

[nancy]

Isn't it odd about you and American history - I'm a Canadian, and quite frankly, Canadian history bores me. I'm not all that interested in North/South American history either. For some reason I'm very Eurocentric

[Kiki]

I listened to it with my kids in the car--she reads her own book, and she is a great character voice (I think she was in The Incredibles movie)--think Saturday night live history lesson! Listening to that lead me to other Vowell books--she is a bit liberal though! I like that, but I can see it possibly turning off some other readers.

[maggie]

Stopped at page 34 ~ Blah! I was looking forward to it, too.

[Care]

I will have to attempt a Vowell book. Call me a newbie.

[Citizen Reader]

Nancy,
Maybe it's not so odd. We focused almost exclusively on American history in school--and not very good history at that; I was nearly graduated from college before I heard that we'd lost the Vietnam War--so I'm probably still rebelling against that. If you're Eurocentric, could you recommend a good basic book on French history or something about the Revolution? I am completely blank on French history knowledge. Thanks in advance!

[Citizen Reader]

Kiki,
Hmm, listening to Sarah Vowell. I never thought of that because I'm not much of an NPR listener (she's an editor for This American Life, I think). But maybe I'll have to try one of her books on tape. The format might work better with her style. Thanks for the tip!

Maggie,
Oh, sorry to hear it. Did you like her other books?

Care:
Do stop back in and let us know what you think, would you, if you read a Vowell?

[Sarah]

I'm a HUGE Sarah Vowell fan and I have to agree with Kiki, listening to Sarah read her work is a great experience. Her dry wit and deadpan deliveries are spot on.

Listening to her books has really spoiled me. I have The Wordy Shipmates on my nightstand with the bookmark just a few dozen pages in because I'm really holding out for my library to buy the audio book. It's just a lot more entertaining to listen to her.

I will cross my fingers and hope my third request for the audio book comes through.

[The Laundress]

Well, I am less than tepid about READING Sarah Vowell -- but her weird, squeaking, nasal voice TOTALLY fascinates me. Listen to her! You need to give her books a second chance on audio -- she IS funny and oddly observant and pithy. Just hard to read.

[Citizen Reader]

Sarah, Laundress,
I HAVE heard Vowell talk and know she's got a unique (Laundress: I like the adjective "squeaking") voice, so I do think I'm going to have to try one of hers on tape. Interesting how the talking doesn't translate so well to her writing.

[Rick Roche]

I too listen to Vowell read Wordy Shipmates. You would never know she was reading. I felt she was talking to me - rattling on, which probably works better as speech than text for most people.

I just love that someone named Vowell is interested in Wordy people.