Tournament of Books discussion

Quarterfinal Round 3: A Tale For The Time Being vs. The Tsar of Love and Techno judged by Heidi

I love tournament judgements that keep you guessing. I savor that moment, with my hand poised to cover the bottom of the screen, when I can come to the end and still not know which book a judge might favor. I wanted so badly to write one of those judgements, but I am not known for hiding my enthusiasm. I wonder as I write how quickly you’ll be able to guess my choice.

I came to this judgement with a rare opportunity: no foreknowledge. Before being assigned this matchup, I had never read anything by either Ruth Ozeki (though I have an oddly clear memory of someone reading A Tale for the Time Being next to me on an airplane) or Anthony Marra (I’m a relative newcomer to serious Tournament engagement). Because I could check it out immediately from my library, I started with A Tale for the Time Being.

I fell immediately in love with Nao, who reminded me of my dear Paloma from my old favorite The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Another longtime favorite, Atonement, also features a sad, but wise-beyond-her-age, writerly child protagonist, so perhaps there’s a theme to my taste. The book’s exploration of the development of ethics alongside technology (and particularly the technology of warfare) really got me. It was subtle in a way I wasn’t prepared for and tucked so neatly into the way we allow stories to frame our world. This world-framing storytelling is really at the core of what I love about fiction, highlighted when little drips of information about Nao’s father and great uncle changed moment-by-moment how I saw Nao and her grandmother. How Ruth’s reading changed how I saw her. I was, however, never lost in A Tale for the Time Being, and always a little cranky to go back to visit Ruth when I wanted to be with Nao.

Then, the Tsar. I want to tattoo great sections of this book onto my body. I want to read long passages aloud to everyone who comes near me. I want to paint leopards on my walls and make mixtapes and have a framed photo of a ballerina’s hand floating above a stage. I laughed and cried at the grieving family casting into the snow dishes their mother used to wash. There are so many powerful absurdities I felt to my bones—the elderly swimmers in the toxic lake, the astronomy museum in the polluted town, the herb garden planted on a mine-infested hill, the man surrounded by photo after photo of himself year after year.

I haven’t watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but I love the shot of Danny Devito’s character saying “Can I offer you a nice egg in this trying time?” To me, it sums up what it is like to be an artist in a pandemic on the brink of climate disaster and flooded by atrocity after atrocity. Being an artist is absurd. It’s spilling ink on history books and dancing a ballet in a prison camp. It offers a little nutrition, a bit of distraction, perhaps some comfort, or a challenge if done well. That’s what The Tsar of Love and Techno offered me. I want to cry even now thinking about our censor rehearsing then refusing his performance of confession. About his nephew crying to see his father’s face many decades later, painted into history. About a plastic and cardboard satellite carrying the last living human out into the cosmos. “If God has a voice, it is ours.”

There is very little subtle about The Tsar of Love and Techno, but it captured me fully. I knew I would choose it within the first few pages, and knew it through to the end. It’s doing something different, it made me laugh, it grew my heart and my mind, and frankly, it offered me a nice egg in this trying time.

I advance The Tsar of Love and Techno.

Maggie here with yet another Zombie Update. Today we say goodbye to A Tale for the Time Being which didn't get enough votes in the Zombie round to earn another chance in this tournament.

If the zombie round were held today, it would still be The Animators and Skippy Dies that won the most hearts, and the most votes.

"I want to tattoo great sections of this book onto my body."

Hmmm. I wonder if she's going to choose that book....

I get daily mail notifications from USPS, and I saw this morning that I'm getting a book, but couldn't remember which one - often there's a large gap of time between the ordering and the receiving. But right this moment, my memory was jogged. It's The Tsar! Now I'm more excited than ever!

Well written Heidi! This would have been another tough one for me since I love them both.

I'm fascinated that the Animators and Skippy Dies are still the top zombies. Huh.

Heidi wrote: “I wonder as I write how quickly you’ll be able to guess my choice.”

“I want to tattoo great sections of [Tsar] onto my body.” [Insert Leonardo Decaprio 'pointing' meme] This is when I knew.

I'm so pleased with the staying power of Animators!

Well, it looks like The Tsar found its perfect reader with Heidi. I think I read this book at the wrong time - it was too much misery for me at the time... and I know there was a lot of beauty there too. Now that they are side by side, the Tsar and Tale for the Time Being seem similar to me, in a way.

If Milkman can pull through tomorrow then my top 3 will still be alive (Tsar, Milkman, VC). Good little tourney this fall.

Gosh, Heidi, you're a writer! Your judgment was so engaging and well written, you really should do this for a living.

(And when am I possibly going to fit in another read of Tsar? Because obviously I need to find a way.)

Hurrah!!! It's been five years since I read The Tsar of Love and Techno, and it has had enormous staying power with me. Also, I never watched It's Always Sunny, so thank you for introducing me to the phrase "a nice egg in these trying times."

I'm sure the Time Being, which I also loved, lives on in some plane of time.

I can hardly contemplate the possibility of an Animators v. Stephen zombie round -- both books I didn't love and which illustrate for me the concept of a book for every reader.

Tim wrote: ""I want to tattoo great sections of this book onto my body."

Hmmm. I wonder if she's going to choose that book...."

Hahaha YES

It makes me want to reread everything by him again.

I'll never get a tattoo, but if I were going to get one it would be of the cassette Anthony Marra drew on my copy of Tsar when he autographed it for me. Such a great book.

I thought Tale was fantastic, and don't remember much from my audiobook listen of Tsar a few years ago... BUT!! Heidi's judgment here brought me great joy. I love when judges have this type of enthusiasm in describing a book and why they're picking it to move forward. So fun to read! I don't often prioritize re-reads over reading new books, but Heidi's comments about Tsar have me moving it up my TBR mountain.

Kip wrote: "If Milkman can pull through tomorrow then my top 3 will still be alive (Tsar, Milkman, VC). Good little tourney this fall."

Me, too. These are my 3 top favorites.

(I don't recall voting on zombies! so ... not sure about those. I liked The Animators better than Skippy, just sayin'.)

Elizabeth wrote: "Gosh, Heidi, you're a writer! Your judgment was so engaging and well written, you really should do this for a living.

(And when am I possibly going to fit in another read of Tsar? Because obviousl..."

Seriously! Agreed on both points here. :)

What a fun verdict to read! What a great tournament we are having.

Great judgement Heidi! I want to tattoo swaths of it onto my torso, or perhaps my lower back, but then that wouldn't be entirely fair to A Tale, as I haven't read it yet.

Loved the audiobook of Tsar, and need to experience the print version when I get a chance. So much rich language in there. Characters to go crazy for, and with.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments! I was honored to participate in this tournament and had such fun reading both books and writing this judgement. Huge cheers to Maggie for the yeoman’s work of organizing. Can’t wait to read the next rounds!

Side note: I tried the audiobook of Tsar, but the accent put me off (and I love audiobooks) so if you haven’t tried it in print, I do recommend!

(As it so happens, I am a bit of a professional writer! Playwright, though early-career. My American debut is happening this winter. Wahoo!)

Heidi wrote: "As it so happens, I am a bit of a professional writer! Playwright, though early-career. My American debut is happening this winter. Wahoo!"

Congrats! That's really cool.

Heidi wrote: "Thanks everyone for your kind comments! I was honored to participate in this tournament and had such fun reading both books and writing this judgement. Huge cheers to Maggie for the yeoman’s work o..."

Very exciting - congratulations!

I probably would have advanced Tale as I struggled with the absurdism in Tsar (that's on me--absurdism rarely works for me) but can't argue with the judgment at all. It's great that an egg for these trying times advances!