Rikki Ducornet

Extravagant!
Like Nabokov, Rikki Ducornet delights in the use of vibrant language. Unlike Nabokov, she has been hiding in plain sight for years. I had to ask myself why I haven't read her work before. What took me so long?

Segments of this novel reminded me of the work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (Especially the use of inventions as a source of wonder, i. e. the juxtaposition of science and magic). The world the author invents is full of surprise and delight, myths and images that linger in the show more mind. The atmosphere is masterfully conjured and book is short and poetic: as digestible as one of Marquez's shorter works. Its characters exist in a mystic alternate reality, where Jonathan Swift existed, but the trappings of the every day world have fallen away. Like Gulliver's Travels, this book engages the reader's imagination in a discussion of the outer limits of animal and botanical diversity, presenting us with variance and variety until our senses are awash. At the same time it hints with a subtle comment or two that society's strictures and mankind's foolish confidence are not as foolproof as we might imagine.

This book is more about texture, language, imagery, symbols and theme than it is about character. The caricatures within it are more vehicles for the colors and erotic underpinnings than typical people. Ducornet casts the spell of an enchantress with her intense evocations of island life, and I wanted the book to go on longer. Luckily, her other works are supposedly a treasure trove of similar delectations.

Lush imagery, man versus the animal kingdom, man versus man, historical aura, and finally, shamelessness!

Read something different for once, try out this novel! show less

The Plotinus is the first of Coffee House Press's NVLA series, which consists of novellas that "challenge and broaden the outer edges of storytelling." I knew, going in, that I would probably be very confused reading this, and I was right! I didn't even enjoy it for the first half, and I even considered DNF'ing it, but then somehow I got the hang of it—the story or the writing style or both—and the whole thing became so profound.

Content warnings:
- homophobia
- (what I guess could be read show more as, but I don't honestly think is) bestiality

Representation:
- I think this is inspired by Egypt?

On the surface, the book is about a young man who's arrested for going outside with his "knobby stick" by a robot called the plotinus and thrown into a cell where, as he awaits death, he tells his story in code by knocking on the air vent. As he grows more gaunt and malnourished, he discovers true beauty and almost religious-like ecstasy in the sight of the hornets who build a nest in the upper corner of his cell.

The story seems to take place in the far future, when robots have successfully staged their uprising over humanity and the less wealthy humans that haven't colonized Mars are either trapped in their houses or left to die in prisons. But things are left very open, very vague and I think personal interpretations go a long way.

By the end, I already found this to be very moving and deep. It's kind of the prime example of "show, don't tell." But then I realized that the title never tripped my note app's spellcheck, which got me curious. I searched "plotinus" and went down an enormous rabbit hole upon learning that there was a lot more to this story than I first thought. It stands on its own (and I was going to rate it five stars as it was!), but the additional background knowledge took everything to a completely new level.

"Plotinus" was actually a Greek philosopher from Roman Egypt (204-270 CE) who is thought of today as the founder of Neoplatonism, philosophy very influential during late antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. His three fundamental principles include the One, the Intellect, and the Soul.

The One is a supreme, transcendent one, "prior to all existents," and Plotinus identifies this One with the principal of "Beauty" (Beauty being the narrator's lover in the novella as well as something associated with the hornet he's fascinated by). Plotinus also compares the One to light and the sun, and compares the Soul to the moon, whose light is merely a reflection of the sun. I wish I still had the book from the library, so that I could read it again paying much closer attention to the way the narrator remarks on the sunlight and moonlight that seeps into his cell from his one window. I think so many elements of this tiny novella could produce a number of essays of equal or longer pages (like Eros and sensuality/sexuality). This author is so intelligent, it boggles my mind!

But I'm not done, because the rabbit hole I went down that night was very, very deep.

Plotinus also wrote about true human happiness, which is beyond anything physical: "the human who has achieved happiness will not be bothered by sickness, discomfort, etc., as his focus is on the greatest things." He describes this as "henosis", unity with the One, and a state of tabula rasa. Looking back at the novella, this is very similar to what the narrator feels at the very ending when he looks upon the hornets.

This isn't a very long read (honestly, reading about the historical Plotinus will take longer), but the experience is incredibly meaningful. There's so many layers and ways to enjoy this story, I have no idea how Rikki Ducornet was able to craft this. I have to read what else she's written! show less

A Goodreads friend highly recommended Rikki Ducornet’s novel, The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition. Having never previously read Ducornet’s works, I find that she writes very luscious, provocative prose, which seems especially fitting as the subtitle of the book is A Novel of the Marquis de Sade. Partly, it’s a historical fiction novel based around a fan-maker (of scandalous fans, writings, friendships, & liasions) being tried during the Reign of Terror while also weaving a tale of an earlier show more reign of terror, that of Bishop Landa’s Inquisition & autos-da-fé of Mayans in the 1500s. Ducornet excels with her alternating transcripts of the court proceedings, personal letters, and various documents used to tell the overlapping stories. Her skillful hand exposes the irony, hypocrisy, and zealotry that drive humans to various extremes – acts from destroying different cultures, destroying individuals, destroying minds – whether done by groups or people on the outside or whether the decay begins from within. It takes an adroit author to create simultaneous plotlines that cover different time periods, while entwining the similar threads of the undoing of both men & civilizations. We certainly repeat the past, don’t we?

{Note: Some spoilers ahead…}

I especially liked Ducornet’s parallels between Bishop Landa’s destruction of Mayan books/knowledge & the Reign of Terror’s destruction of materials deemed inappropriate. Censorship & fanaticism are timeless topics & this book gave a somewhat lesser-known historical look at topics that still haunt us today. (Looking up Bishop Landa, I found irony in the fact that while he destroyed so much knowledge, he also was one of the most knowledgeable about Mayan learning & his notes & information are still being used today to help decipher the Mayan language.) These are not the only parallels that shine through the text; the topics may be rooted in the past yet are so relevant to each other as well as to today.

On a small side note, I enjoyed the fan-maker descriptions because fans had prominence in a different book (The Stockholm Octavo) I read earlier this year. And, the Marquis also figured in another historical fiction I read set during the French Revolution, Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution. Certainly, the Marquis de Sade is a notorious figure, but after reading so much about the Reign of Terror, I imagine it must have been an incredible feat for anyone to stay sane during those times, especially if imprisoned for years, some of the time within seeing/hearing distance of the guillotine during its daily use surrounded by baying crowds.

{End of spoilers.}

Historical fiction that’s both exquisite & sharp, while pointing out issues that plague society today, especially if you’re concerned with freedom of speech/expression & censorship – what more can you ask for in a novel? The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition provides some savory fodder for discussions & pondering -- & perhaps the dream of learning & growing from our past. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

"What are books but tangible dreams? What is reading if it is not dreaming? The best books cause us to dream; the rest are not worth reading." – Rikki Ducornet, The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition show less

Here is what I wonder on my worst days: If the guillotine exemplifies Nature--perpetual, blind, deadly, inescapable-- and if Man is Her servant, and the Revolution too, then there is no hope. Then would I, and gladly, see the universe perish.

My humble gratitude extends to Samadrita. This was such a welcome detour. The Fan-Maker's Inquisition wrestles with moral hypocrisy. How sound that is in these uneven times. My best friend was recently interviewed on Al-Jazeera about the Charlie Hebdo show more tragedy. It was a very polite interview and I sat champing, hoping that mention would be made of satire from Sade to Godard. It didn't occur.

Ducornet's novel alternates between the caustic and the sumptuous and remains truly remarkable. The novel is a pastiche of sorts, encompassing court proceedings, personal letters, dreams and a fantastic book of the imagination. show less