When I first started reading Mumbo Jumbo I immediately thought “What the hell is going on”. The novel starts out rather jarringly with strange, made up words, common grammatical errors, and seemingly random illustrations that don’t relate to the text in which it is placed next to. All this combines to confuse the reader upon first laying eyes on the text.
In addition, Ishmael Reed introduces a rare (in the context of novels) but not unfairly structure in the “opening scene” by placing the title page, publishing information, etc. in between the first and second chapters. We discussed this in class and it gives the book an almost cinematic feel yet there seems to be a few distinct differences that make it more appropriate in films than in books. For one, while watching a film in a theatre setting, the viewer is forced to sit through the credits regardless and if one were to watch it in a home with access to fast forward, the initial scene may catch the viewer's attention enough to start watching at which point the viewer may be too cozy to be bothered to reach for the remote in order to skip the couple minutes of credits. Meanwhile, who reads the title page in a book? No one. And even with the structure of Mumbo Jumbo I’d assume readers would simply skip past it as usual. In fact, it is so uncommon for chapter one to be before the title page that it may lead the reader to not realize the existence of chapter one all together. It was brought up that part of the reason the title page, etc. are always placed before the start of the book is because it is the way things have been done forever. It’s true that traditionally this has been the case but it appears to me that this placement/order occurred due to increased intuitiveness for the reader.
While recovering from my initial shock, I, as a result of discussions, started to notice a deeper meaning apart from the seemingly nonsensical narrative on the surface. It was brought up that Jes Grew, a made up “anti-plague”, sounds very similar to “just grew” and may refer to the spread of jazz (also supported by the fact that Jes Grew originated from New Orleans) which some may have viewed in a similar way one would view a plague. The book even references an earlier occurrence of Jes Grew which happens to occur in the same era as that of ragtime, leading to further evidence that Jes Grew is hinting at the spread of genres of music with origins in African-American culture. While on the surface the book seemed ridiculous, as I read through more of it and got past the initial shock, it’s starting to make more sense to me. Poking around online, I found that Harold Bloom, a literary critic and professor at Yale University, stated that the novel was one of the 500 most important books in the Western canon (“The Western canon is the body of books and, more broadly, music and art that Western scholars generally accept as the most important and influential in shaping Western culture”). I think it’ll be interesting to see why Bloom puts Mumbo Jumbo up on a pedestal.
I had a very similar experience when first reading Mumbo Jumbo. The complete lack of context or explanation of anything that was going on made the book very hard to grasp onto at first. Hopefully in the next few chapters the pieces will start to come together. Regardless, what Reed has created is definitely an acquired taste and I'm not sure I will be able to fully appreciate Mumbo Jumbo the first time around.
ReplyDeleteI'm also more inclined to think that Reed placed the title page after the first chapter not for cinematic purposes, but in a joking or cynical manner. To me, Mumbo Jumbo is all about undermining the established ways of writing a novel, whether that be through bold text, strange images, or placing the all-important title page in a place where it has been removed from its useful context.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though the initial impression that Reed gives the reader is meant to jarring, but when you get into the book, most of the text isn't incredibly hard to decipher. Reed probably wants to annoy pr play with people by using his very "free" writing style, but I think it is important to see how the style shapes our impression of the book in general even though we haven't really scratched the surface of it.
ReplyDeleteMumbo Jumbo is indeed a confusing book and difficult to grasp/comprehend. In class, we discussed the possibly that all the typos in the book were unintentional. I find that hard to believe since the book was published by a reputable company and was probably edited many times by capable individuals. Reed was definitely trying to make a point with all the typos and by putting the title page between the first two chapters.
ReplyDeleteThe first paragraph lived up exactly to the standards of Mumbo Jumbo, but after that, the text became more readable and I started to appreciate the way Ishmael Reed added each new piece of information before starting a plot sequence. Maybe Mumbo Jumbo isn't so bad after all. Of course, it still has its difficult sections, like those that require extra interpretation. But it can be a compelling read if you take it that way.
ReplyDeleteMy initial thoughts about chapter 1 being before the credits was that it seemed to mimic Quentin Tarantino's most recent film, The Hateful 8 (or maybe The Hateful 8 mimicked it, which is more probable). In The Hateful 8, the opening sequence of 5 minutes of a horse-drawn carriage slowly making its way through snow helped set the scene of 'its cold as shit' and to prepare the viewer to be looking out for very minute details. I want to assume that the opening chapter of Mumbo Jumbo is meant to jar the reader, yet prepare them for what is to come. It forces them to read the rest of the book with far more scrutiny, as we expect the text to be just and confusing.
ReplyDeleteAs the novel's themes unfold, it certainly is striking the Bloom--often seen as a kind of self-appointed guardian of the Western Canon (as you note)--would list _MJ_ as one of his important books of the century. I happen to agree, but there's certainly an irony in a book that directly attacks the Western Canon being now included in that very canon. Within the novel itself, Reed will depict such "praise" from Atonist forces as one of the surest ways to defuse and nullify a potentially potent bit of Jes Grew literature.
ReplyDeleteSo has the canon changed, or has Reed been co-opted?