The Alien Corn by Somerset Maugham – one of my two favorite writers, author of A Casual Affair https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-casual-affair-by-somerset-maugham-one.html and other marvelous works - 10 out of 10

The Alien Corn by Somerset Maugham – one of my two favorite writers, author of A Casual Affair https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-casual-affair-by-somerset-maugham-one.html and other marvelous works

 

10 out of 10

 

The Alien Corn is not just a wonderful short story, it is also poignant, and can help us understand some of what is happening today, what with all the Gaza war, the horrendous attacks of October 7 2023, and the response from the Israeli army, a war that is still going on right now, with reverberations around the world…

 

Trying to summarize, we have a Jewish man, George Bland, at the center of the narrative, a determined, impressive young artist, who wants to become a first-rate pianist, and for that he is willing to sacrifice everything, he was born very wealthy, and destined to manage the business of his father, or be a parliamentarian

He refuses that privilege – maybe a spoiler alert would be needed here, I hesitate because it often feels preposterous to warn the audience, because that seems to presume there is somebody reading beyond the first, or second line, and they are so damn interested in what you say that they may decide to take the book

 

George travels to Germany to work to become a great pianist, abandoning luxury – as always, there is exquisite humor, Somerset Maugham writes about the aspirations of the father, who wants to live in the countryside, a dream that is only achieved if one has a lot of money, gained from investing in American stocks…

The family does not want George to become an artist, they wish he works in finance (if I am not making this up) or have a career in diplomacy, something worthy of the aristocracy, to which they now belong – they have reneged their roots, they do not want to have anything to do with Hebrew tradition, well, not to have others see it anyway

 

They threaten to cut George off from his allowance, if he insists on refusing to be what the family wants, they are not Jewish anymore, not in decorum, connections, adopted habits, they are English, and they refuse to support the would-be musician in Germany, and he says this is fine, and asks for a loan form a relative

Then they try to compromise, if he does respect some conditions, then he will get support, say he studies for a couple of years, and then maybe change, and eventually (second spoiler alert, if one was indeed needed) he agrees to have a prominent musician listen to his performance, if he has a future, fine, if not, well…

Alas, it all ends in disaster, and one of the fabulous aspects of Somerset Maugham’s magnum opera is that he does not lie to you, the reader, you do not have the ‘they married and live happily for ever after’, reality is most often gruesome, and in this case, the protagonist works hard, has skills, is passionate, but that is not everything

 

Outliers https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/05/outliers-by-malcolm-gladwell.html is a psychology classic by Malcolm Gladwell – himself a Magister Ludi – in which we have the formula of ten thousand hours of work, practice, over ten years, which means three hours of work every day, and then you can get to the top of the world

In a way, it looks as if Alien Corn contradicts that, for the resilient, hard-working George does ten hours, not just three daily, but there is also the element of talent, physique, the expert would tell him to look at his hands, those seem to be not suited for that ‘profession’, or calling and then the narrator thinks the hands do not coordinate

 

It would have helped George Bland if he had the chance to listen to the lectures of Harvard Professor Tal Ben Shahar https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/08/happier-by-tal-ben-shahar-revolutionary.html or read one of his books, because he would learn about calling, how important it is to find it, and there is a formula…

Yes, George has the passion, knows what he wants, but we need to think of three groups, one of the things we like to do, the second the ones we are good at, and the last the things that have meaning for us, and where they intersect, this is where we have our garden of Eden, the activities that we should be doing for work

 

Studies have looked at various places, and it seems that one third of workers are in it for the money, another third wants to climb up, and the last is there because that is their calling, and the latter would bring happiness, a janitor in a hospital will be merrier than a doctor, when the former is pursuing his calling, and the latter just wants money

Flow would be within reach for those who choose to work at something they enjoy, are good at and has meaning for them, this is also the title of another classic of psychology https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/flow-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-this-is.html which gives you the conditions…

 

One is in control, nothing else matters, it is an autotelic activity, goas are clear and meaningful, time becomes relative, feedback is constant and instantaneous, and skills meet challenges, you do not want to be bored by something that does not demand much, if anything from you, and an overwhelming task is also to be avoided

Unfortunately, Geroge Bland does not fulfil the conditions for flow, or to make piano playing his career, not ‘in a thousand years’ is the tragic verdict and he cannot take this, he is too absorbed, dedicated to his dream to throw it away, so he kills himself

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”