The Sleeping Soldier

[asakiyume]

I've been daunted by the idea of trying to do justice to Aster Glenn Gray's The Sleeping Soldier here on Dreamwidth. Somehow I did manage, finally, to say a few things on Goodreads, but when I think about writing a DW post, I think about saying more, or making it more personal, or something. And then I wilt. And that's a shame, because I love this book. All of AGG's books are fun, thoughtful tales, but this one really nails a central theme of hers, which is what friendship means or has meant for people at different points in time, and what romantic love means, and what sexual attraction is and how that fits in.

The scenario is that Russell, a young Civil War soldier, was cursed, Sleeping Beauty style, by a fairy, and has now awakened 100 years in his future, in 1965, where he's guided through his new life by Caleb, a miserably closeted gay college student. The story has plenty of the fun you'd expect from that setup, as Russell encounters the wonders of life in 1965--and also enlightens the college crowd about which things were, in fact, present in 1865 ("I know what ketchup is," he says haughtily at one point). But it also probes the grief and loss that would go with waking up 100 years in the future, and touches on how we understand history--or don't:

Caleb nodded. "It's hard for people to let go of their preconceived notions [about the past]."

"They don't really want my opinion on anything," Russell griped. "They just want to draft the whole nineteenth century into supporting what they think. As if we all agreed with each other! We had this whole Civil War, you might could remember."

And then there's that theme of friendship and romantic love, and what's appropriate to express and what's considered by society to be deviant at any given time. I knew some of this, but not much, and very little about how same-sex attraction has been understood. In fact, what little I know is mainly thanks to AGG's earlier stories. I'm humbled to say that her writing in this book made me understand the situation of a gay friend of mine (Caleb's contemporary) in new ways. On that note, I really love the character Michael in this story. What a good and patient friend.

I came across this in someone's Goodreads review of the book:

I felt sad because I honestly never knew how it was in the past (men being open with their affection to each other).

And this, from an Amazon reviewer:

I came out in my teens, in the Midwest in the mid-70s, and the novel captures that sense of isolation and self-discovery: reading The Charioteer, Giovanni’s Room etc. anything with gay characters while feeling like you’re the only gay person in the world and trying to figure out how you’ll make a life. I never would have expected this book to capture the profundity and comedy of this forgotten world so well.

Those comments say so eloquently what's important and special about this book.

... But past-meets-nearer-past moments were also great, honestly. I enjoyed the explanations of things like hot dogs ("Hot dogs are... um. A kind of sausage") and Russell's encounters with items such as escalators a whole lot too.

Comments

[athenais]

Well that sounds really good, and also sad. I used to think time travel would be so wonderful, but how dreadful to wake up 100 years in the past or the future and know that everyone in your known life was not yet born or dead long since.

[asakiyume]

It *is* sad! I will quickly add, though, that the overall feel of the book isn't at all sad.** Russell is a buoyant, lovable guy.

**okay, maybe a little sad.

[athenais]

I like certain kinds of sadness, so that doesn't put me off at all.

[oracne]

I'm looking forward to reading this one!

[asakiyume]

You have a treat in store for you!

[raven]

Oh I've been meaning to get this one! It sounds wonderful, thank you for the reminder.

[asakiyume]

My pleasure!

[rimturse]

*nods* Novels like this add depth to human nature, perception, and shows how individuality is always a factor to be considered. I think we're often way too eager to shove people in boxes, or mirror our experiences and perception of the world (and in this case also history) onto others and advertently or inadvertenly invalidate theirs.

I also recently came across a hot dog / escalator YouTube video, where I realized something I'd never given a second thought, wasn't actually common knowledge to everyone in the Western world, and how many interactions are dictated by learned, cultural behaviour.

[asakiyume]

Absolutely: characters often carry extra weight; they're supposed to stand in for all... whatever: all college students in 1965, or all closeted gay people, or even all young men from the 1860s. What's been crazy in my own life is when I've caught myself being surprised because a real live person didn't conform to some expectation I had based on some identity they had. What??? I myself have preconceptions??

[rimturse]

Exactly. I'm someone who gets erroneously stereotyped a lot, but I've also had to shift some preconceptions of my own, especially when I was younger. Not so much now that I'm older and wiser, and have access to the internet, but it's still something I try to be aware of.