Television (Shueisha Bunko) (2003) ISBN: 4087604098 [Japanese Import]

This is an amusing novella about a man on a sabbatical in Berlin, hoping to work on his "monograph" about Titan, who gives up watching television. The book demonstrates the pervasiveness of television in society. A wry glimpse into an everyday, mundane, and delightfully humorous life, which is unrecognized by the narrator. Delightful if a bit frothy.

This book is a lot of fun to read, and the English translation, while I can't vouch for faithfulness to the original, is very good. If anything, a translation enhances the sense of seeing the story through a telescopic lens, as we are, as is the narrator himself. His musings on how television is the enemy of thought are a delight, while at the same time his obsession with television never ends. Many other parts are laugh out loud funny. Less than 200 pages, not too much heavy lifting. Of course we never hear about that Titian paper, whether it's completed, but that's ok.

Imagine: you are on sabbatical in Berlin, expecting to begin work on a monograph about the painter Titian. Your family is away on holiday. You've had it with television, and you've decided to give it up. But television is everywhere, as are its cousins: video monitors, surveillance cameras, etc. Such is the premise of this novel, Television, by Jean-Philippe Toussaint. Like Toussaint's novels _Monsieur_ and _The Bathroom_, Television is about a rather pathetic everyman-sort of protagonist. He gives up television (or so we think?). He can't begin to get past the first two words of his Titian monograph. He hangs out with his friend John Dory. He visits an art museum. He swims at a nude beach. John Dory and the protagonist take an airplane ride over the city. His neighbors are away on holiday, and they would like him to water their houseplants. He can't quite remember to do that. Ostensibly on a plant-watering trip, he watches television in their home, and rationalizes that he never meant to give it up completely (what if the Olympic 100M dash were televised, and he wished to watch that 10 seconds of broadcast? should he deny himself that? a measly 10 seconds?). Toussaint's protagonist seems very likeable, very anti-heroic, and very human: warts, foibles, and all. The musings on television (as passive entertainment, as constant companion, as whatever) are not tiresome at all. They are a welcome complement to the plot, such as it is. Among Toussaint's special gifts is a reserve, a distance that he places between himself and the actions of his characters and scenes. At the same time, the minutiae of those scenes are vividly realized. _Television_ is very funny, and it is quite well written. Toussaint has become one of my favorite novelists. Highly recommended.