Cynicism is not cool

Just finished a book called Pynt by a Norwegian novelist Torgrim Eggen. The novel has got a lot of media attention for its witty way of describing the vain and superficial life of an interior designer. And I have to admit, I enjoyed parts of it. Beauty is in the details as the leading character Sigbjörn Lunde says. Eggen writes page after page about Mies van den Rohe, Alvar Aalto, about people who have no taste or people who buy one Alessi product as a statement of their good taste. In a way, highly amusing. And highly recognisable. A lot of the examples he gives can be found from my surroundings.

But then the same thing happens as in the novel and film The Talented Mr. Ripley. The absurdity is taken over the top, cynicism and coldness takes the lead and at least I lose my interest. I thought The Talented Mr. Ripley was a fabulous caricature of the life of rich and careless until the murder comes in. Without giving out too much of Eggen's book, I have to say that when the drama takes over from the details, I realise that this is once again an attempt to replicate Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho.

It is not really Eggen's book that irritates me. It is its attitude that is very common for social scientists, journalists and "postmodern" novelists. It is the pessimism for the future, the cynical attitude to the events and people around us and the lack of warmth. It is this "why show emotions when everything is going down the drain any way" sort of thinking. Why, oh why? I see myself going over and over again back to Charles Leadbeater's book Up the Down Escalator - Why The Global Pessimists Are Wrong. Even if Leadbeater simplifies the recent progress on our planet heavily, he still takes the effort to try and see things differently. As he puts it, pessimism really does not make you want to become active and change things for the better.

I see myself repeating the same quotes over and over again. A finnish rock/pop musician Maija Vilkkumaa said wisely in a discussion about enlightenment in December 2003:"I at times feel that in order to seem intelligent in today's society, you have to be cynical." I recognise that, especially from journalism. And I catch myself at times spreading that disease although I am trying actively to work against it.

For that reason it is inspiring to find people with a different voice and tone. I listened to Rufus Wainwright's music for the first time last year and been addicted to it since then. He definitely is worth checking. His voice, lyrics and compositions speak in a sincere and even vulnerable style that is really difficult to find. Although he speaks quite often of losses and disappointments, I still feel that there is a hopeful approach to our world beneath that. I find that really respectable.