By K.L. Going.
Copyright 2005 by K.L. Going.
Published by Scholastic Inc. New York.
1st Edition by Scholastic 2008.
Young people books are rarely on the same level of sophistication of an adult book, so it's rare the juvenile book that can compete with the adult book for quality and transcend it's kin. So don't let the 2 star rating steer you away from the book. It's really quite good. Remember that 2 stars (if you look at my opening posting for this blog, it has the definitions of the ratings there) means pretty good on an adult standard.
It brings up a couple of interesting topics such as bullying, racism, friendship and loyalty. These topics are presented in a pretty obvious manner but the presentation is good enough.
The story is about two friends who live in the deep south (Georgia?) in the summer of 1976. So it's (recent) historical fiction. The two friends are Frita Wilson, the daughter of an African American preacher and Gabriel King, the son of a working poor white family. Frita is brave and athletic. Gabriel is small and afraid of everything. He gets bullied a lot. Frita tries to protect him.
It's summer before they enter fifth grade and Gabe does not want to advance because he is afraid of the two main bullies, Duke Evans and Frankie Carmen. After one especially cruel incidence of bullying, Frita goes to Duke Evans and punches him in the nose and a fight ensues. After breaking it up, the father of Duke scolds his son... for getting beat by a N..... girl.
Gabriel was still afraid of near everything. I found this part a little hard too believe - he was afraid of EVERYTHING! Frita came up with a plan. Gabe would make a list of everything he was afraid of and through out the summer, and before they entered the fifth grade, they would scratch off as many items on the list by trying to do each thing on the list so they would not be afraid anymore.
There was one humorous scene in which Frita asked if he was done with his list, but Gabe wasn't because he kept adding things to his list. There was another scene that struck me as very true. One of the fears that Gabe had was swinging off the rope in the local swimming hole. Frita made him do it. After that, he loved swinging off that rope. It reminded me of my daughters when they are afraid of something, One time on a water slide, Georgia my younger daughter, was afraid. But after she went once, I couldn't stop her from going for the rest of the day.
Eventually Frita came up with her own list, which was much shorter than Gabe's. One of her fears was of the bully Duke's father. In an effort to face her fear, she approached him to apologize for the fight. The author doesn't tell the reader what the father says, but she leaves the group of men very rattled.
There are some nice things in this book. Not too many books are set in the 70's very often, especially kids books. The 70's was an interesting era and I think that the author shows the feeling of the decade by describing the thoughts of one of the characters ( i forget which) when that character says or thinks about the racist remark that "this type of thing is very surprising to occur in this day and age." But is it really? I mean we are talking about less than a decade from the major period of civil rights. I would guess that it occurred all the time. Heck, racism even occurs today more than 30 years later, albeit less frequently and in much subtler ways..
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The Remains of the Day ***1/2
By Kazuo Ishiguro.
Copyright 1988 by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Published by Vintage International Books, a division of Random House, 1993.
Originally published Faber and Faber Ltd., London and Alfred A Knopf in U.S. 1989.
245 pages.
This book won the Man Booker award, I assume in 1988 or 1989. I'm a fan of the Man Booker award because I think their choices are a little more edgier than the book awards given in the U.S., so I am always excited to be reading one. I had heard of this book for a while and finally got around to it.
Ishiguro came from Japan to England when he was 6 years old. I believe most of his books are about life in England, as opposed to life in Japan where he is originally from. This book certainly does NOT have an Asian "feel" to it, or does it?
The main character is a traditional English Butler to one of the great households of English history. The book starts off with his new American employer sending him off on a short vacation, since there is a lull in the work to be done at the house, and encourages him to make a short country drive in the rural parts of England in the owner's own car. The butler, Stevens, is hesitant but decides to go ahead because they are a little short staffed at the house and decides to go to speak to a former employee, Ms Kenton, who happens to live out in the country to see if she wants to come back. This is the basic plot line. There are several themes that weave in and out of the narrative as the book continues.
A large part of the time, Stevens is contemplating, and musing on past events that he has lived through as a butler. This activity probably takes up about 70% - 80 % of the book. He starts off by musing about the "great Butlers" of the day. It should be said that this story takes place in post WWII times so his ruminations tend to be nostalgic and take place in pre WWII times. This train of thought leads him to believe that a great butler must have dignity and must belong to house of great gentleman. In other words that he must have a great master. A master who is noble and cares about the affairs of the day. He believes his previous employer, Sir Darlington, was one of those people. He believes that his master was engaging himself in events of world importance. It was after all., before WW II and there was much international intrigue to get involved with. He spends much time retelling the events that transpired at the behest of his master's concern and influence. Great people of important stature visited the house to discuss important things. Remember, this is England with a a strong tradition of nobility. The nobility believed that they were to be the helmsmen of world affairs because of their great knowledge and education. For the most part they were not believers in the ideals of democracy since they felt the masses to be simple and uneducated, so the responsibility fell to them. That's why Stevens believed that the greatest butlers were attached to the greatest houses. And when I say greatest houses, I mean the greatest masters or noblemen. And Steven believes that his master Darlington was one of the great nobles of the day.
Meanwhile, Stevens is traveling through the country side and meeting a great many of these simpler people, and why he likes them, there is a distance that he puts between them and him. In fact, because of his behavior and the car he drives (the owner's) people frequently mistake him for a nobleman and not a butler. There are also some fine descriptions of the country side as travels through it.
Finally he arrives at the town where Ms. Kenton lives. Stevens had assumed that Ms. Kenton might want to return since her letters to him tended to wax nostalgic and that she often complained about her marriage. But she never really said that she wanted to come back. Much of the contemplation he was doing was looking back at his working relationship between him and her. She was in charge of all the maids and female servants while he was in charge of the whole household. They were often at odds with each other. She was prone to having a temper and speaking her mind, which really annoyed him since he was always striving for that "dignity" mentioned above. He always had a professional attitude towards her. He came off as rather cold, though we, the readers, had privy to his inner thoughts, and his background, and could understand why he was the way he was.
So at the end we get Ms. Kenton's story. She had left Darlington Hall to get married, but the marriage was more about the doubt in her mind about whether she wanted to continue in the profession than about really being in love, hence the marriage problems she was having. After all the years in passing, she had learned to love her husband. She would not be going back with Stevens. This was a bigger disappointment to Stevens than he thought it would be. He knew she never had said that she wanted to come back, but still I think he was hoping. Perhaps there was love, perhaps he longed for the olden days. But he was disappointed. He was certainly saddened by the seemingly unhappy life Ms. Kenton had acquired.
Darlington's life had become riddled with controversy and scandal. He may or may not have been involved with the enemies of England, though Stevens insisted that Darlington didn't realize what he was doing and acted out of sincerity and that he was an innocent. So perhaps that's the saddest part of the book. Everything Stevens had believed about being a butler and his employer, his identification, was thrown into doubt. Sad but not traumatic like the blurb suggests.
The themes and the material might seem kind of dry, and maybe because I'm a better reader or maybe because of the way the book was written, I had no difficulty reading the book. I was able to understand the ideas and description and concepts very easily. I read the book in less than 3 days. Usually with material like this, I struggle and it takes longer to read. I did not find this the case, and though I am not very good at speaking about the writing and language an author uses, this ease I had with the material speaks to the quality of his writing.
A trailer of the movie.
Copyright 1988 by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Published by Vintage International Books, a division of Random House, 1993.
Originally published Faber and Faber Ltd., London and Alfred A Knopf in U.S. 1989.
245 pages.
This book won the Man Booker award, I assume in 1988 or 1989. I'm a fan of the Man Booker award because I think their choices are a little more edgier than the book awards given in the U.S., so I am always excited to be reading one. I had heard of this book for a while and finally got around to it.
Ishiguro came from Japan to England when he was 6 years old. I believe most of his books are about life in England, as opposed to life in Japan where he is originally from. This book certainly does NOT have an Asian "feel" to it, or does it?
The main character is a traditional English Butler to one of the great households of English history. The book starts off with his new American employer sending him off on a short vacation, since there is a lull in the work to be done at the house, and encourages him to make a short country drive in the rural parts of England in the owner's own car. The butler, Stevens, is hesitant but decides to go ahead because they are a little short staffed at the house and decides to go to speak to a former employee, Ms Kenton, who happens to live out in the country to see if she wants to come back. This is the basic plot line. There are several themes that weave in and out of the narrative as the book continues.
A large part of the time, Stevens is contemplating, and musing on past events that he has lived through as a butler. This activity probably takes up about 70% - 80 % of the book. He starts off by musing about the "great Butlers" of the day. It should be said that this story takes place in post WWII times so his ruminations tend to be nostalgic and take place in pre WWII times. This train of thought leads him to believe that a great butler must have dignity and must belong to house of great gentleman. In other words that he must have a great master. A master who is noble and cares about the affairs of the day. He believes his previous employer, Sir Darlington, was one of those people. He believes that his master was engaging himself in events of world importance. It was after all., before WW II and there was much international intrigue to get involved with. He spends much time retelling the events that transpired at the behest of his master's concern and influence. Great people of important stature visited the house to discuss important things. Remember, this is England with a a strong tradition of nobility. The nobility believed that they were to be the helmsmen of world affairs because of their great knowledge and education. For the most part they were not believers in the ideals of democracy since they felt the masses to be simple and uneducated, so the responsibility fell to them. That's why Stevens believed that the greatest butlers were attached to the greatest houses. And when I say greatest houses, I mean the greatest masters or noblemen. And Steven believes that his master Darlington was one of the great nobles of the day.
Meanwhile, Stevens is traveling through the country side and meeting a great many of these simpler people, and why he likes them, there is a distance that he puts between them and him. In fact, because of his behavior and the car he drives (the owner's) people frequently mistake him for a nobleman and not a butler. There are also some fine descriptions of the country side as travels through it.
Finally he arrives at the town where Ms. Kenton lives. Stevens had assumed that Ms. Kenton might want to return since her letters to him tended to wax nostalgic and that she often complained about her marriage. But she never really said that she wanted to come back. Much of the contemplation he was doing was looking back at his working relationship between him and her. She was in charge of all the maids and female servants while he was in charge of the whole household. They were often at odds with each other. She was prone to having a temper and speaking her mind, which really annoyed him since he was always striving for that "dignity" mentioned above. He always had a professional attitude towards her. He came off as rather cold, though we, the readers, had privy to his inner thoughts, and his background, and could understand why he was the way he was.
So at the end we get Ms. Kenton's story. She had left Darlington Hall to get married, but the marriage was more about the doubt in her mind about whether she wanted to continue in the profession than about really being in love, hence the marriage problems she was having. After all the years in passing, she had learned to love her husband. She would not be going back with Stevens. This was a bigger disappointment to Stevens than he thought it would be. He knew she never had said that she wanted to come back, but still I think he was hoping. Perhaps there was love, perhaps he longed for the olden days. But he was disappointed. He was certainly saddened by the seemingly unhappy life Ms. Kenton had acquired.
Darlington's life had become riddled with controversy and scandal. He may or may not have been involved with the enemies of England, though Stevens insisted that Darlington didn't realize what he was doing and acted out of sincerity and that he was an innocent. So perhaps that's the saddest part of the book. Everything Stevens had believed about being a butler and his employer, his identification, was thrown into doubt. Sad but not traumatic like the blurb suggests.
The themes and the material might seem kind of dry, and maybe because I'm a better reader or maybe because of the way the book was written, I had no difficulty reading the book. I was able to understand the ideas and description and concepts very easily. I read the book in less than 3 days. Usually with material like this, I struggle and it takes longer to read. I did not find this the case, and though I am not very good at speaking about the writing and language an author uses, this ease I had with the material speaks to the quality of his writing.
A trailer of the movie.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
High Fidelity **1/2
By Nick Hornby.
Copyright 1995 by Nick Hornby.
Published by the Penguin Group.
323 pages.
This is one heck of a funny book and I enjoyed it immensely. It does drag on a little in the middle though. The main character, Rob gets a little too whiny, he even admits it at one point, and tiresome.
This book is about a guy Rob, who has just broken up with this girlfriend. He's the owner of a record store and feels stuck where he is because he's 39 and he feels like he hasn't grown since his college days. He restless and cranky.
The book starts out with a list and a description of his 5 worst break - ups. His last break-up, which is the focus of this story is not included in his list. Though he claims it's not one of the top five, he seems to take it pretty hard, because all he does is wring his hands with regret and indecision. He goes to work everyday at his records store called Empire Records. There he encounters much banter and tom foolery with his two store clerks who are record snob geeks/ perpetual bachelors. Much of the humor comes from these conversations.
I could really relate to this book as I myself am somewhat of a record snob (surprising in know but it's true). One of the concepts that the book discusses is how these people tend to push their opinions on other people, especially girlfriends. Lord knows I've been there, but in defense of this practice, don't I, a confessed music geek, have to put up with what I consider a lot of garbage? I think it is only fair that I get my 2 cents and get to hear some of my preferred and obscurer music? Where ever one goes, you can hear the strains of some (sorry) really horrible music. I think if I am forced to listen to that, people should have to put up with what I like once in a while. One of my favorite quotes from the book: "I want him to show the rest of us that it is possible to maintain a relationship and have a large record collection." That really struck a chord with me. Discussions like these are the parts I really enjoyed about the book. I could really relate.
Copyright 1995 by Nick Hornby.
Published by the Penguin Group.
323 pages.
This is one heck of a funny book and I enjoyed it immensely. It does drag on a little in the middle though. The main character, Rob gets a little too whiny, he even admits it at one point, and tiresome.
This book is about a guy Rob, who has just broken up with this girlfriend. He's the owner of a record store and feels stuck where he is because he's 39 and he feels like he hasn't grown since his college days. He restless and cranky.
The book starts out with a list and a description of his 5 worst break - ups. His last break-up, which is the focus of this story is not included in his list. Though he claims it's not one of the top five, he seems to take it pretty hard, because all he does is wring his hands with regret and indecision. He goes to work everyday at his records store called Empire Records. There he encounters much banter and tom foolery with his two store clerks who are record snob geeks/ perpetual bachelors. Much of the humor comes from these conversations.
I could really relate to this book as I myself am somewhat of a record snob (surprising in know but it's true). One of the concepts that the book discusses is how these people tend to push their opinions on other people, especially girlfriends. Lord knows I've been there, but in defense of this practice, don't I, a confessed music geek, have to put up with what I consider a lot of garbage? I think it is only fair that I get my 2 cents and get to hear some of my preferred and obscurer music? Where ever one goes, you can hear the strains of some (sorry) really horrible music. I think if I am forced to listen to that, people should have to put up with what I like once in a while. One of my favorite quotes from the book: "I want him to show the rest of us that it is possible to maintain a relationship and have a large record collection." That really struck a chord with me. Discussions like these are the parts I really enjoyed about the book. I could really relate.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Founding Brothers - The Revolutionary Generation **1/2
By Joseph J. Ellis.
Copyright 2000 by Joseph J. Ellis.
Published Vintage Books a Division of Random House, 2002.
Originally published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, 2000.
248 pages.
This is a book that won the Pulitzer prize so clearly I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm not going to let awards and honors sway me from my opinion no matter how wrong I am. The problem with much non-fiction, especially that of History, is that it is not always reader friendly. There's tons of citations, quotations, notations and appellations in this book which always make for a difficult read.. This is especially true when the book is about the politics of the day, which this one is.
But the author tries to present the content in a different way. He tries to write stories, or essays, in a roughly chronological order (apart from the 1st one which is later/ middle in the time period covered) and this does help a little. I believe the author even uses the word "stories" in his introduction. And certainly the book does start off with a riveting story. It speaks about the infamous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. And that is a pretty riveting story, even when the author describes the circumstances that led to the duel, which are mostly political in nature. They were in opposite political parties and Hamilton was pretty much libeling Burr. Still this section of the book was very interesting.
But then the "stories" seem to be pretty flimsy constructs to hang a narrative. Ellis might take one small event, a dinner party between rival politicians, to wax seemingly forever about the politics of the day. A couple of the stories are not even stories but simply concepts or themes. Here are some example titles: The Silence, The Collaborators and The Friendship. Not really stories, but themes. Which is fine, but the author had me believing this would be more narrative oriented.
Not that I didn't enjoy all the information about the politics of the day. There was much discussion about slavery, states rights vs Federal government power, and Federal banking. All of them being intricately connected. And I enjoyed those discussions, but I am probably a more patient reader than most.
The last two chapters center around Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and the book picks up here again. They were friends during the Revolution, rivals in Politics, and then friends again in the waning years of their lives. They wrote a series of letters to each other, even while Jefferson was President. They wrote with the knowledge that they would be leaving these letters behind them after death for posterity and history. Adams wrote that now that they were friends again, they should try to explain their differing opinions to each other, and consequently to History and the future.
I think the author war somewhat successful at making this book "reader friendly", but not completely. And the above organization of information was helpful. I can think of two books about History which I felt were reader friendly, so I do think it is possible to do, but admittedly rare. One was a book about modern Mexico. (The title escapes me but was one of my all time favorites) It used themes to organize the information. The book was highly readable and enjoyable. Of course it wasn't strictly about politics, but it did have a chapter or two about that. So maybe it is really hard to wrote a "reader friendly" book about political history.
Another book, which can be found on this blog was one about the Jamestown colony. That was very interesting partly because it had extensive primary sources written by Captain John Smith himself. Again this book is not strictly about the politics. In this book, the author talked about the relationship with the Indians often. Perhaps a bit more intriguing than strictly politics.
So, while this was an excellent book, I believe the readability suffered because of the focus on the politics and also some of the old fashioned language used in the quotes. Maybe it's not possible to have a purely political book that is reader friendly, though I think this was a good attempt. And of course, the content, no matter how difficult the reading, is always paramount in non-fiction and the content alone can sometimes be enough to keep a reader engaged. Which it did for me. I don't mind political history.
Here's some one else's opinion.
Copyright 2000 by Joseph J. Ellis.
Published Vintage Books a Division of Random House, 2002.
Originally published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, 2000.
248 pages.
This is a book that won the Pulitzer prize so clearly I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm not going to let awards and honors sway me from my opinion no matter how wrong I am. The problem with much non-fiction, especially that of History, is that it is not always reader friendly. There's tons of citations, quotations, notations and appellations in this book which always make for a difficult read.. This is especially true when the book is about the politics of the day, which this one is.
But the author tries to present the content in a different way. He tries to write stories, or essays, in a roughly chronological order (apart from the 1st one which is later/ middle in the time period covered) and this does help a little. I believe the author even uses the word "stories" in his introduction. And certainly the book does start off with a riveting story. It speaks about the infamous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. And that is a pretty riveting story, even when the author describes the circumstances that led to the duel, which are mostly political in nature. They were in opposite political parties and Hamilton was pretty much libeling Burr. Still this section of the book was very interesting.
But then the "stories" seem to be pretty flimsy constructs to hang a narrative. Ellis might take one small event, a dinner party between rival politicians, to wax seemingly forever about the politics of the day. A couple of the stories are not even stories but simply concepts or themes. Here are some example titles: The Silence, The Collaborators and The Friendship. Not really stories, but themes. Which is fine, but the author had me believing this would be more narrative oriented.
Not that I didn't enjoy all the information about the politics of the day. There was much discussion about slavery, states rights vs Federal government power, and Federal banking. All of them being intricately connected. And I enjoyed those discussions, but I am probably a more patient reader than most.
The last two chapters center around Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and the book picks up here again. They were friends during the Revolution, rivals in Politics, and then friends again in the waning years of their lives. They wrote a series of letters to each other, even while Jefferson was President. They wrote with the knowledge that they would be leaving these letters behind them after death for posterity and history. Adams wrote that now that they were friends again, they should try to explain their differing opinions to each other, and consequently to History and the future.
I think the author war somewhat successful at making this book "reader friendly", but not completely. And the above organization of information was helpful. I can think of two books about History which I felt were reader friendly, so I do think it is possible to do, but admittedly rare. One was a book about modern Mexico. (The title escapes me but was one of my all time favorites) It used themes to organize the information. The book was highly readable and enjoyable. Of course it wasn't strictly about politics, but it did have a chapter or two about that. So maybe it is really hard to wrote a "reader friendly" book about political history.
Another book, which can be found on this blog was one about the Jamestown colony. That was very interesting partly because it had extensive primary sources written by Captain John Smith himself. Again this book is not strictly about the politics. In this book, the author talked about the relationship with the Indians often. Perhaps a bit more intriguing than strictly politics.
So, while this was an excellent book, I believe the readability suffered because of the focus on the politics and also some of the old fashioned language used in the quotes. Maybe it's not possible to have a purely political book that is reader friendly, though I think this was a good attempt. And of course, the content, no matter how difficult the reading, is always paramount in non-fiction and the content alone can sometimes be enough to keep a reader engaged. Which it did for me. I don't mind political history.
Here's some one else's opinion.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Death of Sweet Mister ***
By Daniel Woodrell.
Copyright 2001 by Daniel Woodrell.
Published G.P. Putnam' Sons, Penguin Putnam
Pages 196.
Woodrell is one of my favorite authors so I have read several of his books already. This is fairly typical of his work, and I like his work, so of course I liked it! He specializes in stories about the Appalachian Mountains and the people who live there. His books are full of violence, drug abuse, poverty and a bit of black humor. My kind of book!
Here's the story. It's about a dysfunctional nuclear family of three who live somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains.There's a mom, Glenda, her brutal husband/boyfriend, Red and a young 13 year-old chubby boy called Shug, who is also called by his mother the tile character - Sweet Mister. That's the nickname that his mom gives him. So the mom is very submissive towards the brutal husband and pretty much lets him have his way in every way - especially sexually. She has a strong affection for her son, which kind of leads to a teasing, flirty behavior. Red abuses the two and has the young boy steal drugs from the homes of doctors and very sick patients. Eventually a guy in a Green T-bird comes along , Jimmy Vin, and sweeps her off her feet so to speak. This leads to the fact that Glenda now has two lovers. Shug witnesses this all, but he hates Red enough that he doesn't care except for the jealousy of the attention that his mother is getting. It all predictably comes down to a violent ending in which we are the witness to the aftermath. He doesn't actually describe the scene in the book. Jimmy plans to take Glenda away from it all as he has found a new job, but Shug can't come along because his job is on a cruise ship. Jimmy is a cook, and there is no room. So that's the plan, but Jimmy never shows up for reasons discussed below.
Lots of spoilers already not spoiled above to follow.
So as I was reading this and when I figured out who Sweet Mister was, I was very concerned for the boy since he seemed, relatively, a nice gentle should caught in the wrong place. By the title, I thought he would die, but he doesn't. It's his innocence that dies. I think the message is that this type of life style is circular. Even though Shug is a good kid, it seems reasonable that he will turn out the same as Red- criminal, abusive, misogynist and addicted to drugs, though there is a bit of hope for him maybe because of his sensitivity, he might, more or less, escape all that. The ending would seem to prove that that probably WON'T be the case.
After all the sensual teasing from his mother and all the out and out sexual behavior he witnessed from the adults, the husband Red took minimal efforts to hide those exploits, Shug seemed ti think he deserved some of what his mother had been giving out. Yes it seems cliche, but were talking about mother and son, hence the end/death of his innocence. She tells him no when he begins to make a move, but Shug insists, and whines about not getting what everyone else does. Glenda is able to fend off Shug's advances at first, but when she realizes that Jimmy is not coming to pick her she resignedly gives in to her boy's wishes - She has given up hope.
So that's the death of his innocence, but there are more examples of how his innocence has been murdered. When Shug learns that he wont be going with his mother he is the one that puts everything in play. It's that Glenda and Jimmy have to leave because they murdered Red. Shug knows it, but keeps their secret to protect his mother. But when he finds out he's not going, he goes and tells Red's best friend who makes it happen that Jimmy is NOT capable of running off with Glenda. So Glenda, in her "not very motherly shorts", allows Shugs hands to move higher and higher on the very last page. Life as they knew for Shug and Glenda was over.
Copyright 2001 by Daniel Woodrell.
Published G.P. Putnam' Sons, Penguin Putnam
Pages 196.
Woodrell is one of my favorite authors so I have read several of his books already. This is fairly typical of his work, and I like his work, so of course I liked it! He specializes in stories about the Appalachian Mountains and the people who live there. His books are full of violence, drug abuse, poverty and a bit of black humor. My kind of book!
Here's the story. It's about a dysfunctional nuclear family of three who live somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains.There's a mom, Glenda, her brutal husband/boyfriend, Red and a young 13 year-old chubby boy called Shug, who is also called by his mother the tile character - Sweet Mister. That's the nickname that his mom gives him. So the mom is very submissive towards the brutal husband and pretty much lets him have his way in every way - especially sexually. She has a strong affection for her son, which kind of leads to a teasing, flirty behavior. Red abuses the two and has the young boy steal drugs from the homes of doctors and very sick patients. Eventually a guy in a Green T-bird comes along , Jimmy Vin, and sweeps her off her feet so to speak. This leads to the fact that Glenda now has two lovers. Shug witnesses this all, but he hates Red enough that he doesn't care except for the jealousy of the attention that his mother is getting. It all predictably comes down to a violent ending in which we are the witness to the aftermath. He doesn't actually describe the scene in the book. Jimmy plans to take Glenda away from it all as he has found a new job, but Shug can't come along because his job is on a cruise ship. Jimmy is a cook, and there is no room. So that's the plan, but Jimmy never shows up for reasons discussed below.
Lots of spoilers already not spoiled above to follow.
So as I was reading this and when I figured out who Sweet Mister was, I was very concerned for the boy since he seemed, relatively, a nice gentle should caught in the wrong place. By the title, I thought he would die, but he doesn't. It's his innocence that dies. I think the message is that this type of life style is circular. Even though Shug is a good kid, it seems reasonable that he will turn out the same as Red- criminal, abusive, misogynist and addicted to drugs, though there is a bit of hope for him maybe because of his sensitivity, he might, more or less, escape all that. The ending would seem to prove that that probably WON'T be the case.
After all the sensual teasing from his mother and all the out and out sexual behavior he witnessed from the adults, the husband Red took minimal efforts to hide those exploits, Shug seemed ti think he deserved some of what his mother had been giving out. Yes it seems cliche, but were talking about mother and son, hence the end/death of his innocence. She tells him no when he begins to make a move, but Shug insists, and whines about not getting what everyone else does. Glenda is able to fend off Shug's advances at first, but when she realizes that Jimmy is not coming to pick her she resignedly gives in to her boy's wishes - She has given up hope.
So that's the death of his innocence, but there are more examples of how his innocence has been murdered. When Shug learns that he wont be going with his mother he is the one that puts everything in play. It's that Glenda and Jimmy have to leave because they murdered Red. Shug knows it, but keeps their secret to protect his mother. But when he finds out he's not going, he goes and tells Red's best friend who makes it happen that Jimmy is NOT capable of running off with Glenda. So Glenda, in her "not very motherly shorts", allows Shugs hands to move higher and higher on the very last page. Life as they knew for Shug and Glenda was over.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Heart Transplant **
By Andrew Vachss (writer) and Frank Caruso (illustrator)
Copy right 2010 by Andrew Vachss and Frank Caruso.
Published 2010 by Dark Horse Comics, Inc. Miwaukie, Oregon.
98 pages.
This book was a quick read so I'll attempt to make quick work of it. This is a story of a boy who is bullied by everyone in his life including his step father and his negligent mother. He is left an orphan but the father of the boy's stepfather comes by and adopts him. This old man is hard nosed but tender at the same time. It is this old man who finally teaches the boy to stick up for himself.
I think one of the weaknesses of the story is that in the beginning of the book, the writer makes a big ado about how the leads character life is NOT like the movies because the nerd doesn't really get the beautiful girl in the end, but then it has the standard generic pap ending where the kid does learn not to be bullied. Sure the lesson in how he learns to stick up for him self and the ones he loves does have a slight twist, but it still ends with a happy ever after.
The illustrations I really like. They have that modern expressionistic quality that is found in so many of today's comics. Especially those of Dark Horse. There are lots of strong high contrast blacks and whites with washes of color to brighten the palette a bit. Faces are almost blurred and merely suggested in a sinister way. Beautiful really if not a bit de la mode.
Copy right 2010 by Andrew Vachss and Frank Caruso.
Published 2010 by Dark Horse Comics, Inc. Miwaukie, Oregon.
98 pages.
This book was a quick read so I'll attempt to make quick work of it. This is a story of a boy who is bullied by everyone in his life including his step father and his negligent mother. He is left an orphan but the father of the boy's stepfather comes by and adopts him. This old man is hard nosed but tender at the same time. It is this old man who finally teaches the boy to stick up for himself.
I think one of the weaknesses of the story is that in the beginning of the book, the writer makes a big ado about how the leads character life is NOT like the movies because the nerd doesn't really get the beautiful girl in the end, but then it has the standard generic pap ending where the kid does learn not to be bullied. Sure the lesson in how he learns to stick up for him self and the ones he loves does have a slight twist, but it still ends with a happy ever after.
The illustrations I really like. They have that modern expressionistic quality that is found in so many of today's comics. Especially those of Dark Horse. There are lots of strong high contrast blacks and whites with washes of color to brighten the palette a bit. Faces are almost blurred and merely suggested in a sinister way. Beautiful really if not a bit de la mode.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Warm Bodies **1/2
By Isaac Marion.
Copy right 2011 by Isaac Marion.
Published by Atria Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, New York.
239 pages.
I'm not normally a reader of Science Fiction or Post Apocalyptic literature, and I am certainly not a reader of Zombie books. Though I am a sucker for these genres in film, if the film makers do a half way decent job and and the movie's not too stupid. I chose to read this because it was an interesting title on Barnes & Noble Discovery Book series where I discovered it.
So yes, this is a book about Zombies. But there is a twist. it's from the point of view of one of the lesser deteriorated zombies. I don't think this idea has ever been done before. And it's funny because the lead zombie character has a particularly weird out look on life, such as you might call it. It is a really funny book. Apparently zombies have a fairly sceptical, fatalistic view on life. I would recommend this book on that basis alone. Simply that's it's really funny and a very quick read.
So I've already introduced our romantic lead, and yes it does have a romantic element. His name is R ( he can't remember the rest of his name - just the initial sound - but that's more than most of his zombie comrades can do). So he is intellectually superior to the majority of other zombies in his community at the deserted airport.
One day, on a hunt, he kills and eats the brains of a boyfriend of a girl who later becomes his love interest. Instead of killing her too, he saves her from another zombie for some reason, perhaps some glimmer of humanity that still exists inside of him. He takes her back to his zombie bachelor pad (a deserted airplane)and convinces her in a series of one syllable words, gestures and grunts (he can think at a fairly high level but can't communicate very well - he IS a zombie after all!) that he won't hurt her and a strange sort of friendship begins. He learns about her through his dreams and visions that he has as a result of eating her boyfriends brains and reliving the boyfriend's memories of his girl. Apparently when a zombie eats the brains, they get visions of their victims memories and life. His friend Zombie, M, likes to eat the brains of young women and states that it is like porno. This is a little too disturbing even for our more sensitive, flesh-eating hero. He slowly starts to have actual feelings of empathy and sympathy. He is starting to have human feelings. Maybe he can change! You think!?!?!?
The beginning of the book is probably the best part and most original part of the book. Of course it's rather silly, which makes it the perfect beach read (did I just say that !?!?!) And it does get hokey and into some rather unoriginal ideas as the story continues. But it still good clean fun. For example there are these "boneys" who seem to run the zombie community. It's hinted that their evil is of a more ancient and sinister evil than that of the zombies who ignorantly stumble through their pseudo lives. These boneys must be the reason for the "curse" that caused or is symptomatic of the Apocalypse. There's a battle at the end against these boneys because the zombie , R, and his girl, Julie, are a symbol of hope to society of hopefully curing this disease or plague which has overcome earth. It's a symbol of the change that the future could bring. Of course there is the overdone, paint-by-numbers theme of the sins humanity has causing this mess in the first place. But in my opinion those lofty philosophies about mankind are all throw away elements that should give way to the funny, original and silly narrative.
Here's a trailer for the book. They do them for books now!
And someone elses opinions and descriptions. Carefull - some language here.
Copy right 2011 by Isaac Marion.
Published by Atria Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, New York.
239 pages.
I'm not normally a reader of Science Fiction or Post Apocalyptic literature, and I am certainly not a reader of Zombie books. Though I am a sucker for these genres in film, if the film makers do a half way decent job and and the movie's not too stupid. I chose to read this because it was an interesting title on Barnes & Noble Discovery Book series where I discovered it.
So yes, this is a book about Zombies. But there is a twist. it's from the point of view of one of the lesser deteriorated zombies. I don't think this idea has ever been done before. And it's funny because the lead zombie character has a particularly weird out look on life, such as you might call it. It is a really funny book. Apparently zombies have a fairly sceptical, fatalistic view on life. I would recommend this book on that basis alone. Simply that's it's really funny and a very quick read.
So I've already introduced our romantic lead, and yes it does have a romantic element. His name is R ( he can't remember the rest of his name - just the initial sound - but that's more than most of his zombie comrades can do). So he is intellectually superior to the majority of other zombies in his community at the deserted airport.
One day, on a hunt, he kills and eats the brains of a boyfriend of a girl who later becomes his love interest. Instead of killing her too, he saves her from another zombie for some reason, perhaps some glimmer of humanity that still exists inside of him. He takes her back to his zombie bachelor pad (a deserted airplane)and convinces her in a series of one syllable words, gestures and grunts (he can think at a fairly high level but can't communicate very well - he IS a zombie after all!) that he won't hurt her and a strange sort of friendship begins. He learns about her through his dreams and visions that he has as a result of eating her boyfriends brains and reliving the boyfriend's memories of his girl. Apparently when a zombie eats the brains, they get visions of their victims memories and life. His friend Zombie, M, likes to eat the brains of young women and states that it is like porno. This is a little too disturbing even for our more sensitive, flesh-eating hero. He slowly starts to have actual feelings of empathy and sympathy. He is starting to have human feelings. Maybe he can change! You think!?!?!?
The beginning of the book is probably the best part and most original part of the book. Of course it's rather silly, which makes it the perfect beach read (did I just say that !?!?!) And it does get hokey and into some rather unoriginal ideas as the story continues. But it still good clean fun. For example there are these "boneys" who seem to run the zombie community. It's hinted that their evil is of a more ancient and sinister evil than that of the zombies who ignorantly stumble through their pseudo lives. These boneys must be the reason for the "curse" that caused or is symptomatic of the Apocalypse. There's a battle at the end against these boneys because the zombie , R, and his girl, Julie, are a symbol of hope to society of hopefully curing this disease or plague which has overcome earth. It's a symbol of the change that the future could bring. Of course there is the overdone, paint-by-numbers theme of the sins humanity has causing this mess in the first place. But in my opinion those lofty philosophies about mankind are all throw away elements that should give way to the funny, original and silly narrative.
Here's a trailer for the book. They do them for books now!
And someone elses opinions and descriptions. Carefull - some language here.
Parrot & Olivier in America ***
By Peter Carey.
copy right 2009 by Peter Carey.
Published 2011 by Vintage International. In New York. A first edition.
Originally published 2009 in Australia by Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Group.
381 pages.
I have heard much about the reputation of John Carey. About 10 years ago I read his Booker Prize Winner The True Story of the Kelly Gang. It was historical fiction as is this one here and the subject matter (of both books) is something that interests me strongly. But I struggled with it. The cause was partly the language of the characters (they were Australian rough necks form the late 19th century) and his elliptical manner of writing in which he spells out very little for the reader and the reader has to work out what exactly it is that is happening. This difficullty prevented me from tackling his other books until now, though I really did enjoy the Kelly Gang in spite of the difficulties.
This book is similiar. It's language is thick and dense. But for some reason I was able to follow it better. Perhaps after all these years I'm simply a better reader.
Parrot and Olivier in America is historical fiction based loosely on the life of Alexis de Tocqueville. That character is Olivier. Olivier is a French Aristocrat in the early to mid 19th century - during the time of the French Revolution, which of course is not a good time to be a French aristocrat.
Parrot is a poor Englishman who becomes the servant of a roguish yet aristocratic soldier - the Marquis. The Marquis saves Parrot as a boy when he is found wandering the roads and they end up sailing to an Australian penal colony where the boy is left until he is an adult. For some reason the Marquis comes back and takes him to France. It should be also said that Parrot has a talent for mimicking people, hence the name Parrot, and for drawing.
The over protective mother, who is friends with the Marquis, wants to send Olivier, fearing for his life, away from France. The Marquis offers his servant Parrot as a companion/servant. Being from completely different stratas of society, the two do not get along, yet Parrot sticks around as he is honor bound, plus he is being paid. Eventually the two come to an understanding and a sort of weird friendship. It's an odd couple story.
I really admired the gritty descriptions of the infant U.S.A. It was not romanticized and touched on all sorts of debauchery and corruption. It's not a very romantic description but probably closer to the reality of the situation.
It is also a funny book. Parrot made much fun of Olivier's snobby attitude with some pretty bawdy language.
And finally, I liked some of the ideas presented about just what is America. Olivier discourses on much of this of in his monologues about the nature of America. Surprisingly, some of it still rings true today. He believed that America was crass and concerned only with commercailism. He didn't believe true art and fine culture could flourish in the country with out a noble class that has the time to appreciate and study art. If one compares this to our modern society, one can see the similarities. Our culture and art is driven by tastes of the uneducated and undereducated common man. There are a few lone wolves out there trying to make a difference but its a steep upward road. Though Parrot argues with him over this idea. After all Parrot and his wife were artists and Parrot believed that it was possible to have great art in America. Though his argument loses strength when his group of artists have to sell their art though theatric and circus like tricks. This and the commercialism of America is a major theme of the book.
Carey's books are not easy reading, so I would not choose to read him when I need a quick read between obligatory reads, but if I have time, he's definitely worth returning to.
Here's a pretty succinct interview about the boook with Carey. I'm glad to see that I'm not that far off for once.
And some more thoughts...
And something a little silly...
And one longer interview for good measure...
copy right 2009 by Peter Carey.
Published 2011 by Vintage International. In New York. A first edition.
Originally published 2009 in Australia by Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Group.
381 pages.
I have heard much about the reputation of John Carey. About 10 years ago I read his Booker Prize Winner The True Story of the Kelly Gang. It was historical fiction as is this one here and the subject matter (of both books) is something that interests me strongly. But I struggled with it. The cause was partly the language of the characters (they were Australian rough necks form the late 19th century) and his elliptical manner of writing in which he spells out very little for the reader and the reader has to work out what exactly it is that is happening. This difficullty prevented me from tackling his other books until now, though I really did enjoy the Kelly Gang in spite of the difficulties.
This book is similiar. It's language is thick and dense. But for some reason I was able to follow it better. Perhaps after all these years I'm simply a better reader.
Parrot and Olivier in America is historical fiction based loosely on the life of Alexis de Tocqueville. That character is Olivier. Olivier is a French Aristocrat in the early to mid 19th century - during the time of the French Revolution, which of course is not a good time to be a French aristocrat.
Parrot is a poor Englishman who becomes the servant of a roguish yet aristocratic soldier - the Marquis. The Marquis saves Parrot as a boy when he is found wandering the roads and they end up sailing to an Australian penal colony where the boy is left until he is an adult. For some reason the Marquis comes back and takes him to France. It should be also said that Parrot has a talent for mimicking people, hence the name Parrot, and for drawing.
The over protective mother, who is friends with the Marquis, wants to send Olivier, fearing for his life, away from France. The Marquis offers his servant Parrot as a companion/servant. Being from completely different stratas of society, the two do not get along, yet Parrot sticks around as he is honor bound, plus he is being paid. Eventually the two come to an understanding and a sort of weird friendship. It's an odd couple story.
I really admired the gritty descriptions of the infant U.S.A. It was not romanticized and touched on all sorts of debauchery and corruption. It's not a very romantic description but probably closer to the reality of the situation.
It is also a funny book. Parrot made much fun of Olivier's snobby attitude with some pretty bawdy language.
And finally, I liked some of the ideas presented about just what is America. Olivier discourses on much of this of in his monologues about the nature of America. Surprisingly, some of it still rings true today. He believed that America was crass and concerned only with commercailism. He didn't believe true art and fine culture could flourish in the country with out a noble class that has the time to appreciate and study art. If one compares this to our modern society, one can see the similarities. Our culture and art is driven by tastes of the uneducated and undereducated common man. There are a few lone wolves out there trying to make a difference but its a steep upward road. Though Parrot argues with him over this idea. After all Parrot and his wife were artists and Parrot believed that it was possible to have great art in America. Though his argument loses strength when his group of artists have to sell their art though theatric and circus like tricks. This and the commercialism of America is a major theme of the book.
Carey's books are not easy reading, so I would not choose to read him when I need a quick read between obligatory reads, but if I have time, he's definitely worth returning to.
Here's a pretty succinct interview about the boook with Carey. I'm glad to see that I'm not that far off for once.
And some more thoughts...
And something a little silly...
And one longer interview for good measure...
Monday, July 4, 2011
Elizabeth Costello **
By J.M. Coetzee.
Published 2003 by Viking a Penguin Group,
New York.
230 pages.
Coetzee is one of my favorite authors. His book Disgrace is one of my favorite books and won the Booker Prize deservedly so I think. While his books always have multiple layers and things to think about, a reader could always count on a riveting narrative. So I am always recommending his books. In fact i recommended this book to someone before I had ever read it. They said they didn't like it. I was astonished!
So finally this Spring I started to read it. I immediately started to see the reason my friend did not like the book. Basically its a book of essays. The book is a novel, but the narrative is basically that of an elderly woman writer who gives 8 speeches. Each speech is a chapter and supposedly reveals something of the narrative. And there is a narrative string but it is a really a loose one. For the most part it is a book of essays with bits of narrative to tie together the essays in a thematic way. If I had read this as a book of essays my opinion of the book might be different. The essays/speeches can be very intellectually demanding, yet I was able to comprehend and stay with the strands of thought being presented. If this book were presented as a book of essays, perhaps the rating would be much higher.
I also see that Coetzee has several books of essays so he might be someone to check out deeper for those who like to read essays. I guess an interesting idea to pursue here is why he chose to make these essays into a narrative. He already has published books of essays and some of these "chapters"/ essays had been published in different forms in various magazines. I'm guessing there was less narrative in those published pieces and those narrative pieces were added when he decided to turn it into a narrative. Maybe it was an experiment. Maybe it was a chance for him to try some different ideas for his essays and therefore enable him to distance him self from some of these ideas since the ideas are not really his, but the ideas of his characters. Maybe it allows him to try on different ideas that normally he wouldn't call his own and that perhaps he disagrees with. Maybe he's playing devil's advocate here. Some of the ideas the character has are controversial with in the context of the book and she gets into discussions with people who disagree with her about her speeches. Maybe its a chance for the author to show both sides of an argument.
The last chapter is interesting and might be the closest to a narrative that there is in this book. In this chapter, the author is in purgatory and she can't get into heaven because she refuses to commit herself to a "belief". So she spends her time in Purgatory, a small, cliched, early 20th century European town, trying to edit her statement about her beliefs.
I enjoyed this book, but i would refrain from recommending it to most people unless I knew that this person really likes to read intellectual and philosophical texts.
Published 2003 by Viking a Penguin Group,
New York.
230 pages.
Coetzee is one of my favorite authors. His book Disgrace is one of my favorite books and won the Booker Prize deservedly so I think. While his books always have multiple layers and things to think about, a reader could always count on a riveting narrative. So I am always recommending his books. In fact i recommended this book to someone before I had ever read it. They said they didn't like it. I was astonished!
So finally this Spring I started to read it. I immediately started to see the reason my friend did not like the book. Basically its a book of essays. The book is a novel, but the narrative is basically that of an elderly woman writer who gives 8 speeches. Each speech is a chapter and supposedly reveals something of the narrative. And there is a narrative string but it is a really a loose one. For the most part it is a book of essays with bits of narrative to tie together the essays in a thematic way. If I had read this as a book of essays my opinion of the book might be different. The essays/speeches can be very intellectually demanding, yet I was able to comprehend and stay with the strands of thought being presented. If this book were presented as a book of essays, perhaps the rating would be much higher.
I also see that Coetzee has several books of essays so he might be someone to check out deeper for those who like to read essays. I guess an interesting idea to pursue here is why he chose to make these essays into a narrative. He already has published books of essays and some of these "chapters"/ essays had been published in different forms in various magazines. I'm guessing there was less narrative in those published pieces and those narrative pieces were added when he decided to turn it into a narrative. Maybe it was an experiment. Maybe it was a chance for him to try some different ideas for his essays and therefore enable him to distance him self from some of these ideas since the ideas are not really his, but the ideas of his characters. Maybe it allows him to try on different ideas that normally he wouldn't call his own and that perhaps he disagrees with. Maybe he's playing devil's advocate here. Some of the ideas the character has are controversial with in the context of the book and she gets into discussions with people who disagree with her about her speeches. Maybe its a chance for the author to show both sides of an argument.
The last chapter is interesting and might be the closest to a narrative that there is in this book. In this chapter, the author is in purgatory and she can't get into heaven because she refuses to commit herself to a "belief". So she spends her time in Purgatory, a small, cliched, early 20th century European town, trying to edit her statement about her beliefs.
I enjoyed this book, but i would refrain from recommending it to most people unless I knew that this person really likes to read intellectual and philosophical texts.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Stitches**1/2
By David Small.
Published by 2009
by W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
330 pages,
The illustrations are nice if not a bit dreary. It's done in gray washes and for the most part simple lines. Some of the better, more detailed illustrations have some nice variations in gray, but most of the shading is simple in that there are only 2 or 3 varieties of gray. The dreariness does fit the story though.
This is the memoir of the author/artist. Being a memoir, it's episodic in nature, though the main narrative revolves around his non communicative parents and the cancer he obtains in his pre and early teens.
It takes place in the fifties when every one was ultra conservative and conformist.
Mom's a housewife, but she's very bitter. She comes off as the heavy in this book. She rarely smiles. She also turns out to be gay. The conclusion one draws is that she's bitter because she stuck in the marriage. In those days there were not many alternative to leading the typical " married and 2.5 kids" lifestyle. At one point she censors his reading selections (including Lolita) and tosses them n the garbage.
Dad's a typical 50's dad. Jolly when around, but never home.
So they discover a bump on David's neck and they go to the hospital to have an operation,. They don't tell their son he has cancer. He later discovers that fact while sneaking around in his mother's stuff and finds a letter that tells him the truth. He is understandably angry with his non communicative family. Obviously, he survived to write this book so the rest of the story has to do with his feelings toward his parents.
Also there are many of dream sequences, which I think graphic novelists use too much. I know it's an opportunity to have fun with their illustrations, but to me they are quite often a distraction and don't lend, or lend very many, important elements of the plot. He uses approximately three in a book that tends to be dominated by illustrations already. So there is not too much text to begin with and he uses facial expressions to tell the emotions of the people. I like the art work but I do have a hard time concentrating on it when the art alone is trying to tell a story. It's like silent movies (one critic in the back of the book compared it to a silent movie) and I/we are not accustomed pictures telling stories anymore. My daughters have a hard time sitting through a silent movie. I think they have an aesthetic of their own, but they are dated and old fashioned. People today prefer more language (written or spoken) oriented narratives. I suppose I am that way to a degree also. So maybe it's my fault for not being more patient with the illustrations and giving them more time and attention that they really do deserve. But his illustrations are so simple, it's easy to fly past them.
As a narrative , it's dark and disturbing and I think the story needs to be told. David Small is an older author - born 1945 - that makes him in his 70's. I am not aware of his other work, but I think he's worth checking into some more. I just would like to see more detailed and lengthier narratives.
Apparently the book was nominated for the National Book Awards. Apparently I don't know what I am talking about - but that's not anything new.
And some excerpts from the book.
Published by 2009
by W.W. Norton & Company, New York.
330 pages,
The illustrations are nice if not a bit dreary. It's done in gray washes and for the most part simple lines. Some of the better, more detailed illustrations have some nice variations in gray, but most of the shading is simple in that there are only 2 or 3 varieties of gray. The dreariness does fit the story though.
This is the memoir of the author/artist. Being a memoir, it's episodic in nature, though the main narrative revolves around his non communicative parents and the cancer he obtains in his pre and early teens.
It takes place in the fifties when every one was ultra conservative and conformist.
Mom's a housewife, but she's very bitter. She comes off as the heavy in this book. She rarely smiles. She also turns out to be gay. The conclusion one draws is that she's bitter because she stuck in the marriage. In those days there were not many alternative to leading the typical " married and 2.5 kids" lifestyle. At one point she censors his reading selections (including Lolita) and tosses them n the garbage.
Dad's a typical 50's dad. Jolly when around, but never home.
So they discover a bump on David's neck and they go to the hospital to have an operation,. They don't tell their son he has cancer. He later discovers that fact while sneaking around in his mother's stuff and finds a letter that tells him the truth. He is understandably angry with his non communicative family. Obviously, he survived to write this book so the rest of the story has to do with his feelings toward his parents.
Also there are many of dream sequences, which I think graphic novelists use too much. I know it's an opportunity to have fun with their illustrations, but to me they are quite often a distraction and don't lend, or lend very many, important elements of the plot. He uses approximately three in a book that tends to be dominated by illustrations already. So there is not too much text to begin with and he uses facial expressions to tell the emotions of the people. I like the art work but I do have a hard time concentrating on it when the art alone is trying to tell a story. It's like silent movies (one critic in the back of the book compared it to a silent movie) and I/we are not accustomed pictures telling stories anymore. My daughters have a hard time sitting through a silent movie. I think they have an aesthetic of their own, but they are dated and old fashioned. People today prefer more language (written or spoken) oriented narratives. I suppose I am that way to a degree also. So maybe it's my fault for not being more patient with the illustrations and giving them more time and attention that they really do deserve. But his illustrations are so simple, it's easy to fly past them.
As a narrative , it's dark and disturbing and I think the story needs to be told. David Small is an older author - born 1945 - that makes him in his 70's. I am not aware of his other work, but I think he's worth checking into some more. I just would like to see more detailed and lengthier narratives.
Apparently the book was nominated for the National Book Awards. Apparently I don't know what I am talking about - but that's not anything new.
And some excerpts from the book.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Love is a Mix Tape - Life and Loss, One Song at a Time **
By Rob Sheffield.
Published 2007 by Three Rivers Press, Crown Publishing Group a division of Random House.
224 pages.
This is a memoir written by a writer that contributes to Rolling Stone magazine. Basically, it's about how he fell in love and then lost that love to a pulmonary embolism. All this while living, loving and dieing to his (and her) favorite music. So the premise is that each chapter starts with a play list which introduces the time period which the author wished to present, and then he follows with the narrative. It's a neat idea, but something doesn't work.
The first chapter bothered me a bit. It kept trying to make these poetic comparisons to pop songs and life. It seemed that he had to really stretch to make those throw away pop lyrics connect to his bigger ideas. It kept trying to be profound even though most of the music wasn't. Maybe if he had different music it might have worked (more on that later). Thankfully, he did not keep this method up for long. For the most part, he just used the mixes as a time marker and didn't really try to show the significance of the song to his life, which I preferred. After his wife, Renee, dies he does return to this concept a bit because he's dealing with death and sorrow, so I think the book dips in quality here. Again he has to stretch some pretty silly lyrical content to get to his deeper and more profound thoughts and ideas.
I'm a mix tape maker, so this should be right up my alley. I think I was turned off by his taste in music. Now I am a pretty hard customer to please, but I must say that much of his taste was pedestrian. And when he tries to make connections to this mostly pedestrian music, it doesn't work for me. The high moments he had was when he listed Roxy Music and Tindersticks. But by his own admission, he really liked the pop radio music. He claimed that the thought other cool music people looked down on this kind of music and so he tried to make himself look better or cooler for liking it. Now there is the school of thought that some music could be so bad, that it's good, but he has too much ordinary musicians listed to use that as an excuse. Even the alternative music he likes is really boring stuff. He's a big fan of Big Star and Pavement. All the alternative stuff he names is mainstream in the alternative culture. Stuff that's at best ok, but nothing special. Near the end, I do like how his taste has grown. He started to listen to old country and rock and roll, so he does seem to be opening up in his tastes. I guess I really had a hard time relating since i disagreed with his taste so often.
Perhaps the biggest issue is that this guy put him self out there, and while I don't dislike him, I don't really like him. He should be cooler since he's a music writer, but what do you expect? He writes for Rolling Stone, not exactly the mouthpiece for non mainstream music.
Here's an excerpt.
Published 2007 by Three Rivers Press, Crown Publishing Group a division of Random House.
224 pages.
This is a memoir written by a writer that contributes to Rolling Stone magazine. Basically, it's about how he fell in love and then lost that love to a pulmonary embolism. All this while living, loving and dieing to his (and her) favorite music. So the premise is that each chapter starts with a play list which introduces the time period which the author wished to present, and then he follows with the narrative. It's a neat idea, but something doesn't work.
The first chapter bothered me a bit. It kept trying to make these poetic comparisons to pop songs and life. It seemed that he had to really stretch to make those throw away pop lyrics connect to his bigger ideas. It kept trying to be profound even though most of the music wasn't. Maybe if he had different music it might have worked (more on that later). Thankfully, he did not keep this method up for long. For the most part, he just used the mixes as a time marker and didn't really try to show the significance of the song to his life, which I preferred. After his wife, Renee, dies he does return to this concept a bit because he's dealing with death and sorrow, so I think the book dips in quality here. Again he has to stretch some pretty silly lyrical content to get to his deeper and more profound thoughts and ideas.
I'm a mix tape maker, so this should be right up my alley. I think I was turned off by his taste in music. Now I am a pretty hard customer to please, but I must say that much of his taste was pedestrian. And when he tries to make connections to this mostly pedestrian music, it doesn't work for me. The high moments he had was when he listed Roxy Music and Tindersticks. But by his own admission, he really liked the pop radio music. He claimed that the thought other cool music people looked down on this kind of music and so he tried to make himself look better or cooler for liking it. Now there is the school of thought that some music could be so bad, that it's good, but he has too much ordinary musicians listed to use that as an excuse. Even the alternative music he likes is really boring stuff. He's a big fan of Big Star and Pavement. All the alternative stuff he names is mainstream in the alternative culture. Stuff that's at best ok, but nothing special. Near the end, I do like how his taste has grown. He started to listen to old country and rock and roll, so he does seem to be opening up in his tastes. I guess I really had a hard time relating since i disagreed with his taste so often.
Perhaps the biggest issue is that this guy put him self out there, and while I don't dislike him, I don't really like him. He should be cooler since he's a music writer, but what do you expect? He writes for Rolling Stone, not exactly the mouthpiece for non mainstream music.
Here's an excerpt.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Strength in What Remains ***
By Tracy Kidder.
Published by Random House, hard cover.
2010 Random House Trade Paper back Edition.
272 pages.
I think that one of the most amazing things about this book is that it reads like a fiction book. I was hooked like when I read a piece of fiction. After reading about 50 to 60 pages, I started looking at the cover and blurbs about it and then that's when I realized that it was a non-fiction book. I truly believed I was reading fiction! Simply put it's very readable. Much non-fiction can be dry and it is sometimes it's only the specific content that keeps a reader interested.
Perhaps it was the structure of the narrative that made me believe I was reading fiction. It went back and forth between two times of the subject's life. At least the first 30 to 40 percent is structured in this way.
This is the story of a Burundian refugee named Deo who escaped from Burundi and ended up in the hard streets of New York City. It tells the tale of Deo's escape and then alternates that tale with the tale of his arrival and early life in New York City. In Burundi, he had been a medical student when all hell broke loose and the civil war between the Hutus and the Tutsis broke out. This portion of the story is a barely coherent vision of fear, mayhem and murder - appropriate because that must have been what it felt like to live with it. Yet this part of the narrative still had a flow if not a single direction. It spoke of the numerous dead he had seen, the fright he would feel when he saw people walk around with a machete, the sickness and malnutrition he suffered and some of the kindness he encountered that made it possible. In fact, I believe this, the kindness of strangers, was one of the major themes that runs through the book.
And this theme occurs again in New York City. Now one of the hardships for many immigrants to the US is that often times, they have to work at menial jobs, because their lack of English bars them from an occupation that their training in their homeland was targeting. So Deo come to America with $200 in his pocket and didn't know a soul. He does speak French, the Lingua Franca of Burundi, and a cab driver helps him find an abandoned building to live in. There is crime and homelessness in this tenement, but at least he has a roof over his head. He gets a job at a small grocery and it's there he meets a woman during a delivery who takes interest in him. She works for a church and speaks some French. She learns about Deo's experiences and his education and decides to take him under her wing. She finds him a home with a sympathetic couple. He goes back to school and again, through the kindness of strangers, he's back on his feet.
There are a couple of strands worth pursuing at this point. One is that though Deo is on his feet, there are still some deep scars from his experiences during the massacre. He demonstrates this in his behavior toward some of the people who try to help him. Of course, he's relatively well off emotionally compared with the potential harm that could have befallen him.
Another thought I had while reading is the fact there was something special about him. He was educated. Could people sense this even if they didn't speak his language? Maybe his mannerisms gave him away as someone worthy of a little extra help. What would happen to me if I was a refugee in a foreign country I wondered while reading this. Well, first off I'm white and American so I'd either have my head chopped off or I'd be elevated to king status. I exaggerate but I feel if I could avoid the danger that my foreignness attracts in a foreign country, I could probably get by, because I'm an intelligent, go getting American. I know better than to ignore the fact that my being American is an enormous advantage in such extraordinary circumstances, yet my argument stands. Would I be able to survive by will of my education and force of my personality. I think so, and I think this is why Deo was able to survive. Of course there is some major differences between Deo and me. I would go and seek help. Deo did not seek it out so much but it was more like help seeked him out. If I was in a foreign country, I would be asking questions and putting my nose in places where I could get someone to hear my case. Deo avoided this behavior. Partly because he was still afraid for his life and partly because of his culture.
The book tells several folk tales that explain why people don't complain, or tell other people their business or problems in Burundi. It is a culture of silence and stoic suffering. In one part of the book, the woman benefactor tries to persuade him to write a memoir of his experiences. Deo did not want to do this. He feared his enemies and it was against his very nature to be broadcasting trials and tribulations to the world at large.
The second part of the book drops a bit in quality. After Deo's tale is told, the author does a bit of navel gazing and discusses how he met, researched and found all the people involved. Not horrible reading, but clearly not as engrossing as the previous part.
The final part becomes more interesting again. It is about a trip that the author and Deo take back to Burundi. DeoDeo was at time silent and brooding and in one instance he was insolent to a person who could potentially do him harm. Even though the majority of the violence had ended in Burundi, there was still some dangerous situations in Burundi to be concerned about.
This is the kind of book someone should make if they want to get people involved in world events, unlike the book mentioned previously in the blog about Darfur where it was already assumed that the reader knew what was going on. One has to learn about something before one can or is even willing to do something to make a change or a difference.
Here's a nice general video that gives a lot more information than I do about the story.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PcAQFNLacfw" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen>iframe>
And an interview.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KPWuGVzPVBM" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen>iframe>
Published by Random House, hard cover.
2010 Random House Trade Paper back Edition.
272 pages.
I think that one of the most amazing things about this book is that it reads like a fiction book. I was hooked like when I read a piece of fiction. After reading about 50 to 60 pages, I started looking at the cover and blurbs about it and then that's when I realized that it was a non-fiction book. I truly believed I was reading fiction! Simply put it's very readable. Much non-fiction can be dry and it is sometimes it's only the specific content that keeps a reader interested.
Perhaps it was the structure of the narrative that made me believe I was reading fiction. It went back and forth between two times of the subject's life. At least the first 30 to 40 percent is structured in this way.
This is the story of a Burundian refugee named Deo who escaped from Burundi and ended up in the hard streets of New York City. It tells the tale of Deo's escape and then alternates that tale with the tale of his arrival and early life in New York City. In Burundi, he had been a medical student when all hell broke loose and the civil war between the Hutus and the Tutsis broke out. This portion of the story is a barely coherent vision of fear, mayhem and murder - appropriate because that must have been what it felt like to live with it. Yet this part of the narrative still had a flow if not a single direction. It spoke of the numerous dead he had seen, the fright he would feel when he saw people walk around with a machete, the sickness and malnutrition he suffered and some of the kindness he encountered that made it possible. In fact, I believe this, the kindness of strangers, was one of the major themes that runs through the book.
And this theme occurs again in New York City. Now one of the hardships for many immigrants to the US is that often times, they have to work at menial jobs, because their lack of English bars them from an occupation that their training in their homeland was targeting. So Deo come to America with $200 in his pocket and didn't know a soul. He does speak French, the Lingua Franca of Burundi, and a cab driver helps him find an abandoned building to live in. There is crime and homelessness in this tenement, but at least he has a roof over his head. He gets a job at a small grocery and it's there he meets a woman during a delivery who takes interest in him. She works for a church and speaks some French. She learns about Deo's experiences and his education and decides to take him under her wing. She finds him a home with a sympathetic couple. He goes back to school and again, through the kindness of strangers, he's back on his feet.
There are a couple of strands worth pursuing at this point. One is that though Deo is on his feet, there are still some deep scars from his experiences during the massacre. He demonstrates this in his behavior toward some of the people who try to help him. Of course, he's relatively well off emotionally compared with the potential harm that could have befallen him.
Another thought I had while reading is the fact there was something special about him. He was educated. Could people sense this even if they didn't speak his language? Maybe his mannerisms gave him away as someone worthy of a little extra help. What would happen to me if I was a refugee in a foreign country I wondered while reading this. Well, first off I'm white and American so I'd either have my head chopped off or I'd be elevated to king status. I exaggerate but I feel if I could avoid the danger that my foreignness attracts in a foreign country, I could probably get by, because I'm an intelligent, go getting American. I know better than to ignore the fact that my being American is an enormous advantage in such extraordinary circumstances, yet my argument stands. Would I be able to survive by will of my education and force of my personality. I think so, and I think this is why Deo was able to survive. Of course there is some major differences between Deo and me. I would go and seek help. Deo did not seek it out so much but it was more like help seeked him out. If I was in a foreign country, I would be asking questions and putting my nose in places where I could get someone to hear my case. Deo avoided this behavior. Partly because he was still afraid for his life and partly because of his culture.
The book tells several folk tales that explain why people don't complain, or tell other people their business or problems in Burundi. It is a culture of silence and stoic suffering. In one part of the book, the woman benefactor tries to persuade him to write a memoir of his experiences. Deo did not want to do this. He feared his enemies and it was against his very nature to be broadcasting trials and tribulations to the world at large.
The second part of the book drops a bit in quality. After Deo's tale is told, the author does a bit of navel gazing and discusses how he met, researched and found all the people involved. Not horrible reading, but clearly not as engrossing as the previous part.
The final part becomes more interesting again. It is about a trip that the author and Deo take back to Burundi. DeoDeo was at time silent and brooding and in one instance he was insolent to a person who could potentially do him harm. Even though the majority of the violence had ended in Burundi, there was still some dangerous situations in Burundi to be concerned about.
This is the kind of book someone should make if they want to get people involved in world events, unlike the book mentioned previously in the blog about Darfur where it was already assumed that the reader knew what was going on. One has to learn about something before one can or is even willing to do something to make a change or a difference.
Here's a nice general video that gives a lot more information than I do about the story.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PcAQFNLacfw" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen>iframe>
And an interview.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KPWuGVzPVBM" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen>iframe>
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay ***
By Michael Chabon.
Published 2000, by Picador.
636 pages.
I had been waiting to read this book for a longtime, and for the most part I was not disappointed. I think the ending may have been, albeit slight, a letdown. After all the epic adventures and events in the book, the ending seemed a little too domestic, though I suppose that ending is the natural order of life. People become domesticated as they become older. And this is a story of people's lives through the year.
Though at the start, I was totally intrigued. Here's the story. A young boy comes from New York from Prague to escape the Nazis in the 1930's. The book provides some background into his previous life in Prague, and this is one of many parts that had me intrigued. He (Joesph Kavalier) is trained as an escape artist a la Harry Houdini. I liked the feeling of 1930's Europe and the description of his Jewish family and brother as well as the lessons he was learning in the striving for actualization of his desire to be an escape artist.
However the story takes place mostly in New York City with his cousin, Sam Clay. Sam Clay is a native, 1st generation Jewish American, who has an interest in comics, and has attempted some amateurish attempts at cartooning. Meanwhile, his cousin from Prague, has training in the fine arts but knows nothing of comics until he meets his American cousin. Sam works for a novelty company and brings his talented cousin along to convince his employer to start a line of comic books. They argue that they could give him another Superman type book which was very popular and lucrative at the time. Sammy's boss reluctantly accepts their idea and signs them on and gives them a contract (which we later find out leaves them out of a lot of the money they could have earned by not giving them full ownership or credit for their characters). And a career is born and the book then spends the next 20 years chronicling their rags to riches story.
Some of the more interesting events was Joe's hatred of the Nazis and his wish to bring his family to the states. That leads him to later join the army. He meets his girlfriend Rosa Sax, a character I really liked. She was a bohemian, free thinker, and pushed him to push his comic art. However in his anger over the sinking of a ship that was bringing his younger brother to the states, he angrily left his beautiful , loving girlfriend to go fight Nazis. He ended up in the Antarctic, doing a whole lot of nothing, though he did get to kill one Nazi, an accident that not only was enjoyable (he was itchin' to kill some Nazis) but was in the end regrettable and sad. And so here's the thing, that doesn't quite sit right with me. After 4 years in the god forsaken Antarctica, you'd think he would have been eager to get back to his own life. His brother was long dead and he killed his Nazi, so what was left for him to do? And he wasn't blaming his girlfriend any more ( he was angry at first because she had softened him and took his will to fight the Nazis - even in New York, he was constantly looking for trouble in the German parts of town and picking fights because of his guilt about leaving his family behind.) I suppose that returning to his old life would not have been much of a story, but I really liked his girlfriend and wanted the two to be together. He ended up staying away from her and his son for the next 10 or 12 years.
Meanwhile Sammy was discovering his homosexual feelings and that this lifestyle was wholly unacceptable to mainstream society. So he chose to stay in the closet, like most people did in the 1940's. This is important though because when it was discovered that Rosa was pregnant with Joe's baby, Sammy decided to marry Rosa and be the father of the boy, Tommy. So because Joe went off and didn't return, their careers had taken a decline. Joe was in self imposed exile and Sammy, was doing a variety of odd jobs to support the family.
And then one day, Joe meets his son...Apparently, in his isolation, Joe had been working on his masterpiece and when they were reunited, Sammy saw it and decided it was brilliant and wanted to do something, so now the future looks rosy once again.
That was a rather long summary, but it was a long book. I suppose that topic of conversation should be about the fact that this award winning novel is about comic books. The surprise or question being how could a book about a subject as "banal" as comic books be a work of art. And here we have to entertain the argument of form vs substance. It's a topic argued in the book itself.
Even in this book, at least these characters were concerned about the "Art" of comics. Joe was a trained artist and he was concerned about how to make comics an art after a while. Their book, The Escapist, was supposed to be mainstream and Joe was told to simplify his art. I would suppose that most comics of this era were pretty stupid, though the way Sammy described his ideas in the book, they sounded pretty cool. I would argue though that a written description of a scene can be much more detailed than the final comic story. And they generally were more detailed than the titles of the books they made sounded. ie
So with every form of art that is considered a poorer sister of the fine arts, there are attempts to use that art form for more prestigious and profound concepts. There is a ton of bad pop music, but being a pop/rock music aficionado, I could point out tons of stuff that to me has artistic integrity. Just as today, there are some quality, literate comic books out there, most of us know that already, including the tight wearing all powerful super hero (Daredevil is one of my favorites for it's gritty and expressionistic stories) as well as the alternative and adult comics that one would expect to be more literate.
Even this book proves it's case. It really is a book of pulp fiction. Joe's escape from Prague with the Golem and his several encounters with life endangering situations in which he becomes the hero because of his escape training. Yet the book has a serious, artistic side. It speaks on several themes such as the rags to riches story, racism, homosexuality in that period, the art scene as well as the comics business and history. Some of the language is difficult and yet poetic. There are some parts which were difficult for me to get through. True pulp fiction is never"difficult".
So, it's not the form of expression that makes art, it's how that form is being used to express one's art.
Hmmm.... Normally I would attach some videos but there are nothing but amateur book trailers and hour long discussions.
Published 2000, by Picador.
636 pages.
I had been waiting to read this book for a longtime, and for the most part I was not disappointed. I think the ending may have been, albeit slight, a letdown. After all the epic adventures and events in the book, the ending seemed a little too domestic, though I suppose that ending is the natural order of life. People become domesticated as they become older. And this is a story of people's lives through the year.
Though at the start, I was totally intrigued. Here's the story. A young boy comes from New York from Prague to escape the Nazis in the 1930's. The book provides some background into his previous life in Prague, and this is one of many parts that had me intrigued. He (Joesph Kavalier) is trained as an escape artist a la Harry Houdini. I liked the feeling of 1930's Europe and the description of his Jewish family and brother as well as the lessons he was learning in the striving for actualization of his desire to be an escape artist.
However the story takes place mostly in New York City with his cousin, Sam Clay. Sam Clay is a native, 1st generation Jewish American, who has an interest in comics, and has attempted some amateurish attempts at cartooning. Meanwhile, his cousin from Prague, has training in the fine arts but knows nothing of comics until he meets his American cousin. Sam works for a novelty company and brings his talented cousin along to convince his employer to start a line of comic books. They argue that they could give him another Superman type book which was very popular and lucrative at the time. Sammy's boss reluctantly accepts their idea and signs them on and gives them a contract (which we later find out leaves them out of a lot of the money they could have earned by not giving them full ownership or credit for their characters). And a career is born and the book then spends the next 20 years chronicling their rags to riches story.
Some of the more interesting events was Joe's hatred of the Nazis and his wish to bring his family to the states. That leads him to later join the army. He meets his girlfriend Rosa Sax, a character I really liked. She was a bohemian, free thinker, and pushed him to push his comic art. However in his anger over the sinking of a ship that was bringing his younger brother to the states, he angrily left his beautiful , loving girlfriend to go fight Nazis. He ended up in the Antarctic, doing a whole lot of nothing, though he did get to kill one Nazi, an accident that not only was enjoyable (he was itchin' to kill some Nazis) but was in the end regrettable and sad. And so here's the thing, that doesn't quite sit right with me. After 4 years in the god forsaken Antarctica, you'd think he would have been eager to get back to his own life. His brother was long dead and he killed his Nazi, so what was left for him to do? And he wasn't blaming his girlfriend any more ( he was angry at first because she had softened him and took his will to fight the Nazis - even in New York, he was constantly looking for trouble in the German parts of town and picking fights because of his guilt about leaving his family behind.) I suppose that returning to his old life would not have been much of a story, but I really liked his girlfriend and wanted the two to be together. He ended up staying away from her and his son for the next 10 or 12 years.
Meanwhile Sammy was discovering his homosexual feelings and that this lifestyle was wholly unacceptable to mainstream society. So he chose to stay in the closet, like most people did in the 1940's. This is important though because when it was discovered that Rosa was pregnant with Joe's baby, Sammy decided to marry Rosa and be the father of the boy, Tommy. So because Joe went off and didn't return, their careers had taken a decline. Joe was in self imposed exile and Sammy, was doing a variety of odd jobs to support the family.
And then one day, Joe meets his son...Apparently, in his isolation, Joe had been working on his masterpiece and when they were reunited, Sammy saw it and decided it was brilliant and wanted to do something, so now the future looks rosy once again.
That was a rather long summary, but it was a long book. I suppose that topic of conversation should be about the fact that this award winning novel is about comic books. The surprise or question being how could a book about a subject as "banal" as comic books be a work of art. And here we have to entertain the argument of form vs substance. It's a topic argued in the book itself.
Even in this book, at least these characters were concerned about the "Art" of comics. Joe was a trained artist and he was concerned about how to make comics an art after a while. Their book, The Escapist, was supposed to be mainstream and Joe was told to simplify his art. I would suppose that most comics of this era were pretty stupid, though the way Sammy described his ideas in the book, they sounded pretty cool. I would argue though that a written description of a scene can be much more detailed than the final comic story. And they generally were more detailed than the titles of the books they made sounded. ie
So with every form of art that is considered a poorer sister of the fine arts, there are attempts to use that art form for more prestigious and profound concepts. There is a ton of bad pop music, but being a pop/rock music aficionado, I could point out tons of stuff that to me has artistic integrity. Just as today, there are some quality, literate comic books out there, most of us know that already, including the tight wearing all powerful super hero (Daredevil is one of my favorites for it's gritty and expressionistic stories) as well as the alternative and adult comics that one would expect to be more literate.
Even this book proves it's case. It really is a book of pulp fiction. Joe's escape from Prague with the Golem and his several encounters with life endangering situations in which he becomes the hero because of his escape training. Yet the book has a serious, artistic side. It speaks on several themes such as the rags to riches story, racism, homosexuality in that period, the art scene as well as the comics business and history. Some of the language is difficult and yet poetic. There are some parts which were difficult for me to get through. True pulp fiction is never"difficult".
So, it's not the form of expression that makes art, it's how that form is being used to express one's art.
Hmmm.... Normally I would attach some videos but there are nothing but amateur book trailers and hour long discussions.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Death With Interruptions ***1/2
By Jose Saramago.
Published 2009 by First Mariner Books.
Copyright , Lisbon 2005.
Translation by Margaret Jull Costa 2008.
238 pages
What I liked about this book foremost is that's it's funny. A dark humor if you will - gallows humor. In comparison to the other Saramago book I read, Blindness, I don't remember that one being very humorous. I could be mistaken - it has been a while. In fact I am sure that there was some humor in Blindness but I believe it was less frequent and the subject was so grim, that the the humor of the book was not so forthright. An example (paraphrased) is when Saramago describes death as "working her fingers to the bone".
As usual, Saramago writes in his usual dense and difficult style. There are long paragraphs, no quotation marks and conversations that happen in the middle of the paragraphs. There are run on sentences and punctuation in bizarre places. This makes it a difficult read. At one point, Saramago self satirizes himself when the narrator of the book complains about a writer or a poet who writes in the exact same style.
The plot is sketchy, skeletal if you will, in which Saramago hangs the meat of his philosophising and his musing. There's very little character development. It's all allegorical. The plot is a device in which the author can expound his ideas and theories. These ideas, theories and musings are all related to what happens in the plot which is about death and consequently about life. In fact, as much as a it is a book about death, it is also quite life affirming - especially the second half of the book.
So this is the plot, which may or may not have a spoiler in it. In some unnamed, but obviously European (sounds like Portugal, logically) country, people suddenly stop dying, which seems great at first but obviously has it's downside. Saramago spends time discussing governments and communities and institutions by discussing their responses to the situation. In this part there are not really any lead character.
After several months, when most issues have been resolved by the leaders and the people of this country death changes her mind and decides to allow everyone to die again. But this time, in fairness to everyone, they get one weeks' notice so as to get their business in order, which also leads to more social problems which the various institutions have to struggle with. Death gives notice to the these poor souls by delivering a letter on violet colored stationary. And this is where the first half of the book ends. The second half starts when one of her (death) letters is returned stamped "Return to Sender".
This letter that keeps being returned to her has death perplexed. She's never been denied her will before. She goes to investigate to find that the person who was supposed to die is completely unawares, and is ignorantly getting on with his life. She spends some time with this man out of curiosity and invisibly to him. She begins to form an affection for him. Something you don't want to do if you are the cold hearted killer that death is. Trying to figure out a way to kill this man that defies her letter, she investigates further more and develops a plan, because her job is rife with ritual and tradition, this new incident has her groping for a solution. The ending of the book is actually sweet and lovely and hopeful. We are kind of routing for death to escape her destiny.
There are two ways to read a Jose Saramago novel. You can read it rather quickly and get through the plot devices, which are quite enjoyable, since his plots are very clever and inventive, and glean some of what messages he has to say. This is how I read the book, stopping several times to backtrack over his philosophising. I did not try to read and understand every single detail he wrote.
The other way to read the book, is to actually do that. Sit down and read every passage closely and get a complete understanding. I would recommend the first way at first. Then upon a second reading, I would delve into dense and complicated ideas that he proposes. There's definitely things to discover and rediscover with each reading. And there's no denying the genius of the man and his ideas.
That said, I would cautiously recommend this book, because it is a difficult read. I know enough about Saramago, that if I saw a book of his on the shelf, it would not be the first book i would pull, simply because I know how difficult it would be and I would have to be in certain mind set. That said, the two times I have read him was because i had to and it was some of the best and enjoyable obligatory reading I have done.
Published 2009 by First Mariner Books.
Copyright , Lisbon 2005.
Translation by Margaret Jull Costa 2008.
238 pages
What I liked about this book foremost is that's it's funny. A dark humor if you will - gallows humor. In comparison to the other Saramago book I read, Blindness, I don't remember that one being very humorous. I could be mistaken - it has been a while. In fact I am sure that there was some humor in Blindness but I believe it was less frequent and the subject was so grim, that the the humor of the book was not so forthright. An example (paraphrased) is when Saramago describes death as "working her fingers to the bone".
As usual, Saramago writes in his usual dense and difficult style. There are long paragraphs, no quotation marks and conversations that happen in the middle of the paragraphs. There are run on sentences and punctuation in bizarre places. This makes it a difficult read. At one point, Saramago self satirizes himself when the narrator of the book complains about a writer or a poet who writes in the exact same style.
The plot is sketchy, skeletal if you will, in which Saramago hangs the meat of his philosophising and his musing. There's very little character development. It's all allegorical. The plot is a device in which the author can expound his ideas and theories. These ideas, theories and musings are all related to what happens in the plot which is about death and consequently about life. In fact, as much as a it is a book about death, it is also quite life affirming - especially the second half of the book.
So this is the plot, which may or may not have a spoiler in it. In some unnamed, but obviously European (sounds like Portugal, logically) country, people suddenly stop dying, which seems great at first but obviously has it's downside. Saramago spends time discussing governments and communities and institutions by discussing their responses to the situation. In this part there are not really any lead character.
After several months, when most issues have been resolved by the leaders and the people of this country death changes her mind and decides to allow everyone to die again. But this time, in fairness to everyone, they get one weeks' notice so as to get their business in order, which also leads to more social problems which the various institutions have to struggle with. Death gives notice to the these poor souls by delivering a letter on violet colored stationary. And this is where the first half of the book ends. The second half starts when one of her (death) letters is returned stamped "Return to Sender".
This letter that keeps being returned to her has death perplexed. She's never been denied her will before. She goes to investigate to find that the person who was supposed to die is completely unawares, and is ignorantly getting on with his life. She spends some time with this man out of curiosity and invisibly to him. She begins to form an affection for him. Something you don't want to do if you are the cold hearted killer that death is. Trying to figure out a way to kill this man that defies her letter, she investigates further more and develops a plan, because her job is rife with ritual and tradition, this new incident has her groping for a solution. The ending of the book is actually sweet and lovely and hopeful. We are kind of routing for death to escape her destiny.
There are two ways to read a Jose Saramago novel. You can read it rather quickly and get through the plot devices, which are quite enjoyable, since his plots are very clever and inventive, and glean some of what messages he has to say. This is how I read the book, stopping several times to backtrack over his philosophising. I did not try to read and understand every single detail he wrote.
The other way to read the book, is to actually do that. Sit down and read every passage closely and get a complete understanding. I would recommend the first way at first. Then upon a second reading, I would delve into dense and complicated ideas that he proposes. There's definitely things to discover and rediscover with each reading. And there's no denying the genius of the man and his ideas.
That said, I would cautiously recommend this book, because it is a difficult read. I know enough about Saramago, that if I saw a book of his on the shelf, it would not be the first book i would pull, simply because I know how difficult it would be and I would have to be in certain mind set. That said, the two times I have read him was because i had to and it was some of the best and enjoyable obligatory reading I have done.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin **1/2
By Gordon S. Wood.
Published by Penguin Press in New York, 2004.
246 pages.
The title speaks of an Americanization. One of the main thesis is that the Benjamin Franklin we know now, was not always thought about in the same way as we do now. The man, legends, and myths that we know now did not become popularized and well spread to the middle of the 19th century.
For starters we know Franklin as a self made man who toiled hard at manual labor in his printing and newspaper business, which is true, but he spent over half his life as a gentleman and gave up manual labor as a relatively young man. But the American myth only speaks of his hard work and toil. His later gentlemanly stature would not be considered a very American way of life. The life style of the 'gentleman' was a very old world and European concept. More on that subject below.
The book also speaks and discusses the class structure of the colonies and of England and Europe. Franklin DID start out poor and he WAS a self made man, but he craved and strived for the gentleman lifestyle and eventually attained it. He was an educated man, albeit self-educated. His indisputable genius was a gift and was strengthened by his own efforts at self-education.
The concept of the "Gentlemen" was that a person should not toil manually and should lead a luxurious and idle life. This luxury allowed for the gentleman or the aristocracy to have time to do serious thinking, and be involved with the politics (and power of course) of the day. The self rationalization was that a few intelligent, well intentioned men should run the country (implying that government was not work for the lower class, undereducated people). Not exactly an American ideal, yet this is what Franklin strived for.
This discussion of the class differences took a good third of the book and was very interesting. There was a new rich middle class (a la Franklin) who became rich through business and the work world. These people were frowned upon by the aristocracy as inferiors. These "middle' people strived to be gentlemen, but were not accepted by the aristocracy. They were considered crass and undereducated. Franklin was well aware of this and was careful to develop his gentleman status so as not to appear crass. Eventually he was accepted, so his carefulness had payed off.
Another large part of the book involved Franklin's role as a diplomat. That was his major job and contribution to the Revolutionary war. He spent so much time in England prior to the war and France during the war that he spent the majority of his older age in Europe. He was barely ever in the colonies, though he did come back at the during the most momentous parts of the Revolution.
This long period away from the colonies made him unpopular in the colonies. In fact, for a long time, Franklin was a loyalist (to the King of England) and his role was to convince the powers that be in England that the colonies loved the king and it was just that they wanted representation. This was not the case. The colonies were ready for revolt. Being away so long from the colonies (almost 20 years in England) was out of touch with what was happening in the colonies.
He had many friends in England and he really loved it there, perhaps more than he loved his native American colony of Pennsylvania. After all, he was allowed and encouraged to circulate in aristocratic crowds. He was also considered the "expert" about the colonies, though obviously, he really wasn't aware of current feelings and events in the colonies. Meanwhile he was making enemies in the colonies because he was away for so long and people were not trusting him. All went well for him, but the rift between the colonies and England became greater and greater. Finally, the more and more belligerent Parliament of England took him to task and he was insulted by them. That is the point at which he turned into a revolutionary after all the work he had done to help his Mother England
He went back to the colonies. And then he became a diplomat and was sent to France to help get their aid in the Revolution. He was loved in France, but his fellow diplomats were jealous of the attention he received, and he continued to make enemies at home. But he was the only one who could get along with the French government (There was some distrust against the French since only a couple of decades earlier, there had been a war against the French). The king often would only talk to Franklin. This made some colonists think that he was in collusion with the French and a traitor, but it was clear that the French never would have helped the colonists with out Franklin
When he came back to the colonies after the war, he was NOT celebrated and was relatively poorly treated, even though he is considered to be one of the founding fathers. Not till after his death 50 some years later was he truly appreciated, and that was more for his legend and his myth than for what he actually accomplished during the war. It was sort of a sad ending for our beloved Franklin.
Overall, the book had some excellent discussions like those mentioned above, though I would have liked to see more details of his life. The kite incident was only referred to and not described. Since there are so many different stories about that incident, it would have been nice to actually know exactly what happened. Of course, that was not a focus of the book, but it would have still been nice if it had more details like that.
the state).
Published by Penguin Press in New York, 2004.
246 pages.
The title speaks of an Americanization. One of the main thesis is that the Benjamin Franklin we know now, was not always thought about in the same way as we do now. The man, legends, and myths that we know now did not become popularized and well spread to the middle of the 19th century.
For starters we know Franklin as a self made man who toiled hard at manual labor in his printing and newspaper business, which is true, but he spent over half his life as a gentleman and gave up manual labor as a relatively young man. But the American myth only speaks of his hard work and toil. His later gentlemanly stature would not be considered a very American way of life. The life style of the 'gentleman' was a very old world and European concept. More on that subject below.
The book also speaks and discusses the class structure of the colonies and of England and Europe. Franklin DID start out poor and he WAS a self made man, but he craved and strived for the gentleman lifestyle and eventually attained it. He was an educated man, albeit self-educated. His indisputable genius was a gift and was strengthened by his own efforts at self-education.
The concept of the "Gentlemen" was that a person should not toil manually and should lead a luxurious and idle life. This luxury allowed for the gentleman or the aristocracy to have time to do serious thinking, and be involved with the politics (and power of course) of the day. The self rationalization was that a few intelligent, well intentioned men should run the country (implying that government was not work for the lower class, undereducated people). Not exactly an American ideal, yet this is what Franklin strived for.
This discussion of the class differences took a good third of the book and was very interesting. There was a new rich middle class (a la Franklin) who became rich through business and the work world. These people were frowned upon by the aristocracy as inferiors. These "middle' people strived to be gentlemen, but were not accepted by the aristocracy. They were considered crass and undereducated. Franklin was well aware of this and was careful to develop his gentleman status so as not to appear crass. Eventually he was accepted, so his carefulness had payed off.
Another large part of the book involved Franklin's role as a diplomat. That was his major job and contribution to the Revolutionary war. He spent so much time in England prior to the war and France during the war that he spent the majority of his older age in Europe. He was barely ever in the colonies, though he did come back at the during the most momentous parts of the Revolution.
This long period away from the colonies made him unpopular in the colonies. In fact, for a long time, Franklin was a loyalist (to the King of England) and his role was to convince the powers that be in England that the colonies loved the king and it was just that they wanted representation. This was not the case. The colonies were ready for revolt. Being away so long from the colonies (almost 20 years in England) was out of touch with what was happening in the colonies.
He had many friends in England and he really loved it there, perhaps more than he loved his native American colony of Pennsylvania. After all, he was allowed and encouraged to circulate in aristocratic crowds. He was also considered the "expert" about the colonies, though obviously, he really wasn't aware of current feelings and events in the colonies. Meanwhile he was making enemies in the colonies because he was away for so long and people were not trusting him. All went well for him, but the rift between the colonies and England became greater and greater. Finally, the more and more belligerent Parliament of England took him to task and he was insulted by them. That is the point at which he turned into a revolutionary after all the work he had done to help his Mother England
He went back to the colonies. And then he became a diplomat and was sent to France to help get their aid in the Revolution. He was loved in France, but his fellow diplomats were jealous of the attention he received, and he continued to make enemies at home. But he was the only one who could get along with the French government (There was some distrust against the French since only a couple of decades earlier, there had been a war against the French). The king often would only talk to Franklin. This made some colonists think that he was in collusion with the French and a traitor, but it was clear that the French never would have helped the colonists with out Franklin
When he came back to the colonies after the war, he was NOT celebrated and was relatively poorly treated, even though he is considered to be one of the founding fathers. Not till after his death 50 some years later was he truly appreciated, and that was more for his legend and his myth than for what he actually accomplished during the war. It was sort of a sad ending for our beloved Franklin.
Overall, the book had some excellent discussions like those mentioned above, though I would have liked to see more details of his life. The kite incident was only referred to and not described. Since there are so many different stories about that incident, it would have been nice to actually know exactly what happened. Of course, that was not a focus of the book, but it would have still been nice if it had more details like that.
the state).
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Unaccostomed Earth ***1/2
By Jhumpa Lahiri.
A Borzai Book Published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf.
333 pages.
I'm trying to keep these entries short, but something tells me that this one will be difficult to keep short. First of all, this is Lahiri's second book of short stories. A comparison to her first book would be vital to the discussion, though it's been a while since I read that book. Second of all, I'll probably have to delve into detail on a couple of the stories. So I'll be looking at deatils of the stories and overall impressions, themes and trends.
Her first book of short stories, The Interpreter of Maladies, was also her first book and a Pulitzer prize winner. It's truly a fabulous book and one of my all time favorites. So how does this second newer one rate?
It's a very fine book. She continues writing with much emotional detail. She paints her characters with fine detailed strokes. The characters are likable and the reader feels empathy. Really, it's a close call of which book I like better, but perhaps Interpreter of Maladies is the better of the two books - slightly. It's been a while since I read that book, but the feeling that remains in me about that book is that it was more dynamic, adventurous (in her style of writing - not thin the narratives) and fresh. The stories are shorter so events have to happen quickly. Being Lahiri's debut book, like many authors' debuts, narratives tend to be punchier and quirkier. Not that Interpreters is a quirky book, just perhaps a little more than this one here - Unaccustomed Earth.
On the other hand, this newer book seems more mature and nuanced, (though even her first book had characters that were nuanced - she's a great writer when it comes to character).
In Interpreters, her stories were set in The United States, Britain (if memory serves me right) and her native land of India. It showed an author (or to extrapolate) or a people who struggle with self-identity. Especially the stories that took place in The West.
In the newer book, all the stories take place in the U.S. None take place in India except for perhaps references to trips back to the homeland. Again, the author is dealing with issues of self-identification. But I also think she has more interest in interracial relationships. Almost all the stories touch on this subject. Even in the stories that have Indian to Indian relationships, there are past experiences of the characters of dating/marrying non-Indians.
So what can I conclude is her opinion of these relationships? In the first book, I remember at least one story where it was an Indian to Indian relationship. That was a troubled relation. Who gets the blame for the failure of these mixed marriages. Well, she certainly doesn't throw the blame at the westerners. Most of the fault lays with the Indians,. Why? maybe, like many cultures that are trying to adapt to new ways, they are struggling with their identities. They're not sure how to go about things and are confused. They are not sure of which is the best way to act and behave. The blame might lay at the feet of the Indian-American (or is it Bengali - Americans), but the author certainly has empathy and understanding of what these characters are going through and might even hint at what the issues are for these confused characters.
Perhaps that's a good way to discuss the stories individually. By using the theme of inter-racial relationships as a string that holds the stories together,I will discuss each story.
Unaccustomed Earth is the first story as well as the title story and the longest story. It focuses on an Indian wife and her visiting widowed father. She is married to an "American" guy and he is shown in a pretty good light except for maybe that he's not around a lot because of business, and doesn't always understand his wife's concerns. But this story is one of the few that is less concerned with the marriage and more concerned with the father and daughter and even the grandson.
Hell-Heaven is the story of a Bengali man that became very close to a Bengali family. When he eventually dates and marries a white woman, the family, especially the mother, who became very close and had a crush on him was very upset. Everyone said how the relationship was wrong and that she would treat him badly. Well the reverse happened. The marriage ended but because of the husband's philandering ways.
A Choice of Accommodations is a story about a married couple, White wife and Bengali man who go away to a wedding in hopes of rekindling some of the old romance. Things don't turn out the way they had hoped, but there is a sweet ending. I liked this story a lot because both characters were shown to have flaws, yet it was hopeful at the end. It's difficult to lay the blame at any one's feet.
Only Goodness is a story of a sister who tries to help her brother who eventually becomes an alcoholic. She eventually marries a rich English guy and starts a family with him. When her brother comes back in the picture, it strains the relationship. The man seems a bit cold to her, but he's also correct about her brother and his problems, which the rest of his family has trouble accepting. So this is about a teenage boy trying to adapt to American ways and the blinders the parent wore in respect to him until it was too late.
Nobody's Business is one of the few stories where the main couple is Bengali, but the point of view is that of the American room mate. The girl in the relationship lives with two Americans, but she has a boyfriend. She's very beautiful and the guy roommate has a little crush on her but is respectful and never acts on it. The relationship between the couple is poor. They Bengali guy is not a nice person, and his Bengali girlfriend seems to have blinders on (just like the family in the above story).
The second half of the book is actually 3 short stories that are linked together by two characters who meet when they are adolescents. It is called Hema and Kaushik. The stories track their lives, and there are relationships with Americans for both characters. n the last story they do hook up, but things don't seem to work out even though the initial part of the relationship is great.
I have enjoyed immensely every book that Lahiri has written and she will continue to be one of my favorite authors. I guess I like it so much because of the way she treats her characters. I really emphasize with them and what they go through in their relationships and marriages. In some ways, I see my self in these characters because I had an interracial marriage and I could understand what the characters are going through.
Here's a reading and discussion of the book.
A Borzai Book Published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf.
333 pages.
I'm trying to keep these entries short, but something tells me that this one will be difficult to keep short. First of all, this is Lahiri's second book of short stories. A comparison to her first book would be vital to the discussion, though it's been a while since I read that book. Second of all, I'll probably have to delve into detail on a couple of the stories. So I'll be looking at deatils of the stories and overall impressions, themes and trends.
Her first book of short stories, The Interpreter of Maladies, was also her first book and a Pulitzer prize winner. It's truly a fabulous book and one of my all time favorites. So how does this second newer one rate?
It's a very fine book. She continues writing with much emotional detail. She paints her characters with fine detailed strokes. The characters are likable and the reader feels empathy. Really, it's a close call of which book I like better, but perhaps Interpreter of Maladies is the better of the two books - slightly. It's been a while since I read that book, but the feeling that remains in me about that book is that it was more dynamic, adventurous (in her style of writing - not thin the narratives) and fresh. The stories are shorter so events have to happen quickly. Being Lahiri's debut book, like many authors' debuts, narratives tend to be punchier and quirkier. Not that Interpreters is a quirky book, just perhaps a little more than this one here - Unaccustomed Earth.
On the other hand, this newer book seems more mature and nuanced, (though even her first book had characters that were nuanced - she's a great writer when it comes to character).
In Interpreters, her stories were set in The United States, Britain (if memory serves me right) and her native land of India. It showed an author (or to extrapolate) or a people who struggle with self-identity. Especially the stories that took place in The West.
In the newer book, all the stories take place in the U.S. None take place in India except for perhaps references to trips back to the homeland. Again, the author is dealing with issues of self-identification. But I also think she has more interest in interracial relationships. Almost all the stories touch on this subject. Even in the stories that have Indian to Indian relationships, there are past experiences of the characters of dating/marrying non-Indians.
So what can I conclude is her opinion of these relationships? In the first book, I remember at least one story where it was an Indian to Indian relationship. That was a troubled relation. Who gets the blame for the failure of these mixed marriages. Well, she certainly doesn't throw the blame at the westerners. Most of the fault lays with the Indians,. Why? maybe, like many cultures that are trying to adapt to new ways, they are struggling with their identities. They're not sure how to go about things and are confused. They are not sure of which is the best way to act and behave. The blame might lay at the feet of the Indian-American (or is it Bengali - Americans), but the author certainly has empathy and understanding of what these characters are going through and might even hint at what the issues are for these confused characters.
Perhaps that's a good way to discuss the stories individually. By using the theme of inter-racial relationships as a string that holds the stories together,I will discuss each story.
Unaccustomed Earth is the first story as well as the title story and the longest story. It focuses on an Indian wife and her visiting widowed father. She is married to an "American" guy and he is shown in a pretty good light except for maybe that he's not around a lot because of business, and doesn't always understand his wife's concerns. But this story is one of the few that is less concerned with the marriage and more concerned with the father and daughter and even the grandson.
Hell-Heaven is the story of a Bengali man that became very close to a Bengali family. When he eventually dates and marries a white woman, the family, especially the mother, who became very close and had a crush on him was very upset. Everyone said how the relationship was wrong and that she would treat him badly. Well the reverse happened. The marriage ended but because of the husband's philandering ways.
A Choice of Accommodations is a story about a married couple, White wife and Bengali man who go away to a wedding in hopes of rekindling some of the old romance. Things don't turn out the way they had hoped, but there is a sweet ending. I liked this story a lot because both characters were shown to have flaws, yet it was hopeful at the end. It's difficult to lay the blame at any one's feet.
Only Goodness is a story of a sister who tries to help her brother who eventually becomes an alcoholic. She eventually marries a rich English guy and starts a family with him. When her brother comes back in the picture, it strains the relationship. The man seems a bit cold to her, but he's also correct about her brother and his problems, which the rest of his family has trouble accepting. So this is about a teenage boy trying to adapt to American ways and the blinders the parent wore in respect to him until it was too late.
Nobody's Business is one of the few stories where the main couple is Bengali, but the point of view is that of the American room mate. The girl in the relationship lives with two Americans, but she has a boyfriend. She's very beautiful and the guy roommate has a little crush on her but is respectful and never acts on it. The relationship between the couple is poor. They Bengali guy is not a nice person, and his Bengali girlfriend seems to have blinders on (just like the family in the above story).
The second half of the book is actually 3 short stories that are linked together by two characters who meet when they are adolescents. It is called Hema and Kaushik. The stories track their lives, and there are relationships with Americans for both characters. n the last story they do hook up, but things don't seem to work out even though the initial part of the relationship is great.
I have enjoyed immensely every book that Lahiri has written and she will continue to be one of my favorite authors. I guess I like it so much because of the way she treats her characters. I really emphasize with them and what they go through in their relationships and marriages. In some ways, I see my self in these characters because I had an interracial marriage and I could understand what the characters are going through.
Here's a reading and discussion of the book.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Ask **1/2
By Sam Lipsyte.
Published in 2010 by Farrar, Staus and Giroux, New York.
296 pages.
I first heard of this book in the pages of a popular music magazine. I don't remember - maybe it was Mojo or Uncut, but it got good reviews so I took it out from the local library. And of course since it was reviewed by a major music magazine, most likely the book would be considered "edgy".or hip So what does "edgy" mean? Well if you were to use this book as an example "edgy" you would say its a book in which the main character is a screw up. It has lots of humor, sex (talk about sex in this one at least - not so much sex) and the abuse of substances taken as a natural course of things. The last three (sex, humor, substance abuse) don't surprise me but the screw up, irresponsible characters do surprise me a little. I see it as a pattern. In Rocket Man (see review several weeks back) the character is like that too. Like the character in this book, Milo, just doesn't fit in. Though I guess those types of characters are sort of slackers, and slackers have a certain (perceived) hipness in literature and especially film .
So the story goes that Milo works for a university (Mediocre University) trying to get donors to contribute to that university. The process of getting those donations is called the Ask. Actually getting the donations is called the Give. Milo is not so good at his job and he gets fired after scolding and insulting a young female student whose daddy has big money. He then gets an offer to return in spite of all this because an old friend who is rich (Purdy) has asked that Milo service him in his Give. So Milo gets another chance.
Meanwhile, he's pining for his glory days when he was a painter and was (supposedly) destined for glory - so he's bitter. He's lost his job and his marriage is in trouble and he's having a rough time.
The book goes off on a lot of tangents and rants which are kind of fun, but it does get a little convoluted and out of left field at times. One of the more interesting ideas, and he ends his book with this, is the idea of parallel worlds verses the here and now. In his parallel world, he becomes a famous painter and his marriage works, his future is bright. haven't we all had thought like that. "What if..." But no he's in the here and now, which still isn't looking so hot (not a happy ending to the book - not very hopeful) "I was digging in for the long night of here." he says.
Eventually the plot does pick up after all the flashbacks and meandering (not necessarily a bad thing and kind of fun) that takes place in the 1st half of the book and it is discovered that Purdy has a bastard son (Don) by a woman he was in love with during college whose mother had died and Purdy is trying to keep it hushed. This is the reason that Purdy wanted Milo to take care of his Give. The narrative definitely starts moving at this point.
This is a fun book and there are some splendid ideas to null over here. An over all enjoyable read.
Here's a reading by the author.
Published in 2010 by Farrar, Staus and Giroux, New York.
296 pages.
I first heard of this book in the pages of a popular music magazine. I don't remember - maybe it was Mojo or Uncut, but it got good reviews so I took it out from the local library. And of course since it was reviewed by a major music magazine, most likely the book would be considered "edgy".or hip So what does "edgy" mean? Well if you were to use this book as an example "edgy" you would say its a book in which the main character is a screw up. It has lots of humor, sex (talk about sex in this one at least - not so much sex) and the abuse of substances taken as a natural course of things. The last three (sex, humor, substance abuse) don't surprise me but the screw up, irresponsible characters do surprise me a little. I see it as a pattern. In Rocket Man (see review several weeks back) the character is like that too. Like the character in this book, Milo, just doesn't fit in. Though I guess those types of characters are sort of slackers, and slackers have a certain (perceived) hipness in literature and especially film .
So the story goes that Milo works for a university (Mediocre University) trying to get donors to contribute to that university. The process of getting those donations is called the Ask. Actually getting the donations is called the Give. Milo is not so good at his job and he gets fired after scolding and insulting a young female student whose daddy has big money. He then gets an offer to return in spite of all this because an old friend who is rich (Purdy) has asked that Milo service him in his Give. So Milo gets another chance.
Meanwhile, he's pining for his glory days when he was a painter and was (supposedly) destined for glory - so he's bitter. He's lost his job and his marriage is in trouble and he's having a rough time.
The book goes off on a lot of tangents and rants which are kind of fun, but it does get a little convoluted and out of left field at times. One of the more interesting ideas, and he ends his book with this, is the idea of parallel worlds verses the here and now. In his parallel world, he becomes a famous painter and his marriage works, his future is bright. haven't we all had thought like that. "What if..." But no he's in the here and now, which still isn't looking so hot (not a happy ending to the book - not very hopeful) "I was digging in for the long night of here." he says.
Eventually the plot does pick up after all the flashbacks and meandering (not necessarily a bad thing and kind of fun) that takes place in the 1st half of the book and it is discovered that Purdy has a bastard son (Don) by a woman he was in love with during college whose mother had died and Purdy is trying to keep it hushed. This is the reason that Purdy wanted Milo to take care of his Give. The narrative definitely starts moving at this point.
This is a fun book and there are some splendid ideas to null over here. An over all enjoyable read.
Here's a reading by the author.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Give Us A Kiss - A Country Noir ***
By Daniel Woodrell.
Published in 1996 by Henry Holt & Company, New York.
237 Pages.
I first heard of this author when I saw a movie Winter Bones based on one of his books by the same title. I was deeply impressed, so comparisons will be made despite the fact that the books are different (but same author remember).
The author was born and raised in the Ozark hills and a certain amount of love is shown to the culture and especially the land. The culture you say? What kind of culture is there in the Ozark Mountains? Why hillbilly culture of course. This book is a celebration of that culture and land.
When I saw the film Winter Bones, it was the seriousness of it that impressed me. It showed the poverty, drug addiction, rebelliousness against the law and the misogyny of the people who lived in the Ozarks. It was a serious film - violent and intense. Give Us a Kiss has all this, but it also has some humor. The author makes fun of the characters' white trash roots. He also gives the reader a sexy romance in which the protagonist hooks up with a an Elly May character right out of Beverly Hillbillies. He even references that actress who plays her. So funny, sexy violent and add to that some good writing and what's not to like? Well, it does have a lighter tone than the film Winter Bones so it was harder to take seriously. But all in all a quick satisfying read which I read in the course of two days.
The story goes that a struggling author (Doyle Redman) who writes a series of crime novels based on his life in the Ozarks, returns to his roots and family to encourage his older brother (Smoke) to give him self up to the authorities to save the parents from the daily harassment that they are receiving from those same authorities. He half-heartedly tries talking to his brother about it and then ends up joining his brother, the brother's girlfriend (Big Annie, named for her big boobs) and the girlfriend's 19 year old daughter (said hottie - Niagara) in a money making scheme involving the growing and selling of some marijuana. But there is another tribe or family that is even more dangerous and despicable than our heroes' family, and of course they get involved and old and new feuds are lit up. It ends in violent gunfight to the end.
I will be investigating more of this author's books. I like gritty realism and you get plenty of that in his books.
Here's a trailer from the movie Winter Bones. I have halted my reviews of films since I keep finding my self terribly behind, so I never got around to blogging about this one. I couldn't find anything specifically about Give Us Kiss, this trailer does give a a taste of what the book/s are about.
Published in 1996 by Henry Holt & Company, New York.
237 Pages.
I first heard of this author when I saw a movie Winter Bones based on one of his books by the same title. I was deeply impressed, so comparisons will be made despite the fact that the books are different (but same author remember).
The author was born and raised in the Ozark hills and a certain amount of love is shown to the culture and especially the land. The culture you say? What kind of culture is there in the Ozark Mountains? Why hillbilly culture of course. This book is a celebration of that culture and land.
When I saw the film Winter Bones, it was the seriousness of it that impressed me. It showed the poverty, drug addiction, rebelliousness against the law and the misogyny of the people who lived in the Ozarks. It was a serious film - violent and intense. Give Us a Kiss has all this, but it also has some humor. The author makes fun of the characters' white trash roots. He also gives the reader a sexy romance in which the protagonist hooks up with a an Elly May character right out of Beverly Hillbillies. He even references that actress who plays her. So funny, sexy violent and add to that some good writing and what's not to like? Well, it does have a lighter tone than the film Winter Bones so it was harder to take seriously. But all in all a quick satisfying read which I read in the course of two days.
The story goes that a struggling author (Doyle Redman) who writes a series of crime novels based on his life in the Ozarks, returns to his roots and family to encourage his older brother (Smoke) to give him self up to the authorities to save the parents from the daily harassment that they are receiving from those same authorities. He half-heartedly tries talking to his brother about it and then ends up joining his brother, the brother's girlfriend (Big Annie, named for her big boobs) and the girlfriend's 19 year old daughter (said hottie - Niagara) in a money making scheme involving the growing and selling of some marijuana. But there is another tribe or family that is even more dangerous and despicable than our heroes' family, and of course they get involved and old and new feuds are lit up. It ends in violent gunfight to the end.
I will be investigating more of this author's books. I like gritty realism and you get plenty of that in his books.
Here's a trailer from the movie Winter Bones. I have halted my reviews of films since I keep finding my self terribly behind, so I never got around to blogging about this one. I couldn't find anything specifically about Give Us Kiss, this trailer does give a a taste of what the book/s are about.
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Master Butcher's Singing Club ***1/2
By Louise Erdrich.
Published by Harper Perennial.
Originally published in Hardcover in 2003 by Harper Collins Publishers.
This edition published 2005.
388 pages.
This is one of those books that are very popular with book clubs. I usually try to stay away from those books, but I had to read this for a book club. It's not that the typical book read for book clubs is bad. Usually they are quite good. To have a good book discussion, a book that has some depth is necessary. And this is certainly an example of a typical book club book. It is very good with lots of things to discuss. It's just that when I talk to people about books, the same books keep coming up in conversation. It seems to me that people don't take chances or look for anything different that might be out there, so I avoid those books. Probably because of my desire to be cooler than thou. I want to be able to say, "Oh yeah, Everyone has read that! I haven't, but you should really check out this alternative and different book instead." (I don't mean alternative in the most recent sense of the word (ie. alternative music). So sure, perhaps I am arrogant and elitist, but I also have the soul of a teacher and I want people to wake up and realize there are options out there. That you don't have to read what everyone else reads.
Luckily, I am forced to read certain books that I would not necessarily read on my own through the book clubs. And many book club selections are excellent, so I am able to keep relatively current with what's popular. And this is one of those excellent books.
In fact it's a near masterpiece. The characters are well developed, the narrative is excellent and organized in an interesting manner (It keeps shifting from one character to another right when the reader is eager to find out what will happened next). The prose is poetic and descriptive and beautiful.
Perhaps there are personal reasons that I liked it so much too, or better said, perhaps my personal tastes have a lot to do with why I liked is so much. It's dark! Very, very dark! Yet there is always hope. The characters seem almost superhuman in their ability to survive their hard scrabbled lives. They are heroic and inspiring. It is set in the time period between the two great wars, so that makes this book historical fiction - one of my favorite genres. It takes place in small town North Dakota. A place that has unbearable heat in the summer and vicious cold in the winter with nothing to protect the citizen because of the flat treeless land. So it's a gritty book, another characteristic that appeals to me.
I have some issues with this book but I am not necessarily sure that they are really issues or if they add actually add to the feel and tone of the book. At almost 400 pages, it seemed at time that the plot moved a bit on the slow side. Masterful as the authors descriptions were, I at times had the feeling of wanting to get on with it. And I am a patient reader. It took forever for the butchers wife to die, for the butcher to finally declare his intentions for the heroin, fir the characters to clean out the filthy house that the town drunk lived in etc. But this might be appropriate since small town living in the first half of the 20th century must have been very slow paced. And it's our fast paced lives that make us impatient.
Also, I felt that Erdrich developed the woman characters better than the men characters. It's not surprising seeing as Erdrich is a woman author and knows more about women which would make her more invested in the woman characters. The men are outside drinking beer or participating in the singing club,. The women are inside cleaning and caring and taking care of the house. The butcher is dark, silent and kind of mysterious. The main character, Delphine becomes close friends with the wife. We seem to learn much more about the female characters - even the minor ones. It's a pattern I see in much historical fiction. In many cultures and in the past, women and men led very separate lives. The men were outside and the woman remained inside. Modern times have changed this dynamic quite a bit (for the better I believe). So maybe these less developed characters are appropriate for the time and place considering the story is mostly from the point of view of a female.
I usually get to the plot way before now. The two main characters, the butcher, Fidelis, and the traveling vaudeville girl, Delphine, start out in separate places. Fidelis is from Germany and immigrates to the U.S. after the 1st Great War with nothing more than his butchering tools and a case full of German sausages which he sells to make money to cross the country until he arrives in Argus, North Dakota. Meanwhile, Delphine is out traveling doing a Vaudeville show with a sexually confused acrobat who loves her, but more like a sister. They come back to Delphine's hometown where they meet her drunken father, who lives in a filthy house and may have accidentally left a family in the cellar to die while he was out on a drunken binge. Delphine gets a job with the butcher and meets and befriends his wife. The rest of the story is pretty much the story of the two families and all that has happened to them up to and after the Second World War.e money
The author happens to be part native American, French and German. She apparently writes quite frequently about Native American, particularly the Ojibwa tribe, which is where her roots are from. I had always been on the look out for writers that write about the Native American Experience. I think I might have found one and I hope to pursue more of his books.
Published by Harper Perennial.
Originally published in Hardcover in 2003 by Harper Collins Publishers.
This edition published 2005.
388 pages.
This is one of those books that are very popular with book clubs. I usually try to stay away from those books, but I had to read this for a book club. It's not that the typical book read for book clubs is bad. Usually they are quite good. To have a good book discussion, a book that has some depth is necessary. And this is certainly an example of a typical book club book. It is very good with lots of things to discuss. It's just that when I talk to people about books, the same books keep coming up in conversation. It seems to me that people don't take chances or look for anything different that might be out there, so I avoid those books. Probably because of my desire to be cooler than thou. I want to be able to say, "Oh yeah, Everyone has read that! I haven't, but you should really check out this alternative and different book instead." (I don't mean alternative in the most recent sense of the word (ie. alternative music). So sure, perhaps I am arrogant and elitist, but I also have the soul of a teacher and I want people to wake up and realize there are options out there. That you don't have to read what everyone else reads.
Luckily, I am forced to read certain books that I would not necessarily read on my own through the book clubs. And many book club selections are excellent, so I am able to keep relatively current with what's popular. And this is one of those excellent books.
In fact it's a near masterpiece. The characters are well developed, the narrative is excellent and organized in an interesting manner (It keeps shifting from one character to another right when the reader is eager to find out what will happened next). The prose is poetic and descriptive and beautiful.
Perhaps there are personal reasons that I liked it so much too, or better said, perhaps my personal tastes have a lot to do with why I liked is so much. It's dark! Very, very dark! Yet there is always hope. The characters seem almost superhuman in their ability to survive their hard scrabbled lives. They are heroic and inspiring. It is set in the time period between the two great wars, so that makes this book historical fiction - one of my favorite genres. It takes place in small town North Dakota. A place that has unbearable heat in the summer and vicious cold in the winter with nothing to protect the citizen because of the flat treeless land. So it's a gritty book, another characteristic that appeals to me.
I have some issues with this book but I am not necessarily sure that they are really issues or if they add actually add to the feel and tone of the book. At almost 400 pages, it seemed at time that the plot moved a bit on the slow side. Masterful as the authors descriptions were, I at times had the feeling of wanting to get on with it. And I am a patient reader. It took forever for the butchers wife to die, for the butcher to finally declare his intentions for the heroin, fir the characters to clean out the filthy house that the town drunk lived in etc. But this might be appropriate since small town living in the first half of the 20th century must have been very slow paced. And it's our fast paced lives that make us impatient.
Also, I felt that Erdrich developed the woman characters better than the men characters. It's not surprising seeing as Erdrich is a woman author and knows more about women which would make her more invested in the woman characters. The men are outside drinking beer or participating in the singing club,. The women are inside cleaning and caring and taking care of the house. The butcher is dark, silent and kind of mysterious. The main character, Delphine becomes close friends with the wife. We seem to learn much more about the female characters - even the minor ones. It's a pattern I see in much historical fiction. In many cultures and in the past, women and men led very separate lives. The men were outside and the woman remained inside. Modern times have changed this dynamic quite a bit (for the better I believe). So maybe these less developed characters are appropriate for the time and place considering the story is mostly from the point of view of a female.
I usually get to the plot way before now. The two main characters, the butcher, Fidelis, and the traveling vaudeville girl, Delphine, start out in separate places. Fidelis is from Germany and immigrates to the U.S. after the 1st Great War with nothing more than his butchering tools and a case full of German sausages which he sells to make money to cross the country until he arrives in Argus, North Dakota. Meanwhile, Delphine is out traveling doing a Vaudeville show with a sexually confused acrobat who loves her, but more like a sister. They come back to Delphine's hometown where they meet her drunken father, who lives in a filthy house and may have accidentally left a family in the cellar to die while he was out on a drunken binge. Delphine gets a job with the butcher and meets and befriends his wife. The rest of the story is pretty much the story of the two families and all that has happened to them up to and after the Second World War.e money
The author happens to be part native American, French and German. She apparently writes quite frequently about Native American, particularly the Ojibwa tribe, which is where her roots are from. I had always been on the look out for writers that write about the Native American Experience. I think I might have found one and I hope to pursue more of his books.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Asterios Polyp ***
By David Mazzuchelli.
Published by Pantheon Books, New York.
Copyright 2009.
Seeing as I had read this just after reading another graphic novel, it will be difficult to avoid comparisons, so I won't try to avoid them and state those comparisons right out. Like that last book, Curses, it does some philosophising and can get heady at times. The one big difference is that's much more fun to read. It's a little sexy and it has a sense of humor, The drawings are also more stylish (or stylistic if you like).
So the book starts out in our hero's (Asterios Polyp) apartment. It is destroyed and set on fire by a bolt of lightening. This bolt of lightening is a motif that occurs though out the book. At times it symbolizes the differences or dichotomies of life ( A bolt will come through the frame separating it in two parts) and of course it also symbolizes destruction.
So Asterios , a famous architect, is seemingly off on a journey of self discovery and gets hired as a mechanic in a small town. During this journey we learn of his past life in which he was divorced from his wife. We learn that he is a conceited man and snobbish. He doesn't treat his wife very good and he thinks he's smarter than everyone. During his journey though, his persona is much more humble and ready to listen to what people say. So there is a transformation.
All in all, an enjoyable read.
here's a review. Just listen to the first half since there are two reviews here.
A little hype for the book...
Published by Pantheon Books, New York.
Copyright 2009.
Seeing as I had read this just after reading another graphic novel, it will be difficult to avoid comparisons, so I won't try to avoid them and state those comparisons right out. Like that last book, Curses, it does some philosophising and can get heady at times. The one big difference is that's much more fun to read. It's a little sexy and it has a sense of humor, The drawings are also more stylish (or stylistic if you like).
So the book starts out in our hero's (Asterios Polyp) apartment. It is destroyed and set on fire by a bolt of lightening. This bolt of lightening is a motif that occurs though out the book. At times it symbolizes the differences or dichotomies of life ( A bolt will come through the frame separating it in two parts) and of course it also symbolizes destruction.
So Asterios , a famous architect, is seemingly off on a journey of self discovery and gets hired as a mechanic in a small town. During this journey we learn of his past life in which he was divorced from his wife. We learn that he is a conceited man and snobbish. He doesn't treat his wife very good and he thinks he's smarter than everyone. During his journey though, his persona is much more humble and ready to listen to what people say. So there is a transformation.
All in all, an enjoyable read.
here's a review. Just listen to the first half since there are two reviews here.
A little hype for the book...
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