This month, in true summer movie fashion, we end the summer season with a handful of sequels…and a heart-wrenching true story.
This is Literary Lollapalooza, August Edition.
Books Acquired:
Fiction: The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkind
Non-Fiction: The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald
Books Borrowed: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Books Read:
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
This sequel to the stunning debut The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo picks up right where the first one left off. Almost all of the characters from the first book make a return appearance here. I can’t say too much without giving important plot points away, but just know that the enigmatic Lisbeth Salander plays the central role here with Blomkvist in the supporting role. Salander was such an incredible creation that it is nice to spend much of our time getting into her head and into her past.
While the sequel doesn’t have the driving urgency and gut-busting impact of the first one, this is still a solid story with well-rounded characters. The plot finds itself relying sometimes clumsily on coincidences and convenient plot devices to get to where it is going, but it is still a fun ride.
Any readers who liked the first book will definitely enjoy this one as well. I’m looking forward to the completion of this trilogy when The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest comes out next year.
Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain
Any constant reader of these pages will recognize Ms. Cain’s name. Stephen King named both of her first two books in this series on his Best Books of 2008 column in EW magazine, and I quickly fell in love with her writing as well reading both books in the last year.
In this the third entry in the serial killer saga, Gretchen Lowell, notorious serial killer, is on the loose. Archie Sheridan, the detective who first caught the Beauty Killer and became her victim and obsession, is now spending his days hospitalized in a mental facility. He’s suffered much too much and needs an extended rest. But bodies are starting to turn up with the Beauty Killer’s signature on them. Has Gretchen started killing again or is there a copycat out there committing crimes in her name. In a society that sells “Run, Gretchen, Run” T-shirts and key-chains that count down the days since she escaped, where does the line fall between celebrity and serial killer?
Evil at Heart is a taut and blazing thriller, easily the best in the series. Ms. Cain’s prose is at its best here, whether describing her hometown of Portland or a crime scene covered in human gore. She is obviously honing her craft with each book, and enjoying herself more along the way. Each page is well-crafted and terrifying suspense, with dark bits of humor and wit peppering the thrills. If you haven’t started reading this series yet…what are you waiting for? I’ve already told you twice! Uncle Stevie told you, too. Heartsick and Sweetheart are both out now in paperback, and Evil at Heart drops into stores on September 1.
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
This is the sequel to Mr. Moore’s Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story. The love story between Jody, recent vampire, and Thomas Flood, her minion continues here. The problem is that Jody has just turned Tommy into a vampire, too. Sometimes love sucks. So as the two fledgling vampires try to figure out how to survive in a human world without becoming vicious killers, they must also find a new minion to do their bidding during the daytime. Meanwhile a blue prostitute (named Blue, of course) has hooked up with the Animals, the overnight Safeway stocking crew Tommy used to work with, and has plans of her own. Lucky for her, the Animals have experience hunting vampires.
To tell you the truth I wasn’t really looking forward to this book. I didn’t absolutely love the first book, and I wasn’t really looking forward to reconnecting with the characters. But the book was on my shelf, and I had committed to this idea of sequels, so I read it anyway. I’m glad I did.
The humor comes fast and furious in this book, and while Moore continues to be completely immature and inane, he finds some fun and interesting ways to be completely moronic. This is a very fun story and the characters are all very ridiculous and entertaining. It’s a fast read, and one that requires no thought at all. You Suck is a blast, one hell of a good time. The funniest writing in the book belongs to the journal entries of a fifteen year old wannabe Goth girl named Abby Normal. How Moore so perfectly captures the thoughts and tone of a teen girl I’ll never know. It seems his immaturity finally finds its calling. This is one of the rare cases where a book’s sequel far outshines its predecessor.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Abdulrahman Zeitoun was a 49 year old father of four, and proud owner of a painting and contracting company in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana coast. His wife Kathy gathered the kids and fled the city, fearing the worst. Zeitoun, a humble and stubborn man, decided to stay and keep an eye on things, after all he’d stayed through all the other storms and been fine. Besides he had clients and equipment all over town, and a few rental properties that he owned, someone had to be there to take care of something in case of an emergency. When the levees broke, leaving New Orleans completely under water, Zeitoun was there to drag the family’s belongings to the second floor, saving much. In his aluminum canoe he was able to paddle around the neighborhood, helping people who had stayed like him to safety. He was able to locate houses where abandoned dogs whined from hunger and feed them. He felt like God had put him there for a reason. But as conditions spiraled out of control in the region between looters and the American military presence, New Orleans was the last place on Earth he should have been.
This true story of the Zeitoun family is a top-notch read. Above and beyond simple reporting, Eggers revels in the details, the smallest points of interest that add up to a human life. The story told here is of a Syrian immigrant, strong-willed and well-liked, a small-business owner and loving husband and father who when called upon to act did the extraordinary; and the uplifting, terrifying, and shattering journey that followed in the wake of disaster.
I CANNOT give this book a higher recommendation. You will love this book, I guarantee it. A better biography has not been written this year. Astoundingly well-written, this one is a must read!
That’s all for now folks. Hope you find some time to do some reading.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Literary Lollapalooza, July Edition
This month I attempt to slum it, then get delightfully literary, and then finish things off with an uber-violent summer popcorn action flick…but wait, it’s a book! With reading this fun, it must be summer.
This is Literary Lollapalooza, July Edition.
Books Acquired:
Fiction: The Damnation Game by Clive Barker, The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder, Spooner by Pete Dexter, Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain, The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry, A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe, Music for the Off-Key by Courttia Newland
Non-Fiction: A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, My First Movie: Take Two edited by Stephen Lowenstein, At the Center of the Storm by George Tenet
Books Borrowed: Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary, The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Books Read:
Burning Chrome by William Gibson
If you have seen any of the hundreds of science fiction films made in the last twenty-some-odd years then you are familiar with William Gibson. Not that he wrote any of those movies, or even the novels upon which those movies are based. No, William Gibson’s influence goes much deeper into the overall thematic breadth and scope of modern science fiction. Like Asimov and Bradbury did for earlier generations, Gibson provides the visionary framework with which we as post Gen-Xers understand the realm of probable and possible science; by reaching into the cultural zeitgeist of the burgeoning 1980’s computer culture, in a sense he fashioned us into who we are today. The man after all coined the term Cyberspace.
Long before there was an internet, or even accessible wireless communication Gibson was dreaming it and writing it down. When he burst onto the sci-fi scene with his now classic Neuromancer he managed to tap into our mass unconscious, creating a world not too far removed from the one we now find ourselves inhabiting.
Burning Chrome is a collection of short stories written and co-written by William Gibson and reading it is like reliving every modern classic of science fiction all over again. From Bladerunner to The Matrix, and seemingly every step of the way Gibson was there first, laying the groundwork. Most of the stories are brief and highly visual glimpses into a world so jacked into its technology, that it’s lost its soul. Among the stories is “Johnny Mnemonic” the original source material for the egregiously bad Keanu Reeves movie of the same title. Trust me, this is better. My favorite of the collection is The Belonging Kind co-written with John Shirley. It’s about a lonely guy named Coretti who while drinking in various late-night dives notices an odd breed of bar denizen and becomes obsessed. The beauty of this as with all his short stories is that he paints a lasting image without filling in all the holes. He is a master of ambiguity, and often the reader is left uncertain of what to believe. Reality in these works is as elusive and slippery as it often is in life, depending on interpretation and perspective for definition.
The future that Gibson paints is not a bright one, and these stories are often cold, gritty, and mournful, but the eloquence of his voice and the power of his images make him a must-read for anyone. Plus sometimes the cold empty void of space is just what is needed in the heat of the summer doldrums.
Candy Girl by Diablo Cody
Candy Girl is the autobiographical story of how author Cody became an unlikely Minneapolis stripper. Ms. Cody is best known for winning an Oscar for the screenplay of last year’s indie darling Juno. She has several other screenplays in production including Jennifer’s Body with Megan Fox coming out this Fall, and is a contributing columnist for Entertainment Weekly. Ms. Cody is a funny and often offensive writer. And this book is a whole lot of fun.
In what is ultimately an outsiders’ perspective Cody delves into the bright lights and dingy back rooms of the stripper’s life, laying bare (literally) all the nasty truths and often surprising realities of the sex trade.
Told in her self-deprecating voice Candy Girl is a fast and frothy read. It is comical, sick, endearing, educational, and often gross. But it is light and good-hearted fun. For those of you who always wanted to know what goes on in those little video booths but were afraid to ask, this is for you.
Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary
Denis Leary is also a funny sonovabitch. His wit is at its sharpest on his phenomenal FX series Rescue Me. But his stand-up shows are also quite funny, if not a little repetitive and immature. Why We Suck is like Leary’s stand-up act. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.
A full-blown treatise on all the things that make Denis crazy about fat, whiny, self-important Americans, it is a bit one-note. If you are even a little cynical most of the good Doctor’s rants are far from novel. Americans are fat? Shocking! Americans have a bloated legal system weighed down by frivolous law suits? I protest!
But seriously, Leary is very funny and there are moments of brilliant social satire to be found here. Unfortunately I think much of the material falls flat without Leary’s caustic delivery. I would’ve rather seen this material live on stage, or at the very least listened to it on audio so that Leary’s personal wit and charisma could fill some of those flat moments.
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Tower Wells
Some people just seem to have an innate ability to string words together in such a way that reading them is a pleasure in and of itself.
Tower Wells is one of those people. This, his first collection of short fiction, is a testament of his uncanny ability. A collection of stories that (mostly) highlight the ordinary and everyday moments of an average life, the stories rise above the average on Wells’ well-constructed prose, subtly building its own momentum on pure lyricism.
From a story about a middle-aged man (literally) rebuilding his life after his job and marriage have tanked on the North Carolina coast, to one (Insert Story) Tower Wells announces his arrival on the literary scene like a modern Raymond Carver, creating a sense of purpose and beauty out of the banality of average human life.
The only weak story in the bunch is ironically the one which shares the collection’s title. A tale of Vikings pillaging and plundering seems blatantly out of step with the rest of the collection, and brings me to think that Wells must have been meaning to draw some sort of parallel between these very different stories. Perhaps it is something about how modern man ravages and burns his own village rather than those of his neighbors, etc. I don’t know; I don’t get it.
Despite this misstep Ravaged/Burned is without a doubt one of the very best books I have read this year. This is a collection of short fiction that sings, an absolute glorious way to spend a warm summer afternoon with a glass of wine. I can’t offer higher praise than that.
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
My friend Josh brought this book to me unsolicited, and said I should read it. I had never read anything by Casares before, or indeed had ever even heard of him. I was, to say the least, intrigued. It’s not often that a book gets placed into my hands.
A contemporary of Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentinean author who, inspired by his Buenos Aires landscape and the influx of poets and intellectuals from Spain, North America and Asia, sought to create a “fantastical literature” that rebelled against what he felt were the artifices of nineteenth century realism.
The Invention of Morel is part adventure story and mystery, part Kafkaesque absurd drama, and a metaphysical and philosophical exploration of reality and our perceptions of reality. The story of an escaped political prisoner, our hero finds himself living on a deserted island and witnessing the most unusual of comings and goings. Thinking himself mad, he seeks to uncover the secret behind the mysterious group of people that seem to come and go at a moment’s notice. To make matters worse, he finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dark-haired girl in the group. But why does she pretend not to see him? Is she torturing him or setting him up for capture? As he digs deeper, the clear distinctions between reality and perception starts to thin, raising the question “how can he be with one he loves when she doesn’t and truly can’t ever know him?”
This is a fast read and an amazingly athletic and dexterous one at that. With what seems like little or no effort Casares manages to weave incredibly deep strands of thought into what comes across as a simple adventure story. It isn’t until you’ve finished the thing and let it really sink in that you marvel at the author’s ability to get under your psychic skin without ever letting you know he was there.
Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
It should be no surprise that Beat the Reaper coming in paperback September 14 from Back Bay Books has already been optioned for film rights by New Regency Productions.
Josh Bazell’s frenetic break-neck paced debut thriller is pure cinematic fun. It weaves and bobs and slashes and bashes like a Tarantino film about doctors and mafia dons. Think the visual style of Lucky Number Slevin mixed with the comic sensibilities of Pulp Fiction. It ain’t pretty, but is sure is fun.
Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan’s worst hospital. He’s keeping himself awake for his shift by chewing down whatever medications he can cop off nurses or patients, and to make matters worse some guy just tried to mug him on his way into work. Dr. Brown has patients he’s struggling to keep alive, and a secret he’s desperately trying to keep hidden: he’s an ex-Mafia hit man with a knack for violence. And as if things weren’t bad enough he was just recognized by his new patient, Nicholas LoBrutto. Now he’s got hit men and government agents closing in and Dr. Peter Brown must find a way to keep himself and his patients alive until end of his shift.
A hard-boiled uber-violent mix of medical mayhem and mafia shenanigans Beat the Reaper is pure blood-soaked fun. It’s a summer popcorn flick without the film. You won’t find anything resembling a message here. There are no deeper meanings, no symbolism, no thematic structures; this is fluff. But hey, if you like your comedy black and your violence bloody and your good guys just a little bit bad, this just might be your cup of tea.
Whew! July was a busy month. I have a feeling things are going to slow down in August. Join me next month here at Literary Lollapalooza and read about what I’ve been reading.
This is Literary Lollapalooza, July Edition.
Books Acquired:
Fiction: The Damnation Game by Clive Barker, The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder, Spooner by Pete Dexter, Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain, The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry, A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe, Music for the Off-Key by Courttia Newland
Non-Fiction: A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, My First Movie: Take Two edited by Stephen Lowenstein, At the Center of the Storm by George Tenet
Books Borrowed: Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary, The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Books Read:
Burning Chrome by William Gibson
If you have seen any of the hundreds of science fiction films made in the last twenty-some-odd years then you are familiar with William Gibson. Not that he wrote any of those movies, or even the novels upon which those movies are based. No, William Gibson’s influence goes much deeper into the overall thematic breadth and scope of modern science fiction. Like Asimov and Bradbury did for earlier generations, Gibson provides the visionary framework with which we as post Gen-Xers understand the realm of probable and possible science; by reaching into the cultural zeitgeist of the burgeoning 1980’s computer culture, in a sense he fashioned us into who we are today. The man after all coined the term Cyberspace.
Long before there was an internet, or even accessible wireless communication Gibson was dreaming it and writing it down. When he burst onto the sci-fi scene with his now classic Neuromancer he managed to tap into our mass unconscious, creating a world not too far removed from the one we now find ourselves inhabiting.
Burning Chrome is a collection of short stories written and co-written by William Gibson and reading it is like reliving every modern classic of science fiction all over again. From Bladerunner to The Matrix, and seemingly every step of the way Gibson was there first, laying the groundwork. Most of the stories are brief and highly visual glimpses into a world so jacked into its technology, that it’s lost its soul. Among the stories is “Johnny Mnemonic” the original source material for the egregiously bad Keanu Reeves movie of the same title. Trust me, this is better. My favorite of the collection is The Belonging Kind co-written with John Shirley. It’s about a lonely guy named Coretti who while drinking in various late-night dives notices an odd breed of bar denizen and becomes obsessed. The beauty of this as with all his short stories is that he paints a lasting image without filling in all the holes. He is a master of ambiguity, and often the reader is left uncertain of what to believe. Reality in these works is as elusive and slippery as it often is in life, depending on interpretation and perspective for definition.
The future that Gibson paints is not a bright one, and these stories are often cold, gritty, and mournful, but the eloquence of his voice and the power of his images make him a must-read for anyone. Plus sometimes the cold empty void of space is just what is needed in the heat of the summer doldrums.
Candy Girl by Diablo Cody
Candy Girl is the autobiographical story of how author Cody became an unlikely Minneapolis stripper. Ms. Cody is best known for winning an Oscar for the screenplay of last year’s indie darling Juno. She has several other screenplays in production including Jennifer’s Body with Megan Fox coming out this Fall, and is a contributing columnist for Entertainment Weekly. Ms. Cody is a funny and often offensive writer. And this book is a whole lot of fun.
In what is ultimately an outsiders’ perspective Cody delves into the bright lights and dingy back rooms of the stripper’s life, laying bare (literally) all the nasty truths and often surprising realities of the sex trade.
Told in her self-deprecating voice Candy Girl is a fast and frothy read. It is comical, sick, endearing, educational, and often gross. But it is light and good-hearted fun. For those of you who always wanted to know what goes on in those little video booths but were afraid to ask, this is for you.
Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary
Denis Leary is also a funny sonovabitch. His wit is at its sharpest on his phenomenal FX series Rescue Me. But his stand-up shows are also quite funny, if not a little repetitive and immature. Why We Suck is like Leary’s stand-up act. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.
A full-blown treatise on all the things that make Denis crazy about fat, whiny, self-important Americans, it is a bit one-note. If you are even a little cynical most of the good Doctor’s rants are far from novel. Americans are fat? Shocking! Americans have a bloated legal system weighed down by frivolous law suits? I protest!
But seriously, Leary is very funny and there are moments of brilliant social satire to be found here. Unfortunately I think much of the material falls flat without Leary’s caustic delivery. I would’ve rather seen this material live on stage, or at the very least listened to it on audio so that Leary’s personal wit and charisma could fill some of those flat moments.
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Tower Wells
Some people just seem to have an innate ability to string words together in such a way that reading them is a pleasure in and of itself.
Tower Wells is one of those people. This, his first collection of short fiction, is a testament of his uncanny ability. A collection of stories that (mostly) highlight the ordinary and everyday moments of an average life, the stories rise above the average on Wells’ well-constructed prose, subtly building its own momentum on pure lyricism.
From a story about a middle-aged man (literally) rebuilding his life after his job and marriage have tanked on the North Carolina coast, to one (Insert Story) Tower Wells announces his arrival on the literary scene like a modern Raymond Carver, creating a sense of purpose and beauty out of the banality of average human life.
The only weak story in the bunch is ironically the one which shares the collection’s title. A tale of Vikings pillaging and plundering seems blatantly out of step with the rest of the collection, and brings me to think that Wells must have been meaning to draw some sort of parallel between these very different stories. Perhaps it is something about how modern man ravages and burns his own village rather than those of his neighbors, etc. I don’t know; I don’t get it.
Despite this misstep Ravaged/Burned is without a doubt one of the very best books I have read this year. This is a collection of short fiction that sings, an absolute glorious way to spend a warm summer afternoon with a glass of wine. I can’t offer higher praise than that.
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
My friend Josh brought this book to me unsolicited, and said I should read it. I had never read anything by Casares before, or indeed had ever even heard of him. I was, to say the least, intrigued. It’s not often that a book gets placed into my hands.
A contemporary of Jorge Luis Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentinean author who, inspired by his Buenos Aires landscape and the influx of poets and intellectuals from Spain, North America and Asia, sought to create a “fantastical literature” that rebelled against what he felt were the artifices of nineteenth century realism.
The Invention of Morel is part adventure story and mystery, part Kafkaesque absurd drama, and a metaphysical and philosophical exploration of reality and our perceptions of reality. The story of an escaped political prisoner, our hero finds himself living on a deserted island and witnessing the most unusual of comings and goings. Thinking himself mad, he seeks to uncover the secret behind the mysterious group of people that seem to come and go at a moment’s notice. To make matters worse, he finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dark-haired girl in the group. But why does she pretend not to see him? Is she torturing him or setting him up for capture? As he digs deeper, the clear distinctions between reality and perception starts to thin, raising the question “how can he be with one he loves when she doesn’t and truly can’t ever know him?”
This is a fast read and an amazingly athletic and dexterous one at that. With what seems like little or no effort Casares manages to weave incredibly deep strands of thought into what comes across as a simple adventure story. It isn’t until you’ve finished the thing and let it really sink in that you marvel at the author’s ability to get under your psychic skin without ever letting you know he was there.
Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
It should be no surprise that Beat the Reaper coming in paperback September 14 from Back Bay Books has already been optioned for film rights by New Regency Productions.
Josh Bazell’s frenetic break-neck paced debut thriller is pure cinematic fun. It weaves and bobs and slashes and bashes like a Tarantino film about doctors and mafia dons. Think the visual style of Lucky Number Slevin mixed with the comic sensibilities of Pulp Fiction. It ain’t pretty, but is sure is fun.
Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan’s worst hospital. He’s keeping himself awake for his shift by chewing down whatever medications he can cop off nurses or patients, and to make matters worse some guy just tried to mug him on his way into work. Dr. Brown has patients he’s struggling to keep alive, and a secret he’s desperately trying to keep hidden: he’s an ex-Mafia hit man with a knack for violence. And as if things weren’t bad enough he was just recognized by his new patient, Nicholas LoBrutto. Now he’s got hit men and government agents closing in and Dr. Peter Brown must find a way to keep himself and his patients alive until end of his shift.
A hard-boiled uber-violent mix of medical mayhem and mafia shenanigans Beat the Reaper is pure blood-soaked fun. It’s a summer popcorn flick without the film. You won’t find anything resembling a message here. There are no deeper meanings, no symbolism, no thematic structures; this is fluff. But hey, if you like your comedy black and your violence bloody and your good guys just a little bit bad, this just might be your cup of tea.
Whew! July was a busy month. I have a feeling things are going to slow down in August. Join me next month here at Literary Lollapalooza and read about what I’ve been reading.
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