Recent Reads, Vol II

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: I'm not sure what took me so long to read this one, but as the Pulitzer season approached I wanted to pick up a recent winner. I couldn't help but feel bad for Oscar, the super-dork struggling to overcome a family curse. But even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with him.  Also, the footnotes are awesome. 

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain: This novel appeared on so many "Best of 2012" lists I had hard time ignoring it. Books about war don't usually appeal to me in the general sense, but I'm really glad I gave this one a shot. There are many present-day truths underlined and examined and to top it off, it's funny as hell. 

Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam: I'm a sucker for anything compared to Lolita and after I read about Lamb, I picked it up soon after. Nadzam's debut intrigued me from start to finish. It's both lovely and disturbing in a pervy way. I enjoyed it immensely. Nadzam poses questions that she never fully answers, leaving the reader to discern what they will. This one would make for a great book club pick, as it leaves much to discuss. 

Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster: Auster is easily one of my favorite writers but I found this book to be just. plain. boring. If it weren't so short, I likely wound't have finished it. Goes to show great novelists don't always write good books. 

Recent Reads

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan: This book can be summed up in one passage: "It was not the sea that was cruel, but the people." The novel was entertaining enough, but it was on the predictable side and didn't offer anything I haven't read before.  If I could go back and read it again, I wouldn't.

My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force (art by Jane Mount): I found this one at Half Price Books and scooped it up immediately. It was so much fun to read about the favorite books of Dave Eggers, Judd Apatow, and Patti Smith, among others; the books that shaped them and those that helped them grow and rethink the world around them. Best of all, it got me thinking about my own ideal bookshelf. 

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: I didn't know much about this novel before I picked it up, with the exception of the incredible story behind its publication. Turns out, I was in for quite the treat. Ignatius J. Reilly is obnoxious and crude and utterly hilarious. This book had be laughing out loud - a lot. Fortuna was on my side when a friend gifted me this novel a few months back. I am also traveling to New Orleans in May and I'm so happy to have read this before my trip.

Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner: This book kept popping up on "Favorite Love Story" lists around Valentine's Day and I'm so glad it fell on my radar. This is a sweet, charming love story about two Russian children who meet in ESL class and are forever connected. Tanner writers in simple language and a fresh voice; you could probably finish this one in a day if you wanted to.

January Reads

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: I was told this one would make me cry uncontrollably. Remarkably enough, I did not. With that said, I did find it to be an incredibly touching story that I won't soon forget. If I had known for about its central theme before I purchased it, I don't think I would have bought it. But I'm really happy I did. 

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan: As a big fan of Sloan's short story that inspired this novel, I have to say the book was a bit of a let down. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I felt removed from the story and the characters seemed rather flat. But it does get extra points for a glow in the dark book jacket. 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowel: I wouldn't have picked this one up on my own, but after reading how much Laura and Alice and Alley liked it, I gave it a go. This one was fun to read and had me laughing out loud a lot. A perfectly light and clever read.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon: I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one. I'll just tell you that after I watched The Usual Suspects for the first time I wanted to start the movie over immediately upon finishing it to see all the things I missed after knowing the ending. This book is the literary version of that feeling. 

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach: Mary Roach is really good at writing about science in a way that makes it accessible and really fun to read about. This one will tell you everything you ever wanted to know, and some things you prefer not to know, about humans in space. I didn't find it to be as interesting as Stiff, but I've always been more intrigued by dead people than space.

Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut will always have a special place in my heart. He was my first favorite liberal philosopher author with whom I fell madly in love. His writing honest, humorous, and incredibly intelligent. Vonnegut has got this knack for conveying more ideas in one short sentence than most writers can in an entire novel. His words are powerful and memorable. Although he held a pessimistic view of politics and the modern day world, he believed in the good of human kind.

Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of essays published posthumously, one year after Vonnegut's death. The majority of the essays explore the meaning of war and it's impact on those involved. While there is a focus on WWII and the bombing of Dresden, Vonnegut's writing is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago. I especially liked the introduction, written by Kurt's son, Mark Vonnegut, where he paid tribute to his father and offered an interesting perspective of a man and his writing:

“He often said he had to be a writer because he wasn't good at anything else. He was not good at being an employee. Back in the mid-1950's, he was employed for Sports Illustrated, briefly. He reported back to work, was asked to write a short piece on a racehorse that jumped over a fence and tried to run away. Kurt stared at the blank piece of paper all morning and then typed, "The horse jumped over the fucking fence," and walked out, self-employed again.”

I have to say this wasn't my favorite collection of Vonnegut's - some stories outshine the others - but it's worth the read, nonetheless. If you're new to Vonnegut's essays, I would suggest starting with A Man Without A Country.

Publisher: Putnam, 2008

Favorite Books Read in 2012

2012 was a pretty good year in reading for me. I set a goal to read 50 books and as of today I'm at 45, which puts me a little behind pace but I'm alright with that. Below is a list of my favorite books I read in 2012, listed in order. Some are new releases and others are much older.

1 . Native Son by Richard Wright, 1940: This might be the most powerful book I've read in my adulthood thus far. Not only is this an explicit and heart-wrenching account of the perils of the black man in 1930's America (and in some cases, they story is also relevant today), but it is truly a page-turner. Despite the brutal and affecting details, I was completely engrossed in this book.

2. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, 2012: I don’t have anything profound to say about this novel, except that I enjoyed it immensely. Bernadette is certainly one of the more memorable characters I’ve read this year; she has her flaws but is completely likeable at the same time. The novel as a whole is funny, sharp-witted, and immensely readable.

3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King, 2011: The premise of the novel is what initially drew me to this book, but in the end the reasons I adored it so much was not because it was a time travel novel (I'm a serious sucker for those) but because it was truly moving and really made me think about destiny how the choices we make today change our future in a way we can't even imagine.

4. East of Eden by John Steinbeck, 1952: Steinbeck's prose is straightforward and his setting rich. The novel spans three generations of two families and although it's a thick book, it is not at all hard to follow and reads a lot quicker than I thought it would. The novel delights and engages from start to finish.

5. People Who Eat Darkenss by Ricahrd Llyod Parry, 2012: I didn't expect to read this one in just a few days, but it was just so fascinating. This non-fiction book reads like fiction and follows the disappearance of Lucie Blackman; a young English woman who moves to Toyko in hopes of a more exciting life. It turns out, this is much more than a true crime book. It's also a lens for what happens behind closed doors in eastern culture, like an anthropological look at the darker, hidden aspects of this culture and their obsession with ritual and role play.

6. The Round House by Louise Erdrich, 2012: When I first heard about this novel I pegged it for a powerful book that could expose me to a way of living with which I was not very familiar and Erdrich delivered. This is a story that will pull at your heart strings and make you reconsider the rights and tangle of laws surrounding Native Americans.

7. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, 2012: This was probably the most widely talked about book of 2012, and for good reason. I had so much fun reading it mostly because Flynn is really good at setting you up to believe one thing and then turning it around completely, leaving your head spinning.

8. Moon Palace by Paul Auster, 1990: This is a book that offers unlikely adventure, a bit of mystery, and a whole lot of heartache. As always, the characterization of Auster's main character is incredibly believable, but also unconventional. The plethora of characters and events of the novel are whimsical and odd, but also complex and exuberant, making for a fun and intelligent read.

9. Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski, 1982:  Ham on Rye is a semi-autobiographical novel of Bukowski's childhood; it's a coming-of-age story, but it's quite different from most other novels I've read in that genre. The prose is straightforward but powerful, the diction is crude but intriguing. The novel as a whole is about the awkwardness that is adolescence and growing up in a time when there was little opportunity and making the most out of it.

10. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1985: There is so much to examine throughout this novel. It explores a myriad of human emotions. It's a novel about love, loss, sex, passion, hope, and obsession. Although the chapters go on forever, there is careful attention to detail that I really enjoyed. But this isn't your mushy-gushy love story, not even close. This novel takes patience, but it's worth the effort.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

It's been a few weeks since I finished this. Actually, more like a month. After reading a handful of good things about this book I decided to give it a go. I'm generally not a fan of epistolary novels, but this one sounded different. The relationship I had with this book was a good one; I finished it in two days because it was just that pleasurable to read. This is not a book to be read in short spurts but rather consumed all at once. I don’t have anything profound to say about it, except that I enjoyed it immensely. Bernadette is certainly one of the more memorable characters I’ve read this year. She has her flaws but is completely likeable at the same time. The novel as a whole is funny, sharp-witted, and immensely readable.

More relevant was the cover sheet, which set forth the psychological profile of candidates best suited to withstand the extreme conditions at the South Pole. They are “individuals with blasé attitudes and antisocial tendencies,” and people who “feel comfortable spending lots of time alone in small rooms,” “don’t feel the need to get outside and exercise,” and the kicker, “can go long stretches without showering.

For the past twenty years I’ve been in training for overwintering at the South Pole! I knew I was up to something.

I was actually sad when this book ended because I enjoyed it so much. If you’re looking for a novel that you just might fall in love with, give Semple’s book a try. It’s a gem. And just right. 

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

"You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that, oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell."

Raymond Chandler is considered to be one of the founders of the "hard-boiled" genre, setting the stage for several generations of crime writers. This book was fun to read and knowing that it was one of the first of its kind, it's even more impressive. The novel has been adapted into film twice (1946, 1978) with the first staring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall - so you know it was a pretty big deal. Bogart of course plays Philip Marlowe, one of the more memorable characters I've read in while. He lives in a corrupt world that driven him to become cynical; he's hard-drinking lady killer who also happens to be a private detective. Chandler himself admitted to the unbelievability of Marlowe's character when he wrote, “The private detective of fiction is a fantastic creation who acts and speaks like a real man. He can be completely realistic in every sense but one, that one sense being that in life as we know it such a man would not be a private detective.”

I do not think this unbelievability took away from the novel as whole. In fact, it is this lead character and the overall atmosphere of the novel that carries it. The atmosphere is gorgeous and descriptive and everything has that old Hollywood vibe. Although the novel takes place in LA, the setting is less concerned with the city as it is with its immediate surroundings; lavish mansions overlooking the Hollywood hills, clubs that look swanky by night and seedy by day, and of course Marlowe's own dingy office. Added bonus: I did not predict the ending before it was revealed, which made it even more fun.
 
I will say that I had to pay careful attention to the plot throughout, as it changes often, taking more turns than any other 250 page novel I've read. If I lost concentration for even a page I had to go back and reread it, because you better believe something happened to change the direction of the storyline. Aside from the somewhat confusing plot, I have no complaints. Among his other novels, Chandler wrote a total of seven Philip Marlowe titles. The Big Sleep was the first, and I definitely plan to read more.

Publisher: Vintage Crime, 1939

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

 "I didn't make for an interesting person. I didn't want to be interesting, it was too hard."

Post Office is Bukowski's first novel. Up until it was published he was focused on writing poetry. I finished this book about four weeks ago and never got around to writing a review. I just starting reading Bukowski this year, and he's quite the guy. Post Office follows Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chianski, while he's an employee of the US post office. There isn't much in terms of plot. Instead, we follow Henry through his day-to-day; waking up with hangovers, dragging himself to work, seducing women, boozing, and repeating it all the next day. (Bukowski himself worked at the US post office for 11 years before he quit at the age of 50 to pursue writing full-time.)

Bukowski is very direct in terms of language and subject matter - he discusses sex, women, and booze in a way that would easily offend a lot of people. I admit there were certain passages that grossed me out - like when he discussed his bowel movements with adjectives like "good" and "hot". But I also I found some of these bits to be humorous and smart - exposing human nature in an honest and amusing way.

"The midget was married to a very beautiful girl. When she was in her teens she got a coke bottle trapped in her p*ssy and had to go to a doctor to get it out, and, like in all small towns, the word got out about the coke bottle, the poor girl was shunned, and the midget was the only taker. He'd ended up with the best piece of ass in town."

Post Office is about a drifter, an alcoholic who doesn't aspire to be anything more than he already is. It's dry, it's crude and it's rough; it's filled with profanities, violence, and sex. Bukowski supposedly wrote the novel in just three weeks after Black Sparrow Press offered to pay him to quit the post office to write full-time. I have to say I enjoyed Ham on Rye more than this one because it was more plot focused and less of a character study, but if you like Bukowski, Post Office is still worth the read.

Publisher: Ecco, 1971

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

One of the most revered novelists of our time—a brilliant chronicler of Native-American life—Louise Erdrich returns to the territory of her bestselling, Pulitzer Prize finalist The Plague of Doves with The Round House, transporting readers to the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. It is an exquisitely told story of a boy on the cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of a terrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family. Riveting and suspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator of Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Bingo Palace, Erdrich’s The Round House is a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction—at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture.

The Round House was the first Louis Erdrich novel I have read and I’m already looking forward to reading more. In this novel, Erdrich examines the Ojibwe's modern-day culture, the discrimination they face, and the conflicts and complications of their justice system as a result of jurisdiction. Specifically, if a crime is committed against an Ojibwe member on non-Native American soil, the crime cannot be tried in the Ojibwe legal system. When I first heard about this novel I pegged it for a powerful book that could expose me to a way of living with which I was not very familiar and Erdrich delivered. This is a novel that will pull at your heart strings and make you reconsider the rights and tangle of laws surrounding Native Americans.                                                                                                   

"We want the right to prosecute criminals of all races on all lands within our original boundaries... What i am doing now is for the future, though it may seem small, or trivial, or boring, to you."

First and foremost, The Round House is a coming-of-age story narrated by thirteen-year-old Joe Bazil, who is young enough to not yet be a man but too old to be considered just a kid. We as readers piece together and understand details of the crime and his family’s unfolding just as he does. There is something to be said about an innocent narrator who doesn’t deserve the reality with which he is faced and the amount of sympathy we as readers feel. 

The title of the book itself refers to a sacred meeting place, where the Ojibwe gather to worship and hold significant gatherings. In this novel, the Round House is also the scene of a heinous crime. (Not a spoiler – this is revealed in the first 100 pages.) The fact that sacred space saw such a horrible crime highlights the underlying Ojibwe traditions that were violated as a result of this crime, in addition to the Bazil family itself.

Among other things, I enjoyed that Erdich weaves details of the traditions and stories of Ojibwe culture into the narrative. In the novel ghost expose themselves and wendigos seek to possess humans. Erdich also emphasizes the tremendous support extended families provide for one another in this culture. All in all, this is a story about injustices and how a family pulls together in the wake of tragedy. It’s a story of redemption and speaks to the prejudice many Native American women face across our nation. If you do read this novel, and I recommend that you do, be sure to read the afterward; it details sobering statistics that I think would be considered spoilers if I included them here.

Publisher: Harper, 2012

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fford

“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”

I'm a little late to the Thursday Next party, but I'm happy to now be a part of it! The Eyre Affair is the first novel of the Thursday Next Series and it was such a fun read. Fford has created an alternate history in which the lines between reality and fiction become blurred and people can literally step into the pages of a book, meet its central characters, and experience the setting for themselves. With that they can also manipulate the outcome of the novel and even kidnap fictional characters. Enter LiteraTec Thursday Next, a literary protector of sorts, working to maintain the authenticity of great works of literature.

The barriers between reality and fiction are softer than we thing; a bit like a frozen lake. Hundreds of people can walk across it, but then one evening a thin spot develops and someone falls through; the hole is frozen over by the following morning.

If you haven't already guessed, this is definitely a book for book lovers as it's filled with literary references. I don't want to give away much of the plot, because the not knowing is what makes it so enjoyable. The story is incredibly imaginative and odd, but I mean that in the best possible way. I will say it took me about 100 plus pages to really get into the book, so don't get discouraged if you pick it up and feel confused or removed; if you keep going I promise you will be rewarded in the second half of the novel. I should also mention you'll probably enjoy this book much more if you have already read or are very familiar with Jane Eyre. I wouldn't say Rochester and Jane are main characters per se, but their story is at the forefront of the novel (hence the title The Eyre Affair) and the bits in which they appeared were among my favorite parts of the book. Fford did a great job maintaining the genuine feel of the characters and I appreciated the novel that much more because of those details.

All in all this was a fun, substantial read. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys studying literature and those who love Jane Eyre. A special thanks to Alley for recommending this book so highly. There are currently a total of seven books in the Thursday Next series and I look forward to picking up the second, Lost In a Good Book.

Publisher: Penguin, 2001

Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet

Oh where to begin. I should start by telling you how I came across this title. Ben at Dead End Follies is hosting a year-long reading challenge called Smooth Criminals that I'm taking part in. The challenge focuses on literary crime fiction and one of the categories is to read a work by a writer who did time. Upon googling authors who spent time in prison I stumbled across 10 Literary Geniuses Who Went To Jail. Upon further Googling I found that not only did genet go to prison, but he wrote one of his novels, Our Lady of the Flowers, while he was in there:

"Jean Genet's first, and arguably greatest, novel was written while he was in prison. As Sartre recounts in his introduction, Genet penned this work on the brown paper which inmates were supposed to use to fold bags as a form of occupational therapy. The masterpiece he managed to produce under those difficult conditions is a lyrical portrait of the criminal underground of Paris and the thieves, murderers and pimps who occupied it. Genet approached this world through his protagonist, Divine, a male transvestite prostitute. In the world of Our Lady of the Flowers, moral conventions are turned on their head. Sinners are portrayed as saints and when evil is not celebrated outright, it is at least viewed with a benign indifference. Whether one finds Genet's work shocking or thrilling, the novel remains almost as revolutionary today as when it was first published in 1943 in a limited edition, thanks to the help of one its earliest admirers, Jean Cocteau."

I thought this all sounded quite interesting and unlike anything I've ever read. A male transvestite prostitute as the protagonist? Thieves, murderers, and pimps? I'm in. So I bought the novel at Half Price Books and even after reading a few pages I knew I'd been right - this was unlike any other book I've read before. To start, the prose is shockingly beautiful. It reads like a poem, lyrical and rhythmic. Since I read a translated edition I can only assume that the original French edition read even more handsomely, but kudos to the translator.

Now, describing the plot is where is gets a little sticky. It's not straightforward in the least. It is dreamlike and almost follows a stream of conscious, but not exactly 100% of the time. It seems to come and go; we read Genet's thoughts as he lets himself succumb to them on the one hand, building his own fantasies through the stories of Divine, but the work as a whole seems to speak to the isolation of oneself and the gift of our freedom of thought once it's removed from the hustle bustle of the everyday. It highlights the possibilities of fantasy and our ability to create magic when hurling our thoughts full-force ahead.

The whole world is dying of of panicky fright. Five million young men of all tongues will die by the cannon that erects and discharges. But where I am I can muse in comfort at the lovely dead of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Anyhow, that doesn't really sum up much. The novel is actually quite erotic as Genet's thoughts often tend toward the sexual. Much of it is a meditation on masturbation; an act I can only assume occurs often in prison. This is a novel about passion and intimacy; there are some raunchy bits but they are written so tastefully. It makes sense why Genet may focus on these ideas while in prison, deprived of any sort of physical sexual activity, he chose to write about it as a means of fulfillment and a means of escape. That's how I understand it at least.

This one definitely begs for a reread because there are so many ideas to digest and consider. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to read something a little different,with ideas that may be a little outside or his or her comfort zone. I'd also push this on anyone who has a passion for eloquently written verse-like language.

Publisher: Grove Press, 1951

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 
This novel has been hailed "the it book of the summer" and by this point, you've probably read a half dozen reviews of it. I'm going to skip over the premise and jump right in; this book rocked. This book had me thinking FUCK YEAH GILLIAN FLYNN! This girl knows how to write a book. It's one of those novels that may keep you up past your bedtime as you tell yourself just one more chapter and then I'll put it down. I had so much fun reading it mostly because Flynn is really good at setting you up to believe one thing and then turning it around completely, leaving your head spinning. Not to mention I love a good unreliable narrator, and this book is chock full of 'em.

Honestly, I don't have any complaints. This one comes highly recommend from me and would be especially good if you've recently found yourself in a reading slump. Flynn has written two previous novels which I've heard are good, but most every who has read all three say Gone Girl is by far her best. Listen to the hype on this one - it will pay off. 

*I turned comments off on this post because it was getting a lot of spammy attention.

Publisher: Crown, 2012

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. ...We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly re-spawn, while good, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.

I haven't read Steinbeck since high school when I was depressed for a week upon the completion Of Mice and Men. I'm happy to say that a revisit to Steinbeck's work was all I hoped it would be; moving, intriguing, and just plain enjoyable. I've had East of Eden on my shelf unread for at least a year and a half, mostly due to the sheer weight of the novel. Steinbeck called East of Eden his magnum opus, stating that everything he ever wrote was "practice" for this book.

The novel itself is a retelling of the story of Cain and Able and as a whole emphasizes the idea of free will, that each person has control over his or her destiny. It doesn't matter where you come from or your bloodline, you have the ability to choose to lead a good and respectful life. Of course we can't all be vitreous all the time; we shift and change identities over time, as do Steinbeck's characters. Although this is a retelling of a popular Biblical story, Steinbeck puts his own spin on it, encouraging the reader to sympathize with Cain (Cal). He emphasizes the struggle of the self caught "in a net of good and evil" and examines the human desire to be loved. In one of the most memorable scenes in the novel, Lee, Samual and Adam analyze a passage from Cain and Able's story when they are working to name the Trask twins.

For if 'Thou mayest'—it is also true that 'Thou mayest not.' That makes a man great and that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.

However, it seems Steinbeck also challenges this idea through the character of Cathy, whom was said to be "born a monster." Talk about a crazy, manipulative woman, Cathy is a character who represents pure evil. We do see glimpses of the human Cathy, but she seems to be driven by a dark force greater than her own free will. She's cruel, she has a heart made out of steel, and she's altogether fascinating. Cathy's character encourages the reader to question whether monsters are born or created over time. Upon a little research while reading the novel I discovered (or rather confirmed what Clinton told me) that Cathy was modeled after Steinbeck's second wife, Gwyn Conger, a woman who turned into a heavy drinker five years into their marriage; she slept until noon, shamelessly flirted with other men and left Steinbeck after his best friend died. Furthermore, she kept him from seeing his sons for years afterward. Steinbeck wrote East of Eden as a message to his boys, hoping that as they grew older they'd read it and gain valuable life lessons.

Needless to say, I was not at all disappointed with East of Eden; Steinbeck's prose is straightforward and his setting rich. The novel spans three generations of two families and although it's a thick book, it is not at all hard to follow and reads a lot quicker than I thought it would. I have to admit that while I'm familiar with the story of Cain and Able, I've never read it first hand so there are probably a good amount of religious symbolism and allusions that went over my head. Even still, I really enjoyed this novel. It delights and engages from start to finish.

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1952

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

If you haven't read Carlos Ruiz Zafon yet, you should soon. Let me tell you, you're in for a treat. The Prisoner of Heaven is the third novel in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, but don't let that deter you from picking it up immediately. One of my favorite things about this particular series is that the books don't have to be read in succession. The plot of each book in connected in a circular way, linking people and details across generations and back again. As it is described in the introduction to the novel, "Each individual installment in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series can be read in any order, enabling the reader to explores the labyrinth of stories along different paths which, when woven together, lead into the heart of the narrative."

I will say that The Shadow of the Wind still remains my favorite of Zafon's books, but his two follow-ups are truly fantastic reads. I'm not going to go into too much detail of these books because it really is best to go into them knowing very little. What I will say is that the series is a true testament to books themselves and all the magic they hold; it's about the human desire to understand their past and to make sense of the world in which they live. It highlights the strengths of friendship and family, but also examines the darker side of human nature and the evil of which we are capable. 

I do have one complaint about this book; I wanted it to be longer. Compared to the first two books in the series, this one was notably shorter, at just under 300 pages. However, I'm excited to report that the conclusion of The Prisoner of Heaven is left somewhat open-ended, which gives me much hope there will be more from Zafon, and hopefully soon.

Publisher: Harper Collins, 2012 

The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

When I took a break from reading The Lonely Polygamist, this is the book I picked up. I've had it on my TBR for years. I really enjoyed the first Sittenfeld I read, Prep, but I couldn't help but think her follow-up sounded somewhat chick-litty, which is probably why it sat on my shelf unread for so long. Turns out, it's not as awesome as Prep, but it was a very enjoyable read nonetheless. Man of My Dreams follows Hannah Gavener, an ordinary young woman, from adolescence into her late 20's. It's less about a man, as the title implies, and more about growing up and finding oneself. It's about bouncing back after making mistakes and finding happiness in oneself instead of relying others to provide it. Moreover, it's about adjusting to the realities of life and understanding where you thought you'd be doesn't always match up to where you actually are.

The protagonist reminded me a bit of Hannah from HBO's Girls (seriously, the best show on TV), and not just because they have the same name. Mostly I thought of the other Hannah because they are both a bit awkward, have low self-esteem, and are unsure as to where their life will take them. Only Hannah from the novel isn't as funny as Hannah from HBO's Girls, not even close. And now that I'm thinking about it, Hannah's cousin Pip reminds me of Jessa. Hmmm... But I digress, Man of My Dreams turned out to be a fun, quick read, which was exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up.

Publisher: Random House, 2006

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

He could see the framed needlepoint above the mantel, Families Are Forever, and wondered if the slogan was meant as a promise or a threat.

I picked up The Lonely Polygamist after I saw it on many “best of” lists and read a few favorable reviews from bloggers whose opinions I trust. I should tell you that after reading the first 300 pages I put the book down for a week or so and started a new book because I needed a break. Not in the "this book is so overwhelming I need a break" sense but in the "this book is never ending" sense. In the end I’m glad I went back and finished it – it was enjoyable – but it felt a little too dragged out and meandering. In its entirety, the novel could have easily been condensed to 400 pages or so, as opposed to a little over 600.

This book is entertaining and has flashes of comedy but while reading, there was a part of me that felt like an outsider looking in. I knew it was funny but I didn’t laugh. It was almost like I felt removed from the humor somehow. Even though it was long and drawn out, there were characters and instances that kept me interested. I mean, I wouldn’t have read 600 pages worth if there weren’t. Rusty was by far my favorite. I found him to be the most compelling of all the characters and mostly, I can’t help but cheer for the underdog.

Was it a fun, smart read? Yes. Maybe that’s what matters most at the end of the day. It’s chock full of fighting family members, awkward relationships, and sexually frustrated women. The book is also quite literary, as Udall throws in all sorts of tropes and metaphors. As the title implies, the novel ultimately explores one man’s loneliness and the loneliness of those close to him. I found the majority of it to be kind of endearing. It was just altogether too long. 

Publisher: W. W. Norton and Company, 2010

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski

What a weary time those years were - when you had the desire and the need to live, but not the ability.

This book was on a staff recommendation shelf at Half Price Books awhile back and after reading the synopsis I decided to buy it. I went into it without any expectations, which I've come to learn is the best way to go into reading any novel, really. Ham on Rye is a semi-autobiographical novel of Bukowski's own life, which makes the book all the more fascinating. We follow Henry Chianski, Bukowski's alter-ego, grow from a child into a young man during the Great Depression. It's a coming-of-age novel, but it's quite different from most other novels I've read in that genre. Bukowski's prose is straighforward but powerful, the diction is crude but intriguing. I have to say Henry Chianski is a character I won't soon forget. The majority of his childhood is filled with uncertainty and loneliness and even though he is a prick most of the time, I still wanted him to succeed in life.

This book is not for the fainthearted, as it's soaked with profanities, dirtiness, and violence; masturbation, impromptu trysts in the backseat of abandoned cars, and drunken brawls. About halfway through my reading of Ham on Rye, I actually stopped and thought to myself, there is no way teenage boys think about sex and women's anatomy that much. The subject permeates a good portion of the novel. But it's about more than that; it's about the awkwardness that is adolescence and growing up in a time when there was little opportunity and making the most out of it.

We were the way we were, and we didn't want to be anything else. We call came from Depression families and most of us were ill-fed, yet we had grown up to be huge and strong. Most of us, I think, got little love from our families, and we didn't ask for love or kindness from anybody. We were a joke but people were careful not to laugh in front of us. It was as if we had grown up too soon and we were bored with being children.

In addition, I felt that Bukowski's outlook on life, or at least the outlook he related through Chianski, is somewhat Vonnegut-esque. As Vonnegut stated, "We are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different," Bukowski writes, "The whole earth was nothing but mouths and assholes swallowing and shitting, and fucking."It's all just a deconstruction of the wonderful beings we believe ourselves to be and a reminder that at the end of the day, we are all human, stinking, sweating, germy people just trying to make it through.

I ended up liking this book a lot, which was actually a bit of a surprise to me. I wasn't surprised in the way that I feel like I'm too good for the book and all this crudeness is just absurd (I actually rather intrigued by it). Instead, I was surprised in the sense that a novel that included such low morals and a lack of a plot could communicate such universal issues that felt so relevant to me. That is what surprised me. But I think we can all relate to coming-of-age stories, not matter how great or how little.

Though the novel isn't super short, it's actually a quick read. Highly recommended.

Publisher: Rebel, Inc, 1982

Alias Grace: Read-Along, Part 2

My apologies for not getting this post up on time. I've been crazy busy with a new job and a bunch of late-May birthday activities (my mother, Ryan, and Ryan's mother - have I mentioned both of our mother's names are Annette? Spooky.) that I was able to finish the book on time, but didn't have a chance to post my final thoughts. Better late than never, right?

Warning: final thoughts contain spoilers.

Anyhow, back to Alias Grace. Man, is this book a mind-f*ck, and I'm saying that in the best possible way. The novel follows Grace Marks, a 16-year-old Canadian servant girl who is convicted of the murder of her employer and his mistress. It takes place in the mid 1800's and lays out Grace's past and the controversy surrounding her trail; many believed her to be innocent while others vehemently encouraged her incarceration. Grace herself claims to have no memory of the night these murders took place. The story is told in a double narrative with chapters alternating from Grace's story, to the point of view of Dr. Simon Jordon, the doctor who is interviewing her in hopes of bringing her memories of the crime to the surface. The story itself is a patchwork, combining a variety of actual interview snipits and Atwood's own take on the story. The murders themselves were sensationalized to the point that Grace Marks became one of the most well-known criminals in 19th century Canada. We aren't ever given a definitive answer as to what truly happened, but rather allowed to decide for ourselves as Atwood outlines the details, both fictional and factual, for us.

One reoccurring theme that struck me from the beginning of the novel and remained prominent throughout was the idea that nothing is what it seems. I found this theme especially prominent when Grace described her dreams, or we were taken into a dream sequence of hers. Things she saw or touched quickly transformed into something artificial. Grace describes a detailed dream in the second half of the novel, to which she ends with this:

But as my sight cleared, I saw that they were not birds at all. They had a human form, and they were the angels whose white robes were washed in blood, as it says at the end of the Bible; and they were sitting in silent judgment upon Mr. Kinnear's house, and on all within it. And then I saw that they had no heads.

Many of my favorite novels are those that don't outwardly explain what exactly happens, but instead let the reader decide. With that said, I felt that I had a hard time fully getting into this novel, as the narration was very distanced and the tone quite bitter. I can see why many readers mark this novel for a reread; there are so many details to digest and so many pieces to the novel, some that fit and others that don't. I think I could extract a lot more from this novel through a reread.

In addition, the story as a whole was more subtle than I expected. There was a great deal that told about Grace's everyday life as a servant and the lead up to the murders themselves comprised two-thirds of the book. Considering the novel dealt with topics of murder, possession, and infidelity, as a whole it felt rather subdued. I'm not saying this was a bad thing per se, just very unexpected.

There was a part of me that wanted the events to feel more heated, more immediate. Because there was so much sensationalism surrounding the actual murder, I thought Atwood might employ that energy and feeling into the novel itself. Instead, as I mentioned above, there was a lot of focus on the day-to-day of Grace's chores and her servant life. While I did enjoy those bits, I felt like I was waiting for something more. When I finally did get into it, I was intrigued, but also somewhat let down. I wish there would have been more excitement leading up to the climax, or at least more of a focus on Grace's possession. Without it, I felt that the book could have been more condensed. However, with that said, the quiet craziness is the theme that Atwood does well. I've come to expect a lack of definition in her denouements and a plethora of complications in her straightforwardness.

All in all, this isn't my favorite Atwood (Cat's Eye still holds that spot) but I did enjoy the reading experience, nonetheless. Atwood did a fantastic job capturing the feeling of the period, and I'd like to see her write more historically based fiction. I'm also so happy I participated in the read-along, as this book was a fantastic choice for discussion among other bloggers.

Publisher: Bloomsbury, 1996

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates

I am not doing well, I think. Or maybe just O.K. I know they are writing reports. But I am not allowed to see. If one of these was a woman I would do better, I feel. They believe you, they are not always watching you. Eye contact has always been my downfall.

This book is not your typical Joyce Carol Oates. Zombie follows Quinton, a psychopath interested in building his own zombie that can function as his personal slave. He aims to make this zombie by lobotomizing a human, thereby leaving an empty shell of a man that Quinton and do with as he likes. According to Quinton, his zombie will enjoy anything his "master" will do to him, simply because he is the master. Echos of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the real-life serial killer Jeffery Dahmer are found throughout the plot. The novella is told in a first-person narrative to bring the reader into the mind of this functioning sociopath. Don't let the petite, soft-spoken image of Joyce Carol Oates fool you; she can get down and dirty. I had no idea she has this in her. We are talking anal raping and ice picks to the face. Needless to say I wasn't able to read this book while eating lunch.

However, the novella isn't sick for the sake of being sick. Rather, it reveals the inner workings of the mind of a sociopath. It explores the way he interacts with others through manipulation, how he depersonalizes his victims, and how his understanding of the outside world is so different from that of a sane human. Oates also seems to be critiquing American medicine and some of its older, cruel practices of drugging and prodding at its mentally unstable patients, creating a form of zombies themselves.

A true ZOMBIE would be mine forever. He would obey every command & whim. Saying "Yes, Master" & "No, Master." He would kneel before me lifting his eyes to me saying, "I love you, Master. There is no one but you, Master." & so it would come to pass, & so it would be. For a true ZOMBIE could not say a thing that was not, only a thing thatwas. His eyes would be open & clear but there would be nothing inside them seeing. & nothing behind themthinking. Nothing passing judgment.

While I did enjoy the book, I have to say I don't prefer it to the other works of hers I've read. Because our narrator was a crazy nut, the prose felt jagged, crude and rushed. Much of the book read as the passage above and while it was fitting to the story as a whole,  I did miss the eloquent, rich writing of which Oates is a master. However, I am now more aware of her diverse talents as an author and appreciate her that much more. If I were to put this next to another first-person psychopath killer novel, I'd chose The Killer Inside Me. It's disturbing and bizarre, but above all, memorable.

I read this for the Smooth Criminals reading challenge, hosted by Ben at Dead End Follies.

Publisher: Dutton Books, 1995