Finished Mo 3/30/2020
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. I said that I really like the author, and she leant me four more of Berg's novels.
John and Irene have been divorced for ten years, yet they are both deeply connected to their eighteen year old daughter, Sadie. Irene and Sadie live in San Francisco and John lives in Minnesota.
They have successfully shared custody since Sadie was eight. Irene is over protective, and Sadie is chafing at the constant meddling.
Both Irene and John date, yet they both cannot seem to connect.
Valerie, Irene's best friend, says "You have so much love to give! But I feel like you're all the time digging in the tomato bin, saying, 'Where Are the apples?'"
John mentions that he say a cartoon where someone is always asking, 'What is 2 plus 2'?, and since the answer is always '4', it upsets him. This means that he's never comfortable with the way that things are, and he wishes reality was not so hard and fast.
Sadie is truly in love with Ron. They are both eighteen and about to start college.
Sadie tells Irene that she is going rock climbing with friends for the weekend. Irene is dead set against it, but finally relents. Actually, Ron and Sadie were going on a romantic car trip up the coast.
The day of the trip, Sadie is kidnapped by a man who puts her in a cage or a cell. Ron witnessed the abduction and calls the police. Irene is held captive for a day or so, but finally freed by the police.
This incident is so traumatizing that Sadie realizes that she does love Ron and they must get married. Or maybe they were fated to marry all along. But, the kidnapping certainly galvanized Sadie's parents.
I loved the book because it dealt with a man and wife who had divorced long ago and were still trying to make a go of their relationship. But, not in a romantic way, but for the sake of Sadie, they know that they must remain cordial. They come to realize that although they are no longer man and wife, the will be parents forever.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Berg lives in Oak Park, Il and was a registered nurse for ten years. She lived in Minnesota. Her work has been called 'sentimental', and to a certain extent I agree, but her characters are so well conceived and the stories are always very compelling and absolutely believable.
MAJOR COMPLAINT:
Since the kidnapping was such a big event in the novel, I felt that it really didn't get enough attention.
From the book's page on Amazon:
"Even on their wedding day, John and Irene sensed that they were about to make a mistake. Years later, divorced, dating other people, and living in different parts of the country, they seem to have nothing in common—nothing except the most important person in each of their lives: Sadie, their spirited eighteen-year-old daughter. Feeling smothered by Irene and distanced from John, Sadie is growing more and more attached to her new boyfriend, Ron. When tragedy strikes, Irene and John come together to support the daughter they love so dearly. What takes longer is to remember how they really feel about each other. Elizabeth Berg’s immense talent shines in this unforgettable novel about the power of love, the unshakeable bonds of family, and the beauty of second chances."
A complaint against the novel by 'Fiction Book Review':
" When Sadie is safely returned, and rushes into marriage, John and Irene are forced to deal with their own failures, and finally start to understand where they went wrong (as well as what they did right). Unfortunately, Berg doesn't give readers a reason to like care for any of her players, much less to invest in their relationship. And the kidnapping, both exploitative and anticlimactic, is too contrived, nothing but mechanics, the most obvious of inciting incidents. If Berg (The Last Time I Saw You) is out to plumb the depths of the modern marriage in the hopes of touching the profound, it fails to come across here."
I think this is a little strong, but I can see where it's coming from.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Saturday, March 28, 2020
SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE by Ian Rankin
Finished Fr 3/27/2020
This is a trade paperback that I bought at the library book sale on Fr 6/7/19
Published in 2015 it is a later book in the John Rebus series.
The title refers to the book of rules for Scottish police to interact with the public. How police should conduct themselves.
The Saints was an Australian rock band from the 70's, but the title refers to a group of detectives in the Edinburgh, Scotland police force. They believed that they were involved in a complete war on crime and they would do whatever was necessary to win that war. And, the actual laws of the country were secondary to that goal.
The plot of the novel concerns a murder of a man who witnessed one of The Saints accidently kill a prisoner during interrogation. This man was killed by one of The Saints, although now they are retired. The murder happened in the 80's. The man's wife pulled the trigger and she was doing it to protect her husband who is dying of cancer. John Rebus had a relationship with this woman back in the day.
There is also a traffic accident involving the daughter or a very wealthy Scottish businessman. She claimed that she was alone and driving the car, but Rebus learns that the driver was a boy who is the son of an influential Scottish politician.
Siobhan (pronounced- 'Chiv-awn') Clarke is technically Rebus's boss in this novel. He has left the police department and is back as a kind of detective in Cold Case Files.
The relationship between Siobhan and John is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. She learned a lot from John as to how to be a detective, and she also learned from him how not to behave as a detective.
Malcolm Fox is another detective that becomes closer to Rebus. This man is temporarily in Internal Affairs and he works with Rebus and they come to respect each other.
The best part of Ian Rankin's novels is the character of John Rebus. He's rough and drinks and smokes incessantly, but his heart is in the right place. He wasn't part of the 'Saints culture' because he was just new on the job when the group was active. I think that had he been fully vetted with the men he would have been part of the illicit activities of the group. He would certainly shed no tears if a bad man was brought down and the rules were not rigidly adhered to.
Rebus loves good music. He is a Stones fanatic and is always playing vinyl on his player. I learned about the Scottish musician, John Martyn from this novel. One of the chapters ends with Rebus putting on Martyn's album, 'SOLID AIR'. I found that album on YouTube and many more that I downloaded from Amazon Music. Martyn's style is a blend of Folk, Jazz, and Electronica, and I really like it. And that night I watched a YouTube video documentary about Martyn and wasn't all that surprised that this musician has struggled his whole life with drugs and drink. In his own biopic he was barely coherent and even lost part of a leg. This was most likely due to diabetes due to alcoholism.
I would summarize that there is not much of a plot, or it's far too convoluted to follow, but all is worth it as you watch John Rebus conduct his investigations.
From the book's page on Amazon:
"Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. He is investigating a car accident when news arrives that a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. Rebus's team from those days is suspected of helping a murderer escape justice to further their own ends.
Malcolm Fox, in what will be his last case as an internal affairs cop, is tasked with finding out the truth. Past and present are about to collide in shocking and murderous fashion. What does Rebus have to hide? And whose side is he really on? His colleagues back then called themselves "The Saints," and swore a bond on something called the Shadow Bible. But times have changed and the crimes of the past may not stay hidden much longer -- and may also play a role in the present, as Scotland gears up for a referendum on independence.
Allegiances are being formed, enemies made, and huge questions asked. Who are the saints and who the sinners? And can the one ever become the other?"
From a review in the Independent:
"Saints meditates on the changing nature of police work. Rebus, with his network of snouts and underworld contacts, his willingness to take liberties with the law, even to out-and-out break it, is something of a dinosaur when set against a new generation of web savvy coppers. When his rough-hewn sort have finally departed the police service, it ought to be a cleaner place, but will it be a better place?"
This is a trade paperback that I bought at the library book sale on Fr 6/7/19
Published in 2015 it is a later book in the John Rebus series.
The title refers to the book of rules for Scottish police to interact with the public. How police should conduct themselves.
The Saints was an Australian rock band from the 70's, but the title refers to a group of detectives in the Edinburgh, Scotland police force. They believed that they were involved in a complete war on crime and they would do whatever was necessary to win that war. And, the actual laws of the country were secondary to that goal.
The plot of the novel concerns a murder of a man who witnessed one of The Saints accidently kill a prisoner during interrogation. This man was killed by one of The Saints, although now they are retired. The murder happened in the 80's. The man's wife pulled the trigger and she was doing it to protect her husband who is dying of cancer. John Rebus had a relationship with this woman back in the day.
There is also a traffic accident involving the daughter or a very wealthy Scottish businessman. She claimed that she was alone and driving the car, but Rebus learns that the driver was a boy who is the son of an influential Scottish politician.
Siobhan (pronounced- 'Chiv-awn') Clarke is technically Rebus's boss in this novel. He has left the police department and is back as a kind of detective in Cold Case Files.
The relationship between Siobhan and John is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. She learned a lot from John as to how to be a detective, and she also learned from him how not to behave as a detective.
Malcolm Fox is another detective that becomes closer to Rebus. This man is temporarily in Internal Affairs and he works with Rebus and they come to respect each other.
The best part of Ian Rankin's novels is the character of John Rebus. He's rough and drinks and smokes incessantly, but his heart is in the right place. He wasn't part of the 'Saints culture' because he was just new on the job when the group was active. I think that had he been fully vetted with the men he would have been part of the illicit activities of the group. He would certainly shed no tears if a bad man was brought down and the rules were not rigidly adhered to.
Rebus loves good music. He is a Stones fanatic and is always playing vinyl on his player. I learned about the Scottish musician, John Martyn from this novel. One of the chapters ends with Rebus putting on Martyn's album, 'SOLID AIR'. I found that album on YouTube and many more that I downloaded from Amazon Music. Martyn's style is a blend of Folk, Jazz, and Electronica, and I really like it. And that night I watched a YouTube video documentary about Martyn and wasn't all that surprised that this musician has struggled his whole life with drugs and drink. In his own biopic he was barely coherent and even lost part of a leg. This was most likely due to diabetes due to alcoholism.
I would summarize that there is not much of a plot, or it's far too convoluted to follow, but all is worth it as you watch John Rebus conduct his investigations.
From the book's page on Amazon:
"Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. He is investigating a car accident when news arrives that a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. Rebus's team from those days is suspected of helping a murderer escape justice to further their own ends.
Malcolm Fox, in what will be his last case as an internal affairs cop, is tasked with finding out the truth. Past and present are about to collide in shocking and murderous fashion. What does Rebus have to hide? And whose side is he really on? His colleagues back then called themselves "The Saints," and swore a bond on something called the Shadow Bible. But times have changed and the crimes of the past may not stay hidden much longer -- and may also play a role in the present, as Scotland gears up for a referendum on independence.
Allegiances are being formed, enemies made, and huge questions asked. Who are the saints and who the sinners? And can the one ever become the other?"
From a review in the Independent:
"Saints meditates on the changing nature of police work. Rebus, with his network of snouts and underworld contacts, his willingness to take liberties with the law, even to out-and-out break it, is something of a dinosaur when set against a new generation of web savvy coppers. When his rough-hewn sort have finally departed the police service, it ought to be a cleaner place, but will it be a better place?"
Monday, March 23, 2020
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA by Philip Roth
Finished Su 3/22/20- The first book finished during the Coronavirus quarantine.
This is the third time that I've read this book. I bought the novel on Amazon- Fr 5/9/08, and read- We 11/22/10 and Sa 11/7/15. I guess I read this book every five years, and well worth the effort.
Charles A. Lindbergh beats FDR for the presidency as an 'America First' candidate. He successfully presented WWII as a 'Jewish war'. He becomes a 'social' ally of The Third Reich.
Philip Roth- 9 years old, stamp collection, naive and a 'good boy'.
Sandy- Philip's older brother by five years. An artist, then a 'ladies man'. For a time lives in Kentucky as a member of the government's 'American Office of Absorption'. He fully believes in Lindbergh however the program is designed to split up the Jewish communities across the nation.
Father- First of his family to have a white collar job. He works for Metropolitan Insurance. Rejects a promotion, then quits when he learns that he and his family would have to be relocated. He then works for his brother, 'Monty The Tomato King'.
Mother- Worked as an officer in the PTA and then a stay at home mother. Terrified of the times and probably would like to leave for Canada, but her husband is defiantly 'pro American'.
Alvin- The son of Philip's dead brother. The Roth's take him in and he is about nine years older than Philip. Philip idolizes Alvin. Had an opportunity to work for his uncle in the construction trade, but Alvin decides to fight the Nazi's and joins the army in Canada. Alvin loses his leg and comes back to Newark to live with the Roths.
Alvin's prosthesis is a big part of the novel. The false lower leg never fits correctly and Philip helps with the treatment of boils and sores on the stump.
He tries to fit in, but ends up working for a prominent New Jersey Jewish gangster. In the end of the novel Alvin and Philip's father get into a brutal altercation in the Roth's living room- Black eyes, sprains, and cuts.
Seldon- He is a boy that lives downstairs in the Roth's house. Halfway through the novel Seldon's father dies of throat cancer. Philip believes a rumour that the man committed suicide by hanging. He probably did not. Philip is frightened of the basement because of this.
Seldon's mother works for Metropolitan Insurance and is moved to Kentucky. During the rioting, she is killed and her car is burned. Roth's father and Sandy drive to get Seldon and bring him back to Newark.
The story ends after Seldon returns to Newark.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Trip to Washington DC. They are approached by a 'guide' who agrees to show them the city for nine dollars a day. This man might be an agent for the government. When it's learned that they are Jewish, they are kicked out of their rooms and forced to go to another hotel. Father still believes that the principles of American democracy will prevail.
The book's page at Amazon:
"In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.
For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America-and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother."
This is one of the first books that I wrote for the blog. Here is my entry:
"Mo 11/22/10 THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA by Philip Roth
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA is a fictional account of a 'Possible History' of the United States. In this fictional universe, the author, Philip Roth depicts Charles Lindbergh beating FDR in the 1940 presidential election. Lindbergh runs as a 'Peace Candidate', and wins by signing a pact with Hitler to keep Americans out of, "Another European War". And, this scenario might have happened since there actually was a very dominant Isolationist and pro National Socialist movement in the US at that time, and Charles Lindbergh was an extremely popular proponent of this point of view. Roth's family lived in the Newark, New Jersey area during the 30's and 40's, and the book is really a beautiful and heartfelt account of how this 'Historical Possibility' would forever change their lives. There was not one point of view within the Hebrew community about Lindbergh's ascent to ultimate power. Many believed that National Socialism's anti-semitic policies could never take hold in The Land of The Free, whereas, many emigrated to Canada in fear of what might happen. After finishing the novel, it is impossible not to wonder what would happen if an international totalitarian movement were to manifest in 21st Century America. I think Fascism would receive a much more positive reception today than it did in the 1930's. Mussolini once said that, "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." And, isn't this the goal of America's conservatives, and the agenda of Fox News? Of course, these days we blithely call it, "Business Friendly"."
This is the third time that I've read this book. I bought the novel on Amazon- Fr 5/9/08, and read- We 11/22/10 and Sa 11/7/15. I guess I read this book every five years, and well worth the effort.
Charles A. Lindbergh beats FDR for the presidency as an 'America First' candidate. He successfully presented WWII as a 'Jewish war'. He becomes a 'social' ally of The Third Reich.
Philip Roth- 9 years old, stamp collection, naive and a 'good boy'.
Sandy- Philip's older brother by five years. An artist, then a 'ladies man'. For a time lives in Kentucky as a member of the government's 'American Office of Absorption'. He fully believes in Lindbergh however the program is designed to split up the Jewish communities across the nation.
Father- First of his family to have a white collar job. He works for Metropolitan Insurance. Rejects a promotion, then quits when he learns that he and his family would have to be relocated. He then works for his brother, 'Monty The Tomato King'.
Mother- Worked as an officer in the PTA and then a stay at home mother. Terrified of the times and probably would like to leave for Canada, but her husband is defiantly 'pro American'.
Alvin- The son of Philip's dead brother. The Roth's take him in and he is about nine years older than Philip. Philip idolizes Alvin. Had an opportunity to work for his uncle in the construction trade, but Alvin decides to fight the Nazi's and joins the army in Canada. Alvin loses his leg and comes back to Newark to live with the Roths.
Alvin's prosthesis is a big part of the novel. The false lower leg never fits correctly and Philip helps with the treatment of boils and sores on the stump.
He tries to fit in, but ends up working for a prominent New Jersey Jewish gangster. In the end of the novel Alvin and Philip's father get into a brutal altercation in the Roth's living room- Black eyes, sprains, and cuts.
Seldon- He is a boy that lives downstairs in the Roth's house. Halfway through the novel Seldon's father dies of throat cancer. Philip believes a rumour that the man committed suicide by hanging. He probably did not. Philip is frightened of the basement because of this.
Seldon's mother works for Metropolitan Insurance and is moved to Kentucky. During the rioting, she is killed and her car is burned. Roth's father and Sandy drive to get Seldon and bring him back to Newark.
The story ends after Seldon returns to Newark.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Trip to Washington DC. They are approached by a 'guide' who agrees to show them the city for nine dollars a day. This man might be an agent for the government. When it's learned that they are Jewish, they are kicked out of their rooms and forced to go to another hotel. Father still believes that the principles of American democracy will prevail.
The book's page at Amazon:
"In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.
For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh's election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America-and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother."
This is one of the first books that I wrote for the blog. Here is my entry:
"Mo 11/22/10 THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA by Philip Roth
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA is a fictional account of a 'Possible History' of the United States. In this fictional universe, the author, Philip Roth depicts Charles Lindbergh beating FDR in the 1940 presidential election. Lindbergh runs as a 'Peace Candidate', and wins by signing a pact with Hitler to keep Americans out of, "Another European War". And, this scenario might have happened since there actually was a very dominant Isolationist and pro National Socialist movement in the US at that time, and Charles Lindbergh was an extremely popular proponent of this point of view. Roth's family lived in the Newark, New Jersey area during the 30's and 40's, and the book is really a beautiful and heartfelt account of how this 'Historical Possibility' would forever change their lives. There was not one point of view within the Hebrew community about Lindbergh's ascent to ultimate power. Many believed that National Socialism's anti-semitic policies could never take hold in The Land of The Free, whereas, many emigrated to Canada in fear of what might happen. After finishing the novel, it is impossible not to wonder what would happen if an international totalitarian movement were to manifest in 21st Century America. I think Fascism would receive a much more positive reception today than it did in the 1930's. Mussolini once said that, "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." And, isn't this the goal of America's conservatives, and the agenda of Fox News? Of course, these days we blithely call it, "Business Friendly"."
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
GONE WILD by James W. Hall
Finished Tu 3/17/2020
This is a paperback that I bought at the library book sale Sa 4/13/19
The book deals with the illegal capturing and plundering of endangered species around the world. It's set mainly in Florida and Brunei which is west of Malaysia and east of Indonesia.
BASIC STORYLINE:
Patric, a relation of the Shah of Brunei is building a large, state of the art, zoo or preserve on the island of Borneo. I learned from background reading that the Shah makes '$147 a second, every day'!
Alison is an activist trying to stop the illegal trading and slaughter of animals. She has two daughters, Winslow and Sean. Winslow is a photographer and she was shooting with Alison on an outing in the wild. Winslow is shot and killed and Alison barely escapes.
Raimondo and Orlando (Rayon and Orlon) are two psychopaths. Orlando is hairless and believes that his whole life centers on the movies. He kills without compunction. Ray is the saner of the two and he was told by his dying mother to keep an eye on Orlon. Ray is movie star handsome, blonde, although Orlon is the big hit with the ladies.
Harry is Alison's husband. Alison is planning to leave him, and at the end of the novel it's revealed that Harry has been working with Patric Sarawak to set up this reserve.
Thorn is an old friend of Alison's father and he lives in the backwaters of Florida. He's what you would call a 'swamp rat'. He lives outside of civilization. He helps Alison stop the threats on her life and finally saves the day.
AN INTERESTING TAKE-AWAY FROM THE BOOK:
Who are smarter, Chimps or Orangutans? Chimps are like dogs. They are herd animals and can be trained to do tricks and they also learn as a group when in the wild. Orangutans are solitary animals and are more like cats. They bond with their mothers for almost the first three years of their lives. A mother will carry a baby for this time swinging high in the trees. Then, the orangutan will live in the wild by themselves. They are very inquisitive, yet they seem to learn better on their own.
From Publishers Weekly
"Prowling from the crime-ridden south Florida killing fields to the steamy jungles of Malaysia, Hall's latest novel finds Thorn, the moody hero of several previous yarns (Mean High Tide, etc.), entangled in the crusades of childhood friend Allison Farleigh, founder of the Wildlife Protection League, a worldwide organization dedicated to saving exotic endangered animals. When Allison's eldest daughter is shot dead while accompanying her mother and younger sister on the annual orangutan census in the wilds of Borneo, Thorn gets embroiled in the case, which eventually pits him against a sociopathic pair of twins engaged in the brokering of rare animals to zoological collectors-and, lurking behind them, a rich and powerful collector whose designs bring the action to Brunei for a brutally satisfying denouement. Hall's fans may be surprised to find that Thorn plays second fiddle here to Allison, but they won't be disappointed with this charismatically courageous woman or her adventures. With its far-flung locales and unexpected heroine, this is Hall's most ambitious novel yet, a work of considerable moral depth distinguished by rich characterizations, live-wire prose and bolts of offbeat humor."
I enjoyed the novel and would read more by this author, but I felt that the novel dragged in certain sections.
This is a paperback that I bought at the library book sale Sa 4/13/19
The book deals with the illegal capturing and plundering of endangered species around the world. It's set mainly in Florida and Brunei which is west of Malaysia and east of Indonesia.
BASIC STORYLINE:
Patric, a relation of the Shah of Brunei is building a large, state of the art, zoo or preserve on the island of Borneo. I learned from background reading that the Shah makes '$147 a second, every day'!
Alison is an activist trying to stop the illegal trading and slaughter of animals. She has two daughters, Winslow and Sean. Winslow is a photographer and she was shooting with Alison on an outing in the wild. Winslow is shot and killed and Alison barely escapes.
Raimondo and Orlando (Rayon and Orlon) are two psychopaths. Orlando is hairless and believes that his whole life centers on the movies. He kills without compunction. Ray is the saner of the two and he was told by his dying mother to keep an eye on Orlon. Ray is movie star handsome, blonde, although Orlon is the big hit with the ladies.
Harry is Alison's husband. Alison is planning to leave him, and at the end of the novel it's revealed that Harry has been working with Patric Sarawak to set up this reserve.
Thorn is an old friend of Alison's father and he lives in the backwaters of Florida. He's what you would call a 'swamp rat'. He lives outside of civilization. He helps Alison stop the threats on her life and finally saves the day.
AN INTERESTING TAKE-AWAY FROM THE BOOK:
Who are smarter, Chimps or Orangutans? Chimps are like dogs. They are herd animals and can be trained to do tricks and they also learn as a group when in the wild. Orangutans are solitary animals and are more like cats. They bond with their mothers for almost the first three years of their lives. A mother will carry a baby for this time swinging high in the trees. Then, the orangutan will live in the wild by themselves. They are very inquisitive, yet they seem to learn better on their own.
From Publishers Weekly
"Prowling from the crime-ridden south Florida killing fields to the steamy jungles of Malaysia, Hall's latest novel finds Thorn, the moody hero of several previous yarns (Mean High Tide, etc.), entangled in the crusades of childhood friend Allison Farleigh, founder of the Wildlife Protection League, a worldwide organization dedicated to saving exotic endangered animals. When Allison's eldest daughter is shot dead while accompanying her mother and younger sister on the annual orangutan census in the wilds of Borneo, Thorn gets embroiled in the case, which eventually pits him against a sociopathic pair of twins engaged in the brokering of rare animals to zoological collectors-and, lurking behind them, a rich and powerful collector whose designs bring the action to Brunei for a brutally satisfying denouement. Hall's fans may be surprised to find that Thorn plays second fiddle here to Allison, but they won't be disappointed with this charismatically courageous woman or her adventures. With its far-flung locales and unexpected heroine, this is Hall's most ambitious novel yet, a work of considerable moral depth distinguished by rich characterizations, live-wire prose and bolts of offbeat humor."
I enjoyed the novel and would read more by this author, but I felt that the novel dragged in certain sections.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
ANDREW'S BRAIN by E. L. Doctorow
Finished We 3/11/2020
This is a hardback that was part of Chris's collection. I read it pretty much in one day. On Wednesday, 3/11, I still had a cold and I was 'sheltering at home'. The stock market dropped thousands and I was afraid to hit a gym because I was sick. What if I went to the doctor and tested positive for the Coronavirus?
The novel was a little hard to warm up to. I read almost a third of the book before I really got into it.
The novel is a kind of 'memoir' or 'confessional monologue' . Andrew is speaking to 'Doc' who may or not be his therapist.
The book begins with Andrew bringing his baby daughter to his ex-wife, Martha and her husband. The husband is an opera star and they live north of NYC- Rochelle, NY.
Andrew is a professor of 'cognitive science'. What is the difference between the brain and the mind?
Briony is his new wife. She was a student of Andrew's. They live in The Village. Briony gets into running. She runs NYC pushing the baby in a carriage.
Briony's parents are 'little people' and they live in California.
On 9/11 she was to visit her old boyfriend, the quarterback of their college football team. Briony dies and her body is never found.
Then it's revealed that Andrew was the college roomate of the president of the United States when they were both students at Yale. George Bush's name is never mentioned.
'Chaingang' and 'Rumbum' are clearly Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
This is the most interesting part of the novel. It's like a subjective overview of this administration.
In the end, The President, Chaingang, and Rumbum are just using Andrew as comic relief.
From the book's page at Amazon:
"Speaking from an unknown place and to an unknown interlocutor, Andrew is thinking, Andrew is talking, Andrew is telling the story of his life, his loves, and the tragedies that have led him to this place and point in time. And as he confesses, peeling back the layers of his strange story, we are led to question what we know about truth and memory, brain and mind, personality and fate, about one another and ourselves. Written with psychological depth and great lyrical precision, this suspenseful and groundbreaking novel delivers a voice for our times—funny, probing, skeptical, mischievous, profound. Andrew’s Brain is a surprising turn and a singular achievement in the canon of a writer whose prose has the power to create its own landscape, and whose great topic, in the words of Don DeLillo, is “the reach of American possibility, in which plain lives take on the cadences of history.”
This is a hardback that was part of Chris's collection. I read it pretty much in one day. On Wednesday, 3/11, I still had a cold and I was 'sheltering at home'. The stock market dropped thousands and I was afraid to hit a gym because I was sick. What if I went to the doctor and tested positive for the Coronavirus?
The novel was a little hard to warm up to. I read almost a third of the book before I really got into it.
The novel is a kind of 'memoir' or 'confessional monologue' . Andrew is speaking to 'Doc' who may or not be his therapist.
The book begins with Andrew bringing his baby daughter to his ex-wife, Martha and her husband. The husband is an opera star and they live north of NYC- Rochelle, NY.
Andrew is a professor of 'cognitive science'. What is the difference between the brain and the mind?
Briony is his new wife. She was a student of Andrew's. They live in The Village. Briony gets into running. She runs NYC pushing the baby in a carriage.
Briony's parents are 'little people' and they live in California.
On 9/11 she was to visit her old boyfriend, the quarterback of their college football team. Briony dies and her body is never found.
Then it's revealed that Andrew was the college roomate of the president of the United States when they were both students at Yale. George Bush's name is never mentioned.
'Chaingang' and 'Rumbum' are clearly Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
This is the most interesting part of the novel. It's like a subjective overview of this administration.
In the end, The President, Chaingang, and Rumbum are just using Andrew as comic relief.
From the book's page at Amazon:
"Speaking from an unknown place and to an unknown interlocutor, Andrew is thinking, Andrew is talking, Andrew is telling the story of his life, his loves, and the tragedies that have led him to this place and point in time. And as he confesses, peeling back the layers of his strange story, we are led to question what we know about truth and memory, brain and mind, personality and fate, about one another and ourselves. Written with psychological depth and great lyrical precision, this suspenseful and groundbreaking novel delivers a voice for our times—funny, probing, skeptical, mischievous, profound. Andrew’s Brain is a surprising turn and a singular achievement in the canon of a writer whose prose has the power to create its own landscape, and whose great topic, in the words of Don DeLillo, is “the reach of American possibility, in which plain lives take on the cadences of history.”
Once I got into the novel, I really liked it and it was quite compelling.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
THE ART OF MENDING by Elizabeth Berg
Finished Tu 3/10/2020
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. I like Berg's books- The literary equivalent of comfort food.
From the book's page on Amazon:
"Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness."
From Kirkus review:
"A seemingly perfect family deliberately hides unpalatable truths that come to light only decades later.
As usual in her characteristic fast-paced prose, Berg (Say When, 2003, etc.) explores a timely subject—here, an abusive mother whose actions went long-undetected—as she introduces 50-ish narrator and professional quilter Laura Bartone. Laura has two siblings, Steve and Caroline, and is planning, with husband Pete and their two children, to join them and their elderly parents for the annual family reunion. Just before the Bartones set off, Laura is phoned by Caroline, who asks that the three of them get together without their spouses to discuss issues that are bothering her. As a child, Laura was a bossy and sometimes cruel tease, often hurting Caroline, who was sensitive and subject to dark moods and fits of weeping. Caroline also, Laura recalls, was constantly trying to please their beautiful but emotionally cold mother. The siblings meet as planned, and Caroline announces that she’s depressed, is seeing a therapist, and is about to divorce husband Bill. She suspects the depression is caused by events in her childhood, and she asks Steve and Laura whether they can remember anything about their mother’s treatment of her as a child, particularly anything abusive. Laura and Steve are shocked, thinking that Caroline must be mistaken or overreacting. But then Laura and Steve begin remembering incidents from their own childhood, and Laura learns that Caroline was hospitalized one summer when she and Steve were away at camp, after her mother had attacked Caroline with a knife. Their mother was also abused by her mother and lost a much loved baby before Caroline was born. As the three siblings try to cope with these revelations, their father suddenly dies, but not before he alludes to secrets long kept hidden.
A less-well-developed plot than usual, but, as always, readable."
Deals with 'real or imagined' past events by adult siblings. A sister asks her sister if she remembers certain issues.
Was mom really taking out her sadness on Caroline because she had lost a baby in childbirth?
I don't think the book really tells whether mom attacked Caroline or was it the other way around?
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. I like Berg's books- The literary equivalent of comfort food.
From the book's page on Amazon:
"Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness."
From Kirkus review:
"A seemingly perfect family deliberately hides unpalatable truths that come to light only decades later.
As usual in her characteristic fast-paced prose, Berg (Say When, 2003, etc.) explores a timely subject—here, an abusive mother whose actions went long-undetected—as she introduces 50-ish narrator and professional quilter Laura Bartone. Laura has two siblings, Steve and Caroline, and is planning, with husband Pete and their two children, to join them and their elderly parents for the annual family reunion. Just before the Bartones set off, Laura is phoned by Caroline, who asks that the three of them get together without their spouses to discuss issues that are bothering her. As a child, Laura was a bossy and sometimes cruel tease, often hurting Caroline, who was sensitive and subject to dark moods and fits of weeping. Caroline also, Laura recalls, was constantly trying to please their beautiful but emotionally cold mother. The siblings meet as planned, and Caroline announces that she’s depressed, is seeing a therapist, and is about to divorce husband Bill. She suspects the depression is caused by events in her childhood, and she asks Steve and Laura whether they can remember anything about their mother’s treatment of her as a child, particularly anything abusive. Laura and Steve are shocked, thinking that Caroline must be mistaken or overreacting. But then Laura and Steve begin remembering incidents from their own childhood, and Laura learns that Caroline was hospitalized one summer when she and Steve were away at camp, after her mother had attacked Caroline with a knife. Their mother was also abused by her mother and lost a much loved baby before Caroline was born. As the three siblings try to cope with these revelations, their father suddenly dies, but not before he alludes to secrets long kept hidden.
A less-well-developed plot than usual, but, as always, readable."
Deals with 'real or imagined' past events by adult siblings. A sister asks her sister if she remembers certain issues.
Was mom really taking out her sadness on Caroline because she had lost a baby in childbirth?
I don't think the book really tells whether mom attacked Caroline or was it the other way around?
Monday, March 9, 2020
A TIME TO KILL by John Grisham
Finished Su 3/8/2020
I bought this paperback at the library sale on Sa 1/11/2020. I recently read, 'SYCAMORE ROW' not too long ago. This was the novel that Grisham re-visits characters from Grisham's first novel, A TIME TO KILL. I tried to get the Netflix disc, but it's not available.
PREMISE:
A ten year old black girl is raped and beaten by two drunk and stoned white men. The girl's father gets a weapon, hides in the court, and then kills the two men and wounds a cop. Both men are killed and the guard loses part of his leg.
Jake Brigance tries to establish 'The McNaughton Defense'; Innocent by reason of insanity.
This stirs up Mississippi KKK terrorists and they burn down Jake's house, and assault many people connected with the case.
One of the women on the jury asks her fellow jurists to shut their eyes and imagine a young white girl raped and beaten by two black men. This allows the jury to acquit the black girl's father of murder.
The end of the book frees the father, but you wonder what would happen. Would the KKK just fold and forget? I doubt it.
I liked the book and all of Grisham's novels. It's hard to believe that this is a 'first' novel.
I bought this paperback at the library sale on Sa 1/11/2020. I recently read, 'SYCAMORE ROW' not too long ago. This was the novel that Grisham re-visits characters from Grisham's first novel, A TIME TO KILL. I tried to get the Netflix disc, but it's not available.
PREMISE:
A ten year old black girl is raped and beaten by two drunk and stoned white men. The girl's father gets a weapon, hides in the court, and then kills the two men and wounds a cop. Both men are killed and the guard loses part of his leg.
Jake Brigance tries to establish 'The McNaughton Defense'; Innocent by reason of insanity.
This stirs up Mississippi KKK terrorists and they burn down Jake's house, and assault many people connected with the case.
One of the women on the jury asks her fellow jurists to shut their eyes and imagine a young white girl raped and beaten by two black men. This allows the jury to acquit the black girl's father of murder.
The end of the book frees the father, but you wonder what would happen. Would the KKK just fold and forget? I doubt it.
I liked the book and all of Grisham's novels. It's hard to believe that this is a 'first' novel.
Monday, March 2, 2020
THE YEAR OF PLEASURES by Elizabeth Berg
Finished Su 3/1/2020
This is a trade paperback that Janny loaned to me. Berg's novels seem to celebrate civility and courteousness between people.
Betta's husband dies of liver cancer. She misses John and he was the love of her life. Their marriage seemed perfect. He had told her that she should drive west (they lived in Boston) and find a small town that she loves, and relocate.
She wants to open a shop called, 'WHAT WOMEN WANT'. She has been collecting interesting pieces most of her life.
She settles in Stewart, IL; fifty miles from Chicago. There is a real Steward, Illinois that is probably the town. Due west of Chicago and south of Rockford.
She buys a big Victorian home from Lydia. Lydia is a cantankerous old woman and Betta becomes friends with the realtor, Delores.
She also becomes friends with some much younger people.
And, she reconnects with her three closest friends. She hadn't seen them since college. John and Betta were a world onto themselves and this is probably why she lost connection with her friends.
From the book's page at Amazon:
"Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simply daily routines. Among those who help her in both expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild women friends from her college days, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome man who is ready for love."
This is a trade paperback that Janny loaned to me. Berg's novels seem to celebrate civility and courteousness between people.
Betta's husband dies of liver cancer. She misses John and he was the love of her life. Their marriage seemed perfect. He had told her that she should drive west (they lived in Boston) and find a small town that she loves, and relocate.
She wants to open a shop called, 'WHAT WOMEN WANT'. She has been collecting interesting pieces most of her life.
She settles in Stewart, IL; fifty miles from Chicago. There is a real Steward, Illinois that is probably the town. Due west of Chicago and south of Rockford.
She buys a big Victorian home from Lydia. Lydia is a cantankerous old woman and Betta becomes friends with the realtor, Delores.
She also becomes friends with some much younger people.
And, she reconnects with her three closest friends. She hadn't seen them since college. John and Betta were a world onto themselves and this is probably why she lost connection with her friends.
From the book's page at Amazon:
"Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to find pleasure in her simply daily routines. Among those who help her in both expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild women friends from her college days, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome man who is ready for love."
From the book's page at Publishers Weekly:
"The familiar protagonist of Berg's 13th novel (after The Art of Mending ) is a Boston widow of several months, 55-year-old Betta Nolan, who fulfills her dying husband's dream of moving out to the Midwest and starting a new life. "It will give me peace to know that what you will do is exactly what we talked about," says John commandingly before dying of liver cancer; Betta, an author of children's books, sells their Beacon Hill brownstone and takes off, buying an oversized Victorian in the small town of Stewart, Ill., 49 miles from Chicago. Lonely, she finds herself tracking down three former college roommates from the late 1960s, Lorraine, Maddy and Susanna, whom she ditched once she met John. The women reappear one by one and help give her the courage to open a shop called What a Woman Wants (it'll sell "all different stuff that women loved. Beautiful things, but unusual too. Like antique birdcages with orchids growing in them"). Meanwhile, she begins to make friends in town, notably with attractive young handyman Matthew and natty oldster Tom Bartlett. Berg is a pro at putting together an affecting saga of interest to women of a certain age, yet here she seems to be writing in her sleep. There is little effort at cohesion—rather, a kind of serendipitous plot that goes every which way and a series of tentative, aborted romances. The impression readers will be left with is of a woman endlessly nurturing and rarely satisfied."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)