Collected Miscellany

Recently, I had one of those panic attacks voracious readers get: I was about to run out of reading material with a couple of hours yet to go in my trip. That’s right, I was in danger of getting stuck in an airport and on a plane with nothing to read! Quell horror! Luckily for me airports have bookstores. The question then became what to buy? A newspaper? A magazine? If a book, what book? I am not much a newspaper reader and I couldn’t find a magazine that really caught my eye so I decided on a book. But I didn’t want to pay full price for a book I might not enjoy, or buy one that I already had or might get for free, so I needed to choose wisely.

On a number of occasions I had read with interest people discussing the merits of various world wide bestsellers. One such book and series that often caused bemused wonder on the part of some authors and critics was Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Having read McCall Smith’s contribution to the Myth Series, I thought this would be a good chance to check out the famous series and get a sense of the author in a non-myth based setting. So I picked up the first book in the series to help me fill up the remaining travel time on my journey.

While the book certainly served its purpose, it was easy going light reading that helped pass the time, I don’t think I will be reading the rest of the series anytime soon. And I have to say I share the puzzlement of many over the popularity of the series as a whole. For more click below.

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I have always enjoyed the acting of Gene Wilder. Forget Johnny Depp, Wilder is Willy Wonka to me. Movies like Blazing Saddles and Stir Crazy still make me laugh. I had never thought of him as a writer, however, until his first work of fiction, the novella My French Whore, came my way (his well received memoir was published last year). Clearly, Wilder is multi-talented.

Not surprising coming from Wilder, it is a humorous but melodramatic story. The slim book tells the story of Paul Peachy, an amateur actor and train conductor from Wisconsin who impulsively leaves his cold hearted wife and enlists in the Army during World War I. As the child of recent immigrants he speaks fluent German. And as a result, when the infamous German Spy Harry Stroller turns himself in believing the war is all but over for his side, Peachy is asked to try and gain useful information from the prisoner.

When Peachy faces battle for the first time his closest friends are immediately killed and he runs off into the woods in terror and despair. In a fit of inspiration and courage, when he is captured by German soldiers he impersonates Stroller and pulls it off. This leads to his being allowed to “recuperate” in a German castle and live the good life of luxurious beds, champagne, and beautiful countryside vistas. A part of this good life is an introduction to Annie, the French courtesan of the books title.

Despite an awkward beginning, Peachy soon falls in love with Annie and uses his false life to enjoy her company whenever he can. Peachy is even able to put his acting ability – he spent time in the community theater back home – to rescue an American Army Captain captured by the Germans, but he can’t keep up the ruse indefinitely.

In many ways My French Whore is a silly, sappy, love story. But Wilder infuses it with enough wit and heart that it is enjoyable regardless. As Carolyn See put it in the Washington Post: “This is just fluff, but it’s sweet fluff.” Wilder has written a straightforward and charming love story with a quirky sense of humor – again not surprising given Wilder’s history. There isn’t a great deal of character development – it is less than 180 pages – and some of the story line is improbable, but it works somehow if you just let go and enjoy it for what it is. It isn’t a deep work of art, but it is an enjoyable story with some nice touches. Perhaps knowing his limits, Wilder doesn’t try to hold the readers attention too long. He tells his story and wraps it up with a poignant ending.

According to this short but interesting interview, Wilder has gotten the writers bug and has another novel in the works. It should be interesting to see if Wilder can further hone this craft as he did his comedic acting. His first effort showed enough promise that I will be sure to pick up his next work. In the meantime, if you are a Gene Wilder fan you will want to check out My French Whore.

I don’t normally like to read broad histories, but H.W. Crocker’s Don’t Tread on Me: A 400-Year History of America at War intrigued me. Crocker’s approach to describing American military history is unique to say the least.

Initially, I did not like the book because of some of Crocker’s comments. For example, in his discussion of the Revolutionary War, he says “”The Scotties are wonderful soldiers, as a rule, but they need English officers”. This and similar comments made me think about the objectivity of the book. After thinking more on the subject, Crocker’s book is clearly not an objective account – he does his best to convince you that his angle on American military history is correct.

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There are not a lot of authors whose new books I automatically seek to read, but I have enjoyed Howard Norman’s work enough that I think he might soon get added to the proverbial list. I recently picked up his latest work Devotion and once again enjoyed his quirky, minimalist style.

Here is how the Amazon review describes the basic plot:

On August 19, 1985, the day that David Kozol and Margaret Field return to London from their honeymoon, David and his father-in-law, William Field, are involved in a fracas that leaves Field in the hospital. Not until almost the end of the book do we find out the cause.

David’s life began heading toward that moment when he first laid eyes on Margaret, traveling as a publicist with an orchestral ensemble, and fell instantly in love with her. They are married in a few months. David wants to write a book about his mentor, Josef Sudek, a Czech genius, and Margaret enjoys traveling with the orchestra, checking in daily with her father, who tends an estate in Nova Scotia owned by a Jewish couple, Stefania and Isador Tecosky, and the wounded swans who live there. After William is hurt, David takes over his estate duties but Margaret refuses to see him.

You don’t read Howard Norman for plot based thrillers, so it won’t surprise anyone that the plot is a little thin. What Norman offers here is a literary meditation on love and relationships (hence the book’s title). I like the way the book flap describes it: “Norman lays bare the inventive stupidities people are often capable of when wounded and confused.” I really like that phrase and it rings true with me. We are capable of quite stupid things in relationships. The emotions and passions get us off kilter and we can act in ways we never would have imagined; and ways that those around us find inexplicable.

This is exactly where David and Margaret find themselves. They have this “love at first sight” type affair but a unique series of events knocks their relationship of course and they can’t seem to bring it around again. Those same passions and idiosyncrasies that brought them together seem to keep them apart.

What Norman does is allow you to get inside the lives of these characters and see the world through their eyes. But he does it in a minimalist way so that, just like in life, there are blank spots and things that are unclear. This lack of a sort of all knowing perspective helps reinforce the insecurity and confusion that can be a part of relationships. You get a strong sense of David’s frustration and his inability to do something about it, for example, because Norman never really develops Margaret into a strong independent character. Instead, you mainly see her through the eyes of her father and David. Norman seems to capture the hard to describe dynamics of families through his prose.

I have noted a number of times how wide ranging my tastes can be; from YA fantasy fiction to mysteries and thrillers to classic literature and literary novels. Norman is a good example of why I read a wide selection. Sometimes you are in the mood for action, or suspense, or plot driven stories. Sometimes you want lush descriptions and complex characterizations, etc. With Norman I enjoy his quirky characters, tight prose, and minimalist plot. There is a certain simplicity to it and yet a depth that lies beneath the surface. Hard to describe really. Might be an acquired taste. But I find it refreshing.

My rather unique circumstances have made it so that I am too stressed/busy to write anything of real substance but I have enough free time to read. As a result you will have to make due with off the cuff comments rather than any polished or well thought out views (I know, I know, when was the last time I posted something other than off the cuff comments?).

I don’t know much about Jonathan Lethem. I know – or at least I think I know – he lives in Brooklyn, or used to, and that he is not easily categorized by genre but combines elements of sci-fi and fantasy into his work. He seems a popular writer that has garnered some real respect, however, so when I stumbled upon This Shape We’re In during my last visit to Half Price Books I picked it up figuring it would be a nice slim volume to take on my trip.

Well, it certainly was a slim volume; weighing in at 55 pages. But it is hard to describe the book. This review captures my initial uncertainty when I finally did pick it up to read:

It’s not clear what kind of book you’re going to get when you pick up Jonathan Lethem’s ‘The Shape We’re In’. The cover illustration suggests some bizarrely humorous take on ‘Fantastic Voyage’; the back cover text speaks of an endless orgy; the DJ flap contains a quote about absolute black reflecting absolutely. There’s no solid information with which to render judgment, no concrete indication that this is science fiction, literature or something in-between. All the specifiers have been neutered. You’re buying a piece of fiction by Jonathan Lethem. Abandon all genres, ye who enter here.

The reviewer goes on to claim that the book is “a very fine novella” and “consistently fascinating and hilarious.” I am not sure I would go that far. Interesting, yes. Humorous at times, yes. But not “consistently fascinating and hilarious.” As long as I am ripping off other people’s reviews allow me to borrow this particular review for a plot summation:

The book concerns the activities of Henry Farbur, a cretinous drunk of an Everyman who lives in the bizarre world inside a Shape of somewhat indeterminate biological form– Henry and his wife have a burrow in the bowels, while there’s a cathedral in the left lung, and so on. The purpose of the shape is a subject for much speculation among the inhabitants– religions have sprung up asserting that it’s a bomb shelter, or a generation starship, or something else entirely.

In fact, The Library of Babel review does a pretty good job of capturing my overall reaction so let me quote that too:

There’s some snappy writing here, as Henry and his stooge Balkan embark on a quest to find the third eye, with Henry abusing everyone he encounters verbally and otherwise. The final revelation of the purpose of the Shape and the red phones from Central Command was unexpected and clever, which counts for something, but I’m still not entirely sure what the point of the whole thing was.

True dat.

Actually, I think McSweeney’s, who published the novella, had a pretty good blurb as well:

Lethem, author of the bestselling Motherless Brooklyn, returns in concentrated form – packing twice the adventure into one-eighth the pages. This book could be some kind of allegory book, but it might not be an allegory book at all. It involves people and drinking and people looking for a giant eye. It is among the best things Mr. Lethem has written. This book is a very slim hardcover book, and it is priced at $9. It is be priced at $9 because Mr. Lethem asked McSweeney’s how low a book of this size could be priced without everyone losing money. “Could we get it under $10?” he asked. We did some math and guessed that $9 would be possible.

What is the bottom line? Well, if you like your stories short and weird, or if you are a fan of Lethem, I would encourage your to pick up This Shape We Are In. I certainly got a chuckle or two out of it, and the book is handsomely bound and illustrated, but of course I didn’t pay the full $9.

Kevin Wignall had an interesting post awhile back on the thriller writer John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things. Mr. Wignall was discussing his reaction to the book:

The Book of Lost Things inhabits that strange territory so beloved by Angela Carter, the childhood world of fairy tales but viewed from an adult perspective. I had a brief discussion with someone who considered it a YA book but I don’t see it that way – I think John Connolly is very much writing to the child that still exists in all of us.

So, it’s well written. To begin with I have to say I wasn’t blown away, but was intrigued enough to keep reading. I was also slightly miffed at what I thought was a rather clunky hook at the end of each of the opening chapters, the vague and intangible threat of a crooked man. . .

However, the important point is that I kept reading (you’ll all know that I abandon books all too readily) and even though I couldn’t quite decide whether I liked it or not, I became remarkably involved in a page-turning kind of way, to the extent that I found the conclusion of the narrative touching and the very end of the book rather sad. I still can’t decide if I think the book worked and yet it’s quite fresh in my mind over a week later (a claret, port and pudding swathed week at that) so that in itself must say something.

I found the discussion intriguing enough that I picked the book up. I actually started it before my trip to Texas and ended up finishing it up on the plane ride down. I have to agree with the other Kevin, it didn’t necessarily blow me away but it held my interest and kept me reading.

The story focuses on David a twelve-year-old English boy at the beginning of World War II. David’s mother passes away after a long battle with a mysterious illness and his father soon remarries. When his father moves them to his new wife’s house and she has a baby, David finds himself isolated from his father and feeling bitter about losing attention to his step-mother and half-brother. He begins to experience weird visions and episodes; including talking books.

In the midst of all of this he accidentally enters a mysterious portal to another world. He soon finds that the world is inhabited by a strange collection of fantasy characters most of whom seem intent on killing him. Unable to return through that same portal, David is forced to go on a quest to find the king of this strange land and a book of knowledge that might help him get home.

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