The good folks over at Spence Publishing are having a book sale. Today all hardcovers will be $10, and all paperbacks $7.50. Spence has a number of interesting non-ficiton titles available (see below for an example) so check them out.
The Program by Gregg Hurwitz
One of the first things I noticed reading Gregg Hurwitz is his eye for detail. Whether he’s describing a weapon or a Quonset hut, Hurwitz gets after it; he manages to do this without drawing too much attention to the way he spreads this precise approach throughout his novel. THE PROGRAM is the first novel I’ve read by Gregg; it won’t be the last.
THE PROGRAM features Tim Rackley, a Deputy US Marshal based in Los Angeles; this is a series character, who, with his wife Dray, is recovering from the death of their child. A Hollywood producer whose daughter has been lured into a cult hires Tim to locate her and, if possible, bring her home. The cult is recruiting young people from places like the Pepperdine campus in Malibu; at this point my New York cynicism reared its ugly head. A cult in Southern California? What’s at stake? Are we fast-forwarding to some Patti Hearst moment where everyone on Rodeo Drive will grab an Uzi and rebel? The moment passes, however, due to the author’s skill as a storyteller; he draws us into Tim’s world; his anguish gives the story a dark drive.
Again we tread some familiar ground with Tim exiled from his job as a result of actions described in a previous book, KILL CLAUSE. His outcast status is given a temporary reprieve when Tim is reinstated for the duration of the investigation. The book takes off during an undercover visit to the cult’s recruiting colloquium. This weekend event is described in vivid terms; we see Tim struggle to maintain control of his emotions and his mind. The techniques employed by the cult’s leader are classics of psychological sleight of hand; Tim encounters Leah, the young woman he’s been hired to locate. He can’t simply snatch her, there’s no legal basis for that. Leah’s mental state is fragile; to kidnap her might leave her damaged permanently. She has to want to come home and therein lies the story’s real battleground.
THE PROGRAM is well-paced and very well-written. It moves to climax through a satisfying series of confrontations with TD, the cult’s charismatic leader. The names of some minor characters were a source of confusion, but not enough of a distraction to break the flow. This intelligent thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat right up to the last page.
Is Wolfe America's Greatest Living Novelist?
Last week I noted Joseph Bottum’s review of Tom Wolfe’s latest Novel, I Am Charlotte Simmons, in the Weekly Standard. Many of you may not be regular readers of the Weekly Standard but let me recommend the review to you nonetheless. You may not agree with it but it is provocative and provides some food for thought.
Bottum argues that Wolfe is America’s greatest living novelist – “Kind of.” He also argues that much of the criticism that Wolfe receives is generated by a sort of cultural anger or envy:
THERE’S AN ENVY to Tom Wolfe’s usual run of detractors, of course, but something more than envy–a resentment, an ache, a fury: If I could write like that, a small cat snarls inside each of their heads, I’d . . . I’d change things in this rabid, racist, right-wing world. I’d zola the rich bastards until they burbled for mercy. I’d dickens the corporate polluters until they drowned themselves in their own sick sludge. I’d thackeray, I’d balzac, I’d dostoyevsky everyone who doesn’t get it–it, IT, the ineffable IT of political conscience, the mystical rightness that lets a Princeton professor be a revolutionary and, well, a Princeton professor at the same time. God–or Charles Darwin, maybe, or some freak of perverse genetics–put a sword in Tom Wolfe’s hands, and the oblivious creep won’t use it to smite the ungodly. The man doesn’t deserve his sentences. Prose belongs to us, by divine right and right of conquest. And here comes this white-suited fake dandy, this reporter, to set up camp right in the middle of it, like John Ashcroft–or Gary Bauer or, I don’t know, Elmer Gantry–buying the prettiest summer house on Martha’s Vineyard.
Bottum goes on to discuss what makes a novel a novel and whether Wolfe’s latest is more “novelistic” than his previous works. Touching on Dickens, Trollope, Thackery, etc. So here are some discussion questions:
– Where does Wolfe stand in the history of American novelists?
– What makes a novel a novel?
– Is there a natural disinclination for the liberal establishment to praise a novel with conservative themes (anti-feminist, anti-sexual revolution, etc.)? (Leave aside for the moment the argument of whether Wolfe’s current work in fact has important and intelligent conservative themes.)
The 100-Yard War by Greg Emmanuel
Those with only a casual knowledge of sports might not be aware of it, but one of the greatest traditions in all of sport happens this weekend. What? I can hear some of you ask. The World Series is over, the Super Bowl and the big college bowl games aren’t until early next year, the NBA is just starting, and the NHL is locked out. What exactly is this weekend? The epic battle that will take place this Saturday here in Columbus, Ohio is a college football game between the University of Michigan Wolverines and The Ohio State University Buckeyes.
But this is not just a football game, it is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. For those unfamiliar with it, a recently released book might shed some light on the epic nature of this classic gridiron clash. The 100-Yard War: Inside the 100-Year-Old Michigan-Ohio State Football Rivalry by Greg Emmanuel is a fast paced pop culture look at the history of this storied game. It traces the history, tradition, culture, and popularity of one of the greatest rivalries in all of sport.
How can a regular season college football game stake a claim to such a label? In The 100-Yard War Emmanuel outlines a few reasons: history, tradition, quality, and intensity.
The Big Bad Wolfe
Just for the record, I am not a fan of Tom Wolfe. I know he is purported to be the novelist for right wing types, but he just isn’t my cup of tea. I once tried to get through the Bonfire of the Vanities but didn’t finish it. I didn’t even see the movie. Of course it could have something to do with the size of his novels. The current work is 688 pages, his previous work (A Man in Full) is 742, and Bonfire is 704 in paperback. Those are large undertakings for a popular novel. I think I would rather tackle Anna Karenina if I have to approach a work of that size. Added to the mix, believe it or not, is a certain amount of prudery relating to the current book. I am not really all that interested in a book dominated by frank portrayal of college student’s sexual peccadillos. So count me out of the Tom Wolfe fan club I am afraid.
As a public service I will throw up a few links. If you are looking for the scoop on I Am Charlotte Simmons here are a few conversations that might interest you:
– Slate is having a book club discussion on his latest release.
– Here is a Weekly Standard review.
– The folks over at Bandarlog are discussing the Slate and Weekly Standard reviews.
– And here is pop sociologist David Brooks on Wolfe.
The Big Bad Wolfe
Just for the record, I am not a fan of Tom Wolfe. I know he is purported to be the novelist for right wing types, but he just isn’t my cup of tea. I once tried to get through the Bonfire of the Vanities but didn’t finish it. I didn’t even see the movie. Of course it could have something to do with the size of his novels. The current work is 688 pages, his previous work (A Man in Full) is 742, and Bonfire is 704 in paperback. Those are large undertakings for a popular novel. I think I would rather tackle Anna Karenina if I have to approach a work of that size. Added to the mix, believe it or not, is a certain amount of prudery relating to the current book. I am not really all that interested in a book dominated by frank portrayal of college student’s sexual peccadillos. So count me out of the Tom Wolfe fan club I am afraid.
As a public service I will throw up a few links. If you are looking for the scoop on I Am Charlotte Simmons here are a few conversations that might interest you:
– Slate is having a book club discussion on his latest release.
– Here is a Weekly Standard review.
– The folks over at Bandarlog are discussing the Slate and Weekly Standard reviews.
– And here is pop sociologist David Brooks on Wolfe.