Tag: Fiction

American Pastoral

gr4c5Leave a comment

Roth, Philip. American Pastoral. Read by Ron Silver. Beverly Hills, CA: Phoenix Audio, 2005.

Reason read: Father’s day is in June.

Where does one begin when trying to describe American Pastoral? The jumping off point might be to say this: in the beginning of AP reoccurring character Nathan Zuckerman is attending his 45th high school reunion where he runs into the brother of Seymour “Swede” Levov. The Swede was a high school athletic god with the seemingly perfect life. Through this meeting the reader hears the details of how Seymour’s life ended up. But, that’s oversimplifying the story in a huge way. Zuckerman’s narrative dies off and American Pastoral becomes more of a commentary on a variety of subjects. At the center is Swede Levov and the continuation of his perfect high school life (now in the 1960s in the suburbs of New Jersey; successful upper class businessman, married to former Miss New Jersey). Everything is perfect. Enter the Vietnam War and a willful, protesting daughter. All hell breaks loose when Merry commits an act of terror, bombing a post office and killing a man. American Pastoral takes a look at what it means to be a family facing falling apart and scandal, what it means to have faith, what it means to lose faith, what it means to be an American, what it means to be un-American and everything in between.

Quote I liked, “The candor stopped just where it should have begun” (p 798).

Author fact: Roth won a Pulitzer for fiction after writing American Pastoral.

Narrator fact: Ron Silver is also an actor, appearing on Chicago Hope – a show I have never seen.

Book trivia: American Pastoral was made into a movie starring Ewan McGregor in 2016.

Nancy said: “Popular fiction of late has as its text of subtext a family in trouble” (p 82), naming American Pastoral as an example.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust twice. First, in the chapter called “Families in Trouble” (p 82) and again a couple of pages later in the chapter called “Fathers and Daughters” (p 84).

“General Markman’s Last Stand”

gr4c5Leave a comment

Paine, Tom. “General Markman’s Last Stand.” Scar Vegas and Other Stories.New York: Hartcourt, Inc., 2000.

Reason read: June is Short Story Month

Right off the bat I have to tell you “General Markman’s Last Stand” is a devastating story, devastating but (and this is a big but), not without hope. General Markman is about to retire from his Marine Corps command only on his final day he makes a career-ending move. As a man haunted by debilitating Vietnam War flashbacks he has to chose between his secrets and his future.

The first powerful sentence says it all but reveals nothing, “The general’s panties were too tight” (p 18).

Author fact: According to the dust jacket for Scar Vegas Tom Paine is a Princeton graduate. So is my grandfather.

Book trivia: Scar Vegas is comprised of ten stories. I am also reading “The Spoon Children.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Good Things Come in Small Packages” (p 102).

“Mendocino”

gr4c5Leave a comment

Packer, Ann. “Mendocino.” Mendocino and Other Stories. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2003.

Reason read: June is short story month

In the title story Bliss is visiting her brother on the ten year anniversary of their father’s suicide. Instead of finding an ally to her grief, Bliss is shocked to learn Gerald found happiness in an unlikely place: the cozy life he has built with his girlfriend, Marisa. Everything about Gerald’s new perspective rubs Bliss the wrong way until she realizes it’s not about her father anymore.

Author fact: Ann Packer also wrote A Dive From Clausen’s Pier which I’ve already read.

Book trivia: Mendocino is comprised of ten stories.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Good Things Come in Small Packages” (p 102).

Under the Gypsy Moon

gr4c5Leave a comment

Thornton, Lawrence. Under the Gypsy Moon. New York: Doubleday, 1990.

Reason read: Federico Garcia Lorca was born in June (1898).

Despite being a little over 210 pages long, Under the Gypsy Moon packs a powerful punch. Magical realism flows in and out of historical events creating a spellbinding and dramatic love story. Joaquin Wolf becomes a politically motivated writer after the Spanish Civil War. He meets and begins a relationship with narrator, Ursula Krieger, who carries her own demons of war. Together they struggle against fascism using Federico Garcia Lorca as a their guide. His poetry is the symbol of courage they embrace, allowing them to rise above the despair.

Line I liked, “Poverty gnaws at the body before it feasts on the mind” (p 54).

Author fact: Thornton also wrote Imagining Argentina, also on my list.

Book trivia: Under the Gypsy Moon is short, barely over 200 pages. I read it in a weekend.

Nancy said: Under the Gypsy Moon is one of two fictions in which Guernica plays a part.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called simply “Guernica” (p 89).

“The Executor”

gr4c5Leave a comment

Epstein, Joseph. “The Executor.” Fabulous Small Jews: Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Reason read: June is Short Story Month

I think “The Executor” was my favorite story from Fabulous Small Jews. It was short, simple, and direct…but with a twist. Kenneth Hopkins is a Princeton student with a Jewish poet for a mentor. His time with Professor Bertram is profound, but not as life altering as his meeting with Mrs. Bertram. But, their meeting isn’t what you think.

Author fact: according to the dust jacket, Epstein has been a lecturer in English and writing at Northeastern. Another fact: I am reading a compilation of essays also written by Epstein called Plausible Prejudices.

Book trivia: There are eighteen stories in Fabulous Small Jews. I am only reading two.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter “Good Things Come in Small Packages” (p 102).

Gay and Melancholy Sound

gr4c5Leave a comment

Miller, Merle. A Gay and Melancholy Sound. Las Vegas: Nancy Pearl Presents a Book Lust Rediscovery, 2012.

Reason read: Miller was born in the month of May. Read in his honor.

How to describe A Gay and Melancholy Sound? It is easy to dislike Joshua Bland. As a child genius his life has been the antithesis of his name. His mother always strove for fame and recognition through her son to the point of mental abuse. His father abandoned the situation, leaving Josh to be raised by a hostile and unhappy stepfather. When Josh crumbles under the demands and suffers his first major disappointment it sends his future into a tailspin of apathy and low expectation. He goes on to become a World War II veteran, a bestselling author and a successful producer without any accomplishment touching his life in any meaningful way. He is so disconnected from his feelings that he decides it’s time to commit suicide. Before he does he needs to write his memoirs as one last gift to the world from the prodigy who used to have lofty aspirations.

Soapbox Patter: In 2012 independent book sellers were in an uproar because Nancy Pearl partnered with online bookselling giant, Amazon, to republish a run of books long out of print. For years Amazon has been accused of running small bookstores into the ground with their cheap prices. The boo hiss for Pearl could be heard across the internet. As a librarian, I am quietly applauding “Nancy Pearl Presents a Book Lust Rediscovery” because Pearl has a whole chapter dedicated to the works of Merle Miller in Book Lust. As someone trying to read every book indexed in Book Lust, without AmazonEncore publishing A Gay and Melancholy Sound I don’t think I would have found it as easily as I did. And. And! And, I didn’t have to buy it from evil Amazon. I supported a reputable public library by borrowing it. Miller’s oral biography of Harry Truman (Plain Speaking) is everywhere, but try to find Melancholy. It’s not that easy. [Stepping down from the soapbox now…]

Lines I liked, “She gave the impression that if she hadn’t been able to get into publishing, she could certainly have found an opening in professional wrestling” (p 7), “Agreed, a good teacher is the best kind of human being” (p 190),

Author fact: Miller wrote 16 different books. I’m reading all but two, The Warm Feeling and A Day in Late September.

Book trivia: A Gay and Melancholy Sound is over 500 pages long. I was worried I wouldn’t get through it without an audio backup.

Nancy said: in Book Lust A Gay and Melancholy Sound is “wonderful” but “too emotionally devastating to read a second time” (p 166), But. But! But, this is untrue. In the introduction to A Gay and Melancholy Sound she admitted to “rereading it a dozen more times” (p vi), starting when she was seventeen.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in two different chapters: “Merle Miller: Too Good To Miss” p 155) and “My Own Private Dui” (p 165). You may have noticed I am reading two books from the same Book Lust chapter “My Own Private Dui” (very observant of you, if you did).

“Q” is for Quarry

gr4c5Leave a comment

Grafton, Sue. “Q” is for Quarry. Read by Judy Kaye. New York: Random House Audio, 2002.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Grafton’s birth month.

In “Q” is for Quarry Kinsey Millhone is now 37 years old. She still lives alone without plants, animals, or family to speak of. In other words, she has plenty of time to devote to her newest cold case: the 18 year old unsolved mystery of who murdered an unknown teenager in 1969. She was found dumped in a quarry, hence the ‘Q’ for quarry. But, it could also mean prey as readers will discover deeper in the mystery. In truth, it’s the case of Lieutenant Con Dolan and Detective Stacey Oliphant, the two police officers who were previously on the case. Retired and ailing both men need to see this case through before they die. Only they are too ailing to do any of the heavy lifting. Enter Kinsey Millhone. Together they make an interesting threesome.

Irking: when the police originally investigated the Jane Doe murder they had an eyewitness who remembered seeing the victim right before she was discovered murdered. The investigators never realized the eyewitness made up the sighting or that she ended up marrying a fellow police officer tied to the case. How is that possible? How come it takes Kinsey only five minutes to get the truth out of the eyewitness 18 years later?

As an aside, besides being a runner the other thing I have in common with Kinsey is that we both like peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I don’t think I knew that before.

Author fact: Like father like daughter. Grafton’s father was also a writer.

Book trivia: Q is for Quarry is based on a real Jane Doe murder case that went cold in the late 60s. Grafton was instrumental in reviving the case and getting a composite sketch drawn up to be published in the back of her Quarry.

Audio trivia: They use really cool music in the beginning of the Random House audio version. Another piece of trivia is that Judy Kaye, at times, sounds like Ellen Degeneres…but be warned, her voices for different people is a bit strange. At times I thought men were women.

Nancy said: “Q” is for Quarry is an “equally good puzzle” (p 123).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the very long chapter called “I Love a Mystery” (p 123).

June Jitterbugs

gr4c5Leave a comment

May was a month of real struggle. Suicides, known and unknown, sucked the life out of my psyche and I had a hard time staying afloat myself. I became obsessed with the sinking of the Lusitania and devoured every documentary I could find. Yet, I was unsure of my own mind’s footing; enough so I couldn’t trust me or myself to stand at Monhegan’s cliff edge. A first for me. Upon returning home I found myself amazed to be so relieved at being landlocked once again.

Here are the books I have planned for June:

Fiction:

  • Under the Gypsy Moon by Lawrence Thornton
  • Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett
  • American Pastoral by Philip Roth (AB)

Nonfiction:

  • Provence: by Ford Madox Ford
  • Another Lousy Day in Paradise by John Gierach ~ June is Fishing Month

Short Stories (June is Short Story Month):

  • “Artie Glick in a Family Way” by Joseph Epstein
  • “The Executor” by Joseph Epstein
  • “Mendocino” by Ann Packer
  • “Babies” by Ann Packer
  • “The Spoon Children” by Tom Paine
  • “Gentleman Markman’s Last Stand” by Tom Paine

Series Continuations:

  • Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
  • Henry James: the Middle Years by Leon Edel

Early Review for LibraryThing (maybe – I haven’t received it yet):

  • Upstream by Langdon Cook

By May

gr4c5Leave a comment

I thought May was going to be a disaster. The first two and a half weeks were nothing but rain and way cooler temps. I worried about my garden. I didn’t feel like running. It felt like a downward spiral. I ended up running only 28 miles and running away to Monhegan for a week so it ended better than it began. But…it’s still raining.

“…when May is rushing over you with desire to be part of the miracles you see in every hour” ~ Natalie Merchant, These are Days.

“I wanted to be there by May, at the latest. April is over. Can you tell me how long before I can be there?” ~ Natalie Merchant, Painted Desert.

Here are the books:

Fiction:

  • H by Elizabeth Shepard (read in one day)
  • Nerve by Dick Francis (read in two days)
  • A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller

Nonfiction:

  • Good-Bye to All That by Robert Graves
  • Age of Gold by HW Brands
  • Lusitania: an epic tragedy by Diana Preston

Series continuation:

  • “Q” is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (finished the series)
  • As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee (okay, so I didn’t know this was part of a trilogy).

Early Review for LibraryThing:

  • At the Broken Places by Mary and Donald Collins

Nerve

gr4c5Leave a comment

Francis, Dick. Nerve. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.

Reason read: the Kentucky Derby takes place in May. Read in honor of the horses.

Robert “Rob” Finn is an up and coming steeplechase rider with a passion for the competition. His passion turns to self doubt after a series of events threaten his confidence. First Arthur Mathews, a fellow jockey and friend, takes his own life in front of everyone. Then Rob starts to lose race after race after race. A fall from a horse has the whole steeplechase community convinced Rob has finally lost his nerve. And everyone knows a rider without nerve is a useless rider. It isn’t until Rob discovers a carefully orchestrated trap and uncovers proof of sabotage that he starts to formulate his revenge.

As an aside, I would like to know people who are “as cheering as rum punch in a snow storm” (p 8). I think that would be a good thing.

Favorite lines, “Stifling hope is a hopeless business” (p 46) and “Who wouldn’t love a girl who thought of hot soup at a time like that” (p 127).

Author fact: Francis was a jockey himself and you know what they say, people should write what they know.

Book trivia: Nerve is short, not even 200 pages long. This is Francis’s second mystery.

Nancy said: Nerve is simply a “treasure” and “ought not to go unread” (p 165).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter “My Own Private Dui” in Nancy’s category “ought not go unread” (p 165). I know, I said that already.

H

gr4c51 Comment

Shepard, Elizabeth. H. New York: Viking, 1995.

Reason read: May has a Mental Health Day.

In a nutshell: H is an epistolary novel about a 12 year old boy named Benjamin. In the first third of the book (50+ pages) it is through a series of letters written by his parents and sister, a therapist and camp employees that we learn Benjamin has mental issues (Autism? Depression? Bipolar? It’s never fully explained.). For the rest of the book Benjamin gets to speak for himself via letters to “Elliot” his female stuffed letter H. These letters, found hidden under his camp bed, reveal just how disturbed Benjamin’s thoughts can be. After camp his condition worsens and he is sent to a psychiatric hospital where, under doctor supervision, he is finally medicated. But is he cured? Is there such a thing as cured?

Throughout the reading of H there was the constant bubbling up of questions. If Benjamin is twelve years old and is not already medicated for his issues, why not? His therapist says he is considering medication; why now? Has Benjamin’s condition worsened? How long has he been considered autistic and/or depressed? Is Camp Onianta specialized enough to handle mentally troubled campers? What kind of camp writes a letter to inform parents that the bus arrived? And if Benjamin is considered a mild case; mild enough to attend a generic camp, why so many letters of warning from his parents and therapist before the start of the season? And speaking of the parents, camp is supposed to be a sociable event. Why tell the directors Benjamin is happiest when left alone? Isn’t that the antithesis of “camp” atmosphere? Why is mommy the only one who writes? Why do Benjamin’s parents contradict one another about his interests in letters to the camp directors? Do they not know him? Or do they want different things for him?

I find it really interesting that the camp directors give in to Benjamin’s whim by referring to his stuffed H by name. It’s “Elliot is an obstacle” rather than “the stuffed H is an obstacle.”

As an aside, I have lost track on what is a short novel and what is a long short story. H is only 160 pages long. Nancy Pearl could have included this in her “Good Things Come in Small Packages” chapter.

Author fact: H is Shepard’s first book.

Book trivia: What makes H unique to me is the multiple points of view. Letters from camp directors, parents, counselors, siblings, even the stuffed ‘H’ paint a fuller picture.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Epistolary Novels: Take a Letter” (p 80). For those of you keeping score I know you are saying I just read a book from this chapter. But. But! But, it was for a different reason. Sometimes it just works out that way.

 

May I Read Another Book?

gr4c5Leave a comment

Confessional: I don’t have any runs planned for May. I don’t have any travel planned for May (except going home-home). All I want to do is read, plant my gardens & master the grill. While the garden and the grill ambitions cannot be quantified, here are the books!

Fiction:

  •  Nerve by Dick Francis ~ in honor of the Kentucky Derby being in May
  • A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller ~ in honor of Miller’s birth month. BTW – This is a behemoth (nearly 600 pages) so I am not confident I’ll finish it in time.
  • H by Elizabeth Shepard ! in honor of mental health month. This is barely 160 pages & will probably finish on a lunch break or two.

Nonfiction:

  • Age of Gold by H.W. Brands ~ in honor of History month being in May (confessional – this looks boring)
  • Lusitania: an epic tragedy by Diana Preston ~ in honor of the month the Lusitania sank
  • Goodbye to all That by Robert Graves ~ in honor of Memorial Day

Series continuations:

  • “Q” is for Quarry by Sue Grafton ~ to continue, and for me, finish the series started in April in honor of Grafton’s birth month (AB). Should be able to finish this in a weekend (AB + print)
  • Henry James: the Conquest of London (1870 – 1881) by Leon Edel ~ to continue the series started in April in honor of James’s birth month.

Early Review for LibraryThing:

  • At the Broken Places: —- by Mary and Donald Collins

Spring Sprung Titles

gr4c5Leave a comment

What to say about April? I ran my fastest 10k while ill (go figure). I met two new runners and may have convinced someone to at least try. I don’t know where this acceptance to run with others is coming from. To share a conversation I had with someone: I asked where she runs. She replied she doesn’t have my pace, “nowhere near it” were her exact words. I answered I don’t have that pace all the time either. Me & my pace visit from time to time but we don’t make it a thing. She laughed and I saw myself ten years ago talking to someone who face-times with friends while running. I worried about her relationship with pace. But, this blog is turning into a thing different from reading.

So, without further ado, here are the finished books:

Fiction:

  • Diplomatic Lover by Elsie Lee – read in one day
  • Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez – read in two days
  • Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard – read in four days (this book annoyed me and I kept having to put it down)

Nonfiction:

  • Lost Upland: stories of the Dordogne Region by W.S. Merwin – confessional: DNF (bored, bored, bored)
  • Coming into the Country by John McPhee
  • Henry James: the Untried Years by Leon Edel
  • Another Part of the Wood by Kenneth Clark – this was cheeky!

Series continuations:

  • “F” is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton (I’m calling this a continuation even though I read “A” a long time ago.)
  • Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (AB + print so I could finish on time – today!)
  • Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves – another quick read (finished in four days)

Early Review for LibraryThing:

  • My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul

“F” is for Fugitive

gr4c5Leave a comment

Grafton, Sue. “F” is for Fugitive. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1989.

Reason read: Grafton’s birth month is in April. Read in her honor.

Seventeen years ago Bailey Fowler pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for strangling his girlfriend. Despite this confession he was able to walk away from the San Luis Obispo prison and disappear into thin air. Then, thanks to a robbery gone sideways, the cops have Fowler in their possession again. This time, private investigator Kinsey Millhone is on the case, hired by Fowler’s family because they’ve known all along he was innocent. In his father’s eyes he may have robbed a gas station at gun point; yes, he did that…but he’s not a killer!
The rush to solve this case and clear Fowler’s name is expedited by Senior Fowler’s illness. Bailey’s dad suffers from a cancer that is spreading quickly. Can Kinsey reunite father and son before it’s too late? Or did Bailey really kill his pregnant girlfriend? All the blatant clues point to his guilt.

PS ~ It is not necessary to read every book in the Alphabet series to know what’s going on. Even though I hadn’t read “E” I knew Kinsey suffered injuries after her garage apartment was bombed at Christmastime. She was still dealing with the repercussions from both in “F”.

Caution: “F” is for Fugitive is a little dated. Let’s put it this way; it’s during an era when you could still swing by the office, pick up your typewriter, and throw it into the trunk of your car.

Confessional: I connected with Kinsey the first time I met her for one reason and one reason only. Here’s what I remember from “A” is for Alibi: Kinsey keeps running gear in the trunk of her car because she never knows when she will come across a good place to get in a few miles. It was nice to know that despite her injuries she is still running in “F.” But, having said all that I didn’t really like Kinsey aside from her running. I disliked her aversion to fat people, ill people, poor people, sad people, ugly people. That went for places, too. Anyone or anywhere less than rich and beautiful was a distaste to Kinsey.

Quotes I could relate to: “I was never taught to be girlish, so here I am, at thirty-two, stuck with a face unadorned by cosmetic subterfuge” (p 12). As a runner this spoke to me: “Something in the sweat seems to bring cheer in its wake” (p 15). A good run will clear the clouds every single time.

Author fact: according the back cover of “F” is for Fugitive Grafton had a Volkswagen bug with the license plate “Kinsey M” at one time. That’s the same car Kinsey drives. Pretty cool.

Book trivia: I think it goes without saying “F” is for Fugitive is part of Grafton’s “Alphabet” series. I believe she’s up to X now. I’ve read “A” is for Alibi and after “F” I’ll read “Q” is for Quarry. Sadly, I’m not reading any other letter in the series.

Nancy said: Nancy called “F” is for Fugitive an “equally good puzzle” (p 123).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the very long yet obvious chapter called “I Love a Mystery” (p 123).

The Oxford Murders

gr4c51 Comment

Martinez, Guillermo. The Oxford Murders. Translated by Sonia Soto. Read by Jonathan Davis. Blackstone Audio, 2007.

Reason read: April is Mathematics, Science & Technology month. This would fall into the math category.

The mathematics behind a serial killer. This is one of those murder mysteries where the clues don’t add up to the crime. When an elderly woman is found dead everyone presumes a family member committed the crime for the money. The woman was going to die of cancer anyway. Someone just couldn’t wait for the inheritance. But, enter world renowned logician Arthur Seldom, author on the mathematics of serial killers, who describes a note left for him indicating this murder is only the first one. There will be more. The curious thing is each subsequent murder victim was already dying of an ailment and every death is accompanied by a strange series of mathematical symbols. It’s up to an Argentine math student (loosely based on the author) to crack the case.

My favorite part of the book – Seldom explaining how to hide a crime.

Author fact: Martinez has written a bunch of other stuff but only The Oxford Murders is on my Challenge list.

Narrator trivia: Jonathan Davis uses great accents to differentiate the characters. He is so much fun I have decided to actively seek out other audio books he has narrated.

Book trivia: The Oxford Murders was made into a movie in 2008.

Nancy said: Nancy called this book a “cerebral puzzle that always makes me wish I were smarter than I am” (p 171).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Oxford: Mysteries” (p 171).