This could have been the end of the series, and it would have been a rousing completion. Lindsay Clarke writes some fine battle scenes of necessary brThis could have been the end of the series, and it would have been a rousing completion. Lindsay Clarke writes some fine battle scenes of necessary bronze age gore, and he keeps the tension high. Even though we know Troy falls, how it falls, and how the characters on both sides are kept occupied is what makes the story. Mr. Clarke does well.
This takes us to the unfortunate Return from Troy - book four - of which see......more
If the answer to the Leonard Cohen question, "Do you want it darker," is yes, then this is the book for you. The Abstainer, is a police procedural of If the answer to the Leonard Cohen question, "Do you want it darker," is yes, then this is the book for you. The Abstainer, is a police procedural of sorts that takes place in Manchester, England (England,) and pits a valiant and corrupt police force against valiant and corrupt Fenians (Irish revolutionaries.) It's darker than the heart of, and then gets even darker, until it ends in pitch. Now, that's not to say there aren't moments of light - some blinding - because there are, and they might be what makes the book so compelling. The light is seen, whether it's grasped is another thing entirely.
A book so dark it's brilliant.
PS: Here's a description I highlighted, I think it's amazing: In a pool below the stunted falls, three thick-bodied trout hang suspended in a void. Matter inside emptiness, like three thoughts waiting for their thinker....more
The Cold Millions is brilliantly written historical fiction that takes us to Spokane, WA, in the 19-oughts, and the Wobblies' Free Speech demonstratioThe Cold Millions is brilliantly written historical fiction that takes us to Spokane, WA, in the 19-oughts, and the Wobblies' Free Speech demonstrations - led my none other than Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the teenaged super-organizer for the IWW who went on to co-found the ACLU, and lead a life of war against the empire. It's basically true, and those parts that are invention feel true - and those truly brilliant chapters in which the dead speak show authorly prowess of the highest order.
As usual with me, you can find a plot summary elsewhere. This is the story of two brothers on the bum in a broken society, who never stop advancing - making do, making better, dealing with consequences. The book is detailed with characters historic and imagined who the author brings to fist pounding, flesh ripping, heart aching life. It might have been a melodrama were it not for the fact that the good are flawed, the neutral are surprisingly good, and the bastards are probably not as bastardly as I'd like to see them portrayed - but they're pretty damn bastardly.
I don't know why I'm not giving this five stars, there's something holding me back, and I think it's the coda which strikes me as an unnecessary summing up that also moves forward in time to tell us so many things have changed, so much stays the same. It reinforces the sadness in the story that needs no reinforcement....more
I just spent a week with Barack Obama, and I have to report it was a really pleasant and pleasurable time. A little like hanging with a good friend.
I'I just spent a week with Barack Obama, and I have to report it was a really pleasant and pleasurable time. A little like hanging with a good friend.
I'm not a reader of political memoirs. I can't think of any worse reading time than that spent with the bloated egos of most politicians. I mean, can you imagine anything worse than 1000 pages of Bill Clinton, or (my god,) 1100 pages with Richard Nixon. Kill me now. I think you'd have to be a historian, or professional political writer, or, at the very least, a masochist to go through those tomes.
Obama's book comes in at about 760 pages, and though he occasionally gets into the weeds when writing about issues (it's his nature, intellectual, teacher and talker that he is,) he doesn't get in so deeply you can't read through - or my preferred method when hitting, say, a long stretch of economic policy, turn the pages. Sometimes even our close friends sponsor temporary blackouts as we're listening to them, and dutifully nodding our heads. (Never happens, you say - - right.)
So, Obama has real smarts going for him, and a prose style that's generous in its ease. I'd guess a little like talking to the guy. His impulse seems to be to connect with his reader - anyway, that's what it felt like to me. He's also generous in unveiling his personal life. He breaks the grind of professional politics, and governance, with time spent with Michelle, the kids, his best friends, and Bo, the dog. It's all insight into how a human being can retain his humanity and humility and take on a task as intellectually, emotionally, physically, and yes, spiritually challenging as being in charge of the federal government - where, by his own admission, thousands of people are screwing something up every day - and, the fate of thousands, even millions hinge on your ability to make a good decision.
Obama also has a Dickensian ability to sketch a character in a few lines, and is equally insightful in describing both the men and women he's worked with. He also pulls few punches in telling us what he thinks about certain political adversaries. His take on Lindsay Graham is worth the price of admission. And, like the best story tellers, Obama has a cunning grasp of how a cliff-hanger can move the read.
Sorry to be partisan, but the book also left me understanding how a person like Donald Trump would be supremely incapable of doing the job. If for nothing else the first question our poet laureate, Joy Harjo, would ask "those who would like to govern" - Can you govern yourself?
Finally, Obama, as talented as he may be - and he's very, very talented - probably has the best editors in the publishing world, and it shows in the extraordinary craftsmanship of A Promised Land.
I'm stingy with stars, but this one gets five. Looking forward to volume two.
Beowulf has been on my "to read" or "for later," list for, good lord, probably an half-century. At first it was the Olde English that put me off. Who Beowulf has been on my "to read" or "for later," list for, good lord, probably an half-century. At first it was the Olde English that put me off. Who can read that stuff? Then it was the thought that it would be a slog, no matter what, even after Seamus Heaney came out with his translation. It was a NY Times review that got me to thinking about this new translation, and the fact that my library - the great Seattle Public Library - had the downloadable version that got me, finally, on track. I was a little worried about the language updates, and street slang, but I figured now or never. I'm so glad.
I had gotten bits and pieces of the story from I don't know where. I guess it's just in the air for us "literary types," so the story didn't surprise me all that much - although I didn't know that Beowulf got it in the end. Is that a spoiler? Can there be a spoiler for an ancient epic? Would saying, Troy lost, be a spoiler? (When Hamlet was done on Broadway, someone said of the producer that he was the only person in the audience who didn't know how it ended.) I digress.
The saga is thrilling, as it should be what with monsters, and dragons and such; and there was nothing about the language to throw me off. I don't think it's going to be anything like the definitive, or go-to translation, but it's already served me as the entry drug to Seamus Heaney, and that's saying a lot.
Beowulf: A New Translation is fun - I don't have anything to compare it to, so I can't speak to its feminist interpretation, or whatever - but I can say it's worth the read, especially if you've been holding off for, say, fifty years....more
Those of you who have read and liked His Dark Materials know that Philip Pullman is a word-wizard. This prequel to HDM, Lyra's origin story, has him aThose of you who have read and liked His Dark Materials know that Philip Pullman is a word-wizard. This prequel to HDM, Lyra's origin story, has him at the top of his form. I swear, study this for awhile and you might learn how to write a book - but its just mechanics of which I speak. Mr. Pullman also breathes life into the machine.
Is this YA fiction? Oh, I suppose you could call it that, but I'm ancient and liked it, so...
A quick and easy read, but in no ways a shallow one.
A dynamic sixty-two pages of what is called a novella, though I've never understood that term. A long short story is probably too much an oxymoron, heA dynamic sixty-two pages of what is called a novella, though I've never understood that term. A long short story is probably too much an oxymoron, hence, novella.
I picked this up after finishing The Queens Gambit by Walter Tevis which I found entertaining, but not as good as the Netflix adaptation. I wanted more chess, but I think I really wanted deeper characterizations. I've also wanted to read Stefan Zweig, but none of his titles ever called out to me, so coming across this seemed propitious.
The action takes place aboard a liner from NYC bound for Buenos Aries. I'll not give away the plot, and I hate writing summaries, but in brief the action revolves around a few games of chess between a world champion and the other passengers in total that evolves into a match between the champion and one passenger who emerges a bit like a deus ex machina. The story rolls like the motion of a large ship, and reminded me a lot of Conrad, and then shifts gears as the match is played out and tension takes hold.
I have to admit, I'm not a deep reader, and though other reviews will speak to analogies with the rise of Nazism, the Anschluss, and WW II, I don't get it. The Anschluss does figure in as a major device for character development, but to me it's all a story, and I take it at face value. Deeper readers may find more.
I'll not give it away, but do a little checking into Mr. Zweig's life after he completes this work.
Chess Story has been adapted to film, opera, and theater....more
Netflix did Walter Tevis a real favor by taking an essentially one dimensional novel and opening it out into a series. I'm glad I saw the shows beforeNetflix did Walter Tevis a real favor by taking an essentially one dimensional novel and opening it out into a series. I'm glad I saw the shows before I read the book.
What Mr. Tevis does, which is exceptional, is build suspense, and hold your interest while laying out chess games in the language of chess notation, e.g., Pawn to Q4, and taking you into Beth Harmon's (the protagonist) mind as she lays out lines of attack, and defense. What he doesn't do is give you much feeling for locale, or flesh out secondary characters. He does alright with Harmon, but as she's on every page, he didn't have much choice; even so, her development is in spurts rather than through a progression of events or action. Granted, it's a short book, and follows about 14 years of her fictional life story, so he didn't allow himself much room to grow her.
I enjoyed it because I saw the show, I don't know how I would have reacted had I read the book entirely on its own merits....more
Almost fantastic, and on my list for a second read sometime down the road. Mr. Ehrenreich writes from and of two locales, Joshua Tree, and Las Vegas, Almost fantastic, and on my list for a second read sometime down the road. Mr. Ehrenreich writes from and of two locales, Joshua Tree, and Las Vegas, with Las Vegas taking up the bulk of the book, but with Joshua Tree being the most cogent and interesting of the two. The leitmotif of the book is the author's relationship with owls, and they create the primary metaphors in both sections, though they get pretty short shift in the second, and seem to be brought back for the sake of cohesiveness more than importance. The notebook title is apt, as it's written as brief entries that wander through subjects and meditations. Reminded me a little bit of reading Eduardo Galleano - but just a little.
I found the Joshua Tree section to be an absolutely fascinating dip into desert ecology, the myth and metaphor of owls, the science of climate change, eschatology, and personal history. I was sure I had a five star book in my hands, but then came Vegas. Part Two wandered, and at times I felt I was reading various Wiki entries as the author laid out a lot of info without the glue of personal reflection that he gives in part one. For awhile, it became a slog, but I must say, when Mr. Ehrenreich writes nature description, and contrasts it with the day and nightmare of Las Vegas, he shines.
So a lot of stars, as in the night sky of Joshua Tree, but not Vegas, but a lukewarm review, and a desire to re-read, especially the first section because it was so good, and possibly the second to see if I'm off, and because there is good stuff there. Mixed, then, but...
Maybe a little bit more than I wanted to know, but it's a short book, and mostly fascinating. It's told in vignette form, so it's also a nice overviewMaybe a little bit more than I wanted to know, but it's a short book, and mostly fascinating. It's told in vignette form, so it's also a nice overview of Mr. Wilson's life with ants - from the fire ant colonies he discovered as a 13 year old which were the first discovered in the US, in his own backyard, no less, to more recent expeditions and discoveries. It's the kind of book in which just about every chapter gives you an, "OMG, who knew?"
Oh, let's hear it for opinions! Reading through the reviews I've found a surprising amount of anger used to tell us how bad this book is, and what a tOh, let's hear it for opinions! Reading through the reviews I've found a surprising amount of anger used to tell us how bad this book is, and what a trial it was spending time with Barbara Ehrenreich, obviously a self-involved, self-important, possibly/probably deluded, and not-very-deep-thinker. Pretty much the way I felt about Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code, although the DaVinci Code went on to sell a hundred trillion billion million copies in as many languages and on many planets other than ours. Living with a Wild God may already be remaindered.
Five stars - actually four hovering over five. This is the Ehreneich spiritual journey memoir, and has its Genesis (pun intended) in her youthful journals. It seems all her papers, but this one journal, were lost in a Key West hurricane, and she went back to this one to mine the memories of her spiritual/intellectual formation. Smarter than the average teenager, by far, and probably somewhat unbearable as most teenagers, especially the precocious can be, but she brings an adult's perspective and wit to the story, and saves the day. I found her young and teenage self to be tremendously appealing - in many ways she reminded, and reminds me of - well, me. That certainly gives her a star. We all like being reminded of the best of ourselves.
It's funny. I get the feeling Barbara Ehrenreich as a teenager was as smart as she was ever going to be, sans the sophistication of age, experience, and maturity. Being smart, to me, means having the aptitude and curiosity for exploration and discovery, and knowledge builds on that. Like "street smart" means you can handle yourself in the urban wild world, though differential calculus (whatever that is) may remain outside your ken. Ehrenreich knew how to ask "why?," it was the great lesson from her otherwise deficient father, and it has served her entire life. That was her "smarts," - build from there.
Living with a Wild God is interesting, entertaining, and touching. I liked it a lot, and now I'm reading her son's book, Desert Notebooks: A Roadmap for the End of Time. He has all his mother's curiosity, erudition, and wit, and has a much more 21st century sensibility. At a third of the way in, I'm totally involved....more
This is my second go-around with American Gods, and it's been long enough (12 years) that I couldn't tell the difference in this author's edition - kiThis is my second go-around with American Gods, and it's been long enough (12 years) that I couldn't tell the difference in this author's edition - kind of the director's cut of publishing. I gave it four stars first time around for sheer audacity in story telling, but I remember feeling let down when finished. The massive effort didn't seem to pull together, and I was at a loss as to who, exactly the American Gods were. This second time through, I'm still impressed by the writing, there are plenty of sections to get absolutely lost in, and characters deep enough to appreciate. But, once again, who in the hell are the American Gods? I finally got a clue from Wiki, but why not from the book itself? I got, certainly, that the old gods came over with their people, and have stuck around and diminished in power (heavy emphasis on the Norse gods.) I got that there was to be a war, that was not a war exactly, and that none of us mere mortals were really going to notice - which makes it not so much of a big deal. But Neil Gaiman, for my money, misses on the true American mythology. Buffalo makes an appearance, but if we're dealing with the past, where's coyote, or crow (bit part,) where are the magnificent gods of Mexico and the Southern Hemisphere? Sorry, but Credit, and Technology are not big enough to be Gods. There's a lot left out.
The real American God is money, and is represented by Moloch - why is Moloch missing in action?
Now, this book has won all the big fantasy prizes, and there's much of value here, but as a classic I won't have to go back.
If you want to read American mythology from the white man's perspective (which is the perspective of American Gods,) go for Moby Dick. I'll be hitting a half-dozen reads of that one, and not at all tired of it....more
Although this tale got a little long in the telling it was fascinating.
Eastern Europe is a land filled with dark forests (if they still exist) and evAlthough this tale got a little long in the telling it was fascinating.
Eastern Europe is a land filled with dark forests (if they still exist) and even darker tales. Imagine Little Red Riding Hood with no sunlight. And the world of the Jews in Eastern Europe may be even stranger to the outside eye - especially Hassidic Jews who tend to be insular, and highly mystic in their spiritual approach. Here's a small family of Hassidic Jews, the mother is a convert which makes her a double outsider, the father is the next in line to a Rabbinic "kingship," and the daughters take after one or another parent. Add that the father is a bear - that is, a human who shapeshifts into a bear - and mom is a swan. The parents are called away, and the daughters are left to deal with their own nascent shapeshifting, and the call of teenage love - the bear daughter with an orthodox though not Hassidic village boy, and the swan daughter lured by a gentile trader (and his band) who is a shapeshifting goblin, and an anti-Semite with evil intent.
Quibble: One daughter is presented in standard paragraphs, the other in line breaks that have nothing to do with poetic form, is a bit annoying, and too obvious as a way to delineate who's telling the tale. Totally unnecessary and distracting, and it would be worth correcting if there's a future edition.
I was looking for a dark fantasy, and this did the trick. It's skillfully written, the author kept the leaps into the unreal plausible and grounded, and I cared about the characters. This is an ideal read for the upcoming dark days of winter (in a pandemic.)...more
Interesting that there's no Kindle edition listed, though that's what I read, and that this is listed as "Troy #1," when it's the second of the quarteInteresting that there's no Kindle edition listed, though that's what I read, and that this is listed as "Troy #1," when it's the second of the quartet. Maybe they were published out of order...
I've also posted a review of A Prince of Troy, which is book one. Anyway...
The War at Troy is just that. Paris has absconded with Helen, and because of oaths taken to defend Menelaus' "ownership" of Helen, the kings of Greece gather to get her back. Lindsay Clarke has taken to giving depth in the way of backstory, plausibility of myth, historical background, and character development to Homer's epic, and delivered a read that never gets bogged down as it cracks the story open. The classics, and here I'm thinking of Homer, and the Hebrew Scriptures move with "the speed of summer lightening," and are notoriously short on psychology and character - Homer less so than Moses. That being said, what these "authors" accomplish is absolutely amazing in that they lay the groundwork for Western literature - but that's a different review.
Back to Mr. Clarke, and other interpreters of The Iliad - there are plenty of re-tellings of various success. Mr. Clarke takes the time and has the imagination to give what I consider the best - as a read. Others that are of great value are: Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls; David Malouf's Ransom; the astounding War Music by Christopher Logue; and the chilling Memorial by Alice Oswald.
Worlds are created, we get to inhabit them, what a thrill....more
I'm what you might call a devotee of The Iliad. I've read it three times, continue to read around it as the mood takes me, and I give a chance to any I'm what you might call a devotee of The Iliad. I've read it three times, continue to read around it as the mood takes me, and I give a chance to any re-telling that comes my way. So far, this series (I'm about to start book three,) and the masterful Pat Barker's, The Silence of the Girls, are the best of the batch, adding insight, depth, and the desire to go even deeper into Homer's verses.
A Prince of Troy launches us into the story of the Trojan War and its aftermath. In many ways, it's a book of back stories, especially that of young Paris and Helen, both bestowed and cursed with great beauty and all the passions of Aphrodite and Eros. As we know, it will be their undoing. It's a slower start than I would have liked, but it moves us forward and was worth the time - a small criticism, but I can see how it would put some readers off.
Discovering this book, and going on to finish the second book in the quartet, has introduced me to an author that is no where as well known as he should be - or perhaps he is, in Great Britain, but certainly not here.
I'm also posting a review of The War at Troy, book two of the quartet.
Third reading with a lot less spice in my system than the first two go-arounds. It holds up - the mystical mumbo-jumbo is just as whack, the technologThird reading with a lot less spice in my system than the first two go-arounds. It holds up - the mystical mumbo-jumbo is just as whack, the technology is even more dated - seems almost steam punk at this point - and the dialogue is just as clunky, but the story is good, and the characters are well drawn.
I don't remember how far I got into the whole series. I think there was a point where a major character came back from the dead, and even with that sticking in my craw I perservered, but honestly, spice may provide prescience, but it did nothing for my memory.
I hear there's a new movie in the works. I hope in this time of covid it actually gets made. It could be fun....more
Time is treating the three short novels in this collection with kindness, and well it should. Each is masterfully written, taking us places we wouldn'Time is treating the three short novels in this collection with kindness, and well it should. Each is masterfully written, taking us places we wouldn't normally go, with characters who speak through the years in a language common to this mortal coil.
Yes, the prose is more formal than we're used to - especially in this age of the abbreviated and hyphenated colloquial - but it can be appreciated, and enjoyed with very little effort. The words flow beautifully.
In this time of Covid, the title novel, Pale Horse, Pale Rider is short cinema that for about 3/4ths of the novel takes place in the fevered hallucinations of a young woman struck down with the Spanish Flu. Katherine Anne Porter doesn't have to make much of the social conditions of the time, because she has a fine eye for those telling details that condense a time of national stress into a few sentences. It seemed awfully familiar, and I thought I could have been reading about the year 2020.
I recommend the three short novels: Old Mortality, the first about growing up privileged and lied to, Noon Wine, the second about life and a tragedy on a small dairy farm, and the third, Pale Horse, Pale Rider, about the time of flu. Miranda is the name of the protagonist in both the first and third novels. Same person? Why not?...more
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