Monthly Archives: March 2012

The Sense of an Ending

Posted on March 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes (2011)

This book is narrated by Tony, and has two parts, Part I introduces us to four boys at school (Colin, Alex and Adrien) and recounts some of their adventures; and Part II jumps ahead forty years to when a small event causes Tony to reflect on his youth and question his memory.

“History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.”

 

By Part II, Tony is a divorced man on good terms with his ex-wife and very proud of his daughter, even if he doesn’t get to see much of her.  We get the sense he doesn’t have many other friends.  A strange bequest from the mother of an ex-girlfriend brings him back to his youth and causes him to re-think what he knew about himself and others.

Although a book about memory and recasting what we originally saw sounds dreadfully boring, the book is rather well written, and moves quickly (it helps that its a shorter book around 150 pages, a longer book might have been too much).  The book is hard to describe, so I will direct you to some better written reviews here:  The Mookse and the Gripes, and here if you have already read the book and are trying to figure it out (SPOILER ALERT):  Don’t Mind the Mess.

 

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – St. Petersburg (Fictional town), Missouri

Posted on March 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain  (1876)

Tom Sawyer is a mischievous by charming young boy with an entrepreneurial streak that both gets him into trouble and saves his skin.  The short chapters track some of his more clever schemes (tricking his friends into painting a fence for him, sneaking off to an island for a few days of playing pirate, impressing a girl Becky Thacher) much to the distress of his guardian, Aunt Polly.  The book is tied together with a greater plot line – while sneaking into the graveyard one night he and Huck Finn accidentally witness a murder, and spend the rest of the book both afraid of Injun Joe and trying to get their hands on his stolen treasure.  The plot comes together when he and Becky are lost in some local caves, and run into Injun Joe who is hiding out in the cave.

A recent business trip took me to Memphis, Tennessee and looking out at the Mississippi River reminded me I have lots of books to read.  Somehow I had never gotten around to reading Mark Twain (and I am still not sure how that happened), which I will admit I first thought of digging out after watching Lost (one of the best characters on the show takes “Sawyer” as his name).  I really enjoyed it!  There are a number of amusing parts, but the slightly antiquated writing style sometimes delays the punchline – like a good joke told by someone with a heavy accent so it takes a moment of translation before the laugh.  I look forward to reading the sequel – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

* The story is set in the town of “St. Petersburg”, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Mark Twain lived.

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Posted in Local Fiction

The Leftovers – Mapleton (fictional subruban town)

Posted on March 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta  (2011)

When the Rapture comes and the “good” are whisked away, what happens to those left behind?  Initially lots of confusion, a few breakdowns, but life eventually goes on (although a few more cults tend to pop up).  This book centers on a family in Mapleton (Small-town USA).  Kevin is the mayor of Mapleton and struggling to keep things stable both in his town, and in his family.

I saw this book at the library sometime last year, and passed on it because I already had an arm-load of selections, but have noticed its fame and when I found it again (on the NY Times Notables of 2011 Shelf – one of my favorites at the local library) I snatched it up.  The book is a good read – within a few pages you feel at home in Mapleton and can’t wait to read on, wondering what’s going on.  Although limited details are provided about the “rapture” – it appears a number of people just were suddenly gone one day leaving nothing behind – it sets an interesting stage, and is pleasantly not over-explained.  This book is about what happens to those left behind, not those who are gone.  Lots of what happens is depressingly unsurprising – charlatan cult leaders, martyrs, lost people and those who lost faith wondering why they weren’t chosen.  An interesting setting for a well-written story.

 

Reviews:

  • http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/fiction/fr/The-Leftovers-Tom-Perrotta.html
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/books/review/the-leftovers-by-tom-perrotta-book-review.html

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Paris to the Moon – Paris, France

Posted on March 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik (2000)

Shortly after the birth of their son Luke, Adam and Martha pick up and move from New York to Paris, for a number of reasons, (not the least of which is to avoid a certain dancing dinosaur that goes by the name Barney).  This book is the story of their several years abroad, through which we learn a lot about French culture and philosophy.

While the book is full of charming anecdotes and insights into the challenges of Americans living in Paris, it is far more in-depth then many of the other ex-Pat-in-Paris books.  Mr. Gopnik at times slips into a bit of rambling, and I wasn’t always certain why certain topics were listed together, giving the overall effect that several books worth of topics were being jumbled together into one.  This, combined with a few longer stories that almost could have stood on their own (a bed-time story, that while charming, seemed a bit extensive for this book, and a full analysis of a management change at a local restaurant) made the book drag a bit.  Still, there is some great stuff in here, and while I would call this a must-read for anyone moving to Paris, it might be a bit much for someone looking to do some background reading before a vacation.

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Sanibel Flats (Doc Ford Series) – Sanibel, Florida

Posted on March 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Sanibel Flats, by Randy Wayne Write (1990)

This is the first in the a series of books starting Doc Ford, who lives on Sanibel Island, on the gulf coast of Florida.

Just back from Central America working for the government (not the CIA, as he will tell you), Doc Ford is ready for some peace and quiet, specifically working on his marine supply company and enjoying life at his stilt-house on Sanibel Island, on the Gulf Coast side of Florida.  Of course, soon a phone call from an old high-school friend (Rafe Hollins) change everything.  Rafe is in big trouble, he was involved in some shady-dealings (smuggled art) that went wrong and his 8 year old son has been kidnapped.  When Rafe disappears, leaving behind some smuggled emeralds, Doc is off to Central America to rescue the boy, with only a Harvard-Hippie to assist him.

My favorite parts of the book were on Sanibel island, reading about the laid-back lifestyle, and the local fauna.  Mr. White even slips in a little subtle commentary about the over-development (near-by Sandy Key has exploded over the past few years, and is now run by associates of a corrupt corporation), but it’s done in a way that is not obnoxious, and seems appropriate given the development since then.  The book was written in 1990, and I had to smile when I read about the fax machines, and the problems with getting information – although one person has access to an early version of the internet, the printer can only go so fast so the user has to take copious notes!

The obligatory adventure comes when Doc must leave Sanibel (and his new relationship with a neighbor, an artist seeking peace) and head to Central America, but the bad guys remind me of something from the USA network (Burn Notice) – almost comically evil, and personally, I enjoyed that the book never got to dark (especially considering the terrorists involved).  All in all, the combination of Florida living, Aztec-like archeology puzzle (a missing stone calendar set in emeralds), and mystery make this a must read for anyone vacationing in that part of Florida (or anyone who has visited Grandparents down there), and a pleasant read for anyone who needs a bit of escape.

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Wales

Posted on March 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs  (2011)

A Mysterious Island.  An Abandoned Orphanage.  A Strange Collection of Very Peculiar Photographs.  Everything the dust jacket promises is found inside this young adult novel (which does have a pretty great cover).

Jacob lives in Florida and has always been close with his grandfather, but still thought that his stories about the orphanage where he was sent when he escaped from WWII were exaggerated.  Furthermore, he was sure the photos his grandfather showed him were fakes (and not even very good fakes at that).  But then he finds himself in search of his grandfather’s past, and the truth about himself, which starts with a journey to a remote island off the coast of Wales to find the orphanage and what’s left of the people there.

I will say, as someone who is not always a fan of young adult fiction, this story started off pretty strong.  Mysterious old houses, unexplained photographs, and something just a little quirky – this book opens with a decent main character, a kid, but not obnoxiously so (all too often teenage narrators do nothing but give a string of poorly written ramblings attempting to imitate teenage angst.  I was delighted that was not the case here).  The story develops nicely, but starts to jump the shark near the end – the “surreal” elements of the plot take over, and as a reader I found myself struggling with maintaining my suspension of disbelief, and losing interest in a tired story of kid v. evil (which was already overplayed by the Harry Potter series).

Still, I found myself turning the page to see what happens next, and followed the book through to the end (well, to the almost-end.  The book certainly leaves itself open to a sequel).  The most interesting part of this book is certainly the photographs – Mr. Riggs started with the photos and wrote the book from there. (Note – More on the writing of the book in this L.A. Times Article – Found Photography…) The characters are represented in a delightful collection of strange photos that are scattered throughout the novel (for example, did you notice on the cover that the little girl is actually hovering?), which really adds something special to the book.

P.S. – The best part of the book is seeing the photographs, which one review suggested do not come across as well on the Kindle.  This book is recommended to be best read in paper copy.

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The Happiness Project

Posted on March 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

The Happiness Project:  Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun, by Gretchen Rubin (2009)

The author sets out on a year-long project to improver her happiness and to enjoy life more, by undertaking a series of month-long topics.  It’s hard to argue with the premise of the book, if you have never wondered if you were getting the most of out of life, then you are either the happiest person I know, or an idiot.  The month-by-month approach covers a wide range of topics, including energy (and health), marriage, work, parenthood, leisure, friendship, money and more.

Mrs. Rubin has taken the trouble of doing the background research (and a ton of it), on theories of happiness, and studies of what actually makes people happy.  To me, the book reveals that to a large extent, you are as happy as you want to be, and there are a number of (often difficult) things you can do to change your perspective.  While unfortunately, the rule still stands that you can’t change others, you can only change how you react to them, the good news is that it looks like you can make yourself noticeably happier by doing so.

The book is full of examples and while I am not sure I am ready to jump into my own full-out happiness project, it has certainly motivated me to think about what I want to change in my life.

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Posted in Non-Fiction