The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo

Another nice entry into the category of Scandinavian Crime Fiction, but my first question when it comes to Jo Nesbo (and to the same point many of his contemporaries) is would he be as popular amongst American Crime Fiction fans had it not been for Stieg Larsson, the author of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’.  My gut tells me that in the specific case of Nesbo the answer is yes.

There’s something very old-school of about the way Nesbo writes, something that harkens back to the heyday of Noir, of pulp fiction and dime novels, and thats a style thats always resonated well with American readers.

This book, ‘The Devil’s Star’, is the third of Jo Nesbo’s American releases, all of which i’ve read.  They have so far all followed the career of Inspector Harry Hole of the Norwegian Police, and while they are not what I would consider ‘intellectually taxing’ reads they are thoroughly enjoyable.  Some element of his writing goes to the reader in me that needs it dark with the only light in the room on the page, and I’ll just sink into the story to the point that several times I’d not heard someone enter the room I was in until they spoke and startled the crap out of me.

Basically, if you’re a fan of Crime Fiction, and you’ve not read Nesbo, check him out.

'The Sense of an Ending' by Julian Barnes

Well, let the obvious first be said - Just because a book is award winning doesn’t mean that its perfect.

I’ve never read Julian Barnes before, so this was untested ground for me.  I’d pre-ordered this book some months back as it was on a list of most anticipated releases of 2011, and it sat on my shelf for a week or two before I got around to it.  I must admit hearing that it had just been award the 2011 Man Booker Prize was the final push that made me pick it up.

The book is broken into two parts, the first sixty pages or so are of the man young, that latter part is of the man old reflecting on his younger years.  During the first section I texted a friend of mine to tell her that this book was depressing the hell out of me, and I believe I described it as ‘Too fatalistic in a distinctly British way...passive depression with a stiff upper lip’.  I stand by that, though after reading the whole work it has taken on more complexity.

Not having read the other books short listed for the 2011 Man Booker I can’t with any certainty say that ‘The Sense of an Ending’ did or didn’t deserve the honor, but what I can say is that it is an important book in my mind.  Brief enough to hold in mind all at once while being thought provoking and capable of inducing the reader into reflection of his/her own life’s choices.  This is a book that not only could I re-read, it is a book I WILL re-read.

On this first reading my only complaint is the absolute ending, which I felt was one twist to far, or perhaps I should say the last one was unnecessary.  As I said I’ve never read Barnes before, but after this I can guarantee I will again.

Underground by Haruki Murakami

I’ve had this book on my shelf for at least five years.  I bought it after I’d read several of Murakami’s novels and had fallen for his writing style, and from from time to time I would pick it up and read the first 5 pages or so only to set it down in favor of a novel.  Then at the beginning of this year I committed myself to reading all of Murakami’s works in 2011, and at last the time came to read ‘Underground’.  I must admit I was not looking forward to it.  I also must admit I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by what I found.

The premise of the book is Murakami’s attempt to understand the effects of the sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system on March 20, 1995 and what the victims were doing at the time of the attack.  He broke up the book by the separate lines of subway that were attacked, dealing with the various victims  for that line, then moving on to the next line.  One would assume that the repetition of similar accounts would become monotonous, but I found that because of Murakami’s approach each account brought something new to the table because of the subjectivity of each experience, something Murakami addresses at times in the book.

The second half of the book, the part that dealt specifically with the members of the cult responsible for the attacks, though not actually any of the responsible parties, I found not so much to my liking, though I’m sure there is much there that many readers would indeed find interesting.

The book itself turns out to be an intriguing sociological study of post economical bubble Japanese culture during the late 1990’s, and has much to say about modern American society and the question of rampant consumerism.

Yeah I'm a slacker

Yup, I completely neglected this blog after committing myself to writing a full review of all of Tolkien's work.  I admit it, I suck.  But, I'm back, and will do my damndest to write a review for each and every book that I read from here on, or until I completely disappear again.  I'll have a new post up in minutes about Haruki Murakami's 'Underground'

April Update

    Hey all!  Just wanted to give an update on the lack of new reviews for the last week or two.  Well, I've have dubbed this month, the month of April, Tolkein Month.  I will be reading as many of the Tolkien books, both those considering middle-earth and his other works, as I can.  I started with The Hobbit, and am now working on The Lord of the Rings.  I also plan on reading The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, and J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, an analytical look at the middle-earth books and how they were written.  When I have completed these books I'll be writing one large Middle-Earth review.
   I have to say re-reading these books has once again had the effect of testing the limits of my imagination and rekindled childhood wonders.
    The review should be up in another one or two weeks and should be considerably longer than previous reviews.  Depending on how this goes for me I may be doing more cluster reviews like this in the future.

P.S.- For this interested in learning more about Tolkien's works in an academic way I recommend visiting Tolkien Professor, the website of Corey Olsen, a tenured English Professor at Washington College on which he has posted many podcasts of his classes on nearly every Tolkien work and other works of classical Faerie stories.

2011 Haruki Murakami Challenge #4

    What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is, obviously, Murakami's memoir-ish telling of his 25 plus year relationship with running and his preparation for the New York City marathon nearing the age of 50.  I really liked this book, not because of any clever writing techniques or unconventional imagery (both things he's known for) but for the honesty and incite contained in the writing, particularly the incite into how and why Murakami writes his novels, which thankfully is not in the same pontificating vein of writers writing a book about writing.  I think this is because Murakami did not set out to write about writing, but about running, something he clearly has a passion for as must anyone whose run over 20 marathons, and as he writes about running that passion spills out, over and into his passion for writing and shows incite into how he goes about it, with patience and proper pacing.  In other words, how he runs how taught and helped him be a better and healthier writer 'body and soul' as he puts it.
   An enjoyable read for any Murakami fans or runners, who can probably appreciate the pains he talks about all the better.

2011 Global Reading Challenge Asia #2

    Vladimir Sorokin is not well known amongst American readers, but I think given some time that will change.  I've come to this conclusion after reading his latest work offered in English, Day of the Oprichnik: A Novel, his vision of a Russia nearly two decades from now in the year 2028 in which a new Monarch has arisen, taken the title of Tsar, and reinstated both the Draconian governance of Ivan The Terrible and  the Oprichnina, the secret police/death squads whose only task is to torture and murder dissidents.
    The story follows one of the Oprichnina, Oprichnik Andrei Danilovich Komiaga, through a 'normal' day.  One in which he and other Oprichniks kill a member of the court who has fallen out of favor, rape his wife, and burn his home to the ground, and thats just how the day starts.
    I saw in this book equal parts Kafka's paranoia of the total state, Orwell's technological 'big brother', and even a quality of Raoul Duke's 'Gonzo' hedonism amongst the Oprichnina.  This book left me with only one complaint, that I wanted to keep reading, and that goes to Sorokin's economical writing.  He didn't overindulge in his story and give too much or go too far.  That to me is the sign of a writer on top of his skills, so I will be reading more of his work.
    On a side note, and partially kind of sort of joking but not really, I'm surprised Putin hasn't 'disappeared' this guy already.  This book, while looking to a future of extremes, could be considered subversive and seen as critical of the modern Russian regime, which is known to sensor its press and artists and manipulate its economy.
    I highly recommend this book to all (adult) readers, as its not too 'big' in actual length or conceptual meaning, but has enough to offer for both the casual and serious readers.

2011 Chunkster Reading Challenge #5...Catherine The Great

    I've always been interested in Russian history and in particular the Czars themselves, so when I stumbled on this book I jumped at the chance to read about one of the two most important Russian rulers of all time and the most unlikely.
    Catherine The Great, or Catherine II, was a German born princess and married into Russian royalty after Elizabeth I, daughter of Peter The Great and then Empress of all the Russia's, chose her to marry her nephew and chosen successor, Peter III.  When Elizabeth I died and Peter III came into rule he tried to divorce Catherine in favor of his mistress, but what he did not account for was that Catherine had used her time wisely and built up her mind, her reputation with the people, and most importantly her reputation with the military leaders and Governors.  When time came to act, she did so, swiftly and smoothly, and stole the throne from beneath Peter III, who grossly underestimated her, so much so that the gravity of the situation did not hit him even after receiving the news from St. Petersburg, but only after he'd already been incarcerated.
    I call her one of the two most important of the Czars because I can only compare her to one other, the father of the Russian Empire more or less as we know it today, Peter the Great.  Where Peter the Great's rein was all about the expansion of the Empire, and entrance into the world as a power to rival any on Europe, Catherine the Great's rein brought Russia into the modern world and made it a rival to Europe in matters of culture, education, majesty, and appreciation of the arts.  Where he conquered through military might and strategy, she conquered through legislation and wit.
    This book is not without its flaws harping on the pomp of courtly life, but I feel that was just an inconvenient reality when writing about any great royalty.  Altogether a great read for any history buffs or anyone fascinated by the Royals personal lives.

2011 Chunkster Reading Challenge #4...A Tale of Two Books

    Gravity's Rainbow will go down as one of the most challenging books I've ever read, and as this review goes on it's really about two books both within the same cover and on the same pages.  One is a brilliant experiment in fiction, filled with news ideas, new metaphors, jarring imagery, and unrelenting honesty. The other is disjointed, unconventional for the poor excuse of unconventionality, and completely loses the already tenuous grip of cohesiveness in enraging drug fueled stream of consciousness nonsense.  If you look up the history of this books reception by critics you'll see a sharply divided crowd, one side loving it and festooning it in the laurels of a masterpiece, and the other deriding it as drivel and unworthy of praise.  In fact, it was up for a Pulitzer, and all 3 members of the fiction board supported it receiving that award for that year but they were overturned by all 11 other members of the board, or so the story goes.  TIME placed it on its 'All-Time Greatest Novel' list, and it did receive a few other accolades, all of which Pynchon ignored.
    Now, I cannot speak as to why Pynchon disregarded those awards, but I do have my suspicions.  My opinion is that this book was pure experimentation.  On its wikipedia page it is referenced that there are some 400 characters in this book.  I didn't count, but I also don't question that number.  It also says that '...the novel subverts many of the traditional elements of plot and character developement...'.  That I absolutely agree with.  While there is a story in this book I cannot say its at the center, that it is what the rest of the book revolves around, because this book doesn't 'spin' around anything, it is chaos encapsulated.  Which makes this book something of a rorschach, you will only see in it what you've brought with you, because there is quite literally a little bit of everything.
  So, I guess my last word on this book is that its not for everyone, nor do I think that it was the writers intention for everyone to read it.  I will be reading this book again, because I may have scaled many mountains reached their summits, this one beat me, but one day I'll be back to take another shot at the top.

2011 Chunkster Reading Challenge #3

    It's been awhile since my last entry, and thats because I've been lost inside the labyrinth of a book I've been meaning to read for a few years (not this one, more on that next time), but I'm back and happy to tell you that this book, Einstein: His Life and Universe, was phenomenal, so much so that half way through it I ran out to the library and borrowed The Einstein Theory of Relativity just to add that extra dimension to my experience of this great mind and life.  Written by Walter Issacson, a well respected biographer whose other works include a very well received bio of Benjamin Franklin simply titled Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, this book is an attempt to show a complete Einstein that I found extremely successful.
   The book is written like any other conventional biography, very 'David Copperfield' (Dickens, not magic), 'he was born...' 'he grew up...', and so on.  But, it avoids becoming dry and boring by the virtue of its subject who would grow to become one of the defining personalities of the 20th century, quite literally reshaping not just the world but the universe around us.  First thing we learn is that contrary to popular belief Einstein did NOT fail math as a boy, in fact the first stumble he had was in college with very advanced math (the likes of which most if us have never nor will ever deal with) because he found it dry, bland, and boring, and this was a consistent problem for the rest of his life until his last forays into unifying his two most important theories, those of Quanta and Relativity.
    I think one of the successes of this book is its warmth, partly because of the jovial, sage like, character of Einstein, but also because Issacson didn't dwell in just the man's achievements but on his relationships with family, friends and collaborators.  That's where the book really shines to me, and lends weight to his work as we find that it was his haven from any emotional turmoil or trauma such as the death of his mother or the drama his first marriage devolved into.
    Who Einstein was is far more fascinating to me than his theories.  We find he was perhaps as much philosopher as physicist, who defined elegance as simplicity in both his religion and scientific views.  For instance, when troubled later in life by the uncertainty of prevailing theories including his own 'Quantum Theory', Einstein is quoted as saying 'God does not play dice', which for me conveys just as much of his religious as scientific viewpoints, as he felt the universe was explainable through order only because it was designed that way by its architect.
   Finally, his political views are perhaps the most interesting simply because of the world they were shaped by as a German born jew of the first half of the 20th century.  He had a great antipathy toward any sort of 'Nationalist' movements, including the founding of a 'Jewish' state, or militaristic societies.  He spent the first half of his life as a devout pacifist, going so far as to use his fame to advocate refusal of any military service and draft dodging.  Many, including the F.B.I., believed him a communist for this support of pacifist movements and he was investigated thoroughly racking up a file of over 100 pages, but Einstein had no liking for communism either because he felt its implementation stifled discovery and creative thought.
    Einstein's views on pacifism and his jewish identity (for which he had a great apathy for most of his life, never fully embracing it) evolved for obvious reasons in the late 1930's and early '40's thanks to the ascension of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party going so far as to write a letter to then president Roosevelt about a new sort of bomb.  That letter was the impetus for the 'Manhattan Project', though he was never allowed to be a significant part of it because of security clearance issues thanks to the F.B.I.  This was probably a good thing for Einstein because of how unsettled he was by what he termed the 'whimsical' use of the bomb, and had he been actively a part of it he may have suffered more morally.
    In the end what we're left with is the portrait if an imperfect yet brilliant man with ever evolving political beliefs, a complicated relationship with his religious identity, a perennial non-conformer in all things who was in awe of the world around him and later conflicted by the light his theories cast on that world.  A fantastic look at a brilliant man and his mind.

2011 Global Reading Challenge Europe #2

    Double Jeopardy is the second book by Jean Echenoz that I have read, the first being the 1999 novel I'm Gone: A Novel which won the Prix Goncourt the most prestigious literary award in France.
    The best way I can think to describe this book is to posit that it would be the spy/intrigue novel Le Carre would've written if he were born 20 yrs later as a contemplative cafe'd Frenchman.  The core of the story is about a half baked insurrection at a Malaysian rubber plantation, spearheaded by an Ex-Pat frenchman, a self titled 'Duke', and two native brothers, and of course the Duke and the brothers have different priorities.  During this Echenoz gives us several other stories that all coincide and eventually intersect, a la "Pulp Fiction", one being an Odyssean chronicle of a homeless wanderer through France going underground to meet 'cannibals' and on a long ocean journey to battle.  As I write this thinking back it almost seems an intentional tribute to Homer, making me want to revisit it already.
    Surely more meandering than casual readers would be familiar with, Echenoz writes in what I'd describe as a 'French' style, looking out at the world with patience almost as if sitting at an outside cafe sipping coffee and eating a croissant.  Obviously I'm romanticizing, but in my defense, when speaking of Echenoz, it is so easy to romanticize because of the ease with which he weaves poetry into his prose, describing what many of us would see as wonder-less and mundane he injects with beauty and symmetry.
   So, find a copy, pick it up, take your time with it, and enjoy.

2011 Global Reading Challenge Asia #1...The Other Murakami

    I've known about this author for some time now as he shares the last name of one of my favorite writers Haruki Murakami, but have never before gotten around to reading him.  Popular Hits of the Showa Era: A Novel is Ryu Murakami's latest available English translation, and if its any indication of his other works he is one strange dude.
   The story revolves around two groups of people that have latched onto each other in hopes of staving off the harsh isolation of their Japanese society.  The first group is a collection of six socially awkward sexually frustrated loners who've each developed similar ticks of bursting into bouts of laughter who get together weekly traveling to an isolated location and sing karaoke, usually cross dressed.  The second is a group of what are called Oba-sans, 30 something single women, some divorcees, that are a sort of curmudgeonly type.
    Each one of these people evoked very real sympathy from me when not committing the horrendous (and absurd) acts that begin to unfold starting when one of the young men, hungover from one of their nights of Karaoke, ventures out from his isolation and sees one of the Oba-sans carrying grocery's home, and though he finds her all but revolting walks up behind her and begins to 'poke her' with his 'tented' pants.  Of course she is scandalized and begins to walk quickly away.  He continues and when she turns around to object he stabs her in the throat.  These two groups then begin to go tit for tat, building to the use of explosives.
    If your upset because you think I've revealed to much, you're wrong.  There is still plenty more violence and odd sexual awkwardness left, enough to fill 200 pages in fact.
    BUT, before you turn away in abject disgust, understand what Murakami is trying to say.  He is not glorifying random violence or sexual assault or even cross dressing for that matter, nor is he condemning any of these things.  What he is trying to say is that these oddities, and many more, are symptoms of a broken society, a society of crowded loneliness, deafening silences, and isolated alienated citizens.
    When taken at face value this book is at worst offensive and at best a freakshow, but once you make the attempt to understand why and how those horrible things are taking place and what sort of circumstances could grow them you (or at least I) begin to see the profound quality of Murakami's prose.

2011 Random Read #7...Wondrous & macabre happenings in 1890's Chicago

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America is two stories, one the mad construction and wonders of the Chicago's World Fair of 1893 and the other the terrible career of conning and killing by a young man going by the name of H.H. Holmes, juxtaposed in order to give the full picture, light and dark, of a certain time in a a certain place.
    Erik Larson, the writer of this book, has proven himself capable of adequately handling this sort story.  I use the word 'adequately' because at times the complicated score of characters involved in the building of the Fair becomes jumbled and occasionally the artistic license necessary to convey the story of Holmes becomes a bit heavy handed and overly evident, but with that said he was able to illustrate the wonders the Fair held and the horrors that Holmes committed evocatively.
   Just to talk of the Fair for a moment, to learn of all the amazing innovations that it presented was astounding.  Firstly, as a person raised in Florida, to learn that the bedtime stories of this Fair told by his father may very well have been what inspired the vision and drove Walt Disney to create the wonderland that is Disney World is amazing, and truly self-evident once you look closely, everything from the purposefully laid landscaping to the intentional uniform planning all echoes back to the Fairs execution.
   Also, that this Fairs choice of alternating current over direct current, chosen so based on the bids given by the respective contractors, is what may have won the war for AC current and shaped the way all of us power our homes is fairly fascinating.  Lastly, the centerpiece of the Fair, what the architects of the event chose as their way to 'Out-Eiffel Eiffel' and his tower in Paris, was the worlds first Ferris wheel, a monstrous marvel of engineering which stood at over 260 feet with 36 cars each of which could accommodate 60 people each for a max occupancy of 2160 people.
   A fun book for history buffs, Chicago lovers, or serial killer nuts, and on related note this book is said to be soon made into film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the killer himself Mr. H.H. Holmes.

2011 Gothic Reading Challenge #2

    I was having a hard time deciding what to read next, and I was searching through my goodreads.com account reviewing what I've been reading recently when I saw they were holding a book challenge, to read Jane Eyre, take a 5 question quiz, and pick your favorite line from the book.  By doing those things I've been entered in a chance to win a new Kindle, so I figured what the hell.
    Well, am I ever glad to have stumbled upon that contest because 'Jane Eyre' stands as one of the single best books that I've read.  A Bildungsroman in type, simple enough, a story telling the tale of a young Jane Eyre grown to young woman and the roads she traveled thus, though it is the writing itself that makes this book something special and made me thirst for more Charlotte Bronte.  It is striking how obviously this book has influenced so much of what we read in fiction and see in film today, the subtle touches of heartbreak and the aching pangs of regret have echoed from these pages and have reappeared countless times, though unfortunately rarely if ever as effectively as Bronte herself did.
    A pleasantly unexpected element of this book were all the subtle touches of the supernatural, some explained away and some not, that litter these pages.  Strange and haunting apparitions and distant psychic communication.  Again, not expected in what I expected to be a stodgy tale of the Victorian era.
    Another mark to how well this was written (in my opinion, of course) was how intensely the complex and heartfelt emotions of these characters' relations resonated with me.  I couldn't help but to physically react toward certain passages.
    All said I greatly enjoyed this book and cannot more strongly recommend it to all, both young and old, both well read and not, simply put, for any wishing for as good a reading experience as is at all possible.

2011 Random Read #6...Screenwriter Diablo Cody

    Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper is the memoir of Diablo Cody, Academy Award winning Screenwriter of 'Juno', in which she recounts her adventures, which she was driven to by the sheer boredom and monotony of modular office life, in the sex industry (stripping and peepshows) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
    Written with observations made with eyes for the grotesque and ears for the absurd, Cody spun it all with the wit viewers of her movies are fondly familiar with.
    While I don't recommend this book to any in the possession of either a weak stomach or of a puritanical disposition, I found it a quick (at just over 200 pages), funny and lighthearted departure from the average fare.

2011 Haruki Murakami Challenge #3

And so it all makes sense, sort of. A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel is the third book in Haruki Murakami's 'Trilogy of the Rat', and having read the first two I was really depending on this one to bring it all together. I have to say it did, and it even wrapped the whole of it up quite well with the last chapter, which was my big complaint with the second book in the series, that it had no real end. That all makes a sort of Harukian sort of sense now because the second book didn't have an ending it was just a sort of throughway to this book.

With all that said, I have read a few reviews online about this book, '..Sheep Chase', and have found that many readers have read it knowing it was the third book of a trilogy without feeling they'd missed anything. They're right, you can absolutely read this book without having read the other two because this book is, in my never humble opinion, the an actual novel, while the other two feel to me know as little more than extended prologues, or even something written after to illuminate a few things. That sounds harsh and dismissive, but I don't mean it to. The previous two are good, they are just very different, and without a few subtleties they would have no connection to each other or this book at all.

This is also the most complete book of the three, it is evident when reading it that it took some planning to get right, he had to know an ending in absolute terms to even begin, and that's what makes these three books taken together as such a great discovery for any of Haruki's longtime fans. You can clearly see a writer flexing and building his talents to what they have become today. In the first of the three he started with his meandering sort of everyday prose that best evokes the 'lost in a crowd' feeling that is so prevalent in Japanese fiction. In the second he first uses his alternating stories tool that has become almost a trademark of his style, though he does not use it in the third. Then, in this the third, he finally uses the part of his writing to imagine, untethered by convention, unique oddities, like a demon sheep with a star on its back, and to build mythologies around them.

I loved this book for a laundry list of reasons. Haruki Murakami is capable of making the mundane captivating and the alien seem coffee shop normal.

2011 Random Read #5...More Philosophy

I've always been interested in the French Existentialist writers Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre and have read most of their fiction, but I've always found the actual philosophical writing difficult to read because of the philosophical vocabulary that is used. Then I found The Ethics Of Ambiguity while deciding which Simone De Beauvoir fiction book I would read. It seemed to be a bit more accessible as far as the language was concerned, so I picked it up.

The premise of her proposition (she even has me using the philos. lingo) is that the meaning of our lives is what we make of it and that it is up to us to give our lives meaning. Also, she states that freedom is not an end result, that it must be continually cultivated in ourselves, through giving our lives meaning, and in the world at large.

I found it interesting how prescient her writing is almost as if she was peering into 2011 from her 1940's Parisian window. Or, maybe its that the times in which we live are just so aligned with her writings to make it seem so. All over the world we see people fighting for their freedoms in such organized direct ways. Maybe her views on freedom just needed the age of the internet to be fully realized.

I'm sure there is more that I can get from this book, not just because there is more there if only I'd dig, but also because of a deficit in my philosophy comprehension, so don't be surprised to see more philosophy books reviewed here.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the discourse on freedom and what it means, or anyone just looking for a book to think over.

As always, Good Reading!

2011 Haruki Murakami Challenge #2

I just don't know what to say about this book. It feels like half a book, or I am severely missing the point. This was Haruki Murakami's second published novel in Japan, as well as the second in what is referred to as the 'Trilogy of the Rat', the first being 'Hear The Wind Sing', which I reviewed last week, and the third being 'A Wild Sheep Chase', his first U.S. release. I had similar issues with the first, but not nearly to this extent as I felt that it had a more complete arc. It was still a fun read for a long time Murakami fan like myself as I get to see the development of what have become his signatures in his writing one such being dual stories with alternating chapters.

I cannot recommend this book to non-Murakami fans, as I feel it has so many basic story flaws. It also feels experimental, as it probably was, and I think that would turn a lot of first time readers off.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, as with the Murakami book from last week, it just has a certain feel that I associate with his writing that I enjoy. As far as my disappointments, I'm holding out hope that in the final book of the trilogy my patience and diligence will be rewarded.

2011 Random Read #4...You are what you eat eats

Yet another great read and potential contender for best book i'll read this year. About the food we eat and how it gets to us The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals taught me many things about the natural and unnatural food chains that we all find ourselves in. If you're a fan of McDonald's, or any other fast food, its probably a good idea for you NOT to read this book because what you don't know can't made you vomit. I am not a fan of fast food, and this book only reinforced my aversion to it. But, unfortunately it has also turned me off of mass produced meat, meaning I now will probably have to spend more to buy grass fed beef instead of the grain fed Frankencow meat that is sold at most grocers.

But wait, there's more. Don't think this book venerates 'Whole Foods' either. Pollan, the writer, it brutally honest about the price still paid in order to sell food cheaply, regardless of where its sold or how its marketed, may it be labelled organic or not.

Pollan breaks down the three potential chains that can connect us to our food in a concise and descriptive way. He starts with a look at what he calls the industrial system. This is the chain that provides food to most Americans. It consists of produce loaded with pesticides and chemical fertilizers and meat adulterated in the name of cost eating foods that aren't natural to them causing illness and higher fat contents at the cost of taste and loaded with antibiotics to fight disease. To fully experience this food chain he takes his wife and son to, where else, 'McDonalds' for an industrial family meal. Yum dripping with a warm sauce of sarcasm.

Next, he breaks down what has become of the 'organic' chain, which in reality has become just another arm of the industrial, and in most cases owned by the same parent companies. Many of these 'Industrial-Organic' have even gained the moniker of 'Face-Farms' because of the positive P.R. those parent companies garner by owning them. There is hope however in the case of many a smaller organic, or 'beyond organic' as they call themselves, farms. One such is Polyface farm in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia. Here they practice sustainability at its best and bring farming back to a place of real nature with seemingly no waste. This place sounds amazing, but to enjoy any such farm you need to live with a half days drive, which I don't. Once again, to complete the chain Pollan has a meal, in this case a series of meals as he stays and works on Polyface farms for several days.

At his point I was frustrated, not with the book, but with the food system that we are all a part of and that the U.S. government advocates and supports thanks to lobbyists working for these food producing giants.

Then came the last of the possible food systems, the Forager, the modern day equivalent of our 'Hunter-Gatherer- ancestors. Now, I must admit, I am a minor league foodie. I love me some 'Top-Chef' and 'Iron-Chef' and late night Food Network is my channel of choice, so this last section really whet my appetite. Pollan learns, through the guidance of what he calls his forager 'Virgils', to find and identify wild mushrooms, and hunt california wild boar. With these two components as well as additions from his garden and fruit from area trees he makes an amazing sounding meal, basically made without any money as everything was gathered and prepared by him and one other guest.

If your interested in food and where it comes from definitely read this book, but if you'd prefer the bliss of ignorance about what is actually in your food don't even read this introduction. Happy reading AND eating.

2011 Haruki Murakami Challenge #1

Let me start off by saying that in order to read this book I had to order it off ebay and have it shipped from Japan. That is because of all Murakami's books, he has apparently vowed to not release the first 2, this being the the first of said 2, in the U.S. in an English translation. Why? you ask. I have no clue, thats just the way it is.

The most surprising part to me about this apparent refusal is that this is a very good little book, and when I say little I mean it. At 130 pages and literally small enough to fit in your front shirt pocket its very short, but in those few pages Murakami crafted an interesting 20-something tale of being somewhat lost and dissatisfied. The sort of novel that echoes the likes of young Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and forecast writers like Bret Easton Ellis. This may sound like hyperbole, but I stick to it.

Murakami is the type of writer that one cannot be told about, he must be experienced, so I can't wait to make my way through the rest of his books, some I've read and will re-read some I've not, during this year leading up to the release of his largest work yet, '1Q84', coming in November, and I suggest you give him a try as well.

2011 Random Read #3...Philosophy

I became aware of All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age because of the NY Times book review podcast, and am happy to have picked it up. Its basic premise is to track western mankind's outlook on the world as influenced by our various religious philosophies and how they have been portrayed in popular literature of the times. Starting with the ancient Greeks as portrayed by Homer in his epics 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' as an easily understandable, easily ordered polytheistic world, then on to Aeschylus 'Oresteia' trilogy highlighting the conflict between the New Olympian gods and the old Furies, on through Dante's Aristotleian graded version of sinner and saint (hence the nine circles), eventually leading to the longest chapter of the book, and the most comprehensive, about Melville's 'Moby Dick'. Now, I have yet to read this book, and for the first time I am pleased about that fact. After reading 'All Things Shining' I now know that the story of 'Moby Dick' is a multi-textured, multi-layered one, and though I may have seen some of those textures/layers I am not the least bit confident I would have seen them all.

As for the actual 'new' philosophy this book offers I, though clearly not as seasoned as these writers in the world of philosophy, found their offerings somewhat meek. The majority of the book is a history of philosophy both ancient and modern, and the thesis they present falls a little flat in comparison though I suppose that is to be expected after reviewing the philosophical ideas that changed the world in their times.

All said, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, not because of what they did or did not offer, but because of what I learned. I am a confirmed bibliophile, and the new perspectives that they have gifted me with in this book makes it easily a permanent reference guide for literature. Not everyone will enjoy this book because not everyone can enjoy this book, but anyone with any interest in literary philosophy should absolutely pick it up.

2011 Global Reading Challenge North America #3

This is the last of the N. American novels that I've committed to reading this yr. with the Global reading challenge, and its a new release.

Karen Russell has been festooned with just about every award a young writer can receive, The New Yorkers '20 under 40', The National Book Foundations '5 under 35', and was chosen as one of Granta's best young American novelists for her previous book St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, and honestly after reading this book all the accolades are deserved. Russell shows a maturity in her fiction that can take decades to achieve, which makes her a writer to watch as her abilities will seemingly continue to evolve and improve.

Swamplandia! is the story of the Bigtree tribe (non-native american) of alligator wrestlers in the Florida Everglades. Russell, as a Miami native, was faithful to the traditions of Florida writing, with echoes of both classic, Matthiessen and Hurston, and contemporary, Hiaasen and Dorsey, Florida writers. She shows the knowledge, care and love for the history, lore and absurdities, which commonly intersect, of the state.

The writing style is playful. Russell toys with, without committing to, the ideas of 'Magical Realism' (a literary genre in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality' (wikipedia.org) that many a Nobel Laureate has written in, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Jose Saramago.) The door is left open for interpretation throughout most of the book whether or not any real magic is taking place or whether we are just seeing the world through the eyes of a child. I argue that it is magical realism, based on many inclusions throughout the book, including a red alligator and a seemingly living breathing swamp that very much acts as a main character, but can simply rest my argument on the basis that seeing the world through the eyes of a child is a magical experience.

I cannot leave this review without drawing the line to whom I see as one of Russell's closest contemporaries, the one I see her showing the most parallels to, and that is Haruki Murakami. He as well plays with the traditions of Magical Realism, though he uses it much more overtly, and even the structure of the book, with alternating chapters, resembles his works. If you read this and like it, pick Murakami up next. If you like Murakami, check 'Swamplandia' out.

2011 Random Read #2...IT'S SCIENCE!

When I read a good nonfiction book it turns me on to reading more of the like. That was the case with The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science which I read a finished a few days ago. After finishing that book my eyes began scanning my shelves of unread books, searching for something to fill the need for more fascinating science, and I settled on this book, The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry. The author is Brian Sykes, a professor of genetics at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the prestigious Oxford University, so he clearly knows his stuff.

It is about the breakthroughs Professor Sykes and his colleagues made in Mitochondrial DNA extraction and sequencing, and their discovery that through said mitochondrial DNA they could trace all of modern man back to their distant ancestors, anywhere from 10,000 to 45,000 yrs through the maternal line because mitochondrial DNA is only passed on through ones mother without any modification from the father's DNA.

Throughout their scientific journey they also settle some long standing fueds in the academic community about the origins of modern man, such as where the original Polynesian's came from, southern Asia of the Americas, and whether all modern man are the descendants of Cro-Magnon man or a hybrid of Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal.

Most of the book was intensely fascinating, but that last third of the book, when Sykes describes the lives of the 'Seven Daughters', the ancestral mothers of all modern Europeans, I found it, for lack of a better word, boring. That is because it was all pure speculation, Sykes even says so not once but twice, and after 200 pages of hard scientific facts it felt very out of place.

All said, I would recommend this book to anyone with a thirsty mind for any type of science, with the caveat that they may or may not enjoy the last 90 or so pages as much.

2011 Global Reading Challenge North America #2

Ann Beattie has been well known in literary circles for going on 35 years, but I'd heard of her only recently thanks to the placement of the latest collection of her short stories from the New Yorker being named as one of the NY Times best 10 books of the year. I opted not to read that book, but rather her first book, the book that garnered her many accolades in the 1970's from the likes of the NY Times and the late John Updike.

Chilly Scenes of Winter is an average to short length book, but because of the writing style Beattie employs it feels more shorter, much tighter, than its page number would suggest. Her character's are vivid, and the interactions they have, particularly the relationship between the main character Charlie and Sam, the friend he's had since elementary school. The story also feels true to life, something that is easy to aspire to as a writer but that is rarely seen to quite this degree, new people come and go, odd things happen, but life continues to roll on much the same as it always has.

There are only a hand-full of books that i've re-read more than once knowing that there are still more subtleties to be found, but I have all the confidence in the world that this will join that select group. The relationships are too sincere for there not to be. I LOVED this book.

2011 Chunkster Reading Challenge #2

Every now and again I get the itch to read some nonfiction. Occasionally it works out that the book just bores me, even if its about a seemingly interesting subject, and other times the subject is handled so charismatically as to compel me to race to the end leaving me hungry for more interesting nonfiction. The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science, fortunately, was the latter of the two. 'Age of Wonder' immediately grabbed me with the opening tale of young Joseph Banks sailing aboard the 'Endeavor' with the legendary Capt. Cook, and their landing on the pristine island of Tahiti. It made me wish I could have been there, and not for the purely 'wholesome' reason of untouched paradise. (read the book and you'll figure it out)

From there we follow Banks and a whole slew of other brilliant men and women that Banks encourages and funds from the presidency of the 'Royal Society of Science' as they launch the first air balloons, explore the heavens discovering new planets, comets, and nebulae, and make the first real endeavors into serious chemistry. These same great minds also encounter and socialize with the great poets and writers of the day, inspiring the likes of Erasmus Darwin (Charles' grandfather) to write his epic poem 'The Botanic Gardens', Coleridge, Lord Byron, as well as both Percy Bysshe Shelley's poetry and his wife Mary's creation mad scientist Victor Frankenstein.

Also, the intermixing of an array of amazing scientific discoveries and the poetry they inspired gives the book an interesting and arresting balance of scientific and artistic analysis.

I found this book to be an astounding success, as it was about a new spark of scientific discovery and the need and hunger for knowledge, because that is what it has left me with, a hunger for more knowledge of scientific discoveries, and most of all a hunger for more books like it.

2011 Chunkster Reading Challenge #1

It was 766 pages and 5 days, the last 200 on day 5. I think that says a lot right there. This book may look like a brick sitting on the shelf, but it moves as swiftly as any novel I've read. Cronin has elevated the 'vampire apocalypse' novel, and done something so few have failed at, not just in this genre but many, that being staying away from the predictable. There were times when I 'knew' what was coming, low and behold, I was wrong. Then there was the rest of the book when I had no idea what waited for me in the next chapter, page, paragraph.

This book has been listed on many 'Best Of 2010' lists, and after reading it, I'm not surprised. Admittedly, there were sections when I thought all the hype around this book was overplayed, save for a few interesting character studies in the beginning I was searching for the reasons behind all the plaudits, but the book really came into its own in the second half where it felt like Cronin truly hit his stride and the book just took off. Often that can be the downfall of a book, the story gets to complicated and the writer loses control, but Cronin was able to keep it all reined in and really delivered a hell of a read. I say that despite the (SPOILER ALERT) cliff-hanger ending (I hate that) setting up the first of two planned sequels which I'm already itching to read. I just hope that he doesn't lose scope when trying to fit it all in, because if the set up at the end of the book is any indication, he is being very ambitious to think he can fit all of it in, as succesfully, in only two books, though I wouldn't complain if it grew to more.

2011 Global Reading Challenge North America #1

ANOTHER contender for best read of the year. This book has been sitting on my shelf for about 6 or 7 months now, and I just never 'felt in the mood' for a collection of short stories. I actually used this challenge as an excuse to get it over with and off my shelf, and it turned out to be addictively readable that I was through its 265 pages in less than a day.

The stories are all about the African American experience, but not in a trite way where these truly emotional, affecting experiences become uneffective. And how was this done? Not through any fancy nouveau fiction styling, but through simplicity. As the NY Times review on the front cover says, "This is the old-time religion of storytelling." I would even modify that accolade a bit by saying this is the immortal art of storytelling, because I think these stories will resonate just as well in the decades to come. That's because Packer used her language, her words, so effectively, her similes felt fresh, not cliched and over tread, and her characters felt REAL.

I've read a few very good collections of short stories that have made me permanent fans of those writers and anything they write, but only one other collection has impressed, endeared and captured me the way this one has, and that was Jhumpa Lahiri's 'Unaccustomed Earth'.

Random Read #1

Just a fun, take a break, dependable read. I've read all of Eisler's previous books, and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. His writing, which is all steeped in the world of espionage, has an air of authenticity given Eisler's stint in C.I.A.

This is the second book in Eisler's second series, the Treven series. The first book focused on both brothers, Alex, an attorney, and Ben, an elite soldier/assassin, while this one is exclusively about Ben. For long time Eisler fans, which I am, we also see the hints of the return of John Rain, who starred in the first six of Eisler's novels. When I read that, I couldn't help but smile, because as good as Eisler's 'Treven' books have been, they still seem to pale in comparison to the 'Rain' books.

I will always recommend this author to anyone seeking a 'fun' read, and this book does not make me question that. But, here's hoping John Rain does make his triumphant return in the next novel.

2011 Global Reading Challenge South America #1

Wow! Let's start off with that. Another amazing book, and another contender, already, for the best book i'll read all year, which brings the tally to 2, and its only January 15th! 'The House of the Spirits' is of the beautiful and tragic love story of 4 generations of the Trueba family. One review on the back of my paperback copy read "-a book about one family and one country that is a book about the world and becomes the world in a book", and I am hard pressed to summarize it better. I'll try by using the authors own words as a line of one of the last pages reads "-and so on down through the centuries in an unending tale of sorrow, blood, and love."

Allende undoubtedly owes some thanks to Marquez as some inspiration came from his masterwork "100 Years of Solitude" (a families generations long tale of love, loss, conquest, and death beginning and ending with the patriarch). I will say that 'The House of the Spirits' seems based more in the real world, with more direct lines to real world events, while Marquez's was more allegorical, more a fairy tale interpretation of the world. Even writing this I'm questioning myself, as Allende's book is filled with ghosts, fortune tellers, and clairvoyants, but, in my defense, something about it just 'felt' more rooted in reality. Opinions will vary, but read both before calling me out, lol.

2011 Global Reading Challenge Europe #1

This is the best book I've read so far this year, granted its only the third, but I think It'll be a strong contender far the rest of the year as well. That's for one simple reason, this books complex simplicity. 'I'm Gone' has so much going on in its 195 pages; it's the story of a fifty something womanizer with a bad heart, there are love affairs and hurt feelings, business deals in the world of fine art, travel to exotic places, and encounters with strange people, there are mysteries and disappearances, murder, and even an art heist.

For all that activity those 195 pages should feel uncomfortably jammed full of seemingly unconnected events, and under a different writers pen I'm fairly confident I'd be hear saying just that, that this book was the work of a confused an erratic author that was completely unable to decide what sort of book to write, so he just wrote everything. But, I'm not hear saying that, Echenoz has put all these things into a book, a short one at that, and made it fit seamlessly, and that goes back to that complex simplicity I spoke of, because that is life, a lot can happen and some of the time we're at a loss to explain why.

This was the first book I've read by Jean Echenoz, but it will not be that last. Furthermore, I cannot recommend this book anymore fervently, the descriptions are beautiful, the pacing fantastic, and the story itself is great.

2011 Gothic Reading Challenge #1

Alright, let me start off by saying that The Alienist was not a terrible read, but I did find myself wandering quite a bit as I read it. On this latter point I blame myself, because one compliment Carr unarguably deserves is that he can set a scene. I frequently found myself transported to the various scenes and settings of this book, 1890's Manhattan. The characterization was also pretty admirable, both real historical and purely fictitious characters well fleshed out, which gave their stories weight, as I was then invested in them as real.

My complaints begin with Carr's introduction of forensics of the age. Not to suggest it wasn't interesting to see the disparity between what was considered normal and radical forensics at the time, just that the pace slowed considerably whenever it was brought up. And that leads to the second complaint, overall pacing. In the first act the book moved swiftly, as is to be expected of any introductory faze of a thriller. The third act was fantastically paced, and I couldn't help but finish that last third in less than a day. But, it seemed that in the second act, the bulk of the investigation into the killings, the pacing was just off. I understand that in the real world investigations take time and are generally speaking monotonous things, but this is a book, a thriller no less, and to go nearly 100 pages, a 5th of the book, without any significant events seems like an odd choice.

Again, even with all that said, this was NOT a bad read. Perhaps my problems with its pacing were simply that, MY problems, and maybe it was a poor choice to read something meant for a mass audience after reading more academic works, but I stand by my criticism of the central pacing.

Overall rating: Good Vacation Read