Yet another 2017 novel about racial tensions. This one centers on white appropriation and exploitation of black culture. Two white college students -- Seth. an introverted poor kid, and Carter, an extroverted member of the 1% -- become friends through their shared love of black music. When Seth records a black blues singer on the streets of New York, Carter backs it with music and posts it on the internet as a 1920's long-lost recording by a fictitious blues singer named Charlie Shaw. What starts out as a realistic account of an unlikely friendship between men from two different worlds turns surreal when an old record collector shows up who claims Charlie Shaw was a real person. The story is told through the viewpoint of Seth, and for the rest of the story it becomes unclear whether events actually occur or if Seth has come unstuck in time or if he is just losing his mind.
This novel seems to me to be a mish-mash of themes, without focus. It's an exploration of racial injustice in America, a picture of the privilege of wealth, a tribute to blues music, the solving of a semi-mystery, a criticism of white exploitation, perhaps a ghost story, and even a love story of sorts, all experienced through the eyes of a mentally unstable and unreliable character.
In addition, I am somewhat offended at an indictment against America by a writer of Indian descent who is a British citizen. Is he not exploiting American culture in order to write a best seller?
White Tears has been critically acclaimed. I found it only mildly interesting.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES by CARMEN MARIA MACHADO (2017)
I am probably just a cynic, but I feel that some books are beloved by critics just because they treat with subjects that are currently at the forefront politically, not because they are actually superior. I think that might be the case with this book of short stories. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and was listed on many Best of 2017 book lists, yet I found it to be dogmatic and whiny on the whole, with the longest of the stories (60 pages) becoming boring after the first 20 pages.
The focus of all these stories is lesbian feminism, hot topics in today's culture. Machado's writing is often arresting, but she is a member of the MFA school of over-writing and being clever for cleverness' sake. (Iowa Writers Workshop, to be exact.) I just wonder if she would have been so well received had she chosen to write about people in general, and not this sub-group.
Running through all the stories are elements of the fantastical, with frequent reference to folk tales and urban legends, reminiscent of the writings of Angela Carter. But while Carter's works celebrate womanhood, these seem to me to be tinged with a thread of victimhood and complaint. In three of the eight stories, women experience mental problems, always unpleasant for me to read. In another, a woman lists her sexual experiences, pointlessly as far as I was concerned. The long centerpiece story capsules twelve seasons of a fictional Law and Order, episode by episode. Parts of that were actually funny, particularly for someone (that would be me) who has watched the program, but the premise got old pretty fast. Most of the stories included graphic descriptions of sexual acts, but none were in the least erotic.
Perhaps this collection left me disappointed because I am not enough of a feminist. Or because I am not a lesbian. Or because I am too old and don't consider one's sexuality to be the centerpiece of existence. Whatever.
I would not recommend this book to most people, although I will grant that it is competently written.
The focus of all these stories is lesbian feminism, hot topics in today's culture. Machado's writing is often arresting, but she is a member of the MFA school of over-writing and being clever for cleverness' sake. (Iowa Writers Workshop, to be exact.) I just wonder if she would have been so well received had she chosen to write about people in general, and not this sub-group.
Running through all the stories are elements of the fantastical, with frequent reference to folk tales and urban legends, reminiscent of the writings of Angela Carter. But while Carter's works celebrate womanhood, these seem to me to be tinged with a thread of victimhood and complaint. In three of the eight stories, women experience mental problems, always unpleasant for me to read. In another, a woman lists her sexual experiences, pointlessly as far as I was concerned. The long centerpiece story capsules twelve seasons of a fictional Law and Order, episode by episode. Parts of that were actually funny, particularly for someone (that would be me) who has watched the program, but the premise got old pretty fast. Most of the stories included graphic descriptions of sexual acts, but none were in the least erotic.
Perhaps this collection left me disappointed because I am not enough of a feminist. Or because I am not a lesbian. Or because I am too old and don't consider one's sexuality to be the centerpiece of existence. Whatever.
I would not recommend this book to most people, although I will grant that it is competently written.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
PACHINKO by MIN JIN LEE (2017)
A well-done multi-generational family saga is always entertaining, particularly when it takes place in interesting times and locations. This novel fits those criteria. Min Jin Lee follows a Korean family in Japan for three generations. She not only tells an ever-fascinating human story but also highlights the immigrant experience, applicable to any people who are discriminated against and looked down upon because of their "otherness."
The story begins in Korea, where a genial man and his wife eke out their living running a boarding house. Their beloved daughter Sonja marries a missionary who is on his way to pastor a church in Japan, even though he knows she is pregnant by another man. That child, the son of a Korean gangster, and her second son, the child of the preacher, face the plight of children born and raised in a country not their own, not ever having known their country of origin. They don't quite fit in either place.
One son finds a path by running pachinko parlors, an occupation deemed acceptable for a Korean in Japan. (Pachinko is a kind of combination of pinball and a slot machine which is still popular in Japan.) The other passes himself off as Japanese, always being afraid of being found out.
This is a very satisfying read. Lee's prose is unadorned and straight forward, without flourishes, yet perfect for a plot-driven story. Her characters face hardships on many levels, exacerbated by being strangers in a strange land. Pachinko was a finalist for the National Book Award. I recommend it as entertaining, informative, and instructive..
The story begins in Korea, where a genial man and his wife eke out their living running a boarding house. Their beloved daughter Sonja marries a missionary who is on his way to pastor a church in Japan, even though he knows she is pregnant by another man. That child, the son of a Korean gangster, and her second son, the child of the preacher, face the plight of children born and raised in a country not their own, not ever having known their country of origin. They don't quite fit in either place.
One son finds a path by running pachinko parlors, an occupation deemed acceptable for a Korean in Japan. (Pachinko is a kind of combination of pinball and a slot machine which is still popular in Japan.) The other passes himself off as Japanese, always being afraid of being found out.
This is a very satisfying read. Lee's prose is unadorned and straight forward, without flourishes, yet perfect for a plot-driven story. Her characters face hardships on many levels, exacerbated by being strangers in a strange land. Pachinko was a finalist for the National Book Award. I recommend it as entertaining, informative, and instructive..
Thursday, January 18, 2018
THE POWER by NAOMI ALDERMAN (2016, 2017 in US)
Imagine a world thousands of years in the future when women have all the Power -- not figuratively, but literally. Naomi Alderman gives her female characters a skein across the collarbone which develops first in teenage girls. They suddenly have the ability to deliver electric shock, even to the point of death for the recipient. Everything turns upside down. No more men raping women. No more husbands beating wives. No more female oppression. The deity becomes a She instead of a He.
If you imagine that the world becomes a kinder, gentler place because men are no longer in control, you would be wrong. In Alderman's world, having power changes people. Female armies are formed; in some countries, all men are required to live under the rule of a female guardian; rapes still happen, but with the roles reversed.
The novel focuses on four characters: Allie is a physically and sexually abused foster child who becomes the prophetess of the new order of religion; Roxy is an illegitimate daughter who claims her birthright as the head of a crime syndicate; Margot is an adult aspiring politician who secretly hides her own Power, as taught to her by her teenage daughter; Tunde is a Nigerian boy who almost accidentally becomes the principal photographer and chronicler of the new world order. Framing the entire story are fawning letters from a fictional (male) author thousands of years in the future, when the book is supposedly written, to a (female) colleague, asking her critique of his imagined history of what happened in the past when women assumed control over men. (She expresses doubts that men were ever in control, due to their more peaceful nature.)
The fictional author's plot begins in roughly our present time so it is obviously a critical look at the evils of male domination today, but it is much more than a feminist complaint. The unexpected plot developments lead to a much broader examination of human nature in general. Also unexpected, this novel is often slyly humorous -- not preachy at all. The ending is stellar.
This is not the most important 2017 book I have read (That would be Sing, Unburied, Sing.), but it is the most enjoyable to read. It was named as a Top 10 Book pf 2017 by many US publications, including the New York Times. I highly recommend it.
If you imagine that the world becomes a kinder, gentler place because men are no longer in control, you would be wrong. In Alderman's world, having power changes people. Female armies are formed; in some countries, all men are required to live under the rule of a female guardian; rapes still happen, but with the roles reversed.
The novel focuses on four characters: Allie is a physically and sexually abused foster child who becomes the prophetess of the new order of religion; Roxy is an illegitimate daughter who claims her birthright as the head of a crime syndicate; Margot is an adult aspiring politician who secretly hides her own Power, as taught to her by her teenage daughter; Tunde is a Nigerian boy who almost accidentally becomes the principal photographer and chronicler of the new world order. Framing the entire story are fawning letters from a fictional (male) author thousands of years in the future, when the book is supposedly written, to a (female) colleague, asking her critique of his imagined history of what happened in the past when women assumed control over men. (She expresses doubts that men were ever in control, due to their more peaceful nature.)
The fictional author's plot begins in roughly our present time so it is obviously a critical look at the evils of male domination today, but it is much more than a feminist complaint. The unexpected plot developments lead to a much broader examination of human nature in general. Also unexpected, this novel is often slyly humorous -- not preachy at all. The ending is stellar.
This is not the most important 2017 book I have read (That would be Sing, Unburied, Sing.), but it is the most enjoyable to read. It was named as a Top 10 Book pf 2017 by many US publications, including the New York Times. I highly recommend it.
Friday, January 12, 2018
SING, UNBURIED, SING by JESMYN WARD (2017)
All too often, books do not live up to their critical hype, but this one does. Winner already of the National Book Award, it is predicted by many also to win this year's Pulitzer Prize. I have only good things to say about it.
Sing, Unburied, Sing is by turns lyrical and dreamlike or harsh and brutal, in language that is immediate and poetic. It is narrated by the voices of a 13-year-old black boy and his mother, with the additional voice of a ghost toward the end. All but deserted by his drug-addicted mother, the boy Jojo lives with this maternal grandparents and serves as the emotional parent of his little sister. When his white father is scheduled for release from prison, his mother takes the children on a surreal road-trip to pick him up. When they finally reach their destination, the ghost of a long-dead boy joins them for the trip home, for reasons of his own.
"Ghost," you may say. "Is this a horror story?" But no, it's not that at all, in the usual sense. Yet it is indeed horrible that the ghosts of the past linger and are so hard to overcome. In the words of one character, this ghost is "pulling all the weight of history behind him." Reading this, I was always reminded of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Like that one, this has a mythical quality with meaning beyond the every-day, and, of course, this features a similar dreamlike journey. Toni Morrison's Beloved also came to mind.
Sing, Unburied, Sing is not just a good book or an interesting book; it is an important book. It deserves all the awards it can get.
Sing, Unburied, Sing is by turns lyrical and dreamlike or harsh and brutal, in language that is immediate and poetic. It is narrated by the voices of a 13-year-old black boy and his mother, with the additional voice of a ghost toward the end. All but deserted by his drug-addicted mother, the boy Jojo lives with this maternal grandparents and serves as the emotional parent of his little sister. When his white father is scheduled for release from prison, his mother takes the children on a surreal road-trip to pick him up. When they finally reach their destination, the ghost of a long-dead boy joins them for the trip home, for reasons of his own.
"Ghost," you may say. "Is this a horror story?" But no, it's not that at all, in the usual sense. Yet it is indeed horrible that the ghosts of the past linger and are so hard to overcome. In the words of one character, this ghost is "pulling all the weight of history behind him." Reading this, I was always reminded of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Like that one, this has a mythical quality with meaning beyond the every-day, and, of course, this features a similar dreamlike journey. Toni Morrison's Beloved also came to mind.
Sing, Unburied, Sing is not just a good book or an interesting book; it is an important book. It deserves all the awards it can get.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
EIGHT SHORT REVIEWS
MASTER GEORGIE by BERYL BAINBRIDGE (1998)
This is a very skillfully executed portrait of a Victorian physician/amateur photographer, through the eyes of three narrators. The first one, Georgie's adopted sister, worships him without reservation, excusing all his faults. The second narrator is a street urchin, who reveals other aspects of George, including his in-the-closet homosexuality. The third, George's pompous brother-in-law, provides the most factual information, but even he never quite figures George out.
The action begins with a father's death in a whore house and ends on the battlefield of the Crimean War. In addition to painting a portrait of a complex man, the novel provides a historical look at Victorian England. It is admirable for its craftsmanship, but it is not particularly interesting to read. It won several literary awards in England.
LUCIA IN LONDON and MAPP AND LUCIA by E.F. BENSON (1927, 1931)
These chronicle the further misadventures of the social climber Lucia, which began in Queen Lucia, which I reviewed in November. In Lucia in London, she inherits some money and relocates from her small village to London for "the season." Starting from scratch, she works to conquer and lead London society, as she had done in her previous location. The funniest bit here is the agonizing of the man who has always been her faithful apostle. Since her husband has died he is afraid he is expected to marry her, and he doesn't want to.
In Mapp and Lucia, Lucia rents a summer home in a seaside village and endeavors to become the leader of a new batch of characters. The only problem is that they already have a leader, Mrs. Mapp, who will not give up her position without a fight. The two concoct various wily plots to undercut each other, all the while smiling and vowing their enduring regard and friendship. In the most outrageous of the situations, they are swept away to sea together on a tabletop.
These are extremely funny books which would translate marvelously into a television situation comedy. Pure entertainment. Oh, wait, I just googled it and found that the books have been made into TV series, twice, by BBC.
MISS LONELYHEARTS and THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by NATHANAEL WEST (1933, 1939)
Warning: Do not read these books if you are the tiniest bit depressed already. They will do you in.
Miss Lonelyhearts chronicles the angst suffered by a writer of an advice column in New York City in the 1930s. He tries to find a way to escape the suffering he reads of in the letters sent to him, always as he is mocked by his cynical editor. This novella has a killer ending -- literally.
The setting of The Day of the Locust is Hollywood, where the protagonist is an aspiring set and costume designer. He is surrounded by emptiness of soul and failed ambitions in a world where everything and everybody has a false front. The novel, like Miss Lonelyhearts, ends in mayhem and death.
I suppose everyone was a little depressed in the 1930s, given the sad state of the economy. Books like these wouldn't have helped. These are critically lauded but certainly not much fun to read.
PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA by RODDY DOYLE (1993)
This deceptively simple novel is narrated entirely in stream-of-consciousness style through the voice of a ten-year-old boy in the 1960s in Ireland. Told in snippets and vignettes, the story begins with humorous escapades but gradually turns tragic as the boy witnesses the disintegration of the marriage of his parents.
The remarkable thing about this book is the coherence of the narrative voice. The reader can completely believe it to be written by a prepubescent boy trying to cope with adult issues. Though it clearly reflects a specific time and place, the issues of family strife it presents are universal. The title is particularly heartbreaking, because, as it turns out, the joke is on Paddy. His carefree childhood is over.
I recommend this novel. It won England's Booker Award in 1993.
TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN by JOHN GREEN (2017)
This is a Young Adult novel which I bought for my granddaughter for Christmas, by the author of the wildly popular The Fault In Our Stars. The subject of this one is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it is almost as tragic as Fault, which dealt with cancer death. It helps in appreciating the book to know that Green himself suffers from OCD. The depictions of the thought spirals which drive OCD are thus very believable.
From the viewpoint of an adult reader, I think the book weak in some aspects. As in all John Green's books (I have read them all, since he is my granddaughter's favorite author.), the dialogue seems less like that of real teenagers and more like the imaginings of a grown up who wishes he had talked that way when younger. These teens are all quick and witty and have a great deal of knowledge about a variety of subjects. Few teens are so articulate and intelligent. Also, the incidental plot device of the mysterious disappearance of one of the teen's fathers seems weak and unnecessary.
However, for teenagers, this novel is excellent. It promotes empathy for those who are "different," and that is always a good thing. I imagine that adults who are dealing with someone with OCD would also find it helpful.
EMPHYRIO by JACK VANCE (1969)
This is old-school science fiction adventure, written in the '60s. Its protagonist is a young wood carver on a planet operated as a semi-feudalistic welfare society. The inhabitants are mostly artisans who make hand crafted goods, sold only to the government Lords, who export them and return to the artisans a barely livable dole. He is vaguely dissatisfied with his lot in life and becomes fascinated by the legend of the hero Emphyrio, who purportedly led a long-past revolution.
Emphyrio is a short book which actually reads more like the outline for a longer novel. We get the main events but none of the details which make a novel rich. For example, one sentence reads, "There was more gunfire, but the crowd was within and many horrible deeds occurred." That's it. No horrible deeds described. The revolution, which the protagonist predictably leads, occurs in a few pages and is illogical and anticlimactic.
Not recommended, even for sci-fi fans.
This is a very skillfully executed portrait of a Victorian physician/amateur photographer, through the eyes of three narrators. The first one, Georgie's adopted sister, worships him without reservation, excusing all his faults. The second narrator is a street urchin, who reveals other aspects of George, including his in-the-closet homosexuality. The third, George's pompous brother-in-law, provides the most factual information, but even he never quite figures George out.
The action begins with a father's death in a whore house and ends on the battlefield of the Crimean War. In addition to painting a portrait of a complex man, the novel provides a historical look at Victorian England. It is admirable for its craftsmanship, but it is not particularly interesting to read. It won several literary awards in England.
LUCIA IN LONDON and MAPP AND LUCIA by E.F. BENSON (1927, 1931)
These chronicle the further misadventures of the social climber Lucia, which began in Queen Lucia, which I reviewed in November. In Lucia in London, she inherits some money and relocates from her small village to London for "the season." Starting from scratch, she works to conquer and lead London society, as she had done in her previous location. The funniest bit here is the agonizing of the man who has always been her faithful apostle. Since her husband has died he is afraid he is expected to marry her, and he doesn't want to.
In Mapp and Lucia, Lucia rents a summer home in a seaside village and endeavors to become the leader of a new batch of characters. The only problem is that they already have a leader, Mrs. Mapp, who will not give up her position without a fight. The two concoct various wily plots to undercut each other, all the while smiling and vowing their enduring regard and friendship. In the most outrageous of the situations, they are swept away to sea together on a tabletop.
These are extremely funny books which would translate marvelously into a television situation comedy. Pure entertainment. Oh, wait, I just googled it and found that the books have been made into TV series, twice, by BBC.
MISS LONELYHEARTS and THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by NATHANAEL WEST (1933, 1939)
Warning: Do not read these books if you are the tiniest bit depressed already. They will do you in.
Miss Lonelyhearts chronicles the angst suffered by a writer of an advice column in New York City in the 1930s. He tries to find a way to escape the suffering he reads of in the letters sent to him, always as he is mocked by his cynical editor. This novella has a killer ending -- literally.
The setting of The Day of the Locust is Hollywood, where the protagonist is an aspiring set and costume designer. He is surrounded by emptiness of soul and failed ambitions in a world where everything and everybody has a false front. The novel, like Miss Lonelyhearts, ends in mayhem and death.
I suppose everyone was a little depressed in the 1930s, given the sad state of the economy. Books like these wouldn't have helped. These are critically lauded but certainly not much fun to read.
PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA by RODDY DOYLE (1993)
This deceptively simple novel is narrated entirely in stream-of-consciousness style through the voice of a ten-year-old boy in the 1960s in Ireland. Told in snippets and vignettes, the story begins with humorous escapades but gradually turns tragic as the boy witnesses the disintegration of the marriage of his parents.
The remarkable thing about this book is the coherence of the narrative voice. The reader can completely believe it to be written by a prepubescent boy trying to cope with adult issues. Though it clearly reflects a specific time and place, the issues of family strife it presents are universal. The title is particularly heartbreaking, because, as it turns out, the joke is on Paddy. His carefree childhood is over.
I recommend this novel. It won England's Booker Award in 1993.
TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN by JOHN GREEN (2017)
This is a Young Adult novel which I bought for my granddaughter for Christmas, by the author of the wildly popular The Fault In Our Stars. The subject of this one is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it is almost as tragic as Fault, which dealt with cancer death. It helps in appreciating the book to know that Green himself suffers from OCD. The depictions of the thought spirals which drive OCD are thus very believable.
From the viewpoint of an adult reader, I think the book weak in some aspects. As in all John Green's books (I have read them all, since he is my granddaughter's favorite author.), the dialogue seems less like that of real teenagers and more like the imaginings of a grown up who wishes he had talked that way when younger. These teens are all quick and witty and have a great deal of knowledge about a variety of subjects. Few teens are so articulate and intelligent. Also, the incidental plot device of the mysterious disappearance of one of the teen's fathers seems weak and unnecessary.
However, for teenagers, this novel is excellent. It promotes empathy for those who are "different," and that is always a good thing. I imagine that adults who are dealing with someone with OCD would also find it helpful.
EMPHYRIO by JACK VANCE (1969)
This is old-school science fiction adventure, written in the '60s. Its protagonist is a young wood carver on a planet operated as a semi-feudalistic welfare society. The inhabitants are mostly artisans who make hand crafted goods, sold only to the government Lords, who export them and return to the artisans a barely livable dole. He is vaguely dissatisfied with his lot in life and becomes fascinated by the legend of the hero Emphyrio, who purportedly led a long-past revolution.
Emphyrio is a short book which actually reads more like the outline for a longer novel. We get the main events but none of the details which make a novel rich. For example, one sentence reads, "There was more gunfire, but the crowd was within and many horrible deeds occurred." That's it. No horrible deeds described. The revolution, which the protagonist predictably leads, occurs in a few pages and is illogical and anticlimactic.
Not recommended, even for sci-fi fans.
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