This has been moved to my favorites list! It is hilarious and weird in the best possible way. It is a post-apocalyptic tale from the point of view of This has been moved to my favorites list! It is hilarious and weird in the best possible way. It is a post-apocalyptic tale from the point of view of a domesticated crow named Shit Turd (S. T. for short). When his owner, a MoFo (as the humans are known) named Big Jim goes crazy, S. T. leaves with his dog companion, Dennis, in search of medicine to heal Big Jim. Out on the road, he realizes that the illness is widespread and affecting all MoFos.
S. T. and Dennis have a lot of adventures and the humor is crazy clever and sharp. The writing is beautiful, as well. Warning: for those of you who cannot endure the deaths of animals, you should steer clear. This post-apocalyptic world has become very dog-eat-dog, and a lot of dogs get eaten (and a few other animals, as well). The truth is that when zombies are roaming at free will, shit is going to get real and people and animals are going to die. Zombies are not very selective in their dietary choices, and the cuteness of a little floofer ball of fur doesn't really affect them so much. If you have a solid grasp on the harsh realities of life in the zombie apocalypse, then you will enjoy the humor of this! Highly recommended!!...more
This goes in the WTF category with another of my beloved favorites, The Library at Mount Char. What is it in me that is so drawn to books that hit theThis goes in the WTF category with another of my beloved favorites, The Library at Mount Char. What is it in me that is so drawn to books that hit the upper registers of the weirdness seismograph? I don't know, but I cherish it, whatever it is!
I knew I liked the book when they compared the atmosphere at the college to "the lair of Cthulhu." I knew I loved it when Samantha disclosed that she has nicknamed her professor "Fosco." Count Fosco, from The Woman in White, is one of my all-time favorite villains!
The writing is what really blew me away--such detailed, unexpected description. "I suppose there is just something about her gravitas, her voice like a thick mist, her long, ever gesturing white hands and her saccadic violet eyes that suggests she has distressed maidens in her basement, human livers in her fridge, that she baby talks to pet mice, attends the opera in a box seat, clapping lightly from the shadows," (54). The writing is so rich and lyrical that I felt ensnared by it.
The story itself is the WTF part. I didn't really know what to expect, but was mystified and charmed in equal parts by the head-scratchingness of it all. Highly recommended if you are into bizarre tales, because baby, this is one!...more
I was absolutely enthralled by this book. I'm not a hockey fan; I couldn't care less about it. Living in a semi-tropical climate, it's not really on oI was absolutely enthralled by this book. I'm not a hockey fan; I couldn't care less about it. Living in a semi-tropical climate, it's not really on our radar. But I did grow up in a small Texas football town, so I could identify with the devotion of this town to their team. Add to that the drama of a rape charge against a kid with a sterling reputation in the community and the story becomes gripping.
The hockey star angle is bad enough, with the town seeing the girl as thwarting their chance of glory and all the opportunities that would entail with her claim. The deck is already stacked against her on that count. Add to that the typical reaction of people when someone they believe they know, a kid that they've watched grow up and is considered a role model, is accused of a heinous crime. No one wants to believe that that charming young man, so polite, so admirable, could be capable of such violence. Of course, my philosophy is that when it comes to money or sex, you can never really predict what someone will do--I don't care how well you think you know them. However, the people of Beartown don't subscribe to my philosophy and most staunchly defend their golden boy and excoriate his accuser.
Backman does a phenomenal job of building the suspense and capturing the different perspectives of the characters involved. He also does a wonderful (in my opinion) job of chronicling the impact of this event from the female viewpoint. I was really impressed with his insight and the authenticity of the character's responses. I've never experienced this atrocity, so someone who has may have a different opinion. I listened to this on audio and it was very well done, but I ended up buying the Kindle version, as well. There were just so many sentences that grabbed my attention, so many insightful and hard-hitting lines that I decided I had to have a copy that would enable me to highlight and save them.
So if the test of a good book is one that burrows into your head and stays there, causing you to catch yourself mulling over the morality and social issues at the heart of it at odd moments of the day, then this is a good book. I highly recommend, and I intend to read the sequel, as well, although I fear it won't measure up....more
This is definitely a 5-star read. The prose is so lyrical, so visceral at times, that it takes your breath away. It's a haunting tale of a fractured fThis is definitely a 5-star read. The prose is so lyrical, so visceral at times, that it takes your breath away. It's a haunting tale of a fractured family that involves drug addiction, abuse, and racism, as well as infinite love and selflessness. The story is told mainly through the perspectives of JoJo and his mother, Leonie. JoJo is the 13-year-old biracial son of Leonie, a black woman, and Michael, a white man. Leonie cares for her children, but nowhere near as much as she loves Michael. She is also unable to put their needs before her need to get high and party. She is absent often, leaving her parents, Mam and Pop, to provide stability and care for JoJo and his 3-year-old sister, Kayla. JoJo is a thoughtful kid with a more level head than either of his parents. He is basically a parent to his sister, who turns to him for everything, which enrages his mother (although actually having to care for Kayla annoys her, so it was completely dog in the manger emotions).
The bulk of the story is a road trip, with Leonie dragging the two children and her friend on a long drive to pick up Michael, who has just been released from prison. During the trip, through JoJo's and Leonie's memories, stories narrated by Pop in their heads, and through events on the trip itself, racism is addressed in a variety of settings and situations. It spans from Pop's childhood all the way to JoJo's own white grandfather, who refuses to acknowledge him or Kayla. Leonie is presented as an unlikable, but understandable, character, struggling with her own memories and demons.
There is a good dose of magical realism mixed in, as well. Ghosts from the past are with them, from Leonie's brother Given (whom she refers to as Given-not-Given, aware that his presence is a physical impossibility), whom she only sees when she's high, to the ghost from the far past who huddles in the floorboards of the car, visible only to JoJo. I love magical realism, so this was not a problem for me! I love the concept of taking the memories that haunt us and giving them bodies to dwell in while they shadow us.
I do have to say that as beautiful as this book is, I never really . . . entered its world. I was interested in the story and how it would turn out, and I was enchanted by the rich prose that just oozed imagery, but at the same time, I just felt . . . detached. This doesn't affect my opinion of the book, but it did not provide that emotional upheaval that some experienced when reading it. I appreciated it, enjoyed it, but was not emotionally invested. Still a lovely experience--especially the audio. The narrators are perfect for their parts! Highly recommended!
This drew me in from the very first page! I loved her writing style--so beautiful. It is a fantastical tale, REALLY bizarre! Fortunately, that is righThis drew me in from the very first page! I loved her writing style--so beautiful. It is a fantastical tale, REALLY bizarre! Fortunately, that is right up my alley. I loved all of it--the store dancing on its chicken legs, the disembodied hands that framed people for shoplifting (crawling hands are a particular fear of mine from childhood), the sassy and annoying talking doll, and the mysterious Night-rider motorcycle security guard. I loved this retelling of an old Russian folktale. She stayed true to the bones of the story. Highly recommended if you like the weird and fantastical--avoid like the plague if you don't!...more
Wow! After reading the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, I couldn't wait to read more by Laini Taylor. This book did not disappoint! The story is grWow! After reading the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, I couldn't wait to read more by Laini Taylor. This book did not disappoint! The story is great--I love the characters and am riveted by the action, but her prose slows the whole experience down because I just can't read it very fast. It is so beautiful that I have to stop and reread passages, savoring her diction and fluency. As a teacher and budding librarian, I have read quite a bit of YA, much of it excellent, but Taylor definitely stands head and shoulders above most of her peers when it comes to rich, exquisite prose. It makes my little English teacher heart go pitty-pat when I read a refreshingly new and amazingly apt comparison or word combination, or descriptive passages full of lush imagery that creates crystal-clear pictures in the reader's head.
The plots themselves are complex and (at least, for me) surprising--I don't see the twists and turns coming. They come together in a realistic (for these worlds) way. The characters are likable and engaging, and well-developed. While the fates of even the characters we initially hate are a little fluffy at the end, I think this is more a requirement of the genre than a limitation of Taylor's talent. This book offers plenty of gritty realism in the experiences of the characters during the arc of the story.
If you are a fan of fantasy and have not yet read Laini Taylor, you are MISSING OUT!! I can't recommend ANY of her books highly enough! I have also included here a link to my friend Arah-Lynda's review, which I found particularly insightful....more
This is only my third audio book, but it is definitely the most successful. I have to confess, I feel like Steven Weber and I are close, warm, personaThis is only my third audio book, but it is definitely the most successful. I have to confess, I feel like Steven Weber and I are close, warm, personal friends after he has read this entire mammoth tome to me. In my mind, I could see him, Jack Torrance, sitting in the Overlook Hotel, reading the words to me with all the emotions of the characters, doing the different voices. Maybe we would be in front of the fire in the downstairs lodge area, or just sitting at a table in the Gold Ballroom, or having ice cream at the stainless steel counters in the enormous kitchen. Okay, enough of my Stephen King fused-fantasies. But I did have Jack's voice in my ear for 44 hours--that's gotta mean something, right?
Anyway, I've read this book before, many moons ago, and I've seen the mini-series countless times. Of course, I found I had forgotten many, many details, especially those not included in the mini-series. I am all agog to see the new movies that are being filmed right now. Like many others I've heard, I'm not sure that splitting apart the two halves that make up the whole (the children's experiences from the adult's experiences) is going to be successful, but I'm willing to believe. I really enjoyed the gradual revealing of the story by the alternating time frames, and I thought it really built up the suspense.
For those of you who have never read this, it is the story of a group of young kids who name themselves The Losers Club in the small Maine town of Derry in 1958. Innocent young children in a sleepy little town in an innocent time in our history--what could be scary about that? Aah, but this sleepy little town has a decidedly dark side, a seedy underbelly that is not visible to the passer-by. And these children are not so innocent. They are all considered outsiders, outcasts by the other children for one reason or another. Some have experienced tragedy of some sort in their short lives, such as loss of a loved one, or abuse. They are all considered prey by the group of bullies led by Henry Bowers, a somewhat psychotic bigger kid. They come together, drawn by forces stronger than themselves, to confront the darkness that controls and is protected by the town.
King does an amazing job of making these characters come alive on the page. He conveys the minds of these children with a purity and realism that is staggering. This ability to see the world through a child's eyes--convincingly--is one of King's particular talents. The town also comes alive--he creates an amazing backstory for it, and it takes on a life of its own. I was completely drawn into this world that he created.
These children take on an evil entity that no adult would have dared face, and defeat it--or so they thought. Unfortunately, it is only wounded, and it reappears after twenty-seven dormant years. Mike Hanlon, the only one of the "losers" who remained in Derry, and consequently, the only one who actually remembered what happened all those years ago, contacts the other six and reminds them of the blood oath they swore: to come back and fight IT if IT every returned. And so their nightmare begins again.
I am a die-hard King fan and love most of his work, but it is this one, and The Stand that rank as my favorites. I feel that his world-building in these two is at its peak. (I haven't finished the Dark Tower series yet, so I'm not counting those books). The characters are likable and well-developed and real, as is the setting. Then you have the sinister clown/shape-shifter--that is truly the stuff of nightmares. An evil entity is scary enough, but one that can unerringly choose the shape of whatever it is that you fear the most?
I look back at this review and can only reflect on my own inadequacy to completely convey my powerful feelings for this book. I hope that if you haven't read it yet, that you give it a try. If you're daunted by the monstrous size (no pun intended), then consider the audio. Jack Torrance does a hell of a job conveying the horror of this story!...more
Browsing through the reviews, I can see that there is a great divide on this book. Many 4- & 5-star reviews, some 1- & 2-stars, with very few 3-stars.Browsing through the reviews, I can see that there is a great divide on this book. Many 4- & 5-star reviews, some 1- & 2-stars, with very few 3-stars. So most people either love it or hate it. I'm more in the love-it camp. I thought it was hilarious, even laughing out loud at some points. The characters are ridiculously over the top in all directions, the story is implausible, the events improbable, but it still worked for me. I certainly did not like Ignatius J. Reilly, and my sympathies were definitely with his mother (although I was frustrated by her having allowed the situation to develop), but I did find his antics amusing, his philosophical stances entertaining, and his extensive vocabulary entrancing. The author's personal story is tragic, but he produced a very funny book. It's a shame we never got to experience anything else in his unique style.
Edit 6/29/2019 - I changed this to 5 stars because I still find myself thinking of it. With my terrible memory, any book that can avoid being purged from it deserves 5 stars! Plus, it is just so unique....more
I still love this book SO MUCH!! The second reading only proved to me that my memory was correct, that this book is fReview from 2nd Reading - 8/10/17
I still love this book SO MUCH!! The second reading only proved to me that my memory was correct, that this book is freaking amazing and as completely awesome as I remembered it being. The only thing missing, sadly, was the wonder of reading it for the first time. Otherwise, it's sublime! It's not for everyone--if you don't have a taste for the bizarre, if you're not willing to step outside the bounds of reality and embrace a fantastically skewed version of our world, then you're probably better off just not picking it up. While I respect your choices and your personal tastes, I still can't help feeling a little sorry for you. You will never experience the magic that is this book, and that's just sad to me!
Original review (2016) This book is decidedly odd. After reading it, I wondered if it was just me. Maybe my reading choices have been so traditional and hide-bound that even the slightest deviation from the norm fascinates and perplexes me. I could imagine a great deal of collective eye-rolling and slightly pitying amusement by some GR readers, shaking their heads at my naivety in thinking this was strange. After reading other reviews, however, I discovered that I was not alone. This book IS odd. Some readers, however, felt distaste for its weirdness; I loved it!
You start the story in total confusion and stay that way for most of the book. Information is released in tiny increments. Bizarre characters enter and fantastic events unfold; you scratch your head and keep reading. It does become clear, from the beginning, that there are realms of reality co-existing in this book. One is our normal one, going about its day-to-day business. That average world, with which we are so familiar, is completely oblivious of that second plane of existence, which is operating busily right under its radar. The inhabitants and events in this secret universe are largely unseen, and when they do collide with humanity, humanity suffers the worse of the encounter.
The above is not a spoiler--you get this pretty quickly from our introduction to our main character, Carolyn, at the beginning. I won't say any more because I don't want to give anything away. I just think that this whole book, and the interactions between these two worlds, must have been an extremely delicate balancing act--one which Hawkins handled adroitly. It could so very easily have gone wrong; so easily have tipped over into absurdity, but it didn't. I believed in this universe he created; I bought into the existence of these characters and events, and felt the integrity of the resolution. He even managed to infuse quite a bit of humor into these strange happenings.
I look forward to future books from this author, and hope he continues in this genre--he's well-suited for it!...more
I absolutely LOVED this book! It's an allegory for the power readers have over the survival of books. Books that are not read cease to exist . . . as I absolutely LOVED this book! It's an allegory for the power readers have over the survival of books. Books that are not read cease to exist . . . as do their characters. In Textermination, these characters are real, and come together at a convention in a hotel in San Francisco to attempt to prolong their lives. The reader is their god, with the power of life and death over them.
I readily admit, I was not familiar with all of the characters at the convention. It was so amazing to see the ones I did know interacting with each other! Literary theories formed part of the process, as did questions about the canon. Who should be in the canon, and should we have one to begin with? To complicate things, actors showed up to lobby for their share of the readers' attentions.
Basically, it boils down to what we, as readers, already knew. Books without readers wither and die. So many great books have faded into obscurity due to lack of readership. When a book is opened, it comes alive. That's how I teach my students about literary present tense. Every time you open the book, the story is taking place. Romeo and Juliet are still fighting to be together, Gatsby is eternally trying to win Daisy, and Hester continues to quietly bear the burden of her shame while Dimmesdale wrestles with his soul. It never ends, despite the resolutions. When the books opens, the characters spring into action once again.
As a teacher, surrounded daily by roomfuls of youngsters who HATE to read, this book really spoke to me. I do all I can, all year long, to advocate for reading. The only comfort I have, watching the children do ANYTHING to avoid reading, up to and including unconsciousness, is that statistics show that at least a few of them will change their stance on this subject when they get older. Not the majority, alas! but a few. Most students will choose staring into space for HOURS rather than read--true story. On state testing days, we urge them to bring a book to read when they finish testing, but they refuse. They will sometimes finish two or three hours early, and sit and stare that entire time. It's pretty creepy, to be honest.
I've seen posts by some of my friends on this site who will confess that they disliked reading, or dislike a particular author to this day, because of the compulsory reading they did in school. I can sympathize with being forced to read something that doesn't interest you. On the other hand, I have had students (and seen postings) who say that this or that book was the first book they've ever read all the way through, or the first book they've ever really liked. So there's no method that works for everyone. We've started balancing compulsory classics with reading workshops that require self-selected novels. We hope that with this approach, we can reach as many as possible and convince them that reading is not the torturous waste of time they believe it is. I've managed to convert one this year (that I know of), so I'm happy about that!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading and believes passionately in keeping our literary characters alive for future generations to enjoy....more
I read this with one of my book groups, and I'm going to plagiarize shamelessly from the discussion posts I made while I was reading it. I think thoseI read this with one of my book groups, and I'm going to plagiarize shamelessly from the discussion posts I made while I was reading it. I think those posts capture my feelings as I fell in love with this book!
I was instantly charmed when I started reading. It seems like the spiral of texts is taking us down a delightful rabbit hole! My thought was that Calvino is exploring the multitude of ways that readers interact with stories and books. He starts with the physical: the foray into the bookshop to obtain the book, overcoming the emotional and intellectual pull of the other texts there. He discusses the various locations and positions that are most conducive to satisfactory reading. He delves into the physical construction of books with the printing and binding problems, as well as separating uncut pages to reveal the text within.
His first "story" dissects the way we process a story as we read: our expectations and assumptions, our predictions and reliance on common tropes. He goes on to address the impact of author origin and history, the fluidity and evolution of languages (both living and dead), and the vagaries of translations. Throughout, he is constantly evaluating and examining the essence of stories.
The entire reading experience with this book was absolutely delightful. The book comes across to me, from beginning to end, as a celebration of everything to do with reading.
One quote that I marked (out of many!) is when he muses, "I would like to be able to write a book that is only an incipit, that maintains for its whole duration the potentiality of the beginning, the expectation still not focused on an object. But how could such a book be constructed? Would it break off after the first paragraph? Would the preliminaries be prolonged indefinitely? Would it set the beginning of one tale inside another, as in the Arabian Nights?" (173). I think he accomplished his goal, and masterfully!
One thought that occurred to me as I read was that the book is like one of those old carnival halls of mirrors, with each reflection containing yet another variation of all of the different aspects of readers and writers. He explores so many different issues connected to these two basic yet critical functions. English teachers are aware, when faced with the long list of curriculum standards that must be covered in their 50 minute class periods, of the enormity of the tasks concealed in the simple phrase "reading and writing." Calvino creates a web of intersecting ideas and issues that relate to and affects reading and writing, delving into them to expose the complexity that can lurk beneath the innocuousness.
Another thought I had when reading that was that Ermes Marana acted somewhat like a modern-day Tower of Babel, disrupting the ability of readers to bond with text and ultimately causing the authors to be unable to communicate with their readers. He leaves everyone wandering aimlessly, unable to connect in any meaningful way, each text banished to some nether region where it molders in obscurity, lost and unread.
I found a couple of articles discussing it, one of which posits that the structure actually represents a history of critical theory. The other classes it as "the anti-novel that may be the greatest twentieth-century book ever written on the theme of readers and reading of fiction." Anyway, I thought I would include the links for anyone who is interested.
I loved the part at the end where each reader analyzes how they personally approach reading, and also what he did with the titles of the different stories at the end. This was a home run for me! :)...more
This book is fantastic! It's not for everyone; like Uncle Stevie says, you've got to have a pretty big gator swimming around upstairs to enjoy this boThis book is fantastic! It's not for everyone; like Uncle Stevie says, you've got to have a pretty big gator swimming around upstairs to enjoy this book--a freaking Australian saltwater croc! This isn't horror, but I think this dark, twisted tale would be right up that big reptile's alley. Being inside Joe's head--the head of a psycho stalker--is very unique. As Emily May said in her review, "Being inside Joe's head is a poisonous but admittedly fascinating place to be." And it is! It's like being in a dark theater--the show is amazing, but you know if you turned up the lights there would be slime on the walls and nasty little creepy-crawlies running around your feet. He's smart, well-read, funny, and a monster rationalizer and justifier. He sees what he wants to see and makes everything fit his version of reality. When he first meets Beck, the object of his obsession, the blatant things she does, like blinking and breathing, convince him that she is just as obsessed with him. Of course, anyone who is wild enough to throw herself at a clerk by smiling and chatting while checking out is obviously asking to be stalked!
Joe can also be very insightful, and his observations on human behavior in general are sometimes spot-on. His devotion to Beck is complete, and there is nothing he will not do to protect her--even from people she has no desire to be protected from. His habit of putting people into a cage and quizzing them into submission is awesome, and I have to confess to feeling a tad envious of him for that one, although my students probably identify more with the captive. Even at his craziest, I couldn't help but like Joe. Beck--she is a piece of work. She's definitely got a mountain of issues, and thanks to his facility for hacking, we are able to get into her head quite a bit for a book narrated by Joe. I don't necessarily think that her head is a better place to be--she's got some pretty dark things roaming around up there, too.
This book is a testament to our vulnerability to our addiction to social media. Like everything technological, it's a two-edged sword. The good thing is that it allows everyone to share your moments of joy and pain; the bad news is that it allows everyone to share your moments of joy and pain. Stalkers used to be forced to befoul their hands digging through the trashcans of the object of their obsession; now they can dig from the comfort of their couch and go to bed, happy and fully informed, and with clean hands.
I realize that my rating of five stars is me proudly flying my "freak-flag," and I'm at peace with that. I just realized, after finishing the book, that there is? will be? a sequel, and I'm beyond excited about that! Please, oh please, let it live up to this one!!...more
I was utterly charmed by this book. I know that's a strange word to use about a post-apocalyptic tale, but the prose is so elegant, so lyrical, that "I was utterly charmed by this book. I know that's a strange word to use about a post-apocalyptic tale, but the prose is so elegant, so lyrical, that "charming" is the work that springs to mind. The structure of the story is also unique. The story is very non-linear, switching back and forth between the before and after, and giving multiple points of view. The connections between these alternating views is hazy at first, but gradually the threads begin to tighten and the fabric of the story starts to come together.
Mandel starts off on the eve of the pandemic, with the world literally poised on the brink of destruction and just starting to tip over into that cataclysmic drop into technological darkness. The book opens on a stage in Toronto, in a performance of King Lear, headlined by the famous actor, Arthur Leander. We also meet Jeevan Chaudhry, the reporter turned paramedic who tries to save Arthur as he experiences a heart attack mid-performance, and a child actress, Kirsten Raymond, who watches in bewilderment and horror as the nice man who gave her some comic books dies right in front of her. The virus is introduced to us through a call Jeevan receives from a friend, an ER doctor, who warns him that the virus cannot be contained and to leave town. From that point, the story jumps twenty years into the future, and we're traveling with a band of performers called the Traveling Symphony. They go from settlement to settlement, performing concerts and, of all things, Shakespeare for the entertainment-deprived survivors of the flu. I have to tell you, that just made my little English-teacher's heart go pitty-pat! To think that when all of civilization comes crashing down, and people no longer have a screen in front of their face--what do they want to see? Do they want to see scenes from Twilight or Friends or Big Bang Theory acted out? No! They choose Shakespeare! Mandel is making the point that no matter what devastation man faces, he still has that hankering for art, for something beyond the immediate fulfillment of basic needs. That also happens to be the motto for this acting troupe: Because survival is insufficient. It's not enough just to live: we need something that feeds our souls as well as our bodies.
The story goes back and forth, from before the flu to after. The before follows Arthur Leander, either from his viewpoint or from someone connected to him. In the after sections, we know there is a Prophet, a leader of a cult that is, as they so often do, destroying those who disagree with their vision of how things should be. I spent quite some time, (view spoiler)[knowing that the Prophet was going to be someone connected to Arthur, trying to guess who it would turn out to be. (hide spoiler)] I did guess before his actual identity was revealed, but not before it was pretty obvious. Threaded through all this are the comic books about Station Eleven, a sci-fi comic created by Arthur's first wife, about a space station. This is yet another thing that will eventually draw this disparate group of characters together.
Jumping twenty years into the future, twenty years after the flu, and the hysteria, has swept the world, allows us to get beyond the initial chaos of watching the huge machinery of civilization shuddering to an abrupt, screeching halt. It is time for people to have adjusted to this new reality, time for them to finish mourning what they have lost and begin thinking about what they actually have. It is time for them to have begun building a new routine into their lives. The Traveling Symphony has done this. They have an established route, and their appearance has become a routine for those they visit. The Prophet disrupts this, and it is from this that the tension in the story builds.
I really found the back and forth fascinating in this story. We got quite a good look at the unfolding of the apocalypse, as services shut down and all of the luxuries of our modern lives that we barely notice were suddenly no longer available. It wasn't a gradual loss--it was sudden and shocking. Suddenly, there was no transportation. Suddenly, there was no electricity. Suddenly, there was no running water. They didn't all go away at the same time, but they all eventually went. Mandel spends one short chapter at the beginning musing over some of the things that were lost:
No more diving into pools of chlorinated water lit green from below. No more ball games played out under floodlights. No more porch lights with moths fluttering on summer nights. . . . no more films . . . no more pharmaceuticals . . . and the list goes on.
I don't know why examining in detail the hypothetical demise of our civilization is so interesting to me, and I daresay it means that I am freakishly morbid or some such thing, but--I am what I am. If you, too, enjoy books that examine the end of life as we know it, if you enjoy speculating about what it would be like to have everything we're accustomed to stripped away from us, forcing us to eke out an existence as our ancient forebears did, with little more than our two hands, then I highly recommend this. This one has the added benefit of being extremely well-written.
Before I start a book, especially one read by as many of my friends as this one, I skim some of their reviews to get an idea of what they loved or didBefore I start a book, especially one read by as many of my friends as this one, I skim some of their reviews to get an idea of what they loved or didn't love about it. I say skim, because I really, really don't want spoilers, so I don't push it if I think they're going there. What I gathered from my glancing is that Stoner is extremely passive and beaten down by society, life--pretty much everything. I stopped reading before I could stumble across anything specific and started reading for myself.
I was completely enthralled by the book. The prose seems simplistic at times. Williams doesn't deluge the reader in lush fountains of description, yet you are still enveloped in imagery, nonetheless. The account of Stoner's awakening to what his heart truly desires, who he really is, is breathtaking. There are several such places in the book: places that you find yourself lingering over, reading and rereading the words, reveling in their stark beauty. I found I couldn't put the book down. I was completely captivated by Stoner, and was compelled to know what happened next.
*** SPOILERS AHEAD *** Proceed at your own risk!
Even though I can say with complete sincerity that I do love the book, I do have a few issues, or maybe they are just unanswered questions. I found that Stoner is indeed passive--at times. At other times, he is firm, even stubborn in his refusal to back down to pressure. The problem is, it's the wrong times. I understand his desire to uphold the rigor and integrity of the academic program of which he is a part. That is admirable, indeed. He faces down his old friend, his future boss, threats of prejudice--nothing can shake him from the courage of his convictions. He knowingly commits what amounts to professional suicide to hold fast to his principles. Again, an admirable trait. But what happens to that courage when it comes to the things that really matter--his wife and child? Why could he not square his shoulders and fight the good fight to save his marriage, or at least his relationship with his child? It is almost like he is unable to speak up, unable to express himself, which I think is an unusual thing for a person who talks for a living. I know that expressing emotions, things that are deeply private and sensitive to the touch, is quite different than delivering lectures on literature, but you would have thought he would have learned to use language to his advantage during that time. I mean, the analysis of language and rhetoric is his living and his passion!
Don't even get me started on Edith. I want to know so badly why she agrees to marry Stoner. I mean, I get that she has emotional issues. That's apparent almost from their first meeting. The problem is that I couldn't think of a single reason why she said yes. Even someone with issues should have a line of reasoning, however faulty. She's young--she's not an old maid at her last prayers, and as the daughter of a wealthy banker, she will probably not hurt for suitors. Stoner is not presented as so handsome or charming that she is swept off her feet. She's so obviously NOT swept off her feet that it is painful to read. She's not desperate, she's not attracted to him, AND she has a European vacation all planned--one that she is evidently looking forward to. So what is the motive? If she is trying to get away from home, she is about to; she is going to Europe.
I understand the whole "it was a different time" when it comes to Edith's distaste for sex with her husband. She is ignorant of the physical demands of marriage and shocked and disgusted by the reality of it. However, I think if she felt even a modicum of actual affection for him, she would not have been quite so repulsed. But to morph from this cringing prude to a sexual she-beast because of her biological clock? That is quite a transformation! She suffers through their sexual encounters with her face averted and eyes covered, clearly eager for it to be over. From that, she suddenly takes to crouching naked for hours in the bedroom, literally attacking him the moment he walks in the door. That is a little bizarre. Then, when the longed-for child is born, she loses all interest in it and cannot be alone with it for even a short while. I was equally at a loss for her hostility to Stoner, her determination to wrest everything he prized away from him. What did he do to earn it? It is pointed out that he does everything he can think of to please her. Edith's behavior, throughout the book, was beyond my ken.
I was disappointed, too, by Stoner's easy relinquishment of his child, who he never stopped loving. Why does he let her go without a fight? He knows that what her mother is doing is detrimental to her, and that she is unable to save herself, yet he does nothing. Then, when the true damage is revealed, he can only be glad that she can drown her sorrows in booze? That, to me, is so unlike the reaction of a true parent. How can a parent who claims to love a child watch impassively as that child is destroyed, can be comforted by the fact that their child is so desperately unhappy that she is becoming an alcoholic? Again, beyond my comprehension.
I guess what I learned is that Stoner does stand up for what he wants to stand up for. He proves that he can do it when he wants to. For whatever reason, whether he isn't sure how to go about it, or thinks it will be too exhausting or emotionally uncomfortable, he doesn't deem the battles for his marriage or child worth the cost that he willingly pays for his academic beliefs. I found that sad.
Now that I have gotten all of my ranting out of the way, I once again reiterate that I love this book. The reason I feel so passionately about these questions is that I care about the characters, and they are real for me. Even though their actions are inexplicable and sometimes anger me, I am invested in them. Maybe I'm not being critical enough; maybe these questions should cause me to re-evaluate my rating. The truth is that despite my questions, my dissatisfaction with some of the characters' choices, I still found the book to be a thing of beauty. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a beautifully written, well-told story....more
This book was literally laugh-out-loud funny! I loved it!! Even if you haven't read the books she's parodying, you'll be rolling! Highly recommend!This book was literally laugh-out-loud funny! I loved it!! Even if you haven't read the books she's parodying, you'll be rolling! Highly recommend!...more
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