This book alternates between telling the story of Mary Dundas in 1732 and the story of Sara Thomas, an amateur codebreaker hired to decipher Mary’s diThis book alternates between telling the story of Mary Dundas in 1732 and the story of Sara Thomas, an amateur codebreaker hired to decipher Mary’s diary. The story was a little slow for me but honestly there is so much going on in my own life I don’t feel I can accurately review this book- I was very distracted reading it, and it took me a long time to finish...more
This absolutely delightful story has an unlikely set of characters: Tova, a widowed woman working as a cleaner at the local aquarium; Cameron, a youngThis absolutely delightful story has an unlikely set of characters: Tova, a widowed woman working as a cleaner at the local aquarium; Cameron, a young man trying to find his father - and himself; Ethan, who has a not-so-secret yearning for Tova; and Marcellus, an aging giant Pacific octopus. There is no mystery here: the answers to the most pressing questions in the book are Olivia very close to the beginning. Instead, the book is about how we communicate, how we look at the past and the future, how our paths intersect unexpectedly; and how, when we take chances, we can discover unexpected rewards. ...more
This book was assigned to my daughter's 12th gr English class. Once she hit the S&M/water sports scene, she was done. But there were still assignmentsThis book was assigned to my daughter's 12th gr English class. Once she hit the S&M/water sports scene, she was done. But there were still assignments to be done, so I told her I'd read the book instead. The water sports and S&M weren't a major feature, but it was icky - especially because when you break it down, these scenes take place between a teacher and a student. So regardless of what else happened in the book, that was my takeaway: this was not a book for high school students. By choice? Sure. Assigned? There are better, more appropriate, less sexual books out there. Oh, and perhaps, in the postpandemic era, a book that graphically describes the high-jump suicide of a side character wasn't the best choice for a high school class. But that's just me.
I read beyond the S&M scenes. The book is really about the ebbs and flows of the relationship between Sam & Sadie, game designers. There are other characters, and lovers, and family members. There are the games and the business, which are almost their own characters. And all of this is fully developed. Yet I was not a fan. This book was not for me, and it wasn't the sex.
I found Sadie unsympathetic and the rest unrelatable. The nonbinary Ichigo would never have been a thing in 1994 - I know, because I was alive in 1994, and we were decades away from anyone going by the pronoun "they." There was social language from 2020 inserted into the 80s and 90s that we simply didn't use - it wasn't part of the fabric of our world. The language was pretentious in general. I've got an incredibly wide vocabulary and I had to look up multiple words in this book. (See: not a good choice for high school students, above). I didn't care what happened to the characters, about their losses or their loves or their successes. I did learn about video games, and I am marginally curious, but probably not enough to branch out from Solitaire.
In the end, though, other people liked it. We don't all have to enjoy the same books. And I should have guessed, since I wasn't a big fan of AJ Fikry either.
Whoa. I loved this - except for one thing: I figured out the end (definitively) 2/3 of the way through, and then I was just impatient for the end.
Ann Whoa. I loved this - except for one thing: I figured out the end (definitively) 2/3 of the way through, and then I was just impatient for the end.
Ann is a recent art history grad from Washington State who hasn’t managed to land a coveted position in a PhD program. Instead, she’ll be a summer intern at the Met. However, after she arrives, she’s told that her internship position is gone - the person who was supposed to mentor her for the summer is now abroad instead. Moments from being fired, she’s seemingly rescued by Patrick, curator at The Cloisters, who needs help over the summer with an upcoming exhibition on the occult. (If you aren’t familiar with The Cloisters, look it up - it’s part of the Met, but in a totally different location, and really amazing.) Rachel, also working with Patrick, and Leo, gardener at The Cloisters, round out the main characters. It turns out they each have secrets and motives Ann doesn’t initially understand, but an unexpected historical discovery reveals the true natures of those she has become closest to over the summer - even though the evidence of their characters was present all along.
This is such a fantastic intellectual thriller. Hays, like other academics, can write in fabulous detail about her subject matter, lending a depth to the setting and details that would be unavailable to most authors. I loved the historical minutiae and details about the occult, and the descriptions of the museum were evocative and believable. The Cloisters ARE enchanting and amazing with their walled-off gardens and chapels and sarcophagi. If not for the other visitors (damn NY for always being crowded!) you could let your imagination run wild and really believe you were walking in the thirteenth century. Hays captured that sensation beautifully, both with the setting and with the art, and frankly with most of the other settings as well. The one place I felt she portrayed romantically rather than factually was the area around The Cloisters. The last time I was there, it was ok, but certainly not bucolic, and there are safety issues in that area of upper Manhattan. Characters are well developed and distinct, and though I didn’t really relate well to any of them, their actions and speech were true to character.
The story is a bit of a slow build. I know some have complained about pacing. I did not have that issue with the book but I do think that the end was a little more drawn out than necessary. I also would have introduced the key discovery differently. Regardless, I don’t think the book drags. It’s about the art of long-dead people, modern rediscovery of said art, decoding of language, and intellectual growth. There are no bombs that go off in academia. Someone has to notice the discovery and call it out.
Anyway. Took off a half star because of the drawn out ending, and the fact that I guessed what was going to happen by 70%. But still 4.5 stars. Enjoy it!!...more
One morning, Josef K is arrested. He’s never told what crime he committed nor is he provided any instructions on how to navigate the legal system. WhaOne morning, Josef K is arrested. He’s never told what crime he committed nor is he provided any instructions on how to navigate the legal system. What begins with hints of dystopian totalitarianism descends into allegorical farce as Josef bumbles along, stumbling through various situations, never sure what choice to make. Should he accept help or decline? Focus on his trial or his career? Will be ever figure out the nature of his crime or how to mount a defense?
This would be an excellent book to read for a class or a book group; it’s practically crying out for a group discussion. As per reviews I read, Kafka found this story funny and often laughed while reading it aloud. Although first published in 1925, after Kafka’s death, the book was written in 1914-1915, predating WWI, the rise of communism, the Third Reich. So books that came later - eg Darkness at Noon - are much more ominous because they are rooted in actual show trials of Communist Russia - or Animal Farm, which is so clearly derived from real-world experiences with communism.
Instead, it seems that the story could be representative of many things: illogical justice systems and circuitous bureaucracy, poor judgment and promiscuity exacting a heavy price, the inescapable guilt we all live with. Josef is told that it is nearly impossible for a defendant to be exonerated, and one reviewer noted the influence of Hasidic Jewish guilt tradition in the story. I don’t know that it’s specifically Hasidic, but intrinsic guilt - regardless of the cultural origins - is inescapable.
In the end, Josef’s crimes are never enumerated, and therefore his protestations of innocence can be neither proven nor disproven. Which leads to a question: who sits in judgement of our actions, and how is guilt determined? Perhaps we are our own harshest critics, because we find fault with ourselves even when our sins are nebulous and unimpressive. Perhaps the court and the trial are really representative of Josef’s own internal moral compass.
Or maybe he just lives in a totalitarian and crazy society.
Jus Breathe, B. Lynn Carter’s debut novel, tells of Dawn, a young Black woman struggling to find her way in a world that hasn’t given her many breaks.Jus Breathe, B. Lynn Carter’s debut novel, tells of Dawn, a young Black woman struggling to find her way in a world that hasn’t given her many breaks. Raised largely by her mother-they were abandoned by her father when she was young- she is forced to make her own way when, at sixteen, she is subject to abuse by her new stepfather. Moving from house to house - sleeping on couches and floors - Dawn manages to finish high school. Due to the efforts of a former teacher, she is granted a spot at CCNY in the SEEK program (Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge). With the financial assistance and housing from the program she’s able to enter college - and her life begins to look up. But then she meets Danny, and an unplanned pregnancy threatens to derail the goals she’s tentatively set for herself. Set in NYC in the tumultuous late 1960s, Dawn is finding herself at the same time the larger culture is shifting, finding its new balance as well.
Carter skillfully sets the scene with believable characters and period references - not just music and national events, but cultural details as well. It is easy to get caught up in the fervor that sweeps up Dawn after MLK’s assassination or the 1969 student protest at CCNY, and easy to see how passions flared in real life at those times as well. However, the story is really a coming-of-age that tells of Dawn’s struggle to believe in herself and to learn to prioritize her needs. The reader is fully engaged with Dawn on her journey and cheering for her triumph.
This was an absolute pleasure to read. Whether this is your usual genre or not, it’s worth it. Check it out!...more
Set in Texas, along the border, in the 1980s, No Country for Old Men follows a sheriff, a killer, a drug war, and a hapless fool who took money from tSet in Texas, along the border, in the 1980s, No Country for Old Men follows a sheriff, a killer, a drug war, and a hapless fool who took money from the wrong people. The book opens with the outcome of a drug-related firefight, and the story unspools thereafter, told in stark prose. The violence is horrifying and the anticipation of it is frightening. You know it’s coming…but how far will McCarthy go? What will make it stop?
I can’t really describe this as something I loved, because it was disturbing on so many levels. Set in the 80s, written in 2006, it feels prescient. The border communities are completely overwhelmed by the drug trade; the cartels flaunt their drugs and their weapons, respecting no laws nor borders. The sheer randomness of the violence is stunning and though this is fiction, it raises a very real question about the border today: how can those communities possibly protect themselves from this?
McCarthy has created deep, rich characters in spite of a paucity of words. The characters are distinct and believable. As with The Road, the imagery is stunning and the prose evocative. This is definitely worth reading...more
Stories are twisted together in this book: Vincent (a woman), from a tiny Canadian town, whose half brother is a drug addict and whose mother disappeaStories are twisted together in this book: Vincent (a woman), from a tiny Canadian town, whose half brother is a drug addict and whose mother disappeared in a boating accident when she was a child, becomes entangled with Jonathan Alkaitis, who is loosely based on Bernie Madoff. Vincent poses as his wife until his Ponzi scheme unravels. The book follows Vincent, her brother, Paul, Jonathan, a number of ill-fated investors and other people who have passed in and out of their lives.
It is hard to describe the plot of this book - it’s more experimental than anything else - and the first time I started it I couldn’t finish it. From a craft perspective, it’s rather impressive. Mandel plotted this out exquisitely: seemingly unimportant characters appear and then reappear, many pages later, intertwined with the main story. The book starts with its end and then returns to the beginning; the shifting timelines require close attention as the story shifts between the 1990s, the early 2000s, 2018-2029. The characters, even relatively minor ones, are well developed with individual story arcs and multidimensional elements. I wish I had liked it more. When I picked it up the second time, I did like it more than the first time, which is why I was able to finish it. I think this is like Laphroaig: it’s a really amazing Scotch, but it’s an acquired taste, and lots of people don’t like it. If this is your jam, enjoy. It was not my favorite....more
Rubashov, a loyal revolutionary and party member, is arrested for crimes against the state. A political prisoner, he spends his hours of isolation remRubashov, a loyal revolutionary and party member, is arrested for crimes against the state. A political prisoner, he spends his hours of isolation remembering his past and the downfall of other party leaders. He is left with the choice of denying all the trumped-up charges and being shot at once or confessing, having a trial, and possibly surviving.
This book is based not-so-loosely on the show trials of Stalin’s government. The fall of one government and its replacement with another, idealized government…the understanding that what came before had to be fully destroyed before the new could take root…the brutality that swept up party loyalists and traitors alike…all of this is reflected in Koestler’s book. The Stalin figure is described only as “Number One.” He is a man of unparalleled power whose machinations send devotees to their deaths.
I found this difficult to read. On the one hand, it is amazing that the inner workings of a man’s mind are so riveting. Nearly the entire book takes place in Rubashov’s prison cell, an interrogation room, or a frozen courtyard, so it isn’t as if the reader sees a lot of action, but it doesn’t feel that way. There is a sense of dread about the story. As the reader, it is as if you are watching a slow-moving crash: you know it’s going to happen, and no amount of dragging your feet or trying to turn away will avert disaster. Yet Rubashov, while aware of his likely fate, is not generally despairing. He examines his life and finds things of which he is proud and things he regrets, and seems to make peace with most of them.
It is hard to recommend this for recreation, but for anyone who wonders what happens when thoughts and speech are punished? Worth reading. Every leader who censors his/her populace thinks he’ll be different from every tyrant in the past, but in the end, tyranny is tyranny. Worth remembering in these crazy times. Free speech, political affiliation, thought, movement - these are things we can never take for granted...more
Set in a little Nevada ranching town in 1885 (and first published in 1943), this is the sort of a lynching. It’s the most significant novel you’ve nevSet in a little Nevada ranching town in 1885 (and first published in 1943), this is the sort of a lynching. It’s the most significant novel you’ve never heard of. In an unflinching, understated style, Clark tells the story from the perspective of a cowboy who rode into town with his friend on the day that a a number of missing cattle and a dead man were discovered. Farnley, a friend of the murdered man, is eager to make the criminals pay, and a mob of men forms. A leader (Tetley) emerges organically. The few detractors are ignored, and the men ride out, intent on finding the rustlers and hanging them.
The book is less about the lynching - though I found the scenes leading up to the murder of three innocent men harrowing and difficult to read - than it is about what drives men and the complex ethical dilemmas that emerge both before the killing and after the men realize they have killed three innocent men. It is particularly interesting to read this in light of the fact that the racial overtones are limited - it is not a story of race or ethnicity, but of men’s morals and mob mentality.
Art Croft, the narrator, is no more redeeming than any other character - he is both uncertain about the wisdom of a lynching and unwilling to speak up to prevent it. Clark skillfully paints a picture of a few men who are determined to proceed with the killing, regardless of evidence, and a number of men who could perhaps have been swayed, if not for the fear of being thought a coward and standing alone.
These are universal issues - clearly visible throughout society today. We may not be murdering people, but metaphorical killings based on little more than opinion and forceful speakers occur all the time. In fact, this book was recommended in an article after the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. I can’t remember who the author was, but he commented that all the people who would discard the results of a jury trial with no evidence clearly had not read this book nor learned its lessons.
So I read it. It is still true today: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
We have trials with evidence and a legal system for a reason. Mob rule is NEVER ok, and the checks and balances that keep us from making tragic errors not only prevent inappropriate punishment, but they allow us to process and understand justice, and to live with the decisions that are made.
My Cousin Rachel is an exquisitely concocted gothic novel. Information is revealed in little drips and some critical questions go unanswered. Like RebMy Cousin Rachel is an exquisitely concocted gothic novel. Information is revealed in little drips and some critical questions go unanswered. Like Rebecca, things are not as they seem, although I found this novel somewhat less dramatic.
Ambrose, Philip’s guardian, prefers to spend his winters abroad, and during a trip to Italy, he meets and marries Rachel. He sends letters Philip suggesting that Rachel may be something of a Black Widow, but dies before Philip can investigate further. It is thought that Ambrose may have died from a brain tumor, so his musings are dismissed as delirious hallucinations. Rachel travels to England, ostensibly to bring Ambrose’s things home, and this is where the story really takes off. I cannot say more without revealing too much but let’s just say there is graceful misdirection and a few cringeworthy moments. And, as I mentioned at the beginning, not all of the burning questions are answered.
There are some interesting themes and character elements that stood out to me as a modern-day reader. First, the kind of soft misogyny of Ambrose and Philip - two men living in a male-only home - is evident throughout. They don’t view women with desire or fascination but more with a sort of detached curiosity and impatience. Rachel, for her part, has worked through two husbands by the time she reaches England, and she uses subtlety to manipulate and dominate. She is an ambiguous character whose motives -even when explained - remain unclear. Others have pointed to Philip as unintelligent but I view him more as naive and unused to womanly wiles. If he and Ambrose had spent more time with women, he would not be so. Louise, a secondary character, is able to truly see who Rachel is, and for all that she is younger than Philip, she has a far clearer view of true character. My only complaint is the foreshadowing towards the end of the book; it felt clunky to me.
This is a slower burn than Rebecca. It is also somewhat less dramatic (less sinister) but has significantly better character development. Philip and Rachel are complex and unknowable. The question of what really happened is never truly answered. Worth reading!...more
End Days is a comedic drama about Rachel and her parents, Sylvia and Arthur, and Nelson, their quirky, Elvis-impersonator neighbor. After 9/11, when AEnd Days is a comedic drama about Rachel and her parents, Sylvia and Arthur, and Nelson, their quirky, Elvis-impersonator neighbor. After 9/11, when Arthur's office was destroyed and his coworkers killed, the family left New York. Arthur has not gotten out of his pajamas in a year; Sylvia has discovered Jesus; and Rachel has buried herself in a Goth girl shield. Over the course of this short play, Nelson is able to touch and change all of them.
I read this for a class and although I'm not much of a play reader (would much rather watch Shakespeare than read it) I really enjoyed this. It's quite clever with dry, unexpected humor. It's also short and easy to read. Definitely recommend...more
I feel kind of bad about my rating. The House of God tells of Roy Bausch, an intern in the poorly-disguised Beth Israel Medical Center and a recent graI feel kind of bad about my rating. The House of God tells of Roy Bausch, an intern in the poorly-disguised Beth Israel Medical Center and a recent graduate of Harvard Medical School. (Respectively, the "House of God" and the "Best Medical School.") It was written in the 70s and reflects both the practice and culture of medicine at the time, and though some things haven't changed all that much, others have changed dramatically. It captures the despondency, fear, and general sense of being overwhelmed that I believe interns everywhere feel, but it just didn't quite work for me. Perhaps it stirred up my own bad memories (internship was NOT fun) Perhaps I looked down on the characters' peccadilloes (I did) Perhaps I was unimpressed with the views, the perseveration on Nixon, the personalities of the people portrayed. (enough already!) Or perhaps... it just wasn't for me. More to come. Will think on this and edit further 1/13/21 I thought about this some more The world that Shem portrays is amoral, callous and hypersexual. In real life, internship is emotionally taxing, physically draining and intellectually challenging. Potential pitfalls and enemies exist everywhere; the light at the end of the tunnel seems so distant as to be unreachable; and the isolation from the outside world is nearly complete. It was a shit year I did not have random sex in call rooms. I know some people did but... that’s just not my experience. Even in residency, when there was more time, less stress, and more messing around, our lives weren’t like this book. I realize this is fiction, but it’s loosely based on the truth. As an expose on the way medical training destroys physicians -ie eats the young - it has some validity. Yes, many of us learn how to wall off emotion to function. But as a reflection of what it’s l like? Not so representative. Sticking with my two stars...more
This collection showcases the spectacular ability of F Scott Fitzgerald to capture the essence of the Jazz Age, the world of wealthy Americans in the This collection showcases the spectacular ability of F Scott Fitzgerald to capture the essence of the Jazz Age, the world of wealthy Americans in the early twentieth century, and moral failings ill-concealed by money and privilege. In short, the same themes permeating his best-known work - The Great Gatsby.
It turns out that in addition to being a jazz age scion, the spouse of Zelda, an alcoholic who died at age 44 from complications of alcohol abuse, and a peculiarly interesting character in American literary history, Fitzgerald was a prolific short-story writer. (I had no idea about this). The only story in this collection I'd heard of in advance was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and that story was the reason I picked this book up. After watching about half of the Brad Pitt version, I thought to check out the story instead. Never did finish the movie.
As it turns out, there are several much more compelling stories in this collection, although Benjamin Button is certainly as creative and unique as one might hope.
The Camel's Back tells of a young man who seeks solace in the bottle - and his friends - after a miscommunication leading him to believe he has been rejected by his fiancee. Eventually, thoroughly soused, he attends a masquerade ball disguised as a camel, and of course the errant fiancee is not only in attendance, but is thoroughly enchanted by the disguised gentleman.
May Day contrasts the fortunes of two college graduates - one wealthy, one penniless - and intertwines their stories with those of two returning WWI soldiers and a young, shallow woman. In this, Fitzgerald's prejudices and beliefs seep through: There is casual bigotry and racism, which, in context, does not seem unusual for the era. Women are portrayed as heartless and gay (and I mean that in the Jazz Age version of the word), powdered and primped, the objects of desire but not of respect. There is a portrayal of a 1919 anti-Communist riot. Money purchases access to luxury but not kindness or civility, and the story ends with tragedy.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz is purely fantastical - taking the concept of wealth to the extreme. In this, a young man accompanies a school friend home to his estate during vacation, never realizing that the other student's seeming exaggerations - walls made of gemstones, a diamond as big as the Ritz - are really true. Garish, tasteless, and amoral, the family with bottomless wealth ultimately pays a heavy price for their lack of conscience.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is mostly interesting for two reasons: how it addresses the theme of dealing with the unexpected (a person aging in reverse) and for the odd concept of having a person age entirely in reverse. As a fan of fantasy, this was a little hard for me to swallow: there was not any world-building at all or any explanation for how a full-grown elderly male could magically appear from his mother's womb. However, if you suspend disbelief, Fitzgerald deals with the concept of a father who appears younger than his son and a son who appears older than his father with creativity. It is very different from the movie version.
"O Russet Witch" tells of Merlin, a bookseller, who is briefly tempted to seize happiness and take a chance in his twenties, but spends his entire life avoiding risks and avoiding happiness. It's a bit odd.
The Lees of Happiness tell of two couples - really, the focus is on just one - who begin their married lives with joy but find that things don't turn out as expected. Perhaps this one is a little maudlin but it is probably among the most realistic of the bunch, and it's rather sad.
All in, this was rather fascinating. I didn't love every story (I didn't bother to review five of them) but Fitzgerald was a master storyteller, and these are an amazing snapshot of that period in time. So often when we read historical fiction we see present-day views imposed on prior-era morality and behavior. The simple truth is that some things about people remain the same over time; history tends to repeat itself; and people are a product of the times in which they live. So this was an engaging experience to read some historical fiction that wasn't actually historical fiction when it was written. These stories were published in literary magazines and newspapers, and publications that, for all intents and purposes, were probably intended to be discarded after reading. They were written for readers who would have recognized themselves and people they knew in their characters. I loved that the portrayals were unfiltered. It was rather refreshing.
All in, if you like short stories, this is a pretty excellent read. Could have done without the five I didn't review....more
The Lost Castle tells the stories of three different women: Aveline, a French noblewoman during the Revolution; Vi, a British student-turned-spy/resisThe Lost Castle tells the stories of three different women: Aveline, a French noblewoman during the Revolution; Vi, a British student-turned-spy/resistance fighter; and Ellie, a somewhat lost modern day woman. All three stories center on a castle - built and ruined over the years - through which they are tied together. Aveline survives an attack on the castle in 1789; Vi works with the French resistance there; and Ellie, Vi’s granddaughter, chases down her legacy at the castle.
I thought the premise of the book was great. What’s not to love? An enchanted, ruined castle; historical periods that are fascinating; handsome -if imperfect- heroes to swoon over. Sure enough, the book is atmospheric with beautiful details supplied. However, I never quite connected to the characters, especially Ellie, and in spite of the exciting times in which Vi and Aveline lived, I didn’t feel the story was quite suspenseful enough. It was easy to put this book down. ...more
Lexie is a physician and Annie, her sister, is an addict. They've been out of touch for two years - which is how long it's been since Lexie threw AnniLexie is a physician and Annie, her sister, is an addict. They've been out of touch for two years - which is how long it's been since Lexie threw Annie out of her house - when a middle-of-the-night call summons Lexie to Annie's side. But it's not one of Annie's typical problems: she hasn't been caught with drugs, or stolen money, or gotten kicked out of rehab. This time, Annie's pregnant, and she's in trouble. With no one else to call, she reaches out to Lexie, who is then thrust into the cycle of caring for Annie once again. This time, though, it's different: Annie's about to have a baby, and Lexie will be responsible for a whole new life - as well as for Annie.
This is a story about addiction and love, and how the character and history of people like Annie gets lost in the morass of drug abuse, crime and out-of-control behavior. It is about how we see these people from the outside and how they can be someone entirely different on the inside - and yet those people are two halves of a whole. I am guilty of this, too: when I care for a patient who is high or drunk, it is easier to see that person as the sum of his or her problem than it is to see the person as an individual. Even though we know addiction is a disease, we are judgmental. It is easy to say a person should not have taken the first step down the path of drug abuse, but once those people are there it is much more difficult to turn away from the lure. Sadly, this story is one that is far too common.
Rimmer did a lovely job with this story. It's a pretty quick read - I managed it in a day - and I really liked that several characters were physicians. I so seldom read characters to whom I can relate! Rimmer's Australian background shows through in several ways: her language is distinctly Australian ("consultant" vs "attending physician" for ex) and our confusing health care reimbursement system is reflected in her portrayal of it. However, it's well researched and the few issues I identified do not detract from the story.
Christopher, the narrator, is a 15 year old high-functioning autistic boy who tells of his adventures as he investigates the "murder" of his neighbor'Christopher, the narrator, is a 15 year old high-functioning autistic boy who tells of his adventures as he investigates the "murder" of his neighbor's dog. Along the way, he discovers secrets that alter his view of the people to whom he's closest, and force him to challenge himself as he sets off on an unexpected adventure.
Christopher's voice is perfect. Those with autism and autistic spectrum disorders view the world through a lens that is difficult for the rest of us to really understand, but Haddon seems to have done a very good job capturing this view. Christopher is charming in his quirkiness and although he expresses understanding that he is unlike others, he is childlike in his view of the world and in the things he accepts from himself and others. The term "man-child" comes to mind: he's old enough to get home independently and stay alone, and yet he still wets his pants occasionally - and seems to have no shame associated with this. I found him fascinating and the perfect narrator of his own story.
Shadow is about to be released from prison when he finds out his wife has been killed in an unfortunate accident. He’s let out early, meets the peculiShadow is about to be released from prison when he finds out his wife has been killed in an unfortunate accident. He’s let out early, meets the peculiar Mr. Wednesday, and then embarked upon a journey with said companion across America. Along the way, he meets old gods and new, gets caught up in a vague and threatening conflict, and is haunted by his past. And though I have told you most of the book now, I have spoiled nothing.
I suppose the book is about the gods we worship and those we’ve forgotten, and about how carving a path forward may mean leaving the past behind. It also presumed that as people come to America, they leave their gods behind. I take issue with this later concept-upon which the book is built - because so many in America do hold tight to their religion and culture, and I think that’s a rather cynical - and not believable - premise. I do think this view of Americans as atheist is generally popular in literary circles, but I don’t think it’s true.
I am torn about this book. It was definitely unique and reflective of Gaiman’s long-standing fascination with and depiction of gods and mythology. In fact, my very favorite Gaiman book was Norse Mythology. He’s got a good grasp of the stories that fed the religions, cultures and imaginations of people across the world over time, and that knowledge is on display here. However, I felt that the book was very long and meandering. It took me weeks to read. That said, some people love it.
This is one where you, dear reader, will have to make up your own mind ...more
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