May, 2020 Readings: “May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel alive.” (F. Hudson)

Yesterday it was 24 degrees Celsius here--felt more like summer than spring.

Finished one book but now I'm casting about for another. I've got a fat biography of the Victorians by A.N. Wilson and tons of literary and genre fiction.

I'll be on my back deck with some tome later today but...which one?

I have two biographies open at the moment. Not the best way to combine readings. We live we learn.

Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies by Ross King. Your typical King book tends to be very well researched and focuses on telling a good story. They don't have a whole lot of insight and because it is for the general public the art discussion is superficial or non existent. In this case the book is mostly about the WWI period in France. There is hardly a story to tell about the paintings. It's all context. There more interesting character in the book is not Monet but Georges Clemenceau. (What an interesting character actually.)

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf I chose I think because of the cover and the fact that it was in some sort of top 10 book list. I'm loving this one. What an extraordinary story. Von Humboldt was a romantic scientist that influenced and was influenced by Goethe. A very likeable character that had a sort of poetic approach to understanding nature. He was an adventurer and the stories of his travels are the perfect thing to read during a lockdown.

The Gift of Rain – Tan Twan Eng
5*****

Historical fiction about the Pacific theater during World War II. Fifteen-year-old Patrick Hutton is the youngest child of a long-established British family with major industrial holdings in Malaya. His mother, however, was his father’s second wife, and Chinese; and he is shunned by both the Chinese community (for his British background and lifestyle), and by British society (for his Asian heritage). Lonely and adrift, he finds a friend in the Japanese diplomat who rents one of his family’s properties. Endo teaches Patrick the skills of akaido, and Patrick happily shares his love of his island home with this visitor. What he doesn’t realize until it is too late is that Endo is actually a Japanese spy, and that Patrick has unwittingly become complicit in helping the Japanese take over Penang and Malaya.

This is a marvelous book on so many levels. First, the way in which these characters are drawn. They are complex and nuanced, and Eng manages to have the reader empathize with all sides of the story. Secondly, I applaud Eng for choosing a WW2 story that has had little exploration in fiction. I’ve read only two other books that touched on what happened in Malaya – The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Flanagan, and Shute’s A Town Like Alice - and both mostly mentioned the camps. This book really explained how the Japanese were able to take over the peninsula with little or no resistance from the British.

Then there is the atmospheric nature of the book. I’ve been to Penang, and to Kuala Lumpur (the latter twice), but even if I had not experienced these locations Eng’s descriptions would easily have transported me there. I could feel the humidity, smell the cooking, relish in the feel of a sea breeze, hear the soft patter of a shower, the steady drumming of a monsoon, or the cacophony of a marketplace. And Eng’s prose is at times poetic, making me want to slow down and relish his use of language. And there were scenes where I was on the edge of my seat.

This is Eng’s debut novel. I definitely will read more by him.

My first book of the month was something of a dud.

Guy Adams' THE WORLD HOUSE is built around an interesting idea, but its execution is so pedestrian, it quickly lost its charm.

The origins of a house that contains an entire universe are confusing and likely better explained in the sequel...which I have no intention of reading.

The Last Romantics – Tara Conklin
Digital Audio performed by Cassandra Campbell.
4****

A family epic following the four Skinner siblings over several decades. It begins with a tragedy – the death of their father, and their mother’s subsequent depression. Renee, Caroline, Joe and Fiona are basically left to their own devices over a summer, protecting each other and their mother from intrusion as much as they are able. The result of what they always refer to as “the Pause” is that they are fiercely loyal to one another. Two decades later that connection will be tested by another tragedy.

I love character-driven novels, getting to know and understand the psychology of the characters as they cause and/or react to events in their lives. In this case the siblings’ early experience makes them guarded and as the point of view shifts from character to character and from one time frame to another, that guardedness makes it easy to understand how outsiders (i.e. those outside the family) would be unaware of the need and/or unwilling to assist.

That these four people are damaged by their childhood is without question. The ways they find to cope, or not, is what fascinated me in the novel. I recognized how the roles taken on by siblings in childhood often continue into adulthood; that’s certainly true in m own family, and we didn’t suffer the trauma of losing a parent during our formative years.

I was sorry that COVID19 interrupted our book club’s scheduled meeting on this work. I would certainly have enjoyed that discussion.

Cassandra Campbell is a talented voice artist and does a marvelous job performing the audio. However, the complexity of the novel’s structure, with changing points of views and timeframes, made it a bit more challenging in this format. If I re-read it, I’ll do so in text format.

Notorious RBG – Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik
Digital audiobook read by Andi Arndt
5*****

Subtitle: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Oh, my stars, but this is one HELL of a woman! Go Ruth! I've admired her for some years, but I really enjoyed learning more about her.

I thought the authors did a great job of making this a very approachable biography. It was not heavy, but included every pertinent detail. I loved that they brought out RBG's humor and empathy, as well as her defiance and strong sense of justice. There are other more comprehensive (I presume) and/or traditional biographies of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. But I doubt there is one that is more enjoyable to read. I want to read her autobiographical My Own Words now.

I did read the original version of the biography, but there is a version that has been adapted for the young-adult audience. I think that’s marvelous. The more young people who are introduced to this champion of equality and justice, the better.

There is no Truth without Ruth!

I listened to the audio and thought Andi Arndt did a marvelous job of reading this book. However, the text (which I also had a copy of), is easier to grasp in places, just because of the format used. For example, notations in the margins of a published paper are easier to comprehend as such when seen on the page than when a narrator, however skilled, is reading them to you. And, of course, listening to the audio you miss all the photos and illustrations in the printed book.

English Creek – Ivan Doig
4****

This is a coming-of-age story set in Depression-era Montana. It’s the first published book, though in chronological order it is book two, in Doig’s Two Medicine Trilogy, which chronicles the McCaskill family over several generations. Jick McCaskill tells the story of his youth, focusing on the summer of 1939, when he was fourteen, and his family faced some challenges: “where all four of our lives made their bend.”

Doig really puts the reader into the era and landscape of this novel. The sky is vast, the landscape majestic, the weather sometimes brutal, and the dangers – both natural and manmade – palpable.

Jick is a keen observer, if sometimes perplexed. I love his descriptions of various events – accompanying his father as he “counts” the sheep, helping a wounded camp tender, tasting his first alcohol, enjoying the Fourth of July town picnic and rodeo. And I love how he’s so “consumed” by food. This boy is ALWAYS hungry! He’s also curious and continues to question those around him trying to ferret out the information he needs to piece together the puzzle that is his family’s history. He’s young enough that he still feels “responsible” for many things that happen, and consequently naïve enough to think he can affect the outcome with a well-chosen word.

There were times when Doig’s work made me think on my own father, and how he taught us love of the land and nature. That made the book all the more enjoyable for me.

Enrique’s Journey – Sonia Nazario
4****

Subtitle: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite With His Mother

Journalist Sonia Nazario first met Enrique and his mother, Lourdes, in search of a story. She had originally heard of mother’s who leave their children behind from her cleaning lady. Her interest piqued, she sought to document what such a journey entails … for the mother who goes ahead, for the children left behind, for the boy who was determined to travel nearly 2,000 miles alone to find the mother he had not seen for more than a decade.

The book began as a series of articles for The Los Angeles Times newspaper. It was original published for an adult audience. But when I requested it from the library, I received the young adult version.

I’m familiar with the difficulties and challenges faced by these desperate migrants. I’ve read other books (both fiction and nonfiction) that depict these journeys. I’ve seen at least one movie that graphically represents the tale. These young people leave an impossible situation for a dangerous trek across more than one country. Along the way they face beatings, arrest, injury, hunger, thirst, snake bites, and the possibility of being sent back or even killed. But they persist. In Enrique’s case, as for so many others who attempt the journey, it’s because they simply cannot go another day without at least trying to reach their mothers.

It’s plenty horrific, though I’m sure the graphic depictions are toned down because I read the YA version. Their stories are heartbreaking and eye-opening.

I’m glad that Nazario followed Enrique and his mother for several years, so we witness not just the harrowing journey, but the ultimate results of their long separation and attempts at reunion.

I've started on a collection of short stories, Exceptions and Deceptions by some up-and-coming guy called Cliff Burns. Perhaps some of you have heard of him?

Ah, Robert, yer a fine fella.

Enjoy the book. Someday, should our paths cross, I'll sign it for you.

(I've been up and coming for about 35 years now. The climb continues, for as long as it takes.)

HOW THE SCOTS INVENTED THE MODERN WORLD by Arthur Herman.

The title is no idle boast. Scottish ingenuity and inventiveness helped fuel the Industrial Revolution, Scottish philosophers and theologians combined practical thinking with altruism, sharing their "Enlightenment" with the rest of the world, influencing the American Revolution and the greatest years of the British Empire. The names Alexander Graham Bell, David Hume, Adam Smith and Andrew Carnegie still resonate today, their legacies long-reaching and undeniable.

I know I've said it before but I LOVE fat history books.

>11 CliffBurns: More than ten years ago, in a fit of unusual insight the office Secret Santa delivered me The Scottish World, an exploration of the Scottish diaspora. There were some interesting revelations of the obvious, such as the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (whose ancestry becomes clear if you reverse the middle two letters of his surname), and that the Scots diaspora reaches to the Moon, when you consider that the first man to set foot on it was an Armstrong.

Former U.S. Senator James Webb wrote a book awhile back on a similar theme, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.

I believe I have it in my basement...

Zipped through A RARE BENEDICTINE: THE ADVENT OF BROTHER CADFAEL, three longish tales from the early days of Ellis Peters' "Cadfael" series.

The first story is most interesting since it documents Cadfael's decision to leave his adventurous life and join the monastery at Shrewsbury.

A pleasant way to pass an afternoon.

Currently reading Pimp by Iceberg Slim. A self-mythologizing autobiography of a pimp, that is supposed to be a cult classic. It glamorizes pimp life and continually makes you roll your eyes, but it is an entertaining, easy read. Iceberg's shrink was right, he has unresolved mommy issues.

Also working on The Grove Book of Art Writing: Brilliant Words on Art from Pliny the Elder to Damien Hirst by Martin Gayford. A great selection of short sections of great writing on art. A bit frustrating that the pieces are not longer but the selection so far is, as the title says, brilliant.

I also continue nibbling on Selected Translations by W.S. Merwin (happy to report that the second section is fantastic), and Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Bly's translation of Rilke.

The Snow Leopard – Peter Matthiessen

2.5** (rounded up to 3***)

This was a choice for one of my F2F book clubs a year ago. The person who selected it has frequently chosen books that may be challenging but are always thought-provoking, and sometimes quite entertaining. Also, I love nature and wildlife and reading about efforts to save various endangered species. So, I was eager to read it. Then some issues came up in my non-reading life and I had to skip that meeting, so never got to the book or the discussion. Another challenge brought it to the top of the TBR now and once again, I eagerly anticipated reading it.

Unfortunately for me, and for my rating, this book isn’t really about the snow leopard. As in real life, the creature is extremely elusive, hardly ever mentioned, and not making an actual appearance until late in the journey.

Instead this is more Matthiessen’s personal quest for enlightenment, which happens to dovetail with a friend’s planned trip – as a wildlife biologist – to study sheep / goats in the Himalayas. I was willing to go along with Matthiessen’s musings for the first 100 pages or so, but when it became clear that I’d never see, let alone learn much about, the snow leopard, I lost my enthusiasm.

Also, once he relates how he’s left his son behind, who has recently lost his mother, I pretty much was annoyed with the self-absorption that would have him go on this dangerous trek at this time in his life.

I kept reading because I needed it for a challenge … and the library is closed during the pandemic, so I’m reading what I happen to have in the house. Still, it took me nearly a month to read a book I would normally have powered through in a week or less.

I will give him this, though. Matthiessen manages to write some really stunning passages on the majesty of the terrain he is covering, as well as a few interesting observations about the people he encounters. And, though it was first published in 1978, it contains a couple of philosophical passages that are perfect for this Coronavirus quarantine:
• Having finally gotten to meet the Lama at the Crystal Monastery he is surprised by the man’s attitude and remarks: “Indicating his twisted legs without a trace of self-pity or bitterness, as if they belonged to all of us, he casts his arms wide to the sky and the snow mountains, the high sun and dancing sheep , and cries, ‘Of course I am happy here! It’s wonderful! Especially when I have no choice!’”
• And towards the end of his journey he remarks: “With the wind and cold, a restlessness has come, and I find myself hoarding my last chocolate for the journey back across the mountains – forever getting-ready-for-life instead of living it each day.” (Kinda describes how I feel some days in quarantine .. getting ready for the return to normal rather than living each day as it is.)

Finished a compilation of Charles Beaumont's uncollected short fiction, A TOUCH OF THE CREATURE.

I've been a fan of Beaumont's for at least 40 years but this book contains some very minor, inconsequential stories, along with three or four solid efforts.

For completists only.

The 2014 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANTHOLOGY tonight.

I was...underwhelmed.

Call me an old fashioned boy, but I believe verse shouldn't baffle or confuse, but enlighten.

Most of the offerings by these celebrated poets left me utterly cold, thrashing about in a murky word soup, groping for meaning.

Polish poet Tomasz Rozycki comes off best, I enjoyed his morbid humor.

The others...not so much.

Finished Mr. B's 'Exceptions and Deceptions'; started on Iain (no 'M') Banks' The Steep Approach to Garbadale. Another family saga of a Scots entrepreneur family - and yet there's a different twist that so far makes it different to The Crow Road or The Business.

That you for your kind words re: my EXCEPTIONS collection, Robert, and delighted you enjoyed it so much.

A new compilation of tales coming out in July, hope you'll watch for it.

The Overstory – Richard Powers
Audible audiobook performed by Suzanne Toren
3***

From the book jacket: An Air Force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back into life by creatures of air and light. A heari8ng- and speech-impaired scientist discovers that trees are communicating with one another. These four, and five other strangers – each summoned in different ways by trees – are brought together in a last and violent stan to save the continent’s few remaining acres of virgin forest.

My reactions
I am having a very hard time pinpointing what it was about this book that I found so fascinating. Because I WAS interested, despite my overall rating. I tend to gravitate towards character-driven works, and this is certainly that. Nine “main” characters is a daunting task, and Powers does a pretty good job of keeping the story moving while giving each of them their due. They are complex people and even those I found even those that I did not particularly like interesting. Reminds me a bit of a Richard Altman film.

Melding nine different points of view into a cohesive story arc is challenging enough, but Powers also uses an extraordinarily long timeline, taking the reader from antebellum New York to 20th century Pacific Northwest. And while that time frame includes many generations of people, for some trees “born” at the beginning of that time, they would be mere adolescents at the end.

There is the underlying message of environmental stewardship, which humans seem to be doing a very bad job of. But Powers use of so many different stories to convey this message seemed to detract from the impact of the message. I’m very glad that I read Hope Jahren’s memoir Lab Girl earlier this year, because that really helped me understand the underlying science in this work of fiction. And yet, I can certainly see why some readers have classified this as “magical realism” for certain sections (particularly when Powers writes about how the trees communicate with one another) – sections that Jahren’s scientific work seems to support.

I admit I have waited too long after finishing this book to write this review. I had hoped my F2F book club discussion would help clarify my thoughts on the book. And then COVID19 cancelled our meeting … So, my apologies to fellow readers and to the author for my delay and resulting vagueness.

The audiobook is masterfully performed by Suzanne Toren. She has a lot of characters to portray and manages to give them unique voices so that I was rarely confused. (At least not after I understood the multiple narrators.) Still, I think I may want to re-read this in text format before my F2F book club finally gets to it in October.

Did some mental weight-lifting by tackling POETRY FROM THE FUTURE, by Srecko Horvat.

A plea for a new type of internationalism to counter trans-global capitalism. A reminder that saving our future will require collective engagement by a wide swathe of humanity, regardless of borders or religious and philosophical differences.

Read it once and plan a re-read, to better grasp allusions to Hegel, Barthes etc.

Horvat is one smart dude and this book challenged me like few I've read this year.

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories – H P Lovecraft
2**

Of course, I’ve heard of H P Lovecraft for years, but I’d never bothered to read anything by him. Just not my genre of choice. But I happened to have this in the house, courtesy of Penguin Random House (the publisher gifted me a set of their new “orange” Penguin Classics a few years ago), and it carries the “science fiction” tag so it fit a challenge.

First, these stories are mostly NOT science fiction, although one, dealing with aliens removing the brains of humans but keeping the bodies and brains both alive separately probably would qualify. Mostly this collection is one of horror stories originally published in magazines.

Second, as horror stories, I didn’t find them all that horrifying. Although, I can imagine that an audience in the early part of the 20th century would find them disturbing. The fact that Lovecraft writes all these stories in the first person serves to remove much of the suspense. Clearly the person survives any ordeal because he is telling the story. Reading them one after another in this collection made them seem formulaic and dull.

Lovecraft relied on the reader’s imagination in that he virtually never describes the “horror I witnessed,” instead relying on stating that said horror was just “too terrible for words.” There’s frequent use of the typical, dark, deserted location – either a room at the top of a tall tower, or a pit underground – into which the hero ascends (or descends), without any good light or backup, and despite the feeling of dread. In many of these cases, the hero awakens some time later with no memory of how he escaped.

Finally, although I recognize that this is a sign of the times in which they were written, Lovecraft relies on some disturbingly racist / prejudicial stereotypes.

On the plus side, one of his friends/colleagues was the inspiration for the hero of the final story in this collection: The Haunter Of the Dark. That person was Robert Bloch, who wrote Psycho. Lovecraft gave his character Robert Blake an address that was once Bloch’s home in Milwaukee. Sadly, one can no longer visit that edifice. It’s at a location that was cleared of houses in the ‘60s to make way for a freeway extension. But it was fun to see that address pop up in the book.

Last book of the month and it wasn't a good one.

THE GEEK by Craig Nova.

Set on the Greek island of Samos, a narrative involving an American who somehow gets tangled in a plot hatched by the island's opium smuggler.

I got that and not much more.

The motivations of the characters are unclear and the book meanders toward an ending that makes no sense.

I've read other novels by the author and none were as enigmatic and exasperating as this one.