Tepper Isn't Going Out by Calvin Trillin

In another Calvin Trillin book of small stories and poems, "Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin", there was a two pager about a man sitting outside of a deli reading the paper.  Mr. Trillin expanded on that glimps of Murray Tepper to create a gentle story of a man, his family and his city.

Murray is a partner in a company that sells lists to companies that want to use mail order to sell their product.  They can see that the Internet is becoming the way to sell, but they're doing ok.  Murray quietly makes connections between people who like one thing and those who might buy a different product.  After work, even though he now has a rented space in a parking garage, he uses his past experience when parking on the street to find a "good spot" to sit for an hour and read the paper.  The spot varies but is always a legal spot, including paying a quarter to be able to sit for an hour.  If someone drives up before the hour is up, thinking Murray is going out, he waves them off.

Meanwhile, the current mayor believes the key to running the city is having strict traffic enforcement, which includes parking.  The mayor has other law and order ideas, mostly about order and not so much about the law, and the previous mayor might be running against him in the next election.

As the story unfolds, Murray is discovered, becomes a celebrity, and is the object of other people's expectations and views.  As is the case with all of Trillin's writing, it is told with seemingly effortless gentle dry humor.  While reading the story, there were any number of topics from today's headlines  that appeared to be gently mocked.  Then seeing the copywrite, he wrote this 15 years ago.  It is an ageless story of a perfect gentleman.  Everyone in the family should like this book.

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

David Mitchell holds a dim view of mankind's treatment of the planet and how that is likely to turn out badly.  That view directs the narrative in "The Bone Clocks" as well as a book to be posted soon, "Cloud Atlas."  He is also an excellent story teller and this is one of his best.

A young girl runs away from home in England.  Initially, it's just planned as a short move to punish her mother and also to live with her love-of-a-lifetime boyfriend.  He turns out to be a cad and the girl is too embarrassed to go home so strikes out across country with a vague plan to make it on her own. She soon meets a strange woman who asks a favor and a hippy couple who offer shelter.  From there through the end of the story, she and a few others slip in and out of a surreal other dimension.  It also turns out there is a war going on between factions who live in both of those dimensions and its outcome can effect all mankind.

The story is told almost as a series of short stories, which is also true for "Cloud Atlas."  Fortunately the jumps are linear in "The Bone Clocks" and the technique did not strike me an unneeded flourish.  What was fun was the revelation that characters in other Michell stories were some of these special people living differently from the rest of us.

The story was interesting, moved right along, and very well written.  Like the previous post, I kept reading this one in large chunks and would have been fine if it kept going.  I think everyone in the family will like this one.

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

I am not a fan of zombies.  Dead people who are hungry but don't eat each other and can run faster in death than when they were alive? Really?!  So Amanda tricked me into reading a humane story of a dystopian future by giving me the book for Father's Day.  I am glad she did.

The setting is England in an odd school for children run by different teachers, doctors and very strict guards.  Melanie is a very bright little girl who loves school and especially one of her teachers.  It's obvious early on that Melanie and her class mates are treated very differently from other class rooms (at least I hope that's the case) but she loves learning and Miss Justineau.  The reason for the security unfolds fast enough, as does the overall plot.

This is a page turner.  If you have a pretty good idea of where the story is going, think again.  Over time I even bought in enough that a zombie could exist and behave the way they do given the "scientific" rationale of the story.  That rationale finally stretched thin for me by the end of the story, but by then it didn't matter.  The characters are excellent and the plot complex and well paced.  It is coming out as a movie later this year.  If you liked the Swedish version of Let The Right One In, you should really like this one.

Playing To The Edge by Michael Hayden

General Hayden is a past director of both the NSA and CIA while the country was undergoing changes in the intelligence community under presidents Bush 43 and Obama. In any self-written book by someone whose main occupation is not writing, there is apt to be a need for a good editor who truly understands the subject and who can guide the writer into satisfying revelations and stay away from minutiae.  This book is no exception.

His stated intent is to have a more open discussion about U.S. intelligence.  He was successful in talking more about our intelligence community than have some others in similar positions.  However,  nobody with any understanding of the dangers of a complete revelation of all things intelligence-related should ever get indepth when discussing methods and the general appropriately stayed on the safe side.  He also appeared to believe he was being fair in letting the chips fall where they may, yet some glaring omissions that a truly neutral author would have addressed (Cheney's outing of a CIA official as a vendetta for her husband telling the truth) and the politically-correct but technically incorrect taking of blame for the invasion of Iraq lessened the impact of some of his points.

In the end, the general did understand that there is a great distrust of our intelligence community and that is an unfair and unfortunate situation when that community is trying its best to defend the nation. The reason for that distrust is based partially on a lack of understanding of what they should do, a misunderstanding of what they actually do based on popular literary and media portrayals of agencies both real and imagined, and some past deeds that were truly wrong.  He does make suggestions on how to go forward to address how in a democracy an intelligence community can be both effective and still safely be guided by elected officials.  There probably is no perfect solution to this conundrum, but General Hayden addressed it enough near the end of the book to make it a worthwhile read for those interested in the subject.

Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami

Murakami novels have been in the blog before, but for those who've not read one, it's helpful to understand what underlies many of the stories.  Mr. Murakami approaches the question that most, if not all, religions try to answer about the existence of other dimensions for a soul (Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla,  etc.) to reside and possible interactions between that place and our daily lives.

In Kafka On The Shore, a fifteen year old boy runs away from home, changes his surname to Kafka, and ends up in a distant town.  At the same time, an old man, who was greatly changed by a bizarre occurrence when he was a child, lives a simple life in the same town from which Kafka fled.  He is compelled by a spirit to murder, then make his way to the same town where Kafka fled.  They both encounter helpful people, other spirits, and Kafka gains a glimpse into another plane of existence.  As the story moves along, there are philosophical discussions about life, books, and music.  Oh, and since Kafka was cursed with a Oedipal prophecy, there's sex.

This book has been evaluated as being a good Murakami tale, but not his best.  Perhaps I've reached critical mass from reading his novels, but I think I got closer to understanding what the author is working through from his many visits to these multi-dimensional tales than from any of his other stories.  It's the kind of book where I'm kicking myself for not taking notes as I was reading.

If you like Murakami or similar authors who intertwine multiple lives, time frames and spiritual dimensions, then this one is worth your time.

To Conquer The Air by James Tobin

Learned men right up to the early 1900's thought that powered flight was an unattainable goal.  That thinking did not stop some men from trying. The Wright brothers' achievement of the first powered flight was one of those groundbreaking events that is all the more remarkable when you understand the Wright brothers modest background and the high esteem of those with whom they competed. James Tobin does an excellent job of blending the people, their backgrounds, and the historical circumstances to present a riveting tale.

Beyond this interesting broad story is the recurring theme in similar stories of other breakthroughs. Men deemed the leaders of their field look back on history and accept the thoughts of those who came before as most of the basis for moving forward.  They invent often at their desks and less in the field.  Those like the Wright brother's achieve by also doing research but moving beyond the accepted truths when testing shows it's necessary. Through hard work, extensive testing and perseverance they made multiple breakthroughs in near obscurity. Even after multiple successful flights, it took years for the world to believe their claims, at least in part due to avoidance of the press and their desire for secrecy.

For those interested in the birth of manned flight and a tutorial on excellent engineering, this book is a must. If you just like an interesting bit of history very well told, you will love this book.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

 

Time travel stories can be fun.  Normally someone goes back in time once or more times and consequences often are revealed in the current version of the present.  Ms. North envisions an interesting variation on the theme by having some individuals return back to their birth after they die and remember all or much of what transpired in their previous lives.
   That is the case with Harry August, born into modest circumstances in post-WWI England.  Upon his first death, he returns to the same circumstances and believes he is going mad once he's old enough to remember the past but baffled by the memories. In subsequent lives he starts to understand and is eventually helped by others of his kind.  That's the foundation of the story.
   The story itself is an interesting speculation on what any of us might do if faced with the same situation.  It is saved from being endless variations on a theme when he meets one of his own kind who intends to break the rules and effect everyone and everything.  The remainder of the book is his interaction with that person and its consequences.
   Ms. North's writing is clean and her plot makes sense for the most part.  As expected with any scenario that has folks recycling like this, you can start to quibble that if this happened then that could not happen, but there's little of that and a pretty good adherence to the principles of existence as laid out by the author.
   Amanda gave me the book after having read it herself (thanks Amanda).  She liked it more in the earlier that the later section.  I've not discussed it with her but I liked it throughout but would have changed the ending just a little.  Why don't you read it and see what you think.  It's worth your time (at least once).

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

   A neighbor recommended this book, saying it was a word-of-mouth best seller in Europe.  It took a while for me to get the book and then a couple of chapters to get into it, but it did turn out to be a good read.
   Ove is an incredibly rigid and, at least in the beginning, a fairly unlike-able Swedish man who just wants everyone to follow the rules and leave him alone. It turns out he may be even more tired of living with his fellow man, but that's for later in the book.
   While on patrol in his neighborhood he meets an interesting pregnant emigre from Iran, her inept but friendly husband and their charming daughters.  It is that relationship that draws Ove kicking and screaming into positively reacting to an ever-widening circle of friends and neighbors.  There's also a good deal of humor sprinkled with some pathos that keeps the story moving right along.
   This is a good read, but my Ove-like reaction to treacle was kicked into high gear by the epilogue where every single person at the end had the best possible out come, thanks to Ove.  Really?  Can't someone have broken a leg or something?  Still, it's a nice pallet cleanser from some recent heavier fare and worth greeting Spring with some optimism. 

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

“Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us. Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise—you can make anything. So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.” 

― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

So I should start this post by stating a fact: I love Elizabeth Gilbert's writing. If you don't love Elizabeth Gilbert's writing, you'll dislike this book. But also, if you hate Elizabeth Gilbert's writing, maybe you just hate wonderful writing? Is my guess.

I've read four books by Gilbert, all that I'd rate above-average; this one is no exception. And I think I read it at the exact perfect time in my life, because I've been pretty all-consumed over the last 7 months or so with this little smiley being that we created last year. Which is wonderful. But lack of sleep and time does not, I've found, lend itself well to feeling creatively fulfilled. And I, for one, am someone who sort of needs to be creatively fulfilled, even if it's in the form of just writing my silly blog a few times per week.

So, one of my goals for the coming months is to find a space for this again. HOWEVER, if you're like "oh my God, gag me. This sounds way to drippy and creative-y for my taste" then DON'T STOP READING. Because it's not. Gilbert has a beautiful way of eloquently putting into words what most people cannot (including me, apparently, judging by this review so far) and then giving it to you straight and being like "Quit complaining and blaming everything else for why you're not the creative person you know yourself to be. And just go be that person already, whiner." (I'm paraphrasing). Or, to put it into someone else's words entirely:

“Big Magic is a celebration of a creative life…Gilbert’s love of creativity is infectious, and there’s a lot of great advice in this sunny book…Gilbert doesn’t just call for aspiring artists to speak their truth, however daffy that may appear to others; she is showing them how.” —Washington Post

And no, I don't think of myself as an aspiring artist, though Gilbert would likely word-slap me for saying so - I'm just...someone who likes to create, feels better when I'm creating something, small or large, and loves to feel inspired about it again! I actually think everyone in the family will like this book. With the watercolor classes, woodblock classes, and various writing ventures, I think it may resonate with all of you!

Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan

 

 Richard Flanagan has been in the blog once before in "The Narrow Road to the Deep North." That Man Booker Prize winning book contained graphic and intimate scenes of a prisoner of war camp run by the Japanese in WWII.  "Gould's Book of Fish" is an earlier novel set mostly in an Australian prison run by the colonial English in the first part of the 19th century.  It too is a prize winning effort (Commonwealth Prize) but one that almost defies description.
   The main character is a petty thief and forger who moves out of England to America and ultimately to Australia, where his latest run-in with the law gets him to an island prison off the coast of Australia.  In one way the story runs mostly in a straight line from getting on the island to his end (death?).  In another way, so many parts are so surreal, what with his name changes combined with the bizarre behavior of the prison staff, that you come away wondering how much is real and how much is in his head.  Since a novel by definition is a fabricated story, you may wonder what is the point of asking what is real.
   Well, a story can seem more real than true events or sometimes be almost dream-like yet get at some other truth.  I believe the latter is Mr. Flanagan's intent. It is an extremely ambitious attempt at story telling on multiple levels that succeeds in an astounding fashion.  Among the truths are the capricious nature and brutality of the English penal system of the time, the many forms of love, art is in the eye of the beholder, the strong write history, and much more.
   Normally citing someone else's book blurb just isn't done, but the Glasgow Herald nailed it "When we put it down, we'll either feel exposed to one of the greatest literary hoaxes in history or that we've just read what some are already describing as the first great book of the twenty-first century.  Or who knows? Maybe both?"
 

Red Notice by Bill Browder

 

The author comes from a communist heritage (grandpa ran for the U.S. Presidency as the head of the Communist Party in 1936) but became wealthy by plunging into the wide-open stocks available in Eastern Europe and Russia after the disintegration of the USSR.  When one of the oligarchs, who snatched up the properties that were government- owned industries, manipulated the market to decrease the value of Mr Browder's holding, Mr. Putin stepped in on the side of Mr. Browder.  Mr. Browder figured Mr. Putin would make Russia a nation of laws. Sound like the guy we know?
   Soon Mr. Browder's holdings were under attack by what appeared to be government-backed actions and his company eventually had to get out of Russia. One of his associates stayed (he thought the legal system was fair), was arrested, tortured, and eventually died.
   If it sounds like the plot has been revealed and what's the reason for reading, this description doesn't do it justice.  The suspense and plot twists and turns are worth the reading. It is an interesting story, not just for the actions but also for the author's increased focus away from his business and toward justice for his brave associate.  A story we all should know.

The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck

 

The author wrote an earlier book about the time when one of his older brothers and he flew a restored small plane across the U.S. as teenagers.  As a man in his 60s, he decided to do something similar with another brother, this time in a covered wagon pulled by three mules.  The result is mostly an interesting travelogue interspersed by memoir.
    Prior to reading this book, what I knew about the Oregon Trail was delt with in high school history.  There was a trail that went from Kansas to Oregon and a lot of folks travelled west on it in the middle part of the 19th century.  That one sentence is probably the same as that high school history book entry and I'm glad that Mr. Buck spends a good amount of time with how the trail got started, the number of folks who travelled it (400,000 or more), the perils they encountered along the way, and the trail's impact on the country's growth.
    He also spends a good amount of time of how large mules got their start in the U.S. by that canny business man, George Washington.  Turns out little donkeys bred to little horses make little mules good for hauling small loads.  Large donkeys (a gift to George from some Europeans) bred to large draft horses make great draft animals.  It was the start of a thriving industry not mentioned is those same history books.  All this history was good reading.
    Also good reading is the mechanics of getting the mule team and wagon, the obstacles along the way, how to drive a wagon, and work with mules.  Less good reading is the memoir part.  It gives insight into why he has more emotional baggage than can be hauled by a team of mules.  He's also somewhat tone deaf to his own prejudices.  A couple of examples include pointing out the sometimes negative impact of the Morman church has on areas where they predominate while noting the kind treatment received from every member along the way and a rant about highway police followed by the generous actions of a highway policeman.  He also notes the great similarities between his trip and those of a 150 years ago which doesn't jibe with him pulling out a cell phone for help while the settlers died from starvation and disease.  Still, he's also got a good sense of humor and acknowledges that often what he does is crazy and that he's got some interesting flaws.
    Overall, this is a good read and everyone in the family should like it, especially Ian.