Review: "The Explanation for Everything" by Lauren Grodstein

Title: The Explanation for Everything
Author: Lauren Grodstein
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Date of Publication: September 3, 2013
Pages: 352

How I Heard About It: I found this book through Netgalley, and publisher Algonquin Books kindly provided a digital copy for review. 

Two Sentence Summary: College professor Andy Waite has built his life, his research, and his academic syllabus around a fixation on his wife's murder by a young drunk driver named Oliver. When student Melissa recruits him to advise her independent study on intelligent design (an "anti-evolutionary creationism"), Andy finds that his spirituality and attempts at recovery are called into question and, for the first time, fall under a different type of microscope.

Author Lauren Grodstein

"He had never grown used to her absence, but he had learned to endure it, and to ignore her ghost, who was often waiting for him around the corner, or behind him in the office when he thought he was alone. He used to talk to her; during his first several years in New Jersey he talked to her several times a day. She would smirk or nod or roll her eyes, as expressive in death as she had been in life."

Things I Think: Very rarely do I dive into a new read without any background info. It's a strange delight, but one I don't often feel inclined to experience. (When you have a "TBR" pile as big as I do, taking a risk on the unknown can sometimes be a saddening loss of time.) I also typically avoid books with religious tones (over- or under-), so prior knowledge of the plot would have perhaps caused me to stay away. In the case of "The Explanation for Everything," the risk was well worth it.

Making morality a key character in a novel is a dangerous choice, but also brave: one false move can drive away 50% of a writer's audience in a heartbeat. So how to straddle, delicately, the infamous fence between creationism and evolution? Grodstein's tactic is to represent both sides equally. Characters in each camp are equally redemptive, equally flawed, perfectly balanced in terms of basic, believable, humanity.  Further, characters like Sheila (Andy's friend and neighbor) are realistically indifferent, do not seem affected by or interested in the debate. As a result, there is no silent champion. The space Grodstein creates is safe for a spectator, free from proselytizing or judgment.

The individuals, unique in their circumstances, come into focus because of the great debate, instead of the other way around, and this is what makes "The Explanation..." riveting. 

For everyone in my neck of the woods, Lauren will be making a few stops in San Francisco on her nation-wide book tour:

October 16
Google event with Adam Mansbach
345 Spear Street, San Francisco CA
Time TBD

October 18
Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera CA
7 pm

October 19
Women’s National Book Association Panel
Books Inc. Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco CA
1 pm

October 21
The Booksmith: In-conversation event with Adam Mansbach
1644 Haight Street, San Francisco CA
7:30 pm

Review: "Indiscretion" by Charles Dubow

Title: Indiscretion
Author: Charles Dubow
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Date of Publication: July 9, 2013
Pages: 400

How I Heard About It: Thanks so much to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing a free review copy. More info about the rest of the book blog tour can be found here.

Two Sentence Summary: A group of wealthy friends vacation in the Hamptons for the summer.  The dynamic of their social sphere begins a downward spiral when young, gorgeous Claire becomes a part of the infrastructure and sets her sights on (married) author Harry Winslow.

"He was not hard to love. And she, like so many of the young, was looking for a shortcut, an edge over the competition, always in a hurry, not yet realizing there is no benefit in speeding up the journey, that the destination is not the point but merely part of the process."

 

[[via]]

Things I Think: This is not an unfamiliar story: a perfect couple (Maddy and Harry Winslow), completely content in their marriage and revered by their peers; the unexpected entrance of a sweet young thing, who at first worships the pair as mentors but falls decidedly in love with the husband; the husband's seemingly epic struggle to resist, his ultimate failure, and the resultant fireworks of disaster when everything inevitably comes to light.

For this reason alone, I nearly failed to complete "Indiscretion." I feel like I've read this story, or seen it performed, dozens upon dozens of times. Little about Dubow's use of this classic formula made it unique from any other rendition of the age-old midlife crisis affair saga, and the unfolding of anticipated event after anticipated event occurred so slowly that sticking with this book was a struggle. 

In the last fifty pages or so, we are finally granted a left-turn from the plodding plot. But it takes so long to get to this meaty plot point, I almost didn't make it. 

The reason I hung on was Dubow's beautiful prose. His sentences are perfectly crafted, his vocabulary impeccable. Additionally, his narration choices (which continue to be compared to those of "The Great Gatsby") are a point of interest. Dubow clearly has an immense amount of technical skill, but in this case, it over-shone the novel's attempts at creativity. 

Clarice Lispector (Times Two)

Last month I read and reviewed two Lispector novels for the San Francisco Book Review. I fell intensely in love. (You can find them as originally posted here and here.)

Review: "An Extraordinary Theory of Objects" by Stephanie LaCava

Title: An Extraordinary Theory of Objects: A Memoir of an Outsider in Paris
Author: Stephanie LaCava
Publisher: Harper
Date Published: December 4, 2012
Pages: 224

How I Heard About It: Review copy kindly provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.

Two Sentence Summary: A young girl moves to France with her family where she feels depressed and/or lonely.  I don't even need the second sentence.

author Stephanie LaCava [[via]]

Things I Think: When this book arrived in my mailbox, I found myself already "pulling for it."  It's beautifully made, decorously illustrated, and the title holds so much promise.  After doing some background research on the author (a fashion writer and Vogue journalist), I held my breath hoping she would shock me with unexpected literary prowess.

Alas, this did not come to pass. A total "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" narrative, LaCava's anecdotes completely lack poetry, depth.  Someone picking up their backpack and then setting it back down again is described in abrasive detail, overshadowing any sort of emotional content; the "intense depression" that the narrator tells us she experienced reads like typical growing pains. In fact, any real meat that might have made LaCava's experience at all unique is completely missing.

Marc Jacobs? What? [[via]]

One of the stylistic choices (hearkening to the title) arbitrarily footnotes objects mentioned in the text, pumping up the pages with random facts that often have little or no relevance to the plot, to the reader, to anything.  LaCava sees a beetle? Enter random footnote with beetle facts. LaCava takes a picture? Enter massive footnote with camera facts. The only purpose well-served by the footnotes is to add length to an otherwise sparse manuscript.

Plot to footnote ratio seems a bit...off, no? [[via]]

Disappointingly, the book was all flash and no substance, a disjunction made all the more glaring by a title that sets the stakes so very high.

Review: "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich

Title: The Round House
Author: Louise Erdrich
Publisher: Harper
Date Published: October 2, 2012
Pages: 336

How I Heard About It: Review copy kindly provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours. 

Two Sentence Summary: Thirteen year old Joe Coutts has spent his life on the Ojibwe reservation, surrounded by close-knit family and tribal community.  When his mother is brutally attacked, raped, and nearly murdered by an unknown assailant, Joe tries desperately to put the mysterious pieces together and begins to uncover difficult and intricate truths about everyone in his life. 

**

"Now the crane my mother used to watch, or its offspring, flapped slowly past my window.  That evening it cast the image not of itself but of an angel on my wall.  I watched this shadow. Through some refraction of brilliance the wings arched up from the slender body. Then the feathers took fire so the creature was consumed by light."

**

Things I Think: Having recently dealt with matters of violent assault in my life, I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle this novel yet.  But the desire to familiarize myself with Erdrich's work temporarily outweighed trepidation, and here we are!  

I'm extremely late to the game when it comes to novelist Louise Erdrich.  She's written thirteen other novels, has published three books of poetry, and even has several children's books out in the world. And based on everyone's adoration, quality has not been sacrificed for quantity. When I heard that "The Round House" had been nominated for the 2012 National Book Award, I knew the time had come to hop on the Erdrich train (or at least give it a good peep.)

And now I have thirteen more novels on my TBR list. 

Apparently "The Round House" is a continuation of previous plot lines involving Joe's parents (Geraldine and Bazil). But the novel stands so independently I'd never have known, without all of the supplemental reading I did online. Joe is a brilliantly written narrator. Facing intense moral struggles in the face of what has happened to his mother, he keenly weighs loyalties to family, community, the law.  Dissatisfied with the truth-seeking attempts of the authorities, he bravely and brazenly seeks out facts on his own. 

The novel is rich in history and Ojibwe culture; reservation politics, both internal and external, gain increasing clarity as the plot-heavy novel unfolds. Some passages involving Bazil's legal knowledge (court cases from the rez, etc.) can become a bit burdensome, but the overall effect is to inspire further curiosity.

"The Round House" is certainly literary but also qualifies as an intense mystery/thriller.  Despite its length, the plot's rapid-fire pace makes it a rather quick read (a couple of days, in my case.) No doubt, this is going to be a Big Book of 2012; I think you'll be seeing it pop up on a lot of "best of" lists promptly.

Review: "The Midwife of Hope River" by Patricia Harman

Title: The Midwife of Hope River
Author: Patricia Harman
Publisher: William Morrow
Date Published: August 28, 2012
Pages: 400

How I Heard About It: As one of the lucky reviewers for TLC Book Tours, I perused their list of upcoming titles and this one really jumped out at me.  People have been saying amazing things about Harman's latest novel on GoodReads, and for good reason, it turns out.

Two Sentence Summary:  Set in Appalachia (one of my favorite places to read about) at the dawn of the Great Depression (one of my favorite time periods to read about), the novel details Patience Murphy's struggles as a single, 36 year old midwife living alone in the heart of mining country.  Working incessantly to save impoverished mothers that can't afford proper medical care, Patience navigates disaster on an immense spectrum: personal loss, political persecution, and the every day despair of crumbling mountain villages.

Things I Think: Harman's novel encapsulates so many things that fascinate me, so it's kind of a no-brainer that I loved every minute.  In addition to the setting (Appalachia is near and dear to my heart), the protagonist is an absolute feminist powerhouse. 

At first, we see Patience as a turn-of-the century pioneer: holding down her isolated cabin alone, caring for livestock, trekking miles by herself in the middle of the night to prevent medical disasters in backwoods shacks.  All of this is done with a fierce determination, with a heavy dose of patience and gentleness.  But as the novel progresses, Patience's mind starts to wander to her more urban past, which we learn is incredibly colorful and no less harrowing.  An orphan-turned-showgirl-turned-activist, she slowly allows the reader access to her personal pain, the loss of almost all of her loved ones.  A constant undercurrent of worry is present, and thanks to Harman's brilliant pacing I was flipping pages madly, trying to figure out why Patience had isolated herself and from what she was trying to escape.

Author Patricia Harman

No small amount of research went into this book. The political details of the era are sharp, setting a narrative climate of conflict and upheaval. Most fascinating to me were recountings of various mining disasters, particularly in West Virgina.  As someone who has aggressively studied and protested more recent mountain top removal practices in that area, I found the historical lineage really fascinating and was prompted to go out and do more research on my own.  This, for me, is an ultimate compliment to bestow.

In addition to the blog tour (check out all the stops here), Patricia will be doing a physical tour. Those of you on the other side of the country can totally go say hi.

Review and Giveaway: "Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker

Title: Age of Miracles
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: June 26, 2012
Pages: 288

**I have an extra copy of this hot-of-the-presses book to give away to a reader! Leave a comment below to enter, and be sure to include a way for me to contact you.  Extra entries for following on GFC or Bloglovin'.  Giveaway will close 11:59PM Pacific, Monday, July 2.**

How I Heard About It: This book has been all over the blogosphere and book world recently, getting rave reviews from Barnes and Noble and book-a-holics. I jumped at the chance to review for TLC Book Tours and was provided with an advanced readers' copy by the publisher.

Two Sentence Summary:  The life of adolescent protagonist Julia (and her family, and the whole world) becomes completely disrupted by breaking news that the rotation of the earth has begun to slow.  Days grow exponentially longer and the population becomes divided with fear of impending Armageddon, while Julia and her family deal with quieter disasters of survival: aging, relationships, and the lies we tell our loved ones out of necessity.

Things I Think:  For a novel that extends into the realm of science fiction, "The Age of Miracles" certainly occupies a different space than others recently published under such a banner.  Walker treats "The Slowing" as almost a backdrop to a more immediate story of a family disintegrating: the marriage of Julia's parents is under fire and Julia's grandfather becomes increasingly enmeshed in eccentric tactics of survivalism.  Julia experiences her first betrayal by too-cool classmate Hannah and finds herself falling inexplicably in love with the quiet, handsome skaterboarder that rides her bus.

Many reviewers have pointed out that this is more a "coming of age" story than a dystopian novel, and I would have to agree. While The Slowing and its many ecological ramifications (birds falling from the sky,  death of vegetation, the dangerous destruction of circadian rhythms) are ever-present, they serve as mostly a backdrop, throwing into stark relief the behaviors humans adopt when threatened.  And for all of this to be told from the perspective of an adolescent girl results in a brutally honest representation of how flawed the adults in her life have become. 

Walker writes beautiful prose, and its understated elegance really suits her subject matter.  The quiet, pensive nature of the narration parallels the concept of "slowing," or of lengthened time.  I did wonder, at times, if the voice was a bit too omniscient:  Julia's powers of deduction/observation seem almost superhuman for such a young person, which is equally compelling and frustrating for me.  Perspective is certainly a big discussion point that surrounds Walker's new novel, and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on how it has been handled.

**Don't forget! Leave a comment to win a brand spankin' new copy!**

Thank you so much to TLC for inviting me to be a host on this tour.  There are still several stops left for "Age of Miracles," so to read further reviews be sure to check out the schedule!

Review: "With My Body" by Nikki Gemmell

Title: With My Body
Author: Nikki Gemmell
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Date Published: October 1, 2011
Pages: 462

How I Heard About It: I was selected as a blog tour host for this book. A review copy was kindly provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.

Also, I've been a huge fan of this author for years. My gorgeous, talented friend and fellow blogger Ginger told me about "The Bride Stripped Bare" in an undergrad creative writing workshop.  I am forever grateful.

Two Sentence Summary: As with "The Bride Stripped Bare," Gemmell narrates her novel from second person perspective; this means that "you" is/are the narrator, signifying the reader as a seminal part of the story's unfolding.  An untangling of womanhood (majestic naivete of youth, tumultuous repercussions of confusion, exhaustion and loneliness of motherhood), this novel is divided up in a series of "lessons" borrowed from a fabricated Victorian manual for females, consistently complicating and explicating the trajectory of a female body.

Things I Think: People are always saying, "I couldn't put it down," to mean simply that they enjoyed a book.  I read lots of books (lots and lots of them), and I say without sense of hyperbole that I could NOT put this book down.

Nikki Gemmell's prose is what every writer aspires to: simultaneously poetic and narrative; universal; omniscient and yet personal.  I read her novels and the "you" that narrates implicates me (reader) not only with its grammatical invitation, but also its guttural honesty.

Follow openly and fearlessly that same law which makes

spring pass into summer, summer into autumn,

and autumn into winter.

I laughingly think, while reading "With My Body," that this novel is what "Fifty Shades of Grey" only wishes it could be.  Truly, there is a blatant eroticism to Gemmell's writing but it is never trite; instead, it celebrates a (and I borrow from so many other reviewers here) "raw" recounting of feminine evolution, something to which any woman (and I suspect any reader) can relate.  The narrator makes blushing reference to "The Thorn Birds" as a dirty tome passed around her boarding school, and the reference creates a direct comparison in my mind: "With My Body" does, for my generation, what McCullough's "Thorn Birds" certainly did in its time. 

In this book many woman will find simply the expression of what

they have themselves, consciously or unconsciously, often times thought; and the more 

deeply, perhaps, because it has never come to the surface in words or writing.

I read, so infrequently, one writer's entire canon out of sheer love for their prosody.  Gemmell's work will always be crucial to me as a woman and as a writer; for the first time, I think I've found a book I will read multiple times in order to maintain a kind of proximity to wisdom. 

Thank you to the publisher and to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book! I'm lucky to to be the first stop on this tour, but there are many more, so check out the schedule.

Review & Giveaway: "The House on Prospect" by Bernadette Walsh

Title: The House on Prospect
Author: Bernadette Walsh
Publisher: Echelon Press
Date Published: January 11, 2012
Pages: 168

How I Heard About It: I was provided a review copy of this book via Reading Addiction Blog Tours and happily agreed to host a review and giveaway here at Conceptual Reception.

Summary (Provided by RABT):

Ellen Murphy spent her childhood in an idyllic house by the sea. A house surrounded by flower filled gardens and a white picket fence. A house she fled at eighteen. A house full of secrets.

  

When Ellen’s mother Rose, an ex-nun, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Ellen reluctantly returns home to care for her and uncovers a clue to the one secret that has haunted Ellen all her life: the identity of her father.  But that is just one of the many secrets hidden behind the beautiful facade of the house on Prospect Road. Ellen discovers the high price both her mother and her Irish grandmother paid for the house on Prospect and she realizes that her meek mother is more of stranger to her than her absent father.

Things I Think: "The House on Prospect" is really very charming and touching, two things I definitely appreciated after finishing the super-dark "Narcopolis" this weekend.  Following multiple generations of one family's individualistic, powerful women, the author weaves in elements of history (World War II is crucial), religion (defecting nuns!), and most importantly, the mechanics of a troubled family unit.

Each female character has an incredibly unique, vibrant voice and thus spins the family saga from a slightly different angel. The culmination is a decidedly fascinating history of relationships, tainted with abusive secrets in places and yet tinged with passionate romance in others.  While the writing could use a scrub-down from the copy-editing perspective (verb tenses fluctuate in ways that obfuscate the story arc), the narrative itself can draw in a reader willing to be moved by some good old-fashioned family conundrums.

To learn more about this book and it's author, check out the following links:

Website  |   Blog  |   Twitter  |  Facebook

And now, for the giveaway! To win a copy of "The House on Prospect" for your e-reader, simply leave a comment below and let me know what you're reading these days.  Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin' for an extra entry.

Review: "Narcopolis" by Jeet Thayil

Title: Narcopolis
Author: Jeet Thayil
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: April 12, 2012
Pages: 288

How I Heard About It: I was selected as a blog-tour host for this book. A review copy was kindly provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.


Two Sentence Summary: This book is so expansive and multifaceted that my typical "two sentence summary" will be almost impossible to apply, however... here goes!


"Narcopolis" spans approximately 30 years in the life of a city (Bombay), intricately weaving together the lives of its colorful inhabitants to offer us (reader, outsider) a lens through which to attempt comprehension.  Vacillating between the defined perimeters of opium den, harem, and hovel; between tragedies of the personal, cultural, and environmental; between the lives of scholars, criminals, and children, "Narcopolis" attempts cultural encapsulation through constant flux and a flood of poetic revelations.


Things I Think: An amazing professor of mine, poet Norma Cole, always reminds her students to "be more curious" when reading: look up unknown words, cross reference obscure facts, let the text lead you on an adventure as you move from book to book to gain a more complete level of understanding.  Thayil's "Narcopolis" definitely made me more curious in this way.  Admittedly, my knowledge of Bombay was limited when I encountered this book, and I found myself so inspired by Thayil's rendering of this history that I could not (and still cannot) stop researching the time period he describes. 


As indicated by the title, the urban relationship to drug trade is very much at the novel's heart. While the reader becomes acquainted with most characters through Rashid's, a popular opium den on Shuklaji Street, the darkening times lead to darker addictions; garad (heroin imported from Pakistan) gains precedent in the addicts' circles, and its arrival is accompanied by the darkness of riot and violent persecutions.  Even nature rebels against this seemingly doomed city, as devastating floods make streets like Shuklaji even more unlivable. 

"Heroes, she said, were not always pure in motive and character, sometimes they told lies or they were conflicted and unhappy..." (85)

What particularly impresses me about "Narcopolis" is that Thayil's characters are so genuinely flawed but, simultaneously, so impressive and powerful and full of spirit.  Though the novel's pages are riddled with the horrors of murder, addiction, and abuse, a three dimensional understanding is at all times portrayed: no action occurs without the reader's awareness of its underlying motives.  We see, as the residents of Bombay see, that a "dying city" can elicit a human's most banal behavior, regardless of their efforts to stay strong. 

Favorite Quote: A eunuch prostitute that goes by the name of Dimple is asked why she takes drugs, and responds: 

"It isn't the heroin we're addicted to, it's the drama of life, the chaos of it, that's the real addiction and we never get over it; and because, when you come down to it, the high life, that is, the intoxicated life, is the best of the limited options we are offered - why would we choose anything else?"

This so encapsulates the utter despair that constantly underscores the seemingly hedonistic ways of the book's main characters.  

"Narcopolis" can feel overwhelming at times, with its flood of verbiage and unfamiliar terminology and transitions.  This effect can certainly be chalked up to the author's attempt to enact "the haze" that accompanies the opiate atmosphere of Bombay.  Be prepared to approach "Narcopolis" with a desire to hand yourself over to an experience of the unfamiliar, at times a dance of hedonism and, at others, one nightmare of a trip.

Rating:

Thank you so much to TLC for inviting me to be a host on this tour.  There are still several stops left for "Narcopolis," so to read further reviews be sure to check out the schedule! 

Syntax as Music in Arisa White’s "Hurrah’s Nest"

Just a quick update to let you know that my review of Hurrah's Nest, a collection of poetry by bay area author Arisa White, is now up on the Switchback website. Check it out here!

Review: "The Narrows" by M. Craig

Title: The Narrows
Author: M. Craig
Publisher: Papercut Press
Date Published: September 10, 2011
Pages: 226

How I Heard About It: Author M. Craig (a.k.a. Maggie) reached out to me in February to link up as writers.  She also told me about her first book and the exciting, independent Brooklyn-based Papercut Press. Maggie kindly sent me a copy of The Narrows to read and review.

Review: 


That's why we come to the Narrows, because we're all a little different.

So says Sim, the book's punkish yet sweet protagonist. Working as a servant to the infamous (shady) Lord Nogron's daughter, Sim finds herself in a confusing and sticky situation, one which means she must flee and start her life alone, elsewhere.

Through a stroke of luck, Sim stumbles into a friendship with charming young quester Cader, who just so happens to have an opening for a roommate. Cader introduces Sim to his gorgeous home (Kailash), his intricate roommates (Prudence and Kai), and the Bikeway Narrows. Cader also finds Sim a day job, working for the eccentric Azzer, a gadget repairman who specializes in magical devices and helps Sim begin to hone her latent magic-weaving talents.

Others have described Sim's favorite neighborhood, the Bikeway Narrows, as a literally-magical Portland. The neighborhood felt a lot like my own: San Francisco's Mission District. (I think this was some clever writing on Maggie's part; she relies on the universality of bike-filled, coffee-shop-loving hip, youthful urban areas to paint a scene that is immediately accessible.)

M. Craig at a launch party for The Narrows. [[via]]

With dashes of steampunk (brass goggles, leather pouches, carriages), some old-school magic (magic dust, wands, the occasional fairy or dragon), and plenty of the difficulties faced by an early-twenties woman in a big new city, Craig's book is already a complex undertaking.The meat of the novel, however, lies in its allegorical social commentary, taking a look at the ramifications of corporate takeover in terms of environmental and political impact. Factories spewing toxic, black magic byproducts are run by an exploited dwarf population, a race whose rights are consistently ignored by the government. There is an aggressive population of soldiers that monitors the Narrows to keep an eye on the myriad things that have become illegal. (Beer-brewing, for instance, has been forbidden and bears a punishment of lifetime in jail.)

Truly on her own, Sim now has an opportunity to grow in an understanding of her own identity. A new friend, known simply as Wood, brings Sim's sexuality to the forefront of her mind and she begins to explore who she is, what she wants, in the context of a world (sadly not unlike our own) in which homosexuality can bear the heavy consequences of discrimination and hate crimes.



She had to figure out who she was and then maybe she could figure out what was right and wrong in the world and what was worth fighting for.

This quote is so at the heart of what The Narrows ultimately does: consider big-picture morality and justice through the lens of an equally tough and vulnerable young woman. Sim's journey is hugely adventurous and always surprising.

There are a plethora of plot elements, fantasy world-modifications, and genres in play, which can sometimes become overwhelming for the reader to track or comprehend. The trick I discovered was to let The Narrows wash over me, carry me along at its own pace, without feeling some sort of academic stress to figure out all of the linkages. The novel ends in a manner that hints at future installments, so perhaps Craig has plans to wrap up any loose ends in book number two?

Maggie has generously agreed to do an interview with me, so stay tuned for future discussions with the author herself! In the meantime, you can read more about (and order your own copy of) The Narrows here, and be sure to check out the website for Papercut Press in Brooklyn.

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Date Published: January 10, 2012
Pages: 336

How I Heard About It: Every book blog and every avid reader I have ever known ever. People lucky enough to get ARCS sung Green's praises to such an extent that I had to get my hands on a copy of "The Fault in Our Stars" the day it came out.  I've let some time elapse before reviewing because s I wanted to "let things settle."  Now, though, I am ready to start a second wave of fanaticism.

Two Sentence Summary: Despite being the recipient of a new wonder drug used to treat terminal lung cancer, Hazel Grace's life has become coping with her disease.  When Hazel meets cancer survivor Augustus Waters at "Cancer Kid Support Group," the two become enmeshed in a loving, hilarious, heart-rending series of adventures which opens doors of  a more cosmic comprehension at every turn.

Things I Think: This book definitely falls into the category of, "Everyone and their sister has told me this is the best thing they've ever read and I'll love it, so now I'm scared to read it because my expectations are so high and everyone will think I'm a jerk if I don't love it as much as they do."

And you know what? This was one of the few times a book has lived up to the uproarious hype with which it was preceded.  I haven't read any of John Green's other work, so I really went into "Fault" not knowing what to expect.  This exceptionally talented man has written from the first person perspective of a terminally ill teenage girl; not only is the prose hilarious and heart-breaking, but it is entirely believable.  From Hazel's admitted addiction to "America's Next Top Model" marathons to first-love butterflies and worries, Green has constructed a character that is so real one cannot help but become involved in her intricate, challenging world. What is at stake for Hazel becomes what is at stake for the reader: time, companionship, understanding.

 ***

“I believe the universe wants to be noticed. I think the universe is improbably biased toward consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed. And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it—or my observation of it—is temporary?” 

*** 

Again, Green's character Augustus Waters is constructed with a mindblowing clarity.  Brilliant and witty, handsome and fun, Augustus is the perfect "partner-in-crime" for the cerebral pseudo-loner Hazel.  The two begin to bond, in particular, over their shared love of a novel that centers around a terminally ill teen.  Meta? Yes. Got me bleary of eye immediately? Duh.

***

“You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are.”

***

What's really important to note about "The Fault in Our Stars" is that Green has stumbled upon the magical balance of heavy, cancer-teen reality with a challenging, humorous positivity.  Cliches of sentimentality (which I had so feared from plot descriptions) are nowhere in sight, and in fact, the glimpses into this difficult world are so new and surprising that I found myself continually wondering how Green has garnered such awareness.
Truly, I think this is going to be remembered as one of the best books of 2012.  Coming out just after the start of the New Year, Green's new book has set the bar exquisitely high for fiction writers this year.  If they can live up to the challenge, we will be very lucky indeed.

Review: Lightning Rods

Title: Lightning Rods
Author: Helen DeWitt
Publisher: New Directions
Date Published: October 5, 2011
Pages: 275


How I Heard About It: Blake Butler's live reading, courtesy of HTML Giant.

Two Sentence Summary:

Ne'er-do-well salesman Joe decides to try his luck with a product of his own invention, the "lightning rod system."  Born of his frustrated sexual fantasies, the ups and downs of Lightning Rods, Inc. are an exploration in just how much people are willing to accept, how morally flexible people are willing to be, and what we're willing to do to be a great success.


Things I Think: 


 "One of the things that's perennially fascinating about the world is the way people sell things to themselves." (29)

This book definitely falls into the category of fiction in which the narrator's thought process is paramount to the plot itself.  Truly, the reader experiences this book from within the deepest machinations of Joe's brain, privy to each synaptic connection as instantly as it occurs.  DeWitt reveals herself as a great rhetorician in this, her latest, novel.  Her exploration of the brain's capacity to rationalize (failure, moral compromise, personal shortcomings) is not only believable but poignant due to the intimate perspective the reader is allowed.


"One day, you're going to wake up and find you sold away the only life you were ever going to get for the sake of the bottom line.  Well, there's only so much money you can spend in this life, and the thing you've got to remember is, the one thing you can't buy back, no matter how much money you have, is time.  A billion dollars won't buy back one single minute." (238)

"Lightning Rods" reminds me of Nicholson Baker's "Vox" or "Fermata," with all of its sexual quirkiness, but overall it is more notably an intellectual look at how physical drive plays a part (or not) in the American vision of success.  Through the lens of one man's fantasies, DeWitt has created a complex commentary on American culture that touches on topics of gender, race and economic status, to name a few.  Moreover, the characters are frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, a difficult feat in a book so rife with intricate thought processes.  So glad I started the New Year with this fantastic read!

Review: How the Mistakes Were Made

Title: How the Mistakes Were Made

Author: Tyler McMahon

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Date Published: 10/11/2011

Pages: 352 

How I Heard About It: Kevin McFarland's review at A.V. Club. 

 

Two Sentence Summary: Former punk icon Laura Loss reluctantly forms a band with two new-to-the scene young men.  Their rise to fame (within the context of the early 90s Seattle grunge scene) is punctuated with typical band drama and flashbacks to Loss's bittersweet involvement in the hardcore scene of the 80s.

Things I Think: Books about the music industry can be total kryptonite for me.  Kristin Hirsh's "Rat Girl," for example, was one of my top five reads of 2011.)  I dove into "How the Mistakes Were Made" with high hopes for a unique tour through the grunge scene.  Everything about the plot seemed promising: the young female bass player from a seminal 80s punk band becomes the drummer and mentor for an up-and-coming 90s grunge act. 

Unfortunately, this book fell immediately flat when I started to notice how unfamiliar and rehearsed the musician's lexicon felt for McMahon.  Sure, he seems to have done a bit of surface-level research into the life of a touring musician, but his lack of familiarity with this world resulted in cliched characters and even more cliche situations.  Moreover, though, the author's choice to narrate via first-person female perspective is totally unbelievable.  McMahon has just as much trouble constructing a feminine persona as he does navigating the dynamics of the grunge scene.  Summarily, the language felt awkward and out of place.  (No hard-edge punk rock girl in her late 20s would use the word "cuckholding" in a conversation about cheating.  McMahon doesn't seem to know this.) 

I've been told I need to read Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad" immediately to get my "music book love" back. I feel certain my expectations are not misplaced in this one!