The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

     We all know that there is a deep connection between memory and the senses.  Sights, scents, and sounds can trigger all sorts of complicated emotional responses, but for the main character in Alison Moore's Man Booker shortlisted novel, memory is hypersensitive, puzzling, and often devastating.  Futh is a quiet, middle-aged man on Holiday in Germany after a recent separation from his wife, Angela.  Their marriage has ended before Futh can accurately process exactly why, so he takes a short "vacation" to clear his head and try to figure out where things went wrong.  Along the way, he stays in a small, locally-operated hotel referred to as Hellhaus.  At the hotel, Futh finds the staff to be quite peculiar, especially Ester, who operates the hotel with her husband, Bernard.  As Futh embarks upon his painful and tedious journey of memory and self-exploration, we are alternately transported back to Hellhaus, where Futh's presence has triggered a completely separate, but somehow connected resurgence of memories and abandoned thoughts.

     As Futh scratches the surface of why his relationship with Angela failed, he is unpleasantly reminded of the other various failed relationships throughout his life, including that of his father, various neighbors, friends, relatives, and of course, his wife.  But while Futh is picking at old wounds, he is continually reminded of the deepest and most painful memory - Futh's mother abandoned him and his father during Futh's childhood, and he has never fully recovered from the tragic abandonment, probably because he never understood why his mother left in the first place.  Futh is left with certain scents and images to remind him of his long-gone mother, but most of all, he is entranced by a silver lighthouse that once contained a vial of his mother's perfume.

     While Futh originally set out on a journey to achieve peace, quiet, and possibly clarity, he finds himself increasingly and mysteriously overwhelmed by the scent of oranges, cigarette smoke, violets, and camphor.  All of these scents trigger various memories for both Futh and Ester, but neither are aware of how they intersect and why the emotional association is so strong.  Alison Moore's novel is a melancholy portrayal of loneliness, abandonment, restlessness, and regret, but Futh and Ester's stories are quietly powerful, and their memories serve as reminders of the events in our past from which our senses will never let us escape.


This review was simultaneously published on BookerMarks on 10/14/12

Overall Rating:

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

     Karen Russell's debut, Pulitzer Prize nominated novel takes us deep into the Florida marshes to Swamplandia!, which was once "the Number One Gator-Themed Park and Swamp Cafe in the area."  Swamplandia! featured all kinds of attractions, but their headliner was the famous Hilola Bigtree: wife, mother of three, and "world-famous alligator wrestler."  But in the prime of Swamplandia!, Hilola died suddenly of an extremely aggressive form of ovarian cancer.  Hilola's death is earth-shattering for the rest of the Bigtree family, but 13 year-old Ava Bigtree is determined to follow in her mother's footsteps and master the skill of gator wrestling.

     Unfortunately, the rest of the Bigtrees aren't as optimistic about the park's future.  Ava's older sister, Osceola, has retreated inside herself and claims to be both possessed by and engaged to a ghost.  Their older brother, Kiwi, decides to leave the swamp and find a job on the mainland, and their father, The Chief, is increasingly vague on the subject of their financial situation.  But Ava is determined to save the swamp and reunite her family - a job that turns out to be much more perilous than wrestling gators.

     Swamplandia! follows a variety of themes, but more than anything, it is a novel about loss and grief.  As Ava says in retrospect, "I didn't realize that one tragedy can beget another, and another - bright-eyed disasters flooding out of a death hole like bats out of a cave" (p. 9).  But Ava soon finds out that dying isn't the worst part of death.  Grief is much worse, especially the kind that tears your family apart, clouds your judgment, and challenges your sanity.  Osceola is metaphorically "possessed" by grief.  Ava's grief is suppressed by concern for her sister and the future of the park, but bubbling just below the murky surface in her desire to become a gator wrestler.  And Kiwi's grief is played out in his descent into The World of Darkness - a rival mainland theme park where he is employed.  The Bigtree family at first attempts an attitude of "the show must go on," but how can the show go on if the star is dead and the supporting cast is in mourning?

     The novel also explores the dichotomy of memory and reality.  Osceola stays as far away from reality as possible, but Ava and Kiwi must slowly face the towering facts.  While Hilola Bigtree is a superhero to her family, in reality, Swamplandia! was never much more than an obscure sideshow attraction.  In the cold light of maturity, their shimmering childhood is not quite as bright as they remember.

     For the quirky, eccentric characters of Swamplandia!, life is full of haunted little surprises.  This is especially true for Ava, whose narration serves to chronicle the end of her mother's story just as much as it charts the beginning of her own coming-of-age story.  And this idea of a blurry convergence is where Karen Russell really shines as a writer.  Whether it's the convergence of life and death, innocence and experience, or fear and courage, Swamplandia! couldn't be a more perfect locale for such a merging.  After all, there's no better place for redemption than a southern swampland, right?

     This book received tremendous praise after its Pulitzer Prize nomination, and while I agree that Russell's prose is spectacular, it's important to keep in mind that Swamplandia! is a very character-driven novel.  Compared to the level of character development, the plot may feel a bit lackluster, and even disjointed at times.  But even so, Karen Russell's poetic prose and stylistic subtleties are more than enough to engage readers.

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Swimming Home by Deborah Levy

     Joe, Isabel, and their daughter Nina aren't exactly a happy family, but they're pretending well enough.  Joe is a world-famous poet, Isabel is a highly-respected journalist, and young Nina is caught somewhere between her parents' competing personalities.  The family is on a much-needed vacation in Nice doing their best to relax - at least until Kitty Finch shows up.  Kitty is wild and unpredictable, and she completely takes the family off guard with her fragile appearance and bizarre behavior.

     It soon comes to light that Kitty's "accidental" encounter with the family was indeed calculated.  She confronts Joe as an aspiring poet and fan of his work in the hopes that he will read her poetry.  But Kitty's poetry turns out to be rather sinister as the themes imply certain death - but is it Kitty's Finch's own death that is suggested, or someone else's?

     Swimming Home is a very compact little book.  At just over 100 pages, Deborah Levy explores a number of different themes - violence, old age, infidelity, mental illness, and social hierarchies to name a few - but the book felt unfinished and the ideas incomplete.  Perhaps if the novel were a little longer Levy could have further developed and polished the characters, but the book ends just as you're beginning to settle into the characters and understand their motivations.  That being said, the prose has consistent moments of poignancy and dark humor.  Levy is especially successful at conveying Joe's humorous disconnect as a father and the struggle to relate to his fans.  When young Nina starts her period for the first time, Joe shakes his daughter's hand and proclaims, "Congratulations.  Your mother told me you've started your period at last...um...have you got everything you need...you know, for a girl who has just started?"  And later, Joe muses over his "depressed" fan base, declaring:

 I can't stand the DEPRESSED.  It's like a job, it's the only thing they work hard at.  Oh good my depression is very well today.  Oh good today I have another mysterious symptom and I will have another one tomorrow.  The DEPRESSED are full of hate and bile and when they are not having panic attacks they are writing poems. (p. 65)

Sorry, Joe, but depressed folks love poetry, and ironically, Joe is one of the unhappiest characters in the book.

     Kitty's mysterious and seemingly unstable nature is also intriguing, but she could be so much more dynamic, as could Nina's coming-of-age story.  Kitty is a disturbing force of nature to this family, but her presence in the text is too weak for my liking.  Ultimately, Swimming Home has the potential to be a very compelling thriller with extremely delicate sub-themes, but unfortunately, this novella falls short (pun intended!).

This review was simultaneously published on BookerMarks on 8/24/12

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Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray

     What would you do if you woke up one day to find that you are completely invisible?  Would you be afraid? Angry? Or maybe secretly thrilled?  In Jeanne Ray's new book, Calling Invisible Women, this is exactly what happens to Clover, a 50-something woman who wears many hats, including that of a journalist, mother, wife, and friend.  Clover's situation is confusing and utterly terrifying, but even more bewildering is the fact that no one in her family has noticed.  When she wears clothing, the shape and outline of her body is visible, but her flesh has disappeared into thin air.

     Clover soon realizes that she's not the only woman in the world struggling with this condition - hundreds, if not thousands of other women have become invisible, and the cause is traced to a combination of pharmaceutical drugs that, when taken together, may cause certain women to completely disappear.  But nobody seems to notice or even care that these middle aged women have been physically reduced to nothing but voices, scents, and a floating torso (when they choose to wear clothing, that is).  And as long as the fridge is full, the errands are complete, and dinner is on the table, even Clover's family is unaware of her condition.

     But Clover is a bit more optimistic about this predicament than some of the other invisible women.  When she's naked, her presence is completely undetectable, so she takes the opportunity to approach life from a new perspective.  As Clover says, "Now I can see how many things you can do when no one is watching.  It's a huge freedom when you think about it."  As she soon finds out, being invisible is sometimes inconvenient, but it's also a super power!  As Clover adjusts to her condition, she takes a bold approach to invisibility and inspires a national chain of events.

     Calling Invisible Women reads like a sci-fi superhero comedy.  It's weird, hilarious, and completely entertaining, but it's also a bold commentary on the social status of middle-aged women.  In a society that values youth and beauty to the point of obsession, what does that do for a woman's self-worth as she ages?  As Jeanne Ray points out, women of a certain age are devalued to a point of invisibility.  They are marginalized as mothers and wives and completely stripped of their sexuality.  Unfortunately, it's going to take a national movement for all women to regain their visibility in our world, but with Clover and the other invisible women of Ray's novel, we are reminded that our voices are more powerful than our physical bodies.

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The Girl Giant by Kristen den Hartog

     Kristen den Hartog's newest novel tells the story of Ruth Brennan, a young girl with a rare growth disorder.  By the time she reaches adolescence, Ruth is already several feet taller than her peers, which makes finding and keeping friends a difficult task.  It also makes leading a normal life nearly impossible, especially during the mid 20th century - a time when girls were expected to be slight, delicate, and dainty.  Most people are either scared of her, or they feel sorry for her, and even though she is usually ignored, Ruth knows that she is impossibly noticeable.

     Ruth's abnormalities take a toll on her parents as well - two people who are afraid to face both the realities of their daughter's condition and their failing marriage.  But "the Giantess" has a strong intuition, and despite her looming size, people can't help but reveal their thoughts and intentions to her, whether or not they are aware of having done so.  Ruth's unique ability allows her to give readers a first person perspective of characters without a narrative voice.  And even though she may appear impenetrable, the knowledge she possesses can be overwhelming.  Ruth is a gifted child in an over-sized adult body, and her circumstances make the development of self-confidence and identity extremely difficult.

     Ruth's story is fascinating, thought-provoking and heartbreaking, but this novel felt a little slow at times.  While the story of James and Elspeth Brennan is also intriguing, it sometimes detracted from Ruth's magnetic presence as a character.  And even though she is the narrator, we are not often privy to Ruth's internal thoughts and analyses.  She is by no means flat or simple, I just wish den Hartog would have better reflected Ruth's larger-than-life story in the characters' internal and external dialogue.  Despite this flaw, The Girl Giant is still a unique and delicately-crafted story.  For a girl so young and inexperienced, Ruth possesses a great deal of wisdom, maturity, and insight.  But these characteristics are often suppressed so that she can better fit in with her peers.  Even so, they all seem to understand that there is something inherently different about Ruth Brennan, so we are presented with a portrait of a young girl stuck between worlds - desperate to be normal, but destined to be extraordinary.

The Girl Giant will be released on June 12, 2012.

The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac by Kris D'Agostino

"What I really want...is to know how it feels to be passionate about something" (p. 237).

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

     Margaret Lea is an aspiring writer and a voracious reader who has worked in her father's bookshop her entire life.  One evening,  Margaret receives a surprising and confusing letter from one of England's most famous novelists, Vida Winter.  Ms. Winter has always been known as a reclusive and mysterious woman, yet she is writing to Margaret to hire her as a biographer.  No one knows anything about Vida Winter's past - she has never been forthcoming about her upbringing and family history, so this is an unbelievable opportunity for Margaret.

     As Margaret is slowly introduced to the details of Ms. Winter's past, she realizes that they have a great deal in common.  Both women have been keeping a terrible, heavy secret their entire lives and are desperate for redemption and peace.  As Margaret learns the shocking truth of Vida's past involving sinister and harrowing family secrets, she must come to terms with her own past. Through the catharsis of Ms. Winter's storytelling, Margaret must relive her own tragedy and painfully acknowledge a great loss from which she has never recovered.

     The Thirteenth Tale is not just a gothic tale about family mysteries and revelations - it's a book about the powerful healing effects of storytelling.  Both Vida and Margaret are emotionally tormented by a lifetime of secrets, but as bits and pieces of their stories are revealed, the process of healing, forgiveness, and redemption begins to take place.  The Thirteenth Tale deals with identity, loss, grief, abuse, and relationships.  It is a lot to weave into one story, but, like Vida Winter, Diane Setterfield is a master storyteller.  This book has a pulse and is nearly impossible to put down.  Lovers of language and literature will appreciate the artistic organization of the novel, and the plot is equally engaging.  A big thanks to my good friend, Mary, who encouraged me to move this book to the top of my reading list!  I'm so glad I followed your advice!

Overall Rating:

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

     Those who are familiar with P.D. Eastman's classic children's book, Are You My Mother?, may remember the sad, but touching storyline in which a baby bird leaves the nest and tirelessly searches for its mother among various species of animals.  In Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir of the same title, she knows exactly where her mother is, but she just doesn't understand her.  In fact, Bechdel can see little to no resemblance between herself and her mother, but their intense relationship has affected nearly every other subsequent relationship she has ever had.  Are You My Mother? traces Alison Bechdel's life as a writer, philosopher, artist, and lesbian - but mostly as a daughter.

     This book isn't written like your typical memoir.  It's written as a comic strip and includes a great deal of discussion on classical psychology, drama, art, and literature - especially that of Virginia Woolf.  Bechdel has spent decades in therapy and analysis trying to work out her complicated relationship with her mother - a woman who is incredibly intelligent and talented yet emotionally distant.  Much of Bechdel's childhood was mapped out in her first memoir, Fun Home, a graphic biography about her eccentric and distracted father who committed suicide at the age of 44.

     It's no stretch to say that Bechdel had an unusual upbringing and a complicated relationship with her parents, but sometimes the book felt a little too self-aware and over-analyzed.  For one thing, she takes psychoanalysis very seriously and invests a great deal of time and energy in dream analysis - which she often interprets very literally.  Don't get me wrong - I think one can benefit tremendously from attending therapy sessions.  It can be cathartic and emotionally cleansing.  But Bechdel seems unable to make any decision or comprehend a situation without first discussing it in detail with a therapist.  Sometimes her emotions just don't feel completely natural.  They take on a numbed, almost clinical vibe, which likely contributes to her original anxiety.  She also is a dedicated (if not obsessive) diarist, writing down conversations verbatim between herself and her analyst, girlfriends, and family members.  In turn, much of the book consist of conversations between herself and her therapist about Alison's dreams, Alison's feelings, Alison's life philosophy, and Alison's memories.  That's exactly what therapy is for, but it may be a little too self-absorbed for a book (even for an autobiography).

     Another troublesome aspect of the book is that Alison seems to want some sort of psychological peace regarding her mother, yet she struggles with the ability to see her mom as a human being capable of making mistakes and indulging in selfish tendencies - which is sometimes in direct contrast with her feminist platform.  She seems to hold her mother to much higher standards regarding motherhood and identity, which isn't completely fair.  We must also consider that Alison has been keeping very accurate and detailed notes since she was an adolescent, which makes harboring a grudge a little too easy.

     Alison Bechdel is obviously a talented writer and artist, but this book needed a bit more organization.  Sometimes it was a book about her mom, sometimes it was a book about writing a different book, and sometimes it felt like reading a teenager's diary.  But somewhere along the way, she begins to see her mother in a different light - perhaps it is due to the years of analysis, or maybe it's due to the therapeutic act of writing the memoir itself.  Either way, Are You My Mother? leaves Bechdel at the cusp of an opportunity for renewal and peace, which comes as a much needed breath of fresh air.

Overall Rating:

Favorite Fiction: Toni Morrison

Over the years, Toni Morrison has earned great respect as an author.  As the winner of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Pearl Buck Award (just to name a few), Toni Morrison has been a tremendous influence on American literature.  Now, at the age of 81, she is publishing her 10th novel, Home, which will be released next week on May 8.  In celebration of her many accomplishments and to gear up for the new release, here are Hooked Bookworm's top 5 Toni Morrison novels:

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

     Julia Springer may not be the best feminist or the most socially conscious person, but she's doing alright considering the sheltered life she has led up to this point.  She never had to make many decisions - her husband, Wesley Lloyd, made sure of that - but with him recently dead and buried, Miss Julia is left to fend for herself.  Well, sort of.  As it turns out, Wesley Lloyd was a stingy, but incredibly wealthy man, and Julia is the sole beneficiary of his estate.  So with a newfound financial freedom, Julia and her maid/confidant, Lillian, are enjoying being able to finally relax.

   But soon enough, it seems like everybody in their small, southern town wants a piece of Julia's inheritance - especially the church.  And to further complicate matters, it seems that Mr. Springer was not such a faithful, loyal husband.  Julia finds this out when his mistress appears at the doorstep with Mr. Springer's illegitimate son in tow.  Wesley Lloyd Jr may be a skinny, 9 year-old child with a pale complexion and a nervous demeanor, but his arrival sets off a whole chain of events that Julia Springer was never prepared for.  But as any self-confident, determined southern woman would do, Miss Julia learns how to face her problems and takes care of business!

     Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind is a light, but entertaining read.  Julia may have once been sheltered and naive, but she quickly breaks out of her shell and emerges as a proud, sassy southern woman.  It's easy to sympathize with Julia and her small, personal triumphs, and we soon see that she is more courageous than anyone knew she could be.  Well, she never had the opportunity before, but now things have fundamentally changed for Julia, and with her newly-discovered bravery and a few very supportive friends, Miss Julia really does find her voice and speaks her mind.

     Ok, so this novel may be a little melodramatic at times, but Miss Julia's story is delightful and heartwarming, nonetheless.  With southern charm and a fast-paced plot, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind evolved into an ongoing "Miss Julia" series, of which there are now 13 books in the collection.  The prose may not be poetic or groundbreaking, but as Ann B. Ross has said, she just wanted to tell a good, entertaining story, and that's exactly what she did.

Overall Rating:

Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine

     Treasure Island!!! is a reluctant, anti-coming of age novel in which  our unnamed narrator, a jobless, neurotic, selfish twenty-something develops a full-blown obsession with Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.  With a questionably acquired parrot named Richard (who squawks phrases like "steer the boat, girlfriend!") and a stolen library copy of Treasure Island, our young narrator sets off on an adventure of her own.  Ok well maybe she ends up moving back in with her parents and sleeping all day, but it's not really about treasure-hunting.

     At first she comes across as funny, but perhaps a little too sarcastic.  Then she just gets obnoxious, and finally it is clear that our narrator is a completely deplorable person and likely a sociopath.  But even her horrible, egotistical tendencies are absurdly hilarious and entertaining.  Whether she's stealing money from her mom's purse, sabotaging her sister's relationship with a much older man, or preaching about the four "Core Values" of Treasure Island (BOLDNESS, RESOLUTION, INDEPENDENCE, HORN-BLOWING) this girl has completely lost touch with reality.  Here's a passage from chapter 10, in which she explains how the novel has inspired her to lead a life of adventure:

Well it takes an awful lot of energy to give birth to oneself.  It's not as though you do one bold thing and then you are bold.  The thing about adventure is that you have to keep on doing it, day in and day out.  I don't know, can it ever be definitively accomplished?  I hardly rest, I hardly can! (p. 61)

Actually, all she does is rest, but that's not the point.   Treasure Island!!! is a strange, quirky book with a very unlikeable narrator, but it may inspire you to take a few steps back from your own life and make sure that you are absolutely nothing like this narrator - so preoccupied and selfish that she's no longer the protagonist of her own story.

     But despite the narrator's lack of appeal, the book itself is ridiculously entertaining and addictive - it's one of those novels that just gets funnier and funnier the more you think about it.  Treasure Island!!! is relatively short (172 pages) but it leaves a big impression - as both a social satire and a unique, artistic work of literature.

Overall Rating:

 

The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall

     Emylia Hall's debut novel tells the story of Elizabeth Lowe, a British woman who is abruptly confronted with her past when she receives a photo scrapbook in the mail.  The photo album is filled with pictures and memories of childhood summers spent with her mother in Hungary.  As Elizabeth flips through the pages, she is bombarded with memories - scents, images, and sounds of her youth slowly bubble to the surface of her consciousness.  Slowly, we get a more complete portrayal of Elizabeth's childhood - from carefree nature walks with her mother to the unmistakeable experience of first love,  her summers were always filled with beauty and discovery.

     Yet Elizabeth's summer romps through the hills of Hungary were abruptly abandoned, and only by journeying through her photo album, entitled "The Book of Summers," do we develop an understanding of why Elizabeth abandoned Hungary, her mother, and her first love.

     The Book of Summers felt a little slow at first, but eventually I came to understand that this is because Elizabeth's memories are delicate and tightly compacted - they must be recalled slowly or risk damage.  Sometimes Elizabeth is frustratingly stubborn, and sometimes she reminds me of my teenage self - when the world felt unblemished and limitless but could quickly turn into a dramatic tragedy.  The Book of Summers is about the complexity of relationships, especially those of mothers and daughters, but it's also about the circumstances that influence both our cultural and personal identities.

     Sometimes the novel felt stylistically inconsistent and the dialogue was a little shaky, but overall, Emylia Hall has created a debut novel that captures the essence of dramatic youth, the inconsistent yet powerful attributes of memory, and the consequences of pride.

     The Book of Summers was released last month in the U.K., and will be released in the U.S. on May 29 in paperback.

Overall Rating:

Favorite Fiction: Dysfunctional Families

   It can be quite comforting to read about dysfunctional families in literature.  We relate to the characters (some more than others) and they make us feel normal by comparison.  Our voyeuristic side reveals itself when we read about families with problems because, as readers, we are privy to the nature of their dysfunction - we become a sort of literary Peeping Tom.  All creepiness aside, here are a few of Hooked Bookworm's favorite depictions of dysfunctional families in literature:

Bed by David Whitehouse

   David Whitehouse's debut novel tells the story of Malcolm (Mal) Ede, a very bold, quirky young man who, on his 25th birthday, decides to never get out of bed again.  Despite his eventual weight gain of hundreds of pounds, Mal sticks to his decision.  Soon he becomes a local celebrity and folks line up outside of the Ede family's house to catch a glimpse of massive Mal.  His health quickly deteriorates, but Mal's mother couldn't be happier to have her son need her in such an obvious, physical way.  She spends her days cooking meal after meal for him, and as he gets bigger and bigger, Mrs. Ede adds bathing her son's massive body and cleaning his bedsores to her list of daily duties.  Meanwhile, Mal's father has retreated to the attic where he spends day and night tinkering with mysterious inventions, and Mal's ex-girlfriend, Lou, is still in love with him and waiting for him to drag his gargantuan body out of bed so they can resume their relationship.

   Mal's bizarre story is narrated by his younger brother, who simultaneously despises and adores his strange sibling - mostly because he's in love with Lou, and Lou just can't seem to get over Mal - no matter how many ways he rejects her.  The eccentric story of the Ede brothers spans more than 40 years and is told through short little vignettes with an ending that is just as abrupt and peculiar as the novel's opening lines:

Asleep he sounds like a pig hunting truffles in soot.  It isn't snoring, more of a death rattle.  But for that it is a quiet morning, the morning of Day Seven Thousand Four Hundred and Eight-Three, according to the clock on the wall. (p.1)

The Ede family purchased a clock to measure Mal's bedridden days in hopes of motivating him to get up.  But 20 years in, when the book begins, Mal is "an enormous meat duvet"... "every rise of his chest triggers a seismic shudder through the room."

   Bed doesn't lack for descriptive imagery but there is a lot of it, and by the end of the novel, many of the images and metaphors have been repeated too many times to be effective any longer.  Whitehouse goes on for paragraphs about the enormity and repulsiveness of Mal's body, which is sometimes quite impressive and sometimes superfluous - but it does appropriately reflect Mal's story.

   David Whitehouse is obviously a good writer, and I think with a little more practice and discretion he could write an amazing novel.  But for me, Bed was not amazing.  The story was interesting enough to keep me reading and some of the imagery is very memorable, but it lacked a sense of unity and purpose.  When the book was first released, Janet Maslin from the New York Times said: "Mr. Whitehouse’s great talent for outlandishly clever description is not matched by a gift for storytelling."  I agree.  I wasn't very impressed with Bed, but David Whitehouse is talented and definitely someone to keep an eye on for the future.

Overall Rating:

I'm Down by Mishna Wolff

   When you hear something described as "Black and White," it is often synonymous with the idea of something that is definitive or objective.  But for Mishna Wolff, the terms Black and White are anything but definitive - they are confusing and emotionally charged terms.  Mishna and her family may have been legally required to check the "Caucasian" box on official paperwork, but her single father made it clear from an early age that their family would identify with Black culture.  Anora, Mishna's younger sister, fit right in with the kids in their low-income, all-Black neighborhood, but Mishna was never quite able to blend in the way her sister did.  In fact, she stuck out like a very white, very sore thumb.  She wasn't a good dancer, she was terrible at Basketball, and her musical preferences rarely included R&B or Hip-Hop.  But Mishna's father was convinced that they were a Black family, so he did everything in his power to convince his daughter to "get with the program," or rather, get "down."

   I'm Down is a book about racial and cultural identity, but it's also about Mishna's strained relationship with her father.  Because she was "painfully white," she spent a great deal of time trying to impress her Dad, who thought that his children should develop the exact same sense of identity as his own.  But Mishna, unlike her sister, was never able to seamlessly blend into their Black community, and as a consequence, she was never able to blend in with her own family.  This caused declarations failure, disappointment, and even accusations of racism - all directed at a very young and very stressed out Mishna.

   But despite John Wolff's frequently voiced disappointment in his own daughter, all she wanted to do was please him, which often meant pretending to be someone she wasn't.  I'm Down is a very funny and entertaining memoir, but it's also heartbreaking and probing.  When your sense of self clashes with your family identity and cultural identity, it's impossible to determine what is "Black and White."  Wolff's memoir begs the question: Why is it so important that we choose one over the other?

Overall Rating:

 

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

   Eva Khatchadourian's life changed forever on April 11, 1983 - the day she gave birth to her son, Kevin.  It was supposed to be a day of joy and celebration, but Eva was always apprehensive about becoming a mother, and Kevin is a peculiar child.  He is overly independent, a little too smart, and fiercely manipulative.  Eva is the only one in her family who can see that he is a cruel, calculated individual - at least until the day that 15 year-old Kevin murders 9 of his high school classmates in a sinister, highly-organized fashion.  Written as letters to her husband, Franklin, We Need to Talk About Kevin chronicles Eva's thoughts and memories as she relives Kevin's childhood and the events leading up to the murders.  Through these letters we see an unapologetic woman who never wanted to have children, yet whose life will forever be defined by her son.

   There are so many things I want to say about this novel, but I must first point out that it is so beautifully written that you may forget you're reading prose rather than poetry.  Sometimes I felt like I was reading Leonard Cohen.  For that reason, along with my opinion that Eva Khatchadourian is the most realistic, well-developed character I've ever encountered, I loved this book.  Shriver has tapped into some of the most controversial questions about motherhood and marriage here, and I've never been more sympathetic to a character than I was with Eva.  The nature vs. nurture question has been around for a while, yes, but Lionel Shriver takes the implications much further, especially regarding the emotions, experiences, impulses, and instincts that are ascribed as umbrella terms to motherhood. 

  But just in terms of plot, I am amazed and entranced by Shriver's ability to tell a story.  She doesn't just tell it in terms of chronology or events - Eva's story unfolds as the emotions and memories occur and reemerge.  She must come to terms with things that she never expected to encounter as a wife or mother.  But that is exactly why this unfathomable story is so painfully realistic - because it happens all the time.  People commit atrocious acts of violence every day that end up as white noise in the media.  But white noise on a cultural level can be deconstructed and dissected to reveal the source - all the way down to the deafening shrieks of a single instance in time that, for some, will change everything forever.  We Need to Talk About Kevin removes us as spectators and forces us to realize that none of us are untouchable.

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The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

   Golden Richards may have 4 wives and nearly 30 kids, but he still feels like something is missing.  That something is happiness, fulfillment, and a sense of control, and his search for these elusive emotions lead him down some very unexpected paths.  In the meantime, Golden's quest for personal validation requires him to make a few sacrifices, tell a whole bunch of lies, and keep a lot of secrets, which of course, leads to the slow detachment from his family.  With a large cast of interesting characters, The Lonely Polygamist is not really about Mormonism or polygamy - it's about a family pushed to their breaking point, facing challenges and struggles that many families deal with at one point or another - finances, time management, identity crises, health problems, marital stress, and communication barriers to name a few.  The Richards clan is just like any other dysfunctional family, except on a much larger scale, which means extensive consequences rippling through each member of the family in a way that makes balance and control nearly impossible. 

   I really loved reading this book.  I probably would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't taken three months to read it. I know I know...but it's been a busy semester and the 600+ pages of this novel sometimes seemed very intimidating.  So I put this book on hold for a while and picked it up again a few days ago.  I sped through the last 400 pages and then kicked myself for ever thinking that reading this chunkster would be a chore.  The Lonely Polygamist is an unforgettable family saga and yes, it is epic, but it moves very quickly unless you set it down for 2 1/2 months like I did.  I'm so ashamed! I don't even deserve a book blog!

   Anyway...Brady Udall grew up in a Mormon family and did extensive research on the aspects of polygamy (an estimated 40,000 people live polygamist lifestyles in the U.S.), so the story feels raw and grounded.  The characters are prismatic, but the novel only fully develops a handful of them (understandably).  My favorite character is Rusty Richards, Golden's 12 year old son who is kind of the oddball of the bunch.  His behavior includes: storing multiple objects in the waistband of his pants, snooping around in his sisters' underwear drawers, an affinity for romance novels, bombs, and guns, and a pretty big crush on his aunt Trish. In short, Rusty is curious, mischievous, and defiant - all characteristics of a boy beginning puberty in the midst of family chaos.  Rusty provides most of the comic relief in the story as his sense of physical awakening and self-discovery parallels his father's own journey.

   We all know how the world sees polygamists (just look at the buzz around TLC's show, Sister Wives or the public interest in the Warren Jeffs trial).  Polygamy harbors a fundamental aspect of marriage and family life that is so foreign and unknown to most of us.  So what do we do when we don't understand something as a society?  We become voyeurs.  Well, Brady Udall has put this family under a microscope for the voyeur in us all, and they're really not so different from the rest of us.  And while I don't think that writing (or reading) this book should be synonymous with condoning the polygamist lifestyle, I think Brady Udall has attempted to and succeeded in providing us with a new perspective on family dynamics.

The Worst Noel: Hellish Holiday Tales

   The Worst Noel is a collection of holiday-themed essays that cumulatively assert that Christmastime is the worst time of year.  Authors such as Ann Patchett, Cynthia Kaplan, and Joni Rogers have made contributions to this collection, which makes for quite a mixed bag of hellish holiday experiences.  This book started off really strong for me as I read it aloud to my husband (who also really liked it at first).  There were some funny stories about a Christmas Eve encounter with a deer (Cynthia Kaplan), getting into a car wreck with a mall Santa (Joni Rogers), applying for a job at the mall as Rudy the Reindeer (Louis Bayard), and several tales of silly/embarrassing family holiday traditions.  I enjoyed these, but then the book took a different turn about 50 pages in.  The tone changed from good-humored and lightly sarcastic to depressing, whiny, and offensive.  Apparently most of these authors really dislike the south/southerners (except for Ann Patchett) because it's boring and Nashville didn't have any organic peanut butter (Neal Pollack). Oh goodness! No organic peanut butter?? Well bless your heart...that does sound like the worst Christmas ever!  And by the way, Nashville is my home town. We have organic peanut butter thank you very much!

   Anyway, I guess I just thought I was getting something along the lines of David Sedaris's Holidays on Ice, but unfortunately, I was mistaken.  The majority of the book comes from the perspective of rich white folks complaining about why their holiday experiences were the worst of the worst.  Some of these reasons include: too much food, Christmas carols, Christmas trees, holiday traditions, crappy presents, and Christmas decorations.  I felt like I was missing something.  Even though I agree that retail-style Christmas music is obnoxious and lots of decorations end up looking forced and cheesy, these things are primary characteristics of the holiday season.  I know you're probably upset that I didn't mention baby Jesus and all, but the majority of these authors are actually Jewish (or have Jewish heritage), so the nativity didn't come up that much.  However, there was much whining and carrying on about how Hanukkah is sooooo boring and Christmas presents are better than Hannukah presents, but Christmas is still the worst!! Good grief Charlie Brown!

   After a while, the tone of the book became so overwhelmingly snotty that it was no longer funny or amusing...just irritating.  The first few essays are really hilarious and worth reading, but if you forge ahead with the other 150 pages or so, you may find yourself rolling your eyes at these little brats and getting a little pissed off at the constant whining and self-pitying over things like having to receive presents and eat holiday cookies.  Seriously, who is such a Scrooge that they won't even eat a damn sugar cookie?? Next year, I think I'll return to Holidays on Ice.  David Sedaris never disappoints!

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

The Ozarks are scary!

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky

   Rosa is the type of person who believes she has never made a mistake - that all of life's misfortunes can be attributed to the stupidity and carelessness of others (especially members of her own family).  But when her daughter, Sulfia, gives birth to a baby girl, Rosa's life takes on a new meaning.  She spends all her time and efforts on her beautiful granddaughter, Aminat, in hopes that she will someday make her grandmother proud.  All Rosa asks is that Aminat become a rich and/or famous Tartar woman.  However, Rosa is so cold-hearted and impersonal that she has no idea how to develop and maintain relationships, especially with a child.  She is sometimes hilariously clueless, and sometimes tragically so.

   Rosa knows that her family cannot survive in Soviet Russia, so when an older German man takes an inappropriate interest in Aminat (who is only 12), Rosa interprets this as their opportunity to move to the west, where she truly believes her daughter and granddaughter will thrive.  But Rosa, who has never understood sympathy and compassion, is baffled when she finds that her family is unhappy in Germany.  Of course she sees this as typical ungrateful adolescent behavior for which she is in no way responsible.  In turn, she becomes increasingly isolated and alone, and she has no idea why.

   Rosa is one of the most unreliable narrators I have ever come across.  She believes that she loves her family and is doing what is best for them, but her ego and pride are what really control her decisions.  She holds family loyalty and respect in high regard, but is incapable of bestowing these sentiments upon others.  Alina Bronsky's portrayal of a mother who completely lacks maternal instincts is funny and entertaining, but is also a disturbing window into the tragic outcome of failed relationships in a world where human connection has become an art that requires talent.