OF ALL THAT ENDS by Gunter Grass

3 Stars

An ode to decay.

This is truly a product of time. Time of things that have passed, the dead and the dying. While it is lyrical and honest in its presentation it is truncated and I honestly wish I had experienced something else by Grass before undertaking this work. I really enjoyed the essentialism of his thoughts if not what he was ruminating about. Some are too short to be more than snippets of a idea that never bloomed, but most were just observations of the ephemeral nature of man. The accompanying sketches were charming studies and display the same repetitiveness as the written text.

THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy

5 Stars

Few things can encapsulate both the abject and sublime--but this does.

This is definitely one of those books where less is more. The writing is concise, almost to the point of being terse. There is space between the words and contained within it is more emotion than you could imagine. I have not felt this level of distillation since reading Hemingway.

This is bleak, dark, and relentless. It is also pulls you forward. There's no stopping. You're on the road.

The pacing is wonderful. It's a constant surge of the sea against you as you read. Riding one up one wave and plummeting down the trough. At some point, you think the sea will calm, that you'll have a moment to catch your breath, but it just pulls you, throws you.

Take my hand. I don't want you to see this.
What you put in your head is there forever?
Yes.
It's okay Papa.
It's okay?
They're already there.
I don't want you to look.
They'll still be there.

HAG-SEED by Margaret Atwood

4 Stars 

Elegant and very clever.

Hag-Seed is a retelling of The Tempest. Atwood takes the premise and overlays a modern tale.The setting, the characters, the plot all take their inspiration from Shakespeare. Issues of imprisonment and vengeance are paramount as this story within a story within a story unfolds. Very clever.

This room has two doors, one at the front and one at the back. It has no windows. It smells faintly of salt and unwashed feet. This is the extent of it, Felix muses. My island domain. My place of exile. My penance. My theater.

While the overlay might seem obvious at first, and it is, The Tempest production set within a real prison, the details are what makes this shine. In particular, the piece that easily catapulted this to 4 star territory, advancing it beyond a mere retelling, is the sublime elegance of the acting teams' post-production wrap ups. The prisoners' summaries and how their lives and criminal history affect their interpretations is simply superb.

This is a book that I came to with no expectations and leave impressed. It is also one I can see revisiting in the future for I feel that there are aspects to it that I might not have appreciated fully in one reading. Therefore, my rating of 4 stars is solid with room for an upgrade at a later date.

ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman

3.5 Stars

Well, that was completely different.

The start of this was a little rough going for me. I had a hard time not wanting to shake Fat Charlie Nancy. He's the kind of guy that's a doormat for about everyone else in his life, and it's a little disheartening. I'm a buck up and cheerleader type, also a slug the A-holes in the face type, though apparently one look is usually enough for someone to reconsider their commitment to a situation. Something about the I don't care if I don't win as long as you lose attitude that makes people wander off to greener, more naive pastures with less chance of downside liability for them.

Anyway, Charlie gets played. All the time, he seems to live under an ill-fated star. But one, just ONE moment of going all in makes all the difference. Sure it causes all kinds of trauma, destruction, and pain, but it is the turning point. For suddenly, as an agent of his own actions, albeit not necessarily the most well-advised course of action, the world starts to change and Charlie's life with it. Of course, things often have to get worse before they get better--and they do.

The use of magical realism and oral lore surrounding Anansi was fun. Trickster gods are always a bit of a pain in the patootie. You like them, but just not that much and much more when they're busy with someone else.

I enjoyed the second half of the story much more than the first. And I should mention that I'm a degenerate and read this before reading AMERICAN GODS, sue me. I live by my own rules! Which in this case is really wandering the library aisles and spotting it. More 3.5 stars than 3, but definitely not 4 stars.

Love libraries, it's like beachcombing for books.

EUPHORIA by Lily King

4 Stars

Being alone is bad, but being left behind is unbearable. There are moments we can distract ourselves, but when they're gone it is miserable.

Yes, I did pick this because of the cover--Gorgeous! But then I scanned reviews and saw my friend Katie had beat me to it, and her comments are what sent me to click the button. It was a great story based on the intersection of three individuals and their accounts of native tribes in New Guinea during the Interwar period.

How can I describe it except as beautifully tragic.

"Was she wine or bread to you?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"It's from an Amy Lowell poem we all loved in college. Wine is sort of thrilling and sensual, bread is familiar and essential."

There is so much loss in this. Characters still reeling from the catastrophic losses of World War I and drifting inexorably into WWII. In many ways, Fen, Andy and Nell are fleeing the modern world and those pressures, but each has their own motivations.

History hung suspended for months. I took solace in the not knowing.

The indigenous tribes being compressed and forced into Western ideals while the observers watch the effects of change. Even their presence living amongst them is a catalyst. The arguing among the three as to the nature of their work and their interpretations is very interesting.

I suppose a reader could take this as an armchair novel, but it's really not. It's filled with issues of self agency and oppression. The prose is lovely, so lovely that the horror creeps in on silent feet. It's always there, waiting for you to notice.

They want to tell their stories[...], they just don't always know how.

I recommend this book. If you read this review, then read the blurb and decide for yourself, but I think if you got to the end of this with any level of curiosity then you might enjoy it.

THE GRAND SOPHY by Georgette Heyer

3.5 Stars

Sophy is a force to be reckoned with.

I enjoyed this a great deal. Sophy was a charming, good-natured, and manipulative heroine. It was impressive to watch her straighten out the Ombersley's household, almost like watching a magician pull the cloth off a fully laden table. Her feats are rather bold and daring, and in some ways unrealistic.

Charles, the sourpuss cousin with the weight of the family on his shoulders, was rather a prig and his betrothed, Eugenia even more so--Ugh. While I enjoyed Sophy's antics I found the wrap up less satisfying. Frankly, Sir Horace was far more interesting than any of the other male characters. I guess, I've been spoiled because Freddy from COTILLON was amazing--practically perfect if every way. I guess if you're a fan of fixing them up kind of romance than this is a win, but I tend to be more prosaic or lazy and assume what you see is about as good as it will ever get.

Overall, entertaining and a bit madcap at times.

IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE by Sinclair Lewis

Currently Reading

Are you kidding me? Yeah, your advertising algorithm sucks:

THE EMERALD CIRCUS by Jane Yolen

3.5 Stars

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I like fairytales and the cover screamed, "Take me. You love me." Many of them are tangential storylines based on children lit masterpieces or the authors: Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland (a few inspirations), Wizard of Oz. Fun, clever, and the tone employed for each is reflective of the original work, but with a critical twist in perspective or takeaway.

Then the stories move to series of Arthurian legends, a fae as well as some folklore inspired stories, and famous personalities like Queen Victoria and Disraeli and Edgar Allan Poe. These are darker in tone. Some are definitely stronger than others, and some are longer than others, but overall I think it is a diverting collection of short stories. Perfect for reading right before bed as you settle in for the night. Never fear, there are end notes about the inspirations for each of the stories to appease reader curiosity.

THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X by Keigo Higashino

5 Stars

Wonderful. I rarely give out five stars, but this one earned it.

My second book that I've read by Higashino and I love his writing. This one was even better than THE NAME OF THE GAME IS A KIDNAPPING, and I can see how readers who enjoyed THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X first might have been disappointed. Again, there's an adroit use of misdirection and again, I I saw so many pieces, but one--a delightful twist.

This appealed to me, and while the mystery itself, the game is great, I enjoyed the interactions between Ishigami and Yukawa best. In fact, the rest of the story became rather irrelevant as I just fell into the story of friendship and competition.

And the math. I suppose I understood Ishigami very well, that compulsion and drive that can tune out reality so that all that is left is the puzzle--it's a very addicting thing where reality is a distraction from the hunt. And while some may find this tragic, I don't. At first perhaps, but when it all settles I think Ishigami has found his answer.

"I told him there is no such thing in this world as a useless cog, and that even a cog may decide how it is to be used."

VIBRATOR NATION: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure by Lynn Comella

4 Stars

This is a thorough overview of feminist sex-toy stores beginning in the 1970s with a strong focus on the ideology and challenges of the business and how it affected American culture and society. It is presented chronologically and emphasizes the organic nature of how the the feminist ideas of female sexuality and sex-positivity expanded and grew.

From Betty Dodson, a sex positivity activist and early proponent of masturbation as an equal sexual act and advocating it as a way for women to understand their bodies and to forget the myth of the vaginal orgasm. Essentially: Learn your body, learn your pleasure. There was a ripple effect in which Dodson's activism led to Dell Williams entrepreneurial enterprise, Eve's Garden after attending one of her body positive meetings. Williams also jumped into the woman's movement, but her viewpoint was only one perspective, and Comella does a good jump framing both the strengths and limitations of Williams' business model that reflected her personal tastes and comfort zones. 

This grows with Joani Blank and Good Vibrations, circa 1980s-early 90s. Blank's focus was on education--promoting various permutations of sexuality as healthy and normal. Encouraging clientele with honest talk, accessible displays for testing vibrators, and non-skeevy merchandising and knowledgeable employees. She fostered a slew of entrepreneurs who followed her business model, and advocated the goal of an accessible sex toy shop in every town. Blank shared all her business data from profits to sources to educational materials. Money wasn't the motivator, rather changing the representation and culture of female sexuality, Her Briarpatch business model was an open-source retail model. Blank eventually transitioned Good Vibrations from a sole ownership to a worker-owned cooperative in 1992. This struggled as the company grew and it transitioned again to a company with shareholders. Eventually, the realities of the changing marketplace played a significant role in Good Vibrations being sold to a mega-store.

Experiential retail. It was a big marketing point for newer stores.Toys in Babeland in NYC, Sugar in Baltimore MD, and others were the seeds of change sprouting across the US, spreading safe spaces to discuss sex and sexuality. 

Product development. Quality assurance became a focal point as did responsible sourcing and supporting conscientious product developers. The feedback and demand in stores helped drive development of everything from dildos to anal sex how-to videos. This eventually becomes a symbiotic relationship between porn and product placement. By encouraging sexual freedom they began to embrace they role of sexual consumption. 

Identity politics is a quagmire. And in many ways, Comella demonstrates this through the myriad of viewpoints on feminism, queer, and gender. The initial emergence of predominately white, middle class feminists, many lesbians to the trending inclusivity of sexes and gender as the nineties progressed; intersectionality came into focus. The queering of heterosexuality, allowing men into the walled gardens, and schisms in ideology---BUT, at the crux of it all there is a definitive, conscious deconstruction of binary heteronormative expressions and the understanding that their business is a community resource. Yes, capitalizing sexuality is their bread and butter, but most of those drawn to sex-positive shops due so out of the need to provide an alternative to what existed. 

Social entrepreneurship with the focus on social change as a driving force for the company is a hallmark of early feminist sex-toy stores. A dysfunctional relationship with money is evident in the earliest stores. Money is a tool, but many of the women coming from moderate to privileged backgrounds seem to have the idea that money is dirty, unwholesome and taking it was contrary to their goals of a social revolution. The predominant overriding viewpoint of feminism and capitalism as antithetical to each other surprised me. This friction is discussed in-depth and by the end I felt like I knew much more than when I began. I recommend it for readers interested in both the changing face of the adult industry and feminism. They do make for interesting bedfellows.

Overall, this focuses on sex positivity and how it came to include the entire spectrum.

FOOL by Christopher Moore

4 Stars

Shakespearean wankfest making a mockery of King Lear in the most entertaining and loving way. Bonk...BONK. 

Perfect black comedy that made me laugh out loud. Pocket is my hero.

"I need to be spanked."
"A constant, I'd agree, lady, but again we're declaring the sky blue, aren't we?"
"I want to be spanked."