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

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