Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is nothing if not irreverent. Having long since read all of Moore's books I've started re-reading some of his earlier works that I discovered all those years ago.

In WWII a bomber, The Sky Priestess, lands on a remote Pacific atoll in Micronesia, Alualu. The people of the island have come to be known as The Shark People, as Alualu is the only place in the world where the sharks are more afraid of the people than the people are of the sharks. The pilot of the Sky Priestess, Vincent, is viewed as a God as he delivers cargo and glimpses of western civilization to the islanders. He also proves much more successful at establishing religion on the island than the Catholic missionary that was recently killed by the Japanese. After all, it's much more impressive having a God that you've actually met in person. Vincent promises to return with more cargo for the Shark People but The Sky Priestess gets shot down by the Japanese before Vincent is able to make good on his promise. And thus a cargo cult is born.

Fast forward a few years and an idealistic Christian missionary doctor, Sebastian tries to succeed where the Catholic priest failed. Unfortunately, for Sebastian, the Cargo Cult has taken hold. The Shark People show crucifixes as 2 propellers crossing each other, they portray any images of Jesus that they see wearing a WWII bomber jacket. They worship Vincent and many even name their children after him.

Sebastian meets Beth an "exotic dancer"/nurse on a trip to San Francisco for a medical seminar.  Beth bears an uncanny resemblance to the woman painted on the fuselage of The Sky Priestess in a photo they both discover at the San Francisco library and a brilliant idea is hatched. Having little luck converting the Shark People to Christianity, Sebastian decides if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and Beth becomes "The Sky Priestess" in a rather unscrupulous medical scheme funded by Japanese businessmen that are keeping Sebastian's mission work on Alualu afloat.

Tucker Case is a bit of a loser, a pilot for a cosmetics magnate that uses his charms to lure middle-aged cosmetics distributors to bed. After an ill-fated in-air dalliance Tucker finds himself seriously maimed and out of a job. Tucker receives a job offer from Sebastian to fly his Lear jet on medical supply runs between Alualu and Japan. Given Tucker's recently revoked pilot license and at that point limited prospects he's encouraged to take the job by his friend, Jake Skye, and a mysterious WWII bomber pilot that keeps mysteriously appearing to him.

On its surface, Island of the Sequined Love Nun is a fun and somewhat whimsical read. Under the surface it's an interesting take on origins of organized religion that the reader may or may not agree with but should at least take the time to ponder. Having read all of Moore's novels before and since reading this one, Island of the Sequined Love Nun has remained a favorite of mine. I'd argue this also makes an interesting companion piece to Moore's much more popular and successful Lamb: The Gospel According to Christ's Childhood Pal, Biff. And Tucker Case was a popular enough character that he made another appearance in Moore's zombie Christmas novel, The Stupidest Angel. All in all, if you're new to Christopher Moore all of his books are thoroughly enjoyable, Island of the Sequined Love Nun is as good a place as any to start your literary journey into Moore's rather quirky imagination.

Related Links
Christopher Moore (official website)
Christopher Moore (wikipedia)

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The plot of The Art of Racing in the Rain is not necessarily original. Nor are the issues of grief, weighing career versus family, or child custody issues… All have been fodder for numerous novels over the years. Where Stein excels is not in the story he tells, but in how he tells the story or perhaps more appropriately WHO is telling the story.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is told from the perspective of Enzo, a mutt that is at least part Labrador Retriever although the rest of his genetic make-up is never really firmly defined. At one point it’s hinted that he’s got a German Shepherd/Poodle mix, although Enzo firmly believes his father was an Airedale Terrier.

While the story is largely about Enzo and his relationship with his owner, Denny, Enzo provides much more of an observational role for Denny, a Nick Carraway to Denny’s Jay Gatsby if you will.

Denny is an aspiring race car driver, trying to make his big break into the world of professional race car driving. Stein does an excellent job creating a sense of empathy and understanding for Enzo, Denny, Denny’s wife Eve, and his daughter Zoë.

Stein’s telling of Denny’s story through Enzo’s eyes also allows him some semblance of detachment and some of Enzo’s observations are scent based and not visual. This gives Enzo a decidedly different perspective on the events that surround him and while not omniscient Enzo does come across as “more knowing” than Denny or his family. He senses the positive and negative intentions of many of the minor characters before Denny does, and gives the book at times a sense of foreshadowing, and at other times it can be somewhat foreboding (in particular the chapter in which Enzo describes the true nature of crows).

There’s also a sense of longing and frustration throughout the book that stems from Enzo’s desire to be human or at least be able to communicate with Denny, Eve, and Zoë better than he does. And at his core, Enzo is more human than canine, a human soul trapped in a dog’s body.

From start to finish The Art of Racing in the Rain is both a compelling, original, and enjoyable read. It feels like a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It falls short of that fifth star largely because the ending feels slightly rushed but more because at times Enzo’s innate “human-ness” really challenges the reader’s suspension of disbelief. If Stein had just slightly toned down Enzo’s “human-ness” and made him a bit more canine he would have been a bit more believable. These are minor quibbles though and should not be reasons to avoid reading this original and otherwise excellent novel.

Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All by Christina Thompson

Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All is both a history and a memoir wrapped in a unique little package. It's a story of both Christina Thompson's marriage to a Maori man and the history of the relationship between the Paheka (Europeans), Maoris, and other Polynesians. It's also an observation of how the perceptions the Paheka have of the Maori and vice versa have shaped those cultures since the first meeting of Maoris and Paheka.

The book succeeds quite well as a history. Thompson's approach to the history of the relationship of the two cultures is both informative and engaging. Where the book gets a little more shaky is as a memoir. At times I could relate to Thompson's description of the pull she felt towards the South Pacific as I too have felt a similar pull. But at other times when writing about her life, Thompson came across as so detached from what was going on that she seemed to be more an observer than a participant in her own life.

From an anthropological standpoint, this actually works quite well and certainly to Thompson's benefit. Yet at the same time it left me wondering whether she was actually living her life or was merely along for the ride, content to watch. While I felt a connection to Thompson early on, as the book progressed her writing style seemed to grow increasingly more detached. I almost felt as if I was watching the shift first hand, from participant to observer of one's own life.

There are certainly benefits to objectivity and for a history book, objectivity is certainly something to strive for. But in a memoir, generally readers prefer to feel some connection to or empathy for the author and when an author is too objective that connection becomes increasingly more difficult to make.

With all that said, this is still a book I would recommend as Thompson raises excellent and intriguing points and questions. In a letter to her three sons which she included in the book she even goes so far as to say:

“in each of you is a little bit of the conqueror and the conquered, the colonizer and the colonized.”

How does one reconcile being the child of both a culture that was ravaged by European conquest and the child of the European culture that ravaged them? And how do mixed culture parents raise children in such an environment?

In the end, as much as I enjoyed this book, I feel I would have enjoyed it considerably more had it been a bit more personal and a bit less detached. The connection I felt with Thompson early in the book faded as the book progressed. The history was intriguing, the questions raised were thought provoking, but in a memoir there should be a bit more of an emotional investment on the part of the reader. But it's the obligation of the author to create that connection. And while Thompson certainly created that connection, I found it to be much weaker than with other memoirs that I've read.

Related Links
Come On Shore (official website)
Come On Shore And We Will Kill and Eat You All (Amazon.com)

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

Having been disappointed with the last two Nick Hornby novels that I've read (How to Be Good and A Long Way Down) I was a little wary when I started Juliet, Naked would this be a continued slump or would it be a return to form of his first two novels (High Fidelity and About a Boy)?

While still not as good as either High Fidelity or About a Boy, Juliet, Naked is a step back in the right direction.

Annie and Duncan have been together 15 years. Duncan is a huge fan of a fictitious Dylan meets Springsteen meets Leonard Cohen type musician, Tucker Crowe. He writes articles about him, goes on pilgrimages of places of notoriety from Tucker's life and career. He not only listens to but dissects every Tucker Crowe recording he has.

While on tour in Minneapolis in the eighties, Tucker Crowe went to the loo and then left the bar where he was watching a local band that had been recommended to him. He promptly cancelled his tour and retreated from the public eye. In his absence from the public eye, his legend grew within his small but rabid circle of devoted fans which included, Duncan.

With the money running low, Tucker agreed to the release of the demoes and rehearsal recordings from his final and most critically acclaimed album, Juliet. This new version aptly titled Juliet, Naked (perhaps a tip of the hat to The Beatles Let It Be... Naked). Upon receiving a pre-release copy of the album Duncan is giddy with delight and posts a glowing review on one of the many Tucker Crowe message boards that he frequents.

Upon hearing the album, Annie, who has been following Duncan's fervor for Crowe, decides to post a review of her own. One considerably less glowing... How could this album with stripped down early versions of Crowe's greatest album be superior to the much more polished finished product?

Her honesty prompts a thankful email from the reclusive Crowe himself... and that's where the story really takes off.

The one consistency in all of Hornby's novels, even his sub-par ones, is a sense of natural empathy. He includes just the right details to make the characters seem that much more real to the readers. Being such a devout lover of music himself, he understands what makes those of us who have over the top fascinations with our favorite bands tick.

The book is at times an examination of what it means to be a music fan. And without coming out and asking it, one of the questions the book poses-- when being a fan of music, are you a fan of the music that has been created or a fan of the person or people who created that music? Is it possible to be a fan of one and not the other. The book is also an examination of the songwriting process. The very things that made Tucker Crowe such a great songwriter also proved to be his undoing as a father and a husband.

At the same time this is a very human story about two people at a crossroads in their respective lives taking stock of where their lives have been and whether or not they can change the kinetic momentum of the past pushing them to perpetuate the mistakes of their past. And these two people make a very real and tangible connection. On that level this book can appeal to just about anyone.

If you are or ever have been a die-hard fan of a band or musician, if you've ever had a staggering devotion to that band, gone on pilgrimages to sites pivotal in the history of those bands, followed some of that band/musician on tour, collected bootlegs of that band, or analyzed consumed and digested the entire discography of that band this book WILL resonate with you. It speaks to the music fans in all of us.

Related Links
Juliet Naked on Amazon.com
Juliet, Naked (wikipedia)
Nick Hornby (Official Site)
Nick Hornby (wikipedia)
The Blue Scarf (a blog inspired by Nick Hornby's Songbook)

The Little Book by Selden Edwards

The Little Book by Selden Edwards

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Time-travel tales, as intricate as they are, require a special touch, a unique understanding of cause and effect. As such they are incredibly easy to write poorly and at the same time quite difficult to write well.

There is a long tradition to the cyclical nature of these tales, beginning, arguably with Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Flying Trunk and continued a century later with Richard Matheson's Somewhere in Time in the 1970s and most recently with Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife.

Over 30 years in the making, Selden Edwards The Little Book is a wonderful addition to the fine tradition of the well-written time-travel tale.

The book reads like a puzzle, the reader starts with a collection of pieces and characters-- The Haze, Dilly, Wheeler, Weezie, and Flora-- all of which with deep back stories that adds an extra dimension to the novel. Slowly but surely, little by little these pieces fall together to create a cohesive picture, the loose ends get tied up and a beautiful portrait of turn-of-the-century Vienna, Austria is created.

Edwards does an exceptional job-- not with merely the compelling characters he has created but with the lush portrait of Vienna at its cultural apex. In making the fiction feel so real and comfortable, Edwards is also able to create believable portrayals of historical figures like Buddy Holly, Sigmund Freud, and Gustav Mahler. And if you're now left wondering how Buddy Holly ties in to a time-travel tome set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, you'll just have to read the book.


View all my reviews.

Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper

Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This being my second foray into the writings of Jonathan Tropper (the first being How to Talk to a Widower) I continue to be impressed by his writing.

While there are definite similarities in plot between the two books-- conflicted male who thinks his life is in order is faced with adversity and the true uncertainties of life to test his limits-- there are enough differences and the characters in Everything Changes are flawed enough to be believable and likable and there are still enough differences between his works to not give the impression that each book is just a re-tread of each previous book.

Zack King is not always a likable character but he's believable enough that even when you may not particularly like him, even when you want to reach into the book and throttle some sense into the lad, you care enough about him to keep reading and learn whether or not he'll ever figure it out on his own and still come out on top.


View all my reviews.

Mine All Mine by Adam Davies

Mine All Mine by Adam Davies
rating: 4 of 5 stars

After having finished 3 of Adam Davies novels, one thing has remained consistent-- his prose is crisp and his characters while not always likable, are flawed enough to feel human and real-- like people who could exist.

Mine All Mine, while predictable at times, remains an enjoyable read. Otto Sparks despite his self-developed immunities to a wide array of pharmacological poisons, is still flawed enough to be believably human.

This is Davies first attempt at a suspense/crime caper style novel and while it's not the best novel of this type I've read it certainly shows promise and it does have considerably more believable characters than many mass market suspense novels.

If Davies plot development continues to grow to eventually match his strong character development his future novels will be further improvements above and beyond his existing novels which have grown better with each successive tome.

Into the Wild (2007)

Growing up, I always found myself getting lost in books and films about surviving the elements or daunting odds; The Call of the Wild, Empire of the Sun, Castaway, Robinson Crusoe, etc. So it was little surprise that Into the Wild resonated with me.

Emile Hirsch turns a brilliant performance as Christopher McCandless, a young man with a troubled family life who opts to disappear. The film is of course about his inevitable trek "into the wild" of Alaska-- but it focuses equally on the bonds McCandless forms with the people he meets and the friendships he forges on his journey.

What makes the film so work is the familiarity established with the friends McCandless makes and the bonds he develops. These bonds help to make him that much more human and while his motives may not be easy for all to understand his basic human nature is never in doubt.

In addition to Hirsch's brilliant performance as McCandless, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, and Hal Holbrook also turned fantastic performances.

If Sean Penn continues to make films of this caliber hopefully he'll finally be convinced that he's much more skilled behind the camera than he is in front of it.

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman

Being a comic book geek I was really hoping, no EXPECTING to enjoy this book. And admittedly at times it was kind of quirky and fun, but I think going forward if I want to read about super-heroes I'll stick to the comic books and avoid novels like this.

Remember that movie, Mystery Men with Ben Stiller from a few years ago? This book had a similar feel to it... and much like Mystery Men it fell completely flat.

The characters are interesting enough but they're also quite two-dimensional. Comic book writers do a much better job at giving their characters depth-- whether the lack of dimension was an intentional spoof on the negative stereotypes of comic books or just poor writing is uncertain. The overall predictability of the plot and the ending which seemed to have come from left field could also have been an intentional lampoon of comic lore and legend or much like the lack of dimension of the characters it might just have been poor writing.

Either way, if this was a spoof it was rather poorly done and rather than poke fun at the negative stereotypes of comic books and comic book fandom it will only serve to perpetuate them or even if it was just poor writing, well the author might want to switch to material he's more familiar with and leave the super heroes to the pros over at DC and Marvel.

Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy

Dynasty is not a word one would generally use to describe the Chicago Cubs. But in the first decade of the twentieth century they were just that...

Between 1906 and 1910 the Chicago Cubs appeared in the World Series four times (missing the series only in 1909), winning twice (1907 and 1908).

While the 1908 World Series was a bit of a snore with the Cubs handily defeating the Detroit Tigers in five games, the season and National League pennant race leading up to that Series was a nailbiter right to the very end with the Cubs, NY Giants, and Pittsburgh Pirates all in stiff competition for the NL pennant.

Crazy '08 is the story of that season.

Murphy's writing truly stands out. You can hear the cracks of the bats, the roars and jeers of the crowds, you can see in your minds eye the minutae of every game Murphy describes. You truly feel as though you're at the Polo Grounds or West Side Park (the predecessor to Wrigley Field). You can feel the wind on every pitch by "Matty" (Christy Mathewson) or "Three-Finger" Brown.

Crazy '08 isn't just a book, it's a time machine to the oft overlooked deadball era of baseball when the homeruns may have been few and far between, pitchers were iron-men who would not only pitch full games-- but sometimes even double-headers, and the game was much more fast-paced (some games wrapped up in as little as 72 minutes) and relied much more on offensive and defensive strategies as a result.

In addition to chronicling the 1908 baseball season, Murphy also describes the events of the day to put the reader within the context of the times. Making the book not just a snapshot of the deadball era of baseball, but of the events of 1908 in general.

If you only ever read one book about baseball Crazy '08 should be at the top of your list.

Working Stiff by Grant Stoddard

Remember that guy in high school? The wallflower? The one who didn’t get any play… No action, whatsoever? Yeah you know the one, or maybe you were him. All schools have at least one of them. Hell I was one of them and so was writer Grant Stoddard which is probably why his book, Working Stiff resonated with me so well. I’d recommend it to wallflowers every where as it would have given me hope had I had it to read when I was a shy wallflower in high school. If you were a wallflower, or perhaps even if you weren’t, you remember those days when you were less than lucky in love. When everything seemed to be going wrong with that special someone, or with the objects of your affection in general? This book would have come in really handy on those occasions.

That being said, Stoddard’s shift from wallflower to sexpert is more the exception, not the rule. But if he can pull off such an incredible 180 with regards to his relationships with the fairer sex, that should be enough to give wallflowers everywhere at least that glimmer of hope that even if they have a fraction of his success, everything will be okay.

In Working Stiff, Stoddard shares the tale of the strange twist of fate that turned him from a shy wallflower in his native England to a sex columnist for Nerve, a sexually themed online magazine. From taking clothing optional bridge lessons from a guy who thought nothing of leaving his equine-esque cock out for all to see to attending LeatherCamp, to getting a massage with a “happy ending,” or even sploshing with a kinky gay couple, the breadth of Stoddard’s sexual experiences, experiences “he did for science,” are beyond the realm of the sexual imaginations of many of his readers.

That Stoddard experienced these things is amazing in and of itself, that he got paid to not only do these things but to recount his tales for Nerve is even more incredible. He had no aspirations or illusions of ever being a writer. Yet he was given this opportunity that many of the interns at Nerve would have gone to hell and back just to get a byline in the magazine.

What makes Working Stiff such an enjoyable read is its accessibility, Grant takes you with him on his journey of sexual awakening and shares his perceptions and feelings before during and after some of his more outrageous sexploits.

Give Stoddard a chance, you won't be disappointed, Working Stiff is a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish and is not to be missed.

At the Mercy of the Sea by John Kretschmer

John Kretschmer, a professional sailor and writer has logged over 200,000 sailing miles including fifteen transatlantic and two transpacific passages. So to say that Kretschmer knows of what he writes would be a gross understatement.

Not being a professional or even amateur sailor myself I was appreciative of Kretschmer using "layman's terms" as much as possible without coming across as condescending as experts often do when they speak to those not as educated in their particular areas of expertise.

At the Mercy of the Sea is a true and rather personal tale of three sailors, including Kretschmer's close friend, Carl Wake, who found themselves caught in the stormy waters of Hurricane Lenny in 1999.

Perhaps what makes this tale so saddening was the unpredictability of Hurricane Lenny-- which defied conventional wisdom, predictions, and a long history of hurricanes and did its own things. The three sailors-- Carl Wake, Steve Rigby, and Guillaume Llobregat followed conventional wisdom and meteoroligical forecasts of the path of Hurricane Lenny in an effort to avert his destructive ways. And because this hurricane was loathe to be tied to the conventions of traditional hurricanes, traveling west to east instead of east to west or even east to northeast and curling up the Atlantic coast. In many ways Lenny was as much a character of this book as Wake, Rigby, and Llobregat were.

Kretschmer does an exceptional job of humanizing Wake, Rigby, and Llobregat. He spends most of his time focused on Wake as he knew Wake as a friend and thus felt more comfortable about accurately describing his friend's actions. Having extensively interviewed the friends and family of both Steve Rigby and Guillaume Llobregat Kretschmer did a respectable job of humanizing them as well, but despite his best efforts both Llobregat and Rigby came across more as supporting characters and Wake came across more as a "lead."

The book is rather pulse-pounding and does for sailing what The Perfect Storm did for fishermen. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish and is as suspenseful as many of the dime-a-dozen pulp suspense novels that can be found in airports all over the nation-- what sets it apart-- unlike those pulp novels, this is real and Kretschmer's writing style allows the reader to taste the saltwater, feel the wind and the fatigue one might experience from solo sailing. And I hope, for my own sake, this book is the closest I ever get to sailing through a category four or five Hurricane.

Too Far From Home by Chris Jones

Many people clearly remember the Columbia shuttle disaster in February 2003. However, what is often forgotten are the three men who were stuck on the International Space Station when the shuttle program was grounded following the Columbia disaster.

In November 2002 astronauts Ken Bowersox and Donald Pettit and cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin were delivered to the International Space Station on the Endeavour to relieve Expedition 5.

Expedition 6 was scheduled to return to Earth in March 2003 on the Atlantis but after the Columbia disaster, that mission was cancelled and the shuttle program was grounded indefinitely leaving three men stranded on the US Space Station... This book is their story.

Two of the most compelling aspects of this thoroughly interesting and imminently enjoyable read are the astronauts reluctance to leave, even after being "stuck" their two months longer than initially scheduled and the fact that their return to Earth marked the first time United States astronauts returned to Earth on a Russian built spacecraft-- the Soyuz TMA-1.

This book is an extrapolation of an article author Chris Jones wrote for Esquire fully detailing the experiences of the stranded astronauts, their families, and how the Russian and American space programs brought them home after the shuttle program had been grounded.

In addition to tales of the astronauts of Expedition 6, Jones also gives interesting anecdotes of both the United States and Russian Space Programs of which he is quite familiar. This book makes an excellent companion to any fan of the US or Russian space programs complementing books such as Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff or the film, Apollo 13.

Related Links
Too Far From Home (Amazon.com link)
Expedition 6 (Wikipedia link)
Ken Bowersox (Wikipedia link)
Don Pettit (Wikipedia link)
Nikolai Budarin (Wikipedia link)
International Space Station (Wikipedia link)
Columbia Space Shuttle (Wikipedia link)
Endeavour Space Shuttle (Wikipedia link)

Getting Stoned With Savages by J. Maarten Troost

Ever dreamed of turning your back on your life, your job, traffic, and all the stress that comes with it and moving to a small remote island in the South Pacific?

J. Maarten Troost and his wife did just that. Originally the plan was to quit his job, and for his wife to transfer to her company's offices in Fiji. Fortunately or unfortunately-- depending how you look at it-- life had a way of changing those plans. A coup in Fiji and Troost getting laid off from his job expedited the move and changed its location... And before they knew it Troost and wife, Sylvia, were on their way to Vanuatu. A pregnancy and a doctor's urging to, if at all possible, NOT have their child in Vanuatu in turn expedited their eventual move to Fiji.

As far as travel memoirs go, this is one of the better I've read (not that I've read a lot of them). The snippets of humor and general lightheartedness make this book an easy and, at just over 200 pages, rather swift read.

Troost's writing style comes across as what one might expect if they were to bump into him at their local pub. His portrayal of South Pacific island life isn't entirely glamorous. He makes a good point of including the good, the bad, and the ugliness of his experiences with the natives, the weather, and the local wildlife.

In short, it's a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit short, read that keeps this reader hoping that there is more to come from this author.

Related Links
Getting Stoned With Savages (Amazon.com link)
The Sex Lives of Cannibals (Troost's first book, Amazon.com link)
J. Maarten Troost (Rolf Potts' Vagabonding Interview)
The Sex Lives of Cannibals (Review on blogcritics.org)

Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart

Once in awhile a cleverly written book with an unusual protagonist comes to my attention. On the recommendation of a friend, I gave this delightfully peculiar tome a chance. Gary Shteyngart did not disappoint.

Misha Vainberg is a spoiled overweight Russian heir to a fortune his father accumulated in post-Soviet Russia. Misha wants to believe that the world is generally good as are the people he encounters. Unfortunately, in his encounters he learns that the world and its people are far from scrupulous and there was and is more to his father than he'd realized.

After a brief stint in the United States attending college at the fictituous midwestern "Accidental College" (a not so subtle jab at many private midwestern liberal arts colleges such as Albion, Adrian, Alma, and Antioch) and living briefly in Manhattan Misha reluctantly returns to Russia.

Due to his father's shady dealings, an Oklahoman with the ironic name of Roger Daltrey, ends up dead. And thus poor Misha Vainberg is denied re-entry into the United States and a reunion with his girlfriend, Rouenna Sales, from the Bronx.

The book is written as an appeal to INS, or perhaps a love letter to America where Misha so desperately desires to return to. In Misha's struggle to secure a false Belgian passport in the fictitious former Soviet Republic Absurdistan he encounters a bevy of fun and unusual characters. The book is an exceptional satire of the American dream as soon through the foreign eyes of burgeoning democracies, the defense industry, and even takes a few not so subtle jabs at Haliburton.

The one flaw of this otherwise enjoyable tale is the intellectual condescension that seeps through in Shteyngart's writing. Misha's attraction to Rouenna is largely due to their multicultural pairing. He seems to have a hero complex, like he's rescuing a poor girl from the Bronx. Maybe he is doing just that, but there's still that hint of condescension that he's better or knows better what's best for her. The poor are portrayed as an object of pity, whether or not they're deserving of that pity is beside the point. Granted, this is a minor flaw, that only detracts slightly from Shteyngart's enjoyable writing style.

Related Links
Absurdistan on Amazon.com
An Interview with Gary Shteyngart (Del Sol Literary Dialogues)
Absurdistan NY Times review

Goodbye Lemon by Adam Davies

I was "burned" on Davies debut, The Frog King, I found it a rather mediocre tale. It was given to me by a coworker all too familiar with my love of Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City. I gave The Frog King a try as it had a similar premise-- young writer guy in NY struggling to find himself gets his heart broken and has to re-define himself after messing up his relationship. Where McInerney succeded, Davies had failed. For all his faults, I was still able to make an emotional connection with McInerney's main character-- the same could not be said for Harry Driscoll, Davies' protagonist in The Frog King.

But I believe in giving second chances-- and after reading Davies Goodbye Lemon am I ever glad I did! Every once in awhile I'll read a book which packs a rather emotional sucker punch to the gut. I hadn't read one in awhile, so Goodbye Lemon was a very welcome and long overdue sucker punch.

The Frog King's Harry Driscoll was a rather unlikable louse who essentially got what he deserved-- he cheated on his girlfriend, she left him. Good for her-- and despite Davies best efforts to make Driscoll a likable character he really wasn't. On the flip-side, Goodbye Lemon's Jackson Tennant was an incredibly human and tragically flawed character. Sure he made mistakes, he carried with him a huge ball of hate-- a ball of hate that was everything he knew, a ball of hate based on his perception of the events surrounding the death of his older brother, Dex, when they were still children.

This is a book of love-- it's not the dime-store romance drivel. It's not romantic love at all which is what makes it so refreshing. The "guy meets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl back" is dime-a-dozen "dick-lit" (the male equivalent of chick-lit)-- much of it is just poor man's Hemmingway or Fitzgerald (it seems all the protagonists in those novels are modeled on Jake Barnes from The Sun Also Rises). Goodbye Lemon instead focuses much more heavily on fraternal and paternal love and how one tragic event was able to turn a family inside out and tear them apart and how it took another near-tragedy to pull that family back together.

Jack is not generally a likable guy. But his flaws are tangible and real which makes him sympathetic even in those parts of the book where one might want to reach into the pages and knock some sense into him. While the novel starts by focusing on Jack's relationship with his girlfriend, Hahva, it takes a rather dramatic shift in focus to the relationship between Jack and his brother Pressman and his estrangement from and his desire to become the antithesis of his father for whom he carries a profound hatred.

The book does have its comic moments, but essentially it's rather heartfelt and poignant in its own stark masculine way and has made it into my favorite books list-- I'd say number 4 with a bullet. So, if you're looking for something a little different than the dime-a-dozen dick-lit contemporary fiction, Goodbye Lemon is just what the doctor ordered.

The Big Bamboo by Tim Dorsey

Florida is an unusual state-- this is a fact which is made evident by the writings of Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, and the lesser known Tim Dorsey.

Dorsey, a long time contributor to various Floridian newspapers, is quite familiar to all of Florida's various eccentricities. Dorsey's brainchild, Serge A. Storms, a frenetic, unhinged, yet imminently likable chap has graced all of Dorsey's novels either as the major character or as a major supporting character.

Using Storms, Dorsey perpetually illustrates the eccentricities that set Florida apart from other states, the over-abundance of senior citizens, Cubans, and all the various other unique characters that make Florida so... well... Florida.

While not as reknown as Barry or Hiaasen, Dorsey's brand of humor is just as thoroughly enjoyable. No one is immune to Dorsey's humorous jabs in his most recent offering-- The Big Bamboo, a hilarious send-up of the celebrity culture of Los Angeles as Serge and his perpetually drug-addled cohort, Coleman, take a trip to the City of Angels in Serge's latest pet project-- returning the film industry to Florida. In the process Serge and Coleman get themselves involved in a bizarre kidnapping scheme and find themselves being chased by the Japanese mafia and some Alabaman oil barons who worship anything and everything that has to do with SEC college football.

While the vanity, self-importance, pretension, and general atmosphere of Los Angeles are incredibly easy targets for Dorsey-- he does manage to insert plenty of amusing jabs to keep the reader chuckling throughout the book. This may not be Dorsey's best offerings, but it's certainly not his worst either and is as enjoyable as any of his other comedic offerings. All of his satirical barbs at Los Angeles do seem to find their mark despite being rather predictable and cliche.

Long Way Back by Brendan Halpin

Brendan Halpin writes from the heart, after having read his 2 memoirs (It Takes a Worried Man and Losing My Faculties) and his other novel (Donorboy), I knew what I was in for.

Halpin writes in an unapologetic, emotional, heart on the sleeve style. Without giving too much away, Long Way Back is about loss and the healing power of music.

The characters-- Clare and Francis are imminently likable and believably human in their qualities and traits. There's nothing about this novel which would make a "suspension of disbelief" a requirement, it's inherently believable. The cliches the book sometimes falls prey to are the very cliches many of us encounter and experience in life and are, thus, forgivable.

While my musical tastes are considerably different than the tastes of many of the characters in Long Way Back, I found myself still being able to relate due to my own feelings about the music I do like. The connection the characters had to the music they enjoyed was something I found myself easily relating to.

In a nutshell Clare and Francis are brother and sister. Clare is the typical protective older sister who gets her younger brother, Francis, into punk rock (in particular, The Ramones) and throughout much of her life she remains in awe with Francis connection with God. Tragedy strikes and her brother's faith is shaken to its core. Clare has to continue to find her way despite the loss of her brother's shining example of faith.

In light of his tragedy, Clare has to help her brother find his "long way back"-- she's a constant beacon of support as Francis initially just goes through the motions and eventually finds something to fill in the void left behind when he lost his faith.

From start to finish this is a thoroughly enjoyable, if light, read. At just over 200 pages, as far as books go, this is a "light snack" and despite the occassionally heavy subject matter, Halpin manages to keep the overall tone relaxed.

And You Know You Should Be Glad by Bob Greene

For years Bob Greene was a regular columnist for the Chicago Tribune his columns evoked a common Midwestern everyman feel to them. He wrote about the things people cared about and he wrote those things from the heart.

And You Know You Should Be Glad is a natural extension of his columns-- the biography of a friendship, Greene's lifelong friendship with Jack Roth. But in Greene's friendship with Jack we're given a journey of exploration into our own friendships. We as readers can understand the emotional journey of the friendship as most of us have had or still have that friend. The one with whom you don't need to tell how you feel because he already knows. That friend who instinctively knows when to call you without being asked and that friend whom you would drop everything for if you were ever called upon to do so.

Greene was asked to do just that when called by another in his fabulous fivesome of Allen, Chuck, Dan, and Jack (and of course Bob Greene himself):

"Give me a call," the voice continued. "It's about Jack. He's a little ill, and I wanted to explain it to you." Chuck had never couched a sentence in words like that in our lives.

With a simple phone call the emotional journey begins. As someone who believes life is about the journey rather than the destination. This book exemplifies that very spirit. The book is a journey. In the end, we all know the destination. But Greene does an excellent job of making this book not so much about that destination but about the journey of friendship he took with Allen, Chuck, Dan, and Jack.

We feel those bonds of friendship with his friends because many of us have felt those very same bonds with friends of our own. We come to know and enjoy the inside jokes and the "you had to be there" style of stories of the adventures he and his friends went on together in this long journey called life.

In the end this book isn't just the biography of a friendship, it's a tribute to good friendships everywhere. It works so well because, much like with Greene's old Tribune columns, it strikes a chord with all of us.

Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook by Martin Dugard

Captain Cook was the epitome of sea captains. He was also an anomaly in a nation of rigid class structure. The England of eighteenth century was one in which only those of noble birth could ever hope of becoming captains in the Royal Navy. Despite the odds being heavily stacked against him and turning his back on what would have been a far more financially lucrative career as a commercial sea captain, Cook started over from scratch in the Royal Navy.

He rose through the ranks, and against all odds, in a politically volatile climate he betrayed the odds and was given command of the HMS Bark Endeavour-- his mission, to find the Antarctic continent and to map the transit of Venus across the path of the sun-- an astronimical event which happens only once every century which would allow sailors to navigate by the stars with far greater accuracy than they ever had before.

A bit of an adventure junkie himself, Martin Dugard, chose Captain Cook as his subject matter in his quest to determine what drives men of adventure to forsake the comforts of normalcy, the wife, the kids, the white picket fence, in favor of a life of exploration and adventure to lands never before seen by western eyes.

It's Dugard's adventurer's perspective which makes Farther Than Any Man an incredibly compelling read. History books often come across as dry and boring, forsaking the humanity of history for the events, the facts, the dates, the times, and places. Farther Than Any Man does not fall prey to the same fate. Much like Laurence Bergreen's account of Magellan's circumnavigation, Over the Edge of the World, Farther Than Any Man reads like a novel. A story of man's against the odds rise to power and subsequent fall from grace. It also reads as a study in the power of our ego to both build us up and subsequently tear us back down-- how that ego is at times a blessing and at other times a curse.

At a mere 304 pages the book reads at a brisk and enjoyable pace and does not get bogged down by copious footnotes or endnotes. Although it's best to keep in mind that this is a journalist's account and not a historian's account of Cook's voyages, while it reads as briskly as Bergreen's Over the Edge of the World it's not nearly as well researched and thus one of the common complaints of the book is that many of the smaller details in the book are incorrect. As a result, unlike Over the Edge of the World which is likely to become the definitive book on Magellan's circumnavigation, Farther Than Any Man will only ever be considered an enjoyable and fanciful introduction to Captain James Cook. While it makes an enjoyable companion piece when reading of Cook's life and travels it is by no means a definitive work.