BOOK REVIEWS Of Books Read in 2000

Historical Fiction

General

• Possession by A.S. Byatt, ©1990, Vintage International, pp. 555 - This book took a while to get into. It is the story of two researchers of literary people - Christabel Lamotte and Raymond Ashe. The tale twists and turns around found letters and is quite convoluted. The writing is good, and once you get into the book, quite interesting.

• Still Life by A.S. Byatt, ©1985, Scribner, pp. 384 - This is the beginning of a trilogy telling of the Potter's family life. The main character, Frederica, starts this as a teen-ager concerned, consumed with not being a virgin by the end of the novel. Again, a complicated book that needs more space than I allow it. There is the interesting story of Marcus, the son, and his loss of sanity and his relationship with the geometry of the world that ends with him moving into sister, Stephanie's house.

• The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt, ©1992, Vintage International, pp. 428 - The continuing saga that ends with the death of Stephanie behind the refrigerator.  The philosophical and psychological components of the tale are again quite complicated.

• Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos, ©1921, 1997, Bantam Classic, pp. 454 - An antiwar novel that, while it does deal with three soldiers, tells basically the tale of John Andrews. The other two soldiers are dealt with on a superficial level, while Andrews is actually developed. There are poignant scenes and memorable lines, not as good as U.S.A. trilogy, and I was disappointed that the book was written so straightforward.

• Tom Sawyer Abroad/Tom Sawyer, Detective by Mark Twain, © 1982, University of California Press, pp. 193 - Two novellas that continue the adventures narrated by Huck, after he lit out for the territories, I suppose. Of the two, TS Abroad is my favorite. It seems to have more of the type of insights that I have come to expect from Twain. The detective story is just that, and after reading so many detective stories, it isn't even that good of one.

• Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passo, © 1925, 1953, Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 404 - Now this is more the Dos Passos I was expecting. There are multiple story lines, some of which don't seem to be resolved, and each chapter opens with a vignette. Sometimes, it seems to me that these are worth the reading time on their own. "The rumetybump rupetybump spaced out, slackened; bumpers banged all down the train," (78) is just one example of how Dos Passos plays with language and uses it to his own ends. Pictures and sounds form in the mind of the reader as the book goes along. I think that this was what was missing in Three Soldiers.

• A Separate Peace by John Knowles, © 1959, 1975, Bantam Books, pp. 196 - A reread of a book I will have to teach this year. I forgot many of the pertinent facts over the years. This is an interesting coming-of-age tale that will bring up many issues in the classroom. I wonder, though, how much students will connect with the whole war issue. But, ideas like, "If you broke the rules, they broke you," (66), will create enough tension that it might become controversial.

• The Complete Enderby by Anthony Burgess, © 1996, Carroll & Graf, pp. 630 - This is actually four novels,  Inside Mr. Enderby, Enderby Outside, The Clockwork Testament, and Enderby's Dark Lady. I had read the first two years ago and they introduced me to one of my favorite authors, Mr. Burgess. This is a tale of an English poet, who seems to be unappreciated in his own time but through the use of time-travel, appreciated by the future readers, that reveals his triumphs, descent into insanity (defined by the shrinks) and his road back.  The interesting thing about this collection is that the latter two books are actually alternate endings to the trilogy. Burgess' writing is intelligent, one of the first authors to send me scurrying to the dictionary on a regular basis, and thought provoking. It was definitely worth the reread.

• Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin, © 1968, Doubleday & Co., pp. 370 - Leo Proudhammer is a successful black stage actor when there aren't any others. He suffers a heart attack on stage and spends his recovery reliving his life. This is a novel that blends sexuality, racism, and other social issues smoothly. Baldwin explores American society through the eyes and memory of Proudhammer. This is a thought-provoking novel, though not quite the powerhouse that Go Tell It On the Mountain is.

• Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, © 1956, Laurel Books, pp. 224 - A novel that explores the sexuality of an American man in France and the confusion he faces when he  realizes that he is gay, this book must have been quite controversial when first published. David, the main character, is ostensibly involved with Hella who is traveling in Spain, when he falls in with Giovanni. David decides to move in with Giovanni because he is beautiful, and David is down on his luck. The novel follows this doomed relationship to the gallows, or guillotine, after David, in disgust with himself, dumps Giovanni.  Baldwin handles the sex scenes with restraint, but delves into the mind of David with a pickax.

• The Beet Queen by Louise Erdich, © 1986, Henry Holt, pp. 339 - This book follows the life of Mary Adare and her brother, Karl, from the point their mother abandons them for a barnstorming pilot until her goddaughter is crowned Beet Queen in a rigged election. Erdich explores this North Dakota landscape through the eyes of several narrators and sees the events from many perspectives. It is an interesting book that borders on the bizarre.

• e  by Matt Beaumont, © 2000, Plume Books, pp. 344 - The epistolary novel has evolved from Richard’s Pamela through Barth’s Letters to Beaumont’s e. A book of emails from an ad agency in London, e follows the travails of characters the reader knows only from their correspondence, from David Crutton, the technologically inept CEO, to Liam O’Keefe, the company letch. This is a hilarious book that is hard to stop reading.

• Pilgrim By Timothy Findley, © 2000, HarperCollins Publisher, pp. 481 - Pilgrim just wants to die and no one will let him or help him. He is a supernatural being that cannot die and has come back to life by himself. To help him, his friend takes him to a clinic in Switzerland where he is treated by Jung. Findley has a knack for bringing historic figures like Jung alive, and weaves in the fictional characters well enough to make them believable.

• The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq, ©1999, Borzoi Books, pp. 264 - This was an extremely controversial novel when first published in France. It tells the story of two brothers, one a genetic researcher, the other, a dissolute letch. It is a dark story that invokes much thought.

• JR by William Gaddis, © 1971, Penguin Books, pp. 726 - This was one of the hardest books I've ever read. It is told through dialogue with few clues about who is speaking. It is the story of a kid who, through shrewd dealings, becomes the head of a multimillion dollar corporation. Parts are extremely funny, others are just confusing. This is a book that I will have to read again to catch all of the nuances.

• The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwell, © 1993, Talese/Doubleday Books, pp. 466 - Four women's lives are intermingled, ex-college buddies, with one being the influence of evil.  Zenia, the evil one, manipulates the other three, through relationships with the men in their lives, like marionettes. The writing is strong, but this book is not as good as The Handmaid's Tale.

• Cassada by James Salter, © 2001, Counterpoint, pp. 256 - Most writers are satisfied with revising novels before they are published. Salter has taken The Arm of Flesh, revised it, and turned it into a new novel. Set in postwar Germany, this tells the story of a fighter wing, how the pilots deal with replacements, and of the isolation felt by them. At first, the narrative swoops through the skies seemingly without purpose, a reconnaissance,  only to focus like a gun sight on Isbell and Cassada as they try to land their planes. One is left to wonder on the intentions of both.

• The Midnight Side by Natasha Mostert, © 2001, William Morrow, pp. 288 - By the time I put this book down the first time, I was 175 pages into it. Alette reaches out from the grave to pull her cousin, Isa, much like the reader, into an adventure far from home. It is extremely well-written, with enough twists of plot plait a twenty foot rope. It is a combination of psychological thriller, parapsychological thriller, and murder mystery intertwined. An excellent read.

• Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, © 1841, 1997, Penguin, pp.767 - Back to the classics, trying to fill in the blanks on one of my favorite authors, I picked up Barnaby. Not touted as one of his best, but one of his earlier works, I found the story of the Gordon riots to be entertaining. However, I was disappointed at the obligatory happy ending.

• Merrick by Anne Rice, © 2000, Knopf, pp. 307 - Rice adds the the mythology of her vampire empire. This story of one of New Orleans voodooiene, Merrick, how she becomes a vampire, and the implications of that action. It is a horror story & love story combined. Having read all of Rice's other books, this one leaves me wanting more.

Non-Fiction - General

• Work as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond, © 2000, Broadway Books, pp. 258 - It has been a hard year for me at work. My senior class has, as they say, gotten on my last nerve. Philosophically, I'm an atheist, but lean toward Buddhism. This book gives some of what Richardson calls "practices" that are aimed at focusing one's energy inward instead of outward. This has been particularly helpful in the senior class, and helped me control my anger and frustration toward the students.

• The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, ©1997, Harper Collins, pp. 126 - Frankly, not as funny as I thought it would be. Some bits are laughing out loud hilarious, but most are old jokes (What do you expect from a 2000 year old man, Mel says.). Somewhat a disappointment.

• The Uneasy Chair by Wallace Stegner, © 1974, Doubleday & Co., pp. 445 - What a delight! My two favorite authors united. Stegner, a friend of DeVoto's, writes an interesting account of Bernard DeVoto's life. While I have enjoyed books, like Across the Wide Missouri and 1846: Year of Decision, I had no idea that DeVoto was so diverse. This book gave me a new understanding of DeVoto's work and has sent me searching for The Easy Chair, a collection of DeVoto's column for Harpers.

• Beethoven's Hair by Russell Martin, © 2000, Doubleday Broadway Publishing, pp. 240 - This intriguing non-fiction tells the dual tale of the acquisition of a lock of Beethoven’s hair and of the last year’s of Beethoven’s life. The first is an excellent mystery that is best left to the reader. The latter is just as good a tale of the great composer’s declining years. Both begin at Beethoven’s death bed, one leads backwards showing how the genius suffered and the other wends its way from 19^th century Europe through the Holocaust, ending up in modern day Arizona.

• October Sky by Homer H. Hickam, Jr., © 1998, Dell, pp. 428 - Boys, in awe of the burgeoning space program, begin to build rockets. Hickam is the only one who actually stuck with rockets & eventually went to work for NASA. The story really is about the dying town of Coalwood, W. Va. and how having a dream is about the only way to escape the town.

• The Last River by Todd Balf, © 2000, Crown Publishers, pp. 263 - This is an exciting story of kayakers who try to conquer the Tsangpo of Tibet, one of the last unconquered rivers on Earth. It follows the participants down the rivers of their lives and over the rapids of trouble into the eddies of peacefulness. Meanwhile, it explores the spirituality of the expedition and its participants.

Poetry

• The Apple That Astonished Paris by Billy Collins, © 1988, The University of Arkansas Press, pp. 61 - After seeing his name mentioned on NCTE Talk, I had to buy some of his books, and am I glad I did. Coincidently, right after that I heard him interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air. I like the way he writes. In this book, favorites include "Schoolsville," "The Frankenstein Poet," "Books," and "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House."

• Questions About Angels by Billy Collins, ©1991, University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 91 - All of the above and more. Favorites - "Forgetfulness," "Nostalgia," "Weighing the Dog," and "Purity." What a way with words this man has. He writes like we all do, in our dreams.

• The Art of Drowning by Billy Collins, © 1995, University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 95 - All of the above and more. Favorites - "Exploring the Coast of Birdland," "The Best Cigarette," "Philosophy," and "Medium." A favorite line from "Medium": "The words adhere like burrs to a woolen cuff." And that's how Collins' poems affect me, lines sticking here and there in the gray wool of my brain.

• A Book of Luminous Things edited by Czelsaw Milosz, ©1996, Harvest Books, pp. 306 - This book was mentioned in The English Teacher's Companion by Jim Burke. I went out bought it, and devoured it. This anthology is a collection of gems, bright shining stars. Sometimes, though, it is hard to tell which is better, the poems or the short introductions by Milosz. His insights are worth the price of the book. The range of poems is from early Chinese to present.  Many lesser known writers make it in, and am I glad. Especially good are the early Chinese writers who somehow escape most anthologies, but who are such powerful writers that it is a shame they are so often ignored. Go out, buy it. NOW.

• Seeing Things by Seamus Heany, © 1991, Noonday Press, pp. 107 - This book is divided into two parts with the later part being a collection of connected poems called "Squarings." I, by far, prefer the first section of individual poems. I suppose that I need to go back and reread to find the connection between the poems. Many of the poems deal with fathers, either live or dead, and some are quite good. Again, this book will have to be reread and more digested by myself before I say anymore.

• Picnic, Lightning by Billy Collins, © 1998, University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 102 - Okay, so I'm compulsive. The guy can write. In this one, I particularly like the connection with jazz, and the rhythms of the language. One poem everyone should check out is "Victoria's Secret," which shows, yet again, that poetry can be about anything.

• The Darkness Around Us Is Deep by William Stafford, edited by Robert Bly, © 1993, HarperPerennial, pp. 133 - It amazes me how much meaning can be packed into so few words. I only aspire to such heights. Bly has divided the book into sections, two of which I think are of special note. Stafford was a conscientious objector during WWII and has written some very powerful anti-war poetry. Reflecting his Native American heritage, the section that deals with Native Americans is also excellent.