Desiree - Chicago, IL (118 books)

Desiree is now friends with Yanyao

Desiree made a comment on her review of Cornflakes with John Lennon: And Other Tales from a Rock 'n' Roll Life

"Thanks, Lauryl! I'm knocking grunge only for me, but I know it affected many others in my generation in a way that, say, Bruce Springsteen does me. :)"

Desiree made a comment on her review of Letters from Backstage: The Adventures of a Touring Stage Actor

"Kostroff - thanks for writing! Hope you're having fun back in the Thenardier tavern... may I have a glass of Chateauneuf du Turpentine?"

Desiree is currently reading:

Berlin
by Lonely Planet Publications

My rating:

Desiree is currently reading:

The Museum of Innocence
by Orhan Pamuk

My rating:

Desiree gave

to:

The Leopard
by Jo Nesbø

read in July, 2011

My rating:

I'm not a fan of crime fiction, unless it was written by Raymond Chandler, but that's not crime fiction - that's noir literature. However, I was enticed by and enjoyed the Stieg Larsson books last summer, despite how poorly they were edited and awful...moreI'm not a fan of crime fiction, unless it was written by Raymond Chandler, but that's not crime fiction - that's noir literature. However, I was enticed by and enjoyed the Stieg Larsson books last summer, despite how poorly they were edited and awful the English translations were. The narratives were compelling, and I couldn't put them down.

I decided to pick up the latest book by Jo Nesbo - billed as the "Norwegian Stieg Larsson" - because I was curious about this new trend of explicitly gruesome murder mysteries in Scandinavia. They are the crime forensics TV shows and gore-schlock movies of the publishing world, and I've read theories that the bleak and desolate landscapes and climates of the region are a natural setting and reason for such books. A few days after I started reading "The Leopard," mostly unimpressed, the Oslo massacre took place, and the book became significant in a new way.

It still wasn't very good, and while it didn't explain or justify irrational violence, it was a strange parallel. The killer in the book is driven by a life-long hatred, derived power from torturing victims at his mercy, and invested effort in cooking up an elaborate plot to cover his tracks. Sadly, the real victims are those who spent time reading this book.

First, it's hard to enjoy a book when you absolutely cannot stand the protagonist. Crime novelists with a detective for a central character inadvertently pride themselves on molding tragic heroes who are smart about everything but running their own lives. Unfortunately, most try too hard and fail. Harry Hole, making his seventh appearance in a Nesbo novel, to be is just a sad sack of shit who can't get his life together. Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade - all the great crime detectives - constantly fall apart, too, but they remain knights in tainted armor. Hole is just annoying and a coward - he doesn't even get inebriated as suavely as Chandler and Hammett characters.

Then, the entire novel just feels like a TV show. One of the reasons I dislike watching TV dramas is that each one of them, especially on the mainstream channels, are calculated to keep you coming back each week. It's like you can see where the cliff drops off, yet you continue to lunge towards it and jump off, just to remain hanging on until the episode picks up again seven days later. It's manipulative. The twists seem forced, and the book is a hundred pages too long just to be able to toss one more huge wrench into your gullet and show off a huge rescue scene (which was actually very well done).

And that's the thing - there certainly are flashes of brilliance in the book, which I enjoyed, but they're burdened by Nesbo trying to be too cool, too badass, too smart for the readers. I love a great twist, but only when it's so masterfully executed it creeps up from behind, and has its tentacles around your neck before you even realize it's starting to squeeze you dry. Nesbo's are generally rats that you can smell barns away, and some you can actually pick up the scent on before the stench gets out.

Nesbo is obviously very influenced by American pop culture, and throughout the book, characters' moods and states of mind are established by music they're listening to and movies they have a particular affliction for. And that's why he attempts to write in a noir style, which sometimes works well, in lines like:

"... damp steamed off the walls like bad breath."
"... blew smoke at the ceiling fan, which was turning so slowly that the flies were taking rides on it."
"...the stained advanced like the Wehrmacht over a map of Europe."

Interspersed with lines such as:
"'Don't overplay your hand, Hole. I'll crush you just like that.' Bellman flicked his fingers."
"'I want you,' she whispered. 'I want to make love to you.'"
"He checked the phone again. No coverage, shit!"

Cringe. At these points, I almost knew how it felt like to be one of these imagined people, captured by a serial killing maniac and tortured, except that I was in the hands of a gung-ho serial novelist. I finished the book as quickly as I could, just like any good homicide detective - so the perpetrator can't strike again - and felt the relief of finally resolving and closing the book of a wrongful crime.(less)

Desiree added:

Hot Dog: A Global History
by Bruce Kraig

read in July, 2011

My rating:

Desiree gave

to:

Bossypants
by Tina Fey

read in June, 2011

My rating:

Tina Fey is a writer of comedy, and only occasionally an actor of comedy. She is funny in skits and movies, but mostly because she revels in the aftermath of the zingers she delivers, sheepishly mopping up the awkwardness of the moment with a knowing...moreTina Fey is a writer of comedy, and only occasionally an actor of comedy. She is funny in skits and movies, but mostly because she revels in the aftermath of the zingers she delivers, sheepishly mopping up the awkwardness of the moment with a knowing yet sad sack grin. All her Will Ferrell extrovert outrage, Chris Farley physicality and Tracy Morgan absurdity are channeled through her writing, which then makes "Bossypants" sort of a "Saturday Night Live" in pages.

It's brilliant. I generally don't enjoy humor writing because most focus on recreating slapstick on paper, making it icky and gooey to read - very forced. But because Fey's genius is in her manipulation of words, and you as a smart audience who gets it, it's a writing prowess, and it's always beautiful to watch excellent writing unfold. It's like watching the word "douchebag" strut across a page and slip on a banana skin, or the words "sack of dicks" fly from the left page to the right and splat across "acne scar" like a cream pie. You don't try to dodge these fun bombity bullets - you're happy to get hit and explode in laughter.

And that's why Fey not only wears the Bossypants around here, but the Sassypanties as well. Most of the book, which is a loose string of biographical anecdotes, is like a one-way conversation with your super-funny BFF, but you don't mind because you're laughing too hard to get a word in anyway. I love funny stuff, but I prefer it sharp, dark and smart, and it takes a lot for me to laugh out loud at a movie or book. I read most of "Bossypants" grabbing lunch or tea on my own, and would guffaw and chortle uncontrollably in public, allowing for people around me to stare at me as an excuse not to have to talk to the people they were with. At one point, I was getting a massage and had tears in my eyes and was shuddering from stifling my laughter. The massage guy asked if he was going too hard.

The only chapter I disliked was one titled "Dear Internet," where Fey takes a few hate messages on forums and slices their senders to shreds, because that's what a great writer can do to non-believers with feeble command of the language. She gets a bit too vicious, like Liz Lemon rotting and souring in the worst way possible. It's funny, but I wasn't laughing out loud. She's also not as funny when she writes about her success - she definitely downplays her achievements, but Fey is funny because she acknowledges the loser in her, which is the loser in many women. It's not that I don't relate - it's that there's just nothing that rib-tickling about someone who's made it (I much prefer the part of me that's stupid as well, personally).

I was sad when I finished reading "Bossypants" - like some of the best "SNL" commercial parodies that Fey wrote ("Mom Jeans," "Annuale"), it was over too soon - but I was glad that I actually do have an actual BFF who makes me laugh just as hard, after the show is over. Everyone needs one of these. You can easily pick one up from a garage sale or a repo auction! I found mine on a softball diamond in Chicago.(less)

Desiree is currently reading:

Cleopatra
by Stacy Schiff

My rating:

Desiree gave

to:

The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy

read in June, 2011

My rating:

As a Thomas Hardy devotee, I enjoy re-reading his work every now and then. Let's face it, the tragedy and depression are a lot of fun. Really. Much more so than Jane Austen tea parties.

"The Return of the Native" flies a bit under the radar - it fal...more

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Desiree is now friends with Yanyao
Feb 09, 2012 04:42pm
Desiree made a comment on her review of Cornflakes with John Lennon: And Other Tales from a Rock 'n' Roll Life "Thanks, Lauryl! I'm knocking grunge only for me, but I know it affected many others in my generation in a way that, say, Bruce Springsteen does me. :)"
Oct 14, 2011 07:43am · see review
Desiree made a comment on her review of Letters from Backstage: The Adventures of a Touring Stage Actor "Kostroff - thanks for writing! Hope you're having fun back in the Thenardier tavern... may I have a glass of Chateauneuf du Turpentine?"
Sep 16, 2011 09:17am · see review
Desiree is currently reading: Berlin by Lonely Planet Publications	My rating:
Aug 18, 2011 06:12am
Desiree is currently reading: The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk	My rating:
Jul 31, 2011 05:11am
Desiree gave to: The Leopard by Jo Nesbø read in July, 2011	My rating:
I'm not a fan of crime fiction, unless it was written by Raymond Chandler, but that's not crime fiction - that's noir literature. However, I was enticed by and enjoyed the Stieg Larsson books last summer, despite how poorly they were edited and awful...more
Jul 31, 2011 04:54am · see review
Desiree added: Hot Dog: A Global History by Bruce Kraig read in July, 2011	My rating:
Jul 31, 2011 04:18am
Desiree gave to: Bossypants by Tina Fey read in June, 2011	My rating:
Tina Fey is a writer of comedy, and only occasionally an actor of comedy. She is funny in skits and movies, but mostly because she revels in the aftermath of the zingers she delivers, sheepishly mopping up the awkwardness of the moment with a knowing...more
Jun 22, 2011 06:09am · see review
Desiree is currently reading: Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff	My rating:
Jun 10, 2011 09:52am
Desiree gave to: The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy read in June, 2011	My rating:
As a Thomas Hardy devotee, I enjoy re-reading his work every now and then. Let's face it, the tragedy and depression are a lot of fun. Really. Much more so than Jane Austen tea parties. "The Return of the Native" flies a bit under the radar - it fal...more
Jun 08, 2011 07:21am · see review

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