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August 02
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Tim
gave
 
to:
The Death of Sweet Mister (Paperback)
by Daniel Woodrell
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Tim said:
"Woodrell's vivid prose carries the day in a short, sharp novel that's another of his so-called country noirs. The downtrodden and criminal-minded in Ozark territory are the usual suspects with Woodrell; here a young, overweight narrator is caught in ...more
Woodrell's vivid prose carries the day in a short, sharp novel that's another of his so-called country noirs. The downtrodden and criminal-minded in Ozark territory are the usual suspects with Woodrell; here a young, overweight narrator is caught in the orbit of small-time baddies as his mother struggles with her relationship with one of them (chicks do dig danger). It's hard not to feel for the boy narrator, but he's no lamb.
Most of the drama takes place off stage; it's insinuated rather than shown to us, and we see the effects rather than the action. It really has to be this way because of Woodrell's approach, and it works most of the time, though sometimes the shock seems blunted.
Woodrell's writing is the reason to read this; not much actually happens, but you'll find yourself engrossed anyway, smiling at the simple/smart imagery of a master.
"The Death of Sweet Mister" probably deserves a 3.5 rating -- the second half works less well for me than the first -- but check it out if you can find it (it became a sort of detective game for me to search out used bookstores repeatedly; finally, I triumphed). Woodrell's a treasure. ...less
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March 08
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Tim
gave
to:
Magician: Apprentice (Riftwar Saga)
by Raymond E. Feist
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my rating:
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Tim said:
"I hate to review books I never finished, but perhaps that in itself is a valuable kind of review ...
I attempted to read "Magician: Apprentice" many years ago, and quit about 60 percent of the way in. I found the writing plain (doubtless...more
I hate to review books I never finished, but perhaps that in itself is a valuable kind of review ...
I attempted to read "Magician: Apprentice" many years ago, and quit about 60 percent of the way in. I found the writing plain (doubtless it's intentionally simple in its telling, but I mean as well UNINTERESTING) and the story unoriginal in the extreme. I gave up, disappointed. Feist begone.
Many people seem to love him. I'm mystified. Perhaps the first half of "Magician: Apprentice" is the only bad thing he ever wrote....less
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Tim
gave
to:
Tigana: 10th Anniversary Edition (Paperback)
by Guy Gavriel Kay
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my rating:
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Tim said:
"Although I certainly liked this book (I rounded it down from a more proper 3.5 stars) I confess that I'm a little astounded by its amazingly high ranking on this site. I am glad I read it; there were marvelous moments here and there, and the first th...more
Although I certainly liked this book (I rounded it down from a more proper 3.5 stars) I confess that I'm a little astounded by its amazingly high ranking on this site. I am glad I read it; there were marvelous moments here and there, and the first third was especially fine.
But I found that the last half dragged, and overall it paled in comparison to the far superior Fionavar Tapestry series, leaving me slightly disappointed. I like how Kay avoids trotting out every fantasy cliche, but I frankly thought the book could have used a bit more magical oomph, in the end. It just didn't crackle for me. To be honest, the drop-off from Fionavar Tapestry has kept me from exploring other Kay works....less
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Tim
gave
to:
A Perfectly Good Family: A Novel (P.S.)
by Lionel Shriver
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my rating:
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Tim said:
"Read the "get to know the author" (for want of a better phrase) section at the end of this book -- one of the best I've ever read ("Ah Wan Ow!" love that) -- and you'll know immediately that this is an author you want to read. It...more
Read the "get to know the author" (for want of a better phrase) section at the end of this book -- one of the best I've ever read ("Ah Wan Ow!" love that) -- and you'll know immediately that this is an author you want to read. It makes her seem sharp and prickly and headstrong and clever (but with a heart). You know what her fiction will be like.
"A Perfectly Good Family" is a terrific read. Three siblings jockey over an inheritance while living in the same house, each falling back into family-ingrained ways of relating to each other. It's clever, precise, meticulously well-written and, well, much better than its rather unexciting-sounding premise and other reviewers here would lead you to believe.
Shriver doesn't trot out gimmicks and cliches and "that could never happen" plots. She writes about real people; that's refreshing, like a good TV series about realistic relationships instead of cartoon-character desperate housewives or people running round lost on an island for four years or people with fantastic abilities. I think she's well on the way to being one of the best writers out there. She writes very, very well, almost deceptively so, without being showy.
This isn't a "great" book. It's a very good, little book. Give it a chance....less
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March 01
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Tim
gave
to:
The Darling: A Novel (Paperback)
by Russell Banks
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my rating:
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Tim said:
"I wouldn't call Russell Banks America's very best writer, but he's in a pretty select group.
"The Darling" is another beautifully written, gripping (in a small way) gem from a true craftsman. I certainly wouldn't place it among Banks' ve...more
I wouldn't call Russell Banks America's very best writer, but he's in a pretty select group.
"The Darling" is another beautifully written, gripping (in a small way) gem from a true craftsman. I certainly wouldn't place it among Banks' very best ("Cloudsplitter" is clearly top of the heap) but the fact that I still give four stars to a book that might be the least of the four Banks books I've read should say something.
A first-person account from Hannah Musgrave (among other names)-- a Weather Underground veteran who, fleeing the law, finds herself in Liberia, married to an African, and a rather cold mother to their children -- "The Darling" gradually brings us into the soul of a woman who's not easy to like, who sometimes tells us only what she wants to reveal. There's precious little insight into her activities with the Weather Underground; more might have helped reveal her motivations. Hannah was, frankly, a terrorist, albeit one whose radical idealism makes her motivations at least slightly understandable. That's what some people say who don't like this book: they don't like her. Well, there are liberal, world-thinking people all over the place who aren't warm to real people. Hannah's one of them. At least she loves the chimps (her "dreamers") she cares for in Africa.
The vast majority of this book takes place in Africa, which surprised me a little. Descriptions of the book led me to believe there would be more action stateside. No matter. Her life in Liberia is riveting. She and her family are caught in the middle of three prongs of a brutal African power struggle. Charles Taylor himself appears on stage rarely, so don't expect a great deal about him. He's more of a shadow that hovers over the lives of Hannah and her family. Much of what happens is brutal and tragic, no less so just because our narrator doesn't feel things or react to things in quite the way we would. As for a reviewer's charges that this book borders on racist, that's absolutely absurd. It's possible to write about negative things done by Africans without being racist. There have been many atrocities in recent African history; look it up.
As for those who complain that Banks doesn't write "as a woman" convincingly, I disagree. Not all women are the same. Not every woman is a live-wire of emotions; not every woman is a hopelessly doting wife and mother. Some women are strong -- and detached.
Give "The Darling" a chance just for the excellent writing alone. Give Hannah a chance as a flesh-and-blood, complex protagonist....less
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February 23
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Tim
gave
to:
Three Days to Never: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Tim Powers
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tim said:
"As Tim Powers novels go, "Three Days to Never" is a lackluster effort. For anyone else, this is a pretty entertaining novel.
For me, here Powers mines what these days has become his usual formula -- twists on souls, espionage, alternate ...more
As Tim Powers novels go, "Three Days to Never" is a lackluster effort. For anyone else, this is a pretty entertaining novel.
For me, here Powers mines what these days has become his usual formula -- twists on souls, espionage, alternate history, people using unusual powers, fantastic explanations for ordinary events -- and, well, finds it pretty much tapped out. In "Three Days to Never" EVERYONE has amazing abilities, not everything is adequately explained, and the competing groups (I won't even begin to try to explain what's going on) aren't sufficiently different to keep confusion at bay. There are portions of the novel that I'm still not sure I understand.
That said, it's not a bad book at all. If I weren't such a huge fan of Powers' work, I wouldn't complain as much.
My plea too Powers is to give this formula a rest for a little bit and go back to the comparatively simpler pleasures of "Anubis Gates", "The Stress of Her Regard" (my favorite), "On Stranger Tides" and even "Last Call," in which he used his current approach best. My plea to novice Powers readers: Do not, under any circumstances, make this your first Powers book. ...less
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February 16
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Tim
gave
to:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (Paperback)
by Hunter S. Thompson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in February, 2008
Tim said:
"I finally got around to reading this, and was glad I did. It didn't rock my world, as such, and the drug-fueled paranoia doesn't play so well these days, but Thompson fires off enough funny zingers and clever wordplay that this quick read is still we...more
I finally got around to reading this, and was glad I did. It didn't rock my world, as such, and the drug-fueled paranoia doesn't play so well these days, but Thompson fires off enough funny zingers and clever wordplay that this quick read is still well worth a couple days' investment in its reading.
This is hardly a revelation, but not much actually happens in "Fear and Loathing", outside, that is, the minds of Thompson and his equally drug-addled "lawyer." So there's no plot to speak of, the narrative jumps around without the author much caring about any structure whatsoever, and yet as a document of its time, "Fear and Loathing" is a winner. It's a good, quick read to sandwich between meatier, more substantial fare.
...less
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Tim
gave
to:
The Terror: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Dan Simmons
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my rating:
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read in January, 2008
Tim said:
"If I read a better book than "The Terror" in 2008, I will be a very happy man. This harrowing, bleak, yet occasionally hopeful story of survival (or not) in the arctic is clearly the best of the four Dan Simmons novels I've read so far and,...more
If I read a better book than "The Terror" in 2008, I will be a very happy man. This harrowing, bleak, yet occasionally hopeful story of survival (or not) in the arctic is clearly the best of the four Dan Simmons novels I've read so far and, really, one of the 20 best books I've ever read.
"The Terror," a fictitious account of the ill-fated and mysterious Franklin Expedition that tried to find the Northwest Passage, shouldn't work as well as it does. A realistic, detailed account of the struggle to survive when the two ships "The Terror" and "Erebus" become locked in the polar ice for two years, coupled with what really is (at least most of the way) a pure horror element -- some horrible creature stalking and killing the men one by one (and in handfuls) -- well, it sounds like a wildly uneven, odd approach. But boy, does it work.
I read this massive novel in the midst of a brutal stretch of Midwest winter, amid bitter cold. It was awesome! I highly recommend reading this in winter.
The book nicely builds from a creeping, unspecific menace of some creature "out there" to harrowing passages of sheer bloody terror. Some of the scenes with the thing on the prowl are absolutely thrilling. There was a point at which I wondered whether it would all come together, when the "thing" seemed just too damned omnipotent. Simmons' narrative brushed those worries aside, however.
I don't want to overemphasize the horror element, though. At its heart "The Terror" is a month-by-month account of how men struggle to survive, how they break down, what comes to the surface when men are pushed to the breaking point in a brutal climate in which survival seems doubtful. The "thing" in fact, largely disappears for the last 300 pages or so, and, amazingly, the book shines even more during this stretch.
There's some nice, almost mystical details about the native people who finally show themselves, and this becomes a big thread as the book comes to a close.
But, wow, what a book! If you're frightened by the juxtaposition of a realistic arctic tale coupled with horror, I would completely understand. But those of you who are intrigued by this idea, and especially those who, like me, have a soft spot for tales of polar exploration, by all means read "The Terror." It's brilliant....less
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January 13
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Tim
gave
to:
The Old Curiosity Shop (Penguin Classics)
by Charles Dickens
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my rating:
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read in January, 2008
Tim said:
"Dickens often seemed to be letting novels work themselves out as he went along -- serial publication, obviously, was the main reason for this -- but "The Old Curiosity Shop" is disorganized and poorly planned even by these standards.
The...more
Dickens often seemed to be letting novels work themselves out as he went along -- serial publication, obviously, was the main reason for this -- but "The Old Curiosity Shop" is disorganized and poorly planned even by these standards.
There's little plot or understandable motivation to be found. (I'll reveal some plot details here, but you already know it). The dastardly but vibrant dwarf Quilp gets in his head (for no legitimate reason) that little Nell's grandfather is rich; Quilp swindles him out of "The Old Curiosity Shop"; Nell and granddad's aimless fleeing then takes up a third of the novel (what they hope to accomplish isn't apparent), and Quilp pursues for a little bit before losing the trail. Finally, Nell and the old man disappear for a quarter of the book and the novel finally clicks into gear, though the story of Dick Swiveller (great name!) and Kit and the Marchioness and Quilp bears only a slight relationship to Nell and the old man.
In the end, Quilp's comeuppance is almost laughably anticlimactic, then the scene suddenly shifts to Nell again; after 130 pages of being out of the loop, she's suddenly dead, without ever actually reappearing onstage. It's hard to work up much emotion for such a flat climax.
In addition, the curiosity shop of the title has no bearing on the novel at all after the first 80 pages or so.
The book is partially saved by Quilp's gleeful machinations and some wonderful scenes with other quirky characters -- there really are some fantastic, if brief, high points. But overall "The Old Curiosity Shop", while often memorable, has to rank near the bottom of Dickens' novels....less
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January 02
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Tim
gave
to:
Middlemarch (Penguin Classics)
by George Eliot, Rosemary Ashton
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tim said:
"I admit it. I didn't finish "Middlemarch", for which I'm a little ashamed. But Lord knows I tried. It's considered, of course, an all-time, must-read classic, and as such I respect it and certainly understand how people could love it; Elio...more
I admit it. I didn't finish "Middlemarch", for which I'm a little ashamed. But Lord knows I tried. It's considered, of course, an all-time, must-read classic, and as such I respect it and certainly understand how people could love it; Eliot's writing is so under-the-radar clever.
But I slogged to page 220, realized to my horror that I had 500 pages to go, and decided saying I had read "Middlemarch" was not the point; enjoying the experience was, and as such, and with the enormous remainder of the book glaring at me, I (*sniff*) gave up. The problem was (at least in the 30 percent I actually read!) that nothing really happened. This isn't necessarily a problem for me if the writing rivets me, but, sadly, "Middlemarch" didn't. I hereby pack it away in that corner called "Boring Classics", a place to which I hate to resign any book.
I gave it three stars for importance and for generally strong writing, but I don't think I'll be returning to this world.
There are a great many 19th-century novelists I like very much; perhaps I've been spoiled. But I'll take Dickens and Trollope and "Moby Dick" and Wilkie Collins' two classics any day....less
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