Doug Lewars's Blog, page 56

Should the Tent Be Burning Like That?

Should the Tent Be Burning Like That?: A Professional Amateur's Guide to the Outdoors by Bill Heavey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible spoilers ***

This book is a collection of columns written for Field & Stream magazine. They're mostly about hunting with some fishing and a few miscellaneous. Since I don't hunt and I do fish I would have preferred the ratio to be different but that's neither here nor there. The columns are well-written and interesting. One thing I liked about these articles is that the author didn't restrict himself to describing only those adventures that resulted in success. He tells about going hunting and never seeing game or about going fishing and coming home empty handed. I can relate to the latter. I can recommend this book for those who like the outdoors' life.



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Into the Water

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

If you enjoyed Twin Peaks, then I think you'll like this book. There is mystery combined with elements of the supernatural carefully woven into a thrilling story. The pacing is great. This is a real page-turner. It's the kind of book that you really don't want to put down to go to bed - however late it has become.

There is, however, a large cast of characters and you probably won't remember who is who. That's okay. As the book progresses you'll start to remember where individuals fit into the plot and you'll get to know them better. You probably will lose track of the chronology because the book changes times like Dr. Who on steroids but you can still enjoy this even if you misunderstand an occasional occurrence.

I thoroughly enjoyed Into the Water but I haven't real enough of the Mystery genre to know if it's really good by comparison to mysteries in general. It took me slightly over 80% of the book to determine who the killer was - well the killer of interest. There were a number of murders and suicides going on but there was one that was sort of the central plot line of the novel. Someone who reads a lot of the genre might do better. Even though I was able to predict the ending I still enjoyed it. If you like mystery, suspense and a bit of the occult then I think this one is for you.



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12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Since I have watched some of Jordan Peterson's videos on YouTube and read some of his pieces I was inclined to like this book before I even started it. It's well done but not perfect. The 'rules' are largely self-evident although he does phrase some of them in a whimsical manner. The thing I didn't like was his tendency to be a little verbose. He would state his premise and then proceed to back it up with a nice logical argument. And then he would proceed to back it up with a nice logical argument. And then he would proceed to back it up with a nice logical argument. Enough, I found myself thinking. It makes sense. Move on. But still he'd hammer his point into the floor and then jump up and down on it. Fortunately, as the book progressed, I found his writing to become more fluid and, by extension, more interesting. So I found the first half rather tough sledding but the second half was much better.

Sometimes he uses myth from Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and even Egyptology to make a point. I found myself disagreeing with his interpretation of some of the biblical myths but his were certainly interesting and I may have learned a thing or two by reexamining them in a different light. I also disagreed with a few of his other points but even if I disagreed with his interpretation of something, he was never boring.

In some respects he seems to lose sight of the trees for the forest. Overarching theories are all very well but there is a very practical side to life and dismissing it as irrelevant or at least of little importance is a mistake. Getting out of bed in the morning is a reality. Eating a sufficient amount of nourishing food to stay alive on a regular basis is a necessity. The mundane occupies a great deal of our lives. It is fine and laudable to strive for excellence and personal growth but driving a vehicle along the 401 at high speed while contemplating the vicissitudes of life would be a good way to shorten that life considerably.

This isn't necessarily an easy book to read. It covers a lot of territory and I certainly can't claim to have understood everything he's suggesting; however, reading it seems a worthwhile endeavor and I recommend it to anyone who is prepared to stop and do a bit of reflection on his or her life. I do not recommend it to those for whom ideology - doesn't matter which one - is seen as an absolute and not to be questioned or contested.



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Race Matters

Race Matters by Cornel West

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I expected this book to be a polemic castigating perceived white racism in North America and it was but that isn't a problem. I was hoping that Mr. West might introduce some new ideas into the discourse regarding race; but instead, he reiterated the tired old tropes that one encounters from groups such as Black Lives Matter.

Simply put, he doesn't much like whites, the 1%, Capitalism, Free Enterprise, White Nationalists, conservatives, Republicans, and Donald Trump. Interestingly, he also doesn't like Hillary Clinton, liberals, most Democrats, Obama and that subset of black people who are in the middle or upper middle class. He doesn't actually use the term 'sell-outs' to describe the latter but that seems to be his opinion. He does like Bernie Sanders although he seems to think that Mr. Sanders views don't go far enough. He likes those black people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Although he doesn't come out and state it, I received the opinion that he is a Marxist. He does describe himself as a radical-Democrat but that seems just a little vague.

I consider all this interesting because, according to the internet - so perhaps a questionable resource - Mr. West has a net worth of five-hundred thousand. Given his books, teaching at both Harvard and Princeton, his speaking engagements and entertainment roles, I suspect that is on the low side. He is certainly in the middle or upper middle class of black individuals whom he chastises as not providing adequate leadership - which means they are busy living their lives and have neither the time nor inclination to man the barricades.

To a large extent I expected much of the above when I got this book; so that, by itself, didn't disappoint me. What I didn't like - and why I rated the book with only one star - was that he seems to have found a way to use the English language in such a manner as to obfuscate rather than enlighten. Consider the following: "Like liberal structuralists, the advocates for a politics of conversion never lose sight of the structural conditions that shape the lives and sufferings of people. Yes, unlike liberal structuralism, the politics of conversion meets the nihilistic threat head on." I'm convinced there has to be a better way for him to make his point, although frankly I'm not certain just what point his is making. If this book was intended for an audience of his peers - academics within university humanities departments - I think it would be fine; however, he seems to want to address a broad audience and, frankly, this is not the way to accomplish that objective.

Those on the radical left of the political spectrum might enjoy this book although I doubt it contains much that these individuals don't already know. Beyond that, I can't think of anyone who might find it either entertaining or enlightening.



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Talking as Fast as I Can

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***
I had a great deal of difficulty choosing a rating for this book because I could rate it anywhere from 1 to 5 stars depending on the criteria I chose.

I cannot say I liked the book but then I didn't dislike it either. The writing flows smoothly, the pacing is fine and the content was mildly interesting. This is a memoir, not an autobiography. It focuses on the author's relationship to one particular television show and her role in it. It discusses her writing career, her opinions on fashion and provides some amount of background as to how she entered the entertainment profession.

I read it because it won the Goodread's popular vote for humor in 2017 and I was curious as to whether it was humorous and what Goodread readers like.

There was some humor. The author has a casual approach to her writing that occasionally merits a smile, but if I was evaluating the work strictly on its humorous content it wouldn't do very well. This is a book about the Hollywood lifestyle and I suspected that such would be the case when I started so I wasn't disappointed - a bit bored from time to time, but not disappointed. Lauren Graham had a key role in the series Gilmore Girls and much of the book relates to how she got the role, how they made the show, how they made the follow-up series and the various and sundry relationships among the principles that surrounded it. I've never watched the series or any of the other shows she references in the book so it was difficult for me to relate to what she was talking about.

If you read this book from E-pub in its online version then the formatting is pretty bad in a few places.

If you're looking for tips as to how to become an actress the only things that I derived from the book was that it's necessary to work like a little fiend and take just about any sort of role or job you can get to stay alive while working your way upwards. Her advice for authors was similar. Just write like mad and sooner or later you'll have something resembling a book. I sort of knew that.

If you like Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general I think you'll enjoy this book. If you liked the series Gilmore Girls you'll like it as well. If you enjoy plenty of name dropping and something along the lines of 'Entertainment Tonight', which, Wikipedia tells me is still running although I doubt I've seen it in the last twenty years, then once again I think this book is for you.

On the other hand, if you don't like a rather glib, somewhat facile look at the acting profession or if you think you might get some insight beyond 'work, work, work' as a means of establishing yourself as an actor, then this is probably a waste of time. For me it provided an overview of a lifestyle that is clearly not something to which I would ever aspire but I liked learning at least a bit about it. There isn't a whole lot in the way of content but if you don't mind superficiality then it's okay.




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Quantum Night

Quantum Night by Robert J. Sawyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I quite enjoyed this book. It was well written and definitely a page-turner for me. The characters certainly have character arcs in this one. I found the science in science-fiction to be somewhat questionable but since I'm neither a psychologist nor a quantum physicist it may be okay. The author posits that people are defined by one of three quantum states - Q3 - self-aware with a conscience, Q2- self-aware but psychopathic and Q1 - not self-aware. Q1s learn everything by rote. They have no problem solving skill other than what they can imitate from others and innovation is totally beyond them. There is also a Q0 state which is unconsciousness. There may be a bit of science to support this but I would think that Q1s would need at least a small amount of self-awareness just to survive. Habit can take one through a great many things but there are enough surprises in this life - not necessarily major - that some small amount of innovation is required at least some of the time. He also posited that becoming unconscious would move one from one's existing quantum state to the next in a cyclical fashion. That seemed like more of a useful plot device than any scientific principle. Finally he posited quantum entanglement so that by altering one individual with sufficient power every person on Earth would change state. This was needed so that he could provide a happy ending but I felt it was pushing against what is believable just a bit too much. Nevertheless this is fiction so if the author wants every human to be linked to every other human at the quantum level I guess I'll have to be okay with it.

For anyone who likes science fiction and enjoys a well paced novel with - pardon the expression - a few quirks in it then I can recommend this one.



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The King is Always Above the People

The King is Always Above the People: Stories by Daniel Alarcón

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible spoilers ***

This wasn't a bad book nor was it a good book. It was a mediocre book. I picked it up at random largely because I liked the title. Had I known at the beginning what I know now I'd have moved on to something else.

The King is Always Above the People consists of 10 short stories although some are as long as novellas. None of them are particularly interesting. The best part of this book is that the author has a fine eye for detail and the ability to describe a setting in a picturesque manner. At times I found myself just sort of drifting along with the story. It's far from a page-turner but if you like very slow pacing then you might enjoy it.



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Minds of Winter

Minds of Winter by Ed O'Loughlin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This book, I believe, falls into the genre of Mystery but it could also be classified as Historical Fiction and there is even a hint of science fiction. It is not an easy read. It was on the shortlist for a 2017 Giller Award and, having read both the shortlisted books and the eventual winner - Bellevue Square - I've come to the conclusion that if one wants to win a Giller Award, a prerequisite for doing so is to stop writing at some point instead of supplying an ending.

If you like character development then don't bother with this book. There isn't any. There are, however, a multitude of characters. It reminded me a bit of a relay. Characters would appear, make their contribution to the story, and then pass the baton to the next set. Seldom would they reappear and when they did they were generally in secondary roles. The exception is the two protagonists whose investigation in the present, interleaves all the stories from the past. They are constant throughout the book - really constant - they're flat and they don't improve much.

Much of the setting is in the high arctic or subarctic. These are areas of the world that are difficult for most people to imagine and I have to give Mr. O'Loughlin credit for making them come to life within the pages of this book.

It is the mystery that kept me reading. Part of the mystery is that the mystery itself is mysterious. This isn't a whodunit with a detective trying to find a murderer. In this book one mystery is that a chronometer from the Franklin expedition mysteriously winds up back in England when it should have been at the bottom of the ocean; but that's minor. Of more interest is that there's something unexplained going on in Canada's far north. Unfortunately it never does get explained. It would appear that the author's premise is that rationality varies inversely with distance from civilization. Mixed in among the rest, is the hint of various governments' secret services sneaking around for purposes that remain unknown. Fingers may be pointed at whatever secret service is run by the British admiralty. Or possibly it isn't a government agency but some sort of freelance group. Everything is vague and remains vague throughout the book.

If you read this, be prepared to just go along for the ride. You won't be able to follow most of the characters with the exception of the the protagonists; but the story, such as it is, unfolds in an interesting manner. It would be nice if the author had added an ending but he didn't so I guess the reader is expected so supply his or her own. The good news is that the modern obligatory sex scene is minuscule - little more than waking up the following morning so it's not necessary to wade through a morass of heaving passion.

This author has a nice flair for description and creates settings that are readily imaginable. There isn't much humor in the book but there is a bit. My favorite quote is, "One of the guys from the airstrip said they had to call the bear warden today to come deal with a bear. When he showed up all he had with him was a single-shot twenty-two. So now there's a bear out there with a really sore ass and a deep sense of grievance."

For lovers of mystery, I think I can recommend Minds of Winter with the proviso that you won't get a solution for any of the mysteries that are presented. You'll have to provide your own.



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If We Were Villains

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This book was quite well written. It held my interest from the beginning to the end. That said, I didn't really enjoy it much. I can appreciate the craftsmanship that the author put into it but the characters were disagreeable to the point of being highly annoying - particularly the protagonist, Oliver. Nevertheless, their personalities were consistent with their environment so I really can't fault the author.

The setting is an elite post-secondary institution specializing in the arts - specifically language, philosophy, music and drama. It is fourth-year students in the drama program that the author focuses on and the rest remain on the periphery of the story. This drama program is a little unusual insofar as only Shakespeare is taught. Not surprisingly the student become pretty well versed in the work of the bard by their fourth year and they frequently quote passages from the plays in their day-to-day conversation. Some reviewers objected to this but I found it quite pleasant since I enjoy reading Shakespeare. It did indicate that the author knows her stuff because it would be necessary to have considerable knowledge of the works in order to select appropriate pieces of dialog for her characters; and, to the best of my knowledge, she didn't make any mistakes.

As I said, these characters are fourth-year drama students. They have been taught to immerse themselves in their characters. They need to understand the feelings of fictional individuals as well as themselves in order to be convincing. Unfortunately, they have no ability to step back from drama and access events in their own lives in a rational manner. As a result, all the characters - but Oliver in particular - emote all over the place, and that is what I found so annoying. By the time the book ends, young Oliver has taken on a massive amount of guilt, most of which is unrelated to him, but used to stoke his own enormous ego. So guilty does he feel that he confesses to a crime he didn't commit and spends ten years of his life in prison. Within the context of the story, M. L. Rio makes this believable; but for me it is the product of an ego that is entirely out of control.

Most of the characters are alleged to have parent problems and come from dysfunctional families although for the most part we don't see evidence of this. In the case of Oliver, however, he does spend some time with his family and we meet two sisters, one of which has an eating disorder, and his parents. His mother is self-effacing and his father is loud and blustery but the family tensions that Oliver perceives seem to be an order of magnitude greater than what we see in reality. In addition, we learn that one term at this school costs $20,000 meaning that Daddy is expected to lay out $160,000 over the four-year course for his son's education. For what? Not for a university degree. This school isn't accredited to provide that. What he will receive is a paper testifying that he meets the school's standards for portraying Shakespearean characters onstage. Now there's a high-demand career. I feel certain that with such credentials Oliver will be able bypass the graduating rabble working at McDonald's and advance all the way to Burger King. Needless to say, my sympathies were entirely with Daddy on this one.

The ending is intended to be uplifting but I found it entirely out-of-step with the rest of the novel.

If one is arts-oriented and prioritizes emotions over rationality then I think I can recommend this book; however, for the general, well-grounded reader I'd suggest you might look elsewhere for an interesting book.




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Bellevue Square

Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

The pacing was good. The settings were well described and the author succeeded in providing the reader with a 'feel' for the locations.

The plot was interesting. It appears to describe a woman descending into madness and it's well handled although I think Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story 'The Yellow Wallpaper' published in 1892 was just as effective. The difference is that Mr. Redhill attempts, and rather succeeds in conveying the confusion being felt by the protagonist to the reader. Since he has an entire novel to work with as opposed to just a short story, he is able to build the feeling gradually and quite effectively. That said, the ending is less than satisfactory. In fact, it's pretty much a write-your-own-ending since nothing is resolved and nothing is explained. We are left dealing with madness or an alternate reality, or the possibility that nothing is real at all and everything we believe is merely a simulation being carried out on a humongous computer by some alien race - and frankly Douglas Adams did that and did it quite a bit better.

There isn't any real character development here. Characters appear and then they disappear. Sometimes they have one name and sometimes another. Since the author is trying to create a sense of unreality he can't really focus on anyone except the protagonist. In many respects the book is dreamlike as the reader moves from illusion to what seems like reality only to find the underpinnings shifting once again. I can't really complain but I can't recommend the book either. The ending is so nebulous that instead of reading it you might just as well sit back in your chair, close your eyes and dream your own dream.



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