Matthew McElroy > Recent Status Updates

Bought it today at Book on Bainbridge in South Philly.

Pretty good so far. A bit like a British Catcher in the Rye, but the protagonist isn't so awful.

Sometimes important truths come from unexpected sources.

Chandler is a white man writing in the 1930s, and clearly has some support for law enforcement.

And yet, his protagonist, Philip Marlowe, is frankly critical of the LAPD, remarking on them shooting people in the back for petty larceny and then covering up for each other.

None of this is new or surprising.

It's enjoyable so far. I can see why it is considered a classic of the crime noir genre.

But there are SO many characters, and new ones keep getting introduced.

I would not be surprised if the culprit is some introduced with 10 pages remaining.

I'm not sure I've ever read father-son drama like this.

Amazingly, Alexie just quietly built up to this the entire book.

Alexie is an American Indian, and seems to be pretty proud of that fact.
If you have read any of his other work, you know he can be openly critical of the US, because, why not?

Which makes some of the chapters in this story all the more suprising.

These chapters are short. Really short. Alexie packs SO much philosophy into them.
And not in a pretentious way.
Just, what does it mean to be a hero?
How is justice obtained?
And all of that.

Is it a spoiler if I tell you something that happens in the first three chapters, but it is COMPLETELY unexpected?

I've read a few of Alexie's books (thanks for the recommendation Kevin). This seems out of character for his stories, but then, he's not beholden to any of MY rules.

Gaul studies women's rowing as a contrast to football and comes away thoroughly impressed and there is something to say for it.

But what if cheaper sports allowed for more scholarships? Of course, football would still cost $400K per athlete.

To be continued.

Forever.

Damn, it's so good. I could finish it, but I have work in the morning.

What is the line between a writer who is so good you can see the scene in your head, and someone who feels like they are writing a screenplay?

Big stuff happens here, and sad stuff happens. As I said before, Cosby is at his best dealing with the family drama and Bug's internal conflict.

My mother told me a story about a friend who planned to attend law school. When he arrived, he learned the law wasn't about protecting people, it was about protecting property.

This weekend, I read an article in The Atlantic with the (paraphrased) quote, "We don't have a justice system, we have a legal system."

The big universities are not interested in improving our lives if it affects their Cadillacs .

In my last few posts, I've mentioned how some of this feels like a Greek tragedy and other parts feel cinematic.
In the last two chapters Cosby mentioned Aphrodite, Pan, the Sword of Damocles and then the antagonist compared Bug's driving to something from a movie. And then Bug recognized part of the antagonist's speech from a movie.

My girlfriend, who in most respects is a wonderful person, is also a Yankee fan.
This is the current book I read to her at bedtime.
It seems fine right now. I may be more interested than she is- we hadn't read it for several months.

The... is ironic the correct word? part about this book is that the human drama of Bug's life is vastly more interesting than the stuntman driving scenes. Which are pretty darned good as well.

This is traditional crime noir, except that so much of it defies tradition.

The only likeable people are the "criminal" and his family. Bug is thoroughly respectable. He's just trying to do what is best for his family. This is a classic "as soon as I thought I was out, they drag me back in".

I have no idea why I keep reading books of this nature.
I know the basics.
As taxpayers, state and national, we are subsidizing coaches who make millions of dollars and weight rooms that cost the same as a new elementary school.

This is going to be good.

Having a coach as patient and wise (often a cliché, it feels accurate here) as O'Neil must have been incredibly comforting. The amount of talent he was able to find because of his connections, and yes, skin, is remarkable.

We are looking at the downfall of the Negro Leagues here. It's unfortunate and tragic. O'Neil does address how integration, which was good and necessary, had negative affects in the Black community, as Black businesses fell apart, and people lost their jobs as even Black people began to spend their money at white estabishments.

In a unique, but welcome detour for a memoir, O'Neil spent an entire chapter discussing baseball legend Satchel Paige. He makes it clear that Paige loved a good stunt, but was much more than a stuntman.
He also gives an All-Star team of Negro League players with some surprising names and a thorough explanation for each athlete.
It's not something you would expect in a memoir, but O'Neil is such an adept storyteller.

You really get the feeling that Buck truly loved telling this story.
This chapter doesn't really fit in as part of a narrative, but he is so happy to describe his time with the Monarchs and the experience of living in Kansas City in the 30s and 40s.