Everyone has secrets, or so it seems in this novel by Carol Goodman. The main character, a professor who might or might not have a problem with alcohol, struggles to untangle both the web of deceit she finds herself caught up in and he rown knotty personal life. The book begins with a terrible accident, but Nan finds that nothing is what it appears to be. There are so many threads that could be followed in this plot that the novel loses its momentum and fails to follow any one of them successfully. It devolves into a college drug scenario (reefer madness, anyone?), pulls an unbelievable villain out of the blue, and throws in a town and gown romance for good measure. Don’t waste your time reading this one. I give it a firm thumbs down.
Category: book review
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Fallout By Harry Turtledove-A Review
The second book in his alternative history series featuring the Cold War has a United States where Truman is President, Stalin rules the U.S.S.R., and atomic bombs fly, as these two superpowers vie in a seemingly never-ending struggle. Europe is in ruins, as is part of the U.S. west coast from atomic bomb strikes. Moscow is no more, but Stalin escaped. And in Korea, where all this began, Mao’s army and allies fight the few U.S. forces left there without hope of reinforcement, since Washington is concentrating on the Russian front. As always, this book offers a gripping look at the war from several different characters. As we follow them through the books, we get a idea of life from the Russian, American, and German soldier’s point of view. Truman, also one of the wearied actors, reflects on the awful consequences of his use of atomic weapons but goes on nevertheless as he leads the country though perilous times.The Hot War has just gotten hotter, and this book will gladden Turtledove and alt-history fans everywhere!
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Fallout By Harry Turtledove-A Review
The second book in his alternative history series featuring the Cold War has a United States where Truman is President, Stalin rules the U.S.S.R., and atomic bombs fly, as these two superpowers vie in a seemingly never-ending struggle. Europe is in ruins, as is part of the U.S. west coast from atomic bomb strikes. Moscow is no more, but Stalin escaped. And in Korea, where all this began, Mao’s army and allies fight the few U.S. forces left there without hope of reinforcement, since Washington is concentrating on the Russian front. As always, this book offers a gripping look at the war from several different characters. As we follow them through the books, we get a idea of life from the Russian, American, and German soldier’s point of view. Truman, also one of the wearied actors, reflects on the awful consequences of his use of atomic weapons but goes on nevertheless as he leads the country though perilous times.The Hot War has just gotten hotter, and this book will gladden Turtledove and alt-history fans everywhere!
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End Of Watch By Stephen King
This ends the Bill Hodges trilogy started with Mr. Mercedes and continued in Finders Keepers. Like many of King’s books, I found it to be a good read, compelling enough to keep me interested, and it was certainly dark, which I like. But this was not a great book, nothing that is going to change your life or make you think about the nature of evil, etc. Once you finish close the cover, you pretty much forget it. I don’t like to leave things unfinished and had read the first two-just b/c my library at time was REALLY low on new books (see my entry entitled “Abibliophobia”) so just HAD to read this one to round out the series. I’d say read it if you like dark mystery type novels that aren’t going to challenge you over much. Typical King fare, ho-hum.
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White Trash: The 400-Year Old Untold History Of Class In America By Nancy Isenberg-A Review
In White Trash Isenberg firmly puts to rest the notion that America is a classless society. She sets forth the foundations of the class system from its roots in colonial times then traces them through the settlement of the West. Her work detailing the influence of the eugenic movement and class is illuminating; as are the chapters comparing the rise of the African Americans following the Civil War and the poor whites from the Southern states. Nota bene: the white trash that she mentions in her book is composed of Anglo-Saxons, originally from the Appalachians or the South. This is a matter of history, not judgment. Americans need to read this book, to dispel their illusions that theirs is a society founded upon equality. Readers need to read this book because it will stretch their mind!
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The Natural Way Of Things By Charlotte Wood-A Review
This book is a dark and disturbing dystopian tale, joining others such as 1984 (Orwell), A Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood), and 1Q84 (Murakami). The tone of the book is unremittingly bleak, and the underlying cautionary message of the book is that for women to dare to speak out about the truth of their sexual life, particularly if it implicates a man or men in wrongdoing such as rape will destroy them. Women’s bodies are seen as the cause of men’s actions; women are shamed, vilified, and portrayed as sluts, whores, and asking for whatever happened to them at the hands of men, the media, and, eventually, the events in this book. The women who are taken to the camp share similar stories. They’ve all spoken out in the media about being raped, with the exception of one woman who had her affair with a married politician exposed. Don’t look for any magical sisterhood or admirable character-forming to take place at this camp, despite their shared misery and deprivation. Though two women do grow and develop in interesting ways, forming a bond of sorts, the women by and large function maladaptively. The two women that the book focuses upon are fierce, brave, and survivors in a place that offers little hope. Warning: If you like your endings clean and your resolutions tidy, this is not the book for you.
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The Natural Way Of Things By Charlotte Wood-A Review
This book is a dark and disturbing dystopian tale, joining others such as 1984 (Orwell), A Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood), and 1Q84 (Murakami). The tone of the book is unremittingly bleak, and the underlying cautionary message of the book is that for women to dare to speak out about the truth of their sexual life, particularly if it implicates a man or men in wrongdoing such as rape will destroy them. Women’s bodies are seen as the cause of men’s actions; women are shamed, vilified, and portrayed as sluts, whores, and asking for whatever happened to them at the hands of men, the media, and, eventually, the events in this book. The women who are taken to the camp share similar stories. They’ve all spoken out in the media about being raped, with the exception of one woman who had her affair with a married politician exposed. Don’t look for any magical sisterhood or admirable character-forming to take place at this camp, despite their shared misery and deprivation. Though two women do grow and develop in interesting ways, forming a bond of sorts, the women by and large function maladaptively. The two women that the book focuses upon are fierce, brave, and survivors in a place that offers little hope. Warning: If you like your endings clean and your resolutions tidy, this is not the book for you.
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Underground Airlines By Ben H. Winters-A Review
No, I was not reading this simultaneously with Atkins book. I read it last week. But it has been on my mind. It seemed particularly relevant and timely, given all the racial tension in the country. Two more shootings-one by police in Milwaukee, one of a police officer in Georgia. SMH. Anyway, the book is in the genre of alt or speculative fiction, set in a modern America very much like our own…except that the Civil War never happened. Slavery is still legal in four states, and the book tells story of a man who, though African American and one who escaped from slavery himself, is used by the U.S. Marshall Services to hunt down others who are aided and abetted in such escapes by an entity known as the Underground Airlines. The conflict suffered by Victor, who dons many names in the pursuit of his work and doesn’t even whisper his true name to himself, reflects but one of the layers of this ingenious multi-faceted book, where you learn that nothing is ever as it seems. Both a first class story and an indictment of the system that thrives off the efforts of Persons Bound To Labor while repudiating responsibility for their welfare, this is a definite must read! Stay tuned for a comparison with Colin Whitehead’s Underground Railroad!
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The Innocents By Ace Atkins-A Review
Welcome back to Tibbehah County, Mississippi !. If your view of humankind runs cynical, dark, and depraved, this is the book for you. The latest to feature Quinn Colson and Lillie Virgil, it paints a truly grim picture of life in small-town Mississippi. Corruption and misery seem as endemic to this place as the cicadas and heat; Lillie Virgil fights a hard battle against the tide as acting sheriff with Quinn as Deputy. There’s mayhem, murder, race, drugs, a titty bar, moonshine, bikers, Jesus, dirty politicians, guns, rednecks, and football involved. Whew!
I’ve been following this series from the beginning. The books just keep getting better and grittier, if possible. I lived for while in that part of Mississippi (a long, long, long time ago) and, while there is no actual Tibbehah County, Atkins’ description runs fairly accurate. Let it be known that I am not, shall we say, a fan of the state of Mississippi, despite having been born, bred, raised, and schooled there. I escaped after grad school. When people ask me, “Why don’t you go home?” I look at them like they’re crazy. They make laws against people like me there. I think it might be one of the states that still has a law on the books prohibiting an atheist to run for election. Not to mention that I’m Jewish, neutrois, and queer! Oh, yeah, a trifecta for being accepted down in Dixie! But I digress from the review. This is an outstanding book in the series. Read it for the mystery; read it for the grit; read it for the characters. I don’t care-just read it!
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Imagine Me Gone-A Review
Finally, a book review! I wish I were still reading Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett. The book was so rich in the different ways in which it engaged the reader that I’m measuring its effects on me afterwards. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book at first. In the beginning chapters, the novel deals with the father and his story. But then the burden shifts to the children, in particular the eldest son, and the darkly comedic life of the book truly begins. The riffs on music-disco, house, synth, dub, and techno-are a constant refrain running throughout and worthy of special mention. The novel is worth reading just for them, but the manner in which they are made an integral part of the book is remarkable. Even if the book doesn’t inspire you to put on a soundtrack while reading it as it did me, you’ll read with music in your ears. And this is one of the best portrayals of someone with a mental illness I’ve come across lately in fiction, precisely because it’s NOT written as a description of someone living with a mental illness. Michael is shown living his life in all its complexity, not as a patient with a diagnosis. True, he does deal with anxiety, and I’m not going to spoil the novel by giving many details here, but this is a novel about a life, not an illness. Race and class privilege are prevailing topics for Michael, and homosexuality is an issue that both he and a sibling deal with. This is not an easy read, as it sometimes gets pedagogical, and the issues that the characters grapple with are fundamental and stark. But it IS most rewarding and will leave you enlightened, more learned, and with a new playlist!