Stranger Stranger

The Stranger by Albert Camus
New York : Vintage International, 1989, c1988.
vii, 123 p. ; 21 cm.

This novel by Nobel prize winning author, Albert Camus, has been on my "to read" list for a long time.  I read his novel, The Plague, as a freshman in college and was profoundly moved by it.  For the past couple of years, whenever I was shelving books, I'd see our four slim copies of The Stranger and think, "OK, I'm going to check that out and read it."  That time finally came last week.

I'm glad I read Camus' novel, but I can't say I enjoyed it.  In fact, I found the novel to be unsettling. If the title is meant to emphasize the alienation of the main character, Meursault, as a stranger both to himself and those in his life, then he is even more of a stranger to me.

Meursault - a main character nearly devoid of any tender feelings - is indeed a character who is hard to empathize with.  I could understand his apathy, and his general feelings of not being connected to the fellowship of other humans - whether in his role as a lover, son, neighbor or friend.  But, his readiness to participate in an acquaintance's plot to beat and humiliate his girlfriend, his utter lack of emotional connection to his own lover, his unquestioning acceptance of anti-Arab racism, and the ease with which he murders a nameless "Arab" make him a rather repulsive and unsympathetic character. 

Despite the grave shortcomings of the main character, it is hard not to feel that Camus wants the reader identify with Meursault. The novel is completely from his point of view and the only system that sits in judgement of him - the French/Algerian criminal justice system - is not one that is portrayed sympathetically.  However, even as ridiculous as the proceedings against Meursault are, I found myself thinking, "Yeah, you may have felt powerless and overwhelmed by existence and the heat of the sun, but you MURDERED another human being in cold blood."

I'd be curious to discuss this novel with fans of Camus and of existentialism in general. "How would you judge Meursault?" I'd like to know.  To arrive at a verdict, you'll have to pick this novel up and read it yourself. 

Like a Supermax on Steroids

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
New York : Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2009.
273 p. ; 22 cm. 

Given the use of  brutal, personality-shattering Supermax prisons in the US, the nightmarish glimpse inside US detention prisons in Iraq, the bloated rates of incarceration in the US, and the growing evidence of wrongful convictions - Lockdown is a timely and compelling novel - albeit, from an author in the UK and not the US. 

The story centers around a young teen, Alex, who has been pursing a life of crime - mainly home burglaries - until he is framed for a murder and sentenced to the notorious underground penitentiary, Furnace, where all the inmates are boys and young men serving sentences of life without parole.  The horrors of Furnace are many - murder, giant guards with superhuman strength, mutant dogs, and the sinister Wheezers, who come occasionally in the dead of night to drag away prisoners to a fate apparently worse than death.  Alex is determined to achieve the impossible - survive AND escape from Furnace - and so the action of the novel.

I would have been happy if the novel did not include the science fiction creations of mutant dogs and black-suited giants for guards, and instead relied on good, old human cruelty and malevolence for it's horror.  Nevertheless, it is a compelling read that excels in creating an atmosphere of dread, deprivation and impending violence.  Another strength of the novel is it is exceedingly readable.  The plot hooks you in and takes you for a ride - though a bleak and disturbing one at that. I can say that several young men who read this novel from our library, really liked it.  In fact, part of why I finally read the novel was because a patron returned the book a few weeks ago, and before leaving, said, "Mr. Murrey, you HAVE to read this book!" He was right.

Sit Back, Read, and Unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009, c2007.
335 p. ; 22 cm.

I really love the premise of this book: in a future United States - after a war between abortion rights and anti-abortion rights forces - children between the ages of 13 and 18 can be signed over by their parents or guardians to be "unwound": all of their body parts and tissues are harvested and donated to those who "need" them.  Reminds me a little bit of the premise of the a great novel, The Unit, where older people deemed "expendable" are sent and harvested for tissue and organs until it kills them. In the world of  Unwind, the law doesn't view it as "killing" since the person is never officially dead, but hurriedly/medically disassembled until they loose consciousness - and are no longer a living individual, but an assortment of distributed "living" parts.  Needless to say those signed over to be unwound find little comfort in the niceties of legal jargon.

And so - as you might imagine - the novel is a thriller, following a several teens who are set to be unwound, but manage to escape and go on the run. There are several interesting subplots that all come together in a dramatic conclusion.  The end of the novel is set up so that a sequel is possible, and Shusterman has answered the call with a follow-up novel, UnWholly, billed as the second in a trilogy.

There is a lot to recommend this book.  It definitely gets one thinking about what defines "life" and the legal implications of new medical advances along with the ethical implications of the individual versus society. Metaphorically, there is a lot to think about regarding the relationship of parents to teens and society to teens and the ways that they are viewed and treated.  There is also material for thought and discussion regarding the ethical complexities of violence used to oppose violent and unjust systems.  In all these ways, the book would be a great classroom text - a great springboard for discussions.

My main complaint with the novel is that at times the plot is overwrought with melodramatic characters and action - for example, the character of Roland, an evil teen in the unwind underground whose sociopathic behaviors feel like a stock "bad guy" character, and not very believable.  In spite of my problems with some of the characters and scenes, I'd definitely recommend this book as a substantive/thoughtful read for someone who likes thrillers and/or dystopian futuristic novels.

Gone Fishing

Cod: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
New York : Penguin Books, 1998, c1997.
viii, 294 p. : ill., maps ; 19 cm.

Our library owns several books by Mark Kurlansky, and the last one I read by him was Salt: a World History - which was a great read. The great talent of Kurlansky is to chose a subject that at first glance might seem rather mundane (if not downright boring) and to reveal how it is a topic of great historical and cultural significance.  While he's doing this he spices (salts!) his narrative with fascinating facts, anecdotes, and asides. I recall finding Salt so fascinating for how humans around the world have developed cultural tastes for extremely fermented (some might say rotten) foods - such as the Roman favorite - garum - a sauce made from fish scraps and remains fermented for months in salt.

Cod doesn't disappoint either.  Whether Kurlansky is making the connections of how the colonial/early American New England economy was powered by the trade of plentiful/low-grade cod to the Caribbean (to feed the slaves being worked in the hellish sugar cane plantations) or explaining the connections between overfished cod stocks and international law of sea treaties, he manages to do it in a concise, interesting and clear way.

I would definitely recommend Cod (the book) to a student interested in US history, environmental studies, wildlife studies, or off-beat, non-fiction reads. 

Brutal Beauty: Slavery & Poetry

Sugar Plantation - from the NYPL Digital Gallery

The Poet Slave of Cuba by Margarita Engle
New York : Henry Holt, 2006.
183 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

I'm not sure why this 2008 Pura Belpre Award winner didn't grab my attention until recently.  Maybe it's just that I'm not sure that biographies in verse are very effective (or appealing to young readers).  However, the book was recently turned in, and and I decided to give it a chance.  I'm glad I did!

The book tells - in poetry - the amazing (and heart breaking) story of Juan Francisco Manzano (1797-1854) a slave and poet who excelled at literature, yet suffered horrendous cruelty and was eventually silenced by repression.

Though the poetry is accessible and interesting, I think some students might find the details of Manzano's life a bit confusing.  He is celebrated by some of Cuba's literati of the time and granted freedom (that is never achieved) by his first "owner" - while his second "owner" both dotes on him and subjects him to grotesque abuse.  However, the story of  Manzano is so compelling  -and his accomplishments in such a hellish world so wondrous - that I'd be pleased to recommend this book to any student looking for a slave narrative, a compelling tale in verse, or a resource on slavery or Cuban history.

The notes at the end of the book are helpful and a few excerpts of Manzano's poetry bring the character of Engle's poems to life.

Hardy with Heart

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
New York : Signet Classics, c2006.
xxi, 407 p. : map ; 18 cm.

It had been quite awhile since I read a Thomas Hardy novel, but I have such fond memories of reading his Jude the Obscure during a summer when I was in college. Hardy's writing style is a bit florid at times (after all he was writing in the late Victorian period) but the payoff is that his writing is poignant, lush and very attuned to the beauty of the English countryside and the complicated texture of human relationships.

Tess was no exception and did not disappoint me.  The novel shocked his contemporaries with its frank treatment of the double standards of sexual morality experienced by the main character, Tess.  Tess is clearly the heroine of this novel, and the tragedies she suffers expose the hypocrisies of social attitudes toward sexuality, class, marriage and gender.

One of the things that makes a Hardy novel so enjoyable is its lively and riveting plot.  There are many scenes where the dramatic impact of the plot hinges on one circumstance that - if slightly different - could have dramatically changed the outcome of the novel and the fortunes of its characters.  In that sense it is sometimes like reading good history where the reader is always thinking, "If only...."

Tess is a very readable, engaging novel and should appeal to any high school student who is looking for something readable, but "literary."

A Readable History of Mexico

The Life and Times of Mexico by Earl Shorris
New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.
800 p.

This summer I did things a little differently.  I was interested in reading a fairly new book on Mexican history and found one recommended (see the SF Chronicle) that we did not have in our school library collection.  This is a fairly long book for a school collection and so I bought and read the eBook version for my Nook.

At first I didn't think I'd care for the book.  It is very much concerned with discovering the unique nature of the Mexican character - something that I'm not so interested in, and - frankly - something I'm a little suspicious of.  However, the book really started getting interesting to me during its treatment of the US-Mexican war, and I found myself learning a lot about the war that I had never known.

Shorris' coverage of the Mexican Revolution was equally interesting and so I stuck with the book to the end and I'm glad that I did.  The book offers the reader a lot to think about - including what policies and events make nations rich and poor.  It also takes the reader through the tumultuous early years of the 21st century when NAFTA was wreaking havoc on the economy of Mexico, the the maquiladoras were springing up at a phenomenal pace, and the PRI was losing its grip on complete control of the nation's political system.

I was hoping that Earl Shorris might eventually write a revised version, but I found out that he died about the same time that I was reading his book.

A Wake Up Call

The Awakening by Kate Chopin
New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
xx, 211 p. ; 18 cm.

This 1899 novel is on our student's AP list, and it is one that I've meant to get around to reading.  It's interesting because when I told my partner I was reading it, she said, "But you read that years ago!" I said, "No way, I'd remember that."  But she reminded me of the ending scene (which I won't give away here) and it suddenly dawned on me - oh yeah, I sure did!

In discussing my REreading of The Awakening, I said how - though it has a bit of the melodramatic, flowery style of the late 19th century - there is a lot to this novel that is decades ahead of its time and reminded me of the early writings of feminist movement writings of the 1950s and 60s (Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique comes readily to mind). My partner mentioned that I should listen to Diane Rehm' show where she discusses Chopin's novel with several guests - that podcast is on my to-do list.

The novel is really a great study of the emergence of a feminist consciousness in a woman hemmed in by the constraints of a conventional white, upper-class life in late 19th century New Orleans.  Edna, the main character is a woman of restless passion, spirit and longings who settled early for having a family and sharing her life with a wealthy, decent man who is nevertheless condescending and patronizing toward her - but clearly not her equal in passion, curiosity and spirit.  The novel deals with all the complications and turmoil that ensues from Edna's struggle to escape the confines of the narrow role she is in at the beginning of the novel.

I think many young people would enjoy the novel well enough.  It is relatively short and the structure is straightforward.  However, I think many students would find it interesting (and surprising) that the novel was so controversial - since by today's standards it is so tame as to be almost bland.

Briefer for Busier Times

I'm not sure how many years it's been since I read Stephen Hawking's phenomenal best seller - A Brief History of Time.  It was published in 1988, and I'm guessing I read it at some time in the mid 1990s.  I recall finding parts of it really fascinating, but much of it a bit overwhelming - so I was really pleased to see that Hawking and collaborator, Leonard Mlodinow teamed up to reissue a revised, renamed and somewhat easier version of the classic.

This Briefer History of Time is a great introduction for the lay person, and of course for the interested high school student, to major concepts of cosmology, including the somewhat mind-bending concepts of Einstein's theories of general and special relativity - and the truly mind-blowing and bizarre concepts of quantum and string theory.

I found the inclusion of God in this work to be problematic.  Instead of discussing how current theories relate to beliefs in God, the authors at times seem to just assume - without evidence that God does exist.  Consider this excerpt from a discussion of the search for unified theories:

"Actually, the idea that God might want to change his mind is an example of the fallacy, pointed out by St. Augustine, of imagining God as a being existing in time.  Time is a property only of the universe that God created.  Presumably, He knew what He intended when He set it up!"

And a bit later in the book, in the conclusion they write:

"The question remains, however: how or why were the laws and the initial state of the universe chosen?" ("[C]hosen" seems an odd choice of language here)! 

I think it would have just been better to include a separate chapter on the religious implications of the current state of cosmology, but regardless, the book is still very strong and compelling.

All The World's a Maze

Source of graphic

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
New York : Delacorte Press, c2009.
375 p. ; 22 cm.

This powerful and well-reviewed novel finds the main character - Thomas - entering a strange world as disoriented and confused as the reader.  The novel is set in a prison-like construct of the Glade where one teen boy is  delivered once a month by a one-way elevator.  The Glade is at the center of a massive maze, many square miles in expanse and populated by the half-animal/half-machine Grievers - large and agile slug-like creatures bristling with instruments of carnage and pain (saws, pincers, needles, etc).  The Grievers are especially active at night, when the massive walls of the Glade slide shut - and the massive walls of the maze rearrange themselves.

The novel revolves around Thomas and the other Gladers trying to find a solution to the maze, trying to figure out what malign agents have put them in the Glade, and trying to recover any memories of their lives before being delivered to the Glade.  Each boy has arrived in the Glade with his memory wiped, and able to sense and recover some memories from the past.  The action of the novel is raised to a pitch and pushed toward a dramatic climax by the delivery of a girl - a first, and the sudden end of the predicable patterns of the Glade - no more sunshine, no more deliveries of supplies, and no more closed walls at night when the Grievers are at their most predatory and active.

Several reviews I read felt that this was a great introductory novel to the sequels which will follow - see the series website here - but I found myself enjoying the novel as a metaphor for the human condition.  Like the boys and one girl in the glade, we find ourselves born into a world of malign forces over which we have almost no control, in which many of us have to struggle for survival in often tedious, meaningless ways, and where we are forever trying to figure out where we came from, where we are going and "what it all means."  This existential horror was what I really loved about this book.  The book leads to a half-resolution, setting itself up for a sequel - and this is probably what will draw many readers in as they look forward to learning about the world outside the maze, the purpose of the maze and the life and death adventures of the young men and young woman from the Glade.

This book might well appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and compares in an interesting way to The City of Ember.  I also thought of Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies as other books that could be compared to this  new dystopian novel.

The View from the Attic

Graphic from publisher W.W. Norton

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

New York : Norton, [1992], c1966.
189 p. ; 21 cm

I added Wide Sargasso Sea to our collection because it was on a list of AP literature titles and many of our teachers require students to pick from AP titles.  It may sound silly, but I was attracted to the book initially by its beautiful and evocative title. When I saw it described as a book that explores the back story of crazy Bertha in the attic from Brontë's Jane Eyre, I knew I had to read it.

It is a finely written book, capturing the clashing worldviews of post-slavery Jamaica and the conflicts between impoverished locals, former elite locals, and new European interlopers. Of course the age-old conflict of men oppressing women is also at the heart of the story.

It's a great read, in that it is told convincingly from the two main characters points of view - Mr. Rochester and his rushed bride Antoinette, who will become the crazy woman in the attic of Brontë's Jane Eyre.

It's not an easy read right off; it's suggestive, dreamy and atmospheric and a little tricky to get situated into, but once you've oriented yourself as a reader, it is a delight.  It has not circulated much among students, but that doesn't surprise me too much as it would be a weighty read for any young person. However, I'll definitely be mentioning it to readers who want novels with strong literary qualities - or any readers who are fans of Jane Eyre.

Local Time (Traveling That Is)

Tempest by Julie Cross
New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin, 2012, c2011.
339 p. ; 22 cm.

When I heard that there was a new, future blockbuster (time will tell) YA book out there - and that the author was a local author, I knew I had to order it for our library and read it.

Tempest, as other reviewers have pointed out, is a potent read (sci-fi, thriller, romantic drama, and part fantasy) revolving around a 19-year old young man who only lately realizes he can time travel short distances and soon discovers that his Dad may not be his Dad and his time traveling is of great (and dangerous) interest to his Dad, the CIA, and a shadowy group called the Enemies of Time. As he tries to escape harm and figure out who is friend and foe - he discovers that he can travel further back in time than he thought - and becomes stuck (for quite a while) two years in his past.

This book should appeal to a wide range of readers, male and female - given it's dramatic action combined with its elements of science fiction and romance.  I found it readable and enjoyable, but it didn't grab me with the power that I thought it would.  Perhaps, like some of the negative reviewers on Goodreads, I found the plot to be a bit overstretched at times (several times I had to thumb back to the beginning of chapters to find out what year it was supposed to be). Like other negative critics I didn't find the main character Jackson, a somewhat egotistical user, to be all that likable. A few other things bugged me: the apparent inherent "goodness" of the CIA (that is sci-fi fantasy, indeed!) and the sudden transformation of Jackson into an almost superhuman action hero near the end of the book.  I also couldn't help but feeling that the jarring introduction of the little girl who takes Jackson on a rather confusing trip to a grim, distant future - and the clumsy way the "bad guy" gets away at the end - were dictated by the publisher's marketing desire to have the novel develop into a very lucrative trilogy - alas...

Problems aside, I think that Tempest will be a popular book and it does require levels of reader engagement that are positive.  I will certainly be recommending it and will be curious to see what students think of it.

I Weathered Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
London ; New York : Penguin Books, 2003.
liv, 353 p. : geneal. table ; 20 cm. 


Wuthering Heights is one of those classics of English literature that I probably should have read long ago, but somehow never did. It is a novel that continues to circulate and so I wanted to familiarize myself with it. 

It's surprising to me that the novel is as highly praised as it is. Introducing a collection of essays on Wuthering Heights, critic Harold Bloom calls it "authentically sublime" and easily links it "as unique and idiosyncratic a narrative as Moby Dick." I would agree that there is a powerful strangeness to Brontë's novel - characters behave in ways that break the bounds of social norms and are frequently drawn to one another as in proportion to how cruelly they treat each other.  In this sense, Wuthering Heights is truly modern, but with a plot that is exceedingly convoluted and filled with gaps - I would hesitate to hold it up to Moby Dick.  To me it is an impressive but deeply flawed work of art.

As examples of these "gaps" I would cite the strange affection for Heathcliff that his adopted father has for him, the utter transformation of young Catherine during her five week convalescence at the Hintons, and the completely inexplicable transformation of Heathcliff into a man of education and money after his mysterious years long absence.

I guess to over analyze the novel is to miss the appeal of its anti-love love story and its brooding, foreboding strangeness - a world of sullen, cruel, angry drunken and bitter people locked in a predatory universe of rural England lit by the dim prospect of redemptive love (at the very end).  It is a world into which the first narrator, a short term tenant, falls and then flees - but not before getting the bulk of the story from the second and most substantial narrator, Nelly Dean.

Wes Moore Wes Moore and a Mirror for America

The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
New York : Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks, 2011, c2010.
Spiegel & Grau trade pbk. ed.
xiv, 250 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.



     "Two years after I returned from Oxford, I was still thinking about the story...."

So writes Wes Moore in the introduction to his fine book.  The story he was still thinking about was the arrest and conviction for murder of a young man from his home town of Baltimore, MD. What made this crime story compelling, was that the man sentenced to life in prison as an accessory to an armed robbery ending in murder not only was from his hometown, but was about his age, and had the exact same name as the author - Wes Moore.

The details of the case eventually led him to contact the prisoner, and so began a correspondence and series of interviews which led the author to write this book exploring why his life has been so successful and the other Wes Moore's so tragic, even though they both had many similar experiences of hardship and life on the street.

Thankfully, Moore offers no pat answers, but instead presents an unflinching view of how susceptible young African American males are to the social forces and the draw of antisocial and criminal behavior - especially given the tough circumstances that exist for the urban poor - unemployment, disappearing funding for education, lack of present adult role models, and pervasive crime and drug trafficking.  Moore never excuses the violent or destructive acts of people, but he is careful to note that the difference between success and tragic failure for young men like himself is often a combination of timing, luck, and the intervention of concerned adults. The author was fortunate to have a Mom who sent him first to a private school, and then to a military school before his life spun out of control  This was possible only because of the great sacrifices his family was able to make. 

This dual autobiography/biography was given to the UHS library by a student who recommended it to me.  It is definitely a story that is bound to appeal to many young people - especially in that it is hopeful without being preachy and yet filled with details of the rough life of the urban streets that appeals to so many young readers.

The book includes an appendix of resources for youth.

Catherine? Great! History? Wicked!

Catherine the Great: empress of Russia by Zu Vincent
New York : Franklin Watts, c2009.
128 p. : ill., maps ; 19 cm.

Recently, a coworker was telling me about a book he was reading, a new, thorough biography of Catherine the Great.  He was telling me that he was really enjoying it, and was finding her to be an amazing and interesting historical figure.  This was just the excuse I was looking for to read one of the "Wicked History" biographies. 

Our library has over a dozen of these "Wicked History" books and they offer a compelling and unintimidating entry into the world of biography and history for  young people and reluctant readers, too. I, of course, chose the entry in the series on Catherine the Great.

I found this book to be refreshingly interesting.  It is short; not only just 128 pages, but 128 small pages at that.  Like other books in the series, this one has nice graphics and is designed to appeal to young readers.  In spite of its visual appeal, it is substantive in its information and provides sidebars and timelines that are useful for review.  I would definitely recommend this book.

Scary Like an X-Ray

Stitches: a Memoir by David Small
New York : W.W. Norton, 2010, c2009.
329 p. : chiefly ill. ; 23 cm.

This autobiographical graphic novel was a finalist for the National Book Award and the critical praise it received is well-deserved.  If you are curious about the book, David Small's website for the book offers a excellent glimpse into what makes his graphic novel such a satisfying read.

Small is able to convey both the humanity of his subjects and also the really scary cruelty (and craziness) of the adults that peopled his young life.  Set in Detroit and south east Indiana in the 50s-60s, Small presents a rarely viewed glimpse into the world of the functioning/dysfunctional Midwestern middle/lower middle class family.  His book opens appropriately with a nod to the X-ray profession that his father practiced, and his book is like an X-ray of the time and place where he grew up.

For anyone looking for a subtle, yet powerful, graphic novel that is completely appropriate for classroom use, this memoir is a sure bet.  

Big Fish Story

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
New York : Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995, c1952.
1st Scribner Paperback Fiction ed.
127 p. ; 21 cm.

Was it really 1978 when I last read this short novel?  The great thing is that I remember liking the book as a 10th grader, and yet still enjoyed it quite a lot these many years later.

There is much to admire in this stripped down fable of human dignity confronting age and the forces of nature.  Hemingway writes with an intimate familiarity of the the sea and the travails of deep sea fishing.  He writes with compassion for the poor who struggle to make a living off of their labors, for the aged who are pushed aside by failure and infirmity, for the young who respect the wisdom of the aged, and for nature that gives and takes from humanity.

It's really an amazing accomplishment how much texture and depth Hemingway is able to bring to an almost embarrassingly simple narrative: old fisherman who has run out of luck lands the fish of his life, loses it to sharks and enters the realm of legend by bringing back evidence of his catch.

This novel continues to see moderate circulation in our library.  I think it offers an accessible way into the work of Hemingway for young people, whereas his more adult novels like Farewell to Arms can feel like alien territory to a young reader.

Hot Read from a Cold War

East German Authorities Guard Control Point At Potsdamer Platz, 1961

From the National Archives (Special Media Archives Services Division, College Park, MD)

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré 
New York: Pocket Books, [2001], c1963.
x, 212 p. ; 21 cm.

I recently saw the critically praised  movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and decided that I had to read a book by John Le Carré.  I've wanted to read Le Carré for a while.  I really enjoyed another film based on his more recent work - The Constant Gardner - and interviews I'd seen of him on Democracy Now! 

I wasn't disappointed in the Spy Who Came in From the Cold, but - like the confusing plot of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - you have to give the novel a lot of attention.  The plot is a twisting confusion of agents, double-agents, intrigue and lethal spycraft.   

What brings this novel above the level of a simple spy thriller is its crisp writing and its philosophical musings on the ethical motives and justifications raised by covert actions.  Le Carré offers no easy answers, but invites his readers - once they have figured out just what happened and have caught their breaths - to wrestle with the moral dilemmas raised in the novel.

All Sweet & No Bite

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales
New York : Wendy Lamb, c2005.
1st trade pbk. ed. 
199 p. ; 21 cm.

I mentioned to a teacher that I was reading Canales' The Tequila Worm, and she asked me what I thought of it.  "Well...," I hesitated, "...the writing is good, but there's just no edge to it; it reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting - wonderfully crafted, interesting, but overly sentimental..." And as I finished the novel, I  kept thinking how I would have enjoyed it so much more if there were even just a a touch of cynicism, a hint of real irreverence, or a bit of critical detachment.  Instead the entire novel is an homage to a squeaky clean idealization of barrio life in McAllen, TX - in the 70s(?).

My criticism aside, the writing is quick and observant, and the values portrayed in the story of quite admirable - family loyalty, the bonds of friendship, importance of cultural identity and rituals, respect for difference, and the value of education.

My favorite part of the novel was the final third of the narrative, when the main character, Sofia - leaves home to attend an elite college-prep boarding school on a full scholarship. At the school, Sofia has to deal with homesickness and class/race discrimination from some of her classmates, and the conflicts she feels between her ambitions to move up in the world versus her sadness at leaving behind the small community of her barrio.

The novel would be an excellent middle school pick for classroom use, but I'm not sure how well it would go over with senior high school students.

Tattoos Dragons and Serial Killers

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
New York : Vintage Books, 2011, c2009.
1st Vintage Crime/Black Lizard premium mass-market ed. 
644 p. : maps ; 20 cm. 


With the recent US release of the movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, requests for Stieg Larsson's novels really started to pick up here in the library. When I heard someone who saw the movie say how violent and disturbing some of it was - I thought I should read the bestseller and see what I thought of it myself...

Having just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I can definitely understand the success of the novel.  Like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, it is tightly plotted, well told and filled with unexpected twists and turns.  Though the novel deals with very disturbing incidents of rape and murder - it is not luridly gratuitous.  The plot is also quite complicated and requires the concentrated attention of the reader - so it is a book that would appeal to mature readers only.

For myself, I don't think I'll be reading the following two novels in the trilogy - The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  As compelling as the plot was, and as relevant as the plot elements of corporate and financial criminality are, I frankly find the world of the novel too disturbing to be entertaining - and that is what these novels excel at.  I know that there are serial killers, abusive sadists and rapists - but reading fictional thrillers about them just doesn't appeal to me all that much.

Purple Carries On

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Delta Trade Paperbacks, [2003], c1982.
294 p. ; 18 cm.


I first read The Color Purple back in the early 80s, and so it was an interesting experience to reread it, now that it has become a classic of American literature and is still popular with readers - including our high school students.


There is a lot to recommend The Color Purple - strong narrative voice, dynamic characters, shifting relationships and conflicts, and satisfying outcomes. The novel deals with incest, abuse, women's rights, racism, and religion  - so it's not surprising that there is an inherent interest in the novel. Also the novel is very accessible, written in letter format - mostly imagined letters from the main character, Celie, and a few from her sister Nettie.


I remember back when I read Alice Walker's book, it was a popular sensation: many people were reading and talking about it, and then it became a major motion picture.  I enjoyed it a lot back then.  Reading it a second time I found myself less taken with it.


I'd say my greatest problems with the novel are the extreme character change in the main character - from timid, whipped-dog subservient victim to sassy, smart and free-thinking feminist - the set pieces where characters go on and on, basically expounding the author's beliefs about pantheistic religion, Afrocentric pride, feminist principles, and new-age self esteem. It's not that I disagree with all of her views; it's just that they seem out of place historically and out of character at times.  My last disappointment was with the unbelievable happy outcomes of the novel.  I like just a little more salt and less sugar to end my favorite novels - and without giving away the ending, there is just so much triumph and happiness in the end that I was scratching my head in disbelief.


Negative criticisms aside - The Color Purple remains a powerful, engaging story that many readers - young adult to old adult - are likely to enjoy.

Wind, Mist, Shipwrecks and Shadows

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
New York: Little, Brown, 2011, c2010.
232p. ; 21 cm.
[trans. from Spanish] 

Ruiz Zafón is the author of the bestselling novel, The Shadow of the Wind, which I read about 5 years ago on the recommendation of an exchange student from Argentina who was attending our high school.  He was very enthusiastic about Shadow of the Wind, telling me it was the best book he ever read and that it changed his life!  I read it and was an immediate fan.  So, when The Prince of Mist was recently published in the US, I bought it for our library right away.

The Prince of Mist is interesting in that it is Ruiz Zafón's first novel, and was written back in 1993.  It was published in Spain and was both written for and marketed to young adults - unlike Shadow of the Wind, which was written for adults.

I was not surprised to find out that The Prince of Mist was his first novel - the writing is just not as accomplished as his later novel.  That he wrote it for younger readers is also apparent in that the writing is far more conventional and cliched than his later work. I was wondering as I read it, if some of the weaker passages were the fault of the author or the translator - but since Lucia Graves is the translator of both, I'm guessing the shortcomings are of the author.

Shortcomings aside, The Prince of Mist is a great read.  It's an excellent example of an atmospheric novel - set in an indeterminate place along the coast during WWII, where clocks sometimes run backwards, statues move, and a cat has more personality than many people you may know.  It also has a lot of nice touches of creepy horror - demonic voices, a malign cat, an evil clown, a shipwreck where all but one passenger died, etc. The book is also well plotted, compelling the reader to want to find out what happens, and has romance, family relationships, romance and a climatic violent struggle.  The novel is also a good example of the archetype "fairy tale" between good and evil, promises made and broken, and the dangers of making deals with the "devil."


I was meaning to read it when I bought it - since I liked Shadow of the Wind so much - but I knew I had to read it when a student returned it recently and asked if we had the sequel to the book.  He definitely liked The Prince of Mist and was eager to read the next book by Ruiz Zafón,.

More Baldwin, Better Baldwin

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks, [2000], c1956.
169 p. ; 21 cm.

After reading Go Tell it On the Mountain during the summer, a teacher at our school suggested that I read Giovanni's Room.  She said it was her favorite Baldwin novel.

The novel, published in 1956, is a powerful story of a young gay man struggling to come to terms with love, identity and convention in 1950s Paris.  The novel is passionate and heartfelt, and is one of the great early gay novels rich in character and the nuances of Parisian expatriate and gay life in the 1950s.

I really loved how subtly Baldwin is able to convey the complexities of characters trying to unravel their identities and live in authentic ways.  He also conveys the self-deception and destructiveness that homophobia and conventional mores foster in those characters.

I would definitely recommend Giovanni's Room to anyone wanting to explore the novels of James Baldwin.