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.