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.