Whine & Cheese

When She Woke (#32)

Whoops, it's been a long time since my last book... haven't quite been able to get back into a routine since returning from the Italy trip... work has needed a bit of extra effort and in my down-time I have been working on vacation pix.  But I totally forgot I had a book post (or two) saved up prior to the trip.  So here it is!

Despite how long my to-be-read list always is, I often get easily distracted by a new release and have it "jumps the line." 

The premise of Hillary Jordan's When She Woke ... a futuristic, dystopian twist on The Scarlet Letter just seemed too good to pass up (or figure out what priority to give it on my list).  While in the classic from Nathaniel Hawthorne, it was Hester Prynne being branded with the scarlet "A" on her clothes after conceiving a child out-of-wedlock with a priest... in the Jordan's future vision it's Hannah Payne likewise being punished after an adulterous affair with a preacher... but not so much for the adultery (which is still frowned upong) but more so, for the now illegal act of abortion.  This leads her to be "melachromed" -- having her skin genetically altered to turn red for the duration of her sentence.  Pretty nifty, huh?

While I breezed through the novel, I grew increasingly disappointed with the direction it took after starting off like gangbusters with whole revelation of the premise. I was expecting/wanting this to be more an examination of this darkly conservative version of a future America... which granted it is in subtext, but I felt it just devolved too much of a "damsel in distress" story crossed with a somewhat unconvincing story/journey of female empowerment. While Hannah is pretty well drawn (though, at times, a bit gushy and overwrought for my taste), the rest of the cast of characters just seemed too black/white, good/evil... even the ones who are supposed to be some shade of grey. And I will do my best to remain spoiler-free, but a "romantic" twist in the latter half of the book, was a bit too "jump the shark" for my taste.

Still a good and quick read, but was just left with a sense of unfulfilled potential with that premise that was so rich/ripe for exploration vs the story that was told.

We The Animals (#31)

After a string of some really good reads thru mid/late summer, I seemed to have run into a bit of a rut.  While the more recent books have been "good," they just haven't been dazzling me (with one exception, The Submission).  Honestly, I don't know if it is the books or just my frame of mind (not that I feel particularly out of sorts), but just seem to be a cranky reading rater of late.

I thought I might jump-start some quality reading again with Justin Torres' debut novel, We The Animals.  The buzz on it was really good and as a 140-ish page novella, I thought it would be something quick to get me back on track.

And after reading the opening chapter, I had the feeling that I was indeed in for something really special.  It has the groove and rhythm of a poetry slam, really fresh and like nothing I had read before.

The novel(la) is a coming-of-age story of three bi-racial brothers told through the eyes of one of them (and, from what I have read since, it is largely autobiographical) in vignettes from this very dysfunctional family.  It was powerful, moving, disturbing and even funny throughout... but ... and here we go again, it just fizzled out as it went along.   There is a bit of jolt at the end, where the story advances many years... and many of my fellow Goodreads reviewers found to be quite abrupt/out of left field, but for me it provided enough of a wake-up call to bump my final rating up a half-star, giving it 3.5 stars, though I rounded it back down to 3 for Goodreads.

Borrowing a page from reality singing shows, I'd say Torres didn't blow me away and is a bit rough, but he has obvious and raw talent, an interesting quality, and shows great potential. So if this were the auditions or "Hollywood Week/Bootcamp", I'd advance him to the next round... so definitely worth another look at his next work.

Rafa (#30)

This next book should come as absolutely no surprise as Rafael Nadal has been kind of W&C's mascot for the past several years.

There was little doubt that I would like Rafa, but having read a handful of tennis memoirs, I have yet to find a really good one and, to be honest, my expectations were low for this one, particularly since we're talking of one that is at mid-career and the ripe old age of 25. 

It started off rough, really rough.  While I was never under the illusion that Nadal “wrote” the book, it seemed to a long time for "co-author" John Carlin to capture Rafa’s “voice.”  It just didn't sound like Rafa, and that was disconcerting for a good chunk of the first half of the book.  Likewise, I got the impression that the book was written in Spanish and translated to English as there is some awkward language at times.  For example, a member of Nadal’s team is described as “placid” where “calm” would seem to be a word the average person or there was talk of Nadal’s preparation before the start of the “game” vs. “match.”  So just odd things stuck out here and there, particularly for the avid tennis fan (I believe the French Open was referred to as the first Grand Slam tournament of the year... sacre bleu!)

Likewise, if you follow tennis you will likely know many/most of the stories and the matches.  As I have said with pretty much every tennis memoir book post, there just isn't a good way to recount a match and this one hasn't figured it out either. 

So there is a not a lot new or unexpected here, though plenty of entertaining anecdotal stuff, mostly involving how timid/modest Nadal is in real life vs. his warrior-like on-court personae.  Though there are contradictions.  Given how private/shy/modest he (and his family is), a memoir seems a bit out of character... and likewise (though I am certainly not complaining!) is Rafa's current underwear/jeans modeling career.

Perhaps, the biggest shock may the addition of Uncle Toni (can you call him anything else?) entering the Nightmare Tennis Coach/Family member Hall of Fame. An alternate title for this book certainly could have been: Uncle Toni Is A Prick: But I Still Love Him (And It Obviously Worked).

In the end, it’s hard not to like and respect Rafa (even more).  In the world of sports, he is an anomaly - a good guy almost to a fault. It’s easy to love him. Ratings-wise this book was a bit tricky:  5 stars for Rafa, 3 stars for this pretty much standard, run-of-the mill sports memoir... overall, 3.5 stars, though gave it the round-down to 3 stars on GoodReads.

The Leftovers (#29)

One of the great things about the Kindle is that there is absolutely no hesitation when it comes to a newly released book.  In the past, I would buy a few hardcovers a year, but most of the time I would wait for the paperback version.  These days, it's kind of funny when I see the "New In Paperback" releases and think... it's just now coming out in paperback, I read it ages ago!

Tom Perrotta has become a favorite author over the years.  I first read Little Children, then back-tracked to his equally popular (and also made into a movie), Election... and I was pretty much hooked with his satiric look at life in the suburbs.   His last book, The Abstinence Teacher, was still good... but it just wasn't quite as good.  That's the problem with having a favorite author, you just can't help compare one book against another.

At that time, I stated that I thought there was no such thing as a "bad" Perrotta book... kinda like how it's difficult to find "bad" pizza... just some better than others.  The good news, here is I still stand by that statement and belief in Perrotta, but I now have this latest effort, The Leftovers, as my least favorite -- but still good -- Perrotta book.  That said, I am still a bit concerned about this seeming downward trajectory.  But perhaps with more realistic and slightly lowered expectations, he'll get me fully back on board with his next book.

The thing I found a bit disappointing was that I thought the subject matter, a post-rapture-like look at suburban life, was so right up his alley and so ripe/easy plucking for him.  I have always found his stuff to have a real bite, but this one just seemed flat or soft/mushy.  Likewise, I have always reveled in his insights into everyday life/folks and his sly way of making one understand the motivations behind actions, but here I just felt the extended cast of characters were lost in a the proverbial fog (understandably so!) and some characters (particularly Laurie) I just didn't "get."

While this review seems like a hard slam to the literary ground, it's really not... if anything it is a backhanded compliment to Perrotta as expect a lot out of him.  And while he still delivers, he just didn't deliver enough in this one, but still an enjoyable read, and a certainly a case of "like" ... though granted it's typically "love."

The Submission (#28)

It probably seems a bit strange (or maybe not) that as the 10th anniversary of 9-11 was approaching, I found myself looking for a 9-11 related novel.  I have read a handful of them over the years and all have been quite good, though most of them not concentrate on the actual day... which is fine with me as watching all that over again on the anniversary date was still quite raw and painful.

It was pretty easy to find the book to read as Amy Waldman's debut novel The Submission was getting all the buzz, even been trumpeted as the 9-11 novel. 

The premise of the book is fascinating: a blind/anonymous design contest to build New York City's WTC memorial... with the winner being a Muslim American, Mohammad "Mo" Khan. So, in part, the book seems inspired by Maya Lin and her design being anonymously selected as Washington DC's Vietnam War Memorial, though Waldman's "what if?" premise here would put that controversial decision (at the time) to shame.  I am guessing, despite its ultimate success/iconic status, that Lin's win put an end to any blind competition for a public memorial.

I found the novel to be reminiscent of what has been my favorite/best post-9/11 novel to-date, Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin.. and that's really saying something as that novel was my 2010 Fiction Book of the Year and certainly among the best  books I've read since I started blogging about books (that goes back to 2006!). 

Both novels operate under a similar structure, a large and swirling cast of characters creating a multi-perspective patchwork quilt of a story. Tonally, they are quite different. McCann's novel (taking place in 1970s NYC) was lyrical and poignant tale of grief and loss that slyly evoked 9/11 whereas Waldman's work is a bold, provocative, and quite raw take of the lingering emotional aftermath of that day -- great companion pieces that I could easily see being paired up by literature classes or book clubs.

There is a lot of gray area in this novel. Readers are continually challenged to re-think what they think they really think.. got that?! Allegiances and empathy for various characters are in constant flux. For instance, and especially as someone likely tagged as a liberal elitist, I intellectually and emotionally would not have an issue with a Muslim rightfully winning such a design competition, but still found myself wavering on whether it would be "good" for the country, the individual/architect, and/or Muslims in general.

While the novel is Mo's architectural contest submission, the theme of submitting/being submissive to (and by) peer pressure, politics/political correctness, and the media is a theme that readers could debate for hours.  Also debate fueling, I'd be curious what a more politically right-leaning reader would have to this novel as I think it does play to left/liberal slant (Waldman is a former co-chief of the South Asia bureau of The New York Times).

Overall, I'd rate The Submission a 4.5 stars. I was close to rounding it up to 5 stars for Goodreads, but felt it lost some steam in parts and was a bit conflicted about the ending which felt a tad tacked on/trying to tie things up in a neat bow in what had been so murky/muck-ily thought-provoking throughout.

The Family Fang (#27)

Well, I was keeping up with book posts pretty well. I was only one book behind with my last post and now -- on the doorstep of October -- have to go back to a book I read in August!  Oh well!

This next book was a pretty easy selection.  I had heard good things about Kevin Wilson's The Family Fang and a good part of the buzz was that it was pretty quirky -- which is usually right up my alley, and it did not disappoint in that respect as it had quirkiness in spades!

First off, no worries The Fangs are NOT vampires -- I'm guessing the title alone may keep throngs of folks away -- but a family of performance artists who pull off these crazy public stunts in the name of "art."  While the entire family of four participate, it is really just the parents, Caleb and Camille, who are driving the action with their children merely used as props, so much so they often refer to them as "Child A" and "Child B " with "real" corresponding names of Annie and Buster. 

While this all sounds terribly outrageous (and it is!), this is a novel of dark humor and satire. Much of the novel splits itself between the present -- where Annie and Buster are semi-successful, but struggling adults -- and the past, where readers re-live some of the Fangs' "greatest hits" which help explain much of the shaky foundation and general messed-up-ness (how's that for a word!) of the present. 

Much of the magic of this novel is in these vignettes from the past.  Wilson creates these delightfully uncomfortable, squirm-inducing, jaw-dropping acts of this brand of public performance art. Given that readers know the Fangs are very much alive and well (and not incarcerated) in the present day, we know that they "survive" each of these acts, but there is still this wonderful tension with each one.

The "buuuuut" problem lies in that the present-day storyline(s) as they pale in comparison. Perhaps this in intentional on Wilson's part as it is an exploration of this scorched-earth aftermath of cumulative years of family dysfunction.  The stories from the past had momentum and energy which built to a bang, but overall I found novel ending with the proverbial whimper.  Again, I suspect this may have been the point, but it was still a bit of a let-down/feel flat for me.

Nevertheless, still quite good, highly original and a non-hesitant recommendation for fellow fans of quirk.  I gave the book 3.5 stars, but rounded it down to 3 on Goodreads just for the inconsistency between the past/present story-lines and the ending (and because I just felt I had been rating books too highly of late!). 

Marcelo in the Real World (#26)

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork was one of those books that came out of nowhere.  It was never on my radar - heck, I had never heard of it before, but after seeing it featured on the #fridayreads (a Twitter meme we you tweet what you are reading each Friday) blog... it got on my list and didn't take too long thereafter to get onto my Kindle. 

Why?  Well, it seemed intriguing on that blog (a story about a teenager challenged in/by life with a form of high-functioning autism/ Aperger's Syndrome), it was well-rated/reviewed, and it was compared to Mark Haddon's beloved debut novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  In fact, this novel almost seems like a grown-up version of that novel in that it is an older child/young adult in Marcelo, tho the novels really have nothing else in common except an autistic-ish protagonist... but the instant love you feel for them was certainly similar.   And even though Kindle's don't have book covers, you have to say this one is pretty snazzy/eye-catching!

Another likely reason I never heard of this book (and guessing, you the same), is that it is tagged as "young adult" novel.  I remain befuddled by what gets classifed as this and what does not.  Stork's prose certainly didn't seem overly simplistic (which I'll accuse my YA punching bag of Stephenie "Twilight" Meyer of being guilty of)... and with occasional profanity plus a rather adult-ish sub-plot, I am not sure it's totally appropriate for "Grades 8/Age 14 and Up"?  But then, as always, I have to remind myself that I grew up in far more innocent times (70s/80s) -- or at least more sheltered times -- and "kids" today probably wouldn't even raise an eyebrow to any of this "real world" stuff of today!

But back to the book!  As mentioned above, it is impossible not to fall in love with Marcelo (btw, it's Mar-sel-o, not Mar-che-lo).  I have pretty limited experience/knowledge of autism/Asperger's, but what little I do know is that there seems to be this amazing mix of innocence, awareness, and wisdom that it quite infectious (Marcelo reminded me quite a bit of Zev from The Amazing Race).

Ultimately the novel is a coming-of-age story that a person of any age can appreciate.  While always rooting for Marcelo to succeed, often you find yourself wanting to wave him back to safe and protected world that had been created for him (and by him) at the start of the novel. While all that happens to Marcelo is ultimately for the good, it is still both painful, but inspiring to experiencing this summer along side him as he learns the ropes of the "real world."

A total charmer!

The Wave (#25)

Making a nice watery segue from my last book, The Lake, my book up is... The Wave by Susan Casey!  No worries, the trend stops here... tho I guess it would have been a good time to get to Water for Elephants, which somehow has not managed to tempt me after all its years on the bestseller list.

The Wave has been on my reading radar pretty since it's been published.  It was one of those books that had buzz, but yet I still did not get around to it, even despite praise from two of my most trusted reading buddies, Jen and Joanna.  I guess the thing is that I wasn't that interested in the subject matter.  While this has never stopped me before from reading a book, it just seemed like it would be on odd mix: the science of the ocean and world of big-wave surfing.  In fact, one review I read on Goodreads I think said it was like the Discovery Channel crossed with ESPN.  But when it was on that recent Kindle e-book sale for $3.99, it just seemed too good to pass up.

And I am glad I had that motivation as it ended up being quite good and continually fascinating.  That said, I did have some initial concerns as Casey, in my humble opinion, opened up with quite a dry chunk of material that didn't pull me in.  Thankfully, that all changed when the next section - switching off to surfing - that did grab my attention... and soon enough, the science-y chapters were often trumping the thrills of the surfing stories.

The book had a lot of momentum which kind of felt like times you were riding a big 'ole literary wave. Engaging and highly readable, Casey opens readers' eyes to worlds that I am likely are unknown to the average Joe/Jane... from thrill-seeking/adrenaline junkie surfers who globe-trot the world not unlike the "storm chasers" of basic cable television to gigantic shipping vessels disappearing each and every week and seemingly unnoticed by the media/world (the comparison made is imagine a 747 going down once a week) to unfathomable waves in Alaska to on-call shipping salvage companies off the nasty waters around South Africa... the list goes on and on and on.

While perhaps too geeky in the science parts and/or too duuuude!!!! in the surfing parts for some folks' tastes, I was thoroughly entertained... if you don't think you care about waves, Casey does a very good job in proving you wrong. The Wave was not a book "on paper" that I thought I would have liked, but, in the end, it is a likely contender for my non-fiction read of year.

The Lake (#24)

There were quite a few things that brought me to Banana Yoshimoto's The Lake.  First off, it was names of of Amazon's Best Book of the Month for May 2011 and I have a fairly good track record with these monthly lists from them.  Second, c'mon the author's name, how can you resist a name like Banana?  And third, Amazon recently put it on sale during a Kindle e-book sale, so it became impossible to pass up for a mere $3.03 (which I see it's still priced at, so maybe it's the regular price, hmmm..).  But anyhow, glad I got to it....

... and even more glad that I remain unspoiled.  While I have to admit I do miss the artistry of the book covers and having that greet me vs. my generic brown leather Kindle cover, one thing I do NOT miss is being spoiled by back cover or inside flap blurbs.  I know, I know... just don't read them... but that just doesn't happen.  And from everything I can tell, based on GoodReads, the back cover gives away *THE* plot point of the novel.  If that wasn't enough, the synopsis throws the rest away.  I am not sure who made the decision (publisher? editor?) but it just floored me. 

The novel centers around Chihiro, a young woman trying to break free into adulthood but still reeling from the death of her mother.   She eventually stumbles upon and begins "dating" (quotes intentional as it is a quite odd relationship) Nakajima, a young man also dealing with the death of his mother, but with a very mysterious and painful past.  What this mystery is and how Yoshimoto slowly builds the suspense and unravels his past is really quite wonderful -- that is, unless you've already read the back cover or tagline/synopsis! 

This book had very mixed reviews on GoodReads and I can see why folks would have been potentially unimpressed knowing what's going on in advance, and that's a real shame and a discredit to the author.
There is a great thought from Chihiro that sums this up:

As long as it remained a mystery, I could have dealt with it - no matter how enormous a mystery it became. Now that matters had gotten more specific, my imagination began supplying smells and textures.

I think it makes a huge difference if readers know what Chihiro knows when *she* knows it!

A real gem of novel (novella? only 200-ish pages), haunting quality, some really lovely prose -- it is a bit on the quirky/oddball side, but I think most fans of literary fiction would like this one... just if you can somehow not know too much going in!

How to Talk to a Widower (#23)

You may recall that Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You was my fiction book of the year for 2009... so why has it taken me nearly two years to get back to another Tropper book!?!  Well, if it makes any sense (and I think it will for my fellow avid readers), I think I was a bit afraid of diluting my strong reaction/memory to that first book (which was actually his last/latest book... got that?).  I just could not imagine that Tropper could top This I Where... thus would I be disappointed?  Or if he could top it, then I would have to re-think a book that I had been so wildly enthusiastic about?!

The topic of Tropper came up amongst some friends online and I just happened to be looking for a next/new read at the time, so finally decided it was time get back to Tropper.  Most folks suggested The Book of Joe was his best (cemented by long-time W&C follower Scot, who became a Tropper addict based on my This Is Where review... love that!), so again, a bit afraid of that one, so decided on the slightly less-read, but still well-received, How To Talk To A Widower.

Any fears (not they were FEARS!) were quickly relieved as all the things I loved about my first experience with Tropper were well in force in this book... sizzling, sharp, witty, raw, funny, painful, astute prose.  While enjoying it thoroughly, I still found myself a bit unsettled about my feelings as there was a whole lot of familiar territory.  If I wrote this description: "Down-on-their-luck male protagonist dealing with the loss of a spouse and a parent, aided (or not) by clan of (equally) dysfunctional family and friends," it could be a fairly accurate description of both Widower and This Is Where. 

So I was kinda left thinking that this left This Is Where as a bit less new and fresh and bold and pretty derivative of Widower.  But, so what!?   At the end of the proverbial day, was still left with two great books and an author who expertly captures the human condition in such an amazing and honest (at many times painfully honest) way, so much so that you are often left laughing or crying during the same reading session. 

I'll put Widower ever so slightly under This Is Where in the Tropper rankings, but now with a second book under my belt, there is no doubt that he is on my "favorite authors" list.