Young and fresh out of Harvard University, Norman Mailer went to war in 1943, doing two years of duty in the Philippines and seeing almost no action. When he came home, he very self-consciously set out to write an epic war novel. The Naked and the Dead was the result.
In his introduction to the 50th anniversary edition of the now widely regarded classic, Mailer wrote that Tolstoy was his primary influence and if he had any goal in writing the novel, it was to generate a sense of compassion.
There is compassion in The Naked and the Dead, but it is mere flotsam amid a sea of misery and suffering. Like its logical predecessor, All Quiet on the Western Front, it leaves no conclusion other than the one Hobbes reached centuries earlier about the lives of men in war: “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” … Continue reading »
Time for another American holiday celebrating the decimation of a native society. Here’s a quick selection of some books you may want to cozy up to during the long weekend once you’ve eaten your fill of turducken. These aren’t about pilgrims or feasts, and I haven’t included Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey, but rather these are three books by Native American authors. Happy Thanksgiving.
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The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
A powerful collection of short stories that tackles a lot of the truths and misconceptions about modern Native American culture and life on a reservation. It was even made into an iffy movie, but you’re probably better off watching the Lions losing in the background and just reading this.
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Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
A poignant novel about WW2 vet caught between two cultures and two world. Much like Alexie’s better works, in that while on the outside this is a novel about Native Americans on a reservation, the themes it tackles are universal and remain relevant 30 years after the book was originally published.
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Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives by Ray A. Young Bear
A fascinating blend of poetry and prose that steps in and out of memoir and fiction, I definitely enjoyed this book. Might be a little hard to find, but keep an eye out for it.
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And for year-old Thanksgiving fun, here’s a video of Sarah Palin vomiting words while yummy turkeys are slaughtered in the background:
The Manual of Detection is about Charles Unwin, a clerk at a mysterious detective firm simply called The Agency. Each Agency detective is assigned a clerk to arrange his reports; when Unwin’s detective—the Agency’s most prestigious, a man named Sivart—goes missing, Unwin is promoted to replace him.
Unwin doesn’t want to be a detective and protests repeatedly, then reluctantly follows the clues before him, if only to find Sivart and get his old boring clerk job back.
Manual combines a semi-surreal, hard-boiled world with the soft, posh style of Unwin’s delicate sensibility. The narration can often be obnoxious to listen to, as Unwin minces around among fistfights and gunplay.
But Berry sets the hooks of his mystery carefully and well, and the result is a good mystery that can at times be unbearable, with its weirdness that borders on cloying cutesiness. It’s certainly better than your average detective paperback, but it’s not quite the knock-your-socks-off intellectual thriller it tries to be. … Continue reading »
Zany family novels are certainly nothing new, but they can be fun, and perhaps a little comforting–like homemade mac and cheese (made with a roux and covered in crispy breadcrumbs). One part The Royal Tennenbaums and one bigger part The Big Chill, This Is Where I Leave You is a fun read, and well-written, though ultimately struggles to define itself as a unique entry in a traditionally formulaic genre. … Continue reading »
I was able to dissuade myself from writing a Dada-like review of this bizarre and entertaining little book, but just barely. I did cut up my first draft with a scissors in order to paste the words randomly onto a new page. Codrescu himself probably would’ve liked the results, but good sense (whatever that is) won out in the end, and I flushed the slips of paper down Marcel Duchamp’s urinal.
Codrescu, English professor at LSU and popular NPR commentator, frames his book as an encyclopedia of sorts, defining various artistic movements and those behind them. You’ll also find such entries as “language crystal,” “e-body,” and “new year’s resolutions by my poetry students, 2008.” Some of these entries are painfully long, others get right to the point (“masses, the: Keep them busy. When intellectuals get bored, they incite the masses to murder”). … Continue reading »
Some years ago, I picked up Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. I found it absurd, constantly surprising and outrageously hilarious. Naturally, I couldn’t stand it and quit by page 70. (If the preceding statement treads on your illogic nerve, then welcome to the world of Catch-22 and start getting used to it.)
How could something so delightfully funny prove so tiresome? The challenge lies in Heller’s penchant for farce and his unusual narrative structure. The overarching sense of the absurd, while consistently amusing, can prove a bit trying. One eventually wonders if there’s a point amid all the ridiculous proceedings, whether there’s anything serious to be said about an obviously serious subject – in this case, war. Ah, but that’s partially the point of this wonderfully pointed satire: the mysterious divide between matters of life and death and the attentive significance they demand and sometimes fail to receive. … Continue reading »
The Glister begins with a contemplative rumination about the ravaged state of the world in which the story takes place. It’s a city near an old chemical plant where the land and people have “soured,” turning bizarre in creepy ways. The city’s divided into two parts: Innertown, the slums, and Outertown, where the rich people live.
The character whose perspective the narrative inhabits first is Innertown’s lone policeman, a sad, troubled man named Morrison. After setting the scene, Morrison slowly recounts the frightening story of a boy who went into the poison woods to find the devil and never came back. Since then, a total of five boys have disappeared.
Mentioning a crime to solve is slightly misleading; The Glister is more of an extension of that initial rumination than it is a plot-driven mystery, and it’s definitely not a Morrison-centric detective story. But Burnside, who’s written more poetry than prose, does his ruminations well, and he spends a lot of time on an interesting, if slightly disjointed, coming-of-age story involving an Innertown teenager.
It’s often compelling and interesting, and often beautifully written. The two halves—mystery and coming-of-age—don’t quite make a whole, but it’s still worth a read. … Continue reading »
I like to watch a movie and tell the person sitting next to me, “the book was sooo much better.” I’m one of those people. So when I saw a trailer for Shutter Island, I thought “I wonder if that is a book.” Turns out, it is. Denise Lehane (of book/movie combos Mystic River and Gone Baby, Gone) released Shutter Island in 2003. Shutter Island is a stretch for Lehane. Somewhat. … Continue reading »
This week we got a better look at the Alex, which, depending on the final price point, could provide some decent competition for the Kindle and Nook come Black Friday the holiday selling season. We also saw more of the Entourage. I know I sniped at it last week, but the functionality of an Android netbook hybrid could make for an interesting device. All in one devices are certain to gain in popularity, but will the OLPC really happen?
It’s not really an ereader device at all, but the tech in the new Intel Reader is neat-o and something that could have cool applications for etext down the road, as well for its intended healthcare market. And, in the tradition of stupid names for ereaders: presenting the PocketBook(s). Finally, I’m not sure what I think about the Sungale Cyberus.
This review is going to be a little different, as I read this book using the Enhanced Editions iPhone appbook version of the book. The first half will review the book, and the second will be an installment of iPhone Readers.
Nick Cave’s musical background is immediately evident when you begin reading this book. I haven’t read his debut And the Ass Saw the Angel, but I’ve since heard the writing is similar. Cave utilizes strong rhythms and cadences to his syntax. And while he doesn’t turn the crispest phrases, there is a hypnotic and musical feel to his writing, even if it is a bit manic and cacophonous at times. … Continue reading »
Author: Norman Mailer
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives by Ray A. Young Bear
Author: Jedediah Berry
Author: Jonathan Tropper
Author: Andrei Codrescu
Author: Joseph Heller
Author: John Burnside
Author: Nick Cave
