Author: Seth Grahame-Smith

2010, Grand Central Publishing

Filed Under: Historical, Horror, Humor

Seth Grahame-Smith is the same guy who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and it shows. This is a good thing, PPZ was excellent–a great mix of classic literature and zombie mayhem. The transition from “literary mash-up” to fake biography was a wise move–the Quirk books after PPZ have been disappointing. I lamented that Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (review) wasn’t as good because it was too inventive, and not true enough to its source. But basically I figured that Winters just wasn’t as good as Grahame-Smith. I’m currently about halfway through Android Karenina, also by Winters, and while it’s not all that good either, I’m realizing it’s not so much the author’s lack of talent but lack of novelty: a truly good horror/literary mash-up probably will only work once.

This book is not a drastic departure from its predecessor but it manages to feel fresh. ALVH is made of the same essence; I’d call it respectful parody. This novel is written in the manner of a biography, as if Lincoln’s secret journals fell into Grahame-Smith’s lap. It works well. (He said in an author interview he was inspired to write this because he found it curious seeing a bunch of Abe Lincoln bios sitting beside Twilight on a bookstore bestseller shelf.) …
Continue reading »

This is our last entry in the Read This Book Now series. Drop what you’re doing right now, and read John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces.  Then read the other entries in this series here. Keep your eyes peeled for our next series, starting up this summer.

I nearly missed out on this book for the same reason I miss out on a lot of books, movies and music: If too many people like something, part of me starts to think it must suck. I don’t know why, but if more than three people, or any one person on television, recommend something I start rolling my eyes. Maybe it’s because I think that if something appeals to everyone it must be so watered-down and vanilla that people with no taste at all can enjoy it. The point is, I’m usually wrong and miss out on cool things. For this reason, I heard about A Confederacy of Dunces long before I read it. A friend demanded I read Confederacy repeatedly, and after finally reading it, I’m ashamed to say how long he badgered me before his recommendation took. So if you haven’t read this book for the same reason, do yourself a favor and get a copy. You won’t be sorry. …
Continue reading »

Author: Michael Rubens

2009, Pantheon

Best ebook deal: Barnes & Noble

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Humor

Rubens’s biggest credit in his “About the Author” note is as a writer and producer on The Daily Show. So the conceit is clear: this will be a funny TV guy writing a funny sci-fi novel.

There are two ways this can go. The author can use the wide boundaries of the genre as an excuse to take wild risks with the plot and characters, and so short-circuit the usual novelistic learning curve. Or he could be a funny person who thinks that writing a novel is easy, and doesn’t put nearly enough work into it. Unfortunately, Yrnameer is the latter, and Rubens turns in an uninspired, shapeless mishmash.

The premise is derivative to the least—it reads like a compilation of sci-fi’s greatest hits. The plot is barely there. The characters are two-dimensional. And, possibly worst of all, it’s just not that funny. There’s evidence of a humorous mind at work, but there’s a big difference between being funny on TV or in person, and being funny in a novel.

Rubens’s humor is ill-suited for the novel form, and it seems that he is, too. …
Continue reading »

Author: Nick Hornby

2009, Riverhead

Best ebook deal: Barnes & Noble

Filed under: Literary, Humor

Top Five Nick Hornby Novels

5. How to Be Good

4. High Fidelity

3. Juliet, Naked

2. A Long Way Down

1. About a Boy

OK, that was pretty cheesy. But there’s something about Hornby that invites a certain kind of earnest, jocular cheesiness.

Juliet, Naked will be made into a movie at some point, and I’m guessing it will star Robert Downey Jr. and Kate Winslet, if they can tweak the female lead slightly younger.

As a novel, it’s a fairly straightforward romantic comedy, with a relatively ludicrous premise. But Hornby has a talent for taking relatively ludicrous premises and plumbing their depths until he hits something good. He commits to his characters and his plot points, and, most importantly, he has a preternatural talent for making stories about relationships compelling and fresh. …
Continue reading »

This book has been chosen as a Great Read

Authors: Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith

2009, Quirk

Best ebook deal: Sony eBook Store

Filed under Literary, Horror, Humor

From the discussion guide appended to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies:

Some scholars believe that the zombies were a last-minute addition to the novel, requested by the publisher in a shameless attempt to boost sales. Others argue that the hordes of living dead are integral to Jane Austen’s plot and social commentary. What do you think? Can you imagine what this novel might be like without the violent zombie mayhem?

If you’re at all familiar with Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, you will immediately upon beginning Pride and Prejudice and Zombies notice that this is really that same book just…modified. It’s not a rewrite, just a reworking. What is really astounding about the Zombies edition is how well Grahame-Smith manages to implement the gory horror aspects, and indeed and entirely new setting, atmosphere, and fictional historical context while remaining true to the source material. …
Continue reading »

Author: Christopher Moore

HarperCollins, 2008

Best ebook deal: Public library

Christopher Moore writes “comic novels,” which gives me pause. I love funny books, but I rarely read comic novels, because they always seem to ignore every other aspect of fiction on their quest toward cracking a joke every five sentences. Mainstream dramatic books, in my experience, can weave humor in with their story; they can create a melody of narrative, where comic novels usually lapse into a low, constant drone.

Fool reads, for the most part, like just such a drone. The story is King Lear, told from the point of view of the court jester, called Fool in the play, Pocket in the novel. Moore does his best Shakespeare impression, leaning toward bawdiness and away from drama. And his impression isn’t too bad, actually. If you unfocus a little, it might even pass at certain points. Not, however, the points where Moore can’t resist naming the King of France “Jeff,” or dropping in words like “dude” and “jizm.”

…
Continue reading »

Author: G. Xavier Robillard

Harper, 2009

Best eBook Deal: HarperCollins

Captain Freedom: A Superhero’s Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves is a social satire written in the tradition of George Saunders and Kurt Vonnegut, amongst others. Freedom takes cuts at most every aspect of American society–if you ever find yourself unsure of just what Robillard’s angle is at a given point, the chapter titles will help steer you. Ultimately, the book’s undoing is its large scope: it tries to tackle too much and loses focus in the effort.

Vonnegut was a master at pulling back, at separating the narration and the action. And Saunders’s brilliance lies in his staccato zaniness. Robillard takes neither approach, though he should have. …
Continue reading »