The Help

"I put the iron down real slow, feel that bitter seed grow in my chest, the one planted after Treelore died. My face goes hot, my tongue twitchy. I don't know what to say to her. All I know is, I ain't saying it. And I know she ain't saying what she want a say either and it's a strange thing happening here cause nobody saying nothing and we still managing to have us a conversation" (The Help by Kathryn Stockett)

To the point.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett appeared by all apparent sources to be a great pick (not mine but my interest was definitely peaked). A HUGE best seller at the moment and was so popular at the time I was trying to purchase it that I had to wait 3 back orders for it to come in).

I usually reserve my blogs for books that I have liked or have been challenged by in some way. No need to be a hater. Kathryn Stockett, however, isn't hurting for book sales (especially now that the movie has come out).

To the point - A great concept but poorly executed across the board. Not unlike some of the other pop fiction, teen novels currently flying off the shelves, the writing style was self explanatory and annoyingly evident. The problem with this was that unlike its national best-seller teen lit cousins, it wasn't placed in that category. The multiple voices narrating the book, of which varied in age and race, appeared overlapped and at times forced. Accents wavered and truth be told at times I found myself picturing a white girl awkwardly mimicking an african american maid - no Kathryn's "Too Little Too Late" section didn't make up for this in the back of the book. A section where she stumbles over her words to apologize for any misgivings in the novel.

Yes - it is a strong and important topic - one that deserves an opportunity to garner far more attention in pop culture venues than it has previously but it can be strongly argued (as is now) that while this book may have been planned as a literary breakthrough - even forecasted as the next To Kill a Mockingbird - it ended up being a big hot mess.

Okay okay, a hot mess that made a ton of money. To each their own.

Boy's Life

"We had a dark queen who was one hundred and six years old. We had a gunfighter who saved the life of Wyatt Earp at the O.K. Corral. We had a monster in the river, and a secret in the lake. We had a ghost that haunted the road behind the wheel of a black dragster with flames on the hood. We had a Gabriel and a Lucifer, and a rebel that rose from the dead. We had an alien invader, a boy with a perfect arm, and we had a dinosaur loose on Merchants Street.

It was a magic place.

In me are the memories of a boy's life, spent in that realm of enchantments.

I remember.

These are the things I want to tell you" (Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon)

To say I was in the right frame of mind to read this book is a large understatement. While I have been reading quite a bit lately my choices have more often than not been fictional stories based loosely on harsh modern day reality - histories of war, famine, and human suffering. I am constantly moved by the strength and beauty found by those in the darkest depths of existence and find inspiration and humility in their tales of survival. While I come away from many of these reads feeling thankful for the opportunity to hear their tale, it is not hard to imagine that my typical 'pep' on life is slowly drained with each turning page.

Sometimes one needs to feel enamored by life again. Not only that happiness comes from those basic needs and necessities being met but also by the fact that every once in a while, just for a moment, we can experience a true and beautiful moment of magic.

Magic.

Ok - some claimed this book to fit unceremoniously into the typical coming-of-age, cliched magical realism realm of the 90s. I on the other hand found it to be everything I hoped and needed it to be and loved it.

McCammon for Boy's Life branched away from his typical Horror genre but kept the bouncy and at times punchy writing style that keeps readers continuously on their toes peeking around the corner. While the protagonist Cory experiences all the wonder and magic a young boy ought to it is not without a dualistic vision of the world in it's darkest moments.

On another note - if you have been looking for a great coming of age novel with a male protagonist then this is the book for you! Dynamic, curious and respectfully independent, not unlike Scout Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird), the young Cory Mackenson is a character you miss deeply when his tale comes to an end.

If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This

"Leaning in, he kisses her on the cheek. Like an old acquaintance, she thinks. As though there had never been any passion, nor love, nor rage, nor anything much, just some traces of innocuous familiarity between them. Live long enough, it seems, and every fire can burn itself out"

(If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black).

It has been far too long since I have been inspired to write about a book. It isn't the case that no book has peaked my interest in the past few months but more so that none sparked the desire to sit down and take my few precious moments of silence each day to write.

Thank you Robin Black for removing me from that funk. I will say, however, that I didn't approach this book without reservation. To begin - it is a book of short stories. To each their own. For me, typically I want to dive in. I want to be swept away so far that I become a character (or at least a regular spectator) to the intricate details of some other adventure, or story, or simply, conversation. I want to feel the characters as if they are beside me. Understand, relish and sympathize in their love, pain, regret, joy, sorrow, grief, guilt......

The short story is just that - a short story.

I realize that it is a great injustice for me to say that the short story doesn't 'do' it for me. Maybe I haven't had enough short story authors such as Robin Black enter my book shelf. Maybe I have always avoided a genre that promises much more than I expected it to deliver.

Robin Black's first work is not just the best book of short stories I have read to date but quite possibly one of the best books I have read overall. The characters within each story tell a unique tale of love and loss through the never-ending intricacies of those bound by five words: 'till death do us part. It's a work about love so deep that it cannot exist without thoroughly consuming parts of each individual involved. Yes - the cliche of two individuals becoming one while falling in love plays a role but a much darker side of that spinning coin falls to rest: Two become one because so much is lost, or taken, or simply forgotten that all that remains are two halves. Love, whether joyous and removed through death or painful and replaced with hurt, anger, jealousy, and despair, proves to be the most dangerous of emotions. The only emotion capable of taking something, a piece of the soul, that can never be replaced.

Each story is a vast tale within itself. The reader is drawn in immediately, falling in love with the raw details of a seemingly too intimate glimpse into the lives of incredibly layered characters only to then be ripped away when the story finishes. Loss and a feeling of loneliness is felt only before the page is turned and the next story begins.

If you are a library book reader, or a borrower of books from friends, I applaud you. I envy your ability to put environmental efforts over consumption - I for one love running my fingers down the spines of my books. In this case, however, I would make the exception and put it on your shelf permanently. It is a book you could read every ten years and find it in a different light, discovering something new, about yourself, about the characters.... for knowledge and experience are the only ways to truly understand all of the aspects of this book.

The Hunger Games

"May the odds ever be in your favor." (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)

I have always held a special place in my heart for the young adult novel. The imaginative landscapes held within are often hard to find in the adult world of fiction. Authors such as Haruki Murakami and specifically his novel "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" are surprisingly and disappointingly sparse despite their wondrously unique world of creation.

That is why I am especially thankful when a book such as "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins slides its way neatly into my bookshelf. I am even more thankful when I find out after two nail-biting days of consumption that this book is actually the first of three.

"The Hunger Games" is a novel set in the far future when natural disasters have reclaimed much of the land forcing those not taken by starvation and disease to rely on and submit to a harsh and controlling Capitol. This Capitol in the land of Panem, formerly North America, rules twelve remaining districts. In an effort to impose fear and ultimately submission on the people the Capitol organizes an annual event wherein one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district meet in an arena in a fight to the death broadcast in a horrific sporting tirade on live television. Only one victor remains each year as parents are forced to not only watch but cheer as their loved ones hunt and are hunted by the other "tributes". Katniss, the protagonist of this novel, appalled by what the games hold, volunteers in an unprecedented show of love and affection to take her little sisters place when her name is called. From this point on, the games begin.

In a "Lord of the Flies" meets "Gladiator" sort of way this novel depicts a landscape where those wishing to fight are kept silent and weak through starvation and constant fear. A little girl becomes what could be a glimmer of hope in a world where humanity is cast aside for brutality and furthermore depicted as sparkly entertainment.

I absolutely loved this book. Now if you will excuse me I'm off to start the second in the series.....

Little Bee

"From my country you have taken its future, and to my country you have sent the objects from your past. We do not have the seed, we have the husk. We do not have the spirit, we have the skull." ("Little Bee" formerly titled "The Other Hand" by Chris Cleave)

I had this novel passed on to me well over a year ago by a friend of a friend who had recently finished it herself. There is something so unique about taking a book previously loved right from someone's hand. There is no crack of the spine when it is opened for the first time and the pages have become soft and comfortable to the touch. Almost like an aged glass of wine ready to be consumed.

This book was definitely unforgettable. The novel begins one fateful day on a Nigerian beach when two European tourists attempting to enjoy the sunshine and a beverage are thrust into an unknown world where they are forced to make a life altering decision that will ultimately unravel and challenge their relationship, family, and inner belief in humanity. The little girl that is the centre of that decision becomes a mirror of who they thought they were, who they are, and who they will ultimately become. Through the horror and injustice that ensues that girl (Little Bee) becomes a beacon of light providing strength, laughter and love to a broken family.

While many aspects of this book were memorable I would argue that the hype surrounding the second wave release is slightly over the top. This is a beautiful book but is it the new classic that everyone should be talking about? In my opinion other works such as "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver, "July's People" by Nadine Gordimer, and "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee provide a much higher level of prose while entwined with a beautiful African narrative.

Then again not all readers are looking for the same thing and if you have never read a novel about Africa and the equally powerful horror and beauty contained within then this is a great place to start.

Water for Elephants

Engrossing, astounding and at times disturbingly startling. This novel takes its reader into the captivating world of circus life in the 1930's. When the protagonist Jacob encounters a tragic loss, he leaves his ivy league vet training early to hop a train into a life filled with misfits and beauties. When he falls in love with Marlena, the show's star performer and wife of the horrifically abusive and psychotic animal trainer, he finds himself silently suffocating in a world where compassion is cast aside.

This was an incredible read and an even more impressive literary feat. The research performed by Sara Gruen in order to be able to demonstrate the world and timeframe in which Jacob finds himself is so vivid that you smell the cotton candy, hear the horses stomping and see every little wrinkle and hair on Rosie's (the elephant) skin.

Not for the faint of heart as some of the animal encounters are difficult to read but should you be searching for a historical read with a glimpse into a different time and way of life while intertwined with a unique and beautiful story-line this is the book for you.

The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy tells of a post-apocalyptic world where father and son fight not only for survival but for a glimmer of hope. Set amidst a landscape seemingly devoid of all compassion, structure, sustenance, and humanity the two struggle along while leaning on, and at times held up by, the bond that they share.

While McCarthy's work is a quick and simple read, the setting descriptions and continual pull at the heart-strings keep the reader interested and hopeful. In a world where all is lost, the indistinguishable love between father and son casts a flickering ray of light across a barren and horrific backdrop.

Into the Wild

"There was another irony he failed to appreciate: His struggle to mold me in his image had been successful after all. The old walrus in fact managed to instill in me a great and burning ambition; it had simply found expression in an unintended pursuit."

Jon Krakauer - Into the Wild

Beautifully put and ringing true. A line I paused on for quite some time.

No I haven't seen the movie. Typically I don't. I read more than I watch - it's not a new age yuppie statement it just 'is what it is'. I have almost finished the book and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer truly is an inspirational and fascinating read.

I am more of a fiction lover myself. I find nothing to be more enjoyable than the experience of running away with a character and a story written by a talented author. Quite often I find non-fiction to be missing one of these key components. In my opinion non-fiction works are quite often a beautiful or heart-wrenching story lacking the artful pen that brings them to life so to speak.

Jon Krakauer proves to be a wonderful exception to this personal belief. He is a powerful author who has not only done justice to the individual and subsequent story he has captured in print, but has become the potential voice for an entire generation. The true story of Chris McCandless (pictured above), the 24 year old American who died on an Alaskan wilderness break from civilization, is the story of a disturbed yet idealistically charged individual set upon a course that no friend, family member, or foe could break.

Some believe (most actually) that Chris McCandless was a desolate and stubborn individual set on his own demise. Others think McCandless was a tragic young man simply lost in his own thoughts. While both of these beliefs may have an aspect of reality to them, it was McCandless' undeniable passion that created an air of infatuation around his tale. He was highly educated and very well read (the book is littered with quotes from famous literary texts found scrawled into the sides of the bus where his remains were found).

Chris McCandless was, while young and naiive, an inspiration. He was a passionate young man representative of a generation unafraid to believe in something. No longer numbed by the sparkly promise of material consumption, power, and wealth. I believe there will be more like McCandless to come. Maybe not those who march into the middle of Alaska ill-equipped for the harsh realities of mother nature - but those equally ready to reject all that has become our modern day and age - or more appropriately dubbed - 'normal' living.

East of Eden

Once again I am swept in and tossed by the surging power of a classic. Timeless and powerful in an ever-changing landscape of politics, religion, media and cultural drift.

"There are monstrous changes taking place in the world, forces shaping a future whose face we do not know. Some of these forces seem evil to us, perhaps not in themselves but because their tendency is to eliminate other things we hold good. It is true that two men can lift a bigger stone than one man, and bread from a huge factory is cheaper and more uniform. When our food and clothing and housing all are born in the complication of mass production, mass method is bound to get into our thinking and to eliminate all other thinking. In our time mass or collective production has entered our economics, our politics, and even our religions...

Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of man.

And now the forces marshaled around the concept of the group have declared a war of extermination on that preciousness, the mind of man. By disparagement, by starvation, by repressions, forced direction, and the stunning hammer-blows of conditioning, the free, roving mind is being pursued, roped, blunted and drugged. It is a sad suicidal course our species seems to have taken.

.... I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for that is one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system....If the glory can be killed, we are lost."

John Steinbeck - East of Eden

The Book Thief

"It was a year for the ages, like '79, like 1346, to name just a few" Mark Zusak (The Book Thief)

It's 1939 and you are following little Liesel, a German girl who survives the holocaust and the horrific atrocities surrounding her by stealing books.

Zusak thrusts you into a dark and dangerous time while being led by the soft, warm hand of a beautiful little girl. Poor, starving, and often terrified, Liesel represents the overpowering strength and love of the human spirit. Zusak's play on words make this book not only interesting to read but inspiring to digest. Zusak's use of metaphors is unmatched by any other author I have read to date. His words seamlessly dance on the page. A children's book (young adult) with momentous power to leave a reader of any age touched, heart-broken, horrified and bewildered.

The worst thing about this book is the back cover - no justice was done and had a good friend not recommended it I may not have ever found out what a beautiful piece of literature this really is.

Frankenstein

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow" Mary Shelly (Frankenstein)

There are so many preconceived, media invoked and fed beliefs and now culture driven ideals about "Frankenstein". Mary Shelly's original creation has been so twisted over the years that one could argue the original message has been long lost. If the original text, that which she wrote at only 18 years of age in 1818 had been lost one would never know the inner beauty that the monster originally held. Beauty that was stripped, re-molded, and ruined beyond repair by human contact.

Victor Frankenstein was a scientist yearning to play god and create new life from inanimate matter (not necessarily dead body parts) - yes Frankenstein was the human. How interesting it is that we have taken the name of the god-like creator - that which created the hell to ensue both for the monster and for the victims of his insatiable pain and changed it to be that which we fear.

After completion of his work, Frankenstein is horrified and disgusted and flees. The monster is left to its own accord, and knowing that his creator has fled he attempts alternate human contact with disastrous results.

After a number of painful scenarios play through the monster goes into hiding.

"Here then I retreated, and lay down, happy to have found shelter, however miserable, from the inclemency of the season, and still more from the barbarity of man".

From his hiding the monster watches a loving family from afar for a long period of time. From behind his cover, he learns love, happiness, compassion and empathy through the unknowing family that become his subjects of knowledge. When the monster becomes akin to the family and decides to present himself - knowing how loving and caring they are to each other - he steps out into the open with hopeful confidence.

"I imagined that they would be disgusted, until, by my gentle demeanor and conciliating words, I should first win their favour, and afterwards their love."

Horrified by his appearance not unlike his creator, the loving family, that which had become in his imagination his loving family, flee.

"Everywhere I see bliss, from which I am irrevocably excluded... I was a poor helpless miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but, feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept".

The monster, void of love and acceptance, sets out on a rampage to assert the label he has so unwillingly accepted.

"I will revenge my injuries; If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear; and chiefly towards you my arch enemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred. Have a care: I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you curse the hour of your birth".

While death and destruction have become the modern focus behind this work, Frankenstein remains another profound and exemplary work of man's ability to create his own hell through the continual thirst for power. While the monster carries with him a horrific exterior, it is society that creates the rampage and terror that develops within.

Frankenstein truly is a masterpiece. A powerful work written by a ground-breaking writer who arguably changed the course of literature - far more important than the mere hallowe'en or adam's family depiction it has become.

Ishmael

"There is nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with the world, as your does, they will live at odds with the world. Given a story to enact in which they are lords of the world, they will act like lords of the world. And, given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now." Daniel Quinn (Ishmael)

Ishmael is a captivating novel about overall social change. It seamlessly challenges popular beliefs and ignites alluring debate. It could be argued that never before has an author brought to life a discussion between man and beast so utterly moving and thought provoking. Regardless of whether or not you personally enjoy this work, you will none-the-less be unable to stop yourself from debating and discussing it with anyone willing to lend an ear.

My Year of Meats

"Coming at us - in waves, massed and unbreachable - knowledge becomes symbolic of our disempowerment - becomes bad knowledge - so we deny it, riding its crest until it subsides from consciousness.

If we can't act on knowledge, then we can't survive without ignorance.

So we cultivate the ignorance, go to great lengths to celebrate it, even. The faux-dumb aesthetic that dominates TV and Hollywood must be about this. Fed on a media diet of really bad news, we live in a perpetual state of repressed panic. Ignorance becomes empowering because it enables people to live. Stupidity becomes proactive, a political statement. Our collective norm."

Ruth Ozeki - My Year of Meats

Want to (even momentarily) step out of the box?

Encompassing a vast and steaming buffet of cultural perversion and America's attempt to impregnate a universal code of greed, gluttony, and ignorant inhumanity on unsuspecting nations My Year of Meats delivers everything from a life-altering message to characters of unending depth. The reader is seamlessly pulled along for a painfully evocative ride leaving a heavy stomach and an ironic yearning for seconds as soon as the last page has turned. Jane Takagi-Little, a half-Japanese half-American documentarian, delves blindly at first into the meat industry within the United States while filming a television show to be aired in Japan on the 'wholesomeness' of American Beef. With the show sponsored in its entirety by BEEF-EX, Jane is brought to a stranglehold decision - follow capitalist doctrine and support one's sponsor or follow her gut and veer off the assigned path with devastating consequences. This is a story of manifest destiny, the blind leading the blind, and one woman's attempt to take the small audience she has and create something engrossing.

Read it - sometimes you find a jewel that is not on the best-seller shelf. This is that jewel.