'The Dirty Streets of Heaven' by Tad Williams

Exciting, full of action and humor ... and trouble

I've come to that point in my life; everything I read reminds me of something else.  This is not a bad thing when it reminds me of something good.  Bobby Dollar reminds me of Harry Dresden.  Both these characters have the amazing ability to spot trouble and immediately make it worse.  This quality they share has nothing to do with super powerful beings in books; it is a quality inherent in being males, which is probably why it is so easy to suspend my disbelief.  Please bear with me on this...

I have a relative who tried to fix the plumbing in the kitchen by sawing through a pipe. His idea was that he would cut out the leaky portion and try to glue the two smooth portions together.  His wife went to have a quiet coffee in the living room, secure in the knowledge that she was going out for dinner, probably for a few nights.  He knew ahead of time that his approach was not likely to work.  He felt that action, any action, was better than paying a plumber first.  Another male of my acquaintance often tries to put furniture together or install software without reading the instructions (incomplete information).  He insists that logic will get him through and his favorite complaint is "this doesn't make sense!"

So you see where I am headed with this?  Take a powerful being (but not the biggest fish in the pond) and give him a super problem, missing souls instead of a leaky pipe, and set him lose in the kitchen or city of your choice.  The whole approach is so consistently masculine and, yes, endearing.  I flinch every time Bobby decides to put his foot in it.  The most desirable partner for such a man is obviously a she-devil, as are all wives one way or another from a man's point of view.

The story was exciting, full of action and humor.  The universe Tad creates stays consistent which is important with so much action and unknowns.  I kept reading all day... I was laughed at by a friend when she terrified me in my car (waiting for kid X to come out of sport Y).  I did not put the book down until I was done.  Alright Tad, I am persuaded to hunt some of your other books down until I get to hear more of this fun angel.

@tadwilliams

Tad Williams
ISBN: 9781444738551

'Dodger' by Terry Pratchett

 'Dodger' put me in a 'Nation' state of mind

Once upon a time, Discworld novels were humorous jewels I read on an annual basis.  For a while I read them on a quarterly basis when I realized I was so far behind.  I caught up...  These are the books that B.P.R. (Beloved Proof Reader) resigned himself to purchasing on hardback, freshly pressed, as I would not wait for paperbacks.  Then one day I received 'Nation' and it was wonderful, even with an obvious lack of space turtles and patient elephants.  'Dodger' put me in a 'Nation' state of mind.

Anyone who has read previous blogs knows that I applaud Terry's enthusiastic treatment of muck.  He doesn't tire of this disgusting topic and neither do I.  As I reflect on my reading preferences I realize I can and do tire of gore.  Those kinds of books make an appearance well separated by other books and topics.  Muck, richards, sludge, slime, urine (horse, don't ask) and sewage are so much more entertaining with the right author.  'Dodger' sets out to entertain and, I suspect, remind us of how far we have come and how far we have to go in our big cities.

Something else comes to mind...  You know gentlemen of a certain age "pass gas" without realizing or do so because they are now old men and can do as they please.  Well, I wonder if some of Terry's current interests are not the literary equivalent of this attitude.  He is indeed an experienced writer of a certain age, rich and can now write what he pleases....

The story itself is fun and full of icky thoughts.  And I don't mean the obvious ones when you are in a sewer but more along the lines of the difference between 'truth' and 'facts'.  I liked the idea of Charles Dickens as an intelligent, observant, slightly dangerous character pointing out the strengths of people's beliefs as opposed to facts.  Dodger, the hero, knows what he likes, knows how to survive and like a true "geezer" knows how to pick his friends... which brings me to Sol.  Sol or Solomon Cohen is my favorite character.  I was happy to see a character that balances or addresses prejudices put forward by a certain famous book quite close to our current object.  Sol is a gentle, grateful, educated, cautious and thoughtful man.  He also has a sense of humor and a smelly dog.  Every book needs a smelly dog.

The bad guys I will not discuss in detail because they seem to represent concepts rather than pure individual, unique badness.  There are, of course, the usual suspects, unsavory, violent and cruel but these guys were tools used by others.  Society itself, vested interests, war mongering, social snobbery, poverty, lack of education, politics and the status quo were the real bad guys. It is probably easier to give someone a nasty scar, a silky cat and lots of missiles then to point the finger at your own governments for the unfairness of a short, dirty life.  'Dodger' points the solution towards individuals and not to believe everything you read ... I wonder if he is trying to tell us something?

@terryandrob

Terry Pratchett 
ISBN: 9780385619271 

'Down Under' by Bill Bryson

...now I need to visit Australia

I am suspicious of those quotes on book jackets... you know the ones, "riveting", "engaging","best one yet".  I can only think of one occasion when the quote and the name by the quote encouraged me to buy a book.  But never mind that, as to this particular book, the quote said "funny as ever".  I hoped so.  I read the book because it was there.  By there I mean covered in dust under my husband's nightstand.  My son had brought the book from school, certain chapters were required reading (astonished? I was).  The rest of us had not touched it and so it lay.  I vacuumed and dusted and thought "ok, a travel book, why not?"  I don't read travel books unless I'm certain I am going somewhere.  Travel books are not entertaining, I find them slightly pathetic without an actual destination.

Bill Bryson is fortunately in a league of his own.  He travels.  He does not take careful, anal notes.  Instead, he experiences, blunders, learns, discovers and finally makes readers like me laugh out loud in public places.  His dry humor gives the aridity of Australia a good run for its money.  Bill put me in mind of Terry Pratchett's 'Lost Continent' (which is not about Australia).  Any moment I expected to find Death (Terry's DEATH) propping up a dusty bar in the outback Bill was exploring.  There are so many painful, unexpected, horrible ways to die inAustralia and Bill Bryson made me laugh about most of them; Death had to have been around trying to get the joke.

Bill's observations on local idiosyncrasies, politics and cricket give me glimpses of English speaking aliens.  My theory is that given their isolation and red dirt/dust/sand perhaps they are homesick colonizers from Mars.  The result of all this laughing is that now I need to visit Australia.  I need to rent a car with very good climate control.  And I need to try the beer ( yes, I know I live in Germany and beer here is the BEER but Australian beer sounded so good in Bill's book).  I need to vista Uluru and Perth and a crocodile park.  I will carry 'Down Under' with me like a treasure to bury in some desolate beach, provided the local inhabitant of a seashell doesn't kill me first.

Bill Bryson
ISBN: 9780552997034

'The Prague Cemetery' by Umberto Eco translated by Richard Dixon

I always mean to buy a book by Umberto Eco.  It's been years since I read one of his books. I always seem to pick up something else.  Umberto Eco is everywhere so I keep thinking I'll come back for it.  On this occasion, I was in an unfamiliar part of town waiting for my daughter.  Around the corner I discovered a book store, rather like a parched wanderer discovering an oasis.  Hurrah!  They even had a book shelf full of books in English and not all of them were "best sellers" i.e. romance and crime.  I looked and looked.  You see my ability to read long novels in German is limited; I'm just too slow, slower than in Spanish even.  Not to say that I shouldn't read in German, but I am not always in the mood to commit.  Sorry, enough about book shops, I just get so excited in the environment of book stores. Even in memory...

I bought Mr. Eco with Mr. Dixon and got to work at an ice cream parlor (eating and reading).  How exciting to read a work so well researched.  In fact it is all research.  But, I'll get back to that later.  Umberto ('cause I feel I know him) can pick up a bunch of strings, apparently tangle them, do his magic and show me a woven cloth.  Then, on top of that and most unfairly, I think other writers will agree, he is also excellent at ambiance, setting.  I love stories that not only describe a dirty soul, but the dirt on people's shoes as well without taking my attention away from the story.  Those muddy shoes are a punctuation, an accent if you will, to the action.  19th century European cities were dirty places.  Lack of sanitation, lack of sewage pipes under the whole city, slums and horse "manure" made these localities odorous and filthy.

I should add in passing that 21st century cities are not always much better.  Where I live we still have to avoid horse manure on the side walks.  Years ago I saw St. Paul's Cathedral for the first time.  It was covered in what appeared to be soot.  Moreover, I had popped into London via the Underground (Piccadilly from Heathrow, change at Holborn to the Central line, two stops to St. Paul's) so my first smell of London was at the same moment I came up from the tube. It smelled of third world cities, diesel.  On a positive note, St. Paul's has since been cleaned and London buses have cleaner engines.

Back to Piemonte and Paris... Sometimes, no, most of the time it is easy to dismiss conspiracy theories, especially if they are all-encompassing and thousands of years old.  The bigger they are the more laughable but now I am worried.  Back to that "research" statement.  When I say it is all research, I mean that there is only one thing or person made up in the whole book.  Everything else happened.  Now we call it history.  But back then, they were called conspiracies.  In addition, we learnt history in such a segregated manner that even in our books we did not connect dots.  We studied a war, a revolution, a general but very rarely how these wars, revolutions and generals affected each other across borders and time.  50 years is not so long between Napoleon and Garibaldi.  Ok.  So lesson learnt?  But which of the many conspiracy theories that I can find within seconds are worth believing?  Clearly too much literature is giving me paranoia, but as the saying goes "Just because you are paranoid, does not mean they are not out to get you".

@umbertoeco_

Umberto Eco
ISBN: 9781846554919

Learning to read on Twitter

I have recently joined the mixed ranks of Twitter.  Mixed because there are so many kinds of people on it with different interests and so many kinds of companies trying to sell you something.  My favorite so far has been a tweet about how you can increase your audience on your blogs and twitter; for a mere 89.95 euros they will send you a whole article with fail safe tips.  The following tweet gave you ten tips for free.  I tried to link my two blogs to Twitter (Ex Libris Miriam and Atypical Miriam) and from there received many (who to follow on Twitter) suggestions based on book loving people.  It excites me and discourages me how many people review books, comment on books, sell their own books and generally disagree about books.

Honestly, I thought that I might be a unique though small voice out there...instead I am so small I may as well not exist.  As for my voice well I guess I am being extremely subjective and hope that someone agrees with me; God knows many disagree with me. Uniqueness lies in the eye of the beholder.  So many people are apparently "unpublished writers who do not suck" that I am beginning to agree with the old adage "inside every person there is a book".

Mind you, I have only been exploring the world of books.  God knows how many topics there are under discussion without the obvious "hungry" tweet with the usual photograph of dinner.  One night I lost at Scrabble, nothing unusual or shameful in it, but I was nonetheless feeling slow and ignorant.  I brightened up over a single malt scotch that BPR and I had bought to try out.  I did some twitting to the effect of "I"m soothing my pride with a single malt scotch...  Suddenly I was bombarded with twitter follow suggestions for whiskey lovers.  I do follow one now.  It was with great hope that I did several tweets about chocolate, you know craving, flavor and even a company I like (La Maison du Chocolat) and I received not one single suggestion for who to follow on twitter. Are the scotch drinkers more vocal than chocolate lovers?  Are they more tech savvy?  Are the twitter intrusive search engines not taking me seriously?  Weird and suspicious...

Twitter has amazed me and bored me by turns.  There are so truly witty and funny people out there who can convey their passions and wit in 140 characters or less, Stephen Fry comes to mind, but there are also some truly boring, lonely people as well who have nothing better to say than "bored", "hungry".  Then I go to the trends sections find the top ten trends include #DoYouRemember, #gofurther, #whatever and so on and so forth.  If people turn their twitter obsession and their time towards curing cancer and colonizing Mars, I would be able to book my tickets for next Summer in a cancer free world for my children.  World peace on the other hand is not going to happen on Twitter; too many people disgree with each other and read things that only confirm their own beliefs, moreover every single government agency with a computer in the basement is monitoring Twitter.  If they were ignoring it before the Arab Spring, they are not now.

Then, of course, there are the multiple types of slangs and abbreviations that people use to fit their thoughts into 140 characters.  These are also mixed with the slangs and abbreviations that are used by different sub-cultures and age groups as well as clubs, and special interest groups.  I currently receive tweets in three different languages and I alternate between feelings of confusion, paranoia and frustration.  Occasionally I get it and feel I'm in until I read the next retweet (RT) from my 21 year old sister.  I read out loud, sounding out the words trying different accents (Spanish writing in English or English writing in Spanish or Pocho) until I make sense of what is written... or not.  So far all this has been an education but here is the rub... at my age and given my limited time, is the slang used by my sisters' DJ friends worth learning?  I mean some comments are funny but I feel like my capacity to retain is limited or do I need to learn more about whiskies, new age writers and philosopher/comedians?

'The Language of Flowers' by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Say it with flowers

This book followed me around in hardback and then paperback for a long time.  Finally, at a bookseller's in France, I had no choice.  I bought it and read it with a chilled rosé.  The basic premise is that of the coming of age of an orphaned child passed around the social foster system in the States.  It was sad and enlightening; apparently the author based this part of her story on too much cruel reality.  The language of flowers that the protagonist learns and then reinvents gives her sadness and loneliness added depth, intelligence and hope.  When people no longer believe the words that come out of her mouth or the emotions she professes to feel, she still has a way to communicate, if only with herself.  I liked the ideas, the sadness, the hope and the redemption.

By the way, while reading this book I was surrounded by bougainvilleas and mimosas which mean "passion" and "sensitivity" respectively.  A colorful frame to a long awaited vacation.  And how romantic the notion of "saying it with flowers."  In the age of Twitter and emails, a thoughtful, meaningful bouquet is the ultimate sign of commitment and devotion.  Lawyers have made the written word absolute in communication but our original form of sharing ideas was speech.  Created from flesh and breath, it was set free to the air.  It is an ephemeral way  of inventing, sharing and loving.   Flowers can be a happy in-between; they last longer than spoken words but not as long as a letter or emails.  You can always change your mind.  An email is forever as many politicians and journalists have discovered.

Flowers are always welcomed at my home. If I understand your message then it is all to the good and if I cannot then I appreciate the gesture anyway.


@VDiffenbaugh

Vanessa Diffenbaugh 
ISBN: 9780330532013  

'The Thief' by Fuminori Nakamura translated by Satoko Izumo and Stephen Coates

This book read like stream of consciousness Japanese style.... 

And like stream of consciousness there is no real beginning and no real end.  As I closed the book, I felt like it was an introduction to a much longer book; maybe a combination of 'The Brothers Karamazov' and 'The Count of Monte Christo'.  I mean, the book is that good but also quite short.

I cared about the protagonist and found tragedy in his story and pathos as well.  He had warnings and opportunities to turn back from seeking an old friend but decides to continue.  One of the nastiest characters I have come across, ever, speaks to our protagonist of fate or Fate.  He does so rather with glee, as he considers himself master of fate.  He divides the world into people with power who can control fate and "slaves" who's life is already written out.  But I am not convinced that fate is necessarily the culprit of the protagonist's situation.  The speech by the antagonist is too neat and too cynical (if there is such a thing as too cynical).  It makes fate "the usual suspect"; I think it is a red herring.

A man makes decisions, as a result good or bad things happen to himself and others.  Fate precludes choices... the choice is predetermined and so it is not a choice at all.  The protagonist from the beginning claims to have made certain choices that brought him to where he is.  Another man claims to manipulate those choices, so he says he controls fate.  But all he holds is the power over life and death... and that is not the same thing at all.  Death is the only fate because we all die, so in that sense it is just a matter of time.  How a life is lived cannot be completely predetermined, regardless of what a powerful antagonist thinks.   The argument for a predetermined life is the boast of a powerful, bored man.  I think he wants to convince the protagonist that fate brought him to where he is.  Maybe he wants the protagonist to give up his will and truly give in to fate as defined by the antagonist.  The protagonist did not think of himself as a victim or carried along by fate. Even in the end he continues to make choices and fight.

On a less serious note, I have learnt more about pickpockets than I care to know.  For example, I did not know there is an ideal length to the fingers on your hands for this 'art'.  Moreover, given that pros work in teams, I am now much more paranoid than I used to be in airports and train stations.  Oh, one more thing, from now on I keep a look out for ambidextrous people i.e. one of my relatives and (ironically) a Japanese friend I use to have...

Nevertheless, for such a short book, quite a bit is discussed.  I feel like there is more, much more to know.  I hope Fuminori Nakamura keeps up the good work because I am eager for more.

Satoko Izumo
ISBN: 9781780339139

'I Still Dream About You' by Fannie Flagg

Too many years ago, I saw a lovely movie titled 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe'.  The book was promoted around the same time and so I read it.  Through the years since, I have continued to read Fannie Flagg.  Recently, I hadn't seen anything new though and was getting worried.  Then I spot it while book hunting for a friend.  'I Still Dream About You' is a sweet story about a life worth living and of course, tied to this question, a dream worth pursuing?

Fannie Flagg loves the American South.  All the contradictions, genteel traditions and violence are somehow combined to create a warm and welcoming book.  I  feel I have been acquainted with long lost Alabama relatives.  Her characters become family with all the intimacy and mystery that 'family' implies.  Intimacy, I think, is self explanatory but I will try to explain what I mean by mystery.

When someone is close to me, I become aware of motivations, desires and denials that are alien to me.  In essence, I feel privileged to be shown a new part of a person I love, but as I eagerly look I become aware of other doors left closed. Not because my loved ones are selfish but because that is the nature of humans.  How many of us have acted in ways that are inexplicable even to ourselves?  Loved something or someone without, seemingly, an act of will?  As Woody Allen said "I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."  Well, as a metaphor I feel it works equally well for my own mind and the minds of others.

Ok, I could keep going but I hope you get the idea.  Fannie Flagg is excellent at letting me feel welcome in a home; I get to know new friends and then begin to sense the true mystery that is every individual for good or bad.  I like the sense of depth and roundness this mystery gives her characters.  The fact that a a sense of humor runs right through the middle of it is especially satisfactory.  The better I get to know her characters the more I laugh and the more interesting they become.

'I Still Dream About You' is full of these real people that inspire, confuse, grow and conquer (their own regrets).

Fanny Flag
ISBN: 9781400065936

'The Woman Who Died a Lot' by Jasper Fforde

So many puns, twists, jokes, allusions and witty moments I smile or laugh my way through

This is book 7 in the Thursday Next series.  The books take place in a very alternative universe, specifically an alternative England.  There are so many puns, twists, jokes, allusions and witty moments I smile or laugh my way through every book.  This one is no exception.

I was privileged to meet Jasper Fforde once upon a time while he was on tour promoting his latest book.  The poor man was in a room full of Germans, who happened to read in English.  A large, pedantic man (nerd) had the idea to ask why Jasper wrote stories based on English literature or (heaven forbid) English nursery rhymes?  He felt it would be easier to understand the books if he used something more universal; I can only assume he meant Goethe.  Anyway, Jasper managed to answer with grace to the general tune of 'you work with what you know'.  Honestly, I can't imagine any writer with (finally) a good idea (or so she hopes) who scraps it because she can't imagine how it will translate into German or Japanese.

Somewhere, somehow one must have a point of reference.  Some writers do a great deal of research and write beautifully about serial killers.  The Thursday Next novels tell of crimes against English literature.  The literary police force to which Thusday belongs protect us from fake endings and counterfeit Shakespeare, you have to read the books to understand.  And to understand you have to have some basic knowledge of English lit.  Having said that, it has been years since I read someone who could make me look as Miss Havisham with new eyes.

I close 'The Woman Who Dies a Lot' and look at my dusty bookcase with glee (usually I look at it with affection).  I also happen to appreciate the cheese in my fridge, but you have to read the series to understand.  These books cheer me up and refresh my English course books.  I hope Jasper keeps going.  Please, please Jasper, The Nursery Crime series could use another visit.

Jasper Fforde
 ISBN: 9780340963111

'The Devotion of Suspect X' by Keigo Higashino translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander

Anything I want to say about this book will give something away.

So what to do?  Well, you see, I must write about this book.

In the beginning...

We were on vacation somewhere hot that also had copious amounts of great cheap rosé available.  Naturally, my instinct is to sip wine, read and move as little as possible due to the heat and I hope due to a good book. I had run out of books to read so I went to the local book sellers and inspected the English/German/Spanish shelf.  My husband was also looking for a book. As I chose 'The Language of Flowers', I spotted another book from a Japanese author.  I read the back cover and thought "cool, a book for BPR."  Beloved Proof Reader agreed and off we went.  To make a long story short, I finished my book quickly and attacked his.

I expected the sort of suspenseful "who done it" that is normal for hot holiday reading.  This book is different and definitely not normal.  I usually can discern the formula of a suspense/thriller quickly.  I get bored or frustrated by chapter 3... that is, I know who will die, I know who done it, and I know who will sleep with whom.  'The Devotion of Suspect X' is so not predictable (to me).  I don't want to even begin to gush for fear of giving everything away.  I loved the way hints are dropped. The reader is not treated like an idiot but somehow a predictable story starts to gently twist and soon you don't know which way you are facing.  It is all done calmly, no explosions, no chases through dark alleys, nothing that would make you jump.  But, there is plenty to keep you chewing your lip, twisting your hair and holding on to that glass of wine those seconds too long because actually swallowing would be distracting.

The Devotion kept me devoted.  It lingered once I had finished it.  I kept away from BPR while he read so I would not ask such things as "Did you notice .....?"  Please go out and find this book before they make it into a film.  Read it and pass it on but from a distance because you don't want to let something slip.

Alexander O. Smith
ISBN: 9781408703250