Arubabookwoman's Reading

I've participated off and on in Club Read for the past several years, and I promise to do better this year. Really.

I am a recently-retired tax attorney, married 42 years, with five wonderful kids. I live in the Seattle area, but travel frequently to the East Coast, where my three boys live, and to Houston where Daughter # 1, her husband and my one and only grandson live. (Grandson # 2 will arrive in NYC in April--I'm so excited!). Daughter # 2 just started graduate school in California, so we will probably be visiting there a lot too--especially to get out of the gray, Northwest weather. In my non-reading time I am a fiber artist.

My reading tastes trend toward translated fiction (I've been participating in Reading Globally for a few years), classics and some non-fiction. I also read a smattering of science fiction and mysteries. For the past few years I've been reading Zola's Rougon-Macquart series in order and I am now half-way through. Since Zola is the year-long author in the Author Theme Reads Group, I might actually finish the series this year. I frequently choose books from the 1001 list, though I am not systematically reading through that list. I often find myself disappointed by some current literary fiction, but still occasionally read those types of books too. I get many, many recommendations from LT as well, and my wishlist is constantly expanding. (Not to mention the 800+ TBR books already on my bookshelves).

I try to review/comment on every book I read. My 2012 thread in the 75 group with reviews of 2012 books is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/130738#t

My favorite books of 2012 in no particular order are:

TOP 10
Path to Power by Robert Caro
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Nana by Emile Zola
Cousin Bette by Honore Balzac
Riders in the Chariot by Patrick White
The Vivisector by Patrick White
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
The Inheritors by William Golding

THE SECOND TEN

The Long Ships by Frans Bengtsson
The Parson's Widow by Marja--Liisa Vartio
Gulag: A History by Ann Applebaum
The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier
Grass For My Pillow by Saiichi Maruya
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks
1984 by George Orwell
To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell
Book of Chameleons by Eduardo Agualusa
The Solid Mandela by Patrick White

Right now I'm expecting that my first reads of 2013 will be The Ladies' Paradise by Zola and Means of Ascent by Robert Caro.

First Quarter

January

1. The Ladies' Paradise by Emile ZolaRM
2. Viper's Tangle by Francois Mauriac Nobel
3. The Maimed by Hermann Ungar
4. The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb
5. Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas 1001
6. Pierre and Jean by Guy de Maupassant 1001
7. The Dig by John Preston
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach
9. The Truth About Tristrem Varick by Edgar Saltus

February

10. Means of Ascent by Robert Caro NF
11. The Crime of Father Amaro by Jose Maria Eca de Queiros 1001
12. Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd
13. Happy Like Murderers by Gordon Burn
14. The Issa Valley by Czeslaw Milosz Nobel
15. The Golovyov Family by Nikolai Saltykov-Shchedrin
16. With the Animals by Noelle Revaz

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Nobelists

Yea! Deborah is in Club Read! Glad to have you active on the threads again. Happy New Year!

I loved Emperor of All Maladies too. It was very well researched, wasn't it?

1> David Copperfield is by far my favorite Dickens. Not saying it's his best, just one that really socks it home to me.

I'm impressed you are half-way through the Rougon-Macquart series - I've read the first and quite enjoyed it, especially as we spend a lot of time in France and so are interested in the history of the country (I knew almost as little about it as I did American history...). My impression, though, was that the series are not really fiction as such so I hadn't continued with them. Is there a storyline that develops through the series?

Looking forward to your thread, Deborah. If you're ever in Houston and need someone to talk to about books, pm me.

I read your 2012 review of Gulag: A History by Ann Applebaum, which I'll put on my reading list for this year!

Hi to Lisa.
Hibernator--Yes I thought Emperor of All Maladies was very well-researched. I've recommended it to my daughter who is working on her PhD in genetics.
Enrique--David Copperfield is one of my favorites too, the others being Little Dorrit and Bleak House. I try to read one Dickens a year.
Hi Helen--there is no storyline flowing through the series--each of the books is a stand-alone novel, although there are some recurring characters. And I'm finding there is some variance in quality, although overall the books are excellent.
Hi Dan--I may take you up on that--I'll next be in Houston in February.
Hi Marieke--I hope you "enjoy" if that is the word Gulag.

I've finished my first book of the year, the 11th in the Rougon-Macquart series:

1. The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola

The Ladies' Paradise can be approached on three levels: as a somewhat conventional 19th century love story, as a study of the inner workings of the retailing business in the late 19th century, and as an indictment of the rampant consumerism. First, the love story:

Denise and her two younger brothers have come to Paris, where their uncle, a small shopkeeper, had promised her a position in his shop after their parents died. When they arrive at their uncle's store, Denise finds that the store is suffering and her uncle is unable to offer her a position, primarily because a large and growing establishment, The Ladies' Paradise, is siphoning off his customers. Other small shops in the area are also in decline, and Denise feels fortunate to obtain a position at The Ladies' Paradise.

The owner of The Ladies' Paradise is Octave Mouret, who was featured in the previous Rougon-Macquart novel Pot Luck; however, none of the characters or events in that novel spill over to the current novel. In the interval between the two books, Octave has married the widow of the owner of The Ladies' Paradise, she has died in an accident, and he has succeeded to sole ownership. Octave is now a wealthy womanizer, seducing and discarding shopgirls on a regular basis. Initially he is not attracted to Denise, who is described as slight, and somewhat plain, except for a magnificent mane of hair. Denise overcomes a series of hardships, including the disdain of her fellow shopgirls, and Octave gradually takes notice of her and attempts to seduce her. She resists, focuses on her work and family, and is able to work her way into positions of greater responsibility and compensation. Denise gradually comes to love Octave, but doesn't want to be another of his throwaways. SPOILER SPOILDER SPOILER. She holds out for marriage, and in the end he marries her, and I guess they live happily ever after.

This story-line aspect of the novel is the weakest part of the book and the part I liked least. In fact, it was due to my recollection of this story-line that I almost skipped this one in my Rougon-Macquart challenge, since I had initially read it within the last 10 years. While I liked Denise's character, especially in the beginning when she felt something like Jane Eyre to me, after a while she began to grate on me as being too perfect. I found myself wondering what a Dickens heroine was doing in a Zola novel. And, as noted above, unlike any other Zola novel I've read, there's a sappy, happy ending.

Nevertheless, The Ladies' Paradise is a worthy component of the Rougon-Macquart series. It gives us an insider's view of the inner-workings of a major department store at the end of the 19th century, when surprisingly many of the retailing techniques we think of as modern were beginning to be utilized. We see the nitty-gritty mechanics of the business, including the living arrangements of the shopgirls (in dorms over the shop), how receipts are collected and counted, how inventory is controlled, how deliveries are made, even how shoplifters are treated. In addition, we watch as Octave institutes the innovations that allow him to drive the small shopowners out of business and maximize profits.

For example, he begins partially basing compensation of the sales force on their sales receipts: "To make people do their best--and to keep them honest--it was necessary to excite their selfish desires first." He begins a practice of heavy advertising, and begins catelogue sales. He adopts a policy allowing returns, on the theory that the belief that an item can be returned will induce a customer to buy more--will be the tipping factor for whether to purchase an item or not. He scientifically arranges the merchandise and the location of the departments so each customer will have to traverse a larger portion of the store and make impulse purchases. The grand innovation of course is the development of a store in which many categories of goods are sold, rather than just one--the "department" store.

Mouret exploits the greed of his customers. He lures them in with low-advertised prices on a particular item, knowing that the enjoyment of buyers "is doubled when they think they are robbing the tradesman. " He recognizes that if one item is seen as a bargain, other items can be sold at as high a price as anywhere else, and "they'll still think yours are the cheapest." He uses sales in order to expedite turnover of inventory: "He had discovered that she could not resist a bargain, that she bought without necessity when she thought she saw a cheap line, and on this observation he based his system of reductions in price of unsold items, perferring to sell them at a loss, faithful to his principle of continual renewal of the goods."

Throughout, the madness of consumerism is condemned. Many of the new retailing techniques are based on a low opinion of the customer. For the most part the customer is female, and as a woman she is implicitly compared to the victim of sexual seduction:

"Mouret's unique passion was to conquer woman. He wished her to be queen in her house, and he had built this temple to get her completely at his mercy. His sole aim was to intoxicate her with gallant attentions, and traffic on her desires, work on her fever. Night and day he racked his brain to invent fresh attractions."

Then, "...when he had emptied her purse and shattered her nerves, he was full of the secret scorn of a man to whom a woman had just been stupid enough to yield herself."

However, the woman is not excused:

"It was the woman that they were continually catching in the snare of their bargains, after bewildering her with their displays. They had awakened new desires in her flesh; they were an immense temptation, before which she succumbed fatally, yielding at first to reasonable purchases of useful articles for the household, then tempted by their coquetry, then deoured. In increasing their business tenfold, in popularizing luxury, they became a terrible spending agency, ravaging the households, working up the fashionable folly of the hour, always dearer. And if woman reigned in their shops like a queen, cajoled, flattered, overwhelmed with attentions, she was an amorous one, on whom her subjects traffic, and who pays with a drop of her blood each fresh caprice."

I found myself fascinated with these two aspects of the book, perhaps because, unlike Denise, the seductions of The Ladies' Paradise prevailed over the good sense of its customers.

4 stars

I also finished Viper's Tangle by Francois Mauriac last night, my first experience with this Nobelist, and hope to get a review together soon.

Good review, arubabookwoman. I liked this book too, though I found the long lists of types of cloths (in French) rather tedious at times. I beginning to think I should read through the Rougon-Macquart series systemetically.

Interesting review, Deborah. Zola writes with such detail on so many topics. I wonder how he did his research and how long it took him to do it.

I only skimmed your review, Deborah, since this will be the next Zola I read and I wanted to be able to experience it with a fresh mind. But I will read it more carefully later, after I read The Ladies Paradise.

Lisa, when I read Germinal, the introduction discussed how much research Zola did. The translator, Roger Pearson, writes:

"Accordingly, and characteristically, he began to document himself thoroughly, reading book after book about the mining industry, about the topography, and geology of the area around Valenciennes, and about radical politics: about the history of socialism and about the International Working Men's Association founded in 1864, better known as the First International. He familiarized himself with the full range of radical political theory:" from Proudhon to Marx to someone named Blanqui and to Bakunin. He goes on with more detail and then writes:

"Zola did not just read books. After posing as Girard's secretary" (Girard was left-wing deputy from the region) "(but then, when his cover was blown, being shown around by Girard's brother), he visited the small mining town of Anzin . . . A strike had begun there four days earlier, and her remained for approximately a week, taking copious notes on what he saw and heard." etc.

So I imagine he did this kind of research for other books too.

That is an excellent review.

#16 Wow. It must have been fascinating, and exhausting, to do this sort of research on each of his books. What a broad knowledge of his society he must have possessed!

I know. The more I read, the more I admire him, even recognizing that some books are better than others.

Great review of The Ladies' Paradise. You have found much to enjoy in the novel. You make the point really well that it is always worthwhile reading Zola for the social commentary and the vivid descriptions of 19th century life.

Terrific review.

Wonderful review -- I love how you capture the early days of shopping mania.

Liked the Zola review as well as the criticism of the "sappy, happy ending"

Great review. It's wonderful how Zola could make the ho-hum subject of retailing sexy.

Great review of The Ladies' Paradise, Deborah. I'm gearing up to start Germinal soon.

Great review of The Ladies' Paradise. I imagine it is based on Le Bon Marche in Paris which was one of the earliest department stores. Part of what made it so successful and drove a lot of the changes in sales techniques you talked about in your review was the construction. The development and rise in use of cast iron construction allowed for wide open spaces (rather than walls with small doors or openings):



This not only allowed you to sell a large variety of goods under the same roof but encouraged browsing, drawing the customers further into the store - people are highly reluctant to go towards areas that they cannot see or that are dark.

Wow -- this photo reminds me of the one department store that existed in town I grew up in -- of course, it was far less grand -- no peacocks or fancy decor, but the open floor plan was very similar (though there were elevators to the the 4th and 5th closed floors. Unfortunately it closed in the late 1960s, a victim of suburban malls.

Wonderful photo, Jane. Do you know when it was taken?

28 - No date on the photo, but the building was constructed in 1867. It's still open and now has some pretty repulsive escalators in the space.

You've made me want to jump in at The Ladies' Paradise, but I suspect I will read these books in order.

I read somewhere that nineteenth century department stores played an important role in getting middle and upper class women, women of the leisure classes, to venture out with other women, unaccompanied by men. The stores were considered safe venues, the "ladies" could meet for social purposes such as lunch or tea besides shopping and it didn't interfere with domestic duties. Now I will have to find where I found all that.

Amazing photo Jane.

Wonderful review of The Ladies' Paradise and an enticement to jump into Zola. I'm unlikely to read the novels in order; if I'm primarily interested in the setting/sociology not the plot could this be a standalone read?

>26 janemarieprice: Jane fabulous photo. I also think of the State Street (downtown Chicago) Marshall Field's store (now Macy's).

Great photo Jane. It reminds me of The Galleries Lafayette a big department store in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris. I was dragged in there kicking and screaming last summer, but I survived.

31 -
It's easily a standalone read.

I think all of the Zolas can be read as stand-alones -- but once you read one, you may get as hooked as I am! (And as Deborah seems to be!)

Hi. Waiting for your review of Means of Ascent :)

Having recently finished volume 4 in the series, I'm praying nightly that our 77-year old author, Mr Caro, won't do a William Manchester on us, and will see the 5th and final volume through to the end!

Meanwhile, as ever, I'll be lurking in the shadows...

>33 lilisin:, 34 oh that's good news. And I would relish getting hooked!

MJ, I got hooked twice last year! Once by Camilleri and Inspector Montalbano (thanks to Paul Cranswick on 75 Books) and then on Zola (thanks to Deborah/arubabookwoman and Germinal).

Wow--I've been afraid to post any other reviews after all the positive remarks! Thank you all.
I'll respond to your comments after posting my next review. This was a book I read in my attempt to read some Nobelists this year:

2. The Viper's Tangle by Francois Mauriac

"I am one of those who has never known what it is to be young, never known what it is to be unselfconscious. I am by nature one of Nature's wet blankets."

Francois Mauriac won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1952, "for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life." Viper's Tangle, first published in 1932 and translated in 1951, is representative of Mauriac's focus on the spiritual. Although it has been cited as a classic example of the "Catholic" novel, a reader does not have to be religious to appreciate Viper's Tangle, which movingly portrays the life of a wealthy attorney and landowner, a man who states that he has created "about myself nothing but a wasteland."

As the novel opens, Louis is on his death bed at his country estate, surrounded by his family. His family fears that he is going to cheat them out of their inheritance, and in fact that is what Louis intends to do. The entire novel, with the exception of a short chapter at the end, consists of the letter Louis is writing to his wife to explain why he intends to disinherit his family--"a single act of vengeance upon which I have been brooding for almost half a century."

As he addresses his wife, Louis recounts the story of his life. Past, present and future are seamlessly interwoven. Frequently Louis's reflections on his past life are interrupted by fragments of conversations he overhears between his wife and children, and by the ordinary events of the progression of daily life on his estate as he awaits death. The shifts of time and event, and the continual juxtaposition of things that happened years ago, what happened minutes ago, and what might happen in the future are fluid and seamless. As we acquire more information, or as facts we were previously told or assumed are disproved, we must frequently reevaluate and reinterpret Louis's motives and his relationship with his family. Louis, too, evolves and reverts as he evaluates his life.

While this description may make the book sound claustophobic and static, there is in fact a lot of action--fortunes are made and lost, there are marriages of convenience and marriages of passion, a child dies, an illegitimate child appears, and so goes life.

Over the course of this remarkable book, we as readers come to sympathize with Louis, a venal, misanthropic, and thoroughly unlikeable man. On the basis of this one novel, I can agree that Mauriac is a writer deserving of a Nobel. I will be reading more by him. (I also have Mauriac's Lines of Life on my shelf.)

4 stars

Jane--The Ladies' Paradise was indeed based on the Bon Marche. That is a gorgeous photo, and thank you for posting it.

Henkmet--I actually liked all the lists of the types of cloth. I'm a fiber artist, so I lust after all types of fabric and thread. That being said, The Ladies Paradise is far from being the best Zola I've read so far. Have you read any others? I don't think you have to read them in order. I'm doing so just because.

Rebecca--I'm looking forward to your review on The Ladies Paradise, particularly since you have read so many other Zolas. The information on Zola's research methods is fascinating. I posted a quote over on the Author Theme Reads Group about the difference between Zola's methods and de Maupassant's methods. (De Maupassant was a kind of protogee of Zola, although he was much more influenced by Flaubert). I'll try to remember to post the quote over here.

Ridgeway Girl, Dan, Jane, DieF, Deebee, Linda--Thank you for the compliments.

Bas--I did enjoy The Ladies Paradise, but as I said it's not my favorite. Are you a Zola fan? (Or Balzac, or any other French author, since you are a French resident)?

Sassy--very interesting comment on how the 19th century department stores were instrumental in getting women to venture out. The shoppers in The Ladies Paradise did in fact treat it as a social venue.

MJ--Yes you can read any of the novels as a stand-alone. Each focuses on a different aspect of French society of the time. For example, Germinal focuses on coal miners, and a mining strike; La Terre focuses on farmers; Nana on courtesans; and so forth.

Peter--I'm still only about half-way through Means of Ascent. I had hoped to finish it this month, but got bogged down in the legal intricacies of the challenges to the 1948 Senate race. As a lawyer, I'm very impressed with Abe Fortas's legal strategy. I, too, hope Caro completes the final volume.

3. The Maimed by Hermann Ungar

If I had to describe this book in one word it would be "depressing." Or maybe " grotesque." Or "perverse." You get the idea. The book was written in 1920/21, but was not published until 1923. The author had reservations, fearing scandal, and the publisher feared obscenity charges.

Franz Polzer is a bank clerk in an unnamed central European city. He was abused as a child by his father and aunt, and still suffers from nightmares in which they feature prominently. Franz is a tortured individual, neurotic and perhaps detached from reality, but is able to manage day-to-day life by maintaining extreme control and order over every aspect of his life. He has boarded for years with Frau Pogue, a widow who manages the details of everyday living for him, although he has never been in the same room with her for more than a few minutes. The slightest deviaiton in routine creates havoc for Franz.

Franz's orderly life starts to disintegrate when Frau Pogue begins insinuating herself into his life, at first in somewhat innocent ways, by pressuring him to accompany her on Sunday outings. Her demands soon become more extreme, and she forces herself on him sexually. He thinks about moving, but is paralyzed by fears--where should he look; did he have the strength to handle the effort; people are dishonest and might take advantage of him; how could he face Frau Pogue; if he snuck out in the night, how would he get his things; there might be children in the new building; etc. etc.

"Sleep eluded him. He knew he would not be able to bear all these worries. Maybe he would become ill and have to miss a few days at the bank. Work would pile up on his desk. A new pile came every day, and by the time he returned it would have grown into an enormous heap."

Franz's one social contact was with Karl, a friend from his childhood. Karl is now suffering from an unnamed disease which causes abcesses all over his body and which has resulted in his being a multiple amputee. Karl now faces the amputation of an arm. When the possibility arises that Karl may have to become a boarder at Frau Pogue's after the operation (Karl's wife Dora has accused him of sexual torture; Karl has accused Dora of staying with him only for his money), Franz becomes more unhinged. His anxiety is manifest by his obsession with ensuring that all of his things are in order:

"He realized by counting his things he could make sure that nothing had been stolen, but that told him nothing about other types of losses. It was possible that moths would eat holes in all his clothing and underwear, making them unwearable, and that since he had never thought of this before perhaps they already had."

Franz begins to use his nights "to conduct a precise inventory of all his possessions. He listed everything on a sheet of paper in order to be sure."

When Karl does in fact become a boarder at Frau Pogue's after his operation, he is accompanied by an attendant, a former butcher who still possesses his butcher knives, which he keeps wrapped in a blood-stained white apron. Franz's breakdown accelerates:

"Everything Franz Polzer had dreaded began to come true. The door had been opened. Now that order had been destroyed, only lawlessness could follow. A gap had been created and the unforseen broke through it, spreading fear. The maimed man lay in the room with the furniture that was covered with white sheets. At night one heard him groan. The pus ate deeper into the flesh, and oppressive dreams tormented him. Polzer listened. Death was in the house, waiting."

As I said, depressing...grotesque...perverse. While this doesn't make The Maimed a bad book--indeed it is a well-written and compelling book--it is a distasteful book. My recommendation is that you read it at your own risk.

3 stars

(One reviewer on Amazon suggested that in essence, this book is the literary equivalent of the artistic expressionism movement, which was going on contemporaneously. I agree.)

4. The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb

This book has a similar central European feel (to The Maimed), but rather than an air of dark perversity, it has an air of manic zaniness, reminescent of a Pink Panther or Inspector Clousteau (?) movie with Peter Sellers. It combines humor and mysticism with elements of the gothic horror story, an Arthurian romance, a murder mystery, and a tale of the supernatural.

As the novel opens, the young Hungarian scholar/dilettante, Janos Batky, meets the reclusive Earl of Gwynedd, Owen Pendragon. Invited to the Earl's castle in Wales, Janos receives a message warning him not to go, a warning he ignores. He travels to Wales with his new-found friend, the Connemara man Maloney, a larger-than-life figure: "His first story concerned a routine tiger hunt, but he went on to set entire Borneo villages aflame to make the point that Connemara men could light their pipes even in a stiff breeze." (Maloney is later referred to as "the most amiable assassin I ever met."). Accompanying them is the beautiful and mysterious Eileen St. Clare, who declines to go to the castle, but who requests that Janos give the Earl a mysterious ring.

On arrival, Janos learns that attempts have been made and continue to be made on the life of the Earl. These attempts may or may not have to do with the Earl's obsessive search for the secret of eternal life, which involves experimentation with translucent aquatic lizard-like animals, or the attempts may or may not have to do with a disputed inheritance. Janos joins forces with the Earl's nephew Osborne and his niece Cynthia to try to solve the mystery of the murder attempts. Osborne is a shy, young man, unversed in the ways of Woman--at least until Janos's friend, fellow scholar and man-eater Lene Kretzsch joins the sleuths, although she spends more time trying to seduce Osborne than trying to solve the mystery. Janos pines after Cynthia, whom he has idealized into a romantic young maiden: "The Cynthia of my imagination was the sort of a girl who, on the one hand, would swoon if she caught her beloved devouring a hot dog...."

As I said: zany--but I find myself wondering if there is anything else to the book. Parts were very funny, and there were many witticisms I though worthy of highlighting on my Kindle. However, when it was all over, I was not sure what the point was. Maybe there doesn't have to be a point--but I couldn't absorb The Pendragon Legend as a cohesive work.

The other books I've read in January which I hope to comment on soon are:

Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas
The Truth About Tristrem Varick by Edgar Saltus
The Dig by John Preston
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach

Although I commented on your other thread, I just wanted to say again how gruesomely fascinating I find your review of the Ungar book and to post the link to the author's biography.

>38 arubabookwoman: I would also like to read some Nobelists this year. What made you decide on the relatively-obscure Mauriac (besides having some of his books)?

>40 arubabookwoman: I haven't read your whole review, as I have The Maimed on the TBR pile. Maybe there's something wrong with me, that I'm interested in these kinds of books. Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with you ;)

>41 arubabookwoman: Zany books can be fun, but also disappointingly trivial. This one seems to be on the edge...

Three excellent reviews, Deborah! I am in the midst of writing mine for Mauriac's The Lamb and agree that he is a deserving Laureate. It is highly unlikely that I would have heard of or read him, except for my goal to read something by each of the Nobelists.

Your review for The Maimed does make me want to read it, despite your warnings. Maybe it was the comparison with Expressionism?

> 38 While this description may make the book sound claustophobic and static, there is in fact a lot of action

I've not read this one by Mauriac, but I've read his The Unknown Sea, and could say the above comment applies to that one as well. I like the subtlety and quiet intensity with which he portrays upheavals and drama in individual lives that draws the reader in fully without his or her realizing it. He deserves to be more widely read.

> 40 & 41 Interesting reviews of two books that I've had on my wishlist for some time. I've also just finished reading a book set in a Central European city that revolves around the obssession for order, a form of madness that rendered the characters incapable of happiness, though the did not turn out as perverse as Ungar's. A recurring theme certainly of writers from this part of the world.

Looking forward to reviews of your other reads, particularly of Soldiers of Salamis.

I've also just finished reading a book set in a Central European city that revolves around the obsession for order, a form of madness that rendered the characters incapable of happiness, though the did not turn out as perverse as Ungar's.

Hmm, which book is that deebee?

Lisa, it's Portraits of a Marriage by Sándor Márai. There are diferrent obsessions involved, the one for order is the main character's (and his family).

I'd like the name of the book too, deebee.

Lisa--I just read Ungar's biographical info at the link you posted. I remembered the fact that he was a hypochondriac and that doctors didn't take his complaints seriously, which resulted in his death at an early age from appendicitis.

The religious aspects of his life were interesting, particularly the conflicts between Jews and Catholics. In The Maimed, Franz was Catholic and Karl was Jewish. Catholic "superstitions" were prominent in Franz's obsessions and mental deterioration. When they were growing up Karl was Franz's only friend, but there was some stigma in Franz's visiting Karl's household. However, Karl's home was the one place Franz felt somewhat safe, and Karl's father helped educate Franz.

Thanks deebee. We cross-posted.

Congrats! Two hot reviews in the top ten simultaneously!

>39 arubabookwoman: I read germinal long, long ago. Will read other Zola when I get to them but also reading Balzac and Proust. I read French rather slowly but I enjoy them all.

Very interested in your excellent review of The Viper's Tangle. I have just been reading about Francois Mauriac's dispute with Albert Camus in Paris just after the end of the second world war. Briefly Camus as editor of the journal Combat advocated that all French collaborators with the Germans should be duly punished, some were given death sentences. Mauriac's view was that France needed reconciliation rather than blind justice and he was instrumental in persuading Camus to take a more humane approach.

I have put The Viper's triangle on my to buy list.

An interesting muddle to the distinctions that Camus and Mauriac were making are the collaborators who joined the Resistance at the last minute and then claimed to have been working from the inside all along. In Caroline Moorehead's book A Train in Winter, they are called résistants de la dernière heure. What did Camus advocate for them? The discussion you mention sounds interesting. Is it in a book?

Lisa the public argument between Camus and Mauriac is covered in Robert Zaretsky's Camus: Elements of a Life but not in any great detail and it does not include copies of the correspondence between the two men

Hello - Great thread and reviews. The Ladies Paradise just went on my TBR list. Thanks.

Merrikay

Fabulous reviews, Deborah. The Viper's Tangle is a must read book for me, but I'll pass on the other two books.

39. Deborah, I just finished The Ladies Paradise today, and I agree with you that it isn't the best Zola I've read (although a less good Zola is still a lot better than a lot of other books). I look forward to reading your review after I post mine, but that won't be for a day or two because I'm still catching up (with Real Life as well as LT) after being on vacation for a week.

Enjoying your other reviews as well.

Catching up here. I really enjoyed the three reviews I just read, and I'm glad you brought Francois Mauriac to my attention. Ungar's The Maimed sounds rough.

Now that I've read your review (after writing mine), I see that we are in almost complete agreement about The Ladies' Paradise! Great minds . . .

Thank you all for visiting, and the interesting comments about the conflict between Mauriac and Camus.

Glad to see my thoughts on The Ladies' Paradise validated Rebecca.

5.Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas

Part I of this book begins with a journalist named Javier Cercas learning of an event that occurred near the end of the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans knew the war was lost, and as they fled for the border, they lined up a group of about 50 Nationalist prisoners for execution by firing squad. Sanchez Mazas, a founder of the Falangist party, was one of those prisoners, but he was able to escape the squad by fleeing into the forest in the confusion. While he was hiding in the woods, he was discovered by a Republican soldier who was dispatched to look for him. The Republican soldier looked him in the eye, and then turned away and let Mazas escape.

The journalist Javier Cercas decided to research this event and write a book about Mazas, who through his writings, "inflamed the imaginations of hundreds of youth and would eventually send them to their slaughter {and was} more responsible for the victory of Francoist armies than all the inept military manoeuvers of the inept nineteenth century general who was Francisco Franco." The remainder of Part I of Soldiers of Salamis is the tale of the journalist's search for witnesses of the event, interviews with them, and research about Mazas's life. He wonders whether the statements of the witnesses, "would fit the reality of events or whether, perhaps inevitably, they'd be varnished with that gloss of half-truth and fibs that always augment an episode distant and perhaps legendary to its protagonists."

I knew nothing of this book before I began it, and as I was reading Part I, I assumed I was reading a non-fiction account of how the author Javier Cercas came to write this book. Then some weird things began happening. The journalist Javier Cercas's girlfriend entices him in public by not wearing underwear, Javier and the girlfriend have lots of good sex, etc. As a reader. I had to adjust my understanding of the book from nonfiction to fiction. Whether it was fiction or nonfiction, however, my opinion is that the girlfriend added nothing, and in fact detracted from the book. I can't think why she plays a part in the book (other than that she encourages the journalist Javier Cercas to continue the project when he is discouraged).

Part II of Soldiers of Salamis reads like an encyclopedia entry for the life of Sanchez Mazas. (I should note that Mazas is an actual historical figure and the events of his life, including that he was a founding member of the Falangists, and that he narrowly escaped a firing squad in the final days of the war by hiding in the forest for several days. Mazas even told of a Republican soldier who looked him in the eye and let him go,). We are to assume (at least I did) that Part II is the book written by the journalist Javier Cercas. The journalist Cercas states that he has written, "a sort of biography of Sanchez Mazas which, focusing on an apparently anecdotal but perhaps essential episode in his life--his botched execution at Collell would propose an interpretation of his character and, by extension, of the nature of Falangism; or more precisely, of the motives that induced the handful of cultivated and refined men who founded the Falange to pitch the country into a furious bloodbath."

I was somewhat disappointed by Parts I and II, but Part III more than makes up for this--it is enthralling. The Journalist Cercas, because he is disappointed in his efforts and feels something is missing, has set the book aside. Then, in his capacity as a journalist he interviews the writer Roberto Bolano. During the interview, Bolano offhandedly mentions a Republican soldier, Miralles, who he met and befriended while Bolano was working at a campsite over four years. The journalist Javier Cercas is intrigued and begins to research the life of Miralles, who was a hero not only of the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War, but also a World War II hero. He becomes increasingly convinced that Miralles might have been one of the Republican soldiers at Collell, where the botched execution took place, or even the soldier who spared Mazas's life. He decides that presenting Miralles's story and his version of the massacre is the part he believed was missing from his book.

The problem is that no one knows where Miralles is--his contact with Bolano was many years before. Despite the best efforts of the journalist Javier Cercas, the trail is cold. He discusses this failure with Bolano, who says that since Miralles can't be found to just make it up. Bolano tells him, "Reality always ends up betraying us; it's best not to give her the chance and get in there first. The real Miralles would only disappoint you. Better to make him up; the invented one will surely be more real than the real one." When the journalist Cercas protests that he is not writing a novel, but a "true tale" with real events and character, Bolano replies: "Same difference...All good tales are true tales, at least for those who read them, which is all that counts."

Part III--the search for Miralles and the discussions with Bolano raise the themes of the nature of reality, as well as questions of what makes an individual a hero, not to mention an engrossing detective story. Are the discussions with Bolano real or fictional? Does it matter? Perhaps as Bolano told Cercas, making something up is more real than reality.

4 stars

(P.S. In my Kindle version, Bolano is sometimes referred to as Bolano and sometimes as Bolaino (in both cases with a tilde over the n, which I don't know how to do). Is this deliberate or is it a typo? Also,in Bolano's book The Skating Rink one of the main characters works at a campground on the coast of Spain. Bolano's descriptions in that book are reminescent of his descriptions in his interviews with journalist Cercas.)

6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach

If you are interested in reading this because you loved the movie (as I did), don't. If you are interested in reading this and haven't seen the movie, see the movie instead. This is one of those rare cases in which the movie is far superior to the book.

The book brings in a lot of characters who did not feature in the movie, particularly the children of various of the hotel residents. This means that the residents are mere sketches, and do not come to life. We can't understand their motivations or relationships or come to know them in anything other than a superficial way.

There are many unbelievable and/or wildly coincidental events involving the children. For example, Evelyn's (the character played by Judi Dench) ugly duckling daughter just happens to meet Muriel's (character played by Maggie Smith) son at the local market, and they immediately hop off to bed and become lovers. Muriel's son is on the lam, and Muriel has had no idea of his whereabouts for months. Imagine everyone's surprise when Evelyn's daughter shows up for Christmas dinner with Muriel's son. But then one of the characters thinks that in India sooner or later you bump into the person you want to meet, so maybe it makes sense.

The sense of place permeated the movie. In the book, it would be easy to imagine the story taking place in a retirement home anywhere.

I can't point to any specific faults with the author's prose. It is just bland. It is the story itself that compares so unfavorably with the movie.

1 1/2 stars

7. The Truth About Tristrem Varick by Edgar Saltus

In some ways this novel reminds me of a novel by Edith Wharton--a glimpse of upper society in New York City in the early years of the 20th century. But it is a dark and threatening Edith Wharton. It begins: "It is just as well to say at the onset that the tragedy in which Tristrem Varick was the central figure has not been rightly understood. The world in which he lived, as well as the newspaper public, have had but one theory between them to account for it, and that theory is that Tristrem Varick was insane." In the book, Tristrem Varick falls in love with Viola Raritan, a beautiful and enigmatic woman. He idealizes her, pursues her, wins her, loses her, pursues her again, and all ends in the tragedy referred to at the outset of the novel. In all this, there are elements of mystery, adultery, incest and murder.

The author Edgar Saltus was a well-known writer in his time, and a friend of Oscar Wilde, although now he is an obscure and forgotten writer. He was American, and wrote "lurid" histories of Ancient Rome and Russia, in addition to his novels. One critic described his style as "unique" with prose that "wavers between the lurid excess of a romantic poem and the spare, dangerous staccato of a telegram." Saltus himself wrote: "{I}n literature only three things count: style, style polished, style repolished. Style may be defined as harmony of syllables, the fall of sentences, the absence of metaphor, the pursuit of repetition even unto the thirtieth and fortieth line, the use of the exact term no matter what the term may be." And Oscar Wilde said, "In Edgar Saltus's work passion struggles with grammar on every page."

I agree that the prose in this book is lush and unique. However, there's a darn good story here too.

3 stars

Interesting reviews. I've heard of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel through the film, which I haven't seen, but the other two books are new to me.

Your review of Soldiers of Salamis certainly raised some interesting points concerning historical fiction. As a reader I like to know whether I am reading a factual book or a work of fiction. I can live with the book either way, but when there is a mixture of the two and fictional parts are presented as facts I feel deceived and nowadays will resort to google to try and find out more. Bolano's idea that the truth is what you write (or what you publish) I find a little uncomfortable.

The Edgar Saltus sounds interesting. Just had a look at the author page and he has some great book titles!

You find such interesting and varied books, Deborah! None of these really appeals to me, but I enjoyed reading about them.

Great review of Soldiers of Salamis, Deborah. I enjoyed it as well.

Disappointing to hear the Marigold book isn't as good as the movie cause I sure enjoyed the movie. Oh well......plenty of books!

Soldiers of Salamis sound intriguing on many levels. I don't mind having fact and fiction presented in the same book if it is a book I like, as I find myself then tracking down more information, but unlike bas, I don't feel deceived. However, if I didn't do the followup, I would feel deceived if I were ever to find out the truth later. I realize this is inconsistent. What does worry me though is that only what is written becomes the record; the eternal problem for historians.
Leaving aside my tortured commentary, an excellent review and a book I will look for.

Also interested in the Saltus.

I have Soldiers of Salamis but haven't read it yet. I was happy to read your review and be prepared!

Lots of great reviews here! As I read your review of The Maimed, I was intrigued and interested. By the time I got to the last quote, I decided it's not the book for me at this time. To me, this is the sign of a great review - I believe you gave me an accurate flavor of the book and enough information to help me make the choice not to read it (at least right now). I would normally go for a book described as depressing and perverse, even grotesque, and I think maybe 10 years ago or so I could handle it, but I guess my appetite for the grotesque has lessened a bit over the years.

But, I will put The Viper's Tangle, The Truth About Tristrem Varick and Soldiers of Salamis on the wishlist. It was really neat to see Bolano appear in Soldiers of Salamis - as I read your review, I was actually reminded of 2666.

Varied and fascinating books, as always. Thanks for publishing the only review of The Truth About Tristrem Varick. I couldn't seem to find the page for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, other than the DVD page. Not sure what is up there. I agree with Barry in that not knowing what is truth and what is fiction drives me nuts, although the question of "true in fiction" is endlessly fascinating.

Interesting to read your thoughts on Soldiers of Salamis. I had it on my queue of next books to read, but after your review, not sure now if I'm ready for the fact/fiction mix.

Catching up on your intriguing reviews -- what a variegated selection of books!

Interesting discussion of books mixing fact or fiction. The information about Mazas was historically accurate (insofar as I could tell from my limited research on Wikipedia). The story of how Javier Cercas came to be interested in Mazas, and the story of his research and life while writing a book about Mazas, may or may not be real. It was an issue for me only because I began the book with the understanding that it was fiction, then began to think it was nonfiction based on the way it was written and the names of the characters, and then as certain events were described went back to believing it was fiction. I don't think it matters whether this backstory was fact or fiction.

Miralles is an entirely fictional character, and that he is not a true historical character is readily determinable. However, Miralles is an indispensable element of the book, and is the character through whom Cercas examines the issues of war, the nature of heroism, history and how it serves us, and the nature of fiction. The book could not exist without Miralles, and to that extent the statement by Bolano that if Cercas cannot find Miralles he will have to make him up.

The part of the book I'm ambivalent and intrigued about are the conversations between Cercas and Bolano. Did Bolano and Cercas ever have conversations such as these? If so is the content of the conversations recorded in the book accurate?

All this being said, I have no qualms about recommending this book even if you are not comfortable with books that blur the line between fact and fiction. The book clearly is not and does not purport to be a historical accounting of the Spanish Civil War. Its characters and events are universal.

Some reviews:

8. Pierre and Jean by Guy de Maupassant

This novel opens with a family outing. The outing is uneventful, but we learn a lot about the characters. The father is a silly old man, harmless but not to be taken seriously. The mother is serene and kind. Her two adult sons adore her. The sons, Pierre and Jean, also love each other, but are a bit competitive.

When the family returns home, they learn that a wealthy family friend, Marechal, has died and has left his entire estate to the younger son, Jean. At first, Pierre is jealous in a way that might be expected in these circumstances, but his feelings soon develop into something much more sinister--he begins to suspect that Jean may have been Marechal's son, the result of an illicit affair between their mother and Marechal. "It was no longer jealousy that made him seek an answer, nor the rather unworthy but natural envy he knew was hidden inside him and that he had been fighting for three days, but a terror of an appalling thing. Terror of believing that his brother Jean was the son of this man."

There follows a psychological game of cat and mouse between Pierre and his mother, of which his father and Jean remain blissfully ignorant for the most part. There is very little action, and most of the narration takes place in Pierre's mind. This is a masterful work. De Maupassant is able to convey so much in so few words, and on such a small stage. Highly recommended.

Here's another book blurring fact and fiction:

9. The Dig by John Preston

This is a fictional account of the excavation of the historically important Anglo-Saxon burial ship discovered at Sutton Hoo in 1939. The find was extremely important as evidence that the "Dark Ages" were not so dark after all.

The novel is narrated in the first person by a number of the individuals connected with the find in somewhat chronological order. The first section is narrated by Edith Pretty, the widowed owner of the land. She has long suspected that the mounds on her land may contain artifacts, but has been unable to convince any professional or academic archeologist that the mounds are worthy of excavation. Since this is fiction, there are lots of extraneous details--her worries over her son growing up without a father, her attempts to contact her deceased husband through a medium, her problems with servants.

Mrs. Pretty hires Basil Brown, a local amateur archeologist to begin excavating the mounds, and Basil Brown narrates the next section of the book. Although he has no professional training, he conducts the dig according to the standards of the time. Again, since this is fiction and we are in Brown's mind, there is a lot of extraneous matter--his thoughts about his wife, his growing relationship with Mrs. Pretty's young son who is fascinated with the dig and wants to help. It is Brown who discovers the ship, and he immediately recognizes its significance.

Once the discovery becomes known, the professionals move in and take over from Brown. The narration is now provided by a succession of experts and professionals who continue Brown's work, and who discover the treasures the burial ship contained. Again, since these are first person narrators, and even though they are historical figures, there is a lot of extraneous material.

There's some fascinating information in the book about the conflicts among the various museums claiming the treasure--the local museum had been the first to take over the dig from Basil Brown, but when the British Museum learned of the find, its personnel moved in to finish the dig. There's also a narration of the legal battle over who owned the treasure trove--the land owner or the state.

This was an enjoyable and informative book. I liked reading the details on the nitty-gritty of conducting an archeological dig, the museum rivalries, the legal proceedings on the question of ownership. I can't help but wonder, however, why the author chose to present the story through a series of first person narratives, which gives rise to the problem that the author is going to have speculate what these real people were thinking, and in the end including things that have nothing to do with the story of the excavation. I'm not arguing that the book should have been written as nonfiction, but all the extraneous material was a constant reminder that the author was making things up, and if that was the case, how could I know which details were true.

With that caveat, this is a readable and interesting story, and I recommend it.

10. Means of Ascent by Robert Caro

This is Volume II of Caro's LBJ biography, and while it's a very good book, I did not find it as enthralling as I did Volume I. Its scope is much narrower, and as it reinforces many of the character flaws of LBJ that were exposed in Volume I some parts became a bit repetitious. Nevertheless, it is not a volume to be skipped--in my view all of the volumes should be read, and in order.

Means of Ascent focuses solely on two events: LBJ's acquisition and growth of his broadcasting empire (the source of his wealth), and the 1948 Senate election, which he won by 87 votes, leading to the nickname "Landslide Lyndon" which plagued him the rest of his life. Caro's meticulous detailing of the facts surrounding these events will leave any reader with no doubt that LBJ used his political power and influence, probably illegally, to acquire and build the broadcasting empire, and no doubt that LBJ stole the 1948 election.

LBJ maintained throughout his life that the initial radio station was Lady Bird's acquisition, and that she ran and expanded the business. He claimed to have played no part in securing the various FCC permits and waivers for this and any subsequent acquisitions and expansions. Caro methodically rebuts LBJ's claim, and shows the LBJ was always the driving force behind this enterprise, and that clear illegalities were involved. The detail and minutiae of LBJ's machinations as set forth by Caro are necessary to expose the truth, but can nonetheless lead to some tedious reading for a casual reader.

The events surrounding the 1948 election are perhaps more colorful, but no less detailed. Caro presents the 1948 election as one in which the old methods of campaigning gave way for the first time to campaigns in which the media began to play an all-important role. LBJ's broadcast empire allowed him to fully exploit the media, and made his run against a candidate previously thought to be unbeatable, the extremely popular ex-governor of Texas Coke Stevens, viable, since he was able to reach far many more voters than could Stevens. There is a lot of fascinating detail in Caro's blow-by-blow account of the campaign, including LBJ's use of the "new-fangled" helicopter, which as a novelty attracted hordes of voters whenever LBJ appeared, but which also, as a still experimental vehicle, put LBJ's life at risk more often than he was aware.

A large portion of this part of the book relates to the actual counting of the vote--the how, who and when of the stuffing of the ballot boxes, the coverup of these actions, the court battles, and so forth, including just how narrowly the LBJ faction escaped detection of the absolute proof of their fraud. The facts discovered and exposed by Caro leave no doubt that LBJ stole the election. Although LBJ never admitted to election fraud, the circumstances were such that the 1948 election remained a cloud over his head that emerged from time to time in his future career.

Caro devotes a fair amount of the book to LBJ's opponent Coke Stevens, who despite coming from a background similar to LBJ's was his polar opposite. The story of his poverty-stricken childhood, his years of self-education, and his amazing rise to power through small town lawyer, to D.A., to state representative, and ultimately to Texas governor makes for very good reading. Unlike LBJ, Coke was scrupulously honest, kind, considerate and well-loved. By the end of Means of Ascent, on the other hand, LBJ has become more and more dishonest, cruel and self-centered---a thoroughly unlikeable character.

11. Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

I don't usually watch TV, but there are some novels I read as a substitute for TV and for pure entertainment value. These include mysteries and some science-fiction. Ordinary Thunderstorms does not fit into either of these genres, but it is a novel to be read for pure entertainment value. It's not great literature, there are no deep revelations, no grand ideas, but it is well-written, highly readable and has an engaging story. It sucked me in, immersed me in its world for a while, and then let me off, not a better or more informed person, but a satisfied reader.

The story begins as Adam, a climatology scientist, has just completed a job interview which he believes has gone extremely well. To celebrate, he treats himself to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Chelsea. In the restaurant he exchanges pleasantries with another solo diner, during which he learns that the other man is also a research scientist. After the other man leaves, Adam notices that he left some papers behind, and Adam decides to return them (he had been given the man's phone number). This was a big mistake, and Adam soon finds himself on the run from both the police, who want to charge him with murder, and from a hulking giant who wants to kill him. Adam goes underground, and must learn to leave without cash, credit cards, housing and readily available food. The story of Adam's survival on the streets as a homeless person is interesting enough, but at the same time Adam also must make sense of what has happened to him. This all makes the book a page turner.

There is a small plot point at the end of the book that I was really annoyed by, so I was thinking of taking 1/2 star off, but since this didn't affect my enjoyment of the book until the very end I'm leaving my rating at 3 stars.

Fascinating reviews -- I'm particularly interested in The Dig as when I studied Old English and Beowulf in grad school, our professor brought it up and remarked upon the artefacts found there.

12. Happy Like Murderers by Gordon Burn

This is a true crime book, which details the crimes of Rose and Fred West, depraved murderers who killed more than a dozen girls and young women over about 20 years, including some of their own children. The book describes in lurid and graphic detail, the monstrous acts of torture, sexual depravity, molestation and murder engaged in by Fred and Rose. The book is charactered with "monsters and beasts and thugs and vandals and child-molesters and weirdos and alkies and addicts and scroungers and thieves and liars and cheats and hooligans and drop-outs and no hopers." There is no telling how long Fred and Rose could have continued their rampage undetected. Their crimes were only discovered when a tenacious policewoman began to search for one of their daughters who she wanted to question as a potential witness to a case of child abuse. Only when the police were unable to get satisfactory answers as to her whereabouts, and when they learned of a "family joke" that the daughter was buried under the patio that was laid about the time of her disappearance, did they begin to consider that more serious crimes might have occurred. Even when they began an excavation at the West's house, and discovered body after body, the police were still not looking for particular victims, since most of the victims ultimately discovered were of the nameless underclass.

This book is not for everyone. For me, its value is in its matter-of-fact depiction of a society in which poverty is all-pervasive, and families well beyond dysfunctional are the norm. These are the people, especially children and teenagers, who were the victims, and the perpetrators, of the violence and abuse, the people who slipped beneath the net of social services--the throw-away people. I found it amazing how long the Wests were able to brutalize their own children with no one noticing, or reporting it. Not only were the visible signs of abuse and the children's frequent absences ignored at school, there were frequent police visits to their home for drug arrests of the West's lodgers during which the plight of the children might easily have been noticed.

On the other hand, I found Burns' writing style to be extremely annoying. The book contains numerous repetitions--of sentences and even whole paragraphs, some separated by many pages, but some occurring with a few pages. This was so ubiquitous that I have to assume it was purposeful, but had I been the editor it certainly would not have remained.

Still left to review:

The Crime of Father Amaro by Jose Maria Eca de Queiros
The Issa Valley by Czeslaw Milosz
The Golovyov Family by Nikolai Saltykov-Shchedrin
With the Animals by Noelle Revaz

Jane--I first heard about Sutton Hoo in my ongoing art history group when we were studying that era.

If I'm lucky, this should be a link to some photos:

www.bing.com/images/search?q=sutton+hoo&qpvt=sutton+hoo&FORM=IGRE

Enjoying your reviews very much!

Very interesting reviews of very interesting books, as always. I hope to read some de Maupassant later this year for the Author Theme Reads group, so was glad to have your review. And I do mean to read the Caro books eventually . . . Until I got to your last paragraph about the repetitions, I was intrigued by the true crime book. And I'll look forward to your reviews of The Issa Valley, which I may read soon, and The Golovyov Family, which has been on my TBR for years, as well as the other books (which I haven't heard of).

Great reviews and more books to put on my TBR list!

Great reviews. Pierre and Jean caught my attention and I'd love to delve into that story. I've read some of de Maupassant's short stories (in French, not in English) and this sounds like a fascinating character study.

The Dig also sounds like a good read, though I agree that the mix of fact and fiction seems a little odd. It's a great story in its own right, why fictionalize it?

Means of Ascent sounds very interesting. For whatever reason, I am fascinated by the process of manipulating media to win elections, and I firmly believe that it continues to this day from all political sides.

Enjoyed these last five reviews...especially the Guy du Maupassant and the Caro, both of which I might be interested in reading some time.

Great reviews - have to agree about The Maimed, which was certainly depressing and perverse but well-done. Sometimes I'm in the mood for depressing and perverse though.

I've been meaning to get Pierre and Jean for such a long time that I can't really remember where the recommendation originally came from. Also, I think I forgot what it was about so I was glad to read your review.

Also have been meaning to read the Caro series though that might be a long-term, in the future goal.

Thanks for the pictures!

Enjoying reading some great reviews here

I've also been tempted so many times by Caro's series on LBJ (he just won the National Book Critics Circle Award for the 4th volume) but I think he's up to 3500 pages and LBJ has only just become president! So I loved reading your summary.

I'm going to try to catch up over the next few days (weeks?), starting with copying my "reviews" from a few months ago. A couple of novels on aging:

13. Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan

A number of years ago I read and loved Wish You Were Here by O'Nan. It is the story of a bittersweet family gathering at a lake cottage, the last before the matriarch sells the cottage. I don't remember much else about the book, but Emily of Emily, Alone is that matriarch years later. While Emily, Alone is a decent enough book, I am somewhat less impressed by this sequel than I was by the original story.

Emily is now elderly, and rather set in her ways. When her sister-in-law experiences a health crisis, Emily begins to reconsider her life, and to take small steps to move beyond her usual routines. For example, she has not driven since the death of her husband, and has relied on her sister-in-law for transportation. Now she begins driving again.

I don't mind nothing happening in a book. In fact, I think you could say that basically nothing happened in Wish You Were Here. But in this case, I found Emily kind of boring. For the most part, she remains in her rut. Her life consists of following her set routines, and, more, in doing things she feels "obligated" to do. For me, one of the most pleasant aspects of getting old is being relieved of obligations, and being able to do whatever you want to when you want to. I mildly enjoyed this brief interlude into Emily's life, but I didn't learn anything, and I don't think Emily did either.

14.. The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian

This is another novel about aging, but one in which the elderly protagonists break out of the stereotypes. Ella and John are "Two down-on-their-luck geezers, one with more health problems than a third world country, the other so senile that he doesn't even know what day it is." Their children and doctors want John who has Alzheimers to be placed in a nursing home, and Ella who has terminal cancer to be hospitalized for further, probably futile, treatment. Against the advice of their doctors and children, Ella decides to take one final trip with her husband in their RV, the Leisure Seeker, a trip from their home in Michigan along fabled US Route 66 to Disneyland in California. The novel is narrated by Ella, whose acerbic wit makes the trip a pleasure for the reader, despite the various travails she and John undergo. The book is part travelogue exploring the decrepit ruins of the (mostly) abandoned Route 66, and part reflection on what meaning, in the end, we can take from our lives. Ella and John are very real people, and I enjoyed going along on their journey

15. Watergate by Thomas Mallon

I guess you could call this historical fiction. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Watergate scandal, from the break-in of the Democratic Campaign Headquarters to the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency. The story is told from several unusual points of view, including Fred LaRue (the "bagman"--he distributed the hush money for the burglars to ensure their silence), E. Howard Hunt (the Republican aide in charge of the burglary, ex-CIA agent, and the link to the White House), Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Pat Nixon, Rosemary Woods, and others. All the larger than life characters are there: the out-of-control Martha Mitchell, the dour Henry Kissinger, the stern H.R. Haldeman. Each of the characters becomes human, and even Nixon is rather sympathetically portrayed. Unlike her public persona as "Plastic Pat", Pat Nixon is developed as a warm and loving woman, who incidentally is carrying on an affair. (This is one element that Mallon in the afterword points out was entirely made up by him.)

This entire novel--more fact than fiction--is entirely believable and despite the scandal's horror and tragedy at the time, the novel is strangely entertaining. It is plotted like an intricate thriller, moving seamlessly from one point of view character to the next. When Mallon fills in the blanks he comes up with entirely plausible theories and details. One caveat I have is that the novel assumes some background knowledge on the part of the reader, or at least a passing familiarity with the gist of the scandal. And, if you have a decent grasp of the facts, either from living through the scandal (as I did, spending the summer enthralled with the Watergate hearings), or from reading, it would seem to me that the novel would be so much more rewarding. For example, knowing how stunning the discovery of the 18 minute gap on the tapes (or even how stunning the discovery that Nixon secretly taped everything said in his office) would enhance a reader's appreciation of the explanation Mallon imagines for that erasure.

Highly recommended

16. The Crime of Father Amaro by Jose Maria Eca de Queiros

Eca de Queiros is fast becoming one of my favorite 19th Century novelists. This is both his first and his fourth book. An unedited version of the book began being serialized without his knowledge in 1875. A second version was written in in 1876, and the third and final version was written in 1880, with a preface by Eca de Queiros stating, "Corrected, rewritten and entirely different, in form and plot from the original edition."

The novel is set in the provincial Portuguese city of Leira. Newly ordained Father Amaro, for whom the seminary "merely combined the humiliations of prison with the tedium of school", has arrived in town, and is taken to board with the widowed Sao Joaneira and her beautiful daughter Amelia. Each evening the prim, proper and religious women of the town, together with some of the clergy, gather at Sao Joaneira's for conversation, cards and other entertainment, a "gathering of skirts and cassocks." Gradually, Father Amaro and Amelia begin a demure and surrepticious flirtation hidden beneath the watchful eyes of her mother and the church ladies. When he learns that the pious Sao Joaneira is conducting an affair with his superior Canon Dias, Father Amaro begins to resent his celibacy and decides to act. He dreams of what a good husband he could be, and resents that he was pushed into the priesthood.

At first, our sympathies are entirely with Father Amaro. Then, he plots to destroy Amelia's suitor--"It was not a plot to take her away from her fiancé, good heavens no; his motives (and he said this out loud the better to convince himself) were honest and pure: it was his duty to drag her back from Hell; he did not want her for himself, he wanted her for God! True, his interests as a lover did coincide with his duties, but even if she were squint-eyed, ugly and stupid he would still, in the service of Heaven,...unmask Senhor Joao Eduardo as a slanderer and an atheist."

The turning point for me came when Father Amaro connives further to arrange for private time with Amelia as her confessor, in order that they might consummate their love affair. He tells Amelia's mother that Amelia "needs...a confessor who will be firm with her, who will say to her--go that way!--and accept no rebuttals. The girl has a weak nature and, like most women, she simply cannot cope on her own; that's why she needs a confessor who will rule her with a rod of iron, someone she will obey, someone to whom she will tell everything, someone she is afraid of...that is what a confessor should be." His ploy works, and, using the cover of saving her soul, he and Amelia are soon engaged in a florid affair. While Amelia entered into the relationship willingly at first, Father Amaro comes to dominate her, and "did not allow her other interests or curiosities about anything other than him. He even forbade her to read novels or poetry. What did she need knowledge for? What did it matter to her what went on in the world?" When Amelia begins to believe that they are sinning, and that she will face the wrath of God, Amaro tells her that being loved by a priest was special, and would call down upon her God's interest and friendship.

Not surprisingly, Amelia becomes pregnant, and Amaro's response is to pity himself--"he had been so affectionate and kind to her, and now she wanted to repay him with scandal and disgrace." It comes to the point that Amaro is seen "weighing the pros and cons--growing up fostered or suffocated shortly after birth." He rationalizes to himself that should the latter course be taken, "it was clearly God taking pity on the child, not wanting one more wretched orphan on the earth, it was clearly God demanding his angel."

This book has been described as an indictment of small town hypocrisy, the celibacy rules of the Catholic church, the venality of the clergy, and a portrait of the stultification of women in 19th century Portugal. It is all that, but for me, most of all, it a fascinating and masterful character study of an innocent and good individual and his gradual evolution into a degraded monster

17. With the Animals by Noelle Revaz

This unusual book is narrated by Paul, a primitive and violent dairy farmer in a remote valley in Switzerland. He detests his wife Vulva, and can't bother to remember the names or ages of his numerous children, who he refers to as "Vulva's brood." His only connection is to his cows, for each of whom he knows all the details of their birth, lineage and personality. Then one summer he hires Georges, a Portuguese itinerant farm worker. Georges is "normal", and tries to make Paul see the error of his ways.

The strength of this novel is its voice. (The book has been nominated for a prize for translation). The translator states: "Paul is embodied by his language. Not only does it display his lack of literacy, his awkwardness, coarseness, and brutality--one critic has described it as 'a slap in the face to fine language'--his struggle to express himself especially reflects his difficulty with emotions and his existential incompetence."

Here are a few samples of Paul's voice:

"Vulva's a tough nut, she never turns a hair. It's like the animals: when they've seen what a stick is for they think twice before they misbehave and that's the way to handle them..."

"What you've got to keep in mind is never to be mean to one that could never understand such a level of meanness: for example with the animals it's no use yelling, being as they never understand a word you say. You just have to land them a kick or two and they quiet down and it's the same with Vulva: I talk in expressions and warnings she's able to figure out, or else it'd be cruelty and mental torturation."

Regarding his children:

"If you try to count them it's no easy job, seeing they're always shifting and never keep still, never obedient and ready to answer but roaming the fields poking under every blade of grass. When you come across one it's impossible to tell any more if it's the same as the last one, or a big brother, or if there's twins. All the same, there's some I know."

Despite the difficult subject matter, I found it a pleasure to read between the lines of Paul's narrative, and I was very impressed with the translator's rendering of Paul's unique voice.

18. Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason

"There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard."

Mild-mannered Jason Getty killed a man (quite understandingly) and buried the victim in the backyard. For a year he's been terrified of discovery, but faced with an overgrown lawn he finally works up the courage to have some landscapers in. To his surprise, the landscapers unearth a body--only its not the one Jason buried. When the police arrive, they discover another body, also not the one Jason buried. Now Jason must endure the investigation into the deaths of these two bodies while ensuring that "his" body is not discovered.

This was for the most part a clever and entertaining book. I'm always disappointed, however, when such a book dissolves into chases and shootings at the end, and this was no exception. Still, until then I enjoyed the book

19. The Issa Valley by Czeslaw Milosz

"The Issa Valley has the distinction of being inhabited by an unusually large number of devils."

So begins this magical autobiographical coming of age novel by Nobelist Milosz. Thomas lives in a remote valley in the disputed area between Lithuania and Poland with his grandparents. The time is just after World War I, and pagan spirits and ancient spells are very real to the villagers and to Thomas. As a young boy, Thomas explores nature with scientific avidity. When he's a bit older, he idolizes one of the peasants who is a skilled hunter, and seeks to emulate him, until he discovers he is unable to kill. As Thomas comes of age, the cycles of nature in all its glory and wonder are also prominently displayed. Although there is not much plot, Milosz writes beautifully of Thomas's world, with a unique sense of place and time.

(I highly recommend you read Rebecca's recent excellent review of this book)

20. A Perfect Execution by Tim Binding

On the surface, Jeremiah Benbo is a quiet fruit and vegetable grower. Secretly, as Solomon Straw, he travels the country as England's hangman. He is proud of his ability to maintain his professionalism, while balancing it with a sense of compassion. We are in his mind as he contemplates the mechanics and physics of hanging--how long the rope must be; how tight the noose--and the psychology of his profession--how to calm the convicted man on his walk to the scaffold and allow him to maintain his dignity. All the while, he does not seem to fully understand the consequences of his job, or to question its morality, until circumstances converge to cause him to question whether he has hung an innocent man.

Binding is an excellent writer, and if at the beginning it is difficult to understand how all the characters and elements will fit together, in the end it all coalesces. The book gives us a unique point of view on the death penalty.

(This novel is set in Great Britain in the 1950's when the death penalty was still imposed.)

What I have left to comment on:

21. The Golovlyov Family by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
22. After the Divorce by Grazia Deledda
23. The Joy of Life by Emile Zola
24. The Axe by Sigrid Undset
25. What a Carve Up by Jonathan Coe
26. The Zona by Nathan L. Yocum
27. The Jokers by Albert Cossery
28. Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank
29. Anonymous Celebrity by Ignacio De Loyola Brandao
30. Old Flames by John Lawton
31. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
32. The Native Commissioner by Shaun Johnson
33. Real World by Natsuo Kirino
34. On Beulah Heights by Reginald Hill
35. The Blackhouse by Peter May
36. Animal's People by Indra Sinha
37. The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo
38. The Bag Lady War by Carol Leonard SeCoy
39. Capital by John Lanchester
40. Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer
41. Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson
42. Wolves of the Crescent Moon by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
43. Sorry by Zoran Drvenkar
44. Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates
45. Serious Men by Manu Joseph
46. Spook by Mary Roach
47. Building Waves by Taeko Tomioka
48. A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres
49. The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
50. The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
51. On the Edge by Markus Werner
52. The Preservationist by David Maine

You have been busy! You have some very interesting reviews here.

21. The Golovlyov Family by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

This book is described as a family saga set on the ancestral estate of the Golovlyov family about the time the country was in flux as the serfs were being freed.. I expected something Tolstoyan and idyllic. Instead, this is one of the darkest and bleakest of the Russian novels I have read.

As the novel opens, the matriarch, Arina Petrovna, rules the family estate with an iron hand. She is a stingy miser, and holds everyone in contempt, including her husband and children. Into this setting, her son Porphyry returns from the city, penniless after he has lost the property his mother had bestowed upon him to manage. She gives him a room in an outbuilding, and provides him with starvation-level food. He weasels the occasional odd coin from a serf to buy alcohol. Other family members are another son and a daughter, both of whom have married, and initially live similar unhappy lives on other family estates. Arina is also the guardian of two granddaughters.

Over the years, Prophyry manages to manipulate matters to turn the tables on his mother. He becomes the owner of the estate and of all of Arina's property. He is in a position to deny her needs and wants (as well as those of his own children), and he exercises this power liberally. All the characters in this novel are unlikeable, even evil, but the most hateful is Prophyry. His character is masterfully developed, and the depiction of his pious hypocrisy is stunning. He is able to justify his every despicable deed with a religious motive, event to the extent of his complicity in the death of his son.

Excellent book

22. The Joy of Life by Emile Zola

This is one of the less well-known of the Rougon-Macquart novels. While not among the top tier of the series, it is one that deserves to be more widely read.

The Rougon-Macquart connection is Pauline Quenu, the protagonist. She is the daughter of the owners of the butcher shop featured in The Belly of Paris. As the novel opens she is 9 years old and has been orphaned. She, along with her ample inheritance, is sent to live with distant relatives, an older couple, the Chanteaus, and their 19 year old son, Lazare. The Chanteaus are retired "gentry", and live in reduced circumstances in a fishing village on the North Coast of France.

Pauline forms an immediate bond with Lazare, and idolizes him. He is a dilettante, and is unable to decide what to do with his life. When Pauline first meets him, he is composing a "masterpiece" symphony. When he gets bored with this, he goes to Paris to study medicine. When he fails his exams, he studies science. He does not complete these studies, but returns home confident that he can start a successful business involving seaweed extractions. Lazare's various enterprises are expensive, and one after the other they fail. The Chanteaus begin using Pauline's inheritance to finance Lazare's continuing unsuccessful enterprises. Soon, they are also relying on Pauline's money to fund their everyday living expenses (above and beyond the expenses of her keep they have been legitimately paid). When Pauline comes of age, and they face an audit, they arrive at a convenient way to settle matters: Pauline and Lazare will become engaged. Pauline is amenable, since she has always adored Lazare, and he in his own way also loves her. As her fiancé, neither he nor his parents will have to repay Pauline, and it will furthermore be all to Pauline's advantage, since Lazare is so brilliant. It will be no surprise that none of Lazare's enterprises are successful, and that the Pauline and Lazare's relationship is not smooth. Pauline is at times a "too good to be true" character, but within the context of a 19th century novel she is believable and steadfast. She remains loyal to Madame Chanteau, even when Madame Chanteau has turned on her, perhaps out of shame from having depleted Pauline's fortune. She serves as an uncomplaining nurse to Monsieur Chanteau, who suffers from crippling gout. And despite all the trials and tribulations, she loves and remains true to Lazare.

All the characters in this book are well-drawn. One thing that I have not before noticed in Zola is the prominent role played by the family pets, Matthew the dog and Minouche the cat, whose characters are also well-developed. In fact, the death of Matthew is portrayed in a manner worthy of Dickens, and goes on for pages--certainly it is featured more prominently than the death of Madame Chanteau.

The other factor I particularly enjoyed in this novel is the setting on the northern coast. The fishing village itself is being slowing eaten by the encroaching sea. In winter, there are violent storms, yet Pauline and Lazare spend idyllic summer days on the beach. All of this is very atmospheric, and the feel of an ocean shore permeates the novel.

23. After the Divorce by Grazia Deledda

Grazia Deledda was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1926, the second woman to be so honored. Many of her novels depict the day-to-day lives of Sardinian peasants, and such peasants are the subject of After the Divorce. Giovanna and Costantino are a young happily married couple with an infant son, when Costantino is wrongly accused and convicted of murder. He is sent to prison on the mainland. Giovanna and their son and her mother, face a life of penury and starvation.

When Giovanna's mother learns that the law has been changed to allow a woman whose husband is in prison for a long time to divorce her husband, she begins to pressure Giovanni to divorce Costantino. Brontu Dejas, a wealthy (by peasant standards) young man who Giovanna had spurned in favor of Costantino, alleges he still loves her and wants to marry her. Giovanna fights the pressure as long as she can, but eventually succumbs to the pressure. After she marries Brontu, she learns that he is a drunken brute, and he and her mother-in-law treat her no better than a slave. Tragically soon after she divorces and remarries, the true murderer is discovered and Costantino is released and returns to the village.

Deledda writes poetically and lyrically--for example, this description of Giovanna's mother: "...a tall tragic-looking figure all in black. The gaunt, yellow face, shaped like that of some bird of prey...two brilliant green spots indicated eyes, deep-set, overhung by fierce, heavy brows and surrounded by livid circles." She is also clearly knowledgeable about peasant life and practices. For example, she describes a rite of exorcism for the cure of a tarantula bite which is nothing less than surreal---the victim must first wallow in a dung heap, and then roast in an oven, all the while accompanied by twenty women "chanting in melancholy monotone" a song of exorcism. Not surprisingly, victims rarely survived. (Although I have heard that tarantula bites are not necessarily fatal.)

Highly recommended

24. The Axe by Sigrid Undset

Sigrid Undset is another female Nobelist (for 1928), and I read this as part of my challenge to read/reread all the Nobelists. I read the Kristin Lavrensdatter saga many years ago, and loved it. I debated rereading Kristin, or reading something by Undset I hadn't previously read. The Axe is the first in the 4 volume The Master of Hestviken, and I opted for it.

The novel is similar to Kristin Lavrensdatter in that it is a love story set in medieval Scandanavia. As such, the depiction of the daily life and customs of those times in that place are as important as the plot and characters. The story is that of a beautiful young maiden who has been affianced since childhood to an orphan who was "fostered" with her family. When it comes time for them to marry, her family refuses to recognized the pledge her father gave to the young man's father before his death. Thus begins a series of adventures and misadventures of this spunky young woman and her true love. I am assuming that only at the end of the fourth novel will their love prevail.

Perhaps I'm more cynical now (and maybe I should never reread Kristin Lavrensdatter so I can retain my warm and fuzzy memory of it), but I found the story a bit soap-operaish. The details of daily life were of course fascinating, and I'm sure are well researched and documented. And, the novel is well-written. However, I recently read The Long Ships, set in a similar milieu, and it was so much a superior novel, while also immersing the reader into life in medieval times. If you want to sample Undset, I would suggest starting with the first volume of the Kristin Lavrensdatter saga.

So many wonderful reviews, Deborah! More than a few are going on my wishlist. I recently read and loved Kristin Lavransdatter, but I can see that more of essentially the same would be a bit too much. Rather than reading more by Sigrid Undset, I am going to take your cue and read The Long Ships.

Fascinating reviews, aruba -- and I'm in awe of your have read list.

Wow - with such fascinating reading, no wonder you haven't had time to post reviews ;-)

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of the backlog!

Impressive list at #100.

I quite like Eca de Queiros as well - do you have any upcoming plans for more of his books?

With the Animals is on the pile (thanks to avaland) - it sounds really interesting but definitely different.

"The Issa Valley has the distinction of being inhabited by an unusually large number of devils." Heh. That's a great first line. I've only read good things about this one and have seen it in a couple of the used bookstores around Seattle, will have to pick it up.

I really liked The Golovlyov Family - there was just something so over-the-top and horrible about the hypocrisy, the hatred and the nonstop talking, yelling and fighting that I thought the book had a certain vividness even though all the things that happened - and the characters - were pretty miserable.

I've gone back and forth on getting The Master of Hestviken. I'd definitely like to read more by Undset but it didn't look like there had been a recent translation of that one. What translation did you get for The Axe? I remember reading a comparison of the Nunnally Kristin Lavrensdatter to the older one and found the latter to be hard to understand. Wasn't sure if The Master of Hestviken would have similarly stilted-Olde English-type language. I was sort of hoping Nunnally would translate that one as well. For other Undsets - I'd recommend Undset's Jenny and Gunnar's Daughter if you haven't read those ones yet.

Wow! You've been busy reading AND reviewing! And so many interesting books too.

I wasn't wild about the one Eca de Queiros book I've read (The Maias), but your enthusiasm for him is making me think I should try again. I do have a copy of The City and the Mountains on the TBR.

Glad you liked The Issa Valley, and thanks for the compliment.

I bought A Perfect Execution a year or so ago after learning about it on LT, and I'm glad to know you recommend it too. Maybe I should move it up on the TBR.

Have to get to The Golovlyov Family, also on the TBR, one of these days.

I don't have that Zola -- will have to look for it.

And I have Kristin Lavrensdatter on the TBR too, and was thinking of making it a summer project.

Very interesting reviews of the other books too, and I'm looking forward to the ones still to come!

Some excellent reviews here, I particularly enjoyed your reviews of 19th century novels and I have added The Crime of father Amaro to my wish list

What an amazing and varied list! Happy to see yet another positive take on A Perfect Execution. As you say, Binding is an excellent writer.

I just checked The Axe on amazon and unfortunately it didn't give the translator, so I didn't order it. Having read Kristin Lavransdatter in a couple of translations, like DieF I would only go with one by Nunnally. I did find a translation of Jenny by her though, so ordered that. Adding The Crime of Father Amaro and Watergate to the wanted list. The Golovlyov Family is already on the TBR pile.

Looking forward to more reviews.

Fantastic thread. Enjoying your reviews and the variety of your reading. Have added Watergate and The Issa Valley, and will read your future posts with great interest.

Great reviews, Deborah! Too many for me to digest at one time, so I'll come back to read these during the week.

Just catching all your May 20 reviews and the wonderful list in post #100. What a terrific set of books and reviews, mostly all new titles to me. I'm intrigued by a number of these, especially Deledda and the Revaz.

As for those zillion of books awaiting comment...did you find Animal's People readable/worth reading?

>100 arubabookwoman: wow!!
Great batch of reviews. I’ve added With the Animals and The Leisure Seeker.

Hi Deborah, I'm visiting ClubRead this morning and have really enjoyed reading through your reviews. You've convinced me to read Soldiers of Salamis, one that's been lurking in my tbr pile for too long. Have you read The time of the doves which has just been republished as In Diamond Square by Mercè Rodoreda? The Crime of Father Amaro also moves up my tbr pile.

I figured 2 months is long enough for me to disappear. I have a slew of reviews, and will try to post a few now.

First a few novels from India:

Animal's People by Indra Sinha

"I used to be human once. So I'm told. I don't remember it myself, but people who knew me when I was small say I walked on two feet just like a human being."

Animal is a 20 year old man who walks on all fours, thus his name. He is a street person in an unnamed city in India based on Bhopal. A chemical leak when he was an infant caused his condition, and he would like nothing more than to be whole. He lives in an improvised hovel with Ma Franci, an elderly French nun from the orphanage he was raised in. Now he cares for her and protects her to the extent he can as she declines into dementia. They are surrounded by others eking out a living on the street, many of whom are also suffering serious health problems resulting from the chemical leak. (Their settlement in fact borders on the former chemical plant, now enclosed by barbed wire and no trespassing signs). One of the appeals of this book is getting to know these characters, who have lost what little they have had, as they go about their daily lives, doing ordinary things, loving their families, helping their friends, all without allowing bitterness and hatred to rule them.

Animal's life begins to change when he meets Nisha, who takes him under her wing. She lives with her father, a wealthy and famous former singer of traditional Indian music. Her boyfriend Zafar is an activist, who is continuing the ongoing fight against the American chemical company ("the Kampani"). The fight is complicated by government corruption and the system of back-scratching existing between big business and politicians.

Animal begins to take one meal a day at Nisha's house, and finds himself falling in love with her, and resenting Zafar. Into this mix comes Elli, an American doctor. She is opening a free clinic to help the victims of the spill. Unfortunately, the rumor spreads that she is an agent of the Kampani, perhaps there to collect information to be used against them, and no one will go to her clinic. Animal, however, begins to think that Elli might make him whole again.

All of these threads and stories are narrated by Animal, who has a unique and authentic voice. He can be crass, he is sometimes sex-obsessed, he does some bad things (like trying to poison Zafar), yet he is wholly sympathetic and real. This book was short-listed for the Booker and is deservedly on the 1001 list.

This is a long quote, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Note that despite this quote, the whole book is not at all preachy.

"Behold, the Kampani. On its roof are soldiers with guns. Tanks patrol its foot. Jets fly over leaving criss-cross trails and its basements contain bunkers full of atomic bombs. From this building the Kampani controls its factories all over the world. It's stuffed with banknotes, it is the counting house for the Kampani's wealth. One floor of the building is reserved for the Kampani's three-and-thirty thousand lawyers. Another is for the doctors doing research to prove that the Kampani's many accidents have caused no harm to anyone. On yet another engineers design plants that are cheap to make and run. Chemists on a higher floor are experimenting with poisons, mixing them up to see which most efficiently kill. One floor is devoted to living things waiting in cages to be killed. Above the chemists is a floor of those who sell the Kampani's poisons with slogans like SHAKE HANDS WITH THE FUTURE and NOBODY CARES MORE, above these are a thousand public relations consultants, whose job is dealing with protesters like Zafar who are blind to the Kampani's virtues and put out carping leaflets saying NOBODY CARES LESS. It is the job of the PR people to tell the world how good and caring and responsible the Kampani is. In the directors' floor at the top of the building the Kampani is throwing a party for all its friends. There you'll find generals and judges, senators, presidents and prime ministers, oil sheikhs, newspaper owners, movie stars, police chiefs, mafia dons, members of obscure royal families etcetera etcetera"

Serious Men by Manu Joseph

I thought this would be a funny, satirical novel. While it does have many touches of humor, it is also a serious examination of the lingering effects of the caste system in contemporary India.

Its hero Mani is a former untouchable ("Dalit'), who began life with aspirations. Now, he's stuck, and he knows it. He lives with his wife and son in "BDD Chawl", "..a hive of ten thousand one-room homes carved inside a hundred and twenty identical three-storyed buildings that stood like grey ruins, their paint long removed by old rains." 80,000 people live in these buildings, and Mani had wanted to break away from that world. As he has come to realize that he will not, he decides to help his son achieve more than did.

Mani works as the administrative aide to the head of a scientific research institute. The primary focus of the institute is the research for extraterrestrial life, and there is an ongoing dispute among the scientists as to what the best way to proceed is. The head of the institute is in favor of one methodology; other scientists favor different methodologies. What unites the scientists is that they are all of former Brahmin caste. There is an unspoken belief among them that the untouchable class is, in fact, inferior and that its members do not have the intelligence and could not achieve the education to become scientists, or to otherwise advance from menial positions. Most of the non-scientific staff at the institute are of lower castes, and they, including Mani, are essentially invisible to the scientists.

Mani's position may be one of invisibility, but due to the knowledge his position makes him privy to (and some knowledge that he comes upon by spying) he is able to manipulate some things behind the scenes. He wants to prove his son is a genius, and capable of becoming a research scientist. Suddenly, his son begins blurting out questions at school that stump his teachers. His reputation soars, and he becomes known as the brightest student at the school. The school principal tells Mani, "How beautifully you've forgiven the people who brutalized your forefathers. The Brahmins, the kind of things they did. The things they do even now. In private, they still call you the Untouchables, do you know that?" A newspaper article is mysteriously published in a local newspaper reporting that Mani's son Adi has placed first in a nation-wide scientific exam. Soon rumors of Adi's genius are everywhere, even at the institute.

I enjoyed this book, though there was a situation in which the head scientist has an affair with a female scientist which went on a bit too long, and which I felt portrayed the female scientist in an unrealistic light. I suppose this incident was necessary for the plot development, but it didn't have to take such a prominent position. Nevertheless, I recommend this book without reservations.

The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair

Several years ago I read a mid-19th century novel by Philip Taylor Meadows called Confessions of a Thug. Meadows was a police official in India at the time, and the novel purported to be the confession of a member to the "Thugees", a criminal band that was terrorizing the countryside at that time. A Thugee was basically born into the life, and the group had a whole system of rituals and worship. It was quite a fascinating novel, and my review of it appears here:

http://www.librarything.com/work/128010/book/

In The Thing About Thugs, a contemporary novel Amir Ali,, the Thugee interviewed by Meadows is now in London with Meadows. Meadows has brought him to London to continue his study of Thugee culture. In addition, Meadows is deeply involved with a Phrenological society that believes that a criminal character can be diagnosed by the shape of his skull.

Amir decides to set the record straight about what was true and what was invented in his descriptions of Thugee culture to Meadows. The bulk of the narrative consists of Amir's record of his life. In London in the meantime, the Phrenological society needs skulls of criminals to study. Some shady characters are involved, and a Phenological society member known as "M'Lord" is in charge of obtaining those skulls, no questions asked about their source.

When members of the London underclass start showing up murdered, the police and others focus their suspicions on the "savage Thugee" in their midst. Meadows does not believe Amir is guilty of these murders, and helps him hide from the authorities.

This is an engaging read. I found it somewhat confusing at times, and unfocused. Still, I would recommend it, although I enjoyed Confessions of a Thug more. Who knows what the real story is

Back to the USA

The Bag Lady War by Carol Leonard SeCoy

This is a satire on the state of present day health care, and an indictment of our society's treatment of the elderly. Josie, Mabel and Mill, three elderly widows, are tired of living with street thugs and poverty. They devise the perfect plan to ensure their safety, and room, board, and medical care for life. The idea came to Josie as she listened to a speech by a U.S. Senator arguing that Social Security needed to be cut. In the same speech, the Senator argued for building more prisons. When she thinks about it, Josie decides that living the remainder of her life in prison isn't such a bad idea, and is able to convince her friends to join her: "Would it be so bad to live in prison? That's not the worst thing that can happen to me Mabel. At least I'd be safe and my financial problems would be over. And you said yourself, if we have to stay locked up in our homes to be safe, we may as well be in prison." Josie and her friends don't want to be a burden on society, however, so they decide to "compensate" the government for their own life-long care by ridding society of criminals who would otherwise end up in prison as a burden to the government anyway. In fact, they come to see themselves as "government agents" of a sort, with "a mission vital to our country...." They devise a complex formula for how many criminals equate to their life-time care, and set to work.

For the most part this is a light-hearted satire. The ladies kill some criminals, destroy a crack lab, break up some street gangs. When they think they've made their quota, they turn themselves in. There are a number of hilarious scenes as they try to convince the police to arrest them and a judge to convict them (they don't want to burden the government with the cost of a trial).

After this thoroughly enjoyable first half of the novel, the book turns into a polemic, and goes a bit over the top in preachiness. Hundreds, maybe thousands of seniors all over the country begin to emulate Josie, Mable and Mill. There's an epidemic of murders, and even the President becomes involved. Congress must act. The three women, now safely ensconced in a low security facility, are asked to intervene to calm things down. I think the author lost her way in turning the remainder of the book into a political tract. However, the first part was laugh-out loud funny (though somewhat bittersweet), and I recommend it for that.

Capital by John Lanchester

This is a slice-of-life novel, the slice being cut from Pepys Road in London and the families who live on or are connected with the road. "Having a house in Pepys Road was like being in a casino in which you were guaranteed to be a winner. If you already lived there, you were rich. If you wanted to move there, you had to be rich. It was the first time in history this had ever been true Britain had become a country of winners and losers and all the people in the street, just by living there, had won."

This is not entirely true, of course. Petunia, an elderly pensioner who has just been diagnosed with cancer, just scrapes by. She lives in a house purchased by her grandfather at a time when the houses had just been built, and were affordable--they had been built for the laboring class. Petunia is a winner only in that her daughter will inherit her extremely valuable house after Petunia dies. And there is a Pakistani family who live above the shop they own at the end of the road. We also become involved in the lives of a hedge fund trader/banker and his shopaholic wife, dreaming of how many millions of pounds he will be receiving as a bonus, not realizing that the world is on the cusp of the financial crash; a young soccer star from Senegal who despite advances in the millions suffers a career-threatening injury. Others are the graffiti artist grandson of one of the residents, the illegal immigrant working as a meter maid, the Polish carpenter who does many of the ongoing renovations undertaken by the wealthy residents, the nannys for the spoiled children. These are just the main characters--there are many minor characters whose tales are no less interesting--the assistant to the banker who feels that he is 100% responsible for the banker's success, the artist's assistant who also resents the artist's success. While it might be thought that such a myriad of characters and stories would be difficult to keep track of, that is not the case. Lancaster is such a good writer that the characters are all three-dimensional and memorable. I found myself wondering how Lancaster could know so much about such a wide variety of people.

The plot, loose as it is, is driven by a series of notes delivered to each resident of Pepys Road. The notes state, "We want what you have." At first the notes are ignored, or passed off as a marketing campaign by an overzealous real estate company. The notes keep coming, however, and the police become involved. This plot is all played out against a backdrop of the financial crisis, the London art world, the treatment of suspected terrorists, professional sports (soccer), illegal immigration--indeed the theme of the global and financial nature of the city itself. I highly recommend this novel

Well, welcome back. Your review of Animal's People has re-sparked my interest. I'll return it to my TBR pile. Enjoyed these new reviews.

Glad to see you back, altho, I hate to think of what those missing two months would have done to my WL because you are already weighing it down. These all three sound good.

Your reviews are always a treat, Deborah. If these are just a few, I am very much looking forward to the rest!

Nice review of Confessions of a Thug and the more contemporary The Thing about Thugs. Some time ago I read a great novel called Thug. I believe it was by one of the Huxleys, probably Aldous, and it was in one of the Penguin grey spine bindings, but I have never been able to find it since, not even a mention in lists of works. At least I can follow up by reading your books.

Liked the bag lady idea and Capital too. Agreeing with mk about what your reviews will do.

A Very enjoyable bunch of reviews;

I will keep a look out for Animal's people and Serious Men from your Indian reads

John Lanchester writes regularly for the London Review of Books about the banking scandals over the last four years and so he would have plenty of background knowledge to make Capital very believable.

Enjoyed reading your reviews, as always, and welcome back. I read a lot of Indian writers some years ago, and it may be time for me to go back and read some more.

Like you I haven't spent much time on LT lately, but I do continue to add my new purchases and keep a list of my reading. No review writing in ages. I do enjoy your reviews and added a couple of your recommendations to my list. I missed the last TPB sale, did you go? I just got back from scouring the library sale shelves for some giveaway paperbacks. We are going to be traveling, and I don't want to bring books with me that I have to carry the whole time we are gone. So I'm trying to find things that are interesting enough to read, but not enough to make me want to keep them (and thus carry them). So far I found two scraggly looking things that I wouldn't keep for aesthetic reasons and two novels that I already own but haven't read. Look forward to reading more of your reviews when I return.

Great reviews as usual and great to have you back again. I already have Capital on my wishlist (and I'm confident I'll pick up a used copy in London eventually) and I really liked your review - makes me want to find it now! Also adding The Bag Lady War - I also think that sounds like a great set-up, and a lot of fun. Keep the reviews coming!

Capital sounds really interesting. Great review!

Interesting review of the new Lanchester, although I am not sure I want to read another book about the financial crisis (the other being Faulks' A week in December).

Thanks for visiting all. Hope you enjoy whatever books you've added to your wishlist!
Bas--after reading Capital, I bought his book on the financial crisis, I.O.U., but haven't read it yet.

The Family That Couldn't Sleep by D.T. Max

In effect, this book is a medical detective story, tracing the medical quest to diagnose and treat cases of Fatal Familial Insomnia. One in two members of a family in Italy suffers from this disease (and it is traceable back through several generations), which strikes when victims is in their 50's, and which is always fatal. Only about 40 families world-wide, all unrelated, suffer from this disease. Only in recent years was it discovered that Fatal Familial Insomnia is a prion disease.

The prion has been described as one of the strangest things in all biology. Insofar as is known, prions do not replicate themselves. It is not a virus or a bacteria, but is a protein, a non-living thing. In 1997, the prion was shown to be the infectious agent causing such diseases as Mad Cow disease, Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, kuru, a disease found only in some indigenous populations of New Guinea, and perhaps other diseases. Prion diseases appear to be the only diseases that can take one of three forms: genetic, infectious and accidental. We know that prions are found in all mammals, but we don't know their function in healthy mammals.

As one scientist says, "What kills viruses and bacteria barely affects them. Boiling will not disinfect them, nor will heat. You can't reliably 'kill' a prion with radiation. You can't pour formaldehyde on it to render it harmless--in fact formaldehyde makes prions tougher. Not all bleaches can kill prions and those that can need to be highly concentrated. Prions bond to metal. They can be spread, for instance, when doctors reuse the electrodes planted in patients' brains for EEGs or by dental equipment."

This was a fascinating scientific story about this strange protein of which I'd never heard (although obviously I'd heard of mad cow disease and Creutzfeld-Jakob). A couple of Nobel prize winners received their prizes based on their prion research, and I understand that there is much ongoing research, as there is much still to be discovered about it.

A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres

We've all heard the phrase "drink the Kool Aid", but sometimes tend to forget its tragic origin in the mass suicide at Jonestown in Guyana. In A Thousand Lives Julia Scheeres's aim is to help the reader understand the reasons that people were drawn to Jim Jones and his church, why they followed him into the wilderness of Guyana, and how they ended up dying in a mass-murder/suicide.

While his early ministry was not particularly controversial, Jones told his followers that "for some unexplained set of reasons, I happened to be selected to be God." His primary message was that God had done nothing to help humanity, but he, Jim Jones, would. He began drugging people surrepticiously to prove his special abilities, and his congregation grew into the thousands. He formed a governing board called the planning commission. Jones himself began taking Dextroamphetamine. This drug can cause paranoia, and it had this affect on Jones. Jones began to fear outsiders, and instilled this fear in his followers.

All members of his church were expected to move into communal living quarters, and turn all their property and earnings over to the church. Families were broken up, children were abused, yet Jones managed to retain his control over his followers. In 1974, Jones purchased a remote tract of land in Guyana, and sent "pioneers" down to start clearing the land. They sent back rosy descriptions (untrue) to lure as many members as possible. After an extremely negative newspaper article in August, 1977, the Temple began a massive effort to bring its followers to Guyana. Seven "special Aides" went to the various communes at midnight to inform them that they had been called to the promised land. Members were not allowed to make calls. They were driven to the Temple and loaded onto buses. They left from various airports. The next day, there were hundreds of empty seats in local classrooms, and many missing employees. The communes were emptied in a matter of days. Members disappeared without even informing family members.

Once in Guyana, life was hard. There was not enough food, living conditions were primitive, and the amount of work that needed to be done was overwhelming. Jones appeared less frequently to his members. He was drug-addled much of the time, and was more and more paranoid. All links to the outside were cut off, and there was increasing talk of suicide among the leaders of the church. In fact, a great deal of planning went into obtaining the poisons, determining dosages and delivery means, and so forth, making it clear that the mass suicide/murder was not spontaneous, but was carefully orchestrated.

Many members had attempted to leave, but were forced to stay, sometimes with their children held ransom. There were frequent inquiries from the US Ambassador regarding requests for information about various church members from their families who were concerned about their welfare. Inquiries from relatives in fact instigated a Congressional investigation, and Congressman Leo Ryan along with aides went to Jonestown to meet with church members in order to be able to reassure their families. Instead, he found many members who wanted to leave, so many that not all would be able to be brought out that day on his plane. As Ryan and some of the families were attempting to leave, some loyal church leaders opened fire, killing the congressman and others. Then the church leaders began implementing the plan to poison all remaining members.

This book was based on diaries that were kept by several members, some quite detailed, interviews with survivors, and other contemporary documentation. In the end, Scheeres prefers that the incident not be remembered as the source of the "drink the Kool Aid" phrase, but:

"If anything, the people who moved to Jonestown should be remembered as noble idealists. They wanted to create a better, more equitable society. They wanted their kids to be free of violence and racism. They rejected sexist gender roles. They believed in a dream.
"How terribly they were betrayed."

Spook by Mary Roach

I've seen Mary Roach interviewed a few times, and always enjoyed her quirky take on things. So I was really looking forward to reading Spook, the first book I have read by her. The book is her attempt to explore the science surrounding attempts to discover if there is a soul and if there is an afterlife. After reading about one third of the book, I found myself skimming the rest. The first few chapters discuss reincarnation. These chapters are entirely anecdotal, and Roach just seems to accept the anecdotes with little analysis or serious scientific questioning. Then she begins to explore the soul, and attempts to weigh the soul to prove its existence. One investigator describes the soul as "the {obligatory} negative entropy (i.e., energy/weight equivalent) that is necessary to allow for the nonequillibrium meta-stable physical 'quasi-steady-state' of a living/conscious biological system," Huh? I began skimming after she moved on to séances.

Roach states that, "This is a book for people who would very much like to believe in a soul and an afterlife for it to hang around in, but who have trouble accepting these things on faith." This book did nothing for one who has trouble accepting these things on faith. In the afterword, she explains that when she is asked what she believes, she says there is evidence of some things we can't explain with our current knowledge--the possibility that there is something more. But one doesn't need this book to come to that conclusion.

I know that Roach is entertaining, and known to be one to explain science in an accessible way to non-scientists. I didn't find that here, though. I have another of her books on my Kindle, Stiff, and I will still read that. After that I don't expect to try another of her books.

Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani

Chamdi is a 10 year old boy raised in an orphanage in Bombay. For his entire life, he has been awaiting the return of one of his parents to take him home. He has not been outside the walls of the orphanage, but is sure that the city of Bombay is beautiful and full of loving people. He imagines a beautiful place and names it "Kahunsha", which to him meant "the city of no sadness." When the matron tells the children that the orphanage will be moving, Chamdi decides to run away and look for his father.

When Chamdi arrives on the streets of Bombay he quickly learns that people are not kind. He spends a night and two days on the street with nothing to eat, scorned by the people around him. On his second night he is approached by a girl his age, and she brings him to an alley where she lives with her brother and their mother who is schizophrenic and detached from reality. The girl, Guddi, and her brother, Sumdi, had approached Chamdi because they had noticed how thin he was, and felt that they could make use of him to slip through the bars of a nearby temple and steal the offering plate. Chamdi is horrified at the thought of stealing, but Guddi and Sumdi have been kind to him and fed him, so he decides to stay with them as they teach him the art of begging. They introduce him to their "Boss", Anand Bhai, an older man to whom they must daily turn over the proceeds of their begging, and be rewarded with a small amount in return. On his first meeting, Chamdi witnesses Anand casually gouge out the eye of another child beggar he caught withholding some of his earnings.

Over the next several days Chambi learns to live on the streets. He is surprised to find so many people sleeping in the streets, and begins to view the entire city of Bombay as an orphanage. He sees and experiences many horrors, but Chambi tries to maintain his illusions. All of this takes place against sectarian violence that broke out when Hindus destroyed a particularly holy mosque. Chambi and his friends are ultimately unable to avoid this violence.

The novel is narrated from the pov of Chamdi, and his is a delightful and charming voice, despite the grimness of his experiences

Basti by Intizar Husain

Intizar Husain is considered by many as the most significant living fiction writer in Urdu. This novel is also set against sectarian violence, in this case the violence of the 1947 partition and the violence of the events resulting in the nation of Bangladesh in the early 1970's. These events are related through the eyes of Zakir. The novel begins prepartition in India during Zakir's idyllic childhood. The language of the novel is lyrical: "When the world was still and new...when a bird seemed that it had just delivered a letter to the Queen of Sheba's palace and was on his way back toward Solomon's castle." He lives in a small village, and we experience through his eyes, the wonders of childhood--the playful monkeys, the coming of electricity to the village. And it was a village in which everyone got along--the Hindu families and the Muslim families and the Buddhists and the Christians. Zakir grew up hearing legends and myths from the Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim religions. "Every day these conversations, every day these stories, as though Bagat-ji and Abba-jan together were explicating the universe for him."

Then we are thrust into the 1970's (when this book was written). Zakir now lives in Lahore, Pakistan with his father and mother, and works as a teacher. His family lost everything when they were forced to move during the Partition. Some of his relatives remained in India and some are in Eastern Pakistan. New violence has erupted, Eastern Pakistan wants to secede, and India is making war noises against Pakistan in support of Eastern Pakistan. Zakir notes, "In houses, in offices, in restaurants, in streets and bazaars--everywhere the same situation. The discussion was at first ideological, then personal, then insulting, then abusive, and then it came to blows."

Outward events are taking place in Lahore, the past is in Zakir's mind, the sorrows of the Partition live on. Husain has been criticized for not presenting a full and complete picture, for not taking an ideological position. He has also been praised for a new style that moved beyond naturalism into more imaginative depictions of reality.

While I liked this book, and was very impressed with the writing, I did not feel the connection with it that I did with Song of Kahunsha. This book is definitely more intellectual and rational; Song of Kahunsha speaks from its heart

Although I already commented on these over on your 75 Books thread, I thought I would stop in and say howdy. I love the diversity of your reading and add many of your reviewed books to my wishlist.

Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

I requested this book from ER, but did not get it. I compensated by buying TWO copies of it, one the hardback (on impulse when I saw it at Costco), and the other on my Kindle, which I had already purchased, but had a senior moment about. :) I wanted to read the book in part because my three oldest children were born at Memorial (then known as Southern Baptist Hospital), but mainly because of my interest in books about Hurricane Katrina. Although the book focuses on only one microcosm of the tragic universe of Katrina, proceeding in minute detail hour by hour of the five days patients and staff were stranded at the hospital without electricity, running water, and other amenities, and then moving to the aftermath as the events that occurred during those five days are investigated, the book is a compelling page-turner, and entirely "un-put-downable."

For those unaware, staff and patients were trapped at the hospital by the floodwaters that inundated the city after the levees burst. As at most other hospitals in New Orleans, emergency generators were located in the basement (and not intended to last more than a couple of days in any event), and were soon flooded and failed, leaving the hospital without electricity. The staff worked heroically to provide medical care for the sickest patients, giving oxygen by hand pumps when respirators failed for example. Patients died, there was no morgue, and the bodies decayed in the 100+ degree heat. There was no running water, and the toilets overflowed. The stench and the heat were almost unbearable.

Under these conditions, the decision was made (it is unclear who made the decision) to evacuate the healthiest of the patients first, then those more seriously ill (i.e. unable to walk), and to evacuate the most gravely ill last. When rescuers began to arrive, evacuations proceeded slowly. Patients had to be carried by hand down dark stairwells, handed through a small hole in the wall which was the only unflooded access to the parking garage, ferried to the top of the parking garage, then carried up three flights of metal stairs to a decrepit helipad that hadn't been used in years. Once there the patients sometimes sat for hours in the heat and sun awaiting helicopters. Finally by Thursday (the hurricane struck on Sunday), "every living person" had been evacuated.

Days later, when recovery operations were underway, dozens of bodies were found in the hospital, including 45 bodies on the 7th floor. Rumors swirled about alleged mercy killings, and many of the bodies discovered at Memorial were determined to have massive doses of morphine or Versed in their bodies. After an exhaustive investigation by the state Attorney General's office, Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses were arrested on suspicion of homicide--accused of injecting the patients with lethal doses of morphine and/or Versed with the intent of causing death. Ultimately, Dr. Pou and the nurses were not indicted (for reasons set forth in fascinating detail), investigations of other hospitals in which deceased patients were found under similar circumstances were dropped, and indictments against the owner and his wife of a nursing home in which dozens of patients were drowned were dropped. Since then, Dr. Pou has gone on to become an advocate for instituting different standards for medical care under disaster circumstances.

When I first heard of the so-called mercy killings the circumstances were purported to be that desperate conditions prevailed, rescue appeared to be remote, and the patients were said to be about to die. Under these circumstances to me the idea of easing their deaths seemed defendable. However, the facts actually were that the mercy killings did not begin until there was a steady stream of helicopters arriving and evacuations were being expedited. Also, although many of these patients had terminal illnesses, most were not near death. In fact, the only illness of one of those euthanized was that he was on the 7th floor and weighed 380 pounds.

There is a substantial section at the end of the book discussing the history and the medical ethics issues relating to euthanasia and assisted suicide. One major difference in this case is that none of these patients gave permission, nor were they even told what was happening. (In some cases they were told, "This will make you feel better."). Some of these patients had family members who had stayed with them throughout the entire ordeal; however, immediately before the injections were given, these family members were told to leave in the rescue helicopters, and that their loved ones would follow. One (the 380 pound man) required more than one injection.

I don't know whether the medical staff who did these things are deserving of being charged with murder--all indications from the book are that they were otherwise dedicated and caring and perhaps even extraordinary medical professionals. However, after reading this book, I am of the opinion that their actions were not necessary or warranted.

The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish by Elise Blackwell

"If you were to place, side by side, the historical account of something that happened, a painting of it, and a scientific explanation of how and why it occurred, you might still not understand it...."

This is a novel constructed around the events of the 1927 Mississippi River flood, and there were enough facts in the book to make me hunger for more information about that flood. I've gone ahead and ordered the nonfiction book Blackwell used as her resource for the novel (the name is escaping me at the moment), and it's now on my Kindle. The book reminded me of William Maxwell's So Long See You Tomorrow, in that the narrator is an older man looking back at decisions he made in his youth that have affected him throughout his life and that he now regrets. It's a quiet, contemplative book set around harrowing events. There are side stories about leprosy in Louisiana and how it was handled at that time, fur trapping in the swamps, smuggling liquor, a reclusive artist, and small town politics and the power held by local officials. (While Cypress Parish is fictional, (counties are called parishes in Louisiana), the politics reminded me of Leander Perez and his iron-clad control of Plaquemines Parish).

During the early 20th century there was much debate over how best to control recurring Mississippi River floods by levees or by spillways. Proponents of a levees only policy claimed that levees not only blocked flood waters, but also increased the velocity of the waters, thus causing the river to carry more sediment and causing the river to dredge its own bottom. They argued that the creation of outlets or spillways would only undo what levees do. Proponents of spillways pointed out that in the 1922 floods, a crevasse opened in the levee south of New Orleans. It created a swale of water 1500 feet wide and more than 100 feet high, and saved New Orleans from flooding.

In the novel, as well as factually, as dire predictions of record flood waters spread, the powers-that-be in New Orleans met on April 25, 1927, and secretly agreed to dynamite the levees south of New Orleans to prevent serious flooding in New Orleans. This required approval from the governor, and before giving his approval the governor wanted four lawyers to give unambiguous legal opinions that he had the proper authority and would incur no personal liability. Ultimately the levee was dynamited. Sightseers on pleasure boats watched, and there was a carnival-like atmosphere. While the residents of the parishes that flooded were supposed to be compensated for their losses, very few in fact received fair compensation.

As it turned out, the day after the levee was dynamited, levees of several tributaries of the Mississippi burst with no human intervention. Their waters rolled across the Atchafalaya basin and harmlessly out to the Gulf. New Orleans would have been spared even without the destruction of the levee south of it. Backlash against the governor helped Huey Long get elected governor in the next election. The price of the control achieved after the 1927 flood was the withholding of sediment from the delta. Between 1932 and 2000, 1900 square miles of Louisiana's marshes have washed away. As one of the characters in the novel stated: "I know that it's always a mistake to think you can control something wild."

THe Truth in Small Doses by Clifton Leaf

This is a very comprehensive book about the War on Cancer. The author's thesis is that the war will never be won unless there are changes in the way we approach it, the way we fund it, and the avenues researchers explore. I highly recommend the book. I'm not really going to review the book, but I am going to set forth some (actually a lot) of bullet points of facts and opinions from the book that I found important and helpful and want to remember:

--There is a disconnect between the rhetoric and the reality of the progress that's been made. The current "cancer culture" has as its goal finding the tiniest improvements in treatment, rather than genuine breakthroughs. There is isolated (and redundant) problem solving going on, instead of cooperation. The system rewards academic achievement and publication above all else. "For the past several decades, reports of shining advances in cancer biology and treatment have streamed into newspapers, magazines, and television sets the world over. But during that time, there has been only minor change in the prospects for most people with active disease: survival numbers have barely improved; new cases keep mounting; death counts continue to rise."

--Between 2000 and 2012 the count for pediatric cancers is up 40%, while the population has only increased 3 %. There is little research going on to find out why.

--STASTICS: I know that it's been said that statistics can be used to support almost anything, but these are Leaf's:

--Over the last 40 years, rate of death for causes other than cancer are down 24%; rate of death from cancer is up 14%
--Statistics using the "age-adjusted" standard population, which is the method by which cancer statistics are usually computed, is being misused
in comparing populations at different times rather than merely comparing populations at the same time.
--"Yes, cancer deaths have been falling...(sic)but only if the United States is a living wax museum where each inhabitant's age is fixed for eternity"
--The often used "5 year survival rate" doesn't show how many are free of the disease at that time or how many are likely to relapse.
--While there are a greater share of patients living at 5 years compared to the 1970's, only a small portion of this is due to improved treatment.
The deadliest malignancies (lung, pancreas, liver, or esophagus) are nearly as deadly as they were in the 1970's. Changes in survival rate are
due to earlier discovery.

--Leaf posits that one of the major problems is our blind focus on trying to cure cancer rather than trying to prevent it.

--PATH TO FDA APPROVAL: 1. Show drug is safe; 2. Prove it does something useful (there is a low bar for this--75% of new cancer drugs are approved
for reasons other than that it helped people live longer). Over the period studied there were 71 drug approvals by the FDA, but only 45 new drugs (the rest were new uses for old drugs), and of these there were only 12 drugs that were shown to extend life, and those by a very minimal amount.

--THE PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME and GLEEVEC
--While recognizing that this is one of the few actual break-through drugs, and is said to represent a paradigm shift in cancer drug development
Leaf states that this "has taken the global cancer-fighting enterprise down a perilous path--a path that can never lead to victory in the
war on cancer."
--CML (the cancer associated with the "Philadelphia Chromosome" and treated with Gleevec) is relatively homogeneous and stable in its early
stages. The drug used to treat it is a kinase inhibitor, and in the early stage there is only a single kinase protein involved. Most other cancers
(including leukemias evolving from lymphocytes), have a much larger number of distinct chromosomal patterns, and similar targeted therapies
will probably not bee as effective.
--The danger of Gleevec is that it has oversimplified cancer, treating it as a "lone, driving genetic aberration," which is not the case with most
cancers. In fact, Gleevec doesn't work well for later stages of CML, when it has become more heterogeneous.

--We need to recognize that cancer is not one thing--it is a process. There is no precise moment of conception, no universally accepted beginning, although there are recognizable stages of evolution on the route to clinically apparent disease. The diagnosis of cancer is simply the late recognition of a progressive disease, long in development. For other major illnesses (heart disease and stroke), there is early detection, and vigorous preemption strategies.

--Leaf posits that research should to work toward: 1. identify precancerous lesions; 2. discover how to stop or reverse progression; and 3. Get over the fear of doing this (become less risk averse).

--HISTORY OF WAR ON CANCER--the 1971 legislation proclaiming the war on cancer did not follow the recommendation of the panel of experts who studied the issue and recommended the creation of a NASA-like National Cancer Authority. Instead the legislation left control of cancer research with the NIH, leaving things as they were, the only change being there was more money. (This failure to accept the panel's recommendations was partly political--conservatives were strongly opposed to Ted Kennedy and didn't want to accept his proposed bill).

--PROBLEMS WITH NIH GRANTS--the decision-making is arduous, bureaucratic and tradition-bound. There is no "vision." As a result, "doing science" today is much more difficult than it used to be:

--Biomedical researchers have less than half the chance of getting a grant than they had in 1972. Now they must devote a much greater share
of their time writing grant application than doing science. For younger scientists it is hard to get on tenure-track without major grants, and
many spend years as poorly paid post-docs. Universities expect or require faculty members to provide half of all their salary from research
grants. (When my daughter was considering whether to go back to school for her Ph.D, the post-doc in the lab where she worked strongly
advised her not to for this very reason).
--The number of universities and research institutions that are getting grants are getting fewer. The largest grant receivers are the same, year
after year. (These include the University of Wa., but not Stanford; Johns Hopkins consistently comes in first place).
--Grants for new research is becoming proportionately less. The overwhelming share goes to support existing research efforts.
--30% of the amounts doled out by the NIH goes to reimburse universities for indirect or "facilities and administrative" costs. Each
university negotiates its own rate of reimbursement. At Johns Hopkins for every $100,00 awarded to a grant applicant to pursue a specific
project, an additional $64,000 goes to the university for its common expenses.
--During 2003-2005 US taxpayers spent $12.5 billion to pay overhead at NIH funded institutions.
--There is a "herd mentality" in the types of projects that are funded. To apply, the scientist needs to have a discrete, specified and
circumscribed project; they need to have already published studies in that area, with at least one in a top-tier journal--and they need to have
been "first author" on some of the papers.
--Stanford professor: "It's not that the grants that are funded are bad or low-quality ideas. They are not doubt decent and very good ideas.
But it's extremely unlikely that they will be innovative and really change the paradigm. It's more of the same kind of low-risk research."
This same professor states that any seriously innovative idea has absolutely no chance of being funded. Another Stanford scientist says,
"If the work that you propose to do isn't virtually certain of success, then it won't be funded." This same professor, who has made
important discoveries in genetics, feels that if he was beginning his research now instead of in the 70's, he would have little chance
of being funded.

---PUBLICATION: It's harder to get early "fuzzy" discoveries published today. For example, for the chromosomal anomaly discovered by Nowell and
Hungerford (the Philadelphia Chromosome), they had no theory about why, no idea of the mechanism of action, its sample size was small,
there were no controls, it was happenstance, not hypothesis driven, there were fuzzy research goals, and it was only an unexplained
coincidence. Yet it was published, and that 238 word paper is today one of the most widely cited papers in cancer research. Nowell states
that had the same experimental report been submitted for publication today, it likely would not have met the threshold for publication in
any serious academic journal.

--Leaf believes that good science needs to follow hunches and instinct as often as a plan. It needs to swerve from chance observation to a question and more questions, not a hypothesis. His suggestions: 1. Let scientists follow their questions where they might lead--learn as they go instead of formulating discrete hypotheses; 2. There must be genuine collaboration--no ownership of theories or ideas; 3. Forget the myth that great cancer science needs to be expensive; 4. Need to act, not wait endlessly for more studies when lives are at stake.

--DRUG DEVELOPMENT--a new drug takes an average of 6 years of testing before submission to the FDA. Pre-testing time is 4 years. Time for
FDA approval is 1.3 years.
--Companies are driven to produce drugs that require little risk-taking, but offer potential for high revenues--"me-too" drugs.
--Drug discoveries today, particularly in oncology, are rarely about bringing novel compounds to market, but about increasing the number
maladies for which an already approved drug can be prescribed.
--Avastin, approved in 2004, statistically extends life 4.6 months. It costs $90,000 per year, and has serious side effects. It produced
revenue of $6.3 billion in 2010.

Back later--maybe sooner than 2 months

>140 arubabookwoman: In July, Merrikay (mkboylan) wrote a review of Rising Tide the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John. M. Barry. I remember thinking it sounded quite good. I thought you might be interested in that one.

Enjoying your reviews.

Those reviews were all very interesting. The statistic on pediatric cancers is very disturbing. A Thousand Lives is going on the wishlist!

(For some inexplicable reason the touchstone for "A Thousand Lives" leads to "Madame Bovary." ???? Silly touchstones!)

The Family that Couldn't Sleep sounds intriguing.
A Thousand Lives is something I would like to read and compare to the one I read and reviewed about Jones written by Naipaul Journey to Nowhere.
I especially appreciated your review of Spook becauseI just picked that up and it would be the first one I read by that author.
Five Days at Memorial has been on my list and you just kicked it up, especially as I have a mom in hospice and a father who shot himself in mercy when he had six weeks left to live and was full of cancer.
Re: Cypress Parish yes as Nana said, check out Rising Tide. I loved it, my doc loved it, my hubbie loved it, my next door neighbor loved it.......

Wonderful wonderful reviews, thorough yet concise and to the point. I WANT THEM ALL!

Some really great reviews here! I was especially interested in Five Days at Memorial, which sounds fascinating and painful, and is already on my wishlist.

Re: Mary Roach, I think Spook is far and away her weakest book, and not remotely the one I would have recommended to start with. Hopefully you will like Stiff much better, if and when you get to it.

Terrific series of reviews!

The Family that Couldn't Sleep goes onto the wishlist -- for content plus confidence in D.T. Max, who did a good job on a bio of David Foster Wallace. I've been on the fence about Five Days at Memorial -- I've followed it over the years and wondered whether the book will have much new to me, but your review suggests yes.

And I agree that you (anyone) will like Mary Roach's Stiff much better; I disliked Spook so much it put me off Roach for awhile (and I see I've never even entered it into LT; off to remedy that).

I have learned much about all those tragic events from your reviews, perhaps it's time to lighten up. Seriously, excellent reviews.

Somehow I missed this thread and commented on your other one, but I am enjoying catching up with your reading, as always.

Wonderful reviews here - thanks you so much. Five Days At Memorial and The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish have gone on my wishlist too.

Pincher Martin by William Golding

When Golding won the Nobel (in the 80's?), I read several of his books. (Of course it seems that everyone has read Lord of the Flies as part of their schooling, but many of Golding's other novels are not as well-known.) Pincher Martin was one of the books I read then, and I didn't care for it, or, I now know, appreciate it. This time around I found myself liking it very much, and admiring Golding more and more.

Pincher Martin is an officer in the British Navy during World War II on a boat patrolling the North Atlantic. As the novel opens, the boat has just been torpedoed and Pincher is struggling for his life in the icy waters.

"He was struggling in every direction, he was the centre of the writhing and kicking knot of his own body. There was no up or down, no light or air. He felt his mouth open of itself and the shrieked word burst out.
'Help!'
When the arc had gone with the shriek, water came in to fill its place--burning water, hard in the throat and mouth as stones that hurt."

After seemingly hours Pincher finds himself clinging to a barren rock. Barely alive, he remains battered and inert. As he begins to recover, still frightened but no longer in an animal panic he thinks:

"I won't die.
"I can't die.
"Not me-----
"Precious."

And that's what this book is about--the will to live. Is that will in our body or in our mind? Do we have a core personality devoted entirely to our self-preservation? Can nature destroy that personality? This is not a Robinson Crusoe story, although we follow Pincher as he takes steps necessary to save his life--finding food and water, doing what he can to alert potential rescuers of his presence should anyone be searching. The entire book takes place in Pincher's mind, and frequently we don't know if Pincher is hallucinating; sometimes he himself does not understand his actions or where his body ends and his environment begins. When he is lucid he thinks logically:

---must keep body going--drink, food shelter;
---must expect to fall sick;
---must watch mind and not go mad;
---must help myself be rescued. Be visible.

He views his struggle as being his wlll against the rock: "You have no mercy, but you have no intelligence. I can outwit you. All I have to do is endure." Throughout his life on the rock, we learn of his prior life--his "personality" as evidenced by his actions and relationships, and we are left to ponder his actions then as they affect his actions now. This was a fascinating read. It just cannot be read as an adventure story, which is the way I tried to read it the first time around years ago.

Inside the Stalin Archives by Jonathan Brent

This book is not what I was expected. I thought it would be a nonfiction account of some of the excesses and terror of Stalin's reign. Instead it is a memoir (of sorts) and an examination of how this brutal past affects post-thaw Russia.

Beginning in 1992, Jonathan Brent traveled frequently to Russia to negotiate for the publishing rights to the archives on behalf of Yale University Press for a planned series of volumes on this period of Soviet history. Some of the topics the Yale press contemplated were: The Great Terror of the 1930's; Church and the Revolution; Comintern and the Repressions of the 1930's; Daily Lives of Peasants and Workers in the 1920's and 1930's; Suppression of the Arts and Artists; and other topics. Brent's account of the ongoing negotiations are interesting, starting with the question of who had the authority to grant publication rights and what specific rights could be granted. At the time the "new" Russia was chaotic, personalities were stronger than laws. We learn that the first volume Yale published (in 1995) was The Secret World of American Communism, which revealed that the Communist Party of America was in fact spying for the Soviets. However, Brent's book contains no information as to any subsequent volumes--topics, when published etc. There are no notes or bibliography in this book, one of the reasons I would describe it as a memoir.

The other focus of this book is an examination of how Soviet life has changed, and whether it has the potential to return to a new Stalinist regime. Brent's premise is that the ruling element of the Russian psyche is Strakh, or fear. Brent had extensive conversations with Alexander Yakovlev, the developer of the principles of glastnost and perestroika. Yakovlev believes that Strakh remains barely beneath the surface of Russian life, and that there has been no basis for a moral awakening in Russia. There has been no general accounting--no Nuremberg-like trials for Stalin's excesses, no public reconciliation between victims and victimizers, no restoration of property or adequate compensation to the millions whose lives were damaged or destroyed. Yakovlev's belief was that the structures for Stalinism remain in place: secrecy, conspiracy, concentration of power, violence as a legitimate exercise of political power, corruption and the absence of laws. Although these conversations took place in 2003, and this book was published in 2008, perhaps these factors contribute to what we are seeing today with the changes being made by Putin. (and by the way, Bonnie (brenzi) has an excellent review of a biography of Putin, which I hope to get to soon).

So, all in all, this book has lots of good points and made for interesting reading. It was not as complete or as documented as I would have liked. If you choose to read it, be aware that it is not a substantive examination of the Stalin era.

The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald

Kurt Eichenwald was an investigative reporter for the NY Times, and this book is a nonfiction account of the investigation and prosecution of the executives and board of Archer Davis Midland for the white collar crime of price-fixing. It is told in minute detail, and at 650 pages is a tome. Doesn't sound like your thing? Think again. This is written and paced like a thriller. The facts are well-documented, but had this been a novel, its plot might strain credibility at times. It was absolutely riveting. It was made into a movie, but if you've seen the movie, the book is so much better.

The book opens with the very public arrests of the Archer Davis Midland executives, including the purported arrest of the FBI's informant, Mark Whitacre. Whitacre had secretly recorded his colleagues and Archer's competitors as they illegally divided the world markets among themselves and set artificially high prices for their products. At the time of the arrests in 1995, the case was described as the most important white collar crime ever, and the government was extremely confident that it had an airtight case.

Then, the agents begin discovering troubling facts about their informant, who would have to be the government's star witness at the trials. They knew throughout the investigation that Whitacre was kind of strange, and somehow believed that he would end up as president of Archer after everyone else went to jail. His actions during the investigation were frequently erratic and sometimes seem to threaten the secrecy of the investigation. But while the FBI agents realized that Whitacre was sometimes in a fantasy world, they didn't realize that he, too, was involved in illegal activities, including embezzlement, tax fraud, money laundering, bribery and kickbacks. Unbeknownst to the agents investigating Archer, there was a contemporaneous investigation by a different FBI office of Whitacre and some of his accomplices.

The book becomes a fascinating look into the turf wars among the National FBI office and various regional FBI offices; among the Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division, the Department of Justice Criminal Division and the US Attorney's offices. The IRS is also involved. Whitacre's relationships with his various defense attorneys and lack of candor with them are also explored. Whitacre continues further off the cliff and begins accusing the FBI agents he worked with of corruption and destruction of evidence, so they too come under investigation.

After finishing this book, I purchased another book about corporate crime by Eichenwald (Serpent on the Rock) which I previously had no interest in. I already owned, but have not read, 500 Days about the beginnings of the war on terror. After reading The Informant, I think I'd read anything by Eichenwald

Just finished Five Days at Memorial. Wow! What a book and what a great review you wrote. Your last statement that you don't know that the docs actions were necessary - I don't know either. Are you drawing that conclusion based on what we now know about the circumstances, or on what they thought the circumstances were? That,s one thing that boggles my mind, because that is about communication and that is something we could probably fix in the future. What do you think?

Hi Merrikay--My ambivalence was based on what we now know about the circumstances. As to what the doctors thought or knew the circumstances were at the time they euthanized the patients, I'm also unsure about that as well. The decision to evacuate the healthiest first may have been reasonable in the circumstances, but the timing of the deaths bothers me. Perhaps we need to recognize the horrific circumstances the doctors and patients had experienced since the hurricane hit and how much that would have affected their judgment and reasoning. Even if I think the actions weren't necessary, and the doctors should have known that help was there, I'm not ready to say they should have been criminally prosecuted. On the other hand I 'm not sure how regulations/ethical standards for doctors to use in these types of extraordinary circumstances should or could be drafted.

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George

I'd just about given up on Elizabeth George's Lynley series. In fact, I didn't read the most recent book in the series since I understood that whiney Deborah, a character I can't stand, took the forefront. I read this because Barbara Havers, my favorite character (and it seems the favorite of most fans of the series), takes the starring role. Barbara's neighbor Azhar and his daughter Haddiyya take leading roles as well, since the plot involves the kidnapping of Haddiyya in Italy. The interesting question as the plot proceeds is just how far Barbara can skirt police regulations, and indeed the law, to make her case. Will her (unrequited, and perhaps not even recognized by Barbara herself) love for Azhar cause her to manipulate or destroy evidence? What repercussions will there be for her, particularly since her (and Lynley's) new supervisor seems to hate her guts? Lynley, of course, tries to rein her in, mostly unsuccessfully.

And so, in my view, the series has redeemed itself. I can only hope that George keeps Havers in the forefront.

You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik

Superficially, this book sounds like it could be the Lifetime Movie of the Week. Well, perhaps not, since it does not end well, but the plot is topical enough--a high school teacher has an affair with one of his students. However, the psyches of the characters of this book are so exquisitely explored, and the issues so subtly presented that it is so much more. It has resonated with me, perhaps, because it is set in an international school, International School of France (which I think is fictional), a milieu with the types of students and types of teachers that I have had some experience with. I graduated from the American School in London, where my family moved when we left Aruba. (In this book, coincidentally one of the closing scenes takes place at a basketball game between ISF and ASL.) The students are the children of wealthy diplomats and corporate executives, not just American but from around the world. They view themselves as entitled, but at the same time are often lost, insecure, and ignored by their families. They work hard at their schoolwork--academic success is expected--but they also party hard. (I should add that my family was not wealthy--I am the oldest of 7 children--and we attended the school only because my father's employer paid the tuition.) The teachers tend to be young, at loose ends, out to experience the world, staying a few years and then moving on. (Which is not to say they were not extraordinary teachers).

The novel is narrated in alternating sections by three characters, Will, the teacher, Marie, the student with whom Will has an affair, and Gilad, another student who hero worships Will. Will's sections are the most puzzling. While the narration is in the first person, it seems as though Will has drawn a curtain between the events he narrates and what he actually feels and thinks. He is acted upon, rather than freely acting. He doesn't make choices, he lets things happen. The senior seminar he teaches involves much discussion of existentialism, Sartre, Camus, the Book of Job, Hamlet and similar texts. Will and the students discuss the meaning of life, the meaning of suicide, the difficulty of proceeding from thought (choices available) to action. Still, we never know what Will is thinking--we only see from his actions that he is a nihilistic sort. In fact, he seems to drift into the affair with Marie in a way similar to Doestoevsky's Raskolnikov's decision to commit an act of murder.

Marie's section is the most transparent. She is beautiful, but insecure. She constantly seeks, but never receives, the attention and approval of mother and, particularly, her father. Unlike Will, who knows the affair will go nowhere and will end badly, Marie believes that she loves Will and that they have a future together. Will never misleads her, but because of the age difference (he is 33), the relationship is abusive. However, Will treats Marie tenderly and gently, never lies to her, and makes her feel good about herself.

I'm not sure why Gilad's sections were necessary. Gilad worships Will. He wants to be Will. He is experiencing these ideas and theories for the first time, as if he was the only one in the world thinking about these issues. Like Marie, he has parental issues, but in his case his problems include not merely absent parents, but a physically abusive father. We might expect Gilad's disillusionment with Will to come when the affair becomes known. However, Gilad's loss of innocence comes earlier, when he witnesses Will fail to act on an occasion when a hero would have acted. So I'm not totally sure what Gilad's purpose was, although he is an interesting enough character. My thought, purely speculation on my part, is that he may represent the author's younger self who might have witnessed from the outside a similar tragedy.

I don't know whether I've convinced anyone to read this book, but even objectively viewed, I think it is a very good book, and I recommend it.

154 - thanks for your thoughtful response. My head is still spinning and I just think I will never be anything BUT ambivalent. Regarding your last statement about how standards should be developed - I was surprised at the responses of the focus groups about how things should be handled, and I mean specifically the responses by non-medical people. wasn't that whole process interesting? I was also glad Fink incuded the info about the docs in the tsunami who created medical equipment out of nothing when they had no power - the CPAPS? Sounds like that creativity could lead to a whole industry of less expensive medical equipment. I know a few people who really need CPAPS but can't afford them. Maybe I'll try to make them one from a discarded plastic bottle!

By the way, a couple of days after finishing this I attended a Fall party at the assisted living facility where my mom lives with a whole new perspective.

(Reposted from your other thread, because Club Read is "home" for me)

Way to stage a comeback with four fabulous reviews! I was just thinking Saturday that I haven't read anything by Golding except Lord of the Flies, I wish I had asked you about him then as I would have looked for Pincher Martin. It sounds intensely introspective into the character's psyche. The Brent book seems like the sort of thing I would have picked up too, and although it wasn't about Stalinism, the issue it does exam interests me too: can Russia be democrat in a post-Stalin autocracy. However, it sounds like this isn't the most scholarly of approaches. Although The Informant is not the type of book I usually pick up, your review has me hooked. Onto my new library wishlist it goes.

As for You Deserve Nothing, I don't know what to think. Is it a book that will stick with you, do you think?

I posted on your other thread too. Great reviews, and my wishlist suffers.

Some more great reviews, the Kurt Eichenwald books sounds enthralling.

Wow! Such interesting reading. I've never even read Lord of the Flies, but I've been hearing more about Golding lately so enjoyed your review of Pincher Martin. Inside the Stalin Archives sounds mildly interesting, for the reasons you and Lisa gave, and The Informant sounds riveting and not a book I would otherwise have picked up. Glad to hear Elizabeth George has redeemed herself; I used to be a fan and gave when she wrote What Came Before He Shot Her which I own but never read. I'll wait for the paperback, though.

Wonderful reviews. I saw Robert Redford in All Is Lost last night -- the film is all about that "will to live" that you see in Pincher Martin -- but it's all cinematography and rugged grandeur. Your review of Pincher Martin sounds far more interesting and insightful.

I love your review of Pincher Martin > wishlisted!

Great review also of You Deserve Nothing - that one was already on the wishlist - but you would've convinced me to read it!

I've been catching up since your Sep posts... So wow...about D T Max's take on the prions...and about the Jones massacre...and Spook sounds terrible...and the Irani and Husain books on India/Bangladesh sound quite interesting...and wow again about Memorial Hospital...even though that is maybe the fourth review I've read here...and terrific review of The Unnatural history of Cypress Parish ... And a screaming wow at The Truth in Small Doses. And all the rest. Much to think about after reading up here.

Happy Thanksgiving, Deborah!