Review: This book records the life and times of Enzo the dog. Enzo is part labrador, part poodle and german-shepherd, unofficially part terrier (because terriers are problem-solvers, and Enzo would like to believe that he comes from “a determined gene pool”) and wholly sagacious. Plucked as a pup from the lap of his mother by Denny Swift, Enzo becomes fast friends with his new owner. Frustrated by his lack of thumbs, lips that cannot pronounce words, and inability to sit on a toilet and flush it, Enzo works hard both to understand his master and to be understood. Surprisingly, television finally serves a useful purpose, and Enzo becomes assimilated to the urban world he inhabits through days spent watching T.V. while waiting for Denny to return home. The two share a common bond: race car driving. Denny possesses an uncanny ability behind the wheel, especially when weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest make track conditions far from ideal. The two, master and dog, share in Denny’s dream, but life gets in the way and they both must find ways to cope with the harrowing turns that are thrown at them.

Denny begins to make a life for himself. He gets married and soon finds himself with a beautiful wife and baby daughter. Enzo, despite feeling marginalized by these new arrivals, manages to see past these giant upheavals in his and Denny’s life. Uneasy truces are created, then solidified, bonds are forged, and the two becomes three and three becomes four, and Enzo becomes part of a family. And while Denny’s dream seems to suffer from the advent of his wife and daughter, he accepts his new responsibilities stoically and finds new joys.

Then Denny is given a chance to go back to what he loves, and he is presented with the opportunity to be part of a racing team. He studies and prepares. He wants to be ready to seize the chance that has been given to him. Enzo, his wife Eve, and his daughter Zoe support him as he leaves for days at a time to race. But just as Denny’s life seems to be coming together, Enzo watches it unfold around him. With no ability to communicate, he does everything he can to support Denny as the days grow bleaker and the clouds grow darker.

Recommendation: Garth Stein will be giving a talk at Charles Wright Academy on January 15, at 2:00 p.m. Admittedly, this book probably would not have fallen in my hands otherwise. While I love animals (even my former bloodthirsty dog, Grendel), I hate car racing. Nothing but right turns (it could be left, I am not sure). But Garth Stein, a Northwest native, turned racing into something greater, and at the heart of it is the wise and loving dog. Enzo anchors this narrative through his perceptive comments and also his inability to act. He shows the reader sides of life that might normally go unnoticed and even makes the reader be a touch more self-conscious about how people behave not only towards animals but also towards ourselves. Even at its most heart wrenching, Enzo is there to help get through it.

Oddly enough, I’d recently read a short story that is written through the perspective of a dog. Dave Eggers has an interesting story in his collection “How We are Hungry”. The dog at the heart of that story is wholly a dog, and Garth Stein gives us much more. Enzo is not some wild spirit barking unnecessarily at passing cars or running without abandon to go sniff the crotch of strangers. He is imbued with a soul to be envied, and I would not be surprised to learn that people who read this book view their dog differently for some time. It is a difficult journey that Denny and Enzo undertake, but it is one well worth being a part of.

Stein, Garth. The Art of Racing in the Rain, Harpercollins, New York, 2008.

Currently Reading: Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon

On Deck: At Random by Bennett Cerf

The oldest of three children, Robyn “Robbie” is raised in dubious circumstances relatively close to the border of both Zimbabwe and South Africa. Moved to Botswana at the ripe old age of seven, Robbie and her family leave their life in New Zealand behind to take a chance (unnecessarily) at a new life. Already in Botswana are her grandparents, one of which is famous for his work as an airman and as a fearless inspector of vicious wildlife. His devilish attitude delights his grandchildren and promotes in them an unhealthy disregard for all things potentially dangerous.

The family is as dysfunctional as it is endearing. Robbie’s father takes on the role of doctor and flies from village to village regularly to make check-ups and administer aid. He also sets up shop as a local doctor taking patients several times a week. His main competition is another local doctor and various medicine men. Surprisingly, the competition is fierce. The promise of Western medicine does not entice the expected devotional patients as one might expect. Mom takes on the role of teacher. Her three students are her three children, and they work on different areas of education: remodeling, exploring, and playing. These lessons become intertwined with unimportant aspects of schooling such as mathematics and grammar, but the kids benefit from their “student-centered” learning. Their ability to problem solve, think independently, and speak their mind creates opportunities for them later on down the road.

But living in southern Africa is no picnic. Her dad becomes embroiled in the AIDs epidemic, working to fight against superstition and the government. When they move further south they become exposed to the racial divide in South Africa as well as the conflict in Zimbabwe. It is the families ability to navigate the treacherous waters and the unflappable nature of each member which drives the story onward and roots the reader in their bizarre and amazing lives.

Recommendation: Frankly, this book is awesome. At one point in my life, I heard a Miss Washington speak to a group of students that life is not about the destination but about the journey. This book is a testament to that very idea. This autobiographical look at a family built upon the principles of independent thought is filled with harrowing stories of danger, hilarious stories about hilarity, and heart wrenching tales of people fighting for survival in an environment at once inhospitable and convivial.

Robbie’s narration of the life of her family reflects the love that she has for her parents, grandparents, and siblings. It would be easy to think that she would be frustrated by the free-wheeling nature of her upbringing, but she instead finds the strongest and weakest parts and tempers them so that the reader believes that this unlikely journey might just be the way to go.

This is the kind of book that almost urges you to take risks and follow your ideas and ideals. A life of perfection may not quite be the life worth living. Robyn Scott’s book is an endearing portrait of why that might just be the way to go!

Scott, Robyn. Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: A Memoir of Africa, Penguin Books, London, 2008.

Currently Reading: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

In the Hole: The Better of McSweeney’s, Volume One, edited by the people at McSweeney’s

Review: For some boys, life can be a lonely and desultory place which slowly grows grimmer and darker each day. When David’s mother dies, she takes with her most of the light and love that David really knew. The books which they once enjoyed together are now read by David and David alone. His father is a grave man fighting to keep he and his son together at the same time Britain fights to hold itself together during the second World War. The life that David once tolerated begins to unravel when his father takes a new wife and brings a little brother to the family. He now has no one to turn to.

They move to a new house, large and dusty, and it is here, amidst the cobwebs and shadows of the past, that David’s books begin to talk to him. He can hear them muttering during the day and whispering to him at night. They cajole him with their stories and frighten them with their tales. He learns of the other young boy who once lived there, and of the Crooked Man. He is frightened. Fantasy mingles with reality, illusions suddenly become truths, and David hears the pleading of his dead mother. He can save her, she tells him. But he must leave the world he knows and enter a world he does not trust.

When he can no longer stand the sound of his mother’s desperate voice, he leaves the house and goes to save her. But the world she is trapped in is a world filled with evil. The inhabitants are characters David knows, but they are grim and severe. The trees bleed, wolves prey on humans with sanguinary desire, and small children go missing while a king sits huddled on an expiring throne. David becomes ensconced in his own terror, and in order to survive, he will have to shed his childhood innocence.

Recommendation: John Connolly creates a world very reminiscent of the dour fairy tales that children grow up with, but he manipulates them to be a murky reflection of characters we know. This is compounded by the sparse writing of Connolly. The place that David finds himself in is very sinister, and this ominous tone carries the novel a long way. While it is the story of a child, it is not necessarily a story for children. The enchantment is rich with malevolence.

Like many tales about the transition out of youth, this is a story for adults who have already made that journey. This book will especially appeal to people who spent hours immersing themselves in stories when they were younger. The idea of becoming a part of the story you love is appealing, even if the story turns out to be a life and death struggle.

Connolly is able to keep the reader engaged because the character of David has a lot to surmount not only physically but also mentally. He has lost quite a bit, and this makes him pitiable, but because his desires are so dark, he is not the heroic protagonist one would expect. Following him on the journey to see if he can grow into this role is where the book’s strength lies, and I enjoyed following David through that.

Connolly, John. The Book of Lost Things, Washington Square Press, New York, 2006.

Currently Reading: Twenty Chickens For a Saddle by Robyn Scott

On Deck: Suggestions? I am nearly to the end of my most recent read, and I am looking for titles to indulge in.  Email me at rscotlan@charleswright.org or leave a comment!

As he tries to make his way home, a series of small mishaps leaves him on a plane with a man named Wednesday, a man who knows his name, a man who knows his wife died, a man who offers him a job. Shadow makes futile efforts to avoid this man, but Wednesday is like a bad penny; he always turns up. Without his wife to return to, Shadow needs to find something to hold onto. The more Wednesday talks, the more Shadow finds himself listening and latching onto what the man has to offer. Then the maelstrom begins.

Wednesday introduces Shadow to people who are never quite what they seem and who appear to step out of the pages of antiquity. The more they work together, the more Shadow becomes embroiled in something that he realizes is beyond him, a mortal, and better left to those with power, those who are gods.

Recommendation: Neil Gaiman works hard to embrace his readers into the mythology of the world. He touches on Norse, Irish, Native American, and Russian mythological figures (among many others). In an interesting twist, he moves these figures into American life as though they rode in the hulls of the first boats that came to American shores. Now they live here, feeding off the fading beliefs of the early inhabitants. He insinuates the gods into our daily lives: cab drivers, alcoholics, apartment tenants. Much of their mystique has faded, but it still lurks behind their shabby exteriors. America is slowly destroying them.

As the protagonist becomes more and more entangled with this previously unknown community, the book seems to lose its focus. The purposeful inclusion of mythology’s gods and goddesses forces its way to the forefront of the novel, and Shadow’s narrative falls to the wayside. As interesting as Wednesday and his colleagues are, the story of Shadow is the most engrossing. He spends a lot of time in a small town hiding from authorities who think he has killed members of their department. His good natured but taciturn personality makes him irrepressible, and it is not long before Shadow grows on the town and the town grows on him. It is here, amidst this society, that the book finds its groove.

The rest of the novel reads like a combination of horror and magical-realism as though the author can’t quite decide where he wants to take his novel. Due to this, the story swirls out of control. Shadow’s imposing presence is unable to anchor the novel, and much of it becomes overwhelming. The best part of the novel focuses on Shadow and a mystery in the small town where he hides. This story might have made for an interesting novel itself. The book struggles to right itself like a ship caught in a storm, and the reader must ride the tossing and turning until the very end.

Gaiman, Neil. American Gods, Hapertorch, New York, 2001.

Currently Reading: The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

On Deck: Twenty Chickens For a Saddle by Robyn Scott

City of Thieves

Review: Eggs. Why did it have to be eggs? In a Russian city under siege by German forces, food runs scarce and eggs seem to be the scarcest of all. A Russian commander plans a birthday celebration for his beautiful, ice-skating daughter, and amidst the chaos of the war, he wants the very best for his sweetest little lady. What birthday would be complete without a cake, and what cake would be complete without eggs. He finds two men, Lev and Kolya, to steal these eggs and gives them one week to do so.

Cost of eggs in Leningrad during WWII: your life.

Lev is a teenage Russian Jew who in what could be his final act of rebellious youthfulness chooses to stay behind in besieged Leningrad to show his mother he is a man. Lev spends the war nights helping his city lookout for German bombers on the roof of his apartment building. One night a frozen German pilot parachutes into his neighbor hood, and Lev is caught on the streets after curfew pilfering the body. Thrown in jail, he finds that his cell mate is everything he is not. Tall, incredibly handsome, college-educated and confident, his cell mate Kolya has been accused of deserting his unit. Kolya claims his rendezvous with a woman kept him from making it back to his unit on time. Instead of death, they are given one last chance at redemption. The Russian commander gives them one week to find eggs.

Finding the eggs in a city with a starving populace is surely impossible, and their search increasingly puts their lives in danger. Death will find them, Lev doesn’t doubt it, but they are not sure if it will come from their fellow war-torn citizens, the Russian Commander or the Germans themselves.

Recommendation: The character of Lev is classic. Small for his age, shy, ignorant, and cowardly, he refused to flee with his mother and sister in an effort to prove his independence and manliness. Like many teenagers on the verge of adulthood, he acts recklessly and without much thought for the long run. Unable to be join the army because (despite his choice to stay behind) he is not yet 18, he volunteers on the rooftops and reminisces about his deceased father, a victim of Russian politics. He has everything to gain and everything to lose, and his journey will finally test him the way he has imagined.

Paired with the impossibly perfect Kolya, our little Jewish friend begins to learn life’s lessons from the Russian Casanova, and their uneasy truce slowly blossoms into a friendship. Kolya slips effortlessly from discussions about great literature to the ins and outs of seducing women properly. When his mind is not amongst the great novelists of his time, it is definitely in the gutter. The author does a great job of portraying his main character in a light consistent with teenage selfishness and awkwardness. Lev, as self-concious as any unproven teen, cannot help but sulk at the unfair burdens placed on his shoulders. Not only does he have to get killed to find eggs or not find eggs to get killed, but he has to live with the shame of being a virgin in the presence of (apparently) god’s gift to women. The humor found in the interactions helps to balance the depressing situation Leningrad finds itself in. Capturing the banter of two such characters is tricky, but Beinof does a fairly good job. T

At the core of the book is exactly what one should expect from a story about youthful men. Lev struggles to define himself as the man he wants to be, and Kolya starts to come to grips with the person he has become. It is surprise to both of them and the reader that despite their myriad differences, they have much in common. Together they both must examine what makes them human, and it is their struggle with the atrocities around them as well as the rays of hope that help make this story engaging.

Ulitmately, I cannot say that I loved this book nor can I say that I despised it. The character of Lev was somewhat hard to like, despite being able to understand his impetuousness. With many protagonists you quickly come to support them, love them, or even loathe them. Lev never resounded inside me. His lack of courage and tendency to shirk from social situations could not compel me to root for him until midway through the novel when a love interest in introduced. This is surprising because I myself was socially awkward, somewhat introverted, and hardly a candidate for potential heroics at the same age. Lev should have been a character I found familiar and interesting. Instead, I found him somewhat unauthentic and cold. Only towards the end of the novel did I feel really engrossed in his story.

Beinoff, David, City of Thieves, Viking, 2008, New York.

Currently Reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

On Deck: The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

His successful career in journalism has moved him from Zimbabwe to London and then, finally, New York. He transits between the two in order to keep an eye on his aging parents who continue to live in the country they call home. Each time he touches down in Harare airport his situation becomes increasingly tenuous and desperate. During these trips he learns that his father has a secret past, that the driven man with the clipped British accent and stubborn tenacity is not really the man he knows. While Zimbabwe is caught in maelstrom of political and social he turmoil, he is swept up in his own personal storm. The history of his father becomes intertwined with the unfolding history of Peter’s home country, and the two stories provide a rich context for understanding the current situation.

Recommendation: This is the third book I’ve read about Africa recently. The first was reviewed here (What is the What), and the second was the The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency about a fictional female detective in Botswana. Of those two, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was the least depressing. And maybe depressing is the wrong word. After reading When the Crocodile Eats the Sun, I felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

Here is a leader, Robert Mugabe,  driven by power and greed to lead his country into desperate times. What makes the situation appear so daunting is the breakdown of social systems. As Mugabe’s war veterans take over farm after farm and displace the workers and owners, there are no police to fight against the unjust actions. They claim that “it [is] a ‘political’ matter beyond their jurisdiction”. Even the police are scared. Since the police do nothing, people must take their own action to protect what they have worked for, and the dominoes begin to fall. Farm owners are killed. Their employees are killed, raped, threatened, beaten and terrified.

George Godwin, Peter’s father, has been a kind and fair employer his whole life. He treats his employees with respect and dignity, but even that gets taken away from them by the war veterans. They force one of his retired employees, a sweet and decent woman named Mavis, to demand payment for her services, though she has been paid generously all her life. Finally, George is forced to admit that “this is extortion” and although he “has never given a bribe in his life, for whom bribery is anathema, who believes that the briber giver is just as morally corrupt as the briber”, he must give in or face certain retribution. This is what humanity is reduced to.

The story of Peter and his family and of their experience in Zimbabwe is powerful and humbling.  Peter’s role in this country is also in conflict, and the reader can sense that Peter struggles internally with his decision to leave.  There are many people unbalanced by the ongoing troubles.  Some benefit enormously and some do not.  We only hear about the happenings through Godwin, and the narrations all bear traces of tragedy.  I wonder whose stories would not.  My heart aches for those caught in the midst of this crisis. Even now, as I read articles online about Zimbabwe’s state, I have hope that the things can turn around. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently released a 500 billion dollar note in an effort to keep up with the swift-rising inflation. Bush ordered new sanctions to be placed on Zimbabwe to help fight political violence. Mugabe has agreed to talk with Morgan Tsvangirai about sharing power in an effort to heal the country.

Godwin, Peter. When the Crocodile Eats the Sun. Back Bay Books, 2008, New York.

Currently Reading: City of Thieves by Daniel Beinoff

On Deck: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

As he dreams, the vast weight of poverty continues to weigh down on him. His family pulls him from school in order to put him to work to help feed the family. His rickshaw pulling father contracts tuberculosis, and his grandmother verbally attacks Balram in order to remind him just how worthless he is.

Still, despite the odds, Balram begins to shake off the mud that clings to his legs. His tenacity will drive him from the wretched village he lives in to the sprawling city of Delhi and even as far as the southern city of Bangalore. Along the way he will be faced with decisions no person should ever have to make. How much will he lose in order to gain what he has dreamed of since he was a boy?

Recommendation: There have a been a lot of topical books lately. The Kite Runner found tremendous success partly because it depicted places that have leaped into the news. Books about Africa are also becoming more popular as we keep our eyes on elections and situations occurring in conflict areas of the continent. The White Tiger tells us about the very worst of India. The question is: Do we think twice about India?

When I think of my prior knowledge of India, I realize it was sparse. Indiana Jones journeys to a Temple of Doom in search of Shankara stones. Dr. Ganderbai helps a man paralyzed by a snake lurking in his bed in Roald Dhal short story Poison. The Jungle Book introduces us to the Tarzanish figure of Mowgli. I here about technology companies outsourcing to India. I see that many international students come from India in order to get an American education. But what do I know of the culture? What do I know of the daily life of its inhabitants? I imagine American buildings occupying dusty cities, or small rural villages divided by neat lanes and organized fields.

The India depicted in this book is far more intense than the images that flit through my head. The story is written in the form of a letter from Balram to the Chinese Prime Minister. His childhood description quickly wiped away my quaint imaginings and plunged me into a squalid reality. I thought (and hoped) that the author was overdoing it. It seems to me that the author is making a concerted effort to dispel the preconceived notions the reader might have.

The main character goes from one hopeless situation to the next, and even as he succeeds it continues to be discouraging. The driving plot point which is meant to keep the reader engaged is hardly enough to encourage the trek through the wasteland of the narrator’s journey. His rise from poverty is defined by the dubious moral choices that Balram and others make, and it creates slow going for almost half the book. By the end of the novel, when I learned exactly how Balram becomes a successful businessman, I felt a little let down. The surrounding story of India was fascinating, but Balram’s choices never encourage the reader to feel much in the way of hate or love for him. I felt it was a little predictable, and I even figured out a key sequence 200 pages before it happened. Whether this was by design or not, this created a feeling of boredom and malaise. I had to put this book down and read another one just so I could have some fun. To the author’s credit, there are many positives. The voice of Balram is entirely believable, and the character is witty, charming, and frightening all at once.

What I have gained is an eye-opening look into a country that will never evoke the same pleasant images it once did.

Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger. Free Press, 2008, New York.

Currently Reading: When the Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin

On Deck: City of Thieves by David Benioff

Meanwhile, those who would stop him (and others like him) are reassembling. Once they were a group of superheroes known as The Champions, united in their fight for justice. Now they have to work to become a team again after a past both celebrated and mourned. The Champions lost (literally) their finest comrade and the world’s favorite superhero, Corefire, as well as witnessed the ultimate sacrifice of another valued teammate. They need to rebuild, but the past may prove too much a match for even them.

To help swell their numbers, The New Champions have added two new members: Lily, a hero sent from the future to save the world and Fatale, a cyborg formerly employed by the NSA. The two members struggle to assimilate into the worlds most famous and beloved supergroup, and if they can’t, it may spell doom for all of humanity. Meanwhile, Dr. Impossible is plotting world domination, and this time his supergenuis mind believes that he has prepared for every eventuality, and he shall soon rule the planet…

Recommendation: This book parallels today’s superhero trends. The populace has fallen in love with our imperfect, humanized comic book figures. Perfect heroes such as Superman and Captain America have fallen by the way side. They once stood as symbols of America’s strength and resilience, appeared in darker times to battle Nazi’s and reassure us that everything would be fine.

Since then we have been inundated with brooding heroes who struggle to come to grips with their powers and their decisions. Spiderman struggles with the pressures of losing his normalcy. Batman wrestles with his desires for revenge. The Incredible Hulk’s first incarnation detailed Bruce Banner’s fight against hating what he becomes and loving it. Even Iron Man is an alcoholic with a penchant for narcissism.

The “metahumans” in this book are chronicled in a fashion to shows that underneath their costumes and masks are humans struggling with the same things that all humans deal with: relationships, pressure, the past, dreams, duty, desire. Grossman writes lovingly about these characters and creates situations that make us think twice about the usual comic book stereotype. His writing is relatively simple and the main upshot about this book is that it keeps the plot moving. I imagine that if I was more of a comic-book fan I would have gotten even more out of it. I can think of several friends who would probably love this book. For me, it was a stress free read that kept me entertained for a couple of days.

One thing that I found interesting was the way in which Grossman’s heroes reflect our societal values and the way in which America’s closest thing to metahumans, athletes, act these days. The superhero teams in the book remind me of our Dream Teams. The first was so good. Since then, it has been a fight to assemble an ego filled team that can win the gold. Will this be the year…

Grossman, Austin. Soon I Will Be Invincible. Vintage Books, 2007, New York.

Currently Reading: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

On Deck: When The Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin

Review: Liz Gilbert, socialite, author, journalist, realizes her life is spiraling out of control. As her marriage falls apart, she begins to question her direction. Rock bottom starts to appear when she finds herself searching for answers on the floor of her bathroom. She claws through the rest of her divorce and tries to hold herself together. Solace comes in the form a new lover, but even this turns into a tumultuous relationship. She orbits this man in an erratic spiral, and, just before she enters the atmosphere in a fiery ball destined to burn up and fall to the earth a charred and useless rock, she comes to a decision.

Liz returns to her fundamental love: travel. She chooses to lose herself in far off countries in order to rediscover her soul, to find a way to live life less like an emotional roller coasters, and to find her bliss. There are three stops on her trip. Coincidentally (or not) they all begin with the letter “I”. Italy is the first. India is the second. The third is Indonesia, in particular Bali. Each country offers itself to her in different ways, hence she eats, prays, and loves.

Recommendation: It would be easy to label this book as a read geared more for women than men. In fact, I was hesitant to read it for that exact reason. But I told myself that it is important to expand my horizons. Besides, there were plenty of good ‘chick-flicks’ that I had enjoyed watching. I am an admitted fan of “You’ve Got Mail” (f-o-x), “As Good As It Gets” (sell crazy someplace else, we’re all stocked up here), and even “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”. I’m just kidding about that last one. I haven’t seen it or read the book… yet.

So I picked up Eat, Pray, Love, read the prologue and set off on this true story about a woman in search of rekindling her soul. Somewhat surprisingly, I found her writing to be entertaining and funny. Her journey is populated by many interesting, generous, and puzzling characters. Of all her problems, comedic wit and self-defacing introspection is not one of them. Her relationship issues do not fall outside the lines of unfamiliar, and I think that she and I share some of the same philosophies about world travel. Having been to Rome, I enjoyed reading about her eating exploits. Dazzling. Despite my valiant attempts, I had a hard time not giving into the temptations of Italian cuisine: pizza anywhere and anyhow you like it, more pasta than water , and sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet gelato. If I’d had my druthers, I probably would have tried to eat Italy right off the map. Liz Gilbert gave it a good shot.

The book slowed down a little once she got to India, and I started becoming more and more reluctant to continue reading. While this is the story of her travels, I often thought her artistic license took over the true events. It is impossible to recount details accurately from memory, but I think she filled them in a little too nicely. Her finely turned phrases during the course of conversation brought up memories of Steven Spielberg’s giant T-Rex foot in the Lost World (watch the scene where it steps on that guy and lifts him off the ground… is the footprint really that big?).

All in all, once she got to Bali I was ready for her story to be over. Even her hilarious Balinese guru whose wisdom is nicely countered by his attempts at English and his constant reminder that he “is very empty in [his] bank” could not quite keep me engaged. I imagine her own trip was fantastic, but I don’t think I enjoyed the ride quite as much as she did.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia. Penguin Books, New York, 2006.

Currently reading: Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman

On Deck: When the Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin

The man and the boy lurch from one moment to the next, driven on by their fear and their dreams and their hunger. And always before them and always behind them is the road they must walk upon.

Recommendation: I only knew of Cormac McCarthy because of the critical praise heaped upon his book-turned-movie “No Country For Old Men”. I did not see the movie in the theatre, but I did manage to watch it on DVD. It was a strange movie, and while it did keep me curious and relatively engaged, it ended somewhat abruptly. I have my own theories about the movie and if you feel so inclined, I would be willing to discuss them. I found The Road much more accessible.

The prose is sparse and irregular at times. There are no quotation marks and his use of pronouns borders on abuse at times. While it is not written in first person, the narration gives you the impression that it is, and it is does not take long to get drawn into the thoughts and emotions of the father. Because the author limits the reader to such a narrow perspective, the book grips the reader with apprehension and anxiety. I found myself reading the book late at night (bad idea) and feeling my heart twist in trepidation and fear. I was genuinely frightened and horrified at times. If I had one, I would have kept a baseball bat next to my bed. I can imagine this book coming with a parental advisory sticker: disturbing situations and terrifying moments abound.

I am loathe to read any more books by McCarthy for a couple of reasons. The first is that I have found his work (book and movie) to be strikingly grim, uncompromising, and discouraging. The second is that sitting on the couch shivering in fright and trying to think happy thoughts makes me feel “uncool” and “not manly”. If this ever becomes a movie, I believe that the trailer will include this line: Don’t travel the road alone.

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Vintage Books, New York, 2006

Currently Reading: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. (still!)

On Deck: When the Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin