MY AMERICAN UNHAPPINESS, a novel by Dean Bakopoules

This quirky, funny and disturbing novel has an ingratiating and original hero, Zeke Pappas.  Zeke works for a dubious operation about to implode, but not before he can amass multitudes of responses to his question, "What makes you unhappy?"  Madison, WI, is the city in which Zeke lives along with his seriously ill mother and young twin nieces.  The love Zeke has for his mother & orphaned nieces is endearing.  The responses to his unhappiness project are both hysterical and poignant.  I was drawn towards Zeke with his off-beat humor and tenderness and rooted for him to find love.  But, by the end Zeke's benign personality takes a turn to the darkside. He becomes pathetic, perverse and repels everyone who felt fondness for him, myself included.  Bakopoulos is a gifted writer; a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Bakopooulos not only paints the midwestern landscape and culture but imbues the reader with a real sense of melancholy & detachment stemming from our society as a whole.   Zeke states, "the computer, the phones, the BlackBerry, the Facebook-is horrifying.  When one does such a thing, one is visited by unhappy images, thoughts of doom and woe."  "You Tube, MySpace, Blogs-all of these things are ways for us to make ourselves protagonists on a very crowded, violent and unjust stage." The author has clearly identified American Unhappiness, meaningless connections & dire loneliness.  Reading this brilliant novel left me feeling depressed so I recommend this book, NOT! (Although I do recommend reading my blogs.)

In Giovanni's Room, a novel by James Baldwin

I read Baldwin's novel, published in '56, after reading John Irving's novel, In One Person.  Irving's book is about Billy, a young boy growing up in the 60's in VT, who is grappling with his bi-sexuality.  Irving repeatedly referred to Baldwin's In Giovanni's Room in his novel which piqued my interest.  Both novels deal with the issues of young men grappling with their bi-sexuality.  Irving's hero, Billy, is given Baldwin's novel by a transexual librian to show him he is not alone in his feelings. Billy is fortunate to have family & friends he is able to turn to for support.  Baldwin's central character, David, is a young American living in Paris in the 50's. He has a father in the states he feels he can't be honest with, nor is David honest of his  homosexuality to his fiancee. Giovanni's Room is a much darker & disturbing novel of psychological pressure, torment & guilt stemming from feelings of sexual immorality.  David is consumed with anguish; he is trapped in searching for himself. Baldwin is a renowned author & Civil Rights advocate. He also wrote Go Tell it On the Mountain & Notes of a Native Son. Both are skilled and crafted writers that call into question social prejudices that are cruel and inhumane. James Baldwin's In Giovanni's Room remains a  poignant and significant work.

The World Without You, a novel by Joshua Henkin

The World Without You portrays how various family members have dealt with the passing of the youngest and only son in the Frankel family over the past year.  The Frenkels are gathered in the family's vacation home at the year anniversary of Leo who was killed covering the war in Iraq. The parents, of Leo, Marilyn & David have summoned their 3 daughters & daughter-in-law to attend a memorial for Leo.  Before the various family members assemble, the parents agree not to let their daughters & daughter-in-law, mother to Leo's son, know they've decided to separate until after the service.  Does tragedy bring families closer together or does it severe the ties that bind? What are the bonds that make a family?  How do different individuals cope with grief and disappointments?  These are the poignant issues touched on in The World Without You.  It is disappointing these compelling questions are mottled by characters who are shallow, repulsive and self-indulgent.  There is little insight into the marriage of Marilyn & David or the connections between the sisters.  Burying one's child is pure anguish.  Reading about the relationships the sister's had with one another & their partners was onerous.  Thisbe, Leo's widow was moving ahead with her life and I recommend not being mired down in this tedious novel which skimmed the surface of difficult issues.

Those We Love Most, a novel by Lee Woodruff

Lee Woodruff is a contributing reporter for CBS This Morning & co-author of the NYT bestseller, In an Instant, with husband Bob Woodruff. This is her first novel which is sure to be on the NYT best-seller list.  The Corrigan family living in Chicago appear to have it all on the surface, but life is never as it seems.  Maura Corrigan, the central character is married to Peter, her college sweetheart with 3 beautiful children but her world is suddenly shattered by disaster leaving her grief stricken and ridden with guilt.  Maura & Peter's marriage fray under the stress as they turn away from one another & seek solace elsewhere.  Maura has the love and support of her two sisters and her parents.  However, Maura's father has been leading a secretive double life which mirrors some of the same issues Maura & Peter are experiencing.  Woodruff is a prolific contributor to numerous magazines and author of Perfectly Imperfect. She knows how to write credible and multi-faceted characters that we can all relate to & identify.  Those We Love Most is a book you won't want to put down as we learn how the members of this family deal with their choices, their consequences and their feelings for one another.  For Those We Love Most tend to be those we hurt the most.  A tour de force family saga that examine many of life's most important issues.

Swagger by Lisa Bloom, a non-fiction guide for raising young males

Lisa Bloom is an attorney and legal reporter for CNN, CBS and HLN.  Swagger is the follow-up book to NYT best selling THINK: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Downed World. In Swagger, Bloom addresses the prescient obstacles today deterring young boys from becoming successful and compassionate men.  As in THINK which outlined issues suppressinng young girl's intelligence, Ms. Bloom clearly identifies the problems and pressures our society pose that diminish the odds of young boys from graduating college and leading successful lives.  The dismal facts that our young boys are failing are due to our thug culture fed by a jobless economy, failing schools, violence prevalent in the media, and our deplorable incarceration nation.  Ms. Bloom's writing is extensively researched. I felt engaged in an intelligent dialogue with Ms Bloom without proselytizing.  Swagger  benefits from Ms. Bloom's candor,  wit, personal anecdotes and quotes from many of the boys she queries.  Most importantly, Swagger offers  practical ways to empower our youngsters to enrich their own lives.  It also inspires us to be the best parents we can by being role models and being present in their lives.  Adults should be grateful for this encouraging guide for raising intelligent, empathetic youngsters and enriching the lives of our families.

By Blood: a Novel by Ellen Ullmam

BY BLOOD brings you into the story of a voyeur listening in on the psychoanalysis of a young, successful woman struggling with her sense of idenity and belonging.  The voyeur, is a disgraced professor currently on suspension pending the university's investigation into his alleged stalking of a male student.  The prof. rents an office in a San Francisco (SF) building next door to a psychiatrist.  The walls are so thin the prof. becomes privy to the analysis sessions and becomes completely obsessed with listening in on every appointment while keeping his presence unbeknowst to them.  The triangular relationship between the prof., patient and psychiatrist are the basis for a peverse and irresistable look into the minds of all three.  The story takes place during the terror reign of the Zodiac Killer.  The prof. is also a disturbingly deranged individual.  Meanwhile, the young woman tells her Dr. of her troubles with her lesbian lover and her feelings of being unloved as the adopted daughter to a self-absored, heartless mother.  The patient/Dr. dialogues are compelling as is the prof's assessments on how they are progressing.  The story takes another dark turn into the history of a German Holocaust survivor.  This is a very intrusive tale that will entwine you into its web should you choose to become a voyeur too.

The Ruins of California, a Novel by Martha Sherrill

The Ruins is a curious coming of age story of a young girl, Inez, set during the laid back yet turbulent 70's in both San Francisco (SF) & a modest Los Angeles (LA) suburb.  Inez is the daughter of a voluptous Latin mother, Connie, and Paul, a handsome, intelligent and hedonistic father.  We follow Inez as an innocent girl living in LA as she is shuttled between very divergent lifestyles of her divorced parents and extended family.  Sherrill captures the joys of childhood days and the onslaught of the emotional adolescent years.  It is through Inez's eyes that Sherrill paints a vivid portrait of the divergent lifestyles prevalent through the drug infused, counter culture and conflicting conservative society during the 70's.  Inez seems malleable and accepting of both her father's many girlfriends and drug use as well as her more modest and conventional life in LA.   Paul's wealthy aristocratic mother brings Inez into the privilleged world of horseback riding, cotillion lessons and high tea.  Inez also forms a strong familial bond with her brother, Whitman, from Paul's previous marriage.  As Inez matures into her own person, we've grown to admire her ability to navigate these torrid times.  Yet, I recommend this book more as an homage to the 70's than a riveting, character driven novel.