Bad Monkey, Makes Good Summer Reading

I'm not a fan of the mystery genre.  Ironically, I am a huge fan of Masterpiece Mystery:  Inspector Lewis.  Coincidentally, Lewis has finally developed a personal relationship with the female coroner after a long partnership solving murders.  In Carl Hiaasen's humorous who-done it, debunked Det. Andrew Young has just been releaved of his badge for dubious reasons.  But he is quick to hook-up with the beautiful coroner, who becomes his lover & partner in crime solving.  Young is working in an un-official capacity, seeking redemption & his job back.  Women fall for his charms, guys want to be him and you will root for this character.  Young is an irrepressible rogue whose antics are not exactly kosher.  He's been demoted as a health inspector, a job he does with ingenuity & integrity.  Young can't be bought or deterred.  Mixed in the stew is a colorful cast of characters including a voo-doo queen, a sexual pervert ex-girlfriend & one bad ass monkey.  Hooray for love matches between detectives & coroners.  Bad Monkey is a masterpiece of lighthearted pleasure.  

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain

"Billy Lynn," along with his army buddies called the Bravos, are Iraqi war heroes on a Public Relations (PR) tour for the  troops.  This engrossing anti-war novel, is also a cutting parody of the American lifestyle the soldiers are fighting to protect.  Specialist Billy Lynn, the hero in Fountain's novel, epitomizes the glorious soldier the army wants to use for PR, much like "Pat Tillman." The movie industry is vying to capitalize on the Bravo rescue story, "a tale of heroism ennobled by tragedy.  Validation, redemption, life snatched from the jaws of death."  Lynn knows otherwise:  there is nothing noble to war, it is "a fuckup so profound and all encompassing as to crush all hope of redemption."   The story takes place over an army issued Thanksgiving leave with PR fanfare to honor the Bravos during a Cowboys' halftime @Dallas Stadium.  Only 19, war has left Billy in a torpor of melancholy and highly sensitive to the absurdity of American idealism.   "Billy suspects his fellow Americans secretly know better, but something in the land is stuck on teenage drama…no amount of lecturing will enlighten them as to the state of pure sin toward which war inclines."  There is a strong anti-war message in this exceptionally bitter-sweet tale that is as entertaining as it is perceptive to the "extremely high American threshold for sham, puff, spin, bullshit and outright lies."  Ben Fountain should be awarded the Medal of Honor for his novel.

On Grace by Susie Schnall, Resonates Real Emotions

On Grace, a first novel by Susie Schnall is a very contemporary & realistic look at the fragile bonds of marriage.  Schnall is pitch perfect in her depiction of today's Updikian suburpia.  Grace is juggling work, motherthood and marriage until her husband's infidelities shatter the foundation of her family.  Grace's honest emotions resonate hurt & befuddlement.  I  grappled along with her heartache, anxieties and conundrums.   Can the marriage be salvaged & trust restored? What are the considerations for staying together or ending a marriage?  Schnall is not chartering new territory but her deft & sensitive writing compel the reader to contemplate their own responses.

N/F Devil in the Grove Thurgood Marhsall, The Groveland Boys,

I thought I knew about Thurgood Marshall, I thought I knew about the Civil Rights Movement, I thought I knew about the Jim Crow South - I now know how little I knew about the attrocities blacks suffered by barbaric white supremisits & the abysmal failure of our judicial system to protect & serve the black population.  Gilbert King's factual account of the brutalities in our country sheds an emblazoned light on racial hatred and "indifference to human suffering that layed the legacy of future generations of whites who in turn would without conscience, perpetuate the agony of an entire other race." Devil in the Grove also recounts the historic legal battles that put an end to segregation in the U.S.  Marshall was a major crusader for justice & civil rights in our courts of law.  As flawed as our legal system is, "Laws not only provide concete benefits, they can even change the heatrs of men-some men anyhow-for good or evil."(Marshall)   King focuses on the travesty of The Groveland Boys; 4 young black youths in FL who were falsely accused of rape by a southern white woman.  One of the 4 was murdered by law officials.  This case is sadly reminiscient of the Scottsborough Boys.  Devil in the Grove is essential reading.  It is a stark reminder "that no matter where liberty is challenged, no matter where oppression lifts its head, it becomes the business of the masses." (Houston)  Flaws in our system still persist as in The Central Park 5 & the killing of Trayvon Martin.

The Woman Upstairs; Thumbs Down

Claire Messud's novel, The Woman Upstairs, is about Nora (A Doll's House) Eldridge, a 3rd grade teacher who views herself as the woman upstairs; inconsequential.  Nora is single, childless & pushing 40.  She is a dedicated teacher but frustrated, wanna be artist.  Her "real" life has been on hold while caring for her mother & committing to a long-term, loveless relationship.  Don't rush to bring on the violins.  Once freed from her self-imposed bondage, she finds herself adrift; but not for long.  Her new student Reza, and his family awaken Nora's hunger for life.  Reza's father is a Harvard prof. & the mother, Sirena, an accomplished artist.  Nora soon ingratiates herself into the fabric of this family.  Nora believes "Life is a about deciding what matters.  It's about the fantasy that determines the reality."  Sirena invites Nora to share her studio space when Nora informs her that she too is an artist.  Nora constructs dioramas of historic women in their habitats.  She cheerfully submisses her artwork in the shadow of Sirena's talent while surreptitiously consuming Sirena's life.  Nora is obsessed with gaining unconditional love from the entire family and crosses multiple inappropriate boundaries. Nora's misguided infatuations undermines the novel's pursuit of artistic value and creates instead, a pathetic tale of stalking.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: a novel

If you enjoyed last summer's GONE GIRL.  You will find this novel to your liking.  At the heart of the novel by Maria Sample, is 14 year old Bea who is hard to resist.  Bea is  kind hearted (despite serious heart issues,) intelligent, loyal, and an independent thinker.  The kind of girl we'd all like as a friend growing up or as a daughter.  In fact, Bea & her mother share an incredible bond.  Both parents are creative geniuses.  The father is a revered Microsoft exec. who is hardly ever at home & her mother, Bernadette, is agoraphobi &  always there for Bea.  Bernadette's eccentricities & altercations with other's & Bea's insights are entertaining - until things get out of control.  Elgin, Bea's father, becomes  convinced his wife needs to be committed to a mental health facility.  Bernadette is on to her husband's plans for her abduction & ingeniously eludes everyone & vanishes.  Bea is determined to find her mom and this is where the story becomes mired in tedium.  Having committed thus far,  I sought resolution, but not with the zest I had beforehand.  I felt the same for GONE GIRL, both stories drew most of the way through but left me feeling cheated.  Nonetheless, WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE makes for a light, summer read.

The Burgess Boys, by Pulitz. winner E. Strout

This is a novel that is hard to put down.  Elizabeth Strout is a Pulitzer Prize winning author who culls interesting characters from her hometown of Maine.  Strout is a master of juggling numerous intertwining characters, each having their owns compelling story.  At the heart of the story are the Burgess boys, Jim, the overachieving grandiose atty. and his likeable, scrubby brother Bob who worships Jim.  The brothers both live in Bklyn while their sister, Susan, remains in their childhood, small town in Maine with her troubled son, Zach.  Strout's captivating writing embroils you in the lives & problems of everyone.  In addition, serious conflicts & global problems are a pertinent driving force.  Strout has received the Pulitz. Prize; this novel is worthy of a Nobel Peace Award.  The novel is filled with hope, empathy & familial love.  I loved this intelligent & inspiritational novel.

Brian Kimberling's SNAPPER is Midwest Doldrums

The novel SNAPPER is the ho-hum tale of growing up in the Hooser State.  We follow Nathan's childhood and his synposis of growing up there.  "Indiana is the bastard son of the Midwest."  Nathan tells of the bigotry he was all too familiar with, "I found myself in an Indiana forest surrounded by rifle-bearing Klansmen."  Kimberling tries to soften the undisguised hatred with the charm of some eccentric local characters.  But, the "humor" kills any chance of redemption.  "What's the same between a wife, a dog, and a slave?  The more you beat them, the more they behave."  Despite abhoring many of the sentiments expressed, there were several long lasting friendships that gave the novel some warmth.  That, and the career he fell into as a bird researcher.  His dedication to ornithology was commendable, but unlike the heroine who studied butterflies in FLIGHT, Nathan failed to garner lmaturity or wisdom with experience.  He does retain a nostalgic lookback to his upbringing.  "Hoosiers do not make much of their distinctive name, nor generally think much of their native state."  I did not think highly enough of SNAPPER to recommend.