Dave Eggers' Novel "Heroes of the Frontier" a Delusional Mother Caravans to Alaska with her Kids

Dave Eggers (b. Amer 1970) is a novelist, and award winning non-fiction author.  He wrote the award winning non-fiction works: "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" ('00) and "Zeiton" ('09.)  In Zeiton, Eggers covers the plights of a muslim man held prisoner in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  The book covers both the war on terror and our failure to deplore aid to victims of Katrina.   "A Heartbreaking Work… is Egger's poignant memoir of raising his kid brother after their parents died though only in his early 20's.  Eggers is a crafty writer and in "Heroes.." Josie our heroine life's is unraveling & she's having a major mid-life crisis.  Her troubled youth led to her emancipation at 17, a relationship with a feckless, spineless younger man, the father of their children Paul (8) & Ana (4) and a major drinking problem.  Compounding her self-worth & mundane life in OH as a dentist is a lawsuit v her practice & the death of a young patient she encouraged in his plans to join the military.  Perhaps, Eggers was purging his years as the put upon adult who assumed responsibility for his kid brother.  Josie's complex & self-destructive tendencies are credible and cringe worthy.  The irony here is 8 year old Paul acts as the responsible adult in this misfit family of 3.  Josie splits from ex & decides to flee OH for Alaska; the vast frontier.  Her antics are appalling, surprising & pathetic.  I was along for the journey in the broken winnebago with anticipation as to their next madcap adventure.  Eggers captures  the needy & most likely bi-polar Josie as well as the wise, kind Paul and wild child Ana.  Eggers also wrote the book "A Hologram for a King" which was adapted into a movie starring Tom Hanks ('16.)  I marvel at the broad genius of Eggers writings.  "Heroes of the Frontier" is an enjoyable read that addresses topical social issues in an earnest & exotic fashion.

S Korean Author Han Kang's THE VEGETARIAN Wins Man Booker

This year's Man Booker Prize went to Han Kang (b. S Korean 1970) for her disturbing, thought provoking novel about a young wife who suddenly refuses to stop eating meat.  This would not seem enough of a banquet from which to draw but, surprisingly, the piquant characterization and family dynamics branch out into a turbulent brew that is philosophical, pornographic and dreamlike. Yeong-hi, is the woman who refuses to eat meat after her arousing dreams of carnivore imagery.   Her life is soon to becomes a living nightmare.   Prior to Yeong-hi's vegetarian stance, her husband "…thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way."  Kang's writing may not appeal to the masses.  The plot is gnarly like massive roots & as mystifying & ephemeral as the dream you can't recall.  Dreams & their interpretations are eminent throughout this beguiling book.  Yeong-hi's unorthodox switch to vegetarianism leads to a permanent rift in her marriage to a mostly absent husband.  The extended family dynamics are peeled off revealing anger, agony, terror & abuse.  Yeong-hi's sole support comes from her older, responsible sister, In-hye.  In-hye's husband lures his sister-in-law Yeong-hi into an exploitive & lurid sexual scandal.  Nonetheless, In-hye could not abandon her sister.  In-hye's culpability gnaw at her, "Could I have prevented those unimaginable things from sinking so deep inside of Yeong-hye."  In-hye assumes full financial & emotional support for sister as her descent into insanity  escalate.  Dreams & reality are blurred in a melancholy assessment of life.  "Life was no more than a ghostly pageant of exhausted endurance."  "Life is such a strange thing, she thinks, once she has stopped laughing."  THE VEGETARIAN is a rare work of literary excellence that is an acquired taste that should be required reading.          

"Tapestry of Fortunes" by NYT Best Selling Author Elizabeth Berg is Motivational Malarky

Elizabeth Berg (b. Amer 1948) is a best selling author, whose book "Open House" ('00) was an Oprah pick catapulting sales to astronomical figures.  This is because there are so many numskulls who consider Oprah as the end all to wisdom.  Elizabeth Berg spouts Oprah's language.  This is a thinly disguised novel written more in the motivational, self-help genre.  Cecile "Cece" (see how clever) is the central character and her vocation just happens to be as a motivational speaker/writer. (She also volunteers at a hospice facility where she seems to be some kind of saint.)   Cecile's best friend Penny has just died but that doesn't interfere with the two friends communicating continuously.  Hold on - there's more in store: Cece refers to "fortune teller" paraphernalia to guide her.  Berg's veiled attempts to contemplate the road not taken hits the reader relentlessly and annoyingly, "…life is always changing, right?  And I think it's human nature to be fearful of change.  Even if the changes you dread most end up being the ones that are best.  That's what happened to me" Cece tells us.  Cece sells her home, moves into a home with 3 other women who become best fast & furious friends.  They all decide to go on a road trip with their own agendas to reconnect with past loves, lost family & start afresh.  How charming…NOT!  I found this touchy/feely book by Berg tedious & preachy.  It was one large bumper sticker of smiley faces.  Oprah would applaud Berg's ah hah moments: "Once you start making decision in which your heart, mind, and soul are congruent, you'll feel it as a kind of life, if not liftoff."  This book made me want to throw-up from saccharin, cringe worthy sayings. "Tapestry of Fortunes" fooled me to take the time to read it.  But, I will never again bother with Berg's books.  

Paula McLain's "Circling the Sun" Makes the Historic Maverick Beryl Markham's Life a Bore

Paula McLain (b. Amer 1965) is a historic fiction writer.  She wrote "The Paris Wife" ('11) a dull read which dallies around the notoriety of Hemingway through the eyes of his 1st wife; unceremoniously pushed aside before his literary acclaim.  In McLain's novel, "Circling the Sun" ('15) the heroine, Beryl Markham (b. UK 1902) is a women who led a fascinating life & accomplished incredible feats.  Markham is the 1st woman to successful navigate a solo flight across the Atlantic.  She was a also a maverick in the all-male equestrian arena.  Beryl, along with her father, pioneered in the barren, treacherous & wild lands of Africa (now known Kenya.)  The onset of the novel had me in its grips. Beryl forages her way in 2 worlds: her father's struggling farmlands & the indigenous Kip African tribe.   Beryl is accepted by the tribal women after her mother abandoned her at age 4.   Beryl befriends a native tribal boy, Kibii.  Together they hone hunting, & preservation skills.  Beryl & Kibii form a lifelong friendship & partnership. Beryl's father left her to run wild & fend for herself.  As a young woman, her father & society try to impose conventions on the free-spirited & fearless upon her.  An attack by a lion almost cost Beryl her life as a girl.  This story seemed enthralling & exotic.  I was taken aback by her unique & unpredictable childhood.  However, McLain plummeted the novel after Beryl turns 16.  She chose an unsuitable 1st marriage without foreseeing another option to remain in Africa.  We're in the cockpit with Beryl flying across the Atlantic in what seems an imminent crash.  The disaster comes with McLain's writing which trudges through years of infidelities, lust & boredom. In addition to the little account of her flying there were interesting gallops into her skills at horse training. But, McLain fails to focus on pioneering achievements in Beryl Markham's life.  The tedious book reads as a dated gossip dossier of a woman noteworthy for her audacious sexual indiscretions.  Isak Dinesen, ("Out of Africa" 1937) a.k.a. Karen Blixen, a friend & rival of Beryl's factors a great deal in Beryl's life.  Dinesen is a gifted writer who makes life in Africa in the early 20th C come alive.  McLain's "Circling the Sun" should be shunned.

Non-F "Why Not Me" by Mindy Kaling - A Project Worth Reading

Mindy Kahling, Emmy nom actress & star/creator of "The Mindy Project" has written 2 auto-biographies.  Her 1st indulgent foray, "Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?" ('11) was without interest to anyone other than her parents.  However, her most recent auto-bio "Why Not Me?" ('15) is a likable, candid & inspirational book; both entertaining & endearing.  There is an abundance of numbing narcissism, still, there's a lot of charm, wisdom & wit.  "Why Not Me?" picks up on her adult life (whereas her earlier work) reflected her ho-hum doldrum childhood: TMI because it was Tedious, Meandering Indulgences.  There's something about "Why Not Me" that makes Mindy relatable, lovable, neurotic, needy and fabulous.  Mindy lays it on the line "This book is basically an expose {of my} character flaws."  I found her directness disarming, "Please like me."   She strikes universal themes of seeking acceptance "Every kid wants approval, but my desire to be well-liked was central to my personality."  Mindy's anecdotes into the hard work & insecurities that comprise the majority of what may be assumed star status lifestyle - or for a B lister are enlightening.  All joking aside (and there was plenty LOL moments - Mindy's rise to fame is owed to her hard work & creative, comedic writing skill.  The book breaks a lot of rules & marches to its own beat.  As Mindy claims, "I'm such a rule breaker."  Chosen to give a graduation speech to a Harvard's Law School class (which she wrongly assumed meant being given an honorary doctorate) Mindy is riotously funny & sagacious.  "If you got it, flaunt it.  If you don't got it?  Flaunt it.  Cause what are we even doing here if we're not flaunting it."  I really liked "Why Not Me."  Mindy, if you're reading this - please like me.  I'd really want you as my friend.

Le Divorce - Life & Drama for American Sisters in Paris by Diane Johnson

Diane Johnson (b. Amer 1938) lives in the U.S. & France.  Her 1997 Nat'l Book Finalist "Le Divorce" is a satirical & astute observation of culture clashes between Americans & French as noted by a CA co-ed, Isabel "Izy.'  She goes to Paris (in the 1970's) to help her step-sister, Roxanne "Roxy" in her distress.  Izy at loose ends, a college drop-out without focus.  Roxy, is a published poet & older step-sis to Izy.  Roxy moved to Paris & married a French man from a pedigreed family. They have a young daughter & expecting an enfant.  C'est la vie - her husband left her for another woman.  Izy & Roxy are step-sibs by their parents 2nd marriages and have formed a sisterly bond.   Roxy is excited to come to Paris & help care for her neice & her sis in distress.  Delegated to a tiny alcove on the upper floor with a toilette down the hall, Izy will not be put a the corner.  Roxy is the one going through the turmoil of heartbreak, pregnancy & divorce with its disruptive divide of family & possessions. A prized possession, a valuable painting belonging to Roxy's step-dad leads to a major legal battle.  Egad, the French & their snobbery, affectations, infidelities & family loyalties.  Johnson, a Pulitz Prize finalist (Persian Nights '1988) is a gifted writer with wit & guile.  While entertained by the flighty Izy & her illicit affair with a much older, distinguished Frenchman (Roxy's uncle by marriage) we perceive a hilarious & insightful culture clash. The French have their orderly manners, domestic decorum & devotedness to their nation.  The Amer are thought of as blunt, naive, self-indulgent & foolishly optimistic.  A colorful portrait of Parisian life as seen from Izy's eyes adds delightful charm.  Still, there are more serious topics than cultural clashes such as sexism & war.  The Vietnam war is lambasted by an ex-pat "Our men in Vietham died for nothing, an immoral war."  War in Bosnia & Rwanda are also topical.  Mais, the heart of this contemplative novel is le coeur.  "Woe to the man who in the 1st months of a love-affair does not believe that it will last forever." (Adolphe)