UNDER the BRIDGE-Detailed Account of Teens Murder of Classmate in Canada

Unthinkable, the heinous murder of a teenage girl by her classmates.  Tragically, the unthinkable, the deliberate killing of 14-year-old Reena Virk by her peers occurred in 1997, in Canada capturing the fascination of the public, making international headlines and resulted in  murder convictions of two teens. Journalist and author, Rebecca Godfrey, spent six years researching and interviewing 7 teens ages 14-17,  involved, their families, the investigators and prosecutors assigned to the case.   The massive media attention of the shocking and senseless killings demands answers to try and make sense of these brutal killings.  Furthermore, what can be learned to prevent a similar catastrophe.  Godfrey died last year at age 54 from lung cancer.  Godfrey mapped out the details of Reena's murder, cover-up and the trials or her tormentors in excruciating details.  The interviews with the young people and adults affiliated affords a thorough examination of what took place.  The melee and mayhem turned into a cause celebre' in Canada.  Godfrey relies heavily on verbatim interviews and court recordings to relay events from numerous perspectives.  The numerous people involved leads to some confusion.   The three teens explicated are m Kelly, the only girl convicted of murder, Warren, the only male indicted and convicted of murder and Syreeta, Warren's steadfast sweetheart.  Perhaps, confusing the mob of girls involved in the brutally  beating Reena explains, in part, mob mentality, the omnipotence of friendships and the desire to fit in for adolescents.  When considering how these young teens were caught up into being so cruel as to pummel Reena, kicking her in the head and putting a cigarette out on her face, an analogy can be drawn with the mania of Mega Hat Heads who followed the call to insurrection on our US Capitol.  Kelly is the ruthless svengali leader, able to sway impressionable minds to her callous bidding.  Still, how could one predict a gathering of girls would turn so ugly and could arouse such fury that could amount to murder?  It's imperative to question what socio-economic, family dynamics and violent warning signs as factors.  Sgt. Bond, a the lead detective on the case, noted "The kids in the beating and murder, none of them came from an intact family."  Manji Virk, Reena's father lamented, "It was like evil took over everyone."   The District Attorney thought, "Maybe it was just peer pressure, just teenagers."  It just should never happen and never, should these agonizing behaviors be swept under the bridge.   

ALL THIS COULD be DIFFERENT by Sarah Matthews-A New Delightful Narrative Voice

Sarah Thankam Matthews' debut novel, "All This Could be Different," (All This) is a Bildungsroman literary novel. Sneha is a college co-ed embarking on her first career post graduation.  Born in India, Sneha came to the US with her parents as a teen.  Legal problems coerced her parents to return to India.  Sneha, remains in the states to complete her education at UW-Madison.  Sneha has maintained several signficant secrets from her parents; her sexual orientation and the abuse inflicted for years by her mother's brother.  All This fits into the LGBTQ genre and first-generation immigrant experience.  Tropes of loneliness, heartbreak and acceptance are all expertly traversed.  Coincidentally, the logistics mirror my roots as a college student attending Madison and living in Milwaukee.  The pan quotidian of life for a millennial maneuvering a new city, having to manage ones' finances, difficulties with landlords and bosses, and finding friends and lovers are described ingeniously.  So too are the descriptions of characters and chilling details of frigid WI weather to make Sneha's saga into a compelling, page turning read.  The bonds of friendship which linger and flourish from childhood and college that gel in one's lifetime into more meaningful relationships are built with warmth and naturally solidify into unbreakable bonds.  Sneha's attractions and despair are relatable and heartfelt.  There doesn't seem to be a false note in Matthews' adept writing which invites us to share Sneha's keen, range of emotions.  Her gay friend Tig, referred to as "they," is the first person Sneha meets in Milwaukee.  They met on on a dating site.  When their attraction is deemed non-sexual, Sneha and Tig elect to become friends which blossoms into one of her most meaningful, longterm relationships.  A former college classmate at UW-Madison, Thom becomes a co-worker and another significant player in Sneha's life.  Marina, a professional, modern dancer is Sneha's main love interest.  All these characters are elucidated with backgrounds without any one outweighing the other in import.  Late in the novel, Tig is pulled over in a traffic stop by police.  Sneha and Thom are passengers in the car.  This all too frequent, dehumanizing stop echoes loudly the sentiment, all this should be different now.  The detritus discarded and determining what offers value in life is beautifully navigated.  Matthews' debut novel heralds a new voice in contemporary writing..   Sneha's epiphany at the end leaves the reader cosseted in her resolve. "What nobody told me when I was a very young person was that obedience, fearful toeing of everyone, chasing every kind of safety, would not save you.  What nobody told me growing up was that sometimes your friends do join your family, fusing care, irritation, loyalty, shared history and affectionate contempt into a tempered love, bright and daily as steel."    

HORSE Geraldine Brooks-Tracks Slavery through the Lens of a Racehorse

 Pulitzer Prize winning author, Geraldine Brooks' latest novel is a sweeping saga that spans the 19th C on the cusp of Civil War to the present.  Both the tragedies of slavery and heinous murders of men of color by authorities that continue without retribution are told.  Brooks' divergent fractions are connected by a factual racehorse, Lexington, and surmised stories of his caregiver, Jarrett, and an itinerant painter who captured his regal likeness for posterity.  The ambitious novel is best paced when delving into the tumultuous history of the US on the precipice of Civil War.  These years pertain to Lexington's prodigious winnings at the racetracks.  The horse flourished under the unwavering care sown by Jarrett, a young, slave.  The story unfurls and then flounders in the present by the discoveries unearthed.   Jess is a young white,  osteologist and Theo, a black, Phd candidate in art history with an equestrian connection.  The coincidences pile up like manure but are necessary fodder for depicting the depravity of slavery.  Brooks unbridles an enveloping story of love between a man and a horse.  Jarrett bestows unwavering care for the horse Lexington whom he was attached from the time he was foaled.   The dignity Jarret musters throughout his enslavement is ennobling.  Theo stumbles across an oil painting of a horse his racist neighbor discarded.  Jess is researching the bones of a horse at the museum that couldn't possibly be that of the same, actual horse in Theo's painter?  Could Jess and Theo possibly fall in love as they both unravel the histories to their biological and artistic mysteries?  Hold your horses.  There's plenty worth biting into, especially the years enveloping the crumbling of our nation and the last vestiges of slavery clung to with blind hatred.  The grace Jarrett mounts throughout his ordeals displays humanity at its finest amidst humanity's cruelest.  The pan quotidian in the antebellum south are illustrated; the sufferings and indignities of slavery, the grandeur of plantation life for the elite, and the paces of racing in its heyday.  The present day storytelling lags while luster leaps from the historic pages when Lexington is brought to life.  Brooks paints a stunning portrait of Lexington, a horse so noble and beautiful we can picture him ourselves.  The love story devised between the interracial couple, Jess and Theo feels contrived to provide  a "Black Lives Matter" protest.  My cheers herald the historic horse tale but pale within the present day structure devised in HORSE.  

OPEN BOOK-Jessica Simpson's Autobiography Not for Me

The petite blonde singer/actress, business woman extraordinaire shares many intimate, dicey details with her readers for whom she feels will benefit from the lessons learned through her journey.  Yes, Jess delves into her failed marriage with Nick, sex abuse as a child, religious fervor, problems with her dad as manager, her fraught relationships with John Meyer and Tony Romo prior to her happily ever after with husband Eric Johnson and their three children.   The beautiful, successful pop star suffers from insecurities and low self-esteem.  Boo hoo hoo!  Who is this book for?  Jessica tells the reader in her introduction "If you feel like I wrote this book for you, it's because I did."  I believe Jessica wrote this book without help from a ghostwriter but her lofty ideals for sharing her life's wisdom to benefit "you" feels, ignoble and ridiculous.  "...my intention with this book:  To pack all I'd learned the hard way into something I could give you as you start-or restart-your own journey... something to help as you make your own way."  All I can say, is...Jessica's life never sounds anything other than one whose many advantages, talent, good-looks, financial success and golden opportunities far outweigh her woes.  I admired Jess and her family for getting her career off the ground with little know how, only faith in their daughter and hard work.  Ashlee and Jessica share a wonderful sibling relationship which is nice to know.  But, the blow by blow of the extravagant life-style, personal assistants and make-up artists, exclusive parties, private jets makes her struggles seem like poppycock.  Jessica was not selected as a Mouseketeer when she auditioned as a child although she came very close.  Those she met who made the cut were:  Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera   and Brittney Spears.  At the end of Jessica's book, when it's time to say good-bye to all who read her book (including me) she writes, "Leaving you now, I feel the way I do seeing my children off to school...And, most important, I love you."  Although readable, I find the time spent doing so regrettable.  Perhaps this is geared for fans of hers which I was not.

The CANDY HOUSE-Jennifer Egan's Follow-up to Goon Squad I Gobbled It Up

Jennifer Egan revives her panoply of characters from her Pulitzer Prize winning novel A VIST FROM the GOON SQUAD and creates another seminal work.  Having read both and finding both clever social satires, I admit I was hopelessly lost mired in convoluted and interwoven storylines.  Still, I was thoroughly absorbed in my sojourn.  Egan's earlier novel introduced a fresh format to storytelling reflective of new means for communicating via computers and email.  CANDY HOUSE is even more resourceful and inventive having introduced a futuristic method for recalling memories and culling personal data.  A Pandora box of perplexities this technology poses are unleashed.  A roadmap of characters may be warranted but not crucial.  One reads Egan's novels for its odyssey and all its surprising sidebars and mysteries.  I compare Egan's characterizations to Jonathan Franzen's.  Both authors construct vivid characters with dark, underlying flaws, grotesque traits and cringeworthy behaviors.  Mindy Klein is back as Miranda having divorced her record mogul husband with whom she shares two daughters.  Miranda is a highly respected anthropologist.  She's developed algorithms that are utilized by media tech genius, Bix Boulton, a minor character in Goon Squad now at the apex of CANDY HOUSE.   The beguiling gifts the conglomeration of a collective conscious that reveals people's memories poses a tempting, Faustian bargain.  Hence a "Candy House" analogy to Hansel and Gretel.  Should one partake of the goodies, what are the hidden perilous pratfalls? "Huge eruptions to the music industry due to advancing technology stir the plot auguring a perpetual imperative to adapt in a constantly evolving world.   The CANDY HOUSE is both haunting in its moral conundrums and delightful in its gentler depictions of many of its characters.  A young girl navigating popularity and a young boy at bat with bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th are jarringly real and relatable.  The novel gets interjected with a seemingly inexplicable espionage escapade that renders into a hilarious email chainmail devising deals satirizing the film industry and its narcissistic individuals.  CANDY HOUSE breaks any and all house rules for storytelling and in doing so, takes home the jackpot. I urge you to partake of this bewitching novel with its many treats.  "Knowing everything is too much like knowing nothing; without a story, it's all just information."  

RENEGADES:Born in the USA-Obama/Springstein Share Their Thoughts

RENEGADES is a transcript of the conversations these two remarkable men shared on their groundbreaking Podcast which first aired on Spotify Feb-April 2021.  Despite coming from two very divergent upbringings, they find they share more in common in terms of values, families, interests and outlooks on where our country is headed.  Listening to the banter affords the opportunity to eavesdrop on two great minds being candid, jocular and profound.  The exchange of confidences portends intimate and revealing conversations.  We learn their life stories from what they tell each other about being teens in the 1960s and 70s.  Springstein managed to evade the Viet Nam when most peers were culled into service. Obama's childhood took him from HI to Kenya and Indonesia.  They discuss how their friendship began and the connection their wives developed.  Obama and Springstein (O&S) credit their wives for their strength and support. The topic of race relations are discussed.  They speak of their close ties with John Lewis and Clarence Clemmons.  Other topics include income inequality and their lack of economic privilege growing up at home.  Relationships with their fathers as well as how they see their roles as fathers were especially earnest and thoughtful.  Balancing booming careers and families was an issue they both were intent on focusing.  Pres. Obama set dinner time with Michelle and their girls whenever in the White House.  Springstein took Patti's advice to wake early to spend time before school with their kids.  He found this time to be the most rewarding.  Their discussions pertaining to favorite artists and tastes in music was delightful.  Both believed narrowing the parameters of cultural appropriation doesn't work.  "The nature of humanity.  That is the nature of culture.  That is how ideas migrate. That's how music gets created." (Obama). Regarding the 'Born in the USA' Springstein maintains "The song has been appropriated because, one, it was so powerful, and, two its imagery was so fundamentally American..you hold two contradictory ideas in your mind at one time, that you can both be vey critical of your nation and very proud of your nation simultaneously."  Included are photos, speeches. lyrics and handwritten notes of historic and personal significance. The intelligent questions asked of each other were probing.  Springstein questioned the decision to run.  "...when I questioned my decision, it was not the enterprise itself. it was my seeming inability to rise to the occasion...running for president is not actually about you. It is about finding the chorus, finding the collective."   I highly recommend RENEAGADES.  These are the most engaging and revelatory interviews garnered from both.  

Stephen King's FAIRY TALE-Horrors of Cannibalism of His Own and Other Stories

Stephen King is known as the "King of Horror" dabbles in cannibalism. Cannibalism of his own past storytelling.  While not culpable of plagiarism in his latest creation FAIRY TALE, King's homage to other great sci-fi writers such as Bradbury, fantasy tales such "The Wizard of Oz" and to other great innovators and movie makers such as Disney and Spielberg, there's little room left for anything new under the sun or two moons for that matter that is intriguing or sparks the imagination.  Perhaps this true for fans of Kings early works delving into the supernatural.  By early fans (which include yours truly) there's a demarcation line in King's novels written post-horrific van accident.  King was struck down in the summer of 1999 leaving him with severe injuries.  Most serious damages were to his lung and right leg. Drs. considered amputating his leg, but fortunately an external fixator saved his leg along with grueling physical therapy.  Howard Boditch, a main character in the novel shares a similar fate as King resulting from an unlucky fall from a ladder.  Boditch's fall serves as a crutch for connecting Charles Read, our likable 17 year old hero.  Howard requires an external fixator, a torturous looking contraption dating back 2,000 years.  Many critics contend the magic of concocting of a riveting novel disappeared following his injuries.  His sense of suspense became muted and the rehashing of his formulaic frameworks derail spine tingling thrills.  King often uses small town settings and similar character tropes.  It's no mystery that FAIRY TALE has worn increasingly thinner on creativity.  King's proclivity to tip his hat at the brothers Grimm becomes burdensome and obsequious name dropping makes you want to barf.   Despite Charlie's  appealing allure, his odyssey within another worldly plane combating evil is dreary not eerie.  The venture draws Charlie down a dark staircase in the 'Psycho House' where he finds a beautiful princess and her emerald city inhabitants turning grey; their faces melting away.  Charlie is determined to save his beloved dog, Radar, not to be confused with Cujo, regardless of the risks. If only Charlie can reach the sundial that can turn back time, uncover buried treasure and perhaps be a savior, there will be a happy, fairy tale ending.   Going where so many others have gone before though is just fe, fie, foe tedium.  

Becoming a Warrior-Catherine Hand's Memoir of Bringing "A Wrinkle in Time" to the Screen

Catherine Hand's own memoir "Becoming a Warrior" tells of her life as the child of prominent parents in both the political and entertainment arenas, coming of age amidst a family of 5 siblings living in Beverly Hills and the suburbs of D.C., her six years in the entertainment industry as a receptionist for TV pioneer Norman Leer, and of a happily married mother of three until the tragic, unexpected death of her beloved husband.  Hand's deft writing style is engaging but too often belabored within the frame of her 50 year struggle to see her life-altering young adult novel, "A' Wrinkle' in Time" made into a major motion picture.  At the suggestion of the school's librarian, where Catherine, age ten, and "not a book reader," was in a "time-out" first began to read Madeline L'Engle Newberry Medal Y/A fiction, (1962).  The rest as they say is history or as Oprah (who is cast in the film) would call it, an ah hah moment. This moment persists off/on through her life as a driving mission. "Wrinkle" covers more genres than merely a Y/A novel with a strong heroine.  It fits into categories of sci-fi, fantasy, high fantasy and children's literature; perhaps the demographic for whom the book is intended as discovered by Catherine.  Also true, "Wrinkle' was never put on the shelf for long by Catherine.  Although, the unrelenting, life-long commitment for this pummels the reader who can't help but ask why this particular, omnipotent pull.  Catherine's memoir reads as an odyssey in this pursuit which harkens its mystery as to why.  As the memoir winds down quickly post mission accomplished, Catherine ponders the profundity of time and energy devoted to this one goal.  "I decided it was time to finally face why I stayed so committed to bringing 'Wrinkle," to the screen."  Catherine's epiphany to write about her arduous labor of love returns her to her ironclad attachment to the book as she decides to write about this quest.  I applaud her advocacy for reading as empowering yet, I ponder the positive impacts her efforts may have achieved had they been channeled towards enhancing literacy.  The overdue question is whether this became an unwarranted obsession.  Those who enjoy reading about tenacity, tedium and rejection essential to getting film projects produced will find this read inspiring.  The years spent working with Norman, benefitting from his mentoring were among the highlights of this saga.  So too, were the collaborations and burgeoning friendships developed with Madeline and other amazing individuals.  Should Catherine decide upon honing her writing skills per her next great venture, her life provides plenty of spellbinding fodder.  Hand's experiences in entertainment, politics and perseverance through personal tragedies is material only she could tell and make it resonate well.  

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty Nat'l Book Award Finalist for Fiction

I've a hunch the mystical, magical and beguiling debut novel by Tess Gunty may garner this year's National Book Award for Fiction.  Perplexingly, this is a novel that's difficult to pinpoint.  It's a nouveau oeuvre for novels.  Rabbits are mentioned in multiplying numbers like rabbits tend to do, throughout this including its title referring to the run-down apartment complex in Vaca-Vaca Indiana.  The Rabbit Hutch is where a motley mix of eccentric residents reside.  Our heroine, Bernadine, lives with three male roommates, all having recently aged out of the foster system.  Joan, an obit writer inhabits the apartment just below the four.  Joan hears them horsing around, "When you share the building with so many other people, people parked so closely together, between cheap walls that isolate not a single life from another." Bernadine is obsessed with mystics, and the paranormal.  The novel is enmeshed in a preternatural aura whose characters are loosely intertwined by gossamer strings.  The haunting opening lines draw one in as if falling through a surreal portal.  "On a hot night in Apartment C4, Blandine Watkins exits her body.  She is only eighteen years old, but she has spent most of her life wishing for this to happen."  Does this portend Blandine's early demise or a supernatural ability acquired?  Macabre fascinations with death shrouds the novel in numerous ways. There's Blandine's fixation on ancient martyrs, Joan's s occupational obituary writing hazards, Moses murderous leanings towards Joan for her inept obit of his famous but neglectful mother, Moses' mother's selfie photo-op and exchange with Death,  and the rage to kill just below the surface that flares up in people given an incendiary spark.  Vaca-Vaca, once a prosperous industrial town has become desolate.  It's now on the precipice of a major housing redevelopment.  The foster family transitions the four foster teens experienced leave their histories a mystery.  Blandine's scholarship to the town's only elite, private high school make her an outcast and vulnerable to the advances of her drama teacher.  There's a tempest storm brewing in the background leading to an eerie, electrifying climax.  Father Tim chimes in with his wavering devotion to the Church.  "I want to meet someone whose suffering and talk with them as myself, not as some representative for a boss I've never met.  If the boss is worth his salt, and he saw the data, he'd be pretty disappointed with the way we've been running his business."  THE HUTCH pulls so many winning witticisms and unexpected twists out of its hat that I can't wait to read what's next up Tess Gunty's sleeve.  

GREAT CIRCLE-Early 20th Female Pilot 21st C Actress Both Interminable by Maggie Shipstead

GREAT CIRCLE is a story that revolves around two fierce, female protagonists.  We learn about the unorthodox life of Marian Graves, a pioneering pilot who flew airplanes during the mid 20th C and for the war effort during WWII and we delve deeper into Marian's life through the lens of iconic movie star, Hadley, famous for portraying the love interest on and off screen in a "Twilight" like series.  Hadley is cast to portray Marian in a major Hollywood biopic.  Author Maggie Shipstead is known for the romantic comedy "Seating Arrangements" and "Astonish Me" an inside look at the dark side of ballet.  In her third novel, GREAT CIRCLE, Shipstead expansive epic novel takes an ambitious jete into the extraordinary life of a woman brandishing her own way into the burgeoning field of aviation and the titillations of an actress whose face graces fashion and gossip rags alike.  Unfortunately, the novel takes a drastic nose drive into relentless melodrama for Marian and worse, tedium and incredulity for Hadley.  Hadley is given letters that belonged to Marian leading Hadley to uncover the mystery of Marian's disappearance in her attempt to circumnavigate around the Arctic and Antarctic.  Marian has a twin brother Jamie.  Their vicarious lives were almost cut short when as infants, the ship they sailing cross the Atlantic exploded.  Their father, the ship's captain, took the two with him into a lifeboat landing him in jail and his forlorn wife in Davey Jone's locker.  The twins were reared by their uncle who gave their free rein to fend for themselves in the backwoods of Montana.  Marian fell in love with flying as a young girl after she wrangled a ride from a female circus pilot.  Flying became an unflappable aspiration that Marian achieved through whatever means available.  This included bootleg flying and marrying against her wishes.  Shipstead has more gravitas with the 20th C than the 21st where a young starlet's dalliances appear vapid in lieu of women warrior pilots.  The doppelgänger storytelling is overburdened in its opposing fluidity.  Marian's ambitious feelings for her husband Barclay tethered the plot.  "She resented Barclay horribly, her gratitude to Barclay was bottomless.  She wishes she could vanish and never return, she couldn't bear leaving him."   I wanted more but the stories didn't soar.  "Circles are wondrous because they are endless.  Anything endless is wondrous.  But endlessness is torture, too."  I found the GREAT CIRCLE interminable.  

Love Marriage by Monica Ali-Aligning of Two Families All Too Familiar

Monica Ali's novel centers around a young engaged couple, Yasmin and Joe, both young physicians living in London.  It weaves the merging and diverging of families brought together by pending nuptials.  Yasmin is of Indian heritage and the daughter of Anisha and Shaokat, a doctor.  Joe is the son of Harriet, an upperclass, outspoken feminist and absent father.  Class, religion and family dysfunction are not the only hurdles Joe and Yasmin have to get over.  They also share things in common, their medical professions and family ties with which they're shackled..  Harriet has no boundaries where her son Joe is concerned.  Shaokat has groomed Yasmin to become a doctor leaving her without questioning whether this would be her chosen profession.  The novel gets off to a hilarious and cringeworthy start with the first meeting between the in-laws at the swanky home of Harriet.  Yasmin tries to convince her mother not to bring food to the chef prepared and servant served meal and Joe tries to rein in his mother's pretentious behaviors, both to no avail.  Ali's writing soars when she's drawing out the eccentricities of both mothers, Harriet and Anisha.  The smorgasbord of characters which swirl around our lovers have more spiciness making the betrothed bland in comparison.  Yasmin deals with the hospital's hierarchy of administrative bureaucrats, competent and conniving nurses and colorful patients.  Harriet's home is a revolving door of flavorful friends.  The subplots are numerous which spurn additional subplots.  Some manage to rise to the top of this melting, Joe's therapy for sex addiction, Yasmin's younger, unemployed brother and his pregnant girlfriend, Yasmin's affair with the lead medical doctor and patients in her ward.  These subplots bubble over, sizzling with messy sex and betrayal leaving sticky situations that need to soak before scrubbing.  "The shame was idiopathic. It had no discernible cause.  Nonetheless, there it was, the flush of emotion, the warm wet feeling like some kind of chronic internal incontinence."  The story strays with so many ingredients distilling the melting pot love story.  Still,  some of the piquant morsels are surprisingly tasty.   The best lines are flybys that come from characters that slip in and slither out quickly.  The conversations at a holiday party hosted by Harriet are razor sharp social commentary.  Patients in the dementia ward spout frothy witticisms.   Topical issues of religion, race, sexual abuse and prejudice are tackled with gravitas and humor.  Yasmin comes to the realization, "Guilt is the most useless of all the emotions.  The most pathetic. The most self-involved."  LOVE, MARRIAGE is easily digestible with something to appeal to everyone.  

The Love of My Life-Love Story Mystery Misses by Rosie Walsh

Leo and Emma appear to be the perfect couple.  They're the couple that are so great their friends find them annoying.  They couldn't possibly be keeping secrets from each other, or could they?   You guessed it.  Emma has been keeping secrets that might cause Leo to think she was someone other than his loving, faithful wife.  Leo is an obit writer. This is not a macabre occupation unless you're assigned to rewrite the obit of your TV celebrity marine biologist wife whose undergoing chemo.   Leo and Emma met when he interviewed her about her grandmother at the grand dame's funeral and the two became inseparable.   Emma had no qualms about proposing to Leo who was only too happy to accept.  Their precious daughter Ruby and their rescue dog John Keats round out their cheery, London household.  When things do get dreary, Emma takes herself to the sea cliffs to search for a rare crab specie and work through her dark doldrums.  Could this be too laissez faire an attitude for maintaining wedded bliss?  Should Leo leave her be to battle her own demons?  Is Emma above board in regards to her spending time alone or away from home with her longtime friend, Jill?  Will Leo's trust run out with Emma's flimsy alibis?  The narrations shift quickly from Leon, Emma and several others to move the secrets withheld plot along its speeding tracks until it crashes into shambles. The intrigue dips into the depths of postpartum depression. Sadly, this is where the story loses its hold on what was evolving into cunning, crosshair conundrums, downward into despair.  Emma tells Leo,  "when we experience more loss than is bearable, we hold onto everything as tightly as we can."  Leon tells Emma, "I tell you everything, and I always have, because if we aren't honest with each other, what's the point?"  I say, with all honesty, "The Love of My Life" is not worth your time of day.     

The IDIOT by Elif Batuman For the Discerning Literary Reader

Elif Batuman's first novel, The IDIOT was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize.  Our engaging heroine is a Harvard freshman in 1995 whose coming of age tale coincides  the dawning of email.  Both are in their nascent phase while Selin considers what she wants to do with her life.  She's intrigued by a new method of communicating via email.  Selin like many other college freshmen, is reliant on oneself for the first time.  She's very observant and perceptive of her peers, professors and the world opening up to her.   Her take on people and situations are insightful and oftentimes, hilarious.  Moreover, her ability to adapt enables her to experience life with an openness that is endearing and ennobling.  Selin is the daughter of Turkish immigrants.  She has a proclivity for studying foreign languages and linguistics.  She takes advanced classes she's unfamiliar with, befriends a sophisticated, Serbian classmate and becomes enamored of a senior, Ivan, from Hungary.  Selin pursues a relation ship with Ivan through the usage of emails. Their cryptic messaging to each other increasingly becomes more intense and obtuse.  The subtext of a plot is a paper chase of studying, sleeping, socializing and negotiating the adjustments of workloads and loafing.  At the end of Selin's freshman year she submits to Ivan's suggestion she teach English in Hungary over the summer, alluding to the likelihood they would be able to spend time together.  The events are subterfuge to preponderance of acerbic banter and enigmatic conversations that filter through Selin's keen mind. Selin's resilience and sensitivity make her a beguiling and compelling figure. She's a vibrant young woman able to fend for herself admirably in precarious situations at home and abroad.  Ivan is Selin's Achille's heel for which we wish to shield her vulnerability.  Selin and Ivan discuss their attraction as being built upon their written conversations which was disconnected from truth and doesn't translate face to face.  Why is it so hard to hold a conversation, Ivan asks of Selin.  "We took turns, but basically you wrote something, and I wrote something else, and then you wrote something else.  It was never really a conversation.  It was better, he said."   The IDIOT may not drive towards any climatic event or meaning but its piquant meanderings fill the pages with fresh awareness for the potents of languages.  "Whole oceans of rain seemed to be pouring out of the sky.  We sat under an awning near a hotel parking lot and ate yellow plums.  Within minutes the sun was blazing as if it didn't remember a thing." 

My Greatest Save-Prof. Soccer Player Briana Scurry's Auto-Bio

Briana Scurry is a twice US gold medal Olympian in soccer.  She played goalie for the US Olympic and US women's Nat'l soccer team.  Scurry was inducted in the Nat'l Soccer Hall of Fame (2017).   In her auto-biography, Scurry tells us of her dedication to the game of soccer, and her years as a successful professional athlete.  Scurry shares her love of the game and devotion for her supportive family.  The youngest of 9 children, Brianna speaks of an idyllic childhood with omniscient, doting parents. She grew up getting the lion share of her parents' attention with most older siblings out-of-the house.  The amount of adoration she has for both her mom and dad is beyond reproach along with her allegiance to her guiding coach at progressing levels.  Her saccharine story of support and success tends to be overly sentimental and preachy.  "My parents message:  Do your best.  Do everything in your ability to e first, but if you put all you have into whether it's a geometry test or a hundred meter dash- you can hold your head high.  It's parenting 101, and borderline trite."  Yes, she got that right.  There's nothing wrong with the messaging of hard work and tenacity.  It got a little repetitive and numbing.  Still, this bio is worthwhile for young athletes especially soccer players.  Briana's story is a tale of two Scurries with a very happy ending. First, an inspiring athlete who is confident in herself and her capabilities and second, a sidelined athlete with debilitating brain injuries rendering her in constant pain leading to depression and financial ruin.  I wondered why she flailed financially after years as a professional goalie, forced to pawn her prized medals to foot her bills.  I zoned out on the minutia play by plays in games played.  Although, this attests to a sharp recall despite brain injury.  I found the dynamics of a team mentality compelling especially when a goalie she replaced as a starter aired her discontent in the press.  The team rallied around Brianna despite their devastating loss and called out the other goalie.  Briana attests, "You are on a team, and your job is to help the team.  Athletes with integrity do everything they can toward the end."  The psyche of self-inflicted torture a goalie inflicts upon themself and the ability to push it aside along with waning prowess as an athlete grabbed the most attention.  Scurry shares dark times of suicidal contemplations before getting life-restoring surgery.  These didn't have possess the same storytelling power as her ascending years on goal.   I was attuned to her personal connection with the tragic death of a black, male cousin having just been in police custody in MN.  Her battles with the insurance company were also worth noting.  Brianna's self-bio is inspiring, candid and socially relevant despite its bent at times towards tedium and over-kicks of kitsch. 

Road to success is not always a straight line.

"There are wrong turns.  There are potholes.  There are detours that force you to reverse field and try a different route altogether.  

Off the Charts by Ann Hulbert Off the Mark on What Makes Prodigies

Ann Hulbert's "Off the Charts" explores the lives of young prodigies and their families to understand the impacts child rearing and influences impart "gifted" children to achieve remarkable skills.  Hulbert also presents cases where it is maintained that the individual child is left to pursue their own interests.  As a layman in terms of child geniuses who are gifted musicians, mathematicians or innovators, I am intrigued by the astounding achievements of child prodigies and eager to understand how their superior intellects or skills were noted and enhanced and perhaps, gain an insight to this unique individuals' psyche or temperament.  The author puts forth the question, "How often do we underestimate children's untapped powers and phenomenal capacity to learn?"  This rhetorical question applies not only to all children but to all adults whose interactions and guidance can mete profound results if only there were metrics for determining potential.  The cases referred to are nebulous in their determinations and meandering in their descriptions of the young person's pursuits and personalities.  These biographical anecdotal findings were without a scientific study that could corroborate what were decisive factors that fed into a specific child's developments.  Perhaps it is futile to expect a hypothesis and conclusion but Hulbert's proposition was to determine factual components inherent in the child and the child's mentoring or lack thereof.  Her conclusions refute this very theory.  "Prodigies, being rarities, by definition belong to the realm of anecdote rather than date."  The stories on the children in "Off the Charts" failed to provide sound guidance.   Unfortunately, the expose's failed to be engaging or enlightening.  The conclusion that we are meant to take away in lieu of charting prodigies on a set trajectory of success is that considering these children as exceptional misses the point.  The point being "every child is a remarkable anomaly, poised to subvert the best-laid plans and surprise us."  "Off the Charts" disappointed me on all fronts.  It was neither interesting, informative or inspiring.  

COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA Bob Odenkirk's Autobiography

Bob Odenkirk, the actor who portrayed Saul Goodman in "Breaking Bad" and then starred in the spin-off "Better Call Saul" questions why he should be writing his autobiography, what could he have to impart?  Frankly, I wondered the same despite being a huge fan of his from both shows.  It turns out he has a lot to share with aspiring comedians and actors. in that order.  In fact, his real passion is comedy, then comedy and then drama.  But, "now I find myself in "drama," of all things-comedy's enemy."  Odenkirk is surprised that his breakthrough success has come through acting, not comedy or comedy writing.  Odenkirk had an Emmy-winning gig on SNL of where he insists he was the lackey in the room, lucky to be there and where he learned a lot.  He's a small town guy south of Chicago where he went to be part of the comedy scene and a member of Second City.  In writing his story Odenkirk says, "It was ludicrous to imagine going into showbiz.  Beyond insane imagining it.  Yet what the hell else would I do?"  Odenkirk was focused on comedy and his break on "Breaking Bad" turned into extra episodes and his own show.  This we all know.  What we wouldn't have known are the many lean years trying to break into comedy.  The writing and the all hits and misses were detailed in more detail than I cared for, nonetheless, his writing reflects a keen sense of self-effacing humor and shared wisdom from his years in show business.  He advises making a lot of close friends with whom you can attach your wagon.  And, "karma is a bitch! Be nice to people!  You Can be right without being a dick about it." The comedy shows he did work on gained a cultish following.  "Our greatest impact was inspiring young performers and writers to like a sketch a little more, and mislead them into following their passions."  Bob's main passion was and is comedy.  Those familiar with Odenkirk's lesser known comedy shows/sketches will get a lot of enjoyment from his autobiography.  I was more interested in his work on the HBO series and his dramatic acting on Spielberg's film "The Post."   Bob's folksy midwestern charm comes through in his direct narrative and his appreciation for all his good fortune is abundantly clear.   "Failure is where it's at!  It tells you more about anyone's talent and drive and self than anything that works.  Pay attention-it all works out in the end." 

A Memoir in Essays THE CRANE WIFE by CJ Hauser Introspections of Relationships

The mythological story of the Crane Wife can be interpreted as a melancholy love story of love lost from  broken expectations.  CJ Hauser's essays regarding failed relationships in her 40 years is not ground breaking wisdom but there is a driving voice that should entice a response from mainly female readers.  Despite professing ambivalence to whether she finds a partner with whom to have a child, one can't help but note the lament she has for the love she has for the children in her life vanquished with a breakup.  "Who is this love for?  This never quite-a-step-parent love?  I still have it.  And I have played my role in these breakups.  It is my fault that these little girls are no longer in my life.  Still, having my heart broken by little girls is the most confusing pain I have ever felt."  It is these revelations of misplaced love and longing that endear Hauser for me.  Hauser speaks often and boastfully of the marriage she called off just ten days prior to the wedding and after having purchased a home together.  This felt wearisome and disingenuous as she feels brave for not giving into what was expected.  However, there are the many years on and off with her ex-fiancee in a relationship she thought she could fix by healing her partner.  These were essays of what you might hear from people in co-dependent relationships who would have saved years of heartache had they the epiphany they couldn't change the other's addictive behavior; love does not heal all.  Hauser identified herself at the age of twelve as a "hopeless romantic.  I have always loved love."  It is evident throughout her writings that love has been an epic search and a lifelong partner the pinnacle of her search.  Her candor and resolve are both engendering and admirable.  Still, there are essays that I found tedious and frivolous. Hauser rambles on about her favorite movie, "The Philadelphia Story," with Hepburn, Grant and Stewart.  Hepburn has three suitors and she is to chose from these three archetype men and what their joint lives would mean.  Yet, Hauser's love life focused not on the wedding day but the dream house she would occupy.  Hauser has a natural way with children as she interviews them for their dream house.  The verbatim questions and answers were delightful and I could sense her ease and enjoyment with children.   Hauser addresses her sexual attraction to both sexes and the pain of causing another pain in a relationship.  Her statement "We have deluded ourselves that a human can be happy living alone with one or two people in this world" gave me pause.  And, lastly she speaks warmly of the unqualified love she feels from her father.  Their shared passion for gardening was delightful.  Hauser teaches creative writing at Colgate University.  The self-discovery writing style by Hauser left a lingering affect which I admired but her personal history grew tired.  

Jason Mott's Novel HELL of a BOOK a Nat'l Book Award Winner 2021

Jason Mott is the author of two poetry collections and four novels.  "Hell of a Book" received the National Book Award in 2021.  Mott's writing is lyrical and disarming.  It weaves two narratives together, an unnamed black author on his book tour and a young black boy from his hometown connected in magical encounters that relate the all too true depictions of murders of black youths and men of color.  Our adult narrator informs us that his book, "... was supposed to be a love story."  And, it is a love story.  A story of parental love, a child's love for their parents, romantic love and a love for life.  But, this story is trenched in grief, injustice and oppression.  Mott's writing endears us early into Soot's story.  Soot is the young boy who has mysteriously attached himself to the narrator.  It appears Soot is invisible to everyone except for our narrator.  Our narrator understands why Soot's mother taught her son to be invisible.  He tells Soot, "She wanted to protect you.  Being who we are...it's hard.  We get shot or put in jail.  It's all we know." The novel begins with Soot as a five-year old boy hiding in his parent's living room.  His parents claim not to see their son and devise a plan to cook his favorite foods to entice him to return.  When Soot laughing reveals himself "...his mother hugged him and the three of them danced and laughed and smiled like they never had before.  In that moment, the worries that had always hung over their heads were suddenly gone. It was as though all three of them might suddenly levitate off of the floor."  We are first introduced to our narrator as he flees naked through the hallway of a hotel to avoid the wrath of an outraged husband. He escapes into an elevator with an elderly lady with whom he converses and then with hotel staff, still in the buff.  The humorous and enchanting beginnings give way to a conscientiousness of what it means to be growing up black in America.  The writer/narrator is chastised by his driver who first praises his book and his gift for words, "But there wasn't anything about the Black condition in it.  There wasn't anything about being black."   The writer responds by questioning what that means,  "Does that mean I can only ever write about Blackness?  Am I allowed to write about other things?  Am I allowed to be something other than simply the color of my skin?"  Mott's novel is beautifully written and poignantly told.  Soot's father had been meaning to have a heartfelt talk with his son before he was gunned down by an officer just running outside his home.  His father intended to tell his son, "Treat people as people. Be color-blind.  Love openly.  Love everyone. You will be treated differently because of your skin.  The rules are different for you.  This is how you act when you meet the police.  This is how you act growing up in the South.  This is the reality of your world."  "Hell of a Novel" is a powerful literary work that contends with the pervasive ugliness of the world drenched in blood.  The dual narrations exude two omnipotent messages; love fully and, "Dark skin is a sin.  Hell of an affliction."  

The Mystery Novel THE PLOT I Liked it a Lot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Jean Hanff Korelitz's mystery thriller, "The Plot" (2021) delivers another surprising twist.  In addition, there's the trials and tribulations inherent to writers.  Jacob "Finch" Bonner is an aspiring writer; a one hit wonder who wonders if he'll ever achieve his dreams of becoming a celebrity author, garnering Oprah's stamp of approval while filling auditoriums full of fans of his fiction.  Jacob attains the glory he aspires to but his ability to revel in the accolades of fame are shrouded in guilt and shame.  Sliding down the ladder of success, Jacob lands a teaching job at a subpar University.  It's here Jacob meets Evan Peters, an arrogant student who claims he has a sure thing in the story he's writing.  Evan's haughtiness is not unfounded.  Evan reluctantly reveals the plot to Jacob who concedes the story is too fascinating to fail. "The Plot" progresses three years finding Jacob teaching at an even more remote program scraping to earn a living and failing to deliver a literary winner.  A new, brassy student causes Evan to wonders whatever become of Evan and his promising book.  Going on the internet Jacob discovers Evan died shortly after the semester he was his student.  Furthermore, there are no indications of Evan's fledgling book having been published.  There's no mystery whether Jason intends to steal the plot.  Jacob is convinced he can turn Evan's idea into a best-seller with his own stellar writing.  Jacob surpasses his own expectations with the favorable outcome from this book reaching massive sales and a deal turning the book into a movie directed by Spielberg.   On a promo tour for the book, Evan meets broadcast producer Anna.  Jacob invites Anna to visit him  in NYC which quickly leads to their moving in together and becoming tethered.  Anna realizes Jacob is stressed or maybe depressed and asks her husband to be forthcoming with her.  Jacob unburdens his worries. He's  been receiving messages from a "Talented Tom" accusing him of plagiarism and threatening to expose him.  Anna also receives a message from "Talented Tom" and Jacob admits to her the truth, he "appropriated" the idea.  Jacob's publishers provide him legal counsel but Jacob does admit the idea for the plot was not his own.  Instead, Jacob plans to find whose threatening him and confront the person despite Anna's pleas not to pursue this dangerous strategy.  Korelitz wrote the best-seller book, "The Undoing" which was made into a gripping HBO series starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.  "The Plot" is being made into a mini-series which is sure to please. The novel moves quickly between events in Jacob's life, excerpts from his book and Jacob's own detective work.  "The Plot" succeeds as a writer character study, beguiling mystery and clever duplicity; a story within a story.  

STRANGER in the WOODS-Man Lives Alone in the Woods for 27 Years, Stranger than Fiction

"Modern life seems set up so that we can avoid loneliness at all costs, but maybe it's worthwhile to face it occasionally," contemplates NYT journalist, Michael Fink.  Fink was the only person Chis Knight, "the hermit," corresponded with or granted visitations.  Knight a.k.a., the hermit is notoriously known for surviving alone in the wilderness for 27 years.  Hermit and surviving are questionable terms because the appellate was coined by people in ME whose homes were subjected to his thefts.  Surviving is not how  Knight would describe his life of for nearly 30 years throughout severe weather and stark conditions in the woods.  Perhaps, thrive would best describe Knights existence in isolation in a primitive environment.   Therein lies two major enigmas, how did he manage to survive alone and secondly, and what's even more perplexing, why would he choose to ostracize himself?  Knight managed to elude detection as he mysteriously managed to traverse the words without leaving footprints and his break-ins for food, clothes, books and batteries were meticulous; nothing left awry.   Still, there are so many why questions left unanswered.  One ponders conceptions we hold from reading Fink's factual reporting of Knight's history, and methods for survival and an accounting of Knight's state of mind.  One wonders how and why Knight chose to live like this and how exactly did he managed to avoid any human interaction for so long.   Most beguiling, how did Knight manage not to feel lonely? What's to be gained by self-awareness and self-reliance and what benefits mankind by living amongst others.  I strongly recommend STRANGER in the WOODS for its unique opportunity to assess a lifestyle and a lifestyle choice unlike any that's been previously reported.  It's endlessly fascinating and spins a romantic idea of solitude and a hellhole of self-inflicted banishment.  Knight remained true to himself in a way most could ever conceive.  "He left because the world is not made to accommodate people like him.  He was never happy in his youth.  It made him feel constantly nervous.  There was no place for him, and instead of suffering further, he escaped.  It was not so much a protest as a quest.  He was a refugee from the human race.  The forest offered him shelter."   Knight's disdain for society stems from its frenzy and crassness.  "It's too loud.  Too colorful. The lack of aesthetics.  The crudeness. The inanities.  The trivia. The inappropriate choices of aspirations and goals." Aside from Knight judgements of societal flaws,  Knight had a natural proclivity for the serenity inherent in nature.  "I did it because the alternative was-I wasn't content.  I did find a place where I was content.  I miss the woods."   

SEVEN DAYS in JUNE-Rates a 6.5 for a LIGHT SUMMER READ

Tia Williams latest novel, SEVEN DAYS in JUNE, is about two sexy, 30 something, writers who hooked up at seventeen and reconvene some 20 years later.  The two sense their original attraction is something  more than what came before.  Shane, is now a highly regarded writer having earned a Pulitzer Prize.   Eve is a successful author of a series of sensual, "Twilight, esq." novels that garner a cult following.  Together, they're dubbed "the Black book world's new prom king and queen."  Since the two went their separate ways, Eve has raised a precocious teenage daughter, with whom she shares a tight bond, perhaps too strong.  "Eve's self-worth depended on how her daughter thought of her.  She knew it was unhealthy."  Audre, Eve's daughter, is delightful with her mature vibrato which stems in part from being raised in an affluent, NYC neighborhood by a strong, single parent.  The mother/daughter dynamic between the Eve and Audre is what I found most captivating.  Williams focuses on the tumultuous upbringing Eve had with her mother who relied on the men in her life to care for her leaving Eve to fend for herself.  Williams is ambitious in the subjects she lilts upon; chronic illness, sexual abuse, and self-mutilation.  The book also dabbles in Haitian/Spanish file-flavored culture rich in both highly religious and colorfully superstitious customs.  The mirepoix of sexual tension, serious topics and light heartedness doesn't always congeal.  Still, the romance between Shane and Eve sizzles and all the characters are immensely likable to concoct a magical intoxication for a fun summer read. "I've always, loved you, he whispered.  What a coincidence, she whispered back.  I've always loved you, too.  Shakespeare, this star crossed lovers story, this is not.  But it is hot and it speaks to familial love that rings true.  "This is that family feeling, he thought.  Of total acceptance, belonging to people. A connection that eclipsed everything."  SEVEN DAYS in JUNE is a delightful summer read with a wink at Twilight fans who are now  probably 30 something or other.   

Melinda's Top Ten Picks on Mindel's Kindle, Fiction and Non-Fiction Read This Year

The following list of my favorite reads so far this year include both fiction and non-fiction in alphabetical order by author:

1.   A LIE SOMEBODY TOLD US about YOU - "Honorable," elective abortion and its impact on a couple's coupledom by Robert Ho Davies.   

2.  LAWN BOY - Y/A novel banned in FL public schools is an uplifting and inspiring coming of age by Jonathan Evison

3.   A CALLING for CHARLIE BARNES is a novel about a charming & annoying man told by his enamored son, a successful novelist despite his siblings many misgivings by Joshua Ferris.

4.    The STRANGER in the WORDS by journalist Michael Finkel, the only non-official person to speak with Chris Knight who chose to live in the woods of ME alone for 27 years.

5.   The FRAN LEBOWITZ READER - The social commentary orateur known for her sharp wit and lengthy writers' block.

6.   MOTH - Y/A Coming of Age novel told in poetic prose by Amber McBride.

7.   HELL of a BOOK - Nat'l Book Award Winner for Fiction ('21) by Jason Mott.

8.   The LAST INTERVIEW - Israeli novelist's memoir told in response to interview questions he construes for himself by Eshkol Nevo.

9.   RENEGADES - Transcribed buddy podcasts with President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen.

10.  A SWIM in the POND - A Master class in short story writing by Booker Prize Winning novelist George Saunders. 

IRREPAEBLE: THREE LIVES TWO DEATHS Tragic, True Fatal Love Triangle

In April 2018, Mark Geradot's affair with a beautiful, much younger woman would not have garnered  headlines except Geradot's scorned wife relinquished hell's fury.  Jennair Geradot's scenario was not unique except she commited the unimaginable.  Jennair staked a high tech espionage surveillance of her philandering husband and his mistress, carried out the heinous murder of her replacement and then killed herself.  Should we care?  The answer is yes.  Not for its salacious and gruesome details but because it's a true story told by Geradot which others can learn from and prevent such tragic outcomes. "My intent is in no way to exploit what had happened but to set the record straight, shine a light on mental health, on guns and hopefully humanize the two women I loved and give them both the respect they deserve."  It must be noted Geradot receives remuneration for giving the two women he reportedly loved and there's blame to be levied against his deceitful behavior.  Should Mark feel guilty?  This is a question he poses for himself and for which I answer with a resounding, yes!  Needless, Mark's illicit behaviors are not illegal, nor punishable by stoning; thankfully.  Mark's behaviors didn't abet his wife's murderous action but he's guilty of not abating his wife's anguish while pursuing his love interest, Meredith, his boss.  Mark's recounting of his young relationship with Jennair, their happy but tumultuous married life is driven with the foreknowledge of its disastrous ending.  Furthermore, the posthumous investigative journey he pursues on the months of his ill-fated new city, new job and new, improved lover is jaw dropping in scope.  It's hard to conceive Jennair was able to pursue her vengeance without Mark noting flagrant warnings signs of her  mounting psychosis.  Mark professes to have been unaware he was in an abusive relationship with Jennair.  He does concede, " I do regret having carelessly wounded Jennair so deeply, for not recognizing her sickness nor the depth of the wounds I'd caused and not foreseeing the lengths to which she would go to relieve her pain and exact her revenge. " Mark seeks to connect with Jennair's psychiatrist and divorce coach after her suicide.  Jennair's psychiatrist refused on ethical grounds but Sheila, Jennair's coach agreed.  After sharing stories from his married life, Sheila queried Mark. "She asked, almost rhetorically, you were in an abusive relationship. You know that right? Me? In an abusive relationship?  I would never say that."  I say this is a shameless exercise for Mark to shed guilt and express remorse, regardless of how disingenuous it seems.    

LAWN BOY Banned in FL Schools Y/A Coming of Age

Book banning is shameful and outrageous.  It attacks the very foundations of learning, freedom of expression and erodes the capacity to think independently.  Banning of books in schools, or anywhere is the demise of democracy. LAWN BOY by Jonathan Evison is a Y/A coming of age novel.  Michael "Mike" is a teen living with his single mother and mentally challenged brother on a reservation.  Mike speaks to the reader of his struggles to get ahead when it's barely possibly to stop from falling behind.  This is an American Dream story told from a young voice reminiscent of Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield.  Like these two iconic literary characters, Mike is an outsider burdened with responsibilities but endowed with kindness and perspective are well beyond his years.  Mike's indefatigable spirit and loyalty is admirable and at times, cringe worthy.  Lesson for youung as well as old is the ability to question one's affirmations. "Maybe loyalty was conditional, after all.  Maybe my burgeoning sense of self, my developing identity as a socially engaged, newly gay, working-class half-Mexican topiary artist demanded such wholesale sacrifices as leaving my old friends in the dust." The novel's hero asserts his self- homosexuality.  This is likely the reason this literary novel is banned in some states.  Mike's journey discovery is within a world far less than accepting of deviating from a misguided perceived norm.  Tending lawns is how Michael earns a living.  It's mostly enjoyable work if it weren't for the clients. "The tasks were mostly satisfying...a heady mix of concentration and abstraction....The only downside of landscaping was the clients, specifically, those that went out of the way to let you know your place."  Mike's quips on the wealthy, elitist treatment of those assumed to be beneath them are hilarious and shaming.  As he contemplates what's limiting himself he questions, "If he was only willing to think beyond the confines of his experience, if he could summon the courage and wherewithal to break the patterns that defined him.  If only he could believe in himself. And I was beginning to." Mike's burgeoning self-determination causes us to root for his success. "I never wanted to be the guy that leveraged himself at at the cost of everything else." As it turns out, "I'm mowing your lawn on my terms now.  I'm making my own rules and punching my own clock.  I'm blazing my own trail." There's much to admire from Evison's inspiring book  It's a stentorian voice for independence. "Maybe the biggest lesson I've learned, in art and in life, is that when the questions become too numerous and the considerations begin to feel a little overwhelming, you just have to look away for a minute and regather your vision for the thing, try to see it the way it originally came to you." Ban book banning.  Put this on top of your reading list. 

A LIE SOMEBODY TOLD US ABOUT YOU- Abortion's Impact on an Intact Couple

"Shame is the lie someone told you about yourself," according to Anais Nin.   Peter Ho Davies appropriate this quote for the title to his sensitive novel which uncovers the aftermath of an abortion on a married couple.  Peter Ho Davies' tender and stirring novel is narrated in third-person from the vantage of the father.  A young couple are counseled on the pre-natal exams of their fetus, determined as female.  A possible genetic disordered laden this couple whether to terminate the pregnancy.  Deciding to terminate, the regret, guilt and contemplation following the birth of their son afterwards drive the father's feeling towards his wife, son and himself.  The overriding emotion is one of guilt for the daughter they didn't have and guilt towards the fierce love felt for the son they have. "He is the child of abortion and the end of regret.  We had an abortion and then we had a child.  But also:  we had a child and then we had an abortion.  The koan of their lives."  Life is messy and complicated.  The couple are advised by several teachers they should have their son tested for autism.  Testing is something viewed with anathema and is deferred although both parents observe their son's social awkwardness and physical delays.  The resentment towards the son's coordinated classmates who rush pass and ignore him feel lethal to the father.  He choses to volunteer at a health clinic that provides abortions. He stops working there because the animosity felt towards protestors at the clinic was as a murderous rage.   "He realizes with a dull pang, the antis, who are the only ones who can absolve him, forgive him.  Because they believe he's a sinner, and secretly he agrees.  That's why he hates them really-because they won't."  This perceptive novel doesn't defend or argue for abortion rights.  It opens our hearts and minds to the powerful feelings following the procedure which is not made lightly.   The author's aim is not to clarify political or emotional reasoning, rather, to have the space to regard his feelings.  "Later he will understand that all these feelings-his, his wife's-just won't fit between the lines, between the sides. In the political box.  He doesn't want to argue about those feelings to defend them or justify them, he just wants to be left alone to feel them."   His wife tells him, "It's not really regret, you know.  It's grief."  I highly recommend this absorbing and intelligent novel.

FRAN LEBOWITZ READER Compilation of Metropolitan Life '78 and Social Studies '81

Fran Lebowitz (FL) is an author and raconteur of witty social commentary.  FL is also ignomoniously known as a writer with an ongoing writers' block.  Her career is experiencing a revival thanks to two recent documentaries breathing life into her caustic humor and astute observations.  "Public Speaking" (2010) and Martin Scorsese's doc. miniseries, "Pretend It's a City" (2021).  Scorsese is a brilliant director who knows to refrain from reining in his subjects.  "Pretend It's a City" begins each episodes with FL glibly walking past the brownstone in NYC where she joins  Martin for banter.  Lebowitz's love for gab, cigarettes and NYC all come to light through her non-stop diatribe.  Fran pays tribute to her beloved city.  She can talk the talk as well as walk the walk.  The streets and subways are tinged in soft hues as we gladly tag along after our formidable guide.  Can she write the wrongs in captious comments of people and things that have come before?  She often stops and thinks about them to voice her, misgivings.  Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing FL speak.  Her onstage intro was brief leaving Fran to take Q&A's from the audience.  Some questions were insipid, and some perceptive.  Regardless, Fran's repartee was fast, clever and funny.  The event piqued my interest to read her early works.  "Fran Leibowitz's Reader" combines her two books from '78 and '81.  I found her writing wanting in alacrity and aptitude.  FL was self-aggrandizing and most egregious of all, dull.  Much of the writing wanes on about not writing.  "As for not writing, well, when it comes to not writing, I'm the real thing, the genuine article."  The same can be said for the vast amount of time spent in bed.  "My schedule could not, at this time, accommodate such a task, seeing as how I was up to my ears in oversleeping." She's known for friendships with celebrities like Martin Scorsese and Toni Morrison.  After hearing FL be entertaining with an audience,  I agreed, with her assessment, she's a contemporary Oscar Wilde.  FL is not reticent letting us know how brilliant she is.  "Gifted though I might be with a flair for international politics, I will renounce the practice of exhibiting this facility to my passengers."  "Even though I am breathtakingly bilingual, I will not attempt ever again to curry favor with waiters."  A meme in her book portrays the snobbish, class society in NYC.  "Wealth and power are more likely to be the result of breeding than they are of reading."  Her massive collection of books is legendary.  Lebowtiz should be esteemed for her relentless rhetoric which works when heard but not through her written word.  If you prefer, sleep is suggested. "Sleep is the consummate protection against the unseemliness that is the invariable consequence of being awake."  

A Calling for Charlie Barnes by J Ferris Fact or Fiction? That is the Question

Joshua Ferris' novel "A Calling for Charlie Barnes," is an ingenious approach to storytelling.  What is fact and what is faction, that is the question.  Ferris was a finalist for the Nat'l Book Award,2007.  NPR named "A Calling for Charlies Barnes," one of the best novels of 2021.  Charlie Barnes is the beloved hero, or so we are led to believe, until we're led to believe otherwise.  Therein lies an enigma baffling to the readers in this beguiling, irksome and riveting novel.  Whose story telling is telling the truth?  Who can handle the truth?  Most importantly, whose in control of the truth?  Charlie's life is first told by an unnamed narrator, later revealed as his son Jake.  Actually, his foster son.  Jake is a successful novelist which does little to ingratiate himself with the family he claims.  He's devoted to Charlie.  Bereft when he learns from Charlie he's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; or perhaps self-diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Jake wants to rally his loving siblings, or civil "step-siblings" round their dad.  Only dad is not revered by his siblings.   In fact, Jerry told dad he was working abroad which is a fraud.  His sis in TX stopped buying their dad's attention getting fabrications long ago.  True, Charlie is a pathological liar and narcissist.  Sis has her dad pegged.  Jake admits his stepdad is something of a joke but also a fucking colossus. "There was no bringing him down, no killing him off."  Charlie has been married twice before his current wife, Barbara.   Not counting his 2nd wife Barbara and a father of three, not counting his 2nd daughter whom Jake feels is a major mistake to include.  Charlie is possessed of a fantastical mind-set owing to the fictional selves and careers he intended to make happen.  Without his many plans and failings, his banal existence wouldn't be worth living. A charmer of women, spinner of tales, he's his own worst enemy due to his stupid pride.  He's a pathetic loser who still manages to win admiration of friends and women and commands the attention of complete strangers he engages in lengthy conversation.  You can't dismiss this colorful chap who dons a rakish hat. The author's extremely clever style and observations are not to be overlooked.  "When we consider the necessarily curated nature of any narrated life, its omissions as well as its trending hostages, if you will, we are forced to conclude that every history, including our own first-person accounts, is a fiction of sort."  How many of us are laden with self-deceptions before getting out of bed in the mornings?  This novel reckons with the assumption there's an essential opposition between truth and fiction.   Truthfully,  I highly recommend this entertaining and deceptively enlightening depiction of fact versus fiction.    

George Saunders' A Swim in the Pond in the Pond-A Master Class in Fiction Writing

George Saunders (b Amer. 1958) is an award winning novelist and short story writer.  "Lincoln in the Bardot" won the Man Booker ('17) and his story collection "Tenth of December won the Short Story prize ('13).  The title, "A Swim in the Pond" is derived from a short story by one of his admired Russian writers.   Saunders shares what he brings to his MFA students.  We get an understanding of what drives a reader of fiction to engage with a story and, what helps perfect fiction writing.  "Art is the place where liking what we like, over and over, is not only allowed but is the essential skill."  He asks his students and us, "How long are you willing to work on something?" believing writing is not a skill that can be taught, only analyzed.  Saunders helps us understand why we are drawn to what we like about a story.  This may seem simple, but it is deceptively complicated.  "Casualty is to the writer what melody is the songwriter: a superpower that the audience feels as the crux of the matter.  "Focus on just one thing, repeatedly, Saunders instructs.  When editing one's writing..."read a line, have a reaction to it, trust (accept) that reaction, and do something in response, instantaneously, by intuition."  Here Saunders is trusting readers to know whether something rings true.  In fact, Saunders quotes critic Randall Jarrell, "What is good is good without our saying so, and beneath all our majesty we know this."  Saunders dissects short stories by Chekov, Tolstoy and Gogol and infuses us with insights as to why our intuition was directing us forward.   Anyone can google how to hit a curve ball but that doesn't necessarily translate into the batting cage.  Being able to instantaneously make decisions on what to swing at and what to strike out mark the differences between a great writer and a good writer.  There are a set of virtues implicit in the craft of  fiction: specificity, efficiency, lots of details, escalating drama and showing purpose.   Learning the mechanics to creating art or hitting a fast ball do not equate to acquiring the aspired to skill.  Still, learning ways to apply a keener eye generally ensures a greater appreciation.  "A Swim in the Pond" is interesting and thought provoking.  It's helped me fathom crucial, as well as inherent creative writing skills.   Moreover, it's lead to greater depth in my reading.  

(Me) MOTH Spins a Poetic Coming of Age Tale that Morphs into Many Forms

 MOTH is the unique name belonging to our young heroine whose place in the world is constantly changing.  Amber McBride is a heralded poet.  MOTH is her first foray into a young, adult novel.  McBride's writing is a marvel.   Born into a loving family in NY, Moth's life is shattered while driving with her family.  "When the car split in half like a candy bar and we (Mom & Dad & brother & I fell onto the pavement like sticky filling, we all made it to the hospital."   From the hospital Moth follows her Aunt Jack back to her home in VA where she begins her senior year of high school amongst strangers.  Everyone fails to acknowledge her.  We ache for Moth's lonely, melancholy existence.  She tells us, "My wild heart didn't think it could die. So I stayed & punished myself for living." A new male student, Sani, joins the classroom. The 'crimped blonde hair girls' all clamor around Sani who ignores them but looks directly at Moth.  "He sees me, he can see me."  Moth flutters around the light inside Sani's home.  She witnesses his stepdad's brutality, his mother's refusal to intervene and her insistence Sani keep taking his meds.  Sani decides to leave.  Sani finds Moth at her Aunt Jacks and they venture across country, returning to Sani's home on the reservation where he was raised.  The connection between these two artistic souls, Sani a gifted musician, Moth a dancer with plans to attend Juilliard are woven together with gossamer longings, binding them into their own cocoon.  Moth says, "I want the universe to stop tempting me with so much life."  Sani's father is a renown healer of the Navajo people.  Moth's family descends from enslaved Africans.  Not being permitted to practice their own spiritual traditions and having Christianity forced upon them, Hoodoo grew into magical & spiritual traditions from a melding of West African heritage and Christianity.  Moth's grandfather imparted to her ancestral worship and sacred knowledge of herbs and plants.  Both Moth and Sani learn from each other as they clinging to each other.   This coming of age romance that resonates in a celestial aura.  "Kissing Sani feels like, witnessing a blue sunset on Mars...As natural as the gray wolf moving the moon across the sky...Like keeping company with the mouths of mermaids."  The haunting beauty of McBridge's prose is fervent and mournful.  "It turns out when you step out of a cocoon, you can step out less alive but light enough to fly.  It turns out there is enough magic & love in the universe."