G McAllister's WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME-Right Idea Slight, Misdirected Ending

Gillian McAllister's time travel, crime mystery has a lot of clever twists to steer the reader through a back-in-time travel for an enjoyable page turner. Jan has been happily married to Kelly for 20 years.  Jen is an attorney, Kelly a freelance contractor and together they have an 18 year old son, Todd. Although legally an adult but still a  teenager, Jen waits up for Todd to return home. Just past curfew she spots her son outside and sees him walking towards a stranger. The unthinkable happens. Todd pulls out a knife and stabs the man. Jen races outside in horror. She can't fathom how or why her son would kill someone. She can't understand a lot more when she wakes the following morning to the day before the crime occurred. The sci-fi scenario of traveling back in time is convincing as is the way Jen responds to her time travels. She seeks help from a researcher in this hard to believe field of study who assures her. "It seems to me that you do, actually already understand the rules of the universe you are unwillingly in. It's theoretically possible for you to have somehow created such a force that you are stuck in a closed time-like curve."  Jen wonders about "time loops, about the butterfly effect, changing one tiny thing. I wonder if I-alone-know something that can stop the murder." This premise turns Jen into a time traveling sleuth who will do anything to prevent her son from committing murder. Each regressive day adds an insight into what led up to the calamitous event. This makes an enticing way to gather insights into what unfolds in the future.  But Jen's assessment of her parenting skills which believes must have contributed to her son's actions were wrong as they were tiresome and detracted from solving the crime. "All the ways she ineffectually mothered Todd crowd into her mind. Feeding him too much so he slept more, upending the bottle while watching daytime television, bored, no eye contact." The mystery deviates with more interest into Jen and Kelly's romance and early marriage as Jen's foreknowledge plays a fun role. Typical yet poignant do overs are the visits between Kelly and her beloved father who has passed. And, the do-over theme got driven home often as Jen muses, "the things in my life that I would just stand and truly, fully witness."  The time I spent with WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME was a rewarding read until the very end which was only slightly surprising and felt too easily realized. I believe some sources needed to be questioned even though I readily accepted the magical premise of revisiting the past.   

Michael Caine's Autobiographical-BLOWING THE BLOODY DOORS OFF-His Advice on Life and Acting

At 94, Sir Michael Caine is a retired actor who's been around the block and come a long way from being just a regular Cockney bloke. Amazed with his own luck in life and his illustrious career, he happily shares his past, work ethics, regrets and what he values most in life.  He'll be the first to tell you it comes from working your rear end off. "Be like a duck; calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath." "Confidence comes from experience plus preparation," is another similar note he cheerily  offers in his latest memorable memoirs that's as debonair and disarming as he appears to be on screen. While Caine is generous in his tips he's first to admit what advice he's received from others. He attributes his duck analogy to his mother and his other tried and true acting tidbit is attributed to John Wayne, "Talk low, talk slow and don't say too much." Caine recounts his first time meeting Wayne on his first time to Hollywood (and the States). Caine was staying in the Beverly Hills Hotel to promote the movie "Alfie". The film "Alfie" first garnered Caine international attention. While in the lobby of the hotel, John Wayne landed on the front lawn of the Beverly Hills Hotel in a helicopter before making a grand entrance into the lobby. Caine was starstruck and gobsmacked by Wayne who recognized him from "Alfie" and predicted he would become a big star. " Perhaps, Caine's own simple advice is the best. "Prepare yourself well and turn up on time are my first rules in life." This lively blend of advice, movie memorabilia and self-reflections all add up to a delightful and resourceful read. In part, it's an amazing rags to riches tale but in a more meaningful way his candor and marvel at how his life unfolded is what makes this book so bloody good. Caine is the first to share what's great in becoming a celebrity. "Getting to meet my heroes, and in many cases becoming friends with them, was for me, one of the best parts of becoming a star." Although Caine also warns against becoming too self-consumed. "Take your work seriously, yes, but don't whatever you do get all pompous and start taking yourself too seriously." Caine speaks openly about his love and devotion for his wife and daughters and bemoans the demise of his first marriage. One of the many glimpses into Caine's persona came from what he overheard his wife say in an interview when asked what first attracted her to her husband. She reportedly said, "I liked the way he treated his mother." There are plenty of sound guidances to glean in "Blowing the Bloody Doors Off." Observing Caine through his work on film and having read this book made me wish to have known him personally.  When queried, "Do I believe in God? Yes, I do. When you've had a life like mine, you have to." 

The BANGALORE DETECTIVE CLUB-Overlook the Mystery Clue into Social Norms

Harini Nagendra is an author of a series of mystery novels and a prolific writer on issues of nature and sustainability. In addition she is a prof. of ecology and speaker advocating for the environment. With her crime novels, Nagendra draws the reader into the epoch of India in the early 20th C under British rule. In "The Bangalore Detective Club," our heroine, Kaveri, is a modern woman living with her new husband. Ironically, Kaveri was accepting of her arranged marriage despite being a maverick for her time. She intends to work outside the home, pursue her education and abolish abhorrent caste restrictions. Her radical approach is far outside societal paradigms. "Her mother would have been furious at the thought of allowing a milk boy to eat off a banana leaf in the veranda of their house, and apoplectic at the idea of allowing him to touch the pail of water that went into the well, claims that this amounted to defiling the purity of the well itself.  Such nonsense, thought Kaveri." Kaveri's husband, Ramu, is a doctor in a British hospital reporting to British physicians. Fortunately for the newlyweds, they have more in common than they surmised. Ramu proves supportive of his wife's interests in her studies and sleuthing like her favorite fictitious detective, Sherlock Holmes. The case Kaveri is determined to solve begins with the murder of the local gangster/pimp, Ponnuswamy. Kaveri is an astute observer of people, places and incidents with a clever analytical mind. Luckily Ramu doesn't mind her investigative work and proves helpful in her pursuit of leads. The lead investigator, Ismail, is open-minded to Kaveri assisting the investigation which expands into additional murder attempts. The beautiful Mala becomes the prime suspect and charged with the crimes. Mala was one of Ponnuswamy prized prostitutes. Mala is befriended by Kaveri who believes her innocent of killing her pimp and the attempted murder of the wife whose husband was her client. The crime is more of a cozy mystery. It is being solved with the aid of women companions who have gravitated to the unabashed, unapologetic Kaveri for disregarding societal constraints. The solution for why this "detective" novel works are in the underlying clues identifying India's women's way of life in this era under British rule and prevalent caste system in place. Kaveri's logical mind and obdurate mentality are characteristics that are admirable as well as her refusal to adhere to societal pressures to regard anyone as less than or more than someone else. "Bangalore was a strange city, Large, bustling, seemingly full of opportunity, but caste, job and family status kept people from advancement on merits alone." "The Bangalore Detective Club" is worth reading to garner the historic footprints of life in India during a time which laid evidence to a major upheaval to accepting British rule and suppression of its own citizens. "Bangalore was a strange city, Large, bustling, seemingly full of opportunity, but caste, job and family status kept people from progressing on merits alone." 

George Saunders' Short Stories PASTORALIA Do NOT Pass on Reading

George Saunders is an American writer and Booker Prize winning novelist for "Lincoln at the Bardot " (2017).  His short stories, "Tenth of December" earned the Folio Prize (2013). He's also a journalist and a prof. of creative writing at Syracuse Univ.  In Saunders' latest short story collection, PASTORALIA, his imaginative skills capture the inner workings of the psyche delve. He takes us into the not too distant future where people perform as early cavemen for amusement and into the home where a woman returns from the graver to claim her share of living. In a more subdued tale, a middle-aged bachelor living at home with his overbearing mother wants to find happiness.  If there's any unifying theme, it may be the desire for wanting a better lot than the hand that's been dealt.  The heavy-set, balding man who caters to his complaining mother and her demanding friends wishes to meet a nice lady to date. His ego and insecurities are both battling incessantly inside his head at full throttle. Sadly, his opportunities for meeting women between being at home or at his barber shop are nil until he goes to traffic school where he's smitten by a woman in the class, or at least so it seems at first glance. But, he'd probably mess things up given the chance. "Other people were simpler and looked at the world with clearer eyes, but he was self-absorbed and insincere and mucked everything up." The title story "Pastorali" depicts an unnamed man and woman who must enact being in a life-size diorama as early cave dwellers scrounging for food, making fires and taking fleas off each other. The man has been protecting his co-worker, cave-dweller by not reporting her flagrant dereliction of duties as he's required to by the corporate conglomeration that employs them.  The satirical communications via faxes are darkly humorous depicting the cover your own ass strategies that serve to protect one's livelihood. The most macabre and morose story is about an extended family who live under one roof and are mainly supported by the tedious hourly cashiering job of the matriarchal aunt. The aunt dies unexpectedly leaving the family at loose ends which only becomes worse when the aunt returns from the grave with loosely attached body parts to inform the family how things are going to run going forward. She tells them what they need to support each other and more importantly, her.  Because now that she's back from the dead she has plans to make up for her lost time. Reading anything by Saunders is assuredly going to be original, satirical and unpredictable.  Predictably, PASTORALIA by George Saunders is writing at its wittiest as reading anything by him will be worthwhile.  

BLACK CAKE by C Wilkerson, The Ingredients Fall Flat

Charmaine Wilkerson's novel BLACK CAKE aspires to be a lofty read about heritage, identity and familial ties. Set in an unnamed Caribbean Island, the story revolves around Covey. Covey's childhood on the island was idyllic. She spent her days swimming and surfing in the ocean with her beau Gibbs and best friend Bunny. Her mother, an island native and her father, an Asian immigrant, fell in love and had their beloved daughter Covey. As Covey grew into her teens, her father's drinking and gambling became problematic. Covey's mother fled from the island leaving Covey behind with her alcoholic father. The island was ruled by a powerful mob boss to whom Covey's dad owed a great deal of money. Covey was betrothed to this gangster by her father as payment for his debt. At her wedding reception Covey's husband was poisoned. She fled during the commotion. Only her friend Bunny knew where she was hiding and helped her to flee to London where Gibbs had gone a year prior to study. The story becomes a saga of Covey's arduous journey to survive and conceal her identity for fear of being implicated. She was also searching to find Gibbs. Covey's bi-racial ethnicity was folded into this preposterous plot making it dense and senseless.  Intended as a lofty novel which addresses racism, bigotry and cultural identity there is too much air whisked in turning it stiff. Covey finds Gibbs in London and they're reunited. They decide to emigrate to the states settling on the shores of Orange County, CA.  Here they take the names Eleanore and Ben Bennett. The happy couple raise a son, Byron and daughter, Benny all the while keeping their true identities secret from everyone. The burning secret Eleanore kept from everyone, including her husband and children was the birth of her first daughter whom she's spent a lifetime regretting having put up for adoption. Byron and Benny learn of their parents true family history and older half-sister when Eleanore's will is read following her funeral; having predeceased her husband. The novel blends in racial discrimination experienced by Eleanore, Ben and Byron during the pursuit of their careers. Benny share's her homosexuality with her parents causing a major rift in the family which doesn't coalesce with her parent's difficult history. The icing on the cake is the overly indulgent significance of indigenous recipes as with the omnipresent BLACK CAKE. Wilkerson tells us "It was my personal familiarity with a particular Caribbean food, black cake, that led obliquely to this book. It started me thinking about the emotional weight carried by recipes and other familial makers that are handed down from one generation to the next. Then it had me writing about characters who must hold fast to their sense of self when they learn that their lives have been built on a dubious narrative."  There were too many cooky twists and neatly resolved endings that spoiled the book. What should have been a thoughtful novel rising out of a mixing of traditions, fates and migration of cultures was overcooked. It was not in the least credible. The end result was tedious and I'm advising it be sent back to a test kitchen for revising.

The LOVE of MY AFTERLIFE-Lite Feel Good Fare as a Tribute to Romance Tropes

Kirsty Greenwood's homage to romance tropes pulls out a few unique twists and turns, but never fully rises above a frothy romance and symbiotic relationships story. Before slotting this as a beach read or flight fanfare, there are a few surprises aside from, no surprise that the antagonistic neighbor downstairs and Delphie are destined to tango. Right off the bat our antisocial hermetic heroine, Delphie. dies after biting a burger chunk too big to chew. When Delphie  "comes to" she's greeted by Merritt, her guide in the afterlife. Yes, the startling realization that she died sets in, and the reel of her life plays out on the screen much like the scene in Mel Brooks' film "Defending Your Life" with Meryl Streep.  Delphie doesn't take it sitting down and somehow convinces Merritt there's been a mistake. Merritt offers a proposition to Delphie, should she find her soulmate within ten days and he kisses her, then heaven can wait and life will be great.  Wait, you've heard this theme before as in Warren Beatty's rom/com with Julie Christie? Greenwood has fun with the proverb what she's looking for was in her own backyard. Oh, wait that's a take of a different color from another genre altogether. Greenwood generates lots of winks with her nods to the memes romance novels share. Delphie googles romance novel tropes and finds "the most popular romance trope is something called 'enemies to lovers.'" In addition to Valentine's Day, Greenwood favors Easter and plants lots of Easter eggs for the eager reader. Nora Ephron, the queen of modern romance was quoted saying, "I'd tell my younger self to put on a bikini and wear it night and day." Delphie wears a dress she's been saving for a special day and tells herself, "The way the dress made me feel has solidified the notion that I should have been wearing lovely dresses every single day while I had the chance." Besides romance, life affirming epiphanies beam throughout.  "{Delphie} Marvels at the beauty of being alive." What I was living ten days ago wasn't a life at all. While I never thought my life was particularly special, these past few days have turned everything I knew on its head...somehow, I've felt more alive than I ever thought possible."  After Delphie's departure from the afterlife, her escapades on earth in pursuit of her soulmate's kiss turn into a high spirited high jinx and social interactions that cause a symbiotic chain reaction. After rethinking "The Love of My Afterlife" I've reconsidered the predictable plot with its amusing magical twists to be a delightful summer after all.  I found myself LOL. "There's something about laughing-it makes any awkwardness disappear."

Griffin Dunne's Memoir The FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB is Overdone

Griffin Dunne was born into a family of distinguished writers. He's the son of writer/reporter Dominick Dunne, nephew to Joan and Jon Dunne and brother of Dominique Dunne. Dominique was brutally strangled by her estranged boyfriend. Tragically, Dominick was only 22 and beginning to establish a career as an actress after appearing in Speilberg's film POLTERGEIST. The admitted killer received only a slap on the wrist sentence. The trial and its aftermath were reported on by her father, Dominick in "Vanity Fair". Griffin's memoir pays tribute to his sister, his family 's pain and horror with the trial and its outcome. The judge who overwhelmingly overruled the DA's objections made an about face after criticizing the jury after having steered them towards vindication. "He {the judge} called the punishment for the crime 'anemic and pathetically inadequate.' Having got the verdict we felt he had guided the jurors into giving, he was now blasting them for giving it." Griffin shared personal insights during the trial and proved himself, without any doubt, a gifted writer. His elite,  Hollywood upbringing and celebrity hobnobbing are compelling and his introspective candor compelling. Ironically, Dunne shared his own dismay with his father's coverage of events. "I must admit that when the article was published, I wasn't thrilled it felt like an invasion of our family's memory of a terrible time, and I thought his sharing our sorrow with the world distasteful. I was both happy for him and troubled that our tragedy made him a celebrity." The name dropping tidbits dispersed throughout were delectable. "During one of my parents' extravagant parties I got up to pee and caught Judy Garland rifling through the medicine cabinet in my bathroom. Warren Beatty once played the piano in our living room in lieu of joining a drunken game of charades captained by a smashed Ida Lupino. Sean Connery saved me from drowning." However, Dunne seemed disingenuous when dismissing his privileged Beverly Hills upbringing. "When I moved to New York, I never told my new friends any of this and found my privilege embarrassing and inexplicably shameful. I envied kids who grew up in Kansas and went to a real high school that had proms and who built bonfires before a big football game." He shares his lifelong friendship with Carrie Fisher and all the A list stars she brought into their shared NYC loft. Griffin expounds upon his careers in acting, producing and writing. What I found unnecessary and in distasteful were his shared memories of masturbation and sexual infatuations as an adolescent. The corporeal licking he received at boarding school sounded straight out of Dickens. Overall I recommend "The FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB" for book clubs interested in an insider's view growing up within a talented family with foibles amidst the creme da la creme of showbiz and writers. The FRIDAY AFTERNOON read is a breezy summer read; insightful and entertaining. If only the editor had redacted gratuitous details that diminished the gravitas and delight of an otherwise memorable memoir.