Ben Lerner's Transcription-Transporting Transforming Terrific Tale at Time of Covid

Ben Lerner's slender novel, "Transcription" packs in a lot of punch in a short time that transports the reader through various topics including anorexia, academic life, the COVID pandemic in an intricate style that is irresistible and hard to put down. The novel begins with an unnamed narrator who's on his way to interview Thomas, a famous, favorite professor/film maker. Getting organized in the bathroom just prior to his schedule meeting mayhem ensues when his cellphone gets dropped into the sink and goes on the blink. When there's not enough time to get to an Apple Store he goes to meet his professor and tries to coax him into a casual conversation and put the actual interview off until the following day when he will have time to get a new phone for recording. The octogenarian nevertheless is formidable and draws the man into his office eager to ensue the interview. Unfortunately, the elaborate meandering conversation which is  engrossing is not recorded for posterity. Our narrator assures Thomas, his interviewee, that he is being recorded knowing this is not true. What's true is this slender, original work of fiction provides plenty of clever depictions of character's, the COVID nightmare, parental struggles, failed love affairs and journalist integrity. Our narrator does get his comeuppance at a future gather where his interview is discredited upon his own admission of embellishment. The surprising connection between our nameless narrator and his best friend from college, Max, after going through their separate journeys is revelatory if not credible. But everything else is captured in crisp clarity to illicit strong feelings of past Covid phobias, parental nightmares with a child who refuses to eat, utter reliance on technology and life altering heartbreak. At the end there's a final farewell from Max to his father who is flailing via phone where nothings left unsaid. The father recuperates and the chance to redress matters is passed. Thomas diverts conversation into arcane tutorials which are little jewels throughout despite his failure to register the significance of what was being said to him. For example, "Your brain adds the voice to the tones based on what it believes is there from listening to the first file. You see, we all hear phantom voices. It is a question of the right conditions. Or the wrong ones. Unconscious inference, our brain guessing." "Transcription" is teaming with insights not unlike all his other books. Anything Lerner transcribes I'm reading. 

Anne Enright's "the wren, the wren"-Famous Irish Poet; Bad Dad and Family left Behind

The plot of Anne Enright's novel, "the wren, the wren" can be easily outlined as a three generational story stemming from a famous Irish poet, who leaves his wife and two daughters to fend for themselves. What follows in the wake of an all too common scenario though, leaves much to marvel written with verve and artistry by an uncommonly gifted writer.  Enright (b. Ireland, 1962) is the first Irish Laureate of Fiction and Man Booker Prize winner. In the wren, Enright gives us glimpses of patriarchal poet, Phil McDaragh, whose ascertain of his own consummate talent is above that of all the critics who extol his poems. Phil's self-absorption gives him license to rewrite history and absolve himself of any wrong doing or fallout to his wife Terry, and his two daughters. His admittedly favored daughter, Carmel. Nonetheless he abandons Carmel, her sister and mother without regret after marrying a young, American ingenue except to send a few brief letters. Carmel has a daughter Nell, from a short, loveless relationship. It is mainly through Nell's eyes, the granddaughter whom he never knew, that we get a picture of the man, his poetry and chicanery. As an inspiring writer, Nell finds herself drawn to uncovering Phil's poems and persona. The disparity between the beauty of the Phil's love poems comes in stark contrast to the coldhearted detachment he had for his wife and girls when Terry became terminally ill. Phil's writing has a penchant for restating events to best suit him. However, the collateral damage left behind by Phil is manifested in Carmel who chooses single motherhood rather than experience her mother's abandonment and later dismisses a boyfriend who becomes too needy. Yet, growing up under Phil was overshadowing to his offsprings. "Her father was bigger than the world and a lot less wonderful." Nell is diametrically different in her relationships from her mother. She completely gives herself over to her lovers. First, to the fickle Felim. And then to a man she meets on her travels and brings home to mother. "Everything speaks to me of his safety, his proximity-time is a mechanism to measure how long we are apart. It's not that I think about him constantly, he is my way of thinking. His mind is my compass, his eye my only mirror."  The expanding generations branch off into their differing and despairing life choices but find an inherent connection that circuitously unites them. Considering her grandfather's poems and interviews Nell concedes, "more than a strand of DNA, it is a rope thrown from the past, a far twisted rope, full of blood. Intertwining the lives in the novel are poems, an errant letter, a single childhood memory of Phils and all these elements add deeper meaning and melancholia to the vividly drawn characters. "The wren, the wren"' is a work to return to and admire again, and again.  

Lena Dunham's Memoir FAMESICK-Sickness Torment Overshadow Fame

While fame came early on for Lena Dunham with her first independent film TINY FURNITURE (2010) which lead to being noticed. Judd Apatow thought wow, this girl's got talent and entrusted her to draft a TV series to pitch. The pitch's promising premise of a 20 something, present day SEX and the CITY was picked up and made into the HBO hit show GIRLS (2012-2017). Dunham wrote, stared and directed in this series which earned her two Golden Globes and several Emmy nominations. Despite never having watched the show, I was not oblivious to the phenomenon and notoriety it created. I was curious as to the creative ingenuity inherent talent for developing and maintaining this masterful conception. This compelling and often times off-putting bio left me with key takeaways. Firstly, I was disappointed there was little to glean from inventive process. Perhaps Lena was limited in dissecting her innovative mind. Still, writing is definitely her labor of love, her calling, her passion. But she drones on about writing alone in bed. Granted, her ability to imagine and draw out stories is a solitary endeavor. Getting GIRLS up and running was not and the gravitas for susstaining the quality and functioning of the show was not loss on Lena. She grasped the magnitude of people reliant upon her which was anxiety producing. Secondly, she did have a partner and bestie, Jenni Konner; the conduit for keeping the show on track. Konner kept Lena grounded until their relationship fell apart.  Lena laments relentlessly on the loss of their friendship. She had Konner agree to therapy to see if they could reignite their chemistry.  Thirdly, Lena's shared her lurid sexual encounters with TMI. Perhaps this was on par with GIRLS. Putting it out there was never meant to be filtered but felt of morose. Overall, the major focus of this candid and deftly written bio were the litanies of debilitating, excruciating maladies having to do with her uterus and endometriosis crises. It doesn't seem feasible for Lena to have had time between her hospitalizations and chronic ministrations to accomplish any work.  Recuperating and mainly ministered to by her parents, who were preternaturally supportive, their familial bond was stringent. Lena tells her mother her reason for writing FAMESICK. "I want to write this book, I told her. Everything I've been through. How random it was but how all of it needed to happen." Her mom replies, "Oh, Lena, she moaned. It just sounds so sad." Mom knows best. Lena's life felt like an unrelenting state of anxiety, depression and pain. Lena admits the only connection left with Jack, her former long time love, "the biggest thing we now had in common was the shared sense that neither of deserved to be happy." This memoir is an introspection of depression. Fame in all its glory is not Lean's whole story. It's mired in mental health issues and sickness. 

BORN on a BLUE DAY- Inside the Mind of an Autistic Savant; Interesting to Visit Not Reside

Daniel Tammet's 2006 memoir details his life in early with undiagnosed Asperger's and savant syndrome. The book takes the reader into a mind that there is very little insight into which is an extraordinary empathetic and excruciatingly detailed as to derail any interest to learn more. Too much information is not an issue for Tammet, the first born in a household of 9.  There's much to be said for his parent's unwavering support which he credits for encouraging him to pursue his peculiar or precise interests. Of particularly fascination to Daniel was his interest in numbers. His memoir explains what he finds so fascinating which is slightly more exciting or for that matter informtional to the lay person than hearing a phone directory read. Of course, no one has the door stopper phonebooks anymore and his explanations are somnolent and obsolete. The appeal of Tammet's memoir come from his emotional insights as to how he felt and how he felt himself perceived. "It's not true that we don't want to make friends. I was terribly lonely but I didn't know how to fit in." Tammet is not oblivious to the frustration of his parents, teachers and classmates.  He's just didn't understand what was being asked of him or his anxiety would become crippling and render him unable to conduct himself as warranted. Happily, he was able to develop friendships with 2 other loners at different times during his school years.  These boys shared his passion for mathematics or chess, One friend opened his world up to the many cultural advantages within London and exposed him to being around large groups of people. Still, the cruelty he suffered at the hands of most classmates was deeply painful. Tammet's memoirs offer an understanding of the many difficulties which make social interactions so hard to understand or impossible to partake for himself and other's on the spectrum. Perhaps, this insider's insight will shed light on understanding leading to more compassion. It's gratifying to know from the start Tammet is a successful adult.  As a prodigious savant and polyglot he has a prominent career as a writer and creator of educational language websites (French and German.)  Tammet's penchant for finely detailing how his mind fixates on what many would find mind numbing minutia makes reading the memoir in its entirety, a bore.  Less would have been more. 

Poetry Readings at Malibu Public Library Courtyard

All were invited to a free poetry reading in the courtyard of the Malibu Public Library on Saturday.  Being outdoors and being free was good enough for me and my dog Bowie to attend. The librarian/host for the event opened by addressing, "Why poetry?."  She followed her rhetorical question with other why questions. These were cheesy in their assessment of value fond in - say, life. She then read from Walt Whitman's famously life-affirming poems. While her comments were overall, trite - they laid a foundation for appreciating the following poets and Shakespearian thespian. There was a set theme assigned the three poets invited. One got the memo whose poems "had never before addressed the meme of joy." Her poem was in keeping with the day's sugary theme. She ladled it on heavy with the cream. The male poet started off by taking the liberty of speaking on his favored topic of philosophy. Before he went on to his more macabre v. joy poems, he said, "I hope I wasn't being too esoteric."  He was, and it was arid. His poetry along the lines of romantic mysticism; a werewolf attacking his victim was anything but staid. It was cleverly chilling. I got a flavor for what the werewolf was going for. The last invited poet didn't do her homework. She said "I'm going to ad lib". She brought a book of Khalil Gibran's poetry and read random poems as she riffled through the book until the audience called out stop. This didn't win her any accolades from me but surprisingly, her great aunt had a friendship with the famous Lebanese-American poet and she happened to have a correspondence her aunt had written to him. (How she had the poem when it was written to Gibran I'd have liked to know.) However, her aunt "Joy" (how's that for irony) was an amazing writer whose epistolatory correspondence waved poetically of her bucolic surroundings and her yearnings. Aunt Joy's letter was the highlight for Bowie and me as Bowie sat up and paid attention. The last arranged speaker shared her passion for language as conveyed through Shakespeare's mastery of words. She performed "Hamlet's" famous soliloquy and emoted his turmoils exquisitely. The courtroom oration from "Merchant of Venice" was lacking having not failed to adequately set up Shylock's brutal treatment prior in the play. Afterwards, the floor was opened to anyone wishing to share their own poetry. Hats off to the young lady who bravely shared her heartfelt writing. And, regardless of any criticisms I had, Bowie and I very much enjoyed gathering with others outside to listen to the intrinsic beauty of prose and poetry.  This I knows.   

Tana French's THE KEEPER-Murder Mystery Amidst Small Irish Community

Tana French's new novel, "The Keeper" is the third and final book in her Cal Hooper mystery trilogy. Not having read the previous two, I don't think it's something you need to do. But, reading or listening (as I did) to her unhurried storytelling of a small rural town in the Irish countryside is highly recommended. The town that hasn't changed much in generations.  Everyone's family lore is intertwine in the fabric of its hardworking farmers and small business owners.  Cal is the only outsider to ingratiate himself into the long established ties and tribulations of its townsfolk.  Having been born and raised in Chicago, Cal became one of Chicago's finest; a cop turned detective working the arduous and complicated beats of the Windy City. Having retired, the idea of moving to Ireland, the country of his forefathers with its expansive green countryside's appeal to Cal for the simpler, less demanding lifestyle it offers.  Cal was correct in  assuming Ireland would provide the fresh air and solitude not afforded him in the states. What Cal didn't foresee was the deep attachment he would feel for many of the locals. Nor did he expect to find himself immersed in unraveling the events surrounding an apparent suicide of Rachel, a local young woman. Rachel's fiancee is the son of the town's unofficial magistrate and has the local authorities at his beck and call. French is a gifted writer, known for creating mysteries. I find her craft most captivating with her vivid characterizations and natural descriptions of the majestic oftentimes dank surroundings and cozy, fire lit homesteads. Cal is engaged to the level headed Lena, a lifelong resident, longtime widow. Both Lena and Cal prefer to keep to themselves but this proves impossible in a town where everyone is related to someone else in some way or other.  Lena is the last person to have seen Rachel, Eugene's beautiful girlfriend before her body is found in the local river.  Listening to the languid story unfold, told in thick Irish accents along side Cal's clear American intonation made the investigative journey especially enjoyable and engaging. The local pub and general store are the watering holes and meeting places where everyone knows your name, your family, your business and and your connections to everyone else. The varied colors and charms of the town's locals will warm your heart and the nefarious wrangling of the town's wealthy bully will keep you captive and looking to Cal to outwit the villain. Cal has rightfully found himself in a community where friendship holds value and loyalty has meaning.  THE KEEPER is an assured pleasure; an intriguing mystery mired within the well intentioned keepings of its Irish kinfolk.  Enhance your reading pleasure with a pot of tea, a scone with jam by the warmth of a fire.  

David Sedaris' THE BEST oF ME-Might be His Best Collection Yet

Writer, raconteur and rakish vivant, David Sedaris, possesses a never ending gift for gab. His recent collection of fiction and memoir in "The Best of Me" culled from his proliferate body of work maybe his most blistering, bodacious and introspective yet. These compiled sporadic stories seem at first to be at odds with one another till you find they all share profundities and a sense for the bizarre.  Sedaris' self-irony is rampant throughout his reflections and self-perception. In the somewhat grotesque story "Leviathan" Sedaris went in search of an ideal gift and heads to a taxidermist. The taxidermist identifies in seders a kinship for a macabre fascination and shares some body parts stored. At home, Sedaris goes on line to devour more torrid findings. "It's a kind of pornography, and after sitting for 20 minutes, watching one poor animal after another being eviscerated, I erase my internet user history, not wanting to be identified as the person who would find this sort of thing entertaining-yet clearly being that person." There's an ongoing obsession with other people's perception of him and his family. The family may consider themselves declasse' but that's not for anyone outside the family to say.  Sedaris' piquant curiosity and perpetual need to be perceived as worthy are delightfully funny and incredibly relatable. In "Standing By" Sedaris' observations on the trials and tribulations of traveling amongst the masses speaks to acting like asses in transit. "We're forever blaming the airline industry for turning us into monsters: it's the fault of the ticket agents, the baggage handlers, the slowpokes at the newsstands...But what if this is who we truly are, and the airport's just a forum that allows us to be our real selves, not just hateful but gloriously so? Sedaris has hubris but also a lot of humor, candor and self-deprecation that make his work a cause for celebration. This collection was picked by the author himself. I can't but feel the stories are among his most heart-wrenching and disturbing.  He writes about his mother's alcoholism which the family contended and defended. He writes of the fallout from their youngest sister's suicide. Despite the family's problems and squabbles, there's an enduring love that is enviable.  In the story "Now We Are Five" he  reflects on the painful loss of his sister and the family's dynamic as a whole. "Though I've often lost faith in myself, I've never lost faith in my family, in my certainty that we are fundamentally better than everyone else. It's an archaic belief, one I haven't seriously reconsidered since my late teens, but still I hold it. Ours is the only club I'd ever wanted to be a member."  The tender humor, keen writing style and perpetually surprising material, "The Best of Me" will be a favorite read for fans and new ones alike.