British author Julian Barnes' "Levels of Life" Gradations of Grief

British author Julian Barnes, is an acclaimed writer, (Sense of an Ending '11 - Man Booker Prize.)  He has also been shortlisted for this award for 3 of his other works.  Both "Levels of Life" & "Sense of an Ending" are explorations of love & grief and the mysterious, ephemeral memories that remain.  Barnes remarkable gifts as a writer are paramount in this memoir which is a triptych of historical fiction, lyrical fiction & personal lamentations on grieving since the death of his wife.  The historical fiction gives depth to the scientific inventions of airborne vessels & photography.  "Advances which allowed us to look at ourselves, better, with increasing truth."  Barnes also quotes Maj. Gen. Anders, on his Apollo 8 mission to the moon in 1968 "…we'd come 240,000 miles to see the Moon and it was the Earth that was really worth looking at."  The eloquent fiction mid-section of the triptych discusses the romantic liaison artists in the late 19thC between the bohemian actress Sarah Bernhardt  & British balloonist Burnaby as a paradigm for quantifying love.  "Together, in that 1st exaltation, that 1st roaring sense of uplift, they are greater than their 2 separate selves."  The poignant bookend to "The Sin of Height" is "The Loss of Depth."  It is here that Barnes, assembles his candid & poignant thoughts on love, grief, memory and meaning to life.  Barnes recalls his wife saying shortly before her death, "It's just the Universe doing its stuff."  He asks himself "what extent am I missing her, or missing the life we had together, or missing what it was in her that made me more myself, or missing simple companionship or (not so simple) love, or all or any overlapping bits of each?"  LEVELS of LIFE is a searing biopsy of the heart that focuses a lens into humanity.

Swiss Novelist, Dicker's "The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair" Truly a Major Event

Joel Dicker (b. Switzerland '85) has created a sensational, award winning novel with his 1st book.   The title is a mouthful & this clever novel is so full of surprising twists, pithy platitudes and poignancies it  seems incredulous such a young writer, in his 1st book, could have accomplished this amazing work.   Dicker won the Prix Coucourt des Lyceens voted on by French h.s. students from 2 French literary award lists.  The novel contains an illicit love affair between a 15 yr. old, Nola, & a writer 20 years her senior, Harry.  Marcus is the protagonist of this complex & compelling read that is equal parts a thriller, mystery, friendship, love, & coming-of-age story.  We meet Marcus as an egomaniacal  h.s. student, wanna-be writer.  He is a master manipulator who has fooled everyone to be dubbed "Marcus the Magnificent." Despite receiving acceptances to Harvard/Yale Marcus decides to attend Burrows Univ. in order to flourish at the top of his class.  It is at Burrows where he meets his mentor & friend, celebrated author, Prof. Harry Quebert.  Harry takes Marcus under his wing, teaches him how to box,  write & what are life's important lessons.  "The most important thing {in life} is knowing how to fall."  After college, Marcus' 1st novel is met with critical & financial success.  Following his success, he suffers writer's block.  When he learns Harry is arrested for the murder of Nola, Marcus rushes to be in Harry's corner & prove his innocence.  Nola's body is uncovered on Harry's property 30 yrs. after her disappearance.  The roller coaster investigation, quirky town's characters & convoluted relationships makes for a page turning novel (all 650 pages.)  Harry told Marcus that the mark of "A good book, is a book you are sorry has ended."  Finishing this book is a buzz kill.  I hope Dicker never suffer from writer's block.    

Summer Reading Had Me A Blast, I'll Tell You More...

Away from my beloved Big Apple, I found plenty of good summer reading.  "One is never bored with a book for company."  I hate trite platitudes, how about you?  Nevertheless, here are 10 recommendations to enjoy (in alphabetical order by author):

1.  Americanah by C. N. Adichie
     A insightful & entertaining perspective of black culture in the U.S. by a black, Nigerian woman.
2.  The Uncommon Reader by A. Bennett
     A delightful novella about the joys of reading from the Queen of England herself.
3.  Suspicion Nation by Lisa Bloom Non-F
     An intelligent dissection of the Trayvon Martin trial/verdict and pertinent social commentary.
4.  The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
     A clever who done it unravelled by a young writer who seeks to prove his mentor's innocence.
5.  The Life of an Unknown Man
     An amazing life history of Russia's turbulent 20th C told by an unassuming elderly man.
6.  A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
     Five days in war torn Checnya that bind several live together under attack from Russia.
7.  Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oysyemi
     A lyrical twist on the Snow White fairy tale which sheds new light on racism within a family.
8.  The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur
     Powerful & stirring poetry by the late rapper.
9.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsioni
      A lovable, socially inept adult with Asperger's awkward search for companionship.
10. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
       Life settling the west at the end of the 19thC told by a direct descendent who has his own issues.
   

ME BEFORE YOU, British Romance/Euthanasia Novel

British author JoJo Moyes has been awarded the Romantic Novel award, twice.  ME BEFORE YOU could be classified a romance novel.   It is a blossoming/doomed romance between a quadriplegic determined to end his life and his quirky, garrulous care giver, Louisa Clark, equally determined to convince him of all that life has to offer; including her love for him.  Will Traynor is the handsome, athletic, wealthy, alpha male whose left a quadriplegic from a motorcycle accident.  Traynor's aristocratic family own the large castle in the small town where Louisa (Lou) lives with her struggling, working class family.  After the tea shop Lou worked at closes, she desperately seeks a source of income to support her dependent family.  Despite having no experience working with the disabled, Lou is surprised to be offered the job of caring for Will by his tyrannical mother.  Her increased salary is a source of great relief to her family.   However, Lou is ready to quit as soon as she is subjected to Will's belligerence & her own feelings of inadequacy.  The job is contracted only for the next 6 months.  Lou discerns Will's distressful agreement with his family.  They have submitted to his adamant decision to commit euthanasia in 6 months.  Where is the love, the comedy, the class distinctions, the irrepressible spirits?  They abound in an easily readable & enjoyable novel that makes you care for Lou & Will, root for their relationship awhile presenting intelligent, polarizing views on euthanasia.   There are 2 serious and poignant films on this subject that I recommend:  the Spanish film "The Sea Inside" with Javier Barden & the Italian film "Honey" ('14.)  I also recommend this surprisingly engaging novel that puts forth the much needed discussion on the legalization of euthanasia.  

The Rose That Grew From Concrete, Tupac Shakur's Poetic Legacy Thrives

 Tupac Shakur untimely death (b. 1971-96) cannot silence his poetic genius.  His words leap off the page & pull at your heart strings.  His love poems are sonnets that soar with emotion.
The Power of a Smile for Renee
"The power of anger can rage inside until it tears you apart.  But the power of a smile, especially yours can heal a frozen heart."
Shakur's premonition of his early death is haunting:
In the Event of My Demise
"I will die before my time.  Because I feel the shadow's depth.  So much I wanted to accomplish before I reached my Death."
Shakur's rousing poems speak of love, pain, fear, strength, faith, heartbreak & injustice.
Lady Liberty Needs Glasses
"While justice is on a rampage for endangered surviving black males.  I mean really if anyone really valued life and cared about the masses, They'd take em both to Pen Optical and get 2 pair of glasses."
He boldly puts forth the plights of young black men: drugs, police brutality, incarcertation, & poverty.  He speaks of his devotion for his single mother and admiration for leaders & artists:  Mandela, Malcom X,  Huey Newton, and Van Gogh.
The Rose That Grew From Concrete is a compilation of Shakur's writings & drawings.  His powerful legacy will thrive, inspire & immortalize a galvanizing artist whose life was taken way too early.
Untitled
"Stregth is overcome by weakness.  Joy is overcome by pain.  The night is overcome by brightness and Love - it remains the same."  

Toby's Room By British author Pat Barker is Unpleasant & Substandard

British author, Pat Barker, has been awarded the Booker Prize winner (Ghost Road) and honored as  Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her brilliant legacy of work.  Her works mainly dealt  with the horrors of WWI & the aftermaths of trauma.  I read her Regeneration Trilogy & am in accord with British author Jonathan Coe (The Rain Before it Falls '08)  that her trilogy "is one of the few real masterpieces of late 20th C British fiction."  Her previous novel, Life Class '07, was lighter in subject matter; an art student in the years after WWI.  Her most recent novel, Toby's Room '12, refers to the brother of the herione, Elinor.  Elinor was an art student & a commissioned artist to draw soldiers wounded & disfigured in the war.  The novel concerns the horrors of war but it is centered on the incestuous relationship between Elinor & Toby.  When Toby is classified as MIA, Elinor becomes obsessed with learning what became of her brother. Two of her classmates, Paul & Neville, were stationed with Toby during the war.  Elinor is relentless in her pursuit of information regardless of Neville's gross facial disfigurement & Paul's devotion to her.  The mystique to discover what become of  Toby kept me engaged.  The hideous truth is that Toby was caught having a sexual liasion with a young stable hand & chose suicide rather than face a dishonorable discharge.  Barker is a masterful writer and I appreciate her contention, "…historical novels can be a backdoor into the present which is valuable."  However, I found the novel distasteful & would recommend her Regeneration Trilogy instead.

French novel, The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles is a Bunch of Crock

Pancol's novel The Yellow Eyes… was a huge hit in France when it was 1st published in '06.  The novel is as subtle & predicable as the crocodile in pursuit of Capt. Hook; you know what's coming and whose going to get their comeuppance.  Josephine is the noble, hardworking, devoted mother of 2 daughters.  Josephine romanticizes about life in the 12th C; a time of nobles, more than focusing on the present.  Josephine's philandering husband leaves her for a younger & more attractive woman.  He leaves France with his mistress to raise crocodiles in Africa; a foolhardy scheme (selling their hides which makes me scream.)  Plain Josephine's sister Iris (eye analogy) is gorgeous, conniving & attention grabbing.  Iris will eat up anything or anyone that gets in her way.  Hortense & Zoe are Josephine's 2 daughters.  Hortense is the glamorous sister who emulates her Aunt Iris' go for the kill modus operandi.   The fairer & comparer of the 2 sisters runs parallel between generations.  The mother of Josephine & Iris is the matriarch of family dysfunction.  There is a ridiculous subplot involving Josephine's best  friend leading a double life as a commoner and secretive daughter to the Queen of England.  Does the damsel in distress overcome all obstacles to find happiness.  This is a beach book better eaten by a croc than read - later alligator.