Posts filed under 'Recreational Fiction'
There is a certain tradition in Fantasy fiction of the noble hero going out on a quest, usually with a couple of elves or dwarves, and then finding the magic whatsit to save the world as we know it. While that tradition has certainly yielded some great stories, it’s always a treat to come across something a little different. Here are three titles that I’ve recently read and enjoyed.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
This book is a story, a story about stories. A story about the many stories that make up a life. We meet Kvothe, an inkeeper with a past. When the Chronicler comes to the inn, he convinces Kvothe to tell his story, from his days with a traveling troupe of entertainers to the time where he goes to university to learn magic. Why would the Chronicler want to know about a washed up inkeeper? Because Kvothe is special - he has an uncanny knack for learning and mastering almost anything he puts his mind to. You will find out when you read it, it’s a mesmerizing tale, one that will be hard to put down once you get started. The highly anticipated second installment is due out in March of 2011.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The con is on! Locke Lamora is a super thief, in a city that has more than its fair share of thieves. Orphaned at a young age, Locke is taken in by a gang leader who uses orphans for thieving throughout the city. Locke just can’t content himself with mere pickpocketing. He pulls off BIG heists, which gets him kicked out of the gang, and into the arms of a priest. Let’s just say that the priest is not there to reform Locke, he’s there to put a polish on his skills. This books was the fantasy equivalent of The Sting, there are numerous swindles, cons, and counter swindles going on. It’s another great read that will have you flipping pages to get to the bottom of the mystery. There are two more books in the series, if you have read them leave a comment and let me know if they are as good as the first.
Gardens of the moon by Steven Erikson
I liked this book. I liked this book a lot, even though it was a little harder to get through than the other two. This is Erikson’s first book in the Malazan book of the fallen series, and it’s a vividly imagined alternate world. So vividly imagined that it does take a little getting used to all of the new names of the different types of creatures and races in it. There is a handy guide available in the book for people like me who are a little slow on the uptake. Gardens of the Moon follows the battles of the Malzan empire, focusing mostly on an elite unit of soldiers called the Bridgeburners. Gardens of the Moon is the first of what will be a ten book series by Erikson (there are a total of nine out so far) in addition there are also books by Ian C. Esslemont that take place within the same alternate world, so if you find yourself hooked after reading this one (or at least warily intrigued like me) there is a whole lot more available to you.
What have you been reading lately? I’m always looking for new suggestions.
July 30th, 2010
Gregg - Sequoya
Tawni O’Dell returns to the Pennsylvania coal country in her fourth novel, a story of two families at opposite ends of the economic scale.
Fragile Beasts opens with teenage brothers Kyle and Klint Hayes enduring a second tragedy in their short lives when their father is killed while driving drunk. Three years earlier the brothers were abandoned by their mother when she left for Arizona with their younger sister and a “some guy we’d never heard of”. Both brothers deal with these events in different ways. Kyle, the quiet, serious, artistic brother, retreats into his art. Klint becomes angry at everyone which threatens his chances for a sports career during the college recruiting and pro-scouting seasons as well as his standing as the town’s star baseball player.
The third character in O’Dell’s story is Candace (Candy) Jack. At 77, she is known in town as filthy rich “old and mean” and a member of the family who owns the J & P Coal Mine. Featured in other novels by the author, this company is also where the Hayes brother’s father worked before an injury landed him in a dead-end janitorial job. Candy’s remained at the family’s homestead since enduring her own little known tragedy in her youth. While in Spain as a young woman, Candy had a love affair with a famous bullfighter who died in the ring before her eyes. She’s never recovered and has stayed closed off from the world since returning home over forty years ago. As a reminder of this exciting, but tragic time in her life, Candy’s filled her mansion with many bullfighting paintings and has even owned several offspring of the bull that killed her matador lover, Manuel.
These three characters meet and interact throughout the rest of the story when Shelby Jack, Candy’s great-niece and Kyle’s friend, introduces the brothers to her great-aunt and persuades Candy to raise them in her mansion. This unlikely trio are eventually able to communicate effectively with each other and with Candy’s guidance and influence, the brothers are insured a brighter future. In addition Candy finally begins to leave her family estate and once again becomes part of the Centresburg, PA. community.
I found the author’s depiction of the people in this book believable in a story both compelling and entertaining and would also recommend her previous books to readers interested in the lives of those living in our country’s industrial blue-collar communities.
July 1st, 2010
Lesley - Central
The South Madison Branch Library book discussion group met on a Saturday in May and discussed The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
Enzo is a dog. He narrates the story of his life with his master Denny, and Eve and Zoe, Denny’s wife and daughter. He’s near the end of his life, but assures the reader that he isn’t afraid to die. He has learned from watching educational TV that in Mongolia it is believed that when a dog dies he will return to earth reincarnated as a man, and Enzo is anxious for this to happen. His master Denny is an aspiring professional race-car driver who endures a seemingly endless procession of hardships in both his personal and professional life throughout the course of the book. Despite this, there is enough humor to keep the book from being overly depressing. There are plenty of interesting facts about the history and techniques of Formula 1 car racing. Despite being a dog, Enzo has a pretty sophisticated moral code for living – most of his mottos are gleaned from Denny’s racing experiences, but Enzo sees their usefulness in everyday life. Enzo’s insights are the heart and soul of the story and having the book told from his perspective is one of its most discussable aspects.
Almost without exception the members in attendance loved the book. There was much discussion about Enzo narrating the story. One reader felt that the author used it as a tactic to skim over some details that weren’t explained clearly – in hopes the reader would assume that we aren’t able to learn all the details of a particular situation, because Enzo doesn’t have access to everything that goes on. But other times we do learn things that Enzo would have absolutely no access to – she felt the author was inconsistent in this way. Most everyone felt that Enzo was so lovable and appealing that it would have been a much different book - and perhaps not as good - without him. One reader felt strongly that we don’t see Denny’s character accurately because his adoring dog is telling us what happens and in his loyalty Enzo is blind to Denny’s faults and the part he himself plays in some of the tragedies that befall him.
Group members shared experiences with their own dogs and the complex emotions and understandings that they seem to possess. One member felt that Enzo’s sophisticated understanding and human-like thinking was slightly disturbing. She doesn’t have a dog, but felt that if she did, she wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing it reasoned and thought like a human. Most of the members who have pets felt that they have observed a great deal of complexity in their pet’s responses and emotions and they shared examples with the rest of the group.
Some members weren’t as interested in the details about car-racing and skimmed over those parts. Others found the racing parts fascinating, particularly the evocative scene where Enzo is tied securely with a sheet into the passenger seat of Denny’s race car as Denny takes him around the track, the speed of the car progressing with each lap. It was not hard to imagine the exact thrill and sense of exhilaration of being in that car.
Overall, we found it to be a great book for discussion and a very enjoyable read. Next, the South Madison Branch book group will discuss The Land Remembers by Ben Logan. We meet next on Saturday, July 17.
June 7th, 2010
Lori - South Madison
With Memorial Day just past, it’s time to begin summer reading in earnest. Well, maybe summer reading isn’t something you should begin “in earnest” but it’s time to start. And I can’t think of a better book to start with than Treasure Island. Pirates! Gold! Rum! And young Jim Hawkins, boy hero, whose mischievousness saves the day, instead of getting him into trouble.
Dr. Livesy, Squire Trelawney, and Jim drop everything when Jim pilfers a treasure map from a dead man’s chest. They quickly acquire a ship, assemble a crew, and set sail, and then it’s mutiny before you can say “shiver me timbers” or even “matey.”
Jim Hawkins and the rest of them are all right as far as adventure story heroes go. But Long John Silver is something else. He’s very charming. He’s got a parrot. And one leg.
He can throw his crutch hard enough to kill a man.
He’s the best thing about Treasure Island. Whose side is he on? Is Jim safe in his presence? Read Treasure Island to find out!
June 3rd, 2010
Jon - Central Library
I’ve long held a suspicion that Georgette Heyer is going to ruin romance for me. After reading The Masqueraders, I am convinced. Somehow, any romantic affair that does not involve duels, wild rides on the King’s Highway or large, grey-eyed gentlemen will feel somewhat lacking. Somehow, Heyer adds that extra element of panache to her books that lets it rise well above the standard romantic fare into a realm all her own.
That flair is on full display in The Masqueraders. We meet our hero and heroine Peter and Kate Merriott just as they deliver the wealthy heiress Letitia from the hands of the rogue Mr. Markham, intent on eloping to Gretna Green. Complications, of course, immediately arise. Kate and Peter are really Robin and Prudence, two siblings who have spent most of their lives in disguise and on the run, thanks to their father’s unhappy tendency to side with Jacobite rebels. Mysteriously summoned to London to await the newest twist in their father’s schemes, neither Prudence/Peter or Robin/Kate reckoned on falling in love. As Robin attempts to court Letitia while in petticoats, Prudence’s masquerade comes under the suspicious eye of the large and staid Sir Tony, whose concern for the young ‘man’s’ welfare puts Pru in a dilemma. Is it possible to drop the disguise in the pursuit of love–even if it means risking a trip to the gallows?
Heyer keeps everything moving at a breakneck speed, fitting the precarious state of affairs. She uses period speech, which takes a little getting used to, but allows the characters to engage in wordplay that is as vigorous as the swordplay. With duels, masked balls, high-stakes card games, and devious plotting in the background, The Masqueraders often has the feel of an Errol Flynn technicolor adventure that has collided with an Oscar Wilde comedy of manners–with a healthy dose of swoon-worthy romance. Fans of Jane Austen have always been drawn to Heyer’s excellent Regency-era romances; readers of Lauren Willig’s historical adventures and perhaps Tasha Alexander’s Emily Ashton mysteries might be drawn to the adventuress Pru and the depiction of glittering and gossiping London society.
May 20th, 2010
Katie H.
It’s bright pink cover caught my eye at the returns desk, Hello Kitty Must Die, it looked and sounded demented and lived up to its name. Angelo Choi’s debut novel, set in San Francisco, is for fans of Chuck Palahniuk novels and Jeffrey Lindsy’s Dexter series or anyone that might enjoy a sadistic little story of young woman who becomes best pals with a serial killer. This one is strictly for those interested in experimental fiction, books that push the boundaries of convention. There’s not too much plot to cover, but Choi’s writing makes this a brisk, fun and sickly entertaining read.
In her mid-twenties, Asian-American Fiona Fi Yu is a practicing corporate lawyer who happens to also live with her parents. Fed up with their old school cultural expectations, Fiona tries to get rid of her pesky virginity (an attribute that thrills her parents because it makes her a great catch in their community) by visiting a doctor to rid herself of the physical seal that keeps her title intact. Weird? Yes, but somehow it gets weirder. The doctor she visits turns out to be an ex-classmate, Sean Deacon, who after several arson attempts and questionable incidents on the playground is now a surgeon and who’s weekend hobby is drugging and killing. Fiona and Sean become friends, she complains about her overbearing parents and the ridiculous dates she’s set up on and conveniently a few days later the men turn up dead. She complains about her overbearing new boss and next thing you know he’s had a heart attack in his office. Fiona, somehow to Choi’s writing credit, ends up being a likeable and enjoyable female protagonist. That blind date who took her fishing with his buddies on a overnight camping trip, he had it coming. You start rooting for Fiona, serial killer sidekick, and that make you feel a little creepy. Things don’t end well for Sean, but not too bad for Fiona, so hopefully she’ll turn up in another book.
Local publishing house Tyrus Books is responsible for this wacky little gem and shows their willingness to stretch the limits of their mission to crime fiction requirements to include well written serial killer stories. While on the Hello Kitty subject, I just have to share this site I found while researching this book, one man’s dedication to all that is Hello Kitty. Do you have a fun Hello Kitty keepsake? Tell us about it.
May 19th, 2010
Katharine - Sequoya
Who knew there was an intersection between romance, rock-and-roll, video games, and fighting? Well, there is: Scott Pilgrim. Here’s the summary from author Bryan Lee O’Malley’s own website: “Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old, living in the big city with his gay roommate, just trying to get by in this crazy world. He’s in a band. He’s lazy. He likes video games. Scott Pilgrim likes the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers, but to win her heart, he has to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends. Seven! Evil! Ex! Boyfriends! Lucas has muscles! Todd plays bass with his psychic powers! The Twins are twins! Matthew Patel is an Indian guy! AND MORE!”
The “more” that O’Malley promises mostly turns out to be jokes at Scott’s expense, asides to the reader and other meta moments, and video game references. The band Scott plays in is called “Sex Bob-omb,” a pretty funny allusion for anyone who grew up playing Super Mario Brothers. I have to admit that many of the references may have been lost on me, but some of them are pretty obvious.
Scott may be the best fighter in the province (it’s a Canadian graphic novel!) but Ramona is no slouch, either, and if she’s in a tight spot she can dig into her subspace bag for a weapon, like a Large Hammer (+2 against girls) or a Titanium Bat (+1 Against Blondes).
The core of the series is Scott and Ramona’s relationship. On the one had, it’s a bit thin: Romana loves Scott because he’s “pleasant and simple-minded.” Scott loves Ramona because she’s “mysterious…you know, alluring.” Not much is developed beyond that. Then again, when it’s love, it’s love, and perhaps no explanation is necessary.
I think this graphic novel is my actual youth, a large part of which was spent playing video games, combined with the youth I wish I had–my life as a video game. I’m not quite sure where to locate the premise. Battling evil bosses to win a pretty girl’s heart might be adolescent male fantasy, or it might be chivalrous romance. Scott Pilgrim is probably something else, and it’s great fun, whatever it is.
The sixth and final volume won’t come out until July, and then in August a film version, starring Michael Cera, will be released.
April 30th, 2010
Jon - Central Library
As mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been reading a few first novels lately. My latest two are by young women who’ve written very compelling stories. I couldn’t put either of them down.
In Love or Something Like It by television writer Deirdre Shaw, Lacey Brennan is a newspaper reporter in New York City in her late 20s. She and her twin brother Sam were raised by their father after their mother left them. Lacey meets and falls in love with Toby, a stand-up comedian, and follows him to Hollywood when he gets a job writing for television. California treats them pretty well; life is so rosy, they decide to get married. And then everything falls apart, starting with the wedding. Sam never shows and their honeymoon in Paris is ruined by the stomach flu. Back home, Toby, in quick succession loses his job, doubts his readiness for marriage, and sets up camp on the couch with his television and a marijuana pipe. Lacey, trying to save the marriage, gets her own job as a production assistant on a sitcom, and signs Toby and her up for counseling. The latter doesn’t work and Toby leaves. Lacey makes several questionable choices and for a year lives in a cloud. But her decision to move back to New York and live like a tourist until then opens her up to good things happening.
This is a well-written, insightful novel with a fun insider’s look at the television world in L.A. Shaw captured the pathos of a failing marriage and the time and emotional energy it takes to recover and move on.
Another debut novel, April and Oliver by Tess Callahan is an emotional tale about the titular soul mates. April and Buddy’s father owned a bar on Long Island, where April has worked since she was 14. She never went to college and can’t see her life beyond the bar. April has been seeing T.J., a scary, violent, manipulative man, who she has recently had served with a restraining order. When Buddy dies in an icy accident in her car, April blames herself and is overcome with grief. Oliver, April’s childhood companion, returns to New York for the funeral bringing his fiance, Bernadette, with him. A musical prodigy, Oliver turned down Juillard and instead went to Stanford; he’s returning to New York to study law. April and Oliver, though their fathers were unrelated stepbrothers, believed they were cousins, so they had always resisted their mutual attraction. But Bernadette notices the chemistry right away, and tries carefully to navigate around it. Frequently thrown together for family functions, Oliver cannot help but feel compelled to help April. Her grief and her self-destructive behavior keep him very concerned and involved. He is drawn to her against his will, and badgers her to reveal the sexual abuse he had suspected she endured as a young girl.
The story feels combustible. Is T.J. going to kill April? Will April and Oliver consummate their passion? Will Bernadette call off the engagement? Callahan has written a smoky tale of love and longing where the electricity between the main characters is palpable. Though April’s poor choices and self-destructive behavior get a bit tiring, and there may be a tad bit too much smoldering, the suspense in the novel captures you until the very end.
Two very different novels - great beginnings for two writers to watch.
April 28th, 2010
Lisa - Central
Jack Hercules Sheahan, the subtitular main character of After the Workshop: A Memoir by Jack Hercules Sheahan– actually written by novelist John McNally– is a failed writer and former graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, who ran into a bad case of writer’s block that’s celebrating its thirteenth birthday this year.
Unable to finish his first novel, Jack remains in Iowa City, becoming a media escort for published writers who come to town on press tours to promote their newly published books. His most recent charge disappears (along with her newborn child), soon after arriving. Then he discovers another author he’s been hired to escort is now contemplating a book about a tragic character apparently modeled on Jack himself, and a famous novelist he had escorted in the past, who disappeared from the public eye years ago, returns to town and insinuates himself back in Jack’s life. All this while the New York based publicist of the now-missing woman author proceeds to turn our media escort hero’s life into a living hell-first via telephone answering machine message, then in person.
There’s some pretty gifted writing here but Jack’s a rather depressing character to serve as a protagonist. And shit keeps happening to him, either in the present, or in his narrative flashbacks. Almost as depressing is the presentation of some the writer-ly types, who often come off as insufferable or worse. Jack’s local coterie of friends and acquaintances also fail to inspire, leading more-or-less parallel lives with Jack, with whatever glory they might have achieved having become faded memory. They serve to heighten the sense of failed expectations that permeates Jack’s life. I must confess, this was one of those novels I was sorely tempted to abandon. The return of the successful novelist from the past with his insistence of the brilliance of Jack’s abandoned novel, as well as some humorous exploits involving this writer, other exploits involving Jack’s pot addled neighbor, and the comeuppance of the New York publicist who shows up unannounced on Jack’s doorstep brought enough energy to the pages that I was able to finish what ultimately turned out to be a satisfying read.
Hard slogging in the beginning, and with an ending that may be a little too “pat” but left this reader smiling, I’d recommend this book for those who’d like a glimpse of the unflattering side of the writing life– and a pretty damning portrait of the publishing business and at least some of those who aspire to it.
April 22nd, 2010
Dennis - Central
There are probably hundreds of novels written using Jane Austen’s characters or themes, including some recent best sellers such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (reviewed by Molly). Although the seemingly endless steam of take-offs on Austen’s timeless books can be exhausting, I did enjoy The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine, a modern rendition of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.
Joseph Weissmann announces to Betty, his wife of almost 50 years, that he wants a divorce and it is is for the most common of reasons; he is involved with a younger woman who is one of his employees. Betty is quickly ejected from her luxurious New York apartment, as messy divorce proceedings begin. For the first time in her life, Betty is alone and in desparate financial straits. Convenently, “Cousin Lou”, a man to whom everyone is family, comes to her rescue with the offer of the use a small and shabby house he owns in Westport.
Betty’s two daughters are also at loose ends for various reasons. Annie is a divorced librarian with two grown sons, and her sister Miranda is a literary agent, recently gone bankrupt due to misrepresenting several of her authors, who falsified their life stories. Both decide to lease their apartments and move in with Betty. The three women quickly settle into their lives of genteel poverty with heavy reliance on credit cards. There are many poignant and humorous moments along the way. For example, Miranda decides to take up kayaking, with disastrous results. She is rescued by a handsome young man, a single father of a charming boy. Miranda quickly forms an attachment to both. Annie is also involved with a famous author who spoke at her library. Their mother is busy negotiating the divorce, even as she describes herself as a widow. And the expansive Uncle Lou includes the family in his busy social life.
Things mostly work out as might be expected, but there are several unexpected twists and turns along the way. It is not necessary to read an Austen novel to enjoy this book. You can read it for its humor and for the three women who are dealing with financial adversity and finding new lives in the the process.
April 21st, 2010
Mary K. - Central
They’re back!
Humor novelist Christopher Moore returns with Bite me: A Love Story which is a sequel to You Suck!: A Love Story, which sequelized Bloodsucking Fiends, all of which deal with the same cast of characters dealing with (or being) vampires in San Francisco.
Continuing where he left off in You Suck! (and there’s actually a fairly good summary of events up to this point in the first chapter of the book), the story really does deal with vampire cats in addition to the (more-or-less) human vampires that have already been introduced. Undead cats actually increases the creepiness factor quite a bit because they’re mostly feral cats to begin with, and their population seems to grow exponentially since they get “vamped” by being bitten by other vampire cats, then licking their own infected blood from their wounds, which turns them into vampire cats. And they tend to attack humans in packs (swarms actually) as they have the vampiric ability to turn into mist then commingle with other cats who have gone misty, to move in a less-than physical state. And the population of homeless people in San Francisco starts to plummet. That San Francisco fog will never seem the same.
Returning characters from the previous books include Vampire “countess” Jody, vampire Flood (aka Tommy), teen-Goth Abby Normal, her science-nerd boyfriend Foo and Abby’s BFF Jared, cops Rivera and Cavuto, the supermarket shelf-stockers known as the Animals, and the Emperor of San Francisco and his dogs. Fairly quickly they figure out what the problem is. Unfortunately, a crew of uber-vampires sails into town with the idea that they should take out some of our “good” vampires who are working to solve the kitty-vampire plague.
If you enjoy humorous fiction, get on the wait list for this one. More terrific fun for readers of the previous books. The action moves at breakneck speed and the characters/narrators switch off describing the action in various chapters all have a uniquely humorous narrative style, or a least perspective on events. (Abby Normal, the teenage semi-Goth minion and vampire wannabe will have your head spinning when she takes over the narrative duties. She does the recap of the previous books in the opening chapter and, truthfully, her style of speaking/dialect can be a bit annoying when you’ve stopped laughing.)
And the story works pretty well within traditional vampire conventions. (Except for the vampire kitties. And the vampire rats– which were pretty scary in their own way.) Suspenseful and borderline apocalyptic, but enjoyable nonetheless. Horror meets humor, and humor wins. But it does get bloody. There are some genuinely creepy moments that may have you wondering whether you might prefer to sleep with the lights on for a change.
Despite Abby’s best efforts to encourage the undying love she envisions for her vampire masters I’m guessing there aren’t any scenes that would compare to Bella and Edward, so fans of the Stephenie Meyer vampire genre might want to take a pass.
April 12th, 2010
Dennis - Central
Claire Noble feels that finally it is her turn to live the life that until now she had only dreamed of. Long the responsible one: raising her only daughter without any help from her irresponsible ex- husband, staying close to home in order to help her aging parents, being a sounding board for her friend with the alcoholic husband and special needs child. But now she will be shortly married to Rick, leaving her job of teaching history at the local high school, and moving to Arizona where he can pursue golf and she her interest in photography. In addition Claire has received an invitation to attend a prestigious photography workshop held in Cape Cod run by one of the most noted photographers in the country. Instead everything comes crashing down with the reappearance of her estranged, and pregnant daughter, and her father’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
Maryann McFadden in So Happy Together has written a fast reading, engrossing novel about family, love, personal choice, and dreams. For it is not only Claire, but other members of the family, who wonder if time and love has passed them by.
March 25th, 2010
Liz C. - Alicia Ashman
Previous Posts
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Gardens of the moon by Steven Erikson