QUICK HITS - 2012 Top 10 Books and Top 5 Misses

In my third full year of my reading journey, I completed 42 books in 2012.  I have now reached 134 total books read, averaging just slightly under my one book per week target for this past year. Nonetheless, only 5 books (including 2 re-reads) achieved my highest rating in 2012, the same number as in 2011. On the opposite end, all 5 Misses were truly bad, all scoring in the RED zone (5 rating or lower).   NOTE: where applicable, I have included existing capsule reviews in previous posts.

Top 5 – Masterpieces (Rating 10/10):

#100   Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov, 1955                          RATING:  10.0

Having viewed the two film adaptations of this controversial novel (my first 100 book milestone!), I was admittedly unprepared for the shock of the first person account of Humbert Humbert’s plot to seduce a 12 year old girl.  But not for the reasons you may think.  It is not pornographic; in fact Nabokov ensures that the most salacious thoughts/acts are masked in artistic prose.  Nonetheless, the novel takes one into the mind of a pedophile, and Humbert almost convinces the reader that his actions are justifiable. ALMOST, but we are not deceived by his erudition, social standing and command of language(s). Absolutely frightening even in light of the proliferation of graphic Criminal Minds/Law & Order SVU TV shows.  The ending is satisfying, but overall it is a sad tale about loss and no one emerges unscathed. Disturbing and complex.  (FULL REVIEW is coming soon)

#99  The Book Thief  - Markus Zusak, 2005                RATING:   10.

This Australian novel was a recent selection by my wife Guylaine for our ‘Four Chicks & a John’ Book Club.  For me it was a re-reading of the novel that I purchased while on work in Sydney in 2008.  The second time around allowed me to focus on the structure and literary techniques utilized to deliver such an emotional wallop by the final pages.  The setting is a common one, Nazi Germany just before the wartime atrocities. What is different is that the Narrator is Death, and the main characters are Germans in a small town, many of whom do not agree with Hitler’s policies.  The title refers to a young orphaned girl and her relationship with her foster parents and neighbors.  Death is portrayed as a sympathetic figure and is touched by the various encounters with Liesel, the Book Thief.  A stranger come to Liesel’s home, and disrupts their lives forever. A MUST READ! (LINK to Book Thief QUOTES)

#98  On the Road - Jack Kerouac, 1957                      RATING:   10.0
This book has been described as life-changing, so I must say I had reservations when I began to read this classic account of the post-war US Beat Generation. Upon finishing it, I now wish I had read this novel as a young man!!  It captures vividly the youthful yearning to move, get on the road and explore the world. Perhaps with all the travel at my age and stage, I am trying to make up for lost time?  This novel is not just a buddy road trip story we see too often depicted in the movies.  In addition to the spirit of experimentation (sex, drugs, & jazz music) that predates the Hippie movement, the novel further explores the nature of friendship, God’s existence, and death.  In the end, it reminds us of the absolute joy of being alive and present in the moment. (LINK to FULL REVIEW)

#116  The Stranger - Albert Camus, 1942                      RATING:   10.0

I must admit that I was apprehensive re-reading this 'strange' French existentialist novel, as I was profoundly affected in a negative manner the first time due to this bleak and depressing tale of an outside who lives on his own terms. That was then. Today more than 20 years later, I see Camus accurately describing today's isolated and disaffected Modern Man. To Camus, who endured atrocities of WWII, life appears absurd and without meaning. In that scenario, anything goes. Who would have guessed that Camus was also describing our current Internet Age? (LINK to FULL REVIEW)

#125  Slaughter-House Five - Kurt Vonnegut, 1974             RATING:   10.0

My first foray into Vonnegut, I must say this unique non-linear book is magical.  Full of whimsy, time travel offsets the horrors of war (bombing of Dresden). With the recurring "So it goes" when bad or strange things happen. And a mysterious title that is strikingly appropriate.  A complex narrative that forced me to re-read the opening chapter immediately after finishing the novel (the beginning starts at the end, got it?).  Believe it or not, this sequence makes perfect sense; an infinite loop, stuck in time like Groundhog Day.  One of a kind writing that benefits from re-reading! 

Next 5 – Near Masterpieces (Rating 9-9.5/10):

#123  Autumn of the Patriarch - Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1975       RATING:   9.5

Marquez does it again! Delivers the account of a Caribbean dictator entirely in stream of consciousness!  I mean ENTIRELY as in 255 pages!  A tour-de-force literary flexing of the muscles. Only Marquez would venture into this uncharted territory.  There are no punctuation, few periods, with words running on page after page with no breaks, save six 'chapters'. But what a story!  How often is one given such open access to the mind of a ruthless tyrant who instills terror in order to maintain solitary power? Voyeuristic, audacious and shocking at turns, this is literature at it's finest. Freud would have recognized this man's venal appetites and basic instinct to survive.

#103   A Hero of Our Time – Mihail Lermontov, 1840                RATING:  9.5

What an incredible gem of a discovery!  I had never heard of this Russian author, but a bright green used $2 paperback copy translated by non other than Vladimir Nabokov caught my attention.  What I learned is that ‘A Hero of Our Times’ is considered the first major novel in Russian literature, a chief source for the great masterpieces of later 19th century.  I did see themes & styles that clearly influenced Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Turgenev.  The story seems oddly modern, with the immoral, bored but headstrong “nihilist’ youth struggling to find meaning in life. The title is ironic since Pechorin is an anti-hero who destroys hearts and friendships at will with little remorse. The narrative style and five part structure (non chronological) is highly sophisticated.  Brilliant story-telling with passages and quotes that linger for a long time.  In the Preface, the author warns that the public’s reaction and disbelief to a man being so bad as Pechorin is perhaps “because there is more truth in this character than you would desire there to be?”  Too bad Lermontov lived as passionately as his character; he died in a duel at age of 26 resulting from a trivial quarrel with a fellow officer.

#107  For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway, 1940          RATING:   9.0

I was just about ready to throw in the towel after investing 250 pages in Hemingway's longest major novel, but then all of a sudden, the action and intensity heated up without pause until the final of the next 200 pages!  The setting and theme chosen were grand in scope - the story of a motley crew of of guerrilla freedom fighters defending the Republic from the fascist forces during the Spanish war.  But nothing much happens in the first half of the story.  American Robert Jordan has a mission to blow a crucial bridge in support of the anti-fascists, but all they do is talk, talk, talk about it rather than taking any definitive action.  Hemingway's trademark short, terse prose appears missing in action here, as the dialogue is repetitive and rather boring.  But I realize at the end that it was all by design.  Even in actual warfare there is much time spent waiting, talking and worrying about the next strike and ultimate outcome.  Then the shit hits the fan, all hell breaks loose, and best laid plans run amok. Which is exactly what happens in the final 200 exhilarating pages of this masterful novel.  The ending packs an incredible punch.  

#113  Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1864        RATING:   9.0

What an opening line from one of the first existential voices to be heard; 'I am a sick man....I am a wicked man. An unattractive man. I think my liver hurts."  Such brutal honesty from the Underground Man, the Outsider, the Social misfit.  Disaffected man.  Sound familiar? This writing heralded a new form of Realism, which has become Dostoevsky's signature. We are drawn in to this novella to understand the inner-life of the unnamed narrator. What caused him to become so bitter? As the story unfolds in two distinct sections, we begin to gleam the world around him. A early introduction into the psychological genius of Dostoevsky during the time of imperial Russia.

#96  The Castle – Franz Kafka, 1926                             RATING:  9.0

Kafka’s great last unfinished novel is another staggering and surreal exploration on the themes of alienation, bureaucracy and helplessness.  The main character is simply named K., a land surveyor who attempts to get to the elusive Castle to fulfill his job.  Well, nothing is that obvious in Kafka’s nightmare vision.  The theme of this novel has been widely debated and discussed.  To me, it revisits the searching for God theme and never leads to a definitive answer (perhaps because it is unknowable or perhaps because we are unworthy).  Thought provoking with images that linger.

Top 5 Misses – Big Disappointments (Rating 2-5/10):

#119  Night Circus - Erin Morgenstein, 2011                            RATING:   2.0

An Indigo Bookstore "Heather's Pick," this fantasy novel is dull, dull, dull!  If not a Book-club selection, I would have given up after a few opening chapters. Instead I suffered through the mindless plot about rival Sorcerers Apprentices in a duel to the death. 'Twist' is that boy and girl fall in love and find a way to get around the death sentence. Turns out black magic can come in handy! Really I couldn't make this up if I tried.  What to do when you have zero interest in the plot or characters? Relish reading the major works of a literary master, such as Marquez, which I did.

#108  The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho, 1993                             RATING:   3.5
Since it's initial publication in Portuguese in 1988, the Alchemist has been published in 71 languages in over 160 countries selling 65 million copies. So what is the appeal?   I honestly don't know!!  This book is simplistic and dangerous, in my opinion.  Is it a fable, allegory, self-help book, or comic strip? Each reader will need to decide.  As for me, I really tried to keep an open mind the second time around.  Although I am not as repelled by the ending this time (simple message that your true treasure lies under your feet) I was very tired of the overused mantra, "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it." But what really bothers me is the purely unbelievable passages - the boy outwits desert bandits by metaphysically turning himself into the wind, and carries on deep philosophical talks with the sun.  Really, I couldn't make up this New Age stuff!  I hate to admit it, but this book gets worse as one gains experience and common sense. 

#130 Jonathan Livingstone Seagull - Richard Bach,  1970        RATING:   4.0

Another Re-read best left alone and forgotten.  I didn't quite get the message the first time.  "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, call me an idiot."  What a bunch of New-Age (before the term was popular) dribble! This is equivalent the 'the Little Engine that Could' and that is the problem. Except otherwise reasonable-minded Adults were reading this little book and made it a runaway bestseller. The focus on self-perfection doesn't bother me, but really, the highest order is to appear instantly anywhere in the Universe, because "you have already arrived". Enough said! 

#126 The Public Image - Muriel Spark,  1968                      RATING:   4.5

This novel by the author of 'Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' held a lot of promise. A satire on the celebrity obsessed culture we take for granted as omnipresent. Alas, the plot failed to capture my interest. The characters were self-absorbed, but did not resonate. They appeared cartoon sketches. A disappointment given the fascinating premise. Perhaps that was the problem. High expectations!

#128 Night Flight - Antoine Saint-Exupery,  1931                RATING:   5.0

I was expecting more of 'Petite Prince' magic in the author's early novel, but it turned out to be a realistic depiction of the early days of aviation, when taking a Night Flight to deliver mail was perilous. The thin plot-line just doesn't hold up in today's advanced Space Age. The story seems quaint, a relic to by-gone age.  Not necessarily bad, just not very captivating. Oh, and a death occurs. Surprise!

FULL REVIEW: On The Road (Jack Kerouac, 1957, 254 pages)

                                
As I embarked on ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac, I must declare that I had high expectations and reservations.  How to describe the reputation of Kerouac as the voice of his generation, the Beat Generation, post WWII of the 1950’s era?  The language of his novel is dated by recognizable with phrases like ‘gone daddy’ and ‘cool cat.’  However the spirit of experimentation (sex, drugs, & jazz music), and that yearning to get on the road no matter where it leads, is familiar one. The novel has a compelling ‘hero,” the struggling writer, with no money, living with his aunt, desperate to experience all that life has to offer. And the prose is magnificent.

What surprised me though were the touching descriptions of passionate relationships within the novel, namely Dean Moriarty, and his initial love interest Terry.  And underneath the endless need to get ‘on the road’ is a deep search for meaning and revelation in life, in short a search for God, in my opinion.  This theme of the ‘Seeker embarking on a journey of self-discovery’ is one we have encountered in other works of Great Literature, namely Gilgamesh (20000 BC), Odysseus (800 BC), Dante (1308), and even K from the ‘Castle’ (1926).

  

Novel Background, Structure & Themes

Jack Kerouac finished writing the largely autobiographical ‘On the Road’ novel in 1951, but it was not published until 1957 by Viking Press. It originally met with mixed reviews due to the subject matter and depiction of Dean (mad eccentric or smart free spirit?).  The novel as consistently gained popularity to new generations concerned with the same themes implied the novel.  Recently it was recognized by Modern Library and Time magazine as one of the best 100 English-language novels of the 20^th century.

The novel contains five Parts (consisting of 14, 11, 11, 4 & 1 chapters respectively), many which describe specific road trips with ‘Sal Paradise,’ Jack’s alter-ego, and ‘Dean Moriarty,’ or Neal Cassady in reality, his high-spirited carefree friend who acts as a catalyst for their road trips.  The novel can be mistaken on the surface a simple buddy road trip story that Hollywood seems to churn out every year.  In addition to the aforementioned sex, drugs, & jazz music, the richness of the novel lies in the honest exploration on the nature of friendship, God’s existence, death, and the absolute joy of being alive and present in the moment.  Pretty heady stuff! 

The Nature of Friendship between Sal and Dean

The novel opens and ends with a line about Dean, and can be on the surface seen as the perfect buddy road trip story.  However with each trip, the main characters change (Jack for better, Dean for worse) and this has an effect on their relationship.  At the beginning, it is Sal who desperately depends on Dean to feel alive and latches on to his wild treks across the US:

 “I first met Dean not long after my wife and I split up…With the coming of Dean Moriarty began the part of my life you could call my life on the road.” (Part One, Ch. 1 opening paragraph) 

“But then they danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!" (Part One, Ch. 1)  NOTE:  This quote was inspiration for Kate Perry’s popular ‘Firework’ song.

By the end of the novel, Sal has settled down with his new girlfriend Laura, and it is Dean who now needs the comfort and stability of his old friend to maintain his sanity and as a respite from his complicated life:

“So Dean couldn't ride uptown with us and the only thing I could do was sit in the back of the Cadillac and wave at him. The bookie at the wheel also wanted nothing to do with Dean. Dean, ragged in a moth-eaten overcoat he brought specially for the freezing temperatures of the East, walked off alone, and the last I saw of him he rounded the corner of Seventh Avenue, eyes on the street ahead, and bent to it again. Poor little Laura, my baby, to whom I'd told everything about Dean, began almost to cry.

"Oh, we shouldn't let him go like this. What'll we do?" Old Dean's gone, I thought, and out loud I said, "He'll be all right." And off we went to the sad and disinclined concert for which I had no stomach whatever and all the time I was thinking of Dean and how he got back on the train and rode over three thousand miles over that awful land and never knew why he had come anyway, except to see me.” (Part Five, third and second last paragraphs)

This is a complicated relationship, but how many of us haven’t in our lives gravitated towards that exciting and wildly free spirit, recognizing that to continue down that path could lead to madness?  We all have met our personal Dean Moriartys and we realize we need to ‘grow up’ and be ‘responsible’ but deep down secretly mourn the passing of that brilliantly burning bright phase of our lives!

The Spirit of being ‘On the Road’

Whenever Sal begins to feel restless, trapped or lonely, he heads on the road, either towards friends or along with them towards a sometimes not very clear destination.  The point is just to get on the move:

“It was drizzling and mysterious at the beginning of our journey. "Whooee!" yelled Dean. "Here we go!" And he hunched over the wheel and gunned her; he was back in his element, everybody could see that. We were all delighted, we all realized we were leaving confusion and nonsense behind and performing our one and noble function of the time, move. And we moved!”  (Part Two, Ch. 6)

One of my favorite descriptions is the joyful moment of the experience of new, unexplored territory, in this case Mexico in the novel:

“I couldn't imagine this trip. It was the most fabulous of all. It was no longer east-west, but magic south. We saw a vision of the entire Western Hemisphere rockribbing clear down to Tierra del Fuego and us flying down the curve of the world into other tropics and otherworlds. "Man, this will finally take us to IT!" said Dean with definite faith. He tapped my arm. "Just wait and see. Hoo! Whee"” (Part Four, Ch. 3)

“Behind us lay the whole of America and everything Dean and I had previously known: about life, and life on the road. We had finally found the magic land at the end of the road and we never dreamed the extent of the magic.” (Part Four, Ch. 5)

“Everybody's cool, everybody looks at you with such straight brown eyes and they don't say anything, just look, and in that look all of the human qualities are soft and subdued and still there. Dig all the foolish stories you read about Mexico and the sleeping gringo and all that crap)-and crap about greasers and so on-and all it is, people here are straight and kind and don't put down any bull. I'm so amazed by this.” (Part Four, Ch. 5)  ***CLICK Here for Full Passage of First Impressions of Mexico***

My Personal ‘Dean Moriarty’

Like all great literature, ‘On the Road’ made me reflect on my life, and it led me to an unexpected place.  That place was across-the-US border shopping trip in 1989 with my soon-to be wife Guylaine, my sister Enza, my cousin Rita and her younger sister Lidia.  

Lidia, to me, was my personal Dean Moriarty.  She had a tremendously free spirit and sense of adventure, in short, the life of the party!  After a full day of shopping for clothing and suitcases for her endless trips abroad, we all spent the night at a local disco.  Lidia had a little too much to drink and did a lot of dancing, and we had to carry her back to our hotel room where she promptly vomited up her Tequilas and Margaritas.  She fell asleep instantly on her bed with her clothes and shoes still on.  The next morning she was good to go, despite being chastised by her common-sense older sister; “Was it worth it to spend all that money on booze, if you can’t keep it down?” 

I never forget that moment.  Secretly we all wished we could be a little more like Lidia.  She had this constant drive to make the most out of life every moment she could.  Some would say that she was exhausting to keep up with.  Like Dean Moriarty.

Lidia Minicucci passed away suddenly in her sleep years later in 1998 of an apparent heart attack at the age of 32 after returning from yet another adventure, this time Aruba.  She lived her life as though she has needed to suck every moment from it.  This lesson has not been lost on us.  I now try to live my life after her example.

What triggered this bittersweet memory from reading ‘On the Road?’  It was the emotional ending, as Sal comes to realize with regret that Dean has exited from his life:

“I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of Old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty.”  (Part Five, ending line).

For me, the ending that came instantly to my mind was the following;

I think of Lidia Minicucci, I think of the trip she planned to visit us in Turkey we never realized, I think of Lidia Minicucci.




Rating:  10/10.

QUICK HITS - 2012 January-March Books Read

January 2012

#93  The Help – Kathryn Stockett, 2009                         RATING:  6.5

The media hype of this book and subsequent movie was intense.  Comparisons were made to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and it was a New York Books #1 Bestseller for too many weeks to remember.  In the end, I was disappointed.  The story was a common one, with a different perspective, that of the servants.  The langague however was plain and the storyline thin.  The plot details for me were forgettable, with only scene that I recall is the infamous ‘pie.’  In my opinion, ‘Book of Negroes’ by Canadian write Lawrence Hill does a better job of vividly capturing the time, place and pain of a similar topic.

#94  Heloise – Anne Hebert, 1980                                   RATING:  6.0

This short novel started with an intriguing presence. An engaged man meets a mysterious woman in subway, is smitten and desperately seeks to find her.  What I thought would be a psychological thriller turns out to be a ….. horror story, specifically a vampire story.  I realize this was 1980, and we were not then inundated with everything Vampire, but come on, the ending is gruesome, as in bloody and with body counts. Oh well, another one bites the dust, so to speak!!

#95  Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin, 1956                RATING:  8.0

Tenderly written account of the protagonist’s life in Paris and struggles with accepting his homosexuality.  This novel was written during a time of intolerance and inequality for homosexuality in general.  David on the one hand is contemplating marriage to his girlfriend who is off to Spain, and but then has an affair with Giovanni and moves into his room for a period of time.  David eventually leaves Giovanni to resume his ‘normal’ life, to grave consequences. Novel paints a complex dynamic whereby Dave can help Giovanni, but only by revealing the nature of their relationship. I was enthralled with the moral dilemma and eventual outcome. Fascinating writing!

#96  The Castle – Franz Kafka, 1926                             RATING:  9.0

Kafka’s great last unfinished novel is another staggering and surreal exploration on the themes of alienation, bureaucracy and helplessness.  The main character is simply named K., a land surveyor who attempts to get to the elusive Castle to fulfill his job.  Well, nothing is that obvious in Kafka’s nightmare vision.  The theme of this novel has been widely debated and discussed.  To me, it revisits the searching for God theme and never leads to a definitive answer (perhaps because it is unknowable or perhaps because we are unworthy).  Thought provoking with images that linger.

February 2012

#97  Ficciones – Jorge Luis Borges, 1962                       RATING:   8.5

This was my only book read in the month of February due to a hectic work schedule, but what a book!!!   Ficciones (Fictions in English) is a collection of wildly surreal short stories by Argentine writer/poet Borges.  He is considered the father of ‘magic realism’ or rather “irreality’ and his stories have elements of science fiction, fantasy, and and existentialism. His works have been highly influential on the Latin American writing Boom of the 1960s, including 'One Hundred Years of Solitude.' The stories are written in an erudite fashion, are innovative with sophisticated use of language. Some stories resonate, while others fall flat, but many of the plots are unusual and highly original.  Stories must be read slowly to savour the complexity of the writing.  Standouts include 'Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote,' 'Library of Babel,' 'The Secret Miracle,' and 'Three Versions of Judas.'

March 2012

#98  One the Road - Jack Kerouac, 1957                      RATING:   10.0

This book has been described as life-changing, so I must say I had reservations when I began to read this classic account of the post-war US Beat Generation. Upon finishing it, I now wish I had read this novel as a young man!!  It captures vividly the youthful yearning to move, get on the road and explore the world. Perhaps with all the travel at my age and stage, I am trying to make up for lost time?  This novel is not just a buddy road trip story we see too often depicted in the movies.  In addition to the spirit of experimentation (sex, drugs, & jazz music) that predates the Hippie movement, the novel further explores the nature of friendship, God’s existence, and death.  In the end, it reminds us of the absolute joy of being alive and present in the moment. (LINK to FULL REVIEW)

#99  The Book Thief  - Markus Zusak, 2005                   RATING:   10.0

This Australian novel was a recent selection by my wife Guylaine for our ‘Four Chicks & a John’ Book Club.  For me it was a re-reading of the novel that I purchased while on work in Sydney in 2008.  The second time around allowed me to focus on the structure and literary techniques utilized to deliver such an emotional wallop by the final pages.  The setting is a common one, Nazi Germany just before the wartime atrocities. What is different is that the Narrator is Death, and the main characters are Germans in a small town, many of whom do not agree with Hitler’s policies.  The title refers to a young orphaned girl and her relationship with her foster parents and neighbors.  Death is portrayed as a sympathetic figure and is touched by the various encounters with Liesel, the Book Thief.  A stranger come to Liesel’s home, and disrupts their lives forever.  

The author uses foreshadowing very well, repetition to drive home important points, colors to define particularly important moments, and pet names to relieve the gravity of the situation.  But the most effective technique is the use of pacing of plotline – just the right tempo, building to the big finish in the last 50 or so pages.  I must say, I knew what was coming, but had an even larger emotional response the second time.  Favorite scenes by the group were Rudy’s kiss, the first as well as final march of Jewish prisoners to the death camps.  We debated extensively whether this book should be classified as a ‘Young Adult’ fiction, because it is a highly sophisticated and original writing.  This is the highest rated book club selection (9.8 average rating amongst five members) since we began 2 ½ years.  A MUST READ!