Book Review

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

I'd been feeling a little guilty because my classic literary interests usually lean towards European authors, so I decided to give the American authors another chance this last Christmas. I put this at the top of my to-read pile because I expected to like it the least. But I was happily wrong. It reminds me of why I decided to start reading classics to begin with.

It has a great hook - two families in California play out the stories of the Fall of Man and Cain and Abel. I'm still not sure how the fall of man works into this unless you're of the belief that it had something to do with sex. But the drama and dynamic of Cain and Abel was picked apart twice over the course of a couple of generations of characters. I really enjoyed watching the soap opera unfold throughout the lives of Charles and Adam, and Adam's sons, Caleb and Aron. Steinbeck's writing style is very absorbing. His descriptions of Salinas Valley at the turn of the 20th century are fascinating and he chose to make it partially autobiographical so he could speak to the reader as if telling them the story from personal acquaintance with the events. He is a close descendant of the Hamilton family whose patriarch is the grounding element of the story. Sam Hamilton and Adam's servant Lee provide the analysis and wisdom concerning the events of Adam's life.

I'm a little surprised that it was okay to publish it in 1952 since it tends toward the vulgar when discussing sexuality so openly and coarsely. And it appears to be a little uneven at times. I'm not certain why the devilish element of Cathy Ames Trask was followed so closely throughout the narrative. But I also don't really care because the psychology of the characters what really interested me the most. Most of them I would say are spot on. They're also extreme to the point of caricature since each character seems to be representative of a larger group of people altogether. They provide a setting for reflection and contemplation of your own personality and those of the people you know. So watching Cathy's growth, or lack thereof, was just as captivating as the close examination of the lives of the men. And it was ultimately necessary to keep her in the background as Caleb and Aron's mother and as the catalyst of so much tragedy.

It is a tragedy, seeming to build up from one sad event to another; one death to another. But it's a well written tragedy with touching moments of light and joy and humor thrown in to help balance it out. At first I thought that two suicides of characters was a little bit of an overkill but after having a week to ponder it, I've noticed that each death was a different vehicle for probing the psychological makeup of the characters and a commentary on how the death of certain types of people affect us.

Anyway I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to those seeking classic fiction to read.

Book Review

Letters From Father Christmas, J.R.R. Tolkien

This is a wonderful coffee table book that every Tolkien fan must own! It's just another display of his creativity and storytelling skills.

Beginning in 1926 and continuing through the childhood years of his four children, Tolkien would write letters to his children from Father Christmas . It's a unique little idea and I'm honestly surprised that more parents in general don't do the same sort of thing. You don't have to be a professional author to turn a letter to Santa into a back-and-forth, personal correspondence to extend the joy and excitement of the fairy tale. This book is a compilation of the letters he sent to his kids. Santa (Father Christmas in Britain obviously) would tell the children all about his adventures at the North Pole with his friends, most notably the North Polar Bear who assisted him in his workshop. There were elves too of course and he eventually worked in a named secretary elf that he relied on as much as the North Polar Bear.
Naturally, being Tolkien, Father Christmas and company were subject to goblin attacks and he gives comical accounts of how they had to bravely fight them off. Sometimes he was serious when explaining why Father Christmas couldn't get them exactly what they wanted during the years of WWII. It's a light hearted and heart warming tale spun over about 20 years that, I'm sure, made his children feel very special during the years they believed.
Included in the book is a photocopy of each letter next to the text. He had different handwriting for each character... Santa's being squiggly, Polar Bear's being blocky and the elf's being spidery. He also drew many pictures depicting the adventures being related and, again because it's Tolkien, a sample or two of elvish script. We'd expect nothing less.

This is one of the coolest things to have around to make you feel good any time of the year. You must buy it. 

Book Review

A Case For Christianity, C.S. Lewis
I've been slack in book reviews lately. I've been rereading old favorites over the holiday season but just before that I was given a Lewis book that I didn't have. This is a very short "book" and what it is actually is the transcript of a radio interview he'd once given laying out the case for choosing Christianity to the atheist or agnostic.
Lewis had the gift for keeping the subject matter plain and simple without dismissing any of the complicated material. Just like I've described Mere Christianity as "Christianity 101" for new believers, under the guidance of a knowledgeable pastor, A Case For Christianity is one of the very best pro-conversion arguments put to paper. Direct and non combative, his dissertation challenges the reader to think, the mark of any great debate technique. Not for people who have no interest on an intellectual level.
It's not only a persuasive discussion for the non believers, but to those who have become disillusioned and backslidden over the years.
Yet another brilliant piece of writing from my favorite author! 

Book Review

Double Indemnity, James M. Cain

A crime noir book, short and quite old. Published as a book in 1943. My first impression was: well, that escalated quickly! Then I found out that it originally ran as a serial in a magazine in 1936, so the pacing was naturally hard and fast without much effort put into serious character development. The love affairs between the characters are largely implied as well to keep the action moving and, I assume, because anything more obvious in the 1930's would've been inappropriate. It's written in first person with a lot of the jargon of the time period laced in, which threw me a little at first. But, surprisingly, it all works. 

An insurance salesman plots with a woman to murder her husband and collect the money from his accident policy. They almost get away with it but,of course, they don't and the lesser used love quadrangle (as opposed to triangle) is employed to complicate the situation. 

I'd heard of this title for years and have seen some of the story parodied, so it was fun to see the source material in its original form. The fast movement of events made it a compelling read. I think it would've done well as a long form novel that went into greater detail.

Book Review

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clark
It took me longer than usual to get through this book because I've been on a mini reading burn-out. But I'm glad I saved it for last out of the stack of books I got last time because it was the best. I became interested when I saw previews for the miniseries it was adapted to for BBCA. I never saw any of that, but I knew this was exactly the sort of thing I'd like. I really loved it and I plan to reread it when I'm feeling more enthusiastic.

It's set at the turn of the 19th century in England and the premise is that English magic and magical influence has run dry since its golden years of the middle ages. All current magicians are theoretical magicians and they behave as academics of all ages, publishing papers on the subject without practical experience or knowhow. Two practicing magicians are foretold to restore English magic, the titular characters, but it doesn't happen like any of them expect of course. The build up is slow and detailed. Norrell and Strange are introduced one at a time and the complexity of their relationship as well as the other characters' dynamics eat up the biggest portion of this lengthy book. The world building is subtle and blends the fictional elements with the actual historical events of the time period, utilizing Lord Wellington and King George along side the invented players and events. It's unique compared to other magical fantasy pieces in that it makes use of the Faerie world, which is something I've not seen much of in modern offerings. I don't know how this depiction of the Faerie compares with its common lore, but I know the impish, faerie antagonist is Satan incarnate and made the book a compelling page-turner. Another thing I loved was the footnotes. Normally footnotes are a headache but because these notes referenced fictitious people, places and books they became characters in the book themselves and a great way to fill in ancillary details without the characters having to give long-winded explanations or disrupting the narrative. I'm also pleased to report that my favorite character doesn't die and actually gets a better ending than the main protagonists who get an unexpectedly bittersweet ending.

I love it and recommend it! It's a grown up, well rounded tale that doesn't have to rely on too many action sequences to hold the reader's interest. 

Book Review

Amphigorey anthology, Edward Gorey and various authors.
I enjoyed looking through these and want to thank Jenny Magidson again for taking me down this delightfully strange rabbit hole. They're a collection of adult comic strips. Adult because the themes tend towards the macabre and disturbing. The grotesque and surreal illustrations put me in the mind of every Tim Burton movie I've seen and they appeal to my warped sense of humor. And they range from a story board with a coherent story to follow written in either prose or verse to a disjointed series of images that aren't necessarily related, or only vaguely so.

It's this strange style that really pulled me in and kept me interested. Especially the seemingly random entries. There were several in which the noun of each panel description corresponded to each letter of the alphabet just like a toddler's book. Or a series of random but not well known words. Or simply vignettes that portray a mood. Mostly melancholy moods, but I understood it on a subconscious level. I used to draw a lot as a kid in story board method and other experiments. It reminds me of how creative I used to be when I was young, with a sinister twist of course. But it inspires me to be creative again.

It's definitely not for everyone. If you're uncomfortable with suicidal inanimate objects, dark and tragic unrequited love stories, or children being eaten by a fictitious beast - I mean, the classic fairy tales in their original forms were equally weird and twisted when you think about it - or if you tend to take such things too seriously then it's probably not for you. I see it as pure entertainment and brain candy for curious minds.

Book Review

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
I don't normally read something that could be classified as "romance" but the romance was sufficiently relegated to second place next to the plot. The synopsis actually drew me in on this one. It's the story of two magicians' students pitted against each other to the death who fall in love in spite of this circumstance. But it's not the epic sort of high fantasy battle that it sounds like. The writing focuses more on the characters than the mechanics of magic. The only spell that is detailed is the one that binds everyone to their contracts. After that it's more of vague but elegant backdrop. And it works well since the primary setting is a circus and the time period in which it takes place is the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There's no need for details to the magic, just the mood. You see that each student is trained differently as they grow up - one intellectually and one cruelly. The works they produce later are added to the layers of the circus which serves as the venue for their challenge.
It not only follows the lives of the two competitors, it skips ahead to track the movements of another character that would be important to the resolution at the end. I really liked that diversion from the main story. It was well constructed as the present caught up to the future in which that character is introduced. A nice touch.
It's a relaxing fantasy read without too much depth or intensity to weigh on the brain or exhaust you when it's finished. I'll reread it again some time and I definitely recommend it.