4 Stars for All the Light We Cannot See

 

Anthony Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See follows is told primarily in two perspectives: Marie-Laure, a French girl and daughter of a master locksmith at the Natural History Museum in Paris and the other character is Werner Pfenning, a German boy growing up in the mining town of Zollverein. Many books have been written during the WWII era, but few with this interesting perspective. The unique premise drew me in first. The imagery kept me afloat throughout the book. It felt like an old song like Dinah Shore I'll Walk Alone from the 1940s or maybe something more classical like Vivaldi's Winter because beneath it there was a dark brutality behind every scene. I felt Doerr's remarkable PG approach to this war and the horrible acts committed buckled my legs beneath me, simply because my imagination and historical knowledge about this war conjured up real witches and goblins. Characterization of both Werner and Marie-Laure rooted me to them, made me want to know their inevitable end. Both Marie and Werner peeled like an onion or rather a well compiled tape parallel to Guardians of the Galaxy. I loved rhythm and meter making up their choices and the destiny they had no control over. However, in the end I ended up with a four star rating because the ending did not satisfy me. I felt Marie and Werner's paths should have crossed much sooner and I also felt the romance between the two could have been cemented more, but also held like a tight wire in which the two crossed to meet maybe making it or maybe falling to their death. The intersection of the two characters was way too abrupt for me. Still, I highly recommend this book. It's beautiful and a journey worth taking. 

5 Stars for Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor

 

The premise of Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor drew me into its pages. The magic of math kept me in its pages. Ironically, I am not a fan of numbers. I'm an English teacher. I love a good story. This is a good story. It is lined in mathematical equations above my mental capacity, but understanding an equation is different than just understanding its importance to the characters in this novel, characters that statistically should not have formed the incredible beautiful caring bond they did - but they did and through numbers prime, amiable, etc. I believed in the impossible because of the certainty of numbers. A big thanks to the math genius who explained Euler's Identity and its significance at key moment in the plot of this story...

"The significance of Euler's Identity in the book is reasonably clear: It is the Professor’s way of expressing the synthesis of the worlds that he, his sister-in-law, his housekeeper, and her son are living in. Each is included without being denied, just as each mathematical family is included without being negated or changed in the Identity. A brilliant literary as well as mathematical insight therefore."

I listened to this book on audible, but I plan to purchase a copy for future ponderings. 

3 Stars for Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Water Dancer

I really feel awful giving this book a three star review for two reasons: 1. Most of my teacher friends love this book and 2. It's clear Ta-Nehisi Coates did a ton of research which deserves reward. My problem with it is that it reads like a one of those true crime stories with unknown actors and actresses. The main character, Hiram was as flat as a pancake cooked in Crisco. Despite his hard life, I never got the emotional outpour of emotion from him and my theory on this is that Coates did way too much telling. As a reader, I like to feel and think for myself. The only character with the potential to pull at my heart strings was Sophia. This would have been a much better book if Coates had let her tell the story and allowed her to show her emotion rather than tell us what she was feeling. Considering the background of the book, loosely based on William Still, an African-American abolitionist, this is a noteworthy book, but it is not a literary great such as Morrison or Hurston. 

5 Stars for Intruder in the Dust by Faulkner

This is not a great Faulkner novel. At best its mediocre; however, its Faulkner. I've never read a Faulkner novel or short story that didn't force me to see someone's perspective other than my own. Told in the perspective of a boy named Chick as he tries to understand Lucas, a black man accused of killing a white man, I become painfully aware of Lucas's complex character. Lucas was the best character in the story and from page one you root for him. You want justice for Lucas. Lucas is flawed with stubborn pride in a time period that didn't allow a black man to have pride. It is this so-called flaw that makes me like him. Lucas is also painted with precise intelligence. He knows who he can trust and who he cannot. This line of reasoning just might save him. Lucas also values life which is why he saved Chick long before the novel begins. Lucas's pride refused payment for such a grand gesture. Both Lucas and Chick have a inner faith in the goodness of humanity. Lucas because he's a really good guy and Chick because he's still a boy and maybe hasn't had time to lose his faith. Faulkner says this much better than me...

“A man or a race either if he's any good can survive his past without even needing to escape from it and not because of the high quite often only too rhetorical rhetoric of humanity but for the simple indubitable practical reason of his future: that capacity to survive and absorb and endure and still be steadfast.”

Faulkner's stories are always presented in a setting loaded loaded with racism decorated in the antebellum of backward pride. It's a tough place to find even a thread of hope in humanity, but Faulkner finds it. In Intruder in the Dust, that faith is found in Lucas and spills over onto Chick. In Faulkner's novel, Light in August, identity is once again explored and steadfastness is discovered through not Joe, but Lena's love. "She was the captain of her soul." In The Sound and the Fury, it was the perspective of Quentin that gave me hope despite Quentin's ending.  Intruder in the Dust is a short read and it often steers off the plot topic, but it is worth reading; however, if you have never read a Faulkner book don't start here. Pick up As I Lay Dying or Light in August, or start with a short story like A Rose for Emily, that one is creepy Southern Gothic suspense at its best.  

4 Stars for FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven is a child of William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies and The Walking Dead's Negan episodes. Lord of the Flies because of the deeper psychological element that makes us question the darker side of ourselves and that of others. Lord of the Flies is also loaded with symbolism representing intellect, unbridled violence, and leadership. All of these characteristics are found in humanity. They are also represented in the tribe leaders, intellects and violent acts of the Pirates and Warthogs in the book, FantasticLand. 

The underlying question of this book is why did a group of teenagers turn so quickly to gruesome acts of violence? In quick summary: FantasticLand is about a little over 200 teenagers who find themselves stranded in an amusement park for several weeks. They begin killing each other in less than a week. Why? I feel the answer to this question lies within our human psyche and the small percentage of real psychos out there that can (leadership) manipulate others who are weakened by tragedy, thus the hurricane that stranded the teens. 

As mentioned, this also reminded me of the Walking Dead Negan episodes because the bad Pirate group in the story used fear tactics much like Negan and his men. That scared me worse than the blood shed. Scarier than the Pirates was the Warthogs. The chapter on the Warthogs was the best chapter. I understand there is a sequel here. I definitely want to get my hands on it. This leads me to why I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5. That rating came from the Warthog chapter. After reading that chapter every other chapter fell short. The warthog chapter found the magic of suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. The rest of the book intrigued me, but nothing like that one. 

That said: Bockoven wove together a clever book with a dynamic premise. FantasticLand was told in several interviews piecing together the massacre. Bockoven's ability to create very distinct voices throughout brought a real human element to the monsters of FantasticLand. In the end, you may question what group you fall into: Pirates, Shop Girls, Deadpools, Fairies. You notice I didn't include the Warthogs. Hopefully, you don't either.

Five Stars for Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford

Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford is a rollercoaster-in-outer-space. Each chapter ends on the precipice of downhill fun. Bransford understands the mind of twelve-year-old boys and he even throws in one sassy, sardonic girl to big bang things amuck. Sarah, a fan of Betty Friedan, might have been my favorite character. I figure Friedan is close enough to Margaret Atwood and I'm a girl who is a big fan of Atwood's. So, even though this seems like a book for boys, Bransford found a way to be all inclusive. Girls and boys would love this book. This book is not just about having fun, getting lost in space, and having to find your way back to Earth. This book is about the kind of friendships formed between friends before they become more than friends. It's innocent and sweet and it reminds me of cotton candy, and apples drenched in caramel. It also reminds me of how important it is to be honest and loyal to your friends. Sometimes as adults we forget the important stuff. So I would say on this level this is also a book for adults who sometimes forget what it is like being a kid. Maybe we all need a little Wonder to remind us. I highly recommend this book.

4 Stars for A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

 

This book takes a while to get into, but once you start to build some lovely love and hate relationships with the characters, you find yourself wanting to see how they turn out. Abercrombie fleshes out his characters with an underbelly of raw truth that is sometimes vulgar, but that is countered with humor. The character of Rikke made me laugh out loud several times. Rikke is not a girl to bite back how she really feels and she feels with a big dumb heart that leads her about with her nose ring. She's also witty and can dish out an insult as much as she can laugh one off. Other characters that stood out to me: Savine (I haven't decided to like her yet. She still needs to go through more dramatic change to humble her.) Leo, memorable, but I'm indifferent to him. The wolf, because I love to hate him. I also really liked Orso, because he deserved more of my sympathy than any of the characters. Beneath his wild prowess he wants to love and do right by the people. His promise means something. I recommend this book, but know it is a slow read in the beginning, but it gets better, much better. Further, if you are a Game of Thrones fan - A Little Hatred just may be your jam.