5 Stars for Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus is a must read for folks who look want to dig at the heart of the human condition while marveling at the murky area between life and death and then still finding a connection. In the case of Jake, the protagonist diving for his father's bones, he looks for closure with a father from whom, he carried heavy dark resentment and guilt towards. On the surface, this is just a story about daddy issues and being swallowed by a whale, but beneath the surface this book has a whole Sidhartha feel to it revealing the human condition to be much more than a father/son relationship, but one with the entire universe. Battling the whale and Jake's issues with his dad were only part of the discoveries he uncovered inside the belly of the whale. Personally, and I'm not a marine biologist or anything, I found the whale intricacies to be fascinating, and I found the clever approaches to survival Macgyveresque - not cheesy, but interesting without knowing the true factoids behind it. I loved it! I am going to read more of Daniel Kraus. Whalefall is different in a 2024 world full of mimes. Try Kraus for Catina/Avatar scene. Great imagery and detail without becoming Moby Dickish. Again, Loved it!

Four Stars for The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera examines the lightness and freedom of human choice. Milan proposes we fear this freedom often craving the heavy burdens of responsibility. The players in this tale are often choosing between living in truth or living in lies. Lies seem burdensome and truth light and difficult to achieve. A lot of unnecessary thick rambling briar bush type prose held up my reading time. It took me several months to get to a solid story line in this book pushing my five start to a four; however, this is definitely worth the read. The characters are complex and it takes some time to understand what truly motivates theme. They are so flawed and grotesque in their twisted logic surrounding ideas on love that are neither idealistic nor completely cynical. Tereza, the wife of womanizing Tomas, is weighted with love for Tomas, and this should be a stock character like say Elizabeth Proctor, the doting wife, the loyal wife, the stand-by-your-man wife, but Tereza has more than one side and she is loyal and noble and certainly respectable, but her motivations for her loyalty are painfully questionable. Tomas is much the same, but his unraveling is easier to grasp. So, in closing, if you find yourself burdened with responsibilities, then take a hard look at the opposite side of that because you too may find that lightness unbearable. 

5 Stars for Grady Hendrix's How to Sell a Haunted House

 

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix is one of the best Hendrix I've read so far; however, it does get a little purple hazzy at the end in absolute Hendrix flamboyant flair. Still, despite the long windedness of the ending, I absolutely loved Mark and Louise and the brother and sister hurtles I have also experienced with my own brother. Plus, its always great when you start really hating a character aka Mark and then you sympathize with them. Hendrix painted Mark in every color of a Jackson Pollack painting with the drama of a Broadway play like Chicago and a Hendrix town is one full of murder of mayhem but this time told by a flipping puppet. Yes, the whole puppet thing has been done many times, but it never gets old and when you can tell a creepy puppet story the way Hendrix does; its worth the read. 

5 Stars for White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton

This is a jewel of a book. I did not expect to like it so much especially when books like this heavily compete against the great Jim Butcher books. But, this book held up for a number for reasons. First, the magic had no plot holes in it. As if magic could, until you've been in one of those books and your like, "No that's not real. That wouldn't work." And then the whole book falls apart for you. Slayton has a tight lid on his magic. Second, is the dynamic between the brothers, Adam and Bobby is built with great backstory, but also the two brothers make a great foiled-up scene reminding me a lot of why I've watched Supernatural so much. Last, romance and love is pure and sweet and looks for little and big things that really matter in a mate. I highly recommend this book and I know I will read more Slayton. 

5 Stars for Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles ranks alongside The Great Gatsby for its depiction of the influence of wealth in New York City. Although Gatsby was set in 1922 and Civility in 1938, both books embraced that materialism brings happiness. Told through the perspective of 25 year old Katey Kontent, somewhat blue blooded and definitely hardworking, Katey becomes the sidekick for her best friend Eve. When the two of them meet Tinker Gray, a rich banker, their friendship is challenged for a love for wealth and romantic love. Of course in a city fueled by the idea that money buys happiness it becomes harder and harder for Katey to find her niche of individuality no matter how much she reads to discover it. Societies pressure to be among the wealthy is immense and Katey soon discovers people are not who they pretend to be. 

My favorite character in this novel was Tinker. He so reminded me of Gatsby. He was even described as a guy who had 'wonder'. Tinker like Gatsby dreamed and wealth was a huge part of that dream, however Tinker unlike Gatsby seem to discover that you surely can't repeat the past and going forward and truly embracing who you is what happiness is. Too bad for Katey and Eve. Katey even more than Eve, irked me in this regard. This is all I shall say without spoiling. Eve came across as completely shallow, a real Gatsby's Daisy, but her refusal of her dad's money threw me. Eve's character explained it by saying:

"I'm willing to be under anything...as long as it isn't somebody's thumb."

And yet she was under someone else's thumb. To me, this was completely uncharacteristic (for her not to take her dad's money) and unless there was some further explanation for her reasoning. What other things besides money motivated Eve? Clearly not her independence and need for freedom else she wouldn't let someone else care for her. Was Eve both shallow and contradictory? Then I discover that Eve did appreciate good music. Did this make her less shallow? I'm not sure. I'm definitely unsure about Eve. I don't really buy her need for freedom and not being up under somebody's thumb because really she never is and although Katey seems to fly solo, she still can't see past her own limitations that come from feelings of betrayal. For me in the end, Tinker is the only redeemable character in the novel whereas in Gatsby all of the characters were totally shallow and unforgivable - still a great novel. Yes, I highly recommend Rules of Civility and maybe one should read it more than once. 

3 Stars for Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

 

Margaret Atwood is a beautiful writer, and it is easy to get lost in the imagery of her words, but this alone does not make a solid story. In the end, you have to have a story, and Surfacing by Atwood does not contain a solid plot line. It is about two couples living in a desolate cabin in the hopes of finding out what happen to the main protagonist's father. That alone is interesting enough, but the story focuses more on Atwood's philosophical viewpoints on preserving the environment and feminist issues that often define women as something other than being an individual and often victims of society. I don't mind these viewpoints, but not in a story. This book should have been more of an essay. I have the same problem with this story as I have with Anthem by Ayn Rand which is over a hundred pages of someone's opinion about the evils of collectivism. There is no plot There is no story. In the end, I found myself skimming this novel. I'm not sure I can recommend it, but I can recommend other Atwood novels like Cat's Eye and both Handmaid books one and two.  

5 Stars for A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara is the best book I've read this year. It exorcises the demons that plague fear and abuse replacing them friendship and love. It is a story of perseverance despite certain inevitabilities. It is a Francis Bacon painting surrounded by Monet's water lilies. 

Some folks have said they rated this book less due to lack of historical background or the implausibility of Jude (main character) playing the piano. I accepted instances like Jude playing the piano and I didn't care about historical background because it simply wasn't part of this story and I feel like you shouldn't put something in a book if it doesn't move you plot forward. 

This is a book about what is felt on the inside and if the outer world doesn't embellish that - leave it out. Yanagihara's prose could have been cut, yes, but with writing that flipping awesome why should it? I enjoyed the lyrical sound her words made, so I never tired of reading the essential plot points, but also the flabby repetitive musical chorus simply because the harmony of her words felt like Alison Krauss and The Band. 

A Little Life should be placed on everyone's books to read list preferably near in the top ten. I know it made me reexamine love and friendship in a way that not only helps me to persevere but be eternally grateful for what life has given me. This story is realistic in a way that lets the reader know they can't have it all, but you can have what's important to living.