You give, and you are given

Evidence
Mary Oliver

I have to thank both Beacon Press and LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program for sending me Evidence, Mary Oliver's latest collection of poetry. I love Oliver's work and this newest collection does not disappoint.

I'm pleased to say that, while not every poem hit home, I enjoyed the majority of poems in the collection, and a few had such an impact on me that I was utterly unable to continue reading -- all I could do was to reread the lines which had affected me so. This happened a number of times, which is always a hallmark of a superior poet.

Oliver's poetry is simple and unpretentious; that's not to say, however, that it's facile or simple-minded. I love how she glories in the world around her, and finds beauty in every aspect of nature.

This ability is most clearly seen in "Prince Buzzard," one of my favorite poems in the collection. Here, Oliver is able to make beautiful that which is generally considered to be ugly: a buzzard feeding on carrion. Although this image is not a pleasant one, the poem that results from it is.

"Almost a Conversation" is another of my favorites; in this poem Oliver describes a conversation with an otter. I had quoted a portion of the poem in a previous draft of this review; upon rereading it, however, the power of those lines is not as strong as when attached to the entire poem, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

At any rate, if you enjoy poetry characterized by simple phrasing, profound thoughts, and a glorification of the natural world, Evidence is for you.

In a nutshell: Oliver uses simple language to create profound poetry.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars

Take a ride with Lowboy

Lowboy
John Wray

I've recently read and reviewed Lowboy for the great Pajiba.

Lowboy follows a troubled teen as he roams New York City's underground. Click here to read my review.

In a nutshell: Lowboy is intriguing, fast-paced, and overall enjoyable.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

Nothing remains but to let the darkness come

Julian
Gore Vidal

I don't know where on earth I found out about this book (I've never before read Gore Vidal, and I'm not particularly interested in the Ancient Romans), but I'm so glad whoever it was introduced me to Julian. Simply put, this book was amazing.

My surprise at the awesomeness of Julian comes as a result of a few hefty handicaps already stacked against it: for one, I keep confusing Gore Vidal with Al Gore, a man who -- despite his good intentions -- seems to me synonymous with TEH BORE. For another, the summary of the book made me feel like reading Julian would be as much fun as reading a textbook. Clearly, I was wrong on both counts.

Although such an overview is laughably superficial, I'll do my best to give a quasi-informed look at the man that was Julian Augustus. The emperor Julian was many things: philosopher, military strategist, essayist, and Hellenist. As a Hellenist, he rejected Christianity (despite Christianity being advocated by his uncle, Constantine the Great). However, Julian (also known as Julian the Apostate) did not want to force his countrymen to worship the old gods; rather, he sought to institute a society of religious tolerance in which all could worship freely. Unfortunately, not everyone was thrilled at such freedom.

Julian

Julian, for his part, never sought the throne. From the time he was a young boy, he aspired only to be a philosopher. The fates had their way, however, and Julian eventually took the throne. Vidal chronicles Julian's life from the time he was a young boy up to his death at the age of 32. The novel is told from a few perspectives: that of the Emperor himself, and two of his friends, the philosophers Priscus and Libanius.

right: Gore Vidal

Julian's portion is told from a manuscript taken after his death; Priscus and Libanius have their say via letters to one another and in notes annotating the text. This interplay often gave rise to humor, especially as rivalries and jealousies arise between the two old philosophers.

In a nutshell: In rereading this review, I feel I've made an awfully good book sound frightfully boring. This couldn't be further from the truth. Julian is what historical fiction should be: fascinatingly intelligent, deeply moving, and highly entertaining.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars

Sunday Sonnet

SONNETS ARE FULL OF LOVE
by Christina Rossetti


Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
Has many sonnets: so here now shall be
One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me
To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,
To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee
I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;
Whose service is my special dignity,
And she my loadstar while I go and come
And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath
Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:
In you not fourscore years can dim the flame
Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws
Of time and change and mortal life and death.

Reading Resolution: April Update

Finally -- the spell has been broken. The monstrous grip held by both LOST and Drood has been broken, and I can now return my full attention to my reading resolution. April wasn't the best of months as far as my resolution was concerned, but I'm getting back to it. Really, I swear.


RESOLUTION TITLES READ IN APRIL: 4

Ferris, Joshua. Then We Came to the End
Freund, Harry. I Never Saw Paris
Mabanckou, Alain. African Psycho
Thomson, Rupert. The Book of Revelation


NON-RESOLUTION TITLES READ IN APRIL: 3

Lerman, Eleanor. The Blonde on the Train
Matheson, Richard. Button, Button
Simmons, Dan. Drood



TOTAL TITLES READ IN APRIL: 7

CURRENT RESOLUTION PROGRESS: 25 / 88

TOTAL BOOKS READ IN 2009: 29

Ah, push it -- p-push it real good

Button, Button: Uncanny Stories
Richard Matheson

I was interested in reading "Button, Button" after hearing a film version starring Cameron Diaz would be released this summer. "Button, Button" is a short, gripping, and fast read, so I took a gander at the rest of the stories. For the most part, I wasn't disappointed.

The premise behind "Button, Button" is an intriguing one: would you kill a total stranger in return for 50,000? Okay, this story was written in the seventies, so, adjusting for inflation and keeping in mind our current "hard economic times," would you do it for a million? All you have to do is push a nice little button. That's it. Somewhere in the world, someone will die. You'll get the money and can live guilt-free. I mean, it's not like you actually know the person, right? And, of course, there's always the possibility that no one will die at all. Anyway, I'd like to think I wouldn't do it, but I suppose I'll never know. And I won't tell you want the characters in the story will do, either. IT WILL BE A TOTAL SURPRISE TO YOU.*

The other stories were, for the most part, just as good as "Button, Button." There were a few stories that fell flat for me, but the majority of these 12 stories kept me entertained. Considering I read the entire collection in under a day, I'm pretty pleased.

Of the others I enjoyed, there's "No Such Thing as a Vampire," which puts a cool spin on the Dracula myth; "Girl of my Dreams," in which a girl who dreams the future is used by her enterprising boyfriend; "Tis the Season to Be Jelly," which illustrates the effects of playing with science; and "A Flourish of Strumpets," which introduces the reader to some very unique marketing techniques.

So, dear readers, I have to know: would you push a button that kills a random stranger in return for an insane amount of money? Be honest now...

In a nutshell: Not every story wowed me, but this collection was an entertaining read that didn't hurt ye olde braine too much.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars




*Actually, that's not entirely true. But it's still a good story anyway.

Poop or get off the pot

African Psycho
Alain Mabanckou

Shh. Listen. Can you hear that?

That's the sound of me tearing through another title in my reading resolution. Woot. Woot. Although, to be fair, this was an easy one: Mabanckou's African Psycho is a slim book at a little over 150 pages.

African Psycho, as one might expect, is the African version of American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. However, unlike Patrick Bateman, who had a thirst for murder and (may have) racked up more than a few bodies, Gregoire Nakobomayo is more a murderer in thought than in deed.

You see, Gregoire wants to kill, but somehow never manages to do so. He wants more than anything to please the soul of his dead idol, the serial killer known as Angoualima. Gregoire visits Angoualima's grave frequently, and imagines the ghost of his idol berating him for his failed attempts at infamy. Vowing to please his idol at last, Gregoire plans to kill his girlfriend by the end of the year.

Murdering his girlfriend will have another important effect than just getting Gregoire in Angoualima's good graces: it will help him be somebody and do something important. Gregoire imagines that murdering his prostitute girlfriend will actually benefit his city in the end.

Unfortunately, it's Gregoire himself who gets in his way. As one might have guessed, our poor narrator thinks too much and as a result does very little. Consequently, African Psycho is a frequently humorous, if not entirely violent, novel.

In a nutshell: Psychological and philosophical, African Psycho is intriguing but not necessarily enjoyable. The disappointing ending prevented it from being a solid four stars.

Bibliolatry Scale: 3.5 out of 6 stars

Trying to be a good person, one review at a time

I Never Saw Paris: A Novel of the Afterlife
Harry Freund

Oh, brother. What to say about this book that won't make me sound like an asshole? In the spirit of Christian fellowship (much like the focus of I Never Saw Paris), I'm going to try to say 10 nice things about this book.

1. I Never Saw Paris is part of my 2009 reading resolution.

2. I Never Saw Paris is a really quick read.

3. I Never Saw Paris concerns the immediate afterlife of five people who perish in an accident.

4. I Never Saw Paris reminds us to love one another and to enjoy every minute of our lives.

5. I Never Saw Paris cautions us that every action, no matter how innocuous this action may seem, has a consequence.

6. I Never Saw Paris teaches us that even not-so-admirable individuals have redeeming characteristics.

7. I didn't pay for I Never Saw Paris.

8. . . . .Let's see . . . . . number 8. . . . . .


Okay, I can't do it. I can't quit carbs, I can't run for longer than two minutes at a time, and I can't say more than 7 good things about this book. If I may, though, I'd like to point out some not-so-good things:

1. What could be an intriguing story is undermined by overly simple writing.

2. Cliches abound.

3. I'm a little uncomfortable with the notion that gay men are not truly men, especially when Brett, the gay character, bemoans his being born with the heart of a "softhearted, warm, and cuddly girl" instead of having "a bald head, big ears. . . .and the heart and soul of a man." Alrighty, then. . .

4. Also, the book just kinda sucked all-around. How in the hell did it get so many five-star reviews on Amazon.com??

Look: the book's heart is in the right place, but I just didn't feel the telling was a particularly good one.

In a nutshell: While I may not have enjoyed the book, Freund's point is a valid one: We never know when the reaper will come a'knockin, so stop being a douchebag while there's still time.

Bibliolatry Scale: 1 out of 6 stars

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Olive Kitteridge, the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

I received Olive Kitteridge as an ARC a year ago, and I was amazed by what was truly an unexpected gem.

Click here to read my review.

No easy answers here

The Book of Revelation
Rupert Thomson

This far in my reading resolution, I've somehow avoided works by those authors whose names appear toward the end of the alphabet. Seeking to balance things out, I picked up Thomson's The Book of Revelation. I was surprised to find this book such a mind-blowing read.

Here's what I knew going into the novel: a man goes out for cigarettes. Instead of reaching his destination, he is instead kidnapped. Obviously, his life is forever changed.

The reality, however, is much, much more unsettling. He is held for eighteen days by three women whose faces are never revealed to him. They abuse, rape, and mutilate him repeatedly during his captivity. And then, without warning, he is released, returned to life.

Except, of course, returning to life will not be that easy.

He becomes obsessed with his captors, intent on finding them and having his revenge. Knowing only their nakedness, not their faces, he goes to extreme lengths to learn whether each woman who has crossed his path is innocent or not. The result demonstrates the effects of violence both on the individual and on society at large.

The Book of Revelation is a simple enough read, but is one that stays with you for a time after it's finished. Be warned that it's disturbing, but quite powerful. I came to care for our nameless narrator and know that -- somewhere, somehow -- he's found peace at last.

In a nutshell: Intense, disturbing, and gripping...The Book of Revelation won't easily be forgotten. The narrator's captivity and abuse is only a small portion of the novel, so readers shouldn't be dissuaded from reading based on this aspect of the novel.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

We are all the same human beings with the same potential to be good

The Blonde on the Train
Eleanor Lerman

My latest review for Pajiba is up, and this time I had the pleasure of reviewing The Blonde on the Train, the latest collection of short fiction from award-winning poet Eleanor Lerman.

The Blonde on the Train is different from my usual reading fare, but Lerman's prose is relatable and enjoyable. You may read my full review here.

In a nutshell: An intriguing collection of stories, The Blonde on the Train reminds us that we're more alike than we are different.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time

Then We Came to the End
Joshua Ferris

Once upon a time, I worked in an office. It was the most depressing, most soul-crushing, most horrible time of my life. The seconds passed like hours, the days like weeks. I often had no work to do, yet had to appear busy (which is more difficult than it sounds, trust me). Everyone was miserable. The only relief came during those ten blissful minutes during which I tramped outside for a smoke break. In fact, even writing these few short sentences is enough to bring this time back in all its depressing glory. That's why I'm surprised to find I liked Then We Came to the End as much as I did. Although it often struck too close to home, it is truly, as The New Yorker said, a "masterwork of pitch and tone."

Then We Came to the End is both comic and tragic, both uplifting and utterly depressing. If you've spent time in an office, you'll understand how this can be so, and so you'll recognize yourself in these pages. If you've never worked in an office -- you're quite lucky, aren't you? -- allow Ferris to take you on a tour of the life that could have been yours. True, such a life is filled with moments of humor (gossip, interoffice intrigue, the occasional anecdote that helps to lighten a day), but it is often filled with moments of pain, as well, as interoffice politics, layoffs, and a general malaise abound.

Then We Came to the End follows several characters who work in an ad agency, but this novel is not so much about these characters as it is about the effect office life has on the soul. To this end, Ferris employs the first-person plural, a corporate We, if you will. This technique doesn't feel old or overdone, and it's a testament to Ferris' skill as a writer that he is able to maintain this voice for the duration of the novel (except for a short divagation to the third person in the middle). I was surprised by how connected I felt to these characters both as a group and as individuals. Although I'm not counting Then We Came to the End among the best books I've ever read, I'm glad I had the experience.

(Note: Because of the monster Drood, Then We Came to the End is the first entry in April's reading resolution.)

In a nutshell: Full of humor and pathos, Then We Came to the End lives up to the hype.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

Dan Simmons, I heart you

Drood
Dan Simmons

That's it. I need a Kindle. Like, now. I suddenly feel a need to read everything ever written by Dan Simmons -- and, considering his propensity for the lengthy novel, I'm thinking the Kindle is the way to go.

My introduction to Dan Simmons came with The Terror, a book I fully expected to dislike, seeing as how it involved, of all things, boats. Mention boats and I simply cannot...stay...awa -- zzzzzzzzz. See? It happened again. Except that Dan Simmons makes boats interesting. Compelling, even.

As soon as I learned of his latest novel, Drood, I knew I was in for a similar treat. This time, Simmons turns his well-researched eye to those famous frenemies, Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Mr. Billy Wilkie Collins is our esteemed narrator, and a more entertaining narrator -- if not a more reliable one -- couldn't be found. Wilkie's tale will force readers to consider what is real, and what is illusion. While posing that question, however, thrills and chills are encountered in droves.

Just as in The Terror, Drood centers on a real-life event that Simmons then meticulously explores, adding a supernatural twist along the way. The event in question is the Staplehurst rail crash of June 1865, which Dickens survived. On this day, the first seven carriages of the Staplehurst train plunged off a bridge -- only the carriage in which Dickens was riding was safe. Dickens, who aided the wounded and dying immediately after the accident, was never the same after this day.

Simmons uses the Staplehurst accident as the backbone of Drood, injecting the spectral figure of Drood himself into the wreckage of the crash. Who -- or what -- is this Drood? What does he want? I could tell you, Dear Reader, but you'll have much more fun if you find out for yourself.

Clearly, Drood's a pimp --
beyond that, I'm keeping mum

I've heard some claim that Drood is good, but not as good as The Terror. I disagree. I think it's equally as good -- if not better. I loved everything about this big behemoth.

In a nutshell: It's long, yes, but every single page is worth it. Dan Simmons, if we weren't both married, I'd be a' comin for you.

Bibliolatry Scale: 6 out of 6 stars

Reading Resolution: March Update

I didn't do so well on my reading resolution this month. Why? Two words: LOST and Drood. I've decided to finally -- five seasons into the show -- start watching the former, as they are all streamed for free online at abc.com. The latter is good, but time consuming, especially when one spends all her time watching, say, the first season of an immensely intriguing tv show.

So, alas, my numbers are low.

DuMaurier, Rebecca
Lehane, Mystic River
Moore, Fool
O'Nan, Songs for the Missing

(Don't forget that I also read a great ARC this month, Darling Jim, which doesn't count toward my resolution, but it was so good I couldn't put it down. It's due out in print this month, so check it out!)

RESOLUTION TITLES READ IN MARCH: 4

TOTAL TITLES READ IN MARCH: 5

CURRENT RESOLUTION PROGRESS: 21/88

TOTAL BOOKS READ IN 2009: 22

Sunday Sonnet

SILENCE
by Edgar Allan Poe


There are some qualities--some incorporate things,
That have a double life, which thus is made
A type of that twin entity which springs
From matter and light, evenced in solid and shade.
There is a two-fold Silence--sea and shore--
Body and soul. One dwells in lonely places,
Newly with grass o'ergrown; some solemn graces,
Some human memories and tearful lore,
Render him terrorless: his name's "No More."
He is the corporate Silence: dread him not!
No power hath he of evil in himself;
But should some urgent fate (untimely lot!)
Bring thee to meet his shadow (nameless elf,
That haunteth the lone regions where hath trod
No foot of man) commend thyself to God!