The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald

A logical followup to semi-autobiographical This Side of Paradise, which followed its character through adolescence, this novel focuses on the adult life of the handsome and clever - but uninspired - Anthony Patch, who lives it up on his grandfather's dollar and struggles to forge his own way in life. After marrying the beautiful Gloria, his life degenerates until he exists in a state of selfish depravity, evidenced by increasing alcoholism and the alienation of everyone near him. Though it never seems his pinnacle of his life is very high, he manages to fall quite far. Centering on this semi-tragic story, Fitzgerald exposes the strange, separate lives of the leisure class - those who never know true work; whose entire existences seem to be one interwoven political game in which people are pieces and one succeeds only by arranging his or her position and fortifying it, and one's status can be determined by timely usage of a few cynical, pretentious phrases. Not quite as original or spirited as This Side of Paradise, nor as polished as The Great Gatsby, this is nonetheless a rich and honest book, full of the author's typical lyricism and bitter social commentary.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
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At War With Asia - Noam Chomsky

This highly academic collection of essays from the early 70s is not exactly light reading. Pick this up if you have a serious interest in American foreign policy and the patience to wade through the facts and undecorated analysis. Chomsky examines - in great detail - the military involvement of the United States in the Southeast Asian nations of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, drawing on extensive research and his own visits to the area. He is, of course, relentlessly critical of the American government and its policies - the general point seems to be that claims of good intentions and benevolence were/are all bullshit, and that US interventions there and throughout the world were/are really aimed at maintaining the dependence of developing countries on the United States (for the sake of expanding both military and markets). But he also looks home to America, contemplating the health (or existence) of a democracy that allows its government to wage wars against poor nations, especially when against public opinion. "Either the war will have to go," Chomsky says, "or the democracy." While these essays are mostly over thirty years old, they may offer more than just a critical look back in time, as the US has moved on to different regions but its motives remain essentially the same.

Worth Reading
3.5 out of 5
Buy this book: At War With Asia: Essays on Indochina

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

A true account of the adventures of 24 year old Christopher McCandless, an upper class East Coast suburbanite, who, upon finishing college, gave away and burned all his money and attempted a sort of "return to nature." McCandless travels around North America in a haze of youthful discontent, naivete and stupidity, relying on the kindness of strangers and dumb luck to survive. Eventually he heads north to the ever romanticized textbook wilderness of Alaska where his innocence becomes painfully clear as he dives into the Denali wilderness in April - his life prolonged once again by an astonished stranger who gives him some basic gear before he trudges out of sight. It is still winter, and he quickly realizes that his life is in peril; luckily, he finds an old abandoned bus which has been converted to a hunting cabin of sorts.

This is a cautionary tale, not a guidebook. The story has gathered a cult-like following worldwide since the release of the film. Everywhere we go, whenever we meet crazy, lucky-to-be-alive-for-the stupid-things-they've-done backpackers and they hear any mention of Alaska, their eyes star up and, like obsessed teeny-boppers, they gush over how their dream is to "disappear" into the Alaskan wilderness like their "hero" McCandless. Most add, as an afterthought, as though some crime of nature has been committed: "I can't believe he died." If you are one of these senseless, itchy-footed idolaters this book isn't for you. Otherwise, it is a well written story that shows many sides of America and its people: kind, selfish, idealistic, etc. and leaves questions about the honesty and accuracy of the American education system's portrayal of the West.

Worth the Read
3 out of 5
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Wild Swans - Jung Chang

This book may as well be handed out to expats in China along with their visas. It seems every foreigner associated with the country within the past fifteen years has read it. But, having been through it, its appeal and ubiquity are much easier to understand - it is essentially a crash course on recent Chinese history in a highly-readable story form. Jung Chang uses the experiences her own family as a center-point, around which she forms a general account of China's bizarre twentieth century, from the collapse of thousands of years of dynasty rule to the short-lived republic, the Japanese occupation, installation of Communism, and the tumultuous years of Mao Zedong. The result is a story that often seems impossible - the years of glorified ignorance and repression of the Cultural Revolution could be passed as science fiction, some horrifying Orwellian vision manifested. Jung Chang manages to maintain humility and composure, even while describing the most violent or painful episodes, though at times the narrative is bit too heavy with her own sentiment and, towards the end, stumbles in and out of repetitiveness. The subtitle of the book is Three Daughters of China, suggesting the presence of a definite Mom book; but, while the author relies a little too heavily on possessive adjectives (my mother, my mother, my mother...) and occasionally delves into unnecessary emotional reflexion, it is just as much a story of her father (and China in general), and is on the whole rather subdued and somber.

Worth Reading
3.5 out of 5
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Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 - Hunter S. Thompson

The strangest thing about his rambling, angry, often incoherent collection of a year's worth of political writing is that there are actually moments of genuine, clear insight. Somehow, the late Dr. Thompson's unorthodox journalism manages to capture - or reflect - the true nature of the American political process - maddening, gruesome, something akin to a meat grinder that threatens to destroy the sanity and stability of everyone involved, so long as they have a sliver of humanity in them. Indeed, by the final pages, Thompson himself is unwell, and unable even to write - at times bare transcripts are given in place of his trademark narration. Through his suffering he appears to have gained something of an inside understanding of how our country works, and as a self-labeled power junkie, Thompson seems to intuit (and still deplore) what motivates the maneuvers of many politicians. Alternatively hilarious (as in his account of crashing a pro-Nixon youth rally), tedious (he throws out a lot of numbers), and incomprehensible, this is ultimately an entertaining and enlightening account of a bizarre aspect of America; and readers may notice some uncanny resemblances between the events of the '72 election and many of our recent ones.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
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Cathedral - Raymond Carver

This poignant collection of stories from a Northwestern author are steeped in genuine experience - in failure, struggle, and common human interactions. The premises are surprisingly strange: in the title story, a man admits his uncertainty about meeting a blind man, only to find a strange sort of comfort in the new experience. But in scenarios such as this, Carver avoids both didacticism and sentimentality; his subtle, unpretentious language simply shows, with almost haunting honesty, a very real world. The characters within his barren situations are full of doubts and weakness (in 'Careful,' a man convinces himself that it's ok to drink Champange straight from the bottle in the afternoon by himself), have little aspirations, and make errors - in other words, they are very authentic. Each of these twelve short works offers a unique glimpse of both the emptiness and possibility of life.

Worth Reading
3.5 out of 5
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Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

This is J.D. Salinger's intricately descriptive story showing the relationship between two remarkably well sketched sibling characters. Broken into two different episodes, the reader is first introduced to Franny, the youngest of the seven famously precocious Glass children (also mentioned in a few of Salinger's Nine Stories and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction), grown past her early genius into a beautiful and concerned 20-year-old undergraduate who's exposure to a mysterious religious text has left her teetering on the edge of a mental collapse. The second, much longer section - Zooey - picks up focus on the Glass family's youngest son, Franny's older brother. Zooey, 25, is an actor by trade. Through a conversation with the title characters' mother we discover Franny is home and indisposed. The story flows through beautifully realistic dialogue and though very little actually happens in the plot, enough is revealed about the characters to make this a compelling and entertaining read.

Worth Reading
3.5 out of 5
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Last Go Round - Ken Kesey

Kesey's rodeo tale most closely resembles Sailor Song, his Alaskan adventure, rather than his cerebral and cunning earlier works. His characters are colorful but not exceptionally deep, and he dances around the edge of cliche, but there is always the sense that he might throw you off when you're not expecting it. Inspired by stories of the first Pendelton Roundup told to Kesey (and friend Ken Babbs) in his youth, Last Go Round fully embraces the actual event's mythicized history - naturally, Kesey adds some of his own flavor into the pot. Related from the perspective of an aged rodeo star, the language is bright and amusing and full of twisted cowboy wisdom (infused with some North American and Asian mysticism). For anyone who has ever attended the bizarre event of the Pendelton Roundup, it provides a unique perspective; otherwise, it is a rollicking tale from a more conservative, but still confident and sly, Kesey.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
Buy this film: Last Go Round: A Real Western

A Glimpse of Nothingness - Janwillem van de Wetering

The subtitle of this nonfiction account is 'Experiences in an American Zen Community,' and it is precisely that. As you might expect from a student of Buddhism, the writing is economical and unpretentious. Dutch writer van de Wetering wastes no space as he tells of his exploration into Japanese Zen Buddhism and his visit to a commune located within the woods of the American Northeast. Residents of the 'retreat,' which is run by an unforgivingly honest master, subject themselves to strenuous meditation labor as they search for the answers to their koans; but the life of these spiritual seekers is not puritanical - they humanly indulge in instant coffee, cigarettes and booze to keep grounded. Van de Wetering's reflections are tinged with a humility and humor which suggest that he did in fact discover something, even if he beheld it only momentarily. A Glimpse of Nothingness is an interesting peek at an alternative lifestyle. Whether or not you have any interest in the modern practice of Zen Buddhism, it is a fun and light escape.

WORTH READING
3.5 out of 5
Buy this book: A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community

Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Probably the second most well-known book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, at least in English, Love in the Time of Cholera is a vast, beautifully written, and meticulous novel, but it fails to reach the level of One Hundred Years of Solitude, a book of incredible scope, originality, and insight. This novel taps into the same desire for the fairy-tale resiliency of love that allowed for the recent popularity of the film Slumdog Millionaire (See our review). But despite its magical flourishes, Garcia Marquez's book is probably more realistic than the comparable film, if only because he allows his characters more hedonistic diversions and greater depth. His protagonist, the romantic and stubborn Florentino Ariza, is made to wait so long for the object of his childhood lust that his is driven towards countless affairs and other fanciful endeavors, and what begins as a youthful infatuation gradually becomes perverted obsession as he ages, and by the end the qualities which were acceptable in his youth have failed to mature. In that regard it is honest, as Garcia Marquez did not deny the inevitable developments, however unusual, of his premise. Still, people seem willing to abandon disbelief for the sake of a positive outcome these days, and this novel is certainly pleasurable to read.

WORTH READING
3.5 out of 5
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Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymor: an Introduction - JD Salinger

I was nearly finished with these two novellas before I realized that they were fiction - had it not been for a small disclaimer on the copyright page, I would have gone on believing it all to be fact. While fact or fiction makes little difference, my belief is testament to Salinger's uncanny ability to create true characters - his love and understanding of his subjects is present in every word and phrase. That said, these two pieces are essentially character sketches (or detailed compositions) rather than plot-driven stories. Differing greatly in style, both focus on Seymour, one of Salinger's most intriguing characters - an enigmatic, brilliant, rude, doomed young man, and member of the Glass family, which appears in many of the author's published works (which are few).

WORTH READING
3.5 out of 5
Buy this book: Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction

Rabbit, Run - John Updike

A 26 year old, married, ex-high school basketball star known as Rabbit runs away from his child, pregnant wife, and small home town only to end up living in the connecting small town with a prostitute. "If you have the guts to be yourself," Rabbit says, "Other people'll pay your price." The protagonist is excruciatingly selfish and throughout seems numb to the effects of his actions, though his moments of remorse reveal he is acutely aware. Updike plays to the common American urge towards escapism, typically quelled by a carefully ingrained sense of responsibility. Rabbit's motives are left ambiguous, even to himself, though it becomes obvious his solution to his problems is (and always has been) sex. Rabbit, Run is a well written, non-intrusively didactic story that follows a lost and irresponsible young man through his struggles, fraught with intriguing, believable characters and a fast plot which plowed the way for 3 sequels and a novella.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
Buy this Book: Rabbit, Run
Buy: Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels

Slapstick: Or Lonesome No More! - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Written like a series of jokes aimed at punchlines, this later Vonnegut novel never requires too much concentration. Even so, its short little bursts of thought contain wonderfully absurd anecdotes and plenty of the author's trademark sentiment-laced satire. His preoccupation with apocalyptic themes is present, along with his quixotic longing for a greater sense of community and belonging. Within these pages you will find many of the ideas that are expressed ad nauseum in his speeches, essays, and shorter works (see Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons), but a little more finalized and focused. Told from the perspective of a senile former president and half-genius, it outlines (the writing is very sparse) a very unusual childhood relationship, the demise of civilization, an experimental new social system, and a brilliant solution to China's population problems (although it only worsens the world's air quality). This quick read is not as fully conceived or cutting as The Sirens of Titan or Cat's Cradle, which likewise predict the fall of civilization (always with a bit of hope for recovery), but is highly amusing and a good example of his later style.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
Buy this book: Slapstick: Or Lonesome No More!

Babylon Revisited and Other Stories - F. Scott Fitzgerald

As the title hints, this collection of ten short stories, which were written between 1920 and 1937, has a thick strand of sentimentalism running through tis course. Though all are well written (it's Fitzgerald) few stand out as particularly strong or original, and the ones that do (e.g. 'A Diamond as Big as the Ritz') do so because they are not about a person missing people or places. Fitzgerald's long descriptive sentences and obsession with possibility (both past and future) creates the usual dynamic and believable cast of big money New England educated characters. Most of the stories sit heavily on the "coming of age" theme, which might explain why I liked the book much more when I read it in high school. Babylon Revisited would be better if read over an extended duration of time; power reading it in a few days as we did left the stories repetitive and stripped them of their power as individuals. Not as much fun as Six Tales of the Jazz Age or The Pat Hobby Stories, but an impressive work nonetheless and a must read for Fitzgerald enthusiasts.

WORTH THE READ
3 out of 5
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The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale - Joseph Conrad

This novel of espionage and terrorism, set in early 20th century London, tells the tale of a double agent assigned to a dubious task. Its ironical style is well-orchestrated but traps the narration into excessive omniscience; the interactions are drawn out and the insight into characters is too complete. It seems that the subject matter was not deeply understood by Conrad, and consequently it lacks the vividness and confidence of his seafaring novels, causing his typical verbosity and descriptiveness to hang like dead weight. Despite its shortcomings, it is still Conrad, and provides some insightful glimpses into themes (including terrorism and the involvement of the state) that are maybe even more relevant today.

WORTH THE READ
3 out of 5
Buy this book: The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Penguin Classics)

Decline of the Lawrence Welk Empire - Poe Ballantine

What it may lack in depth and originality of plot, Ballantine makes up for in unrelenting charm and refreshing narrative flair. The narrator, Edgar Donahoe, is rich and real (regardless of having read the prequel, God Clobbers Us All), a quirky, flawed and idealistic young man, too smart to stay in the rat race of America, but too American to escape it. Whereas the domestically-set prequel focused more on the madness of American life, this followup is a first rate adventure story, complete with voodoo men, pirate gold, jumbies, crazy jungle dwellers and a femme fatale. But despite its obvious formulaic tendencies, it all seems almost tongue-in-cheek as it comes from Edgar's bitter yet hopeful voice.

WORTH THE READ
Rating: 3 out of 5
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Setting Free the Bears - John Irving

Despite the insipid title, the novel leaps off quickly into a highly readable adventure that brings together motorcycles, carnivores, Nazis, terrorists, and bees. The obvious metaphor looms all along but enough sharp turns and sudden doozies keep it from swallowing the story. A crash of sorts brings things to a halt, whereupon the focus turns to picking up the pieces, convalescing, and tying up loose ends. This book, written with quick language and sectioned into manageable, brief segments, never demands too much from the reader but provides enough sustenance to make it worthwhile. Readers of A Prayer for Owen Meany will notice a few glimpses of common themes, such as elaborate pranks and contemptuous obsession with the news and severed digits.

WORTH THE READ
Rating: 3 out of 5
Buy this book: Setting Free the Bears