'The most important part of a story is the piece you don't know'

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver is a fantastic author and her latest book, The Lacuna, is no exception. Written as a piecemeal recovered diary and a series of letters, the book centers around a shy author and his journeys between Mexico and the US in the 30s-50s. Kingsolver must have spent years researching this book and it was time well spent. The main character, Harrison Shepherd, engages us with his experience as a plaster boy turned cook in the homes of famous communists Diego Rivera, Frida, and Trotsky in the 30s and 40s. Shepherd is a bit in awe of his employers, but as their cook he runs their day-to-day lives and becomes fast friends with them as people, not simply icons. The famous Frida is allowed to shine and keep her scars. Shepherd is certainly a man without a country and while his own books begin to open the minds of readers, he is quickly accused by J. Edgar Hoover of communism. The tone of the story and the 'Red Scare' politics become a mirror into our own lives. The Lacuna wasn't a fast read, but it was very interesting reading about communism from such an interesting perspective as Mexico. Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

Announcing our new hero, Barbie...

Under the Dome by Stephen King

Stephen King has gone back to a small town in Maine in his latest tome, Under the Dome. The lives of this small country town vastly change when a (glass?) dome shoots up from the ground. The physical technicalities of the dome are intriguing - air can be exchanged, but pretty much nothing else. The town is run by your basic corrupt politician, Big Jim Rennie, that sees it as his duty (we all support the team) to lead the town out of the crisis. Enter our hero, a young ex-military cook (not chef) from out-of-town, Barbie (Dale Barbara). Under the Dome has everything a good King follower will enjoy - a situational thriller, the cunning children, the offbeat hero, the strong leading females, and a slew of bad guys you just want to see crushed if you didn't feel so bad for them (okay, I still wanted to crush them). King's novels often have a literary edge and the message he has about society is clear - we're stuck on this bubble planet earth and maybe we just be a bit nicer to one another if we want to survive. There was even a bit of an environmental kicker involved, but I don't want to spoil the ending. This novel isn't filled with supernatural elements (I know some readers have problems with suspension of disbelief) so even if you're not a die-hard King fan like me, I'd still recommend Under the Dome. It's an exploration of what happens to society under pressure and that should be interesting to all of us in the modern world.

Keep on truckin'...

Volkswagon Blues by Jacques Poulin

Volkswagon Blues is a francophone version of an updated On the Road and I found the story itself a bit lacking in character. The tale follows a man and woman (La Grande Sauterelle) across the Canadian and US landscape to San Francisco in search of the man's possibly criminal brother Théo. The book describes some of the French and Native American history along the way. The historical aspect of the book was quite interesting, but the personal story - the awkward almost dysfunctional relationship between the man and woman and their search for long lost family - was more than a little far fetched. The writing style, while attempting to be mysterious, made the characters one dimensional, distant, and cold. I won't give away the ending, but it was a bit of a disappointment. The story of North American history was interesting, but the dialogue and focus of the novel simply wasn't enough to hold my interest. If you like to read good travel stories I would recommend On the Road (J. Kerouac), The Stand (for a horror slant, S. King), the poetry of Allen Ginsberg (especially Sunflower Sutra), and music by Bob Dylan or Woody Gutherie.

Neither rain nor snow...

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

Until now, I was a Bukowski virgin. Well, no longer. I've been introduced to the world of Henry Chinaski. Post Office was written in 1971, but it's still relevant today. Chinaski is a functional alcoholic living in LA and working in the dead end world of post office employee. Henry starts as a carrier, but winds up a mail sorter. He spends all of his time drinking, hooking up with women, and betting at the racetrack. While at times Chinaski is a bit depressing, the style of the prose is simply elegant and the story carried me along. When the journey is over you're not sure where you've been or where you're heading, but it was one good ride getting there, a bit Vonnegut. Bukowski is also reminiscent of Richard Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America or Watermelon Sugar. I'm already eager to read more Bukowski.

Chew, chewy, chew

The Gum Thief

by Douglas Coupland

With The Gum Thief, Coupland has written a great story about middle age and our insignificance. At times it had me close to tears and other times I was getting funny looks on the plane for laughing aloud. The setting is a Staples store and the story focuses on a middle-aged man, Roger, stuck stacking reams of paper and a young girl Bethany fresh out of high school with just enough leftover Goth in her system. The two become unlikely friends by corresponding through a diary that Roger accidently leaves in the break room. Coupland spends some of the story focused on a novel that Roger is writing and he pulls off the 'novel-about-a-novel' quite well. The writing style with each section from a different perspective takes some getting used to, but it's well worth the endurance. While The Gum Thief is on the surface a 'day in the life' book, it's more a philosophical glimpse of middle age. For someone in the middle of their thirties, it was a nice examination of the possible futures of all of us.

The perfect snore........

Perfecting by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer

This imperfect third book by Kuitenbrouwer borders between simply boring and nauseating. The novel focuses on Martha, an escapee from 'The Family', a cult in Ontario. She leaves because she found a weapon in the room of her leader Curtis and travels to New Mexico to figure out his long lost past. Instead of a racy detective novel, the story focuses on the religion of all the characters and winds up being a huge bore. Perfecting sounded very interesting, but instead of opening my mind, only assisted me in getting some much needed sleep. It's not the worst short novel I've ever read, but it's certainly close to the top of the list. My recommendation - SKIP THIS BOOK! If you're interested in exploring the inner struggle of humanity I would try reading The Stranger (A. Camus), Jonathan Livingston Seagull (R. Bach), or even Gerald's Game (S. King) instead.

Dance Kathryn!

Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver

I'm the first to admit it - I'm a Deaver junkie. I think I've read most, if not all, of his books. While Roadside Crosses was a good book in general, it was by far not his best work. Kathryn Dance is Deaver's latest leading lady. She studies body language and reminds me a bit of Thomas Jane (The Mentalist). Interestingly, she also works for California Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Hmmmmm. Regardless, Roadside Crosses was a big page turner. It takes place right after the last Dance book, The Sleeping Doll, and I had trouble remembering all of the details from the previous case. In the current case Kathryn is chasing a computer wiz that she suspects is a young boy obsessed with MMPORPGs. Dance gets some help from Prof Jonathan Boling. I think Deaver wrote the book in part to bring attention to all of the online world politics and gain some respect from a new group of readers. He centers the interrogation around the blogger, James Chilton. Some of the twists and plot devices fall a bit flat and often the political messages are anything, but subtle. Even Kathryn seems a bit too liberal for a CBI agent at times. I don't disagree in the least with Dance's opinions about Chilton's right to blog, but I don't think Dance as a CBI agent would be quite so liberal. Overall, it was still a fun ride, but the plot was more contrived and I saw the classic 'Deaver twist' too far ahead. I'm still enjoying Dance though and I hope he sticks with her.