All Consuming : funniculee

A review of "Everyman"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:58:35 GMT

by Philip Roth

I found I had a deep emotional connection to this book – it was extremely depressing in places, yet I couldn’t put it down. It’s a meandering look at one (dead) man’s life, and it’s really a meditation on the fear of death. Starts out with his concept of death as a child (amorphous), moves through his various bad decisions as an adult, but mostly explores his move from abject fear of death to eventual acceptance.

I loved one of the final scenes – he visits his parents’ graves, and comes upon the cemetary’s gravedigger, who explains to him in concrete terms exactly how graves are dug. I used to work at a cemetary, so I found this awfully familiar and, like the main character, strangely comforting.

It’s not about plot (so don’t expect much of one, and I can see why some have found it boring), but there is some lovely, lovely writing in this book. Well-crafted considering the somewhat shapeless (and huge) subject. I liked the short length/lack of chapters.

There's a lot more to L.H. Oswald (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 02:36:26 GMT

Libra (Contemporary American Fiction)

by Don DeLillo

...than I realized.

I’ve always been fascinated by the Kennedy assassination, so I was somewhat primed to read this book. It’s different from White Noise (the only other DeLillo book I’ve read). I appreciate that the assassination itself was only a small part of this novel. I guess I had never really read much about Oswald as a person. An interesting guy, and it’s pretty interesting how the novel sets him up as a true “scales” – a guy who could have gone either way, good or bad. There are times in the novel when he’s very likeable, and others when he seems completely dispicable.

Overall, I thought it was pretty well done; but it’s not a cheerful book by any means.

A review of "My Sister's Keeper: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:51:45 GMT

My Sister's Keeper: A Novel

by Jodi Picoult

I enjoyed this book (it’s a quick read – I read it all in one day), but have some beefs with it. First of all, I think Anna doesn’t read very authentically as a 13 year old. Dialogue is too adult (even for a mature 13 year old). Second, the mom is flatter than she could be. Third, the ending is WAAAAAAAAY too tidy/perfect. It feels contrived to me.

But the plot is interesting and the ethical issues are certainly compelling. Worth a read.

A review of "The Salt Roads"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:46:40 GMT

The Salt Roads

by Nalo Hopkinson

Way racier than the other Hopkinson books I have read. I didn’t like it as well as the others. She tried to do the Toni Morrison “several vaguely intertwined stories” thing, and it wasn’t totally successful. I though that some of the weird text things she did were sort of contrived, too. However, the individual stories were pretty compelling. I wish she would have done more storytelling overall and streamlined the metaphysical content some. However, the IDEA for the book was great and interesting – it’s just that the execution was somewhat lacking. Worth a read, though (just be careful – it’s pretty disturbing in places).

A review of "On Beauty"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:36:51 GMT

On Beauty

by Zadie Smith

This book had some definite flaws (already well-described by previous entries). However, I’m glad I read it, because despite the flaws, I really enjoy Zadie Smith’s style of writing. I’m reading White Teeth now because of it.

A review of "Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis, The First Battle in America's War With Militant Islam"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:33:04 GMT

Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis, The First Battle in America's War With Militant Islam

by Mark Bowden

I found this book fascinating because I really didn’t know much about the embassy takeover before reading it. I think this is because it happened just before I was born – that sort of relatively recent history doesn’t show up much in history classes (which is a shame, I think, since it’s so relevant).

I was impressed with how well the author kept my interest all throughout this substantial book (it’s 500+ pages, the standoff lasted over a year). It is definitely biased in favor of the Americans, probably due to the fact that it was somewhat easier for the author to get access to the hostages than to their captors. However, it could have been worse – a lot of the captors are portrayed humanistically, as people who made a mistake in the heat of passion and later regretted it.

What really chilled me about this book (and it’s probably not indended by the author) is the way that the description of Iran at the time reminded me of the US NOW in a lot of ways. The ill-informed populace, the government at the mercy of religious leaders (in the US’s case, business leaders), the willful ignoring of evidence and the adoption of wishful thinking as fact…brrrrr. In the final chapter, the author seems really supportive of the current US administration, or seems to insinuate that despite the stance of the Iranian government, that the people of Iran really love the US. I doubt it’s as simple as that. The author may have just been trying to show the complicated nature of the relationship between the countries, but it comes off as something scarily similar to what we heard before the invasion of Iraq (i.e. “they love the US, we’ll be greeted as liberators!”).

Overall this is worth a read. I’m going to read “All the Shah’s Men” next, I think – this book kind of glossed over all the nasty stuff the US had been up to in Iran prior to the Revolution.

A review of "Brazil - Criterion Collection"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 05 May 2006 22:23:54 GMT

Brazil - Criterion Collection

This movie is frighteningly relevant – issues include mechanization, class disparities, intrusive government, convoluted buereacracy, and state-sanctioned torture. Yet it is whimsical, imaginative, and in places, even humorous.

Poor Mr. Buttle…

A story about "Vows: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Their Son"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 22:59:09 GMT

Vows: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Their Son

by Peter Manseau

I’m not Catholic, but I’m fascinated by the Catholic Church. I don’t agree with it, and yet I am drawn to it as an idea.

I’m only a few chapters into this book and I’m liking it a lot. It manages to address the sex scandal gently, noting what happened and criticizing the moves that lead to it, but not recoiling in horror, either. The book is about what it says: a priest, a nun, and the events that lead to them having a son.

What I like about this book so far (and what I like about Manseau’s “Killing the Buddha” efforts as well): it treats religious practice with love, while simultaneously critiquing it. I don’t know if it’s a balanced approach, but it’s a complex one. And relatively painless to read, too.

A review of "The Thin Place: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:40:20 GMT

The Thin Place: A Novel

by Kathryn Davis

I’m not even sure a review of this would do it justice.

There is definitely an underlying plot of sorts; what I love about this book is not the plot but the way the author puts what seems to be the plot into a much wider context than usual. A truly omniscient narrator – not only do you get the thoughts of humans, but also those of moose, beavers, lichen, cats, dogs, corn, and the wide swath of time before and humanity. This book seems to be all about connection. Spooky, funny, sad, complicated.

I never buy books after having borrowed them from the library and read them. I might buy this one. I want to read it again!

A review of "The Woman Who Cut Off Her Leg at the Maidstone Club: and Other Stories"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:33:18 GMT

The Woman Who Cut Off Her Leg at the Maidstone Club: and Other Stories

by Julia Slavin

I’m going to have to read this one again, because it was enjoyable and perplexing.

Sort of reminds me of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, in that most of these stories seem to be about completely impossible and disturbing physical events. A man’s body falls apart, piece by piece. A woman starts growing teeth all over her body. Another woman has a crush on her teenaged lawnboy, and swallows him whole and alive.

I’m tempted to see deeper meanings in all of these transformations, of course, but the way the stories are written, it’s also tempting to take them at face value. They’re so concrete! I can imagine, physically, what it must feel like to have teeth errupting all over your body. Yet there definitely seems to be a deeper metaphor involved in each.

Fascinating, disturbing, funny, funny, funny.

A review of "Jaguars Ripped My Flesh"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:25:58 GMT

Jaguars Ripped My Flesh

by Tim Cahill

Tim Cahill is a real adventurer. This book takes the reader everywhere – from undiscovered ancient South American ruins to the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, and lots of other amazing trips in between.

The book is basically a collection of articles that Cahill wrote for Outside magazine, so it’s painless to read. Each chapter is 10 pages or less, and written in that punchy, accessible magazine style.

It sort of made me wistful to read this book. I’m not a hardcore adventurer like Cahill – he gets lost, goes hang-gliding, swims with sharks, rapells, drinks disgusting and potent fermented beverages with villagers all over the world. I like to travel, but I like to be comfortable, know where I’m going, and stay physically safe. I wish I were a true adventurer – I think I’m just a tourist after all. But I’m glad Cahill wrote about all these places and experiences so I could get the vicarious thrills.

Nice sense of humor, too. Quite a hoot, this book.

A story about "Octopus"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 21:14:35 GMT

Octopus

Hmm, the first time I had it – when I was 4. It was from a can. I was living in Puerto Rico at the time. Rubbery and salty, but I didn’t hate it.

Second time: in a seafood salad at a Greek restaurant in Toronto. Wowza! This was from a much bigger octopus, I believe. They knew how to do it right. Not one bit rubbery. Delicious meaty flavor. The suckers were crunchy and kind of fun.

Third/fourth times: whole baby octopi, marinated in kinda an Asian barbecue sauce, at a sushi restaurant. Divine if you don’t think about squishing their little heads.

I may have to give up eating octopi because I just learned that they’re pretty smart. Then again…nope. They taste good. They’re an animal. I’m not going to base my eating on my gut reaction as to how sentient a particular species is. Although I would have a hard time eating primate, probably.

I’m pretty sure an octopus would eat ME, if it could or was disposed to doing so.

Why I recommend "Syriana"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:53:49 GMT

Syriana

by Stephen Gaghan

Okay, it’s flawed, definitely. I think there’s a lot that could’ve been done to make this movie better.

I disagree with some earlier entries written about it. I think there was plenty of character development, given that you can’t really make a character-driven movie that is plotted this way – unless you make it a miniseries. It was a bit hard to notice because the plot was foremost, but it was obvious to me that the main sympathetic characters were not just “stock”. Some of them had (at least) conflicting interests, internal warring, etc.

I did not feel that the movie gave the impression that the rich and powerful are all to blame. Rather, I really felt convicted as a relatively ignorant consumer of oil. Certainly, I was appalled at the amount of power and money being thrown around. But I felt that the implicit point (not explicitly stated in the movie, that I remember) was that we as consumers simply do not know what is involved with procuring and ensuring the supply of the petroleum that we’ve come to depend on – and that we would rather not know. Because it’s a complicated, painful, dirty business. Maybe not as dirty as the movie suggests. I don’t doubt it’s exaggerated – the movie does have an agenda after all. But it makes me wonder – how DOES the oil industry work, then? And why don’t I know anything about it? And given the amount of money involved, can we really trust people in power to tell the truth about what actually happens in the course of procuring and distributing oil?

The American consumer don’t appear in the movie, but it would have been a good thing to put us in there, somehow. Throwing out bushels of plastic containers, wasting fuel by driving 2 blocks to pick up fast food…too bad they couldn’t come up with a subplot involving the consumer. Because where the hell else is all of that oil going?

What I really got from this movie: the sense that the average American really does not get it (what our relationship to the Mideast truly is), or chooses not to get it. Because it’s dry, boring, hard to understand, etc. Difficult to sum up in a 2 minute TV news bit. Painful to contemplate.

Watch it. You might not get it, so watch it again. You don’t have to agree with it by any means, but at least let it raise some questions for you…

A review of "Primer"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:36:42 GMT

Primer

by Shane Carruth

It felt too much like your standard indie with no budget. A little too purposefully edgy.

But it gets steadily more interesting! I’m definitely going to have to watch it at least one more time before I send it back to Netflix, because I think I missed some bits. But that’s awesome. It’s rare that a movie is interesting enough to lose me, EVER. So when one does, I am captivated.

Need to watch it with an engineer friend or two. I’m sure they would get a kick out of it.

A review of "Welcome to My Country"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:22:01 GMT

Welcome to My Country

by Lauren Slater

I am drawn to autobiographies of people who are ill, or who work with people who are ill. Mental illness, especially, I find fascinating – mainly because of the mysteries associated with it. Illness that should be treated as such (like any other), and yet it raises questions about the human condition. In many cases, it seems a pathological exacerbation of commonly occuring human traits. I myself have been and probably will be, at times, depressed, anxious, obsessed, compulsive, deluded, compartmentalized, manic, moody, etc. It’s just that I have a brain chemistry that bounces back from these moments, and coping skills to keep them from ruining my life.

Anyhow, what I appreciate about this book especially is the humanity in it. The patients Slater sees are strange in their behavior, but she finds a way to make them human and comprehensible to the reader. I was especially moved by a scene in which she leads a group therapy session with a bunch of chronic schizophrenics. In frustration, instead of focusing on behavioral normalization, Slater gets the group to “join” one of the individuals in his delusion, and in that process, they seem to actually connect on an emotional level. I understood suddenly how isolating it must be to have delusions that no one else can experience, and to not be able to control one’s behavior.

I was saddened/gladdened/overwhelmed by another chapter that dealt with a patient (formerly an Ivy League student) who was compelled to write but could not produce recognizable thoughts, at least on his own, and was aware of his loss. Slater acted as an editor, picking out the themes in his writings and editing them into poems. The patient was given back (in some ways) coherent images of his past, coherent speech.

I cried over this chapter (can’t remember the last time I cried over a book). I thought immediately of an undergraduate classmate and friend of mine, a smart and loving guy, whose poetry was almost unintelligible (yet beautiful) to me when I was in workshop with him. I later learned that he suffered a major psychotic break a year later (after I had left school). I recognized him in the story Slater told, although it is not about him – I don’t know where he is now. I hope and pray that he can find someone to sort out his jumbled creative thoughts for him, even as they help him remember to bathe and tie his shoes (if that’s what he needs now).

I work in human services. So often, we are concerned with meeting people’s physical needs – food, clothing, shelter. This book made me question Maslow’s hierarchy (as does Slater in the book). Just because people lack self-care skills or even the ability to communicate does not mean they don’t also long for connection, transcendence, love.

A review of "Foreigner: (10th Anniversary Edition) (Foreigner Universe Books)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 18:17:22 GMT

Foreigner: (10th Anniversary Edition) (Foreigner Universe Books)

by C. J. Cherryh

I haven’t read any of Cherryh stuff (except Cyteen, which I liked), so thought I would try this one. It’s OK. Nothing too novel, although I like atevi as a fictional species. I’ve heard all the “human but not” implications many times before. Not a big fan of the style of this book – too much of it is the main character’s internal dialogue. That gets really tiresome, although it makes sense given the plot of the book (he’s in the dark a lot of the time, and trying desperately to figure things out on his own). But I found it interesting enough that I’ll definitely read more Cherryh, although probably not anything in the Foreigner series for awhile.

A review of "The Energy Prescription: Give Yourself Abundant Vitality with the Wisdom of America's Leading Natural Pharmacist"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:20:13 GMT

The Energy Prescription: Give Yourself Abundant Vitality with the Wisdom of America's Leading Natural Pharmacist

by Constance Grauds

Really, pretty common-sense stuff, although it’s presented in a “hippy-dippy” fashion. Learn how meditating, drinking more water, eating healthy foods, exercising, socializing, and cultivating your spiritual life can improve your energy levels. Interesting insights into how fear of all kinds can rob you of energy.

I’ve been trying a few strategies from this book, and they seem to be working. One insight that I’ve really taken to heart is the statement that all of the items above serve as “food” for life – I find it easy to feed myself with food, but often forget that the other items are also vital fuel for living.

A review of "The Cabal and Other Stories"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:42:54 GMT

The Cabal and Other Stories

by Ellen Gilchrist

More Ellen Gilchrist. The best story (at least I think so) in this book is the title story, in which the psychiatrist of a group of wealthy, messed-up, well-connected, suppressed individuals has a breakdown and goes nuts himself. Better than I would have expected.

Again, I am loving the way Gilchrist makes characters human – I suspect if I met some of these people in real life, I would dislike them. But through the magic of fiction, I am able to see their vulnerability. And I am touched.

Plus there are some very slyly funny bits throughout, even in the darkest tales.

Gilchrist is really tempting me to move to the South.

A story about "The Rum Diary"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 18:13:22 GMT

The Rum Diary

by Thompson Hunter S

So, I spent 2 years in San Juan as a small child – my parents were teaching school. I remember Puerto Rico, but I only remember stuff that I child would recall – colors, sounds, etc.

Strange to read this book – written about a San Juan many years before I got there – including all of the sordid bits I never would have witnessed as a child. I don’t know how to evaluate the truthfulness of this novel. I feel there must be some truth to it, as it reads like a novel written by a journalist – albeit a fantastical one. I can’t speak for the sordid parts, but Thompson gets the FEEL, the sounds, smells, and physical FEELING of the place – this, at least, rings true for me.

Enjoyable – not as fun as reading about Dr. Gonzo, but it had its moments.

A review of "Homeland and Other Stories"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 18:07:56 GMT

Homeland and Other Stories

by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver is good as always. Some really sad bits in this book, but not depressing, exactly. So many different settings for these stories. I think the author must be a well-travelled woman, to write with such clarity about so many different places.

A review of "I, Rhoda Manning, Go Hunting with My Daddy: And Other Stories"

nobody@allconsuming.net (funniculee) — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 18:05:54 GMT

I, Rhoda Manning, Go Hunting with My Daddy: And Other Stories

by Ellen Gilchrist

Really good!

What I loved about these stories: first of all, the idea of a book of short stories all concerning related people – I love it. Less heavy than a novel, but more involved than short stories that are not connected.

I liked the way that the author was able to make every character sympathetic, even the crazy racist grandfather. I appreciate authors that can make me feel for characters that I might otherwise really dislike or at least judge harshly.

It sort of made me want to move to Arkansas. I miss all those “salt of the earth” folks I grew up around in the Midwest.