The Grapes of Wrath

This American classic (The Great American Novel?) almost turned into Book Fail #2. My edition was frustratingly incomplete, having fifty missing pages early on. Luckily, Mr. Illegal Download came to the rescue on this occasion.

Good job, too. I managed to slip through many years of formal literature education, including a degree, without ever studying Steinbeck, and was glad to finally get round to reading this very accessible and well-told tale of a family in a desperate situation.

The passages dealing with the takeover of land by giant, faceless corporation reminded me of parts of the great documentary Food, Inc., which can be seen on youtube.

One Day – David Nicholls

Great concept – the lives of two people over twenty years seen through the window of one day every year. It is also executed really well by Mr. Nicholls who also wrote Starter For Ten which was turned into rather a nifty film. I haven’t read the book version but, after the triumph of ONE DAY, I would certainly like to.

So, a book about relationships and life; sounds like chick lit, right? Well, it is. It has Richard and Judy’s Book Club stamped all over it. Having said that, I reckon that many men will be badgered into reading it by their other halves, and will subsequently, quietly, love it. These themes are universal, and there is a lot of humour to enjoy as well. The story takes place mainly in the 90s which will bring back many memories, including, oddly, Gamesmaster.

After Book Fail #1 (see previous post) it was refreshing to read something so honest, funny, direct and universal which probably said more about celebrity culture in a few pages than Glamorama could in two hundred.

Very recommended. They’re making a film of this one too, apparently.

Book Fail #1 – Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis

When the opening chapters are as vacuous, hateful and boring as those in Glamorama, you can only hope that things will soon improve, possibly by the author completely changing tack.

One hundred pages is usually a good milestone; if you’re not enjoying a book by then, you probably never will (this almost didn’t work with Stieg Larsson’s Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, which has an interminably boring first ninety pages).

With Glamorama, I reached the magic 100 (which basically consisted of male models insulting each other, quoting songs and naming celebrities) and was going to give up when I glanced at the back cover of my paperback edition to see a quote describing it as a ‘gripping political thriller’. I was intrigued to find out how the story I was reading could become any of those three things.

I persevered for a few more days, in which time I found out the gist of what happens; the models become terrorists. I didn’t find this idea particularly gripping or thrilling, especially having had the subject of terrorism completely nailed by Chris Morris’ film Four Lions a few days earlier. I put the book down, annoyed at having read so much (almost 200 pages) but thankful that there was more than that left to go, and I wouldn’t be the one reading it.
Not recommended.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Just look at that cover. This is one of the most tenuous film tie-ins I’ve ever seen. The director of the film Green Zone admitted to reading the book, and they are both about Iraq……..and that’s about it. Casual readers will be expecting a military thriller and will be surprised to find a detailed dissection of Baghdad’s post-war organisational problems.

But having said that, I think it’s not a bad thing if Chandrasekaran’s compelling work gets more readers. More people should know the issues that the American occupiers faced before they judge them too harshly.

Then they can find out that they were problems of their own making, and then judge them harshly for it.

I’m not sure how the author got such intimate access to all parts of the reconstruction exercise, but he reveals with great aplomb the difficulties of post-conflict reconstruction, the reasons behind them, and the mostly incompetent efforts to address them.

Another recipient of the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction.

The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

The last Dawkins I read, about evolution, was both very well written and also utterly convincing. It presented so much evidence that the outcome was irrefutable.

But how can the same author present evidence to disprove God? Well the answer is: he can’t. But it’s still very well written, engaging and entertaining.

Again, though, I wonder who this book is for. Before reading both of these books, I was convinced of the outcome before reading. Would anyone be converted by Dawkins’ aggressive style?

In answer to this, there is a section on his website called “Converts’ Corner“. It makes for interesting reading, almost as interesting as the cranks who write in to tell him how much they hate him.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

Memoirs are usually about famous people or unfamous people who have been through some kind of trauma.

The author of this memoir has been through only mild trauma at the most – raised by his mother, he is constantly searching for father figures, mostly in one particular bar in Manhasset, NY. But why is he writing a memoir, and who will want to read it?

Well, maybe surprisingly, it’s actually quite an interesting life story, without anything too crazy happening. It is also well-told, honest, reflective, instructive and a New York Times Bestseller.

But really, how many quotes does a book need on its cover? This one has a false cover filled with a double spread of positive remarks.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

I don’t know what to say about this book. It describes life in North Korea. It is good.

Part of my confusion comes from the growth of my knowledge from zero to ‘quite a lot’ in a very short space of time. That’s one of the joys of books, I suppose.

I recommend it. You can borrow it if you want.

It also made me aware of the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction, which it won in 2010. I plan to systematically work my way through the rest of the list.