The Gunslinger from The Dark Tower series - Stephen King

COVID lockdown has made me reach to the back of the bookshelf (as I still semi-resist e-books). After the challenging length and depth of The Overstory I snagged The Gunslinger and raced through it as it was a generally straightforward story of things actually happening. Although not that much really happened upon reflection. As admitted by King, he was inspired by Tolkien and this was his attempt at creating a multi-volume fantasy world. And the same critique that I had for the Lord of the Rings (of which I quit two or three books into) holds true here - there's a lot of trekking and then fighting and then walking some more, but the journey just isn't that interesting. Much of this is told in retrospect, as the protagonist shares memories with those he meets along the way to help build the backstory. As is plainly written this opening volume closes with "the end of the beginning" which is all that it feels like - a setup for the rest of the series. I'm not sure I'll continue (seeing as there are something like six more books) despite Stephen himself promising that it gets better.

5
April 2020

The Overstory - Richard Powers

What a vast, all-encompassing book. It's amazing how it spans the entire existence of the USA within the story itself, and really the whole of the earth in concept. I'm very impressed by the sheer ambition of it, not to mention the execution. It wasn't that the story itself necessarily compelled me, as it moved relatively slowly, but perhaps that was the point. I still wanted to keep going with it and immerse myself like walking into a forest. It pointed out and reminded me so much about life, my own and humanity's.,But it also really made you dwell on nature and think about life on earth in general. I'll be honest that there were moments of author-indulgence, going into the details of a certain species of tree, or listing all of the streets of San Francisco, or whatever the case may be, but even though they didn't necessarily further the storyline they did help to build the world.

As the pages dwindled at the end I realized that in building a massive tale like this it would be nearly impossible to properly "wrap" it, similar to Neelay's conundrum about building Mastery so large that he then wasn't able to properly point it anywhere, but I still thought that the ending was acceptable. Bringing it right up to the present-day, and then spinning out the (almost) inevitable future of both humanity and the earth was the only thing that could be done really. Some heartbreak for sure but that's unavoidable. I almost feel as if the author was personally struggling with the environmental impact of mankind and may have even considered the extremist actions described in the book but then played the consequences out. Honestly, the book likely will have a bigger impact than any of those actions could - especially with the notoriety of being a Pulitzer Winner and Man Booker finalist. It surely made me question myself.. like the refrain of "when will it be enough?" "just a little more" made me think and really should make everyone. The smallness of us in the zoomed out picture of earth/time, and the unavoidable truth that we are selling out nature for an extra slice of... of what? And for such a short term gain. It's pretty disgusting so to point our faces in it via a book like this is a thing of beauty.

8/10

March-April 2020

Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders

Received this book as a Christmas present and found the opening third, snippets of articles and historical written versions of the same event, to be inventive and intriguing. (Although I at first thought they were all true but now wonder if it wasn't just creative writing on George's part.) I especially liked how a lot of the accounts contradicted each other, just as these things tend to do, at least before everything being filmed. The speaking dead in the graveyard was a little odd for me, to be frank, but played out well enough. Overall the mixture of history with fiction, but not quite in an "historical fiction" type way was very unique.

Early 2018
6.5/10

Meatspace - Nikesh Shukla

I plowed through this tale of two names in a matter of days. It may not have been the most prolific but it was fun and quick to get into. I think I preferred the "meat" of the story to the resolution. Not necessarily one to recommend but I got what I wanted out of it.

6.5
September 2019

Last Orders - Graham Swift

A very confusing beginning with a bunch of generic, old-man names and the narrator changing depending on the chapter. However after drawing a family tree diagram of characters and pertinent details it started to fall together. Touching on the intricacies of small town connections, all in English manner, it improved muchly. Not the most compelling story it revealed historical details on dribs and drabs that eventually coloured the scene and all of the interactions. A reflection in the grey between right and wrong, the power of faithfulness and what it means to live and to die. Worth it in the end.

6/10

December-January 2020

Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy - Serhil Plokhy

It's impressive how this book meticulously covers every aspect of the tragedy, from the scientific, to the medical, the political, and the human side in a manner that is both entertaining and easy to digest. I loved it. I've always been very curious about the tragedy itself and having visited the year prior, and watched the also-excellent HBO mini-series I still found this book to be highly engaging.'

9/10

December 2019

Corrections - Jonathan Franzen

A well-written tale that is more of a family history than a proper story. Really enjoyed the early chapters about Chip, the good-for-nothing son who leaves for Lithuania to swindle American investors. The tale of Denise starting the restaurant in Philadelphia was also engaging. Coming all together at Christmas for the ending seemed the right thing to do as well, though as my friend Lee put it, Franzen doesn't really know how to finish what he's started. Some hilarious one-offs in this book too. Entertaining if not superb. 

November 2019

7/10

Funny Girl - Nick Hornby

A non-classic Hornby, this didn't have any fantastic element but the story was fully entertaining and highly enjoyable. Plus it was great to see Nick stretch himself as a female protagonist.

November 2015
8.5

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers

Overly self-aware and self-aggrandizing it came across as a little over the top. The story was moderately entertaining but told in a rather annoying way.

5
July 2015

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson

A grand novel with a huge, bold arch that pulls itself off with wit. Loosely following the spread of nuclear technology throughout the world the charming story allows for the suspension of disbelief because of the protagonist's likeability, easily compared to Forest Gump. Jumping back and forth from the historical to the present day anti-heist, both storylines are compelling and all tie up nicely. Definitely some oddball activities in connecting the dots of major events in world political history but with the humour to match, it was a frivolous delight.

9 June/July 2015

Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson

A classic Bryson travelogue. This time the twist was his exploring of the United Kingdom even while he still lived there, just prior to his return to live in the US of A. Although the references were somewhat dated, being published in 1995, the overall feel was conveyed. An interesting and funny primer for someone about to embark on a couple of years living in the country.

6.5
May 2015

Miss Wyoming - Douglas Coupland

Another classic Coupland. This one meanders without ever really grabbing hold of a theme besides disenchanted former celebrities looking for the meaning of life in only the way disenchanted former celebrities can. Always a few interesting things to note along the way but like life itself sometimes, the meaning wasn't any clearer by the end.

February 2015
4.5

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman

A slightly indulgent take on popular culture that inherently makes it a dated work. The insights weren't really bright but came across as attempting to take a slightly offbeat hypothesis and then 'proving' it through circular arguments that filled a chapter. Some were intriguing to at least contemplate while others really weren't worth the trip. The writing was fine and it did inspire to look for hidden meanings or truths in popular culture but the problem is that there are very few truths to be found there and that makes this book not fully worth its time.

March 2015

5

Born Weird - Andrew Kaufman

An intriguing premise with a false promise on the cover; a review said that the unbelievable was wrapped up satisfactorily in the end, so I persevered. Well it wasn't exactly the ending that was promised but the ride was decent enough. Toronto references were also fun to envision. By no means extraordinary it was an easy-drinking read.

4
Nov 2014

A Nation Worth Ranting About - Rick Mercer

The beauty of these books is that after years of 22 Minutes and RMR I can now read the rants in my head and hear Rick's voice. He really gets to the crux of matters in these concise, poignant pieces on all matters of things - politics, culture, human-nature. A good book can give you an escape, while a great read inspires. In the introduction everyone is encouraged to rant and the subsequent pages made me want to do just that (in a positive way!)

8
August-September 2014

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates - Tom Robbins

Not only is the title a mouthful but the entire text is rather verbose. Although it is wordy some strings of those words are enlightening, some amusing for their outrageousness while others are simply hilarious. I savoured this book in that it had the battiness of Vonnegut while commonly dropping nuggets of real wisdom. Over the course of the book it was easy to "get to know" the protagonist through his outspoken rants - a man I can't help but think is an extension of the author himself. I'd only read B is For Beer (a children's book for grown-ups/a grown-up book for children) and it really didn't do Mr. Robbins justice. The beauty is that there is so much more back-catalog to dig into. Going to curl up in a blanket..

9
Nov-Dec 2014

Luminous Airplanes - Paul La Farge

Despite the name it never really took off. I could identify to a degree as the main character, an IT tech, was sorting through some conflicted feelings with work, living situation and life. His brooding was an interesting peek into his thoughts, though the sorting through the past didn't always go anywhere worthwhile. One of those journeys that doesn't really have a particular conflict or resolution - the only interesting event that occurred during the book then got dropped and not really further explained. Well-written but a little disappointing after the initial promise.

5
September 2014

It's All About the Bike - Robert Penn

I wasn't so sure what this would be about (the bike! the bike!) but found it was a quick read that give some interesting background info about the creation and evolution of biking. Each component got a chapter to share the history and often a human-aspect of meeting someone who had devoted their life to that part. The only unfortunate part was that it made me want to actually have a really good bike; the one he built during the book ran him $5500 which doesn't seem so bad..

August 2014

7

The White King - Gyorgy Dragoman

This book is graphic without getting gruesome. Life under a horrid dictatorship is relayed through the eyes (and Hungarian to English translated, run-on sentences) of a young boy which allows for a genuine and naive look at terrible things that can easily be deciphered by the educated. Each disparate chapter encapsulated an important situation fraught with tension but when pieced together as a whole revealed the offensive truth. It still has me reeling.

September 2014
8.5

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat - Hal Herzog

This book nicely walks through a lot of the contentious issues regarding human thinking about animals. It presents an open-minded view, sometimes a little more open than I would like from the omnivorous author, and backs most things up with scientific research in an easily digested form. Beyond that he also gets into the philosophical and compares a few of the leading views, pointing out inconsistencies in each and essentially reiterating the point that there are inconsistencies that are nearly impossible to practically avoid. The section about cockfighting was eye-opening as was the long reflection about scientific research on animals. Even the personal accounts made for interesting scenarios and hypotheticals to reflect upon.

September 2014
6