Wichita - Thad Ziolkowski

I picked up Thad Ziolkowski’s 2012 debut novel, Wichita, based on reviews that posed a son returning home & storm chasing with his colorful mom. Implications of metaphysical ponderings lit up my radar. Well…the novel turned out to be a coming of age story, which I usually avoid like the plague. Being 25 years old once was enough for me. However, this time, I became quite attached to the two brothers of this tale. Lewis Chopnik is a broken hearted, failed academic, who has returned home to nurse his wounds & wonder what's next. His divorced mother is a "polyamorous" self-discovery tornado, who is starting a storm chasing business. What she's really looking for could have been more sharply articulated, but she is a hoot, nevertheless. Lewis is rightfully dismayed to discover that his brother Seth is on the homestead. Seth is a bi-polar drug ingesting force of nature, extraordinarily manipulative of his family, and probably dangerous. I was prepared to be annoyed with him & ditch the book, but instead I became quite fond of him Some of Seth's cadre of hard drinking losers are not keepers as characters. Their father is a highly regarded academic, as well as their grandfather. They both skirt the edges of the story enough to realize that mom & dad didn't read the parenting manual.  It's a fast read, but not surprisingly, with a dark ending.

The Apartment - Greg Baxter

The Apartment

is a quiet, graceful novel, that draws one in. This is Greg Baxter's debut novel and it is a strong showing. I normally don't enjoy stories that are built around the events of one day. But through substantive looks into the past, and reflections on the meaning of it, this one worked well. An unnamed 40ish American veteran spends a day looking for an apartment in an unnamed European city. He is helped by a local woman who he has befriended. Their short relationship is somehow trusting, with clear boundaries, & yet gently evolving. The real story, however, is the slow revelation of the man's life, which is woven into the events of this day. We learn of his parents & childhood, as well as his many years on submarines and then tours in Iraq with the Navy, and also as a contractor. This history is imparted briefly and unobtrusively. The man reflects on the meaning of these years and seems to aspire to a simpler life in which he can be more honest with himself. Baxter also webs in discussions of playing the violin, the development of perspective in painting, playing billiards, and Mozart vs. Bach. Somehow these conversations fit seamlessly into the story. Baxter's writing is spare and elegant, and I found myself gripped by the prose as if this were a mystery or thriller. It certainly is not a thriller. But, Baxter perhaps deals with the mysteries of how we define ourselves and live with ourselves. I look forward to his next novel.

 

Burning Down George Orwell's House - Andrew Ervin

Burning Down George Orwell’s House is a novel of big ideas and lots of fun. This seems to be a rare combination today. Many current novels are either painfully self-conscious, or romps of destructive characters careening through life. So, hats off to Andrew Ervin who has created a well balanced read in his debut hovel. Ray Welter, a young advertising exec, burns out with pangs of guilt over his successful campaign that effectively used social media. A George Orwell fan, Ray connects the dots and believes that the current intrusive iteration of social media has placed us squarely in 1984. With his marriage falling apart, he heads for the remote Scottish island of Jura to live in George Orwell’s cabin & ponder his life until his money runs out. He doesn’t get a warm welcome from the locals who are intent on preserving their history and culture from the likes of him. Enter many colorful characters. Did I mention that Ray likes Scotch whiskey a little too much? If you are a Scotch aficionado, you could read this book just for the reflections on single malts.  His old boss is recruiting him hard for a new firm, as Ray signs his divorce papers. Ray does return home to Chicago, and opts for a simpler life, although he’s still finding himself. Well, so am I.

 

F, a novel. Daniel Kehlmann

F is a thought provoking and wonderfully written/translated novel by the young German author Daniel Kehlmann. It is the story of a father and three sons, from two failed marriages, who all are finding their way in the world with some difficulty. The father is a wanna-be writer and free spirit who walks out on two marriages. His children are damaged goods, each in their own way, but with a lot of common ground. Every reviewer speculates what the “F” stands for. Failure? Forgery? Fraud?

Each chapter is in the voice of one of the characters and tells his story and evokes his psyche. Son number one is an athiest Catholic priest. He is quite likeable in his wandering “what do I make of the world” thoughts. A pair of identical twins are from dad’s second marriage. One is a mentally unstable financial advisor, whose agnst is palpable. His twin is, like dad, a wanna-be. In this case he’s a painter, who in fact becomes very successful: by forging a body of work that is sold as the paintings of his long-time lover. I found this character to be quite intriguing and was impressed by Kehlmann's thoughts on making art, the art world, and forgery vs “real”.

That sense of forgery versus real is perhaps the heart of all the characters and the novel. In a very real sense, these men are not frauds. Like all of us, they are trying to find their way to who they truly are in this world and have settled for a compromise version of this. Kehlmann, by contrast, is the real deal. He is an author to watch for.

Lost for Words, Edward St. Aubyn

I’m generally an easy mark for books about writing, so I happily read Lost For Words. Edward St. Aubyn created a clever satire of writing prizes, wrapped in a British comedy of manners. He has a sharp eye and pen for the human condition, and the difference between our public and private personas. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of the vividly portrayed characters: judges, writers, editors, poseurs, lovers, and lovers scorned. Usually, I don’t enjoy this multi-view format. But St. Aubyn really captured the voice of these characters, their views, prejudices, and blind spots, despite being written in the third person. Often when I read books in this structure I find the author’s voice droning on in each character, but not so in Lost For Words. Most chapters have some wonderful one-liners in that character’s voice and world-view, but somehow universally applicable to all of us: “…she had the special affliction of a novelist, of wanting to be the author of her own fate and take charge of a narrative whose opening chapters had been written by others with terrifying carelessness.”

The squabbles between the judges were priceless, especially if you’ve ever cast a jaundiced eye at the treatment of writing, music or art by the haughty academics of the ‘60s & ‘70s, who somehow still hold sway in our world. One judge’s trumpeting of “relevance” made me laugh & cry, it was so true to life and annoying! I tip my hat to St. Aubyn for capturing it, along with many other forms of hubris, with such a light touch. Have fun!

Joshua Ferris: To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

This has been a disappointing year in my library. I've read quite a few novels, but none were great. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is not great, but after a slow start, is very good: thoughtful, funny, and worth a read. It explores identity, family, history, religion, faith & doubt, from the viewpoint & first person monologues of a self absorbed 40-something man, Paul O'Rourke. Most of his dry, acerbic commentaries are quite funny. His unsuccessful love life is a fulcrum for the big issues in the novel. In his doomed romances he attaches himself to the in-laws, trying to make himself into something he’s not: first Italian, then Jewish. Both times this of course does not work out. Paul is lost, depressed, not really lonely, & wants to believe in something, although he is an atheist. So, he piggy-backs on the families and faiths of his girlfriends. Hence, his awkward & sometimes laughable foray into Judaism with Connie, who is his receptionist. By the way, the dynamic in the office between this obtuse man and his staff is also quite humorous.

A website appears for his practice, which he did not create. It soon is adding comments about an ancient, extinct Old Testament tribe whose faith is....Doubt. Many of the site's comments could be construed, out of context, as anti-Semitic. This causes problems with ex-girlfriend’s family.  He contacts a lawyer & tracks down the people who put up his website. But, he ends up being drawn into them and listening to the story of the ancient lost Ulms & Doubt. A billionaire hedgefund manager is contacted by the same group, and both are told that they might be descendants of the Ulms. Fraud? Con? Real? Regardless, it opens up a Pandora's box for both men of a search for identity, meaning and...doubt. This novel foretells big things from Ferris.

Lazar: I Pity the Poor Immigrant

My very literate friend, Warren, highly recommended Martin Amis' most recent novel, The Zone of Interest, set in a Nazi concentration camp. I told him it sounded great, but I was steering clear of intense, dark stories for the time being. Oops. Zachary Lazar's I Pity the Poor Immigrant hooked me with its stories of Meyer Lansky's attempt to gain Israeli citizenship & a current murder of an Israeli poet, whose work did not favor Israel's Palestinian policies. These arcs are linked and intertwined by two characters.

OK...Sounds intriguing, so I bought it at my favorite indie bookstore that is still standing. The novel is intriguing, and very well written & structured. It is also intense, and explores the dark aspects of the lives of these four characters. Some of this is tied into the the political and human issues of Israel & Palestine. But, Lazar doesn't seem to take a strong political position on this. Rather, he explores the anger & violence that is prevalent through all of the threads in the novel: Lansky & other mobsters, Holocaust survivors & the immigrant life, radical Israelis & Palestinians. In the end, I suppose this is what the book is really about: anger & violence, how it permeates our world, and decisions we make about it, whether we want to or not. Lazar handles a number of profound issues and does this with a deft touch. There are no preachy digressions or gratuitous violence. The stories & characters are believable and human. At the start, it might have sounded like I was talking you out of this book, but it is a worthy read.