Lark & Termite :: Jayne Anne Phillips

Title: Lark & Termite

Author: Jayne Anne Phillips

Read: NYC

Format: Trade paperback

Lark & Termite is a multigenerational epic-y tale of the mentally and physically handicapped boy called Termite and his older sister Lark. To understand their lives, we have to first understand their troubled mother - the sister of the aunt with whom they live - and the father that died in the Korean War. While their family is filled with loss, heartache, drama, etc, it's also not wanting for love. The family unit that the youngsters' aunt creates for them is both warm and loving.

Sometimes contrived, but always touching, I do recommend Lark & Termite for it's ability to keep the reader engaged - captivated even - as it unwinds. Phillips' writing, too, is noteworthy. The perspective and time jumps around and even though the character perspective shifts, the changes are never jarring. Phillips maintains consistency in sentences that are always sparse and modern, but never unfeeling. All together it has an almost-musical quality to it; at times it's even beautiful.

Put it on your list.

4 out of 5 stars

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass :: Lewis Carroll

Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass

Author: Lewis Carroll

Read: NYC; JFK > SFO; Palo Alto, CA

Format: mass market paperback

I don't really get this book. But, I'm guessing it's because I'm (a) old, (b) not old enough to care that much about the subtext, (c) expected it to be really great.

Of course I'd seen the cartoon and I'm aware of most of the main characters. I just thought that there would be more plot. Instead, Alice just kind of walks around from one weird symbolic interaction to another. The writing is descriptive and imaginative, but not mind-blowing. In fairness though, over the years Carroll's tableaus have been colorfully imagined so many times - by artists ranging from Disney to Tom Petty - that despite being the inspiration it would appear to fall short, creatively.

I think most books are best enjoyed in specific windows, be they age, date, or circumstance-based. I missed my window with Alice.

It was fine: imaginative, but with no surprises (neither in plot or writing):

3 out of 5 stars

Hunger Games, Catching Fire :: Suzanne Collins

Title: Hunger Games, Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Read: Palo Alto, CA; NYC

Format: Hardcover

On an impromptu Barnes & Noble binge, I finally picked up Hunger Games. It had been appearing at the top of my recommendations for awhile, but I'd been ignoring it because of the whole dystopia thing (I'm not so into that stuff). But friends I trust and e-tail algorithms (that I also trust) endorsed it, so I thought, why not? Smart gamble!

Because I think everyone should read these books, I won't give away too much. Basically, America (now Panem), in the not-so-distant future, is divided into 13 districts and ruled by a cruel Capital. After a failed uprising, the Capital demands that each district sacrifice a pair of teenagers, or 'tributes', to participate in the annual Hunger Games. Mandatory viewing for all citizens, the games are an intricately designed fight to the death. These novels, the first two of a trilogy, focus on District 12's tribute Katniss Everdeen as she fights her way through the games.

Told in first person, the reader sees the world through Katniss's eyes and you vividly experience her fears and motivations. Through her, we learn about the despair in the districts and the excesses of the Capital. And as she is plunged into them, the spectacle of the games plays like a train wreck: horrifying, violent, disturbing, and exciting to watch unfold.

When the end of Hunger Games came too quickly, I was glad I could quickly get my hands on the sequel (I thought it was even better than the first). And when Catching Fire came to an end, I couldn't believe I'd have to wait until August for the final installment. Ugh.

Hunger Games:

An amazing new world, 5 out of 5 stars

Catching Fire:

Somehow, even better, 5 out of 5 stars

To the Lighthouse :: Virginia Woolf

This month I tackled my first 'white whale' for 2010. These are books that for whatever reason I haven't been able to finish - despite numerous attempts.

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse since 1999 when the awesome Professor Phil Fisher (elbow patches and all) assigned it in my 20th Century Novel class. I'm not sure why it's been so difficult for me to read: it's only 209 pages long. This time was no easier, though, as it took me almost 4 weeks to finish, which is kind of stupidly long for a book this short.

That's not to say it isn't good; it is, of course. I'm just not sure I enjoyed it. It's the type of book that I would have appreciated much more in an academic setting. Professor Fisher would have really shown me the way. I loved that guy.

Anyway, the novel is in three parts and is ostensibly about the Ramsay family (and some friends) on vacation in the Hebrides. In part one, James - the youngest boy - desperately wants to visit the nearby lighthouse. The conversation that follows, with regard to whether the weather (!) will allow it, sheds light into the relationships and tensions within the family. Also in the house are a sycophantic colleague of Mr. Ramsey, a newly engaged couple, and uncertain young painter, Lily Briscoe, who all come together for a large dinner party at the end of section one.

Section two, or Time Passes, is meant to give the reader the sensation that ten years are going by. We learn the fates of many of the characters; most notably Mrs. Ramsay who has passed away during this period. Woolf herself described this section as an experiment and as a reader, I'd say, you get it.

The last section of the book, of course, takes place ten years after part one. Mr. Ramsay returns to the house to finally take the trip to the lighthouse. As he and the children go to the lighthouse, Lily, who has also returned to the house, more assuredly works on the painting that she was so insecure about before.

Like many modernist classics, To The Lighthouse's accomplishment is not in the narrative, but in the telling. While not that much happens in the novel, Woolf's writing vividly conveys all the emotions and tensions of the Ramsays' world.

Again, an obvious achievement (not that anyone needed me to say it). But, you know, not "fun".

4 out of 5 stars.

Nine Stories :: JD Salinger

Psych, back to the old format.

The Flannery O'Connor I read in January got me hankering for some good short stories. One of my favorite collections (books, even) is Nine Stories, which I also reread (for the billionth time) in honor of JD Salinger's recent death.

Please indulge me as I muse on Salinger. Like, most people I was first exposed to his work - The Catcher in the Rye - in my ninth grade english class. In its tone, honesty and energy, it was unlike anything I had ever read before. I loved it not just for the storytelling, but for the what it showed me about what books could do and what reading should be like.

Anyway, later that year I picked up what is if not my favorite book, then at least is in my Top 5: Franny and Zooey. As the introduction to the intricately imagined Glass family, Franny and Zooey opened the door to a style of writing that I never ceased to be in awe of, no matter how many times I reread. Salinger built his characters through simple, well-turned phrases and a humor that no writer since (in my mind) has come close to achieving. I'm not sure I can string words together to sufficiently describe what that book means to me. Let's just say when I've seen people reading it on the subway, I've actually struck up conversations about it. And I am NOT that kind of person.

My curiosity about the Glass family now engaged, my next Salinger was Nine Stories, which I read again this month. The first story of the collection, A Perfect Day for a Bananafish, is tragic and sweet and jarring. I'm the type of person that forgets what she's read before I've closed the back cover, but I remember every detail of this story and always have.

The other eight stories are funny, heartbreaking, sentimental, but never maudlin. If I were to list the best ones, I'd just end up listing them all. But for good measure, here are two other highlights: For Esme - with Love and Squalor AND Teddy.

Read this book, it's very, very good (and read all the others too):

5 out of 5 stars