Broadmoor Book Review

I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan

Wheeler — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:01:58 +0000

I recently read the Last Werewolf and enjoyed it enough to read this one. Contrary to what appears to be the majority opinion, I liked the Last Werewolf better.

Instead of being about, well, what it’s like to be the last werewolf, this one follows Satan for a month as he inhabits the body of a writer – Declan Gunn – who was in the midst of committing suicide when God decides to give Lucifer a chance at redemption by letting him animate Gunn for a month. It sounds original and interesting, but it never grabbed me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it had too many Britishisms. Or maybe it was Lucifer’s annoying habit of speaking in at least one parenthetical aside in almost every paragraph. It could also be the ridiculousness of the whole premise. But then, I don’t believe werewolves exist, either. It was worth reading, it just didn’t work like I thought it would.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

Wheeler — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:47:20 +0000

I enjoyed this not-about-baseball baseball book. It centers around an outstanding young shortstop – Henry Skrimshander – at a fictional mid-western university. The descriptions of the training and games are great. It got me even more excited than I already was about opening day, and inspired me to spend more time tossing pitches and hitting ground balls to my son. Even so, the book’s real story, revolves around the relationships between Henry, two teammates, the university president, and the president’s daughter. The book bordered on the ridiculous at times, especially the ending, but it’s one I will remember for a long time.

As an aside, I’ve recently and unintentionally read a lot of books set in or about – in a phrase from one of them – the mid f’ng west. That’s from Richard Russo’s That Old Cape Magic. There’s also been The Corrections and Freedom (I liked the former better) from Jonathan Franzen. Now this. Throw in recently watched movies Fargo, Cedar Rapids, and Presumed Innocent and I feel like I ought to be a Big Ten fan.

The Litigators by John Grisham

Wheeler — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:32:50 +0000

A lawyer disenchanted with big firm life decides to see how the other half lives. Yeah, it’s the same book he’s written a hundred times, but it’s a reliably entertaining chance to turn off the brain for a few hours.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

Wheeler — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:22:01 +0000

Another zombie tale. Set in the post-apocalypse just as the humans begin re-establishing themselves, the story follows one man – nicknamed Mark Spitz – as he works with a team clearing lower Manhattan of the remaining (supposedly) zombies. Spitz provides the back story in bits and pieces through his own recollections as he carries out his job over the three-day period covered by the book. True to the genre, there’s plenty of gore. But the real story revolves around Spitz’s inner struggle to survive. Enjoyable and haunting. Loved it.

Also, I just ordered this shirt:

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

Wheeler — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:14:38 +0000

The “rapture” occurs but indiscriminately takes all kinds of believers, even the non. Left behind (haha) with no real idea why, the rest of the world continues pretty much as before, but with a bit more conscious uncertainty about the whole point of life.

More of an exploration of suburban emotional wastelands than post-apocalyptic wastelands, but still, I enjoyed it.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Wheeler — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:00:41 +0000

I’m not much of a Stephen King fan, nor do I think JFK was anything special. So when I heard about this book, in which the main character returns to the mid twentieth century to prevent the assassination, I shrugged. But I read enough good reviews that I decided to read it myself.

Not bad. And my fears of JFK worship were unfounded.

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman

Wheeler — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:14:39 +0000

The Bergamot family moves from upstate New York to the city. It ought to be a great time, as the title suggests. Then the son, Jake, receives an x rated e-mail from a girl in his school. He forwards it to a friend, you know what happens next, and soon the family collapses and the title becomes more of a cruel taunt than a hopeful reality.

Liked it. I was, though, hoping for an examination of the legal situation. The news frequently contains stories like Jake’s, but in which some crusading prosecutor decides to save the kids from themselves by hitting both parties with child porn charges. Sex crime penalties being what they are, that means the end of any hopes for any kind of life, never mind a beautiful one.

The book, though, barely touches these issues, focusing instead on the family’s reaction. That’s compelling, too, just not what I was hoping for.

Ed King by David Guterson

Wheeler — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:49:39 +0000

Meh.

Oedipus Rex in modern times. The new story redoes the original about as creatively as name of the new titular character replaces the old. It’s all there and all obvious from a mile away.

Hence, the quality of the book depends on stuff other than the plot. None of it impressed me. The book runs from the early sixties to about five years from now, but without the depth or precision necessary for me to feel like I was in those times, or to have nostalgia, vel sim, for the times I have experienced. I didn’t get the characters. Some were treacherous for no apparent reason. Some changed with similar types of motives. The writing could be annoying, too. I skimmed page after page describing Dianne’s attempts to make herself look younger. Ditto Ed’s interactions with his artificial intelligence friend.

In short, sounds cool, and might be worth reading if you really need something and it’s all that’s available, but a real dud.

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz

Wheeler — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:10:06 +0000

Awesome

Great writer, great subject. When I taught the first half of American History, I always enjoyed having a debate about whether John Brown was a martyr or terrorist. Around here, the latter is the dominant answer. I never made up my mind until reading this book. Now I think I lean towards the former.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

Wheeler — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:05:02 +0000

Cool.

Being a werewolf is a curse. The change comes every full moon; the changed has no say in the matter. An all consuming hunger forces the werewolf to kill and eat humans. “Peace” comes in accepting that this life is all there is, thus, might as well eat. Meanwhile, an army of exterminators have eliminated all but the titular character, who, due to the lack of peace, is now more than ready to accept his own extermination. Then something causes his desires to change. Now he wants to live. But will he?

Fascinating. Best with scotch on a rainy and cold day.