Book Review: White Noise by Don DeLillo

I really liked this novel. Quite a lot. In fact, I would have given it 5 of 5 stars if a. I wasn't trying to be more discerning with my rating system, reserving 5's for only those novels I consider all-time favorites b. if the third and final portion of the book hadn't dragged on a bit too long. That is my only real criticism of the book, that that third part of the book is a bit too long because the rest if pure gold.

Some people seem dissuaded by this book because it is highly regarde...I really liked this novel. Quite a lot. In fact, I would have given it 5 of 5 stars if a. I wasn't trying to be more discerning with my rating system, reserving 5's for only those novels I consider all-time favorites b. if the third and final portion of the book hadn't dragged on a bit too long. That is my only real criticism of the book, that that third part of the book is a bit too long... because the rest is pure gold.

Some people seem dissuaded by this book because it is highly regarded as the ultimate postmodern novel. And it is, really. If you have any experience with postmodern theory then there are about 10-20 different paper topics one could make from this book alone. Believe me, I did one of them in a single frenzied Sunday afternoon sitting at an IHOP during finals. It was about Hitler as a simulacrum. And I got an A, because as I said, this is rich postmodern reading, and White Noise is great fodder for any professor who loves himself a good postmodern analysis. Just mention "the most photographed barn in America" and you'll get any postmodern theorist worked up into a frenzy.

But even if you could not give less of a crap about postmodernism (and I'm sure there are plenty of you out there), this is still a great novel. Because at the crux of this novel are two themes we can all identify with: the meaning of and dissipation of the nuclear family and the fear of death. And it's put together in this witty (if sometimes hard to access) package that is genuinely a pleasure to read.

This particular version that I read was the 25th anniversary edition with an introduction by Richard Powers. Normally, I regard most introductions as either boring rehashings of plot points I want to experience for myself or monotonous statements of the most obvious, but I actually liked this introduction. It was a nice precursor to some of the novels themes and even if some of the points he makes are a bit obvious, they're useful. It sets up the novel well.

This is my third DeLillo novel, and I can see why it is regarded as his very best, even if personally I liked Libra just a bit more. DeLillo is a writer whose sense of irony and well-placed word play makes his writing seem alive and vibrant, pulsating and electric, even where the plot seemingly lags. His characters are composites of people who are so distinctly absurd that you know they probably do exist somewhere, absurdity aside. I would readily recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary literature, and especially to students of literary theory.

That's the mark of this book's quality: you can read it for theory or you can read it for pleasure, and either reading would be equally enriching.

This review was reposted and expanded from my review at Good Reads. Oh, you love reading and reviewing books, too? Join! We can be friends!

Book Review: Minima Moralia: Reflections on a Damaged Life by Theodor Adorno

I read this book for my class on Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. We slogged through it 10-15 aphorisms at a time for about 12 weeks, and in the end I have to say it was really rewarding. I think it would be a formidable text if we hadn't broken it down. For each section, pairs from the class presented on an aphorism or two and related it back to other sections from earlier in the book or to other Frankfurt School readings from the course. From an academic standpoint, it was a really ric...moreI read this book for my class on Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. We slogged through it 10-15 aphorisms at a time for about 12 weeks, and in the end I have to say it was really rewarding. I think it would be a formidable text if we hadn't broken it down. For each section, pairs from the class presented on an aphorism or two and related it back to other sections from earlier in the book or to other Frankfurt School readings from the course. From an academic standpoint, it was a really rich text in that it encompassed so many of Adorno's ideas into clever little bits. One joke I liked to make is that Adorno speaks in a way that lends itself to the facebook status.

But I fell a few weeks behind and so had to read a big chunk of the book in a more traditional format and it was still rewarding that way as well. Adorno isn't concerned with offering solutions: only pointing out how the world is broken. "There is no right life in a wrong world." And so he is concerned with pointing out how the world is wrong, how life is damaged. It sounds depressing and this book can be pessimistic even at its best moments, but there is something hopeful in the care he takes in examining the world so closely. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone recommended in Frankfurt School theory or social theory in general.

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Book Review: Laugher In The Dark by Vladimir Nabokov

I read this book very quickly over a couple days. I picked it up on impulse, having always wanted to read another book by Nabokov and having been intrigued by the synopsis.

Oddly enough, one of the most interesting parts of this book was the introduction by John Banville, which chronicled the novels place within Nabokov's career and it's possible relation to Nabokov's later works, including Lolita. More specifically, it highlights the way that the parasitic relationship in this novel may have been a precursor to the relationship investigated in Lolita, only in this novel, Margot is a cunning (if not very smart) and vile active participant in Albert Albinus' demise.

Unrelated sidenote: Albert Albinus? Humbert Humbert? Axel Rex? I'll gladly take any comments related to the meaning behind Nabokov's obsession with mirroring names.

I didn't like this novel as much as Lolita, but only because it DID read to me a bit like just that: a precursor to a greater idea. In this novel, Nabokov seems to be toying with the idea of female power and of male justification for reprehensible behavior, themes that will be investigated to much greater effect later and which might not have been so deeply developed were it not for novels like this one.

Albert Albinus is at least slightly sympathetic. One can see the wheels turning within him and warning him that the decisions he's making are destructive and loathsome. One can see his moment's hesitation in considering a proper route of action. His conscience is visible. The drama and tragedy comes in his continued failure to obey these impulses, particularly in the face of Margot's calculating seducation and continued moral decline. Her and Axel Rex make for some truly perilous villains, and it is obvious from the start that a man like Albinus will not be able to stand up to the terror they will impose upon him.

The strength in this book comes from the quality of Nabokov's prose, which anyone who has had the pleasure of reading a Nabokov novel is familiar with. I look forward to reading other Nabokov novels, as this one has really whetted my appetite for more. It might be a good place to start if one is interested in reading beyond Lolita.

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Book Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

It's been a few months now since I've finished this book, and I simply hadn't had the chance until now to sit down and give it a proper review. I suppose this is a benefit to the book because, upon reflecting on it, I now see more clearly what I enjoyed about it.

I think what I enjoyed most was Joe Kavalier. I had read Chabon before, and I was frustrated with his ability to create an interesting character and make me bored of hearing about them. I never got bored of Joe. If anything, I always felt like the narration was hiding something about Joe, some key to understanding his motivations that went well beyond the basics of missing his family and loving art. It's never revealed, but the depth of his emotions is implied, leaving the reader an opportunity to analyze his motivations through the prism of any combination of Joe's personal history, revealed throughout the arc of the narrative.

I'm glad I gave Chabon a second chance. Reading "The Yiddish Policeman's Union" first left a bitter taste in my mouth that Chabon doesn't deserve...I couldn't have been convinced before that he was capable of a book like this, and now I'm a convert, intent on reading another of his works soon. I really enjoyed how this book deigned to span the expanses of time, place, and historicity that make other favorite books of mine (Middlesex, Everything Is Illuminated) so engaging. Chabon has a gift for diction and syntax that makes his work beautiful to read.

My criticisms of the book are mainly the following two points. One: I'm still not convinced of Chabon's ability to write an effective female character. I didn't always believe in Rosa's motivations or emotions, she seemed limited by the male viewpoint. I realize that it might be hard for someone so adept at creating intriguing men to understand the differences necessary for female thought, but Chabon should be able to shoulder that burden with the same tact and attention to detail that he gives to creating a historical landscape for his works. Your women have to be real, not comic book caricatures of what you think a female ought to be like.

The second was the comic book referencing. Chabon's intention may have been to color the story with a deep well of knowledge that contributes to realism. He very likely did a tremendous amount of research for this book and this is commendable. But you know what? I don't want to see that research, at least not directly. His obsession with showing off his comic book knowledge and excessive use of comic book reference seems a lot like hammering in superfluous garbage for the sake of looking cool. You like comic books, you know a lot about them, we get it. We don't need you to tell us again because all that is doing is distracting from the charming and beautiful story you already have in front of you.

I can't think of many people who wouldn't enjoy this book, and I would be inclined to recommend it to anyone. My only advice is to stick it out after it slows down 100 pages in. It'll be worth it.

This review was reposted and expanded from my review at Good Reads. Oh, you love reading and reviewing books, too? Join! We can be friends!

Book Review: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

This is one of the finest books I've read in many years. Not just for the genre, not just for a young adult novel, not just for the subject matter. This is one of the finest books I've read in many years, period.

I was immediately drawn in by the story and I found the narrative choices original without being trite. Approaching the book from such a perspective allowed the narrator to guide the story in a way that tapped a deep emotional well within me and shaded the poignancy of the accounted moments with an acute awareness of the historical reality of WWII.

Liesel is written with a delicate sensitivity for the emotions of little girls. She is thoughtful and fragile but simultaneously stubborn and hardened and her persona is an accurate reflection of the precociousness necessary for a little girl like her to survive in such a harsh world. She is an admirable heroine and a strong role model, notable for her courage despite having lived a life such as hers.

Further, each character within Liesel's story is assigned their own unique traits and demeanors, which should be the case in any story, but is often difficult for some authors to do. While some characters could have easily been stereotyped sidekicks or stereotyped strict parents or any one of the cliches often found in these sort of stories, they have been developed into rich explanations of human character and the delicate threads that hold relationships together. They are reflections of Liesel as much as Liesel is a reflection of each of them, and the story comes alive in the moments in which these relationships are investigated.

The book also manages to approach the story of the Holocaust without resorting to the same old stories, the same old sorry tales that have been written and rewritten time and time again. This is a different story, and it feels like a different story when you read it, but still manages to communicate the importance of remembering these atrocities in the scope of human history.

But most importantly, this book is engaging. Even at 500+ pages, I read it in mere days because I was so excited to find out what happened next. Liesel reminds us of the power of words, the power of books to transport us outside of our own world and into someone else's, and Liesel's is a world that everyone ought to visit.

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Book Review: Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

I am a huge fan of Chuck Klosterman's non-fiction work, so I met the prospect of his fiction with a sort of hopeful apprehension. I wasn't necessarily expecting it to be as good as his other work simply because fiction was not his primary mode of writing to this point. I am pleased to report that Klosterman met and then exceeded my expectations.

Downtown Owl is not the novel I expected it to be. I don't know what I expected it to be, but it wasn't what was delivered to me. I think I h...more I am a huge fan of Chuck Klosterman's non-fiction work, so I met the prospect of his fiction with a sort of hopeful apprehension. I wasn't necessarily expecting it to be as good as his other work simply because fiction was not his primary mode of writing up to this point. I am pleased to report that Klosterman met and then exceeded my expectations.

Downtown Owl is not the novel I expected it to be. I don't know what I expected it to be, but it wasn't what was delivered to me. I think I half expected a sort of pretentious love story wrought with allusions to some protagonist's vast musical knowledge and intense desire to get out of small town rural America. I love Chuck Klosterman, but any Chuck Klosterman fan would also know exactly why I might get this idea.

What I got instead was an illuminating investigation of small town life. Sure, there were allusions to pop culture artifacts of the time (it is set in 1983) and a few turns of phrase that sounded like the Klosterman I'm used to reading, but on the whole, the development of the three main characters' story archs not only helped to move the story along but helped to imbue the novel with an acute awareness of humanity and the human experience.

This is why, to me, the novel was so good. Any novel that can deftly handle the human experience will be good, but a novel that manages to handle three separate experiences in equally touching and sympathetic ways shows an advanced understanding of what makes people tick, what makes them get up in the morning and feel that they have some degree of purpose, even if to the outside eye, they may be floundering.

Some might argue that the story doesn't necessarily "go" anywhere for much of the novel, and this is true, to a degree. It isn't evident precisely what the novel is leading up to, what sort of climactic moment will emerge. And when this moment does emerge, it's with a deftly handled mix of clarity and confusion that is incredibly compelling. But the development of these characters, the slow realizations about their motives and their pasts (particularly in the case of the character Horace, I found) is reason enough to propel the story forward.

As a reader, I felt privileged to crawl inside the minds of these characters, and the outside elements of plot and location only helped to inform this experience. For that I must give Klosterman my highest accolades, and site this novel as one of the many reasons I have believed in his capabilities as an author since I first read him a few years ago. Highly recommended.

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Book Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This book so could have garnered my highest praises had it stuck to the intentions of its core story. The plot at the center of this book is a moving story that illuminates the grief and sorrow of the American experience following the 9/11 attacks by telling the story of young Oskar Schell, an eccentric young boy whose attempts to remain close to his father (who died in one of the towers) take him on a mission to uncover his fathers secrets.

Oskar is incredibly endearing, if not alway...moThis book so could have garnered my highest praises had it stuck to the intentions of its core story. The plot at the center of this book is a moving story that illuminates the grief and sorrow of the American experience following the 9/11 attacks by telling the story of young Oskar Schell, an eccentric young boy whose attempts to remain close to his father (who died in one of the towers) take him on a mission to uncover his fathers secrets.

Oskar is incredibly endearing, if not always entirely believable as a character. It's not so much that Foer does not succeed in making Oskar seem true to age so much as the fact that very few kids, no matter how weird, would possess so great a multitude of eccentricities as Oskar does. I loved his eccentricities, and accepted them without regard for realism, but it's been my experience that most kids are not so overwrought by weirdness that they can barely function, and even the ones who are that weird stick to one or two types of weirdness and not all of them at once.

But as I said, this was of little issue to me because Oskar was so delighful, and the process of his story and journey to discover what he was searching for to fill the void left by the loss of his father is moving and revealing. Had the book focused almost entirely on this story, I likely would have given it my highest rating and recommended it to everyone I know.

But the book did not focus on just this story. Instead, Foer engages in the highest form of artistic self-service and pretentiousness in the form of meandering stream of consciousness style diary entries and letters focusing on Oskar's grandparents. The grandmother spends years typing nothing onto a typewriter, the grandfather never speaks but instead tattoos "yes" and "no" on his fingers. It's all a little ridiculous, and I even have a high tolerance for artistic pretentiousness.

Trust me, these are not spoilers, just the most basic explanations of a multitude of pompous characteristics Foer imbues these side characters with in an attempt to be artistic and abstract. And for many books, it might work, I might have liked it even. But I just didn't with this one. I found that when those chapters stepped in to interrupt Oskar's story, that I didn't want to read them, or that I wanted to get through them as quickly as possible so I could get back to Oskar. I don't think any author wants to write something where people feel the urge to skip half of your chapters.

These side stories aren't 100% faulty. I do enjoy the parallels made between the experience of the bombing of Dresden with the 9/11 attacks, and the few places where this side story overlaps with Oskar's own are interesting. I suppose, in summation, that I wanted to like this book more because it had so much potential to be great. I just wish that all of the pretentious additions had been toned down, edited only for the most vital information, and that Oskar Schell's story would have had the book it deserves.

This review was reposted and expanded from my review at Good Reads. Oh, you love reading and reviewing books, too? Join! We can be friends!

Book Review: The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

I should really accept the fact that at this point in my life, I know what I like. But I don't accept that, and I always think that if I go out on a limb and try something in a new style, maybe this time will be different. Michael Chabon proved that, in his case...it was not.

I don't like mystery novels. Well, strike that. I don't like mystery novels where the entire plot hinges on the mystery and is not somehow related to the creation of sub-plots and character development. I think C...more I should really accept the fact that at this point in my life, I know what I like. But I don't accept that, and I always think that if I go out on a limb and try something in a new style, maybe this time will be different. Michael Chabon proved that, in his case...it was not.

I don't like mystery novels. Well, strike that. I don't like mystery novels where the entire plot hinges on the mystery and is not somehow related to the creation of sub-plots and character development. I think Chabon expected he was doing this, which might be true for people who are accustomed to reading mysteries. But for me, it just seemed so far steeped in this obsession with the mystery element of the plot that it entirely glazed over all the most interesting elements.

The interesting parts I'm referring to are the alternative history aspects. This part, I loved, and were it not for this part I would have likely abandoned the novel altogether and opted not to finish the 400+ pages. And the novel did eventually stop meandering around the mystery and get to some elements of this. Even the mystery got more interesting, and by the last quarter of the book I found myself genuinely compelled to find out the ending. But 300 pages is a long way to go to get to that point. Far too long.

Ultimately, I think Chabon is a great writer. I would even be interested in trying some of his more acclaimed books, as I'd like to think that acclaim is a good barometer for the quality of the plot, and I genuinely like his writing style. Some of the metaphors and turns of phrase he comes up with are uniquely impeccable to the situation in the story. But overall, I felt like I read a book that, majority of the time, I only sort of liked, and for that reason, I was only sort of satisfied. If you like a good mystery told in a unique and different way, then you would most likely disagree.

This review was reposted and expanded from my review at Good Reads. Oh, you love reading and reviewing books, too? Join! We can be friends!

Book Review (Kinda): All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

I almost never abandon books. Ever. If it's really bad, I'll put it down a week and come back. I kept telling myself I should read this book. Oh, it's won awards! It's an important text! But I was fooling myself.

It was bad, and I didn't enjoy it, and after devoting my time to 100 pages, nearly half the book, I realized that I did not and had never had any desire to finish it. Oh, and the plot alluded to? Definitely not hit by 100 pages in. 100 pages and the plot summary STILL did not match what I was reading. I have a stack of books as tall as I am that says tick-freaking-tock. This was not worth the time I had already invested.

I realize this is the least in depth review I've ever given on this site. I'm okay with that. I kind of feel like I maybe invested the amount of time in this review that McCarthy invested in planning out a plot for this book.

This review was reposted and expanded from my review at Good Reads. Oh, you love reading and reviewing books, too? Join! We can be friends!

"Is Your Baby Racist?" - Newsweek, September 14th, 2009

I was reading some older magazines at the gym and came across the Newsweek from September 14th, 2009 with the cover story "Is Your Baby Racist?". I found this story totally fascinating! It's culled from a chapter in a new book called Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. Lucky for me, I have a friend who has already purchased this book, so I will get to read it whenever he is finished, but this article definitely helped pique my interest in the book.

You should take the time to read the entire article (linked above) if you get the chance, but I'll summarize some of the most interesting points for discussion:

• Even among families that volunteered to participate in a study that investigated children's perceptions of race, researchers found that parents were reluctant to discuss race at all with their children because they felt that not discussing race allowed their children to be "colorblind." In fact, the study found that children are able to distinguish differences in race as early as 6 months old
  
  
• Researchers found that parents who did discuss race used vague terms like "Everyone is equal" or "We're all friends" which did not actually help children process their own questions about race. This leads not necessarily to discrimination but rather to preferences for one's own group. To quote the article:
  
  
  Kids are developmentally prone to in-group favoritism; they're going to form these preferences on their own. Children naturally try to categorize everything, and the attribute they rely on is that which is the most clearly visible....children extend their shared appearances much further—believing that those who look similar to them enjoy the same things they do. Anything a child doesn't like thus belongs to those who look the least similar to him. The spontaneous tendency to assume your group shares characteristics—such as niceness, or smarts—is called essentialism.
  
  
• Research suggests that by age 8 or so, when most parents finally figure it is necessary to talk about race, children's opinions about race have mostly formed, whereas discussing it earlier tends to allow children to openly question their curiosities about race. The idea is that they are not necessarily prompted to discriminate immediately, nor do they see any specific reason to, but rather that their self identification with their own race can lead to classifying others precisely as that -- "others."
  
  
• Sadly, school integration may not be the key. Research found that "the more diverse the school, the more the kids self-segregate by race and ethnicity within the school, and thus the likelihood that any two kids of different races have a friendship goes down." This is perhaps because students recognize more social constructs around them that center around race (one example might be a lunch table that a student assumedly cannot sit at because it is populated by another race) and thus is less likely to pursue opportunities to interact with students of other races.
  
  
• Interestingly enough, informing kids about the sordid history of racial discRimination at an earlier age may be the key to preventing such group discrimination. Another interesting excerpt:

  Bigler ran a study in which children read brief biographies of famous African-Americans. For instance, in a biography of Jackie Robinson, they read that he was the first African-American in the major leagues. But only half read about how he'd previously been relegated to the Negro Leagues, and how he suffered taunts from white fans. Those facts—in five brief sentences were omitted in the version given to the other children.

  After the two-week history class, the children were surveyed on their racial attitudes. White children who got the full story about historical discrimination had significantly better attitudes toward blacks than those who got the neutered version. Explicitness works. "It also made them feel some guilt," Bigler adds. "It knocked down their glorified view of white people." They couldn't justify in-group superiority.

Anyhow, that's just a tiny snippet of some of the interesting stuff contained in the article, and it really makes me wonder how racial discrimination has shifted, especially with the election of a mixed-race president, which seems like it would be an opportune point for discussion between parents and their children.

It seems especially poignant that as older generations who grew up with more prevalent racism age, the newer generations are faced with their own unique obstacles to discussing race, such as the assumption that children are "naturally colorblind," which seems a bit idealized when you think about it. That said, I don't think children have a natural tendency to discriminate, and it seems to me to be more of an issue of not addressing a natural curiosity that arises about something in the child's world.

I know I have a couple parents who read the blog, how have you tackled the question of race with your children? How did your parents tackle it with you?

Book Review: In The Bedroom by Andre Dubus

This collection is a series of short stories by Andre Dubus culled from his other works and is ostensibly patterned around stories that handle characters at pivotal moments in their lives. I found this theme to be what was ultimately so moving about this collection of work, particularly reading the stories all together.

The first story, "Killings" was the basis for the movie In The Bedroom, as the preface by Todd Field illuminates, and incidentally, I found "Killings" to be one of the least compelling stories in the book, perhaps because it really would make a better movie (and thus, why I am now dying to see the movie In The Bedroom).

What I found most interesting about the stories was the idea of loss as indicated by a change in one's state of mind or quality of living. Each story dealt with the idea that something big has happened and then investigated whether things could or could not go back to the way they were before. Whether this end was sought through some sort of atonement, or reminiscence, or a physical action, this return to when times were better or different was a string throughout. It felt a bit like a thought that guided you by the hand through each story, making each one richer than the one before it.

All of these stories have a heartbreaking resonance with the human spirit that is a testament to Dubus' skills as a writer. He is king of the short story, for each of his stories is exactly as long as it needs to be, and he provides the exact amount of detail necessary to satiate the reader without limiting the capacity for reader response. As a writer of short stories, it was really a treat to see someone so adept at the genre make such skill seem so effortless.

I would recommend this book to just about anyone, but particular to those who are fans of the short story format, for it is on excellent display here. My favorite stories in the book are "Rose," "The Winter Father," and "The Fat Girl," but all of them are excellent, excellent stories and I can't wait to read more Dubus.

This review was reposted and expanded from my review at Good Reads. Oh, you love reading and reviewing books, too? Join! We can be friends!

Banned Book Week: September 26−October 3, 2009

I have always been vehement in my opinion on book banning: I'm 100% against it. Nothing seems more fundamentally in opposition with the ideas of freedom of speech and freedom of choice than the idea of limiting content in the written word from the public eye. The sordid history of book-banning has long been a tool for oppressing the frank and open discussion of race, sexuality, violence and other cultural issues in an intellectual venue. Literature has a way of tackling these issues that few creative mediums can, and the continued treatment of such issues is necessary in provoking informed discussion about our ever-changing culture.

Now, I understand that with the issue of their own children, some parents may exercise the right to keep their children from reading certain books, just as some parents may choose not to allow certain television, movies, or music into the home. But when arbitrary panels of lawmakers, parent groups, or educators take the matter into their own hands, they are refusing students the ability to make their own decisions about what is suitable reading material, effectively limiting their ability to discover the world around them through an intellectual medium that provides open and thoughtful discussion on a topic.

The act of reading itself is always a choice: no one can force you to read the words on the page, even if they put the book in front of your eyes. Why shouldn't that choice be left to the person doing the reading? And where do the limits on suitable material stop? It is already easy to notice the trends in some of the most commonly banned books of all time (the list of the top 100 can be found here) and they seem to revolve around books that deal with race, sexuality, gender confusion or violence. It is logical to suggest that the censorship is used entirely as a way of attempting to suppress discussion or advancement on such issues and in turn suppress such people. The only thing offensive about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is that a black man is allowed to be a character, and the frank discussion about the validity of slavery and the treatment of black people that it suggests.

In any event, I encourage you all to read banned books and exercise your right to make choices for yourselves. Because ultimately, that is a freedom we all have and that extends to your choice in books.

For useful information on banned books, check out these websites:

ALA Banned Books Week
AS IF! Authors Support Intellectual Freedom
Huffington Post - Banned Books Week: Still Needed In The US
Banned Books Week Website
The Map Of Book Censorship - this one really gets me

Plus-Size For Me Is Plus-Hot (+ Crystal Renn)

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of fashion. But I am not such a fan of the fashion industries single-minded, outdated obsession with being dangerously thin and unhealthy. Some may argue that this trend is slowly dying out, but that just isn't so. Small steps do not equal actual progress until models on the runway start looking more like healthy women who take care of themselves, rather than emaciated skeletal beings.

That's why I was so pleased to hear about Crystal Renn's new book, Hungry, which talks about her experiences growing up in the modeling business and going from her normal weight as a young model to an emaciated weight, and back to a size 12 again to work as a plus-size model.

I've seen Renn in a lot of different ads for a long time, and I've always thought she was unbelievably gorgeous. I'm glad to see that she stuck with it and went back to her normal size, because I think she is a lot more beautiful and natural that way.

Now, I'm not saying that there aren't women who are naturally small. My younger sister, through some genetic repositioning that I clearly did not personally come in contact with, is a natural size 0. Great for her. But battling the construct of models being 5'10" and a size 2 is certainly more a matter of representing clothing and fashion in a realistic manner that makes allowances for all shapes and sizes.

Does Crystal Renn make this Jean Paul Gaultier couture gown look any less fabulous and chic by mere merit of being full-figured? Not in the slightest. If anything, I think it makes the fashion more beautiful. Renn is zaftig and comely, with curves in all the right places. This is what women want to look like in a dress, at least most women I know, and as a male friend pointed out, this is what attracts men to women. Sure, there are some guys who go for stick-figures, but there are an awful lot more men who are attracted to a voluptuous figure.

In any event, I found some of the interviews shes been doing about the book pretty enlightening. What do you think?


Crystal Renn: New Book 'Hungry' - ABC News

Book Review: Killing Yourself To Live by Chuck Klosterman

If my enjoyment of a book can be measured in reading speed, this is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. I simply couldn't put it down.

Now, I may be biased. I think Chuck Klosterman is totally likeable because I think, more than most people I read, he thinks like I think. And I think a lot of people have this private thought when they're reading him. Here is this nerdy guy who throws around pop culture references like sprinkles on the cupcake of his own self-deprecating over-analyzing sadness. And frankly, I think we all feel that way sometimes.

But I can also see how other people might not like Klosterman. And the book isn't perfect. It moves around a lot, inserts references that aren't always clear, but thats part of its charm. Its like Klosterman wrote a particularly funny diary for us about this road trip he went on and reading it made everyone feel a little better about the times they can be a little self-absorbed or monomaniacal or just plain bad at communication.

Klosterman is a reflection of all of us at our most earnest and sometimes most awkward.

Now, this book is ostensibly about rock star death but I really think its about the death of one's self throughout life. How certain chapters have to be closed in order for new one's to be started. On this theme, Klosterman is poignant and heartfelt, in his own way, and it really is what makes the book so worthwhile.

This book, as well as Klosterman in general, comes highly recommended. And when you read it, and fall in love with it, be sure to feel super envious of my autographed copy.

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Book Review: Americana by Don DeLillo

I really wanted to like this book. I remember when I read DeLillo's book "Libra" that I had been completely enamored with his prose. It was a really good book, and he had a penchant for detail that was completely unmatched. And the prose in Americana is good, but I just didn't like it as much. It's not DeLillo's best.

There are a lot of good things I can say about the book. I did love his repetition of icons and ideas that really are associated with Americana: the cheap hotel room, the idea of female sexuality as glorified by commercials, the romantic ideals of cross-country travel. The strongest sections are those in which the protagonist, David Bell, reflects on his own past, particularly his memories of his family and his mother.

There is also a clear transformation in David's character from the beginning of the book to the end, and that ultimately comprises the majority of the story arch. And DeLillo's prose is still very lush and exciting at points. I definitely love the way he phrases things because it is very vivid and alive.

What is important to note about Americana is that it was DeLillo's first novel. He can't be expected to have the poise and delicacy in his early writing that he would later in his career with works such as "Libra" and "Underworld."

Further, some of the frustration I had with the novel may be more a matter of timing. The novel was written in 1971 and was very much a novel of its own time. The Vietnam War is at the front of consciousness throughout the book, as are elements of changing cultural mores. It seems an early example of the kind of work that would inspire the likes of Bret Easton Ellis, with his literature of the grotesque, and it is clear that the novel investigates many postmodern elements.

All said, while Americana wasn't all that good itself, I would recommend it to any DeLillo fan in order to gain a wider understanding of his work. For anyone else, I would recommend DeLillo and I would start with his excellent novel, "Libra."

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Book Review: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

At first, I wasn't sure I would like this book because the description of setting and plot is so sparse, which is contrary to my usual taste. But I found that the more I thought about my experience reading the book, the more I realized how much I truly enjoyed it.

I think what made it so powerful was how well it encapsulated the experience of re-education in a communist world. It didn't necessarily seek to answer all sorts of historical question, but it did seek to give an accurate account. The characters are made very tangible in the context of this world, and that is refreshing. It's easy to slip yourself into their experience, and traverse their journey with them.

Further, I feel like the idea of reading literature for the sake of knowledge comes alive in the context of the story, and makes the book itself seem more alive. It's definitely easy to recommend this book to just about any sort of reader, because I believe the story at the core would appeal to anyone who is a lover of literature. And at only 192 sparse pages, its a quick little read, and thus well worth the effort.

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Book Review: His Illegal Self by Peter Carey

I had the exact opposite problem with this book that I did with the last book I read. The problem with this book is that the story is good. It's interesting, if a bit cliche, but it takes some turns that intrigued. The problem is the writer is not a terribly good writer.

I know it's in vogue not to use quotation marks, but if you're virtually incapable of distinguishing between your characters' voices, it's probably necessary. It's not that the character's were unbelievable, but they ...more I had the exact opposite problem with this book that I did with the last book I read. The problem with this book is that the story is good. It's interesting, if a bit cliche, but it takes some turns that intrigued. The problem is the writer is not a terribly good writer.

I know it's in vogue not to use quotation marks, but if you're virtually incapable of distinguishing between your characters' voices, it's probably necessary. It's not that the character's were unbelievable, but they seemed to all think in the exact same way, and use the exact same words and logical processes, regardless of age, gender, life experience, etc. And the problem is, ages and genders and experiences presented HUGE differences in the context of the story. This should have been made a bit more clear.

The story itself is interesting, and might have benefited from a bit more historical context, but in all shows promise that this particular writer can create an interesting world for his characters to inhabit. I just wish that the quality of writing were more enjoyable, that I actually wanted to spend time with the book, rather than feeling I had to suffer some mediocre prose to find out the ending to a story that genuinely had me hooked. Not to mention the bitter aftertaste of a truly unsatisfying ending.

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Book Review: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

I cannot figure out whether to fault Murakami for what I did not like about this book, or the translator. In any event, I think this book's biggest faults comes from might be lost in translation. At least, I'm giving Murakami the benefit of the doubt on that one.

It's not that I totally disliked the book. I liked much of it, and I think it had a well suited ending, despite the fact that majority of the story arc seemed a little stagnant getting there. Murakami obviously does a beautiful job of describing things, particularly setting.

In fact, it's the fact that he is so good at description that messes up the book a bit. While the descriptions of places and weather and people around are so vibrant, the characterization of those moving within these settings falls completely flat. I can think of few protagonists more utterly boring, lifeless and uninteresting than Watanabe. And given that many proport this book to be a loose autobiography, I'd like to imagine Murakami would pay himself more respect than creating such a bland protagonist.

Other characters seem more like caricatures than actual people. Midori, for instance, doesn't seem like a real female. Her actions seem driven from a listless place where men seem to THINK women's motives come from, and not from any real place. The one exception is Reiko, whose characterization is clear and fascinating.

If only Murakami had taken the time to make the rest of the characters as interesting as Reiko, and to bring life to the plot with as much ease as he did with Reiko's story arc, this could have been one of my favorite books. Instead, I found myself sort of non-plussed.

This is not to say I wouldn't ever recommend the book. For many people, beautiful prose and solid setting are enough to look over some flaws in character and plot, and those elements really were of the highest quality. I found myself dying to step onto the page and into the mountains of Kyoto. But for me, it just wasn't enough to make a full story, and I suppose thats why I was a bit disappointed.

Expansion: Re-reading this review a few months after finishing the book, I will say that some of the beautiful imagery did stay with me a very long time, and that this book was less forgettable than most of the books I read. Perhaps I was a bit harsh in judging it, though I'd like to believe that my initial reactions were pretty sensible. It does make me curious to see if some of Murakami's more acclaimed books are well known simply because in those cases, he was able to rectify the problems I had with this particular book. It does make me wonder what else he might have in store.

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Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

My initial reaction to this book was positive. I liked it. Perhaps it wasn't what I normally go for, but I generally liked it. The characters were likeable enough and the format was handled deftly, even if it left a bit to be desired syntactically.

However, after chewing on it for the past week post-read, I have to say that it didn't leave me with much. Once again, I enjoyed it. But what had drawn me to the book was the subject matter: german occupation of a remote island during WWII, and the subsequent discussion of the communal experience of occupation and war. That was there, but the author failed to capitalize on it.

Essentially, it ended up being a silly sort of predictable love story/search for one's love. I'm not even sure that side plot had a place in the book. In fact, the story arc of the main character's relation to a little girl in her care is much more fascinating, but at times seemed merely glossed over.

I wanted to like this book, because I could tell that it was enjoyable, and I can see why it is so loved by the many who recommended it. But it just wasn't for me. I suppose it just seemed all a bit too neatly tied up in a little bow. Perhaps I'm alone in this opinion, but I don't want my discussion of the Post WWII world neatly tied up. I like it to be as messy as possible, myself.

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