The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008

Understanding. Krugman makes the case in his new book, The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, that we have a scarcity of understanding, not resources. He claims that “the only important obstacles to world prosperity are the obsolete doctrines that clutter the minds of men.” If you have any interest in uncluttering your mind and achieving some degree of understanding, consider reading this fine book. Krugman writes in a clear style, and uses plenty of examples to illustrate his key points. This book updates the one he wrote in 1999 on the same general topic. The intervening years have made his message even more compelling: we need to abandon the conventional thinking that’s getting us nowhere. This engaging and thought-provoking book led me to reexamine my thinking, and to consider the degree to which my mind is cluttered with obsolete thoughts. I highly recommend this book to any reader interested in exploring our economic problems.

Rating: Four-star (Highly Recommended)

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The Spare Room

Friendship. Helen Garner masters the challenges of conflicting emotions in her new novel, The Spare Room. Protagonist Helen prepares the spare room in her Melbourne home for the arrival of her friend, Nicola, who will arrive from Sydney for three weeks of cancer therapy. Three weeks could be the blink of an eye, but caregiving turns Helen’s life upside down, and when she feels Nicola is being treated by charlatans, her anger overflows. Nicola surrenders to Helen and other friends while maintaining confidence that she will be cured. Nicola’s expectation of what friends will do seems misplaced, but Helen proves that friends can be true to one another. Any reader who has experienced hospice care or cared for a loved one will likely recognize the range of conflicting emotions that Garner’s characters feel on these finely written pages.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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Night and Day

Obsession. I like to read a Robert Parker novel whenever I want a book that is fast and simple to read. The characters are familiar, dialogue moves the action, and you can be distracted externally, and pick up where you leave off with ease. His books are ideal for travel: like snack food. The eighth police chief Jesse Stone novel, Night and Day, focuses on the theme of obsession. Readers know that Jesse remains obsessed with his ex-wife Jenn. After a peeping Tom in the town of Paradise increases his obsession and progresses to home invasion, molestation and then murder, Stone and his police team work to track him down. Along the lines of “it takes one to know one,” Stone examines the obsessive Night Hawk, as they call him, from the perspective of Stone’s own obsession with Jenn. Sunny Randall and Spike make cameo appearances, as does Spenser’s Susan Silverman. The pace of the novel is as quick as ever, and the dialogue is peppery. Before you know it, you’ll have finished the book, the flight attendant will be announcing imminent landing, and you’ll be somewhat satisfied that you didn’t totally waste a boring flight doing nothing.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Persistence. I always approach translations with a high degree of caution. What can be beautiful writing in one language becomes clumsy in translation. After a friend recommended The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I exercised that caution and approached this sprawling almost 500-page mystery with caution. What I found inside overcame any concerns about translation problems. The stories of two central characters are presented separately and then merged, within the structure of trying to solve a forty year old missing persons case. Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist recently convicted of libel, and is heading for jail, placing his periodical in jeopardy while he is absent. The title character, Lisbeth Salander, works as an investigator for a security firm, and uses her prolific hacker skill to find out everything about anyone. Her lightweight body and multiple piercings and tattoos disguise her skills and talents from those unwilling to look beyond appearances. Lisbeth has a photographic memory that serves her investigative role well, but she struggles with personal interactions and in relationship with others. The action accelerates when octogenarian Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger employs Blomkvist to write a history of the company and the Vanger family, provided he also examine and investigate the forty year ago disappearance of Henrik’s neice, Harriet. Blomkvist asks Lisbeth to work with him to investigate the case. Along the way, they find violence and evil, and uncover family secrets that Henrik Vanger would just as soon keep quiet. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is Steig Larsson’s debut novel, and it will be followed by two others. To the dismay of readers and friends, Larsson died in 2004, so these books will be his first and last.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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The Mighty Queens of Freeville

Humility. Memoirs tend to hit one extreme or another. Either the writer presents an idyllic life or one packed with unbearable troubles. Amy Dickinson tells her story with a lightness of touch that makes it all the more touching and real. She conveys her childhood without demonizing the father who abandoned his family. She presents the ways in which she raised her daughter as a single parent without railing against her ex-husband. Her success is presented as a matter of chance rather than skill, ambition and hard work. In all respects, she presents a humble personality, buoyed by a closely knit family, comprised of strong women, in a small town. These women carry on conversations that have no beginning and no end: they are always in motion. After one aunt dies in her eighties, her sister commented that she wished she knew her better. This is after spending every day of their lives in contact. Dickinson’s wit and fine writing will bring pleasure to many readers.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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