The Light of the World: A Memoir

Beauty. I kept putting off my reading of Elizabeth Alexander’s memoir titled, The Light of the World. I knew it expressed this poet’s grief at the death of her artist husband, Ficre Ghebreyesus. This book is her wail, her lament and her tribute to Ficre. It is some of the finest writing I’ve read in decades, and I wish I hadn’t put off reading it. Here’s a sample (p. 178): ‘“Oh beauty, you are the light of the world!’ was the quotation we chose for the bench by the side of the grave, from a poem by Derek Walcott my teacher, whose words Ficre and I revered. The exaltation with which we met, and beauty itself, the things we both chased and tried to re-create in our work, that which lights the world and its darkness that he understood so well. The poem says it better than any scripture.” This is a memoir of beauty, both beauty as it is found around us, and beauty as it is created by the artist. Read this book: embrace the beauty. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The Light of the World from amazon.com.

All Things Cease to Appear

Psychopath. Readers like me, who enjoy finely written literary fiction, may re-read many of the finely structured sentences in Elizabeth Brundage’s novel titled, All Things Cease to Appear. Based on the characters and plot, I encourage reading this novel on sunny days. One character is a psychopath, and Brundage develops him in ways that are both clever and creepy. Death stays present in the novel throughout all four hundred pages, always lurking in the foreground or background. Again, that was both clever and creepy. The relationships in the novel are complex, to say the least, and readers who like psychological novels will find a lot to enjoy in this one. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase All Things Cease to Appear from amazon.com.

The Ancient Minstrel

Appetite. Fans of novellas can find three finely written examples in the latest collection by Jim Harrison titled, The Ancient Minstrel. Readers familiar with Harrison’s work will be pleased that he continues to excel at exploring the range of our human appetite, especially for food and sex. In these novellas he explores our relationship with nature and with each other. My appetite was sated after reading each novella written by this excellent author. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Ancient Minstrel from amazon.com.

Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author

Masterful. If you only read one memoir this year, why not make it Herman Wouk’s fine book titled, Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author? After all, the competition for centenarian memoirs is thin, and if you want to learn something about life, why not read the reflections of someone now in his eleventh decade of life and still sharp as a tack? The writing is masterful, and the experiences he relates are curated with great wisdom and wit. At about 160 pages, most readers can complete this memoir quickly. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Sailor and Fiddler from amazon.com.

Concussion

Sidelined. I’ve not seen the movie adapted from the book by Jean Marie Laskas titled, Concussion, but I can comment on the book which I highly recommend. Laskas presents the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a pathologist, who dissected the brain of a fifty-year-old former NFL Hall of Fame player, Mike Webster. Omalu found proof of mental deterioration caused by concussions, a condition widely known today as CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Omalu’s findings led the NFL to marginalize and sideline him in an effort to avoid dealing with the problem. Omalu is an engaging and talented individual and thanks to Laskas, his work and his passion have been presented to the world. I was immersed in this book from beginning to end, anxious to find out what would happen next. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Concussion from amazon.com.

The Drowned Boy

Willful. Karin Fossum’s recurring detective, Inspector Konrad Sejer, proceeds at a slower than usual pace in the eleventh installment of this series, The Drowned Boy. The title refers to sixteen-month-old Tommy Brandt who has drowned in what appears to be a tragic accident in a pond near his home. Sejer conducts his methodical investigation and readers are drawn into a psychological exploration of multiple characters, especially Tommy’s nineteen-year-old mother, Carmen, whose willful behavior catches Sejer’s close notice. The result is a very satisfying novel that can be read quickly by most readers and can provide insights into human nature to those readers who like to reflect on why we do what we do. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Drowned Boy from amazon.com.

The Pharaoh's Secret

Predictable. The eleventh formulaic installment in Clive Cussler’s NUMA series featuring heroic protagonist Kurt Austin is titled, The Pharaoh’s Secret. I’ve noticed that I pick up a predictable Cussler novel when I’m tired, and don’t need to think much while reading. As with the earlier Cussler novels, the heroes win, the bad guys lose, and the action entertains. Readers with clear expectations from this author are those who are most likely to enjoy this and any of the novels in the series. I’m pretty confident that I’ll continue to read novels in this series, and will delay opening them until my brain needs to relax. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase The Pharaoh’s Secret from amazon.com.