Deciding the Next Decider

Kapow. Now that the presidential election of 2008 is over, and the new President is at work, it’s time for the historians and poets to take over the explanation of what happened. Bud Trillin’s new book, Deciding the Next Decider, condenses the long campaign into 100 pages, most of which is a long narrative poem. Trillin injects poems previously published in The Nation (where he has been the deadline poet since 1990) and elsewhere throughout the text. His song parodies are especially wicked. Every candidate in the campaign is skewered in verse, and I found myself reading a page or two again after I had stopped laughing. Trillin’s talent soars on these few pages, and this book will entertain readers of all political persuasions.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Click here to purchase Deciding the Next Decider from amazon.com.

Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction

Musings. Susan Cheever muses about her own life and shares personal stories and insight in her new book, Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction. I finished the book drawing the conclusion that anything can be addictive, and that we don’t know the cause of addiction. Cheever doesn’t pretend to be an expert on addiction, but addiction has been a constant companion throughout her life. By the end of the book, I was thinking that Cheever might be addicted to addiction, and has come to see it everywhere. Her musings are interesting to read, and I felt a bit of a voyeur as she disclosed some of the embarrassments of her life.

Rating: Two-star (Mildly Recommended)

Click here to purchase Desire from amazon.com.

Alphabet Juice

Skimmer. Blount’s mastery of language combined with his finely honed wit provide many occasions for laughter on the pages of this unusual book. The full title discloses his skills: Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, ... With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory. I attempted to read it from the beginning forward, and while I found some pleasure and laughter in this approach, found that I became bored quickly. I then skimmed back and forth, stopping at pages that had some interest. I found more pleasure in that approach, and decided not to try again to read it from beginning to end.

Rating: Shelf of Ennui

Click here to purchase Alphabet Juice from amazon.com.

Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity

Retread. There are 55 articles that Lewis selected for his new book, Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity, most of which I have read closer to when they first appeared. I bored quickly, skimmed a little, and then took a pass on reading the book in its entirety. Better from Lewis is the article he wrote for the December 2008 issue of Portfolio, which can be found at http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom.

Rating: Shelf of Ennui

Click here to purchase Panic from amazon.com.

Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq

Ugly. Steve Fainaru’s new book Big Boy Rules: America’s Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq is an eye-opening story of what is being done in the name of America in Iraq. The need for private security contracting became clear early on in Iraq, as our volunteer army was spread thin. Fainaru presents what this contracting entails, using one company, Crescent Security Group, and one contractor, Jon Cote, as his primary focus. What Fainaru describes is a degree of lawlessness that will lead to the discomfort of most readers, and the sadness of how individuals who are trying both to help America in Iraq as well as make money are treated when things don’t work out as planned. The tattoo on a former Marine summarized the situation: “The unwanted, doing the unforgiveable, for the ungrateful.” (p. xii). Sammy Jamison, the convoy manager for one contractor, ArmorGroup, said, “We can’t ask the Iraqi people to respect the law if we don’t do it ourselves.” (p. 131). As for Jon Cote and those like him, Fainaru noted, “But it was an ugly business he had gotten himself into, perhaps the ugliest business there was.” (p. 215). Big Boy Rules makes for uncomfortable and informative reading. The book expands on the Pulitzer prize-winning reporting that Fainaru has done for The Washington Post. There are costs to this war that higher than most reports describe, and Fainaru’s book puts a human face on these costs.

Rating: Four-star (Highly Recommended)

Click here to purchase Big Boy Rules from amazon.com.

Schooled

Lessons. Most readers of Anisha Lakhani’s novel, Schooled, may not identify with the New York City private school world in which the book is set. I’m not sure whether I understood how much of the novel was comic exaggeration of Lakhani’s own experience as a middle school teacher at a private school in New York and how much was based on the way parents, teachers, administrators and students really behave. Given that, what Lakhani presents in her novel is the coming-of-age story of a first-year teacher, who begins with ideals, compromises those ideals for money, and then returns to the ideals in the end. Shallow lives are presented, and the cast of characters are mostly caricatures. Protagonist Anna Taggart comes closest to a person readers can recognize, but even she behaves in ways that seemed beyond what any character in the flesh would do. I wondered what Frank McCourt would think, given his teaching methods in New York’s public schools. Lakhani dedicated Schooled to her dog, a Shih Tzu named Harold Moscowitz. That might give us a clue as to how tongue-in-cheek she meant this novel to be. If you expect this novel to be a fun read, you’re likely to be pleased with the situations Anna gets herself into, and with her relationships with parents, teachers and students. If you’re looking for deep insight into the human condition, you won’t find yourself thinking such thoughts when you finish this novel.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Click here to purchase Schooled from amazon.com.

Anathem

Philosophy. Neal Stephenson asks a lot from readers of his latest thousand-page novel, Anathem. He asks that we adapt to his made-up terminology quickly, and stay with him as he expands our new vocabulary quickly. I expect many readers will tire of this quickly, and become frustrated. The glossary helps. Using that terminology, he creates an Earth-like world he calls Arbre, and proceeds to inhabit that world with groups of people that we must come to know and understand. On top of that, he presents science in ways that will engage some readers, and alienate others. Beyond all that, he has his characters engage in philosophical exercises that keep even the most engaged readers alert in trying to remain focused. The reward for readers who take on this challenge is immersion into a world that stimulates thinking about our human condition and the decisions we make to resolve our frustrations. The vast size of the book allows Stephenson plenty of space in which he can develop characters, which he does well here, and to explore ideas, which he also does with great skill. My understanding evolved as I continued to read, and I came away from Anathem with the pleasure of having conquered a complicated novel and with respect for the author who pulled all the threads together with great skill. Had Stephenson been able to achieve this using three or four hundred fewer pages, I would have added another star or two to my rating.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Click here to purchase Anathem from amazon.com.