Beat the Reaper

Funny. If you’re interested in a quirky and funny debut novel, consider Josh Bazell’s Beat the Reaper. Bazell is a medical resident, and wrote this messy, hectic and fast-paced novel in his spare (!) time. Thanks to his undergraduate training, the writing is superb. The protagonist he creates is a medical intern, one who used to be a hit man for the mob. Given that over-the-top character, you expect and receive a plot that’s totally entertaining. Bazell adds footnotes regularly that add to the humor. At page 148 he notes, “We still draw the Reaper with a scythe. We should draw him driving a John Deere for Archer Daniels Midland.” From that point on, the logo-like image that divides sections within a chapter changes from the grim reaper with a scythe to the reaper driving a tractor. Again, a funny touch. I read Beat the Reaper quickly, and look forward to Bazell’s next spare-time offering.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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The First Person and Other Stories

Surreal. It takes great skill to balance something surreal with the reality of person and place. Ali Smith does that expertly in her new collection, The First Person and Other Stories. I laughed aloud when I read “The Child,” in which a toddler looks one way and acts quite another. Smith’s cleverness and sense of the surreal appears in “Fidelio and Bess” when the characters Porgy & Bess begin to spear in Beethoven’s Fidelio. In “Writ” a woman is visited by her teenage self. Strange and surreal, but as with each story, used in a way that leads to reality and to an understanding of our humanity. If you’re interested in short stories, consider reading the finely crafted ones in The First Person.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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Never Tell a Lie

Evasions. Hallie Ephron’s new novel, Never Tell a Lie is a mystery thriller primarily about relationships. The protagonists, Ivy and David Rose, were high school sweethearts, and have been married three years. As they await the birth of their first child, due in about a month, they hold a yard sale to clear junk out of the Victorian house they’ve owned for three years. A high school acquaintance, Melinda White, appears at the sale, buys something, and asks if she can see the inside of the house. She and David go inside, and she never comes out. David’s evasions with the police and Ivy lead to serious complications. Using the tried and true “things are not as they appear” model, Ephron leads readers into an interest in these characters, their relationships, and in figuring out what happened. The pace is fast enough to avoid boredom, and steady enough so that you can put it down to finish on another day.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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So Damn Much Money

Insatiable. The appetite for money to and from Washington is insatiable. For a comprehensive look at how much has evolved in the past three decades, read a new book from Washington Post reporter Robert G. Kaiser titled, So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government. The title comes from a statement by Robert Strauss as an answer to a question about why the lobbying business has prospered so much since the 1970s. Strauss said, (p. 360) “‘There’s just so damn much money in it … It’s a company town, and the business is lobbying.’” Kaiser enlivens his often sober story by highlighting the personality of Gerry Cassidy, co-founder of Cassidy & Associates, the long-time largest lobbying firm in Washington. Cassidy amassed a $100 million personal fortune from his mastery of earmarks and of hiring the right people at the right times to do what can be done with money in Washington. Even for readers who think they understand Washington politics, there’s likely to be something new to find on these pages.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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The Irregulars

Overflowing. The late Steve Allen brought historical characters to life on his series Meeting of Minds. Were that show still broadcast, I can now think of another fascinating person for him to assemble at an eclectic table for conversation: Roald Dahl. Having known Dahl as the author of Willy Wonka and James and the Giant Peach, I became aware of the rest of his life thanks to Jennet Conant’s book, The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington. After this fighter pilot career in the Royal Air Force was cut short by illness, Dahl was assigned to the British Embassy in Washington in 1942, and joined an effort to influence American public opinion toward the war in Europe. The suave and debonair Dahl became enmeshed in social circles, and ate, drank and slept his way into relationships that helped the British achieve their objectives. In Conant’s depiction, Dahl is “a man in full,” overflowing with charm, intelligence, and a physical presence that made him capable of influencing those with or near power. This is a readable and enjoyable tale of a fascinating time, and is packed with intriguing characters.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

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