Shopgirl (Steve Martin)

Shopgirl is a novel by Steve Martin.

Yes.  The Steve Martin.

Yes.  A novel.

No.  Not a comedy.

I first realized that Steve - May I call him Steve? - is a serious thinker and a good writer when I read (well, listened to) his autobiography, Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life.  So, when I needed to spend three more dollars to get free Amazon Super Saver Shipping and then saw Shopgirl on the bargain list, I thought, “Hey.  Could be fun.”  Once I started reading it, I polished it off in three days. 

Here’s a teaser:  The main character, twenty-eight year old Mirabelle, works at the glove counter at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.  She’s subtly smart, unconventionally beautiful, and quietly talented.  She’s also debilitatingly introverted, chronically undermotivated, and clinically depressed.  She begins relationships with two men - one young, classless, and broke, and the other middle-aged, refined, and filthy rich.  Then there’s the requisite nemesis, the seductive Lisa, whose perpetual objective is to usurp Mirabelle’s romantic interests.

I found Steve’s narrative sometimes rushed, especially toward the end.  He could have, should have, spent a few more chapters detailing key events that he barely mentions in conclusion.  Also, a couple of his point-of-view shifts feel jouncy.  But because I like Steve so much, I’m willing to forgive.  For someone who isn’t primarily lauded as an author, the story is surprisingly effective and engaging, with a couple of fun twists, some fairly profound psychological insight, and a nice amount of hot sex.

Shopgirl isn’t gonna make it into any anthologies of great American literature, but if you’re a Steve Martin fan - and even if you’re not - I bet you’ll enjoy!

Check it out on Amazon!

Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science & Nature (David Quammen)

In his introduction to Natural Acts, Quammen aptly describes the book as “a chimerical creature.”  It’s a collection of his articles and essays spanning the years 1981-2007, grouped roughly according to the time period in which he wrote them.  The sections are, as a group, pretty darned mismatched, but each is cohesive in and of itself.  Quammen is a cerebral writer with a vast vocabulary.  He avoids verbal filler and fluff, and he sticks to his purpose, which is to inspire among Joe Schmoes like me a concern for ecological issues.

For me, Quammen’s first section, “All God’s Vermin,” achieves that objective.  In these early writings, he talks on a friend-to-friend level about various animals of generally ill repute: beetles, mosquitoes, crows, black widows, octopi, vampire moths, anacondas, and bats.  He’s life-of-the-party funny, the kind of person you want to sit next to at a banquet so he can regale you with his commentary.  But while you’re laughing, he gets you to consider and appreciate the unsung merits of these “vermin,” and that gets you thinking that other not-so-beloved creatures may also deserve your attention and respect.

After that, unfortunately, things get a little boring.  The author loses his sense of humor, and the essays get didactic, like required university lectures - more cerebral dissertation than witty conversation.  If you’re into environmentalism, you’ll probably like it more than I did.  But for me, the subject matter in most of the later essays couldn’t hold my interest, and the deficit of comedy didn’t help.  I felt as if I’d been duped into sitting through an under-inspiring sermon because the pastor opened with a few great jokes.

Check it out on Amazon!

Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)

While Vonnegut says in the very first chapter of Slaughterhouse Five that he intends the story to be an “anti-war book” (which he admits will be about as pointless as an “anti-glacier book”), it seems to me that he also (and probably not secondarily) intends it to be a platform for questioning some basic tenets of Christianity.

The main character is Billy Pilgrim, whose name is significant in that he's a childlike American who finds himself on a sort of a spiritual journey.  Throughout the novel, the author draws parallels between biblical events and the events in the story, although these parallels aren’t always immediately evident.  As Billy’s journey takes him down paths of dubious validity (specifically, abduction and captivity by friendly aliens), we eventually see what Vonnegut is saying:  Billy’s complete faith in his extraterrestrial experiences is similar to, and as silly as, the believers’ faith in Christ.

Sooo, fair warning:  If you’re a Christian who doesn’t like to be questioned or challenged, you’ll probably find Slaughterhouse Five an uncomfortable read.  But if you’re up for some challenging thinking outside the Bible box, you’ll find lots of thought-fodder here.

As for the story itself, it is not driven by a linear plot.  In fact, as Billy hops involuntarily and unpredictably back and forth through time, the story develops like a puzzle, with each vignette adding a new piece of the intended picture.  You see more clearly what the author wants to say as the puzzle gets closer and closer to completion.  Instead of being swept into the story by a riveting plot, you’re carried by your empathy for Billy and by intrigue at the philosophical ideas Vonnegut subtly presents through him and the people he finds himself attached to.

The first and last chapters work like a picture frame.  After finishing the book, you may want to reread them.  Vonnegut plants several little ideas there which may have seemed inconsequential on the first reading.  On second look, though, you’ll understand how significant they are, and you’ll appreciate the masterful way he develops those seeming trivialities into key elements of Billy’s story.

Since I read Slaughterhouse Five not long after finishing Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand), I'll give ya a little “compare & contrast.”  While both are WWII stories, the obvious difference is that Unbroken is a biography and Slaughterhouse Five is blatantly fiction. 

Other differences: 

Unbroken’s humor is light and quippy.  Slaughterhouse Five’s humor is dark and sardonic. 

Unbroken’s prose is conversational.  Slaughterhouse Five’s prose is poetic. 

Unbroken celebrates Christianity.  Slaughterhouse Five seriously questions it. 

Also, Unbroken and Slaughterhouse Five have entirely different objectives.  Unbroken lauds an American hero by minutely detailing the horrors he suffered and his actions toward survival and success.  On the other hand, the Slaughterhouse Five war stories, which are nowhere near as graphic, serve mainly as background for the characters’ psychological development.  In Slaughterhouse Five, there are no overt heroes.  Instead, we see mostly childlike soldiers who develop various neuroses and psychoses as a result of their war experiences.  And I suppose that’s what makes it an “anti-war book.”

Check it out on Amazon!

I Remember Nothing (Nora Ephron)

Nora can write.

Her style is simple.  She's opinionated, left wing, and pretty darned feminist.  But she's funny and subtly graceful, and that's why she can say the things she says without looking bitchy.  When you disagree with her, you smile about it.

In case you didn't know, she wrote the screenplay for When Harry Met Sally.  That's how good she is.

I Remember Nothing is a collection of short, anecdotal essays.  The way she says things makes them simultaneously light and profound.  That's her gift.

I say that she "says things" because that's what it sounds like.  It's not like she's writing at you.  It's like she's talking to you.  And you just wanna listen.

Her subject matter in and of itself isn't always (in fact, usually isn't) profound, particularly special, inherently comical, or especially interesting, but the way she communicates makes it fun.  I went through essay after essay without getting tired of anything.

Nora Ephron

I guess Nora's biggest "drawback" is that she appeals mainly to women.  (Note that only people with a uterus commented in my pictured Facebook string below.)  I suppose that's not bad if women are your intended audience, but the pragmatist in me wonders, "Does she mean to reduce her potential readership by fifty percent?"  I question whether she goes into a project thinking, "I'm going to write a book especially for women."  (On the other hand, the dust jacket is pastel green and peach.  If she wanted to appeal to men, she should have made it grey or brown with semi-porn artwork.)

In any case, I've never heard a man say, "Nora Ephron is great!"  But men should read her stuff.  If you're a man, it'll give you priceless insight into women.  And you need it.  Trust me.

Tell ya what.  If you're a guy and you read I Remember Nothing as a result of reading this blog, then I'll read something you want me to read, okay?  Read the book, tell me about it - what you liked, what you didn't like, why you think her stuff appeals more to women than men.  Then tell me about a book you'd like me to read and why, and if it's a widely-known work of good literature (and "good literature" is determined by my discretion), I'll take on the task.

Check it out on Amazon!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

I decided to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy after I saw it on one of those lists of "Books Everyone Should Read" and noticed that several of my Facebook friends had read it.  I'd never heard of it.  

I went into the story pretty blindly (as is my preference), having only read the Amazon editorial and a few readers' reviews.  I knew it was science fiction and British comedy, and that's it.

Sci-fi is among my least favorite genres.  I probably only like poppy self help and academic theory less.  But I don't like not knowing literature that my friends know.   

By the time I was about two-thirds through, I didn't get it.  I mean, it was okay.  The narration and dialog are sharp & witty, and the space adventures are kinda fun.  The chronically depressed robot is a riot.  Still, mainly, it seemed silly and pointless.

Finally I asked one of my colleagues, Jeff C., who enjoys literature in general and sci-fi particularly, "Is there some deeper meaning I'm just not seeing?"  He said he'd started the book but never finished it.  He just wasn't overly captivated by it.  "But the movie was great," he said.  (I, not surprisingly, didn't know there even was a movie.)  Suddenly, three more people jumped in, all of whom had seen the movie, two of whom loved it, and one who said it stank, but the book was great.  So...maybe I should watch the movie??

Anyway, Jeff said it's a satire on life.  It says, basically, "Don't take everything so gol-blasted seriously."

Douglas Adams

It's fairly incredible what that bit of insight did for my interest and enjoyment.  I had way more fun with the story thereafter, and I found the last several chapters downright enchanting and hysterical.  I may have to reread it in a few years.  I'll probably like it better.

Check it out on Amazon!

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand)

After I emailed a work friend with a book recommendation and my reasoning behind it, he suggested that I should start a blog of book reviews. I thought this was not an inherently horrible idea.

I hope to keep my reviews short & informal, and you can follow up with your comments, questions, and complaints if you feel like like it, and then if I feel like it, I'll respond to you. If, after a while, no one seems to care, then I'll abort the mission. I'm not a fan of perpetual rejection.

Also, please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving the blog. (Hopefully your suggestion won't be "Please stop.") I'm clue-free on blog protocol because (a) I seldom read blogs, (b) I've never blogged to any audience of more than one before, and (c) I'm too lazy to research the elements of successful blogs.

One more thing: If you notice any typos or errors, please tell me. I'd like to fix them.

For the pilot episode, here's my email commentary, verbatim, for the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand). I'd sent my friend the Amazon link, to which he responded, "Boy this sure did get great reader reviews too!" ... to which I responded:

In my experience/opinion, the reader reviews on Amazon can be very hit or miss. I've bought some books with great reader reviews & found them to be a snore. I've learned, as a general rule, to consider the source (i.e., whether the review writer has anything intelligent to say and if they even know how to structure a decent sentence themselves, the type of audience the book is likely to generate, etc.) and take the opinions with a grain of salt.

The short version of my review on Unbroken is this:

• Effective (but not overly artistic) writing
• Fantastic, sometimes barely believable, story
• Inspires appreciation for the Rules of War
• Illustrates the best and worst of human psychology, especially as it applies to war-time mentalities

I read a whole lot of books and don't recommend many of them. This one, I recommend.

Check it out on Amazon!