Novels Now

Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story by Wally Lamb

First sentence:

The year I was a fifth-grade student at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School, our teacher, Sister Dymphna, had a nervous breakdown in front of the class.

Reason for Reading: Every December I drop whatever reading I’m supposed to be doing and read a Christmas book. The paperback of this came out just recently and the advertising made me choose to read it.

I quite enjoyed this nostalgic look back at a year in the 1960’s life of a 10 year-old Catholic school boy. The narrator takes us back to that fifth grade year and reminisces about his family and especially his friends and days at the parochial school. Obviously, I’m always attracted to a book with a Catholic theme (I’m Catholic) and I enjoyed the portrayal which allows Catholics to laugh at themselves and also to see the differences in communication between the religious and the lay from then to now. Felix Funicello, the narrator, is a third cousin to the famous Annette and he regales us with the shenanigans that he and his friend got up to at school and out of school, the various personalities in the classroom especially the stuck-up smartest girl in the class, the new Russian girl who arrives after classes have started (is she a Communist spy?) and the stories of his family including his mother’s TV appearance on the Pillsbury Dough Bake-Off Competition. I found the stories nostalgic, amusing and fun, though not funny. I didn’t laugh out loud.

I was quite shocked by the vulgarity of the language that starts very soon into the book. It is not ever present but is quite frequent and not what I had expected to find. Once the shock of 10 year olds being so vulgar was over, it actually didn’t bother me that much. But if swearing, dirty jokes and crude references to s*xual acts offends thee, this is not the book for you. The other thing I did not like at all was the Epilogue! It kind of ruined the whole good feelings I had about the book after I read it. It’s one of those summaries that tells you where each character is now, or what happened to them. It was quite depressing to read the future lives of these characters, especially the children. I didn’t see the point of it. But on a positive note the book ended with Annette Funicello’s current situation and how you can make donations to MS Society.

Overall, an enjoyable book. I’m glad I read it but not quite what I thought it would be. I certainly enjoyed the writing style and never having read Lamb before am interested in reading another of his works.

Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo. Illustrated by Mike Lowery. Translated by Tara Chase

Pages: 265 pages
Ages: 8+
First Published: (2007 in Norway) English Translation Jan. 2010
Publisher: Aladdin
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

It was May, and once the sun had shone for a while on Japan, Russia, and Sweden, it came up over Oslo - The very small capital city of a very small country called Norway.

Typically when I see a kids’ book with words such as “fart” in the title I don’t give them a second glance. However, this book is written by one of my favourite thriller authors and the simple fact that he had written a children’s a book was enough to make me *have* to read the book, never mind what it was called or what it was about.

Surprisingly, though the book is about an invention of farting powder, there is not a great deal of “toilet humour” to be found. Perhaps it’s cultural, or it gets lost in translation, but the humour comes from different directions. I thought this was a delightful, funny, well-written story.

Nilly is new in the neighbourhood, he is very tiny for his age. He meets neighbours Lisa on one side and Doctor Proctor on the other. Dr. Proctor lets them in on his latest invention which is a Farting Powder. When no real use for the powder can be found they decide to sell it as a novelty item to kids, but twin bullies Truls and Trym want theirs for free so Nilly gives them an extra shot in their powder which sends them flying up into a tree. Dr. Proctor has an industrial strength version of the powder which he thinks belongs safely in the hands of NASA to be used for rocketless space travel. But then someone steals the industrial strength powder for evil purposes.

The story is full of excitement and adventure. Nilly finds himself in extreme situations from being sent to jail to being eaten by a boa constrictor called Anna Conda. The story also has a wonderful cultural appeal to it as well with plenty of inside jokes on Norway’s size and not-so-famous status in the world. It’s quite amazing that Nesbo, who writes such stunning adult thrillers, has the ability to write such a fun, whimsical children’s story as well. He certainly is a talented writer. I highly recommend this. It will appeal to both boys and girls, but I’d certainly add this to any Books for Boys list. A hilarious romp. It would be great to see Nesbo come out with another children’s book in the future. (Just as long as it doesn’t interfere with his thrillers’ schedule

Bite Me by Christopher Moore
A Love Story, Book 3

Pages: 309 pages
First Published: Mar. 23, 2010
Publisher: William Morrow
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

The City of San Francisco is being stalked by a huge, shaved vampyre cat named Chet, and only I, Abby Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay area night, and my manga-haired love monkey, Foo Dog, stand between the ravenous monster and a bloody massacre of the general public.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series and I read every new book Moore publishes.

Summary: The first sentence pretty much covers the plot.

Comments: Christopher Moore manages to bring back everybody (that isn’t really dead) from the previous books, adding a new character, and inserting a couple of characters from previous books for extra measure. Abby, Foo Dog and Jared have much bigger parts this time around leaving some of my favourite characters from the previous books with much lesser page time. The Animals don’t even go turkey bowling once! That said the story is hugely comical with plenty of typical Moore laugh out loud moments. I love all the characters in this series and really enjoyed the Emperor and the two cops having bigger roles in this book. As to Jody and Tommy, I won’t say much but I will say the ending is surprising and I didn’t like it very much as someone who really cares about these characters. One thing I love about Moore’s books is that he manages to reward his constant readers by bringing in past characters for cameos and this time Lily the Goth girl from A Dirty Job shows up and there is a certain white Rastaman Kona who pilots a ship who has got to be Rastaman Kona from Fluke (especially with the “Bite Me” connection). I love his character! In all, a whole lot of insane hilarity with vampyre cats, an old samurai Japanese guy, and the usual main crowd of eccentric characters. A definite read for Moore fans. If you haven’t read the other books in the series I suggest you start at the beginning with Bloodsucking Fiends for the most enjoyment.

Fool by Christopher Moore

Pages: 311
First Published: Feb. 9, 2009
Genre: fiction, humour
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

“Tosser!” cried the raven.

Comments: Christopher Moore’s latest book is a spoof on Shakespeare’s King Lear, as well as Shakespeare’s writing itself, a few elements from other plays are imported into the story as well, Macbeth’s witches, for example. This is quite different from Moore’s other books, he’s written in a British style, using British slang and some of Shakespeare’s original words, using footnotes for definitions of words possibly unknown to Americans.

Another difference from his other books is that while Moore, who always has a certain humour that you either find hilarious or offensive, (and for some reason Moore hits my funny bone and I’ve never found his humour offensive) at first, I found this book really goes overboard with the language and s*xual imagery and it was quite a bit of a shock but I soon settled down into it and it didn’t bother me after a couple of chapters. If you’ve read Shakespeare you will know that he often used bawdy imagery and often his characters ranted at name-calling. It is quite interesting to see that imagery and name-calling in a modern format. I could even possibly imagine that were Shakespeare a 21st century writer, this is how he may have written.

I’m quite glad I chose to read a modern English version of the original play, King Lear, before reading Fool as I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book as much if I didn’t already know who the characters were and understand the original plot. Moore keeps all the key plot points of Shakespeare’s work but he does not become stuck to the original plot. He soon sways from the original creating his own unique story with extra characters, very different results and ending. King Lear is only a minor character in this book, while his Fool (a minor character in the play) is the narrator and main character of the book.

I really enjoyed the book after getting over the initial language/s*x shock. It was a bit of a slow start but from the middle onwards I couldn’t put it down. While fans will find this different than Moore’s other work I’m pretty sure his devotees will enjoy this book. As to others who have not read Moore perhaps the warning on the back of the book “If that sort of thing bothers you, then gentle reader pass by.” should be taken to heart. Not Moore’s best book, (that spot is reserved for A Dirty Job, imho) but certainly up to par with his other work. A winner!

I was first introduced to Clyde Edgerton when I read and enjoyed Walking Across Egypt (4 stars) last year, so I was really looking forward to reading this book.  Henry Dampier is a young man determined to make his fortune by door-to-door Bible selling; although, truth be told, he gets the Bibles for free.  Still, quite a few customers (especially ladies) do buy his product, but it is not until con man Preston Clearwater invites him to work for the FBI that his income really starts improving.  Henry is quite naive and soon gets caught up in more than he bargained for — in both work and love.

One of the reasons I enjoy Edgerton’s work is that he captures the southern character very well.  I lived 17 years in the south, and I felt like the characters in the novel were very authentic.  I really enjoyed the first half of the book.  The second half, not so much.   The charm and plot of the story broke down a bit, and I ended up a little disappointed in the end.  Still, I’d like to read another book by Edgerton, perhaps for next year’s Southern Reading Challenge.

2008, 238 pp.
Rating:

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

I first heard of this big ole book when bookfool mentioned it, then kookiejar loved it. It’s big in size (531 pages) and ambition. Toltz covers a lot of material here, and I’ll try to summarize a bit.

Jasper Dean is writing his family’s colourful history in Australia, focusing on his father Martin and uncle Terry. It’s about philosophy, fathers and sons, loneliness, hypocrisy, the media, and criminals, among other things, and it is told in a very funny manner. The one liners are thrown out in rapid succession at times. Martin’s part in the story is told in his point of view, and at times I had trouble keeping Jasper and Martin’s voices separate, but that is part of the story, how similar the two are, and when does the son become the father?

It is set in Australia, but not in a way that is stereotypical, i.e. no kangaroos or koalas, but modern life, and the outlaw history is commented on with all the criminal activity that Terry undertakes. The story starts in the outback, and scenes in front of the Sydney Opera House and activity of the parliament in Canberra are mentioned too, so we are certainly in Australia. The cynicism of the characters leads to their comedic lines and reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s type of commentary, or the absurdity of some of John Irving’s novels. Sometimes I had trouble reconciling the humorous lines with the situations and attitudes of the characters, but I kept reading. It was as if I wasn’t quite getting the tone of the novel. I also didn’t connect with the characters enough to race through the book. However, by two thirds of the way through, some great twists of plot started happening that I did not see coming and the book engaged me in other ways.

This book is getting great reviews at Amazon.com and has some great qualities. I didn’t love it enough to gush, but I did enjoy it by parts. (ha, A Fraction of the Whole book!) It was pretty funny by times, but also tragic, and some terrible things happen. The plot plodded along for a while, but then started twisting and twirling around in ways that made me want to keep going. There was a lot of philosophizing going on by Jasper and Martin, which is where a lot of the comedy was, but it went on a bit too much for me at times. So it’s a mixed review from me, but I think there are lots of readers who will love it.

Edit: July 29, this book has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

Paul Quarrington has been in the news lately (in Canada) as the author of the winning Canada Reads book, King Leary. I haven’t read it yet, but when I got the opportunity to read his latest book, released March 11, 2008, I jumped.

And then I laughed my way through this book. Phil McQuigge is a fifty year old alcoholic, who has recently lost his wife and his job. Things aren’t looking so great for Phil. Interestingly, Quarrington describes the book as semi-autobiographical. Phil decides that much of his crappy life relates back to an incident in ‘the ravine’ when he and a friend and his brother met up with some mean teenagers one day. Phil decides to write a novel based on the incident, if only he could remember exactly what happened.

I’m sure this doesn’t sound like a funny book from my description, but Quarrington is very humorous, with irony and black comedy and straight-out funny lines. Phil’s brother Jay, who also made a mess of his life, is around if somewhat estranged, and continually refutes the details of Phil’s memories. I found this a rather timely discussion of memory, as there have been some recent news events with misplaced memories, and it is an area I find very interesting. Phil was also a teevee writer, and his famous television show (famous in Canada for 156 episode, it only played two episode in the States) is based on a movie he saw as a child (memories again.) Then you begin to question the narrator because if he doesn’t remember, how reliable is anything he tells us?

So, the book is a novel being written by the main character about his life, which is semi-autobiographical. If I thought about it I got confused, so instead I just sat back and enjoyed the self-deprecating humour. The ending was a little weird and I’m not exactly sure what to make of it, but it was worth the read to get to the end. I must look for King Leary now.

2008, 291 pages

Rating: 4/5

Atomic Lobster was one fast ride. It’s a story about Serge A. Storms, a criminal who always ends up helping the underdog, and his motley crew consisting of Coleman, a pothead alcoholic, and Rachael, a coke-sniffing stripper. In this story, Serge is hell-bent on protecting Jim Davenport, who saved Serge’s life ten years prior and is being hunted down by a serial killer. It’s also the story of four old ladies who have learned that it’s cheaper to go on cruises all year than to live in a retirement home. And it’s a story of the Mexican drug trade and terrorist attempts to poison Americans with anthrax. All of these subplots rapidly weave and twist their way through the story, until the end when they all come together in an Old West-meets -Florida fashion.

This story is not one of my usual genres, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the book. Excuse my eighth grade vernacular, but there’s something totally cool about seeing familiar streets, shopping centers, bridges, bars and cultural events in a book. The characters drive up the road I take to work every morning. They stop at a shopping center where I used to work. It’s like seeing your neighbor on TV over and over again, and this helped make Atomic Lobster very amusing to me.

Dorsey also chose “only in Florida” new stories and mixed them into the story. I am not sure if a non-local would “get” the humor behind a toll booth operator alerting police that a man’s body was stuck to the front of a car, or a house being sold dirt cheap because the owner, who was a county official, cut corners on code enforcement. But for a local, this is funny stuff. From the state the brought you hanging chads and the president’s brother, Florida does not get enough credit for being a little bit backwards. Read Dorsey and you’ll get a huge dose of the absurdity that can be the Sunshine State.

If you like dark humor and high crime, and don’t mind the sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, then I would recommend Atomic Lobster to you. If it’s not your cup of tea and you don’t live in the Tampa Bay area, I think you can safely skip this book. (3/5)

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

What if you were in an accident and woke up 3 years later? Only, not really 3 years later, but 3 years earlier in your life? Lexi Smart, a twenty-eight year old Londoner wakes up and discovers she isn’t the person she thought she was. Lexi, like Becky the Shopaholic, is a little too obsessed with money and looks, but now she has them and she isn’t quite sure how she got them. This book is her discovery of who she has become in the past three years, and getting to know the people in her life and her new high powered job.

Kinsella hasn’t lost her touch, and I quite enjoyed this book. I find the Shopaholic series a little too silly sometimes, but Lexi is more realistic. The Undomestic Goddess was very good and funny, but the setup was a little contrived. I think she’s got it altogether here. Kinsella does a great job with the plot, giving a few details here and there, interesting characters and then wrapping it all up. The process poor Lexi goes through in trying to remember her life, and wondering who to believe, as she must rely on others to tell her about her life. And many people take this opportunity to tell her the way they probably wish things were, which doesn’t help her recover her real life.

This has the makings of a great romantic comedy- I can see Hugh Grant or Colin Firth as one of the men, maybe Jennifer Garner as Lexie, and the plot would unfold humorously. You read it here first!