Fiction roundup July 2018

This is a really fun fantasy about a man who ages much more slowly than other humans. He's in his fifth century when he breaks the rules and falls in love with a normal human. Dangerous events follow...

I really enjoyed this novel about a woman whose marriage is threatened when they sponsor a relative from China to care for their children and home. This was our book club pick a few months ago, and although we all became a little impatient with the main character's actions, I think we all generally liked the book. Gish Jen spoke at the New York State Writer's Institute lecture series in January.

I enjoyed this detective story about a missing woman who finally shows up after many years, but who was murdered. The detective investigating the crime realizes that there's a link to her own family, but keeps it secret as she conducts the investigation. Full of twists and turns, this is a page turner and good summer read.

I thought I would like this book much more than I did. It follows the lives of a group of young people who met at a summer camp and maintained a friendship for the next several decades. I found Ms. Wolitzer's style to be too much telling and not enough showing. The story goes back and forth among the group of friends, relating their experiences and thoughts in such a matter of fact way that it was hard to care about any of them. On top of that, none of the characters are even remotely likable.

This was a fun and slightly silly novel about overly wealthy young people and how they struggle to be themselves and fit in with their families in Singapore. This was a book club read this past spring, and I think we all had some fun with it. There's also a UAlbany connection: one of the actresses in the movie (Awkwafina) is a UAlbany graduate.

This is a cute graphic novel about a cat named Steve who keeps a pet human. The graphic novel is modeled after the Garfield the Cat comic strip. Manfried gets outside and has lots of adventures while Steve desperately looks for him.

Common Ground, by Justin Trudeau

This memoir by Justin Trudeau, the current Prime Minister of Canada, is a fast and fun read. Published as he was poised to lead the Liberal Party and the country, it tells about his childhood, his early career as a teacher, and his pivot into politics. This book gave me a nice overview of the current political climate in Canada, as well as some insight into his father's career and their family life. It was also fun to read after having spent some time in Montreal and Quebec City on vacation last year. It's filled with anecdotes and plenty of photographs, and is a great antidote to the current political situation in the U.S. What a contrast!

Justin Trudeau. Common Ground. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. 343 pages. ISBN 9781443433389.

A Concise History of Canada, by Margaret Conrad

I really enjoyed this overview of Canadian history. It's part of the Cambridge Concise History series, and in 10 chapters and only 330 pages, it's not a deep dive into Canadian history; however, I found it to be an excellent introduction. It begins with the movements of people to North America 15,000 years ago, and brings us to 2011. Of course that leaves out current developments such as the election of Justin Trudeau and the later election of Trump in the U.S.; for more current affairs you’ll have to turn to other books.

The book has significant notes and further reading sections, as well as an index and numerous illustrations including photographs, paintings, maps, and more. It's well-written and definitely worth reading especially by those who (like me) don't know that much about our northern neighbors.

Margaret Conrad. A Concise History of Canada. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 330 pages. ISBN 9780521744430.

Forest bathing, by Qing Li

Forest Bathing caught my eye when I was browsing at Barnes and Noble last month. Written by Dr. Qing Li, Associate Professor at the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, this book explains why it is so beneficial for people to spend time in the woods among trees. He recommends a regular practice of walking, eating, or doing yoga in the forest, or performing other activities such as T'ai chi, meditation, breathing exercises, aromatherapy, Nordic walking, and more. In Japan there are many forest bases that are designated for use in therapy. Dr. Li's research is reminiscent of Western research that demonstrates that people's mood and fitness improve with increased time spent outdoors. He recommends trying to bring the forest inside with plants, aromatherapy, forest sound recordings, and the use of essential oils. But best of all, try to get outside, preferably in the woods! This book is completely convincing as well as inspiring.

Qing Li. Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness. New York: Viking, 2018. 309 pages. ISBN 9780525559856.

Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen

My book club selected Born to Run as one of our winter picks. I've always been a casual fan of Bruce Springsteen's music, being familiar with his hits at least; however, I didn't know much about his life and career. This memoir has helped me to understand much more about him, and was surprising (to me at least) in many ways.

First of all, I was impressed with his writing style which was very literary and poetic. I was surprised by that, although I probably shouldn't have been, given that he's been writing song lyrics for five decades. I was also a bit surprised by the poverty he experienced as a child and young man. I had no idea that his family had struggled so much, partly due to his father's depression and other mental illness issues. Similarly, I wasn't aware that Springsteen himself suffered from depression; however, his memoir makes it very clear that this is something that he is constantly battling.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this book (and which was similar to my experiences reading recent books about David Bowie and Pink Floyd) was the way this book turned into almost a pop-culture history lesson. I had to keep my iPad handy so that I could google people, bands, albums, and events, and look up videos of performances on YouTube. This caused me to take much longer with the book than if I had just read it straight through, but it was entirely enjoyable and fascinating.

Bruce Springsteen. Born to Run. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016. 510 pages. ISBN 9781501141522.

Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah

I loved this memoir by comedian and host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah. With a Black mother and a white father, and born in the last decade of apartheid, he would have been taken from his mother if he had been found out by the authorities, and she would likely have gone to jail.

In this book, Trevor tells us about his childhood and the many different societies that made up South Africa under apartheid. When his mother took him for a walk in the park, she had to pretend that she was the maid, because he was obviously of mixed race. His father tried to go to the park at the same time so that he could at least see him from a distance, but Trevor would run towards him, calling "Daddy," endangering all of them. Eventually his father moved to another city and they lost touch, only resuming their relationship when Trevor was an adult.

Trevor writes about his experiences at school and home, bringing us to the point where he decided to immigrate to the United States. He faces many challenges, from an abusive stepfather to social pressures at school, where he has to decide whether he's going to hang with the white kids or the black kids. After he graduates from high school he makes a living selling pirated CDs and working as a DJ at parties. Only after a traumatic attack on his mother by his stepfather does he realize that he has to leave South Africa to be safe.

This is an excellent memoir. It's well-written, and reads like a novel. It has the right combination of personal story and historical context, so important to understand the culture and society of South Africa under apartheid and in the years just after it was abolished.

Trevor Noah. Born a Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2016. 288 pages. ISBN 9780399588174.

Devil's Bargain, by Joshua Green

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I couldn't resist reading another book that explores how Trump succeeded in the 2016 election. This book focuses on Steve Bannon, his career before politics, and his personal philosophy about government and much else. Written by Joshua Green, a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek, this is an excellent exposé of how Bannon and others influenced Trump, his campaign, and the early days of the administration.

It's horrifying to think that such a large percentage of the U.S. population could be so easily manipulated by these creeps. But the toxic combination of white supremacists, racists, misogynists, and pseudo-Christians just ate up what was served by Trump, Bannon, and others. The thought that the 35-40 % of Americans who support Trump are holding the rest of us hostage to this craziness is just maddening. Republicans who are doing nothing to rein him in will not be looked kindly on by history. I'm looking forward to the day when the truth comes out and they are shown for the racist kleptocrats that they are. 

Devil's Bargain is well-written and reads like a novel; however, it's also well-researched. Anyone who wants a fuller picture of how we got where we are should read this book.

Joshua Green. Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency. New York: Penguin Press, 2017. 272 pages. ISBN 9780735225022.

Avid Reader, by Robert Gottlieb

I really enjoyed this memoir from Robert Gottlieb, a man who has been involved in the publishing industry for decades. In this book he takes the reader through his childhood reading habits and then his career at Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker. Throughout he tells stories and relates anecdotes about the many famous authors with whom he worked over the decades. He also delves into his involvement with ballet, another one of his passions. It's a fascinating read for anyone who's interested in the publishing industry and 20th century fiction.

Robert Gottlieb. Avid Reader: A Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016. 337 pages. ISBN 9780374279929.

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This is an excellent collection of essays by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In this book, he brings together one essay published in each of the eight years of the Obama administration. He prefaced each of those essays with another in which he provides the context and inspiration for the original essay. All of the original essays are incredibly powerful, and Mr. Coates' thoughts looking back on those years are particularly insightful given our current horror story of a government.

The original eight essays are:

• "This is how we lost to the white man"
• American girl
• Why do so few blacks study the Civil War?
• The legacy of Malcolm X
• Fear of a Black president
• The case for reparations
• The Black family in the age of mass incarceration
• My president was Black

This book is thoughtful and stimulating. I would recommend it to everyone.

Ta-Nehisi Coates. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy. New York: One World, 2017. 367 pages. ISBN 9780399590566.