Family Dancing: Stories by David Leavitt

Family Dancing: Stories by David Leavitt


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
These are the stories behind the scenes of a Norman Rockwell painting. These are the stories of families that look so good on the surface, but what's really going on is going to cause massive scars that may never heal. Leavitt worked with the same theme: a family member who either never felt like they belonged or because of a recent event knows they won't be a part of the family much longer. All of the stories are about isolation either by choice or circumstances, and obviously, they're not happy stories. I liked all of them, but my favorite was "Dedicated" about a self-made family of three friends who are bound by their weaknesses rather than their strengths.

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Beyond Sleep by Willem Frederik Hermans

Beyond Sleep by Willem Frederik Hermans


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A short review of this book would be to say that it is a funnier, softer, and slightly less dire story than Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild or David Guterson's The Other. That doesn't mean that Alfred Issendorf's trip to the northern most part of Norway as part of a loosely formed scientific expedition is any less adventurous, simply that the plot of the pure wrongness of him making such a trip keeps the story light, even when the worst things happen. And while it's clear to the reader that the scientific discoveries Alfred wants to make and the personal discovery he needs seem unlikely to happen, this a great read about a journey, both physical and emotional.

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The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
There's no doubt that Mullen did some research for this book, because any one who has read a couple of non-fiction books about Dillinger and his ilk are going to recognize that a lot of the anecdotes that have been recorded about those men show up in this book, only it's the fictional Firefly brothers of the title who are living the events. Certainly, sometimes the real criminals get a mention, but readers of Bryan Burroughs' Public Enemies (which Mullen does acknowledge as one of his sources) will find a lot of this fiction more than vaguely familiar.

There's a bit a paranormal to this book, with characters who seem to be unable to die. This allows them to confound the reluctant FBI agent assigned to stop them as well as become mythic heroes to the general public. (Again, sound familiar, 30's true crime fans?)

A mystery thread weaves itself through the story: Who betrayed the brothers before their first death? And why? Mullen attempts to use non-linear story telling keep that secret hidden until the very end, but I think most readers will see the answers coming so far in advance they'll wonder how the brothers didn't figure it out.

Aside from its meanders into other genres, this is a decent work of historical fiction. The locations and time period are more than back ground, they have as much dimension as any of the characters, and as the Firefly brothers move through the Depression era MidWest, its where they are that is more interesting than what they're doing.

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Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Bloodroot by Amy Greene


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book brought an interesting question to my mind: Do you blame bland story telling on the writer or the character when the book is told in first person? Okay, so I only entertained the question as a way of explaining how the first part of this three sectioned book could be so engaging, so vivid, and the rest of the book almost mind numbing, even with a plot straight out of my favorite genre, Southern Gothic. Yes, it is the author's fault if four of her six characters almost ruin a great tale when they spend too much time retelling without bringing anything new to the story, develop and lose personal insight for no apparent reason other than ease of story telling, and worst of all, don't follow the beautiful rhythm set up by the first section of the book.

Greene knows her setting and that is one of the saving graces of this book. The towns and isolated cabins of Bloodroot Mountain enliven the slowest moving parts of this book. The idea of weaving together each of the characters own narratives is intriguing, and the first third of the book shows that Greene knows how to tell a good Southern Gothic story without literally telling the story.

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Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

Suttree by Cormac McCarthy


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
There is a line near the end of this book that will stick with me the rest of my life. It not only describes the entire journey of this masterpiece, but it's a bit a sound bit of advice on how to get through life.

"He had divested himself of the little cloaked godlet and his other amulets in a place where they would not be found in his lifetime and he'd taken for talisman the simple human heart within him."

Such is the story of Cornelius "Buddy" Suttree, a man who cuts himself off from his family but discovers that he can't cut himself off from caring for others. The story is told the way life flows - dragging along at times, mundane details threatening to drown us (or, in the case of McCarthy's lush descriptions, immerse us), and then something happens, a flash flood of change, whether you were ready for it or not. The book is episodic, characters dropping suddenly from sight, maybe reappearing later, maybe not. Plot lines build and then dead end with limited resolution, others read like day-in-the-lifes. People are happy and joking in one moment, a few paragraphs later and things turn incredibly dark. Like real life, there's not much foreshadowing or an all knowing narrator to hint at what's to come. There's just a man, making the best of the life he's been given.

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The Liar by Stephen Fry

The Liar by Stephen Fry


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
An extremely witty protagonist and a setting that just begs to be mocked make up for an badly written non-linear story. Read this for great dialog and an over the top immersion into the legendary British boarding school society, but don't expect much in the way of plot. It never quite comes together, and you'll miss out on the fun if you try to take it seriously.

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Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6)

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is definitely my favorite Dresden Files book, so far. This is due, in a major part, because my absolute favorite background character, Thomas Raith, moves very much to the forefront in this plot. But there's also a lot more going on than a good story in this book. Characters seem to be a little more fleshed out; a huge amount of canon for Harry's world is established, and there's back story for everyone. In some ways, this reads as a first book in a series, the one that not only sets the foundation for what's to come, but shows every sign of having been worked and refined by a first time author. Those are both very good surprises in a mid-series book! The plot this time may be a little more complicated than it needs to be (when your main character has to spell everything out in a long dialog with someone who's worked by his side for many years, you may have a few more twists than necessary), but the speed at which the story plays out allows the reader to just go along for the ride and enjoy the slow bits as breathing space.

My only regret about this book is that with Thomas having this moment in the sun, he'll probably never be featured this much in another Dresden Files book. Ahhh, for a Thomas Raith spin off series...... ;-)

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In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Mate



(Disclosure: This book was received for free through the Goodreads First Reads Program)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mate brings his years of experience treating addicts, loads of scientific research on the subject, and his personal addiction together to produce a book that is highly readable and for the most part very informative. His narrative passages (at least half the book) provide case study after case study of real people he has known. That is when the book is its best: pointing out that addicts are people first and illnesses second. The portions of the book that deal with research data and scientific jargon can get a little dry, especially in comparison to the warmth he shows the people who have touched his life and made this book possible. Last, and certainly least, is his own message of addiction. I'm not sure if he was trying to make the book more attractive to more readers by including his addiction to shopping for classical music, but it's an unnecessary intrusion that comes across at best as a "it can happen to anyone" lesson that doesn't belong in a book of this depth.

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The Borrowers (The Borrowers #1)

The Borrowers by Mary Norton


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the book that not only introduced me to fantasy fiction, it planted the seed for my favorite type of fantasy fiction: where the mundane becomes magical. It's urban fantasy without the grime, if that's possible. It's also a great very-young adult read with a strong willed female protagonist and a tiny bit of historical novel thrown in without the heavy handed lecturing that some young adult authors mistake for narrative. The tiny little Clock family is as is nuclear as can be, but they are supportive and resourceful, and willing to trust an outsider if it means survival. Published 57 years ago, this is still one of the best fantasy books ever written, no matter what age the reader.

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A Fine and Bitter Snow (Kate Shugak, Book 12)

A Fine and Bitter Snow by Dana Stabenow



It's been years since I read any of Stabenow's Kate Shugak books, and I honestly couldn't remember why I had stopped. I love a book with a strong sense of place and Stabenow knows how to transport her readers in the Alaska bush. Something else that she does remarkably well is to bring a first time reader up to speed on characters and past story lines without boring the series reader. I felt like I had never stepped away from Kate, conservation vs. tourism, the rights of indigenous peoples vs. the needs of the larger populations, extended family complications and a darn good murder mystery. It's all in this book, and this time there's the addition of some contemporary politics as well: the conservation party in power in Washington is reaching out its long arm, threatening to get rid of the well liked and too green park ranger that Kate and everyone else has grown comfortable with. Kate's love/sex life gets some more attention as well, being told by several characters what most readers must be thinking: you can't keep two guys on a string forever, do something! The suspects in the murder have interesting back stories, and previous supporting characters get well earned attention.

So, why did I stop reading this series? Somewhere along the line, each of her books hit a "not that there's anything wrong with that, but" point. Perhaps that's how it is in Alaska, the people defend their right to be left alone, to live their lives the way they want, but deep down, you're only allowed to be different to a certain degree. Without giving away too much of a plot twist, I'll only say that the presence of a same sex couple doesn't mean what you think it means. And a "strictly heterosexual dog"? Really??

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