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Love and Other Delusions
Author Larry Baker
In Alice's world, it all made sense. She told her husband: I stopped cheating on you when I started sleeping with Danny. He finally understood, but too late. Alice Marcher is dying, but she is still trying to understand her life. She was thirty when she met Danny Shay. He was eighteen. Two years later, they were sleeping together. Twenty years later, they parted. Alice insisted: It lasted so long, so it must have meant something, right? We weren't a cliche', were we? Katherine Arnett is Alice's audience, or therapist, or ghost. Only when Alice dies is Katherine's true identity revealed. The two women share a final moment in a room with a man who simply asks: Who are you? Only one woman knows the answer. A story came back to her as she died, fiction as real as her own life, and she herself finally understood it. A beast in a jungle had always been there for her, all those years with Danny. Her own incarnation of that beast, its breath finally upon her throat, had finally turned on her. She had done a very bad thing, falling in love with Danny, and the beast had always been waiting.
Review: Something about the stylistic rhythm reminds me of a song with the soft beginnings, pounding beats, rising, building and ebbing slightly, while floating before the dramatic ending...or is it a soft fade out? Somewhere along the way I forgot I was reading fiction and slipped into a voyeuristic delusion. I was spying on these peoples lives, becoming absorbed and realizing just how possible something, which seems implausible, can be acceptable. Each character is faulted for their shortcomings, but created in such a manner that is humanizing, rather than victimizing, and by doing so, makes it that more tragic. Or is it? The story will make you think about relationships, the complexity and what we get from each one we maintain over a life-time. What are these people to us and even though we share moments, our memories and value will greatly vary. Love and Other Delusions is an enlightening read and perfect for a summer escape.
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Suitcase Pimp
Author Wyatt Shev
Serial malcontent Loren Niva and his impressionable young wife Anya make the move out to California, in search of their slice of the American Dream. Starry-eyed victims of blind faith and misplaced trust, it isn't long until the city of Los Angeles conspires to devour them whole. Sick of navigating dire financial straits, open-minded Anya takes work as a ‘girl-girl’ performer in the San Fernando Valley’s thriving adult entertainment industry. Loren assumes the role of a ‘suitcase pimp’ – a slur reserved for boyfriends and husbands of porn starlets – and takes to his sordid new life with voracious relish. What follows is a boozy, merrily depraved descent into unbridled excess, spanning locales both seedy and stately throughout Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Through whiskey-bleared eyes, Loren eagerly explores his debaucherous new world. But as Anya's dubious star continues to rise, Loren's torrid, increasingly perverse adventures threaten to tear their already flimsy union asunder. At turns outrageous and profane, Suitcase Pimp tackles the various oily idiosyncrasies of ‘the Industry’, shining a grubby little spotlight on the colorful, low-dwelling characters that comprise it. It is a brutish testament to all-American excess - and a lament for the slow disintegration and demise of an all-American marriage.
Review: With certain erotica books going mainstream, why not take a dive into a story focused around the porn industry? After all, it's out there and very much part of our modern culture. Suitcase Pimps takes it a step further by referring to the demise of American marriage in the synopsis. Recently, our culture has been introduced to terms like sex addict. With attention drawn to this topic, it is presumptuous and now often claimed in divorce court that such 'addictions' play a role in destroying a marriage. Perhaps, this is what sparked my interest in this particular book. However, this Boogie Nights kind of read sloshes through the parties, film shoots and low-lifes of the industry presenting much the same insight that we've already seen. The boundaries of work, and what is considered pleasure bleeds, and the characters morph to survive their muddy existence. Much like a porn movie, little plot is established peppered by alternating sex scenes. It becomes very cyclic and instead of deepening the attachment to the characters or gaining a better understanding, the set up did the opposite. Perhaps, this was the intent -- the numbing, not caring by the end reaction I developed, but it did little to enhance the value of the read. Is it erotica? Yes, and that in itself serves an audience. Did it meet the claim to show the slow disintegration and demise of an All-American marriage? That is arguable. Since this is not the norm, it's difficult to suggest -- but I was hoping that it would delve a bit deeper into how the industry affects marriage, not just Anya's and Loren's. Their problems seem obvious and did not take much of an imagination to see where this was all going making it predictable and anti-climantic. In fact, it was hard not to just write the couple off as stupid and naive individuals who kind of got what they deserved. It's light fluff with some porn humor, mixed with the typical drugs, dorks, slobbering perverts and nasty sluts all thrown together in a L.A. party. I would say wait until this one was made into a movie, but it already has been. A hundred or perhaps thousands of times and can be rented at any seedy adult video store.
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Dirt
Author David Vann
The year is 1985, and twenty-two-year-old Galen lives with his emotionally dependent mother in a secluded old house surrounded by a walnut orchard in a suburb of Sacramento. He doesn't know who his father is, his abusive grandfather is dead, and his grandmother, losing her memory, has been shipped off to a nursing home. Galen and his mother survive on the family's trust fund—old money that his aunt, Helen, and seventeen-year-old cousin, Jennifer, are determined to get their hands on.
Galen, a New Age believer who considers himself an old soul, yearns for transformation: to free himself from the corporeal, to be as weightless as air, to walk on water. But he's powerless to stop the manic binges that overtake him, leading him to fixate on forbidden desires. A prisoner of his body, he is obsessed with thoughts of the boldly flirtatious Jennifer and dreams of shedding himself of the clinging mother whose fears and needs weigh him down.
When the family takes a trip to an old cabin in the Sierras, near South Lake Tahoe, tensions crescendo. Caught in a compromising position, Galen will discover the shocking truth of just how far he will go to attain the transcendence he craves.
Review: It's difficult to argue with the resume of this author--impressive would be an understatement. ABC review compares David Vann to Melville, Faulkner, and McCathy. Admittedly, I can see the rationale behind the claim. If you like past works by those authors, it'd be plausible to assume you'll equally enjoy Dirt. The prose are more grounded than Melville and meander like Hemingway (without the purple), but have a similar grit and the southern Gothic edge of McCathy. If you're looking for a punchy fast-paced horror, this is not it. However, if you want to sink into a deeper philosophical examination - choose this read. And, when I mention philosophical, I mean get ready to contemplate dirt (lots of dirt), physical entrapment, as well as mental - the mind and flesh. This is a 'thinking' story. Thematically, Dirt seems to contain endless possibilities. I've been mulling over the concept of the body as a prison verses the shed and also drawing in the setting of the walnut orchard. Then, there is the style and text. Why no quotes used for dialogue? This could make for an entire conversation on its own. Interesting, stylistic, and will get editors arguing for months. I love it! It really is a critical analysis gem and a novel that should be explored in depth, dissected, discussed and placed on the college American Literature must read list. Exciting? That's debatable. Relevant? Absolutely! If you need to stretch your brain and don't want to lug a chunky 700+ book around, this is the perfect modern compromise. I'd recommend it for reading groups and book clubs that like to examine contemporary styles based on classic structures with philosophical examination, layered themes, setting and complex prose.
* ARC provided by Harper Collins courtesy of Amazon Vine
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The Uninvited Guests
Author Sadie Jones
Release Date: May 1, 2012
A grand old manor house deep in the English countryside will open its doors to reveal the story of an unexpectedly dramatic day in the life of one eccentric, rather dysfunctional, and entirely unforgettable family. Set in the early years of the twentieth century, award-winning author Sadie Jones’s The Uninvited Guests is, in the words of Jacqueline Winspear, the New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries A Lesson in Secrets and Elegy for Eddie, “a sinister tragi-comedy of errors, in which the dark underbelly of human nature is revealed in true Shakespearean fashion.”
Review: It is no surprise that this book has already received mixed reviews and I believe, like with most novels, it depends on the perspective of the reader - including what we refer to as 'expectations' by readers of the text. It's all in the approach. Nothing could be truer than when applied to this particular book. The structure alludes to the easy adaptation to a screenplay or dinner theater. It does deliver everything that is promised, but perhaps not in the exciting fashion the reader might hope for. The author's approach is likely influenced by the classical set-ups from previous authors that have mastered the traditional early century eccentric life in the country side. Purposefully, the sluggish beginning demonstrates the domestic boredom of the middle to upper class. Similar to Virginia Woolfe's, Mrs. Dalloway, The Uninvited Guests, ticks away at the hours where nothing much and everything all at once happens. Also, the house is a breathing character as well as setting, much like The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. For these reasons, classical stylists will appreciate the structure and care given to the book. Parts do fall on the ridiculous and could be viewed as tragi-comedy, but in my opinion fail, and lean more towards mean-spirited in order to create tension or excitement. However, the shenanigans fizzle, which leads me to the other result of this book. The creeping pace lends to the anti-climatic feeling even when coupled with a great mystery and where a Gothic macabre setting exists. The Uninvited Guests has 'Goethe' potential, but does not pull off the chilling haunt that is likely anticipated, and for that reason loses the interest and subsequently the rating stars from reviewers.
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Alright, I'm ready to kick off this week's Spring Into Horror Read-A-Thon. If you'd like to join in (which you may at anytime) click on the image above. Also, join the group over at Twitter using hashtag #SpringHorrorRAT
Since I'm currently a jurist for a horror contest, I've been reading a ton of horror manuscripts. I think this is the year of horror for me. I've been neck deep in zombies, paranormal, dead things, murder, mayhem and lots and lots of gore. With a slight break (and I do mean slight!) in my duties, I can jam in some reading and dive into my TBR pile, which is literally toppling over. I've hosed off the winter blahs from my porch and the lounge swing is ready for summer reading enjoyment. Now, if I could only get Starbucks to deliver, I'd be golden!
My selection is based on genre, reading challenges I'm currently participating in, and immediate review deadlines. Even if I don't finish them this week, maybe you'll see something you'd like to add to your own summer reading list.
A little about each book...
Betrayal: A Haunting Emma Novel by Lee Nichols Published March 1, 2011Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive-one a snarky teen
boy, the other a British scholar-Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.
As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.
The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox Published Sept. 17, 2006"After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." So begins the "enthralling" (Booklist, starred review) and "ingenious" (Boston Globe) story of Edward Glyver, booklover, scholar, and murderer. As a young boy, Glyver always believed he was destined for greatness. A chance discovery convinces him that he was right: greatness does await him, along with immense wealth and influence. Overwhelmed by his discovery, he will stop at nothing to win back a prize that he knows is rightfully his. Glyver's path to reclaim his prize leads him from the depths of Victorian London, with its foggy streets, brothels, and opium dens, to Evenwood, one of England's most beautiful and enchanting country houses, and finally to a consuming love for the beautiful but enigmatic Emily Carteret. His is a story of betrayal and treachery, of death and delusion, of ruthless obsession and ambition. And at every turn, driving Glyver irresistibly onward, is his deadly rival: the poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt.
Truth Like the Sun by Jim Lynch Release date April 10, 2012A classic and hugely entertaining political novel, the cat-and-mouse story of urban intrigue in Seattle both in 1962, when Seattle hosted the World's Fair, and in 2001, after its transformation in the Microsoft gold rush. Larger than life, Roger Morgan was the mastermind behind the fair that made the city famous and is still a backstage power forty years later, when at the age of seventy he runs for mayor in hopes of restoring all of Seattle's former glory. Helen Gulanos, a reporter every bit as eager to make her mark, sees her assignment to investigate the events of 1962 become front-page news with Morgan's candidacy, and resolves to find out who he really is and where his power comes from: in 1962, a brash and excitable young promoter, greeting everyone from Elvis Presley to Lyndon Johnson, smooth-talking himself out of difficult situations, dipping in and out of secret card games; now, a beloved public figure with, it turns out, still-plentiful secrets. Wonderfully interwoven into this tale of the city of dreams are backroom deals, idealism and pragmatism, the best and worst ambitions, and all the aspirations that shape our communities and our lives.
Dirt by David Vann: Release date April 24, 2012The year is 1985, and twenty-two-year-old Galen lives with his emotionally dependent mother in a secluded old house surrounded by a walnut orchard in a suburb of Sacramento. He doesn't know who his father is, his abusive grandfather is dead, and his grandmother, losing her memory, has been shipped off to a nursing home. Galen and his mother survive on the family's trust fund—old money that his aunt, Helen, and seventeen-year-old cousin, Jennifer, are determined to get their hands on. Galen, a New Age believer who considers himself an old soul, yearns for transformation: to free himself from the corporeal, to be as weightless as air, to walk on water. But he's powerless to stop the manic binges that overtake him, leading him to fixate on forbidden desires. A prisoner of his body, he is obsessed with thoughts of the boldly flirtatious Jennifer and dreams of shedding himself of the clinging mother whose fears and needs weigh him down. When the family takes a trip to an old cabin in the Sierras, near South Lake Tahoe, tensions crescendo. Caught in a compromising position, Galen will discover the shocking truth of just how far he will go to attain the transcendence he craves.An exhilarating portrayal of a legacy of violence and madness, Dirt is an entirely feverish read.
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Lying Season
Author Karina Halle
Amateur ghost-hunter Perry Palomino has battled ghosts, fought off skinwalkers and skirted the fine line between life and death. But can she survive bunking down in Seattle for a week with her partner (and man she secretly loves) Dex and his perfect girlfriend, Jennifer? And can she do so while being tormented by a malicious spirit from Dex’s increasingly shady past? With love and life in the balance, Perry must discover the truth among the lies or risk losing everything she's ever cared about.
Review: Well...well...Miss Palamino, we meet again! Poor Perry, she must curse the day that she was introduced to Dex. Who knew she'd fall head over heels for a Libra! I don't know when Dex was actually born (he is a fictional character, after all), but I'm convinced this man must be one. What other reason could he possibly have for staying in a long-term relationship with that she-devil, Jenn? Blame it on the stars...that's my rational. Jenn makes the perfect villain, the girl we can all relate to hate. As for Dex, his weakness makes this bad boy vulnerable. The fourth book in the series hones in more on the bizarre love triangle than ghost hunting, but there is a twist, some new kids on the block are screwing the Scooby-duo up. Set in Seattle, Perry and Dex explore an asylum, which is still for the most part, caring for patients. However, the mystery remains veiled and what's locked behind those doors and the question of where are the staff members goes unanswered. Who has time to figure it out with all the drama going on?! This fear inspiring, soul-sucking hell ride will have you flipping the pages like a mad clown lady with her hair on fire! And oh yeah, the ghostly parts are pretty good too! I adore this series and can't get enough of the Experiment in Terror. I hope Karina Halle can keep rolling out the goods because this junkie needs her crack! If you haven't already, start at the beginning with Darkhouse (book 1), but make sure you have time, because you won't want to put it down and you'll be frantic to start the next book in the Experiment of Terror series!
Click HERE to view all the books in the Experiment of Terror
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The Springsweet
by Saundra Mitchell
Heartbroken over the tragic death of her fiancé, seventeen-year-old Zora Stewart leaves Baltimore for the frontier town of West Glory, Oklahoma, to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going. There she discovers that she possesses the astonishing ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a “springsweet” to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land. Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water. Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving
and start living.
Review: In an attempt to escape a wounded heart, Zora Stewart packs a bag and heads West. Robbery, rescue and the occasional
tumbleweed follow. Being a fan of the Vespertine inspired me to pick up
the companion novel, The Springsweet. The setting shifts from Balitmore to
the hardships of prairie life along the great frontier. Because of the setting,
the book has a western country feel and for those readers who enjoy American
settler stories, The Springsweet will be a pleasurable and clean read. It's
appropriate for most ages and has a hint of mysticism, but mostly is grounded
in the historical fiction of the time period. This book definitely has a
different appeal than the The Vespertine
and I wasn't as intrigued or connected to Zora as I became to the heroine,
Amelia. The attraction and sweet love story is well-scripted. However, given
the title of the book, I felt the actual areas where springsweet was involved
should have been dimensionally developed. This portion of the story was skimpy
and lacked detailing and information that could have contributed to the books
depth by creating more of a shadow similar to that found in The Vespertine.
Readers have certain elements they love about a series, and this specific
string would have strengthened my personal fascination in the book. I felt a
bit cheated and was left to figure out, or rather guess about what happened to
Mr. Larsen. It was too vague and because of this, lacked impact. Emerson was
the most developed character and will likely be memorable. Zora, she's a sweet
girl, but does not come with the same force as the beloved Amelia. Good. Beach
read. Summer read, and if you want clean and innocent -- this is a safe bet.
* ARC provided by Harcourt courtesy of Amazon Vine for Review
