Inge's BookRaves

I don’t know that I would have enjoyed this book if it hadn’t been about Barack Obama, if you see what I mean. Written in the mid-90’s and then re-released in 2004, it covers the early part of his life. There are three main focus areas in the book: the part of his childhood when he was being brought up by his maternal grandparents, his young adulthood which he spent as a ‘community organizer’ and his visit to Kenya to meet the paternal side of his family. It certainly gives an interesting insight into his personality and thinking, especially in view of his presidential election campaign and how it was conducted.

Obama is an accomplished writer, obviously a serious man and deep thinker, but he’s not a very interesting writer or great storyteller. A lot of the material falls pretty flat, particularly the dialogue, which feels forced as if he’s been told to include it to lighten the reading. He provides many insights into what made him the man he is, what shaped his thinking and approach to life. That’s what I meant about enjoying the book mainly because it’s about Barack Obama, a man I find truly fascinating, rather than it being a good read.

What a beautifully written book. David Wroblewski has a talent for writing which is greater than his talent for story-telling, but for a first novel this is a good book. The story is about a boy and his parents who have a dog-breeding business in a remote part of Wisconsin. There is a lot about the art of breeding and training dogs in this book, so if that’s not a topic of interest to you, I probably wouldn’t bother reading it, because even though it’s essentially a story about a murder, you have to go through an awful lot of dog-stuff on the way. But I love dogs, so I didn’t mind.

Edgar is the only son and he’s mute – he can’t speak – which is a strange and important feature of this story. In fact, there are a lot of strange and illogical aspects to this story, but if you can go with it and not be too analytical and rational about the whole thing, then it’s an enjoyable read. His father suddenly dies and Edgar thinks it’s his fault until some weird things start to happen. As I said, it is a strange book – ultimately a bit unsatisfying, but worthwhile.

This is a great little book. Thought provoking and intense in a languid way – if that’s possible. It’s about a loving couple from Norway who go on a much anticipated and well planned trip to New York. One day, they visit the Metropolitan Museum where the husband is captivated by a particular painting. He stands in front of it for a long time – so long that his wife decides to go to the ladies’ while she’s waiting for him. When she comes back, he’s gone. The rest of the book is about her reaction to his disappearance and what she does to find him.

I enjoyed it very much, both because of Kristensen’s writing skill and because the idea intrigued me. What would I have done in a similar situation? And is it possible to really know someone else, even if you’ve lived with them for years? The ending is not entirely satisfying, but is in keeping with the rest of the book (without giving away too much).

The release of Popular Penguins at only $9.95 (in Australia) is a fantastic idea. I bought four of them the other day and my first choice to read was On the Road. So, I know it’s a modern classic and that Kerouac set a new trend in writing with the style he called “spontaneous prose”, but I have to say I found this book just tedious. It takes place in the US a few years after the Second World War and follows the lives of a small group of friends as they travel back and forth across the country – for no apparent reason.

Reading this book is like being the only sober person at a party where everyone is more or less sozzled and think themselves articulate, insightful and highly entertaining whereas you think they’re just being stupid. The group of friends in On the Road are constantly drunk or stoned or both, as I imagine Kerouac was when he wrote the book. It’s a long, rambling tale about madcap drives, travelling with next to no money and having to beg, steal and borrow their way from one coast to the other and from one flea-ridden dive to another. I found none of the characters interesting or appealing and the story pretty much without merit in terms of intrigue, excitement, emotion or even plain storyline. Very disappointing. Maybe I need to take some drugs.

Like most people, I have a passing familiarity with Homer’s Odyssey about the many years spent by Odysseus trying to return home to Penelope from the Trojan wars — the Cyclops, men turned to pigs, Odysseus tying himself to the mast to avoid succumbing to the sirens’ song and so on. Margaret Atwood’s book is the same story, but from Penelope’s point of view. It’s surprisingly enjoyable.

Barely 200 pages long, this wry story definitely has the sound of a mature woman’s voice. It’s worldly wise, a bit tired of the bullshit — the perfect antidote to the poetic tales of glorified battles and sexual conquests. But it’s more than the debunking of an ancient myth. Margaret Atwood approaches the story with compassion and a quest for explaining what really happened and why.

I recommend The Penelopiad to anyone who enjoyed the classics growing up and who is open to alternative views of things.