The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All

The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All  by Josh Ritter 304 pages

The protagonist of songwriter Josh Ritter’s second novel is ninety-nine-year-old Weldon Applegate, lying on his deathbed in a hospital. Tubes are coming out of his arms, and he is on oxygen. He seems to this reader to be passing in and out of consciousness.

When he is out of it, Weldon returns to the forests of Cordelia, Idaho, almost a century earlier; back to a time when he was a child and the Applegates were considered the best lumberjacks in the industry. When his head is clear, he recounts a life of murder, mayhem, avalanches, bootlegging and all sorts of axe-swinging adventures.

Weldon’s father, Tom, was a lumberjack who promised his wife that he'd stay safe and never jack again. After his wife dies, he and Weldon move to Cordelia, a town full of lumberjacks and near the Lost Lot, a cursed tract of land that Tom owns. Tom works in the town general store but finds himself making a deal with a larger-than-life lumberjack-of-legend, Linden Laughlin, who turns out to be a devil in disguise. Weldon tells us the whole story in tall-tale style from those times through when technology and industry take over.

The story structure follows Weldon’s mental state, moving from one adventure to another without any division. I found this hard to follow. The language is rough, but realistic for the time period. It didn’t bother me, but I just didn’t like the story. For me, the action moved a snail’s pace, but I think it was me and not the story. I wasn’t as drawn in as I had hoped to be, but I will admit to learning a lot about lumberjacking. Therefore, “The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All” receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

Here Comes the Sun

 Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn 349 pages

Dennis-Benn tells a story from the points of view of three women from the same family.  Delores, Margot, and Thandi live in a shack in the poor part of town in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  Delores sells trinkets to cruise ship tourists in the market.  Margot works at a hotel and has a side hustle taking care of the men who are staying there.  Thandi goes to private school.  Both Margot and Delores and counting on Thandi to pass her exams so that she can go to college to become a doctor and take care of them.  Thandi has other ideas.  She wants to be an artist.

When Margot's boss starts building a new hotel, she has dreams of promotion and buying a house to live in instead of their lowly shack.  She acts in a ruthless manner losing almost everything she has ever wanted in her quest, including her childhood love.

Trigger warning: several women are raped in the story and some of the sex scenes are a bit racy.

This was a book I read for a neighborhood book discussion group.  We are reading books set in other countries since it is unlikely we will vacation out of the US anytime soon.  I was hoping for a little lighter read than this was since it was set in Jamaica.  It was valuable for me to check my privilege and learn about people who live in poverty in vacation spots that are "unseen".  Only 3 out of 5 for me.

Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger   240 pages

A copy of this literary classic has been languishing on my shelf for years, so that’s why I chose it as my July read for my 2018 Reading Resolution (I picked 12 books to read that having been in my library for ages). Most people I know had to read this in high school, but growing up in Arkansas, we didn’t have summer reading lists.

And now I know why I’ve been putting it off for years…what a drag of a story. I realize that the story is only three days and nights in the life of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, but omg, what a whiner.

There is one consolation to this story of Holden’s New York adventures after he gets expelled from yet another prep school: teenage angst has changed since Salinger published this in 1951. The biggest difference is that instead of goddamn, teenagers today use the F-bomb and the MF word. 

And the way he called every "old [their name]," drove me up a wall.

 “Catcher in the Rye” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Barrowfields

  

The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis 368 pages

I was attracted to Lewis’ debut novel for two reasons. First, I read that someone thought this is the kind of novel “you’d get if you crossed Shirley Jackson and Pat Conroy; a southern Gothic haunted house tale with a coming of age story.” Jackson, Conroy, Southern, Gothic, haunted house. I admit it, there wasn’t much that could stop me from reading this one.

I had, wrongly, assumed, that Barrowfields was either a) the family name, b) the name of the house, or c) the name of a town. Actually, Barrowfields is a barren wasteland in North Carolina. I “think” it’s near the coast, but I can’t remember right now.

The story centers around the Aster family. They are typical Appalachian folk: poor, hard-working, honest. Helton and Madeline do their best. Their “children were well cared for even if food and clothes were hard to come by.”

The couple has one son, Henry. He is different than other kids; he loves to read (another reason I was drawn to this story). He leaves the mountains, desperate to make it as writer, but gets a law degree, for college, but ultimately returns with a pregnant wife in tow. They settle down to make a life, purchasing a gothic house high on the hill.  

They have a son, Henry, Jr., who narrates the novel. They settle into life. And that’s the problem with this novel. While the writing is beautiful, the plot just moseys along, It’s like reading about a bunch of people sitting around thinking. I think it’s the long sentences and the slow pace that made this such a chore. I wasn’t pulled into the story; I couldn’t find an arc that really enticed me to read. 

Little to no plot in a beautifully written novel are the reasons that  The Barrowfields receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Loss and Gain

Loss and Gain: The Story of a Convert by Bl John Henry Newman, 432 pages

One of Newman's two novels (the other is Callista), Loss and Gain is the story of Charles Reding, the only son of an Anglican country vicar, and the personal, philosophical, and religious dilemmas he faces during his studies at Oxford.  Ultimately these struggles cost him university honors, a comfortable career, and the good opinion of his professors, friends, and family, as they lead him into the Catholic Church.

Obviously, there is a connection between the novel and Newman's own experience, although he was some twenty years older at the time of his conversion than his fictional creation.  The novel benefits greatly from this - it is not a tale of road to Damascus experiences, of which Newman was suspicious, but rather a slow, gradual, but ultimately irresistible attraction.  Newman occasionally interrupts the narrative to speak directly to the reader, a device which admirably covers some of his deficiencies as a storyteller and keeps the plot moving despite the lack of action.  Adding to the novel's charm is the author's satirical take on the varieties of Victorian religion.  The result is a quiet, convincing, beautiful portrayal of one young man's devotion to truth and corresponding willingness to lose his life in order to find it.

The Old Man and The Sea

The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway  128 pages

I haven’t read this novella since I was in junior high school (I think it’s called middle school now). I didn’t care for it then. I have never been a Hemingway fan. But I had three reasons for picking it up again.

First, it was my turn to pick the book for my writing group. I knew I wanted something short, as one of our members isn’t a big reader. Second, March’s topic for the On the Same Page with Central Library Goodreads challenged its readers to re-read a hated book from high school. Third, is I’m a big fan of Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife.

The copy I checked out at the Library has an introduction by Charles Scribner, Jr. Interesting I thought as his father was one of the two men to whom Hemingway dedicated this book. If you pick up this copy, DON’T read the introduction; it gives the whole story away. I remembered how it ended, but I didn’t need to be reminded of the details.

The Old Man has been without a catch for 84 days. Everyone in his Cuban village claims he is unlucky and begins to shun him. NOTE: Hemingway went to Cuba and fished as part of his research. Still he goes out, sure that today would be his lucky day.  He hooks the fish of a lifetime and spends the next four days, barely eating, drinking, or sleeping, reeling it in.

I so enjoyed this story; it was unputdownable. It did take me two evenings to read, but I tried to read slow and enjoy the adventure. I have to admit that I wanted to read fast, but Scribner’s spoiler spoiled some of the fun.

After finishing this story of the old man who has hooked the fish of a lifetime, I may go back and try to read some more Hemingway.

I give The Old Man and The Sea 6 out of 5 stars.

If I Fall, If I Die

If I Fall, If I Die  by Michael Christie   352 pages

Eleven-year-old Will has never been Outside. Literally. Since he and his mother moved into their home, he has not been outside. His mother Diane suffers from agoraphobia, which they refer to as the Black Lagoon. She has built a world, and Will’s world, Inside. 

Thank God for technology, as they can order any and everything they need and have it delivered. Will is a small adult in this area, as he signs for all the packages and writes any and all the checks. He knows what Outside looks, feels, and smells like, but he has never, in his memory, attempted to cross the threshold. Inside, he wears a Helmet and a wet suit at all times.

Instead of calling each room by its functional name (bedroom, kitchen, Mom’s room, etc.), Diane has renamed the rooms (Cairo, San Francisco, Tokyo, etc.). It’s hard to keep them straight and figure it out. At first I thought the mother and son were world travelers.

The story open as Will decides to venture Outside. He has heard a noise and wants to explore its origins. Outside, Will discovers Marcus stealing the garden hose. Intrigued with the boy, Will wants to learn more about Outside.

This is the beginning of Will’s bildungsroman. Although his Inside life have centered around music, art, and science experiment, he has never been to school.  “Homeschooled,” is how Diane describes it when anyone tries to intervene.

He meets Jonah, a loner, who introduces him to skating boarding. Soon, he is skateboarding all over the city, had quit wearing his Helmet, and no longer sleeps with his mother.

The first third of the book is wonderful. Well written and imaginative, it’s fascinating to watch Will truly become intrigued with other people and the Outside. In the middle of the book, there is a part called “Titus.” To the savvy reader, this section gives away the rest of the story. Will’s fascination with Outside, his newly found independence, his mother’s fears, skateboarding and finding Marcus start to get a little old. All the real action takes place in the first third of the book. That’s why I give If I Fall, If I Die 3 out of 5 stars.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Bradstreet Gate

 

Bradstreet Gate by Robin Kirman    320 pages

           Bradstreet is one of the streets that borders the Harvard Campus. Harvard plays a major role in this murder mystery, but it never plays a significant part of the story.

I was eager to read this debut novel as it has received several recommendations, such as TIME Magazine Ultimate Summer Read Pick, Amazon’s Best Book of July (2015), and Barnes & Noble Best Book of July (2015).

The story gets off to a great start: The tenth anniversary of the death of Harvard student Julie Patel is rapidly approaching. A Harvard Crimson reporter is looking into Julie’s death, as it has never been satisfactory solved. Reporter Nat Krauss contacts a student from that time, Georgia Calvin Reese. I’m not sure if Georgia knew Julie, but she sure as heck knew the professor who was hinted as the murderer.

After the prologue, the story goes back ten years. Georgia, Charlie, and Alice are friends. They have one thing in common that ties them to Julie---Professor Rufus Storrow. He is supposed to be one of the most mysterious and charismatic instructors on campus. I never saw it.

Georgia has an affair with him, Alice is envious of Georgia, and Charlie is so in love with Georgia his hair hurts. The rest of the book examines the lives and friendships of the three and how Julie’s death affects them.

Kirman’s novel isn’t typical. It’s not a murder mystery where readers can try to figure out who really did. The murder is merely the catalyst for the friends’ lives spiraling out of control. I like that it wasn’t typical. However, the story doesn’t really have an ending…and maybe that’s the point. When a person is tied to a traumatic event, their lives are forever changed.

I give Bradstreet Gate 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Barracuda

Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas    431 pages

 At 14-years old, Danny Kelly wants nothing more to swim, to be a champion, and to fit in. While he excels at swimming, the other two goals remain slightly out of reach, which is the conflict of Tsioklas’s novel.

He’s won a scholarship to a prestigious private school, but Danny is from a lower, working-class household. His father is abusive---physically, emotionally, and mentally---while his mother, younger sister, and younger brother think that Danny is the cat’s meow.

 Danny knows he has the talent to take him all the way to the Olympics; that’s why he practices four hours a day and puts up with a coach who is almost as warm-hearted as his father. Danny hates his life, and all he wants to do is swim. When he loses an important meet, Danny’s self-loathing reaches a new low. He hates the world and everyone in it. He lashes out on more than one occasion, ending with a prison sentence.

Fast-forward 20 years, Danny, now called Dan, is trying to make a new life for himself and his partner, Clyde. Clyde wants to move back to his native Scotland. Dan goes, but soon returns to Australia.  Scotland doesn’t feel right. Although he is still angry all the time, Dan does his best to keep the violence inside.

 I almost gave up on this novel after the first 107 pages. Danny whines and carries on like a five-year-old girl. He constantly feel sorry for himself and refuses to let go of any of the negativity which surrounds him.  Then I read reviews on Amazon, and decided to give the rest of the book a chance. Oh, yes, I read all 431 pages, and through it all I want to tell Danny/Dan to get over it, quit wallowing in something that happened decades earlier.

 While other have called Barracuda tender, savage, and blazingly brilliant, I call it whining, full of self-pity, and dull.

 I give Barracuda 1 out of 5 stars.

 I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.