Thursday, February 18, 2016

Books of January

While Mr. George RR Martin continues to demand every free minute I can spare with his brilliant Songs of Ice and Fire saga I found myself wanting to slow down from the feverish pace of the Storm of Swords and Feast of Crows with a number of "speed bumps" (and I mean that as a compliment) - books that are slow, haunting and savored and set a million miles away from Westeros.

Louise Erdrich was first introduced to me by a friend from the blogosphere, and since then she has quickly risen to become one of my favorite writers. Meditative, dark and funny at the same time I feel all her novels have the tendency to stir something in one's soul. I was mesmerized by the Painted Drum and Plague of Doves, that I don't know why I took so long to read "The Roundhouse" which picks up the stories of some of the characters from Plague of Doves. A violent rape (as though there is any other kind) in a reservation opens the novel and the effect it has on the close knit family and the community forms the crux of the novel, which is told from the point of view of the 13 year old son (Joe) of the victim. The politics of jurisdiction, rights of the Native people and the role of law should have made this novel a very political one, but by centering the story around Joe and his attempt to seek vengeance when justice fails his family it becomes a personal coming of age story instead of political. Mooshum is one of my favorite characters of all time and now I have to add Joe's friend Cappy to that list. Something about the book reminded me of River Phoenix's movie "Stand by Me".

J.G.Farrell's empire trilogy has long been on my book wish list, and I finally got to read Troubles this month. Troubles won the Lost Booker prize back in 1970s and details the collapse of The Majestic hotel in Kilnalough Ireland in the 1920s as a proxy for the collapse of the British Empire. If the background of the story was not the actual Troubles you could mistake it for a Wodehousian novel poking fun at the elitist British upper class. The Spencers who own the hotel are strong unionists, and the Major who arrived in Ireland following his "fiancee" is a confused spectator. While the rest of Ireland is erupting and regular clashes between the SInn Feiners and Unionists form the backdrop, the people staying in the Majestic are caught in their personal microcosmic drama while at the same time being touched by the events on the fringe. As all order collapses in the outside world, The Majestic reflects that and starts collapsing itself. The ending is no fairytale, which is true about the ending of many empires around the world. Although a bit dragging in some sections, the book is worth one's time.

I came to the audiobook version of "Third Policeman" on seeing a Facebook recommendation by the amazing Neil Gaiman. The Third Policeman is a cult classic by Flann O'Brien but Neil Gaiman was correct to recommend the audiobook version - read by Jim Norton. One has to listen to it for the voices and accents that Jim Norton has brought to life. The story is a big "pancake conundrum", with a combination of murder, physics, philosophy and bicycles. Reading this would've been fun, but listening to it was simply top notch!

Last book for this month is one of President Obama's favorites - "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson. If the Roundhouse was a speed bump this was stop and go traffic on the 405, but still very enjoyable. Set in the small town of Gilead in Iowa, the story is about John Ames a 70+ preacher who is dying due to a failing heart. As he approaches death he wants to leave behind letters to his 7 year old son so he can "speak" to him from the great beyond as his son enters adulthood. Through these letters we learn about his past, his pacifist father and his fiercely abolitionist grandfather who were all preachers. When the prodigal son of his best friend returns to Gilead, John Ames fears that his namesake would exert a negative influence over his son and his wife especially after his time. A story about religion, spirituality, liberal vs conservative values, politics of color and fathers and sons, I found the book quite captivating that I wouldn't mind being with it when stuck on the freeway.

That along with the two books from George RR Martin wrapped up my January. Daughter and I have also wrapped up "The Two Towers". I have paused in my reading of The Antropocene, but hope to get back to it soon. Edna O'Brien and Neal Stephenson are leading the charge for next month. More on that later.

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