Review of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love. Don't. Read. It.

Elizabeth Gilbert's book was one of the most self-indulgent memoirs I have ever read. We learn that she has gone through a divorce, but don't get much back story on what happened. And because we don't get this information, I had a hard time mustering up any empathy for her. She came across as whiny, entitled, and annoying-- not the makings of a narrator I can get on board with. I was more curious to hear her husband's side of the story about their failed marriage than I was to hear about Gilbert traipsing all over the world to re-discover herself. (Note: Her ex apparently has his own memoir coming out one of these days).

In theory, this was a great idea for a book-- a newly divorced woman takes off on her own to experience life in its grandest forms. If this woman had been likeable, fun, and not so completely self-centered, I probably would have enjoyed her book.

Yes, some of the writing about her travels in Italy, India, and Indonesia was interesting. But I could not get past the whininess that seemed to permeate the book.

Rarely do I keep reading a book that I so dislike. I guess I kept hoping that Gilbert would somehow redeem herself at the end. She didn't.

Memoirs by nature can be self-indulgent, and it can be hard to stike a balance in them. We want to understand the narrator, get to know her and her life. We need to feel like we are on their side.

For a well-crafted memoir, where we actually get to know the narrator, like her, and root for her, pick up The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells or Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres.

Just One Pink gives Eat, Pray, Love a 4.

Review of American Pastoral by Philip Roth

Who am I to review Philip Roth, one of the greatest writers in the world? I had never read Roth before, and American Pastoral had been recommended to me by several people. So I took the plunge, bought the book, and started reading.

After reading the first 50 or so pages, I kept wondering what the big deal was. The beginning of American Pastoral was tedious-- it seemed to be a long-winded account of some old Jewish guy named Zuckerman who was recounting his childhood days in Newark, New Jersey. I almost stopped reading, unsure of what was so great about this book. But I was told to hang in there, that the book picks up.

So I hung in there, and the book did indeed pick up. And it turned out to be one of the best books I have read in a long, long time.

American Pastoral tells the story of Seymour "Swede" Levov, a man who seems to be blessed in every way-- with looks, money, athleticism, a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter, a booming business. It's the 1960s in New Jersey, and the Swede lives with his wife, a former Miss New Jersey, and their daughter in a bucolic town in New Jersey. He runs a successful glove business started by his father. But his charmed existence comes crashing down when his teenage daughter, Merry, begins to protest the Vietnam War, commits a heinous crime and goes into hiding. And this changes the life of the Swede forever.

The characterizations in this book were among the best I have ever read. Roth described each of the characters so well and with such precision that I could almost see them. I could picture so many of the scenes. And I could sympathize with most of the characters. I finished the book and was in awe at the picture Roth had drawn. I get what the big deal is.

Just One Pink gives American Pastoral a 9.5-- I could have done without the very beginning of the book.

Review of The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham

The Suicide Index is Joan Wickersham's memoir about the aftermath of her father's suicide. Instead of "regular" chapters, there are categories, like "Suicide: act of, bare bones account" and "Suicide: items found in my husband's closet and." The book is a pretty linear account of what happened, but Wickersham used an index in which to frame the book. This, we can guess, is to try to make logical a horrible act that is completely illogical to those who survive.

Wickersham's book, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2008, can be very difficult to read at certain points. There were definitely moments when I felt like a voyeur and didn't want to know certain details of her family history. But there were more moments when I could see the love Wickersham had for her father and how his suicide upended her life, not just in the years after his death, but forever.

Wickersham traces her father's life from an abusive childhood in Europe and the U.S. to numerous business failures as an adult. She discusses her mother's reaction to finding him dead in the study of their house. She talks about how the death of her father affected her own marriage.

This book is not only about suicide, but also about loss, love and the human condition. It's clear that Wickersham will never fully recover-- how could anyone?-- but we see that, with this book, she tries to understand.

Here's an excerpt:
This is what my father did. He got up, showered, shaved, and dressed for work. He went downstairs and made a pot of coffee, and while it was brewing he went outside and walked the long driveway to pick up the newspaper. He left the newspaper folded on the kitchen table, poured a cup of coffee, carried it upstairs, and put it on my mother's bedside table. She was still in bed, sleeping. Then he went into his study, closed the door, and shot himself.

Just One Pink gives The Suicide Index an 8.

Review of Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

Donald Ray Pollock's book of short stories takes place in Knockemstiff, Ohio, in the southern part of the state. It's not too far distance-wise from where I grew up, but is worlds away from that leafy suburban city. There really is a Knockemstiff. Pollock grew up there and still lives in Ohio.

This book is about the people who live in Knockemstiff, an assortment of oddballs who exhibit the full range of human emotions. Some love living in "the holler" as Pollock calls it, while others can't think of anything else other than escaping from it. Knockemstiff itself seemed like a recurrent character. The city, if it can even be called that, has its own quirks and issues. The language is anything but delicate, but that's what makes the stories ring true and what makes them utterly readable.

One of my favorite stories in the collection, "Real Life," is about a young boy and the not-so-great lessons his somewhat violent father teaches him. Another of my favorites is "Discipline," about a road trip to West Virginia to get steroids.

Here's an excerpt from "I Start Over:"
Take me, for example, Big Bernie Givens. I'm fifty-six years old and sloppy fat and stuck in southern Ohio like the smile on a dead clown's ass. My wife shudders every time I mention the sex act. My grown son eats the dead stuff that collects on windowsills. I must watch that damn commercial twenty times a day. I dream about it at night, about starting over. I wake up with that background music knocking holes in my heart. Like I said, it's bullshit.

Just One Pink gives Knockemstiff a 9.

Review of The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

The Secret Scripture was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and I can see why. Sebastian Barry's novel takes place in Ireland and weaves the stories of patient and doctor. The patient, Roseanne McNulty, is around 100 years old and has been at the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital for longer than anyone can remember. One of her doctors is Dr. William Grene. His job is to assess whether Roseanne-- and a number of other patients-- can live in normal society once the hospital closes its doors.

The novel alternates between Roseanne's story and Dr. Grene's. We learn about the history of Ireland and the history of Roseanne through the information she tells us. Dr. Grene tries to unravel what exactly happened in Roseanne's life that has landed her in the institution. At the same time, he is struggling with his role as a doctor and personal failings in his own life.

The writing is poetic and lyrical, and the descriptions of Ireland are amazing.

Here is an excerpt:
It is always worth itemising happiness, there is so much of the other thing in a life, you had better put down the markers for happiness while you can. When I was in that state, everything looked beautiful to me, the rain slicing down looked like silver to me, everything was of interest to me, everyone seemed at ease with me, even those slit-eyed boys of Sligo, with the yellow fingers from the coffin nails they smoked, the yellow stain above their lips where the fag was stuck in permanent. Accents like bottles being smashed in a back lane.

Just One Pink gives The Secret Scripture a 9.

Review of How to Leave Hialeah by Jennine Capo Crucet

In How to Leave Hialeah, Jennine Capo Crucet explores south Florida and the world of the Cuban immigrant. This book of short stories mainly takes place in Hialeah, a city in Miami-Dade county that is home to a very high percentage of Cubans. Almost every story has some sprinkling of Spanish in it, which adds to the flavor of the book.

The characters in these 11 stories tend to be young and observant, often struggling with the disconnect between their parents' generation, born in Cuba, and their own, born in the U.S. Family plays a huge role in this book. In the title story, one of the strongest, the narrator, a young Cuban-American woman, heads off to the Northeast for college, the first person in her family to leave the Miami area. In "The Next Move," a widower relates memories of his wife while dealing with some unruly grandchildren. "Men Who Punched Me in the Face," we again have a young female narrator, this time documenting the various boys and men who have been violent toward her. I thought "How to Leave Hialeah" and "Men" were among the two best in the collection.

This book won The John Simmons Short Fiction Award from the University of Iowa, and I can see why. The stories are complex as are the characters, but they are clearly written with love and affection and an understanding of Cuban-American culture in Miami.

Below is a passage from "Men Who Punched Me in the Face:"

My mother declared him the The Best Looking Guy To Ever Talk To Me three minutes after meeting him. He had the hard-line chin and perfect eyebrows that looked like a professional Hialeah beautician had sculpted them. He never got carded when he ordered beer at El Rey Pizza. He could grow a beard in two hours. After a game, he smelled so much like man sweat and dirt that I worried just smelling him would make me pregnant. He was light brown but close enough to white that my abuela didn't hate him.


Just One Pink gives How to Leave Hialeah an 8.5.

Review of Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg

Writing about mental illness isn't easy. And I'm guessing that when that mental illness strikes your own child, it's that much harder. In Hurry Down Sunshine, Michael Greenberg takes on his daughter Sally's descent into manic depression. At age 15, Sally is "struck," as Greenberg puts it. She goes to a locked mental ward in Manhattan, where she is treated for almost a month. Greenberg writes about the hospital and several of its patients with care and respect, while at the same time trying to make sense of seeing his daughter, once so vibrant, so ill.

When Sally comes out, Greenberg does his best to help her back toward health. He and his wife Pat, who is Sally's stepmother, struggle to keep Sally safe and on her medication. His ex-wife Robin and son Aaron also appear on the scene, and the family works -- not always smoothly-- to keep the family together and to keep Sally healthy. At the same time all this is happening, Greenberg is caring for one of his brothers, who is also mentally ill.

Greenberg does an excellent job of detailing Sally's illness and the strain it places on his marriage and on him specifically. What is clear from this memoir is Greenberg's utmost love for his daughter and his willingness to do anything to help-- and save-- her. He even takes some of Sally's medication because he wants to see the world as she saw it.

I found this book incredibly compelling and sped through it. Greenberg was able to express his pain and explain both the loss and the hope he felt, and I'm presuming, continues to feel. The book gives us a very clear account of manic depression, a disease that is not completely understood and that, based on Greenberg's account, is extremely frightening.

I highly recommend this book, not only for those interested in mental illness, but also for those interested in memoir-writing.

Just One Pink gives Hurry Down Sunshine an 8.5.

Review of Girl Trouble by Holly Goddard Jones

Girl Trouble is one of the best books of short stories I have read in a long time. Like any short story collection, there are some stories that are stronger than others, but overall, this is a very well-written and interesting collection.

All eight stories take place in the fictional town of Roma, Kentucky, a small town in western Kentucky. Holly Goddard Jones knows a lot about this area-- she grew up in Russellville, Kentucky, which I'm guessing Roma is modeled after. As the title of the book implies, there is girl trouble, not only in the typical sense of the phrase, but also in many others. Not every story is told by a female narrator or revolves around a female character, but many of them do. One of the strongest stories involves a divorced woman who has lost her daughter to a brutal crime and follows how she tries to cope with the aftermath-- and with the news that her ex-husband is getting re-married. Another of the strongest stories is the flip side of this woman's-- it's about the young man who was responsible for her daughter's death and what led him there. Another story is about a young girl who visits her neighbors' pool on a regular basis-- not the makings of an especially exciting story, you would think. But we get some good information about a girl beginning to recognize the power of her sexuality.

All in all, this was an excellent collection and one I would recommend to those who are interested in the craft of short fiction.

Here is a passage from the story "Parts:"
I knew when Art called three weeks ago that he had news for me. He only calls to hurt me with his happiness, and he always prefaces his announcements with, "I wanted you to know first." Like it's a gift he's offering me, a neat little package of despair: Dana, I'm selling the house. Dana, I met a woman. Dana, we're getting married.

Just One Pink gives Girl Trouble a 9.

Review of Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh

Let me preface this post by saying that I read Mrs. Kimble awhile ago, and the fact that I still remember large parts of it speaks to the effect it had on me.

In theory, there is nothing novel (no pun intended) about the book. It is the story of Ken Kimble, a minister, and the three woman who play central roles in his life. A third of the book is devoted to his first wife, Birdie, a woman he eventually leaves. Another third is about his second wife, Joan, a wealthy-- and lonely-- woman. The last third revolves around Dinah, a woman he first met when she was a child and he was an adult, married to Birdie.

We learn about Ken through the eyes of Birdie, Joan and Dinah. We never get first person perspective from Ken, and I think this is what makes the book so interesting. We learn about Ken-- who he is, who he wanted to be, his faults, his strengths-- through the women in his life, each who has her own issues. Each of the women is complicated in her own way, adding another layer of complexity to the story.

Jennifer Haigh's book spans three decades, though the first few pages take place in the present-- and they were what drew me in. Here are the first few lines:

"The man died alone, in a baby blue Eldorado on Route A1A, waiting for the drawbridge to be lowered. As his heart seized, his foot lifted off the brake; the car crept forward and nudged the bumper of a lawn service truck. The driver of the truck radioed his office and waited for the ambulance to arrive. By the time it came, the man was already dead."

Just One Pink gives Mrs. Kimble a 9.

Review of The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

Yes, I'm a little behind the curve. I just got around to reading this novel, which came out in 2003 or so.

The Fortress of Solitude tells the story of two boys-- one white, one black, both motherless-- growing up in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, in the 1970s. Having lived near this part of Brooklyn for many years, I found Jonathan Lethem's description of the area to be the most interesting part of the book. Boerum Hill, now a "hot" neighborhood, was a very different place in the '70s. Lethem's detail regarding the interaction between the kids on the street and surrounding neighborhoods was incredibly well done.

The friendship between the two boys, Mingus and Dylan, is the vein that runs throughout the book. Mingus, the black boy, serves as Dylan's protector. Dylan is a sensitive white boy, one of the few white kids in that area. Their relationship is both complicated and simple, and we follow them from boyhood to manhood.

The "supporting cast" in the book includes the fathers of both Mingus and Dylan, unhappy and lost men in their own right, as well as Mingus's grandfather, neighborhood kids and an occasional girlfriend.

I thought the book was overwritten-- poetic often, but overwritten. If there were one word I would use to describe this novel, it would be "dense."

Unlike most people who read it, I didn't love Fortress. I liked it, but didn't find it exceptional.

Just One Pink gives Fortress a 6.5

Review of Auto-Erotica, written by Stacia Saint Owens

No, it's not porn.

It's a book of short stories that takes place in Los Angeles. The characters in Auto-Erotica are screwed up, which is nothing new in fiction. But they are screwed up in southern California, a place that attracts wannabe actors, screenwriters and various other artistic types.

This is not regular literary fiction. There is an edge to this book. By turns creepy, scary and disturbing, the book delves into the lives of newbies to L.A., hungry agents, college students turned ladies of the night, aspiring actors, rich kids. But this is also very much a book of place, and Los Angeles is on full display here.

Stacia Saint Owens's writing is solid and accessible. At times, it sounds like the author is speaking to you rather than writing a story.

A few of my favorite lines from the story Viv Thraves Goes Missing: "Our very first time. We've rehearsed for weeks. We're wearing short, tight green dresses that make us look like whores, but we're young enough to pull it off as UCLA girls who watch too much TV and don't know any better."

On a scale of 1 to 10, Just One Pink gives it a 7.5.

Welcome

At the urging of several friends, I have decided to start this blog. It will consist, for the most part, of book reviews. And I hope to keep these short and sweet. Long book reviews bother me-- most people just want to know if the book is decent, what the writing is like, if they will enjoy it.

There will be, I'm assuming, an occasional aside or commentary on a non-book issue. I hope you find these asides entertaining.

If you have a book you would like to see reviewed, please let me know.

Again, welcome!

-Lesley