Jack's Picks for January

 Below are Jack's proposed selections for January, with reviews courtesy of Amazon.

 

 

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano (288 pp):

"Mesmerizing...an exquisite rendering of what one might call feels at the subatomic level." -The New York Time
A prime number is a lonely thing. It can only be divided by itself or by one, and it never truly fits with another. Alice and Mattia are both "primes"-misfits haunted by early tragedies. When the two meet as teenagers, they recognize in each other a kindred, damaged spirit. Years later, a chance encounter reunites them and forces a lifetime of concealed emotion to the surface. But can two prime numbers ever find a way to be together? A brilliantly conceived and elegantly written debut novel, The Solitude of Prime Numbers is a stunning meditation on loneliness, love, and what it means to be human.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave (271 pp):

The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple--journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday--who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day--with the right papers--and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state.

A Sport and A Pastime by James Salter (200 pp):

"As nearly perfect as any American fiction I know," is how Reynolds Price (The New York Times) described this classic that has been a favorite of readers, both here and in Europe, for almost forty years. Set in provincial France in the 1960s, it is the intensely carnal story--part shocking reality, part feverish dream --of a love affair between a footloose Yale dropout and a young French girl. There is the seen and the unseen--and pages that burn with a rare intensity.

Just Men and Dogs at George's

Acknowledgments
Our dinner on Dec. 13 presented our host with a thematic challenge:  how to evoke the art scene of Patti Smith's 1970's New York without ignoring Mapplethorpe's enormous presence in her memoir.  With a little help from Armando, George succeeded quite nicely.  He presented us with a Coney Island menu (chili dogs and homemade Moon Pies) and a background soundtrack that was vintage Patti Smith. 

As we reached for second helpings of Moon Pie, Armando set up an impromptu studio in the living room.  Backed by hot lights and a Hasselblad with a Polaroid back, Armando shot instant B&W head-and-shoulders portraits of all of us.  The more adventurous (or exhibitionist, in the case of Stan and John) pulled off their shirts.  The results: amusing, artistic, but hardly Mapplethorpe.  For that, Armando will need more capable subjects.  (Garth, where are you?)

The Book
Patti Smith's highly-acclaimed memoir of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and her own coming of age as an artist in New York City in the 1960's and 70's was an unusual choice for us.  Written by a woman and mostly about a woman, it very nearly violated our cardinal rule (its focus on Mapplethorpe saved it from disqualification).  And while she won the National Book Award for Just Kids in 2010, Patti Smith was known to us as a rocker, not a writer. 

Perhaps with these reservations in mind, I came to this book with a bias that I couldn't shake.  My distaste only grew as I recoiled from Smith's incessant name-dropping, her simplistic writing style (like Paul, I hated its staccato rhythm), and her tedious invocations of Rimbaud and Baudelaire as inspirations for her own nascent artistic sensibility.  So imagine my surprise when I showed up at George's and learned that everyone else found plenty to like in Just Kids.  

George and Dean were enthralled by the 1970's New York art scene described by Smith.  For his part, Doug felt that her name-dropping was simply part of the bohemian currency of the era.  Like Dan and Stan, he was drawn to her memoir partly out of a fondness for her music as a teenager in the 1970's--a style of music he contrasts with the "vapid, corporatized" rock music of today. 

Even those of us less attuned to her music found something to like in Smith's narrative.  Terry was impressed by her and Mapplethorpe's single-minded devotion to their work, Armando admired her strength and resilience as an artist (and was reminded of working in a music store and constantly re-stocking her debut album, Horses), and Paul (who joined us from Kansas City!) found the modest lives of 1970's rock stars, sans entourages, appealing.  For John and Larry, the strength of the book was its devotion to Smith's and Mapplethorpe's relationship as young artists.

For her story (but not for her writing), we awarded Patti Smith a 6.1, which puts her only a little below average in our ratings.  While I'm tempted to accuse others of praising Smith's memoir out of nostalgia or sympathy, my own rating (a 1) was possibly a little unfair.  Continuing in that vein, here are two stock photos of Smith:

Patti Smith, then

Patti Smith, now

Next Up
We leave for our ski sojourn in the Sierras in January and return to a new selection of titles in February.   Until then, good reading!  [Ed. Note:  With no snow in the mountains, we've reversed course:  Jack has kindly agreed to host in January and we'll see if February delivers enough snow to make a weekend out of it.]

George's Picks for December

At Stan's direction, I am providing three very different choices, two of which I have read. These two are the first of a series where one does not need to read on, but if you get the bug and have the time you can follow the characters further.

Rabbit Run by John Updike.

John Updike has won two Pulitzer Prize awards, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Award, etc... Beginning in 1960 he released a series of four books centering on the very misoginistic Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom titled "Rabbit Run". The book runs 260 pages. The Amazon write up reads:

Harry Angstrom was a star basketball player in high school and that was the best time of his life. Now in his mid-20s, his work is unfulfilling, his marriage is moribund, and he tries to find happiness with another woman. But happiness is more elusive than a medal, and Harry must continue to run--from his wife, his life, and from himself, until he reaches the end of the road and has to turn back....

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The second book was published in the 1912 by a then unknown writer who went on to produce 91 books. His main character is Captain Jack Carter of Virginia, a survivor of the Civil War. The book, a manuscript handed off to the author upon Captain Carter's death, talks of adventures which took place after the war. This is the first book of an eleven part series titled "A Princess of Mars" is by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie "John Carter of Mars" opens in 2012. The book is an easy 160 pages. The Amazon review is as follows:

Although Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is justifiably famous as the creator of Tarzan of the Apes, that uprooted Englishman was not his only popular hero. Burroughs's first sale (in 1912) was A Princess of Mars, opening the floodgates to one of the must successful--and prolific--literary careers in history. This is a wonderful scientific romance that perhaps can be best described as early science fiction melded with an epic dose of romantic adventure. A Princess of Mars is the first adventure of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who unexpectedly find himself transplanted to the planet Mars. Yet this red planet is far more than a dusty, barren place; it's a fantasy world populated with giant green barbarians, beautiful maidens in distress, and weird flora and monstrous fauna the likes of which could only exist in the author's boundless imagination. Sheer escapism of the tallest order, the Martian novels are perfect entertainment for those who find Tarzan's fantastic adventures aren't, well, fantastic enough. Although this novel can stand alone, there are a total of 11 volumes in this classic series of otherworldly, swashbuckling adventure. --Stanley Wiater

Just Kids by Patti Smith.

The third book I have not read. During a recent trip to New York a friend and I visited the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. This book was in their store and my friend said it was a must read, then promptly bought it and handed it over. The book is "Just Kids" by Patti Smith, and it comes in at 288 pages. I will let the write up speak for itself:

It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation.

Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max's Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous—the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.

Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists' ascent, a prelude to fame.

So there you go Stan, three completely different books to choose from.

See you all Tuesday.

George

Roy's Book Picks for September

Roy has culled through some of the best titles we've previously considered but, for varying reasons, not selected.  He gave me the names and left me the hard work of listing and summarizing them.  Rather than recreate their summaries, I've listed the date they were posted and the name of the man responsible for each title.  So check out the post if you can't remember the book's description.
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Note that nos. 3 and 4 are works of non-fiction, and the three novels were written by authors we have already read.  (And of those three authors, two were well-received and one was excoriated for the unforgettable Oscar and Lucinda.  That reaction, however, didn't prevent Peter from proposing him again.) 

1.  All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy (John, 2/23/09)

2.  A True History of the Kelly Gang, Peter Carey (Peter, 2/8/11)

3.  Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand (John, 12/12/10)

4.  The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (Glen, 7/26/10 and Larry, 6/16/09)

5. Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner (Peter, 3/23/09)
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Thanks, Roy.  See you all at Tom's on Tuesday.

No Breakfast for these Champions!!!!

What the host thought would be an extensive
crowd became a much more manageable
gang of meat-eaters hunkering around the table.

and it looked something like this:

Prior to the elegant meal prepared by our
gracious host, a majority of us congregated in
the man cave for a few libations.

That looked something like this: After a few drinks we retired into the dining room
garnished with hand made place mats. from Dean

They looked something like this:
Here we filled our glasses with fine wine and ate
bountiful of exquisite cuisine consisting of:
(cooked to perfection I might add!!!)

Cedar Plank Salmon
Ginger Flank Steak
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
Asian salad

That looked something like this:

Without the commander in chief attending
(2nd time in a row for this host, I might add)
we debated whether we should commit mutiny
and enjoy one another's company or abide by
the rules and discuss that book in hand.

Then something like this happened......

"Andrew checking in........."

MBC RSVP Rule 7-14a

Attending by phone only gives you 1/2 credit
and a 2 shot penalty
(That's 2 shots of whatever the next host is pouring)

MBC RSVP Rule 7-14b

RSVP and a no show
O credit and a 4 shot penalty

And on that note we began our discussion
that started out something like this..........

Holds true to now/liked how he brought himself into the book
Over thinking
God figure/ controlling
Misogyny...YES
Liked it but didn't love it
Fun read, sarcastic read, enjoyed the drawings
Drawings touched on all aspects of life
Self indulgent author
Play on free will, just can't wrap my head around it now

Meticulous notes looked like this;
All in all the book had mixed reviews which showed in
its ratings. Even though Stan the MAN gave it a 10
followed by a 9 and a couple of 8s, Breakfast of Champions
couldn't break the 7 barrier. It came in with a respectable
6.9

Final note: Everyone who attended read the book in full.

A FIRST in MBC history

______________________________________

Next up the R. L. Stevenson's classic

"TREASURE ISLAND"

That looks something like this..........

.....well not really but that's the best I could do.

YO! HO! YO HO! A pirates life for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See y'all on Tom's ship Aug 23 and be prepared to
drink RUM!!!!!