February, 2022 Readings: “February is the border between winter and spring.” (Terri Guillemets)

Starting February off with a big, fat biography, THE PRICE OF PEACE: MONEY, DEMOCRACY AND THE LIFE OF JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES by Zachary Carter.

Fascinating reading thus far, though some of the economic theory bits leave me scratching my head at times.

Did not know Keynes was part of the Bloomsbury crowd; a man whose thinking on economics evolved radically in his lifetime. The willingness to change your mind is surely one of the hallmarks of an intelligent person.

Finished revisiting Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo. It is still a masterpiece, and it still confuses me.

Just started All About Me! by Mel Brooks. Talk about a change of pace.

Reading round-up...

Selling Out, Justina Robson - the second book of her Quantum Gravity quintet, in which a "quantum bomb" opened up the earth to four mythical worlds - elves, demons, the undead, and elementals. The lead character is a cyborg who also hosts a dark elf's spirit, and she's in a relationship, of sorts, with a half-elf/half-demon rock star. She also works for a secret agency. There is a plot here, but it doesn't seem to advance much. Still, Robson is clearly having fun with her world-building, even if it does go a little overboard in places. I can see how it might been cringe-worthy in less skilled hands, however.

Shell Game, Sara Paretsky - been a big fan of Paretsky's novels since the early 1990s. In this one, Warshawski acts as legal counsel for a student dragged into the murder of a man with links to smuggled artefacts from Isis-controlled Syria, and ends up butting heads with a billionaire. She's not so law-abiding in this one as previous books, and finds herself in very real danger. This is one of the better ones - Paretsky tackles several important topics: the oligarchs and one-percenters, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant racism.

The Palace of Love, Jack Vance - the third book of the Demon Princes quintet. These are steadily improving in quality. In this one, Gersen after Viole Falushe, who is a mystery man. Gersen tracks down the small town in the Netherlands where he grew up under another name, and apparently frequently returns. It's all to do with a girl who snubbed it at school. Vance dangles a handful of suspects in front of the reader, one of whom may be Falushe, but the final reveal is sadly disappointing.

White Chapell, Scarlet Tracings, Iain Sinclair - I came late to Sinclair's idiosyncratic fiction, reading Landor's Tower, my first Sinclair novel, only a couple of years ago. I'm not a big fan of London, and Sinclair writes about London - although I have enjoyed Peter Ackroyd's novels set in the city, and I really like the films of Patrick Keiller, also about London... But something about the semi-factual, semi-autobiographical style of Landor's Tower appealed to me so I decided to read more Sinclair. White Chapell, Scarlet Tracings is apparently the third book in one trilogy (the other two titled are long out of print) and the first book in a second trilogy (all of which is in print). A group of grotesquely-drawn book buyers scour second-hand bookshops in the UK, looking for previously-unnoticed rare books they can score big with. Meanwhile, Jack the Ripper stalks Whitechapel, and Sinclair gives first-person narratives of two popular suspects (neither are considered credible these days). It's all slightly stream-of-conscious, a mix of reportage and ornate prose. I have the sequel Downriver on the TBR.

The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings, Kevin Crossley-Holland - does exactly what it says on the cover. I hadn't known that much of the mythology is lost, and what little we do is chiefly down to one person, Snorri Sturluson, an Icelander, who collected and rewrote many of the myths in the thirteenth century. Crossley-Holland provides comprehensive notes on each myth, explaining its source, and why he chose to retell it as he did. Fascinating stuff.

Red Planet, Robert A Heinlein - another early Heinlein, this time from 1949. Needless to say, his depiction of the planet is entirely wrong - it has canals, for example, and, of course, Martians, and sufficient oxygen for people from high altitudes to survive outside for short periods. The air is also apparently so dry it can make people ill - which makes no sense given the presence of the canals. Anyway, it's all about nasty corporation imposing rules on freedom-loving pioneers (all of whom appear to the American), who promptly rebel. Everything that is wrong with (Heinlein's) libertarian politics in here. (I still think the characterisation of libertarians as house cats is completely spot on - demanding freedom, but completely dependent on a system they don't understand.)

Finally, a new review up on my new blog - Mary's Gentle's prequel to Ash: A Secret History, Ilario: The Lion's Eye - https://ian-93054.medium.com/ilario-the-lions-eye-mary-gentle-3923fc5572bd

Finished THE PRICE OF PEACE, Zachary Carter's biography of John Maynard Keynes.

Keynes was a remarkable man in many respects and this is a comprehensive biography, although I would say it focussed on his theories and work in the economics field at the expense of painting a three-dimensional portrait of Keynes.

Heavy slogging at times, economics is NOT my field. The final two hundred pages detail the attempts of neoliberals like Hayek to undo Keynes' legacy, with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Demanding, but impressive.

Hunting on Kunderer and This Dog/Rat World, William Barton - books 4 and 5 of Barton's Starover universe, originally conceived in the 1960s when he was at school. Hunting on Kunderer was his first published novel, half of an Ace double in 1973. The second book was never published. To be honest, the history around these books is more interesting than the books themselves. They're not very good, and while Barton has republished them, he's kept the prose pretty much as it was originally written/published. The universe is a strange mix of schoolboy space opera - a hero called Zoltan Tharkie! - and a new writer trying too hard. The best book in the series is Acts of Conscience, not published until 1997, and the product of a writer very much in command of their craft. That book I can recommend. The others are for completists only.

The Tel Aviv Dossier, Lavie Tidhar & Nir Yaniv - some sort of weird supernatural event destroys the city of Tel Aviv, creating an alien mountain in its centre. Written as a series of short chapters from the viewpoints of several characters, it's hard not to get the impression the two authors alternated narratives and tried to continually outdo each other. There's not much here - a horror novel that's thin on plot, but heavy on the special effects. Both authors have gone on to produce much better.

Ragnarok, Paul Park - an epic poem published by tor.com by one of my favourite authors. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic Iceland, but the imagery is familiar from a zillion other post-apocalypses. The strength of the piece is in its mimicry of the Icelandic saga form, and its use of local history to flesh out the story.

Unwelcome Bodies, Jennifer Pelland - I loved Pelland's novel Machine when I read it several years ago, but it's taken me a while to get around to reading this collection. (Pelland hasn't published anything since these two books.) Pelland writes somewhere on the border between sf and horror, very much science fiction stories but with unsettling or horrific premises. It's not my usual choice of genre fiction, but she does it well, and if nothing in this collection is as good as her novel, it's a certainly a collection of more interesting stories than some of those published in recent years in online venues.

A new review on my medium blog - a 1991 collection, The Ends of the Earth, by Lucius Shepard, who deserved to be much better known: https://ian-93054.medium.com/the-ends-of-the-earth-lucius-shepard-76e8fdeb8035

>4 CliffBurns: I remember that when I returned from my first trip to Vienna, a city where the term "efficient public services" is not an oxymoron, I encountered our Director General, a high-ranking Government economist, in the lift. We exchanged pleasantries and he asked where I'd been. "Austria", I replied, "the one place where they do not appear to set much store by Austrian School economics."

Well, he already knew I was a troublemaker.

Well said, Robert. Set the bugger back on his heels, I hope.

Hayek, Mises, Friedman...those bastards have a lot to answer for, a trail of destruction in terms of social programs, anti-poverty initiatives, treating the poor and underprivileged like second class citizens.

Neoliberalism is anti-human.

A Children’s Bible – Lydia Millet
Digital audiobook performed by Xe Sands
3.5***

From the book jacket: Millet’s new novel follows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion. Contemptuous of their parents… the children feel neglected and suffocated at the same time. When a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, the group’s ringleaders – including Eve, who narrates the story – decide to run away, leading the younger ones on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside.

My reactions:
I’m not a great fan of post-apocalyptic stories but this one grabbed me. Evie’s narration is often times emotionless, almost a “just the facts, M’am” recitation. But nevertheless, the tension builds, as the children fend for themselves in a world devastated by a major hurricane and plagued by lawlessness.

Evie struggles to take care of her little brother, Jack, who has a children’s illustrated bible that he reads obsessively. He tries to interpret what they are living through in the context of the bible stories he’s read. And the scenes where he talks about these things give the entire book the feel of a morality play.

I think it would be a good candidate for a book group discussion, with the symbolism, allegory, and inherent warnings about global warming and consumer excess.

Xe Sands does a fine job narrating the audiobook. There are a lot of characters, but I was seldom confused about who was speaking or what was happening. The fact that Evie is narrator probably helped.

BEWILDERMENT by Richard Powers.

Superb book. One can see why Powers is widely lauded and frequently up for the highest literary awards.

Set in the near future, an astrobiologist and his troubled son struggling to come to terms with grief while the planet melts down and the country's politics take a decidedly fascistic turn.

Gonna be one of my "year's best", no question.

THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST by Stuart Neville.

Passable crime novel: an ex-IRA man, haunted by the ghosts of the innocent people he killed, decides to make amends (in his own, violent way).

Diverting look at Irish sectarianism, post-Troubles but nothing really new here.

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Digital audiobook narrated by Carolyn Seymour
4****

One of the best opening lines of literature: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

I thought it was okay when I read it in high school. I re-read it shortly after the BBC mini-series came out and really appreciated it. I’ve seen several film adaptations. And now I’ve listened to the audio version.

It's no wonder this is a classic. Austen is simply the master of dialogue. The way in which the characters interact brings them to life. From Mrs Bennet’s hysterics, to Lydia’s self-centered teen-aged giddiness, to Mr Collins’ simpering diatribes, to Jane’s cautious and measured observations, to Elizabeth’s outrage and clever responses to Darcy and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the dialogue simply sparkles.

Update: 2022
This time around I listened to a different audio version, narrated by Carolyn Seymour. I think I like Seymour's narration even better than Kate Reading's, and that's saying a lot. Totally enjoyable experience, and I noticed things about the relationships and the way that Austen crafted the plot that I hadn't noticed before. Truly a work that has earned its place in the English canon.

DARK ENTRIES, six longish stories by Robert Aickman.

Not a fan of Aickman's work, to be honest. He penned some decent chillers but he's also one of those writers who uses twenty words when ten would do.

In terms of ghost stories, I think I prefer M.R. James.

Sat down and read Sharon Olds' STAG'S LEAP in one sitting.

A short, very candid and personal volume detailing the breakup of Olds' marriage, the seismic effect that had on her beliefs and expectations.

Despite the subject matter, the poems are reflective, lacking none of the rage and sense of betrayal you might expect. Mournful and filled with yearning.

Highly recommended.

FLORIDA MAN by Tom Cooper.

Set in Florida (everglades region), during the 1980s (mainly), centered around fictional Emerald Island, sanctuary and safe haven for a variety of losers and ne'er do wells. The community is slowly dying, the hurricanes are getting more destructive and there is nowhere for anyone to go. This is their final outpost, their last stand.

Cooper does a good job of blending a crime narrative into the daily life of a society that is slowly being eroded by the ravages of modern times. Plus, I've always been attracted to losers as characters (it gives me a rare sense of superiority).

Leonard and Hungry Paul – Rónán Hession
4****

Two thirty-something single men are friends. They each live at home, they play board games, take satisfaction in their work, like to read, and are, in general, nice. Can quiet, gentle people change the world?

Oh, I loved this book! I liked how Hession showed us these two men slowly and gently, revealing their strengths and flaws, as we got to know them. They are grounded in their home life, in the people they love and care for, and in those who care for them. They don’t make waves, they’re not out to change the world, or even their corner of it.

When we meet Leonard, he is living alone in his childhood home, his mother having died recently. He has a steady job working for a children’s encyclopaedia; he writes (or rewrites) the text the educated researcher submits to make it more accessible for kids. Hungry Paul is Leonard’s best (and only) friend. He still lives at home with his parents, and his older sister’s wedding is a central focus of the plot. Hungry Paul takes judo lessons (he’s not very good) and works one day a week as a substitute letter carrier.

Neither man has ever really learned how to handle social interaction. They’re awkward and often overthink what they should say, resulting in their saying nothing (or, worse, saying the wrong thing). But they slowly come to realize that they do have something to offer to others … if only their quiet and steady presence.

I’m struck by how often we fail to see all the quiet, gentle people around us. It’s the loud, demanding ones that grab our attention, but it’s the many people like Leonard and Hungry Paul who steadfastly keep things moving. Who remind us that silence can be healing, and that a steady friend supports just by being a friend.

The ending is perfect. Happy and hopeful but not tied up in a nice, neat bow. I’m left with many questions (including how Hungry Paul got this moniker), but I think that’s part of Hession’s point.

The Whale Rider – Witi Ihimaera
5***** and a ❤

In the poignant author’s note at the beginning of this edition, the author writes about his inspiration for telling this story. While he was working in New York City, he witnessed an extraordinary event – a whale swam up the Hudson. Coincidentally, at the same time, his young daughter, following a day at the movies, asked “Daddy, why are the boys always heroes while the girls yell out, ‘Save me, save me, I’m so helpless?” And so inspired by these two events, Ihimaera turned his attention to the Maori folklore of his homeland, New Zealand and penned this book.

What a wonderful story. Magical, mystical, and yet completely relatable. Eight-year-old Kahu wants nothing so much as to please her grandfather and be loved by him. But he dismisses her as a “useless girl.” Still, her grandmother, father and uncle champion her cause, as she comes of age and proves that she has what it takes to become chief and lead her people.

The novel is full of Maori legend and language, but a glossary at the back helps. As with many stories based on legend and folklore, I am reminded of the many summer nights spent sitting in the dark on the porch at my grandmother’s house, listening to my grandparents, aunts and uncles tell stories that enthralled, scared, educated, and inspired us.

I would love to read more by this author.

Ordered 5 more issues of Arts & Cultures-described as magazines but actually high-quality art books--going for a song and passing most of reading time on those. Barbier-Mueller Foundation which publishes them has a very interesting story behind it & is a cheering if rare example of rich people indulging themselves (though out of love for the object of desire not for status) and benefitting the public by doing so. I've no great general interest in the sort of art covered in the books but am fascinated by almost everything in them. ToC for the one I'm reading now: https://www.barbier-mueller.ch/en/boutique/arts-and-cultures-anglais/arts-cultur...

Tomorrow will begin book by an author whose name I can't be bothered to try to spell. Had long dithered over ordering it from NZ but reply to my question about the novel on a book thread got the reply that the publishers do their own binding for the 1-2 books released each year in an anarchist shared space and so of course Iordered straightaway.

And btw, February is indeed that border. Traditionally & popularly 1 Feb. is the first day of spring in Ireland. Those pesky meteorologists insist that 1 March is the first day of spring. Spoiler: the date named for the saint who changed bathwater into beer for a visiting bishop is accepted as the first day of spring.

THE SPIRIT OF SCIENCE FICTION by Roberto Bolano.

Semi-autobiographical account of Bolano's early days in Mexico City (after leaving Chile), trying to find a community of like-minded artists.

Good portrait of a time, place and key period in the development of a young and upcoming artist.

Furious Hours – Casey Cep
Book on CD read by Hilary Huber
3.5*** rounded up

Subtitle: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

This is a combination of a true crime exploration of the serial killer Reverend Willie Maxwell, and a mini biography of Harper Lee.

Maxwell was well-known in his Alabama town even before his relatives started dying off in odd “accidents” which captured the attention of law enforcement and the ire of the many insurance companies from which Maxwell had purchased life insurance policies on said relatives. He kept his attorney, “Big Tom” Radney quite busy defending him against murder charges and suing the insurance companies to get what was owned to him. Maxwell was at the funeral of the latest victim when he was shot at point blank range by a grieving relative of the deceased. And Big Tom immediately became HIS lawyer to defend against the murder charges, despite the accused’s confession and the 340 witnesses.

Meanwhile Harper Lee has published her runaway (and still) bestselling novel, To Kill A Mockingbird and has helped her childhood friend Truman Capote with the research on his true-crime “nonfiction novel” In Cold Blood. The Rev Maxwell’s case captures her attention, and she begins researching the case(s) with the idea of writing a book.

I found the entire story fascinating, but then I am a fan of true crime books. I was completely captivated by Maxwell’s story and how that unfolded. And I, like many other readers, am eternally interested in Nelle Harper Lee, so was happy that I learned a few new things about Lee’s life, especially her own demons.

However, I think the author would have been less successful with this book without the Lee hook, and that somehow just didn’t sit right with me. So, three stars: I liked it; other true-crime or Lee fans will probably like it too.

Hilary Huber does a find job of narrating the audiobook. Her clear diction and steady pace made it easy for me to understand and follow the intricacies of the case.

THE HOUSE OF ASHES by Stuart Neville.

My second Neville this year and I don't think I need to read any more--pretty simple style, the two books I've read by the author likable but not impressive.

Summer beach reads.

West Side Rising – Char Miller
With a forward by Julián Castro
4****

Subtitle: How San Antonio's 1921 Flood Devastated a City and Sparked a Latino Environmental Justice Movement

I grew up in San Antonio. The all-girls boarding school I attended from kindergarten through 7th grade was downtown, on the banks of the San Antonio River. Still visible on the limestone walls of the main building’s second floor was a watermark from “the great flood.” I learned when I was in high school that the city’s famous River Walk was a WPA project begun as part of an effort for flood control.

I also grew up on the city’s West side. And each summer, the torrential rains so common in that season would flood our street, sometimes resulting in a raging torrent that carried cars for blocks.

This book explores not only the results of the city’s founding in a flood plain, but the political decisions – motivated by class and racial prejudice – that ensured that the areas poorest citizens would continue to suffer for centuries despite contributing tax dollars to help the wealthy stay dry. And how, a group of those West Side residents, fueled by yet another flood, marshaled their collective political power to achieve major changes.

Miller did extensive research, and it shows. But the parts of the book I most enjoyed were those that dealt directly with the 1921 disaster and its aftermath. I wanted more of the personal stories, but they went unrecorded for the most part. While I was interested in the political struggle to change the city’s focus on its majority minority population (and Miller does a great job of detailing the successful efforts of organizations such as COPS - Communities Organized for Public Service), the compelling disaster story seemed to fade.

One of Miller’s sources was a 64-page report written shortly after the disaster, titled “La tragedia de la inundación de San Antonio." Here is a section of Miller’s book that quotes extensively from that report:
The “San Antonio River hit the rich – it affected the big stores on Avenida C. The powerful houses of Houston and Commerce St. It must be said in its honor that it was greedy – it wanted riches and destroyed estates.” By contrast, Alazán Creek – “an imitation of a brook, a laughable pantomime, a thin and flexible snake” – proved ravenous. “It was the taker of lives – it was a cruel executioner who wiped out every poor soul it encountered.” Put differently, the river “swallowed pianos velvet rugs, Venetian moons of unparalleled beauty and wealth. Alazán Creek drowned children, killed women, knocked down men. And it was our people, the Mexican people, that succumbed defeated, whose poverty did not allow (them) to reside in a house in a pious neighborhood, a street near the center and out of danger. The sons of Mexico were the ones that fell asleep, unperturbed by danger, to wake up in the hands of a monster.”

A storm sewer drainage system was finally put into my parents’ neighborhood in the late 1990s. Every year, still, there are drownings in San Antonio as a result of flood waters – usually people who try to drive their cars through water covering the road and get swept away by the current.

For images of the various creeks – looking innocent when NOT in flood stage – visit
https://www.westsidecreeks.com/about-the-creeks/ In the green bar at the top of the page, hover your cursor on the “about the creeks” link and you can visit each creek in turn. Hard to imagine these little “imitation of a brook” waterways can rage into killer torrents – but they can, and do.