Category Archives: Literary Fiction

March 9, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: A Legacy by Sybille Bedford

I received an advanced review copy of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.

My Review:
A LegacyThis is the satirical yet poignant story of two wealthy European families living in Pre-World War I Germany.  The first cast of characters that are described are from the Merz family, who are of Jewish descent and live together in an opulent home in Berlin.  In addition to the matriarch and patriarch of the family, sons, daughters, uncles and in-laws all live under the same roof.  Their youngest daughter, Melanie, marries an older man named Julius who is originally from the countryside and whose family is Catholic.  As one can image, many comical discussions about religion and family matters involving religion, take place as a result of this Jewish-Catholic marriage.

Julius’ family, the Feldens, are the other family described at length in A LEGACY.  The Feldens are landed gentry living in the South and their Catholic roots go back for generations; there are a total of four sons in the family including Julius.  A lot of the story about the Feldens involves a description of Johannes, the youngest brother, who, at the age of 15, is sent off to a brutally abusive German military camp for young boys.  Johannes escapes and a political battle ensues between the Felden family and the German government.  When Johannes is threated with being returned to the military camp he loses his mind and is never right for the rest of this life.

There are many themes and plots in the book that Bedford describes which readers from any time or place can appreciate.  Even though these families believe that they are vastly different because of their religions, they are actually very similar in how they view family, wealth and society.  Although both families claim they are staunch believers in their respective religions, none of them actually ever sets foot in a church or a synagogue.  The sons, especially the eldest in each family, expect to have vast amounts of income with which to gamble and engage in their eccentric hobbies; but each man has no intention, whatsoever, of working for a living.

The language of the book is very different and might not be what many readers are used to as far as dialogue is concerned.  Oftentimes characters launch into a dialogue and neither speaker is specifically identified until well into the conversation.  It is as if we are sitting at the dinner table with the Merzes, or any large family, and conversations are happening all at the same time around us.  It might take us a while to catch up with the various dialogues going on simultaneously in the room, but we try to catch bits and pieces of discussions as best we can.

When there is a death, a marriage or a birth, all of which inevitably entail a consideration of religious practices, some type of an argument arises among the Felden and Merz families.  A sister-in-law, who is on the fringe of this family dynamic describes the situations she witnesses among these families best when she says that there is a “Theological dead-lock between non-practicing members of two religions.”

A LEGACY is an entertaining novel, especially for those readers who understand the intricate workings and dynamics of an extended family.  It also made me a little sad to think that this time period that is described is the last of its kind for such families as these in Germany before that country is ravaged by two world wars.  In the end, Bedford makes us ask ourselves if any of the petty differences that exists among families really matter?  What kind of a legacy will we leave for posterity?  What does fighting over religion or money or property really leave us in the end?

Thanks so much to the New York Review of Books Classics series for bringing another great novel to our attention.

About The Author:
Sybille Bedford, (16 March 1911 – 17 February 2006) was a German-born English writer. Many of her works are partly autobiographical. Julia Neuberger proclaimed her “the finest woman writer of the 20th century” while Bruce Chatwin saw her as “one of the most dazzling practitioners of modern English prose.

 

 

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March 6, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: Some Other Town by Elizabeth Collison

I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

My Review:
Some Other TownMargaret is a former art student and still lives in the same town in which she attended art school.  We find out she was a rather talented painter and drops out because she is no longer inspired to paint;  she is a strong-willed character and approaches everything and everyone on her own terms.

One day Margaret meets an art teacher named Ben Adams who is awkward, withdrawn and at times seems very sad.  Margaret and Ben seem to approach their lives in similar ways, with a complacency and a numbness, as if they are waking in slow motion through mud.  Although Ben is married they continue to see each other until one day Ben suddenly disappears.  There is a bit of a mystery in the book as Margaret tries to come up with a plan to find out where Ben has gone.

The cast of characters are brilliantly described, all of whom are quirky and have very distinctive traits.  Margaret works for a publishing company that writes children’s books and the office is located in an old sanatorium.  Her colleague Celeste, an editor at the Project, as they call their job, believes that a ghost is haunting their offices.  This mysterious ghost rearranges the furniture, inserts typos into their books and even leaves them little riddles.

Sally Ann, another editor at the Project, is so shy and introverted that she will not even eat lunch with the other staff.  She oftentimes communicates her thoughts through a puppet she calls “Mr. Bones.”  The project manager himself is aloof and doesn’t seem to notice that the Project hasn’t actually published any books because he is having an affair with the woman who is the star of a popular children’s television series.

My favorite plot line of the book is the progression of Margaret and Ben’s relationship.  They both appear to be dissatisfied with their lives but at first they are unwilling to change anything about their routines.  Margaret details for us many of their dates which are simple yet romantic and they gradually begin to care more and more for one another.  It seems that Ben’s disappearance is upsetting Margaret more than she will admit.

I enjoyed the plots, characters, and writing of the book right up until the last page.  The ending of this book really surprised and confused me.  I don’t want to give too much away, but I will keep thinking about how the author wrapped this one up and I am not sure if I quite understand it.  This rather puzzling end to SOME OTHER TOWN would make for an excellent discussion among the members of a book club.

SOME OTHER TOWN is a delightful read and reminds us that sometimes we have to break out of our comfort zone to really enjoy and fully appreciate everything that life has to offer.  I highly recommend this book and if you happen to read it, then leave a comment and let me know what you think about the ending!

About The Author:
PrintElizabeth Collison grew up in the Midwest and now lives in the San Francisco Bay area. She received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has worked as an editor, graphic artist, and technical writer. Some Other Town is her first novel.

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February 25, 2015 · 12:00 am

Review: Welcome To Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson

Today I welcome TLC Book Tours back to my blog with a very different kind of dark comedy.  I invite you to read my review, learn a little bit about the author, and visit the other stops on the book tour.

My Review:
Welcome to BraggsvilleDaron is from a very small town in rural Georgia called Braggsville.  When he graduates from high school he wants to get as far away from his isolated, small-minded town as soon as possible so he decides to attend Berkeley for college.  Berkeley is a very different world, especially as far as its liberal politics are concerned, than he is used to in Georgia.  He makes three close friends at Berkeley: Louis, an Asian from California, Candance, a farm girl from Iowa, and Charlie, an African-American from Chicago. Together they call their group the “four little Indians”.

I would classify Welcome to Braggsville as a dark comedy.  Daron and his friends, while protesting a Civil War reenactment in Braggsville, make a very stupid, and tragic mistake.  They are not mean or evil students, but just naïve and ignorant about the world. They are under the influence of the very liberal atmosphere at Berkeley and their own stupidity leads them to make decisions that have deadly consequences.  There is also a lot of racial humor and jokes in the book and will definitely make readers uncomfortable.

Daron also spends a lot of time contemplating his life in a small, southern town, his memories of being a nerd in middle and high school, and his attempts to fit in once he is at Berkeley.  Welcome to Braggsville is a social commentary on race as well as a coming-of-age story in which a young man tries to understand that learning right from wrong isn’t always easy.

The author uses a lot of slang and nicknames in the book.  Those who enjoy correct punctuation and grammar can forget about seeing those rules followed in this book.  There are commas in strange places, there are sentence fragments galore, and there are capital letters in places where they should not be.  As one who enjoys traditional grammar and punctuation, I found this style tedious after about 100 pages.

Overall, WELCOME TO BRAGGSVILLE is a thought-provoking read about race, politics and coming of age.  If you pick this book up and read it stop by and let me know what you think in the comments.

About The Author:
T Geronimo JohnsonBorn and raised in New Orleans, T. Geronimo Johnson received his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and his M.A. in language, literacy, and culture from UC Berkeley. He has taught writing and held fellowships—including a Stegner Fellowship and an Iowa Arts Fellowship—at Arizona State University, the University of Iowa, UC Berkeley, Western Michigan University, and Stanford. His first novel, Hold It ‘Til It Hurts, was a finalist for the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. Johnson is currently a visiting professor at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Click on the TLC Tour Banner below to see all of the stops on the book tour:

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February 20, 2015 · 9:24 am

Review: If I Fall, If I Die by Michael Christie

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Hogarth through NetGalley.
My Review:
If I Fall, If I DieDiane is an agoraphobe and has not been outside the walls of her house in Thunder Bay, Canada for over 8 years and, therefore, neither has her eleven year old son, Will.  As the plot progresses, we learn that Diane has suffered many loses in her life and her eventual retreat into her own little world and her attempt to bubble wrap her son against danger is a result of her traumatic past experiences.

Will spends his days painting, exploring his house, and answering the door for deliverymen but he never ventures Outside.  Will’s world exists of Inside, with a capital “I” and everything else is considered Outside, with a capital “O.”  Outside is a scary and dangerous place and is full of things that can kill a small boy in an instant.

The best part of the book is the character of Will who is brave, clever and, despite his mother’s illness, a very happy boy.  At first I thought this would be an extremely tragic story because of the effects of Diane’s agoraphobia on Will.  But Will’s natural curiosity and sense of adventure are what draws him to the Outside.  He possesses an inner strength to deal with situations that many adults would shrink and hide from.  When he is made fun of at school for being different he perseveres; when one of his friend’s goes missing he insists on putting himself in danger to find him; and when his friend Angela is bedridden in a hospital because of a fatal lung disease he visits and comforts her.

Will’s best friend is an Indian boy named Jonah and Jonah introduces him to skateboarding.  I found this aspect of the book an apt metaphor for the struggles that Will faces and in turn teaches his mother to face.  Even though he is not good at skateboarding and he falls down often, he understands that the only way to conquer his board is to fall down.  His bruises will heal and he can get right back on his board and try again.

IF I FALL, IF I DIE is heart-warming, thought-provoking, cleverly-written and funny story. Michael Christie has written a fabulous first novel and I am eager to see what else he has in store for his readers.

About The Author:
Michael ChristieMichael Christie’s debut book of fiction, The Beggar’s Garden, was long listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Prize for Fiction, and won the Vancouver Book Award. Prior to earning an MFA from the University of British Columbia, he was a sponsored skateboarder and travelled throughout the world skateboarding and writing for skateboard magazines. Born in Thunder Bay, he now lives on Galiano Island with his wife and two sons. If I Fall, If I Die is his first novel.

Michael has just written a fantastic article for the “New York Times Opinionator” in which he discusses skateboarding, living with an agoraphobe mother, and becoming a parent for the first time himself.  Click here to read the full article.

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February 17, 2015 · 11:32 am

Review: The Room by Jonas Karlsson

I received an advanced review copy of tis book from the publisher through NetGalley.

My Review:
The RoomBjorn works in a non-descript, government office in Sweden simply known as “The Authority.”  He is a self-important, regimented, quiet man who one day discovers a room in his office.  He likes to visit “the room” during his breaks and it seems to give him a sense of peace and calm and it heightens his sense of self-importance.

Due to his lack of social skills, Bjorn makes his co-workers very uncomfortable.  But when he insists that there is “the room” that no one else can see, they become even more agitated with him.  THE ROOM is a comic illustration of the hierarchies, petty differences and bizarre social interactions that exist in the microcosm of an office.

The book is very short, it is really more of a novella at 125 pages.  I do not want to say too much for fear of giving the plot away.  But in the end, the symbolism of “The Room” and Bjorn’s occupation of its space turns melancholy; when Bjorn sees things that others cannot, names like “freak” and “daft” and “crazy” are thrown at him.

THE ROOM is a great choice for a book club to discuss because there are many layers of symbolism to unpack and dissect.  If you read THE ROOM, please come back and share your thoughts in the comments.  I am especially interested to see what other readers have to say about the ending of this thought-provoking novella.

About The Author:
Sven Bert Jonas Karlsson is a Swedish actor and author. He won a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in 2004 for the movie Details. He published his first book, a collection of short stories, in 2007.

 

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