Travels with Charlie in Search of America, John Steinbeck

If you have ever dreamed of having an open ended road trip, then this is the book for you.  I have also read another Steinbeck novel, namely The Winter of Our Discontent, and that would certainly be a separate and worthy blog entry.   This novel was also a literary masterpiece (well, it is Steinbeck!) but lighter and a lot more fun to read than the former.

Written as true memoir of Steinbeck's open ended road trip across the United States with his full size poodle Charlie and his camper, Rocinante, Steinbeck's goal was of a lofty sort.   He wanted to understand what America was all about.   His focus was on meeting people and experiencing the varied experience of America the Beautiful.  His misadventures with Charlie were very entertaining (I just love dog stories). 

I choose this book to blog about because I was reminded how great a book it was when I saw it on a local Reading Club list this last week.  The year that I read it, I bought some copies for friends, though neglected to procure a copy for myself.  I believe I will correct that error this week.

A few years back, I was traveling through Salinas California (Steinbeck's home town) and stopped at the National Steinbeck Center.  Much to my delight, they had exhibits dedicated to his books, and there, in the museum, was Rocinante (or perhaps a Rocinante impostor) with a big fake curly white haired poodle in the front seat.  This is embracing life!

For an interesting historical review check out this excellent review (Atlantic Monthly) written in 1962, when this book was new.

I found this book inspirational in its goals, but at some point Steinbeck had enough of the experience, and just headed back home. I felt that the book left me wanting more.  Why did he have to go home already?  But you know, if Steinbeck is finished, than that is the end.  It is not to me, a poor hapless reader, to ask for dessert.  I've already had a feast.

Our next book, The Lunatic Express by Carl Hoffman

We all voted by email, and decided that our next book adventure would be this rouge travel memoir.  We will be visiting many third world countries, and traveling with Carl on the riskiest modes of transportation, as the title of the book states "The Lunatic Express:  Discovering the World ... via its Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains and Planes". 

Carl's saga continues.  He has been writing about his current travels to Egypt at his blog site http://thelunaticexpress.com/blog/.  It is very interesting to read.

However, if you are going to buy the book, you can show your appreciation for my blogging by clicking on the Amazon link to the left!

Good Faith by Jane Smiley

I was attracted to this book because one of my favorite all time books is by Jane Smiley,  A Thousand Acres: A Novel. I was sure this also would be a great pick.  The way Jane brings you into her character's hidden traits and dirty lives is a reflection of her mastery as an author. She can shock you as her story turns.

I didn't find this story was as compelling as A Thousand Acres, after all this is a story about Joe the conservative realtor who wouldn't mind becoming a billionaire, unlike the characters of A Thousand Acres who are busy trying to murder each other.  The story is richly woven with a multitude of other characters and delightful sub plots.  This is a story about Joe, Joe's close friends, Betty and Gordon, Felicity (Betty and Gordon's daughter), and so many characters I can't list them and begin to make this a sensible review!  The outsider sharks, Marcus and Jane (Marcus' sister, or so they say), bring a new kind of BIG thinking into the little town.

I found the beginning of the book a sleeper, as I'm not interested in real estate deals.  This was followed by a sense of embarrassment over the shocking affair between John and Felicity (that was just wrong).  I then went into the stage of seeing through the self serving, guiltless, sociopathic, shady Bernie Madolf type behavior displayed by Marcus and Jane.  This was so close to my own father's business deals, I found this uncomfortable and wanted to throw the book away.  I found Marcus rotten to the core, though Jane Smiley never convicted him, and left it up to the reader to judge Marcus.  Perhaps by judging Marcus all of us would be judged, as greed is only a matter of degree.

All in all, this was well written, though to me it read more like a soap opera than a novel. There are many satisfied Amazon readers, but this wasn't a book for me.  However, it was compelling enough that I finished it and still wanted more.  Go figure....

The Witches of Eastwick, John Updike

This was an amazingly compelling, well written novel.  It is shocking, unpredictable, exciting and hence delightful at the same time.  The story and the mood of the story is very different than the movie.  You won't find a chapter with a description of Darryl Van Horne (played by Jack Nickolson) murderously storming down the street, spitting out chicken feathers, returning to home to take care of his naughty coven.  Instead, you will find that the witches, namely Jane, Sukie and Alexa, are a bit more wicked than portrayed in the movie.  Darryl is a less devious and magical, and the story less fantastic. There is an additional major character, Jenny, in love with Darryl adding a whole new subplot to the story.

This would be a great adult book club book, not only for the discussion of the story, but to discuss Updike's mastery of description and insight into human behavior.  I would follow the discussion with a movie night viewing of The Witches of Eastwick with flowing adult beverages. 

This would not be a good book for high school discussions, and would likely insult the heck out of anyone who isn't open to discuss the self centered wicked lives of the coven.  Morals are not held up in any high standards, though there is a fair amount of regret tied to bad witchie choices.

Lastly, Mr. Updike has a sequel published in 2008, The Widows of Eastwick.  I have not read this yet, but wonder why he waited so long to write part two!  The Amazon reviews are not as high as they are for the The Witches of Eastwick, so perhaps it isn't as good.

Updike has many other great novels under his belt, so if this selection doesn't appeal to your sensibilities, there are many other great novels such as his famous Rabbit series. I found a complete list on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Novels_by_John_Updike.



Happy Bookclub Reading!  Katherine.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

This was a thoughtful well written philosophical book set in Seattle.  On the surface, it is a story about Enzo the dog and Enzo's family, Denny the race car driver, his wive Eve and their daughter Zoe.  The interesting part is that Enzo was born with human intelligence.  This makes the story incredibly amusing, but also a fantasy.

What makes this book so special is the insight into the seemingly impossible situations that make up each of our lives.  Enzo's family experiences extreme challenges that I hope not a single reader will ever have to cope with, but the application of professional car racing skills to life is absolutely delightful, entertaining and profound.  Just the idea that we are all zooming at incredible speeds on a race car track, trying not only to win, but to survive life is an exhilarating metaphor.

In the following paragraph, Enzo is considering how he will live his next life when, as he believes, he will be reincarnated as a person.

"To live every day as if it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live.  ...  To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter every day.  To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am.  I am.  This is something to aspire to.  When I am a person, that is how I will live my life."

This is a good book club choice.  It is a short, easy read, and is fun to discuss.  As for the book club party, I would recommend a trip to the races, lunch at a sports bar, or a trip to the doggie park for a picnic!

Please, post and tell me what you thought of this book!  I give it two paws up!

Voyarism into two other book clubs

I'm currently reading Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.  It is delightful, but I'm not quite ready to write about it as I've only just begun.  However, I would like to share with you a few other books that some other book clubs are reading and discussing.  It seems that everyone who reads is a member of a book club, at least within my circle of friends and aquantainces.  I spoke to two people yesterday (my friend B. and a female aquantaince at the pool), and this is what they are reading in their book clubs:

The Apothecary's Daughter would be a good choice for a feel good read, and would be my choice of these four books if I was to pick one of the four for a pleasent afternoon.

"Klassen blends her tale well; each ingredient—romance, friendship, healing arts, mystery" Publishers weekly.

My friend, B., really loved this book, so maybe you will also.

 Her group is also getting ready to discuss The Help.
Our group read this, and I consider this book to be one of the best discussion books we had last year.  The story, the setting and the topic of the ratial inequality in the south during the civil rights movement made for excellent discussion material.







 

My new friend at the pool is also a member of a group that is discussing
Skinhead Confessions: From Hate to Hope.  It has good Amazon reviews, and though the material is relevant to today's society, I find it so sad that people can be entrenched in a culture of hate.  On the other hand, this particular book club is also reading Bonk, so they are a group of people who really want to get into some serious topics.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

This is one of those books you just can't put down!  I finished this at 2 AM Friday night, even though I needed to get up early the next day (quite reminiscent of the Nancy Drew 3 AM middle school readathons).  This is not common for me.

This book would make an excellent gift.  The reading is light and the story compelling.  The characters and setting in a Hunan county in China during the 1800's is very interesting.  It would be a great book for any female reader, including a middle school or high school reader (reading at their grade level, which is not common at all where I live).  It would also be a book that I would highly recommend for a reading group discussion.  There are discussion questions at the end, but I would not find any of these necessary in a meeting.  This book needs no guidance into discussion!

There are many striking topics covered in addition to the rich social issues of Chinese culture.  One topic that stood out distinctly for discussion is the life long relationship between female friends.  The relationships, even in American culture, can be so strong that we also refer to each other as sisters or as Aunts (in the case of a strong bond between women of two different generations).  However, in Chinese culture this was formalized in written contracts.  Another topic I find interesting for discussion are the social ordering of people in Chinese culture compared to our own American culture.  The Chinese culture is extreme in this era, as evident in the foot binding (another amazing topic for discussion),  the education of the males vs females of this culture, the living arrangements of married women (ruled by their mother-in-laws outside of their natal home) and the strict requirements for respect and obedience.

I hope someone will tell me what they think of this book.   What did you think?