Wildest Political Moments of 2018

Lucia Berlin

So Long: Stories, 1987-1992 by Lucia Berlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cannot say enough about how good these stories are. This collection starts with a contemplative little tale about an old woman Luna Nueva, moves into Sombra, which will probably bring tears to your eyes, then it's on to Friends, which may have you thinking it's moving in a familiar direction until it takes a sudden turn. The stories that fill the rest of the collection go up and down from greatness to merely good, but I found none that I would complain about. Lucia Berlin is a hidden treasure these days, having sadly passed away, on her birthday no less, several years ago, but whose work is recently making a comeback. Therefore, some of it may seem dated, but no less brilliant than when first written. Do whatever you can to find her books and indulge in some of the finest short-story telling available.

Where I Live Now: Stories 1993-1998 by Lucia Berlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you've read So Long, you'll find more of the same kind of stories in this collection. An equally excellent group of tales that seem so real and authentic you will have to believe they are based closely on events in the author's life. The saddest thing for me is to realize we cannot have a novel or two from Lucia Berlin, although her collections with repeated use of characters, especially sister Sally, read almost like novels told in stories. Her style and tone (and characterizations of people from varied strata) are probing and addictive. Her books are something I'd want with me on a desert isle if I was limited in what I could wash ashore with in my survival chest.

NaNoWriMo 2018

Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine

Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine by Diane Williams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A bunch of stories(?) thrown together, 40, and you choose if they make sense to you individually or in juxtaposition. These are as brief as a short paragraph or as long as 2 1/2 to 3 pages. In each one, you're walking in in the middle, so you listen closely to see if you understand 'the bigger picture'. In any case, Williams' prose is exactingly written to evoke some sentiment and whether the reader sees a whole painting or 'just enough' detail is entirely up to her. I enjoyed many of the pieces, but never felt grounded in the work.
Maybe, in the editing, she cut away too much, but the author strikes me as the type who would never admit to such. She stated somewhere that some critic complained, "These are not stories," and sounded offended that there are readers out there who might not get her intentions. To each, his own.
Fine, fine, fine, maybe not so fine...

Fear

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book came with so much PR, I felt like it was going to blow the lid off Trump's presidency. In the end, he doesn't come off much different than others who've come before him. Maybe a little slower on the uptake than the President of the U.S. should be or should at least appear to be. If you've watched a few episodes of Veep on cable, you know the drill. Everyone swears a lot. Everyone is stepping on the toes of others. People drop out when they feel they've taken enough guff, while others remain faithful (though unsure). All in all, it doesn't feel as though this one will bring down a presidency in the way All the President's Men is claimed to have done.
I won't say it's a storm in a teacup. Some of the "revelations" are shocking, but I think it's being made more of, even by the Tweeter himself, than the content deserves.
It reads like a novel, and that's what makes it worthwhile. Woodward is a good writer and knows how to hold a reader's interest.

The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book took me forever to read.
In the middle of working backwards through the the most recent winners of the Pulitzer for Fiction, I had read various reviews of The Goldfinch, some saying it was amazing and several putting it down as being writing for young adults not deserving of its prestigious win.
It starts off with a bang (no pun intended) but then it slogs through for many long chapters describing in the minutest detail the most unsavory actions of young people, whom I came to think I did not like as protagonists. It is only in the last 150 pages or so that one comes to understand how a book like this could win the Pulitzer. Don't get me wrong. There are many interesting scenes interspersed throughout, but it's so-o-o long.
Near the end, Tartt asks, "Who said, 'Coincidence is God remaining anonymous.'?" A quote often attributed (erroneously, I think) to Albert Einstein, but in its way descriptive of much of what takes place in the story. There is another passage that describes the zone where art and love exist, and this is award-winning writing.
If you start on this don't give up too easily, realize you're in for the long haul, and that you're also in for a memorable experience. I look forward to the movie to see how they cram all of this into two hours.

Loreto

Monterrey

Pareidolia 02

Goodbye and Good Luck

Less

Less by Andrew Sean Greer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

2018's Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction. It is well-written and absorbing but lacks something I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's that it seems much like other books I've read, or that some of the situations are prompted by circumstances that appear highly unlikely given the protagonists level of recognition in the literary world, but the writing is so engaging one tends to put these quibbles aside to get into the flow of the story.

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hard to read without grimacing at some points, but nevertheless enlightening. It assumes the Underground Railroad was a literal railroad (some reviewers call it an alternate history, even listing it as science fiction), but it is told in a very matter-of-fact way, and it is believable. Cora's run for freedom is thwarted and minimally rewarded by turns, and hopeful, too. But man oh man, some scenes are so realistic and depressing.
Highly recommended for a one-time read as it was a Pulitzer Prize winner, but I doubt you would want to read it again for enjoyment.

Paradisis, Cancun

Books Books

Bad Debts by Peter Temple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A friend lent me a copy of the fourth book in this series, and not having finished it in the time we were together, I decided to go back and read the last third. It was then, early 2018, I discovered there were four in the set, so went to the first to catch up on the story.
Well-written and enjoyable, I zipped through the first three and have yet to finish the one that brought me to Peter Temple.
Lots of side details, horse racing, cabinet making, the different lady friends, keep the interest. Knowing very little about the actualities of life in Australia, I found the resolution to be somehow pertinent to my education of same.
UPDATE: Was sad to learn of Temple's passing after finishing book three (actually March 2018), and think that may be why I'm holding off on the last, maybe to savor the flavor.

Black Tide by Peter Temple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars




Dead Point by Peter Temple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars