Howards End, by E.M. Forster

        Howards End has a beautiful and simple premise that spans the whole of first-world society, from the poorest to the richest, illustrating a wide variety of the sentiments that travel between these groups, the pity, ignorance, desire for culture, glorification, degradation, and everybody's own ideas of what is most important in life. This is a universal book, at least I felt it to be so, but the story is told within a microcosm of it all, in England during the turn of the century, and our main characters are the Schelgel sisters, Margaret, practical and lively, and Helen, youthful and dramatic, a pair safely nestled in the upper-middle class due to a sizable inheritance. They encounter the Wilcox family, the stone cold mastermind Henry, his wife the gentle old Ruth who lives small and feels her entire existence is encompassed within her old family home, Howards End. Lastly, there is Leonard Bast, a starving young man locked into poverty but looking to become cultured.Throughout the book, their lives become entwined and certain facets of these personalities come to the forefront. We see how each character admires one, despises another, all on the basis of their philosophies for what life is about. They discuss this all openly and plainly, especially between Margarget and Helen, who have extremely open conversations. Politics come up often, for example women's suffrage, a hot topic at the time, and social welfare. The story of the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes is a story of rocks smashing together in unexpected ways, and always creating sparks, bringing to mind conflicts we all have within ourselves. Arts and culture against practical living, the sanctity of property ownership, money vs. life and death, and of course it can't give us any answers but it makes clear there are some people who are at complete equilibrium with these things, and others who think they know what is best. All the while, there's some great drama (unexpected pregnancy, old love affairs revealed, and DEATH) and some good fun. Not a dull moment.

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

We listened to this on a road trip to LA a few weeks ago. 3 1/2 hours (which is short for an audiobook), gripping wilderness survival story. Like many books in this category it made me want to up my wilderness survival game, and keep matches and water purification tablets in my purse at all times. Read by Peter Coyote. Great for 9 year old boys and 50 year old women alike. Recommend!

Mister Miracle, by Tom King

A great comic book miniseries about a lesser-known hero, Scott Free, AKA Mister Miracle, legendary escape artist. He was born son of the benevolent god Highfather on the planet New Genesis, but raised in the fiery slave pits of the planet Apokolips, ruled by the tyrant Darkseid. He comes from a group of characters called the New Gods. Knowing the mythology of these characters helps with the enjoyment of Mister Miracle, but the book works on many levels so it's not necessary. The best superhero stories use the otherworldly aspects of the characters, their powers and cosmic origins, in tandem with their very human vulnerabilities and problems. This book begins with Scott, now living on Earth, attempting suicide. He states it was an attempt to escape death, but we see that he's depressed and disassociated. He wasn't trying to escape death, he was trying to escape life. The art of the book is presented like an old television set, often being interrupted by static. The narration is that of an old mystery serial or golden age comic book. This all feels like a representation of Scott's disassociation with reality. Everything feels off, he keeps showing signs of some inexplicable unrest, not knowing what's wrong with his mind, something like what motivated his suicide. He says he can escape anything, as he proves in many cases, but he can't escape this disconnect. Until one day he realizes he can. And for reasons I can't spoil for you, he decides not to. Check it out.

The Ghosts of Belfast

I recently finished The Ghosts of Belfast, a first novel by Stuart Neville.  The story is set in Northern Ireland after the truce that brought relative peace following "the troubles."  The protagonist is Gerry Fegan, a former paramilitary hitman, recently released from 12 years in prison.  He is a broken man, a drunk who talks to himself and is generally considered to be insane.  In fact, he is tortured by guilt and is haunted by the ghosts of 12 of his victims who follow him, demanding that he atone by taking revenge on the men responsible for the orders that resulted in their deaths. And so he goes about more killing until the ghosts are finally satisfied.  The book is well written and gripping.  Bad as Fegan is, he emerges as a sympathetic figure here. The treatment of the ghosts is very effective:  they don't speak, but appeal to Fegan with gestures and expressions to identify the men they want killed. They have the moral force to make him act, and as each is avenged he drops out of the picture and no longer haunts Fegan.  This actually works, and it is very powerful.   

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House was a pioneer of the haunted house genre. It mainly follows Elanor Vance, a young woman looking for a new purpose in life after her mother's death, and her descent into madness. A paranormal researcher, Dr. John Montague,  invites Elanor and two others, Luke and Theodora, to come observe supernatural occurrences in Hill House. The book moves back and forth between the very methodical explanations by Montague, and Elanor's increasingly unsettled inner monologue. There are very few interactions between the house guests and any spirits. Instead, the house itself seems to do most of the work, whispering to Elanor, seducing her into fantasies of that new purpose she needs. These fantasies lead her into extending herself in unusual ways, trying to fulfill these fantasies. But after overstepping all of her personally held social boundaries (asking to move in with Theodora, and flirting with Luke) she ends feeling alienated by her comrades, as they become annoyed by her. What's so effective about this book's description Elanor's story is the way it carries us along her path to complete disillusionment. Somehow we are aware that she is crazy, yet we're fooled as well. Almost every mistake she makes feels honest, and every time she does something shocking, the other characters don't seem justified in being shocked. We see how unhappy she is before coming to the house, and so every hope the house feeds her is a false hope for us as well. We want her to be happy. Very good, easy, short read. Would benefit from a floor plan printed on a page, so the complex descriptions of the layout of the house could be a little more clear.

American Pastoral, by Phillip Roth

A book I have been working on for about 3 years. I finally got down to business and started over, finishing it via audio. The long history I've had with this book made me like it more than I would have if I had finished it on my first try instead of my third. Anyway, I thought it was great. The Swede is such an incredible character because he can be three totally different people depending on who's talking about him. In the beginning he's described as the hero of Weequahic, Newark, the shining symbol of American culture in a community made mostly of Jewish immigrants. Shortly after his death, his younger brother reveals him to be a weak, innocent man-child who never grew out of the American dream. Over the rest of the book, we see from his perspective that he's as strong as his town believed him to be, but completely unaware of what it's like to have life deny his dreams. Until his daughter, Merry, bombs a post office.

In a House of Lies, by Ian Rankin

I read Ian Rankin's latest, "In A House of Lies." The story is very complicated and sometimes hard to follow.  But I don't read Rankin for the story.  I read him for the characters, and the regulars are all here: Rebus, Siobhan, Malcom and Cafferty.  They have come to be like good friends.  I did notice a tic in the writing that grated.  Over and over again, one character "watched [another character] nod."  Once I start noticing it I seem to see it everywhere.   

The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez

I loved this book. It was ponderous, restrained and delicate, but I entered its world fully for the few days it took to read it and will never look at dogs, especially huge ones, quite the same way again.