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fantasyland: a sportswriter's obsessive bid to win the world's most ruthless fantasy baseball
sam walker
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in 2004, wall street journal sports columnist sam walker begged his way into the country's most elite rotisserie baseball league, made up of some of baseball's oddest, freakiest, and most well-respected stat-nuts. he proceeded to take a year off from his job, and spend over $50,000 by visiting spring training facilities, attending baseball's winter meetings, and hiring a small staff (one of which came from NASA).
sam walker wanted to prove that one cannot win the major league world series of rotisserie baseball on stats alone. his theory was that, as effective as number-crunching can be in predicting a player's upcoming season performance, there are factors that cannot be gleaned from a database alone. he spoke with potential players in the clubhouse, annoying many in the process. he consulted scouts, general managers, family members, and even a 'baseball astrologist'. using his team of experts, he entered values into his advanced number-crunching algorhythms that represented life events in a player's life (marriage, religious conversion, birth of a child, divorce, arrest, etc.). and sometimes, in defiance of the laws of fantasy baseball, he went with his gut, or with how much he liked a guy on a personal level.
it's thrilling to watch sam walker spiral out of control. his family life suffers. he misses major life events. he loses sleep. he travels across the country in a rental car filled with bound books of statistics and notes. his equally obsessed "staff" fall asleep in the office. all of this to win a game which offers no prize, no trophy, nothing.
a story such as this could very easily come off as a narrative that only a statistics geek could enjoy. but walker, being an outsider himself (he had never played one game of fantasy baseball and somewhat despised the seamhead types), injects the narrative with gracious amounts of humor, objectivity, humanity, wonderful character explorations, and suspense, that it will appeal to a much larger audience than the last great baseball bestseller, moneyball. i loved moneyball. but i couldn't put fantasyland down. it's really that good. |
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reviewed by: ericS |
March 2006 [link] |
recommend
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the billionaire's vinegar: the mystery of the world's most expensive bottle of wine
benjamin wallace
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At times, this book is less about the controversial Jefferson wine bottles and more about the unique and kooky world of wine collecting, which keeps the story interesting and alive. In 1985, a bottle of 1781 Lafite etched with the initials "Th.J" (thought to be the initials of Thomas Jefferson) sold at auction for $157,000 to Kip Forbes, son of Malcolm Forbes. The bottle was supposedly one of a cache found in a bricked-up cellar in Paris and bought by wine enthusiast Hardy Rodenstock. Rodenstock ends up selling many of the wines and making a lot of money from them but there are many doubts surrounding the bottles. Ones that are opened and tasted are often deemed too "young" to be so old. The historians at Monticello claim that there is no record of Jefferson purchasing the wine and he was scrupulous about record-keeping (in fact, he kept multiple ledgers of his expenditures containing all the same info). Even more fascinating than the Jefferson bottles, are the wine collectors of the world - eccentric and rich with wine cellars containing thousands and thousands of bottles. The book expounds upon a New Yorker article from 2007 about the Jefferson bottles and oenophiles in general. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/03/070903fa_fact_keefe
It appears that this book will be made into a movie. I wonder what wunderkind will play the 1781 Lafite? |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
November 2009 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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ray in reverse
daniel wallace
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So, there is this guy, Ray. And he dies and stuff. And this book is about him in heaven, and then in the next chapter - get this - he's alive again.
This is a nice read. The life story of Ray is told in reverse order - we meet him in heaven and the book ends when he is a child. Each chapter is an emotionally pivotal moment in his life, and it allows you to watch (in reverse) as Ray goes from child to adult and from innocent to jaded and cranky. Very entertaining and often very funny.
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reviewed by: rich |
May 2002 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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bridges of madison county
robert james waller
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| (Bridges of Madison County and The Letter) Yeah I read them. People told me that I would love love love the Letter so much more than Bridges of Madison County. It may have something to do with the fact that my life was unraveling after college and I had just been rejected by a great man and adored by a mediocre one, but I bawled at Bridges of Madison County and constantly rolled my eyes at The Letter. I could see the maudlin quality in Bridges of Madison County, but something about the bitter, aching want of something so unattainable struck a chord with me. I don't think I'd recommend either of these unless you were feeling rejected. They are quick reads. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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the glass castle
jeannette walls
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| This book was featured on all the morning shows when it came out in March because the author is a msnbc.com contributor and also because, currently, her mother is a squatter in a building on the lower East Side (her father died a few years ago be he, too, was a squatter). In this sad memoir, Walls tells of growing up poor, being on the run from debtors and "the Mob" (according to her father) and what it was like to be raised by two creative yet completely incompetent people. At times moving, but mostly infuriating, the story culminated with her family living in WV with no indoor plumbing and her alcoholic father stealing money from his own children. The kids eventually escape to NYC where the parents soon follow and end up squatting in buildings for the rest of their lives (the kids go on to prominant jobs and live in real houses with real food - in essence, they live in reality). Walls grew up eating cat food, maggoty meat and pinto beans for weeks on end. Parental tales like this make me wish people needed a license to have children. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2005 [link] |
recommend
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the glass castle
jeannette walls
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There has been a slew of memoirs recently by people who survived bizarre childhoods. Memoirs about people who are plopped down on this earth into circumstances that we cannot imagine, and coming out relatively unscathed (or at least functional enough to write intelligently about it and make a living). Running With Scissors, Chicken, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius are a few that come to mind.
The Glass Castle will certainly appeal to anyone who appreciated any or all of the above, although it lacks the stylized narratives, ironic detachment, and wit of those. I mean that in a good way. Jeannette Walls' writing is more akin to Mary Karr, or Sylvia Plath for that matter. She tells her story the way she remembers it, full of the vivid details of her strange, nomadic upbringing, without judgment or self-pity. Her parents, who were alternately self-absorbed, vacant, delusional, wonderfully insightful, loving, destructive, and eccentric, are perfect examples of the grey area that is missing from so many book characters, fiction or non.
Walls writes about her and her siblings challenges of practically parenting their own parents and each other as if it was simply part of their life. Not to be pitied, but simply the way it was, and the way that they needed to act in order to not be torn apart as a family. The amount of detail in Walls' narrative and remembered dialogue is astounding (and so effective that you forgive her if she is embellishing). Each chapter is laid out as a remembered anecdote which, through her ability to underscore universal human truths, result in effective stand-alone short stories.
But taken as a whole, The Glass Castle is a wonderful work. I bought this book for my mother on Mother's Day. It certainly isn't your typical soft and fuzzy hallmark moment, but it illustrates perfectly the importance of family, of overcoming adversity, and of the great lengths we will go to in the name of family. It also reminds us how lucky we are for having a family that is not as troubled as Walls'. |
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reviewed by: ericS |
May 2005 [link] |
recommend
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elements of style
wendy wasserstein
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| In addition to being a very pretty book, Wasserstein's "Elements of Style" (a nod to the Strunk & White writing guide) is also full of Wasserstein's wit and sarcasm and opinions of New York society. It follows a crowd of well-to-do socialites and their families with each chapter being devoted to an individual character. These are the Prada wearing moms who snack on four soybeans and one chocolate chip ("for fun") and who give each other luncheons to celebrate their haughtiness and their luck at marrying into money or being born into it (or both). In the end, we learn the classic adage of money not meaning everything as each person's happiness in life and love is called into question. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
October 2006 [link] |
recommend
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the little stranger
sarah waters
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| You delve into "The Little Stranger" knowing it's a ghost story and for me that meant I spent the entire time quaking in my boots wondering what was going to pop out of the shadows of the decrepit and run down Hundreds Hall mansion. Hundreds Hall is where the Ayres live – Mrs. Ayres, son Rod and daughter Caroline (both in their 20s). The brother suffered some injuries in the war as well as a nervous breakdown of sorts. With very little money, they're trying to maintain the old house as well as keep two servants so that they still feel like a distinguished family. The narrator, Dr. Faraday, is called out to the house late one night as their young servant Betty has falling ill. It turns out to be a little homesickness but Betty declares something isn't right in the house. Is it the spirit of Mrs. Ayres first daughter who died at age six of diphtheria? Is it the old house itself? Neither the reader nor the characters are sure but strange happenings occur at an alarming rate. One thing is for sure - Waters' writing is thrillingly spooky, even right up to the very last sentence. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2009 [link] |
recommend
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laura
larry watson
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I've never done this before. I'm so lazy that I'm going to review a book
before I've read the whole thing. The first guy who slaughtered my heart
left me to go back to HIS Laura. I'm listening to American Music Club's
"Mercury" and reminiscing. I've just read something that reminded me of
how angsty I was AND I'm PMS-y. This book is perfect for my state of
mind. Just for the beginning chapters, it's worth it to pick up."Slap his face
if he should laugh. Push him down if he should want to run" ( a line from
the song I'm listening tooo) Turn it down (the music).... anyhooooooo, the
book is wunderbar. It has an excellent description of childhood summers.
It is surprising that I'm recommending this because usually I"m sooooo
particular on my SOUTHERN kitchy novels. Anyhoo, it's about a boy who
falls in love with his father's amazing mistress. She reminds me a lot of the
main character in the Bell Jar. TONS OF TIME LATER..... OK I've read 'til the
end. It was a really good book, but toooooo much of the whining coward
southern man in it. a la "Prince of Tides". |
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reviewed by: kristen |
January 2001 [link] |
recommend
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queen of fashion: what marie antoinette wore to the revolution
caroline weber
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| In "The Queen of Fashion", we get a gorgeous inside look at how fashion shaped Marie Antoinette's political and personal life from her very first days as a dauphine, right up to her demise. Since she, along with her body, were considered to belong to France, fashion was one way she could express herself, and express she did. In today's money, she would've spent millions on dresses and adornments; most of this frivolity made her unpopular with the masses, but it didn't stop people from knocking themselves out to get a close look at her when she was out in public. There's lots of juicy history gossip and lots of footnotes (it's easy to read but takes a while to get through); I wish I had read this before seeing Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" since it clarified a lot of details and I would've paid more attention to the lovely costumes. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2007 [link] |
recommend
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apprentice to the flower poet z.
debra weinstein
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| A truly wacky and original novel, Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z., follows Annabelle, a NYC college student as she works as an assistant (she prefers "apprentice") to a famous and published poet who writes about flowers. Annabelle quickly becomes Z.'s personal assistant doing everything from buying handtowels and groceries to researching, sketching and describing flowers at the botanical gardens for Z.'s new book. Annabelle is a talented writer - can she escape the pull of the crazy, egomaniac Z. and her family? |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2004 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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the devil wears prada
lauren weisberger
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| Although this book hasn't been released yet, Weisberger has nailed a 7 figure hollywood deal. Reading the book, it's not a big surprise, this is a perfect story for a blockbuster - a Working Girl for the 00's. A sure fire launch for the next Reese Witherspoon. Supposedly based on her experiences working for Anna Wintour (Vogue, baby), "The Devil Wears" chronicles the life of a haried small town college grad enslaved to the sadistic editor of the ficticious and thinly veiled "Runway" magazine. This book is a fun, quick read, but predictable in a Bridget Jonesie kind of way. Don't expect too much from it - best enjoyed on a beach or a subway. |
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reviewed by: raquel |
March 2003 [link] |
recommend 5 thumbs up
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food lover's guide to paris
patricia wells
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| even if you're not going to paris, this book is a wonderful read. divided into sections of restaurants, cafes, pastry shops and more, patricia wells does what she does best: writes about mouth-watering food. she can even make pig's knuckles and boiled cow's head sound delightful. also included are recipes from her favorite paris eateries. bon appetit! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
January 2004 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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little alters everywhere
rebecca wells
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| This book was the book that was written before the magnificent Ya Ya book. It sort of sets up everything inadvertently (as I’m sure the writer didn’t know what Ya Ya would be). This book is one I recommend you don’t read. It was all ugly for ugly sakes. Granted there were some great Magnolia feelings and sweet molasses phrasings, but all in all it was another abused smart southern kid who embraces and is repelled by the South and moves to New York and gets drawn back by another sibling’s plight. It was a regurgitated "Prince of Tides". Hey, but if you want to read it, don’t let me stop you. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
December 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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if looks could kill and a body to die for
kate white
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| Continuing my super summer fluff reading extravaganzaI present the best of the beach/porch/backyard/park reading. Both these books are by Cosmopolitan's editor-in-chief and are book one and book two of what I imagine to be a long running series of Bailey Weggins mysteries. (On a side note: What's up with the name "Bailey"? Is it a boy's name? Is it a girl's name? Is it all because of "Party of Five"?) Bailey is a twirty-something true-crime writer for Gloss magazine - and in the spirit of Jessica Fletcher and Murder, She Wrote, Bailey stumbles into dead bodies where ever she goes resulting in her snooping around to solve the case. I liked the books because I didn't figure out the ending right away and Bailey's exploits with the male species are funny and familiar. Viva Cosmo! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2003 [link] |
recommend
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knuffle bunny
mo willems
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This totally adorable, over-sized children's book is made up of black and white photos of Brooklyn with drawings on top of them. The story is about little Trixie who accompanies her Dad on an outing only to lose a very important stuffed animal - Knuffle Bunny! The drawings are funny and cute, the text is short and sweet. A very fine book for your child's bookshelf (or yours!).
Check out Mo Willems "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" - you'll pee your pants! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2005 [link] |
recommend
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the true and authentic history of jenny dorset: a novel
phillip lee williams
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How could you resists a title like THAT?! This lovely book is funny funny funny. The narrator is a servant in the house of Dorset in South Carolina during the late 18th Century. He recounts the history of the madcap Dorset family and their nutty neighbors, the Smythes. The chapter titles are very McSweeneys -ish. For example, one of the chapters was about a servant that had gone missing and was titled "MR. DORSET ORANIZES A HUNT WITH THE FAMILY SMYTHE IN ORDER TO HUNT FOR DEER AND OLD BOB, HOPING TO BAG BOTH" (not the exact title, but you get my drift). Adventures include an ocean voyage to rescue Jenny from pirates that have supposedly kidnapped her and the British war on Charles Town (now Charleston). Altogether a beautiful book about family and friends and life.
The hardcover edition is out of print but the paperback is available for your reading pleasure. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2003 [link] |
recommend
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the best american travel writing 2004
jason wilson
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| A collection of - duh - the "best" American travel writing from 2004 from periodicals like The New Yorker, Travel and Leisure and National Geographic Adventure. While it contains a great piece by the New Yorker's Tad Friend about tour Paris on a Segway, most of the pieces you may have seen before but each essay is a quick read that you can revisit over and over. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2005 [link] |
recommend
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written on the body
jeanette winterson
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I LOVE THIS BOOK's OPENING.
I'll re-review this one. I was standing in the bookstore just perusing titles. I was in Bristol Books downtown and it had employee pick tags under books. Nikki seemed to have good taste, so I was reading her picks. One of them was this book (did you already guess?). I picked it up and read the first sentence. I got chills and looked around. UNDER NO INFLUENCE OF DRUGS, I thought someone was talking to me within my mind. I looked around the bookstore expecting a light to flash or something, but no, the world resumed to normal. I was very poor at the time, so I kept returning to the bookstore to read this passage until I could afford the book (not in library). I often recommend this book to heartsick friends as well. This one had a powerful start with a whimper end, unlike The Passion which had a slow slow start and very full, rich body. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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powerbook
jeanette winterson
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You’ve guessed it. I haven’t been reading very much lately.
Dammit, I’ve been addicted to cable and computer solitaire. If I
don’t fight these addictions, I’ll die (metaphorically).
Anyhoooo, I finished the Powerbook last night. I think
EVERYTHING deserves context. So here ‘tis: I LOVE
Jeanette Winterson. This is the most amazing writer I’ve ever
read. She has disappointed the shitze out of me for her
previous two books with their complicated meanderings and
referential Tom Robbins-ing, BUT she has also written two of
the best books EVER. I had read that The Powerbook was
more of a return to her earlier writing, so man was I excited
to read this book. I even bought it in HARDCOVER. It took me
two weeks to finish it. I kept not getting into it. This book
seems a third installment (after The Passion and Written on
the Body) of the narrator’s love-of-a-red-haired-woman-who-
is-married series(oh yes, it’s getting old rehashing the same
old stuff). That said, this book was pretty beautifully written.
The most annoying thing to me was that she would start off a
chapter in mid-dialogue, and I would have to read backwards
to figure out who was saying what (although as I’m writing
this perhaps it’s a clever thing that Mme. Winterson does – as
she often refers to the lovers a mirrors). I think this book is
great compared to other books out there. It is definitely hard
to live up to my expectations, and I think this book is well
readable to the first-time Winterson reader. I especially liked
the Red Fox vignette. I’m glad to have J. Winterson back to
writing readable books. Oh how I love her writing on love.
Read this book when you’re in public at a park or a picnic
with your lover, etc. It’s a rich red wine with brie,
pomegranate, chocolate, and love-making. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
February 2001 [link] |
recommend
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passion, the
jeannette winterson
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| Do you like drool on yourself prose? Have you ever wanted to feel some intense emotion such as love or allegiance or passion? This book is for you. It is like a fairy tale, but so much more. I haven't read it in about a year, but it still stands as number one on my top six list. I first read it back when I had just moved to Wilmington,NC and had rekindled a sticky (some say psychotic) relationship with my college passion that eventually turned to an inferno then a pile of ashes. While reading this book (for the first time) I would have to have a pad of paper next to me so that I could blindingly write the thoughts down that Jeanette's prose elicited. She was that inspiring. I often quote from this book although, no one else besides me knows it. "You play-you win, you play-you lose, you play". Although this doesn't do it justice, here is a synopsis: Man works for Napoleon, defects because of a bitter taste in his soul, meets other defectors and travel to Venice where the woman he had fallen in love with resumes her life. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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written on the body
jeannette winterson
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| This is the only other book by Jeannette that I really really like (although I have tried them all). This was my first Jeannette. I was leafing through employee picks at the old downtown Bristol Books (in Wilmington, NC) when I looked through another one of Niki's picks (she had the best taste although I find employee picks often dodgy). It was a hard bound edition. I was just killing time not really in the financial frame to buy, but the first page of Written on the Body made me look around the store - honestly mystified- as if some strange cataclysmic event had happened and some earth opening event was about to befall me. I was at the time living on $160 a week from my salary at Rare Cargo, so I would go into the store periodically (it wasn't in the library) to read more of the book. Finally, I saved enough to purchase it. The rest of the book never quite lived up to the first page, but it was a beautiful story of of red-haired woman (she always uses red heads) being pursued by a lover and what befalls. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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breakfast with tiffany
edwin wintle
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| Wintle, at 40 and gay, decides to take in his sister's troubled 13-year-old daughter and and gets more than he bargained for - hello, she's a teenage girl! EEK! Tiffany arrives in NYC from Connecticut (yeah, it's the first time I ever heard of someone moving FROM Connecticut TO NYC, but there are bad parts of CT, too.) with failing grades, boy trouble and an attitude to rival all teenage girls. Despite some initial school troubles, more failing grades and running with the wrong crowd AGAIN, Tiffany's life improves with Uncle Eddy. Interspersed in the Tiffany saga is Eddy's own reflections on growing up gay, his own teenage years, his OCD issues and, the surprising fact that he's been HIV-positive and healthy for over 15 years. While not the most engaging book, it's endearing and sweet and you'll find yourself finishing the book rooting for Uncle Eddy the Saint. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
October 2005 [link] |
recommend
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honeymoon with my brother : a memoir
franz wisner
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| Wisner gets ditched by his fiancee just a few days before his wedding so he does the cool thing and still has a blow-out party complete with ceremony and great reception afterward. A few weeks later, he gets a demotion at work and really decides to party by taking his brother on honeymoon to Costa Rica. They have such a good time that they decide to chuck it all when they get back and travel the world for a year. Descriptive and entertaining, this is a great travel read. Also, Wisner turned me on to the program offered by Saab Motors where one can order a new Saab, pick it up at their plant in Sweden and Saab will give you travel money, allowing you to drive it around Europe. When you're done, Saab ships the car back to the States for free. (Well, a Saab IS like $30k so it's not really "free".) Cool! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2005 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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don't try this at home
kimberly witherspoon
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Once when I was 12 I baked this amazing, three-layer cake and as I walked it to my family's kitchen table, I tripped and the whole thing landed on the floor. I cried. It was a catastrophe to me but the chefs in this book wouldn't have even flinched - when they write about catastrophe they really mean it. One chef remembers working in Barcelona at age 15 and accidentally tipping an entire tray of cannelloni into a giant fish tank into the middle of the restaurant where the striped bass commenced a feeding frenzy. Crazy-assed Anthony Bourdain regales us with yet another saga of being doped up in a kitchen this time with ingredients but no menu from the hot-shot chef until the last minute. At the famed restaurant "21", chef Michael Lononaco recalls an impromtu feeding of Pavarotti that lasted into the wee hours of the night.
All the essays are lively and interesting and makes the common home-schooled chef feel a little smug in only having dropped a couple cakes here and there. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2007 [link] |
recommend
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a homemade life
molly wizenberg
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| Wizenberg is the creator and author of Orangette.com, a dreamy, yummy food blog where I've found such recipe keepers as Scottish scones, nutmeg donut muffins and apple butter. What's great about her book is that it's not an exact repeat of her blog – even those recipes and narratives that have already appeared online are tweaked and elaborated upon to make them even fresher. Wizenberg writes with such tenderness about topics like the death of her father (at the end of which I cried and also made Italian Grotto Eggs to console myself) and about meeting her husband through her site that she reminds you how inextricably linked food and feelings are in our lives. I've marked quite a few recipes from the book; tonight I'm making pasta with pesto and zucchini and for my birthday I'm totally whipping up fresh ginger cake with caramelized pears. And eating the whole thing myself. That's the kind of thing that Orangette inspires and approves of. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2009 [link] |
recommend
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i am charlotte simmons
tom wolfe
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Another tome from the man in white - Tom Wolfe. I used to see him at the Time Warner building near where I worked in New York always decked out in his signature white suits - three piece suits even in the summer. What a nut!
This new book expounds on the trials and tribulations of one Miss Charlotte Simmons, fresh out of the hoky, backwoods NC mountains, as she attends the prestigious Dupont College. She meshes with the frat boys, the jocks, the nerds and the debs as she weaves her way through freshman year. Really made me reminisce about my freshman year - all the funny, happy and painful moments.
I have to wonder if Tom even writes this stuff himself anymore...anyway, a lovely book to add to your summer reading list (if you've started making a list). |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2005 [link] |
recommend
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the cigarette girl
carol wolper
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| Looking for a trashy-trash novel for the subway or beach? Look no further, my friend. The Cigarette Girl is as mindless and fluffy as it gets. A Hollywood screenwriter shows us the ins and outs of the bidness and the L.A. scene. Possibly the only book I've ever read with the line "I'd crawl across shards of glass to suck his..." well, you can figure out the rest. Remember: fluff and trash are often needed to cleanse your reading palate. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2003 [link] |
recommend
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winter's bone
daniel woodrell
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| The aptly named "Winter's Bone" truly is bone chilling. Woodrell writes about his native Ozarks in winter with such clarity that I found myself heaping on the blankets. It doesn't help that his backwoods characters are so poor that they lack adequate food, shelter and clothes making the tale even chillier. I desperately wanted to send 16-year old main character, Ree Dolly, warm clothes and a non-mentally ill mother who will take care of her and her younger brothers. The Dolly father is the best meth chef in the area and when he skips out on bail again, it's up to Ree to track him down. The only difference this time is that it's practically a matter of life or death since her father has put their ramshackle house and land on the line – if he doesn't show up to court, Ree and the family are out in the streets. Ree is just about the toughest female character I've ever come across – wise beyond her age, smart and determined. You pray through the whole book for her to come out a winner – and she does, but not without sacrifices. The book also portrays the near-clannish society of the Ozarks and it would be downright creepy if it weren't so damn interesting and well-written. I'm so excited to read Woodrell's other books that I don't even know where to start (actually, I do – it's "The Death of Sweet Mister". Read along if you want.). |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2009 [link] |
recommend
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the death of sweet mister
daniel woodrell
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I've become obsessed with reading everything Daniel Woodrell has ever written. This is book two in my journey and it's just as thrilling and crazy as the first one I read.
Sweet Mister, or Shug, is a chubby 13-year old who lives with this overdoting mother, Glenda, in the caretaker's house of a cemetery (they're the caretakers). Glenda has a creepy no-good boyfriend named Red who enlists Shug in his criminal deeds in addition to verbally and mentally abusing him. Shug's mother is always talking of a better life for the two of them, yet her "tea" (rum and Coke at all hours of the day) insures that they will be stuck in their hopeless situation in MO for a long time. Glenda sets her sights on a rich guy, Red mysteriously disappears and the death of Sweet Mister isn't a real death, but one of innocence and any hope of normality. Woodrell's storytelling is so freakin' brilliant and chilling that I just can't recommend his books enough.
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reviewed by: lisa may |
June 2009 [link] |
recommend
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the story of edgar sawtelle
david wroblewski
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| For me, books that are on any sort of "list" automatically make me suspicious because nine times out of ten, I end up not liking them. "Edgar Sawtelle" was no different. The writing was incredible and I loved the world Wroblewski made – the fictional breed of "Sawtelle" dog, the mute Sawtelle and all that he and his family stood for. But then things went all wonky for me – the dad dies and his ghost appears basically telling Edgar that he was murdered and Edgar runs away after accidentally killing a family friend – really crazy unexpected stuff. Everything was barreling toward the end and when it got there I was like "THAT'S what happens?!?!" In reading some recent reviews, I see that it's supposed to be a modern take on "Hamlet" which makes things a little clearer to me but in the end I was sadly disappointed with all the hype. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2009 [link] |
recommend
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prozac nation
elizabeth wurtzel
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| This is more what I wanted from "The Bell Jar". Elizabeth whines and whines and whines about how she has it all, but it's not enough and life really really sucks. I don't remember much about the specifics (bad sign) except being really jealous that she got a job with Rolling Stone magazine and got to live in Texas. Oh I was jealous of this depressed girl. I was depressed WITHOUT being beautiful, having great jobs, having no money worries, dating sensitive guys. Maybe THIS is why I didn't really "bond" with the book. I remember empathizing with some ways that she felt, but at the time I read it, I longed for enough money/gumption to get Prozac myself. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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