Keith Colquhoun: Beyond Reason
Well-written, fast-paced, entertaining, and, like his other works, endearingly eccentric. If you are interested in a good novel that doesn't read just like every other novel, and some thoughtful chatter about the state of religion, wrapped into an entertaining package, you'll like Beyond Reason. (****)
Sven Birkerts: The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age
This collection of essays alternates between hopeful and depressing as it soberly considers the future propspects of the act of reading dead-tree media. In this re-issue, the author admits to succumbing to electronic creation, but clings to reading on paper. A reasonable compromise? I think so. Thoughtful and engaging. 1/07. (*****)
Harry Shearer: Not Enough Indians: A Novel
I love Harry Shearer. Always have. Always will. His "Le Show" weekly broadcast is hysterical, his film work is phenomenal, and he is both Smithers and Mr. Burns. How cool is that? This is a great comic novel. You can clearly hear Shearer's comedic voice in the dialog. The plot's a bit thin, and the book is episodic, but it is also hysterically funny, first page to last. (*****)
Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner
Kite Runner is the story of an Afghani-American coming of age in Afghanistan as well as Fremont, California, it is well-written. Trite but true: it is hard to put down. You want to know what happens next. Vivid descriptions, compelling plot. (*****)
Christopher Buckley: No Way to Treat a First Lady : A Novel
Christopher Buckley's 9th novel, is one part parody political novel and nine parts parody of the "trial of the century" industry. It is 10 parts fun.
(*****)
Christopher Buckley: Florence of Arabia : A Novel
Christopher Buckley is a great American humor writer. Here, he imagines what would happen if the U.S. tried to teach the Arab women to liberate themselves. Buy it just to laugh at the fake hyphenated names of British characters.
(*****)
- E.J. Kahn: The World Of Swope
A clever and well-written 1965 biography of Herbert Bayard Swope written by E.J. Kahn: The World of Swope. Swope was probably the single most important editor of The World, which was, in turn, one of the most important New York newspapers. Kahn renders Swope with tub-thumpingly good writing. (*****)
Keith Colquhoun: Killing Stalin
Killing Stalin
is an elaborate and imaginative tale of Joseph Stalin's last days.
Was Stalin killed? Even in the Soviet Union, it seems unlikely the event was committed to paper. But perhaps the oral history of a reliable observer... overheard by a journalist at a bar and made into a novel... (*****)
