On The Road by Jack Kerouac

 ON THE ROAD

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

- Jack Kerouac - 

I am not sure why this book is a 'must read' on so many lists?

It was fine. I finished it, which means it must have been decent. But, a 'must read'...I'm not sure about that.

To me the highlight of the book was Kerouac's description of a jazz band playing...but, like a Jazz jam, the book was a chaotic mess. With no direction, a changing beat, a riff that takes a completely different tangent, and then repeat it all again.

Essentially Jack writes about going across the country and back a multitude of times. Your classic road trip story. The main character (Sal...which I think is actually an autobiographical Jack Kerouac) is young, irresponsible, and looking for some sort of adventure. He meets up with like minded people. Not my kind of people, but that is fine because the wonderful thing about books and stories like this is that you get to experience a different life. The life Jack and his buddies live is one of 'living for the moment'. They don't plan anything, they just get the bug to drive across the country, so they do. They are constantly out of money from spending it all on a wild night of boozing and all the gas for driving. It gets kind of repetitive and boring after they do this a multitude of times.

The part of the book that I really did not like at all was the structure of the writing. There was almost no structure. What I mean is that Kerouac just goes...and goes... and goes...and goes...pages of random details and descriptions with almost no breaks. Few paragraphs to catch your breath. And borderline run on sentences that make you want to insert a few commas or semi colons just to keep things straight.

Even though I didn't like the structure, it fit the book. A fast paced, fly by the seat of your pants, constantly weaving tale.

So, to me at least, the book did not live up to its hype. I guess it was groundbreaking at the time, since it hit taboo topics like drugs, sleeping around, and the 'beat' culture (which to me seems to mean living on the streets? hitchiking? and overall taking no responsibility in life?). I don't think the book has aged well. But, maybe it would be a book you connect with?

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA - Ursula Le Guin

 A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA

A Wizard of Earthsea

- Ursula Le Guin - 

This is one of those great fantasy tales I've been hearing about for years; one of those 'must reads'. After reading it, I'll agree, it does deserve to be on a list of great fantasy books.

It's funny that the book has held up so long because the story seems very cliche now - a young boy with natural magical abilities learns to become a full fledged Wizard. But, at the time it was published (late 60s), it was a trailbreaker. At the time Wizards were old men like Gandalf with white beards and pointy hats, they were not young boys. As well, most fantasy stories involved epic battles with evil beasts. This story does have a skirmish here and there, but it is more of a battle within the Wizard himself, and there is no big militaristic climax where they charge the lair of all that is evil.

The actual story was more about discovery and exploring, both the world of Earthsea (which is an interesting world of islands and cultures) and the Wizard's place in the world. 

The writing was fantastic. I was thirty pages into the book before I realized how fluid the reading seemed. I finally noticed that Le Guin's style was completely against the grain of what is recommended to today's writers (keep the sentences short, the simpler the better). Le Guin's sentences would go on for half a page. Often an entire paragraph was one sentence. The amazing thing is that it didn't feel verbose, or overdone. No. The sentences stuck to one topic, threw in a detail or two, and added a smooth transition to the next idea. It was really something. Literature, I think they call it.

All I can say is that I read the entire book in two days because I couldn't put it down. The mix of world building, story, and the amazing writing made this a five star book.

Now onto the next book in the series - The Tombs of Atuan (which I picked up second hand recently -- the 1982 publishing of it).

The Tombs of Atuan

TRUE GRIT

TRUE GRIT

- Charles Portis -

This book has been touted as a classic, legendary, must read tale of the wild west. Testimonies claim readers make a point of taking this book out and reading at least once a year. Additional claims are that more than one first timers finish the book and instantly start back at page 1 to go through it a second time. Well, these claims seem a bit exaggerated to me. The book was good, I'd put it down on a list to read at some point in life, but, to go through it multiple times seems a bit much to me - It was good, but, it wasn't that good.

The story was a simple uncomplicated affair, Maddie Rose's father is murdered and she is hunting down the killer. What makes this book, apparently a 'rereader', is the two main characters: Maddie Ross and Rooster Cogburn.

Maddie is a teenage girl out to avenge her father's death. Although a teen, she has the attitude and sharp wit of a cynical retiree who's had a long hard life. She is as tough as old boot leather and will not take no for an answer. She holds her own through the long, tough, journey they take in order to catch her father's killer. At points she is inspiring, at points she is infuriating (especially when she constantly brings up the great lawyer she has), but, at no point do you feel pity for her. She is one strong character you are cheering for the entire time.

The other character, Rooster Cogburn, is a questionable Marshall who Maddie hires to track down the murdering Chancey. She hires him b/c he has a reputation at getting the job done, no matter what it takes - even if it means shooting someone. He is another tough as nails old soul, who has one eye, a peg leg, and a heart condition. Alright, not that bad, but, he does sound like someone you would not want to meet in a dark alley, someone you definitely want on your side in a fight. He is also sharp and witty, and tells it like it is. The conversations between him and Maddie are by far the most entertaining parts of the book.

Make time to fit this book into your reading schedule, and if you are a western lover like me it is a must. To have any credibility in a genre you need to read a few well known classics, and in the western genre this is one of them.

RATING: READ

Bookclub idea: This is one of those books you could tie in with the movie. Read the book, watch the movie, compare and contrast.

NOT QUITE THE CLASSICS

NOT QUITE THE CLASSICS

- Colin Mochrie -

This book is built on an the Classic improve game, the first and last line. In this quasi-version of the game Mochrie takes the first few lines from well known Classic books then writes a short story in between, and finally ends with the last few lines of that Classic book.

If you are at all familiar with who Colin Mochrie is you won't be surprised to hear that the stories are funny, quirky, and sometimes just plain weird. Mochrie is that joking Canadian who stars on Who's Line is it Anyways? (and is also a part of the This Hour Has 22 Minutes - The Classic Canadian political satire show anyone?), so he has the chops to make people laugh...but, you ask, does his humour translate well onto the written page?

For the most part, yes. And, to my surprise his overall writing skills are extraordinary. I was happily surprised at the high quality of the writing. It was so good it almost fools one into believing the absurd topics and storylines are the 'real' Classic writings of Doyle, Orwell, Fitzgerald, or even Seuss. I was especially impressed with Colin's ability to mimic the tone and feel of these Classics. His choice of words and phrases were bang on with the originals. Again, it was so easy to fall into the feeling that you were reading a strange story written 100 years ago by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ...albeit, a strange story about stand up comedy, but, none-the-less believable.

The collection started with the well loved Sherlock Holmes. A great one to start the book with. It had a lively, extremely well written and entertaining storyline. It read just like one of the Classic Sherlocks, but, funny at the same time. The story centred around Holmes trying to solve a mystery. The mystery of humour. He observed people, mades assumptions, then experimented with different types of humour. Most of which sounded good in theory, but, then ended up failing. He eventually came up with the idea of 'Stand Up' and attempted a show. The whole process was both an interesting look at humour, from the comedian's side, while being witty and funny at the same time. I think the interactions between Watson and Holmes were what really brought out the laughs. They were Classic; the eccentric Holmes berating the dim witted Watson for questioning his outlandish conclusions. This was the kind of story that made me want to read more.

Then came the make over of Moby Dick - Moby Toupee. This one almost sank the boat for me. It did not put the wind in my sails as much as some of the other stories did. It was a funny idea: a toupee changes an actors life. Toupees are funny things. But, the story just did not catch my interest.

Luckily, a short while later the splicing of A Tale of Two Cities brought me back aboard. This was another highlight for me. The first line, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' It ended up being an account of Wile E Coyote's obsession with Road Runner. It took an interesting view, through Wile E's life, attempting to be a human but giving into his animal desires to hunt and eat Road Runners. He has some early highs (the best of times), then becomes obsessed with catching RR and his life quickly goes downhill (the worst of times)...where a big rock rolls down on top of it, then it is hit with an anvil marked 50 tons. We eventually end with Mr. Coyote in jail. It was again, extremely well written, and had a great mix of Classic anvil dropping humour and that sharp satire comparing his Road Runner obsession with, say, a drug addiction. He loses his job, family, even his mind in the struggle to catch the ever slippery Road Runner. The end is a bit disturbing in a dark humour sort of way. So, if you have a weak heart (or stomach for that matter) for the Road Runner, I suggest you do not read the last few pages.

Another story that made my highlight reel was the Frankenstein spoof. It involved a chicken who learned to read. It was not the story that brought the most smiles and giggles, but, it captured my imagination for awhile. The story of the chicken and the farmer mirrored one another, they started out lonely, then found mates, then things went terribly wrong. The hen dies and the chicken tries to resurrect her. This story also ends badly...I guess that makes sense, all the Classics seem to end in death.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a work of low grade nonsensical writing, with a few easy Moby Dick jokes (which I will assure you there were none of). But, it was not. It was the exact opposite. It was an extremely well written collection of short stories that were funny on so many levels, from the spot on impersonation of the Classic writer's style to the farcical/bizarre tales Mochrie brought to life. The only thing missing was a talking pickle.

RATING : READ

To hear an interview with Colin talking about this book, he was on CBC's The Next Chapter - CLICK HERE

I used the word classic 11 times in that review - new record!

Murder On The Orient Express

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

- Agatha Christie -

What a nice mystery.
I've heard this book (and mystery sub-genre...yes, there are many of them) referred to as a 'cozy' mystery. Ah, a nice, gentle, fuzzy, cozy little mystery you read whilsts sipping earl grey tea in an overly stuffed wingbacked chair with a patchwork afghan on your lap. That does not sound manly to me...Although I may have been drinking tea while reading this, it was strong with no sugar or milk, I would never be caught reading a 'cozy' mystery in a plush wingback! No sir!
Therefore, I'm calling this book a 'classic' mystery.
Going through all this effort shows how much I enjoyed this book. Because I would like to chat with others about it and I need a manly way of describing it. I cannot go around saying I like cozy little mysteries...I've had a similar problem talking about my chick-lit secret. We won't go there right now.
What I liked about this book was how simple it was. I've found the modern mysteries I've read in the past few years are full of horrific detailed murders, overly scientific explanations (relying on DNA etc), and hard crude detectives. Murder on the Orient express had a murder, a twelve hole stabbing, but it seemed almost quaint the way it was briefly described. The clues were also simple; a handkerchief, a few matches, part of a burnt letter...isn't that cute? The detective, H. Poirot, was a logical, unemotional, smart guy...not a hard drinking detective with a chip on his shoulder. All these things made for a really easy and enjoyable read. Cozy, if you must.
The story is pretty contrived, a train carriage stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere so nobody can get away. All of the passengers are potential suspects. This takes away any real 'action', there are no gun fights or chases down dark alleys. Mostly it's Poirot sitting in the dining car questioning everyone. Even though that sounds mindnumbingly boring it's not. There are enough clues given away that it keeps you mind working. You find yourself trying to piece together everything, but, lacking that one thing that ties it all together. Well, in the CLASSIC manner, that one essential clue is given right at the end by Poirot.
I won't give away the exact ending, I will say I was surprised by Poirot's reaction. He solves the case, then let's the criminal (or criminals) get away. It was like he was treating the entire investigation as a game, or an entertaining distraction while stuck in the snow bank?
I did like Poirot as a character. I would read another mystery with him as the detective.

Rating: Read