Books - Larry McMurtry

Here I am, thirty-four chapters into a book that I hope will interest the general or common reader --and yet why should these readers be interested in the fact that in 1958 or so I paid Ted Brown $7.50 for a nice copy of The Anatomy of Melancholy? How many are going to care that I visited the great Seven Gables Bookshop, or dealt with the wily L.A. dealer Max Hunley, who little store at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Little Santa Monica in Beverly Hills is now a yogurt shop....A fair answer would be that few readers are engaged by this kind of stuff, unless the writer can somehow tap deeper sentiments.

Unfortunately, McMurtry fails in his efforts to engage the reader with this so-called memoir. By the time you finish the 98 chapters, many only a half-page long, you feel like a bored listener to stories with no emotional or intellectual impact. If you happen to have a deep-seated interest in the buying and selling of rare books, you may find the book interesting.

The book starts out like a typical memoir with reminiscences of the lack of books in his childhood. The book quickly moves to the writer's adult life with dozens of unconnected tales of books that were bought or sold often for amounts too small or too large. Even the ending comes off as disjointed where it seems that after 95 chapters the writer simply decides to hurry up and end it. McMurtry is a fine writer and this the only saving grace of this book. Very disappointing.

The Call of the Wild - Jack London

(The pictures on the right were taken at Jack London's home, not far from where I live. The top one shows his summer sleeping area with writing notes hung on a line. I highly recommend a visit to Jack London State Park if you are ever in this area.)

Buck's first day on the Dyea Beach was like a nightmare. Every hour was filled with shock and surprise. He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert; for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang.

I just re-read Call of the Wild after last reading it in high school. It stands up well and is just as wonderful for an adult reader as a teenager. London is a classic American writer covering outdoor adventure. The Call of the Wild is considered by many to be his best novel. More than a hundred years after it was written, it remains a timeless classic.

The main character in the book is a dog named Buck. The book details the difficult life of a working dog in snow country. Humans play a very secondary role in the book. Even if you don't love dogs, the book will stir emotions and have you rooting for Buck. London knows how to write adventure that keeps you glued to the story and immersed in the setting.

The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker

You know, Rivers, it's no good encouraging people to know themselves and...face their emotions, because out there they're better off not having any. If people are going to have to kill, they need to be brought up to expect to have to do it. They need to be trained not to care because if you don't...' Siegfried gripped Rivers' hand so tightly that his face clenched with the effort of concealing his pain. 'It's too cruel.'

This is the second book in Barker's Regeneration trilogy. Depicting WWI from unique perspectives, it examines the effects of war on individuals in London society and in mental hospitals. Based on some historical facts, the fiction is gripping and haunting in its gritty details. The author has created intriguing and complex characters. Her use of dialogue is compelling. I like this book every bit as much as the first one of the series.

Central to this series are the mental effects both on individuals and society. In this book we see society striking back against homosexuals, artists, pacifists and others. While Barker's work is fiction, she includes actual events of societal discrimination. Her characters suffer from an increasingly intolerant and mentally unstable society caused by an unimaginably horrible war. Like all great books, this one will leave an impression on the reader. It will cause one to view war with deeper emotions viewing war damages on the people both directly and indirectly involved in its madness.

Shambhalla Anthology of Chinese Poetry - J.P. Seaton

Reading

When I shut a book,
I can be at ease.
If I open one, I agonize.
Books are long, and days are short,
feeling like an ant
who wants to move a mountain,
or a man who waits for dawn light
with a candle in his hand.

Of ten I read, I might remember one.
The more's the pain,
that in a thousand years
there'll be more books to read, no end.

So if I wish I were a spirit-being,
or pray Heaven for a few more years...
it's not that I want to dine on dew,
or wander fairylands...
every word that's written,
to read each one, that's all.

Yuan Mei (1716-1798)

Chinese poetry spanning over 2,000 years is presented in this beautiful anthology. It offers an insight into many generations of writers and thinkers. I am struck by the similarities in themes and styles over the milleniums. Clouds passing over a mountain always uncover hidden thoughts and emotions to those who are open to the experience. Chinese poetry is powerful through it's use of images, metaphors, and simple use of language.

This book is well organized with brief descriptions of the times and influences introducing different eras. Unlike many books covering historical periods of poetry, Seaton has not chosen to fill pages with historical facts or his thoughts, but gives maximum space to the great poetry. I very much enjoy his translations which are most challenging for the translator of poetry. He tries to capture the essence of the poem along with the embedded influences in the chinese characters used in the writing of the poems. Consequently, translations of quatrains often contain more than four lines, focusing less on style and more on the beauty and artistry of the poem.

The Man Who Created Paradise - Gene Logsdon

"I'm tellin' you, people aren't dumb or lazy. They just gotta see the possibilities--understand that they can do it. Then get outta their way. C'mon, I'll hitch up a horse and show you around."

This short book is called a fable by its author. The short book containing many photographs is a wonderful pause in reading the average book with a couple hundred pages. It is sweet and inspiring story of a man who reclaims land savaged and destroyed by coal strip mining. I love the way the farmer says he just paints a farm on top of the moonscape left behind by the profiteers. Gene Logsdon is an excellent writer composing in a folksy style that suits his writing about farming. I found myself wishing this fable was actually a longer book. Logsdon is a pleasure to read, both with the content of this story and with his refreshing phrasing and style.

The photographs in this book are great and could hold their own in a separate collection. The Ma Who Created Paradise would make a great gift- filled with hope and inspiration, very well-written, and beautiful to look.

The Forger's Spell - Edward Dolnick

This is the true story of a colossal hoax. The con man was the successful art forger of the twentieth century, his most prominent victim the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany. The time was World War II. The place, occupied Holland.
Everything about this case was larger than life. The sums that changed hands soared into the millions; the artist whod inspired that frenzy of buyinig was one of the best-loved painters who ever lived, Johannes Vermeer; the collectors vying for masterpieces included both Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering.

Dolnick has written a fascinating tale. He details the intricacies of creating a forged painting and the psychology behind those involved. We see that the motivations can more than simply money. In the events detailed in this book, we see that becoming a successful art forger involves much more than simply trying to copy a painting or imitate a painter. It seems strange that people paying millions of dollars could be fooled by forgers, but the author does a great job of enlightening the reader on the complexities of a successful sale- art critics, art dealers, art houses, collectors, museums, and more. Like a good magic trick, there is more than meets the eye going on with this deception.

Much of the book covers the Nazis and particularly Goering who obtained this painting in WW II. I knew the Nazis pilfered much art, but didn't begin the extent and organization behind their acquisitions. If you enjoy art, this book will keep you entertained and leave you will a greater understanding of the art world.