Await Your Reply - Dan Chaon

Was he faking it? Miles had never been sure, even as Hayden's behavior became more erratic and abnormal and secretive. There were time, lots of times, when his "illness" felt more like a performance, am amplified version of the games they had been playing all along. The "symptoms" Hayden was supposedly exhibiting, according to the therapist--"elaborate fantasy worlds,""feverish obsessions,""disordered thoughts," and "hallucinatory perceptual changes:--these were not so much different from the way Hayden usually behaved when they were deeply involved in one of their projects. He was, perhaps, a little more exaggerated and theatrical than usual, Miles thought, a little more extreme than Miles felt comfortable with, but then again there were reasons. Their father's death, for example. Their mother's remarriage. Their hated stepfather, Mr. Spady.

This book kept me enthralled and constantly surprised. Three very odd and completely different settings and characters are expertly woven into a compelling mystery. I read the first three chapters with fascination, however they seemed to be completely unconnected. Wondering if and how the author might tie these story lines together, makes the reader want to continue. After the story begins to come together, I found myself compelled to finish the book.

Chaon is an intelligent, creative writer who well deserves all the praise he has received. His writing flows easily, but is deceptively complex. A great mystery, bizarre characters, unimagined connections, a modern theme, great writing and it all adds up to a five star review.

Fixing My Gaze - Susan Barry

Stereoblind? Was I stereoblind? I looked around. The classroom didn't seem entirely flat to me. I knew that the student sitting in front of me was located between me and the blackboard because the student blocked my view of the blackboard. When I looked outside the classroom window, I knew which trees were located further away because they looked smaller than the closer ones. The footpath outside the window appeared to narrow as it extended out into the distance. Through cues like these, I could judge depth and distance. I knew the world was in 3D. Yet, my professor implied that there was another, different way to see space and depth. He called this way of seeing stereopsis. I couldn't imagine what he was talking about.

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I admit I read this book because of a granddaughter born with vision problems. Susan Barry grew up with eyes that didn't track properly. In spite of surgeries, she did not develop the ability to see three dimensions or stereopsis. It is hard to imagine seeing everything in 2D, but the author does a great job of describing it. As strange as it sounds to most of us, people without stereo vision can't really imagine 3D. This book combines both the biology of vision problems related to eyes tracking and the human effects on those with this problem. Becoming a neurobiologist, the author was in a unique position to write this book after discovering a method to begin seeing 3D at age fifty. The book is certainly a must read if you know anyone a cross-eye or wall-eye. Even if you don't, this short book is very informative and easy to read and understand.

Dorothea Lange - Linda Gordon

I have come to think of Lange as a photographer of democracy, and for democracy. She was not alone in this commitment, for she had predecessors and colleagues, and today has many photographic descendants. From her family of origin, her two extraordinary husbands, and friends of great talent she absorbed sensitivity, taste, and technique. These people are part of her enabling context, and for that reason this book includes them as major characters. So too the unique cultures of Hoboken, New York, San Francisco, and Berkeley play major roles in this story.

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Gordon has written an incredibly researched biography of this icon of American photography. The writing flows and is kept interesting in a book that covers a lot of ground. There are over 120 pages of citations! Lange's life is somewhat challenging to cover, since she did not leave diaries or much writing.

Much of the book covers the social history of the times and persons influential in Lange's life. This is both the strength and weakness of the book. While discussing historically intriguing times and situations, such as the original bohemian movement in SF, the writer seems to sometimes lose track of Lange. The book is a combination social history and biography. I found some of the personal comments and asides in the book irritating, especially a short excerpt from a love letter in which the author inserts a comment in the middle. This is a good book if you want to read about Lange or have an interest in the historical period.

Generosity - Richard Powers

True, then: both of Thassa Amzwar's parents are dead. Dead of identity and too much hope. And the daughter is either on newly discovered antidepressants or so permanently traumatized she's giddy. Her writing has that open confidence of a child who might still become an astronaut when she grows up. All her sounds ring, all colors shine. Crippling colonial inheritance, religious psychosis, nighttime raids: she's swept along by the stream, marveling. Her words are naked. Her clauses sprout whatever comes just before wings.

Stone's hands shake as he inks up her assignment.

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Powers is a wonderful writer who has received a lot of well-deserved praise. This book uses a philosophical question to drive the story rather than the characters. The characters are interesting and the reader becomes engaged in their drama. However, what compels the reader to keep turning the pages is the answer to a question of happiness. Is happiness genetically programmed or is primarily learned and developed? Would it benefit the individual or the world if we artificially created happiness? I liked the way Powers developed different perspectives on happiness. He is thoughtful and articulate. At the same time, he creates a story and characters who become involved in a thrilling drama around the theme. I like the writing and found myself thinking for days about this book--thus it's five star review.

The Lost Painting - Jonathan Harr

The Biblioteca Hertziana stayed open until nine o'clock every night, and Francesca rarely left before then. At her table, she collected dozens of articles and monographs about Caravaggio and began reading through them. Many offered nothing particularly new or interesting, just the background noise of art scholars going about the business of advancing their opinions or disputing the opinions of their colleagues. Sometimes in an article, a real piece of information--an actual fact, a date, a contract--would emerge from the vast tangled swamps of archives. Then it would be scrutinized and interpreted by the confraternity of Caravaggio scholars, and if it withstood examination, it would assume its place in the assembled landscape of Caravaggio's life.

What a great book! The author does a superb job with a non-fiction tale of art mystery. The search to find a lost Caravaggio painting is fascinating. Research, travel, ancient archives, experts with questionable motives, and one of art's most irascible painters make this a book you won't want to finish. I was amazed at how the author could combine art history, Caravaggio's life, and the world of expert identification of paintings while keeping a mystery moving forward. So often authors lose the impact of a gripping story when they divert into details. Harr is able to seamlessly weave everything together moving from historical facts to the emotions of the investigators. The book would be enjoyable for anyone to read, but if you have any interest in art you will love this book. If you like Caravaggio it is a must read. This is non-fiction at its best.