Divisadero -Michael Ondaatje

"Everything is biographical", Lucian Freud says. What we make, why it is made, how we draw a dog, who it is we are drawn to, whe we cannot forget. Everything is collage, even genetics. There is a hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross.

Ondaatje is a wonderful writer who can craft evocative, emotional, and poetic phrases in his prose. This book, however, didn't work for me on the whole. It has moments that made me smile and pause to appreciate the beautiful way the author describes a thought, emotion, or a compelling metaphor.

The book is two separate stories. The first one is interesting for those of us who live in Northern California. It starts on a ranch in Petaluma which I pass through several times a week and includes a radio station in Nevada City, KVMR, which I often enjoyed. The story is emotion packed, wild, and violent. It ends abruptly leaving me unsatisfied. The second part of the book is entirely different set in a different time and place. Try as I did, the latter part of the book never grabbed me and the interweaving of the two stories never really worked to arrive at a satisfying conclusion.

I began reading this book excited to be reading a great book, but by the time I got to the last third, I found myself having to force my way to the end.

Canone Inverso - Paolo Maurensig

"For you to understand what music is and where this tremendous passion can lead, I must tell you from the beginning the story of that violinist whose soul was imprisoned in his violin."

Music, perfection, and immortality are intertwined in this beautifully written short novel. The author tells us a story within a story creating a book I didn't want to put down. It was one of the rare books that made me want to read it again as soon as I finished.

The purchase of an antique violin leads the narrator into an intricate tale involving a collage of deep themes of human life. The book was a true pleasure to read, unlike many books which get burdened with complexity trying to cover the mysteries of life.

The book jacket calls this book "a forceful, sensuous masterpiece". I agree and am awed how the author does so with concise, poetic language while narrating a story.

Prague - Arthur Phillips

(Nadja, an elderly jazz piano player)

Nadja was off again, in rare and wonderous form, bewitching her audience with another recollection, exquisitely told, satisfying in its construction, lyrical and glamorous, slightly improbable but nowhere impossible. And John did not doubt its probability. Lives like Nadja's must exist; he had read enough to know this was true.

Arthur Phillips has created a very intelligent and ambitious first novel. Readers will find it no surprise that he was a 5 time champion on the game show Jeopardy. The book is witty and creative. The author experiments with different forms of writing and does it well. For those who enjoy the art and skill of writing, this book will be enjoyable to read. At times, the writing came off as too cleverly crafted. Mostly, however, I found myself smiling and often re-reading sentences which were bright and original.

The story takes place in Budapest in 1990. The title, Prague, refers to the city our characters would have prefered residing in. As Hungary begins its move toward capitalism, five ex-patriots, discover a sort of bohemian life in a city undergoing an upheaval. The period in time is short-lived and those who lived through it are challenged by its meaning.

From Edison to Enron - Richard Munson

Name the last century's greatest technical feat. You might suggest the automobile or the internal combustion engine. Maybe the airplane or the computer chip. No, say the professional engineers. The twentieth century's most significant accomplishment was to generate and harness an invisible stream of electrons.

First, let me confess that I read this book for a book club held by the Energy Division of the California Public Utilities Commission. It is certainly a topic of more interest to regulatory analysts than the lay public. That being said, the author does a nice job of describing the history of the electrification of America.

The most interesting parts of the book are found in the title- Edison and Enron. Edison was quite a character and not always a nice guy. His battles with Westinghouse to determine if America would be wired with AC or DC power are legendary. If you want see how nasty they got, try reading "Edison and the Electric Chair". The early years of electricity were wild times. The Enron scandal was no less wild and the author does a good job of briefly describing how the problems arose. He also offers a nice conclusion with ideas on to best move the US forward with our electric industry.

The book is written in a matter of fact style and takes a neutral position on most issues. It is meant for readers with a deep interest in the subject.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Jalil said she was his little flower. He was fond of sitting her on his lap and telling her stories, like the time he told her that Herat, the city where Mariam was born, in 1959, had once been the cradle of Persian culture, the home of writers, painters, and Sufis.
"You couldn't stretch a leg here without poking a poet in the ass" he laughed.

Hosseini has once again crafted a magnificent tale centered around Afgani culture. I loved the Kite Runner and, unlike many who say this second novel doesn't reach the same heights, I found this just as moving. While the Kite Runner focuses on a boy growing up, this book follows two girls growing up. The book covers the last thirty years of Afganistan's history as experienced by our two heroines.

Knowing the traumas and ordeals Afganistan has suffered, and the misogynist culture, a story about two girls lives will necessarily tear at your heart. This is not a book for the faint of heart. We experience the maturing of lives in the midst of horrible chaos. The story is beautifully woven between the two women and how their lives connect. Hosseini has an engaging ability to weave women's lives, history, culture into the tale. It affected me deeply.

Amerigo - Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

Subtitled- The man who gave his name to America

He was up to none of the ambitious roles he adopted. He was too unstudious to be a diplomat, too imprudent to be a great merchant, too incompentent to be a navigator, too ignorant to be a cosmographer. When he played the magus, he relied on sleight of hand to get him by.

The author gives us a little information about Amerigo Vespuci which is summed up in the above quote. The book reads like a thesis paper from an author overly impressed with his skills at finding inaccuracies and dispelling any material supportive of Amerigo. I was expecting more of a biography but this book is not that. The book is largely an exercise in showing us how much research the author has done and how he use words few readers will understand without a dictionary. This includes his use of what the Oxford dictionary calls the longest non-technical word in the english language (a word which Alex Trebek on Jeopardy gave up trying to pronounce). If want to learn a some new words, like hagiography (writing about saints) which he uses 5-6 times, get out your dictionary and read this book. Otherwise, read a short bio on Amerigo.

Letters to Pablo Neruda - Viola Weinberg

Beautiful and sensual poems written in epistolary style of letters to the great Chilean poet and nobel prize winner. The author uses Neruda as a mentor, friend, and frequent presence in her life. The poetry is personal, emotional and questioning of the complexities of life. It is sad, funny, thoughtful, playful, and observant of life over many years. Rich verse, yet very approachable poems. Readers will relate to the wide variety of experiences and emotions from lost time to joyous frogs, from baseball to road trips to New Mexico.

Viola is an accomplished poet and the first poet laureate of Sacramento.


The lifecycle of the planet is bubbling up in the marsh
The lifeblood of the planet is thumping with energy
All along the fence, birds sit under the accidential hedgerow
of overgrown bushes of uncertain origin
nature is planning a come back despite the war
wanton weeds are on the march, busy little insurgents of life

No one knows why this force is stronger than the stock exchange
or more magnetic than busty, dead starlets--it just is
spilling out waves and rays of unreasonable hope
a splendid trick of the universe, Pablo
just as your lavish love of ordinary things made
a woman see what is real and what is a figment of the machine

A Conspiracy of Paper - David Liss

London, the year 1719
It should have been a simple matter. I dressed the part of a gentleman--ostentatious coat and sword, overflowing wig, gleaming silver buckles upon my shoes. I had learned to appear the perfect genteleman when, in my less scrupulous days, I had spent some time traveling about the country working as what we called a spurce prig. I would present myself to a landlord like a gentelman, rent a furnished lodging with no more security than my appearance, and then proceed to clean the place of everything of value. Now, with more honorable motives, my task was to imitate a man of means in the service of undoing theft, and this task called for a particular type of gentelman.

Thus begins an enjoyable adventure to unravel murders, deceit, and treachery in the emerging stock markets of London in 1719. The book is very smart and based on historical events from the period. The author is an expert on the time period but unlike other historical novels, he doesn't historical facts limit his story-telling to a reinactment of history.

The book places the reader in the streets of London during a fascinating time. Stock jobbers and competing financial organizations are coming into their own. With larges sums of money at stake, it will remind you of modern day fiascos like Enron, S&L crises, and the current home loan scandals. However, this is primarily a murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the last few pages. Every chapter brings several twists keeping the reader turning the pages.

This book is also lots of fun. The author is very smart in using a blend of old english and modern words and structures to make for a book that flows easily for a modern reader. I was very impressed with this skill. I look forward to reading more by this author.

On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan

How could he fail to love someone so strangely and warmly particular, so painfully honest and self-aware, whose every thought and emotion appeared naked to view, streaming like charged particles through her changing expressions and gestures? Even without her strong-boned beauty he would have had to love her. And she loved him with such intensity, such excrutiating physical reticence.

It is rare to read a review of a McEwan book which doesn't use the terms masterful or master of... And I don't argue with McEwan's abilities as a writer. He is thoroughly enjoyable to read. His writing is rich, thoughtful and yet straightforward and simple. Like many great writers, I find myself wanting to read his words slowly, often re-reading sentences and paragraphs.

This short book let's the reader peer into the lives of two young people on their wedding night in 1962. McEwan quickly reveals deep-seated thoughts and insecurities as we learn about the newlyweds. The writer has an amazing ability to give us short descriptive sketches of two lives which let us understand their complex emotions and actions. The ending hits like the moral at end of a fable.

Beautiful Evidence - Edward Tufte

The latest book by Tufte is a collection of essays. All of his books are beautifully designed and this one is well-worth viewing the images. The text, as in most Tufte books, wanders into academic discussions more fitting a dissertation than an informative tool for presenters of information.

I concur with Tufte that well-presented information, or evidence, should foster understanding and reasoning. His essay on Microsoft Powerpoint elaborates on how most presentations inhibit the desired results from the audience. I also agree that most presenters would do better without Powerpoint.

Tufte has a cult-like following, especially with graphic artists and designers. My suggestion is to study the illustrations in this book and don't spend too much time reading the text.

Selected Poems - Wendell Berry

Berry is a fine poet who reminds me of Wallace Stegner. He writes about nature, the passage of time, and the meaning of death. His later poems nearly all include a theme related to dying which he likes to describe a natural part of living and a natural and fearless passage.

The poetry most often uses nature as a theme. Berry likes to call the reader to observe a bird in a tree. Some of his poems rail against modern society, greed, and war. They can serve as a quiet meditation bringing calm to world moving faster and faster away from finding simple pleasures in rain or soil.


In a time that breaks
in cutting pieces all around,
when men, voiceless
against thing-ridden men,
set themselves on fire, it seems
too difficult and rare
to think of the life of a man
grown whole in the world,
at peace and in place.
But having thought of it
I am beyond the time
I might have sold my hands
or sold my voice and mind
to the arguments of power
that go blind against
what they would destroy.

The Blackwater Lightship - Colm Toibin

Complex family relationships are portrayed in simple and moving prose by Toibin. Taking place in Ireland in the early 1990s, the book examines three generations in a family shaken by deaths. There is a lot going on in this book and yet it seems to flow smoothly with a gentle style of writing.

With a superb use of dialogue, we learn to see the human side of hardened people and understand complicated situations. Like most families, nothing is as simple at may first appear for the characters in this book. Six people are drawn together where they unravel much about themselves and intimate relationships.

Imaginings and resonances and pain and small longings and prejudices. They meant nothing against the resolute hardness of the sea. They meant less than the marl and the mud and the dry clay of the cliff that were eaten away by the weather, washed away by the sea. It was not just that they would fade: they hardly existed, they did not matter, they would have no impact on this cold dawn, this deserted remote seascape where the water shone in the early light and shocked her with its sullen beauty. It might have been better, she felt, if there had never been people, if this turning of the world, and the glistening sea, and the morning breeze happened without witnesses, without anyone feeling, or remembering, or dying, or trying to love.

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

This book has a great premise-- a travelling circus struggling during the depression. Throw in an innocent young man with circus people, including a beautiful woman, lots of action and the book has great potential.

Unfortunately, this book fails to reach its potential. The author states that she spent 4 months, wait she actually said 4 and 1/2 months, researching material. It is too bad that the old circus photos are far more interesting and descriptive than her writing. The characters are flat and cliched. We never learn enough about our hero to really get behind him. The reader learns nothing about the woman he falls in love other than the fact she is pretty.

The book takes the form of an old man looking back at a period in his youth. The short chapters with the aged hero mostly reflect on life in nursing homes. I felt this mostly distracted from the main circus story.

I know this book is loved by many, but is not an example of good writing or story-telling. It is more like something you would find serialized in Reader's Digest.

Midnight Salvage - Adrienne Rich

Rich is a masterful poet who is adventurous and bold in this collection. Her intelligent use of words, turned in creative phrases, make you wonder "How does she do it?"

I tend to judge poetry by how often I stop to read a line or stanza over again because it has surprised me, amazed me, or gave me pleasure. Rich does all of that in this book. The poems are stark and challenging often depicting scenes of war or inhumanity. Like all good poetry, they elevate the use of words to art.

From the poem "Rusted Legacy"

Imagine a city where nothing's

forgiven your deed adheres

to you like a scar, a tatoo but almost everything's

forgotten deer flattened leaping a highway for foot

the precise reason for the shaving of the confused girl's head

the small boy's punishing of frogs

--a city memory-starved but intent on retributions

Imagine the architecture the governance

the men and the women in power

--tell me if it is not true you still

live in that city.

The Discovery of Time - Stuart McCready (editor)

The story of how the human race has learned, with ever more astonishing precision, to record, compare, and think about measured units of time- an aspect of our experience that seems otherwise indefinable.

This book offers interesting chapters written by a variety of authors on the history of our understanding of time. It covers the earliest concepts of humans trying to define and understand the passage of time to modern theories. It contains lots of great pictures and illustrations that add greatly to the text. I found myself frequently staring at a picture of stonehenge or a sundial and pondering time.

The book is uneven with various authors composing chapters. It also moves too often into academic discussions that seem too detailed for a general interest book. One chapter brought up the importance of using time to calculate longitude. A great book on that discovery is Dava Sobel's Longitude.

Severance - Robert Olen Butler

After careful study and due deliberation it is my opinion the head remains conscious for one minute and a half after decapitation. - Dr. Dassy D’Estaing, 1883

By reading this book, I have answered the question "How can you go wrong reading the work of a Pulitzer Prize winner?" This book didn't work for me. The premise of the book might be a good exercise for a creative writing class, but as a novel it was only mildy engaging.

There are 61 instances of people, or in a few cases animals, which are decapitated either intentionally or accidentally. The author assumes that in the 90 seconds it takes for the brain to shut down, up to 240 words could have been formed. He then writes exactly 240 words in each instance which read like short prose poems.

The book has interesting groupings of individuals, such as several following the French Revolution. The author chooses an interesting aspect of the individual and the time period to reflect upon. While the writing has its moments with intriguing last thoughts, it remains gruesome and lacking in any over-riding theme. Still, it is a quick read and if you want to imagine what goes on in someone's mind after being decapitated, give it a try. I was surprised that the last thoughts were reflective instead of being filled with anger, pain, or shock.

Collected Stories - Wallace Stegner

From the author's foreward- "Any reasonably long life, looked back upon, irresistibly suggests a journey. I see these stories, inventions on a base of experience, as rest stops, pauses while I tried to understand something or digest some action or clarify some response."

This book contains 31 Stegner short stories written in the early career of the writer- 1920s-1950s. The tales are driven by emotions and characters. They take us back in time to a simple, but often harsh, life when living was more basic. The character's relationships to each other and often their environment is chronicled magnificiently in these stories.

To me, these are what short stories should be- they place the reader in the middle a life, a place, a dilemma unique from our daily lives. Stegner is masterful at describing the emotions and thoughts of his characters- from women awaiting overseas letters from soldiers to a farm boy experiencing his first butchering of a pig. The stories will allow readers to remember distinct moments in time that our parents and grandparents lived.

I have many favorites in this collection, particularly ones depicting lives in rural and remote areas in the west.

The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald

I have remained true to my deepest convictions, I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?

Those convictions describe the foundations of this charming short novel. The lead character (some describe as the author) is witty, naive, corageous, and determined in her quest to open a small bookshop in a tiny seaside town in England. The characters and the town are very British while not unlike a Keillor tale from Lake Wobegon. Fitzgerald has a great ability to write in a slow relaxing style while making filling each page with passages which move her story forward.

A beautiful book for a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea.

The right-hand wall she kept for paperbacks. At 1s. 6d. each, cheerfully coloured, brightly democratic, they crowded the shelves in well-disciplined ranks. She could remember a world where only foreigners had been content to have their books bound in paper.
"Hasn't it occured to you that a building of such historical interest could be put to better use"
"Old age is not the same thing as historical interest," he said. "Otherwise we should both of us be more interesting than we are."

Hot Chocolate at Hanselmann's - Rosetta Loy

Even with the luxury of carved out time for reading each day on the bus, I couldn't justify reading past page 100 in this book. I don't know if it is the writer or the translator who make this book less than enjoyable. There are far too many sentence fragments and poor grammar which don't lend themselves to a coherent style. The book cover touts the literary awards of the author and reviewers praise the translator. Yes, I know I shouldn't trust in the veracity of book covers.

The book covers anti-semitism in Italy during and following WWII. It may be "a work of understated elegance and cumulative power", but I failed to finish reading it after passages like these which start two paragraphs:

A morning that ends in glory among the candy favors opened one after another, smooth outside and hard inside, the squeal of a jeep taking a curve.

But while Marta was still grouping around for her bowl of milk, Lorenza wanted the streets and the trees, the others.

Family Pictures - Sue Miller

A masterfully written exploration of a family's movement through the 1960's and 1970's. Sue Miller presents chapters that portray a picture in time of a family and its struggles. A central focus is an autistic child and how the other family members react and mature with this added stress. The chapters are also like pictures in that they convey emotions and personal insight more than develop a plot. Reading this book is like pausing in front of a great photo that impacts one emotionally and touches you deeply.

This book will change the way you view a family. The lessons it teaches are subtle and moving. Miller does an amazing job of involving us in the lives of several members of the family and understading their unique development. After reading this book, you will resist quickly judging others without understanding their experiences.

For a while I pushed everything idly around the table--the photographs, the postcards. I began thinking of them as elements in a kind of Rock-Scissors-Paper game, which contained the mystery of my childhood. Which had the most power?...For weeks, for months, the pictures stayed there. Eventually, I stopped seeing them, except occasionally when I would suddenly think of something that had happened while I was in Chicago; or something from my childhood. Then I'd go and stand in front of them again, staring stupidly at one and then another image, as though if I looked hard enough, long enough, their meaning would become clear.

Allan Stein - Matthew Stadler

A mixed bag . The author is often remarkable, such as when he writes: "...talking about geography and the peculiar way in which a new place is unable to resist the power of one's imagination-- there is too little reality gathered there-- which makes it malleable and transporting like a dream or a thin-skinned fantasy that both enchants and is completely misleading to the traveler, who falls in love with it and stays, only to discover that every place is real, its intransigent bulk hidden, the airy island drift of its first appearance an illusion, and that unless he keeps moving he is trapped in a world of stubborn realities, of actual places."

This is challenging reading- creative writing both brilliant and over-the-top ("nipples as soft as a fresh drained blister"). A great hook with Gertrude and Pablo Picasso, but the be prepared for a gay pedophile as a main character.

Here's two respected opinions:
A hackneyed portrayal of gay lust: vacuous, pointless, and tasteless in the extreme. Kirkus Reviews
Stadler demonstrates that he is among the handful of first-rate young American novelists, one with a wide reach and a quirky, elegant pen. New York Times Book Review

The Captain's Daughter - Alexander Pushkin

The book jacket calls Pushkin- Russia's greatest writer. While that pronouncement may be debatable, he is without a doubt a great writer. This short book, as translated by Elaine Feinstein, covers a lot of ground. It tells the tale of a young man in late 1700's enlisted in the Russian army by his father to help him mature. What ensues is an intriguing adventure told in a very friendly style. The story centers around a minor revolt and the harsh brutality surrounding. Within this battle are interesting relationships between the author and a young girl, a servant, and the leader of the revolt. A very good read!

A World Lit by Only by Fire - Willian Manchester

A recreation of what life was like in medieval times in Europe. And what a life it was. It sure gives you a lot to be thankful for living in today's world. If you are curious about these times, this book will provide a description of that period. The last half of the book covers both the church and Magellan in great detail. He is clearly no fan of the medieval church and you will be less of one after reading this. Not a great book, but I enjoyed reading it.

The New Yorker Magazine

Ok, so it is not a book, but my time on the bus allows me the luxury of keeping up with this weekly publication. And the time spent on this magazine is worth it. Great writers and fascinating subjects. Fiction, current events, poetry. There are always those stories which don't seem to interest me. Then I read a page and I am hooked until I finish it. How do they keep coming up with such great material? Oh, and I shouldn't forget to mention the cartoons which often make me laugh out loud.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver

Subtitled: A year of food life. The tale of a family's move toward sustainable food consumption. A modern back to the earth story, not unlike many others. However, Kingsolver makes the tale fun to read and offers much to think about. With the current world climate crisis, the locally grown food movement takes on a new dimension. You will definitely think twice about where your food comes from and the effects that has on the planet. And you will likely change some of the ways you consume food. I bought a dehydrator and have determined to grow and use more food on my lot.

The book gets a little preachy and is not always a practical guide, but it is written in a way that most can relate to.

The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion

How does she do it? Writing so simply about the recent death of her husband and serious illness of a child while conveying the great depth of emotion. The reader joins Didion as she mysteriously moves through the year following her great loss. A reflection on living and dying that is offered ever so gently. Those who have lost someone will relate often to her changes, while those who haven't will gain an understanding. A gem of a book.

Gilead - Marilynne Robinson

Beautiful story and beautiful writing. I highly recommend reading this thoughtful story of a spiritual journey. Life, death and the meaning of it all- told so simply and touching. What a great example of fresh and gentle, yet powerful, writing. You will want to re-read lines and paragraphs as you move through this book. A dying advice to a son he will not know. A time and place in America, 1956, not that long ago and yet it seems so distant in this book. Perfect book for curling up with on a cold Sunday morning in winter.

A Venetian Affair - Andrea di Robilant

An historical novel which is as much non-fiction as fiction. The author has included abundant excerpts from actual between two lovers. It is Venice in the 1750s when it still holds onto some of its fading glory. This is the classic tale of a nobel falling for girl out of his class. Their lives are fascinating and the book does a good job of re-creating a unique period in time. The real Casanova is part of the lives of these two lovers. While the book can get a little bogged down with detail at times, it is a fun read that transports you to masks, balls, and ill-fated love.

Specimen Days - Michael Cunningham

An intriguing and complex book that will make you think about love, art, America, and life. What more could you want from one book? This is actually composed as three separate tales, but unified with the characters and themes. Three different time periods and three different styles of writing. You wonder how these completely different types of stories fit together, but the fine skill of the writer makes it work. Highly recommended! Extremely original. This is the type of book you want to start reading again the minute you finish it.

The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

Advice to a young prince on how to gain and maintain control of territories. Devious, ruthless, cold-hearted and we aren't just talking about today's Republicans. A good read to understand Italy, and the world, in the 15th & 16th century. Machiavelli uses many examples from history and those of the early 1500s to illustrate how a prince can be successful. The basic ideas uncover much truth about human nature. Although much of advice to the prince is disturbing, it describes strategies that have been, and will probably remain to be, effective tools of power. Reading this book will make you reflect on both medieval times and the present.