The Women, by T.C. Boyle. I figured I would educate myself on Frank Lloyd Wright, and perhaps ingratiate myself with my architecturally inclined wife. Bottom line: Wright was an egotistical jerk, but perhaps that is the price of being a genius. The story is woven around the three loves of his life, only one of whom is marginally more likable than him. An interesting story, but it's hard to make your way through a book about someone when the author succeeds so well at capturing him that you do not want to read about him any more.
Ordinary Thunderstorms, by William Boyd. A young climatologist witnesses a murder in modern London. He ends up becoming the prime suspect while at the same time being the target of the murderer. A not-so-novel plot line with some cardboard villains, especially for an author I've found to be consistently outstanding. The story was mildly entertaining, but I was disappointed overall in comparison to his many other books.
West of the West, by Mark Arax. California is populated by some interesting characters, and Mark Arax (King of California) has to be one of the best at capturing them. No doubt too California-centric for those of you not living the life. The book is a collection of encounters with various real people across a diverse state, woven together with his own family story. Enjoyable, but not great.
Crossers, by Philip Caputo. I picked this up because Keith was looking for it one time. Caputo has a kind of Cormac McCarthy grittiness to his stories, and this certainly fit the bill. The story takes place on a border ranch and centers on the way the porous border situation, the drug and worker trade impacts them. Cutthroat bad guys, hapless Mexicans looking for a better life, noble ranchers defending their turf and heritage, everyone trying to survive and make a buck along the way. As you might expect, there are no clear answers or winners in the end.
Parrot and Olivier in America, by Peter Carey. A tiresome recasting of Alexis De Toqueville's visit to early America. I just could not warm up to the characters, and a lot of the book is background on them before they get to America. Olivier is the aristocratic son of a French family caught up in the revolution, who goes to America to escape the chaos and violence of the revolution. He is a bit of a nitwit who bumbles his way, Inspector Clouseau like, across the young nation together with his unwilling companion.
Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, by Wesley Stace. Jessold is a brilliant musician who apparently kills himself, his wife, and his wife's lover just prior to the premier of his most important opera. The book unravels the mystery of what actually happened, introducing us to Jessold in his early days as told by his collaborator and friend. I mostly enjoyed the book, but once again fell victim to a story inhabited by unlikeable, overprivileged characters drawn like moths into orbit around the equally unlikeable title character.
People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. A fun historical mystery whose main character is a rare book expert. She is called in to examine an illustrated 15th century book and discovers some clues that help uncover its entertaining history of survival across the years. Part of the story follows the book and the people associated with it, and part follows the book expert's investigation into its history in modern time. I learned some history and some things about rare books along the way.
Winner-Take-All Politics, by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson. This book is quite highly thought of in the liberal blogosphere as a well-researched analysis of our current political climate and how we've gotten here. In contrast to Nixonland, which focused on the realignment of the parties in the wake of the civil rights movement, Hacker and Pierson focus on the role of organizations and money in reshaping today's landscape. Fascinating and worthwhile if you're interested in a better understanding of what we're living through now in politics.
Fatal Journey , by Peter C. Mancall. For Christmas in Hawaii, my niece Sarah brought books from her work in a publishing house. This was my grab from the pile, the story of Henry Hudson's final and fatal expedition. The crew mutinied after having over-wintered in Hudson's Bay, apparently because Hudson was ready to keep looking for the Northwest Passage once the ice broke up. Who could blame them? A few of the mutineers made it back to England, and their version of events is the basis for the book mostly. Interesting to find out about some obscure history, but a pretty bland read overall.
The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman. I probably enjoyed this book most of the bunch. It centers around the cast of characters at an international newspaper, in Rome, that was founded by a rich patron (read approximately: the International Herald Tribune). Each chapter follows one of the interesting and quirky folks, and as you read more, you can see how they view and relate to one another. The paper, like all traditional news media, is undergoing a bunch of change and pressure, so you get to see it from the perspective of the strivers, the enablers, the lifers, and the hangers-on. Fun read, especially perhaps for those of you formerly in the newsletter business ;-).
