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books

Field Notes: The Hole We’re in by Gabrielle Zevin

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A new feature I want to try out is “Field Notes.” The goal is to provide a review, a target audience, and some of the themes and issues in the book without giving a full-out review.

First up: Gabrielle Zevin’s The Hole We’re In. You know her name from the teen lit arena, including hits like Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. This is her first foray into adult novels.

This is a mega-contemporary book featuring a family spending too much money, lying to cover up, the Iraq war,
post-traumatic stress disorder, popular culture, and the way we learn lessons from our past and inform our future.

Time periods change in this book, from the 1990s, to 2006, to 2012, and even further in the future.

The book’s tone reminded me a bit of a Jane Smiley novel, but I found the writing itself more friendly. Some of the tone in the novel was reminiscent, too, of Douglas Coupland, particularly when it came to the working world and to living life.

The Hole We’re In will appeal to those with an interest in family drama and contemporary situations. I’ve read other reviews mention the terrible cover, but I LOVE it. It perfectly suits George and Roger and the facade.

Writing here is sparse, and we only get glimpses into the characters. Years often pass with little action; this is realistically portrayed.

Zevin’s attempt at adult fiction is well-done and worth the read. It will withstand the test of time, despite the contemporary situations. Though there are a lot of “issues” at work here, it works. It never feels forced or punishing as many can.

Trend Spotting: Cult Societies

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I talked about the suicide trend in teen lit earlier. Here’s another one that keeps popping up again and again, with definite mixed results: cults. More specifically, plural-marriage-accepting-religiously-fundamentalist cults. Here’s a quick over view of three of those titles, along with what works and what just doesn’t.

Last week, Michelle Dominguez Greene released her Keep Sweet with Simon Pulse. Keep Sweet follows Alva Jane as she falls in love with a boy within her Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints group in rural Uta (approximately an hour outside Moab, if that helps with setting up the story more). Of course, as readers we know this is going to be a problem because the boy was not decreed to be her husband by the Prophet.

Alva chooses to not “keep sweet” and escape her situation. Unfortunately, it takes over 100 pages to find Alva interesting in the least, and it seems as though her switch from being a believer in the Prophet and her religion is sudden and abrupt. Quite frankly, Alva chose to “keep sweet” for most of her life, and it takes little to change her. It’s the beating of another woman that makes her snap, but it wasn’t convincing to me as a reader. Here’s your spoiler warning, guys, so stop reading this paragraph if you don’t want this one ruined for you: within — I kid you not — five pages, she escapes, runs away to Moab, gets picked up by a couple going to California, stops in a gas station to see her sect was raided, makes the news, and then the folks who picked them up say (this is the icing): “Okay, I figure you are the girls they mentioned in the newscast.” The people who picked them up, along with everyone else in the sect, are utterly flat, voiceless, and nothing but air in the story. I mean, that’s some of the worst dialog I’ve read in a long time.

I found Keep Sweet a disappointment. It lacked on plot, and when the plot began to thicken, the writing and lack of development made it fall completely flat. The last chapter was utterly unrealistic, despite having a good premise. In my ideal world, this book would have about eight more chapters, with more development, more believability, and more character insight. It could have been a knock out. I think most readers will leave this one feeling cheated.

I feel comfortable making those comments because last year, Carol Lynch Williams released what I think was the strongest book of this ilk: The Chosen One.

It’s been over a year since I read this one, but I remember that the main character, Kyra, escapes to read at the bookmobile that often sits at the edge of the compound where she, too, lives with a polygamist-practicing family. She wants out, and it seems quite clear throughout the book this isn’t where she wants to be in her life.

This book was sparse, and it works. Williams develops a character — and she chooses not to overextend herself and develop more than a couple of characters — and a situation. In rereading my GoodReads notes, I mentioned that the characters aren’t especially well developed because of the sparse writing and that this was the important point in her story line. We know in this particular cult that who you are does not matter. It’s what you do. It is not a judgmental scenario in the same way that Greene’s is. Rather, we know Kyra’s not happy and wants to get out. Although Greene seeks to prove the same point about girls being simply there to provide children for the profit, her decision to dig into character development and fall flat while doing so (especially with characters like Brenda) weakens and buries that issue.

The Chosen One, I noted, was satisfying and fast-paced. This one seemed aimed at the younger end of teen readers, too. I think Greene’s may have aimed higher, especially with the end note about FLDS. It was published last May by St. Martins Griffin.

Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka was the first book published with this theme (at least during the “trend” — I know others were published before this one) by Orca in October 2008.

Again, it’s been a year or more since I read this one, but thanks to GoodReads, I’m able to pull some memories together. To quote myself (oh I’ve always wanted to do that!), “My biggest problems were poor pacing (the end seems to skip years over pages), uninteresting characters, and unrealistic plot lines (the faith lines were so loose and sketchy, even in the polygamist setting, it was hard for me to really believe any of that backdrop). I think the stone setting and interaction among those within Unity and those outside was strange — in the polygamist stories we hear in the news, there is security and the places are compounds not easily broken into or out of. While certainly the story isn’t meant to be a strict telling of any of the real situations, I thought it had a lot of basis in reality and could have been better pushed in that direction. I just couldn’t get into this one because there were too many questions in my mind and none were really related to the characters themselves but on the writing/story choices.”

I did note that it deserved praise for the unique premise and situations that I hadn’t stumbled upon quite yet. And to be fair, knowing now this was an Orca publication, the pacing and the more shallow plot development makes sense. This publisher aims at the reluctant reader market, and I think this *is* a book that will appeal to them.

What struck me as most interesting in the trend of these books is they all have the same basic story line and characters — a girl, unhappy, tries to escape. We know that girls shoulder a lot of the weight in polygamist sects, but you know what I want? I’d eat up a book from the male’s perspective. What about a male who is fighting for power and control? What about a male trying to escape? There’s plenty of juice here, writers, and I’m eager to read it. It’s clear the trend’s big because of the news and the images we see in the news, but I’d like something with more twist to it.

That said, if you are looking for a good read, you have choices. I think of the three, The Chosen One holds the most promise, and perhaps that’s in part due to Williams’s experience in writing for the teen market.

AudioSynced: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

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There are books that come up that become required reading in a librarian’s life, and for me, one of the big ones was Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain. A few local book clubs were reading it, and it never seems to be on the shelf at work. I decided I should take the time to see what it was about, and not only am I thrilled to have taken the plunge, but I could not find a better way to experience this one than through listening.

Enzo is a philosophic dog and the story is told entirely through his eyes. His owner, Denny Swift, is an aspiring race car driver. The story starts at the end of Enzo’s natural life, and it is a reflection of his experiences with Denny.

Denny’s a guy you cannot help but fall in love with. Perhaps this is precisely the motive behind using Enzo as the narrator, as we’re given a completely biased perspective, but this is one of the few books where the end of the story leaves me sadder for the person than the animal. Yep, I’m heartless.

But I digress. Enzo’s story is the story of Denny, as he navigates through his wife Eve’s crippling disease and eventual death, as well as the tough situation that Eve’s family puts Denny through afterward. There’s the subplot of Denny’s racing career, too, but it is just that: a subplot. And really, the story is this simple. I cannot give you much of a longer description of the plot.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is remarkable because of its simplicity, but it is brilliant because of Stein’s narrative decisions. Enzo is incredibly astute and offers his readers, whom he addresses head on, with quite inspiring insights into life and living. The metaphor here is quite simple, too: no race is one in the first lap, but many races are lost there.

What I really liked about this book was how simple and beautifully the metaphor worked, without once ever feeling overworked. This is a relatively short book — and on audio, it was only 6 discs — but it packs in a lot worth thinking about and discussing without developing an overly complicated story line. Throughout the book, I did feel myself jarred at what happened to Denny, but not because it was entirely surprising. My real surprises came because I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what was going on to sense the next step coming. In other words, I, too, caught myself getting too stuck into my ideas and beliefs instead of “living” the story.

Christopher Evan Welch narrates this book, and I think he is the perfect Enzo. If that name sounds familiar to you, you may remember him as the voice of Tails in the cartoon series of The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1990s. What works is his slightly deeper voice — not baritone deep, but enough to sound slightly gruff and yet smooth simultaneously. He both reads with 100% emotion yet makes it feel emotionless, like a canine observer. It is easy to fall into the story and lose yourself. See my earlier comment about “living” the story.

The production and editing of this audio were spot on. There was just enough music at the beginning of each disc to help you drop into the story and the setting. I didn’t find any noticable production issues. This was a semi-voiced narration, too, which made for an interesting contrast. The dog-to-person transitions were natural and never forced.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a book that will stand the test of time. There is a lot to dig into here, and I would venture to say it’s a modern classic. Book groups will find plenty to discuss here, but I can see literature classes having a lot to talk about. The writing is strong, but the messages are stronger. The narrative device gives rise to a lot of questions on perspective, especially in a story that involves scandal: can we believe Enzo?

This is a book everyone should read. I don’t think it’s one everyone will like, as Janssen herself was not a huge fan. I’m going to disagree with her though on a couple points (this rarely happens!) – I didn’t think the book was depressing, and I definitely didn’t think this was about a dog. The book is quite hopeful, and the focus, I think, is on humans and humanity. The dog’s the device, the race car if you will, that sets the story in motion. And don’t worry if you’re not a racing fan: it’s minimal. But do be aware there is a lot of swearing and quite a few moments that will make you blush…especially when you’re in your car driving in traffic at 7:30 a.m.

(P.S.: Does anyone else think these covers cater to entirely different audiences? The lighter blue with the script-like writing appeals to the younger readers, while the deeper blue with the more inquisitive-looking dog definitely appeals to the older readers. An interesting tactic!).

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

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Sometimes, a book clicks with you, and other times, it just doesn’t. For me, Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus falls on the “does not” side of that equation.

Persephone (“Phe”) Archer lost her sister not too long ago from mysterious circumstances, and as if that weren’t bad enough, Phe has suffered from a series of horrifying dreams in a graveyard, where a mysterious man has stepped in to play a significant part. Like her sister, Phe is drawn to Devenish Prep School in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts — quite a distance away from her home in Los Angeles. But because of the recent death of her sister, Phe’s parents aren’t too argumentative when she asks to enroll in the school.

When Phe gets to Devenish Prep, weird things start happening. She’s having the dreams more and more, and in addition, she’s been called Rebeckah by a local shop owner who is convinced she is actually someone else from the 1700s. Oh, and this guy, Zach, is able to know her thoughts, feel her energy, and make weird things happen with electromagnetism. Add to that the graveyard Phe happened to stumble upon behind the school, and you have a paranormal adventure with a hefty dose of mystery to unravel about the school, Phe, and her sister’s death.

Shadow Hills is a lengthy book, but it never once felt that way. This is a fast moving book, but it suffered from too many elements that never seemed fully developed. Throughout the story, I felt like Phe had too many issues going on — the dead sister, the dreams, the utter fascination with Shadow Hill’s mysterious grave yard, friends who may or may not be friends, romance with the magnetic boy, and more. These story lines never gelled for me, and many times, I thought I was rereading Twilight, as the bulk of the story’s arc was near identical.

What I would have really wanted from this title (and note, this is something I hardly ever say) was more length. I think this was the sort of book that could have benefited from the length and description and back story that Beautiful Creatures had. I felt throughout this book, the mystery and the paranormal aspects were made up on the spot without a lot of history imbued within them; the rules kept changing and appearing without much rhyme or reason. This could have been better developed and lengthened, and in that, I could have more easily fallen into the story and the world. Likewise, there were too many characters, and their importance in the story seemed to shift too much for me to keep track of. I never sunk into their histories or their experiences, thus when someone held the key to unsolving an aspect of the mystery, I didn’t find myself questioning why or how. I skimmed it and went on without hesitation. I didn’t get to know the characters in enough depth to warrant more than the passing read. And the added aspect of the electromagnetism left me confused and could have probably been edited out. That alone may have helped the issue of too many strings and not enough puppetteers for me.

As a non-reader of this genre, I wasn’t pulled in as I was in others I’ve tried. The ability to see too many other story lines in this was a little disappointing, too, as I didn’t find enough new here. And Phe was far too male-dependent, much like Bella. Phe was kind of an irritating character throughout. I think Graham — who she meets when she first enters Devenish — was my favorite. I wish there was a little more of him. Oh, and good grief, did the librarian NEED to be described as an old lonely spinster? This isn’t making friends with the profession…

When I mentioned that this book wasn’t doing it for me, one of my friends said this sounded like something totally up her alley. Shadow Hills will have a definite audience, and I think for those who did like Twilight, this is a natural go-to. This may appeal to more mature paranormal readers, as well, who will find themselves digging the mystery aspects more than perhaps the actual paranormal moments.

Shadow Hills is Anastasia Hopcus’s debut novel, due out in July of this year. She’s an Austin based writer, and I think had this book been set there, rather than a distant place in Massachusetts, I’d have maybe eaten it up just a little more (yep, I’m sometimes that shallow a reader).

AudioSynced: Zeitoun

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When I moved, I got a new public library. One of the things that they do I love is separate out their new audio books from the huge selection they own. They’re on the same shelves as the new fiction and non-fiction, making them stand out. Zeitoun, by David Eggers, was a book I’d heard about over and over last year since it ended up on a number of “best of” lists, but I hadn’t thought to pick it up. When I saw that it was available in audio and knowing what a great experience I had previously with a non-fiction audio book, I thought I’d give it a whirl.

I’m so glad I did.

Zeitoun is the true story of Abdularahman Zeitoun (who goes by Zeitoun), the owner of a small contracting service specializing in painting and roof repairs in New Orleans. The story takes place in the immediate wake of Hurricane Katrina and follows Zeitoun as he chooses to ride out the hurricane in his home so he can watch over it and his rental properties.

Zeitoun’s both a father and a husband to Kathy. Kathy and the children do not like Zeitoun’s decision to stay in the city and they decided they need to leave. If there is a mandatory evacuation, they think it is best to follow the orders, and they choose to head to Baton Rouge, where Kathy has family.

Eggers’s story gives the day-by-day details of Zeitoun’s time in New Orleans. Prior to the storm, he invested in a small paddle boat. As the water starts rising around him, he finds he can be quite helpful to others who have found themselves in the city and stuck. He helped an elderly woman find safety, and he took responsibility for feeding some neighborhood dogs left abandoned by their neighbor. And, as luck would have it, one of the Zeitoun rental properties managed to maintain phone service; Zeitoun is able to make daily phone calls to Kathy and give her the update on the city and on himself.

While listening to the story, it was at this point I immediately thought that Eggers had written a text much like the graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld. That, too, is a story of those who chose to stay in the city, rather than leave.

But I was so, so wrong.

What happens nearly a week after the storm wrecked havoc on the city is painful to hear. Kathy, accustomed to Zeitoun’s daily noon phone calls, suddenly stops receiving them. She has not heard from her husband in a number of days, and now that she is on her way to Phoenix (tired of her family in Baton Rouge), she is convinced Zeitoun has died. What would she tell her family? How would she ever be able to go back to the city?

It turns out that Zeitoun had not died. Rather, the Department of Homeland Security, in a hasty sweep of the city, had arrested him, stripped him of any and all of his rights, and locked him into a taunting high security prison for weeks. He was not told what for, nor was he given a single phone call. He was labeled a terrorist because of his skin color and religious beliefs, and he endured something far worse than the terror Katrina caused the city.

Zeitoun was a powerfully moving story that will stick with me for a very long time. I had not known about these stories of post-Katrina New Orleans, and it was absolutely painful and horrifying to find out these atrocities happened to innocent people. Although I am not ignorant about these sorts of abuses, it was not something I had expected to happen in the wake of a natural disaster in our own country. This is the sort of story everyone needs to read and become aware of.

Listening to this book on audio was perfect for me. The narrator, Firdous Bamji, delivers a wonderful voice to the story. It is not fully voiced, nor really semi-voiced audio. Bamji does offer us a bit of tone difference among the characters, but that is less for effect than simply for audio distinction (think more like a the fact we separate dialog on a page with new paragraphs to make it clear someone new is talking). He offers a nice, truthful rendering of how I would imagine Zeitoun’s life to sound, with his slight Syrian accent.

However, I had a huge problem with the production of this audio book. It was muffled and garbled, and the sound quality left a lot to be desired. On each disc, I had to readjust my sound and volume in the car, and immediately upon changing discs, I had to turn the volume way down or else I’d blow out my speakers. For such a well-received story and such a strong narrator choice, I was really quite surprised at the production weaknesses. Fortunately, the compelling story and sheer range of emotional investment I had in the characters — particularly Zeitoun — made me keep listening despite the flaws.

A fair bit of warning: aside from the anger and frustration one will feel with the central story here, there are a few other disturbing scenes. Zeitoun is made completely human and admirable in them. I won’t ruin them, but be prepared to cry a couple of times.

Zeitoun is worth the 9-disc investment. I think this is a story more powerfully told through audio than printed word, too. And in the end, prepare to feel both satisfied and unsatisfied. This is exactly the type of ending a book like this deserves.