Archive for October, 2008

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

ISBN: 0440180295
215 pages
published in 1969.
October 11th – October 24th.
You can buy this book at this link.

This was so good. I read the first chapter a couple weeks ago, became busy and didn’t come back to it really until last night. I read it off and on until tonight. Towards the end I couldn’t stop reading it. It is basically a disjointed narrative about a soldier during WWII and his memories of the war, his experiences before and after the war and of being kidnapped by aliens.

There were so many things in this book that stick to memory. It is, always, very self-aware and humorous and I think that is what makes it so appealing. There is something very frank and to-the-point about the writing style, which I think is part of Vonnegut’s style (I wouldn’t know much – this is the first book of his I’ve finished, I’m in the middle of Cat’s Cradle right now, though, too). No matter what though, it’s unique and interesting and engaging.

There were also just statements in it that just struck me as perfect. I loved this part:

“Rosewater was on the next bed, reading, and Billy drew him into the conversation, asked him what he was reading this time.

So Rosewater told him. It was The Gospel from Outer Space, by Kilgore Trout. It was about a visitor from outer space, shaped very much like a Tralfamadorian, by the way. The visitor from outer space made a serious study of Christianity, to learn, if he could, why Christians found it so easy to be cruel. He concluded that at least part of the trouble was slipshod storytelling in the New Testament. He supposed that the intend of the Gospels was to teach people, among other things, to be merciful, even to the lowest of the low.

But the Gospels actually taught this:

Before you kill somebody, make absolutely sure he isn’t well connected. So it goes.

The flaw in the Christ stories, said the visitor from outer space, was that Christ, who didn’t look like much, was actually the Son of the Most Powerful Being in the Universe. Readers understood that, so, when they came to the crucifixion, they naturally thought, and Rosewater read out loud again:

Oh, boy – they sure picked the wrong guy to lynch that time!

And that thought had a brother: “There are right people to lynch.” Who? People not well connected. So it goes.

The visitor from outer space made a gift to Earth of a new Gospel. In it, Jesus really was a nobody, and a pain in the neck to a lot of people with better connections than he had. He still got to say all the lovely and puzzling things he said in the other Gospels.

So the people amused themselves one day by nailing him to a cross and planting the cross in the ground. There couldn’t possibly be any repercussions, the lynchers thought. The reader would have to think that, too, since the new Gospel hammered home again and again what a nobody Jesus was.

And then, just before the nobody died, the heavens opened up, and there was thunder and lightning. The voice of God came crashing down. He told the people that he was adopting the bum as his son, giving him the full powers and priviledges of The Son of the Creator of the Universe throughout all eternity. God said this: From this moment on, He will punish horribly anybody who torments a bum who has no connections!

Brilliant. Read this book.

A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer

ISBN: 1558743669
195 pages
published in 1995.
October 17th – October 19th.
You can buy this book at this link.

I suppose you can look at this book from two angles. One – everything this author says is true, he is a survivor of child abuse, he really did go through everything he said he did, etc, etc. Or two – everything is either false or victimized by serious hyperbole. It’s sensationalized. Blah, blah.

I am really tempted to agree with position two, due to my own pessimism (or perhaps it’s optimism). You are free to disagree with me. However, there are some holes in this story that beg for questioning. Perhaps they are answered in his subsequent two books, but I doubt it. For one, there are some things described in this book that just seem to transcend reality. For instance, there was a period where he described being stabbed by his mother and having his blood soak through like three shirts and bed sheets, etc, and I’m sorry, but a kid doesn’t survive that. He also describes being locked in a bathroom with the vents closed and breathing in a mixture of ammonia and Clorox for ‘what must have been over an hour’. He wouldn’t have survived that, either. An adult wouldn’t have, for that matter.

If he really did go through everything he described, I apologize, and I’m glad he was able to rise above all of that and is helping others do the same

But I think he’s full of shit. And for what it’s worth, the writing sucked – no defense of being in a ‘child’s point of view’ is going to work. It didn’t at all resemble a child’s point of view – it resembled someone that couldn’t write and needed an excuse for it.

Closer by Dennis Cooper

ISBN: 080213212X
144 pages
published in 1989.
October 11th – October 19th.
You can buy this book at this link.

Jesus christ, this novel. Thanks a lot, Brent. Nightmares forever.

The only other book in existence that I can compare this to is Poppy Z. Brite’s Exquisite Corpse. The subject matter is similar, but the story line is completely different. What aligns these two in my mind is the otherworldly, ghost-like feeling you have while navigating through the book. I would give you guys the background and a synopsis of this novel, but it would be impossible. There simply doesn’t seem to be one.

What you do get, however, is a ethereal, mesmerizing journey through the lives of a handful of young, gay men. They are all lost, confused, wanting something – but unable to grasp it. The language is graphic and intense, but strangely beautiful. The effect is sometimes darkly humorous, always haunting and overall captivating. I hate the ‘you can’t put it down’ cliche, but it works here. This isn’t for the weak-stomached or people (like me!) who have a tendency to lay awake at night and think – about anything. If you let it, this book will draw you in and keep you safe in a dark, quiet and cold room. The past and the future have no bearing in this world. Soon you will feel as alone and emotionless as the protagonists of the novel. Have fun with this one.

Spooky Book Giveaway

OMG! A book giveaway! Hidden Side Of A Leaf is having a book giveaway for Halloween. Hurry and run over there to put your name in the drawing to win a whole box of spooky books! The drawing ends Friday at noon, so you don’t have a whole lot of time left! I’m going to do some Google research on some of the titles after I’m done posting this – maybe even if I don’t win them they’ll be worth looking out for, anyway. :]

Also, if you make a post like this on your own blog, you’ll be entered three times for a chance to win the box of books.

PS: Photo copyright @ Philosopher Queen @ Flickr

Carrot Rating System

This is fairly straightforward, but I thought I’d post to update so you guys don’t wonder what the heck all these vegetables are doing on my posts!

I’m going to be using a rating system for book reviews from now on in this blog. It’s going to be a traditional rating system, five carrots is the highest rating a book can get. There are half-carrots, too, and they will be used appropriately.

Why carrots? Wombats love carrots. In the words of one of my favorite characters from a children’s book (Mothball Wombat from Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French) – “Carrots delicious.”

PS: Huge thanks to Julie for making the adorable little carrots for me!

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