Thursday Next - First Among Sequels - Jasper Fforde

2007; 362 pages. #5 in the Thursday Next series (or #6, if you count "The Great Samuel Pepys Fiasco"). Genre : Fictional Book-Jumping. Overall Rating : 9*/10.

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It's been 14 years since the events in Something Rotten. Thursday Next is now ostensibly living a quiet life with hubby Landen and three kids (Friday, Tuesday, and Jenny). She's working for a carpet company, but the carpet company is a front for the officially disbanded SpecOps, and SpecOps is a front for Thursday's job with Jurisfiction.

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Trouble is a-brewin'. There's a Stupidity Surplus in England and Reading Rates are down. Cheese-smuggling is rampant and the Minotaur is still on the loose. The Hades family is back in action, as is Goliath Corp. Not only is The End Of Time rapidly approaching, but what they do to Pride And Prejudice is absolutely intolerable.

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What's To Like...

It's vintage Fforde - lots of threads and lots of wit. There are multiple Thursdays, multiple Fridays, multiple timelines, and lots of books-jumping. Fforde teases you with oodles of plot detail tidbits, and you have to figure out whether they're red herrings, MacGuffins, loose ends, or integral parts of one of the plotlines. There's some of each.

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Some old friends are back. Uncle Mycroft has died, but his ghost still putters around in the workshop. Pickwick has lost all her feathers and needs a knitted sweater. Even the Cat Formerly Known as Cheshire shows up.

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The book gets off to a slow start. Fforde spends a lot of time with the back-story, especially explaining how all the SpecOps and Jurisfiction departments are set up. After a hundred pages, I was beginning to wonder when the action would begin. I shouldn't've worried. The last 250 pages are fantastic.

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Kewl New Words...

Marram : a type of grass usually found on beaches. Profligate : wildly extravagant. Duvet : a soft quilt, usually filled with down. Privet : a European shrub, commonly used to make hedgerows.

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Excerpts...

"Splendid! I just had an idea for a cheap form of power : by bringing pasta and antipasta together, we could be looking at the utter annihilation of ravioli and the liberation of vast quantities of energy. I safely predict that an average-size cannelloni would be able to power Swindon for over a year. Mind you, I could be wrong." (pg. 18)

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"...and the first classic to be turned into a reality book show?"

"Pride and Prejudice, announced Yogert proudly. "It will be renamed The Bennets and will be serialized live in your household copy the day after tomorrow. Set in starchy early-nineteenth-century England, the series will feature Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters being given tasks and then voted out of the house one by one, with the winner going on to feature in Northanger Abbey, which itself will be the subject of more 'readeractive' changes." (pg. 272-73)

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Paragraph Lost...

This was a delightful read, so it rates Nine Stars. First Among Sequels ends by setting up the next book, which is titled "One of our Thursdays is Missing".

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My only concern is whether Fforde's getting burnt out on the Thursday Next tales. This book came out in 2007. He's promised us at least one more book in the "Nursery Crime" series; and his most-recent offering is Shades Of Grey, the first story in a new trilogy. Will he run out of new twists in the book-jumping theme? Is he looking for novel challenges? Oh well. Even if it ends with the next installment, it's been fun following Thursday's exploits.

The Food Of The Gods - H.G. Wells

1904; 254 pages. Full Title : "The Food of the Gods And How it Came to Earth". 1967 price (new) : $0.75.; used-book price today : $2.00. Genres : Classic Fiction; Early Sci-Fi; Edwardian Literature. Overall Rating "B".

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The sci-fi premise : There is a compounf in young animals and plants that causes them to have growth spurts. This discontinues once the organism has reached a certain age or size. But what if that compound could be identified, made, and fed for a longer time to the organism?

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Two turn-of-the-century scientists research and synthesize the compound ("The Food of the Gods") and decide to test it on hatchlings at an experimental farm. It works, but things immediately go awry because the farm custodians - think Ma & Pa Kettle - are incredibly sloppy with the FOTG. Soon wasps, earwigs, and rats get into it and grow to unheard-of size, and when it falls into the soil, gigantic plants result. Then the scientists start feeding it to infants.

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What's To Like...

H.G. Wells is often called the "father of science fiction", so this is primordial stuff. The structure of the plot is different from both modern and 50's sci-fi, the latter of which was my first taste of this genre. There is a subtle, British humor throughout the book (including chortle-inducing names), but the real difference is the switching from one theme to another.

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TFOTG starts with your standard "Jurassic Park" theme. Giant, rampaging critters wreak mayhem o'er the land. Crichton could build this into a trilogy, but it only takes Wells about 100 pages to resolve it.

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Then the story switches to a sociological theme. Wells looks at how the new phenomenon changes the lives of the local humans. Giant rats and wasps that can kill affect our position at the top of the food-chain. So do 40-foot tall humans.

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The last third of the book switches to a political theme. Friction inevitably develops between the "giants" and the "pigmies", especially when the latter expect the former to confine themselves to restricted areas and only do menial jobs. Wells was an avowed socialist, and it is rather obvious that the giants here represent the lower classes.

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Surprisingly, this was a slow-read for me. The sentences are long and complex, with lots of flowery verbiage. Oh well, at least it isn't Milton.

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Kewl New Words...

There were a bunch. Teufteufing : making the onomatopeian sound of a motor (French). Eleemosynary : dependent on, or considered to be, an act of charity. Cavil : trivial objections. Gride : to produce a grinding sound. Almoner : one who distributes alms or takes care of the material and social needs of patients in a hospital. Irruption : a sudden, violent entrance or bursting in. Navvy : a laborer required to do menial work. Intercalary : inserted into the calendar to make it correspond to the solar year (think February 29th). Chalybeate : containing salt of, or tasting like, Iron. Importunate : expressing earnest entreaty. Selvedge : the ornamental border of a carpet, designed not to fray. Adumbration : vague advance portents; an indistinct foreshadowing.

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Excerpts...

They were of course quite undistinguished-looking men, as indeed all true scientists are. There is more personal distinction about the mildest-mannered actor alive than there is about the entire Royal Society. (pg. 20)

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Lady Wondershoot liked bullying Caddles. Caddles was her ideal lower-class person, dishonest, faithful, abject, industrious, and inconceivably incapable of responsibility. (pg. 134)

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"Look at them! And I know their father, a brute, a sort of brute beast with an intolerant loud voice, a creature who has run amuck in our all too merciful world for the last thirty years or more. An engineer! To him all we hold dear and sacred is nothing." (pg. 183)

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A different world...

The thing I like most about The Food of the Gods is the way Wells depicts life in the English countryside 100+ years ago. The first motorcars had just begun to appear on the streets. Most people still rode horseback or in wagons. There were lots of small, rural villages, all essentially isolated. There was no radio and no TV, the news came from neighbors or newspapers. Science was more a hobby than an industry.

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This is not one of Wells' better-known books, but it's still good. I'll give it a "B", content to know that there is some Edwardian reading out there that isn't chick-lit.

Hurricane Punch - Tim Dorsey

2007; 362 pages. Book #8 in Dorsey's Serge Storms series. Genres : Humor, Crime Fiction, Beach Novel. Overall Rating : "B+".

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Serge Storms, a lovable serial killer (he'd prefer the tag "impromptu dispenser of justice") and Coleman, a complete stoner (he'd prefer the tag "complete stoner") crisscross the state of Florida, eliminating obnoxious characters, enjoying the balmy weather in the eyes of hurricanes, avoiding the relentless pursuit of Agent Mahoney, and trying to figure out why a copycat killer is trying to steal the limelight from Serge.

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What's To Like...

The book is laugh out loud funny, as humorous as a Bill Bryson book. There is a nice twist at the end, but as with Stephanie Plum novels, the dialogue and interplay between the characters is more important than the story. Coleman is a hoot (think "Chong" of Cheech and Chong); and Serge is charmingly charismatic.

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There is sex and cussing, but it fits here. Then there are the ingenious ways which Serge devises to dispense his vigilante justice. For instance, the wanna-be-a-black-guy white guy who plays his truck stereo at 2000 decibels is dispatched by converting a hotel room into the inside of a giant speaker, tying the offender to a chair in the middle, and zapping his insides with enough reverb to register on the Richter scale. Hannibal Lecter would be jealous.

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This was my first Serge Storms book. Dorsey doesn't start with a backstory, so I was a bit confused initially about Serge and Coleman's roles. Also, Serge is a veritable walking encyclopedia of Florida history, culture, and geographical trivia. That's great if you're a Floridian; alas I'm not. But I quibble.

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Kewl New Words...

Factotum : an employee who serves in a variety of capacities. (Jeez. I go 50 years without ever meeting this word, and then it crops up in two books in a row). Truculent : disposed to fighting; defiantly aggressive.

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Excerpt...

She covered the phone and gave Serge an inconvenienced look. "Who are you?"

"The new guys."

"I haven't seen you before."

"We're new." Serge looked back at Coleman. "Take note. That's why she's behind the counter."

"What'd you say?"

"I was telling him I can see how you got to be back there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a neutral statement, personally subjective, like a psychiatrist's butterfly inkblot. If you feel bursting with success, take it as a compliment. If not, consider it a cultural intervention."

She squinted with cranial discomfort. "What are you talking about?"

"Exactly. And that's the question you have to answer for yourself." (pg. 209)

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It's only funny until someone gets hurt - then it's hilarious.

Dorsey is often (and aptly) compared to Carl Hiaasen. I've read one book by each author, and so far I find Dorsey much more entertaining and funny. Admittedly, he walks a fine line by making a serial killer and a dopehead his two main heroes. But it works.

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There's nothing deep here - so take Hurricane Punch to the beach with you when you plan to work on your tan. Yet it was delightfully entertaining, and I'm sure I'll end up reading more in the series.

Factotum - Charles Bukowski

1975; 205 pages. Genre : Autobiographical Fiction. Overall Rating : "C-".

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Lifestory-wise, Factotum follows Ham On Rye. Henry "Hank" Chinaski (Bukowski's alter ego) has just moved out of his parents' house and away from L.A. The book opens with him arriving in New Orleans. For the rest of the book, Chinaski moves from city-to-city; from low-paying job-to-job; and from one drunken bender to the next. The story is set during World War 2, with Chinaski having been deferred from the armed service.

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What's To Like...

Factotum is a quick read, without any complexity to slow you down. If you want to find out what living on Skid Row feels like, this is the book for you. If you want to feel good about your present employment, the various crappy jobs that Chinaski works at (albeit briefly each time) will make yours look much better.

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The problem with Factotum is there's no progress. Chinaski's life consists of booze, cigarettes, look for a job, booze, sex, cigarettes, get hired, booze, cigarettes, booze, sex, get fired, booze, move to another city. Then start the cycle all over again. Halfway through, you can throw "play the horses" sporadically into the above routine. Repeat the whole process about eight times, and you're done.

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There's also a bit of TMI. There's not enough money for both toilet paper and booze, so guess which one isn't bought? NBD, one can always use the newspaper as TP. Except that it doesn't do as efficient of a job as the real stuff. Or so writes Bukowski. I'll take his word for it.

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It's hard to tell how much is fiction and how much is simply me being naive about the dregs of society. Chinaski only has one pick-up line, and that's, "Hey, baby. How 'bout lifting your skirt?" But it seems to get good results. Hmmm. Is that wishful fantasy, or is that how one really establishes social relations on Skid Row?

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Kewl New Words...

Factotum : a servant employed to do a variety of jobs. (fits Chinaski to a tee). 86'd : To be refused service. (previously, I only knew it as meaning "to be killed").

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Excerpts...

That was all a man needed : hope. It was lack of hope that discouraged a man. I remembered my New Orleans days, living on two five-cent candy bars a day for weeks at a time in order to have leisure to write. But starvation, unfortunately, didn't improve art. It only hindered it. A man's soul was rooted in his stomach." (pg. 63)

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National Bakery Goods was located nearby. They gave me a white smock and a locker. They made cookies, biscuits, cupcakes and so forth. Because I had claimed two years of college on my application, I got the job as Coconut Man. The Coconut Man stood up on a perch, scooped his shovel into the shredded coconut barrel and dumped the white flakes into a machine. (pg. 189-90)

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Even though it follows Ham On Rye story-wise, Bukowski wrote Factotum seven years before he penned HOR. The style is similar - blunt and gritty - but HOR is much more interesting. Maybe it's because HOR is about Chinaski's development as a youth. Or maybe Bukowski in 1982 was just a more accomplished writer than he was in 1975.

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My son had clued me in that reading Bukowski was a hit-or-miss affair. After two "hits" - see the reviews here and here, this one was a "miss" for me. There is some earthy humor, and some insightful musing, but not enough of either. My next Buko book will undoubtedly be either some of his poems or his short stories, but not another part of his 5-volume autobiography.

Un Lun Dun - China Mieville

2007; 471 pages. Awards : NY Times Bestseller; 2008 Locus Award for Young Adult Book. Miéville has won a Locus Award four times. Genre : YA; Sci Fantasy. Overall Rating : "A".

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Un Lun Dun = UnLondon = an alternate dimension London. Geographically, it's in the same place as London, but there the similarity ends. When 12-year-olds Zanna and Deeba inadvertently stumble iacross the dimensional threshold, they encounter all sorts of strange new things - Binja (martial arts-wielding trash bins); Webminster Abbey (watch out for the spider thingies); Unbrellas (this is where broken umbrellas from our dimension migrate to); and giraffes you definitely don't want to cross paths with. Oh, and an evil presence ("the Smog") just happens to be threatening the very existence of UnLondon at that moment.

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What's To Like...

There's a great storyline; some delightful wordplay and fabulous characters to meet. This is kind of a cross between Lewis Carroll's Through The Looking Glass, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman. You'll find it in the "Young Adult" section of your bookstore, but adults will enjoy it too.

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Miéville has a message here, but there's no preaching and he "shows rather than tells". He also has an artistic touch, and he's sprinkled a bunch of his sketches throughout the book. One drawing shows what a "house-sized fist, carved out of stone, with windows in its knuckles" looks like. Neat.

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Kewl & New Words...

Un Lun Dun is written in "English" (as opposed to "American") so there are a lot of Britishisms here. Miéville conveniently lists of bunch of these in an Appendix at the back of the book. Here's a sampling : bog off; do a bunk, knackered, lairy, manky, minging, sarky, shtum, take the Michael, and yonks. "Knackered" I know; all the rest were new to me.

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Excerpts...

They ran past chefs baking roof-tiles in their ovens and chiseling apart bricks over pans, frying the whites and yolks that emerged; past confectioners with jars full of candied leaves; past what looked like an argument at a honey stall between a bear in a suit and a cloud of bees in the shape of a man. (pg. 36)

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"Where's it going?" Zanna said.

"Crossing the Odd, to some of the other abcities," Jones said."If you're brave enough to try, you might be able to catch a train from UnLondon to Parisn't, or No York, or Helsunki, or Lost Angeles, or Sans Francisco, or Hong Gone, or Romeless... It's a terminus." (pg. 60)

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To be or not to be. That is the quest...

Almost all "quest" novels contain the same elements. There's always a Chosen One, who's almost always the most unlikely one of the bunch. There are always some prophecies, which are true but inevitably misinterpreted. Our hero always assembles an intrepid band of colleagues to help him, who always manage to stay alive at the very least until the climactic ending. If they do die earlier, they always come back as some sort of ethereal ally. There's always an Ultimate Evil, and there's almost always an Ultimate Artifact that amazingly can penetrate the UE's one-and-only Achilles' heel. But to get that UA, there are always a bunch of mini-quests to do.

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Un Lun Dun is a quest story. But it seems as if Miéville wrote it with the idea of violating as many of those sacred quest elements as possible. The result is a refreshingly different read.

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I thoroughly enjoyed Un Lun Dun, so it gets an "A"from me. There are even enough unessential loose ends (is that an oxymoron?) to leave the door open for a sequel. If you like Gaiman, Pratchett, Pullman and Carroll, you'll love this book.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris

2004; 257 pages. #1 National Bestseller, whatever that means. Genre : Anecdotal Humor; Semi-autbiography. Overall Rating : "C".

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22 stories from David Sedaris about growing up in a dysfunctional family and coping with a world that still gets freaked out by gays. The time period is roughly from the 5th Grade to the present.

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What's To Like...

As always, there are some laugh-out loud funny tales here. Rooster At The Hitchin' Post is about Sedaris' younger brother's wedding, performed by a psychic found in the phone book, and with music by JD the DJ who by day works in the penitentiary.

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Possession is about looking for the perfect apartment with his partner, Hugh, only to discover the two of them have very different ideas about decor and ambiance. In fairness, David is smitten by Anne Frank's apartment in Amsterdam (which is a museum and not for rent), so Hugh's choices were probably the more sensible.

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For a change, not all the stories are zany. Baby Einstein is about the family coping with the complications at the birth of brother Paul's first child. Everyone survives, but just barely, and Paul's wife, Kathy, can have no more babies. Chicken in the HenHouse is Sedaris stressing out about the public's misconception (at least in his mind) that gay guys are also by definition pedophiles.

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Unfortunately, some of the stories were neither funny nor heartwarming. Let It Snow is about the Sedaris kids, out in wintry weather and bored, convincing the youngest sister to trustingly lay down in the middle of the road in order to make cars swerve to miss her. Mom gets wind of it, comes out and cusses out all her kids, and that's that.

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Kewl & New Words...

Just a couple, and they're mostly technical ones. Delft : a style of glazed earthenware - usually white with blue decoration (think Dutch china). Découpage : art produced by decorating a surface with cutouts, usually of paper. (as a youngster, Sedaris had done this to the electrical wall sockets in his bedroom). Sedaris also assumed I knew who Dorothea Lange was. You're not acquainted with her either? Here's her Wiki entry.

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Excerpts...

He knew how to plan a meal but displayed a remarkable lack of patience when it came time for the actual cooking. Frozen dinners were often eaten exactly as sold, the Salisbury steak amounting to a stickless meat popsicle. I phoned one night just as he was leaning a family pack of frozen chicken wings against the back door. He'd forgotten to defrost them and was now attempting to stomp the solid mass into three 6-inch portions, which he'd stack in a pile and force into his toaster oven. (pg. 167, talking about his brother, Paul).

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They'd been living together for more than a year when I finally met the girlfriend, a licensed hairdresser named Kathy. Erase the tattoos and the nicotine patch and she resembled one of the tranquil Flemish madonnas, the ubiquitous Christ child replaced by a hacking pug. Her grace, her humor, her fur-matted sweaters - we loved her immediately. Best of all, she was from the North, meaning that should she and Paul ever conceive a child, it stood a fifty-fifty chance of speaking understandable English. (pg. 169-70).

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I was on the front porch, drowning a mouse in a bucket...

Before Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004) there was Naked (1997) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000). I enjoyed both of the earlier books immensely; but this one felt "meh". Maybe there were only so many hilarious incidents in Sedaris' life, and those got mostly used up in the first two books. If so, that doesn't bode well for his most-recent offering, When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008), which I haven't read yet.

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I recommend this book to anyone who wants a glimpse of the more human side of Sedaris. But if it's non-stop madcap stories you want, pick up the earlier works. We'll give it a "C", cuz it's not bad overall. But I admit it - I read Sedaris strictly for the humor.