Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff

 

BIG QUESTIONS

·      Is the Wolff guy a hack?

I don’t think so.  I’ve read more than a thousand books in the past decade, and I’d put him in the middle of the lot.

The bar is pretty low for DC tell-alls.  No one takes 2-5 years to “polish” his or her book.

It’s what he says it is: a chaotic story, written mid-chaos, which he’s tried to make cohesive and flowing in narrative form.

·      Is there anything To Learn here?

It depends on how deeply you’ve followed the White House this past year.   I haven’t followed at all – 30 minutes a day on the five o’clock news.

For Me, this book filled in the details that I’ve only read in headlines. I learned about the back-room machinations and “rationales” for what was happening.  I now understand the personalities better.

·      How partisan is it?  Should it only be read by Dems?

It’s a tell-all: -Wolff gossips about everyone.  Currently in the White House are Republicans, so that’s mainly who he gossips about.  There’s some good gossip, but most gossip is bad gossip. 

Read it if you want to know what goes on in Washington D.C.  It’s not that much different than, “The West Wing”, I enjoyed the read, but it does bog down at times, mainly because life in DC is insanely boring.

·      Peter’s politics

A Barry Goldwater guy (early ‘60’s); then worked for Morris Udall’s campaign (techie-a decade later).  Ross Perot (interviewed-80’s, voted ‘92); then Gore 2000.  Obama 2008 -- Kamala Harris 2020.

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

I write this, 300 pages into a 400-page novel.  That’s deeply enough to proclaim the author’s stunning writing ability to turn a phrase: metaphors, descriptive words, uncommon thoughts.  The author is unusually inventive: in scenes, conversations, and plotline.  Likewise, with 100 pages to go, I won’t be writing any spoilers.

With, I’m sure, hundreds of books coming off the presses with a 2018 publishing date, how did I select this one?  Ahh, the power of a good author to influence their readers.  Louise Penny, a favorite of mine, wrote a recommendation that sold me.  That’s not to say I didn’t also order [Jan 1^st] and am reading: “The Nothing” by Hanif Kureishi [an NPR recommendation], and Wolff’s, “Fire and Fury” [a Donald Trump anti-recommendation].

Finn’s book is particularly relevant for our Guerneville book groups and book program on local KGGV FM-radio.  That’s because these groups are loaded with psychologists and … ..

the protagonist of this book is a child psychologist, and the plotlines revolve around the families with children living around her, as well as her own, and she is deeply struggling with agoraphobia, and … ..

she is self-medicating with prodigious quantities or powerful drugs (medications), and washing them down with bottles of wine.

Nonetheless, the reader sympathizes with her: “she needs the meds”, “she can handle the wine”.  She’s in control: wins at chess and runs an online mental health chat line.

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

Not all novels we read are required to “Suspend Disbelief” to be successful.

Maybe it’s not so much the belief that is important, but rather that disbelief has a broad range including talking animals (kid’s books) and alien beings (SciFi).

At least, in our case with “Nutshell”, the protagonist baby is Homo sapiens, in the truest sense, since he is wise. 

We learn, from this very communicative prenatal being that he is a bon vivant extraordinaire with a strong influence from southern France (he enjoys a Meursault rather than Champagne).  His knowledge of literature and the arts is due to listening to podcasts.  This is also how he has developed reasonable psychological and analytical skills, allowing our inside (double entendre [pardon]) observation of an A-to-Z homicide: plan, execution, and wrap-up.

There are probably crimes committed somewhere on this Earth every minute.  The motives behind the plan are fully transparent: greed and lust.  Our author does not attempt to imitate either A.C. Doyle or A. Christie with execution details of the crime.

The delicious joy of the read lies in the unfolding of the story, comically, step-by-step through the detective work of our raconteur narrator.

è     Not advisable if pregnant.

The Little French Bistro by Nina George

I’ll stay with the Comic Sans type font; it is appropriate for this delightful story. This book is only recently out in translation, summer 2017, although first published in Germany in 2010.  The 7-year gap to English reflects last year’s popularity of a translation of “The Little Paris Bookshop” first published in 2013 as “Das Lavendelzimmer”.

This is an enjoyable read.  The plotline is simple and her characters are big and bold.  This was the lead in book to -Paris Bookshop-.  She has developed her writing talents noticibly between the two books.

The author of this Bistro book has incorporated throughout a strong feminist viewpoint: self-actualization, powerful roles, gender co-support.  She goes as far as the lady of the lake and mystical/spiritual powers.

There are many plot lines: the protagonist’s coming of age (60), many love relationships, food, art, the sea, and love 'toujours l'amour'.

This book has interesting take-aways: knowledge of the Breton coastline of Brittany, its Welsh-type language, its Celtic history and links to Merlin and King Arthur, lots of cooking tips and recipes.

A book that makes the reader laugh and cry.

Brain Rules by John Medina

If I were still reviewing books with Pat Nolan, he would have been into this book with double-energy.  Not only is it non-fiction, it’s about the brain and how the brain functions, written by a molecular biologist.

Professor Medina hits exactly the right note for my liking.  I don’t think there is anything new here, but for me, he reinforces all those ingrained homilies about a good night’s sleep, balanced diet, and a reasonable amount of exercise.  It also helps, we all know, to never cease to push oneself into social, physical, and intellectual activities.

Here’s a sample of why I like his writing.

On the next page, I’ll show a reprint of his Contents page

The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

An interesting and significant short 5000 word story hits your desk.
On its own with no context, the reading public will never recognize it for what it is.
So you dress it up with 20,000 words of Q and A interrogative dialogue to explain the context.  You add in:
-     An Afterword
-     A Few Illustrations
-     A Note from the Illustrators
-     A Postscript
-     A Conversation between … ..
-     Questions for Discussion
-     A Bio
-     An About the Translations
-     An About the Illustrators
-     A Preface
-     An Introduction
-     A few “Praise For” Pages
-     Massive white space, fewer than 200 words per page
And it still only weighs in at 160 small pages.
However, I’m happy they got it out there! !! !!!
It’s a great short story.  Not a new plot theme, but well done.
A story we will all remember.  The Q and A will serve as a good reference guide.

Can't we talk about something more PLEASANT?

GOOD CHOICE this month ! !

I liked this book so much, I bought a copy to share with:

 

my kid sister, with whom I shared death duties;

my ex-wife, who also played a role;
& my daughter, whose turn will soon come.

I have read a few graphic novels.  This one was especially good because:

-  I’ve been there, done that, forgotten memories;
-  Ros Chast is an accomplished author
    {many books, professional cartoonist);
-     It’s the answer to dyslexia (heard on NPR).

-    Graphic books level the playing field for reading.

-    Dyslexia or not, reading is an elite class distinction.
-    Movies were the first leveler, bringing stories to billions rather than millions.
-    We have moved into the age of podcast, utube, & graphic novel.
-    Next is 140 second downloaded multimedia – binge-watched or one segment at a time.
-    Trump would love this media if only he had an art director.