Nevermore: Hellhound, Long Haul, Have Dog Will Travel, World's Strongest Librarian, This Is the Way the World Ends

Reported by Jeanne

Hellhound on His Trail:  The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for his Assassin by Hampton Sides kept our Nevermore reader enthralled.  The book documents how petty thief and conman James Earl Ray was influenced by the rise of George Wallace, and began stalking the Civil Rights Leader.  After King’s murder, it took 65 days for investigators to catch up with Ray, a hunt that lead to Canada, Portugal, and various other countries.  The book was thoroughly researched and contains step by step accounts of how Ray committed his crime.  She said that even though it was a time period she thought she knew well, she was still surprised by things.  This book is highly recommended.

Jeff Nesbit’s This is the Way the World Ends is a sobering look at the effects of climate change. Extended droughts in some parts of the world are affecting food production while the number of powerful hurricanes hitting U.S. is growing.  Struggles over access to fresh water will have a powerful impact on human societies.  Our reader recommends the book but warns it may keep you up at night.

A more optimistic reading experience was provided by Have Dog, Will Travel by poet and memoirist Stephen Kuusisto. Born legally blind, Kuusisto was taught to try to hide his disability, a strategy that worked as long as he was in familiar surroundings. Losing his job, however, meant that he needed more mobility:  enter Corky, a Guide Dog.  The bond between the two is instantaneous and Kuusisto finds his life forever changed.  The book is beautifully written, and does an excellent job of describing how life is for a blind person.  It’s also a tribute to the bond between human and canine.  Our reviewer loved it.

The World’s Strongest Librarian received a lukewarm reception from our next reader. Librarian Josh Hanagarne’s memoir of growing up Mormon and dealing with Tourette syndrome received good reviews for its candor, humor and insight.  Weight-lifting turned out to be one of the few things that helped, hence the book’s title.  The Nevermore reader was unimpressed, saying that it was confusing and not very interesting.

Finally, The Long Haul by Finn Murphy came up for discussion again.  This is the memoir of a young man who decided to drop out of college and become a long distance trucker. This beautifully written and insightful book has charmed a number of Nevermore readers with its humor and commentary on life, globalization, politics, and consumerism.  It was yet again highly recommended.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

 Reviewed by Damean

Driven by an unknown force, people all over the world are killing each other before killing themselves. The only thing that is clear to those remaining is if you see whatever is causing the phenomenon, you go mad. Survivors of the initial wave of deaths are forced to adapt to a world where they can't look outside, and must use a blindfold just to step foot outside of secured buildings. Malorie is pregnant when the hysteria first begins, and has to adapt to pregnant life as well as motherhood in a world it is not safe to look at. In a desperate attempt to find safety Malorie must guide herself and two children through this dangerous world - all while blindfolded.

I found this book to be quite interesting. The language used by Malerman throughout the novel is very fluid, allowing the reader to, for lack of a better term, see the world he is creating. Using every other sense available to them the survivors of this wrecked society must find new ways to adapt to the terrifying world, leading to a sometimes heart-pounding sense of helplessness for the reader. 

More than once while reading this book I actually had to stop what I was doing and take a breath to get my bearings. There aren't a lot of books I can say sufficiently scared me, but this was one. The mystery and horror presented by the mere idea of not being able to look at the world around you creates an almost palpable fear as the characters face the changed world around them, even the most mundane task becoming a harrowing risk. 

The book jumps through a few different time periods, and sometimes it can be hard to grab where the story is taking you as chapters change, but once you are back in the flow of the novel there aren't many loose ends to navigate through. Some characters could have stood a little more development, and some stories could have been threaded a little stronger, but I think the ambiguity in the work was acceptable given the quality of the finished product. 

I liked the fact that, even though multiple theories circulate to explain what is happening and what people are seeing, we aren't bogged down with descriptions of mysterious monsters, or potential chemical compounds or anything that pulls from the direct action of the story. At its heart, Bird Box is a sensory thrill ride that really shows the reader just how much we rely on our ability to see. We should not overlook the irony that you have to see to read the book, of course. If you want to really dive into the world of Malorie and the other survivors, put on a blindfold and sit on your porch while listening to the audio book. It will be quite a different experience.