Nevermore: Naipaul, Levison, Braithwaite, Tisdale, Kingsolver, Belksy, YA novels

 Reported by Jeanne

Nevermore opened with a review of Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul.  Willie Chandran is the son of a Brahmin who deliberately chose to marry outside of his caste—in fact, to a very lower caste woman—as a sign of political protest.  Willie finds life difficult as half-castes, and Willie leaves to try to create a new life in England.  In 1950s London, he struggles as a writer, finally marrying a woman of mixed African heritage and moving with her to her homeland.  Our reader thinks Naipaul is a writer of rare depth and has enjoyed reading several of his books.

Next up was Walking the Americas: 1800 Miles, Eight Countries, and One Incredible Journey from Mexico to Columbia by British explorer/travel writer Levison Wood, who decided to try a trek through a large part of Central America.  He experienced everything from large cities to dense jungle to migrant encampments.  Our reviewer was enthralled with the journey, saying the book was not only enlightening and informative, but “funny, tragic, sad, and amazing!”

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice usually brings to mind a fantasy story but the “magic” in this book refers to modern medicine.  Written by registered nurse Sallie Tisdale, the book takes a hard look at medicine and illness, pointing out that some of the “miracles” of modern medicine come with a high price to the patient.  The book examines several “specialty“ areas (burn units, neonatal units, etc.) and asks some thought–provoking questions.  Our reader enjoys books that explore medical issues, and she felt this was definitely of the best ones she read, even though it was published back in the 1980s.  She found the book to be touching and sensitive.

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Unsheltered has not met with universal enjoyment in Nevermore.  This week’s reviewer was disappointed by what she felt was a lack of evolution from the characters.  They all seemed immature and never improved. 

On the other hand, My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkin Braithwaite met with a better reception.  Set in modern day Nigeria, the book features two sisters.  Korede is the elder, a practical responsible woman who works as a nurse and who is called upon to take care of younger sister Ayoola’s little indiscretions, such as her habit of killing her boyfriends.  The Nevermore member enjoyed it both for the look at Nigerian culture and the darkly comedic tone.

Yesterday’s News by Richard Belsky was described as a real page turner.  The narrator is Clare Carlson, a news executive who won a Pulitzer for her series of articles about missing schoolgirl Lucy Devlin.  The child was never found, and now fifteen years later Lucy’s mother wants Clare to follow up on a new clue.  There are secrets aplenty, and Belsky keeps the reader guessing.

Finally, several members have been dipping into YA literature.  The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard was found to be an entertaining diversion, while S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders  remains a powerful book. 

Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar

Reviewed by Ambrea

What would happen if Superman never crash-landed on a small farm in Kansas?  What if he never met the Kent family or Lois Lane, but met Stalin instead?  When Superman’s space ship lands on a Soviet collective farm in Ukraine, he’s raised on a steady diet of socialist ideals and Soviet propaganda, growing up to “[fight] a never-ending battle for Stalin, socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact.”  His superpowers, however, make a very different impression on the world as he tries to do the right thing—and Lex Luthor becomes a very different kind of villain.

Superman:  Red Son by Mark Millar is a unique twist on the Superman mythos.  Although it includes many of the familiar qualities I recognize from other Superman stories—such as the indomitable Lois Lane, the obsessively vengeful Batman, the villainous Lex Luthor, the heroic Wonder Woman, the Superman who just wants to save the world—it takes all these things and shakes them up, creating a complex and engrossing graphic novel.  Moreover, it has an exceptional plot that takes twists and turns within the DC Universe that I never expected (here’s looking at you, Russian anarchistic Batman), as well as excellent characters and incredible art.

I was particularly enchanted with the artwork:  Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, and a host of other talented artists create a finely detailed, darkly beautiful comic that’s a pure pleasure to read.  The illustrators pull imagery straight from the 1950s Cold War, creating a world that’s sometimes cold and bleak but changes with the appearance of Superman.  The panels are often laden with reds and browns and grays, which can occasionally give the world a dismal appearance, but splashes of colors, like pink or green, have that much more of an impact.

I also liked having Superman as the narrator.  On the one hand, it humanizes his character, gives him a depth that’s hard to see when it’s just Superman zooming across the page and, in general, being his heroic self; on the other hand, it also allows readers to follow his progression from a young superhero under Stalin’s thumb to a leader in his own right.

Personally, I found it interesting to see how different he is from the Superman I know and yet how he remains the same in some ways.  He wants to protect human life, even if it’s to his detriment; however, it’s also interesting to see how obsessive he becomes—that is, how he becomes so bent on preserving the planet and keeping humankind safe that he’s willing to sacrifice free will and human thought to accomplish his goals.

Overall, Superman:  Red Son is a fascinating graphic novel that provides an alternate history for Superman and the DC Universe as a whole.  While I did find the conclusion to be slightly dissatisfying, I was intrigued by the ways in which Superman—and Lex Luthor—changed as they followed very different ideological paths and, more to the point, discovered their own reasons and ways of protecting humanity.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Reviewed by Christy

            Evelyn Hugo, born Evelyn Herrera, is a star of the highest order. Coming of age in the 1950s and shining the brightest in the 60s and 70s; she is A list Hollywood royalty. She fought ruthlessly for that position, and she had to make seemingly unbearable sacrifices. But in her later years, she has become a bit of a recluse. Holed up in her glamorous New York City apartment, she lives a quiet life of philanthropy. It isn’t until her daughter dies of breast cancer that Evelyn makes the news again: she is auctioning off some of her most notable gowns with all the proceeds going to breast cancer research. She also wants Monique Grant to do a feature on her for Vivant magazine. No one is more surprised than Monique that anyone, let alone an Old Hollywood idol, would specifically request her to do an interview. Monique is a talented writer but still low man on the totem pole.

            When Monique arrives to interview Evelyn, she discovers that this is no ordinary interview. Evelyn isn’t just going to talk about the upcoming auction. She is going to tell Monique everything about her life, her loves, and her secrets. Everything. And she wants Monique to turn it into a bestselling tell-all. Flabbergasted, Monique can’t make sense of this proposition. It would completely transform her life and give her the career she’s always wanted. But why her?

            I absolutely loved this novel. When Evelyn tells her story, it is completely immersive.  Although Evelyn is a fictional character (though loosely inspired by Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner), it was easy to forget that I wasn’t reading about real people. Many behind-the-scenes stories of Hollywood then, and now, have shown what kind of situations actors learn to navigate – whether it be lascivious producers or the iron fist control of the studios. Evelyn does things that are unpleasant to witness, and she does them without shame or regret.

            The story is divided into sections, by husband. And while Evelyn did love a few of her husbands, her marriages were mostly business deals. Her true love was someone she could not love publicly. It was heartbreaking to see Evelyn forced to hide her love (and suppress her Cuban heritage) but she simply saw it as a matter of fact. I wasn’t as interested in Monique’s side of the story or why Evelyn chose her but those parts are relatively small in comparison.

I picked up this book after seeing a lot of hype for it by book reviewers on YouTube, otherwise I’m not sure I would’ve bothered. I have to say, I think it lives up to the hype. Evelyn isn’t always likeable. She does some truly heinous things to get power and then to keep it. But she is captivating, and I loved every second of her story.

Nevermore: Kellerman, Wendelboe, O'Grey, Olmstead, Mayhew

Reported by Ambrea 

This week, Nevermore explored a new thriller by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman, titled A Measure of Darkness.  Deputy coroner Clay Edison is a busy man.  Between his recent suspension for digging into an old case to his brother recently getting out of prison, he doesn’t have much time in his schedule.  Then one night he’s called to a crime scene in an East Bay neighborhood with multiple victims—and one who’s death is a complete and utter mystery that will put Clay directly into the line of fire.  Our reader found the Kellermans’ novel to be strange, but thrilling.  “It took me to the last page to put it all together,” she admitted, which she found to be an enjoyable quality in a successful mystery/thriller.

Staying in the vein of thrillers, Nevermore shared Hunting the Saturday Night Strangler, a Bitter Wind Mystery series by C.M. Wendelboe.  After two victims were discovered, strangled to death, retired police detective Arn Anderson and TV reporter Ana Maria Villarreal become involved in the case.  They fear these deaths might be a pattern, the problem is getting the Cheyenne police department to believe them—and escaping the notice of the killer before he strikes again.  Our reader said Hunting the Saturday Night Strangler wasn’t a bad novel.  She described it as falling a bit on the mediocre side, as it was so predictable; however, she did note the story had interesting moments and she was particularly taken with the descriptions of Wyoming.

Next, Nevermore checked out Walking with Peety by Eric O’Grey.  Eric was gravely overweight, depressed, and increasingly sick.  After visiting a new doctor, who suggested adopting a shelter dog, Eric met Peety—an overweight, middle-aged, forgotten dog who had seen better days.  Eric had his doubts, but their bond was immediate and, over the next year, Eric lost 150 pounds, escaped the onset of diabetes, and Peety became a healthy, happy companion.  Our reader picked up Walking with Peety, because “I thought it would be fun,” she said.  The book itself was very inspirational and very sweet, but she said the best part was the pictures.  She loved the pictures that accompanied the story, and she recommended the book to her fellow readers looking for something sweet, slightly sentimental but ultimately stirring.

Nevermore also looked back in history at an intriguing book produced by Frederick Law Olmstead, titled A Journey through Texas; Or, A Saddle-trip on the Southwestern Frontier.  Published in 1857, before Olmstead became one of America’s foremost landscape architects, A Journey through Texas was Olmstead’s personal trip through Texas to see the landscape and describe the varied peoples living on the southwestern frontier.  Our reader said Olmstead’s book was “fascinating to read.”  She enjoyed it immensely, calling it her “favorite” among the stack of books she borrowed over the holiday.  She particularly loved the descriptions of the landscape by the author, saying it transported her to antebellum Texas and gave her incredible insight into the population during that time.

Stepping back a little further into history, Nevermore explored The Most Disgusting Jobs in Victorian London by Henry Mayhew.  Victorian London was a very dirty place; however, labor was cheap and plentiful—and large numbers of people were employed in filthy jobs to deal with the human and animal waste that littered the city.  Mayhew dives deep into the lives of these people who served in these dirty, filthy jobs, combining historical research with contemporary journalism to create an interesting if a little too informative book.  The Most Disgusting Jobs in Victorian London followed as a close second to A Journey through Texas as our reader’s favorite book.  She said she was fascinated by the history Mayhew incorporates into his work, and she was intrigued by all these jobs of which she’d never heard.  “Mud-larks,” “bone grubbers” and “rag pickers” were just a handful of the most interesting ones she came across.