Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie

656 Pages

Trade Paperback

Memoir Non-Fiction

Rushdie is one of the most engrossing writers I have read. His imagery continually draws me into his stories and stands alone outside of the tales that he tells. For many years he has been one of my favorite authors. He is probably most famous not for the work he has written, but more for the reaction to one of his earliest works, The Satanic Verses. Once his book was released the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran placed a fatwa on his head sentencing him to death. For the next nine years he lived in hiding and under the protection of the British police.

Joseph Anton is a recounting of his time in exile. The name is the one he takes to cover who he really is. The book is written in 3rd person and gives the feeling of an almost fictional situation. Sadly we know this is a true story. We follow Rushdie through the end of a marriage and the beginning of another. We experience how his young child grows to manhood, while he father lives in hiding. Rushdie originally is constantly moving. As soon as one place is getting comfortable he is forced to move to another. At first he barely allowed to leave his home. As time passes things get easier and he is even allowed to go on vacation. The undercurrent of the book is his original supplication to what has happened to him and eventually his efforts to stand up against those that would censor him and other authors of the world.

For a book that is essentially about a guy that is stuck in one place for years at a time it still kept my attention. Rushdie's books normally have a magical part to them and grand adventures happen in fantastic places. Now we have relatively normal guy living in an uncomfortable situation. He still makes it work. We lose some Rushdie's fantastic writing. There isn't as much flowing prose and encompassing descriptions, but we get a treat here and there. Some of my favorite parts of the book is where is describes working on his other novels. Three men involved in the publication and translation of the book are attacked. Sadly, the Japanese translator is killed.   Disappointingly, Rushdie feels that at least two books will never be made because of the fatwas disruption of his life.

3 Intellectual/Emotional - This really stands as a defiance to censorship and opposes the feelings of a few denying the rights of the many. It is easy to feel for Rushdie. 

3 Style/Readability - The realism of the book makes it sad and less appealing than Rushdie's other work, but it was still very engaging and I quickly read through it.

3 Long Term Impact - Rushdie will probably always be more famous for the fatwa against him rather than the quality of his writing and that is a shame. Even so, this book wouldn't be his most valuable. 

9 out of 13. This feels about right. I might give it another point somewhere, but honestly if you haven't read his work I suggest starting somewhere else first. I would suggest Midnight's Children, The Moors Last Sigh and Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

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Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

473 Pages

Hardcover

Non-Fiction

This is the 3rd book we have read in the book club I have joined. The second was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I haven't actually read that yet. 

The book mainly follows the life of Louie Zamperini. It starts with a teaser of military men stranded on rafts in the middle of the ocean. Japanese planes fly by and fire their guns. From here we are brought back in time to when Louie is a little boy. We learn that basically he was a misfit that was constantly getting in trouble. Stealing, smoking and causing trouble. It isn't until late in his teens that he finds his calling in life. He is a runner. He quickly becomes one of the best mile runners in history and eventually makes it into the Olympics. Soon after World War II is thrust upon America. We follow him as he goes through training and becomes an airman. Specifically, he runs the bombing instruments on the planes. 

He is sent to the Pacific and joins in on bombing runs in a plane called Super Man. Through a series of events he is stranded with two other men in two small rafts with no supplies and eventually gets captured by the Japanese and is held in POW camps on an island near Japan. 

I have always had a deep interest in the stories of people thrown into the hell we call war. I have read a number of books on victims of the Holocaust, stories of soldiers at war in WWII, Vietnam and others. Unbroken certainly delivers in this respect. Though I did read Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, this is the first time I read much about POW's on the Pacific side of the war. Subject wise I was very drawn into the book. 

I found it very engrossing, but there was something about Hillenbrand's writing that didn't sit well with me. You can tell that the story is pieced together from many different accounts. The final 50 pages are all reference and notes which make this clear. There were a few sections where the book dragged a bit. These were early in the book recounting his teenage hijinks, in the middle of the book when it focuses on Louie's family and towards the end when it covers the aftermath and the declining years of his life. Not that I didn't think those things were important, just that it seems a bit overdone.

It might sound like I didn't like anything. That isn't true. The parts I did enjoy really drew me in, but I often felt like I was reading textbook material rather then a recount of a man's life, which it presents itself as.

4 Intellectual/Emotional - Experiencing a lesser known part of the War was certainly worthwhile and you can't help feeling for all the trials the men went through.

3 Style/Readability - As mentioned I had a few problems with the "cobbled" together way the book felt at times, but I also burned through the whole thing in six days so it was easily read.

2 Long Term Impact - I am not interested in reading other work by Hillenbrand maybe to my loss. I feel that other books that cover this subject has been more rewarding.

9 out of 13. It was worth reading, but if you are looking to experience the horrors of war there are a few other books you should check out first. Night by Elie Wiesel, The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

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Sacre Blue by Christopher Moore

400ish? Pages Trade Paperback

Historical Fantasy Fiction

My wife gave this to me as a gift. I had never heard of Christopher Moore. I have a huge interest in art history and a murder mystery set with the Post-Impressionists seemed very appealing. 

The book is set in the late 1800's and starts with the death of Vincent Van Gogh. We know that instead of killing himself, as history tells us, that he is killed by someone else. The main character is Lucian Lessard and he is surrounded by some of the most talented artists of his age. He too attempts to create art and finds himself enamored with a young lady who becomes the focus of his work. He creates his best work ever, until he runs out of the color blue. He and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec soon find themselves trying to figure out a warning delivered in Van Gogh's last letter. Who is the color man and is he connected to Vincent's death?

I was immediately drawn into the book. Moore has a light hearted style that is easy to digest, but still takes time to describe what is happening clearly. It is advertised as "A Comedy D'art" and though I did find parts of it funny; I felt it was a more like a murder mystery with humor, rather than a humorous book about murder. Either way, I liked it and have bought a few of his other books and look forward to reading them.

3 Intellectual/Emotional - This plays on real events and a good portion of it is made up, but I really liked Lucien and cared about his adventure.

4 Style/Readability - Although I was a bit unsure at times about how the story came together, as a package it was enjoyable and entertaining. I think Moore writing is perfect for me and I am pleased I found another author I can delve into.

2 Long Term Impact - I hadn't ever heard of Moore before and from most accounts Sacre Bleu isn't considered his best work. I look forward to seeing what his other work offers.

9 out of 13 seems like a poor score from me. But I feel that it is about right. Before making a recommendation I hope to read some of his other work.

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