The Worst Hard Time by Timothy EganWhen I got this book for Christmas, I was not optimistic. Reading about the Dust Bowl sounded about as exciting as the actual Dust Bowl itself, only about 7 years shorter. I was wrong. The Worst Hard Time is a National Book Award winner, and deservedly so. Egan does a masterful job describing the historical factors that lead up to this environmental disaster as well as making you feel the menace of these roiling, static-charged storms. More importantly, he brings the people who endured the Dust Bowl to life in a compelling manner. The Dust Bowl dragged on for nearly a decade through the worst depression our country has known. These survivors had the steel to last through it, whether it was stubbornness to refuse giving up the only land they had any hope of owning, or the enduring dwindling hope that the drought and dust storms would end any day now, that a return to prosperity was just around the corner. We shouldn’t forget that as we face our own economic troubles the fact that big problems rarely get solved with a quick fix. At least we have the internet, tv, video games and a lot of other distractions to pass the time. Beats sitting in a dugout hovel listening to centipedes chew up dirt.
4.5 Beaver Pelt Hats
Devil In The White City by Erik Larson
Another historical book that almost reads like a novel. So many have praised this book that I don’t have much more to add other than this: They’re right, read it.
3.5 Beaver Pelt Hats
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
I’m a sucker for a twisty psychological thriller/mystery. Big bonus points if it has some humor thrown in. I read this book years ago and recently bought a used copy to see if it held up. It does. I’ve read most of Matt Ruff’s other work, and this is a good one to start with to test the water. It’s a fast read and will surely entertain if you tolerate the more fantastical end of the literary spectrum. So Lichtenauer, there’s probably no reason for you to bother.
3.25 Beaver Pelt Hats
Silent Joe by T. Jefferson ParkerThe more I think back on this book, the less I like it. It’s about a man (Joe) whose face was disfigured with acid by his father and abandoned, grew up in an orphanage, then was adopted by a prominent local politician who raised him like a son. Except that by “son” I mean a permanent bodyguard and driver. The politician gets killed in a kidnapping exchange/return gone bad and Joe swears to get to the bottom of who done it. And maybe get a little romance on the way. SPOILER: Joe gets his revenge on the thugs who killed his adopted dad and gets the girl, even gets to find a little peace in getting to confront his “real” father who mutilated him. But it turns out that adopted dad was actually his real dad, who was carrying on an affair with Joe’s biological mother when he was a beat cop, establishing him as a cockhole long before he became a politician. And this was not the last of his affairs over the years, some part of the story involves the murder of a illegal immigrant who was his latest squeeze. Anyway, the biker dude dating Joe’s biological mom is let to believe Joe is his son, but when the truth comes out, he dumps acid on baby Joe’s face and takes off. His real dad finds out about this and does nothing. Kid Joe goes to the orphanage for YEARS before he gets the balls to come back and adopt him and what does he do? He raises him like an indentured servant, training him to drive him around the city, usually at high speeds (he clearly enjoys the feeling of running away from things), and learning martial arts so he can whoop some ass when needed in defense of his adopted (real) dad. This guy that Joe loves with all devotion because he rescued him from the horrible reality of his existence actually caused the situation with his cowardice and bad judgment. I don’t get why Joe wasn’t angrier about it.
3 Clubbed Baby Seals
What The Dead Know by Laura LippmanI remember the major story points but forgot a lot of the details. The setup is a woman with no real ID is passing through a town when her car goes off the road. Authorities take her in and she tries to bargain for release by claiming she knows what happened to a pair of teenage sisters who disappeared from the town mall 20+ years ago. The rest of the book is spent trying to figure out who she is, where she’s from and how she knows – if she knows – what happened to those girls. It’s an ok mystery, good for passing the time on a flight or at the beach, but by no means a must-read.
1 Beaver Pelt Hat
Generation Kill by Evan WrightThis was the next official GBCOA selection before Wells’ horrible, horrible book killed the book club (although, I’ll admit, I was probably the least bothered by it out of the four of us). I watched the HBO miniseries and could not recommend it higher. The book is both more personal and down-to-earth than the miniseries, but the miniseries wins in the quotable/entertaining dialogue category. Both are worthy of your attention. Wright is a clear and capable writer, and the book gives a good perspective on how some of the toughest, deadliest men in our nation’s armed forces live and fight together. It also takes the military leaders to task for seemingly not knowing how to use them best in combat.
Book: 3.75 Beaver Pelt Hats, Miniseries: 4.5 Beaver Pelt Hats
The Given Day by Dennis LehaneI like Lehane as a writer, and he clearly did a lot of research for this book. It’s set in late1910’s Boston, although other locations are used. The story focuses on the Coughlin family – an established Irish clan with ties to Boston’s power players in government, public service and business. The main character, Danny, is the eldest son who becomes the leader of the police union fighting for a decent wage and working conditions against the wishes and advice of his father, who is one of the higher-ups in the old-school police power structure. The other main protagonist is Luther Laurence, a black ballplayer on the run from a bloody past in Tulsa who winds up becoming the Coughlin’s new houseman. Lehane tackles the issues of the era – racism, the screwing over of the working man by the few moneyed people in power, and marginalizing of women. It all comes to a head in the Boston Police Strike of 1919 when all hell broke loose. Also, Babe Ruth pops in here and there as a celebrity cameo whose purpose seems to be to get you to go “Wow, racism was pretty rampant and sucky” or “Boy, those early union leaders were fighting an uphill battle.” And this is really the whole message of the book: society sucked if you weren’t a rich white man. Fortunately, a few brave people sacrificed and suffered to make things better for society as a whole, but the battle to get there was not pretty. Good for a historical fiction novel even if it clocks in a bit long at 700+ pages. In the end though, I still prefer Lehane’s mystery offerings.
1.5 Beaver Pelt Hats
