The View from the Cheap Seats

The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman

HarperCollins: 5/31/16
advanced readers copy; 544 pages
ISBN-13: 9780062262264

The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman is a very highly recommended collection of various nonfiction speeches, essays, and introductions.

Gaiman organizes the various sixty nonfiction pieces into ten categories including: Some Things I Believe; Some People I Have Known; Introductions and Musings: Science Fiction; Films and Movies and Me; On Comics and Some of the People Who Make Them; Introductions and Contradictions; Music and the People Who Make It; On Stardust and Fairy Tales: Make Good Art; The View From the Cheap Seats: Real Things. 

For anyone who has never read any of Gaiman's nonfiction pieces before this, you are in for a real treat should you pick up The View from the Cheap Seats. Gaiman shines here on many far reaching subjects and the plethora of material in these selected pieces should cover the interests of and appeal to a wide variety of people. There are some recurring themes that will resonate especially with readers, artists of all types, and those interested in literacy and the arts.

Most people already know Gaiman is an incredible writer. This collection expands that well deserved adoration to his nonfiction pieces. I predict readers will find themselves checking back and rereading some of these pieces over the years, which is a recommendation in itself.

I especially love several pieces included in this collection. The 2013 Reading Agency Lecture had several paragraphs I flagged on children, the importance of reading and how well meaning adults can easily destroy a child's love of reading:
"You don't discourage children from reading because you feel they are reading the wrong thing." If you are at all involved with libraries, or education you're going to love the first section on some things Gaiman believes. He is a champion of voracious readers everywhere, of every age.

I don't personally read comics or graphic novels, but I have nothing against them. Obviously Gaiman is a huge fan and that section is quite interesting for someone like me. I loved just a little but essential piece of advice found in a speech given at PROCON in 1997:
"It took me longer to learn that you can say no. And it's an easy thing to say. It helps you define your boundaries." Yes! But difficult.

Then in a piece titled "Confessions: On Astro City and Kurt Busiek":
"This is the magic trick upon which all good fiction depends: it's the angled mirror in the box behind which the doves are hidden, the hidden compartment beneath the table.
It's this:
There is room for things to mean more than they literally mean."
Wow! What a concept that people need to embrace. A story may mean one thing on the surface, but underneath there are layers that will surface for the right reader.

From the 2004 Harvey Awards Speech, which is a variation on his "Make Good Art "speech, I liked this advice:
"Make Mistakes. Make great mistakes, make wonderful mistakes, make glorious mistakes. Better to make a hundred mistakes than to stare at a blank piece of paper too scared to do anything wrong, too scared to do anything."

Gaiman's Make Good Art commencement speech from the University of the Arts in 2012 is glorious and should be viewed by anyone who is involved in any of the arts. Millions have viewed the video.
"Make good art.
I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your trail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art. Someone on the Internet thinks what you do is stupid or evil or it's all been done before? Make good art."

Get this collection. You will never regret it.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes. 



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Goodnight, Beautiful Women

Goodnight, Beautiful Women by Anna Noyes

Grove/Atlantic: 6/7/16
eBook review copy; 224 pages
ISBN-13: 9780802124845

Goodnight, Beautiful Women by Anna Noyes is a debut collection of eleven short stories featuring girls and women living in Maine.

Most of the young women in this collection are doomed by circumstances or life or bad choices. The tone of these stories is dark and melancholy - you will feel that failure and depression is seemingly just around every corner and no redemption is in sight. The quality of the descriptions and emotions of the women and girls portrayed is well done and notable. Most of the stories end without a firm conclusion, denouement, or closure, which didn't work for me in every case. There was a point where the stories began to meld together into an overarching pattern of damaged women and confused girls struggling against the odds which are never in their favor.

Contents include:
Hibernation:A woman's husband drowns himself.
Treelaw: A young woman's story is told after her father's suicide.
Safe As Houses: A thirteen year old girl tries to process the fact that a girl was raped near her house.
Drawing Blood: A young woman in the early 1900's begins an affair with the girl her family took in as a maid.
The Quarry: Two sisters discuss whether or not they are white trash.
Glow Baby: A woman takes her daughter with her as she leaves her partner.
Goodnight, Beautiful Women: A teenager takes a road trip with her family during which her mother abandons her stepfather at one of their stops.
Werewolf: A young woman looks back at a lie she told as a child.
This Is Who She Was: A pregnant college student goes on vacation with her boyfriend's family.
Changeling: A woman on a bus trip thinks a woman might be the mother who abandoned her.
Homecoming: A woman feels hopeless when she moves back to her hometown with her husband. 
 

Disclosure: My digital advanced reading copy was courtesy of Grove/Atlantic for review purposes.

The Fallout

The Fallout by Tamar Cohen

Mira: 5/31/16
eBook review copy; 352 pages
ISBN-13: 9780778317562

The Fallout by Tamar Cohen is a highly recommended psychological thriller about divorce, discord, and friendship.

Josh and Hannah's best friends are Dan and Sasha; even their 4 year old daughters, Lily and September, are best friends. They have all become accustom to spending time together, so when Dan announces to Josh that he is planning to leave Sasha for a much younger 24 year-old model, all allegiances are strained to the breaking point. Sasha is suddenly relying on Hannah and taking it for granted that she will support her and stand by her - no matter how disconcerting her behavior becomes. And Dan expects Josh to support his choice too.

Sasha becomes more bitter and retaliatory, pulling Hannah's loyalties along in her wake, while Dan complains to Josh about Sasha's actions. Soon the divorce is affecting Josh and Hannah's relationship, as well as their daughters. Josh also has some personal problems going on at work that he is reluctant to share with Hannah. To add even more stress, they are experiencing financial strains that aren't helped by Sasha's smothering, ultra-needy dependence on Hannah.  Soon, it starts to look like their friend's divorce is going to destroy their marriage. 

Previously published in the U.K. as The Broken, this is a tension filled dark novel. Cohen ratchet's up the tension by interspersing between chapter's italicized commentary from a young girl who is clearly disturbed and exhibiting signs of a multiple personality. You don't know which female character she could be and won't know until a twist at the very end. The only issue for me is that I had to suspend disbelief that Hannah wouldn't have set up some boundaries as Sasha became increasingly parasitical, out-of-control, and malicious. Oh, and Dan's initial thought that the divorce would all be amicable was laughable.

Cohen handles the details of the narrative in this well-traveled subject matter deftly and adds the extra jolt at the end, which elevates the novel above an ordinary family drama about divorce. The plot moves along quickly as more and more details are added and you will find yourself compulsively reading to see what happens next. While the characters are developed, there are no truly likeable characters in this novel - they are all broken people - but Cohen adds little hints and details in the plot that pull you along to keep reading, if only to find out who the girl is in the italicized sections.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Mira for review purposes.

Devour

Devour by Kurt Anderson

Pinnacle: 5/31/16
eBook review copy; 400 pages
ISBN-13: 9780786036790

Devour by Kurt Anderson is a highly recommended thriller/horror novel set on the ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts.

The novel follows several embedded story lines. Brian Hawkins is a fishing boat captain who responds to a distress call from a research ship. He manages to save the last survivor, but he also sees what they are up against and knows his ship is doomed. A primordial sea monster has awakened beneath the ice in the Arctic Circle and is starting to feed as it heads south following the current. When it discovers tasty morsels can be found on boats, it begins attacking boats and eating the crews. In the meantime, a casino cruise ship is setting out beyond territorial limits to facilitate a secret high stakes poker game and hide a secret cargo, while the rest of the unknowing guests partake of the normal games of chance.

The monster is the hook, but the novel spends a lot of time setting up the characters on the boats. Brian is a compelling, credible character. The majority of the people introduced on the cruise ship are untrustworthy and unsavory characters, with very few exceptions. Frankie Moore, who is facilitating the high stakes game and trying to keep an eye on the men in the private security details of the two players involved, is an interesting character, but not likeable. It's not that the cruise ship portion of the plot is dull, it's just that, well, you're going to want more sea monster action because that's what you are expecting, but the bulk of the novel focuses on the various cruise ship characters. This makes the novel more of a thriller than horror novel.

Devour will hold your attention and is a satisfying debut novel for Anderson. I was going along with the direction the author chose to take for Devour, until an incident that happens a little past the half-way mark that stretched my credulity a wee-bit too much. The novel manages to recover from this event. It certainly would be a great land-based vacation read and meets all the requirements of a stuck-overnight-at-the-airport book.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Pinnacle for review purposes.

The Passage

The Passage by Michael Hurley

Ragbagger Press: 6/1/16
eBook review copy; 362 pages
ISBN-13: 9780976127581
http://www.mchurley.com/

The Passage by Michael Hurley is a very highly recommended novel of self-discovery.

Jay Danforth Fitzgerald, "Fitz," is a failed stockbroker in his early 60's who has also failed at three marriages. He doesn't believe in love, certainly not lasting love. After his third and last divorce, he moved onto his sailboat. His boat has been in Charleston Harbor for the last three years. Fitz is slowly running out of money, but he still goes to Tiddly's Bar every evening for dinner and a beer. When a young, 34 year old woman, Gemma, sits next to him at the bar and starts a conversation, his life changes. He decides to attempt to sail to Ireland (or die trying), but when Gemma secretly stows aboard, his plans change.

I'm going to be honest and tell you that I did not like The Passage in the beginning. I was not in the mood for Fitz's self-loathing pity party. I was not prepared to accept that a young 34 year old woman was intrigued by this guy in his 60's who is soaking wet and dressed like a bum. And when Fitz lies to her and says he's 44, well, I was not too keen on a protagonist who was, by all appearances, going to be a huge jerk, lie, and hit on a young woman. Nope, not too keen on old guys thinking they deserve younger women and not interested in reading any novel along those lines. But that's not quite what happens, and I should have given Hurley more credit based on his previous to novels I read and loved.

Yes, this is a novel about love, failed love, and redemptive love, but it's also a novel about longing for what might have been - and that is what makes it a much stronger novel than my first impression allowed. When the twists happen in the plot and everything falls into place, I was totally enamored with the underlying themes and symbolism Hurley tucked into the plot so perfectly and tenderly. I went from strongly disliking The Passage to adoring it, a tough transition to make and certainly a change of opinion that is rarely traversed.

Hurley is an exceptional writer and that helped me stick with The Passage until I reached the transformative part. As I have said before, Hurley writes with a depth, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that make you crave more - and made me want to keep reading. The settings are clearly described. Obviously, Hurley knows his way around a sailboat and can describe it. The characters are also clearly well developed and there is personal growth and change in the end.

Disclosure: I received a digital advanced reading copy of this book from the author for review purposes.

Before the Fall

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Grand Central: 5/31/16
eBook review copy; 400 pages
ISBN-13: 9781455561780

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley is a very highly recommended novel of suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed Before the Fall.

Eleven people board a private jet for New York. Sixteen minutes into the flight, the plane disappears from radar and plunges into the ocean. Two passengers survive. One of the survivors is Scott Burroughs,  a painter who was invited on the flight by the wealthy couple who chartered it. The other survivor is JJ, a four year old boy. Scott, who has an injured shoulder, figures out which way land is and swims miles to shore, with JJ, saving the boy's life.

When they make their way to a hospital, Scott makes sure JJ is taken care of before him. He is lauded as a hero for saving the boy's life, but then the media begins to ask questions, along with the NTSB, FBI, and NSA. The media attack is led by Bill Cunningham, a commentator who specializes in speculation, sensationalism, and personal attack tactics.

Part of the accusations and suspicions are because of the other people on the flight. Powerful media mogul and president of the 24 hour ALC News station, David Bateman chartered the flight for his family, including Maggie, his wife, and his two children, Rachel and JJ. They are incredibly wealthy movers and shakers in the news industry. They also suffered through a kidnapping of their daughter years before. Since then they have had plenty of security around them and take precautions to ensure their family is safe.

Ben Kipling and his wife Sarah were invited on the flight. Ben is a Wall Street financier and about to be indicted on a SEC investigation for money laundering. Others on the flight include the private security guard, Gil Baruch, pilot James Melody, copilot Charlie Busch, and flight attendant Emma Lightner.

People are questioning why Scott, an alcoholic and painter, was invited on the flight by Maggie, and why he survived. Scott tries to hide from the media, but the accusations are becoming increasingly accusatory and insidious. The various federal investigators are also wondering why Scott survived and are looking at him closely.

Hawley effectively uses flashbacks to tell the story of each of the passengers, which helps increase the intrigue and explains why the investigation into the crash is so fraught with speculation. The plot becomes increasingly complicated when various back stories are revealed and as Bill Cunningham up his personal attacks to sheer malicious conjecture. The tension continues to rise as each person's story is told, the search for the wreckage and bodies is underway, and the media and some of the federal investigators become increasingly obsessed with Scott.

Before the Fall is a perfect summer novel. All of the characters are well developed because we get their backstory. It is extremely well written with a compelling plot and subject matter that is timely. We are a media obsessed society where we analyze every little detail of a news story, while overlook other, bigger stories that haven't been sensationalized - or had videos that have gone viral. Who are we to throw accusations at a survivor of a tragedy? Do we really need intensive news coverage over every little incident? Do we need constant speculation about a tragic accident? 

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing for review purposes

The City of Mirrors

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

Random House: 5/24/16
eBook review copy; 624 pages
ISBN-13: 9780345505002
Passage Trilogy Series #3

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin is the final epic novel in the postapocalyptic Passage trilogy. The action in this highly recommended conclusion follows The Passage and The Twelve.

The City of Mirrors is not a stand-alone novel although Cronin does have an abbreviated Biblically inspired synopsis at the beginning. Honestly, I need to start out saying to anyone interested in reading this, that in order to fully appreciate this final novel in the trilogy, I think you need to reread the previous two novels.

Cronin does continue to have a plethora of incredibly well developed characters set in a fully realized world and complicated plot. The novel starts off slow, but keep with it. Virals are back - although I'm sure most people didn't think they were really eradicated. Fanning's (Zero) background story is told here, a long but necessary addition. You will find out what happens to the characters we've been following: Alicia, Amy, Peter, Michael, Lucius, Sara, Caleb, and Zero. Cronin explores the meaning of love as a destructive force and a basic need.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything for fans or future fans, so let me just repeat my admonition that you need to reread the first two novels to fully appreciate this final novel. It will also help you follow the complex plot and all the characters. If I'm honest, it had just been too long between novels for me to fully appreciate The City of Mirrors and I didn't have the extra time to invest in rereading the previous two (hefty) novels.  

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.