Fenwick vs. Felicity
Students earn scholarships
Minster vs. Southeastern
Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > September
September 2007
Yum! Some Japanese home cooking
Harumi Kurihara is the Martha Stewart of Japan. I mean that in the nicest way. Back before Martha Stewart served time in prison for some stock market hanky panky she was America’s leading “lifestyle personality”. I’m not very fond of that description, but it’s true.
Kurihara is the leading cooking and lifestyle personality in her native Japan. She has sold over 15 million books over there and she just published her first book in English.
Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking (Home) is simply a lovely cookbook. Gorgeous photos enhance these mouth-watering recipes. She provides valuable insights into Japanese cooking techniques.
Here are some dishes by Harumi that I would like to take for a taste drive…..
Eggplant Gratin with Tofu and Miso Sauce
Sukiyaki Donburi
Japanese Green Tea Risotto
Chicken Kebabs
Chinese-Style Dumplings
Teriyaki Hamburgers
Meat and Potato Stew
Grilled Salmon “Yuan” Style
Warm Cabbage Salad
Harumi’s Baked Cheesecake
Green Tea Ice Cream
With the cooler weather we are starting to think about nesting. Stoking the fires. Cooking. I’m looking forward to trying some of Harumi’s lovely recipes soon.
VickMickunas
Permalink | | Categories: secret passions
another revolter from Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter’s newest insult to literature will be published this week. IF DEMOCRATS HAD ANY BRAINS,THEY’D BE REPUBLICANS (Crown Forum) isn’t really that new, it is a lame rehash and a regurgitation of pre-existing Coulterisms. In other words, it’s another shameless example of Coulter cashing in on the only product in her inventory: HATE.
Here are some random scrapings from her forthcoming mound of sludge:
On Hillary Clinton: “Hillary wants to be the first woman president, which would also make her the first woman in a Clinton administration to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office instead of under it.”
On the environment: “God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, ‘Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours.’”
On global warming: “The temperature of the planet has increased about one degree Fahrenheit in the last century. So imagine a summer afternoon when it’s 63 degrees and the next thing you know it’s … 64 degrees. Ahhhh!!!! Run for your lives, everybody! Women and children first!”
No doubt, Bill Clinton’s Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, would have an intelligent response for Coulter’s slurs on women who served in his administration.
In regard to her cavalier attitude toward the environment; every copy of Coulter’s books should be considered as a rape of the environment and a desecration of the trees that were sacrificed to print this garbage.
She doesn’t believe in global warming. C’mon, Annie, even George W. Bush had to admit that it is really happening. He’s even using the word KYOTO.
Ann, I was mistaken—I thought you were intelligent. Or is this all just a cynical act?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: politicked
Does chocolate excite you??
Are you a chocolate FREAK?? I have the book for you; DISCOVER CHOCOLATE—Buy, Taste, Enjoy! (Gotham Books) by Clay Jordan (October, 18) tells you all the things you need to know to satisfy your cravings for that sweet stuff.
Are you a chocoholic, or a chocophile? Jordan explains the difference (he’s a chocophile).
His book is lavishly illustrated with decadent photos of chocolates. This is the ultimate guide to buying, tasting, and enjoying fine chocolates.
I never knew about fine chocolate until I went to Europe. This book will guide you to the best stuff—without leaving the country.
Here’s one thing to remember:
The finest chocolate is manufactured thousands of miles away from where the cocoa beans were grown-think Belgium. France. Switzerland.
Do you crave chocolate?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: secret passions
Curious George
That little monkey, Curious George, is HOT! PBS has brought him back into the spotlight and his books are selling like ripe bananas.
I looked at the bestsellers on Amazon.com earlier today and 7 of the top ten spots were occupied by Curious George. Amazing!
Things have settled down a bit. I would speculate that Curious George sells best during the daylight hours. The Amazon chart changes by the hour.
At the moment we have CURIOUS GEORGE GOES TO THE ICE CREAM SHOP at #3 over at Amazon.
At #8: CURIOUS GEORGE AND THE PIZZA
At #15: CURIOUS GEORGE GOES FISHING
At #17: CURIOUS GEORGE’s DREAM
At #22: CURIOUS GEORGE RIDES
Curious George is on a roll!
I’ve always loved that little guy. Maybe, he should be running for president??
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: in the Amazone
“Scouts in Bondage”
Michael Bell collected many rare books during the years that he had a second-hand bookshop in a small town in England. He collected some strange items.
His many years of accumulating oddities has yielded a book; SCOUTS IN BONDAGE—and Other Violations of Literary Propriety by Michael Bell (Simon & Schuster).
Bell had a stockpile of unusual material. This book showcases some of it. All the bizarre artwork from the covers of pamphlets and miscellaneous ephemera has been faithfully reproduced here.
The titles are amazing. Here are some of my favorites:
HOW TO RECOGNISE LEPROSY-A Popular Guide—by Dr. E Muir
BOOK OF BLANK MAPS—With Instructions
SELF-EDUCATION for the POLICE
TWO HEALTH PROBLEMS—Constipation and Our Civilisation
Autobiography of the Best Abused Man in the World
Pamela Pounce—a Tale of Tempestuous Petticoats
and, my favorite…..
French for the Troops
The original art work and book designs are quite amusing. As you can see from the cover of “SCOUTS IN BONDAGE,” words had different meanings once upon a time. I can remember when words like “queer” and “gay” lacked any significant cultural baggage. I have fond memories of grade school teasing; when a girl said you were “queer,” it merely meant weird, or dorky. We won’t even get into the bondage. That’s better left unknotted. Those Boy Scouts sure knew their knots!
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: laughable
“Unusually Stupid Politicians”
Don’t you just love it when politicians are embarrassed? It’s a long tradition that goes back to the very beginnings of politics back in some cave in France.
In my lifetime I can recall some wonderful political scandals; Wilbur Mills had that frolic in the Tidal Basin with a stripper. Nixon had his tapes. Bill Clinton got caught with Monica, etc.
Some stupidity was revealed years later; JFK and lots of ladies. Strom Thurmond and the maid. Warren G. Harding’s baby embarrassment.
More recently, we had the Congressional page boy scandals and the Senatorial lavatory tap dance mess.
A new book brings us more absurd political behavior; UNUSUALLY STUPID POLITICIANS (Villard) by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras (October 16) is a treasure trove of ridiculous politico behavior. They open the book with a quote from Mark Twain: “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”
Here are a few examples from the book:
Michele Bachman (R-MN) revealed what God told her, after she fasted and prayed…”God then called me to run for Congress…”
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) …before the 2006 congressional elections, Senator Hatch thoughtfully let voters know that Middle Eastern terrorists were “waiting for the Democrats here to take control, let things cool off and then strike again.”
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) told his second wife, Donna Hanover, that he wanted a separation-during a press conference.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice provided American Indians with employment discrimination claims a toll-free number that connected them with an adult porno chat site.
FEMA sent 91,000 ice cubes to Nebraska for the victims of Hurricane Katrina-who were in New Orleans.
Ambassador Peter Galbraith claims that George W. Bush was a little…vague…on the religious setup in the country he was planning to invade. Galbraith reports that three Iraq-Americans met with Bush, briefing him on Iraq. When they explained that there are two major sects of Islam, Sunni and Shiite, the president allegedly responded, “I thought the Iraqis were Muslims!”
CLEVER PENTAGON IDEA—Let’s turn enemy troops gay! This was just one of the groundbreaking ideas that came out of a lab at Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as part of their six-year, $7.5 million nonlethal chemical weapon research—in a report snappily titled “Harassing, Annoying and ‘Bad Guy’ Identifying Chemicals.”
This particular idea—the “gay bomb,” which they termed “a distasteful but completely non-lethal example”—involved developing an aphrodisiac that would, with some luck, make enemy troops get a little hot and bothered about each other. In other words, it would “foster homosexual behavior.” As a result, to quote the proposal: ” discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely affected.”
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: politicked
Christmas, Christmas time is here! WHAT!?
During the decade I spent as the music director for a radio station I learned to expect the Christmas recordings to begin to appear about now. Every year like clockwork as summer ended the Christmas music begins to flow.
The book biz is no different. Today I saw the first Christmas book of the season arrive. QUIZMAS CAROLS—Family Trivia Fun with Classic Christmas Songs (Plume) by Gordon Pape and Deborah Kerbel was my subtle warning to brace myself. Here comes the flood.
It’s a book of Christmas music trivia! And, it’s multiple choice.
For example:
Which twentieth century screen siren released a holiday album entitled “Wild Christmas” in 1966?
a. Madonna
b. Marilyn Monroe
c. Mae West
d. Raquel Welch
(Gosh, was Madonna even alive in 1966? She must have been about 2 years old? And what about Marilyn Monroe? Was she still alive in 1966?)
Which British pop band released the hit holiday single “Last Christmas” in 1984?
a. Bananarama
b. Culture Club
c. Wham!
d. Duran Duran
(Now, I’m suffering from a serious flashback—Madonna belonged in this group, right?)
There are lots of questions about traditional Christmas songs, too. Hurry up, Christmas is just around the corner. Does anybody know the answers to these trivia questions?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: laughable
The Principles of Uncertainty
Sometimes you open a book and all you can say is WOW. I just found such a book.
THE PRINCIPLES OF UNCERTAINTY (The Penguin Press) by Maira Kalman is a revelation.
Kalman is an illustrator. This is a book of illustrations with lots of words scrawled throughout. . As you open the book the inside of the flyleaf states: What is this book? What is anything? Who am I? This is a year in my life profusely illustrated. Abounding with anguish, confusion, bits of wisdom. Musings, meanderings, buckets of joie de vivre and restful sojourns.
I cannot quite describe the beauty of this book. I leave that for you to discover. Squiggles, photos, paintings, scibbles; it’s verbal, sensual, lingual, juicy. If you want to see some of her illustrations; click here.
THE PRINCIPLES OF UNCERTAINTY will be published October 22.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: secret passions
remembering “OUR DUMB CENTURY”
I’m delighted to report that THE ONION, the world’s leading source of fake news is putting out a reissue of their legendary retrospective on the 20th Century, OUR DUMB CENTURY on October 2 (Crown).
Originally published in 1999, OUR DUMB CENTURY is being reissued in a “deluxe edition.” What a treasure trove of fake news it is!
According to the press release: Founded in the 1620s by a distant ancestor of the current publisher, J. Phineas Zweibel, THE ONION began as the official ledger of agricultural barters for farmers in the Chesapeake Bay Colony. It later expanded its focus to chronicle public events of note, ushering in the modern “news paper.”
These incredible news paper pages are reproduced in their original form. Here are some of the headlines:
Jan. 1, 1900-NATION’S SKIES FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL, BLACK SMOKE
May 20, 1902- CONGRESS REDUCES WORK-WEEK TO 135 HOURS
Dec. 18, 1903-SCIENCE CONQUERS SKY WITH WRIGHT BROS. FLYING MACHINE; HEAVEN EXPEDITION SLATED FOR NEXT YEAR
Feb. 13, 1907-PURE FOOD AND DRUG ACT WILL LIMIT HUMAN-THUMB LEVELS PERMITTED IN MEATS
Feb. 19. 1915-600,000 KILLED IN 4-INCH ADVANCE ON WESTERN FRONT
Apr. 17. 1917- U.S. ENTERS WAR; WILSON VOWS TO ‘MAKE WORLD SAFE FOR CORPORATE OLIGARCHY’
Nov. 8, 1917- PRETENTIOUS, GOATEED COFFEEHOUSE TYPES SEIZE POWER IN RUSSIA
November 18, 1920-FIXED WORLD SERIES HERALDS FIRST-EVER MOMENT OF EXCITEMENT IN BASEBALL
December 6, 1933-STALIN ANNOUNCES FIVE-YEAR ‘EVERYBODY DIES’ PLAN
That should give you some sense of it. Real news can be so depressing. Fake news can be FUN!
For loads of fun, check out their website: THE ONION
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: laughable
confessions of a galley slave (vol. X)
FIRE IN THE BLOOD (Knopf) by Irene Nemirovsky (October 3). She died in Auschwitz in 1942. She left behind some manuscripts. SUITE FRANCAISE was published recently to great acclaim. This book is what remains. Smaller, slighter, still precious-life in a French village for Jews right before the Holocaust.
SWAY (Little, Brown) by Zachary Lazar (January 7). Those are the Rolling Stones pictured on the cover of SWAY. That’s Brian Jones on the far right. SWAY is a novel in three parts. Part one features the Stones circa 1969. Part two centers on the filmmaker Kenneth Anger. Part three looks at the community that surrounded Charles Manson. This book has promise.
GONZO: THE LIFE OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON by Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour(October 31). You might remember the late gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson’s legendary dispatches for Rolling Stone magazine. Wenner was his publisher at Rolling Stone. This bio of the demented and thoroughly entertaining Thompson should sell like crazy.
THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL (Ballantine) by Steve Berry (December 12). Sometimes I fail to understand why some authors find success. Take Steve Berry for example. I read his first several books. They were OK, somewhat pedestrian, nothing special. With each new book he sells more and more copies. Ballantine is a big Random House imprint and Berry is close to the top of the house. He has become one of their top-selling authors. I don’t get it? What, do I know? I guess I had better read this new book and see if I can figure this out.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
scribbles and scraps-chapter 19
My book title of the week: Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science (Knopf) by James D. Watson. I looked at this book and I thought, gosh, what a clever title. Then I looked more closely. Right there, between the words AVOID BORING and PEOPLE in shiny white letters that you don’t notice at first is the word: OTHER. The title is actually Avoid Boring OTHER People. Brilliant! I like the title even more! And Watson, the author, is certifiably brilliant. He won the Nobel Prize in Science.This is his memoir. (The title actually fooled the folks over at Amazon.com—they even missed hidden word. Ha ha!)
And summer is almost over: When you live in the country you have lots of unexpected visitors who drop in for visits during the warm months. They come in the dog doors and the cat doors and the human doors. Some of them are cats. Feral cats. They sleep in the beds and come and go as they please. One time we had an owl in the house. Toads hop across the cool tiles. An opossum moved into a dresser drawer. Then there are the bugs: spiders, mosquitoes, daddy long legs, flies, and most annoying of all: pantry moths. They are attracted to grains and cereals and they can spoil your cupboards. I picked up a new book, A Field Guide to Household Bugs (Plume) by Joshua Abarbanel and Jeff Swimmer in the hope of finding a solution to this mothsome bother. There it is on page 110: the authors suggest storing those foods in airtight containers OR in the freezer.
I just finished reading…: Pontoon (Viking) by Garrison Keillor. The imaginary Lake Wobegon comes to life on Keillor’s wonderful radio show A Prairie Home Companion. They made the PHC movie. He tours the country doing the program live. And he writes books, lots of books, and some of them feature Lake Wobegon. You would think Keillor would be getting burned out by now. Sometimes when I listen to the program I think that he is losing it a bit. But the books are something else. Keillor can really write! The Lake Wobegon books give him the opportunity to describe a community that is a lot sexier than the toned down version heard on the public airwaves. It’s a bawdy version. Downright ribald. I loved it! Very funny stuff…I have interviewed Keillor a few times and he is a most unusual fellow, quite formal, I daresay, old-fashioned.
Now in paperback: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (Broadway Books) by Bill Bryson. Growing up in Des Moines in the 1960’s was a unique experience. Bill Bryson’s memoir about it really took me home again. We grew up in the same part of town. Went to the same high school. Delivered the same newspaper. Hung out at the same drugstores, movie theaters, parks, playgrounds, etc. It was eerie. When I interviewed Bryson about it (he’s a couple of years older than I am) I felt like I had to address some minor “factual” errors in his book. He was good natured about it at first but as I continued to point out “mistakes” that no other book reviewer would ever notice or care about Bryson finally snapped. He blurted, in that snippy pseudo-English accent (he grew up in Des Moines for Pete’s sake!) “Maybe YOU should have written it!” OK, Bill, I’m sorry. But Bishop’s Buffet never had waitresses. It was a BUFFET!
The Budster: He’s a cat but he eats very well so he doesn’t hunt, much. That’s good. I prefer my songbirds flying and eating seed unmolested. I did see Buddy with a very small vole in his mouth recently. Bad Buddy. He chases moths and beetles. No toads. Smart Buddy. The feral cats have been catching baby bunny rabbits. Buddy observes but he doesn’t participate. Good Buddy.
Bookish beverage: Pyramid Broken Rake amber ale. An autumnal brew—I can rake those leaves later!
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: scribbles and scraps
“The Conscience of a Liberal”
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has a new book coming out in October. It’s called THE CONSCIENCE OF A LIBERAL. (W.W. Norton)
He also has a new blog at the New York Times. He begins his most recent blog entry with a quote from the book:
“I was born in 1953. Like the rest of my generation, I took the America I grew up in for granted - in fact, like many in my generation I railed against the very real injustices of our society, marched against the bombing of Cambodia, went door to door for liberal candidates. It’s only in retrospect that the political and economic environment of my youth stands revealed as a paradise lost, an exceptional episode in our nation’s history.”
He provides further analysis of that statement on his blog. His blog is also called The Conscience of a Liberal.
Now that’s marketing!
If you had to describe your political slant in one or two words what would you say? Are you conservative? Liberal? Progressive? Moderate? Libertarian? What does your conscience say that you are?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: politicked
do you ever wonder about China?
China is the elephant in the room these days. If we don’t try to understand China and how the Chinese economy and society will impact our future world we might be in for a shock in the near future.
NPR correspondent Rob Gifford has written an excellent book about China called CHINA ROAD (Random House). I reviewed it in the Sunday edition of the Dayton Daily News. If you missed it, you have an opportunity to hear the review on WMUB today- Wednesday (September 19). WMUB (88.5) will air that piece during Morning Edition at 5:34am and again at 7:34 am.
It will run one more time during All Things Considered at 5:44 pm today. You can also listen online at WMUB.org.
Gifford will be in Dayton on Sunday for a special event at the Dayton Daily News. If you want to know more about the situation in China you should come to hear him speak. Here’s how:
How to go:
Who: NPR London Bureau Chief Rob Gifford
Where: Dayton Daily News Media Center, 1611 S. Main St.
When: 2 p.m. Sept. 23
Cost: Free
Sponsors: Miami University Farmer School of Business, WMUB Public Radio and the Dayton Daily News
More information: (513) 529-5885, or to register click here. Advance registration is required.
If you have ever heard Rob Gifford on National Public Radio you might recall that he has one of those lovely British accents. Meet him in person. It will be a wonderful way to learn more about China from someone who knows the country well.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: that's what they say
are you a food snob?
Everybody knows one; a food snob is the person who can tell us the difference between “free-ranged,” “grass-fed,” and “organic” meat. Perhaps you are a food snob?
Don’t be ashamed. I have just the book for you! You might recall that David Kamp wrote a wonderful food book last year called THE UNITED STATES OF ARUGULA. He is about to publish a pocket-sized volume, THE FOOD SNOB’s DICTIONARY—An Essential Lexicon of Gastronomical Knowledge. (Oct.16)
Pithy snippets of food knowledge pop off the pages like so many tasty appetizers. You have pocket biographies of famous foodies, folks like James Beard, Lucius Beebe, and Dione Lucas.
There are food preparation definitions like affinage, emulsion, and concasse’. We learn about some food snob buzz foods like peekytoe crab, PEI mussels, poulet de Bresse, and porchetta.
Food designations can be confusing. This book has definitions of terms like farmstead, farm to table, biodynamics, and molecular gastronomy.
It even has a guide to food snob nomenclature that will assist you in being able “to correctly identify esteemed food personages in conversation with other food snobs. Don’t refer to James Beard as James. He was Jim. The New York Times restaurant critic William Grimes is known as Biff, and so on.
Reading about great food is such a pleasure.
Almost as much fun as eating it! Bon appetit!
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: secret passions
OJ did it
(Los Angeles Police Dept.)
Poor OJ Simpson. He has been arrested in a robbery of sports memorabilia at a Las Vegas casino. Don’t you feel sorry for him?
Poor OJ, his book, IF I DID DID IT was the top-selling book on Amazon.com but it just got bumped by former Fed Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s memoir. Now he’s down to number 2.
Poor OJ. Do you think that he did it?
I’m referring to the robbery.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: booms and busts
Alan Greenspan vaults on board Bush Bashing Bandwagon
OJ Simpson unintentionally hyped the book that he would probably rather not promote, IF I DID IT by getting himself involved in an alleged robbery of sports memorabilia at a Las Vegas casino. The book is already #1 in sales at Amazon.com.
Former Fed Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is taking a more traditional approach to hyping his new memoir; he’s bashing President Bush. According to an article today in the New York Times Greenspan, a Republican-is kicking his fellow lame duck Republican when he’s down:
“WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 — Alan Greenspan, who was chairman of the Federal Reserve for nearly two decades, in a long-awaited memoir, is harshly critical of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the Republican-controlled Congress, as abandoning their party’s principles on spending and deficits.
In the 500-page book, “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” Mr. Greenspan describes the Bush administration as so captive to its own political operation that it paid little attention to fiscal discipline, and he described Mr. Bush’s first two Treasury secretaries, Paul H. O’Neill and John W. Snow, as essentially powerless.
Mr. Bush, he writes, was never willing to contain spending or veto bills that drove the country into deeper and deeper deficits, as Congress abandoned rules that required that the cost of tax cuts be offset by savings elsewhere. “The Republicans in Congress lost their way,” writes Mr. Greenspan, a self-described “libertarian Republican.”
“They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose” in the 2006 election, when they lost control of the House and Senate.
As officials leave the Bush administration, there is no shortage of criticism of this White House: Disenchanted hawks are writing that Mr. Bush has abandoned the certainties of the first term and taken too soft a line on North Korea and Iran; from the other side of the spectrum, former officials are telling tales about how the administration bent rules on torture or domestic spying.
But Mr. Greenspan, now 81, is in a different class, by dint of his fame, his economic authority and his service across party lines. His critiques are likely to have more resonance among Mr. Bush’s base.
His book was provided to The New York Times by his publisher, Penguin Press, under an agreement that nothing would be reported until its publication date, on Monday. But The Wall Street Journal, saying it had purchased a copy from a retailer, published excerpts on its Web site on Friday night, freeing other news organizations to do the same.”
Apparently, Greenspan’s well-timed critique of the Bushite budget bungle is having the desired effect-the news media is spewing out stories about his new book and most importantly to Greenspan (and to his publisher)…
…the book is selling like those proverbial hotcakes. It is already up to #2 in sales at Amazon.com. The only book selling better there is the OJ opus de jour.
and so it goes (in the publishing industry).
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: politicked
CELEBRITY DETOX with Rosie O’Donnell
I have never been a fan of Rosie O’Donnell’s. I have always found her to be rather annoying.
She has a memoir coming out soon and if the early press is any indication readers will learn some details about Rosie’s horrendous childhood that might shed some light on why she is such a difficult person.
According to the Boston Herald:
“Funnygal Rosie O’Donnell, starved for attention and sympathy after the loss of her mother at age 10, confesses she would break her own bones with a baseball bat or wooden hangers.
Fox.com reported yesterday that O’Donnell, whose “Celebrity Detox” memoir hits bookstores Oct. 2, reveals how she smashed “my hands and fingers usually” and no one knew.
“It was a secret,” Rosie writes, adding that she often used a Mets baseball bat she got on bat day or the hanger. “It was proof I had some value, enough to be fixed.”
The serial blogger and former moderator of “The View” said having a cast was a useful commodity in her motherless household.
“There were many benefits to having a cast,” she wrote. “In the middle of the night, it was a weapon,” she writes, without further explanation.
O’Donnell, who abruptly left “The View” last spring after a highly publicized feud with co-host Elisabeth Hasslebeck, also addressed her rocky relationship with the show’s creator, Barbara Walters.
She wrote that while she and Walters are on better terms now, Babs resented O’Donnell’s popularity on the ABC hen party.
“During the commercial, people scream ‘I love you Rosie,’ ” O’Donnell recalled. “And Barbara tells them in a schoolteacher tone, ‘It is impolite to say ‘I love you’ to one person when there are four of us up here.’ Then a stony silence sets in.”
Gulp.
Rosie also couldn’t let the whole Donald Trump thing rest, calling her arch-nemesis a “gelatinous slug” in the book.
In “Celebrity Detox,” Ro also explained how being back in the public eye took its toll on her family life.
There’s a “shift that happens in the head that very few celebrities will ever really speak about,” she wrote.
“One begins to believe in the specialness, and a dangerous sense of entitlement takes over,” Ro wrote. “When celebrity addiction starts, you become impatient with, and even angry at necessary obstacles. You think you could run a red light or two. And then you do.”
OUCH!
I still find her annoying. Now I also find her to be sad, pathetic, almost worthy of sympathy…I said ALMOST.
And this thing about being able to use her cast as a weapon in the night is cryptic and tragic.
Rosie continues her insult marathon with Donald Trump in her new book. I interviewed Trump a few years ago and it was a real waste of time. The verbal sparring between the Donald and Rosie is also a waste of time.
This book will sell bushels. There’s always a market for time wasters….the book is already a top ten bestseller at Amazon.com.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: what do you think?
If I Did It—Confessions of the Killer
The OJ Simpson book, IF I DID IT—CONFESSIONS OF THE KILLER is an instant bestseller over at Amazon.com. It is already the top selling book on Amazon.
It’s fascinating to read the customer reviews of this book. Click HERE to read them.
None of the customer reviewers at Amazon seems to have actually read it. They all seem to agree about one thing, it’s trash. Trash sells, though. Proceeds from the book are supposedly going to the Goldman family. Apparently, the Goldmans will get 17 cents from each book sold.
A pittance in payment for the life of their son-and they had to sue to get that!
Meanwhile, OJ Simpson runs free. And this just in: O.J. Simpson Questioned in Break-In
Some years ago I interviewed Daniel Petrocelli, the attorney who won the civil suit against Simpson. At the time, a year after the judgment, he seemed to think that OJ would come up with the millions in settlement money.
It hasn’t happened. The criminal case was botched. The civil suit was a moral victory—and that’s about all. OJ is on the loose, though he seems to be in trouble again? Perhaps this sports memorabilia theft in Vegas will do the trick?? Innocent until proven guilty, right?
Someday, OJ will pay. Justice can take time…..he’ll make a mistake….maybe he just did?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: what do you think?
this book has been embargoed for your protection
It’s always exciting to get the new catalog from the publishing house of Simon & Schuster. There it is on the cover of their spring catalog, the book we have all been waiting for, FAIR GAME by Valerie Plame.
Gee whiz! Valerie Plame? That name sounds familiar? Oh, I remember now, she is married to Joseph Wilson the former ambassador who exposed the Bush administration’s bogus claim that Saddam Hussein was getting nuclear material from the African nation of Niger.
Oh yeah, discredited like the WMD—like Colin Powell—like George W. Bush.
I’m excited to read about how Valerie Plame was outed by leaks to reporters from Bush insiders like Scooter Libby and Karl Rove. You’ll recall that Valerie Plame was a CIA operative—undercover—until the Bushicans got mad at her husband and sought revenge by revealing to reporters like Robert Novak that Valerie was a spy-they blew her cover.
President Bush promised that he would prosecute anyone who did such a dastardly thing; exposing a government agent. Vice President Cheney’s pal Scooter Libby took the fall for the dirty deed. He’s now in prison, right? Oh, now I remember—President Bush commuted Scooter’s prison sentence-he thought it was too harsh. So much for paying the price for outing Valerie Plame as a CIA agent.
So, when will her book be coming out?
The publication date was supposed to be October 22nd. Don’t hold your breath. We won’t be seeing the book then.
Why? Well, the full title says it all: FAIR GAME—My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. Right next to Valerie Plame Wilson’s photo in the catalog there’s a stamp that says EMBARGOED.
I guess that somebody somewhere, possibly in the White House, doesn’t want this book to ever see the light of day. I wonder why?
And so it goes-in politick-tick-ticks…
Vick Mickunas
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Remembering September Eleventh
Do you remember what you were doing when you heard the news?
It’s only natural to remember what was happening in our personal lives when events of great magnitude occurred. Unfortunately, they were usually disasters.
I remember where I was when I heard that President Kennedy had been shot. I remember what I was doing when the first space shuttle disaster happened.
On the morning of September 11—I was in a staff meeting at WYSO. We were told that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center.
We turned on the television and saw the second plane hit. I remember what I was wearing—my Charo t-shirt.
Just the day before I had interviewed a legendary author, the late Ed McBain aka Evan Hunter. McBain was the quintessential New York writer. As Evan Hunter he penned that Gotham classic BLACKBOARD JUNGLE. He wrote dozens of books that were set in a police precinct in a fictional city a lot like New York City.
During our conversation McBain regaled listeners with tales of New York the way it once was. He recalled walking to Harlem to hear music with his father back in the 1940’s when it was OK to do stuff like that.
Following McBain’s book signing in Dayton he flew to Chicago. The next day, on 9/11, his city was changed forever. McBain’s book tour and travel schedule got terminated on the spot.
He rented a car and drove to New York City as fast as he could.
Do you remember September the 11th ?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: we remember
put these books on your radar
THE ELEPHANTA SUITE by Paul Theroux (Houghton Mifflin). I’ll never forget the first time I heard Paul Theroux. I didn’t read him, I heard him on the radio-(not him, actually-I’ll explain). Back in the mid-70’s I was living in Des Moines and working at the post office. I listened to the public radio station at Iowa State University in Ames (WOI-fm) on headphones while I sorted mail in an attempt to maintain some semblance of sanity amidst that postal hell. They broadcast a LOCAL program called The Book Club. The host, Doug Brown, would read from the same book for an hour each day until the book was finished. He was a marvelous reader. In 1975 he read The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia by Paul Theroux. I fell in love with Theroux’s writing and I have loved every one of his books that I have read. This new book consists of 3 short novellas. (Sept. 26)
THE USED WORLD by Haven Kimmel (The Free Press). Creative people can be eccentic. Writers are among the most bizarre artistic types you’ll ever meet. I could tell stories all day. But I won’t. A few years ago I interviewed Haven Kimmel. This writer from Indiana is best known for her memoir A Girl Named Zippy. She’s a bit eccentric but man, can she write! This latest novel is set at the Used World Emporium in Jonah, Indiana. (Sept. 18)
OTHER COLORS—Essays and a Story by Orhan Pamuk (Knopf). Pamuk is a Turkish writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature last year. Turkey is not an easy place to express “unpopular” opinions. Pamuk has taken some heat from the Turkish government for speaking out on some controversial issues. His selection for the Nobel hopefully will immunize him from some of that scrutiny. His essays are brilliant. Improve your mind. (Sept. 24)
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
Antioch—the graphic novel
I was perusing the most recent edition of the Antioch College newspaper when I noticed an illustration that caught my eye. THE RECORD is put together each week by Antioch students. I enjoy reading it.
The illustration I saw was created by Foster Neill. He is a former editor of the newspaper. He graduated from Antioch College last year.
You might recall that I have jokingly mentioned in this blog that the melodrama that is currently unfolding over at Antioch would make great material for a book. I do believe that it actually would. The joking part has been in the literary treatment area; I have proposed that since Antioch College seems to keep rising up from the dead that perhaps a book about Antioch could be a vampire novel since vampire books are big sellers these days.
Foster’s illustration convinced me that this book might work better as a fantasy thriller in the graphic novel form.
Let me show you how Foster’s picture inspired this notion of mine. Imagine that Antioch College was being held hostage for a multi-million dollar ransom. The kidnappers have threatened to detonate nuclear devices if the ransom isn’t paid by a certain date. Antiochians are rushing to gather together the funds to satisfy the kidnapper’s demands. If they fail to raise the money, Antioch College will be destroyed. As Antioch alums tally their donations for the cause the kidnappers demand even more money. It’s a thriller, for sure!
Here is Foster’s graphic illustration that appeared in THE RECORD
(graphic by Foster Neill)
Do you see what I mean? This drama could work as a graphic novel.
Of course that approach is mighty serious. Maybe we should lighten it up a tad? Throw in some comic book super heroes- a little humor? Those “hippies” over at Antioch College are always being mocked by conservatives of the George Will ilk. If we made fun of “flower power” that would widen the audience for our Antioch graphic novel, right?
Something like this?
(graphic by Nina Magliocchetti/Foster Neill).
(note) Nina Magliocchetti is another Antioch College alum. She worked with Foster on this nifty graphic. I never cease to be amazed by the talents of those fine young people from Antioch College.
Here’s a link to the latest issue of The Antioch Record.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: looks good on paper
Buddy the Cat
(photo by Amy Achor)
Some of you have asked if I could publish a picture of Buddy the Cat? Your wish is my command.
Buddy is a regular contributor to the Scribbles and Scraps segment of this blog and he also advises me on various book related topics. He really likes book CATalogues that publishers send us.
Buddy has a new haircut.
That lumpy green globe that Buddy is clutching is his world class Osage Orange. He is so proud of it! Hedgeball anyone?
Don’t you love Amy’s PhotoShop treatment of Buddy?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: secret passions
confessions of a galley slave (vol. IX)
I had lunch with one of my all-time favorite authors today, Luisa Lang Owen. She took me to lunch at the Winds Cafe’ in Yellow Springs. I got suspicious when she handed me a brown bag. It contained a bottle of Duxoup Syrah. It was a 2003. She asked me if I understood the significance of the vintage year that she had selected? I did. In 2003 I interviewed Luisa for C-Span’s Book TV. I wonder how she knew it was my birthday? (Owen wrote “Casualty of War: A Childhood Remembered”).
As I was leaving the restaurant someone at a table I was passing asked: Hey, don’t you review books? They proceeded to tell me about a book that they thought I should review. It did sound interesting.
Speaking of birthday swag, I have been getting some cool stuff. It will be hard to top the chainsaw I got a few years ago (the gift that keeps on giving—just ask my neighbors!) but some really thoughtful stuff nevertheless.
I got a box from UPS with some strange beverages. Another box turned up with a variety of unusual implements; a hand-carved bottle stopper, a champagne bottle sealer, a wine bottle drip preventer. HEY! Why are all these gifts alcohol related?? Oh my. Best not to ask I suppose.
I also got an incredible picture that a good friend snagged for me on ebay. An etching of a street scene in Vilnius. Very beautiful.
I walked into the Emporium in Yellow Springs and there was sign on the door wishing me a Happy Birthday.
I love my friends.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: confessions of a galley slave
the walls they do rock at sweet Antioch
Ten years ago I interviewed Charlton (Chuck) Heston about his autobiography, “IN THE ARENA,” (which just came out in paperback). Chuck was raving about gun control, political correctness, Bill Clinton, etc. At one point he paraphrased the ancient Chinese proverb. Chuck declared: “May we live in interesting times”. We sure do!
Things at Antioch College just keep getting stranger. I’m telling you, this whole Antioch saga would make an incredible book. Nobody would believe it!
Here’s the latest:
“Faculty Resolution
September 4, 2007
In light of the August 31st news that the leadership of Antioch College has been dramatically restructured, including 1) the elimination of the position of College President; 2) the invention of new administration positions; 3) and the encroachment onto the operations of the Alumni and Development offices, all of which were done without consultation with the College Administrative Council or College faculty, we, the faculty of Antioch College, issue a vote of “no-confidence” in Tulisse Murdoch, Chancellor of Antioch University. The Chancellor’s precipitous actions have damaged the college to such an extent that her continuation works against the survival of the institution. The vote was unanimous among the twenty-six faculty present.
For Immediate Release: September 5, 2007
ANTIOCH COLLEGE FACULTY DECLARE “NO CONFIDENCE” IN UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR TULISSE MURDOCK
At Tuesday’s faculty meeting, Antioch College faculty issued a resolution of “no confidence” in the leadership of Tulisse Murdock, Chancellor of Antioch University. This resolution follows the events of Friday, August 31st when the Antioch community received the news that the leadership of the College had been dramatically altered by the premature exit of President Steve Lawry. No reason was given for Lawry’s departure. He had submitted his resignation in August and was expected to step down on December 31st. However, in Friday’s reorganization by the University leadership, the position of College President was eliminated, and a new leadership team was appointed without consultation with Administrative Council or the College faculty.
The Antioch University Board of Trustees voted in June 2007 to suspend operations at the College, effective June 30, 2008. In an emergency Board Meeting called this August, the Board of Trustees was persuaded, after a strong and eloquent outpouring of concern from a broad-based coalition of faculty, staff, students, alumni, former Trustees of the University, members of the Village of Yellow Springs, and the higher education community, to consider specific proposals from the College alumni for keeping the College open. Last week the Trustees and the Alumni Board made an agreement to share the financial information necessary to develop a feasible business plan to ensure the survival of the College. This new openness on the part of the Trustees was welcomed by College faculty and the Alumni Board, and the Antioch community was looking forward to this collaboration with the University leadership and the Board of Trustees. The recent decision to eliminate the College Presidency therefore comes at a critical point in the negotiations between the College Alumni Board and the University Board of Trustees. The lack of due process surrounding this decision is a violation of the trust that was beginning to be re-established between the College and the larger University.
The lack of a President leaves the College vulnerable at a time when experienced leadership and fundraising expertise is essential as the College develops a sustainable plan for its survival. The suddenness of the Chancellor’s actions occurred in an environment where democratic processes are a standard and an expectation. These actions unfortunately follow a series of interventions on the part of the Board and the University leadership that have reduced the college’s ability to control its own finances, fundraising, curriculum, and internal affairs.
College faculty and staff are highly committed to providing a stable and supportive academic environment to students as they seek to complete degrees at an institution that faces an uncertain future. Despite severely reduced staff and resources, delivering the best possible education to present and future Antioch students remains the highest priority. These precipitous actions on the part of Chancellor Murdock further weaken the College and severely disrupt the educational mission of this institution. .”
So the first thought that came to my mind was; did Chuck Heston ever do a vampire movie? He would be perfect in the role of……
And poor Toni Murdock. She must be feeling a bit like Yogi Berra at this point. You know, deja vu, all over again? Murdock is the Chancellor of Antioch University. When she was running Antioch Seattle it is my understanding that the faculty on that campus also had a vote of “no-confidence” in Ms. Murdock. Consistency, consistency.
OK, so I need somebody good to write the book about Antioch College. I wonder if Anne Rice is available? I think I have an illustrator lined up. Young fellow in Chicago, Antioch alum. He’s a PhotoShop wizard!
Maybe Chuck Heston would consider a cameo role in the movie adaptation of the book? Maybe he could play ousted Antioch College President Steve Lawry?
Don’t you love a good brainstorm? This Antioch story just keeps on growing. What will happen next?
Perhaps the vampire angle isn’t quite right? Maybe it’s really more of a Jack the Ripper meets the Boston Strangler period piece? How about “The Antioch Strangler?” or “The Werewolves of Antioch?”
Maybe I’ll head out to the Yellow Spring to mull this over? It’s right in the middle of Glen Helen, the spectacular nature reserve that used to belong to Antioch College…..I wonder who owns it now? Oh no, what’s that in the water? It appears to be the wrappings from “The Mummy Returns?”
Mother Antioch, that is….
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: you never know who you'll meet in Yellow Springs
scribbles and scraps-chapter 18
Here comes the flood: Today is the official date of publication for hundreds of new books as the publishing industry rustles awake after another fairly dormant summer. The Book Expo America conference in the spring marks the grand finale of each publishing cycle. Labor Day signals the start of another year in books.
New in paperback: THE RED TENT (Picador) by Anita Diamant. This special 10th anniversary edition of Diamant’s classic novel about Dinah, from the biblical book of Genesis, is her masterpiece. Over the past decade it has sold 3 million copies.
Highy anticipated: Engleby (Doubleday) by Sebastian Faulks. The latest novel from the author of Birdsong gives readers a clue right on the cover of what to expect; Stony-hearted lover, confessional liar, stranger to himself, man with five names, but you’ll remember him by one: Engleby.
Movie tie-in: LUST, CAUTION—the Story, the Screenplay, and the making of the Film (Pantheon). The “official” hardcover tie-in to the highly anticipated new film by Ang Lee. The movie hits theaters on September 28. The book came out today.
Memories of Antioch College: I worked at Antioch for 10+ years at the Antioch radio station. I know a lot of Antiochians of the past, present and who knows, maybe the future? With all the hubbub over there recently many of us have paused to reflect upon that eminent edifice. The other day a long-time Antioch College staffer mentioned to me that back in the college’s heyday there was a local firm here in Yellow Springs that was hired to steam clean graffiti from campus walls on a weekly basis. One day a graffiti artist spray painted this dated tribute to Antioch’s motto: BE ASHAMED TO DIE UNTIL YOU’VE COPPED OUT FOR THE SCENE.
Bookish beverage: A mysterious package mysteriously appeared on my doorstep. What a mystery? I opened the box. There was another box inside. So, I opened that box. Another box in that! How MYSTERIOUS. So, I opened that box and it contained a mysterious bubble wrapped bundle. Ever so gently I sliced open this mummified bundle. Voila! It contained one 22 oz. bottle of THE ABYSS. This product of the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon bore this description: It’s dark. It’s deep. It’s mysterious. Aged in French oak and Bourbon barrels, this special brew has immeasurable depth inviting you to explore and discover its rich, complex profile. The flavor of molasses and licorice draw you in further and further with each sip. The Abyss beckons. Enjoy the journey. Hmmm, what a mysterious flavor. It does taste like molasses! Hey, that was the nickname my second grade teacher gave me—she would say “Little Vick, takes his time but he always gets there, eventually.”
The Buddy beat: The little guy has been spending a lot of time lounging in his little red wagon.
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: scribbles and scraps
remembering the Beer Hunter
He had the greatest job in the world. Michael Jackson wandered the globe. Wherever he went he was offered the finest beer available (among other things). He wrote books about his passion. He was known as The Beer Hunter.
Jackson imbibed in the best beers and he wrote the best books about them. His obituary in the New York Times detailed some of his accomplishments:
“Mr. Jackson especially loved Belgian brews, which his books “The Great Beers of Belgium” and “The World Guide to Beer” introduced to many export markets, including the United States.
By identifying beers by their flavors and styles, and by pairing them with particular foods and dishes, he also gave impetus to the North American microbrewery movement.
His television documentary series, “The Beer Hunter,” a title that popularized his nickname, was filmed around the world and shown in 15 countries.
Mr. Jackson was a beer critic for more than 30 years, writing in newspapers and gastronomic magazines, holding seminars, giving speeches and appearing on talk shows. His many books about beer and whiskeys were published in 18 languages.”
Whenever I heard somebody refer to Michael Jackson, I thought of The Beer Hunter first, not that other guy with the same moniker. The Times obit alluded to Jackson’s take on the confusion his name sometimes caused:
On his Web site, Mr. Jackson acknowledged that his familiar name often led to confusion. “Hello, my name is Michael Jackson,” it said last week. “No, not that Michael Jackson, but I am on a world tour. My tour is in pursuit of exceptional beer. That’s why they call me the Beer Hunter.”
The BEER ADVOCATE also paid tribute to Jackson. (Thanks, Jeem…for that link!)
Here’s to Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter.
You will be missed. I wonder, is it true that in heaven there is no beer? Michael, they had better make an exception for you. Cheers!
Vick Mickunas
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“Dead Certain” about George W. Bush
George W. Bush is at the point in his presidency where he is thinking about his legacy. A new book takes a sympathetic view of his time in office. Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush (Free Press) by Robert Draper, was the result of the author’s persistence, luck, and an unusual access to the Oval Office.
An article in the Sunday edition of the New York Times explains how Draper was able to obtain exclusive interviews with this sitting president. It also offers insights into what we can expect George W. Bush to do after he “retires.”
For example: “First, Mr. Bush said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’ coffers.” With assets that have been estimated as high as nearly $21 million, Mr. Bush added, “I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75” thousand dollars a speech, and “Clinton’s making a lot of money.”
Draper developed a rapport with his subject and was rewarded by eventually being allowed to observe Bush in relaxation mode: “But as Mr. Draper described it, and as the transcripts show, Mr. Bush warmed up considerably over the intervening interviews, chewing on an unlit cigar, jubilantly swatting at flies between making solemn points, propping his feet up on a table or stopping him at points to say emphatically, “I want you to get this” or “I want this damn book to be right.”
The book just arrived in bookstores and it has already provoked a high level dispute.
We have had almost seven years to formulate our own opinions about George W. Bush.
I see a connection between George W. Bush and Richard M. Nixon—You’ll recall that Nixon won a narrow victory over Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 election. In 1972, Nixon won in a landslide over George McGovern.
George W. Bush also won a closely contested election in 2000 over Al Gore. Heck, some voters think that he really lost that election (remember Florida, the hanging chads?). Bush went on to win another term in 2004.
Here’s the connection that I see between Nixon and Bush; where are all the people who voted for these two guys? Millions of Bush voters are as quiet now as those Nixon voters became 30 years ago. What a shame.
How do you think George W. Bush will be remembered? What will be his legacy?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (14) | Categories: politicked
Ronald Reagan—a Graphic Biography
When I was in grade school I used to wake early in the morning on school days and sit next to the heat vent while I enjoyed a few moments of relaxation reading comic books before I went to school.
My parents didn’t approve. They thought comic books were a waste of time. I’m sure they figured that their son who appeared to be somewhat intelligent would never find any excuse to parlay comic books into meaningful employment.
Mom, Dad, wherever you are, it has happened. You both passed away years ago but I want you to know that I am reviewing a comic book today for the Dayton Daily News.
OK, purists, it’s a “graphic novel.” That’s a “hardcover” comic book. I just finished RONALD REAGAN—a Graphic Biography (Hill and Wang). It was written by Andrew Helfer. The art was done by Steve Buccellato and Joe Staton.
Do you remember Ronald Reagan? He starred in memorable films like BEDTIME FOR BONZO. A wholesome midwesterner, Ronald “Dutch” Reagan went on to become a two-term Republican President of the United States.
I remember him. As Governor of California he fought the hippies who tried to take over the University of California at Berkeley. You might remember that Country Joe and the Fish performed a tribute to him at Woodstock called DRUG STORE TRUCK DRIVING MAN.
Reagan has been held up as an icon by some Republicans (like George W. Bush) ever since. Some people credit him with forcing the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain. According to this new “graphic biography,” he was not that heroic. Actually, he comes off as rather insidious, even lizard-like. They make him out to be some sort of a corporate puppet who ended up enriching his powerful friends.
I know, it’s not nice to say bad things about dead presidents. I do miss Dick Nixon. I miss Jerry Ford. I even miss Hoover and Truman and Eisenhower and Clinton. Wait, Clinton is still with us. Darn! He might become our First Guy.
I don’t miss Reagan. Read this comic book to find out why. Mom—Dad—after 40 years you can finally get off my psychic case. Guilt, be gone!
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: politicked
a review that made me want to read the book
When I write a book review I have one purpose or another. My primary intent is to inspire readers to pick up a copy of a book because hopefully my review has piqued some interest in it.
A secondary intent comes into play when I want to warn readers away from books that I feel are a waste of time.
I read book reviews in the hope of discovering new books to enjoy or to avoid. I don’t always agree with the reviews. Sometimes I have to make up my own mind. I actually disagree with many reviews.
I just read the cover review from this Sunday’s New York Times book pages. I loved the review. I plan to read this book. Here it is:
The Revelator
By JIM LEWIS TREE OF SMOKE
By Denis Johnson.
614 pp. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $27.
Good morning and please listen to me: Denis Johnson is a true American artist, and “Tree of Smoke” is a tremendous book, a strange entertainment, very long but very fast, a great whirly ride that starts out sad and gets sadder and sadder, loops unpredictably out and around, and then lurches down so suddenly at the very end that it will make your stomach flop. It comes with the armor and accoutrements of a Major Novel: big historical theme (Vietnam), semi-mythical cultural institution (military intelligence), long time span (1963-70, with a coda set in 1983) and unreasonable length (614 pages), all of which would be off-putting if this were not, in fact, a major novel, and if Johnson’s last big book hadn’t been the small collection of eccentric and addictive short stories called “Jesus’ Son” (1992). “Tree of Smoke” is a soulful book, even a numinous one (it’s dedicated “Again for H.P.” and I’ll bet you a bundle that stands for “higher power”), and it ought to secure Johnson’s status as a revelator for this still new century — a prediction I voice confidently but reluctantly, and with a little disappointment and dismay.
Reluctantly, because Johnson has always been an elusive figure, one of the last of the marginal masters. He’s not a recluse, but he’s not out humping his ego, either: I’ve never read an interview with him (though I haven’t looked very hard), or seen a picture of him that wasn’t on one of his book jackets. More important, it has often seemed as if the books themselves — there have been six novels, a book of short stories and one of plays, three volumes of poetry and a collection of journalism — have bloomed spontaneously from the secret fissures that crisscross Americana: jail cells, bad neighborhoods, bus stations, cheap frame houses in the fields beyond the last streetlight. They’re full of deprived souls in monstrous situations, hapless pilgrims on their way to their next disaster. But unlike most books about the dispossessed, they’re original (how strange it feels to use that word these days, but it fits), and what’s more, deliriously beautiful — ravishing, painful; as desolate as Dostoyevsky, as passionate and terrifying as Edgar Allan Poe.
Johnson’s standing, then, is ideal for a writer today: ample respect from his colleagues and peers, a bit of support from institutions and a large following that has nonetheless left him vaguely outside of things. “Tree of Smoke” is a massive thing and something like a masterpiece; it’s the product of an extraordinary writer in full stride. But I can’t help hoping that it leaves his status unchanged. We don’t need any more novelist-performers or novelist-pundits or novelist-narcissists, but we very badly need more novelists who can write this well.
As for this particular novel, it’s typically counterintuitive. For one thing, it’s about the Vietnam War, and who would have thought we needed another book about that fiasco? For another, it co-stars a character named Bill Houston, who carried Johnson’s first novel, “Angels” (1983), and met a bad end. Reading about his prehistory in the Navy is a disturbing experience for anyone who’s read the earlier book, though it’ll mean nothing in particular to those who haven’t.
Stranger still, “Tree of Smoke” doesn’t feel like a Denis Johnson novel, not at first, anyway. He has a fondness for the oracular mode, and he often pitches his rhetoric in a register unavailable to most contemporary writers: Isaiah among the lumpenproletariat. It’s his natural form of address, but it can sometimes be exhausting. An earlier novel, “Already Dead” (1997), started out wild and ended, 435 pages later, unhinged. “Tree of Smoke” is cannier: it begins like a very good novel by someone else, and by the time you realize how demanding it has become, it’s too late.
Sentences like this start flashing past: “She had nothing in this world but her two hands and her crazy love for Jesus, who seemed, for his part, never to have heard of her.” What a thing to say, but the book is moving on. Two drunken soldiers, one of them an amputee, have a long, inane conversation, during which the disabled one announces, “My invisible foot hurts.” Later, the other soldier weeps “like a barking dog.” The lines roll like billiard balls with weird English on them, they spin and skid, often just after their last comma, and then they plunge into their pockets with a crack.
But I haven’t told you what the thing is about yet. It’s mostly about a man named Skip Sands, a novice in the C.I.A, who begins the book as a young man in 1965, and makes it almost to the end, though by then it’s 1983 and he’s ancient; and his uncle, a Kurtz-like character who starts a little operation of his own, and then dies so ridiculously that no one can believe he’s actually dead; and the Houston brothers, Bill and James, who serve their country and then wander, angry and free, back to Nothing-to-Do, Arizona; and two Vietnamese military men, one from the South and one from the North, who flip this way and that; and another intelligence officer named Storm, who carries the book like the last man in a relay race, delivering it at the finish to a Canadian woman named Kathy, a Seventh-Day Adventist and aid worker, who has encompassed the whole story, who winds up bearing much of the book’s considerable grief, and who gets, as she deserves, its final pages to mourn.
Many of the themes from Johnson’s earlier books are recapitulated here, large and small: the American unleashed on the world and the world rendered opaque to Americans; tenderness as unexpected swerve and thuggishness as uninflected animus; death as the palm at the end of the mind. He has odd stylistic quirks — a superstition, for example, about proper names. (Bill Houston, in “Angels,” is rarely called anything but Bill Houston, though here he occasionally goes by just plain Bill; the narrator of “Jesus’ Son” is anonymous but for a raunchy nickname; a figure in his novel “Fiskadoro” is named “__”; and “Tree of Smoke” includes a minor character who refuses to be called anything but Black Man.)
Yes, there are a few things I wish Johnson had done differently. He puts more hardware on display here (guns, airplanes, intelligence equipage) than I needed to see, and more rock ’n’ roll military dialogue than I needed to hear. And he can occasionally overindulge in significance: a longish journey, at the end of “Tree of Smoke,” left me with the uneasy sense that he can’t tell the difference between Joseph Conrad, who was a genius, and Joseph Campbell, who was not. So it’s not a perfect book; but then, a perfect book would be perfectly safe, and I don’t have time for that.
I spent a long time reading “Tree of Smoke,” and as I neared the end I found myself wishing it were longer. The grief I mentioned above: there are very few writers today who can get that on the page, and our literature is tepid without it. Epiphanies occur in almost every book, but a credible apocalypse is much harder to find. And a little redemption in the last chapter is so common that it’s barely noticeable; but how many books can really convey what it means to be lost, let alone, as this one does, what it might mean to be found?
Jim Lewis’s most recent novel is “The King Is Dead.” He lives in Austin, Tex.
What did you think? Did you enjoy that review? Does it make you want to read the book?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | | Categories: that's what they say
