The Invisible Ones - Stef Penney (Audio)

When this book first came out, somehow the description wasn't enough to lure me in.  It was during the Audiobook Week this year that it popped it's little head up again, demanding to be read because of the narration.  From audiophiles that have heard it all, this book was deemed a gem.  Not from one person, but a whole sea of them.  I took the hint and ordered it.  I believe I may have found my new favorite voice.

Synopsis:  A not-quite-successful, soon-to-be divorced private investigator is lying in a hospital, paralyzed and nearly comatose.  Ray Lovell has suffered from some sort of attack, resulting in a car accident, and he believes it was a result of his current case.  He slowly recalls the events that led up to the accident that almost killed him.  

Ray (who is half Gypsy) was approached by a Gypsy man who is concerned that he hasn't heard from his daughter, Rose Janko, in six years.  She married, left with her husband's family, and was never heard of again.  The Janko family, Gypsy as well, claims Rose ran away soon after having a child who was afflicted with a genetic illness that runs in the family and is usually fatal.  But as Ray probes deeper into the vague stories and curious personalities of the Janko family, he senses that they know more than they are admitting.

We also hear from JJ Janko, 14 year-old cousin of Rose's abandoned son Christo.  JJ provides the troubled but innocent perspective of the Gypsy lifestyle in 1980's England, and the burden of helping to care for a very sick little boy who likely may die.  The embarrassment of not having an inside toilet, of never being able to invite a friend over, the transient nature of their lives...this old-fashioned notion of the Gypsy heritage clashes drastically with a modern society where a young man wants to be accepted.  

As Ray attempts to solve the mystery of Rose, he develops and navigates through complicated relationships with JJ, sickly Christo, Rose's erratic husband Ivo, the Janko patriarch Tene, and Tene's younger sister Lulu, the hot tamale with the bright red stilettos.  This is not only a story about a culture of people who remain to most of the world invisible, but of family, love, loyalty, secrets and relationships...a unique hybrid of multiple genres and a literary conundrum.

My thoughts:  What was really fun in my listening experience of this book is that I had no earthly idea what it was about.  I certainly read the reviews but didn't remember, and that worked for me.  I'm not sure if I would have ever imagined that I was interested in the Gypsy culture...I see them in the streets in Poland, and I am both annoyed with their persistence and sad for the children who are forced to "work" for their livelihoods.  But once I was plunged into this world, I was hooked.  The mystery was compelling and unpredictable, the relationships were confusing and complex and even a little endearing.  This story had it all, and was rich and fulfilling.

I was beguiled with this knack that Penney has in the story for throwing in questionable little...facts, I guess, or maybe little baby red herrings that to a reader of mysteries, tweaks the brain and makes you wonder.  Many of these threads don't go anywhere, and it left me wanting more.  I wasn't resentful, it just made my synapses zip around a little faster.  It reminded quite a bit of Tana French in that way, and I know many of you know what a complement that is coming from me.  (I got a little feeling of serendipity when I saw that French had interviewed Penney on Amazon.)

I know I am going on more than I usually do, but I must also address the texture of the two narratives.  Ray's narrative reflected his grizzled, world-weary soul but earnestness.  He is damaged, he has woman issues, he wants human connection, but is rough around the edges.  JJ's narrative was the perfect contrast...he was completely adorable.  How often do you find a 14 year-old in a novel that is adorable?  He was a good kid with a difficult life, he has seen more than most kids his age but still held on to his innocence.  I was fully invested in the both of them, but I would have taken JJ home with me.

A bunch of gushing about the audio production:  This audio was narrated by the most flipping amazing Dan Stevens.  For those of you addicted to Downton Abbey, yes THAT Dan Stevens.  I can't even express to you the delight in listening to this man effortlessly navigate through the accents, the personalities, the nuances.  I haven't had this much fun since Lenny Henry.  I had heard him narrate "The Angel's Game", which was a great audio, but he was in top form here.  So Stevens joins the very short and esteemed list of narrators I would chase down in any scenario.

Audiobook length:  11 hours, 23 minutes (416 pages)

5 out of 5 stars       
  

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Charleston #5

Here are my final images of Boone Hall Plantation.  I don't think many explanations are needed here.  This is what plantations, and the South in general, is all about.  I will move on next week to Lake Michigan.

Drop Dead Healthy - A.J. Jacobs (Audio)

I've never had any experience with A. J. Jacobs prior to this book, but I've been hearing about him for some time.  He is known for a brand of full-immersion non-fiction, where he LIVES whatever he is writing about.  One big blogger hit was "The Year of Living Biblically", where Jacobs follows every single rule of the Bible for an entire year.  Which by itself is enough to make a person go "hmmmm".  

But living healthy?  Alright, I've been on a bit of a health trend for the last 9 months, so I thought I might learn something here.  Book Addiction Heather loaned me the audio, and I was in the mood for something non-fiction and maybe funny.

Synopsis:  A.J. Jacobs looked in the mirror and saw a middle-aged, doughy and out-of-shape guy, and worried about whether he would be around to raise his three small boys to adulthood.  What better project then than to throw himself into every nook and cranny of the business of improving his health?  The task was daunting...like 53 pages worth of things to do.  So with gusto, Jacobs takes it all head-on.  

He covers all the bases.  Sure, there are the topics one would expect to see...like eating the right foods and exercise.  But even in the realm of normalcy, Jacobs finds the abnormal, like a diet and exercise regime tailored to that of the caveman (throwing boulders in Central Park??), paying attention to the number of times he chews before he swallows, the cardio benefits of pole dancing, or walking on a treadmill while on his computer, for example.

He takes off from there, exploring skin and mole removal, the immune system and nurturing his phobia of germs, improving brain function, sleeping habits, maintaining healthy private parts and boosting the libido, decreasing stress, and how to have the most productive bowel movement.  While Jacobs injects his humor into this experiment, his efforts are earnest and thorough and his tips are practical and helpful.  He did, after all, lose 16 pounds along the way and competed in a triathlon.  You may not ultimately embrace a pedestrian helmet or wearing noise-cancelling headphones all day, but you may pick up the inspiration to live a healthier life.

My thoughts:  This was a fun little romp.  Not quite as fascinating as the Mary Roach books, but almost.  But similar to Mary Roach, a little bit of this goes a long way.  I would not be able to listen to this type of book all the time, but is a nice side trip once in awhile.  

Jacobs is totally over-the-top.  He doesn't just do intensive research on, let's say, healthy testosterone levels.  He gets himself tested, and against his wife's wishes even, takes Clomid (a medication I actually used myself when I was trying to get pregnant) to increase his numbers, thus making him aggressive and feisty.  He doesn't just Google sleep disorders, he attends a sleep clinic.  

I think his wife must be a saint.  

So did I learn anything here?  I like the idea of out-sourcing my worrying to someone else, thus reducing stress.  Let Susie Poo do the worrying about that weird pain in my foot, and I'll worry about whether or not she will get a promotion.  Kinda makes sense, in a weird way, doesn't it?  And there is some good, old-fashioned practical advice at the end of the book that rang true.  Everything in moderation. Shopping the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid all that processed crap in the middle.  Own a pet.  Walk.  Avoid white flour products.  Stop shoving so much food in your mouth.  That kind of thing.  Good stuff.  

A word about the audio production:  Jacobs actually narrates the audio himself, and does it well.  There are some authors that narrate their own work and are so good at it, I will never read their work in print (ahem, Joshilyn Jackson, David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell).  I'm not sure I'm at this point with Jacobs, but he was pleasant and delivered the message in the spirit in which it was intended.

Audiobook length:  10 hours and 10 minutes (416 pages)

3.5 out of 5 stars               
  

Monday Matinee: Argo (2012)

It has been awhile since I've seen a movie at the theater.  It seems like the only chance we have is when the kids have a day off from school.  This past Friday, my son and I decided we needed to go see this film.  It has been getting serious Oscar buzz and has a crazy-high score on Rotten Tomatoes of 95% (for both viewers and critics).  My mom had seen it and said it was a fascinating movie about a piece of history none of us really knew anything about.

Indeed it is.  Back in 1979, a group of enraged Iranian revolutionaries stormed the US Embassy in Iran in retaliation for the US's support and harboring of the overthrown Shah.  They took most of the embassy staff as hostages (that were ultimately held captive for somewhere over 400 days), but six employees escaped out the back door and took refuge at the Canadian Embassy, hiding in a cellar whenever they feared detection.

CIA Specialist Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck, who looked nothing like the real-life Latino, but I guess those are the perks if you are the director) is called upon to figure out a way to get these six people out.  Through some of his connections in Hollywood (John Goodman and Alan Arkin), he creates a fake movie, with a script, a press release and all the trimmings, to support the ruse of a group of Canadian studio execs scouting out exotic filming locations in Iran.  Biographies are invented for the six Embassy employees, from camera operator to costume designer.  With Mendez in the lead, they are to pretend to traipse around Tehran (where spies hang from construction machinery in the streets), looking for places to shoot their movie.  The risk is real and terrifying, the consequences of discovery being a very public death.  After they have convinced the Iranian government they are studio execs, their plan is to hop on a plane and get the hell out.

The story would certainly fall in the category of "you can't make this shit up".  I was fascinated and thoroughly tickled by the lengths at which Goodman and Arkin's characters go to make a really bad Star Wars rip-off seem legitimate.  They took the challenge like a couple of geeky teenagers.  Seasoned, snarky geeky teenagers.    



I can't tell you that they have captured all the facts as they happened.  Who even knew about this?  The mission was only declassified during the Clinton era.  But based on what I've read, the basic elements were true.  I did smell a strong acrid whiff of overcooked melodrama at the end.  I sincerely doubt the Iranian officials were chasing the airplane, containing the six Embassy employees and Mendez, in their jeeps down the runway, attempting to shoot out the tires.  I'm sure Hollywood believes it must deliver some shooting and chasing to satisfy the masses.  Beyond this little display of schmaltz, the movie did hold my interest and maintained a tense little knot in my stomach for the duration.  You pretty much know things are going to work out, but Iran is a scary place and I was scared.

The movie is rated R for a few f-bombs and some stark images of people being hung in the streets.  However, I felt it was fairly safe stuff for my 13 year-old, and in fact would tell you that this is the kind of story that fires up his mind.  It was a great slice of history that, based on recent event, has seemed to morph and repeat itself.

4 out of 5 stars 

   

Sunday Salon: Sharon Springs or Bust

 A fine morning to you all, my lovely friends.  I am so pleased to tell you that on this fine morning, I only have two solid plans for the day...running and church.  Amazing right?  My brain is whizzing all over the place, imagining what I might do.  Catch up on my review writing?  Take my daughter to see Paranormal Activity 4?  Finish reading my book?  Oh the possibilities!

It is has been a normal, busy week.  No rest for the crazy.  The daughter had her cross country practices, PSAT and half day of school on Wednesday (then four hours at the animal shelter), a retreat on Thursday, then promptly fell over in her tracks with the flu.  So no school on Friday, and no Cross Country meet on Saturday.  She was sad, I was sad, but it happens.  My son's football season is still going strong, having played in the 2nd round of playoffs last night and won handily.  I swear, I was nauseous for most of the day, and was tempted to just put my head in my lap while the game was going on.  My son has always been on winning teams in football, but if there was ever a year for him to go farther than he has ever gone before, this would be it.  Our next game is on Wednesday night.  If they win there, they go to the Citrus Bowl like last year.  My poor little nervous heart.

My son also had no school on Friday, so after a long run with my running buddy (long runs are still at 9 miles), I got a pedicure for my aching feet, then he and I went to lunch and to see Argo.  (Review tomorrow.)  My husband and I went to the high school football game Friday night.  Because there was no CC meet to attend, I was able to spin with my BFF Saturday morning.  Lot of naps in there in between. I've discovered I love naps.  Just little ones.  They are rejuvenating.

I've been drifting in and out of this blogging malaise.  One day I love it, the next day I'm tired of it.  But sometimes things happen to make it all worthwhile.  That happened on Thursday, when I posted my review for "The Bucolic Plague" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell.  Josh actually came by and commented, and invited me to come visit he and Brent in Sharon Springs, NY.  So now I am having a fantasy about a road trip, picking up all my interested friends along the way and hanging out with his chickens and goats.  Speak up if you want to come along, and if you live somewhere generally near the path between Florida and New York.

I did a little reading this week, but all I have to say is thank God for audios.  I finished up Amanda Kyle Williams' "Stranger in the Room", and am over halfway through "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce.  Which is really a sweet, gentle book and I love it so far.  In print I finished "The House Next Door" by Anne Rivers Siddons, and it was the perfect read for October creepiness.  I wrote my review quick-like, to get it in before Halloween.  I'm now over halfway through "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter.  Can I just say that I love this guy?  This book is incredible, just incredible.  

So I'm off to enjoy my carefree Sunday.  I predict reading, blogging, napping and maybe a movie.

   

One Last Thing Before I Go - Jonathan Tropper (Audio)

It seems like in the last few years, there has been a sudden surge of novels that feature men struggling with middle age.  Close your eyes and throw a Prozac and you'll hit a book with a female protagonist struggling mid-life to "find herself".  But men?  Seems like a new trend for me, and I'm liking it.  

One of these books that totally blew me away was Jonathan Tropper's "This is Where I Leave You", where a middle-aged guy deals with a cheating wife, sitting Shiva for his deceased father, and the forced reunion of his dysfunctional family.  Sounds dreary, I know, but I've never laughed so hard in my life.  (There is a scene with some naked body parts coming in contact with a fully-lit birthday cake...I almost wet myself.)

Enter the Penguin publicists at SIBA, who made this book one of their top picks, combined with the arrival of the audio from Penguin Audio, and the result would be an extremely excitable Sandy.  Let me try to tell you a little about the premise.

Synopsis:  Drew Silver is the poster boy for a middle-aged shitheel.  In his glory days, his band had one song hit the charts, and it was all down hill from there.  Drugs, alcohol, infidelity, depression, and sloth.  Predictably, Silver's wife leaves him, taking with her their only daughter.  He now spends his life selling his semen to a sperm bank, and laying by the pool of his residence for displaced shitheels, ogling the college girls with his like-minded buddies.

Then his 18 year-old Princeton-bound daughter announces she is pregnant.  His ex-wife announces her approaching wedding.  And Silver has an "episode", from which he learns that if he does not have emergency surgery on his heart, he will die.  Soon.  Despite Silver's failings, his family begs him to have the surgery, but Silver isn't sure if his life is worth saving.  Maybe he should just try to be the best man he can be for the remainder of his days and leave it at that.  

In this ironic, humorous and heartfelt story, one man is faced with his past mistakes and the possibility of making things right with the help of his family, for better or worse.

My thoughts:  I never thought I'd say this, but I believe Tropper has bested himself.  He takes the general formula he used in "This is Where I Leave You" (humor, dysfunction, poignance and family) and adds more heart, more depth, more consequences of bad behavior.  I laughed a bit less with this book, but was filled with more emotion and taken on more mental strolls through my own life.  The book forces the reader to reflect on how we have lived our lives and whether we have done fight by our loved ones.

Not that most of us are going to have anything in common with Silver.  At the beginning of the book, I couldn't stand the man.  He was an immature, self-absorbed idiot.  But after being faced with his mortality, he transforms into someone more innocent, earnest and wide-eyed than his formal self, and it is endearing.  

At the center of it all is Silver's relationship with his daughter.  He loves his daughter and while he knows he has failed her as a father, he wants to give her what he can now.  But he also accompanies his father, a Rabbi, on a tour of all the life rituals...a circumcision, a wedding, a funeral, a Bat Mitzvah.  He admits to his lingering feelings for his ex-wife.  This is the circle of life stuff that hits you right where it counts.

Combined with Tropper's insanely clever and snappy prose, and wise perspective on life, this is a home run you won't want to miss out on.

A few words about the audio production:  The narrator, John Shea, was able to completely capture the grizzled, befuddled essence of Silver.  I've never heard any of his work before...most of his resume seems to be clustered in non-fiction and spiritual novels, which is ironic since Silver was such a heathen.  His voice was pleasant to listen to and I would certainly not hesitate to pick up any of his work in the future.

Audiobook length:  8 hours and 18 minutes (336 pages)

5 out of 5 stars   

  

The Bucolic Plague - Josh Kilmer-Purcell (Audio)

So probably you all know I have a few fantasies on file whenever I am tired of the grind.  Fantasies are good for you!  As long as you keep your expectations in check, they are fun to swizzle around in your brain.  One of my more frequent fantasies revolves around having chickens, and milkable animals so I can make cheese, and looking out over rolling green hills.  (I know my mom is rolling her eyes, because as a young adult I couldn't move to the city quick enough.)  I have seen the movies "Funny Farm" and "Baby Boom" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" at least 100 times.  I can't grow a carrot but, you know...details.  

Anyway, I knew when I first read the reviews of this book, that it would feed right into the whole scene.  I was told the audio was a must, and my library didn't have it, so it was only when Kathy sent it to me that the day was saved.  My fantasy-ante has just been upped!

Synopsis:  Josh and his partner Brent are high-octane New York City dwellers...Josh works for a posh ad agency and Brent works for Martha Stewart.  But occasionally they like to get away to the country to pick apples and enjoy the peace and quiet.  One weekend, they stumble into a quirky little town, not on the map, and find a gorgeous farm and historical mansion for sale.  Impulsively, they take the plunge.  They would be weekend gentlemen farmers!  It would be fun!  They would have a vegetable garden and sip their homemade apple cider by the fire!

Turns out, it was a little more work than they had ever imagined.  With visions of Martha Stewart perfection, they chased dreams of the idyllic Thanksgiving, garden parties for their newly-acquired local friends, making goat milk soap for friends and family for Christmas, cutting down a beautiful giant Christmas tree to be trimmed, and making their own garland.  Instead, they got ghosts, drunk turkeys, tomato-canning all-nighters, human remains in the garden, dead birds in their cherry trees, zombie flies taking over the house, and lots and lots of goats courtesy of their caretaker Farmer John.  Eventually, both Josh and Brent became victims of the economic downturn and lost their jobs, and began to watch their relationship deteriorate as a result.  

    

But these two were in the business of marketing and image, and they were ultimately devoted to one another, so they dug deep and created the brand of "Beekman 1802" (named after the man who originally built the mansion), complete with goat milk soap, recipes, how-to videos, gardening tips, and even pictures of their animals...basically the fuel to ignite the smoldering self-reinvention fantasy in all of us.  Josh's account of their journey is a poignant, humorous, and insightful look at chasing your dream, coping with middle-age, love...and cleaning up goat poo.

My thoughts:  Well, as you can see, I wrote a little more than I normally do on my reviews.  I do try to keep it concise so you don't shut down half-way.  But sort of like anything Joshilyn Jackson or Tana French, this required more heart and soul.  I LOVED this book.  And not just because Josh and Brent were living the life that is supposed to be mine (ha).

I have lived on a farm, so I do know that the works never ends.  And I liked that Josh laid out the realities of it all.  This was supposed to be their weekend retreat, and sometimes all they did was scoop up goat dung, till their garden or can vegetables.   Old houses do have zombie flies (or in my parents' case, zombie ladybugs) that appear by the thousands no matter how many times you vacuum them up.  Josh made me chortle out loud throughout the entire book.  Josh and Brent's attitude was endearingly self-effacing and honest about their bumbling adventures.

I also loved (for lack of a better phrase) the gay twist on the story.  I loved the fact that they were warmly accepted into this small town (where more than a few gay couples were in the center of the social hub).  I adored their unflagging commitment to each other.  They are adorable.  There were not-so-adorable moments in the story, however, like Josh butchering his own turkey for Thanksgiving.  One that he had raised.  That whole scene devastated me.  I think I'd have to outsource that job.  

Based on some poking around I did on their website, it appears that these two have not only reinvented themselves, but their small town of Sharon Springs.  They have numerous festivals, they have included the locals to help make Beekman 1802 a success, and hoards of people now flock there to see their slice of heaven.  Kathy and I swear one day we are going to do a road trip.  I'm just waiting on Josh or Brent to see this review and invite me.

A few words about the audio production:  The narrator for this book is Johnny Heller, who is new to me but based on his resume, seems to know his way around the audio world.  He perfectly portrayed Josh's "voice" so much that I could easily imagine that it WAS Josh speaking.  It was a pleasant listening experience.

Audiobook length:  8 hours and 7 minutes (320 pages)

5 out of 5 stars