So, despite all the shit I have to do, I keep finding time to read novels and what now. Mostly, it's a function of house sitting: it's a 45 minute bus/"L" ride (one way!) up to E.'s house. That's a LOT of time to burn through a paperback, ya know?
A few good things ...
Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson - I actually bought this book *last* summer at the Printer's Row Book Fair. Tyson is a historian at UWiscon-Madison, and I saw him give a talk on the book. Afterwards, I bought a copy, and he signed it - I got to *briefly* talk to him. You know he's slick b/c he's an academic from the South who kept his accent. Anyway, the book is an autobiography/history of Tyson's experience in Oxford, NC when he was a young boy. It revolves around the murder of a black man in broad day light in the middle of the street. It's a also a powerful novel on the nature of American racism, and our weird American ability to "forget" our racial past. It's powerful, moving, and really honest stuff. The best part: Tyson makes a rather scary argument that non-violence is not what made the difference in the civil rights movmennt, but rather violence (or the credible threat of violence) is what finally got whites to stop being dickheads. Tyson remains optimistic about our future, but it's clear it ain't rosy.
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte - It's a metatextual mystery about Alexander Dumas and the Devil! Despite that hokey tagline, it's a pretty fun mystery/adventure story.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow - This is, technically, a science fiction book. It actually borders more on New Weird if you ask me. It's the story of a man whose father is a mountain (literally) and his mother is a washine machine (really). His brothers include an island, a fortune teller, a set of Russian nesting dolls, and a zombie. He meets a woman who has wings. It takes place in present day Toronto, where an anarchist punk is trying to install free broadband wireless everywhere in the city. The whole neo-futurist "the Internet will save us" parts of the book are pretty much lame utopian crap. BUT, the story of this oddly dysfunctional family and the way the past keeps fucking with the present are top-notch.
Werd.
A few good things ...
Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson - I actually bought this book *last* summer at the Printer's Row Book Fair. Tyson is a historian at UWiscon-Madison, and I saw him give a talk on the book. Afterwards, I bought a copy, and he signed it - I got to *briefly* talk to him. You know he's slick b/c he's an academic from the South who kept his accent. Anyway, the book is an autobiography/history of Tyson's experience in Oxford, NC when he was a young boy. It revolves around the murder of a black man in broad day light in the middle of the street. It's a also a powerful novel on the nature of American racism, and our weird American ability to "forget" our racial past. It's powerful, moving, and really honest stuff. The best part: Tyson makes a rather scary argument that non-violence is not what made the difference in the civil rights movmennt, but rather violence (or the credible threat of violence) is what finally got whites to stop being dickheads. Tyson remains optimistic about our future, but it's clear it ain't rosy.
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte - It's a metatextual mystery about Alexander Dumas and the Devil! Despite that hokey tagline, it's a pretty fun mystery/adventure story.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow - This is, technically, a science fiction book. It actually borders more on New Weird if you ask me. It's the story of a man whose father is a mountain (literally) and his mother is a washine machine (really). His brothers include an island, a fortune teller, a set of Russian nesting dolls, and a zombie. He meets a woman who has wings. It takes place in present day Toronto, where an anarchist punk is trying to install free broadband wireless everywhere in the city. The whole neo-futurist "the Internet will save us" parts of the book are pretty much lame utopian crap. BUT, the story of this oddly dysfunctional family and the way the past keeps fucking with the present are top-notch.
Werd.
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
rickets:
Don't worry. The umbrella guy goes all over the neighborhood. I've seen him most often by the lakefront or near monoxide towers on 55th. He's also been spotted by reliable witnesses near Jackson Park.
smithers_jones:
I'm Gonzo without a doubt.