FLIMSY LITTLE PLASTIC MIRACLES: Read this if + GIVEAWAY!

(Psst - enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a SIGNED COPY of Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr!)

I couldn't get enough of Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles in the very beginning... and the second half. I am required to admit: There were moments during which I did not enjoy this novel... for a few bits in the the first half. In the end, I loved it, but it was definitely touch and go until Mr. Currie killed himself. Er, his character did. Er, attempted to kill himself.

I'm not spoiling anything, I swear; the impending suicide is laid out in first few pages. Why touch and go? Perhaps the very distinct maleness of the downward spiral, the violence of the sex (a little hard to stomach if you know my background), the one-that-got-away-ness (do all of you boys have a girl (or boy) that got away because you were a moron?) were all less than appealing to me, but then, I wasn't reading as fast as I should have. Had I been, I would have had the beginning's discussion of truth vs fiction fresh in my mind, the play on reality and perception, the relationship of narrator to writer to reader. I mean, the book begins with a comment on the audacity of epigraphs - how can you not end up liking it?

The novel is a continuous commentary on perception vs reality, fiction vs truth, and even the Singularity.(FLPM is actually the second book I've read in the past few months that mentions the singularity, and that mentions Garry Kasparov's defeat by a computer...is that eerie? Or just a normal case of synchronicity?) Anyway, to sum up:

Read this if:

• You have a penchant for the absurd.
• You like novels that play with form - this one is told in a series of short segments - a page or two, or sometimes only a paragraph, instead of in traditional chapters.
• You delight in fiction that takes stock of itself - that explores deeper philosophical questions - the thin veils between truth and fiction and perception, for example. Even between honesty and truth.
• Your favorite song is I Can See Clearly Now.
• You, too, suffer from the-one-that-got-away-ness; maybe your favorite song is actually Pictures of You.

Don't read this if:

• You take yourself very seriously.
• Yours is a shadeless world of black and white.
• You are not in a very good place right now. This may not be the best read for you until you emerge from your Very Dark Place, at least a little.
• Your favorite genre is "chick lit" and you don't mind that it's called "chick lit."
• You can't stand (or can't follow) novels that jump around in time and place.

Also! I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Currie in person last week, and he graciously signed my copies of the book - and now I have one to share with you, courtesy of Penguin (who also sent me this book in exchange for my honest review). See that book staged oh-so-cleverly above? That could be your copy! Just enter below by the time you go to bed on Monday, March 4. Don't worry; Rafflecopter only asks for a name and email so that I can contact you if you win! No password or anything. Winners to be announced next Wednesday, March 6. (Only open to US residents.)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fake Bookish Neurosis: Plotjà Vu

It would seem that Tana French brings out the lit lunacy in me.

When I was last suffering from a fake bookish ailment, I thought I was a cop tripping over the edge in In The Woods. Some flicker of unintentional method acting gone bad. This time, I can't shake the feeling that I've read a book that I'm 98% positive that I haven't read: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, a sort of plotjà vu. For some reason, that novel has been hugging the shadows of my books-I-should-read periphery for a while now, and I can't figure out why. And there's no movie (yet), I checked, so that's not why the synopsis is hauntingly familiar.

I had the same feeling of overfamiliarity while reading/listening to French's The Likeness. I knew those weirdo overintellectual graduate students. Somehow. Well, not really, but the story had happened across my consciousness before, in some other form. But when? How?  Maybe I sleepwalked joined a crazy clan of snobby outcasts in college?

And thus, plotjà vu, suffering from a sense that you've already seen the plot before, somewhere else. I'm not talking about derivative plots, or authors/books that have obviously influenced the author in the current novel you're reading, but more of that not-quite-identifiable sense that you've seen something very similar before. Almost as if you've dreamed the plot, and now you're reading it. But in that ever ethereal slipping away of dreams, you can't quite remember when or where or even quite what happens. Mostly, it's the atmosphere that remains, that lingers on the edges of a current read.

And now I'm reading/listening to Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, and I've just been introduced to this novel's cliquish crew of pseudo-intellectuals. Seriously? What strange set of coincidences has set this reading sequence in motion? Don't answer that.

But do help me out: Is Donna Tartt's novel the source of this weird plot framework? Group of 4-5 odd but strangely close smartypantsy philosophizing youngins somehow accepts an outsider into their fold; bad shit happens. Usually, someone dies. I can't seem to trace back to the source of origin in my own psyche/reading history/movie history.  (I'm pretty sure) this isn't some bizarre mythology seeping into our Jungian collective subconscious. It must have originated from somewhere. Maybe I read/saw something else with the same plot elements. Or perhaps you did and can solve my little mystery?

Maybe I just need to (re?)read The Secret History to figure out my own secret history. (I know, I know, I just couldn't resist. Punning is my Achilles heel.)

ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes: Read this if

 

I normally wouldn't give a novel like this a second glance. The story of an aimless, accidental caretaker and a cranky, young quadriplegic told by an author of romance novels? Probably not the best tea for my cup, and yet, some intangible thing about this one compelled me to give it a go. And good thing! 

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale, tinged with much more sweet than bitter, giving glimpses into the lives of the very well off and the not so well off, which can differ drastically whether you're talking about wealth of finances or wealth of spirit or circumstance. Admittedly, Lou's emoting and Will's stubbornness were occasionally trying, but overall the novel delivered a touching story, with fully drawn-out characters and a thought-provoking take on euthanasia without even hinting at preachy.

You should consider reading this too if:

• You are looking for a surprisingly light, funny, heartwarming, fast read with some substance too it.
• Obsessive marathoners drive you crazy. 
• You've never thought about life as a quadriplegic.
• You used to wait, standing outside a broken phone booth with money in your hand.
• You're well acquainted with sibling rivalry.
• Character development turns you on.

Don't read this if:

• Disabled people make you queasy.
• Feelings make you queasy.
• You can't handle books that don't defy gender stereotypes.
• You are a die-hard pessimist (but you think of yourself as a realist).
• You're in a Stephen King kind of mood.
• You believe all questions have one right answer.

*I received this book from Penguin in exchange for my honest review. Be sure to check out this book club kit for a recipe for what sounds like a refreshing tea cocktail (I'm not kidding) and lemon cream tart, a Q & A with the author, and some more information about the book, in case you're still on the fence.

THE WANDERERS by Edward Belfar: Read This If

It seems I have succumbed to one of the many viruses plaguing the country, my throat and nasal passages having swollen themselves into a gooey network of mini-tortures (I'm not being overly dramatic or anything, no no no), hence the lateness of my post and my apologies. I must say, these stories were not quite the cure for feeling ill, but they were definitely acute glimpses into the ordinary lives of ordinary men (many of whom disdained women in short white shorts). I must note that the women in these stories are not particularly fleshed out, but they are mostly stories about men, and men not at the best of times. All, as the title suggests, find themselves at some aimless point in their lives, some with hope of finding their way, some who haven't yet found that hope when the story ends. (I particularly liked "Matters of the Heart" - the priest was fantastic.)

I have a sneaking suspicion that these might be better savored than gobbled - reading them back to back highlighted similarities in names and phrase that could at times be confusing.

You should read this if:

• You are looking for unique, realistic glimpses of ordinary life.
• You are interested in portraits of life in Kenya (particularly Nairobi). 
• You can relate to being down on your luck, sometimes at rock bottom. 
• Reading about experiences that are likely worse than your own has an uncanny way of lifting your spirits. 
• You currently can't stand your ex (the exes in these stories will make you appreciate them more, in one way or another). 
• Tragedy is your middle name.

Don't read this if: 

• You're looking for a little levity. 
• You're currently on a fluffy bunny kick.
• Stories about those at their worst or during their worst might just be the thing that pushes you over the edge into a dark, gloomy depression for the rest of the winter.
• You're going through a divorce. Wait until later. 
• You're lounging on the beach in the sun. 

*I received this from TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. See what others thought here.

THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfield: Read This If

I finished The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield at the very end of last year, and, like so many other novels I've read recently, I haven't gotten around to offering my thoughts. I listened to the audio version, which I definitely recommend, though it is a moody, atmospheric listen, entirely appropriate for these frigid winter months. It is told through both the voice of a young(ish) happenstance biographer, and the elderly, sickly author that she is "interviewing" on the author's terms. I never did piece together where, exactly, in time this novel took place, but that could be because I missed a key detail in the audio that I would have caught in the text.

You should consider reading this if:

• You enjoy stories that leave you feeling as if you're wandering on an English moor through a dense fog. 
• You don't mind a bit of gothic moodiness and the occasional appearance of unexplained apparitions. 
• You like novels full of rich, descriptive language and fully developed characters.
• You're looking for the perfect book with which to curl up with under a thick blanket with a cup of hot tea (or coffee or cocoa) on a gloomy, winter day.
• You are looking for a non-romance, non-chick-lit novel with female primary characters.
• You loved The Secret Garden as a child.

Don't bother with this if:

• You prefer novels that are straight-forward and fast-paced. 
• The strange bond between twins is far less than fascinating to you. 
• You prefer your stories illuminated by sun beams as opposed to moonlight. 
• You find stories with no male primary characters intolerable.
• Just reading about cold and dampness gives you an unstoppably runny nose.

Fake Bookish Neurosis: Novelimmersionosis

 

This morning, I walked into work completely anxious about having to appear in court to take the stand and testify about a case I knew nothing about. This, of course, lasted for only a flash of a second, until I realized that I am not, in fact, an Irish detective named Rob Ryan, but the same self I've always been. Rob Ryan resides in Dublin, in In The Woods by Tana French. I have never been to Dublin. Not physically, anyway. But it seems that when I am deeply immersed in a story, the lines between fiction and reality blur a bit, if only for fractioned moments.

This sort of thing, this novelimmersionosis, if you will, is not entirely uncommon, especially lately, since I've been listening to more audiobooks, and as the long winter sets in. The same thing happened while listening to the eerie The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (impressions forthcoming) though I actually never had a hold on where in time much of that novel took place. (I miss little things like that, sometimes, that I might otherwise have caught, had I been reading the text, since I'm listening while driving or walking most of the time.) 

I have nothing particularly clever or insightful to remark upon this clumsy phenomenon, but I do wonder how many of the rest of you occasionally confuse your lives with the lives of the characters you're reading about. Anyone care to admit to such a thing?

THE DARLINGS by Cristina Alger: Read this if

Miss me? Well, either way, I'm back, for the moment, after a ridiculously busy open enrollment/holiday season, fresh with impressions of The Darlings by Cristina Alger, a novel that is a rough equivalent of (Gossip Girl + Edith Wharton - romantic drama) x Bernie Madoff + Bonfire of the Vanities + (Damages - murder schemes).

With the elite of the 1% and the financial tailspin of 2008 as subject matter, it would be easy to dismiss this novel as something to avoid, but you really shouldn't. It's a compelling read, driven by the interplay of characters not only from inside the upper echelons of Manhattan "royalty," but also by those lingering on the outside, less mired in glittery facades. Though I was put off by some of the characters in the beginning, many managed to grow on me. None perfect, but none completely villainous either. All human.

The novel reminded me of exactly why I loved New York and exactly why I left, with passages like:

Manhattan was a Darwinian environment: only the strongest survived. The weak, the nice, the naive, the ones who smiled at passersby on the sidewalk, all got weeded out. They would come to New York for a few years after college, rent shoebox apartments in Hell's Kitchen or Murray Hill, work at a bank or wait tables or audition for bit parts in off-off-Broadway productions. They would meet other twentysomethings over after-work drinks at soulless bars in midtown; get laid; get their hearts broken. They would feel themselves becoming impatient, jaded, cynical, rude, anxious, neurotic. They would give up. They would opt out. They would scurry back to their hometowns or to the suburbs or secondary cities like Boston or D.C. or Atlanta, before they had a chance to breed.

The ones who stayed long enough to raise children were the tough ones, the tenacious ones, the goal-oriented ones, the gold-digging ones, the deal-closing ones, the "kill or be killed" ones, the ones who subscribed to the philosophy "whatever it takes." They looked out for themselves and slept with one eye open. Being born in New York wasn't enough to make someone a true New Yorker; it was in the blood, like a hormone, or a virus.

The passage carries some truth - NYC is definitely not the center of the universe, but it is not for the laid-back or the realistic - there comes a point that the chaos crosses the line between energizing and exhausting. The novel shows that even the uber-privileged and the driven are not immune to finding themselves on the exhausted side of the line.

To summarize, you should read this novel if:

• You love New York.
• You hate New York.
• You love to hate New York.
• You hate to love New York.
• You are secretly addicted to Gossip Girl and reruns of all iterations of Law & Order.
• Most of your friends are lawyers, bankers or journalists. You might be one as well. Or you might as well be one.
• You like fast-paced novels that take place over a very short period of time (in this case, less than a week).

Don't read this if:

• You think the very privileged are cluelessly inhuman, and could not possibly be swayed otherwise.
• You are easily confused by novels told from many points of view.
• You don't like the pace of a novel interrupted with back-story.
• You couldn't possibly relate to someone that considered clothes from Brooks Brothers as ill-fitting, off-the-rack attire.
• You are secretly addicted to Little House on the Prairie and The Brady Bunch reruns. (I know. I'm dated. Apparently I need to watch more TV.)
• You are looking for something light-hearted and humorous.

*I received this book from the publisher (Penguin Books) in exchange for my honest review.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan: Impressions

If ever there was a book for book and tech geeks alike, this is probably it. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan follows an out-of-work web designer turned book clerk into a mysterious world filled with cloaked figures and coded texts and ancient artifacts clashing with modern technologies and code-cracking capabilities. It's a laid-back read, if ever there was one, with more caricature characters than fully fleshed out figures, but hey, it's plot driven, and that's okay with me. It's sort of a more modern, nerdier Indiana Jones-esque story. 

Read this if: 

• You proudly call yourself a book nerd or geek or similar term of choice.
• You don't know what you'd do without google or the internet or the latest gadget.
• Your favorite song is by a band I haven't heard of because I'm over 30. Or you're over 30 too but were born a decade too early or too late.
• You're looking for a fun, fast read. 
• You enjoyed both the Indiana Jones movies and Snowcrash.

Don't read this if: 

• You're serious and cranky and cantankerous.
• You don't have nor do you want a smartphone or tablet.
• You prefer character-driven novels.
• You think San Francisco and New York breed the roots of all evil.
• You're not into that whole suspension of disbelief thing.

PS: even my kitty wants to read it.