The Nix

The Nix by Nathan Hill  625 pp.

According to this story, a Nix is a Norwegian house spirit who attaches itself to a person and follows them for life. It seems that Samuel Andresen-Anderson has more than one. There is his mother who left when he was a child but returns to his life after "attacking" a presidential candidate. There is the girl he fell in love with at first sight. And there is the disturbed friend who he could not save. This story of a writer whose life is falling apart in the present. There are flashes back to his childhood and to his mother's life in 1968 to provide the backstory of how he ended up in his current state. And there are the characters in the story, lots of them. Samuel's gamer friends, his mother's college friends, his father, his grandfather who tells a different story about his mother, his mother's lawyer, a vindictive cop turned lawyer and judge, the student who wants to get Samuel fired from his teaching position, the publisher who plans to sue him, the beautiful violinist, the childhood friend hiding a terrible secret, etc. There is the main story and then the side stories that all seem to connect in a myriad of ways. In spite of being invested in the story, I kept thinking "Is this ever going to end?" 

Wild Tales

Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life by Graham Nash  384 pp.

Graham Nash is a bit of a Renaissance man. He's best known as a singer-songwriter, famous as a member of the group the Hollies and later in Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. He is also a photographer, painter, sculptor, and as this book shows, a pretty good writer. Nash chronicles his life from his childhood in working class Manchester, England, through performing in the bar scene, and on to stardom in the world of rock and roll. He story is brutally honest about the wild times, sex, and drugs without being sordid. Included are his long relationship with Joni Mitchell, the disagreements between band members, the frequent problems working with Neil Young, and the drug abuse that nearly destroyed David Crosby. There is lots of talk about the intricacies of songwriting and the harmonies that CS&N created in their music. Nash also speaks about the importance of CSN&Y's political activism from the anti-Vietnam era to the present. Through it all, Nash seems to be the most level headed of the group although he was no angel. However, he is the one who managed to end up in a stable marriage, raised successful kids and created an idyllic home on the island of Kauai while continuing his music and art careers. I listened to the audio version of this book read by Graham Nash. The great part about this is that whenever specific songs & lyrics are mentioned he sings them. The downside to listening to the book is missing out on the 25 pages of photos contained in the book. I've put the book on reserve just to have a look at the photos.