Killing and Dying: Stories

Killing and Dying: Stories by Adrian Tomine, 121 pages.

A collection featuring odd, off-kilter stories that are really rather sweet and affecting, that are well-matched with straight-forward, realistic art. The stories veer toward tragedy, but are leavened with a bit of the absurd, and the author never lets his characters (for whom he seems to have a great deal of fondness) suffer needlessly or too deeply. I particularly like the way the surprises in the plots are presented in each of the tales, and how the characters deal with these twists and turns. "Hortisculpture" seemed a little goofy at first, but had more depth than expected. "Amber Sweet," "Go Owls," and the title story, particularly,  had such a sad nostalgic touch to them, with characters that were vulnerable and whose lives were artfully handled. I had just finished reading Adam Johnson's Fortune Smiles before this and I was struck by the similarity in tone between the two books. This was the first book I have read by Tomine.  I heartily recommend this book, and look forward to reading more by the author.

Johnny U.: The Life and Times of Johnny Unitas

Johnny U.: The Life and Times of John Unitas by Tom Callahan, 292 pages.
Uggh. I accidentally deleted the whole review of this book. It was very insightful and the most beautifully written book review I have ever written. Oh, well.
I got a Johnny Unitas football helmet back around 1966, so I always knew he was somebody. Callahan tells why Unitas was somebody, and how that all came about, but he doesn't necessarily tell it in a clear manner.
It is an interesting tale that should have made an interesting book. The narrative switches points of view frequently, and it's always assumed that you know who is talking, but sometimes the narrator is identified by name, sometimes by nickname, and sometimes it is someone who was talking a page or two ago. Often the book seems more like a series of loosely related articles than a single cohesive work. Not a necessary read for anyone.

My Venice and other essays

My Venice and other essays / Donna Leon 222 pgs.

Donna Leon has lived in Venice for a long time but still considers America home even though she has no intention of living here again.  This collection of essays on Venice, on music, on mankind and animals, on men, on American and on books is often humorous, always in insightful and a pleasure to read.  This collection is best read in small pieces so you can have time to digest and consider what the author has to say.  Recommended for those who enjoy intelligent women and well written short essays.

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If This Is a Man / Primo Levi 205 pp.

If This Is a Man is the first item in this massive, 3-volume, 3,000 page new Complete Works.  Because it was originally published as a stand-alone piece, I think it's fair to get credit for it as one item translated from Italian.  Levi wrote this shortly after his return from Auschwitz to Turin.

At this point I've read quite a few personal narratives of the Holocaust, and I now wonder how many of those writers weren't directly or unconsciously influenced by Levi.  It seems to me almost an alpha narrative, to which all the others are a sort of response.  Although Levi's experience was not particularly representative -  'only' one year in Auschwitz as an Italian Jew who was 'fortunate' to wind up assigned  to an indoor chemistry lab - it is so beautifully, intelligently, written, so free of melodrama, so carefully observed, that he seems to have laid the groundwork for the entire discussion of events that took place during the period.  He is especially astute regarding what it took to survive, and how, or whether, it was possible to remain a man throughout.

Stuart Woolf's  translation is fluid and unobtrusive.

Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates  152 pp.

I cannot adequately put into words my feelings about this important book except to say I am glad the author was honored with the National Book Award for putting into words the experience of living in black skin in this country and the false construct in the concept of "race" in this essay to his son. I believe everyone, regardless of the amount of melanin in their skin, should read this brief but very important book. As a white woman of privilege I have not, and never will have those experiences. However, I know from friends that here in the U.S. the "crimes" of walking/driving/just breathing while black can and too often does result in abuses of power by actual and supposed authority figures. But Coates also speaks of his days at Howard University, which he calls his Mecca. Coates message to his son is one of love, fear, and a pessimistic hope that somehow things will change.

Grow all you can eat in 3 square feet

Grow all you can eat in 3 square feet / Kate Johnsen (ed) 255 pgs.

When I first saw this on the cart, all I could think of was "they don't know how much I can eat" but really this isn't a book about surviving the apocalypse.  Although, if the apocalypse DOES come, I'm going to put some effort into consolidating some high quality potting soil.  How many of us have the dream of being a farmer?  Living off the land?  Well this book gives you a good starting point.  Start with 3 square feet and actually manage your crops and you can eat pretty well.  The recommendations for turning over your crop and replanting on a schedule make for continuous bounty.  This book is full of great ideas.  Now to consider getting my hands dirty...

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Slade House

Slade House by David Mitchell, 238 pages

In an inconspicuous alley in England, a small iron door shows up every nine years. And whenever this door shows up, someone (a police officer, a student, a small boy and his mother) goes missing. Yes, the door and the disappearances are linked, but it's awfully hard to prove that when the mysterious door, and the grand Slade House to which it leads, are untraceable by the outside world.

I'm hesitant to describe any more of the plot of this compact horror story, though I'll happily say that it's good, spooky, and Gaimanesque in style. I love the atmosphere that Mitchell creates, and I particularly enjoy Mitchell's decision to let the victims tell their own story, with each section being told in first person. An excellent quick and spooky read.

Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World / Seth M. Siegel 337 pp.

Siegel, lawyer, activist, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, traces Israel's remarkable about-face from a small, water-deprived, developing country to a water powerhouse.  Surprisingly readable and accessible, this is, considering there are a fair number of pages devoted to sewage, an inspiring, almost cheerful read.  Siegel believes that Israel's acquired expertise can be the key to saving many other countries teetering on the brink of water disaster, and while Israel is certainly idiosyncratic in many respects, Siegel convinces the reader that its technology, social engineering, and entrepreneurial flair just might be exportable, to the benefit of everyone.  Timely and thoughtful.

Animals Make Us Human

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin  352 pp.

Dr. Grandin has made the study of animal behavior her life's work. This book is mainly a discussion on the unique behavior's of different species including domestic dogs and cats as well as farm animals. She also delineates problems in the meat, poultry, and egg industry and delineates ways in which the animals can and should be treated humanely up to and including the slaughtering process. Many of these improvements in animal handling are actually more cost effective than what is being done now. Most of the time just retraining the handlers is all that's necessary. Much of her understanding of animal behavior has been learned from her own close observation of animals and relates them to her own thought processes as an autistic person. She also bemoans the fact that much of the study in animal behavior is now done strictly through computer modeling rather than observation in the field when ideally, both methods should be used. This is an interesting and informative book, now if only all the animal producers would listen to her.

Ripper

Ripper by Isabel Allende, 478 pages

It's winter in San Francisco, and a series of odd murders has flummoxed the SFPD. Thankfully, Deputy Chief Bob Martin is getting an assist from his teenage daughter, Amanda, and a crew of her friends, who have begun investigating the murders as an offshoot of their online game, Ripper. The tension ratchets up when Amanda's mom (and Martin's ex-wife) is kidnapped, possibly by the killer.

This is my first stab at reading Allende, who I'd heard great things about, and I've got to say, I was underwhelmed. Some of that can be blamed on the translation of Ripper, which resulted in plenty of awkward phrasings and repetition. But the story becomes so convoluted, and tries to weave in the back stories of way too many characters, and the blame for that lies solely with Allende. She admits in the acknowledgments at the end of the book that this was her first stab at a murder mystery; it shows, and unless she seriously ups her game, I hope this will be her last foray into that genre. Will I read another of her books? Maybe. But probably not until I get the bad taste of Ripper out of my mouth.