A master of misdirection

The Map of the Sky
by Felix J. Palma

Those who read Felix J. Palma’s The Map of Time are well aware of the author’s hijinks and trickery.  Be forewarned, he is again up to his clever tricks—though not, perhaps, exactly the ones we’ve seen before.  No, this is a writer who will keep readers on their toes!

So, about The Map of Time…  You should read it before you even think of picking up this book.  For a long while, I thought it would be unnecessary, but as I got deeper into the novel, it became obvious that you’d be missing much without having read the first volume in the trilogy.  And if The Map of Time is Palma’s homage to H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, then The Map of the Sky is his homage to The War of the Worlds (as well as other early science fiction classics). 

This second volume is similarly structured.  It’s told by the same omnipotent narrator about whom I desperately hope to learn more in the final volume!  This unnamed voice is a major presence in the story he tells, with remarks like:  “What happens next is hard to describe.  Perhaps a more seasoned narrator would have no difficulty—I am thinking of Wilde or Dumas—but unfortunately it falls to me.”  And, “I hope you will forgive me for having left our hero in such a delicate situation; think of it as my homage to the serialized novels of the time.”  Yes, that kind of intrusiveness can grow precious, but Palma walks a delicate balance and really pulls this device (as well as the literary equivalent of breaking of the fourth wall) off terrifically well.

Also like the prior novel, The Map of the Sky is told in three parts, each of which is a distinct, but linked story.  And again, author H.G. Wells, plays a role in each.  The dire events of this novel are kicked off innocuously enough, as Wells meets an American hack writer for a liquid lunch.  When his counterpart offers to show him a real Martian, how can Wells resist?  The story rapidly moves from the preserved specimen in the British Museum to the events many years earlier that led to the collection of the museum specimen.  This first section is a harrowing tale of Antarctic adventure. 

The second section of the novel brings Wells back to the center of the story, and reintroduces a character from the last book in a new guise.  Identity is a tricky business in this novel.  It’s that magician’s misdirection; never assume you know who anyone really is.  Oh, that Palma is a delight!  The second part of the novel involves a Martian invasion of London much as Wells wrote in his novel a year prior.  This alone makes him suspect and brings a Scotland Yard inspector into the tale.  But what at first appears to be a hoax quickly turns far darker than expected.  Always Palma defies expectations. 

The third part of the novel takes place two years later, and here the story again revisits a secondary character from The Map of Time.  In this section, his tale is the center of the story, but it serves to move the whole narrative towards its terrifically satisfying and pitch-perfect conclusion.

If the novel has a weakness, it is that at 608 pages, it may be a tad overwritten.  I think this is largely due to Palma’s writing in Victorian style.  Why use 100 words when you can use a 1,000?  Despite the occasional excess, the story moves along rapidly and it was torture to put the book down.  The one other criticism I’d noted after reading more than half the novel was a failure to connect with the characters emotionally in more than a superficial sense.  Well, Palma had me eating those words, and in the latter part of the novel he delivered big time. 

This trilogy has proven to be a pure delight.  Mr. Palma has left ample clues about which of Wells’ novels will be featured in the final volume, so I’ve got some reading to do before next summer.  I can’t wait to see what he delivers next. 

And finally, I will leave you with a quotation, completely out of context, just because I like it so much:

“Grieving for the death of beauty is a very human idiosyncrasy.  Do you know, Mr. Wells, when a star dies, the light from it goes on traveling through space for thousands and thousands of years?  The universe remembers for a very long time whatever dies, but it doesn’t grieve.  It is natural for things to die.  Yet I’ll grieve for you when you’re gone, for the beauty you are capable of creating, sometimes unconsciously.  I’m sorry I can’t offer you greater solace, the solace a priest offers his flock.  But all of us are subject to the laws of the cosmos.”

An Evening at "Brokeland Records" with Michael Chabon

Yes, I've been a bad, bad blogger.  I basically took the summer off.  It was a rough summer, and I needed something really special to jump-start my blog for the fall lit season.  That something special was delivered to me by Michael Chabon and the good folks at HarperCollins.  Michael's contribution was the writing of Telegraph Avenue, which has just become my favorite read of 2012.  I'm very proud to have written the "most helpful" review of the novel on Amazon, and my review of Telegraph Avenue can be read on the blog here.  There is nothing better than being able to sing the praises of a book you truly loved.

So, the publishing industry isn't known for wildly creative marketing events, but kudos to HarperCollins for their promotion of Telegraph Avenue.  For one week, they've turned Diesel Books in Oakland--very close to where the novel is set--into the fictional Brokeland Records at the heart of the novel, complete with signage, shopping bags, and vintage vinyl for sale!  I shot 30 seconds of video as I approached the store.  I was jay-walking in heels and blinded by the sun, so you get what you get.  You can just see the record bins at the front of the store as the video ends.





Completists are invited to view a one-minute tour of the inside of the store. In addition to launching the novel, the evening was a benefit for 826 Valencia, founded by Dave Eggers.  Video of Eggers talking about his organization and hopeful plans for a future Oakland branch, as well as his introduction of Michael Chabon may be viewed here. Finally, Michael took the stage, and began the evening with some old technology and a musical interlude. This may well be the only place you can hear the original composition, the "Theme from Telegraph Avenue."





Afterwards, Michael shared his affection for Diesel Books, his "neighborhood bookstore" and our hosts for the evening. He extolled the numerous cakes that had been baked for the event, which can be better seen in the photograph above. And briefly, he spoke about Telegraph Avenue's genesis, and set up the excerpt he was about to read. The second video is the reading from the novel.









Next, Michael opens the Q & A with questions about some of his earliest musical experiences, how the novel came about, what it's like to write about a world he knows intimately, and the joy of unusual words. (Am I the only person utterly charmed by his use of the phrase "consensus reality"?)






More questions about neighborhood stores he misses, paper versus e-books, book bundling (with a consult from the "publishing industry"), favorite live concerts, and recommendations for children (with a consult from a child).





And that was the end of the Q & A. Afterwards, Michael promoted a raffle to benefit 826 Valencia.  The grand prize is a vintage portable 8-track cassette player, much like the one carried by Julie Jaffe in the novel, and a Telegraph Avenue mix tape recorded by Michael.  He's a nostalgic guy, and this is just funny...


 


And finally it is cake time:




Uploading this video takes forever! (No wonder I took the summer off.) The good news

for you, but bad news for me, is that I have heaps of video and book reviews stacked up and ready for posting. I will try to get back to my regular posting schedule, because there are so many good books coming out each week this time of year, and great authors coming through San Francisco nightly.

  For now, I'm delighted to have shared a really special launch party for a really special book. Michael will be touring extensively this fall. Check his schedule and see if he'll be coming to you. Oh, and if you'd like a signed first edition of this fantastic book, I can't imagine a better place to order from than our good friends at Diesel Books.

The church of vinyl

Telegraph Avenue
by Michael Chabon

Depending on who you ask, Michael Chabon is either one of the finest writers of the English language working today or he is the finest writer of the English language, full stop. My opinion vacillates between the two. A reputation like that comes with some pretty lofty expectations for each new book. I'm pleased to say that Chabon's latest, Telegraph Avenue, did not disappoint.

At the core of this novel is Brokeland Records, described at points as "the church of vinyl" and "an institution." You know the place, or someplace like it—a down on its heels shop that's a gathering spot for a passionate community of its own making. Brokeland is owned by Archy Stallings (black) and Nat Jaffe (white, Jewish) and these partners echo the diversity and cultures of the Berkeley/Oakland neighborhoods straddled by the eponymous avenue.

This is a long book. It's not epic. I'm not even sure that it's sprawling. But it is full. By the time you reach the end, you will be thoroughly familiar with the businesses, marriages, and families of both Archy and Nat. You'll have met and followed their lives, and the lives of their customers, their adversaries, and one well-educated parrot. You'll know the intimate details of their relationships and their personal histories. Chabon packs a whole heap of detail and digression into the course of his 480 pages, and that doesn't even include a boatload of pop culture references to 70's jazz, Blaxploitation films, and martial arts.

Chabon's affection for his characters is contagious and it's hard not to love

Michael displays a rare copy of the Theme from Telegraph Avenue

them, despite some glaring flaws. However, the Brokeland community is facing any number of threats. Perhaps the most looming is a media megastore helmed by an NFL legend that's being planned for the neighborhood. Their David won't survive this Goliath. Archy and Nat's wives, Gwen and Aviva, are also in business together, and Berkeley Birth Partners is likewise under threat due to a birth gone wrong. Things at home are equally challenging. Will Archy and Gwen's marriage survive his infidelities and the appearance of a previously unacknowledged 14-year-old son just weeks before the birth of their first child? A novelist recently told me that "the clock of your mortality is what moves you." Well, births and deaths are major events driving this narrative, and I'd argue that the clock of an 8-months-pregnant wife moves a story along as well. Meanwhile, the Jaffe household is dealing with their adolescent son's first serious infatuation—with Archy's teenage son. And also the fact that Nat is his own worst enemy. And into this rich stew is a complex subplot involving Archy's estranged father and a crime of the past resurfacing.



Commemorative button & special stamp

It's a lot to take in, really. There's a lot going on. Despite all of this, the action of Telegraph Avenue is character-driven rather than plot-driven. At times, the meandering plot seems almost incidental, as we peer through the windows at these character's complicated lives. Some readers may feel frustration with the digressions, but for me, every word was a delight. It was the path, not the destination. And the path of this novel is strewn with Mr. Chabon's legendary language, the staggering vocabulary, the abundant humor, the soaring similes, the awesome freakin' sentences! I, personally, am ill-equipped to articulate just how extraordinary his gifts are. The man is a virtuoso. "Buoyant," "joyful," "exuberant"—these are words that are frequently used to describe Mr. Chabon's writing. He takes on serious subject matter, and deals with it suitably, but his language is simply irrepressible.

Yes, there are some flashy scenes in this book that you will hear about—the 12-page sentence, the Obama cameo—but for my money Chabon's achievement is in the entirety of this work. He's created a world that's familiar and recognizable, yet somehow just a little better, shinier than reality. As I began reading this novel, I thought it was fantastic, but wouldn't replace Kavalier & Clay in my heart. But now I wonder. The real Telegraph Avenue is a short commute from my home, but it's Chabon's version that will stay with me.

Leotta’s strong sophomore novel bodes well for the future of this series

Discretion
by Allison Leotta

Today’s thriller writers come from an astonishing array of backgrounds.  Their books come to life because these cops, doctors, pilots, engineers, spies, bankers, veterinarians, physicists, and the like are intimately familiar with the worlds their characters move in, and in many cases have years of real-life experience to draw upon.  Certainly that is the case with novelist Allison Leotta, who has just published Discretion, her second novel featuring Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Curtis, who prosecutes sex crimes in Washington, D.C.  Leotta herself held the very same job for years.  As I read the grittier sections of this novel, I found myself thinking, How does this nice writer lady know THIS much about the world of prostitution?  Oh.  Yeah.  It’s the sort of truly in-depth knowledge you can’t get from mere research.  It’s the sort of in-depth knowledge that allows a writer to authentically inhabit her characters.

 While Sex Crimes is Anna’s beat, as the novel opens, she gets called away from a self-defense class (Can you blame her?) to the scene of an assault at the Capitol.  It’s a sex crime, but it’s also a murder.  She meets Homicide Chief Jack Bailey at the scene, and that’s how she gets drafted onto another case with him.  They worked well together in Leotta’s debut, Law of Attraction.  (In fact, the whole team is together again, including the memorable Detective McGee.  Plus, there’s a notable new addition in the form of FBI Special Agent Sam(antha) Randazzo.)  Anna had been looking for a high-profile case to boost her career, but this may be a little more than she bargained for.  A beautiful young woman has been pushed from the balcony adjacent to DC Congressman Emmett Lionel’s hideaway office in the U.S. Capitol building.  This murder is as high stakes and as federal as crime gets.

 While I don’t believe it’s strictly necessary to have read the prior novel, Law of Attraction first, I think there is a lot to recommend doing so.  Anna’s private life is a significant element of this series.  Having the backstory on her current relationship will add to a reader’s pleasure.  I have to admit, that I was thinking that the blush of first romance makes for more compelling reading than a couple in a committed relationship, but as I got deeper into the book, I realized how invested I’d become in that relationship.  It was plenty compelling after all.  Leotta is very good about giving characters room to grow and develop, and the relationship between Anna and the challenging Sam was another narrative thread that had a full and satisfying story arc.

 One of the pleasures of this series for me is the Washington, DC setting.  DC is my hometown, and while it’s great to read about places you know, I think it’s a fascinating location that just about any reader can appreciate.  DC is a town like no other, and Ms. Leotta appears to know it inside and out.  Seriously, it’s my hometown and I keep learning new things about it from her!  Discretion features great wealth, great poverty, and lots of politics—all the things that make DC the unique city it is.

 Strong, believable, and interesting characters are important, as is setting, but ultimately, mysteries and thrillers come down to their plotting.  The plotting here was both smart and tight.  For a long time, readers won’t know who-done-it, but in the course of one page of this novel, without any sort of admission or confession, the author shows a character in a new light, and you just know.  This is very deliberate on Ms. Leotta’s part; she makes revelations in her own time, and you’re unlikely to figure things out before she’s ready for you to.  She is very much in control of the plot.  The pacing was excellent, and I stayed up far too late to finish the last 100 pages, because there was no way I was going to put the book down.  And even as the novel was winding down, there was a character revelation that hit me like a ton of bricks.  I thought something was up, but never came close to guessing the truth.

 Happily for us, there is more Anna on the way, as evidenced by the last sentence of this novel.  It will leave readers clamoring for the next book in the series!

Sigma's going to the dogs

Bloodline
by James Rollins

After a brief prologue, James Rollins’ latest Sigma Force thriller picks up shortly after where last year’s superlative The Devil Colony left off.  Commander Gray Pierce is dealing with the fallout of his mother’s murder, and the team is ready to exact vengeance against the Guild. (Now, those first two sentences should tell readers something.  While I certainly think that there is enjoyment to be had reading Bloodline as a stand-alone, this installment of the series is very much built upon what’s come before, both in terms of plot and character arcs.  In a perfect world, I’d recommend reading this after reading the other books in the series, or at the very least The Devil Colony.)  Early in the book, the enigmatic double-agent Seichan shows up unexpectedly:

“‘There’s been a kidnapping off the Seychelles by Somali pirates.  A high-value American target.  Painter wanted to know if you were up for a mission.’  Gray frowned.  Why was Sigma involved with a simple kidnapping?  There were plenty of policing and maritime agencies that could attend to such a crime.  Sigma Force—made up of Special Forces soldiers who had been retrained in various scientific disciplines—was a covert wing for DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Sigma teams were sent out into the world to protect against global threats, not to address the kidnapping of a single American.”

Well, there’s high-value, and then there’s HIGH-VALUE.  And this kidnapping victim is the latter.  And wouldn’t you know, this crime eventually leads back to the Guild.  This is the book Mr. Rollins has been promising readers.  It is the ultimate showdown between these two organizations.  And, yes, Sigma is called upon to fulfill the mission stated above.  The Guild’s plot goes well beyond kidnapping, but I shall decline to elucidate further.  What I will do, instead, is highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of the book.

STRENGTHS:

 

·         Seichan tells Gray, “We’ve been ordered to pick up another two teammates, local assets already in the region, with unique skills to help us on this mission.”  Those who read Rollins’ recently published e-short, Tracker, have already guessed that I’m referring to retired Army war dog, Kane, and his handler, Tucker.  These two are the freshest thing to hit Sigma in quite some time!  First, they’re just great characters.  Former-veterinarian Rollins does a bang-up job writing from a dogs-eye view.  These war dogs are unbelievably skilled.  What they can do, and how they work with their human, is flat-out fascinating.  Are you a fan of Dean Koontz’s Watchers?  You are going to LOVE Kane!

·         I think Rollins’ greatest strength is the integration of really smart, completely fascinating, and scarily plausible science into his plots.  I have never failed to learn something within his pages.  This novel deals with genetics, robotics, and the quest for immortality.  At one point, the mad scientist is giving an epic lecture on how men can live indefinitely, and I’m thinking of a huge scientific impediment to that idea.  I’m about to proclaim it all BOGUS.  Well, almost as if he had read my mind, Rollins addressed my objection.  Is it plausible?  I don’t know.  But it sure sounds legit.  I proclaim it NOT BOGUS.

·         Rollins lets some recently underutilized characters shine in this novel, none more so than Kat Bryant, Sigma’s second in command.  She’s out in the field for the first time in a long time, and this lady knows how to kick some ass.  I’ll never look at her the same way again.  Bloodline is very much an ensemble piece, with everyone getting some face time, and it is stronger for it.

·         Which reminds me… Way to write those strong female protagonists, Mr. Rollins!  This has always been a strength, and it continues to impress.

·         Kowalski.  Kowalski is so awesome in his Kowalskiness.  Who else, after watching Kane’s amazing, life-saving performance under fire, would sum everything up with, “I got to get me one of those dogs”?  He’s always good for comic relief, but Mr. Rollins shows great restraint in not making this character too over the top, or of over-utilizing him.

·         As always, Rollins leaves readers with a fascinating author’s note about fact versus fiction.  This time around he even includes links to video.

Now, die-hard fan that I am, it makes sense that I see more strengths than weaknesses, but as always, I do have some quibbles.

WEAKNESSES:

·         For the last few books, Rollins has been trying (successfully) to humanize Seichan, and to reveal more of her background.  That is very much the case here, but for me, personally, things were getting a little too… sentimental.  You may judge for yourself.

·         Also, I don’t need to hear any more about the “inexplicable bond between dog and handler, tying them together by something deeper than just hand signals and spoken commands.”  I LOVED seeing the two in action, and Rollins didn’t belabor the point, but any time their “bond” was referenced, I just wanted to roll my eyes. Clearly, I am a horrible person.

·         Maybe it’s because I’m a Washingtonian, or because I was obsessed with The West Wing, but I found certain elements of the Presidential/White House subplot of the novel strained even my generous suspension of disbelief.

Okay, sorry to prattle on, but there’s always so much to talk about with these books!  Despite my penchant for criticism, when you get right down to it, James Rollins is at the top of my favorite authors list.  As always, he leaves me anxiously awaiting his next installment.

Note: The video below tells far more about the novel's plot than my review does, though obviously the author and publisher aren't giving out significant spoilers.  Also, secret inside scoop, the retriever walking with Jim is his loyal companion, Penny.  I was at his house the day Penny arrived, a sickly, skinny little puppy, many years ago now.  The shepard-looking dog is the same breed as Kane in the novel, and was recently adopted by one of Jim's sisters.  Now you know more than anyone else watching the video, LOL.

Madeline Miller at the Gaithersburg Book Festival

Part 4 in my continuing adventures at the Gaithersburg Book Fest:

Okay, I'm going out of order because, in fact, Madeline Miller was the second to last author I saw at the book fest--but she deserves to jump to the head of the pack.  Ms. Miller has just won the Orange Prize for her debut novel, The Song of Achilles!  For those who don't know, the Orange Prize "celebrates excellence,  originality and accessibility in women's writing from throughout the world."  Congratulations, Madeline! 

I've actually had a galley of The Song of Achilles staring at me since last October.  I've been wanting to read it, and intimidated at the same time.  (I really need to read the book.)  Consequently, I was very interested in hearing the lady speak.  In her opening remarks, posted above, I learned that she's a school teacher, so perhaps that explains her comfort in front of an audience.

Now, I have to apologize for the video being a bit dark.  I was shooting in the ambient light under a tent, and by that point in the late afternoon it was cool and shady, with the sun backlighting the speaker.  Nonetheless, it's not too bad.  Below is a brief (3 minute) reading from the novel, and you'll see that Ms. Miller is an exceptionally talented reader.  She has background in the theater and it shows.

Alas, my little FlipCam holds only 2 hours of footage.  I was erasing earlier authors just to film what I was able to get.  Below is the very beginning of her Q & A session.  Gosh, I wish I could have recorded it all, because it was very interesting.  I filmed until I ran out of "tape."  Enjoy! And congratulations again to Ms. Miller on this huge honor, the first of what will surely be an impressive career.

Diana Abu-Jaber at the Gaithersburg Book Festival

Part 3 of my adventures at the Gaithersburg Book Festival:

If there was one author I was most excited to see at the Book Fest, it was probably Diana Abu-Jaber.  I've been a fan of this literary novelist/memoirist/thriller writer ever since I read her novel Crescent many years ago.  It's a real favorite, in part due to its depiction of the full richness of Arab (and Arab-American) culture, as well as romance, drama, suspense, comedy, tragedy--but I digress.  And I've never had the opportunity to hear her speak before.

Therefore, it was shameful that I missed her opening remarks, but there was socializing to be done.  After Ali (AKA novelist Allison Leotta) and I had chatted with Keith Donohue briefly, she introduced me to novelists Rebecca Coleman, who appeared to be out enjoying the day as we were, and Alma Katsu, who I'd met briefly at Thrillerfest and who was one of the speakers at the festival.  We were both, in turn, introduced to Eleanor Brown, who is apparently connected to the area via her parents who are local.  Anyway, all three ladies were lovely and we were still chatting away as Diana began to speak. 

Eventually, I excused myself, and joined the talk in progress in time to record Diana reading an excerpt from her most recent novel, Birds of Paradise.  What a surprise, I loved this novel!  My review may be read here.  In any case, it is that reading that is the video at the very top of this post. 

Below, are two videos of the Q & A session she did after the reading.





A note on the video.  Yeah, I know my shooting sucks.  It was very hand-held.  And most of the time I'm reasonably steady, but if there's big movement, it's a good bet that superstar puppy Maggie may have had a hand in it.  Between getting tangled in leashes and having her start eating my hair at one point, well, it can be a distraction.  But a very, very cute and forgivable one.  I'm so sorry I didn't snap a pic of her for you.

After Diana Abu-Jaber, Ali and I were supposed to head over to another tent where Eleanor was going to be having a conversation with writers Jen Lancaster and Sarah Pekkanen, but first I asked Ali if we could stop by Diana's signing line so that I could meet her.  Ali was so sweet about following along wherever I wanted to go, so we waited in line for several minutes, but it was worth it.  Diana was as nice as could be!  I think it was obvious that I'm a real fan and long-time reader.  I asked her about the Miami literary scene, because I'm considering relocating there, and she was like, "It's great!  Come on down!"  A very genuine and really lovely lady.  I'm so pleased to have finally met her; I'm just sorry that all my first-edition hardbacks are packed away.  Hopefully, there will be an opportunity to get them signed at a future event. 

Afterwards, Ali and I did go over to where Eleanor was interviewing Jen and Sarah, but the tent was packed.  After standing in the hot sun for a while, Ali was like, "Let's go back to our cool tent."  It was sort of good news/bad news in the land of literary fiction.  It was never hard to get a seat, but there wasn't the audience there was for some of the other festival offerings.  In any case, it was about time for Alma to begin speaking, and that will be the next post...

Keith Donohue at the Gaithersburg Book Festival

Part 2 of my adventures at the Gaithersburg Book Festival:

After getting her kids and hubbie settled in the children's village, Ali (AKA, novelist Allison Leotta) and I walked across the City Hall grounds in time to hear novelist Keith Donohue speak. Despite his novels being prominently displayed on my bookshelves, I have not read him yet. I've always wanted to, but you know how it is. So many books, so little time. Soon, Keith! But it was terrific to have a chance to hear him speak and read.

At the top of this post, you'll see video of Keith's opening remarks to the audience, before he began reading from his most recent novel, Centuries of June.  (Incidentally, he starts by referencing Eleanor Brown, who had introduced him.  Ms. Brown is the author of the delightful The Weird Sisters, which I reviewed here.)

The first video clip ends right as Keith was about to read the opening pages of his novel.  I have to confess that I did film him reading for about 12 minutes, but the little FlipCam I use is a very limited tool.  The biggest problem is that it has no ability to focus.  Second biggest is that it only  holds two hours of video.  Ultimately, I deleted the first reading in order to film more authors later in the day.  Consequently, we skip the first reading and head directly into the Q & A:






As you can see, the first Q & A segement leads into another brief reading, which can be seen below:






And here is the final Q & A segment:

Ali and I chatted briefly with Keith after his presentation, and he was very friendly. I kept running into him all day after that and we kibitzed briefly each time. It was nice to see authors sticking around beyond their narrow time-slot and attending their colleague's presentations.  I saw this over and over all day.  And there were other writers in the audience--ones who weren't speaking or signing at the festival--like Ali who was there hanging out with me.  Case in point, sitting in the row in front of us was novelist Rebecca Coleman, but more on her in the next post...

Who'd a thunk it? Gaithersburg has a rockin' Book Festival!

Last Saturday, I had the great pleasure of attending the Gaithersburg Book Festival.  I'm not kidding about it being a great pleasure!  A little background...  I spent my teen years in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  I call DC my hometown, and it is, but Gaithersburg is the place I most associate with growing up.  It's the place I remember best; it was where I spent my high school years.  And, relatively speaking, it's a fairly sleepy little burg. 

So imagine my surprise upon, after returning home for an extended visit, discovering that little ol' Gaithersburg has grown a world class literary festival--and after only three years!  I'd never even heard about it in the prior two years, but now like the National Book Festival in DC, it's on my radar, and is enough of an event to merit a visit home in years to come. 

Gaithersburg Council Member Jud Ashman

I actually got the whole back story late in the day when I ran into Gaithersburg Council Member Jud Ashman, who founded the festival.  I didn't so much "run into him" as go up to him and introduce myself.  I knew who he was, and wanted to congratulate him on a hugely successful event.  I expected him to be too busy or too important or too whatever, but it turned out that he was a super friendly guy (politician, go figure) and we had a really lovely chat.  He explained to me that in 2008, as the Bushes were leaving office, the future of the National Book Festival was in doubt.  Per the Librarian of Congress, there was no guarantee that the Obama administration would fund it.  (Because that Obama isn't nearly the book-lover that George Bush was.  *rolls eyes*)  Anyway, when Ashman heard about this, he feared that the region would have no book festival at all, and it was then he thought of bringing a festival to G'burg. 

It's a modest enough idea for a modest town, but I'm fairly overwhelmed with the execution.  I don't know what the first two years were like, but this year boasted over 110 authors, some local, some flying in from all over.  Among them were celebrities, #1 bestselling authors, and writers of every stripe.  In addition to the many talks, interviews, and panel discussions taking place all day, there were many interesting exhibitors, writing workshops, and a truly magical "children's village."  I know this because I spent part of my day with children, and man did they have a good time!

I spent the day in the company of my friend, novelist Allison Leotta, and her lovely family--including six-month-old beagle mix, Maggie.  Let me tell you, if there was one star of the day, it was that puppy!  Ali's husband took the kids for the better part of the day, and we took the puppy.  Everywhere we went we were stopped by friendly dog-lovers.  Everyone at the festival was so friendly, attendees and authors--several of whom with which I had really lovely interactions.  It was a great day for community.

There's much more to tell, but happily, I brought my little FlipCam with me, so all weekend I'll be posting about the authors I saw, augmented by some admittedly shaky hand-held video.  It is, as they say, better than nothing.  For now, rest assured the next year's festival on May 18, 2013 is already on my calendar.  And Mr. Ashman envisions a future when the city supports a multi-day festival.  I'm so there!

A powerhouse opening to a dazzling work of fiction

Canada
by Richard Ford

Every review of Canada is going to begin the same way, with the stunning opening sentences of the novel.  “First I’ll tell you about the robbery our parents committed.  Then about the murders, which happened later.  The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister’s lives on the courses they eventually followed." That’s a bit more sensational than the average start of a serious literary work, but it telegraphs so much of what is to come.  In fact, I’ll give you a run-down of what those opening sentences illustrate:

·         This novel is told from the point of view of a first-person narrator who speaks with a simple, clear voice. 

·         Despite the author’s Pulitzer Prize-winning pedigree, this is a plot-driven novel bordering on a literary thriller.

·         This is a coming-of-age tale.

·         This novel is being told in reflection from some point in the future.

That’s a fair amount of info to glean from three sentences!

The novel’s narrator is 15-year-old Dell Parsons, one half of a set of fraternal twins.  The other half is his sister, Berner, older by six minutes and always the more worldly of the two.  The novel opens in the summer of 1960, and the family of four (with father, Bev and mother, Neeva) is living in Great Falls, Montana.  The kids have had a fairly rootless upbringing, due to Bev’s Air Force career and a lack of extended family connections. 

Dell relates the family history, beginning with his parents’ courtship and ill-advised marriage.  “…they were no doubt simply wrong for each other and should never have married or done any of it, should’ve gone their separate ways after their first passionate encounter, no matter its outcome.  The longer they stayed on, and the better they knew each other, the better she at least could see their mistake, and the more misguided their lives became as time went on—like a long proof in mathematics in which the first calculation is wrong, following which all other calculations move you further away from how things were when they made sense.” 

It’s the older Dell, nearing retirement, that can look back on his past and family history and see things so clearly.  His story is told in a combination of his older and younger voices.  Nonetheless, given the above, it’s no surprise he describes his family as “doomed.”  Bev doesn’t adjust well to life outside the military, and a series of poor decisions leads the family, and particularly the teens, into dire and life-altering circumstances.

Like all novels being told in reflection, this one features quite a bit of foreshadowing—again, you can see it in those opening sentences.  This continues throughout the novel, and there’s a reason that foreshadowing is one of the most commonly used literary devices.  Because it’s so darn effective!  Rather than diffusing the novel’s tension, it ratchets it up, and it definitely keeps readers turning pages.  It’s amazing how powerful a simple “I never saw her again” or “considering how her life turned out” can be, and when the foreshadowing is of a crime, even more so.

Despite the novel’s page-turning plot, characters are given equal attention.  This is obvious early on as Dell describes his father:

“He was a non-stop talker, was open-minded for a southerner, had graceful obliging manners that should’ve taken him far in the Air Force, but didn’t.  His quick hazel eyes would search around any room he was in, finding someone to pay attention to him—my sister and me, ordinarily.  He told corny jokes in a southern theatrical style, could do card tricks and magic tricks, could detach his thumb and replace it, make a handkerchief disappear and come back.  He could play boogie-woogie piano, and sometimes would ‘talk Dixie’ to us and sometimes like Amos ‘n’ Andy.  He had lost some of his hearing by flying the Mitchells, and was sensitive about it.  But he looked sharp in his ‘honest’ GI haircut and blue captain’s tunic and generally conveyed a warmth that was genuine and made my twin sister and me love him.” 

That’s only a small part of Dell’s recollection of Bev.  Could I describe my own father so well?  I doubt it.  Even relatively minor characters have a feel of completeness about them, leaving me with linger questions about them long after they’d come and gone.  How much did Mildred really know about her brother’s life?  Did Florence see Dell again? 

The novel’s prose is not ornate, but it’s beautifully crafted.  Ford expertly paints the time and places in which the novel is set.  Clearly, I could go on quoting from and discussing this novel indefinitely, but better you should make these discoveries on your own.  Near the novel’s end, Dell states, “There’s little else to say.  I have that as my satisfaction.”  And by the time you reach this astonishing work’s end, you’ll have yours as well.

NOTE:  I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Ford read from and speak about Canada at Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, DC this evening.  Below is video of his Q & A session after he read from the novel.  These three videos are 8-10 minutes long, each.  Sorry that the video is slightly out of focus.  The FlipCam I use has no focus control.  This was my first time hearing Mr. Ford speak.  Very interesting!