Ombria in Shadow, by Patricia McKillip. Highly recommended.
The Mabinogion Tetralogy, by Evangeline Walton. Sort of a modern retelling of the seminal work of Welsh mythology. I’ve been comparing Walton’s version to the bits that show up in Bullfinch’s Mythology, and it holds up quite well. Fascinating stuff.
From the Dust Returned, by Ray Bradbury. Also very good. Which is why I’ve listed it, of course. ;)
I’m reading From the Dust Returned right now. It’s most interesting because it feels to me like a Bradburian bible… Like a refinement of his style and symbology down to a ritualistic cant. He has whole phrases and ideas that he repeats like epithets – seared leaves, October air – throughout the book and, I’m sure, previous books and stories such as October Country. It’s pretty intriguing.
So, I agree with you there, Ben. Although I can’t support your use of Bulfinch’s Mythology. Everyone knows Edith Hamilton kicks Bulfinch’s Victorian hide any day.
Sorry, but I really like Bullfinch. Probably because it’s the first collection of western mythology that I read when I was a kid. It’s like a comfortable pair of shoes.
Heh. Alright, I admit it: That’s the same reason I like Edith Hamilton.
The Spirit of Terrorism by Jean Beaudrillard.
“The spectacle of terrorism forces the terrorism of spectacle upon us.”
“War becomes the continuation of the absence of politics by other means.”
And may more such gems.
Gotta admit, the only Lethem that I’ve read are Motherless and Gun.
But I’m not sure I get your criticism; I thought Motherless did a good job humanizing the protagonist, and Gun concentrated more on character than science/surrealality. The tourretic gush was explained, making the character more human and accessible, taking pains to go into why he performs certain actions. Hell, as a hypochondriac I finally understood what was wrong with me. And I thought Gun was a good Chandler/PK Dick blend, combining tough tough talk and imagination without worrying about science, or fiction. For example, he works the phrase, “gene therapy”, which in the book makes animals more intelligent, without boring the reader with details about it.
I hadn’t thought about it before, but I guess he reminds me of Murakami in some ways too. Anyways, I was rereading “The Long Goodbye”, and I had to recreate the gimlet Marlowe describes. It’s quite good, by the way. I mention this as a disclaimer for the any spelling or grammar mistakes above.
S
I loved both “Gun” and “Brooklyn”, but I read those before this year. This year’s list:
“Cut Numbers” by Nick Tosches. Another entry in the hard boiled genre. Includes this memorable exchange (which I’m probably going to mangle since I don’t have the book handy) between the protagonist and a woman he’s just slept with:
“My boyfriend thinks anal sex is degrading to women.”
“Why else would we do it?”
I also liked The Blank Slate. I’ve enjoyed all of Pinker’s books, especially “How the Mind Works”. In the same vein, I read “Consciousness Explained” by Daniel Dennett last year and thought it was great.
“Founding Brothers” by Joseph Ellis. Has anyone read “American Sphinx”? I’m thinking about picking that up next.
“Band of Brothers” and “Citizen Soldiers” by Ambrose.
The best book that I got last year was “Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words.” This is not the kind of book that one would ordinarily read from cover to cover, but Bryson is such an entertaining writer that you could easily make an exception in this case.
this wasn’t last year, but i think it is very timely: i just finished Jarhead by Anthony Swofford.
a pretty moving and self-exploratory tale of Desert Storm through the eyes of a disaffected USMC sniper. explains what i pretty much assumed life in the military was like, although i was surprised by the rancor and alienation that Swofford presents.
I really enjoyed reading Bryson’s “The Mother Tongue” and “Made in America” but between my sister and I we found more than a dozen mistakes, and many reviewers have pointed out his inaccuracies, so I don’t really trust anything he writes. And it’s a shame because his writing is very entertaining, but I just don’t want to read such sloppily researched books.
S