My New Friend, "CARRY ON," by Rainbow Rowell

 

Me with my new friend, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I'm on the left. 

Hello. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. It could be worse--- at least I'm not living out some kind of Chosen One plot requiring some grand sacrifice with my story living on. 

Speaking of which, I would like you to meet my new friend Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. This is Rainbow Rowell's take on a Chosen One story, and I have read many people refer to it as the "Queer Harry Potter".  In this story, our hero is Simon Snow, who first appeared as a fictional character in Rowell's novel Fangirl (which I have not read). The lead character in that book writes fan fiction about Simon Snow, and, according to Rowell, she couldn't stop thinking about him and his world, so she had to write Carry On. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

A long while back, I read Rowell's book Eleanor and Park and really enjoyed it. Rowell knows how to create a realistic teen love story that sticks with you. 

I wanted to read some good stories this Pride Month with LGBTQIA+ characters, when I heard this was as much a queer love story as a "magic Chosen One" tale, I wanted to check it out. 

QUICK NOTE ABOUT HARRY POTTER, J.K. ROWLING AND TERFS

Like so many people with a pulse and breath, I loved the Harry Potter series and devoured them as they came out--- and I was in college. It is impossible not to see the influence of Harry Potter in any chosen one story since. 

Like so many people, I was disgusted when J.K. Rowling came out with her stance against the transgender community, particularly transgender women. I hoped she would evolve the on the issue, but instead has used her platform to spew transphobic bile, promote transgender misinformation and businesses, and, frankly, to ruin her legacy and the legacy of her work as something to embrace and include everyone. 

J.K. Rowling is a TERF. 

Fuck TERFs. 

So, yeah, I won't lie--- I jumped into the world of Simon Snow so I could recommend other magical stories that does not put money in TERF pockets. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Carry On is told from multiple first-person narratives, with our major protagonist being Simon Snow, the "chosen one" who is entering his final year at Watford, a school for magic children. Simon's mentor is "the Mage" (which is more like a title than a name), the current Headmaster at Watford, who is ruffling a lot of feathers in the magic world. Simon had always assumed he was a "Normal" (someone without magic), but it is clear he has magic that builds up and "goes off", magic he has a hard time controlling. 

Simon's best friend is Penelope Bunce, who is near the top of their class. She has been a part of many Simon adventures, and is a true confidant and brilliant wizard herself. Simon's girlfriend, Agatha, would rather be a Normal, or at least have a normal teenage experience, and is tired of losing herself in being a character in Simon's story. 

When Simon gets back to school, he is anxious for the scones (sour cherry--- he is an orphan and doesn't eat as well when not at Watford), anxious for his senior year, but not as anxious to be around his roommate Baz. The crucible chose them as roommates back when they were 11, and they have been at each other's throats ever since. They see each other as sworn enemies, and if Simon is really the Chosen One, he knows Baz will be on the side that wants to take him down. Baz comes from one of the old families, he is a snob, he has strong magic, and he is... a vampire. 

But for the first few months of school, Baz is nowhere to be found. Is he out plotting something against Simon and Watford? Is he joining an army against the Mage? Is he a victim of the Insidious Humdrum (the main monster in the book, who sucks up magic, leaving holes all over England)?

Or is he the love Simon Snow never even knew he wanted?

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

I have to confess, the first 150 pages of Carry On are not as good as the rest of the book. Don't get me wrong--- they are fine, they establish the world and a few of the main characters and conflicts, but it isn't until Baz shows up that the narrative really takes off. 

Baz is a well-drawn character, and feels like a believable teen even though he is a vampire. 

And the love story between Simon and Baz is surprisingly believable. I only say "surprisingly" because the trope of "sworn enemies constantly fighting then falling in love" is pretty tired, and, for me, not always believable. But Rowell pulls it off. I think the first-person narratives help, as we get deep inside each character's head. It becomes easy to see there was love all along. 

TAKEAWAYS

Though Carry On feels complete in itself and appears to end where it ends, there are two sequels that I will check out in time. Must admit, I'm curious to see where Rowell takes these characters. 

It's a good book for representation and a sweet romance. 

My New Friend, "BECOMING NICOLE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY" by Amy Ellis Nutt

 

Me and My new friend, Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt

Hello. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Don't feel bad for me. I like who I am. 

Which leads me to how important my new friend, Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt can be to readers. It is a book about how we should all be free to be ourselves and to love ourselves. To know ourselves. It is also about how family are the people who should always stand behind you and fight with you to make sure you can be your true self no matter what anyone else might think. 

Let me introduce you...

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

I live in the state of Maine, and knew about the court case that becomes a major element of this book. And while I have never met Nicole Maines or any member of her family, I have been a fan for quite some time. Her advocacy is inspiring, and, these days, she is probably most widely known for being the first transgender superhero on television, playing Dreamer on Supergirl. It makes me so happy for her that this has been her journey, a journey of such great success, when it wasn't all that long ago she just wanted to use the school bathroom that corresponded with who she was, and wasn't allowed to do it. 

Strangely enough, even though I am a fan of Nicole's, I never knew this book existed until recently. When I did learn about its existence, I immediately checked my local library, was excited they had a copy, and checked it out. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amy Ellis Nutt tells us the story of the Maines family, starting with married couple Wayne and Kelly who adopted identical twin boys, Jonas and Wyatt.  

A note before I continue:  Nicole was born a boy and named Wyatt. The book, telling the story from her infancy until her graduation from high school and gender affirming surgery, starts with the birth of the twins. Amy Ellis Nutt said in an interview that she discussed with Nicole extensively how to use the names and pronouns. I would NEVER misgender or use a dead name, but, according to Nutt, Nicole agreed that they should use the name Wyatt in the story up until the age of nine when Nicole started living her true self as a girl and changed her name.

From the beginning, the twins were close (as twins tend to be), but very different. Nicole states from the age of three she knew she was a girl. And as she was growing as "Wyatt", she always felt like she was girl, and was eagerly waiting for when she could be a girl. Her parents noticed it, too. Kelly encouraged her children in all things, even though Wayne wasn't sure how to deal with it (and would therefore just leave Kelly to deal with it). 

Wayne, you see, was a conservative man who grew up with certain expectations. He figured with twin boys, he would take them hunting and fishing, and have father-son bonding adventures, just as he always dreamed. When the truth about "Wyatt", became too much to ignore, Wayne knew he would have to change, too. 

In many ways, the books is just as much about Wayne's journey, and the journey of the entire family, as it is about Nicole becoming who she is. 

I think it would be difficult to read this book and not gain an incredible admiration for Kelly, who literally seems heroic in her quest to make sure her kids are safe and happy. She is a marvel throughout this book. It is nice that Wayne realizes his own hang ups often left Kelly alone to deal with things by herself, and tries later on to make up for it. 

Jonas always accepted that his identical twin was his sister and never had a problem with it. In fact, he is the one who told Wayne, "Face it, Dad. You have a son and a daughter." 

And it's true. 

People who don't understand, don't understand the science of gender or the science of sex. Nicole always knew she was a girl. When she was still barely past toddler age, she told her father that she hated her penis. If we can all just imagine for a second living in a body that doesn't reflect who we know we are inside, if we could all understand how difficult, how heart breaking it could be, maybe we could learn that acceptance and love is key here. 

(And yeah, this recent trend of comics using transgender people for punchlines are asshole bigots and don't know what they're talking about)

We not only get to see the family's growth, but how my home state of Maine treated the Maines family. Things were fine until a new student made an issue of Nicole using the girl's bathroom. The boy's grandfather used his grandson as a pawn, and threatened legal action against the school. He had the support of the Maine Christian Civic League (under the direction of the truly detestable Michael Heath- trust me, this guy is awful), and suddenly Nicole was told she couldn't use the girl's bathroom anymore but had to use a special unisex bathroom. And that's when the Maines had enough and filed a lawsuit. 

Along the way, Amy Ellis Nutt has chapters on the science of being transgender, and the book ends with pages of reading material, a glossary, and a list of resources for parents and kids. There were moments I cried (like the father-daughter dance), and, all in all, it just makes me wonder how people can let prejudice guide them. The Maines are a beautiful family. 

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

I wish everyone who needs to read this book would read this book. I know that is unlikely, but I do still think this book has made a great deal of difference, just as Nicole, and her family, continue to make a difference every day. 

With all of these anti-LGBTQIA+ legislations popping up around the country, particularly targeting transgender children, books like this are needed more than ever. And people speaking up is needed more than ever, too. To be a force of support, to let this community know that they are not alone, that they are loved, that they are complete and wonderful and beautiful. 

Read the book. It's a good friend to have. 

My New Friend, "TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS" by Kate Racculia

 

Me and my new friend, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia. My new pal is set in Boston, giving me an excuse to show my Red Sox pride here. 

Hi. I'm Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books... well, and sometimes the occasional binge watch of Twin Peaks, or favorite horror movies. In this way, I am much like the title character of my new friend. Shall I introduce you?

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

Another loner who loves books once recommended Kate Racculia's second novel  Bellweather Rhapsody, and I read up on it and it sounded like a book that I would enjoy and that would speak to me. I knew it was at my library, but the day I went to check it out, it had just been culled for their annual book sale. Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts was still available, and after reading the blurb, I decided it would be fun. 

I have since purchased and received a reasonably priced copy of Bellweather Rhapsody from an independent bookstore. I look forward to it. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Tuesday Mooney fancies herself a loner. She enjoys her work researching rich people for the purpose of fundraising at the hospital, she enjoys tutoring her teenage neighbor Dorry, and enjoys the occasional night out playing karaoke roulette with her friend Dex. But the prospect of being needed makes her feel uneasy, ever since her best friend Abby disappeared when they were teenagers, and subsequently started talking to her in her mind. 

Tuesday also loves puzzles and mysteries, so when an eccentric billionaire named Vincent Pryce dies, after setting up an elaborate treasure hunt for the city to play, Tuesday is sucked into the excitement and the adventure of it all. And while she becomes a bit of a local celebrity when she discovers the initial clues, her world gets intertwined with that of a billionaire family, with one brother who might be dangerous, and another who might be a potential boyfriend. 

And, after years of silence, Abby starts talking to her again. 

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

I could talk about the fun literary and pop culture references that abound in these pages. I could talk about the fun banter, the quirky set ups, and the love letter to the city of Boston. I could talk about the little twists and mysteries along the way.  

But for me, what really hits me in the imagination here are the characters, especially the main characters, who Racculia creates with such care. Tuesday Mooney is a complex character who isn't always likeable, but who you like and root for anyway. She has practiced cutting herself off from the world, especially since the disappearance and presumed death of her best friend. It is easier to be alone, to need anyone and not be needed. To remain a mystery, even to herself. 

Her friend Dex is a great creation, and it is refreshing, in my opinion, that the character is informed by but not defined by being a gay man in Boston in 2012. Dex dreamed of being a musical theater performer, but found himself rising in the ranks of finance, a job that he is very good at even if it makes him feel awful a good portion of the time. He is also longing to know his true self. 

Dorry, the young woman who Tuesday tutors, is another wonderful creation, perhaps my favorite. She has lost her mother, and does have desperate need for connection, to the extent that the first she really met Tuesday, she hugged her. She wishes she could talk to ghosts. 

The side characters are fun too, especially Lyle, the widow of the eccentric Vincent Pryce. 

TAKEAWAYS

I had a fun time reading this book, and also, as a performer myself, appreciated the journey of the character Dex. It is not easy to navigate this life, and the book explores this theme, and comes to the conclusion that it is easier to do so with people you love, need and care about--- and while this might sound simple, it is actually deeper and more complex than one might think. 

Could 20 pages have been cut along the way?  Maybe, but in doing so, it might take away from the great character stuff that really made the book for me. 

Thanks for reading my thoughts on Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts. Please feel free to share yours in the comments below....

My New Friend, "THE WONDER" by Emma Donoghue

 

A picture of me with my new friend, The Wonder, by Emma Donoghue

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Don't believe me? Then maybe you should hire a nurse and a nun to come and watch me to see if it is true....

Which brings me to my new friend, The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, a piece of historical fiction that is also a real page turner. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

Though I had read Emma Donoghue's brilliant novel Room and seen the film adaptation, I hadn't heard of The Wonder until I became a fan of a YouTube channel called Books and Things, hosted by Katie Lumsden, who recommended it. You can learn more about her YouTube channel by CLICKING HERE.

Fortunately, my home town library had a copy I was able to check out. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

The Wonder is about a young, widowed nurse named Lib (short for Elizabeth) Wright, who was trained by Florence Nightengale in the Crimean War. The novel takes place half a decade after her service there, so in the Victorian period. She has been hired to go to Ireland to watch an 11-year-old girl named Anna O'Donnell, who claims to have taken no food for four months. Lib has been hired by the local physician to keep a constant watch on the girl (splitting watches with a nun named Sister Michael) to see if it is true that she is taking no nourishment. 

Lib figures the job will be easy. She immediately assumes the whole thing is a hoax and that the girl is somehow faking it. After all, no one can live without food for four months, can they? But things aren't so simple (they rarely are in books). Lib, no matter how skeptical she is, cannot find any traces of subterfuge or sneaking food. Anna is a bright, friendly girl, who carries a heavy sense of piety. People are coming from all around to see her, believing her to be a miracle. But Anna is humble, sincere, and, though she tries to keep a professional distance, Lib begins to care for the girl. 

The mystery is compelling. So is the final act of the book, when all is revealed, yet Donoghue somehow manages to still build suspense. 

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Both Lib and Anna are wonderfully drawn characters, in no small part because neither is perfect. Lib can come across as a bit narrow-minded when it comes to the Irish, and admits her complete ignorance of the terrible horror that was the potato blight. Still, we see this world through her eyes, and she is very smart and resourceful. She becomes more and more complex the closer she feels toward Anna, and it is this closeness that draws the reader in as well. 

Anna is captivating. A sweet, calm, bright child. It is almost impossible to believe she could be faking the fast. She is so very devout. Like Lib, there are times when reading that I just wanted to should, "Eat! Please!"

There are some wonderful side characters who also populate this novel. A favorite of mine is Kitty, a servant or "slavey" or cousin in the house, who I like because she withholds a bit of mystery in herself, too. 

There is even a little romance, with an Irish journalist named William Byrne, who knows a thing or two about starvation, who spent his early years writing about it for the paper. As someone who has done quite a bit of research about Ireland during the terrible famine, I know how terrible it was, and how the English did nothing to stop it at the time. 

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

I recommend The Wonder, particularly for those who like historical fiction with a bit of mystery involved. It is a unique tale, well told. It shows that Emma Donoghue has a great deal of versatility, following up a contemporary, heartbreaking novel like Room with another brilliant, yet markedly different, novel like The Wonder. 

My New Friend, "LUCKY STRIKES" by Louis Bayard

 

Me and my new friend, Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. And sometimes, a friend can make you feel young at heart. 

Which brings me to today's new friend, Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard. Louis Bayard is probably best known for his historical mysteries, including Mr. Timothy, a Victorian novel about a grown-up Tiny Tim. Lucky Strikes is also historical, taking place in the fictional Walnut Ridge, Virginia, during the Great Depression. But this novel is geared more toward late middle-grade readers (probably around 8th grade) and young adults, due to some of the themes and a bit of PG-13 language... well, more than a bit. 

I am no snob about children's, middle-grade, and YA literature. I enjoy reading it all. As a matter of fact, most of my income comes from the plays I have written for children, middle-grade and young adult audiences and performers. That's right. I'm a playwright. Have I not mentioned this? You can learn more about my work by CLICKING HERE. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

In my hometown, there is a store called The Dollar Tree. Perhaps you have one in your town, too. I saw Lucky Strikes, liked the cover, thought the inside blurb sounded interesting, so I picked it up. 

Seriously book lovers: don't assume that The Dollar Tree just has garbage. Yeah, a lot of the books look pretty bad, but I have also found a number of mainstream literary novels in hardcover editions there, like Jonathan Safran Foer's Here I Am,  Jonathan Lethem's The Feral Detective, and most recently, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Little Boy. And there are others. 

So don't just breeze by, assuming that there is nothing at your local Dollar Tree worth reading. You might be surprised. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Lucky Strikes (also the name of a popular cigarette brand), is told by Amelia Hoyle, living in Walnut Ridge, VA, with her family. She tells us right in the first sentence that "Mama died hard, you should know that", but there is no time for much grieving. At only 14, Amelia has been taking care of everyone while her mother was ailing, keeping up the family gas station and convenience store, named Brenda's Oasis. After burying her mother with the help of her younger siblings, Janey and Earle, she gets to down to the business of keeping her family together. With the help of her mother's lawyer friend Chester, she goes through options, but has no real solid plan until one literally rolls off  of a coal truck and lands by her gas pumps. This is Hiram Watts, a vagabond, hobo, call him what you will. Amelia cleans him up, gets him off the sauce, and makes a deal with him:  she'll give him shelter and food in exchange for him pretending to be the father she's never known. 

Throughout the novel, we learn that Amelia is a gifted mechanic like her mother, and has earned the respect of a whole handful of truckers who only trust her to fix their trucks. And Hiram turns out to have quite a history himself, spinning yarns about being an actor, a ladies' hat salesman, and his travels to Hong Kong. They begin to form a strange, but unexpectedly warm family unit. 

If only the awful Harley Blevins, the local rich guy who owns a bunch of Standard Oil stations, wasn't intent on driving Brenda's Oasis out of business, using nefarious means he will never be punished for, since he has the local Sheriff and judges in his pocket. 

Watching Amelia make her way the best way she knows how is the real joy of this book. 

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Amelia's voice is what really makes this book a fun, fast, terrific read. She is a smart, strong, resourceful, young woman who, despite the toughness projected, gives off a great deal of warmth and love. Bayard makes her a very believable protagonist and narrator, and, at the end, when we realize who she's telling the story to, it is a lovely little surprise. 

As Booklist said in its starred review, it is "A darn good yarn". 

BUT JUST ONE THING...

I understand that the entire cast being white is probably accurate for its time and place--- I get that. But I could have done without the mention of The War Between the States (a "South Will Rise Again" type name for the Civil War), though, again, it is what Amelia probably would have called it. And it seemed a bit unnecessary when Amelia, when going to discuss business with the nefarious Harley Blevins, was surprised he didn't have a "darkie" servant opening the door. It could have been worse, and again, it is probably a word that Amelia would have used, but it seemed like a simple enough sentence to excise without losing anything at all. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I am glad The Dollar Tree helped me find this book. I enjoyed the heck out of it, and introduced me to a new author. I am most curious to check out some of Mr. Bayard's historical mysteries. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

My New Friend, "HEAVEN" by Mieko Kawakami, translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd

 

Me, Bobby Keniston, with my new friend "Heaven" by Mieko Kawakami, translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and, as the name of this blog suggests, my only friends are books. You might be thinking, "Huh, that's sad," but it's not really. Books don't bully you or one day just disappear...

Which brings me to my new friend, Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, translated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd. But before I get into the details of my new friend Heaven, I would like to share a quote from author Mieko Kawakami:

"We have to confront and examine our mistakes, and write stories to pass down our folly and ignorance. Literature should not just portray our ideals. We have to examine our past mistakes, our past ignorance, without turning our eyes away." (from an interview/conversation between Kawakami and Fernanda Melchor for "Broadly Speaking" through the Wheeler Centre. You can watch the full interview on YouTube by CLICKING HERE... I highly recommend it). 

Kawakami certainly does not turn her eyes away from harsh realities in Heaven. The word "unflinching" really had no solid meaning to me until reading this book. It is indeed a work of art, so let's talk about it. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

I heard about Heaven from a booktube channel called Books and Bao, hosted by Willow Heath, and they had so much praise for the novel and Kawakami (you can watch their video review HERE). I would like to think I would have heard of the book when perusing the International Booker Prize longlist and shortlist, but, who knows? Willow's recommendation certainly encouraged me to check it out sooner. I am glad to have read the book before the winner of the prize is announced. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Heaven is a first-person narrative of an unnamed fourteen year-old protagonist who is bullied. Constantly. In myriad, painful ways. Please believe me when I say this. The bullying is graphic, but often told in a simple, almost understated manner to highlight just how tragically normalized it has become for our narrator. Though perhaps understated isn't the best way to describe it-- perhaps it is better to say that it is presented flat-out as a fact of our narrator's life. His tormenters, led by a cool, beautiful boy named Ninomiya, call him "Eyes" because of his lazy eye, and they punch him, kick him, and hurt him, and he waits for it to be over with. 

But the novel actually begins with our narrator receiving a note in his desk at school, a note saying "We should be friends." It turns out that the note is from a girl in his class, Kojima, who is also bullied. When they meet up, they do become friends, and though they can never intervene to help each other at school (indeed, they never even really talk at school), the secret notes they share offer a great deal of comfort to each other. 

This is a short novel, and I don't want to give too much away, but I will say this: to suggest that the book is simply about bullying is like saying Moby Dick is just about trying to catch fish. Kawakami uses bullying to look at the bigger picture behind power structures, and the meaning, if any, behind them. 

Short and sleek, but absolutely painful and beautiful. 

BULLYING

I know I have already said it, but I cannot stress enough how unflinching a portrayal of bullying resides within these pages. If you were someone who was bullied (as I was), this book will bring up the memories and the pain (at least it did for me). Kawakami captures the constant stress, anxiety, fear and shame that comes with the territory of being bullied. Please do not misunderstand me here--- I don't mean to suggest that is like some afterschool special about bullying for a YA or middle grade audience. It most certainly is not. Kawakami delves deeply into the philosophy behind bullying, truly exploring what it means to have power, what it means to be weak, and whether that weakness can really be a strength. 

It is not easy to read sometimes, but still an important read, in my opinion. 

If you are someone who had no experience with being bullied, and that's really great if that's the case, you may think it is perhaps exaggerated here. I don't know. Maybe a little. But it felt very real to me. I didn't have it exactly as bad as our narrator, but there were some similar moments. 

Things you never forget. Things that, many years later, your realize are permanently a part of you. 

Special note: if you are being bullied, do not make the same mistake I did. There are things I kept to myself, never told my parents or a teacher, not even my closest friends. I know, believe me, I know, there is shame attached to being bullied and it is not easy to talk about. But please try to talk to someone, even if it is anonymously. There is support out there. CLICK HERE for some resources. 

BEAUTY

And yet, amongst all the pain, there is still beauty. And Kawakami's writing is absolutely beautiful, and lovingly translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd. 

"His eyes shifted, the way the shadows of clouds pass the sun on windless days."

I can't even tell you how much I wish I could write a description so beautiful in its simplicity and precision. 

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

This book hurt my stomach at times, and I mean this as the highest compliment. Great writing does hurt sometimes, great writing should be unflinching and honest. I am so happy to have finally read Mieko Kawakami and can't wait to read her other works in translation, like Ms. Ice Sandwich, Breasts and Eggs, and the recent release, All the Lovers in the Night. Clearly Kawakami is a writer at the very top of her powers, and she has a brand new fan. 

Thank you for reading my thoughts on my new friend Heaven.  Come back Monday to meet a whole new friend, and please feel free to comment any thoughts below. 

My New Friend, "FLIMSY LITTLE PLASTIC MIRACLES," by Ron Currie, Jr.

 

Me and my new friend, Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr., who grew up about an hour from where I live.

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. But that's okay. To paraphrase my new friend, Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr., maybe no man is an island, but I am at least an isthmus. It's clever little lines like this one that make me very glad indeed I have made some new friends by Mr. Currie. But Currie is not only clever, but really working to take a big bite into some of the paramount experiences of being human--- love, grief, guilt, the meaning of truth, and, ultimately, the breaking down of self. And he does all of this with the reputation of being a comic writer. Of course, this makes sense, in actuality. Some of the greatest works of art that plumb the depths of what it means to be human are protected by the candy-coated shell of comedy. A spoonful of sugar, after all, makes the medicine go down, as our favorite British nanny likes to say. 

Only I am not convinced that Ron Currie, Jr. is a comic writer as others say. This is not to suggest that his work is not often funny, because it is. He is often compared to Kurt Vonnegut, though, like Currie himself, I have my doubts that the comparisons are apt. Certainly they both have elements of the satirist. And structure-wise, Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles feels most like a Vonnegut novel, one like Hocus Pocus perhaps, with each section being very short, sometimes even a single sentence, and never longer than a few pages. Still, I must say, I find Currie's writing pushing itself to be as raw as it possibly can, to be right on the edge. But when you're on that edge, it isn't always easy to keep the reader with you. It is a testament to Currie's talent that he can keep bringing you back with moments of deep humanity and poignancy. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

As I mentioned in my discussion about my friend God is Dead, (which you can read by HERE),  I first discovered Ron Currie, Jr. because of an interview he did with Carolyn Chute. Since I have been wanting to read more Maine voices (as I am a Maine writer myself), I found three of his books in my local library and checked them out. So now I have made friends with God is Dead, Everything Matters! (which I may write a post about some day), and my newest friend I am discussing here. 

By the way, the interview between Ron Currie, Jr. and Carolyn Chute is pretty cool--- the least pretentious discussion between two authors you will ever hear, I bet. You can check it out on YouTube by CLICKING HERE. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles by Ron Currie, Jr., is narrated by a fictionalized Ron Currie, Jr., who, though fictional, has a great deal in common with the Ron Currie, Jr. who wrote the novel. Our narrator, Ron, has gotten back together with his high school sweetheart Emma, who he has never stopped loving, as she is going through a painful divorce. The connect and copulate wildly (and rough), but Emma also needs time to put her life together. Ron, who is a writer, needs to finish a book he is under contract for, so, they decide he should go away to a Caribbean Island where he can write, while Emma works on herself for a while. Once on the island, Ron has major doubts, and Emma grows distant. Between visits from his only friends Dwayne and Hankie, and rough, vicious fights with the locals, Ron feels as though Emma is slipping away from him. Her messages grown scant and, at least to his mind, cold. This makes it easy for him to do a great deal of drinking, and then hooking up with a young woman named Charlotte, who moves in without any real invitation. 

In-between all of this, Ron is clearly still dealing with the immense grief that came with the passing of his father. His father died of lung cancer, and Ron watched as he grew weaker and more dependent, until he was finally gone. This no doubt contributes to his feeling of abandonment from Emma, and his general uncertainty that comes from deep grief. It almost certainly accounts with his obsession on the Singularity, how AI will take over, and perhaps make a world without grief or pain or darkness of any kind (we hear a great deal about the Singularity in the book, and about Ray Kurzweil, who wrote, The Singularity is Near).

This is told in a manner many would call postmodern. It is, as I said before, a series of very short chapters that are non-linear. For example, it is not really much of a spoiler to say that Ron and Emma do not end up together, as he tells us this very early in the book (which somehow doesn't make it any less sad when they don't). And the book jacket describes how one of the major thrusts of the book is Currie faking his own death (in his defense, he wasn't trying to fake it), even though that doesn't really come into the story until more than halfway through the book. It is from here that Currie delves into the theme of deeper truths that can come from made up stories than from facts, in what appears to be a reaction to the hoopla surrounding James Frey and A Million Little Pieces.

The jumping around in a non-linear fashion actually makes the book more accessible in my opinion. It is like Bukowski in a meat grinder with Vonnegut and some Wallace, maybe even a dash of Bret Easton Ellis from Lunar Park.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Ron Currie, Jr. is a terrific writer, and I like how the structure and form of the book. Currie has a great deal to say, and he doesn't mind throwing unpleasantness at the reader. He asks difficult questions without being brazen enough to suggest he has the answers. Sometimes the excesses can feel like they are too much, but by the very humanistic and poignant wrap up, I began to wonder if the excesses are what make ending not only possible, but also so powerful. 

NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

Like his other work I have read, Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles is not for the faint of heart and squeamish. There are several depictions of violence, and some very rough (but completely consensual) sex. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I am happy I discovered Ron Currie, Jr. and his work. It sticks to my bones and makes me think. It is not always easy, but literature is not supposed to always be easy. Or nice. I think he is a writer who deserves a wide readership. 

And I'm not just saying that because he is a fellow Mainer. 

Oh, and the title? It refers to nicotine patches. 

Thanks for reading my blog about my new friend. Come on back next time when I talk about a new friend, and please feel free to comment below with recommendations! 

My New Friend, "KINDRED" by Octavia E. Butler

 

Me and my new friend "Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler. This is the 25th Anniversary Edition

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. And sometimes books have to tell you hard truths. Sometimes friends have to hold you accountable. Sometimes friends need to make you look at an issue with empathy, shock, and, yes, sometimes even guilt, to help you grow and change. 

I am talking about my new friend, Kindred the late, but certainly great Octavia E. Butler, who helped redefine what science fiction for a new era. Kindred may be her most celebrated standalone novel. Written in 1976, writer Walter Mosely said, "It is everything the literature of science fiction can be," while Harlan Ellison called the book, "That rare artifact... the novel one returns to, again and again, through the years, to learn, to be humbled, and to be renewed." 

I think my new friend is truly great. Let's talk about why. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

I have been meaning to read some Octavia E. Butler for quite some time. And then a YouTube channel I enjoy watching called "Books and Things" had a video about a Historical Fiction Readathon for the months of May--- and here we are. One of the challenges in this readathon is to read a piece of historical fiction that has a speculative element, and the host, Katie Lumsden, recommended Kindred. That felt like a nice bit of encouragement to finally discover this brilliant author, and I am very glad I did. 

(If you want to watch the video about the #HistoricalFictionReadathon, you can do so by following THIS LINK)

I was happy that my local library, The Thompson Free Library, had a copy of my new friend Kindred. I am a little sad, though, that it looks like I'm the first person to ever take it out. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Kindred tells the story about woman a black woman in the 1970s who, after moving into her new house with her white husband Kevin (I only mention their races because they are imperative plot points and thematic points in the book), inexplicably finds herself getting dizzy, losing, fading away from her new home and arriving in the antebellum south on a plantation in Maryland. Here, she finds her path intersected with Rufus Weylin, the son of the plantation owner, who, we learn early on, is an ancestor. She is clearly coming back to save his life time and again, protecting her very bloodline, though at the expense of becoming an enslaved person and confronting the violence of the time. Each time she is pulled back, the stakes are higher, and she loses not only more months and years of her life, but also is threatened with losing the very foundation of who she has always known herself to be. 

SOME THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Kindred is simultaneously a difficult book to read because of its unflinching portrayal of the inhumane treatment that white Americans inflicted upon the people they enslaved, while also being a suspenseful page turner. That is a huge testament to Butler's remarkable skill as a storyteller. 

I also love that Butler doesn't waste time. She comes right out of the gate, hooks you, then continues to keep kicking it up a notch as the pages fly by. For example, her are the first two sentences of the book:

"I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm."

If that doesn't grab a reader, then let's just say it is the fault of said reader and not the writer. 

You will notice based on these first two sentences that the story is told as a first-person narrative, another brilliant stroke by Butler. For this story in particular, a first-person narrative heightens the idea of empathy as we the reader see things through Dana's eyes, and hear her every thought. And Butler gives us a thoroughly complex, but relatable, and oh-so-strong narrator. Dana is brilliant, resourceful, and with compassion that I believe very few people could have in her circumstance. She is put through a great deal in this book, and we are put through it with her. It is impossible not to root for her (unless you are an awful person, but more on that later). 

Butler gives every character (with the exception of maybe one or two very minor ones) a complex humanity. This is what could be truly brilliant about the book, and the very thing that makes it as philosophically complex as it is flat-out entertaining: Butler recognizes that, like it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, dark, grotesque inhumanity is still part of being human. The enslavement of a race of people would not be possible if it wasn't. 

Try to let that sit with you for a moment. As much as we try to separate ourselves from the very idea of inhumanity by calling it inhumanity, it is simply not true, but just another way for humans to avoid accountability. These vicious deeds SHOULD NOT be part of the human experience. But, dammit, they are, and acknowledging it is the first step to maybe trying to actually do something about it. 

I also love Butler's depiction of the relationship between Dana and her husband Kevin. They are both writers, and, while they do have fights, their love is strong. When Kevin is sucked back in time with her (perhaps a mild spoiler, but it happens early on--- sorry), we really get to see how it affects their relationship and what they feel about one another. 

It is also worth noting that, since the novel takes place in the 1970s, Butler's present day is historical now, too. A history story that goes into a deeper history story. Clearly, one of the messages here is that, even for present day Dana, there are still issues (especially her marriage to a white man). One can look at the novel as very prescient in the idea that for ever advancement, we are always being pulled back by the wrong people. 

Sad that it is still true even 46 years after the novel was published. 

RANT

Which leads me to a little rant. 

Kindred, in my opinion, should be taught in every high school in America. The fact that it is one of several books that, even recently, have been banned in my country at certain schools, proves Butler's point completely. 

We make progress but are pulled back. 

This book should be taught because it tells the truth. 

White people enslaved back people in this country. In a very real and horrifying sense, it is part of how this country managed to be built. This needs to be discussed openly and honestly and often. 

I will not lie--- I am sickened by the many arguments against CRT, the arguments that ban books by Toni Morrison and Octavia E. Butler and many others--- sickened and honestly exasperated.  No one is saying that any of us white people today are responsible for enslaving black people in the 1800s. But here is the simple truth:  we white people have benefited and continue to benefit from the white supremacy that help build this country. This is not opinion, It is fact. And white people are the only ones who can really fix the problem of white supremacy, because we are the ones who made it and continue to benefit from it. 

And it starts by taking this accountability of our history AND our present. 

Rant over (for now). 

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

Read Kindred. It is enriching as well as being absolutely exciting and gripping. Fiction can make a difference and it is writers like Octavia E. Butler who can remind us. 

Please feel free to tell me your thoughts about my new friend Kindred in the comments., and join me next time with a while new friend. 

My New Friend, "SEA OF TRANQUILITY" by Emily St. John Mandel

 

A photo of me and my new friend, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. This isn't such a bad thing. There are many dashes in the "Pro" column, in fact. Books don't have to stay away from you during a pandemic, for one thing, right? No nasal swabbing a book before you can invite them to your party or to share your home...

My newest friend I want to talk about today is Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. Mandel has blown up on the literary scene, especially since her fourth novel, 2014's Station Eleven was a finalist for the National Book Award and a recipient of the Arthur C. Clarke award. Station Eleven, which centers around a pandemic, has been discussed widely again these last few years (wonder why?) and has been made into a critically-acclaimed limited series for HBO Max. Mandel's most recent novel was The Glass Hotel, one of my favorite novels of 2020, which centers around a Ponzi scheme and a kind of ghost story. 

Before I get into many details about Sea of Tranquility, my new pal, I should start by saying that Emily St. John Mandel is quickly becoming one of my favorite novelists, along with the likes of Jesmyn Ward, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Neil Gaiman. True, I have only The Glass Hotel and my new friend, but both novels are just that good. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

As I mentioned above, I read Emily St. John Mandel's previous novel, The Glass Hotel, back in 2020. I picked that book up at the Thompson Free Library. It became such a good friend, that I anxiously looked forward Mandel's next book, and, well, here it is. I purchased a copy, and have since ordered Station Eleven as well. It is my intention now to go back and get her first three novels, too. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Sea of Tranquility doesn't have an easy "elevator pitch," as Mandel has said herself in an interview. But here is a basic rundown:

Sea of Tranquility goes through different time periods, beginning with 1912, where we follow Edwin St. John St. Andrew (yes, a young man with two saints in his name) who ends up "exiled" after anti-colonial remarks at a dinner party to the forests of Canada in the fictional Caiette (also seen in The Glass Hotel). It is here that the young man has a strange experience in the forest, as if being transported and surrounded by violin music. He also meets a mysterious man pretending to be a priest who calls himself Roberts. 

Next, Mandel transports us to 2020 for a section called Mirella and Vincent who were both characters in The Glass Hotel ( don't worry--- you don't have to read The Glass Hotel  to understand this book, though I do highly recommend it just the same). Mirella's husband was a victim of Vincent's husband's Ponzi scheme and lost everything. Vincent disappeared years ago, and Mirella wants to know what happened to her, so she goes to a concert being held by Vincent's brother Paul. Paul shows an old video tape of a strange occurrence videotaped by Vincent when they were children. It is a brief moment, and very similar to what happened to Edwin in 1912. After the concert Mirella meets with Paul, who is also being spoken to by a strange man named Gaspery. But Mirella seems to remember Gaspery from somewhere...

From here, we can (literally) fly to the moon when we meet Olive Llewelyn in the year 2203, a writer on a book tour, currently on Earth. Olive lives in the second colony on the moon, and is overwhelmed a bit by the tour, missing her husband Dion and their young daughter Sylvie. Olive wrote a very successful novel about a pandemic and may be close to finding herself in a very real pandemic of her own. After meeting a "journalist" by the name of Gaspery Roberts, named after a character from her book, she wonders if it may not be wiser to cut the book tour short. 

And this brings us to the very heart and crux of the book, which is why I don't really want to say anything more. Clearly, Gaspery is the unifying character of these three threads in time. 

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Sea of Tranquility packs the richness of an epic into 255 quick-turning pages. Mandel is skillful at weaving plot threads into a beautiful tapestry--- so skilled, in fact, that I find myself succumbing to this completely unoriginal metaphor. But I'm not the great writer, here. That would be Emily St. John Mandel. 

Everyone is talking how this is Mandel's most speculative fiction to date, and while that may be true, it is still, at its core, a very human story and one we can all relate to, especially now. 

Olive Llewelyn, the writer, while not a complete stand in for Mandel, was clearly written with a deep knowledge of what it is like to be a successful writer of a pandemic novel who is now living during a pandemic. These insights are some of the most poignant in the book. 

"I suppose anything written this year is likely to be deranged," a character says of a piece being written during the pandemic lockdown. I am sure Mandel said the same thing time and again, but make no mistake--- Sea of Tranquility is only deranged in the most relatable way for those of us who have survived 2020 and 2021. This novel could not or would not have been written without the pandemic, at least not in the way it is given to us now. 

I suppose we can chalk that up to a little bit of bright side. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

Enough of this. Just go get the book. 

Thanks for reading my thoughts on my new friend, Sea of Tranquility. Come on back when I make a new friend! 

My New Friend, "THE SWEET RELIEF OF MISSING CHILDREN" by Sarah Braunstein

 

Me and my new friend, The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein. I'm the one in the hat. 

Hello everyone, my name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Don't worry about me--- perhaps there is a sweet relief that comes with being friendless except for stories, perhaps even like The Sweet Relief of Missing Children, the new friend I will be talking about today. This is the debut novel of Sarah Braunstein, an MFA alum of the distinguished Iowa Writers' Workshop who currently lives in Maine, and, according to her website (which you can visit by CLICKING HERE), teaches at Colby College. She has also been the recipient of a "5 Under 35" award from the National Book Foundation and a Ronna Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award. So, yeah, she is far too accomplished to be my friend, but at least I have her book. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

Constant readers of my blog (Hello?! Hello?! Do you exist?!) know that I started this project with a number of Maine authors, as I am a Maine writer myself, and wanted to read more from Maine voices that didn't belong to Stephen King. When I was doing some research about writers based in Maine, Sarah Braunstein came up. I was completely captivated by the title The Sweet Relief of Missing Children, found it dark yet lyrical, a mite unsettling. The book proved to live up to these initial feelings about the title. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My new friend was the recipient of the 2012 Maine Literary Award for Fiction, and deserves a higher rating on Goodreads (though many great books are divisive). 

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children begins with a short passage about Leonora, a 12-year-old girl who is taken. This is not a spoiler--- this is how the story begins and is mentioned directly on the jacket. We do not know right away how she was taken or by whom, only that she has been taken. Leonora and her story becomes the structural foundation on which the many wings of this house are built, and meant to be the device which connects them all. In this regard, it mostly succeeds. 

The several threads of the novel, which Bitch magazine called "akin to the film Magnolia (if Saul Bellow had written the novelization)", include Paul, who we meet as a young, serious boy, ditched by his mother "Goldie" on his birthday, who goes out with a photographer in hopes of becoming a model. Unbeknownst to Paul and Goldie, they are often spied on by a genuine Peeping Tom--- Tom Grant, an abortion nurse with a daughter, Jade, Paul's age. The reader will meet Paul and Jade when they are teenagers in what turned out to be my favorite section of the book. 

Other threads include Sam, the only survivor of an "accident" after his mother drove their family into a train. He is adopted by his Uncle Joe and his wife, Constance. Joe is great friends with Hank and his wife Grace, who have a daughter named Judith who one day goes missing. Sam, who would rather be losing his virginity to his high school girlfriend Helen, becomes instrumental in bringing Judith home. 

My friend jumps around in time and in perspective frequently. I am a fan of stories that are not afraid to be non-linear, and was happy to take the journey. There are a few other threads I feel I can't get into without distinct spoilers, but we do see Paul, Sam, and Judith grow up (sadly, I felt that Jade was kind of written away in just a few sentences), and, in-between, we learn more details about Leonora's life, a strange encounter she has with an adult, and, ultimately, her abduction. 

I understand that some people are frustrated by non-linear novels. I understand this fact, but don't quite get it. Novels should stretch your mind at least a little, don't you think?

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

I like the dark, unsettling feel to much of the novel. Braunstein does well at creating emotional reactions with clear, yet lyrical prose. I wrote down many lovely quotes from the book, sentences that say far more than the number of words would suggest. When a character thinks how he "felt a desire to smash love into his body, to smash love into the world, to allow love to be the violent act he'd always suspected it was," I was struck by the beauty and darkness of the image, and impressed by the very mechanics of creating such a sentence. 

SOME CHALLENGES WITH MY NEW FRIEND

Even the best of friends can sometimes overstay a visit a little bit. After the major threads are resolved, including Leonora's, there are another fifteen pages to the book or so. And while they are not completely out of place, I would be lying if I didn't say they felt a tiny bit anticlimactic. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I am very happy I discovered this book. I had to get it on interlibrary loan from the Bangor Public Library. But I am happy I found it and read it. Sarah Braunstein's website says a new novel is in the works, and I will definitely read whatever she puts out next. 

I need as many friends as I can get. 

Come on back to my next post and meet the new friend I have made. Please feel free to comment below about your favorite friends, too. 

My New Friend "GOD IS DEAD" by Ron Currie, Jr.

 

A photo of me and my new friend. I met my new friend at the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

Hi everybody. My name is Bobby Keniston. My only friends are books. But don't feel sad for me--- after all, a book has never called me up at 2 in the morning wanting to talk about something bad that has happened in their life, causing me to feign interest and empathy while my eyelids keep wanting to close. So... there's that. 

Today, I am going to introduce you to my new friend, "God is Dead" by Ron Currie, Jr. 

QUICK DISCLAIMER

I realize the title alone will activate the blasphemy radar for certain readers. These readers will not even want to go past the cover or title page, and probably shouldn't. While there is challenging content within the book, I would not consider it blasphemous or immoral or anything of the sort. But then, I like to read critically and think about what I've read, and am not the type of person to hide my narrow-minded world view and prejudice behind an appearance of morality and righteousness. That's just me. If you are that type of reader, you may want to skip this post altogether. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

For the many, many readers who have been following along with my posts (is there anybody out there?), you know that I have been trying to discover more Maine authors. One of those authors has been Carolyn Chute, and when I did a search about her, I found a YouTube video of Ron Currie, Jr. interviewing her about her latest book, "The Recipe for Revolution" for the Portland Public Library. You can actually watch the video if you like by CLICKING HERE--- it's a long interview, but worth it. It may be the least pretentious interview between two authors you will ever see. This is what piqued my curiosity about Mr. Currie and his work. 

In full disclosure, I read Mr. Currie's first novel "Everything Matters!" before I read "God is Dead," which is his debut book, though a collection of thematically-linked short stories and not a novel. I may write about my friend "Everything Matters!" in a different post. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

As I mentioned above, "God is Dead" is a collection of short stories, starting with the title story in which God comes to Earth as a Dinka woman in the North Darfur region of Sudan. God has come, it seems, to apologize to humanity, but can do very little except sympathize and provide endless amounts of sorghum. God runs into Colin Powell, who, in the world of the story, has come back into contact with his childhood and the racism he faced, and it has made him a "foul-mouthed race warrior" as Lydia Millet said in her blurb for the book. Indeed, Mr. Powell practicing his best Samuel L. Jackson glare is a moment that made me laugh at loud, which I don't do too often when reading. 

In any case, God, while in this human form, dies, and is subsequently eaten by a pack of feral dogs, who have no idea that they are eating the "Creator", and it gives them a strange consciousness, though this  isn't fully revealed until later in the book, the sixth story, titled "Interview with the Last Remaining Member of the Feral Dog Pack Which Fed on God's Corpse", which, despite a title that will turn off readers I mentioned in the disclaimer above, is actually a fascinating tale about meaning and existence, through the eyes of a changed feral dog, who, for all its consciousness, is not deified. 

Indeed, every story after the first is an examination of how our society would change if we had distinct and definite proof that God had somehow died. Suicides for the clergy sky rocket. There is a mass panic for a time. New idols (including children) are put in place to fill the need to worship. New philosophies, the Postmodern Anthropologists and the Evolutionary Psychologists, form, indoctrinate, create zealots and war on each other (these names were another deep chuckle--- I laughed out loud when a popular country song, "Proud to be a PoMO" is played at a parade). 

Basically, the world changes completely, but not really at all. People simply scramble to look for meaning. 

Which is funny. 

But really sad. 

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

There are three stories that connect into one big story:  "False Idols," "The Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit" and "Retreat". It was nice to follow these characters. 

I also like how Ron Currie's theme here, and in "Everything Matters!' is how meaning can exist if we make it so. We often try too hard, or depend on outward forces, real and imagined. But Currie seems to be telling us that we don't need to do this. There's plenty of meaning within if we just look for it in the simplest of terms. 

FUN FACT

When my new friend was first released, many compared its author to Vonnegut. Mr. Currie himself has said that he doesn't find the comparison an apt one. Neither do I. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I recommend it for those who want to think about our world and its quest for meaning. Be prepared--- despite some humor, it can be a big downer and isn't for those squeamish about dark comedy. 

Thanks for reading my thoughts on my new friend and its author, Ron Currie, Jr. 

Come on back to hear me talk about a new friend...

My New Friend "DEVIL HOUSE" by John Darnielle

 

Here's the cover of my new friend. I like retro feel. But don't let this cover convince you this is a horror story--- it is not. 

Hello. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Don't feel sorry for me. Though if you can't help being sorry for me, at least pronounce "sorry" like Canadians do, so that it will rhyme with "story."  I love a good story. That's why books are my only friends. 

I know that all of the readers following this blog... wait... I need a break for laughter....it's just funny imagining that there are any people actually following this blog....Sorry.  

I know that all of readers following this blog are probably tired of my little project consisting only of Maine authors, so I thought I would talk about my friend "Devil House" by John Darnielle, who is not a Maine author. "Devil House" is also the newest of my new friends. Its birthday was January 25th of 2022. I was happy to find it at my local library, where I meet many of my new friends. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My new friend "Devil House" is the third novel from the multi-talented John Darnielle, following his second novel "Universal Harvester" (which I have read and enjoyed) and "Wolf In White Van" (which I have not read, but which was nominated for a National Book Award merely days after its publication date--- not bad, eh?). "Devil House" tells the story of Gage Chandler, a true crime writer who was always told by his mother that he was descended from kings. He wrote a very successful true crime book about "The White Witch of Morro Bay", which dealt with Diana Crane, a school teacher who killed two young men who broke into her house and then tried to dispose of the bodies. Chandler's book, much like "Devil House", deals with the mythology a community constructs around murders and tragedies, while the complexity of the truth seems to fade away. 

Gage Chandler, on a tip from his agent, moves into what the locals of Milptas  call "Devil House", the scene of a double homicide. Milpitas is also where the events depicted in the book and film  "River's Edge" took place, and that true crime story hangs over the book in some ways. Once in the "Devil House", Gage works meticulously to recreate the crime scene, to do his best to get into the nooks and crannies, every inch of the house, looking for the story... and the "truth". 

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My friend has many things going for it, not least of which is being written by John Darnielle. Darnielle is the songwriter and singer behind The Mountain Goats, and his songs are very creative, powerful and lyrical. His prose here is also impressive, and the way he writes the first section as a true crime book itself is intriguing and effective. Reading about Gage's methods keeps the pages turning. The second section about Diana Crane, the "White Witch" is also a page-turner. Darnielle does well humanizing not only the teacher, but the two young men who attack her. In fact, he is quite good with teenage characters, which serve him well for the sections about the "Devil House." 

I also appreciate how Darnielle touches upon the "Satanic Panic" of those days, and how the Devil House murders could have fallen into that hysteria had the folks of Milpitas not worked so hard to squash the story after the sensationalism of "River's Edge". 

CHALLENGES WITH MY NEW FRIEND

There is an interlude in the book about a medieval boy becoming king, complete in medieval font, which, while well-written and entertaining, did not fully convince me that it was necessary. Perhaps this is my failing and not my friend's, I don't know. The surprise twist ending is bold and brave (and something I wouldn't even think about spoiling here), but I am still not 100% sure how I feel about it. Still, in its defense, it makes Gage confront how, no matter how well-researched and well-intentioned, "true crime" is only ever partly true and never complete. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

Readers, if they are like me, will want to make friends with "Devil House". But, I must reiterate my warning from the caption below the above picture: do not go into it expecting a horror novel, or you may well be disappointed. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. Come on back to see who I make friends with next...

My New Friend "THE POLICE KNOW EVERYTHING" by Sanford Phippen

 

The author and the book. Photo from the Digital Commons @UMaine, Sanford Phippen's Literary Papers

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Before you get to feeling sorry for me because of my lack of human friends, just remember that books don't mind if you wake them up at 3:00 AM because you feel like laughing or crying and don't want to be alone. So... yeah. 

If you have read my previous posts--- a prospect I find highly unlikely as generally my blogging reaches the exact same audience I would have as simply talking into a mirror--- you know that I have been reading a great deal of Maine writers lately, as I am a Maine writer myself, and want to have a wider knowledge of authors from my neck of the forest (or my shoulders of the woods, if you prefer). 

That is why my new friend is "The Police Know Everything" by Sanford Phippen. I have mentioned Mr. Phippen in my two previous blog posts because, aside from being a writer and a teacher, he also hosted interviews with Maine authors in a segment called Good Reads on Maine Public Broadcasting. This was back in the early 2000s I believe, but can be found on YouTube. On this show he interviewed the likes of Stephen King, Richard Russo, and Carolyn Chute to name a just a few. For the fun of it, you can catch his interview with Stephen King by CLICKING HERE. 

This is why the new friend I made for this post was "The Police Know Everything", which is a collection of Downeast Stories.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

"The Police Know Everything" is a quick read, originally published in 1982 by Puckerbush Press, a small publisher based out of Orono, Maine, where Phippen taught school for many years. The stories are all short and compact, but with an overarching connective tissue in its exploration of class, the art of storytelling itself, and of place and time. The title story starts off the collection, named "The Police Know Everything" because it deals with our narrator's elderly aunt and her friends as volunteer police officers. Our narrator is Andy (or "An-day!" as he is called in the vernacular of his family and friends), clearly a stand-in for Phippen himself. Many of the stories are of Andy asking questions to his friends and family and then being told the story--- kind of a story within a story vibe. Some of the stories are humorous, some of them deeply sad, and some of them upsetting in their depiction of people's ignorance (including the use of racist and homophobic words). But Phippen was trying to show "the real Maine," the kind the tourists don't see at the fancy places on the coast. He wanted to show the truth. And I feel he succeeds. 

On another note, my understanding is that "The Police Know Everything" was considered a "small press bestseller" for a number of years. I found the copy I read in my local library. 

Oh--- and Stephen King blurbed another one of Mr. Phippen's books, calling him "a Maine treasure."

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

It was a strange, but after reading a few stories, there was such a feeling of familiarity, and I wondered where it was coming from. And then I realized--- the way the Downeast characters in this book were telling stories is the exact same way my Grandfather, Jesse I. Keniston, used to tell me, and all of his family, stories. The details, the manner of speaking, practically seeing the yarn spinning--- it all hit me with a surprising emotional payoff, thinking about being a little kid and listening to him talk. 

Next to this wonderful feeling of honest nostalgia, my other favorite thing was the story, "The Returned Native," about someone who left Maine but is back for a visit. It brings up a lot of the conflicting feelings I have about this state. How it keeps me here, but how I see its flaws (and they do feel like unique flaws), and how the flaws make me often wish I could get out--- but how long would I stay out? Phippen writes with clear honesty here, and it is worth considering. 

WHAT I FELT COULD HAVE MADE ME NEW FRIEND EVEN MORE FUN TO BE AROUND

While I did enjoy the collection, I do feel some of the stories were perhaps a bit too short, and ended abruptly at times. I also feel like my new friend could have perhaps had just a tiny bit more connective tissue for a stronger, clearer arc for the collection. But these are small complaints. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

If you can find a copy--- and I believe a new press has taken over its distribution and that it is available on e-book as well--- I would recommend giving it a read. That is, if you are interested in looking at more of the "real Maine" instead of what you see in the travel brochures. Do not be fooled by the title and the cover artwork and think this is just a fun, silly, slice-of-life Maine humor read, a kind Tim Sample routine in book form. It is much more than that. 

Thanks for reading my thoughts on "The Police Know Everything". 

Come back soon to hear about another new friend!

My New Friend "EMPIRE FALLS" By Richard Russo

 

The hardcover edition of "Empire Falls" by Richard Russo. Note: This could just as easily be a picture from my hometown. 

Hello. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Today I would like to tell you about a new friend of mine, "Empire Falls" by the author Richard Russo. I have been focusing on making a lot of new friends from my home state of Maine lately, and though Mr. Russo wasn't here in my home state, he has lived here a long time, and "Empire Falls" is set here--- and the two-part television adaptation was filmed here as well, which I will discuss more later on. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND:

"Empire Falls" was published in 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf, fine publishers indeed. It tells the story of a fictional Maine mill town after the industry has disappeared. This is not an unfamiliar story to anyone who lives in Maine, and especially not for someone who lives in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. Our protagonist is Miles Roby, a man in his early forties recently separated from his wife Janine and on his way to a divorce. He runs the Empire Grill where he serves local regulars (including Walt Comeau, the "Silver Fox" his wife left him for), and where his brother David, who lost use of one hand in a DUI accident that changed his life, works as a cook, expanding the menu and the clientele. Miles, who never expected to return to Empire Falls until his mother was dying of cancer, goes through his life with a feeling like he has given up something, just as he knows his mother had gone through hers (Miles stayed on in Empire Falls and at the Empire Grill after his mother's death), and understands that the cause of this feeling likely has to do with the hold Mrs. Whiting has on him. Mrs. Whiting, the widow of C.B. Whiting, heir to the Whiting fortune made from the industries established in Empire Falls, owns more than half the town and seemingly half of the people within it. She has a special "fondness" for Miles, which has nothing to do with the fact that her daughter Cindy, disabled after being run over as a child, is head over heels in love with him. In fact, Mrs. Whiting's "fondness" for Miles is a mystery to him, and the reader for a good portion of the book. And though Miles suffers the trials of his deadbeat father Max, as well as the local bully cop Jimmy Minty, he takes comfort in his talks with Father Mark, a progressive priest, and finds his greatest joy in being the father of Tick, his 16-year-old daughter who means the entire world to him. He is determined that she will not repeat his fate of being stuck in Empire Falls. 

My new friend "Empire Falls" won the Pulitzer Prize and, as stated earlier, was adapted into an HBO two-part miniseries with an all-star cast including Ed Harris, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Robin Wright, Aidan Quinn, Dennis Farina, William Fichtner, and Danielle Panabaker--- and that's only naming the top principals! Russo himself adapted his novel into a screenplay, and Mr. Newman won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for playing Max. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

I had heard of the novel, Russo's fifth, soon after it won the Pulitzer. A group of my literary pals were shocked that it won the award, claiming that Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" should have swept ALL the awards that year (as if a National Book Award and an Oprah scandal wasn't enough). 

Later on, I was working at the historic Lakewood Theatre during "the summer of the Empire Falls..." Much of the movie was filmed in Skowhegan, Maine (in fact, a restaurant called "The Empire Grill", where many scenes were shot, remained open for a number of years, but eventually went out of business and was replaced by a different restaurant), and a good number of my theater friends got involved. Many were extras. One friend was a stand-in for Danielle Panabaker, who played Tick. Another friend worked in the costume department. In fact, one day as I was working in the box office at Lakewood Theater, this friend stopped by. She had been sent to pick up Ed Harris's jean jacket from his camp and was on her way back. I should be embarrassed to admit this, but, what the hell--- a picture exists somewhere of me wearing Mr. Harris's jacket. And if I knew where it was, I would share it here. 

I remember watching bits of the movie when it premiered, but don't believe I ever watched it straight through, though, perhaps I did. It was a while back. 

I met my new friend the latest time because I have been reading a lot of Maine authors, and decided to read this one after watching an interview between Sanford Phippen and Richard Russo that was made for Maine Public Television. You can watch that interview by CLICKING HERE

MY THOUGHTS ON MY NEW FRIEND

I am not surprised that my new friend "Empire Falls" won the Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Russo is easy to read, a genuine pleasure to read. Though there are many dark topics--- abuse, violence, and a spoiler-esque act I won't mention here--- Russo's style is friendly, and he humanizes even his most distasteful characters. He cares about them. It is this caring that seems to tell the reader, even in the dark moments, that, hey, friend, everything is going to be all right. And you almost believe him, even though the book really focuses on people who have wasted so much time and tossed away so many chances at happiness. 

Still, it's nice to have an authorial voice every once in awhile that doesn't shy away from the dark, but still somehow seems to make you feel okay. 

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

"Empire Falls', though set in Maine, is not about place so much as about class, as Mr. Russo says in the interview I linked above. We need more books about class in America, especially if we are to understand what the hell is going on in our divisive politics today. 

My absolute favorite thing about my new friend, however, are all the scenes with Tick. She is well drawn and believable, and it is impressive how real many of the scenes with her in the high school feel. 

A favorite quote:  "After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their hearts' impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time, as eternal as polished marble?"

LEAST FAVORTE THING ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My new friend is a little long-winded, and maybe could have stood to lose about 10,000 words. Though it is hard to fault a book that is trying to enrich itself at every moment. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I am glad I made this new friend, and would recommend you meeting them either at your local library, independent bookstore, or online. 

That's all for now. 

I'm off to make a new friend. 

My New Friend "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" by Carolyn Chute

 

The original hardcover edition of "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" by Carolyn Chute

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. You might think this is sad, but as Emily Dickinson said, "There is no frigate like a book." Or, as a thirteen-year-old boy in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, might simply say, "Frig it."

In any case, the first new friend I want to write about here on this little piece of the internet that will likely only have an audience in the single digits, is Carolyn Chute's brilliant second novel "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts." Carolyn Chute came to wide public recognition with her first novel, "The Beans of Egypt, Maine," and as she told Sandy Phippen in an interview for Maine Public Television, her subsequent book tour and speaking engagements made her a kind of "specimen," a "trained tiger," if you will. If you are interested in this terrific interview, you can watch it by CLICKING HERE. 

Perhaps instead of treating her like a specimen, more people should have listened to her and read her books closely. Carolyn Chute may be one of the finest writers about rural, white poverty in the last 50 years. Though I don't intend for this to be a political blog per se, I can't help but say that if Democrats want to understand working people and rural poverty, they would do well to read a book like "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" and take copious notes. 

I have been having a Maine-author theme for my reading of late, since I am a Maine writer myself. Carolyn Chute not only expertly evokes class, but a sense of place as well. Her voice is fiercely all her own, somewhat minimalist, character-driven, and packs a punch. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My new friend "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" takes place in Egypt, Maine, and centers around Big Lucien Letourneau, who doesn't appear very much in the novel, but has an almost mythological feel about him. We hear about his "heart of gold," his terrible headaches that lead to screaming, and mostly, his many, many women and many, many children. Everyone in this book is somehow attached to Big Lucien and his business. And as more and more people lose their homes, Big Lucien and his heart of gold keeps them in trailers on his property, which is a thorn in the side of the local selectmen who believe it looks trashy. 

Chute, as I mentioned, is a character-driven writer, and the characters jump off the page. I have seen these people. I know them. I live in small town Maine, and I have seen this poverty (and lived it) and the rage and shame and hopelessness that comes from it. My favorite character is Junie, one of Big Lucien's daughters from a previous relationship, though he has never been a father to her directly. We meet Junie at 15, as she tries to get money any way she can (most humorously by telling futures to tourists for a dollar) because she wants to have a sports car some day. 

Ms. Chute gets into the heads and lives of her characters and never judges them. 

SOME QUOTES FROM MY NEW FRIEND

"'In the old days, somebody tried to take your home, you'd put one of these inside their head.' He holds one of the shells toward the light. 'But nowadays...' He sighs, his clear green eye fixed to Severin. 'Nowadays when they come to make you go, you take a shell like this one here...' He rolls it between his fingers. '...and you put it in your own head.'"

Some folks are reacting to a suicide, and many are shocked to hear about it. One deputy is not. The reason he gives for not being shocked still haunts me:

"Kids n' bills. Kids n' bills."

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

As I have said, I appreciate Chute's unflinching look at poverty. It isn't always easy to take, but it is important. Her minimalist language and rich characters also make for a truly engaging read. 

FINAL TAKEAWAYS

Not always an easy read. Often hard to take, but that doesn't mean it isn't important to read. Friends aren't always uplifting, but the good ones always leave an impact for the better. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts about "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" by Carolyn Chute. I will have a new post very soon about a whole new friend!

In the meantime, I recommend getting "Letourneau's Used Auto Parts" at your local library, or ordering it from your favorite independent bookstore.