#IReadsYou Book Review: BURN IT DOWN by Maureen Ryan

BURN IT DOWN: POWER, COMPLICITY, AND A CALL FOR CHANGE IN HOLLYWOOD

HARPERCOLLINS/Mariner Books

AUTHOR: Maureen Ryan

ISBN: 978-0-06-326927-9; hardcover (June 6, 2023)

400pp, B&W, $32.50 U.S., $40.00 CAN

Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood is a 2023 nonfiction book from author Maureen Ryan.  Ryan is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, and she has had a three-decade career as a reporter and critic for such publications as GQ, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, and Variety, to name a few.

Abuse and exploitation of workers is baked into the very foundations of the entertainment industry and in Hollywood, specifically.  It is a cycle, and if that cycle is going to be broken, it is important to stop looking at headline-making stories as individual events.  To make change that sticks, we must look closely at the bigger picture, to see how abusers are created, fed, rewarded, and allowed to persist.  People must discover how they can be excised – with the right tools.

In Burn It Down, veteran reporter Maureen Ryan does just that.  Drawing on decades of experience, Ryan connects the dots and illuminates the deeper forces sustaining Hollywood’s corrosive culture.  She offers fresh reporting that sheds light on problematic situations at television series such as ABC's “Lost” (2004-10) and “The Goldbergs” (2013-23); NBC's "Saturday Night Live" (1975-present); Fox's “Sleepy Hollow” (2013-17); HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (12 seasons over the period of 2000 to 2024), to name a few.

Ryan weaves insights from industry insiders together with historical context and pop-culture analysis.  Most of all, Burn It Down both shows us what’s gone wrong in the entertainment world and also how people can fix it.

THE LOWDOWN:  I first heard of Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood when Hollywood trade publications and social media started reporting a particular section of Maureen Ryan's book.  The chapter entitled, “'Lost' and the Myths of a Golden Age.”  I think many fans had an idealized view of the creative process behind ABC's Emmy-winning TV series, “Lost.”

What the people behind the scenes of the show knew was that that the production of the series involved the machinations and temperamental behavior of executive producer and showrunner, Carlton Cuse, and the codependency of fellow executive producer, Damon Lindelof.  The report about the book offered juicy “Lost” details, but Burn It Down offers further insight via Ryan's interview of fired “Lost actor, Harold Perrineau.

“Lost” is just one part of the story.  Ryan's revealing conversations with actor Orlando Jones details an ugly behind-the-scenes situation with Fox's former supernatural drama, “Sleepy Hollow.”  It seems that after the first season, which was well-received, Fox became concerned that the series was “too Black,” meaning too much focus on too many African-American characters.

Once again, “Sleepy Hollow” is just one part of the story.  Burn It Down is a virtual horror show of stories of terrible behavior – usually committed by white men – behind many hit TV series.  In the book, actress Evan Rachel Wood talks about the abuse she has suffered over the years, especially at the hands of her former boyfriend, rock star Marilyn Manson.  Burn It Down details the Nxivm cult and also the abuse of EGOT recipient, super-producer Scott Rudin.

Still, fully one-third of Burn It Down (the book's “Part Two”) talks about moving forward.  How can people clean up the industry?  What does “centering survivors” and “doing the work” look like?  How does the industry foster real change or even create a new model of creative leadership?

I get the feeling that writing this book took a lot out of Ryan, but I believe that there are more horror stories to tell, enough to fill several books.  Maybe, other writers can pick up this crusade.  In the meantime, I adore Burn It Down, and I recommend it to fans of non-fiction books about Hollywood and about the “Me Too” movement.  In the meantime, the paperback edition is due June 4, 2024.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:   Fans of nonfiction books about Hollywood scandals will want to read Burn it Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

A copy of BURN IT DOWN can be bought at AMAZON.

https://www.moryan.com/

https://twitter.com/moryan

https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/marinerbooks

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#IReadsYou Book Review: THE WAY OF THE BEAR by Anne Hillerman

THE WAY OF THE BEAR – (A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel #8)

HARPERCOLLINS

AUTHOR: Anne Hillerman

ISBN: 978-0-06-290839-1; hardcover (April 25, 2023)

286pp, B&W, $30.00 U.S., $37.50 CAN

The Way of the Bear: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel is a 2023 hardcover original novel from author Anne Hillerman.  It is the eighth novel in her “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” book series, which began with Spider Woman's Daughter (2013).

This series is a continuation of the “Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Series” written by Hillerman's late father, bestselling author, Tony Hillerman (1925-2008).  The father's novels are the basis for “Dark Winds,” a television series from the cable network, AMC, and its streaming service, AMC+.  In The Way of the Bear, Chee and Manuelito find themselves caught up in a case that involves fossil harvesting, greed, rejected love, and murder.

The Way of the Bear opens in December.  Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito and her husband, Sgt. Jim Chee, have traveled to San Juan County, Utah to the place known as “the Valley of the Gods,” near the Bears Ears National Monument.  Chee is on assignment for the Navajo Nation Police Department, and his job is to convince Dr. Chapman “Chap” Dulles, a wealthy fossil hunter and paleontologist., to donate money to a fallen Navajo police officers fund.

Bernie has gone along on the trip and uses the time to visit Bears Ears for relaxation, contemplation, and exploration.  This has been a difficult time in her life for both personal and professional reasons.  While there, she has a terrifying encounter involving a pickup truck that tries to run her down.  One of the truck's passengers even shoots at her.  And after that, Bernie helps a young couple deliver their baby in the middle of the night.

However, an unexpected death on a lonely road outside of Bears Ears for raises questions for Bernie and Chee.  They didn't plan on being involved in a murder, but they also wonder why a seasoned outdoorsman and well-known paleontologist freezes to death within walking distance of his car?  A second death, and apparent murder, brings more turmoil and mystery. Who is the unidentified man killed during a home invasion where nothing much seems to have been taken? Why was he murdered?

The Bears Ears area, at the edge of the Navajo Nation, is celebrated for its abundance of early human habitation sites and for the discovery of unique and revolutionary fossils.  Instead of being able to appreciate all this, Bernie and Chee are faced with an unprecedented level of violence that sweeps them both into danger.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been crazy about Anne Hillerman's work since I first read Spider Woman's Daughter.  I had read two of her late father, Tony Hillerman's novels a long time ago, so I requested a review copy of Spider Woman's Daughter from HarperCollins when it was offered to reviewers back in 2013.  It was a fortuitous decision, as the “Manuelito, Chee & Leaphorn” series became one of my favorite modern literary series.

When I read the previous novel in the series, 2022's The Sacred Bridge, I didn't know if I should call it a turning point in the series, but the story did suggest that big changes were ahead for both Bernie and Chee.  Joe Leaphorn did not appear in The Sacred Bridge, nor does he appear in The Way of the Bear, except indirectly, and Hillerman continues to hint at big changes for him.

Like The Sacred Bridge, The Way of the Bear is a solid crime thriller, and at times, a riveting suspense thriller.  In this new novel, Bernie and Chee's lives are constantly under threat – sometimes in unexpected ways.  There is level of danger, menace, and peril that I don't remember encountering in earlier novels.  However, the entries in this series always seem to be moving the characters forward.  Nothing is stale, and the lives of Bernie and Chee are ongoing and evolving.  Even with the danger this story imposes on them, the narrative also gives us a deeper look into them.

As I have done with the previous books, I am heartily recommending The Way of the Bear.  The more I read, the more I learn about Bernie and Chee, and the more attached to them that I become.  As always, I am sad about reaching the end of the story, doubly so this time because it was just a year ago that I read The Sacred Bridge.  The best recommendation that I can give The Way of the Bear is to tell you, dear readers, that I would like to read another book in the series right now.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:   Fans of Anne Hillerman and of her late father, Tony Hillerman, will want to read The Way of the Bear.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.annehillerman.com/

https://twitter.com/harperbooks

https://www.instagram.com/harperbooks/

https://twitter.com/HarperCollins

https://www.harpercollins.com/

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Book Review: THE SACRED BRIDGE

THE SACRED BRIDGE – (A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel #7)

HARPERCOLLINS

AUTHOR: Anne Hillerman

ISBN: 978-0-06-290836-0; hardcover (April 12, 2022)

336pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S., $33.50 CAN

The Sacred Bridge: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel is a 2022 hardcover original novel from author Anne Hillerman.  It is the seventh novel in her “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” book series, which began with Spider Woman's Daughter (2013).

This series is a continuation of the “Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Series” written by Hillerman's late father, bestselling author, Tony Hillerman (1925-2008).  The original series is the basis for “Dark Winds,” a television series from the cable network, AMC, and its streaming service, AMC+.  In The Sacred Bridge, Chee and Manuelito each investigate an unusual murder.

Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito and her husband, Sgt. Jim Chee, are enjoying a vacation, but Bernie leaves early.  Jim Chee’s stay in beautiful Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell has a deeper purpose. He is on a quest to unravel a sacred mystery his mentor, the legendary police officer, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, stumbled across decades earlier.  Chee's journey takes a dark turn when, after a prayerful visit to the sacred Rainbow Bridge, he spots a body floating in Lake Powell.  The dead man is Curtis Walker, a Navajo with a passion for the canyon’s ancient rock art.  However, Curtis lived a life filled with many secrets, including an affair with a married woman and double-crossing one or more potential business partners.  In his mission to discover why Curtis died and who is responsible, Chee's will put his own life at risk.

Back at their home base of Shiprock, Bernie is driving home when she witnesses a black Mercedes sedan purposely kill a hitchhiker.  The search to find the killer leads her into an undercover investigation at KHF – “K'é Happy Farm,” a cannabis farming operation that was supposed to benefit the Navajo Nation.  However, the place is surrounded by mystery and rumors and also reports that workers are shooting dogs.  Even the guy who is supposed to own the place, Dino Begay Perez, is missing.  Bernie discovers a dangerous chain of interconnected revelations involving KHF.  It is an evil that jeopardizes both her mother and sister, Darleen, and puts Bernie in the deadliest situation of her law enforcement career.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been crazy about Anne Hillerman's work since I first read Spider Woman's Daughter.  I had read two of her late father, Tony Hillerman's novels a long time ago, so I requested a review copy of Spider Woman's Daughter from HarperCollins when it was offered to reviewers back in 2013.  It was a fortuitous decision, as the “Manuelito, Chee & Leaphorn” series is one of my favorite modern literary series.

I don't know if I would call The Sacred Bridge a turning point in the series, but the story does suggest that big changes are ahead for both Bernie and Chee.  While Joe Leaphorn does not appear in the novel (although he plays an indirect part in the plot), Hillerman also hints of a big change for him.

Of all the books in this series, The Sacred Bridge is the one that I would most describe as a crime thriller or a suspense thriller.  Both mysteries that confront the lead characters are filled with danger, and it seems that their lives are always under threat.  It is not a spoiler to say that both come close to being killed, and Chee's case is filled with heartbreak that will vex some of the characters long after the story ends.  In Bernie's case, the characters end with hope and reunion.

As I have done with the previous books, I am heartily recommending The Sacred Bridge.  As usual, I was sad when I finished the last page.  I always want more, and, dear readers, if you give this book a chance, you will want more, also.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:   Fans of Anne Hillerman and of her late father, Tony Hillerman, will want to read The Sacred Bridge.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://www.annehillerman.com/

https://twitter.com/harperbooks

https://www.instagram.com/harperbooks/

https://twitter.com/HarperCollins

https://www.harpercollins.com/

The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Book Review: WAR LORD: A Novel

WAR LORD
HARPERCOLLINS/Harper

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Bernard Cornwell
ISBN: 978-0-06-256329-3; hardcover (November 24, 2020)
352pp, B&W, $28.99 U.S.

War Lord is a 2020 novel from Bernard Cornwell, a bestselling British author of historical novels.  This is the thirteenth and final book in Cornwell’s “Saxon Tales” series, his epic story of the making of England and his continuing story of pagan Saxon warlord, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.  “The Saxon Tales” series is also known as “The Last Kingdom” (named for the first novel in the series).  War Lord finds Lord Uhtred torn between protecting what is his and his sworn oath to a young king.

As War Lord opens, Lord Uhtred is ruling his part of Northumbria from his family's fortress, Bebbanburg.  With a new woman, Benedetta, and a loyal band of warriors by his side, his household is secure.  Well, he should be secure, but beyond the fortress, a battle for power rages.

Young King Æthelstan has done something he swore to Lord Uhtred that he would never do.  Uhtred is the man who is most responsible for putting him on the throne and made him “Anglorum Saxonum Rex” – King of the Angles and the Saxons – King of Wessex, of East Anglia, and of Mercia.

That promise that Æthelstan has broken is that he has invaded Northumbria.  He wants to be “Monarchus Totius Britanniae,” King of All Britain, and the invasion is his first stop.  To the north, however, is King Constantine of Alba (Scotland) and other Scottish and Irish leaders who are all looking to expand their territory.  Possessing Northumbria will do that, and the region can act as a buffer zone between the Scots, Danes, Norse, and Irish lands and the Saxon lands.

Uhtred is faced with an impossible choice.  He can stay out of the struggle, but each side will think that he has made a deal with its enemies.  Or he can throw himself into this power struggle that will eventually result in the most terrible battle Britain has ever experienced.  It is a battle that could realize the dreams of King Alfred, King Edward (his son), and King Æthelstan (his grandson).  That dream is to create one realm for everyone who is Christian and who speaks the “Ænglisc” tongue, a kingdom to be called “Englaland” (or England, of course).  Will Uhtred, the War Lord of Britain, survive this crisis and hold onto Bebbanburg?

THE LOWDOWN:  I have read the seventh through this thirteenth entry in “The Saxon Tales” series.  I love these books, and as soon as I reach the last page of one book, I dearly wish the next book was immediately available.  George R.R. Martin, the author of A Song of Fire and Ice (the inspiration for HBO's Emmy-winning “Game of Thrones” television series), says that Cornwell writes the best battles scenes he has ever read.  I can say that Cornwell's “Saxon Tales” are kind of like a real life “Game of Thrones,” with Cornwell taking creative liberties with the story of the creation of England.  And yes, Cornwell's battle scenes are breathtaking.

Well, it is pointless to wish for more.  War Lord is the magnificent finale to the epic story of how England was made.  After writing reviews for seven of these books, I have practically run out of ways to praise Cornwell.  The series just never ran out of steam, as Cornwell never ran out of ways to depict political and courtly intrigue and epic brutal battles.

War Lord borrows elements from the previous books, and wraps up several story lines.  There is family drama and tragedy.  There is sea-faring adventure.  Scores are settled, and an epic battle decides the fate of kings and kingdoms.  Heck, this book is almost two years old, so I can spoil a few things.  Uhtred is alive at the end of this book, but is apparently retired.  Thus, we get a happy ending, a bittersweet one, of course.  I am sure that I am not the only reader who wants more.

In the meantime, I hope new readers discover this riveting series full of wonderful characters, topped by an amazing lead character.  Praise Bernard Cornwell and Lord Uhtred.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of historical fiction and of Bernard Cornwell must have War Lord.

A
★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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https://www.bernardcornwell.net/
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#IReadsYou Book Review: Anne Hillerman's STARGAZER

STARGAZER – (A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel #6)
HARPERCOLLINS

AUTHOR: Anne Hillerman
ISBN: 978-0-06-290833-9; hardcover (April 13, 2021)
336pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S., $34.99 CAN

Stargazer is a 2021 novel from author Anne Hillerman.  Recently published, it is the sixth novel in the “Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito” book series, which began with Spider Woman's Daughter (2013).  This series is a continuation of the “Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Series” written by Hillerman's late father, bestselling author, Tony Hillerman (1925-2008).  In Stargazer, Navajo tradition and the stars collide with murder and deception in a possible case of suicide that also might be homicide.

Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette “Bernie” Manuelito starts out having a typical day, as she serves a bench warrant, while also dealing with a herd of cattle obstructing traffic.  Then, the day takes two unexpected twists.  First, Bernie stumbles across a crime scene where she makes a grisly and heartbreaking discovery.  Then, Bernie learns that her old college roommate, Maya Kelsey, has confessed to the murder of her estranged husband, Steve Jones.

The case takes Bernie to Socorro County, where she helps her friend, Sheriff's Detective Tara Williams, who has Maya in custody.  Bernie finds Maya uncooperative, and while Detective Williams is willing to believe Maya's confession, Bernie is not.  Steve was a prominent astronomer, and Bernie wonders if Steve's work at the radio telescope facility, the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), and with some of his colleagues might explain the mystery of his death, which was originally considered a suicide.

Meanwhile, Bernie is experiencing an unexpected rift with her husband, Sgt. Jim Chee, who is sure that Bernie is headed for trouble.  Chee is also currently Bernie's new boss at the Shiprock police station, because their boss, Captain Howard Largo, is away on official business.  Chee's increased workload and Bernie's case make each short-tempered with other.

Chee is at a crossroads, burdened with new responsibilities for which he did not ask and does not want.  Still, he must decide what the future holds for him.  Also at a crossroads is Bernie and Chee's mentor, retired Lt. Joe Leaphorn.  He is dealing with a case from the past after learning that a woman who claims he once saved her life now wants to meet him.  Leaphorn must also decide if he is going to make a trip by plane with his companion, Louisa.  Leaphorn is afraid of flying, but declining the trip to Washington D.C. could be detrimental to his relationship with Louisa.

Will the past and the future provide the guidance for Chee and Leaphorn?  Will the Navajo heroes that dot the starry sky and the never ending celestial dome help Bernie find the answers to the questions about Maya's case that vex her?

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been crazy about Anne Hillerman's work since I first read Spider Woman's Daughter.  I had read two of her late father, Tony Hillerman's novels a long time ago, so I requested a review copy of Spider Woman's Daughter from HarperCollins when it was offered to reviewers back in 2013.  It was a fortuitous decision, as I have come to view the “Manuelito, Chee & Leaphorn” novels as my favorite current literary series, and I have been awaiting a new novel since the release of The Tale Teller back in 2019.

Thematically, Stargazer focuses on two threads.  The first focuses on the bonds and obligations of family and kinship and the duty and obligations to colleagues and friendship.  The second is how both what has happened in the past and what could happen in the future shape the present.

Bernie's relationship with Maya, which was stronger in the past than it is now, is actually what drives Bernie's investigation.  Bernie certainly has fidelity to her vocation and also a deep and abiding sense of justice.  Still, she cannot believe that Maya is a murderer, although Maya insists that she has killed her estranged husband, from whom she hoped to obtain a divorce.  Throughout Stargazer, author Anne Hillerman portrays how Bernie's relationships with her family, friends, and colleagues push her forward.  These relationships shape how she thinks about a case, and what she expects from people.  It seems that such connections with people are what makes Bernie pay extra-special attention to what they say or communicate in other ways, such as by email.  This attention to intimate details leads Bernie in where she should look for clues.

Hillerman makes Bernie the primary focus of Stargazer, but she does not neglect Chee and Leaphorn, revealing that each is at a crossroad in his life.  Each must examine the past and the future as his present circumstances demand decisions for the future.  Stargazer is truly a turning point novel in the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series.  The main characters will begin heading in different professional directions, to one extent or another, the next time we see them.

By my reading, Anne Hillerman is also making it clear with this novel that Bernie Manuelito is really the lead character of this series.  I don't have a problem with that.  As crime fiction lead characters go, Bernie lights up the sky just like her ancestors and heroes.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:   Fans of Anne Hillerman and of her late father, Tony Hillerman, will want to read Stargazer.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.annehillerman.com/
https://twitter.com/harperbooks
https://www.instagram.com/harperbooks/
https://twitter.com/HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Book Review: SURVIVOR'S SONG

SURVIVOR SONG: A NOVEL
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Paul Tremblay
ISBN: 978-0-06-267916-1; hardcover; 6 in x 9 in; (July 7, 2020)
320pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S.

Survivor Song: A Novel is the latest novel from author Paul Tremblay (A Head Full of Ghosts).  A suspense novel, Survivor Song follows two women, longtime friends, on a journey across an epidemic landscape to save one of the women... or, at least, her unborn child.

Survivor Song opens in the present or the near-future.  An insidious rabies-like virus, commonly called “super-rabies,” that is spread by saliva, has overrun Massachusetts.  Unlike rabies, this new disease has a short incubation period of an hour or less, and the infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and to infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb to the infection.  Massachusetts has tried to limit the spread of this outbreak by putting the entire state (commonwealth) under quarantine and by initiating a curfew, but society is starting to break down, and the sick and the dying are inundating hospitals.

One evening during this outbreak, Dr. Ramola “Rams” Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie “Nats” Larsen, a longtime and dear friend who is eight months pregnant.  It seems that an infected neighbor viciously attacked and killed Natalie's husband, Paul.  The super-rabies-infected neighbor also bit Natalie as she fought to save Paul.

Natalie's only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible in order to receive the super-rabies vaccine.  And she needs Ramola's help getting to a hospital.  The clock is ticking for Natalie and for her unborn child, and Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Ramola make their way through a landscape turned hostile by the outbreak.  Terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges push Nats and Rams to the brink, so will they make it in time to save Nats... or at least, her unborn child?

THE LOWDOWN:  Back in 2015, while looking through a list of review copies that publisher William Morrow's marketing department was offering to reviewers, I came across a book entitled A Head Full of Ghosts, written by Paul Tremblay.  I loved the title, and I was intrigued by the book's premise.  Although I thought it was well written, I really did not enjoy reading A Head Full of Ghosts, so the next time, William Morrow offered a novel by Tremblay, I passed.

When Survivor Song was offered, I was intrigued by both the title and the premise, especially the latter.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I have been interested in books, movies, and television programs about epidemics, pandemics, and outbreaks – either as works of fiction or non-fiction.

Even in the well worn genre of the “riveting novel of suspense,” Survivor Song manages to be fresh and surprising.  The novel is not like any other viral outbreak story.  It is detailed in a way that sets the reader in the scene, but without robbing readers of the right to fill in a scene or a setting with their own imagination.  Survivor Song is viscerally frightening, but the narrative is equally deeply emotional in a way that will make it resonate with readers.

Survivor Song is also something else.  It is timely and prescient.  Although I clearly understood this novel to be a work of fiction, I found myself often feeling that I was reading a long feature article about  our current, environmental mini-apocalypse, the kind one would find in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, or any number of progressive magazines... or perhaps, a non-fiction book expanded from that kind of feature article.  Paul Tremblay has fashioned in Survivor Song a novel that is so chilling because it is so much about us and our times.  He is not afraid to sprinkle witty social and political asides that are obviously about President Donald, his cult, and sadly, about the rest of us who would turn into monsters the minute things (like society and comforts) start to break down.

Survivor Song is all too plausible because a version of its dark fairy tale is already happening.  Yes, it is a wonderful tale of friendship and commitment told as a road trip through insta-dystopia that will reassure you, dear readers, about humanity... but.  Damn, Paul Tremblay, what a wonderful novel you have written in Survivor Song.  Damn you, Tremblay, for telling the awful truth.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Paul Tremblay and fans of scary, but all-too-plausible novels will want to read Survivor Song.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/WmMorrowBooks
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamMorrowBooks
https://twitter.com/HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Book Review: EMPIRE OF WILD

EMPIRE OF WILD: A NOVEL
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Cherie Dimaline
ISBN: 978-0-06-297594-2; hardcover; 6 in x 8 in; (July 28, 2020)
320pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S.

Empire of Wild: A Novel is the 2020 American edition of the 2019 Canadian contemporary fantasy novel, Empire of Wild, from Canadian author, Cherie Dimaline.  She is best known for her 2017 Young Adult novel, The Marrow Thieves, which won several awards including Canada's “Governor General's Literary Award.”  Empire of Wild blends the traditional Canadian Métis legend of the werewolf-like creature, the Rogarou, with a woman's search for her missing husband.

Empire of Wild introduces Joan Beausoliel, who is part of a Métis family that has lived in their tightly knit rural community of Arcand for generations.  [Largely associated with Canada, the Métis are an indigenous people descended from both North American indigenous people and European settlers.]  In spite of that closeness, few of the young generations keep the old ways . . . until they have to keep them.  That moment to remember the old ways and the old stories has arrived for Joan.

Joan has been searching for her missing husband, Victor Boucher, for nearly a year.  One terrible night, they had their first serious argument, and Victor stormed out of their home, hours before he mysteriously vanished.  One morning, grieving and severely hungover, Joan is at Walmart when she spots an old-timey, religious revival tent in the store's gritty parking lot.  Something makes Joan enter the tent where she hears a shocking sound coming from deeper inside the tent.  It is the unmistakable voice of Victor.

When she sees the male source of the voice, she discovers that the man who speaks in Victor's voice has the same face, the same eyes, and the same hands, although his hair is much shorter than she remembers Victor's being.  And the man that looks like Victor is wearing a suit, which Victor never did.  When Joan approaches this man, he doesn't seem to recognize Joan at all, and he insists that his name is Reverend Eugene Wolff.  He says that as a reverend, his mission is to spread the word of Jesus and to grow His flock.

Yet Joan suspects there is something dark and terrifying within this charismatic preacher who professes to be a man of God . . . something old and very dangerous.  Joan's mystery is apparently tied to the traditional Canadian Métis legend of the Rogarou, a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of native people’s communities.

Joan turns to Ajean, an elderly woman who is one of the few among her community steeped in the traditions of her people and in the knowledgeable about their ancient enemies.  Jointed by her twelve-year-old nephew, Zeus, Joan embarks on a mission to uncover the truth about Eugene Wolff.  Lurking behind the good reverend, however, is another creature of legend.

THE LOWDOWN:  My previous experience with a work of fiction centered on the Métis is Louis Riel (1999-2003), Chester Brown's comic book biography of the real-life Métis political leader, Louis David Riel, which I last read over fifteen years ago.  When William Morrow's marketing team offered Empire of Wild to book reviewers, I jumped at the chance to read it upon discovering that involved the Métis.

In Empire of Wild, author Cherie Dimaline offers a novel that is part dark fantasy, part folklore, part suspense thriller, and part crime novel.  Dimaline emphasizes the humanity of her characters, depicting their all-too human yearnings, desires, longings, selfishness, and propensity for violence.  So, Empire of Wild reads like a contemporary novel that is about a particular group of people, the times in which they live, and their struggles.  The legends and the folklore obviously play a big part in this story, but the fantastic does not dominate the narrative over the characters.  Empire of Wild's magical realism does not explode until the final chapter and the epilogue and delivers an ending that only serves to emphasize how truly unique this novel is.

The supernatural in Empire of Wild is earthy and grounded, so the book draws the readers into a world they can recognize, even if the people are new to them.  The result is a gripping read that won't let go of the readers' imaginations even after the last page.  I'm already hankering for a sequel...

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers looking for exceptional contemporary fantasy fiction from a different folkloric background will want to read Empire of Wild: A Novel.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Book Review: THE SILENT WIFE

THE SILENT WIFE: A NOVEL (Will Trent Series #10)
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 978-0-06-285810-8; paperback; 6x9in. (August 4, 2020)
496pp, B&W, $28.99 U.S., $35.99 CAN

The Silent Wife: A Novel is a 2020 crime novel from American crime writer, Karin Slaughter.  The Silent Wife is the tenth novel in Slaughter's “Will Trent Series,” which stars Will Trent, a special agent in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).  Another star characters is Sara Linton, a doctor and medical examiner from Slaughter's “Grant County” novels.  The Silent Wife finds Trent and Dr. Linton investigating a possible serial killer in a case that connects to Sara's late husband.

The Silent Wife finds the GBI investigating the killing of a prisoner, 38-year-old Jesus Rodrigo Vasquez, during a riot inside Phillips State Prison, a medium security state penitentiary in Buford, Georgia, not far from Atlanta.  During the investigation, GBI investigator Will Trent is confronted with disturbing information.  One of the inmates, Daryl Nesbitt, claims that he is innocent of a brutal attack on college student, Rebecca “Becky” Caterino, eight years earlier, for which he has always been the prime suspect.  Nesbitt, imprisoned for possessing child pornography, insists that he was framed by the corrupt law enforcement city police department of Heartsdale in Grant County.  The primary target of Nesbitt's accusation is Sara Linton's late husband, Jeffrey Tolliver, the former chief of Heartsdale.

Nesbitt claims that the real culprit in the attack on Becky Caterino is still out there – a serial killer who has systematically been preying on women across the state for years.  If Will reopens the investigation and implicates the dead police officer with a hero’s reputation of wrongdoing, the opportunistic Nesbitt says that he is willing to provide the information GBI needs about the riot murder of Vasquez and about an illegal phone distribution system inside the prison.

Only recently, another young woman, Alexandra McAllister, was found viciously murdered in a state park in northern Georgia.  Is it a fluke? Or could there be a serial killer on the loose?  Will realizes that he will have to crack a cold case to catch a killer that still might be active.  Will needs his girlfriend and Jeffrey Tolliver's widow, Sara, to help him hunt down a possible serial killer.  But when the past and present begin to collide, Will realizes that everything he values is at stake . . .

THE LOWDOWN:  I read a “galley copy” of The Silent Wife that William Morrow's marketing department provided to book reviewers and bloggers.  So this edition contains a kind of introduction and also a kind of afterword in which author Karin Slaughter emphasizes to readers that she decided to write a novel that was frank about violence against women.

Last year, I read Slaughter's novel, Pieces of Her, a most delicious read that was also filled with dangerous plot twists and crazy-ass characters.  The Silent Wife easily surpasses Pieces of Her in terms of being a pot boiler thriller that is demented fun to read.  That the killer is a sadistic freak, a savage rapist, and monstrous killer of women did not make me forget that the novel was trying to convey the reality of the almost casual threats of violence and actual violence that many women and girls face everyday.  One of the many things that Slaughter expertly gets across to her readers in The Silent Wife is the everlasting physical and psychological damage that women suffer as a result of the violence done to them by males.

And The Silent Wife is still a great entry in the suspense and mystery genres.  Slaughter does not have to preach to you, dear readers.  She simply crashes into your imagination with a mind-bending plot and superbly executed narrative – with a real-world purpose.  The Silent Wife is one of the best mystery thriller that you will read this year or any year.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of crime thrillers and of Karin Slaughter will want to read The Silent Wife.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.karinslaughter.com/
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The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Book Review: ELEVATOR PITCH

ELEVATOR PITCH
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Linwood Barclay
ISBN: 978-0-06-267828-7; hardcover; 6 in x 9 in; (September 17, 2019)
464pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S.

Elevator Pitch is a 2019 novel written by Linwood Barclay, the author of such bestselling novels as No Time for Goodbye and Trust Your Eyes.  In Elevator Pitch, two veteran New York police detectives are trying to unravel the mystery of a strange and brutal murder, while a straight-shooting journalist attempts to discover why elevators in New York City are killing people, both of which may be the work of a notorious American terrorist group.

Elevator Pitch opens in New York City on a Monday when it all begins.  At the Lansing Tower on Third between Fifty-Ninth and Sixtieth, four people board an elevator in the Manhattan office tower, each pressing a button for their floor.  The elevator, however, is contrary and proceeds straight to the top floor... before plummeting non-stop right to the bottom of the elevator shaft.  Three of the passengers are killed and a fourth is mortally wounded.

One of the victims is a young woman named Paula Chatsworth.  Three years earlier, Paula had been an intern for the online publication, Manhattan Today, where Barbara Matheson reigns as the top columnist who has a reputation as a straight-shooter.  At first, Barbara's focus is on the tragic death of Paula and on her grieving parents, but then, Paula discovers that mysterious men in black SUVs don't want Paula's parents talking to the press.

Still, the elevator accident at Lansing seems like nothing more than a random tragedy, horrific though it is.  Then, on Tuesday, at the Sycamores Residences, below Sixty-Third, there is another elevator-related fatality.  This time, the incident seems to have a ghastly and macabre sense of humor about it.  When Wednesday brings more elevator death, this time at the Gormley Building on Seventh Avenue between Sixteenth and Seventeenth, New York City, America's capital of finance, entertainment, and media, falls into a state of fear and chaos.  NYC is a vertical city; it cannot function without elevators.  If this is an attempt to terrorize the city, who is behind it?

Meanwhile, Detective Jerry Bourque and his partner, Detective Lois Delgado, are investigating the homicide of a man whose body was found on the “High Line.”  His face was beaten in until it was unrecognizable, and his fingertips have all been removed.  A lucky break leads Bourque and Delgado to believe that their victim might be connected to the elevator sabotage, and the victim could somehow be connected to a domestic terrorist group, “the Flyovers,” that has been targeting cities along the coasts of America.

Are the incidents of elevator-sabotage, the High Line murder, and the Flyovers connected?  Working separately, Barbara Matheson and the team of Bourque and Delgado will have to answer all those questions... and son.  NYC's latest “big event” is a ribbon-cutting, on Thursday, for the city's newest, and tallest, residential tower, “Top of the Park.”  Practically, everyone who is anyone will be there.  So, it's the perfect time and place for terror, mayhem, and elevator mass murder.

THE LOWDOWN:  Inside the front cover flap of the book jacket, the cover copy declares that Elevator Pitch is “...an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach...”  This is a bit of expected salesmanship on the part of William Morrow's marketing division, but I would not call it an overstatement.

Psycho and Jaws are movies, and they were, relative to the time of their respective releases, big hits at the movie theater box office.  Both films were based on books – Psycho a 1959 novel of the same name and Jaws a 1974 novel of the same name – and both films have overshadowed, outlived, and out-shined the books that were their source material.

Elevator Pitch is only a novel, but if it were also a movie, a lot of people would be scared shitless of elevators after seeing it.  Yeah, they would still get on elevators, but some of them would start to think that being in an elevator is like being in a shower with a knife-wielding great white shark.  If a studio could make an Elevator Pitch movie that is as chilling as Elevator Pitch the novel is, movie audiences would have a brand new thrill ride to terrorize them into the summer.

Seriously, though, Elevator Pitch, which was released in hardcover in 2019 and in paperback earlier this year, is such a stone-cold killer of a novel because its author, Linwood Barclay, is an especially effective writer of suspense fiction and of thrillers.  When Barclay starts killing his characters on elevators, there comes a point when readers will believe that any part of the story that takes place even in the vicinity of an elevator will soon turn from character drama to character butchery.  I know that I started to feel a sense of dread every time the story moved into a building with an elevator.

Elevator Pitch even has a quote from Stephen King on the front of its book jacket, which says, “One hell of a suspense novel.”  That is certainly true, and Elevator Pitch is one of those suspense novels that won't let you stop turning the pages.  You can't stop, and you “can't hardly wait,” to get to the next page and to the next chapter.

A synopsis of Elevator Pitch really doesn't do justice to the entirety of the narrative.  There are a lot more characters than I mentioned above, and there are a few back stories and several sub-plots.  They all serve the story, and a few act as effective red herrings to keep the readers' imaginations on overdrive.  The only fault that I find with the novel is that I wish it had focused a little more on the personalities of a few of the characters, for instance, Detectives Bourque and Delgado.

That aside, Elevator Pitch is the perfect pot-boiler novel for any book season.  As long as there are elevators and other vertical transportation machines like that, Elevator Pitch will have a spot in our imaginations, in the places we like to be scared.  Elevator Pitch will be waiting for us... it's sliding doors always open.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Linwood Barclay and of suspense thrillers will want to read Elevator Pitch.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.linwoodbarclay.com/
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Book Review: THE CONTENDER: The Story of Marlon Brando

THE CONTENDER: THE STORY OF MARLON BRANDO
HARPERCOLLINS – @HarperCollins @HarperBooks

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: William J. Mann – @WilliamJMann
ISBN: 978-0-06-242764-9; hardcover (October 15, 2019)
736pp, B&W, $35.00 U.S.

Who is Marlon Brando?  Some would, will, and will always tell you that he was and is the greatest American film actor of all time.  Marlon Brando won two Academy Awards, for his performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954) and again for his performance as Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972).  His performance as Terry Malloy is considered the performance that changed film-acting in American motion pictures.

Marlon Brando the Hollywood legend was born Marlon Brando Jr. on April 3, 1924 to Dorothy Julia “Dodie” (Pennebaker) and Marlon Brando Sr. in Omaha, Nebraska.  He grew up in Libertyville, Illinois (where he met Wally Cox, an actor who would be a lifelong friend), and even attended a military school.  But who was Marlon Brando?

The award-winning film biographer, William J. Mann (Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn), presents a deeply-textured, ambitious, and definitive portrait of Marlon Brando.  The greatest movie actor of the twentieth century was also elusive, and Mann brings his extraordinarily complex life into view as never before in the biography, The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando.

The most influential movie actor of his era, Marlon Brando changed the way other actors perceived their craft.  His natural, honest, and deeply personal approach to acting resulted in performances, especially in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, that are considered to be without parallel.  Americans hailed Brando as the “American Hamlet.”  He was the Yank who surpassed Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, and Ralph Richardson, the holy trinity and the royalty of British stage and screen, as the standard of greatness in mid-twentieth century acting.

Brando’s impact on American culture, however, went beyond acting.  He was was also one of the first American movie stars to use his fame as a platform to address social, political, and moral issues, and he courageously and boldly called out the United States' deeply rooted, persistent racism.

The Contender illuminates this cultural icon for a new age, and Mann, its author, argues that Brando was not only a great actor, but also a cultural soothsayer.  Mann reveals that Brando was a Cassandra warning America about the challenges to come.  Brando’s admonitions against making financial gain the primary purpose of nearly every aspect of the nation's culture, and his criticisms that the news media's obsession with celebrity and other shallow and ultimately unimportant subjects were prescient.  Many public figures, from fellow Hollywood actors to politicians and media figures, criticized Brando's public protests against racial segregation and discrimination at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Yet less than half a century later, Brando's actions as an activist and an advocate have become the model many actors follow today.

In The Contender, William J. Mann shows the sides of Marlon Brando that many moviegoers never imagined him to have.  From his childhood traumas to the evolution of his professional life and the growing mess of his personal life, Marlon Brando is revealed anew.

THE LOWDOWN:  William J. Mann's biography of Marlon Brando is a story that runs over 600 pages.  That is not counting the section entitled “Marlon Brando Stage and Television Credits;” a two-page “Sources” section; and a 60-page “Notes” section.  Mann's The Contender is not only “psychologically astute” as the book's press materials state; it is also painstakingly and masterfully researched.  Mann's research is based on new material, previously revealed material, and interviews with the people who knew Marlon Brando, some of whom died during the time Mann worked on this book.

Mann's book is not a Hollywood tell-all, nor is it a celebratory festival of Brando's work.  The Contender explores the man that Brando was, and being a ground-breaking, celebrated, and revered actor was only part of the man.  To that end, The Contender and its author told me things that I did not know about Brando.  I did not know that he was “sexually fluid,” having sexual relationships with both men and women.  I did not know that he was a hopeless philanderer and womanizer; Brando cheated on every woman he dated or was married to – often with multiple women.

I did not know that Brando did not consider acting to be something important.  He certainly had a fidelity to his vocation, as seen in his numerous performances on film, but he did not take the profession seriously.  He did not tolerate people whom he believed took acting too seriously.

I had no idea that Brando supported human rights causes for African-Americans and supported the Civil Rights movement, both financially and in person, up to the time of his death.  He participated in numerous marches, including some in the American south.  Brando was also a participant in the 1963 “March on Washington.”  Brando was also a vocal and tireless advocate for Native Americans, which including him declining his best actor Oscar for The Godfather at the 45th Academy Awards on March 27, 1973 in protest of the way the U.S. had treated American Indians.

It is not so much that Mann tells Brando's story in vivid detail, which he does.  It is also that Mann uses his prose to transport readers back to the times and places of many key moments in Brando's life.  Mann puts us there, right next to his subject, and the result is the story that makes you think and feel the man, his life, and his times.  This is a big book for a monumental figure in American culture.  The Contender is a dazzling biography, the kind befitting our nation's greatest actor.

It took me forever to read this biography – seven months.  By the time, I finished, however, I wished there were more.  The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando is for all time the biography for Marlon Brando fans and admirers, present and future.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans and students of Hollywood films and of Marlon Brando will want to read The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando.

[The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando includes sixteen pages of photographs.]

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://williamjmann.com/
https://twitter.com/WilliamJMann

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Instagram: @HarperBooks


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Book Review: THE THIRD DAUGHTER

THE THIRD DAUGHTER
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow – @HarperCollins @WmMorrowBks

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Talia Carner
ISBN: 978-0-06-289688-9; paperback; 5.31 in x 8.00 in (September 3, 2019)
432pp, B&W, $16.99 U.S., $21.00 CAN

The Third Daughter is a 2019 historical novel from author Talia Carner (Jerusalem Maiden).  The novel illuminates a little-known piece of history – the sex trafficking of teen girls and young women kidnapped from Russia and sent to South America in the late 19th century.  The Third Daughter recounts this story via the fictional story of a fourteen-year-old year Jewish girl whose family is sold a fairy tale, the first of many lies that enslaves a girl into prostitution.

The Third Daughter opens in Russia, 1889.  Fourteen-year-old Batya and her family:  her father, Koppel; her mother, Zelda; and her youngest sister, Surale, have been exiled from their home in the Russian village of Komarinoe.  As Jews, Batya and her family have just suffered the latest round in the centuries-old Russian pogroms, and this one has found Batya and her family thrown from their home and land.  Batya is the third daughter of four, and as the elder daughter still living at home, she is determined to do everything she can to help her family.  At the same time, she prays to God for a miracle, perhaps a wealthy man who will come and take her away from all her suffering.

Fate brings a wealthy man who arrives by carriage to rescue Batya and her family from the hard traveling of the road.  This apparently, worldly, wealthy stranger is Yitzik Moskowitz, called “Reb” Moskowitz, by the Russian Jews who know him.  Reb makes a generous financial offer to Koppel for a chance to marry Batya, and her father leaps at the opportunity to give his third daughter to a man who can guarantee her an easy life and passage to America, as Reb claims he can do.

Batya feels like a princess in a fairy tale as she leaves her old, impoverished life behind.  But that all soon turns into a waking nightmare.  Her new “husband” does indeed take her to America – South America!  Batya is kidnapped to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a vibrant, colorful, growing city... where prostitution is not only legal, but is also deeply embedded in the culture of the city.

Reb Moskowitz turns out to be a pimp, an influential pimp in an organization of pimps known as “Zwi Migdal.”  And Batya is one of the thousands of girls and young women from Eastern Europe who are tricked and sold to the brothels of Buenos Aires.  Over the next five years, Batya takes on the identity of an alluring older woman named “Esperanza,” and uses her body to bring sexual pleasure to hundreds of men.  When an opportunity to bring down Zwi Migdal arises, however, Batya takes it, but will saving herself mean abandoning her family that is still suffering the antisemitism of Russia?

THE LOWDOWN:  I was totally unaware of that little-known piece of history that chronicles the sex trafficking of young women from Russia to South America from the late 19th century and into the 20th century.  It turns out that the modern scourge of sex trafficking is not something new.  Girls and women have been trafficked into sex slavery long before the Internet made it easier and more wide spread and perhaps, more underground.

I began reading The Third Daughter during the high heat of the summer, and this historical novel is a true summer potboiler.  It is as much a thriller and perhaps, as much a horror novel as it is a historical novel filled with the details of Jewish religious life.  Author Talia Carner's historical detail and evocative prose will force many readers to tear through the book, always trying to find out what happens next.  Will Batya finally find a man to rescue her?  Or will she finally end up getting killed by her madam or pimp... if they find out that she is involved in a conspiracy against them?

Carner's vivid prose brings late 19th century Buenos Aires to life, but her best writing is in her character work on Batya.  Carner makes her readers feel what Batya feels – the highs and lows, the sorrow and the despair, the fear and the bravery, and ultimately, the determination.  By the end of The Third Daughter, Carner will make sure that you don't want to leave Batya.  The third daughter is the heroine and inspiration of this heartbreaking, wonderful, and redemptive novel, The Third Daughter.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers interested in historical fiction, especially related to Jewish history, will want to read author Talia Carner's novel, The Third Daughter.

8 out 10

This book contains the following:
An “Acknowledgments”
A glossary of Yiddish, Hebrew, Latin, Polish, Russian, and Russian terms
“Meet Talia Carner”
“Buenos Aires, 1996,” which details the 1994 bombing of “Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina” building
“The Historical Background of The Third Daughter”
“Ezrat Nashim Poster”
a “Reading Group Guide”

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/WmMorrowBooks
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The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.


--------------------------

Book Review: SURRENDER, WHITE PEOPLE!

SURRENDER, WHITE PEOPLE!: OUR UNCONDITIONAL TERMS FOR PEACE
WILLIAM MORROW/HarperCollins

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHORS: D.L. Hughley and Doug Moe
ISBN: 978-0-06-295370-4; hardback; 5.5 x 7.25 (June 30, 2020)
256pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S., $34.99 CAN

Surrender, White People!: Our Unconditional Terms for Peace is a 2020 non-fiction, humor, and social commentary book written by D.L Hughley and Doug Moe.  Hughley is an actor, comedian, and longtime social activist, and Moe is a writer and an actor and performer associated with the “Upright Citizens Brigade.”

Surrender, White People!: Our Unconditional Terms for Peace works under the premise that America is about to become a majority-minority nation, and Hughley has a warning for White people.  White people are not only going to be a minority themselves, but they are also going to face a reckoning.  It is time for White people to sue for peace, and have some fun while D.L. holds them for accountable and lays out the details.  Have a laugh and Surrender, White People!

Hughley says that in a browner America black and brown people are not going to take a backseat anymore.  Thus, it is time for White people to surrender their unjust privileges; face their history, put aside all their visions of superiority, and open up their institutions so they benefit everyone in this nation.

Luckily for America... and for White people, D.L. has a plan.  If White people go along with it, the might actually get Black people (finally!) to stop talking about oppression, discrimination, and their place in America

THE LOWDOWN:  I have never read any of D.L. Hughley's books, including How Not to Get Shot, but after reading Surrender, White People!, I feel that I need to do so.  I am a longtime fan of Hughley's stand-up comedy and especially of his political and social commentary. He is one of the sharpest and most honest commentators on race relations, race awareness.  He is especially good speaking and writing on the inequalities in the United States and of the historic and systemic oppression of African slaves and their descendants at the hands of White people in America.

The premise of Surrender, White People! is that we need a peace treaty between Black folks and White people.  However, D.L. says there can only be peace and reconciliation if White people give up their “White privileges” and renounce “White supremacy.”

D.L.'s treaty is a kind of new constitution that has a preamble and six articles.  Hughley and Moe fill the articles with facts, history, and examples of why each article is necessary.  There is triple truth, Ruth, and genuine, even uproarious humor.  Laughs aside, the first two articles, “White People Shall Consider Reparations” and “History Books Shall Be Aligned,” unleash a savage broadside on White privilege and on the history of the United States of America... which is essentially a White (washed) story.

It would be too easy to say that Surrender, White People! is the perfect book for our troubled times.  The truth is that the time is always right for what D.L. Hughley has to say about racism in America.  Surrender, White People! is an opportunity to laugh, to learn, and to move us a little closer to real, substantial change.

But considering what has happened in the year 2020, we will need more books from D.L. Hughley and Doug Moe... and probably some amendments to this peace treaty.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of D.L. Hughley cannot and must not miss Surrender, White People!: Our Unconditional Terms for Peace.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/WmMorrowBooks
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamMorrowBooks
https://twitter.com/HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.


------------------------------------------

#IReadsYou Book Review: ON THE CORNER OF HOPE AND MAIN

ON THE CORNER OF HOPE AND MAIN (A Blessings Novel)
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Beverly Jenkins – @authorMsBev
ISBN: 978-0-06-269928-2; paperback (March 3, 2020)
304pp, B&W, $15.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN

[On the Corner of Hope and Main is available in a trade paperback edition and a “hardcover library edition.”  This review is of the paperback.]

On the Corner of Hope and Main is a new novel from bestselling author, Beverly Jenkins.  This is the tenth novel in Jenkins' “Blessings” series (following 2018's Second Time Sweeter).  Set in the fictional small town of Henry Adams, Kansas, the book follows the lives of its citizens who never know a dull moment in their historic little town.  On the Corner of Hope and Main finds Henry Adams caught up in a mayoral election, while a former trickster returns with new tricks.

On the Corner of Hope and Main opens with Trent July, mayor of Henry Adams for the past four years, ready to stop being mayor, so it's time for a new mayoral election!  Right from the beginning, two slightly unsavory candidates throw their hats into the ring, including the town's perennial pariah, Riley Curry.  Barrett Payne, a former Marine who directs the town's security infrastructure, decides he wants the job.  When a surprise candidate also enters the ring, however, Barrett is shocked, offended, and thrown for that proverbial old loop that shakes him down to the core of his being.

While the town has opinions on who would be the best candidate, Leo Brown, the ex-husband of Henry Adams' owner and savior, Bernadine Brown, is back in town... with a new scheme.  He hopes to make inroads with his new employer, Mega Seed; gain some closure with his former employer, Salem Oil; and get a measure of revenge against his ex.

The election and Leo Brown's schemes are not the only drama in town.  Malachi “Mal” July continues to make reparations for the damage he has caused and to the people he has betrayed, but his biggest reclamation project will be restoring some kind of relationship with the love of his life, Bernadine.  Is she finally ready to forgive him and let the past go?  It will be a blessing if she does.

THE LOWDOWN:  I had heard of author Beverly Jenkins, but had never read her work until I read her 2016 novel, Stepping to a New Day (the seventh “Blessings” novel).  I immediately fell in love with the characters and with the town of Henry Adams, the kind of small town that Norman Rockwell or Walt Disney could have loved.  Unlike a Disney small town idyll, however, Henry Adams has a diverse, but predominately African-American population and was founded by freed slaves.

On the Corner of Hope and Main is the fifth Blessings novel that I have read.  I've read the previous three novels, and last year, I went back and read the first book in the series, Bring on the Blessings.  Although On the Corner of Hope and Main has a few dark moments, it is radiant, hopeful, and positive, a sharp contrast to 2018's Second Time Sweeter, which I found to be a very dark, but hugely enjoyable read.  I think the new novel also encapsulates author Beverly Jenkins' theme of “blessings.”

Jenkins' characters in this series can work toward, gain, and find blessings if they deal honestly with other people and especially with themselves.  In the “Blessings” series, a blessing isn't just getting some material satisfaction, nor is it always manifested physically.  A blessing can be spiritual and mental, or it can be a personal enrichment that comes indirectly to a character when his or her family, friends, co-workers, etc. directly get a blessing.

Invariably, characters who embrace wickedness and selfishness and those who trade in hubris win curses instead of blessings, sometimes with devastating, even tragic consequences.  When one cannot love others as one loves oneself, what seems like a blessing will eventually turn out to be a disaster... or even a curse.

The struggle between getting what you want with good intentions and getting what you want at the expense of others is a winning formula for storytelling.  That is because the struggle is played out by the vibrant characters that Beverly Jenkins creates.  The good, the naughty, and the just-plain-bad are the kind of great characters that everyone says a successful novel needs.  There are no duplicate characters in Jenkins' “Blessings” novels.  Each character is unique, and no matter where he or she measures on the hero-villain or protagonist-antagonist scale, you will love reading about that character even when you can't exactly love the character.  These characters have literary depth and weight because Jenkins has fitted them (each and every one) with wants, needs, fears, and motivations.

On the Corner of Hope and Main exemplifies that.  I wanted to know more about what was happening in the lives of every character and player, even the ones that only appeared in a scene or two.  There may be no better small town in modern fiction than Henry Adams, Kansas.  If you need a good book to get you through this crazy time, you will find it On the Corner of Hope and Main.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Beverly Jenkins and of stories set in wonderful small towns will want On the Corner of Hope and Main.

10 out of 10

The paperback edition of On the Corner of Hope and Main contains the following William Morrow “P.S. Insights, Interviews & More...” extras:

1. About the author:  “Meet Beverly Jenkins”

2. About the book:  “Author's Note” and “Book Club Discussion”

https://twitter.com/WmMorrowBooks
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamMorrowBooks
https://twitter.com/HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com/


Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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Book Review: "88 Names"

88 NAMES
HARPERCOLLINS/Harper – @HarperCollins

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Matt Ruff – @bymattruff
ISBN: 978-0-06-285467-4; hardcover (March 17, 2020)
320pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S.

88 Names is a 2020 comedy, science fiction, and mystery novel from award-winning novelist, Matt Ruff (Lovecraft Country).  88 Names is an immersive virtual reality story, part cyber-mystery-thriller and part near-future speculation, set in a world in which identities can be worn and changed like clothing and things are not necessarily what they appear to be.

The lead character of 88 Names is John Chu, a “sherpa.”  As a “sherpa,” John is paid to guide players into the world of “massive multiplayer online role-playing games or “MMORPGs.”  The difference is that this online world is not the version we know today in the real world, but is instead a near-future, advanced VR (virtual-reality) version of online gaming.

The game in which John is most likely to guide players is the popular “Call to Wizardry.”  For a fee, John and his crew:  Jolene, Ray, and Anya, will provide players with a top-flight character, equipped with the best weapons and armor.  They will take players dragon-slaying in the “Realms of Asgarth,” hunting rogue starships in the Alpha Sector, or battling hordes of undead in a zombie apocalypse.

Chu’s newest client is the pseudonymous “Mr. Jones,” who claims to be a “wealthy, famous person” with powerful enemies.  Mr. Jones is offering John a ridiculous amount of money for a comprehensive tour of the world of MMORPGS because they “may have applications beyond the realm of mere entertainment” and such applications are “relevant” to Mr. Jones' profession... or so he says.

For John, this is a dream assignment, mainly because of the money.  As Mr. Jones' tour of online gaming gets underway, John begins to suspect that “Mr. Jones” is really North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un.  John also has to worry about “Ms. Pang,” an interloper in John's contract with Mr. Jones, and she may or may not be an agent of the People’s Republic of China.  As John's whirlwind online adventure with Mr. Jones eventually spills over into the real world, he must be more savvy than he has ever been.  Lives are at stake, and unlike the gaming world, the real world does not have a reset button.

THE LOWDOWN:  Matt Ruff's 2016 novel, Lovecraft Country, is one of my all-time favorite books.  Not only is it a brilliant fantasy novel, but it so captures the existential threat that America often is to African-Americans that one might assume that Matt Ruff is an African-American writer.  He is not, but that did not stop readers from being enthralled by Ruff and the “black magic” he weaved in that amazing great American novel.

While I was reading 88 Names, I found that it had elements that reminded me of a number of works of fiction that dealt with altered realities and VR.  That includes author William Gibson's landmark 1984 novel, Neuromancer; Christopher Nolan's 2010 film, Inception; Douglas Trumbull's 1983 film, Brainstorm; Alfred Bester's 1953 novel, The Demolished Man; David Cronenberg's 1999 film, eXistenZ; and maybe the film, Tron (1982).

I don't know if there is anything new or interesting about virtual-reality / VR that Ruff introduces in 88 Names.  I don't engage enough VR fiction to know.  In fact, the identity of the villain behind the machinations of “Mr. Jones” is pretty obvious early one, if for no other reason than the fact that John Chu suspects this person from the very beginning.

Thus, the fun I found in reading 88 Names came from John Chu.  Like the best novelists, Ruff has a gift for creating superb lead characters that grab the reader's interest.  Chu “takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin,” and, as I see it, he is open to the myriad possibilities of both the world real and VR, even if he can be occasionally clueless.  John is a guy I could follow from one novel to the next.  This novel's title, “88 Names,” apparently comes from the number of online identities that John has created, so he could be someone else in one of Ruff's upcoming novels, if he hasn't already appeared in an earlier Ruffian work of fiction.

Truthfully, I think that the audience for 88 Names is limited to two groups of people.  First are those readers interested in stories about living and playing in VR worlds.  The second group is composed of people who either are already fans of Matt Ruff or are just discovering him.  I fall in the latter category, and although I don't think 88 Names is a great novel, I will unashamedly recommend it to those readers looking for authors who aggressively demand a lot of their readers' imaginations.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for works by visionary authors will want 88 Names.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

http://www.bymattruff.com/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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