A short review of RAVEN GIRL by Audrey Niffenegger

I must admit, when I was first given a copy of this book by a friend, I was coming into it only knowing Niffenegger by the reputation of her novels, which I had not read, and by the film adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife, which I had seen several times as my wife is quite fond of it. But I recall hearing that she was not pleased with the film adaptation. I'll have to go back and read the novel to see what that was all about.

The book is beautiful, and also kind of sad. It is quite minimal in that the text is sparse and the images are used sparingly. It is tragic and also filled with possibility. It is a love story.

It begins with that of a postman wandering off the trail of his normal route, and finding a raven that he takes home. They fall in love and have a child, a hybrid, part girl, part raven. She feels lost, somehow not complete, and her story is a search for the part of herself that feels trapped inside her human frame.

The book is designed more as an illustrated short story, or fairy tale in this case, with pages of text, full pages of art, and other pages where there is text and art on the same page. Niffenegger's drawings are creepy and reminiscent of Tony Millionaire in her line work.

The packaging is beautiful, as Abrams books often are. The only sore sight for me is the back cover, blank except for an image of a crow at the bottom, it felt a bit like that space could have been used for a bit of descriptive text or at least a larger illustration. But that is just the book seller in me talking. Otherwise the design and packaging was superb. And I really thought it was an odd but cool book.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey... is coming today.

Today is the release date of Putnam's The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. I've been fortunate enough to receive an early review copy, being a Penguin employee, and am almost finished with the post-apocalyptic novel...so there will be no spoilers from me. Plus in full disclosure I wanted to mention I work for the same company that publishes this book although I was in no way asked to write this post, I simply really like the book and felt it worth mentioning on my own, personal blog.

I will say, the novel is a thrilling and imaginative read about an attack that comes to Earth in a series of earth-shattering debilitating waves. And as the reader learns about each wave, we follow Cassie, and a few other survivors as they attempt to navigate the dangerous landscape and stay alive.

I've also managed to secure a hardcover edition, hot off the presses, to give away to one Bookrastination reader, if you're the first to answer this question, inspired by one of the best post-apocalyptic novels I've ever read: What is the item in a felt-lined box that the father finds when he swims out to the abandoned ship in The Road? 

I'll contact you via comments section if you're the winner and I'll be happy to send you the hardcover copy once we exchange mailing details.

Good luck and get out there and support this new and exciting book!

Worth mentioning: A great review of the SKL 2013 Desk Calendar

I had to write a quick post about this terrific review of the STEPHEN KING LIBRARY DESK CALENDAR 2013 that I edited and co-wrote with a terrific cast of contributors including authors, editors, and King enthusiasts.

Check out the review here.

David, over at his Talk Stephen King site, really got what we try to do at the calendar every year, and that is to put together a great collection of: trivia, essays, musings, etc., all related to the master himself, Stephen King, and his wonderful body of work. Thanks David, I'm humbled by your words. And thanks for the shout-out about the trivia, which my amazing wife, Fotini, puts together, every year, outdoing herself.
 
"I celebrate the guy's entire catalog."


In his review, he discussed some of his favorite essays by the likes of Peter V. Brett, Robin Furth and King expert Brian James Freeman--who wrote a special extended piece about putting together a special 25th Anniversary Limited Edition of IT. 

I have a ball putting this calendar together each year, coming up with a theme, contacting contributors to write, working with the art director to come up with the creative design, and finding a few new contributors each year. 

This calendar is developed exclusively for members of The Stephen King Library, Book-of-the-Month and the related book clubs. Check out the SKL here, http://www.stephenkinglibrary.com/ or here: http://www.bomcclub.com/

Now that I got all of that out, I can get back to watching the 12.12.12 concert, then do some reading later on. I'm just a book guy, but a New Yorker too, so if you can support Sandy Relief in any way, please do. 

Back to my hobbit hole...

Review of BALLS by Julian Tepper

I sit at the keyboard this morning, having just completed reading Balls on the D train on my way down to West 4^th Street, and I imagine the keys of a piano in front of me. Melancholy might be the first word that comes to mind when I think about this novel, but also well crafted, like a song its protagonist Henry Schiller is always trying to create. That perfect New York song… the one that will define him.

What else defines him in this novel?

Well, the women he dates, or sleeps with more accurately, as even though there is one flame in his heart, there are many women in his life both past and present that he talks about in great detail. Constantly falling in and out of relationships, most tragically as it often happens, love is something he struggles with, especially with his young and talented girlfriend, Paula.

Manhattan is another large piece of his identity. Although Henry lives in Tudor City, near the UN, and plays piano in a bar nearby, he travels around the picturesque city via cab and on foot, wandering, looking for himself in bars, nightclubs, the bottom of a glass, or more specifically at the piano. He is always seeking out therapy through manipulating the keys and loosing himself trying to write a song.

Lastly, there is the cancer. He is told he has testicular cancer and struggles dealing with the reality of this serious diagnosis. His life takes sudden twists and turns all encompassed by this threat to his very existence. Can he find the love, the support, or the perfect song to guide him through, to make everything alright?

It is a strange trip, but one worth going on. Take this trip if you’re looking for a New York story, or the story of a young man struggling to find his way or if you’re looking simply enjoy the lyrical craft of Tepper’s writing. I saw this talented writer read aloud a sample of this novel at the Brooklyn Book Festival last month, and it was well worth tracking down.

All of it… well played.

DRIVEN by James Sallis -- a book review

Will they ever stop coming for him? 

That is the question on your mind as you start reading Driven, the follow up to author James Sallis' hit book, Drive, which was adapted into the acclaimed film of the same name in 2011 starring Ryan Gosling.

Sallis writes novels as I imagined an L.A.-based writer would. Reads like a screenplay, and at fewer than one hundred pages, it’s ready to be adapted. 

Reads tight—like a Helmet song, his text is tightly woven around a few repetitive chords, except the one-two punch of Sallis' novel comes in the form of the two-man teams continually sent to find the nameless Driver and take him down, a drifter who has caused too much trouble to let him walk away. The problem of course is that he’s always a step ahead keeps easily outclassing the goons. He needs answers before his luck runs out.

Hiding away under the hood of a car he’s rebuilding in an out of the way garage will only get Driver so far, and he has to decide who to befriend and who to trust as it becomes quite clear that anyone who gets in his path is in danger.

Simply, a fast-paced story about a loner trying to survive, turn the corner and start a new life. All that was missing was the white, bloodstained, scorpion-emblazoned jacket from the film that that he wore throughout no matter how nasty things went down. That was cool.

Editorial note:

This is the same review I put up on goodreads. Note that I did not give it a starred rating on goodreads as I think that star system is flawed (and I'm not likely to give star ratings going forward, still mulling over this). I think it's more important for people to read what others have to say about a book than judge by stars only. This is my own personal opinion. Thank you.

2nd editorial note: 

I thought it worth mentioning that I bought this digitally and read it in iBooks on the ipad. I was not given this book to review, I paid for it the regular way. I think format is important and it was worth mentioning. I'm currently reading a print hardcover book (or 3). Good day~

Review: THE BORROWER by Rebecca Makkai

How to write a quick & quirky review of The Borrower:

1. Say that reading this book is like going on an adventure.

2. Actually go on an adventure, where you take the path less traveled

3. Eat a lot of junk food along the way, but remember to keep hydrated.

4. Observe all that you see on this journey. Take notes & definitely keep receipts (you may need them later on).

5. Find a charming, well-read, but potentially troubled young boy and pledge to look out for his well-being.

6. Get in way over your head.

7. While on this journey, question everything, every bad decision ever made, your chosen life path, and exactly how you wound up where you are today.

8. Mention that the author, Rebecca Makkai, is a charmingly witty and engaging writer. Say how you were pleasantly surprised at how much you liked this book (she drops literary classics allusions like Tarantino references pulp films).

9. End by saying that you were given a copy of this book at work, that is if you work at DK Publishing, part of the Penguin Group, like I do.

10. Make friends with a Russian.

A Trip Back To The Cold War Era--My Review of THE COLDEST CITY

Here’s my report / review of THE COLDEST CITY, a graphic novel, written by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Sam Hart, published in May 2012 by Oni Press. 

The perpetrators:

Intel etched out on cocktail napkins [words]: Antony Johnston. Visual field scratching [images]: Sam Hart

Disclosure Notice: A sample of the sleek unjacketed hardcover provided by Oni Press [thank you]  

The story: Within Berlin, with the Wall about to crumble, KGB factions are at work deciphering all the spies within the city. Deep undercover agents have informed MI6 that an agent was killed over a very important document--a list of every agent working in Berlin. An agent is sent in to pick up the pieces and find the list.

Sitrep: a classy British agent--Lorraine Broughton--is sent into ice cold Berlin in the late 1980s to find out what happened to a missing file an agent reported to have, a list of all the agents in Berlin was possibly heading to the black market. Bad news as

Communism is starting to come undone and agents, double-agents and defectors are all trying to figure out where they fit into the regime change. When the spy war ends, what is a keeper of secrets to do? And does one ever settle down in the quiet life? Not likely.

Interviews: Interspersed with scenes of the actual events are interviews with a surviving agent, trying to piece together just what happened, and what the "f" went wrong. Because as is usual in the spy game, not everything--or everyone--is as it seems.

Visuals: The artistic stylings are "clean and neat" in their retelling of the story. Each panel is inquisitively cool and subtle in depicting expressions as the dialogue is delivered. All of it must be deciphered as if it's being read through an Enigma machine, really bringing the Cold War era to life.

Conclusion: Bravo to the efforts of scribe Antony Johnston (writer of hit comics: Wasteland, Queen & Country: Declassified and Daredevil--not to mention his Wolverine manga book, reviewed on this blog) and his collaborator, Sam Hart (illustrator on Judge Dredd and Excalibur: The Legend of King Arthur) and Oni Press for publishing a cold war spy story, set in stark black & white in an impressive unjacketed hardcover graphic novel format.

I would be interested in reading more adventures about this cunning and crafty cold war spy.