A Word About Awards

THE BAD SEED by William March Nomination: National Book Finalist 1955 Date Read: October 25, 2019 The Bad Seed was much better than I had anticipated, having formed the opinion that it was a bestselling thriller, not compelling literature. March uses this novel as a vehicle to understand the inherent nature of violence, the "Bad Seed" that resides in all of us, obviously more prevalent in some than in others. I found the debate about the genetic predisposition towards violence an interesting construct as well. Rhoda is clearly a sociopath. Her mother, Christine, learns that she is the daughter of a notorious killer who was eventually put to death in the electric chair, having killed numerous people. She believes that she passed on this "seed" to her daughter and, therefore, she is to blame for the people her daughter has killed. I initially rejected this notion, however, mental illness, such as Antisocial Personality Disorder, are genetic traits that can

C by Tom McCarthy Nomination: Booker Finalist 2010 Date Read: October 21, 2019 C is such an odd book. Parts are intriguing and engaging, but most of it is agonizingly boring. While I've never read McCarthy before, I cannot dispute his talent but this book seemed entirely pointless and Serge a character that I hope to never meet again. The life he lives is adventurous and takes some interesting turns, yet I never found myself engaged with his life. Serge is a precocious child, always trying to measure up to his sister Sophie, who clearly shines in early abilities with chemistry. While Sophie's life takes a tragic turn, Serge lives a life of relative adventure from England to the German front to Egyptian ruins, he never quite seems to become self-aware.  His life experience allows him trying on different miens of being such as cocaine and heroin and various types of women. Through all this, what was starkly lacking was any sort of inner life or paradigm with which to

TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi Nomination: National Book Winner 2019 Date Read: October 19, 2019 Trust Exercise brilliantly describes being trapped in that adolescent nightmare of trying to determine who you are, what your values are and where you fit in the world. The varyingly talented kids who attend a prestigious performing arts school are all struggling for definition against ever-raging hormones and all-consuming deep feelings. Karen finds herself ostracized for what others perceive to be her "slutiness," combined with outing Manuel to his parents and her own perceived sense of persecution. Choi's writing here is excellent, however, the plot, even after she flipped the script in the second half of the novel, left me just hollowed out. These teens experience all the same drama as most, in conflict with one another, peers, their parents and their teachers. Of course, these being drama students, their conflicts are extra dramatic.  The subject matter just didn

CLOUD ATLAS by David Mitchell Nominations: Booker Finalist 2004, Dublin Longlist 2006, James Tait Black Finalist 2004, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2004 Date Read: October 13, 2019 Cloud Atlas is an interesting attempt at displaying the various aspects of human nature. As each story progresses, we see the same soul progressing through different lives and how the circumstances of those lives shape the soul's response. From Adam Ewing the explorer, to Robert Frobisher the ne'er-do-well composer, to Luisa Rey the ambitious news reporter, to Timothy Cavendish the entrapped publisher, to Sonmi the enslaved fabricant, and finally, to Zachary the post-apocalyptic villager of Hawaii. Each of these characters wrestle with the truth of their times and the striving for justice in impossible circumstances. Mitchell has claimed that all but one of these characters has been reincarnated as the same soul. If I had to argue which would have been omitted, I would have to say

THE LUMINARIES by Eleanor Catton Award: Booker Winner 2013 Nomination: Dublin Longlist 2015, Women's Prize Longlist 2014 Date Read: October 10, 2019 I am currently also reading Cloud Atlas and the first chapter is eerily similar to The Luminaries. Set in the New Zealand gold rush, each character is uniquely drafted based upon a sign of the Zodiac or heavenly bodies in the solar system. This practically translates to a cast of characters that are not only interdependent but interrelated as a sorted story begins to unfold, centering on the death of one Crosbie Wells. While I embarrassingly feel this novel just went on and on, I can't help but marvel at how Catton told such an intricate story with such depth of character. My wonder, however, started to dwindle around page 600. With all the trappings of a great mystery - tainted opium, secret letters, long-lost siblings, adultery, murder, gold with unknown origins, a half-burned bequest - I felt this novel dragged on lon