2025 #34: Liars (Manguso)

 

Liars by Sarah Manguso
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think this book is going to land differently depending on the personal experiences of readers. While that's true of any book, I had a really hard time relating to the relentless onslaught of the narrative. I felt like I was a therapist, and I was simply reading a transcript of sessions of a woman in an unhappy marriage. That said, I did appreciate that the post-divorce narrative didn't go the way of the cliché, I suppose. As a child of divorced parents, it did make me think a bit, but mostly the book just tired me out. I needed more shape and direction.

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2024 #6: Aleph (Coelho)

 

Aleph by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So, the back of the book says fiction. The blurb says it is Coelho's most "personal novel to date." Given that it is written like a travel memoir (of sorts), we are left wondering just how "personal" it is. The main character *is* Paulo, the author, and after receiving his "call to adventure" (monomyth), he embarks on a journey that is not nearly as mystical as it is annoying and disturbing. The character of Hilal, a violinist, injects herself into Paulo's travel coterie, and is so inconsistently written that we don't feel as sorry for her as we should. She is exploited by Paulo, with whom she shares a past mystical connection. The relationship is textbook dysfunctional -- there is some sort of weird paternalistic vibe, she's starstruck, but then she's throwing things at him and he's getting naked. I'm well aware that there's a whole "let's get naked and spiritual together" crowd, so maybe this book is for them.

There are the typical Coelho takeaways (occasionally): "Although sometimes...we need to be strangers to ourselves. Then the hidden light in our souls will illuminate what we need to see." (40) See also insights such as: "I know a lot of people who feel they have an identity only when they're talking about their problems. That way, they exist, because their problems are linked to what they judge to be "their history." (116). While I agree, there is just a dust of pretension covering most of the book. The hero is perhaps redeemed, perhaps not--by the end of the book I just wanted it to end. As someone who has enjoyed many of Coelho's books, this one left me uncomfortable and not interested in any other volumes like this.

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2022 #16: The Accidental Alchemist (Pandian)

 

The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"It was a good thing I added extra chia seeds and cocoa powder to my smoothie that day."

If you enjoy being proselytized to about veganism, this is definitely the book for you. The above quote is a representative microcosm of why this book is getting a less-than-stellar review from me. Although the blurb on the author's website says "recipes included" (assuming that's the print version?) there is nothing to explain (or warn us about) the obsession with incorporating plant-based diets into this story. And I have NO ISSUE with a plant-based diet. Had this incorporated omnivorous or carnivorous diets in the same way, it would still be incredibly irritating.

I note the several one-star reviews that decry the same feature. I felt one star was a bit harsh because there are some aspects that have/had tremendous potential. Zoe Faust, the protagonist, is not overly interesting as voiced in the audiobook, but her story is. The story is steeped in historical trivia both local and global, with references to magician/illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805 - 1871), the Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, OR, the Salem (MA) witch trials and the history of alchemy. Sometimes, like the chia seed and non-stop vegan food references, these historical nods seem too forced, as if the author is trying to prove she's done her research. By far the best part of the book is the character of the epicurean Dorian Robert-Houdin, about whom I shall say not much so as not to spoil it. But Dorian is a wonderful character, befitting the genre, and Julia Motyka does a great job bringing the French character to life. It is Dorian who should be the star of the show here and for whom I had the most empathy.

Zoe's backstory could be more interesting, but it is all related through Zoe's voice and largely disconnected from the plot. The character of Max starts as a rather sterile love interest and instantaneously turns into Fabio in one scene, which I found overwritten and out of left field. The "small-town" aspects of Portland are heavily amplified (although I find myself grateful that it is not the clichéd small town in New England, for once), but this serves the Cabot-Cove - cozy-mystery type plot.

I did listen to the free preview of the next book in the series (the Masquerading Magician), and I was relieved that the first chapter seems to be free of vegan food references. That said, I'm not sure there was enough to hold my interest for me to give the series a second chance.

The author is clearly talented and well-steeped in research, which I applaud. That Zoe Faust would be vegan and that it is connected to her health as a former alchemist is fine and makes total sense. But the book would be more aptly called the Intentional Vegan given how frequently the reader is forced to hear/read the ingredients of everything consumed in the protagonist's daily existence. It is actually a really creative idea for a cookbook, to be fair--but then it should be marketed and designed as such.

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2022 #6: Emily Dickinson is Dead - Audiobook (Langton)

 

Emily Dickinson Is Dead by Jane Langton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oofdah.
Let me start with this: I love Jane Langton's Homer Kelly mysteries--this is certainly not my first one. This was my first time listening to one on audiobook, which I'll address in a bit. The book itself was written in 1984, and that may explain the archaic use of the word "oriental" and it might even explain (not excuse) the sort of stereotypical portrayal of Winnie Gaw as the fat girl who eats her feelings. A stereotype would be annoying, but it is the utter and inexplicable fixation on fat-shaming as a source of humor that is really obnoxious here. Langton relies on a certain amount of parody in general, and there are the usual suspects: all variety of academics--the bumbling, the pompous, the sketchy--, and then there is the ingenue (of sorts) in Allison. Presumably Langton was going for some sort of overblown contrast between the two characters, but it does not land well. Really, it is to the point of distraction. In reading other reviews, I know it isn't just because I was listening to it on audiobook.

It is a real shame because there are several other elements of Langton's wonderful mystery at play--the tangled web of surprise connections, the subtler humor (e.g. Homer Kelly's "gourmet" meals for Owen Kraznik), and of course the historical/New England connections and peppering of Dickinson's poetry. The audio book, if I had to guess, was also recorded for "Books on Tape" back in the day (and I was alive then, so I'm not making assumptions about the 80s), so presumably folks might have found Derek Perkins' fake Japanese accent less offensive. Aside from that, however, Perkins reads the book well, subtly imbuing most characters with individual personas, but not to the point of farce.

Did I like aspects of the book? Absolutely--it has the cozy mystery aspect that I was looking for, but the misogynistic bigotry made it a sour read, sadly.

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