GROUCHO MARX, SECRET AGENT -- Ron Goulart

Thomas Dunne Books -- hc
New York -- ©2002 -- 210pp
ISBN: 0-312-28005-X

Groucho Marx joins forces with screenwriter Frank Denby to solve a murder case, which involves the FBI, Nazis, and plenty of bad puns.

I picked up this book on a whim. I've long been a fan of the Marx Brothers films, and as a teenager, I often enjoyed the humorous sci-fi novels of Ron Goulart, so I thought that this might be a fun, quick ride.

The book isn't bad, but it's certainly no literary masterpiece. Mostly we have a lot of Groucho-like witticisms and a bare, weak plot involving Nazis (before America is thrown in to the War).

This appears to be the fifth in a series of Groucho mysteries, and other reviews suggest it is the weakest of them. If I happen to be wandering through a library and come across one of the other titles in the series, I may check it out for a quick read.

Not recommended.

WHEN ZACHARY BEAVER CAME TO TOWN -- Kimberly Willis Holt

Dell Yearling -- tpb
New York -- ©1999 -- 227pp
ISBN: 0-440-22904-9
National Book Award gold medal winner

One summer, young Toby learns that interesting things can happen, even in Antler, Texas -- his mother leaves to try to make it as a country singer in Nashville, his best-friend's brother dies in Vietnam, and he befriends "The World's Fattest Boy."

The writing of this was crisp and clear, and easy to read, and seemed like an enjoyable novel. However, as I think on it now, there are too many loose ends and sub-plots that don't go anywhere (the whole idea of Toby trying to gain the favor of a certain young girl, and then fixing her up again with her ex-boyfriend seems pointless in retrospect).

Some lofty themes and dealing with issues such as death and divorce make it easy to see why this is an award winner, but it is not a book that I would recommend to students or for study.

OUR SIMPLE GIFTS: CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS TALES -- Owen Parry

William Morrow -- hc
New York -- ©2002 -- 149pp
ISBN: 0-06-001378-8

A short collection of Christmas stories set during the Civil War.

"Star of Wonder"
"Tannenbaum"
"Nothing But A Kindness"
"Christmas Gift"
A Christmas Request to the Reader

I am always on the look-out for short Christmas-related stories, and I liked the idea of these being set in the Civil War time, but only the first story struck a chord with me, and even at that, it was quite predictable.

Not a collection to recommend.

THE STAGGERFORD FLOOD -- Jon Hassler

Plume -- tpb
New York -- ©2002 -- 197pp
ISBN: 0-452-28462-7

As the Badbattle River overflows it's banks, a reunion, of sorts, takes place at Agatha McGee's house.

This book did not hold nearly the charm that the first Staggerford book held. It could be that the first book definitely seemed to have a driving purpose, but the only purpose for this book seemed to be to get some characters from previous books together. And while it does this, there seems to be nothing happening once they are together.

Except...the only thing that actually happens (other than the flood) is that Agatha tells a whopper of a lie (for good reason, of course). This seems totally out of character, and while Hassler does have Agatha dwell over it, it never sits right -- not the Agatha that he established in early Staggerford books!

It certainly wouldn't have hurt if I had missed this book.

STORMY WEATHER/TOURIST SEASON/STRIP TEASE -- Carl Hiaasen

Random House Audio Books
6 Audio Cassettes
Stormy Weather ©1995; Tourist Season ©1986; Strip Tease ©1993
Read by Ed Asner

Three books by Carl Hiaasen on six (abridged?) cassettes.

I have enjoyed the children's/YA books by Hiaasen, and so I was looking for a crash course in his adult novels. While the library packaging for these books does not indicate whether or this set is abridged, I would suspect that it is.

STORMY WEATHER was probably the most enjoyable with the various plots and sub-plots coming together. TOURIST SEASON seemed less busy, but also less cohesive. I recognized STRIP TEASE almost immediately as the basis for the Demi Moore movie by the same name.

WHat I don't like about Hiaasen is very casual dismissal (usually by means of a grisly death) of major characters as almost a footnote. In Strip Tease, "the most poweful man in Florida politics" ends up a corpse in a fish locker on a yacht, and I feel that we are told that much only because as readers we demand to know. The loser, drug-addict, ex-husband of the female lead in the book, winds up chopped in to tiny bits in a sugar cane factory. We are told this by taking us out of the immediate action and sending us in to the future -- being told what will happen.

I won't be eagerly seeking out any of Hiaasen's adult novels in the future.

THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2004 -- Louis Menand, Editor

Series Editor, Robert Atwan
Houghton Mifflin Company -- tpb
Boston -- ©2004 -- 323pp
ISBN: 0-618-35709-2

A collection of essays selected from those which were printed in magazines between January 2003 and January 2004.

Forward -- Robert Atwan
Introduction -- Louis Menand
"America, Look at Your Shame!" -- James Agee
"Envy" -- Kathryn Chetkovich
"The Last Americans" - Jared Diamond
"The Arctic Hedonist" -- Anne Fadiman
"Caught" -- Jonathan Franzen
"The Unreal Thing" -- Adam Gopnik
"A Sudden Illness" -- Laura Hillenbrand
"Passover in Baghdad" -- Tim Judah
"My '80s" -- Wayne Koestenbaum
"My Yiddish" -- Leonard Michaels
"Bix and Flannery" -- Ben Miller
"Against Cool" -- Rick Moody
"Yarn" -- Kyoko Mori
"Lifelike" -- Susan Orlean
"Rock 101" -- Alex Ross
"The Mind's Eye" -- Oliver Sacks
"My Lost City" -- Luc Sante
"Arrow and Wound" -- Mark Slouka
"My Father is a Book" -- Janna Malamud Smith
"Bullet in My Neck" -- Gerald Stern
"Amor Perdida" -- Tennessee Williams
"An Enlarged Heart" -- Cynthia Zarin
Biographical Notes
Notable Essays of 2003

I found that most of these were indeed quite notable and enjoyable to read. I found "A Sudden Illness," ""My '80s," "Bix and Flannery," "Against Cool," "My Father is a Book," and "An Enlarged Heart" to be of the most interest and/or best written. Some ("Passover in Baghdad," "Rock 101," "Arrow and Wound") didn't reach me at all. The others were just sort of "there" and interesting to read, but leave no real lasting memories.

I look forward to the next in the series, now available.

ROGER ZELAZNY'S THE DAWN OF AMBER -- John Gregory Betancourt

Book One of the New Amber Trilogy
ibooks, inc -- hc
New York -- ©2002 -- 299pp
ISBN: 0-7434-5240-2

A prequel to Roger Zelazny's Amber series, following Lord Oberon and his introduction to his family, and their first fight against hell-creatures.

The very first thing that strikes me as I read this is that this is NOT Roger Zelazny writing. In fact, if it were not for the fact that I recognize Betancourt's name, I would wonder if this was even a professional writer -- the opening chapter came across as very amateurish. Lot's of telling, and no "showing" -- no making us feel a part of the action.

While that sense of "low" writing never entirely vanished, I did become more engrossed in the story itself. Even there, however, I knew that I wasn't reading Zelazny. Zelazny could weave a story with intricate threads of characters and sub-plots and story lines. And if Zelazny was a master weaver, producing a solitary fine work of excellent quality, Betancourt is a machine producing a cheap replica that might satisfy those who can't tell the difference.

In general, I also dislike any series which requires one to purchase multiple books to get a sense of the story. Each book should be able to stand on it's own as a book. I don't believe this one accomplishes that.

I may read the others in the trilogy, but only because I'm curious about the story. I will most certainly seek out library books or used copies.