DEATH BY PAD THAI: AND OTHER UNFORGETTABLE MEALS -- Douglas Bauer, ed

Three Rivers Press -- tpb
New York -- 2006 -- 239pp
ISBN: 0-307-33784-7

"20 Great Writers on Romance, Disappointment, Family, Celebration, and the Meals That Inspired Them."

Introduction (Ramos Gin Fizz) -- Douglas Bauer
"Foodums" (Pears Poached in Seasoned Wine for Two) -- Sue Miller
"La Divina Commedia" -- Amy Bloom
"Fried Peppers" -- Michael Gorra
"Full" -- Elizabeth McCracken
"Home" -- Andre Dubus III
"Food Envy" (Dori's Mom's Tuna Fish) -- Aimee Bender
"Stir Gently and Serve" -- Jane Stern
"Surf and Turf" (Surf; Turf) -- Richard Russo
"Beach Food" (Clams with Garlic and Wine; Seafood Soup; Lazy Blueberry Cobbler) -- Michelle Wildgen
"By the River Cousin" -- Claire Messud
"My Dinner with Andy Warhol's Friends" -- Michael Stern
"How I Learned to Eat" -- Peter Mayle
"My Life in Food" -- Ann Packer
"Dinner With Seamus" -- Henri Cole
"The Longest Hour" (My Stepmother's Fish Cakes, with Some Variations) -- Margot Livesey
"A Feast of Preparations" (Nougat Glace with Raspberry Sauce) -- David Lehman
"The Handsome Tutor at Lunch" (Robaire's Chicken Liver Omelet) -- Michelle Huneven
"Yes" -- Lan Samantha Chang
"The Place We Came From" (The Best and Simplest Yogurt in the World) -- Diana Abu-Jaber
"Death by Lobster Pad Thai: A Counter-Phobic Paena to Friendship,Crustaceans, and Oral Transcendence" -- Steve Almond
About the Contributors

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For the most part, nothing here was particularly memorable, with the exception of Steve Almond's bit of comic relief, and Michael Stern's tale of perhaps one of the worst dining evening ever.

None of the essays were bad. While reading them I was usually moderately engaged, but except for the two mentioned, they didn't stay with me.

DEAD MEN TAPPING -- Kate Yeomans

Dead Men Tapping: The End of the Heather Lynne II
International Marine/McGraw Hill -- hc
Camden, ME -- 2004 -- 403pp
ISBN: 0-007-138034-5

A thoroughly researched account of the wreck and attempted search and rescue of an ocean fishing vessel.

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I was mightly impressed with the research and writing of this book. Though a hefty 400 pages, it read smoothly.

Occassionally, early on, I was disappointed with the side-tracks ... the reporting on other vessel wrecks or seaches or the history of some of the people, but as I got further into it I realized how it helped create a complete picture of the incident in question.

A good read of a disappointing loss of life.

THE ENTERTAINER AND THE DYBBUK -- Sid Fleischman

Greenwillow Books -- hc
New York -- 2008 -- 180pp
ISBN: 978-0-06-134446-6

A second rate ventriloquist is inhabited by the spirit of a Jewish boy, murdered by a Nazi, who is seeking vengeance on the man who killed him.

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** spoiler alert **

I understand the need to tell the stories of the holocaust.

It is a personal need, it is a community need, it is a historical need. It is something that shouldn't be forgotten -- just how horrible a people can be. But does this need translate to quality work? Not always.

I was uncomfortable with this book as a book for children. Having said that, I know that I am supposed to be uncomfortable ... it's an uncomfortable situation, and the murdering of children by such nefarious means should never get comfortable. And yet...I'm torn.

In the balance to always try to protect my children and yet make them aware of history (including atrocious history) I have to draw some lines. To me, this book crosses some of those lines. It is forthright in descriptions. It is a book full of vengeance and revenge. And I'm not sure I approve of the ending. Not because of what the dybbuk does, but because I don't think he could tolerate it.

***WARNING SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS***

Yes, I can understand that by having the dybbuk inhabit the Nazi responsible for killing him would be a terrible burden for the Nazi to live with the rest of his life, after hearing the dybbuk complain on how uncomfortable it was to inhabit the ventriloquists body, I can't imagine what it would be like for a Jewish soul to live in a Nazi's body. Wouldn't the torture be two-sided?

Just not a recommended book from me.

MISSION TO HORATIUS -- Mack Reynolds

MISSION TO HORATIUS (A Star Trek Novel)
Pocket Books -- hc
New York -- 1968, 1999 -- 210pp
ISBN: 0-671-02812-X
Illustrated by Sparky Moore

A reprint of a Whitman book. Had been out of print for 30 years.

The starship Enterprise receives a distress call from a system that has been virtually ignored since it's initial founding. The crew race to track down the distress signal while battling cafard -- a space sickness from being away too long without leave.

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Wow, does this bring back some memories!

I believe that I may have read this after picking it up in a used book store some 25 years or so ago.

I fully admit to being the Star Trek nerd and enjoying Star Trek novels. There's something very comfortable in reading books with characters who are so incredibly familiar to me.

The plot is paper thin and the characters less well developed than the average television episode. Some characters seemed to be named just for the sake of making sure to include them, but had no real role to play, and even their little moments were moderately out of character.

It was like reading exactly what it was ... a television-show-based book, by someone with only passing knowledge of the characters, using a stock plot.

It won't get a very high rating from me, but as a Star Trek nerd, I'm glad I read it.

RAIDERS FROM THE SEA -- Lois Walfrid Johnson

Raiders from the Sea: Viking Quest book one
Moody Publishers -- tpb
Chicago -- ©2003 -- 199pp
ISBN: 080243112-7

Viking raid a village in Ireland, taking a young Christian girl captive.

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I quite enjoyed Lois Walfrid Johnson's first series "Adventures in the North Woods" and moderately enjoyed her second series, "The Riverboat Adventures." This series departs from the earlier two in that this book was not a mystery, and had no true conclusion to the story, as the first two series' did.

The history was still apparently well researched, though I felt that the young girl was a tad too modern to truly be living in this time and place.

I never felt completely caught up in the story, and have a real negative reaction to any story that doesn't have a natural conclusion at the end of a book but rather requires one tow buy and read the next book installment.

I'll read more, but I won't race to get the next books.

RUBBER HOUSES -- Ellen Yeomans

Little, Brown and Company -- hc
New York -- 2007 -- 152pp
ISBN: 0-316-10647-X

Told entirely in verse, a high-school aged girl tells the story of her little brother's bout with cancer and his death.

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Yeoman's tackles the delicate subject again, of the death of a youngster. I know Ellen, and I know that it is a demon she is battling constantly.

I'm not sold on the idea of telling this story through a series of poems -- in large part, of course, because I so dislike reading poetry myself. That said, hoever, I thought this story was told a little easier, and more convincingly because of its unique format. It seems totally plausible that a teenage girl would write a great deal of poetry and tell this story in that way.

However, I did feel that some opportunities were missed. A girl writing poetry might not write so directly, all the time, about what has happened, but a sense of when she's feeling ought to come about in some more mundane writings. None of the poems were simple, everyday, kinds of writing that I thought should occur. For instance, suppose she wrote a couple of poems early in the book about liking cats, but at some point after her brother's death she writes a poem about a cat that got in her way and how she hates cats. That's the sort of opportunity missed here.

Even so, I enjoyed the writing more than I expected, and thought this did a good job of getting to the heart of a teenager.

WENCESLAS SQUARE -- Larry Shue

The Fireside Theatre -- hc
New York -- 1988 -- 106pp
two act play

A theatre director and teacher from Cementville, returns to Czechoslovakia (where he once witnessed some of the most invigorating theatre he'd ever seen) to write the finishing chapter of his new book.

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This is a real departure from the outrageous comedies of Larry Shue ... The Nerd and The Foreigner.

While still peppered with humor (some language confusion reminded me of early Ionesco), this play has a dark and depressing over-tone.

The minimal cast mirrors the Czech theatre scene that Vince is longing to see again, yet is feels very dated as I read through it now. I don't see it going over well in the community theatre scene, as the two comedies certainly do.

An interesting play, and I'm glad I just (re)read it, but I am not surprised that it hasn't had much life.

FLASHMAN -- George MacDonald Fraser

Plume -- tpb
New York -- ©1969 -- 256pp
ISBN: 0452259614
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This novel is wickedly humorous in the tradition of books like the M*A*S*H series or the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series.

Flashman is a complete cad and coward ... but fully admits it. That's his charm. He also admits to being completely lucky and being in the right place at the right times.

I laughed aloud at some of the escapades, and shook my head (with a grin) at others.

Even so, with all the wild humor and some pretty thorough history, I found the book dragging at times. Sometimes it actually reads like a history lesson.

I enjoyed the book, and will happily read more in the series, but it didn't grab me enough that I can't wait.

THE ROGUES -- Jane Yolen & Robert J. Harris

Philomel Books -- hc
New York -- 2007 -- 277pp
ISBN: 978-0-399-23898-7

A Scottish laird forces the tenants of his property out of his domain to make way for sheep. A young boy returns home to retrieve a precious family heirloom and hooks up with a notorious rogue.

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This book is incredibly slow to begin, picks up some speed and interest, but carries the reader along hesitantly before bringing it to conclusion.

I struggled to find interest in this book. It came, but after much effort. And for a decent portion I was interested and wanting to read more. However, as the boy and the rogue worked and journeyed together, I found their arguing and stubborness irritating and all too repetitive. it was a one-note theme that clung to far too many chapters.

Unless you have strong interest in Scottish history, I wouldn't recommend this book.

THE SENSUOUS SENATOR -- Michael Parker

Samuel French, Inc. -- acting edition
New York -- 1988 -- 104pp
ISBN: 0-573-62641-3

4 M, 5 F


A Congressman announces his candidacy for President of the United States, but the moment his wife leaves for a charity trip, the Congressman is visited by his girl-friend, an escort, a fellow Congressman and Senator, a policeman, and a reporter.

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This was an enjoyable comedy, and it hits home as much today as it likely did in 1988 -- which says, sadly, that things haven't changed much in 20 years.

This is a fun farce, with people in closets and under beds, and mistaken identities ... the full range of farce situations. If there is a 'down' side to this play, though, it would be that it doesn't take it far enough into the farce -- I think that without adding a whole lot of running time, there could easily be maybe two more situations added to give a few more belly-laughs.

However, I think this would be a delightful comedy, particulalry during an election year.

ZEITGEIST -- Bruce Sterling

Bantam Books -- hc
New York -- ©2000 -- 293pp
ISBN: 0-53-53-10493-4
signed copy

The key to profitting on pop culture is knowing when to get out. Leggy Starlitz is the master of pop but he's thrown a curve when the daughter he didn't know he had becomes his responsibility. How do you stay on top of the culture wars when culture is about to change, big time, because of Y2K, and how does a new family fit into the mix?

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Bruce Sterling is easily one of the most original writers out there today. So many works in the sci-fi/fantasy field are simply remixes of Lord of the Rings, or Conan, or a Heinlein/Asimov/Clarke/Niven novel. But when you open a Bruce Sterling novel you know you will be getting something that isn't like anything you've ever read before.

And for this alone, bonus points.

But I'll be honest...I'm not sure what I read. I liked the style, I got caught up in the characters, but I'm just not sure I'm clear on how the sub-plots and story lines all tied together. What's with the father? Was he really living his life Merlin-like? Arms dealers? Drug smuggling? What did Leggy know? How much did he approve of? Why the importance on getting the girls out alive?

Perhaps I didn't read it carefully enough, or perhaps much of these didn't matter. Chances are I'll read this again, because I am intriqued. The ending, with the observations that Leggy's daughter declared, and her goals, struck a chord. I think she did indeed "get it."

If you've never read a Bruce Sterling novel, then don't start with this one. Pick up Involution Ocean or Heavy Weather. If you have enjoyed Sterling before, then definitely give this a read. If you just want something that is so incredibly original, then this is the book for you.

ALL I DID WAS ASK -- Terry Gross

ALL I DID WAS ASK: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists
Hyperion -- hc
New York -- ©2004 -- 353pp
ISBN: 1-4013-0010-3


Public Radio's host of Fresh Air, Terry Gross, interviews a variety of guests. Included here are some of her more memorable interviews with artists.

"Don't Do It" -- Nicolas Cage
"Like a Skinny Boxer" -- Chris Rock
"Being Square" -- John Updike
"A Man's Voice" -- Johnny Cash
"Lift Everyting Up" -- Charlie Haden
"Erotic Cheese and Crackers" -- Mary Karr
"A New Gift" -- Andre Dubus and Andre Dubus III
"The Craft Itself" -- Uta Hagen
"Use the Disadvantage" -- Michael Caine
"Right in the Gut" -- Mickey Spillane
"You Will Not Find the Word 'Lesbian'" -- Ann Bannon
"We All Die" -- Walter Mosley
"A Family Courtesy" -- Mario Puzo
"Make Sense of It Later" -- George Clinton
"Bootzilla Twenty-seven Hours a Day" -- Bootsy Collins
"Dissonance" -- Nick Hornby
"In the Junkyards" -- Grandmaster Flash
"Alive in a Coffin" -- Paul Schrader
"A Difficult Place to Grow Up" -- Jodi Foster
"I Never Told Jokes" -- Albert Brooks
"Beauty Gone Berserk" -- Divine
"Kissing and Licking Boots" -- Mary Woronov
"To Iron a Shirt" -- Joyce Johnson
"So What?" -- Larry Rivers
"Not to Think" -- Sonny Rollins
"Send the Salami" -- Hal David
"Like Raw Meat" -- Isabella Rossellini
"A Little Out of Whack" -- Dennis Hopper
"The Way People Look" -- Chuck Close
"It Gets Harder" -- Frank Stella
"Mom, Dad, I Want to Be a Tap Dancer" -- Conan O'Brien
"Nothing Else Would Matter" -- Eric Clapton
"A Large Feminine Side" -- Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
"Too Much for You to Take" -- Gene Simmons
"Dramatic Beats" -- Samuel L. Jackson
"Stop Acting" -- Dustin Hoffman
"In That Hurricane" -- James Baldwin
"A Place of Protection" -- Carol Shields
"A Fraudulent Angel" -- Maurice Sendak
acknowledgements

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What a fantastic collection.

I listen to Public Radio. I'm not addicted to it, I contribute financially only occassionally, but I do listen if I'm in the car. When I happen to be listening and Terry Gross' 'Fresh Aire' comes on, I am usually interested. Now that I have had the chance to read through these interviews, I can understand why. Terry Gross asks intelligent questions.

Not a lot of inteviewers ask intelligent questions. Usually it's only leading questions about a new movie or a new book of or a new political campaign. Gross asks questions that we all want to ask.

Perhaps it's because this collection is with people who are artists (musicians, actors, writers, etc) -- people with whom I am familiar, interested, and can relate -- but I truly enjoyed the insight offered in these brief interviews.

Some of those that I enjoyed surprised me. I never would have expected to enjoy the Steven Tyler interview -- especially considering how blunt he was regarding his drug use -- but I did enjoy it.

Nicolas Cage is not one of my more favored actors, but I enjoyed his interview as well. In fact, hardly a bad one in the bunch.

Highly recommended.

CONAN OF VENARIUM -- Harry Turtledove

TOR Books -- hc
New York -- ©2003 -- 269pp
ISBN: 076530466X
cover art: Julie Bell

Conan, the barbarian, as a youth, before he ever took part in his first combat.

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I can't remember when I last read a book or story with the famous 'Conan' as hero. It's been many years, for sure, but there was a time that I greatly enjoyed those books. And so, when I saw this title on a shelf, I was eager to give it a read. Sadly, I found it sorely lacking.

Turtledove's actual writing style was just fine, though it did lack the excitement that Robert E Howard or even Lin Carter or L. Sprague de Camp manage to put into the stories. But the plotting was dreadful. I'd say that nearly half the book was repeating a couple of sequences (how much Conan liked a certain girl, how much the nasty Aquilonian liked the same girl, how much Conan hated the Aquilonian and wanted him dead, and how it all would lead to trouble). Saying all of this only once would have reduced this to a fifty page book, I think.

And then there were the non-barbarian aspects of the ... well... barbarians. Maybe it was important for us to see the twelve year old Conan behaving like a twelve year. Maybe not, though. Maybe it would be okay to see him as being exceptionally different. But in any case, seeing him playing what is essentially a game of soccer with other boys was totally pointless and to my mind, totally out of character.

I wanted to like this book, but sadly, the best part about it was the chronology of Conan books at the end.

CRISS CROSS -- Lynne Rae Perkins

Greenwillow Books -- hc
New York -- ©2005 -- 337pp
ISBN: 0-06-009272-6
Newbery Medal winner

A character study of early teens with wry senses of humor and observant insight.

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I like the makeup of this book. The wide variety of communication forms is compelling. There's narrative fiction, songs (lyrics and music), poetry, artwork, photography, playscript, and dialog, all rolled into this book in very effective ways. A chapter in which the author is describing what two different people happen to be doing at the same moment is written in two column form. All wonderfully creative for the readers this book is targetting.

But if you ask me what the book is about, I'll have trouble telling you. The plot is thin. Wispy. It's all about character ... which is okay sometimes, but I like form and substance, too.

I don't know that I've ever felt to contradicted while reading before. I liked what I was reading, but I was growing bored with it at the same time.

Difficult to recommend, but I wouldn't advise ignoring it, either.

FANTASTIC FOUR: REDEPTION OF THE SILVER SURFER -- Michael Jan Friedman

A Boulevard/Putnam Book -- hc
New York -- ©1997 --343pp
ISBN: 0-399-14269-x
Illustration by George Perez
cover art: Steve Fastner and Dave DeVries

The fabulous Fantastic Four join forces with the Silver Surfer and do battle against a massive planet destroyer in the 'negative zone.'

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Occassionally I like to read something quick and easy -- something in which I don't have to spend a lot of time learning about the characters -- perhaps this is why I enjoy reading books set in the StarTrek universe and/or the comic book universe -- the characters have already been defined.

However, I have to admit to a bias -- I've never enjoyed the stories of the Fantastic Four (comic book heroes) which take place in outer-space (or other worlds). I can't quite define it. And I know it seems strange, considering my propensity toward sci-fi stories, but the stories in outer-space never appealed to me. They always seem contrived, and this novel was no exception.

The extra-dimensional foe here, seemed a novelty for no reason. The foe was in no danger of attacking Earth, so the FF involvement was totally unnecessary. The Silver Surfer's appearance seemed fine, but his "falling in love" with the new protagonist seemed out of character, and yet a major plot point.

I just didn't but into this story. Not recommended.