Keith Matters!

Everything Matters, by Ron Currie Jr.  What a fantastic read from a book that I just happened to pick off the shelf because of the cool cover design.  I had never heard of this book, or this author, until I stumbled upon it one day in Barnes and Noble.  Many of the reviews on the inside page compared him to Kurt Vonnegut, so I knew I had to give it a shot.

It is the life story of Junior, who, when in the womb, was told by some voice (God?) that the world would be hit by an asteroid and obliterated around when he is 36 years old.  This voice talks to Junior throughout his life, giving him inside information on everyone around him.  But it's also the story of others close to him as well, like his brother Rodney who was a young coke head and then turned into one of the greatest baseball players ever, even though he wasn't all there in the head.  Also his alcoholic mother, and his Vietnam vet father who is a baker at night and works in a warehouse during the day.  And the love of his life Amy.

I really enjoyed the setup of this book.  There are different chapters from each person's point of view, and there are also chapters of just the voice talking to Junior, in numerical bullet points that count down to the end of the world.  There are neat plot twists, as well as a complete reversal toward the end of the story.  Junior gets a chance to do it all over again, and even though the ending wasn't what I was expecting, he learns the lesson that he had been missing all his life... That everything matters.  Even if you know the world is going to end, it is important to realize what you have in this life, and keep them close.

There are many over-the-top elements in the book, like the baseball star Rodney, to Junior curing cancer, and Junior designing a spaceship to leave Earth and emigrate to another planet.  But in the end, it is a very heartwarming book, and even a little sad at times.  Very good read.
Four and a half out of five stars.

Keith

Ok this title was a bit more tricky.  Actually, since it was only one word, there was only one combination.  You'll probably see that title a bunch on this blog.

Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk.  This is the story of 'Operative Me,' or nicknamed Pygmy, a secret agent from an undisclosed totalitarian state sent to the U.S. on a mission of terrorism.  He is disguised as an exchange student in the midwest, in the Cedar family, with the cow-like father, the mother that uses all the batteries in the house on her vibrator collection, the sex-crazed brother, and the sister that he falls in love with.  Of course this allows Palahniuk to poke fun of the American culture through Pygmy's eyes.  Walmart and consumerism, Church and molesting priests, teenagers that only care about sex and drugs.  Pygmy and his fellow operatives would have no problem manipulating these Americans to carry out their plan, except that he falls in love with a girl and the culture, and it is revealed that he never was very keen on that totalitarian state he was brainwashed into loving in the first place.

This is not the first book from Chuck Palahniuk that I've read, so I am used to his graphic and sensationalized style.  The book starts out on a high note, with Pygmy raping the school bully in a bathroom, then easily segues into tweens flashing their boobs before a bloody school massacre, then to Pygmy rummaging around in his adopted mom's 'private areas' while she is roofied.  It is brutal stuff, but presented in Palahniuk's carefree, comical style.  You gasp, but you laugh too, and feel a bit guilty. 

The language was the difficult part of the book.  It is written in the voice of Operative Me, a strange accent with technical terms, lack of grammar and sentence structure, that barely resembles English.  I had to read over a few passages in order to figure out what was happening.  However, as the book went along, I was able to pick up on the style, and the reading became easier. 

It was a quick read, and a bit more light-hearted than Naked Lunch and the Corrections before that, so it was like a welcome vacation.

Three and a half stars out of five.

Naked Keith, or Keith's Lunch

I like the first title better, but the latter is more PG, even though this book is more like XXX. 

Naked Lunch, by William Seward Burroughs.  A hallmark of the Beat Generation, and also a strong weapon in the government's War on Drugs.  Cause who would want to try those hard drugs after reading something like this?  Naked Lunch is not a story in the traditional sense.  It is more of a series of vignettes centering around a character named Lee (Burroughs), and others, in a trip from New York to Mexico to Tangiers to a city called Interzone that exists solely in his drug-addled, demented state.  I had to get most of this summation from the back of the book and other reviews, because it is really difficult to follow in the book itself.

Most of Naked Lunch are rambling scenes of drug use, gay sex, and capital punishment.  How many scenes of young boys being hanged while shitting and coming can you fit in one book?  Before I read Naked Lunch, I would have guessed none, but now that illusion (and my innocence) has forever been shattered.

Now, this is not a disparaging review however.  Literature isn't always pretty and easy to read.  Though the passages could be disturbing, they can be very poetic at times, not to mention imaginative.  It's honest, and brutal, and a revealing look into the mind of an addict and a genius.

I read the 'restored text' version of the book, and I loved reading the backstory behind the making of the book.  The title was credited to Jack Kerouac (one of my favorite authors), and Burroughs was in love with Allen Ginsberg, writer of the famous 'Howl' poem.  A few months ago I went to an exhibit at the National Gallery of Ginsberg's photos from the 1950's and throughout his life.  Burroughs was in a few of the photos, as well as Kerouac.  Together, Ginsberg helped Burroughs write, organize and publish Naked Lunch, even though he spurned the love of Burroughs.  It is fascinating to think that three friends were the leaders of an entire movement in literature.

Naked Lunch was a very interesting read.  I won't say I regret reading it, although I hope I don't have too many nightmares.

Three and a half out of five stars.

Keith's Corrections

No, I am not correcting my previous post.  It is perfect, as are all my posts once published.  It is an insult that you would even consider that I made a mistake.

My first book that I am going to write about is The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.  As you will see, I like to throw my name into the title of the book and use it as the title of the blog entry.  It is my gimmick that will make me famous.  You'll see.

Anyways, so the Corrections.  Wow.  A very hefty tome.  It was a slow start for the book, I'll admit.  Took me awhile to really get into the story, but once I did, I was flying through it.  The characters are some of the most developed I've ever read.  This book is basically five life stories all rolled up into one story of one family.  The main crux of the story takes place within a four month period, where the mother, Enid, tries to get her three adult children to come home to the mid-west for one last Christmas together at their home.  The father, Alfred is suffering from Parkinson's and demetia, and won't make it to another most likely.  Yet the children all lead their own, strange lives, and there are many problems.

There are some strange parts of the story, such as the trip to Lithuania, and Denise flip-flopping in her love life, and early references to Pandora.  Also the talking poop.  These were funny, but overall strange, and kind of brought me out of the story a little bit.  I loved the ending though.  Enid's final monologue and thoughts on her love with Alfred reminded me of the final chapter in Joyce's Ulysses.

As it just so happened, I saw Franzen speak on the night after I finished the Corrections.  He was promoting his new book Freedom on a local campus and I went and heard some of it.  Seems pretty good, like something I will check out later, once it comes out in paperback and the price comes down.

So, The Corrections.  A very strong book with likable, though flawed, characters.  How will I use it in my own work?  Obviously the development of each character, even the smaller supporting ones.  But also the non-traditional time structure of the plot.  I'm not going to analyze all the themes and motifs and plot structures of each book, just overall impressions.  Someone on the street asks, "How was that book you are reading?" and you respond with "It was good."  Well, Why?  Why is it good?  Should I read it too?

4 out of 5 stars.