'Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea' by Richard Henry Dana Jr

Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor’s Life at Sea, by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (3)

While this book is not an easy read, it is a thoughtful and important historical tale of sailing and the California coast in the early 1800’s.  What made it so important at the time it was published and differentiates it even now, is that Richard Henry Dana was an upper crust society gentleman who sailed as a crewmember, not an officer.  His stories are well written and poignant yet from a very different perspective than previous accounts.  Given his society role versus his job ‘before the mast’ (where the crew lives) he has an interesting view of leadership and what makes a good leader.  There are some classic stories of raging storms, dreadful floggings and descriptions of the atmosphere of the new California frontier. The main difficulty with the book is getting through the large amount of sailing jargon and the somewhat awkward 1830’s language.  The book is long and reads slowly, but if you have the patience you will appreciate a unique view of our California history.

'The Prisoner of Heaven' by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

The Prisoner of Heaven, Carlos Ruiz Zafron (4)

Mr. Zafron wrote one of my favorite books, ‘The Shadow of the Wind’.  This book is another story written with some of the same characters at a different time of their lives.  Both are set in Barcelona, Spain and centered on the Sempere bookstore.  A third book, ‘The Angel’s Game’, is also part of this cycle of novels, though I found this one to be linked closer to ‘The Shadow of the Wind’.  This story centers on Daniel Sempere, now a husband and father, and his unraveling of a mystery around his friend, Fermin, which includes prison, a mysterious author, Daniel’s parents and an evil presence.  The story is interesting and compelling and the characters are as vivid and delightful as in the first novel.  It made me search out my copy of ‘Shadow’ so that I can re-read it and find the various linkages between the books.  My only complaint is that this book was a little quicker with a bit less in it and with an abrupt ending that pointed towards an obvious fourth novel as some of the mysteries remain.

'The Thief' by Fuminori Nakamura

The Thief, Fuminori Nakamura (3.5)

This is a very short, easy to read, introduction to the style of some current Japanese novelists.  The writing reminds me of Murakami in his mixture of description with an air of haunting melodrama.  This is a first person narrative from a pickpocket in Tokyo who is inalterably drawn into more serious situations with very scary underworld characters. I think Nakamura-san is smart to use first person as the reader becomes more sympathetic to the plight of this antihero as you would normally feel towards a common pickpocket.  The main character is thoughtfully portrayed as good and bad enough to feel very real.   The underlying theme of fate is quite powerfully questioned as we follow his plight.  

'Casino Royale' by Ian Flemming

Casino Royale, Ian Flemming (3.0)

This is the first James Bond book and clearly he is not yet the worldly spy who has it all under control.  He has just recently become a ‘00’, which happens when you’ve killed two people on orders (not in self-defense).  This becomes more important later in the book as he becomes quite philosophical (and engages in foreshadowing) about how to decide who is good and who is evil.  I enjoyed meeting Bond from this perspective and want to read further to see how he progresses to become the more worldly Bond we know from the movies.  There were several minor plot differences from the recent ‘Casino Royale’ movie, with only one major change. The main characters and elements remain nearly the same. My only disappoint with this book had to do with a couple of scenes where Bond has a particularly Cro-Magnon attitude towards women – worse than in the movies.  He even has one musing about a potential assignation with a woman that he compares favorably to rape (‘the conquest of her body… would each time have the sweet tang of rape’). Except for these jarring excerpts, the rest of the book was quite enjoyable, albeit without the playfulness of the movies.

'The Golden Tulip' by Rosalind Laker

The Golden Tulip, Rosalind Laker (3.5)

I wish I had read this book before my recent trip to Amsterdam.  It is set there and parts of the rural Netherlands in the 1600’s after the Tulipmania and just prior to the invasion attempt by Louis XIV of France and describes the city and culture of that time.  It follows a family of artists who know Rembrandt and Vermeer.  Parts of the delight of the book are the details given of the painting process along with the progress of the painters, though the history and art of the book are the backdrop to a love story of the Master artist’s daughter (an artist in training herself) and a young tulip grower.  The pace of the book is accelerated with obstacles placed between the two by some thoughtless and truly evil characters.  Part way through I was concerned this would turn into a typical (and annoying) star-crossed lovers story, but I’m happy to report that, while not having a truly unique plot, it did redeem itself with enough variants from the ‘they must be doomed as everything goes against them’ theme.  I realize this type of book is enjoyable to read, but the good characters are too nice and too good looking while the evil characters tend to be 100% bad. I think that is one of the big differentiators between lasting classics and just enjoyable reads. 

'Fluke' by Christopher Moore

Fluke, Christopher Moore (3.5)

This book was far more mysterious and dramatic then the other Christopher Moore books I’ve read.  It follows the adventures of a small group of biologists in Maui trying to understand what the whales are communicating with their famous ‘songs’.  During one outing to record the song and identify the whale, the main character, Nathan, sees ‘bite me’ painted on the fluke of a particular whale.  His attempts to understand this mystery lead him and his colleagues on a surreal adventure with surprises around every turn. While this book as the usual cast of wacky characters, it is more fantastical than funny.  What I enjoyed most was the very refreshing newness of it all.  I felt like Mr. Moore had helped me flex my little used imagination muscle J.