'The Bad Girl' by Mario Vargos Llosa

The Bad Girl, Mario Vargos Llosa (3.0)

A niggling annoyance ran through this book as I read it – I was drawn to finish it, but I was not enjoying it. It wasn’t till the end of this book I realized what it was – the entire life of the main character revolved around a very unhealthy relationship. Was that the point of the book? I hope not. The main character, Ricardo, is infatuated with a young girl. From the start, she is revealed as someone who crafts lies to suit her and help her attain her goals, mainly of wealth. The book follows Ricardo’s life and her entrances and exits from it, leaving him more obsessed and crestfallen each time. Their relationship is very two-dimensional: he is completely infatuated with her and she leads him on, enjoying the attention and power. It was tragic to think someone would spend their entire life with such one-sided feelings. It was obvious the bad girl was broken, but I didn’t buy into the fact that Ricardo could heal her. I did enjoy the back-story of the politics of the time (communism and it’s affect on Peru) and the international aspects (Ricardo is a translator in Paris who travels the world). The ending seemed to be a resolution, but it felt empty and sad. I think the author really thought he was writing a happy ending and that the means justified the end. If you want to read this type of story, I would recommend ‘Great Expectations’, for me a more believable obsession.

'M Train' by Patti Smith

M Train, Patti Smith (4.0)

This book really highlights Ms. Smith, the poet and the adult. I read ‘Just Kids’ about her early times in NYC with Robert Maplethorpe. As with that book, Ms. Smith comes across as very approachable for someone so famous. In this book she outlines her daily activities – which often include a walk across the street to the neighborhood café for coffee, toast and hours of jotting in her notebook – and her various travels before and after Hurricane Sandy devastated her city and coastline. She is definitely an observer and recorder of life. Each of the small stories she has chose to outline here is about a place, a person and a devotion of hers. In one case, she goes to a prison in South America to get pebbles to bring to the writer, Jean Genet, who aspired to be in that prison and was too old to visit it himself. The book is also filled with simple photos taken by her various Polaroid cameras. The photos vary from Frida Kahlo’s bed to a favorite book to Virginia Wolf’s walking stick.  She gives small details of her husband, his early death and their children. I found I was hoping for more of that insight – such as: why does she spend holidays alone with her cats? Anyone interested in a soulful artist’s simple stories of unique travel colored by the bohemian side of New York City will enjoy this book.

'Before the Fall' by Noah Hawley

Before the Fall, Noah Hawley (4.0)

Mr. Hawley is both an author and a screenwriter (he has written for ‘Bones’ and currently writes for the TV series, ‘Fargo’), which seems obvious when reading this book – it would make a good movie. The pace is fast, the characters are interesting and the sequence of time is used wisely. The book starts with a group of people getting on a private plane taking a short trip from Martha’s Vineyard.  By chapter two the plane has crashed. The book proceeds to follow the survivors forward while alternating back in time to give back-stories to each passenger and crew member on the plane in an effort to understand why the plane crashed. Suspicions are raised as one passenger was about to be indicted and one other was very wealthy. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the Bill Reilly-like character constantly trying to find a conspiracy or salacious story – no matter who he hurt. Guess it was just too close to home in today’s political climate.