'The Tao of Pooh' by Benjamin Hoff

The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff (3.0)

I bought and read this book many years ago. After seeing the new movie, ‘Christopher Robin’, my love of all things Pooh was rekindled and I found the book on my shelves. I am really torn about this book – I really love Pooh’s Taoisms, but upon rereading it, I realize the author has some strong (and sometimes frankly offensive) views. When he sticks to the words of the Taos masters and A.A. Milne’s corresponding Pooh-isms, the book is delightful. It makes one want to read the original stories to relish in the simple views and delights of the little bear. Unfortunately about two-thirds of the way through the book, the author inserts some very blatant views on capitalism, exploration and intellectualism. Basically you should not want for anything (knowledge or cleverness as embodied in Owl and Rabbit are scorned). I have read some Tao teachings and, while the gist of this is true, I found Hoff’s treatment to be too blunt and simplistic. This is a very short book – so worth reading if you are a fan of Pooh – just don’t take the author’s heavy-handedness too seriously.

'Not if I See You First' by Eric Lindstrom

Not if I See You First, Eric Lindstrom (3.0)

Do you remember ‘afterschool specials’? Light, frothy young adult fare filled with high school angst? This book would make a good afterschool special. It has all the features: a damaged protagonist, great (and often unappreciated) friends, and most importantly - unrequited love. The protagonist in this case has two tragedies befall her prior to the start of the book – she has lost her sight and her mom in a car crash and more recently her dad died. While that could be very heavy for a YA novel, her ability to handle her blindness is admirable. My favorite thing about this book is the clear sense of how she copes and specifically what she has to do to deal with daily issues. It felt very real. Since it is a YA novel at heart – the plot is relatively predictable and written very much like a screen play – ok for a summer read, but not award winning literature.

'Coroner's Lunch' by Colin Cotteril

Coroner’s Lunch, Colin Cotteril (3.5)

I enjoy a detective story low on gore and high on mystery and humor and this story met that criteria and added a nice dose of culture. While not being very familiar with Laotian history, the mysticism of the Hmong people was known to me due to the relocation of many Hmong into the Midwest after the revolution in Laos in the 70’s. The protagonist of this series (with the unfortunate name of Siri) is Laotian, but part of the story revolves around the Hmong mysticism. Dr. Siri is at the end of his career and has been reluctantly assigned as only coroner in town. While not a practiced coroner, he has the advantage of being visited in his dreams by the recent dead. The clues they give him lead him to understand their deaths and help detect possible murderers. I enjoyed Siri’s tolerance of the Laotian communist system. He is frustrated by the inefficiencies, but appreciates how it could be worst. It’s not common to read unbiased versions of communism and this one is refreshing.

'The Immortalists' by Chloe Benjamin

The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin (3.0)

While the idea for this book was good, the actual story didn’t live up to my expectations. The premise is that four young siblings visit a fortuneteller known for predicting one’s exact date of death. The book is broken into 4 sections, one in each sibling’s voice, which follows their journey. The opportunity to illustrate and debate the concepts of predestination and free will seems obvious, such as: if you believe you will die young, will you engage in more risky behavior and thus fulfilling the prediction? Unfortunately, these concepts were only analyzed effectively with the first two siblings. The other two sections don’t make a lot of sense.