'The Inklings: C.S.Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends' by Humphrey Carpenter

Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Their Friends, Humphrey Carpenter (4.0)

I cannot recommend this book for every reader, but if you have enjoyed ‘The Chronicles or Narnia’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’, I believe you will find this biography of the authors interesting. Particularly as it discusses, in detail, their journeys to get those books written. The author spends the most time on C.S. Lewis. Lewis comes across as the lynchpin of these various teachers and scholars at Oxford in the early 20^th century, who was the magnet for others to join their non-official group, the Inklings. He liked the name as ‘a pleasantly ingenious pun in its way suggesting people with vague or half-formed intimations and ideas plus those who dabble in ink.’  They met a few times a week to discuss literature and often read the latest chapters of their writings. I was jealous of Lewis and his brother, as they were the first to hear the initial chapters of both ‘The Hobbit’ and LOTR, read aloud by Tolkien in a pub before a roaring fire. One of the most interesting facts to me was that Lewis (known for his tale of Christ in a reimagined world of Narnia) was an atheist until he was in his late 20’s. I found his transition a bit illogical, as explained by Carpenter, though he insists it was done with logic. I also was surprised to read that Lewis’s good friend, Tolkien, vehemently disliked the Narnia series. Somewhat understandably, he didn’t think Lewis took the world of Narnia seriously, as he wrote the books quickly with many glaring errors with regards to the canon. In comparison, Tolkien took painstaking care and time to define his world of Middle Earth. He did not like anyone taking a mythology casually. I wish there had been more on Tolkien in this book – as he is one of my favorite authors - but I did start a list of ‘to-read’ books written by Lewis, Williams and others based on the interesting discussions of their books.

'The Heart Goes Last' by Margaret Atwood

The Heart Goes Last, Margaret Atwood (4.0)

Margaret Atwood once again takes her readers to an alternate, creepy future. In this case, the initial premise is ‘snapped from the headlines’: imagine that we’ve had an economic recession so severe that the majority of middle class people have lost their jobs. Needless to say, crime rises quickly and common people have few alternatives. Life becomes so horrible that you are not entirely surprised when joining a new marketing ‘town’ is considered by the book’s two protagonists, a husband and wife who are living out of their car and eating from dumpsters. He’s lost his job and she gets meager tips as a part-time waitress at a slimy bar. They agree to join this new town – which promises a lovely house and good jobs. But once you sign on the bottom line, there is no leaving nor contact with the world outside of the town. What’s the catch? If you know Ms. Atwood, you expect an imaginative one. Each couple gets 1 month to live in their house and work at their jobs, but the next month they will go to jail, with their ‘alternates’ (another couple) taking their place in the house with their own jobs. This swap continues month after month. The one weakness I found is the theory that all citizens spending 1 month in jail makes any sense with regards to lowering crime or improving prosperity. I don’t want to spoil any more of the story, but obviously this is a flawed system. I was most interested in which possible problems would be addressed – and was happily surprised with the outcome. Enjoy the creative mind of Margaret Atwood!

'Dead Wake, the Last Crossing of the Lusitania' by Erik Larson

Dead Wake, the Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson (3.5)

While I enjoyed this book, my third Larson non-fiction book, I found it to be a little thinner, content-wise, than the other two. I was intrigued by his lead-up to the sinking and the broader scope of the event in history – particularly that it occurred 2 years before the US entered WWI, as opposed to being the direct impetus to our entrance. I was a little reticent to read the sinking scenes (too much memory of the movie, ‘Titanic’?), but was appreciative of Mr. Larson’s delicate handling of those scenes. Overall the book was a good historical summary of the situation leading up to the event in the US, the UK and Germany; the event itself; and briefly, the aftermath. The saddest surprise of the book was how easily the sinking could have been avoided. I would have liked more depth and/or opinion about whether the Brits knowingly were non-proactive in their protection of the ship. The author mentions that high-ranking officials believed it would drive the US into the war – were their comments reflective of policy or after-the fact observances?

'Dreams of Joy' by Linda See

Dreams of Joy, Linda See (3.5)

After reading the non-fiction memoir, ‘Life and Death in Shanghai’, I could appreciate the hardships and troubled times depicted in ‘Dreams of Joy’ as likely accurate. They both describe China during the times of Mao Tse Tung, particularly during the Great Leap Forward. In this book, a young girl (Joy) whose aunt and mother escaped to Los Angeles from China at the beginning of the revolution returns to China with a misplaced romantic notion of the times. She wants to contribute to her idyllic version of communism where there are no haves and have not’s, and everyone has food and works equally. Unfortunately her reasons for going and the reality of the revolution do not match. The book varies between her voice and that of her mother, who chases her to China, realizing that in trying to build a better life for Joy, she has avoided describing China and the revolution properly. I liked the blend of drama between family and history, particularly the complex mother-daughter dynamic. I also believe the horrible behavior and times described were likely accurate. My only complaint is that I think the main character was a written a bit weakly. For the main voice of the book, her thoughts were quite simple and at times vague. The main character can be weak of nature, but I like when the voice adds depth to the story.

'Aurora' by Kim Stanley Robinson

Aurora, Kim Stanley Robinson (2.5)

This book started with an interesting and somewhat timely premise: humans are changing the earth at a drastic rate and need to find alternatives to survive long term. The book starts with a very large space ship (i.e. ark) that is bound for the Tau Ceti system in order to find a new home. The description of the ship, the complications of centuries long travel (as you can imagine, the grandchildren of the original ‘settlers’ are the ones who arrive in Tau Ceti) and the initial investigation of the planets and moons in the new system were interesting – but that all happens in the first ½ of the book. The second half is where most of my complaints lie. The personal narrative changes and the timeline speeds up. I understand why this needs to happen, but it caused me to lose interest quickly. I also felt the level of technical discussion overwhelmed the story. In the end, I appreciated the overall technical conclusions about the complexities of biology and the difficulties of finding an appropriate planet, but felt the book took far to long to get to those conclusions. There was a good story to be told, but it was told in a long, drawn-out manner with too few compelling characters.

'Smilla's Sense of Snow' by Peter Hoeg

Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Peter Hoeg (3.5)

If you enjoy anti-heroes like Lisbeth Salander and the Norwegian genre of dark suspense filled stories, this is one of the originals. Though set in Greenland and Copenhagen, I kept expecting Mikael Blomkvist to pop up to help Smilla. The story begins with the sad death of a young Greenlander whom Smilla had befriended (as much as she befriends anyone). Her particular skill, as another Greenlander, is reading and understanding ice and snow. She questions the ‘accident’ of her young friend (based on his footprints in the snow) and it takes her on a long journey to understand why someone would kill a young boy. The story is quite complicated, with many interesting characters and back-stories. Frankly it was hard to keep straight and I recommend reading it without long breaks. That being said, I really enjoyed the unusual characters, unique location and building suspense. My one complaint concerns the loose ends around a major character that disappears and pops up later – but I won’t spoil anything with details.