'A Moveable Feast' by Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway (3.5)

Hemingway’s famous memoir/not-memoir takes us back to a simpler time to the City of Light in the 1920’s where he and his (first) wife lived before his first novel was published. While I don’t love Hemingway’s writing style, I did enjoy his simple stories of the places and peoples that make up the starving artist’s life in Paris after WWI. From the neighborhood cafes to the bookshops, it’s a city that feels much more approachable than the one found today. I particularly enjoyed his interactions with Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald, though he cleverly starts the book with a question mark over whether it is a memoir or not. It is left up to the reader to determine how true he has been to the real characters. Overall, he comes across more likeable as a young writer than old, but that may be because this tale covers good times with his first wife. Only at the end does he gloss over the events that ended that marriage – the affair- and you remember his large reputation as a egotistical lout. I found it interesting that he wrote these remembrances at the end of his life and it was published posthumously. In some ways it seems like a love letter to his first wife and the city they enjoyed.

'The Lost City of the Monkey God' by Douglas Preston

The Lost City of the Monkey God, Douglas Preston (4.0)

I started reading this book just after seeing ‘The Lost City of Z’, a film about the true story of a British man’s search for an ancient city in the Amazon in the 1920’s. While different timeframes (current vs 20’s) and locations (Honduras vs Bolivia), both stories highlight the enticement and mystery of the possibility of riches and fame. In ‘Z’, they were definitely looking for gold, but there was still the excitement of finding a lost civilization. In this book, the rumor of an ancient abandoned city nestled in the overgrown Honduras jungle beguiles a group of people, mostly incredulous that it hasn’t been found already. With the availability of a new technology allowing effective viewing from the air, a team is put together to search for the city. The author goes along to document the trip for National Geographic and becomes one of the first people to enter the ‘city’ in hundreds of years. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the hazards (snakes, pests, weather, more snakes!) and the team’s defensive measures. I also found Mr. Preston did a good job postulating on hypotheses of extinction of the culture found. Overall the story reads like a good adventure mystery with real life consequences.

'Walkaway' by Cory Doctorow

Walkaway, Cory Doctorow (4.0)

This most recent Cory Doctorow cyber punk tale offers some of his past themes mixed with a newer take on large scale issues our society appears to be facing, particular the effects of the division of wealth and power. In his near future, society has reached a post-scarcity point (i.e. everything essential can be made from a machine on demand), so normal jobs have become somewhat superfluous. More and more disillusioned youth have ‘walked away’ from society to find a new beginning. At first this is fine with the general society and specifically the powerful rich. But once a group of walkaway professors discovers a way to possibly live forever, the power balance shifts and all eyes turn to the disparate walkaway groups as threats. The book follows a couple of interesting characters as they choose to walkaway and the effect family, money and power have on their decisions. Doctorow, as usual, weaves creative technology into a driving plot. He goes deep enough into technology to likely lose a few readers, but if you enjoy examining the possible effects of a post-scarcity age on a have/have-not society – you’ll find plenty to chew on here.

'Leonardo Da Vinci' by Walter Isaacson

Leonardo Da Vinci, Walter Isaacson (3.0)

While I often read books using my Kindle, due to the large number of figures in this book, I recommend reading it in paper format. Isaacson does a great job describing details of the process and resulting drawing or painting so I was often referring back to them reviewing details. In typical biography form, this book follows Leonardo’s life from birth to death. I doubt there are any surprising or new elements brought to life here, but for someone who has not read a full biography of the famous artist/scientist, it serves as a thorough review of his masterpieces, inventions, and the curiosity of the man. In addition, Isaacson does a good job in explaining how each affects the other, such as how his fascination with anatomy down to the nerves and muscles of a smile likely was used to create the most enigmatic smile in art. As with ‘Steve Jobs’, Isaacson points out the weaknesses of his chosen genius, but it is extremely clear how much in awe he is about his subject. Also, the other people popping in and out of his life are more caricatures and generally felt as if they were dealt with at arms length.  I believe this is a good, approachable (albeit long) book about Da Vinci’s life, but couldn’t help but wonder of one of the many cited other biographies might be better?

'La Belle Savage' by Philip Pullman

La Belle Savage (The Book of Dust #1), Philip Pullman (4.0)

With regards to returning us to the warm fires of Pullman’s alternate Oxford, this long awaited prequel to ‘His Dark Materials’ did not disappoint. My only complaint is that, not surprisingly, it is lacking any new exciting information about this very interesting world. The first trilogy was filled with creative ideas and thoughtful characters. This book begins to describe the backstory of many of those characters and set-up the overall political environment – set about 10 years prior to the start of the original trilogy. The protagonist, Malcolm, is a young, sweet unassuming boy who works at his family’s pub – which happens to be next to the convent where the nuns are caring for the baby, Lyra. At this point, Lyra’s mother and father are estranged and he is already trying to protect her with anonymity. Malcolm’s strong observational and analytical skills drive him to realize that not all is as it seems with the learned people in and around his parent’s pub. And his sense of valor pushes him to protect Lyra at any cost. On it’s own, I think this is more of a 3-star book, but for fans of ‘His Dark Materials’, it is a comforting return to a favorite world.