'The Snow Leopard' by Peter Matthiessen

The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen (3.0)

Rating this book was hard. It included some sections of beautiful writing, adventure and interesting cultural references. Sadly, the overarching sense of entitlement from the author cast a constant shadow. I often felt I was reading about a British gentleman in the 1800’s, not an American in the 1970s! Matthiessen describes his trip to the Himalayas in the early 70’s joining his friend who wants to observe and document the Blue Himalayan sheep and possibly the elusive Snow Leopard. The 2 western men were joined by 4 Sherpas and 14 porters in groups of 2 to 4 at a time over the journey. Throughout the book, both men treat the native men as second -class citizens, rarely taking their advice and remarking in surprise when they did something clever or interesting. My favorite parts included the descriptions of the hiking, of the flora and fauna, and of his mental health journey. It was like ‘unplugging’ in the 70’s – he was careful not to dive directly back into society and ruin the solace he had struggled to find on the journey.

'Cloud Cuckoo Land' by Anthony Doerr

Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr (4.0)

Readers tend to like books about libraries. This book celebrates libraries, librarians and books across time, culture and technology. There are several ‘main’ characters followed in a spectrum that goes from 1400’s Constantinople to a space-ship sometime in the future. A book written in the 400’s is the constant which ties all the stories together. I was a little worried that a 600+ page book might drag at times but found it to be a very quick and enjoyable read. While the reader needs to pay attention to the character and timeframe (both jump around frequently), patience will be paid off as all will be beautifully brought together at the end of a delightful journey.

'Czars: Russia's Rulers for Over One Thousand Years' by James P. Duffy and Vincent L. Ricci

Czars, Russia’s Rulers for Over One Thousand Years, James P. Duffy and Vincent L. Ricci (3.0)

While this book was written in 1995, reading it this year, given what is happening between Russia and the Ukraine, is timely. Starting with the first ruler (Rurik) in the 9th century up to the Romanov’s in the early 1900s, the book covers the basic history and transitions between the rulers of areas we typically consider Russian. Probably the most surprising is that the first ruler, Rurik, was a Viking, as were several thereafter. This all started in Kiev – so the interest in that area by Russia today becomes interesting. Though given all the various peoples who have affected the culture and ruled the area, defining Russia is quite murky and difficult to do. Also, as with most monarchies affiliated with Europe during the first century, the intermarriages gave Russia many non-Russia rulers throughout. Many did not have any Russian blood whatsoever. I found this book to be a little dry, but a great primer and reminder of the complexity that is Russia.

'Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal that Changed Hollywood' by Greg Merritt

 

Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood, Greg Merritt (3.5)

For those unaware (or just too young), Fatty Arbuckle was a contemporary of Charlie Chaplin in silent movies who was very famous at the time, but due to a scandal (in Room 1219!) he was one of the first ‘cancelled’ celebrities. Prior, those in Hollywood enjoyed a private life that could be quite different from their on-screen personas. The mystery and trials around the death of the actress Virginia Rappe was one of the first times where the curtain was pulled back and the viewing public let their imaginations run wild. I particularly liked how the author walked through the trials and evidence, described the times before the incident and after and ultimately gave his opinion on what actually happened using only reliable background information. In many ways, the pre-internet celebrity had an easier time, though cancelled is still cancelled.

'Razorblade Tears' by S. A. Cosby

Razorblade Tears, S. A. Cosby (3.0)

I’ll give this story a ‘3’ for keeping my interest, moving quickly and having some memorable quotes (i.e. ‘revenge is just hate in a nicer suit’). Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the constant violence, cartoonish stereotypes and mostly the foreshadowing that made the villain obvious early on. We start with two fathers who come together to determine who killed their married sons. They each represent a stereotype of someone who hates the LGBTQ community (African American previous convict and alcoholic southern white trash) who need to work together on their journey to exact revenge while coming to understand how much they loved their sons. The carnage doled out and ignorant character behavior are constant. The gay bashing is tiring.  I’m surprised how many ‘5’ ratings I see for this book- I can only imagine that many like to see a wrong righted – in that the book can be cathartic.

'The Metaphysical Club' by Louis Menand

The Metaphysical Club, Louis Menand (2.0)

I have a hard time describing what this book is about. It purports to describe the main thinkers (ala the Metaphysical Club) in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s who drove some of the main ideas and philosophies in the US. I found the beginning interesting and the end did a relatively good job of wrapping it up, but I will attribute my frustration to the large middle bit. I got lost in the myriad of characters, varying timelines and lack of a linking narrative. The title is a bit misleading – the club did not exist for very long and there are no records of what was discussed. It’s not even mentioned until half-way through the book. Given all the characters discussed, I have forgotten who theoretically participated.  In the end I found the discussion of the North’s issues entering the Civil War, the definition(s) of abolitionists and the initiation of academic freedom quite interesting, but so much else in this book did not stick for me.

'The Lincoln Highway' by Amor Towles

The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles (4.0)

I really enjoy Amor Towles’s characters, they are never all good or all bad, but at least one can be called ‘charming’. In this story the younger brother, Billy, gets to be the charming one. Throughout the book, the reader holds their breath so that nothing bad will occur to him. His innocence and belief in people were refreshing to read. Like the heroes in the book he carries with him, he and his brother, Emmett, are on a perilous journey. They meet interesting people, have companions join them and have obstacles put in their way. The ending was not quite what I expected, and I felt the book ended only part-way through the journey. I would have liked to have seen where Towles would take them.