Book report 10
By A. Bae Hel
Malibu Rising
Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you have read anything by this author you know it falls into the Chic Lit genre. Daisy Jones and the Six was enjoyable, if only because it took me down some old memories of a walk on the rock and roll side of life.
Malibu in the 1980 was no longer the beckoning light for the chill culture. The party till you die culture had taken over. The story focuses on the Riva family and flips back and forth between the parents’ time line and the siblings’ timeline. Stories about dysfunctional families are rather common right now, and this family was memorable only in the location they lived. Malibu, on the cliffs above the ocean, with a stair down to the beach. Who wouldn’t want that? The dysfunction is typical – father is an irresponsible famous face, mother is an alcoholic waiting for him to come to his senses, and the kids are growing up trying to find their place in it all.
The story is entertaining, a perfect beach read. Easy language, easily followed and expected outcomes. It does not require much of you as a reader and sometimes that is ok.
Parade of Horribles
Matt Dinnamin
I laughed. I cried. I cried again. And at least another time. This is the supposed final in the series, but the universe is often weirder than we anticipate. I think the thing I like the best about this series is the late-stage capitalism satire. Each book has mirrors to our current mess and the dungeon crawl is a perfect metaphor for our scrambling fight against the syndicate as it slides into failure.
This is also about dysfunctional family and survival, but the dungeon family elicits more interest, more emotion and more commitment than the beach family of the other book. Carl trying to be a good man, Donut becoming a more human cat, and sometimes good people do horrible things for the greater good. How do they live with that? Well, that is the meaning of the crawl, to remain human despite, or in spite of the overlord’s cruelty and capriciousness.
This series looks superficially like a niche fantasy, but the complexity of themes, characters and world building slowly reveals it is greater than a story about a talking cat and a 28-year-old west coast male. It is so much more, yet defies a meaningful synopsis without sounding like a toddler telling a story.
I anticipate it might need a rereading to try to understand the complexities better. Regardless I recommend the series, though I think this one is the best of all. I strongly recommend seeking out the audio version if you decide to jump into the dungeon. It is amazingly well done. Plus, there is a whole sub-culture developing out there on the net if you are so inclined.
Calypso
David Sedaris
This book came up when I searched for something funny. Reviews tell me it is very, very funny. Apparently, my humour is broken, because I did not find it funny. Especially not, very, very funny. It was mildly amusing in places, so I guess that was a bit of a win.
Here David Sedaris writes about himself and his family and his interactions with the world. He is a slightly awkward friend who either doesn’t know and doesn’t care about social conventions so makes the irreverent observations in his outside voice. Like describing a fellow passenger who is incontinent of stool on a flight. This is apparently hilarious rather than demeaning and humiliating. All it did for me was make me feel even more of a weirdo since I didn’t find his stories funny, or even understand the point. Perhaps he is just trying to convey that he, a famous writer who lives in both London and in a beach house of the east coast, is just a regular guy, like all of us. Unfortunately, for me, regular guys don’t have to luxury residences nor can they afford to summer on the east beaches and jet around the globe reading passages from their other books. He is not relatable, and barely amusing. If I found myself sitting at a dinner table with him I would excuse myself and hide in the coat closet.
He has written a few books, and perhaps the others are more engaging. I am willing to give him another chance. I can’t really recommend this one though, unless like many, you find the tragedy of humans amusing.
