The
Girls: A Novel by Emma Cline
The
Girls is not so loosely
tied to one of the most shocking crimes of the century, the Manson Family killings,
delving in an especially mysterious aspect of the murders – the "family" of girls who
acted as though hypnotized by their crazy, charismatic leader, Charles Manson. This
book is written quite well in total, and exquisitely in sections, and you enter
the story knowing people are going to die, and dying to know why.
Evie Boyd is 14 in 1967, stuck in the tar pit
of pubescence, and desperate for something to take her away from her mother who
is untethered by divorce. And then she chances upon a group of young girls flush with careless allure – the fictionalized “Manson girls”. Evie senses
the ambiance of tragedy at the hippy ranch where the girls and their
charlatan of trust Russell live, but the gravity of idealism won’t let her leave.
We’ve all been there haven’t we? Somewhere doing something we know we shouldn’t
be doing, and then stayed a little past ugly because we wanted so much to believe it was okay?
What happens to Evie Boyd? Did she make it out like we? Read The Girls.
Commonwealth
by Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett’s newest book Commonwealth feels like the
domestic, protracted version of two of her other best sellers, Bel Canto and State of Wonder, both of which take place in South America and span short periods of time. It is full of intrigue, great characters, identifiable relationships, and is gorgeously written. But unlike those two quartos, Commonwealth is set in Virginia and stretches out over 50 years.
A couple of couple friends become family, but
not in a good way when they cross the line to cheat with each other. Then
everything going forward hinges on that one heat of passion decision, and upon another heart wrenching event Patchett cleverly throws into the mix. Commonwealth is about what happens when families bend but don't’ break – desperately trying to maintain relationships within the context of deceit, resentment, conflicting values and desperation - and therein lies the universal appeal. And although it
sometimes feels painfully familiar, we read on because we want to see the
characters triumph over the seemingly unstoppable trajectory of their
lives. There are wins and there are
losses, and they learn, and they do not learn, and we are satisfied because that is
our reality as well.
I feel for Ms. Patchett, having everything you
write compared to the ostensibly unsurpassable Bel Canto. So I won’t even say
it.
This
Is Your Brain on Parasites by Kathleen McAuliffe
What if I told you that your
personality, decisions and emotions may be controlled by the parasites in
your body? This
Is Your Brain on Parasites, which is about the history and study of
parasites, is going to be one of my favorites of 2016 - which probably speaks more to my fascination with medical science than the universal value of this book.
McAuliffe, a science and health journalist for
Atlantic, New York
Times, Discover, and Smithsonian, makes it clear in the preface of her
book that parasitology is a
comparatively young science. But she and recent studies also demonstrate they are in fact much more powerful than
we imagine. When you consider malaria alone has killed half the people who ever walked the earth, parasites are a pretty
big deal.
McAuliffe goes way out on
the scientific limb to entertain us, but then society historically poo-poos new discoveries – and the new science McAuliffe talks primarily about in this
book is that which suggest parasites, through the same evolution that taught us
to walk upright, has put parasites into the drivers seat of practically
everything, including us – basically by sheer numbers but also through some sci-fi-sounding
evolution. For example parasites that embed in mice brains to cause them to run
in front of cats (and thus get eaten) because the parasites can only procreate
in cat's guts. And then there’s the parasite that causes crickets to commit
suicide by jumping into water because that parasite must procreate in water. McAuliffe and some highly respected scientist have even made the leap to suggest
that parasites may be the cause of some mental illnesses, like autism
and schizophrenia.
The next time you’re in a
bookstore, just read the book preface. I dare you.
Loner
by Teddy Wayne
Teddy
Wayne’s vocabulary left me breathless and feeling a little stupid but
pleasantly challenged. The dude can spin a phrase and is a pretty good
storyteller too, deliciously and effectively making us think we know what is
going on when we really don’t.
David Federman is brilliant, but socially uncomfortable
- VERY socially uncomfortable, yet desperate to fit in his first year at
Harvard. He’s the guy that tries too hard – not quite weird enough to totally
write off, but sort of the pitiful, adopted member of his dorm pack, headed by the focus of his interest, beautiful Veronica. Nobody cares what
David says or does because he has no status. And although he is willing to suck up and even fake a love relationship in a desperate attempt to fit in
and to be closer to Veronica, David’s resentment at being undervalued by what
he sees as a culture of spoiled WASP kids is bubbling up to a dangerous
level. And then we realize David isn’t the only slightly psychopathic member of
the group.
You’ll enjoy this tableau of asininity, just
plan on looking up lots of words as Wayne dazzles us with his protracted
palaver.
The
Risen: A Novel by Ron Rash
This is a really short book about two brothers
reflecting on their teenage relationship with and the mysterious
disappearance of a girlfriend during the 1969 “summer of free love”. One brother is driven and ambitious, the
other impulsive and gullible – both are dominated by their harsh and
dictatorial physician grandfather. One becomes a doctor, one becomes a
drunk. And then 30 years later the
girl, Ligeia, comes back – liberated from a hidden grave by a flood, her body
washes up on the banks of the river where she and the two brothers once drank,
had sex, did drugs and pondered life.
Author Ron Rash does a good job telling a suspenseful story through the
characters, leading us slowly to believe one brother or the other committed the
murder, and eventually revealing a surprise ending– all the while showing how one
teen summer can shape lives forever.
The Risen is a worthy read.
The young
Henry Forge becomes so consumed with the issue of lineage he eventually transitions
the family corn farm to a horse farm to pursue an almost Frankensteining
dedication to creating the perfect racehorse, and his own perfect human offspring.
He marries/mates a woman from the
“right” family, and soon they produce a child, Henrietta. But time proves mom
is a little too human, signaling to Henry her genes need to be bred out of
their daughter to improve the bloodline. And yes, it is as sick as it sounds.
Henrietta becomes the perfect pupil and victim of her father’s dogma and the
privilege and entitlement that comes with the Forge brand. Although her
mother’s humanity eventually surfaces in Henrietta, consistent with the theme for this book, author Morgan (pictured) doesn’t let any good come of it. 
Like many of the
fabulous women who prop up the Lone Star, Bird wasn’t born in Texas, but she got
here as soon as she could - as if there’s a special magnetic force pulling the
best of our gender within the bounds of our huge, crazy, wonderful state of
mind.
In 2009, Bruce
Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl’s halftime show.
The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That’s
how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce
Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life,
bringing to these pages the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his
songs.
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