Book Review

The blogger wanted to share a book she just finished. It's not a new book, but one that leaped off the shelves of the Reston Regional Library into her hands last week. Once she started it, she had a very hard time putting it down.

Ghost Riders, by Sharyn McCrumb, is a story of how the old and the new can intersect in time with quite unexpected results. The setting is in the mountains of North Carolina during the Civil War as well as the present. The story is mostly about a couple, McKesson (Keith) and Malinda (Sam) Blalock, who are as poor as any up in the mountains, but despite their best efforts, can't stay free of entanglements with the war. They eventually end up helping soldiers who are escaping from service with the CSA.

At the same time, but in a different century, re-enactors are in the woods in the mountains, living the "good" soldier life. They don't realize that the folks coming through their campsite with the totally realistic gear and uniforms and appearance aren't reenactors. Their ignorance is a blessing.

There are some other characters that help hold the story together -- a part-Cherokee man called Rattler, and a mountain man from the old times named Zebulon Baird Vance. Their involvement in the story is essential and utterly fascinating.

The reason the blogger found the book so interesting is because she has been up to her eyeteeth in genealogy history lately, much of it trying to discern when her ancestors crossed the Appalachians. From reading the accounts of those who kept moving west, the blogger was aware of how realistically portrayed the time and circumstances were captured by the author.  Additionally, the battle of Saltville figures in the book, and that's the one the blogger's daughter was working on with GIS this summer at Governor's School.  Who knew we'd ever hear anything about that one again?

Some of the characters really existed in the Civil War times, which makes the story even more intriguing.

If you ever wondered why re-enactors do what they do, and what ghosts they risk disturbing, you'll enjoy this historical fiction book. You can find it on the shelf:

FIC
MCC

A Glimpse of Coal Country

Coal Run, by Tawni O'Dell, is an interesting look at the characters who spring up, almost as from the mines, in coal country. The story begins with a flashback to a massive coal mine explosion that kills over half the male population of Coal Run, PA. The writer so clearly describes the sequence of events that led to the explosion -- it reminded me of the Upper Branch disaster that occurred in April this year. And although the impact on the families at Upper Branch is yet to be written in the long-term, this book gives an eloquent picture of how more than a mine is destroyed when such a disaster occurs.

The extremely flawed hero of the book, the great Ivan Z, was able to escape becoming a coal miner by being an outstanding football player. Yet, when the story begins he's back in Coal Run (why is part of the story), broken and largely hopeless, trying to come to terms with the legacy of the mines.

The characters in this novel are exquisitely crafted. Jolene the beauty queen, Ivan's sister, is as beautiful and sensual as she is kind and loving. The Sheriff and Dr. John create boundaries for Ivan through their presence, without stripping his dignity (he manages to do that on his own). The spectre of Reese Raynor's return from prison hangs over the story as Ivan fears the impact of this violent man.  In response to the events of his own life, Ivan continues to self-destruct with alcohol, yet there's something decent in him that compels the reader to keep caring about whether he's going to make it back to life. It's the decency in which he visits Reese Raynor's wife, Crystal, who lays in a coma because of Reese's violence. It's the decency in which Ivan spends time with his youngest nephew trying to fit into the uncomfortable hero image only a six year old can craft. And it's the decency in which Ivan approaches Val, his childhood hero, who returns to Coal Run for the first time in many years for the funeral of the old woman whose life and death draws them all together.

The novel is gritty. There's lots of alcohol, a fair amount of sex and lots of profanity. None of it is gratuitous - it all fits the setting and the story. The description of the mine, and the causes of the explosion are sadly, all too familiar from this spring. This book isn't about the conflict between mine owners and miners, or profits and a decent living though. It's about a hard working, hard drinking community that manages to survive despite the worst that can happen to it.

The blogger listened to it on CD and the narrator was amazing. There were many driveway moments in this book, and no fairy tale ending, but a satisfying one nonetheless.

It's under FIC ODE at FCPL and there are 15 copies available today.  Check it out!

Sad, but True

A couple of the things we learn from holding Semi-Annual Used Book Sales (last weekend in September is the next one) is that

• there are a lot of books published of quite questionable quality
• the book I think is dreck may be 'just the thing' for someone else.

That said, I read a library book last week that was T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. and I want to let you know so you don't waste your time.

If you're a mystery/thriller fan, you've probably heard of James Patterson. You may have even read his (many) books.Well for some reason, he got a wild hair about solving the mystery of how King Tutankhamen died.Convinced that he could solve the mystery, Patterson collaborated with Martin Dugard to produce one of the absolutely worst waste of time books published.

You can start right with the cover. The book, The Murder of King Tut, advertises itself as a non-fiction thriller. It is true that the story of King Tut's short life, and the discovery of his tomb are thrilling, but the format in which Patterson has written the account is DEFINITELY fiction. He creates imagined conversations and even scenarios into which his neat 'theory' of Tut's murder falls.

Opening the book, you find an Author's Note. In the note, Patterson proceeds to excuse himself from any conventions associated with writing non-fiction. The entire tone is "I'm James Patterson, noted author, so I don't have to obey the common rules of writing." Sigh.

This book is much the worse for his abandonment of normal rules. Granted, in life much of the formerly stark line between fiction and non-fiction has blurred, but this book isn't even close.

And we haven't gotten to the writing yet.

In some ways, the writing style and format reminds me of a third grade chapter book. Short, with large font, the scene shifts between the early 20th century (Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon) and ancient Egypt. The conversations between the players in ancient times are completely contrived and the relationships mostly imagined. There is a little more validity in the 20th century portions as Carter left many papers and notes from which to draw a good story. But they fail at even that. A carefully laid out mystery is exciting and interesting (think Agatha Christie and Nero Wolfe). This is dull, contrived, and the conclusion Patterson draws isn't based on anything he writes up to that point. But lest you be tempted to let your 3rd grader read it, know that there are some sex scenes.

It IS a story. At best, it's Historical Fiction. (And there are better historical fiction books on this subject) At worst, it is a fraud. There are no footnotes. No sources listed. No bibliography of any kind. Instead, where a bibliography might normally be found, there is a long list of all of Patterson's published titles.

This is either the worst case of author arrogance I've read in a long time, or this is a poor hapless author driven to publish absolute rubbish by a ruthless publisher. Don't bother reading it to find out unless you're a big James Patterson fan and feel sorry for him.

If, after this glowing review, you're tempted to read the book anyway, look under 932P.  The P is ostensibly for Patterson but it should be for Pretentious and Pathetic and Pee-yew.

Monday book review (sort of)

Let's connect a bunch of dots.

What do we Friends do when we aren't having our famous biannual (twice a year) book sales? Just like you, we read. Lots and lots of books and papers.

I was reading the Washington Post the other day (Thursday, October 15, editorial page) and saw this article. It was an amazing, "hey, I'm reading that book! I know who they're talking about." kind of moment. Nothing is given away here by briefly trying to summarize the underlying book,


Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

as Greg Mortenson's mission to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate children. There is a rich set of stories around the cultural encounters he has to try to work peacefully with the local population. They're initially suspicious of his motives, but he ends up getting endorsed by local warlords and even the Islamic clergy. Although there are date references, it's a pretty timeless story that's still playing out today. You can see more of what his Central Asia Institute (CAI) is doing at their website.

One of our volunteers, Lorraine, has started a separate program to help Darfur refugees with BookWish. She hasn't written a book about it yet, but the program is doing amazing things.

And yes, I found that book at the Friends' sale for $1. Although I'm torn about keeping and rereading it occasionally, I'll probably end up donating it back to the Friends for the next book sale, because it's a story more people need to know. If you ask, we'll try to set aside copies.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

/bj

Book Review Monday

The blogger rarely reads brand new books. One of the reasons is that they tend not to be sitting in the donation bin! The blogger will confess that after working at the book sale and purchasing hardcover books with dust jackets for $1.50, she is hard pressed to pay retail OR wait on the hold list for most books. So when a book jumps into her hand from the donation bin, she usually feels compelled to read it.

This book, East of the Mountains by David Guterson, is one of those books. It is the story of a retired heart surgeon, Ben Givens, who has been traumatized by life. He has lost his beloved wife, and now his own body is riddled with terminal cancer. As a physician, he is fully aware of the messy clinical death that awaits him and he resolves to avoid it. Further, he resolves to spare anyone else (including his daughter and grandson) that experience.

A long time hunter, Ben decides to go out for one last hunting trip with his dogs during which he plans to take his own life, making it look like a hunting accident. But life has a funny way of intervening with our own will to end it, and Ben is drawn back from the brink through a series of events that connect his still-living heart to the hearts of others he meets along the way.

This book is a stark confrontation with the reality many try to avoid. We will all die, but how we choose to live is the legacy we pass on. Thinking through these things is part of what makes us human.

The book is worth reading, and copies will be be available for sale, along with zillions of other books, at the Semi-Annual Used Book Sale at Reston Regional Library, beginning September 23 with Friends Night. Not a member? Use the sidebar to become one or to renew. That will get you in at 5 p.m. on Wednesday night. On Thursday, September 24, we'll open to the General Public at 10 a.m. See ya then!

Comments, questions, suggestions? E-mail us or comment!

/kw