Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

It has been foretold by Agnes Nutter, witch extraordinaire and general loon, that the world is going to end and Agnes Nutter’s book of prophecies has never been wrong. The antichrist and the end of days are upon us.

Good and evil are about to go to war and no one in heaven or hell can be bothered to stop it. That is, no one except a demon that likes to drive too fast and an angel that is enjoying life on earth just a little too much. Crowley, the demon, and Aziraphale, the angel, like doing their respective jobs and they would never completely disobey orders, but they might fudge things just a little to hopefully avoid the apocalypse. Crowley actually likes humans and Azipraphale definitely would miss the music too much. They decide that when the antichrist is born they’ll make sure he is given a bit of heavenly tutoring along with his evil lessons. But when when the time comes, Crowley and Aziraphale realize they’ve made an enormous mistake. They’ve misplaced the antichrist.

Pratchett and Gaiman have written a hilarious story about what would happen if the antichrist were lost and raised by the most normal loving family in the world. Would he still grow up to be harbinger of evil, or could he, along with his misfit pals and his hellhound named “Dog,” actually avoid their fate? It is an endearing tale of what it means to be human, while also questioning the nature of good and evil. It’ll make you laugh out loud, but more than anything, it’ll make you appreciate the band Queen.

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Best ‘New to Us’ Books in 2012: Sarah K.’s Picks

This year, I decided to clump my favorite “old reads” into two categories. In one, I have stories which concern themselves with the lives of women and the other is stories which play with the Western genre in unconventional ways. On one hand you have female characters who must struggle against society’s limitations and constraints on women, and on the other you have two authors who have struggled against the conventions of a dusty genre with deep-set tropes. — Sarah K.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Nowadays, most people associate the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn with hipsters and all their accoutrements, such as fixed-wheel bikes, ironic facial hair and craft foods. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Williamsburg was a hard-scrabble, working class neighborhood. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the coming of age of Francie Nolan, who lives there with her family as they struggle against poverty and the consequences of her father’s alcoholism. Though Smith wrote with a natural lyricism and was able to capture hope and beauty despite difficult circumstances, she did not flinch from realistic depictions of unwanted pregnancies, substance abuse and child predators. If you haven’t had a chance to read this classic or haven’t read it since your youth, give it a try and prepare to be charmed.

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Fans of large country houses, large eccentric British families, and outsized personalities will enjoy The Pursuit of Love. Breezy, but sharp, Mitford based her portrayal on her own family and neighbors causing much pearl-clutching and gasps of outrage when it was published. The story follows the romantic misadventures of Linda Radlett as she seeks out true passionate love and adventure. Unsentimental, the book’s candy-coating of wit hides a deeper melancholy as it examines the conflict between seeking out romantic fulfillment or settling for domestic stability.

The Group by Mary McCarthy
The Group follows the lives of eight Vassar graduates as they navigate relationships, careers and motherhood in the mid-1930s. Think of this as the Depression-era, Girls or Sex and the City. Considered scandalous upon publication in 1963, many of the themes in the book pertaining to sex and its complications are fairly tame by today’s standards. However it’s compelling to read this and see the similarities and differences in the “women having it all” discussion that American women continue to struggle with. A fascinating aspect of the book is the section centered on new mother, Priss and the proto-mommy wars into which she gets sucked. Yes, the breastfeeding versus formula debate existed even then.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Reminiscent of the tone and style of Charles Portis’ True Grit, The Sisters Brothers tells the tale of Charles and Eli Sisters, as they pursue Herman Kermit Warm at the behest of the Commander, a powerful tycoon who wants to cash in on Warm’s chemical formula for finding gold. The book is narrated by Eli, a reluctant murderer who is plagued by self-doubt, yet stays in the business to remain close to his reckless and callous brother. DeWitt uses deadpan formalized 19th century vernacular as a gateway to melancholy dark humor, and his portrayal of lonely, woebegone Eli is the highlight of the book.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Not for the faint of heart, Blood Meridian follows the bloody trail of ‘the kid’ as he joins a violent band of mercenary scalp hunters as they tear through the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico during the mid-1800s. A meditation on the nature of violence, embodied by the grotesque character of the Judge, McCarthy explores the myth and reality of the Westward Expansion. What elevates this book from merely a laundry list of gratuitous acts of violence is McCarthy’s piercing, hypnotic prose and surreal imagery.

The Android’s Dream by John Scalzi

If you take a look at my previous posts you’ll notice that I love me some humor and satire in my books. You’ll also notice that I’m a huge geek for Science Fiction and that I’ve blogged about the author John Scalzi several times before (my wife says that he’s my “man-crush” but we’ll leave that theory alone for right now). So, how could I not love a satirical science fiction novel about the diplomacy and inter-species relations between humans and an alien race with vastly superior military and technological power? Of course, I thoroughly enjoyed The Android’s Dream, despite the fact that I was a tiny bit disappointed to find out that there is no actual android in the book. The title is a reference to Philip K. Dick’s classic novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? However, while there is no adroid in this book, there is a sheep … sort of.

The story opens with an Earth diplomat who murders his alien counterpart during a routine trade negotiation meeting in one of the most creative, imaginative – and humorous – ways possible. This, in turn, causes an inter-stellar incident with the reptilian Nidu race. They demand that a very rare breed of sheep be delivered to them for a coronation ritual on their home world. This wouldn’t be a problem, but the few of these sheep that exist on Earth have all mysteriously died very recently. Thus, the state department enlists just the man for the job: Harry Creek.

Creek is a former war hero and computer hacker/genius who also has an unusual skill set that makes him the ideal person for his offical role with the State department. Harry is the guy who delivers bad news to the aliens living on Earth. When an alien  diplomat’s wife is refused her entry visa because of the infidelity that she is committing, Harry has to break the news to her husband. And, when the diplomatic crisis that can only be solved with a sheep arises, the government taps Harry to solve this little problem as well.

How Harry ends up handing things and finding the desired sheep is an interesting and very entertaining journey. Mixed in with all of this are some mercernary thugs of dubious skill, the Church of the Evolved Lamb (which is trying to influence the course of human history over many generations), scheming and plotting government agents from rival departments, a large furry alien on a religious quest, and the world’s first (or is it?) artificial intelligence created from an actual human mind. In true Scalzi fashion, this book has a great story with plenty of action, some twists and turns along the way, and hidden within are some “”big ideas”" on which one can ponder about human nature and how we do – or don’t – get along on our little planet.

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The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

In the good news of Luke, humans have all kinds of difficulties recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. The demons, however, see it instantly. “You are the Son of God!” they shout, but Jesus rebukes them. He would “not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.” (Luke 4:41.)

To Satan, nothing is more ridiculous than the notion that there is no God, so obviously the Evil One finds the Soviet Union a laughable endeavor. A state that claims that religions, myths, legends, and all things supernatural are simply invented in order to oppress the proletariat – what could be more absurd than that?

In the 1930s, professor Woland, a black magician, enters the city of Moscow, the capital of Soviet Union, and he encounters the editor Berlioz and the poet Ivan. Woland learns that the editor does not believe in Jesus, and this makes Woland worried, as it probably means that Berlioz doesn’t believe in the devil either.

Suddenly, the morning turns to night, the conversation begins to take on puzzling qualities, and eventually Woland claims that a young, Soviet woman will cut Berlioz’s head off.
What?

The editor decides to contact a mental institution to see if they are not missing a patient, but before Berlioz can make the call, he falls under a streetcar and his head is severed. The streetcar operator turns out to be – yes, a young, Soviet woman.

The Master and Margarita mixes slapstick with profound wisdom, theological depth, and sharp criticism of some traits of the young state. It is a mind-boggling tall tale about satanic ventures, the power of love, and the substance of the arts.

Woland is one of the great literary creations of all time, and who or what he is, is up for debate. He appears different to different people and his name has been linked to German names for the devil or a demon (Voland, Faland, etc – Voldemort, anyone?) So perhaps he is Satan. Or Stalin, a foreigner (like Woland) who terrorized the Russians and other Soviet citizens. Or both. And much, much more.

Anyway, he’s not alone. He has a few friends and followers. One of them is a cat, Behemoth. He’s big. Huge, actually. In fact, man-sized. And he walks on his hind legs. And drinks vodka. And wreaks havoc in Moscow. So, Behemoth is evidently not only what he seems to be – a huge cat – but he is also something else. And that’s The Master and Margarita in a nutshell.

See what my colleague, Sarah K., had to say about this book a couple of years ago, too.

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Sacre Bleu: a Comedy d’Art by Christopher Moore

Some authors start out good and just get better with each book they write, while others like to try their hands at writing different types of stories from those for which they’re known. In Christopher Moore’s latest, I believe that he has achieved both of these. This new novel is very funny and filled with the type of (sometimes ribald, often laugh-out-loud) humor Moore’s fans have come to expect, yet it is also so much more. Sacre Bleu is a Historical Fiction novel about the art and artists of 19th Century France, especially Paris. Some of his other novels have also dealt with historical events (see: Lamb and Fool), but those were much more silly, and less accurate, in their approach. While I have loved just about all of Chris’s novels, I feel like I actually learned more about the time, place, people and subject about which he has written this time. So, yeah, this one is just a bit different from “typical” Christopher Moore, but in a totally good way.

In the novel we meet Lucien Lessard, a young baker in Paris who dreams of being a painter, just as his father did. We also meet many famous French painters of the time, including Van Gogh, Pissaro, Manet, Monet, Seurat, Gaugin, and Lucien’s good friend — and co-star of the novel — Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The story opens with the supposed suicide of Vincent Van Gogh. But, why would anyone, even a tortured artist, shoot himself to end his life and then walk a mile to the nearest doctor’s house? There are also the numerous sightings of a very short, dark, gnarled man around the artists whose presence seems linked to a special ultramarine shade of blue pigment — the very shade that Van Gogh was using while painting outdoors that night.

The mysterious shade of blue is the same one that is used in sacred religious paintings (used mainly for Mary’s cloak), but we soon discover that it may, in fact, have magical properties. The dwarf, known as The Colorman, also has an accomplice for his nefarious schemes, a beautiful young woman called Bleu, who’s been a muse to many painters. Could the mystery of Van Gogh’s death, the dark little dwarf, the madness of artists, and the color blue all be connected? Well, of course, but just how Moore ties all of these things, and more, together has to be read to be appreciated.  What the French artists of the time did with paint, Moore does here with words to wonderful effect.

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The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

The most recent edition of this book is illustrated by Ralph Steadman.  So that’s one reason why you should just go ahead grab yourself a copy.  But maybe you can’t get your hands on that one — maybe instead you have the unillustrated and economical-in-every-way Dover Thrift Edition.  Fear not: it’s the same book, just without the kinky illustration of “Belladonna” (n. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison.  A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues).

Bierce began this “dictionary” in 1881 as a serial in a newspaper, and continued “in a desultory way and at long intervals until 1906.”  He has been compared to Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift, at least in terms of his wit.  However, not always: he was a Union soldier at Shiloh, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, and many other bloody and horrible Civil War battles, though at the latter he sustained a serious head injury, despite which he reenlisted as soon as he was able.  Thus, if you pick up any of his Civil War writing, you will find scant hilarity.

But none of that here.  The Devil’s Dictionary is grouchy and hilarious or cynical and mean-spirited, depending on your mood (and his, maybe).  It’s meant for opening at random and reading aloud.  Bring it to Thanksgiving and amuse your family!  Here’s one to read while you pass around the ham:

“Trichinosis, n. The pig’s reply to proponents of porcophagy.”

Or when that Irritating Aunt/Sister/Lady Etc. starts prattling on about late parties, loud music, miniskirts, and how Kids these days don’t know Things:  “Prude, n. A bawd hiding behind the back of her demeanor.”

Or maybe Your Cousin the Insufferable Harry Potter fan temporarily takes his spoon from his mouth (or doesn’t) and starts to ramble on about the new HP movie:  “Hippogriff, n.  An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin.  The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle.  The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold.  The study of zoology is full of surprises.”

Or perhaps your family declares that they’ve had quite enough of you reading aloud from your stupid book, thank you very much, this is even worse than last year when you harassed Poor Father with an endless recitation of Gertrude Stein: “Erudition, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.”  Alternatively: “November, n.  The eleventh twelfth of a weariness.”

Check it out.

Tricky Business by Dave Barry

Well, another week comes to a close, so I’ll leave you with one more funny book in honor of National Humor Month.  No list of funny books could be complete without including Dave Barry, and I actually paused for several minutes while trying to decide which of his many books to discuss.  I finally selected his second novel, Tricky Business, which is set, of course, in Florida.  Briefly, it’s the story of what happens when a cast of colorful and eccentric characters all end up on a gambling ship off the coast of Florida during one of the worst hurricanes in memory.  But, it’s also much more than just that.

When talking about why we enjoy certain books, librarians use the term “appeal factors” and there are generally four or five different factors.  This book hits me on three of them: character, story and language.  If you’ve ever read Dave Barry before, you know that he’s a master of language and has a talent for finding the funny side in just about anything.  Of course, every novel could be said to have the appeal of story, but some authors are just much better story-tellers than others.  Dave Barry is one of the very good ones, who crafts a tale that keeps me turning pages and muttering “just one more chapter” to see what happens next.  And lastly, Barry’s characters are the heart of his stories.  They are identifiable and interesting, and Barry makes me care what happens to them, whether I’m rooting for the hero or hoping the bad guys get what’s coming to them.

The characters in this particular adventure include Fay, an attractive cocktail waitress trying to make ends meet for her kid; a pair of feisty octogenarians who’ve escaped from their rest home; a motley group of dope smoking wanna-be rockers who make up the ship’s band, Johnny and the Contusions; and some south Florida mobsters who use the ship’s nightly voyages for smuggling drugs.  The ship is ostensibly simply used to take tourists out to international waters where they can gamble and drink their cares away.  But, the owner, tired of being used by the gangsters, decides that tonight is the night to take back his ship and intercept the drug deal for his own.  No matter that the news is reporting one doozy of a tropical storm just off the coast, no matter that there are no other ships foolhardy enough to venture out in weather like this.  Naturally, wacky antics ensue, but, as I mentioned, Barry does a fabulous job of making the reader actually care about his characters.

This novel, much like Barry’s first, Big Trouble, could easily be pictured as a movie.  Unfortunately, as we all know, sometimes great books make for not-so-great movies (as was the case with the movie Big Trouble – a great book and a talented cast, somehow made a rather mediocre movie.)  But, I’m still hopeful that Barry will write more novels (he’s been working on a series of Peter Pan adventures with Ridley Pearson lately) and am confident that they’ll be every bit as funny as his first two.

Don’t forget to also try some of  Dave Barry’s numerous books that contain collections of humorous essays, located in the 814-818 section of our Nonfiction area, too.

Find and reserve Tricky Business in our catalog.

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

To continue my theme of humorous books in honor of National Humor Month, today I’m discussing one of the classics by the estimable Mr. P. G. Wodehouse.  I actually discovered the Jeeves & Wooster stories only rather recently – on a road trip vacation several years ago I grabbed a bargain audio book at the bookstore and was laughing all the way to the beach.  Unfortunately, that was about the best part of that trip as it turned out that the campsite in which I stayed was in a jungle-like environment with huge black & yellow spiders everywhere, not to mention record high temperatures, to boot.  Since then, I’ve read several more of the Jeeves & Wooster books and have enjoyed them all.  While most of these stories do follow the same basic plot line, the unique story details, language and general comedy-of-errors situations make each one a delight to read (or listen to).  The plot of almost all of the Jeeves & Wooster stories is: the superior valet Jeeves helps extricate aristocratic Bertie Wooster from the many undignified situations in which he finds himself thanks to his bumbling escapades and zany adventures.  Many people also know this series from the early 1990′s British television series starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.

This particular story is the first of several in the Totleigh Towers saga, and opens with our hero, Bertie Wooster, one of the idle rich in pre-World War II England, recovering from a bachelor party he threw for his friend Gussie Fink-Nottle.  While still suffering the after-effects, he is summoned before his overbearing and demanding Aunt Dahlia, who sends Bertie on an errand to a local antique shop in the hopes of getting a silver cow creamer for a bargain price.  Through the usual confusion and mix-ups, the creamer ends up in the hands of Sir Watkyn of Totleigh Towers instead of dear Aunt Dahlia.  Sir Watkyn also happens to be the father of Bertie’s friend Gussie’s betrothed, Madeline Bassett – and what’s more he suspects Bertie of being a kleptomaniac.  In true Wodehouse style, hilarious hijinks ensue accompanied by rapid fire one liners and plenty of witty dialogue.  By the end trusty Jeeves has had his formidable intellect taxed to the utmost, but he comes through, as per usual, ensuring everything comes out well, and all parties are happy once again – at least until Bertie’s next escapade.  We also learn what the true code of the Woosters is (“Never let a pal down”).  This book is also available in audio, as are some of the other Jeeves & Wooster stories.

If you like the Jeeves & Wooster stories, you may also enjoy The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry.

Find and reserve The Code of the Woosters in our catalog.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Certain books leave indelible images on the brain that readers return to long after reading the last page.  A horse head filled with eels, a girl costumed as a ham, or a moldering spider-filled wedding cake come to mind.

However you may be hard-pressed to find a novel with a comparable number of memorable images than The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

Alternating between 1930s Moscow where Satan and his minions are wreaking chaos, a portrayal of Pontius Pilate’s Jerusalem, and the love story of between jailed writer The Master and his married lover Margarita, this book is a masterpiece of satire and magical realism.  The story is dense, fast-paced, and joyously shocking.  Along with a giant talking black cat riding a tram, The Master and Margarita features multiple beheadings and nude flying witches.

It’s rumored that the Stones’ song “Sympathy for the Devil” is based on this book, and it immediately became a cult classic upon publication, but what turns me back to this book again and again is this line: “On awakening, Margarita did not weep, as she often did, because she awoke with the presentiment that today something was finally going to happen.”

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Straight Man by Richard Russo

I picked this title up out of curiosity.  The Cameron Village Library’s Evening Book Club had selected it for discussion, and after talking with the group’s facilitator, I decided to give it a try.  I chose the audio version (WCPL owns it only on cassette) for this foray into adult literature (I am primarily a youth services librarian), although I have since re-read the book in its print form.

I hated it at the beginning.  As I drove and listened, I thought, “Oh, man.  What am I doing listening to a book about a middle-aged man having a mid-life crisis?  This stinks!”  But, for some reason, I kept giving it a chance.  I am not sorry in the least that I persevered.

Straight Man is the story of Hank Devereaux, Jr.: middle-aged English department interim chair at a Podunk branch of the Pennsylvania state university system.  Hank is about as go-nowhere as a man can get, but his sly observations on the people who populate his daily existence, and his constant attempts to get their collective goat are what keep him going.  The story unfolds as Hank’s wife leaves him alone at home for the weekend. Hank proceeds to tangle with just about everybody who crosses his path, setting off a humorous chain of events that compounds minor catastrophes into one big turning point for Hank.

Listening to Straight Man turned out to be a delight.  Reading the book again in print, I found it even more hilarious.  Perhaps this is because I got to see Russo at work – I got to pay close attention to the writing, instead of just absorbing the story.  The story itself flows from its inhabitants.  Russo gets characterization just right – even his punctuation contributes to the crystal clear images of the people he’s chosen to tell his story, making Straight Man a winner for anyone who is in the market for an entertaining, character-driven novel.

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