Books read and other media of note |
Catch Me if You Can (Film) Having
followed some of the exploits of the Barefoot Bandit since last year
when he stole a plane near here, I was primed for a lovable rogue
movie, especially based somewhat on real life-- a young forger who
eludes the police for 5 years. Not that I condone any of that,
yet it is fascinating. The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston. I'm having second thoughts about reading more after this second book I've read by the author. It's tough gritty realism. I first met similar stuff reading Nelson Algren's Walk on the Wild Side. I never read any more of Algren. It's hard to find a character in the novel to have compassion for, let alone assume the role of protagonist. This is the story of the kind of punks that rip off your house and vandalize your property to get money for drugs and booze. I guess I prefer escapist claptrap. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig On the face of it, most of the book seems a reminiscence of a dryland Montana farming community, along the lines of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but there is a mystery in the origins of the new house cleaner and her brother that leaves one uneasy, until the resolution at the end. The writing is very comfortable, and the children of the one room school are given their own unique personalities, whereas the adults seem painted more with a broad brush.. The Mystic Arts of Erasing all Signs of Death by Charlie Huston A new book by a new (to me) author, epitomizing the noire style of crime fiction (no detective here, just a broke lost unlikable protagonist struggling to get by). But the mystery is the protagonist as much as what's going on, and they're both presented authentically and plausibly. Honor Among Thieves by Jeffrey Archer. A good story for around the 4th of July, as it centers on a plot to steal the Declaration of Independence. Although now dated, it still made for a good spy yarn. Genesis illustrated by R. Crumb. I had to see what the underground comic mastermind would do with the Bible. It was an odd mixture, both coarse and respectful by turn. 5 years he worked on it, and that is obvious from the detail of the illustrations. I'm not sure who his intended audience would be... |
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