three weeks in hell

Or, read a good book lately?

1. Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss is so far-removed from my usual "type" that I am reluctant to review it for fear of skewing the expectations of those who take these reviews seriously. However, in the interest of a fair revelation of the slice of my private life that I've volunteered to share here, reveal I shall.
   Zen is short, thoughtful, deep, and opinionated. If one is disposed toward its message, which is (in my words) that there is meaning to be found in pushing away the extraneous and accepting the simple, then the book is profoundly helpful. Indeed, I found much of it to be riveting and am considering purchasing a copy for further study. (I got the one that I read from a library.) However, if one comes to the book from a place of confusion or psychological pain, then the extreme simplicity and the extreme repetition of the message may be frustrating or off-putting. Consider yourself warned. I liked it a lot, though.
2. Cowboy by Sara Davidson is that strange animal: the autobiographical novel, or the fictionalized biography. Either way, it is the story of a woman named Sara Davidson and her lover, who is a cowboy. Intriguing, eh?
   Well, it is. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. There are elements of it that are just plain lame--she was a writer (producer? Does it matter? Do I care?) for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and at times the writing takes on a sort of schmaltzy 8:00 television serialesque quality, and some aspects of the characters' sex lives appear to have been tacked on, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey style--but much of it is heartfelt and gorgeous. The story itself is wondrous and lively; a Berkeley- and Columbia-educated California Jewish woman hooks up through a very chance encounter in Nevada with a man who is living practically hand-to-mouth in Arizona. Their obviously-doomed strictly-physical relationship turns into a 12-year [-plus] relationship, much to the surprise of their families, much less themselves.
   It's a love story. It's a resilience story. It's a writer's story. And it's true. Mostly.
3. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich. Do I need to be nice about this? Do I need to spare the spoilers? Fine.
   Stephanie Plum does stupid stuff, nearly ends up dead. (Like I would care at this point.) Joe Morelli (weenie) and Ranger (the only reason I read them anymore) are involved.
   Enough already!
4. Into Love and Out Again: Stories by Elinor Lipman. A book of short stories, some of which are linked. Y'all know I love Lipman (except the inexplicable Ladies' Man), and I really liked this the first time that I read it. This time, though...I was left feeling like I'd missed something. No, I was just...sad. The stories made me sad, almost all the way through.
   The cover blurbs say the stories are "funny." Maybe I missed something.
5. Mary and O'Neil by Justin Cronin. I read it for the second time recently, sort of a "proof" before I gave it to a friend to read. Well, after rereading it (my first time through was right after it came out in 2001), I knew I couldn't give it to her. It is no less lovely than that initial read. The characters are still resonant and appealing. But the story at the foundation is too like her own--and in that, too sad--to be entertaining and engrossing for her, I fear.
   It's too bad. The book contains some of my favorite lines, including this one, a response from an older man when asked how he knew what he'd wanted to do with his life and career: "The old baker died."
6. Picturing Will by Ann Beattie. Another tough one, pre-read before handing off to my friend to read. In this case, I did give it to her, and I wasn't surprised when she said it wasn't her favorite. Ann Beattie is a tough sell, and this book in particular is a long, winding road.
   Jody is a photographer. Will is her son with Wayne, her ex-husband, who is now married to Corky. Mel is Jody's lover.
   I suppose it would be most direct to say that someone whose opinion mattered a great deal to me once told me that my writing is (at times) a lot like Beattie's. That leads me to want to like it, perhaps more than I truly would if all else were equal.
   The story is...no, I wanted the story to be about a woman who loved her son but let him go. The story is really about a woman who inadvertently loved her son while her lover raised the son, as a condition of courting the woman. I suppose that's rather sad, isn't it?
7. The Wishbones by Tom Perrotta, is a "Tom Perrotta book," by which I mean that young adults who are not ready and also unwilling to grow up, cheat on each other in the name of convenience and "shit happens" along the way toward figuring out who they are. It is funny, racy, beautifully written, full of musical references, and a great cousin to Little Children and Joe College, the other two of his that I've read.
8. Here Beneath Low-Flying Planes by Merrill Feitell (Winner—Iowa Short Fiction Award 2004) is a collection of short stories that kicks ass. I read it a while ago and loved it, and was drawn back to it by the wedding story ("The Marrying Kind") and Hazel and TJ on the beach in the title story. I would love to read anything else that she's written--seek this out if you love good writing.

Apparently, solitude and depression are good for productivity.