On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee

The “curtaining sway of hair” that frames the cover of Chang-rae Lee’s phenomenal On Such a Full Sea, belongs to its protagonist, Fan. But the life story that fuels her myth is one for all of B-Mor, the closed community where Fan lives until she escapes in search of true love. As we follow Fan on her travels, Lee paints a devastating and eerie picture of an America that has lost its moral moorings. Dystopian fiction this might be, but its take on class and society also makes Sea a deeply political animal. It is Lee’s most compelling work yet.

A longer review of this book was published in the January 22 issue of The BookBrowse Review.

2013: A Year in Reading

2013 was a remarkable year for reading, even if it wasn't much to write home about otherwise. Here's what I read. I made some time to re-read some of my favorites including Dart League King and A Friend of the Family. Needless to say, highly recommend these two and the ones marked with an asterisk below.

*A Friend of the Family by Lauren Goldstein
The Fun Parts by Sam Lipsyte
Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia by Jose Manuel Prieto
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
Double Feature by Owen King
Save Yourself by Kelly Braffet
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
*The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
*Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
A Map of Tulsa by Benjamin Lytal
*You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
*Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
*Tenth of December by George Saunders
The Lullaby of Polish Girls by Dagmara Dominczyk
Z; A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Ann Fowler
All That Is by James Salter
*The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
*Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
This Close by Jessica Kane Francis
Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism by Elizabeth Becker
*A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
King of Cuba by Christina Garcia
*Transatlantic by Colum McCann
The Explanation for Everything by Lauren Grodstein
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
Snapper by Brian Kimberling
*The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox
*On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee
*The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer
*The Dart League King by Keith Lee Morris
The Sound of Things Falling by Gabriel Juan Vasquez
Helium by Jaspreet Singh
Anything That Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters and the Making of a New American Food Culture by Dana Goodyear
Pig's Foot by Carlos Acosta
The Woman Who Lost Her Soul by Bob Shacochis
*The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Before I Burn by Gaute Heivoll
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks
The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America's First Subway by Doug Most
*Orfeo by Richard Powers
*Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee
Crapalachia: A Biography of Place by Scott McClanahan

Before I Burn: Gaute Heivoll

Yes, Before I Burn is about a pyromaniac on the loose in remote, rural Norway in the 70s. But it’s also about much more. The fragile child’s drawing on the cover, curled up and ready to burst into flames, speaks to deeper meanings: about adult expectations set during childhood, and the pervasive melancholy that can accompany stifling parent-child relationships. The dark Lake Livannet, painted hauntingly, is a perfect metaphor for the many anxieties the good people of Finsland bottle. As debut author Gaute Heivoll arrestingly shows, release might not always be forthcoming and if it does, is often ugly.

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner

The Flamethrowers is an exquisitely crafted bildungsroman about Reno, a young woman coming of age in 70’s New York. A formative experience in Italy additionally pupils her about the manifestations of class and the activism that tries to shake its yoke (the book cover is from a magazine released by one of Italy’s leftist organizations, Autonomia Operaia). Through Reno’s attachment to motorcycles, Rachel Kushner effectively works the metaphor of speed -- the exhilarating ride that is youth, the life that passes by in a blur and what we eventually save of it, a few frozen still-frames to learn from and perhaps even love.

Pig's Foot by Carlos Acosta

Pig’s Foot is the translation from the Spanish of Pata de Puerco, a small village in Cuba back to where Oscar Kortico can trace his roots. Trying to make do under desperate conditions in a barrio in Havana, Oscar makes a charming (if brash) narrator as he paints an idyllic picture of the town from the 1800s to more contemporary times. Weaving in splashes of magical realism and snippets of history from the island nation, the author Carlos Acosta, who is also a world-famous dancer, writes an engaging tale that affirms the continued relevance of history in crafting our identities. 

A longer review of this title is at Mostlyfiction.com. 

Orfeo by Richard Powers

A contemporary retelling of the myth of Orpheus, Orfeo traces the path of an aging nondescript music composer who inadvertently finds himself in a maelstrom of negative media attention. Switching back and forth from the present to the past, Richard Powers outlines the trials of a life spent searching for an ever-elusive objective. Along the way, protagonist Peter Els loses much that he values, yet gains a subtle wisdom. The saying “it takes a lifetime to learn how to live” is truly applicable here. The discrete washes of "color" fluidly merge into one grand composition. Orfeo is a breathtaking performance with nary a discordant note. 

A long review of this book was published in the January 22 issue of The BookBrowse Review. Thank you to the publishers for an ARC.

Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter

One look at the heap of scrap on the cover and it would be easy to assume that Junkyard Planet is filled with preachy directives about consumption. But it’s this book’s subtitle that’s closest to what Adam Minter so adroitly achieves. Minter tracks our recyclables (including paper and even Christmas tree lights) as they are shipped to countries like China satisfying its insatiable demand for raw materials. While I would have loved learning more about the hows of the business, Junkyard Planet emerges nevertheless as an insightful look at an industry that is one of the many byproducts of consumerism.

A longer review of this title is at Mostlyfiction.com.