K

• Rated 0 stars

“A fascinating truth-is-stranger-than-fiction read about the starting goalie for a professional hockey team in the Hungarian First Division who escapes jail after being incarcerated for a string of bank robberies that foiled the police over the span of a decade.

Attila Ambrus, despite the whole armed robbery thing, is likable character. What I really enjoyed was trouble the author, Rubinstein, went to describe the setting. The backdrop of post-Communist Hungary, struggling in the infancy of capitalism and democracy adds an important comic undertone throughout the way. The bumbling police department and the corrupt government contribute to the mythical status that Ambrus attained with the public.

The Whiskey Robber was such a compelling character that I sent a friend request to his actual myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/thewhiskeyrobber


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K wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

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“I've always been intrigued by athletes' lives off the field and what goes on in the locker room. This book gained some notoriety over the disputed veracity of some of the details. I'm sure you can easily google what those are. I've reviewed the cited alleged inaccuracies and feel that while some of the details may muddled, they don't delude from the tone or the major events in the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about some baseball myths (slump-busting, pitching to color), what players talk about in the locker room (pretty much what I've always imagined, but still riveting), and the struggles of making it to the pros.

My only quibble is that McCarthy isn't the most sympathetic narrator. Maybe it's my Ivy league bias, but he does come off condescending and holier-than-thou (and rightfully so in some cases) to his teammates (especially to a roommate that is religious). I know he portrays himself as an outcast, but even some of the friendships he makes on the team don't seem genuine.

That aside, if you enjoyed "Major League" or those documentaries like "Inside the NFL", this is a excellent, fast read.”

K wrote this review Saturday, July 18 2009. ( reply | permalink )

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“I decided to read this, being in the mood for a time traveling story, after a particularly riveting episode of "Lost".

This was my first delve into Vonnegut, and what a trip it was. What an unorthodox storytelling method, being a book within a book, written by the narrator, who becomes a minor character after the first chapter. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, jumps between the past, present, and future, as well as fantasy and reality. The book gives an unflinching view of war, with a lot of disturbing images. There is a lot of dark humor spliced in throughout also. Billy is such a pitiable character, bumbling through the war and living in fantasy after the war. The constant mantra of "...and so it goes..." is an apt encapsulation of the feeling that this book conveys; a sense of "it is was it is" or "oh well, what can you do".

It's an interesting read, but a downer. At least in "The Road" there's a glimmer of hope you can cling to- that doesn't exist here.”

K wrote this review Monday, March 23 2009. ( reply | permalink )

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“The first few pages of the book were slow going, with the narrator's slang posing a considerable hurdle to understanding exactly what was going on. I immediately went online and googled "clockwork orange glossary", and printed out a one sheet list of slang terms and meanings. This became my bookmark the rest of the way. After the first couple of chapters, I found myself being able to not refer to this cheat sheet at all.

The narrator's (Alex) matter-of-fact point of view of violence is quite disturbing at many points. While his wanton acts were despicable, I couldn't help but feel pity for him at a few junctures in the book. The themes in the book are quite obvious, regarding morality, choice, and government.

The other important point is that I read the author, Burgess's forward after I completed the novel. In it, he states his difference of opinion with the American publisher and Stanley Kubrick's movie adaptation, which omits the true ending of the book- the last chapter. The last chapter significantly changes the tone of the book. Without spoiling anything, usually, I criticize when endings are made too "Hollywood". In this case, I rather enjoyed the last chapter, and felt that it improves the book's message.”

K wrote this review Sunday, February 1 2009. ( reply | permalink )

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“When this book was described to me as a prototypical hardboiled detective novel, I didn't quite know what the term "hardboiled" meant in that connotation. After reading the book, it became abundantly clear. Hardboiled describes Sam Spade, the detective, and book's protagonist. He's cool under pressure, isn't afraid to rough up some bad guys, plays by his own rules, and most importantly, is real smooth with the ladies. The plot is good- you're not sure where it's taking you right until the very end, culminating in a terrific ending.

That said, I'm glad this is not a serialized detective novel, because I can see how it could get tiresome to have Spade up to his antics all the time. I suppose I like my heroes to be a bit more tragic or vulnerable. Don't get me wrong, I don't want the detective to be a whiny, OCD-having, pansy like Monk either. While Spade is certainly flawed, but he's just a bit too unflappable and you get the idea that nobody will ever give him his comeuppance. It's easy to see how this genre is easily satirized (my favorite is Calvin's alter-ego in the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip.

Lastly, you know how watching "Mad Men" has been said to glamorize smoking and drinking with its square-jawed actors lighting up cigarettes for pretty brunettes and tight shots of whisky being poured into a crystal tumbler? Well, this book made me want to drink and smoke. Hammett depicts Spade rolling up a cigarette in every chapter. I plan on reading "Red Harvest" by Hammett, as well. Maybe I'll play a drinking/ smoke game for that one (each time a character smokes, take a drink, each time a character drinks, take a puff).”

K wrote this review Friday, January 9 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“Have you ever watched the movie "Blood Diamond"? Well in the film, Leo DiCaprio's character cites an acronym: T.I.A., or 'This is Africa' to encapsulate a f'd up situation to Jennifer Connelly's character about the state of Africa. Having read both "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, I think we can adopt the same T.I.A. acronym for Afghanistan: This is Afghanistan. It's easy to become numb to news of war in faraway places across the globe, but a novel like this really captures the human element involved. You really feel badly for the people that have been embroiled in decades of turmoil, and you wonder if things will ever get better. How insane are the Taliban? They make the Puritans look like a casting call for "Flavor of Love". What a brutal and backwards way of thinking...

This book has similar themes as "The Kite Runner" and is equally as riveting and gut-wrenching. As you go through the lives of the Mariam and Laila, you really feel their plight. Both are compelling and well-written heroines that are resilient in a male-dominated (to say the least) society.
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K wrote this review Tuesday, December 30 2008. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

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“My last foray into the sheep mystery genre, ("Baa" by David MacCaulay) was enjoyable, so I was eager to tackle this book. I was not disappointed.

This is a murder mystery told from the perspective of sheep, who try and figure out who killed their shepherd. It's pretty light fare- not exactly "Animal Farm" or "Watership Down"- and the author keeps things fresh and moves along, putting you into the head of several different sheep in the flock.

The actual detective/ mystery aspect might not be the best, but hey, I wasn't really expecting it to be the "Maltese Falcon" or anything. The novelty and charm of the sheep easily make up for it and made me bleat happily.”

K wrote this review Saturday, September 6 2008. ( reply | permalink )

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“Having never William Faulker before, when I found out that this was his easiest to read novel (and thereby his least critically acclaimed- I think scholars believe that the more dense and complex the literature it is, the better it is- see also "Ulysses" by James Joyce), I figured it was a good place to dip my toe in the water before I decided whether or not to tackle "Absalom, Absalom" or "The Sound and the Fury".

The book starts off sort of like an early 1900s version of Ferris Bueller's day off set in rural Mississippi. An 11 year old boy, Lucius Priest, gets caught up in the theft/ borrowing of his grandfather's car with two of his family's employees. They end up taking the car to the big city, Memphis. From there the boy's innocence goes completely out the window as he is exposed to whores, gambling, and knife fights (sounds like my prom night).

This is a very enjoyable book. It gets off to a slow start, for about 75 pages, but tough it out. The cast of characters in the book is diverse and are very likable despite their flaws. The best part is now I can say I've read Faulkner!”

K wrote this review Saturday, August 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“You know that cliche: "I may not know a lot about art, but I know what I like."? Well, that's the same sentiment I have for the Murakami novels that I've read. His surrealism is always trippy; I may not fully comprehend the message that he's trying to convey all the time, but in the end I always am satisfied that it's been an enjoyable read.

The book is a bit of a departure from his other novels. It's pretty short, which scared me a bit at first because I wasn't a big fan of "After the Quake", which was a compilation of his short stories. I was afraid that his meandering journeys needed a few hundred pages to be properly paced. It ended up not being a problem at all and I tore through it in 2 nights. What else was different was that this was written in the 3rd person, and not the 1st person that I've been accustomed to with Murakami, but I found his writing style was just as effective.

I actually think this is a good book for first-time Murakami readers to start with. It's not as out there as his other novels- I think I actually got most of the symbolism. Also, being shorter, you don't have to take as big a plunge as you would with his other books.”

K wrote this review Wednesday, May 28 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“This book has been sitting on the bookshelf, unread, since I was little. Finally, the urge to read it struck on a trip to Savannah, upon hearing about the city pirating past and seeing the pirate frequented tavern that helped inspire Stevenson (the place is now a restaurant- but no, not a Long John Silver's chain).
I'm very glad I got around to reading this. Not only is it a breeze to read (please ignore the fact that it took me well over two months to finish- that was a result of me having much more important things to do like watch American Idol and play video games), but the influence of this book, in terms of providing us with images we now always associate with pirates, is pretty impressive. I'm not exactly sure how much of buried treasure, parrots, peg legs, shiver me timbers, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, etc was already kind of mainstream knowledge when the book came out, but even if you look at references from the book that are direct influences in today's culture, we have: the 2nd Pirates of the Carribbean movie entitled Dead Man's Chest, Muppet Treasure Island, that crappy chain of stores called Treasure Island that sells holidays crafts, the porn star Long Dong Silver that Clarence Thomas harassingly mentioned to Anita Hill, and the Las Vegas casino called Treasure Island at which 3 friends, my brother, and I got food poisoning at (and proceeded to lose hundreds of dollars at the blackjack table because we thought we could tough out the diarrhea and cold sweats- good times).
Some of the pirate vernacular is hard to figure out (tip- if you read the pirate dialogue out load with a pirate accent you can deduce meaning easier- ie. I didn't know what "jine" was, until I finally figured out that's how the pirates were pronouncing "join". A lot of fun to do especially if you're reading on a crowded train.), as is some of the sailing terminology… Also, they never say how old the boy who narrates is which gnawed at me because he does some rather ballsy stunts.
I feel like if you've watched 2 out of 3 of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, been on the Disney World ride, or dressed up as a pirate for Halloween, you kind of owe it to yourself to read this book to see what may have very well started it all. In fact I'm looking at Wikipedia, which we all know is always 100% factual and THE authoritative reference guide, and it says that "The effect of Treasure Island on our perception of pirates cannot be overestimated. Stevenson linked pirates forever with maps, black schooners, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen with parrots on their shoulders. The treasure map with an X marking the location of the buried treasure is one of the most familiar pirate props, yet it is entirely a fictional invention which owes its origin to Stevenson...". In closing, heed me words, land lubbers, and read this here book… aar.”

K wrote this review Tuesday, April 29 2008. ( reply | permalink )