January Books
David Grann (2017). Killers of the Flower Moon. Vintage Books.
With the movie now available on streaming services, I decided to reread the book. (I did the same for All the Light We Cannot See.)Â
I first read the book in 2019, when I lived in Vegas. I remembered the story, but I must have read it more closely this time because I was aware of the evil in the characters more than I recall from the first reading. The cruelty and manipulations of William K. Hale, the deceitfulness of Ernest Burkhart, the callousness of H.G. Burt, the murderous malpractice of the Shoun brothers, and the unfettered violence of Kelsie Morrison, Bryan Burkhart, Burt Lawson, and Blackie Thompson were all driven by greed and a lust for power that corrupted everything and nearly everyone they touched.
Lost to history is the whole truth about the Osage nation and more than a decade of murders. Corrupt government, corrupted judges, and corruptible juries meant justice was never served for the Osage. The generation that lived through the horror is gone, and even their grandchildren are old now. Still, the U.S. Government owes the Osage an apology at the very least for the way it mishandled evidence, ignored the claims of murder through poisoning, and treated the Osage as lesser humans, too incompetent to manage their affairs and thus vulnerable to fraud, deceit, and murder. Hoover's ego added to the damage.
Tom White may be the only truly good man in the story. He and his crew relentlessly hunted down evidence and built cases, only to have them dismissed or ignored, largely by the influence of Hale.Â
Grann's writing is crazy good:
"One of those seething places that often reeked of sex and moonshine" (131).
"In an instant, Kirby was blasted into the world beyond" (189).
"Gone are the big petroleum companies and the forests of derricks…Gone is the Million Dollar Elm. Gone are the railroads…Gone, too are the outlaws, many of whom died as spectacularly as they lived" (261).
Gabrielle Zevin (2022). Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. [Audible]. Narrated by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi. Random House Audio.
That Love is all there is,
Is all we know of Love;
It is enough, the freight should be
Proportioned to the groove.
~Emily DickinsonÂ
I love audiobooks and these narrators are very good, but when I looked at a sample of the Kindle version I realized this particular book is probably best appreciated visually. Names, for example, may mean different things depending on the spelling. I suppose I should have gotten the hint from the first line of the novel:
"Before Mazer invented himself as Mazer, he was Samson Mazer, and before he was Samson Mazer, he was Samson Masur--a change of two letters that transformed him from a nice, ostensibly Jewish boy to a Professional Builder of Worlds--and for most of his youth, he was Sam, S.A.M. on the hall of fame of his grandfather's Donkey Kong machine, but mainly Sam."
Zevin's book is a love story, but not in a traditional sense. Love has multiple meanings that our English language does not elucidate. Greek has three words for love, ancient Persian 80, and Sanskrit a whopping 96! Superficially, we can love tacos, but that's not the same love as for a parent, a child, a spouse, or a friend.Â
This book explores all kinds of love in the guise of literary trivia from Dickinson to Shakespeare and video games. Who knew literature and multiplayer games had so much in common? The love stories are unexpected and intertwined (but not in a romantic way) over the course of 30 years.
The story is slow, which is a detriment to hearing so I set the speed at 1.5x, but in hindsight, I probably should have taken the time the narrative required to fully embrace its nuance. The ELA nerd in me loved the oblique references (including the title, which is absolutely not oblique) to both literature and early video games, but I do think the book was too long. I understood the reasons for the length, based on the ending, but I still think Levin could have gotten there with about three fewer chapters. A few of the characters were more like RPGs than people, and a couple were so superfluous that they didn't need as much page time as they got. There was also some unnecessary progressive politicizing, but that is to be expected these days. It wasn't enough to make me do much more than roll my eyes. Worth reading? Yes. Go to the library and borrow a print copy.
*NOTE*Â Someone actually made an old-school video game based on one in the novel. Nice!
Jenn A.G. Layte (2019). Favored One. [Kindle]. Notes on Pilgrimage.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, plays a large role in the birth narratives of the New Testament and then only reappears sporadically. What happened in the years between the 12-year-old in the Temple and the 30-year-old itinerant rabbi? Layte chooses an imaginative approach to Mary's life based on the four Gospels, filling in the spaces with relevant cultural practices and the very human experience of mothering. She deftly weaves the narrative to give Mary a full personality, not as a perfect woman, but as one favored by God in spite of her humanness.Â
Russell Moore (2023). Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. [Kindle]. Sentinel.
In this book, Moore expresses many of my frustrations with the current state of the evangelical movement and how it has been co-opted by a white nationalism that has replaced Jesus with slogans. Until the Church returns to her first love she is in danger of being "canceled" ( in modern parlance) by God himself. ( Revelation 2).
Moore had me nodding my head a lot and I highlighted dozens of things that made me think. This year being an election year in a country with divided divisions, this particular quote stands out: If anyone asks anything of you at the cost of your integrity, know that the price is too high (196).
Moore has written an important book for these perilous times.
Dan Walsh (2010) The Homecoming [Kindle]. Originally published by Bainbridge Press
With a title like The Homecoming, there was never a doubt about a happy ending. The story is pretty formulaic but with characters to care about and a pace that keeps things moving. It's always nice to read a book that includes Christianity without being trite.
Spoiler alert:
Most of the character's stories were neatly wrapped up, mostly missing details, but satisfactorily. One character, however, was dropped like a lead balloon and he deserved better. I hope the author plans to tell the rest of Al's story after pursuing the girl and then being unceremoniously dumped.
C.S. Lewis (2004). The Horse and His Boy. [Audible] Narrated by Alex Jennings. Original book published in 1954.
There's no better way to begin a new year than with a familiar book. It's comforting to reflect on the known when the year ahead looms with uncertainty. This story, taking place under the Golden Age of Narnia under the leadership of King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy, follows the adventures of Shasta and Bree, a Narnia Talking horse who desperately wants to return to Narnia from Calormen where he had been taken as a foal. Shasta and Bree meet up with Aravis and Hwin, the daughter of a royal Tarkaan, and her horse, also Narnian by birth. It seems throughout the tale that Shasta has all the bad luck, and he calls himself, "the most unfortunate boy that ever lived." However, Lewis illustrates that, even when people don't see how any good can come from bad situations, God may be using them for a greater purpose. The Horse and His Boy is the fifth in publication order of the Chronicles of Narnia, but third chronologically.
Great selection, appreciate all the thoughts here.