Unfortunately, I didn't stick with A Life Wild and Perilous for very long. The title was great, hinting at adventure, but alas, the book itself was tedious and somewhat confusing. I found myself looking ahead for the "good" parts, scanning large sections and re-reading confusing parts until I finally gave up. I'll have to read a different book on this subject, I guess, because I couldn't finish this one.
To be fair, there was a lot of interesting information about the early years of our republic, when mountain men were out trapping animals for their fur while exploring western territories that eventually became part of the United States. But the information was presented in a straight-forward way--"just the facts, ma'am"--that left me longing for a story about these men. I guess I've gotten used to the highly narrative historical accounts that many writers have provided in recent years.
Another aspect of A Life Wild and Perilous that I found frustrating was the way it was organized--in chronological order, apparently. While that would seem to be a good choice for a historical account, it ended up being confusing because at the same time the book seemed to want to emphasize individual mountain men. (The title, after all, indicates that people's lives will be examined.)
Because some of the men were important early in the era (1800-1820), some important in the latter years, and others important throughout, the author has to keep circling back to explorers such as Jedediah Smith (who lasted nearly the whole time) as the book progresses through time. I wanted to focus on the individuals, but it was almost impossible because Utley kept jumping back and forth between well known explorers like Smith and a handful of other lesser lights whose lives I couldn't really imagine because they were discussed for such a brief period of time. I think the book would have benefited greatly from telling one mountain man's story at a time, or focusing on the explorations and de-emphasizing the mountain men.
I did learn some things from the book, though. The repeated descriptions of the various people's encounters with indigenous folks (some friendly, some not) brought home the fact that American Indians west of the Mississippi did not submit quietly to their fate. I knew there were some uprisings, but I didn't realize there were so many, many attempts on the part of all tribes (even those who cooperated at first with the Europeans) to make the new interlopers' lives miserable, either by stealing from them, cheating them, lying to them, harassing them, burning their encampments, kidnapping, scalping, or murdering them. This went on, in fact, until the numbers of European invaders were too great to successfully resist.
Another thing I learned from this book (related to the above), is that finding South Pass in Wyoming made a very big difference in settling the west. Being able to cross the Rockies with wagons was a big deal; South Pass made it possible. After that, there was no stopping settlers longing to go west. (Of course, there was still the Sierra, but that's another story.) Mountain men helped a great deal in finding pathways for future pioneers to follow, much to the chagrin of the native inhabitants.
A third thing I learned is that Jedediah Smith wasn't exactly the way he was portrayed to be in the movie starring Robert Redford. He wasn't a loner roaming the mountains simply because they were there; though exploring was his first love, he made his living working for different fur companies as a trapper. He was economically invested in exploring the wilderness, as were the rest of the mountain men. It makes sense that they would be, of course, but it kind of tarnishes their reputation as romantic old west heroes, I think.
Robert Utley is a learned man and a well-known historian, and his book contained interesting material. I just wish he would have presented it in a more entertaining way. I recommend this book to those of you who want to learn about mountain men and are not put off by a straightforward chronicle.
After abandoning A Life Wild and Perilous, I picked up a mystery I've had on the shelf for a while, Worth Dying For. It's by Lee Child, who is apparently quite popular in the thriller genre. There isn't a great deal of mystery to it (except for the whereabouts of a long-ago missing child), but it's a good example of the hard-boiled detective type of novel--lots of demonstrations of amazing strength and keen intelligence, lots of violence and gripping evil-vs-good action.
Child's continuing character, Jack Reacher, is on the way to somewhere else when he gets involved with some people in a town held captive by a family of bullies. He can put things right, of course, and sets about doing so, all the while uncovering a bigger secret. The plot is intricate and the action is non-stop, so what's not to like? I may have to read some more by this author. It's always fun to discover a new mystery writer.
After this I plan to read Seabiscuit. I've had it on my shelf for a while, so I thought it was about time. But I might also read Mammoth next; after visiting Big Bone Lick State Park, I got interested in learning more about the ice age creatures. I'll see what I feel like when the time comes.
Until then . . .
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Two Weeks, Three Books
Well, I've been guilty of neglecting my reading blog for a week, but as always, I continue to read. I finished the memoir It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium and turned to a novel by T. C. Boyle, East is East, followed by a non-fiction book I've been meaning to read for a long time, A Life Wild and Perilous, by Robert Utley, which chronicles the lives of several American mountain men in the nineteenth century.
The memoir by John Ed Bradley was very interesting, but somewhat sad, in that it seems he is only just beginning to come to terms with his loss. Apparently, no matter how exciting his life as a world-traveled free-lance journalist has proven to be, he still longs for his days playing football. He doesn't completely explain why he decided to stop playing; he could have signed on with an NFL team, it seems, but declined in order to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He thought that as a professional football player he would not be credible as a novelist. Ironically, his novels have not done well, but he enjoys continued success as a sports writer, a career enhanced by his first-hand sports experience. After reading the book, I looked on line for more information about Bradley, but didn't find much, except for his articles. Here's one of them, about Beryl Shipley, a basketball coach who died earlier this year: SI. I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in sports and athletes.
The novel I turned to this week was quite a departure from the Bradley memoir. Boyle is a wonderful writer, one of my favorites, but I can't read more than one of his books at a time because they are so full. East is East was no exception; it's a wacky, satirical adventure about people living on an island off the coast of Georgia. The plot involves a Japanese teenager who jumps his cargo ship, and the denizens of an artist colony, one of whom tries to help him. Also involved are people who try to catch the Japanese kid: an INS agent, a Vietnam veteran, a sheriff and townspeople. All are quirky, maddening yet somehow sympathetic. There's a serious message at the bottom (as with all good satire) and a less than happy ending, but all in all it was great fun, and I recommend it highly. When I was finished, it occurred to me that this book achieves what the book I read earlier, Six Suspects, attempts but fails to deliver.
T.C. Boyle has written many novels and other fiction. (One of them is the book about Kellogg, The Road to Wellville, which was made into a movie.) He has wonderful characters and entertaining plots, but what sets him apart from many writers is his language. He enjoys words and isn't afraid to use them, but he never comes across as wordy. I have several other books by Boyle that I got at Borders' closeouts, so I'll get back to him in the future.
The book I started yesterday is one I started years ago, shortly after buying it. It was first published in 1997 and looks to be a very interesting book. I know John, my husband, has read it and enjoyed it. So I'll get back to you with my thoughts about A Life Wild and Perilous in my next post.
See you then!
The memoir by John Ed Bradley was very interesting, but somewhat sad, in that it seems he is only just beginning to come to terms with his loss. Apparently, no matter how exciting his life as a world-traveled free-lance journalist has proven to be, he still longs for his days playing football. He doesn't completely explain why he decided to stop playing; he could have signed on with an NFL team, it seems, but declined in order to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He thought that as a professional football player he would not be credible as a novelist. Ironically, his novels have not done well, but he enjoys continued success as a sports writer, a career enhanced by his first-hand sports experience. After reading the book, I looked on line for more information about Bradley, but didn't find much, except for his articles. Here's one of them, about Beryl Shipley, a basketball coach who died earlier this year: SI. I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in sports and athletes.
The novel I turned to this week was quite a departure from the Bradley memoir. Boyle is a wonderful writer, one of my favorites, but I can't read more than one of his books at a time because they are so full. East is East was no exception; it's a wacky, satirical adventure about people living on an island off the coast of Georgia. The plot involves a Japanese teenager who jumps his cargo ship, and the denizens of an artist colony, one of whom tries to help him. Also involved are people who try to catch the Japanese kid: an INS agent, a Vietnam veteran, a sheriff and townspeople. All are quirky, maddening yet somehow sympathetic. There's a serious message at the bottom (as with all good satire) and a less than happy ending, but all in all it was great fun, and I recommend it highly. When I was finished, it occurred to me that this book achieves what the book I read earlier, Six Suspects, attempts but fails to deliver.
T.C. Boyle has written many novels and other fiction. (One of them is the book about Kellogg, The Road to Wellville, which was made into a movie.) He has wonderful characters and entertaining plots, but what sets him apart from many writers is his language. He enjoys words and isn't afraid to use them, but he never comes across as wordy. I have several other books by Boyle that I got at Borders' closeouts, so I'll get back to him in the future.
The book I started yesterday is one I started years ago, shortly after buying it. It was first published in 1997 and looks to be a very interesting book. I know John, my husband, has read it and enjoyed it. So I'll get back to you with my thoughts about A Life Wild and Perilous in my next post.
See you then!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Fiction and Life
This week I finished the book, A Judgement in Stone, and I now know the answer to the question "Why?" Long before anyone oppressed her with their love of reading, Eunice was a murderer of people who got in her way. She kills her father because he's interfering with her life and she kills her employers for the same reason. When her desire to be left in peace (and ignorance) is frustrated, she kills those who thwart her. But it really is an accident of sorts. Her friend, the lunatic Joan, sets the conditions under which they both step over the line. Joan ends up in a coma, and Eunice gets away with murder for a couple of weeks, until the tape recording of the murder comes to light and the game is up.
I found this book to be fascinating and quite realistic. As a sometime reader of true crime, I find that real criminals are pretty stupid, committing crimes in broad daylight in front of witnesses, or telling their friends what they did, or leaving a trail to their door so obvious that a child could follow it. Their motives are often mixed up and their decision to kill spontaneous,not--as in detective fiction--thoroughly thought out and carefully planned.
Because of its realism, this novel was quite chilling. A person who seems alright (if a bit odd) may not be the least bit alright but actually quite dangerous. People who have such dangerous persons in their homes may not know it until it is too late. How are we to guard against such eventualities? The fact that we really can't know who is going to suddenly turn irrational and lethal is what is so frightening.
Interesting that even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still riveted to the page until I arrived at that pre-determined end. The narrator of the book sprinkles a number of "what-ifs" throughout the story, speculating on how tragedy could have been avoided if a different decision had been made. When I think about that now, I realize the author was playing with us a bit, since she is the one who invented all the decisions and created the tragedy by taking us down the roads that she did. It's almost as if she is laying out her own decision making process as she plotted the novel and asking us to admire it. Clever!
Rendell is really quite a good novelist; I recommend her highly and this book in particular.
The book I am currently reading, It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium, returns me to non-fiction. It's a memoir by John Ed Bradley, who played center for Louisiana State University in the late 1970s. Mr. Bradley is also a novelist, and though I have not read any of his other works, I am enjoying his account of being a star football player in both high school and college, and of his life after football, focusing especially on what it was like to stop playing football.
The book takes me back to the John Grisham novel I read recently, Bleachers, which explores the same topic: life after football. Especially now that we're in the midst of football season, both books help to deepen my insight into the players who entertain us with their skill and talent and heart.
In my next post, I'll let you know what I learn.
I found this book to be fascinating and quite realistic. As a sometime reader of true crime, I find that real criminals are pretty stupid, committing crimes in broad daylight in front of witnesses, or telling their friends what they did, or leaving a trail to their door so obvious that a child could follow it. Their motives are often mixed up and their decision to kill spontaneous,not--as in detective fiction--thoroughly thought out and carefully planned.
Because of its realism, this novel was quite chilling. A person who seems alright (if a bit odd) may not be the least bit alright but actually quite dangerous. People who have such dangerous persons in their homes may not know it until it is too late. How are we to guard against such eventualities? The fact that we really can't know who is going to suddenly turn irrational and lethal is what is so frightening.
Interesting that even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still riveted to the page until I arrived at that pre-determined end. The narrator of the book sprinkles a number of "what-ifs" throughout the story, speculating on how tragedy could have been avoided if a different decision had been made. When I think about that now, I realize the author was playing with us a bit, since she is the one who invented all the decisions and created the tragedy by taking us down the roads that she did. It's almost as if she is laying out her own decision making process as she plotted the novel and asking us to admire it. Clever!
Rendell is really quite a good novelist; I recommend her highly and this book in particular.
The book I am currently reading, It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium, returns me to non-fiction. It's a memoir by John Ed Bradley, who played center for Louisiana State University in the late 1970s. Mr. Bradley is also a novelist, and though I have not read any of his other works, I am enjoying his account of being a star football player in both high school and college, and of his life after football, focusing especially on what it was like to stop playing football.
The book takes me back to the John Grisham novel I read recently, Bleachers, which explores the same topic: life after football. Especially now that we're in the midst of football season, both books help to deepen my insight into the players who entertain us with their skill and talent and heart.
In my next post, I'll let you know what I learn.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
More Mysteries
The second in the three-book series about Lisbeth Salander, The Girl Who Played With Fire, was very good, and also different from the first, The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. In this second installment, the main character finds herself attacked by violent criminals whom she successfully fights right up to the end, when she is rescued by her friend Mikael Blomqvist. Along the way, there are a number of exciting twists and surprising revelations.
But what's also interesting about this second story is that we learn a little bit more about the character, and how she came to be where she is and who she is. The character and her story are very compelling, and that's a large part of why we keep reading, I think, and why this writer is so popular.
I'm also learning quite a bit about Swedish society and culture from these novels. Since I knew very little before, that's a big plus. I'm even thinking of checking out the Swedish language.
The only criticism I would have of the books is that the narrator tends to give mini-lectures on what he apparently believes are pertinent topics that sometimes go on just a bit too long and tempt me to skip to the action.
After finishing that book, I went on to a book by another of my favorite mystery writers, Ruth Rendell. This novel, A Judgement in Stone, published in 1977, appears to be a sort of mystery-in-reverse. Right up front we are told who dun it and why, and then the rest of the novel explains how it happened by presenting a chronicle of events that led up to that fateful day. It's the kind of anwers people want following a shocking multiple murder and journalists try to provide with newspaper reports and TV movies that analyze how such a tragedy could have been prevented.
Though Rendell's novel is not true crime, it has the ring of truth to it, and is even better than true crime because she can give us the thoughts of the people involved, especially the dead ones. Under real circumstances we don't get to ask the victims the question: "Why didn't you realize this person was going to murder you?" But in fiction,we can ask and the author will give us the answer.
I'm about a third of the way through this novel, and so far it's very good. The simple answer to why the culprit killed an entire family is given at the start (because she couldn't read), but it doesn't make much sense. The mystery to solve, then, is how could such a reason be a motive for murder? I'm curious and hoping the author will surprise me with her answer.
I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.
But what's also interesting about this second story is that we learn a little bit more about the character, and how she came to be where she is and who she is. The character and her story are very compelling, and that's a large part of why we keep reading, I think, and why this writer is so popular.
I'm also learning quite a bit about Swedish society and culture from these novels. Since I knew very little before, that's a big plus. I'm even thinking of checking out the Swedish language.
The only criticism I would have of the books is that the narrator tends to give mini-lectures on what he apparently believes are pertinent topics that sometimes go on just a bit too long and tempt me to skip to the action.
After finishing that book, I went on to a book by another of my favorite mystery writers, Ruth Rendell. This novel, A Judgement in Stone, published in 1977, appears to be a sort of mystery-in-reverse. Right up front we are told who dun it and why, and then the rest of the novel explains how it happened by presenting a chronicle of events that led up to that fateful day. It's the kind of anwers people want following a shocking multiple murder and journalists try to provide with newspaper reports and TV movies that analyze how such a tragedy could have been prevented.
Though Rendell's novel is not true crime, it has the ring of truth to it, and is even better than true crime because she can give us the thoughts of the people involved, especially the dead ones. Under real circumstances we don't get to ask the victims the question: "Why didn't you realize this person was going to murder you?" But in fiction,we can ask and the author will give us the answer.
I'm about a third of the way through this novel, and so far it's very good. The simple answer to why the culprit killed an entire family is given at the start (because she couldn't read), but it doesn't make much sense. The mystery to solve, then, is how could such a reason be a motive for murder? I'm curious and hoping the author will surprise me with her answer.
I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.
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