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!
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