True Grit by Charles Portis

True Grit by Charles Portis

I just returned from a long, lazy vacation in Arkansas, visiting my old Great-Aunt Mattie Ross.  We sat on the front porch swing, drinking sweet tea in the sticky southern air.  My eyes drifted to moss-covered trees as she told me a great story of how she avenged her father’s murder.  I don’t even remember what precipitated the telling of this tale; perhaps it was when I asked her why she never got married.  Regardless of why she started to tell it, I couldn’t wait to see how it ended.  My Great-Aunt Mattie was sometimes so stern she frightened me, but she was strong and I admired that about her.  This adventure explained why she was the way she was.

***Okay, back to reality.***

Everyone I know has seen the John Wayne movie, but I haven’t.  Supposedly this book had been out of print for decades until the Cohen brothers’ remake came out last year, and I had the rare benefit of reading this book having not seen either movie.  I’ve heard that the new movie is much more true to the book in voice, grit, and dark humor, so I’m excited to see it.  I also happen to love the Cohen brothers, so that’s a bonus.

I can’t recommend this book enough.  It’s short and a quick read, but it is rich with both history and suspenseful storytelling.  The dialogue is genuine.  It feels exactly like I imagined 19th century America to be, and the ending is heartbreaking in a way that makes it impossible to believe that it’s not a true story.  This is a great work of literature, and Charles Portis has been described as the "most overlooked great American writer”.  This was the first book of his I’ve ever read, but I think I already agree with that statement.

Take advantage of the fact that this book is back in print.  Even if you’ve seen one (or both) of the movies, read the book anyway.  If you’ve not seen either movie, read this first.  I haven’t seen the movies either, but I know that the book is always better than the movie.  (Except with the “Twilight” saga… but that’s only because Stephenie Meyer is a terrible writer.)  So get to your library or your bookstore NOW!  I’d offer to lend you my copy, but I know I’ll have to read it again after I rent the movie.  Sorry.

Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon

Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon

***Warning:  This review contains spoilers.  But that might be a good thing.

This book was great in the beginning, before I actually started reading it.  The writer is local, and the premise is great.  A fairy tale with an edge.  “The Secret Cinderella Story,” the cover says in letters almost as big as the title itself.  The back cover description promises a part of the famous Cinderella tale that we’ve never heard before:  The Fairy Godmother’s story.  Hooray!  Something fun, light, sweet, romantic, and totally make-believe to pull me into the pollinated Pennsylvania springtime.  I found it at the library and checked it out, happy that it was a thin 273-page book which would probably take me as long to read as it would take for me to enjoy my coffee the next morning.

On the contrary, this book took me over a week to get through.  From the very beginning, I kept thinking that this story would have been much better if it was written for an appropriate fairy/princess audience, such as an age 9-11 crowd.  The story was terribly overwritten, and the main character, Lil (the fairy godmother), was simply unlikeable.  Another main character, the modern-day Cinderella named Veronica, was a combination of a sorority girl and a vampire-obsessed teenager, with only the worst qualities of both.  She was annoying and I wanted her to go away, but she didn’t.  I was stuck with her.  Even the flashbacks to the original Cinderella weren’t fun to read.  Cinderella was such a whiner, I would have given up on her and said, “Fine, even though it is your destiny to be with the Prince, and he actually WANTS you, and all your troubles would be over if you just went to the ball, go ahead and sit there and feel sorry for yourself.  I can’t help you if you just want to wallow in your own self-pity.  I’ll go to the ball and take the prince for myself.  Later!  Have fun sitting in the dirt and ruining your makeup!”

Finally today I finished it, and although the characters and I couldn’t be friends, I was dying to know how the fairy tale really ends.  Guess what?  It was another “and then I woke up” endings.  The fairy godmother actually ended up being a delusional old woman rather than a fallen fairy, and none of the Cinderella stuff I just read actually happened in the fairy tale context.  WHAAAA???  This book is marketed as “The Secret Cinderella Story.”  The description on the back made me think that Carolyn Turgeon may be writing a Grimm-like tale.  Sorry, Carolyn, I know you’re local and I’d love to support you, but you didn’t follow through with your promise.  I won’t be buying – or even reading – any of your other books.  And for you, my faithful readers (all zero of you), please don’t waste your time on this one.  It’s unbearable and unrewarding.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Everyone’s talking about this book.  It’s all over the bookstores in three different bindings and at least two languages.  It's never available in the library.  People I barely even know tell me how great the book is.  I am skeptical of overly hyped novels because they usually disappoint me for some reason or another, but I had to give this one a try so I could feel like a part of the human race.  So I picked it up at Target (hooray for $5.00 paperbacks) and started reading.  I’m very glad I did.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book.  The first, and most important, is the fact that I didn’t want to put it down.  I skipped meals and social opportunities to read it.  Every chapter ending pulled me into the next one.  It’s a good thing I’m a fast reader, otherwise I would have starved.

Although I liked the character of Mikael Blomqvist, it was Lisbeth Salander who really stood out to me.  She is so brilliant, both in her work and in everyday life, but she is a victim of socially-imposed circumstances beyond her control.  That only makes her stronger, though, and it made me love her.  She’s the one I’d want in my corner.

There is a major plot point whose outcome I predicted early on (I don’t want to spoil it so I’m not going to say what it is).  I kept hoping that I was wrong, because it seemed too obvious.  I expected a twist so shocking that I never would have seen it coming.  Although I didn’t get the surprise I wanted, there were unexpected (and rather gruesome) details that made the conclusion rewarding.

It seems that, although this book has already been made into a movie (which I haven’t seen yet), an American Hollywood version is currently in production.  Hmm.  I wonder what the difference will be?  I might have to hit up Redbox soon to see if they’ve got the original in stock.

Book number two in the series, The Girl Who Played With Fire, is definitely on my reading list, but not immediately.  Maybe in a few months I will read it, after I get through the pile of books that are on my desk right now.  I assure you, I’ll tell you all about it!  For now, stay tuned for other good (I hope) books.

Obedience by Will Lavender

Obedience by Will Lavender

I saw this book at Target almost two years ago, and the back cover description was so intriguing:  A Logic and Reasoning college class receives a semester-long assignment to find a fictional missing person named Polly.  The professor emails clues to them after every class.  If they do not solve it by the end of term, Polly will be murdered.  Clues in real life start to pop up, connecting their hypothetical case to an actual open case of a missing person in a nearby town.  The students start wondering if this assignment really is hypothetical, or if they are getting involved in something that could really mean life or death.

I didn’t buy the book.  I talked myself out of it because I had a reading list of at least 50 books at that time.  I kept thinking about it, though.  What a brilliant idea for a thriller novel.  I looked it up on Amazon, and noticed that the customer reviews were not that great.  At that time, the average rating was only 2 ½ out of 5 stars.  Because of the bad reviews, I looked for it at the local libraries.  None of them had it.  Oh well, I thought.  I put it on my Amazon wish list, just incase I ever needed to add an item to qualify for free shipping.  It never came to that, though.

At last, it turned up suddenly at the State College library!  Hooray!  I checked it out and read it in a day.  Finally, I knew why the Amazon reviews were so bad.  Great idea, poor execution.  Poorly written (and supposedly the author teaches writing at a university – gasp!).  Unlikeable characters.  Awful, inconsistent dialogue.  Contrived coincidences were the only things that moved the story along.  And the ending was a complete cop-out.  There were so many loose ends, and the author never tied them up at the conclusion.  I’m guessing it’s because they had no actual relevance, given the way the story ended.  What a disappointment.

I won’t tell you what happened, because who knows?  Maybe you’re intrigued too.  If nothing else, this book is a great example of what a writer should NOT do.  I’m glad I read it, and I’m happy it’s finally off my reading list.  It’s actually entertaining to read because of how bad it is.  So go for it, if you’re so inclined.  But please, for the love of God, don’t spend any money on it.  Check it out of the library.