Song of the day: “Dans Le Club” – TTC
Pardon the title, I could not help myself, but I have been hitting the books pretty hard and as a result got a few good ones to tell you about, maybe one or two of them will appeal to you and find themselves in your hands. If you are not into reading, a few of these might actually be what turns you into reading. With the economy being what it is, losing one’s self in a book or a movie might just be what the doctor ordered. There is plenty of reviews for both up in here!
Alrighty, lets get started:
Invisible Man
Author: Ralph Ellison
Category: Fiction
Quite often I get an itch for a classic. I can’t do them back to back, normally, my mind tends to go numb when I hit the same categories over and over, which is why it is nice to switch around from fiction to non-fiction as well. In any case, Invisible Man kept calling me at Barnes & Noble, shouting at me from the shelves. I often ignored it for a great number of the books you see in the former posts, but eventually I had to get this. Having read the initial pages I was instantly glued, and having the trusted words of Sefo to back it up, I ended up making the purchase.
I admit that I was not sure what to expect from this book, prior to reading. I knew it dealt with race issues and that was about it so, not surprisingly, I thought the book would be a pretty straight forward tale on that matter. Yes, this book centered around a man who claims to be an invisible man: “When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination–indeed, everything and anything except me.” He is a young black man, given no name, who leads us through the facets of his life, exposing without much of a flinch the issues that surround him, ignorance, bigotry and a seeming lack of awareness.
But to say this book is entirely about race would be a mistake, this is a book that could apply to multiple races, sexes and situations, this is a book that digs into the universal question of what truly is a human and examines what it is that makes us up.
The book reads in waves, going through four main sections of his life, as he grows up and gains experience and begins to see the world for what it is while constantly attempting to find his own space within it. Hailed as a classic from the offset, I would have a hard time arguing otherwise, this book is an absolute must read…multiple times.
Rating: 
Quote: “I am one of the most irresponsible beings that ever lived. Irresponsibility is part of my invisibility; any way you face it, it is a denial. But to whom can I be responsible, and why should I be, when you refuse to see me?”
Alright, so I broke my rule and read two classics back to back, but Slaughterhouse Five is SO short! And such a fast read! And Todd had it ready for me! How could I say no?
Slaughterhouse Five
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Category: Fiction
An anti-war novel, it has been dubbed, but strangely enough it never comes out and says it. In fact nothing about this book is as simple as it seems. It is presented to you in that fashion, from the first chapter, by the writer, who goes to great pains to explain this is not even a good novel, just the events he remembers, a story with not many character and without any true climaxes. But when you take the life of Billy Pilgrim and when it is presented to you with no respect for time, given that he has been kidnapped by Tralfamadorians and has learned somewhat to accept that time is not as linear as us 3-D creatures have come to believe it is.
The story is supposed to be about the firebombing of Dresden, the single most violent wave of destruction the Americans (or humans for that reason) ever carried out against humanity, eclipsing even the death toll of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A firebombing few people heard about due to the way the government went to great efforts to keep it hidden. But the bombing is only a few pages of this short novel. It is in fact one of many memorable moments that take place in Europe, America and Tralfamadore.
It is a novel full of insight and ideas which betray the thin tome they are written in and not only that, its approach is uniquely Vonnegut, full of satire, absurdism and humor that one would conflict with the subject matter. Without a doubt one of the most interesting war novels I have ever read.
Rating:
Quote: “My God–what have they done to you, lad? This isn’t a man. It’s a broken kite.”
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Author: John Berendt
Category: Non-Fiction – True Crime
I was not aware this book was non-fiction, until I realized that B&N had it not under the Fiction section but under True Crime. Then I took it home started reading and once again my doubts were raised. Much in the way Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, Berendt gives us a book that looks into the society of Savanah, focused on the events and personalities surrounding the James Williams trial.
The book is separated into two parts, which read similar in style but which are drastically different in motivation. It makes for an awkward format, but given that Berendt’s commentary, observation and narration are so entertaining, one hardly seems to care.
The first part of the book largely serves as an introduction to a collection of people who continuously make you wonder how much liberty was taken in writing this. From Jim Williams himself, the gay antique dealer who bucked the Savannah elite whenever he got the chance; to an extroverted transvestite showgirl that goes by the name of Lady Chablis, formerly known as Frank; to Joe Odom the real estate agent/laweyer who makes the most of his living squatting in people’s empty houses, letting tour buses come by day and night and never locking his door, playing piano and writing people out checks for money he does not have.
From one chapter to the next, you will not cease to shake your head at the collection of strange, sourtherners Mr. Berendt got to meet during his stay in Savannah, painting along the way a very intricate, charming, entertaining picture of the unique city.
The second part of the book, however, changes gears and utilizing the material gathered from the first part, it serves to explain the account of Jim William’s trial for the death or a young, but violent man named Danny. Catching southern life and politics at its best and its worst, this book is as much eye opening as it is a riot.
Rating: 
Quote: “‘We don’t do black-on-white in Savannah…especially black male on white female. A lot may have changed here in the past twenty years, but not that.”‘
