The Brief History of the Dead

Brockmeier, Kevin. The Brief History of the Dead. New York: Pantheon, 2006; Vintage 2007.

Reviewed by Rebecca Stuhr

This futuristic tale forsees the end of the human race both living and dead, or perhaps more precisely, the living-dead. Brockmeier alternates the chapters of his novel between their two worlds. The City of the living-dead resembles a city on earth—filled with public transportation, buildings, restaurants, shops, and people from all walks of life. There is pain, happiness, love, and loneliness, but there is no aging or death. People cross over from life into death, and at some point disappear. As the novel begins, a sudden upsurge in the population is followed by a sudden evacuation of the population. It slowly becomes clear to those left in the city that many of them have something in common—and that is that they knew or were known by Laura Byrd. Laura Byrd, as it turns out, may be the sole surviving human on earth. She is sent to Antarctica to conduct a wild-life survey with two other Coca-Cola scientists just before an über-virus sweeps through earth’s human population. Back in Antarctica, Laura finds herself alone and suddenly without electricity or heat. Laura makes two superhuman journeys through the sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow of Antarctica in an attempt to reconnect with her world beyond the South Pole. Brockemeier relied on Ice: Stories of Survival from Polar Exploration (edited by Chris Willis) and Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s The Worst Journey in the World for his detailed depiction of Laura Byrd’s Antarctic travels. The details of her journey are horrifying and fascinating and unimaginable (unless you’ve read Nicola Davies's Extreme Animals ….see below)

Besides the intriguing notion of a life after death through the memory of the living, Brockmeier’s future realizes many of the fears we live with today, including climate change, bio-terrorism, and unethical, undisciplined, and uncontrolled corporate behavior. But, along side Brockmeier’s dystopia, there is also a benevolent view of our human need for each other, our ability to nurture and sustain each other, and, even as we seem hell-bent on destryong ourselves, our very will to live and our love for life. Although this is not a light-hearted novel by any means, there are humorous moments. And despite the bleakness of a world pandemic and the annihilation of the human race, Brockmeier's prose evokes beauty and peace. Finally, not to make light of Byrd’s epic struggle, but this reviewer can’t help but wish that Laura Byrd had read up on how penguins huddle together to survive the Antarctic temperatures (see review of Nicola Davies's book on Extreme Animals below) before heading off on her sledge. It’s a fact that might have come in handy when her last heating coil gave way.

Brockmeier is also the author of The Things that Fall from the Sky published in 2002 by Pantheon Books. 1st floor PS3602.R63 T48 2002.

Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth

Davies, Nicola. Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth. Illustrated by Neal Layton. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.

Reviewed by Rebecca Stuhr

Many animals are tougher than humans! Those of you who pride yourself for participation in extreme sports should take a half-hour break from your training and exertions to read Davies’s book on extreme animals. You have to read all the way to the end (p. 58) to find out which creature wins the toughest-animal-on-earth award but here’s a hint—it can be boiled, frozen to absolute zero, can survive a vacuum or pressure six times the pressure at the deepest part of the ocean and it isn’t a cockroach. Don’t skip to the end of the book though, because if you do, you’ll miss the fascinating facts about sponges (this reviewers favorite!), click beetles, thermophiles, and wood frogs (a close second). You won’t learn about “squash factor,” brain cooling mechanisms, collapsible lungs, and animal antifreeze. If you already know about animals that are “Truly Tough,” then you might want to read this book anyway for Neal Layton's informative and entertaining illustrations. You might imagine drawing some of these pictures yourself—but their somewhat slapdash appearance is more than made up for by the humorous and inventive way Layton interprets Davies’s extreme animal facts. Humans, please sit down and make way for the truly extreme animal survivors. This book is cataloged as juvenile literature, but reading this book will provide pleasurable and edifying reading for all ages. Recommend it to your local public library! (Read up to the next review to find it out why Laura Byrd would have done well to read this book before embarking on her trip to the Antarctic).

The Ransom of Russian Art

McPhee, John. The Ransom of Russian Art (illustrated).
New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994

Reviewed by Philip Kintner

The title of this book may be misleading, and the content is certainly different from most of McPhee’s many sorties. However, his approach to the material through a leading figure, a trademark characteristic, is in place here, for the central character is an American obsessed with collecting Russian art, who, like McPhee, was not equipped to determine relative merits of the various artists and their works. But by collecting, at his own expense and with great risk, literally thousands of pieces, large and small, all illegally, and smuggling them out of Russia during the period after World War II when freedom of artistic expression was forbidden, he preserved an otherwise lost world of Russian art. How he did it, and why, are questions explored in this brief but well-written book, which fits elegantly with the current Faulconer Gallery exhibition, “The Space of Freedom” [March 2007]. Many of the “ransomed” (better: “rescued”) art works came from just such secret showings of artists’ work to other artists. Though not without faults, McPhee’s book reveals well the cloak-and-dagger efforts of one determined individual to prevent the destruction of a generation of innovative art.

2nd floor N 6988 .M33 1994

The In-Between World of Vikram Lall: A Novel

Vassanji, M.G. The In-Between World of Vikram Lall: A Novel. New York: Knopf, 2004.

Reviewed by Rebecca Stuhr

M.G. Vassanji is the gifted Giller Prize winning novelist of The Book of Secrets (1996), four other novels and three collections of short stories .* Born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania, Vassanji’s novels explore the experience of South Asians in Africa. In this novel, Vikram Lall’s in-between world is that of the African-Asian in colonial and post-colonial Africa—regardless of citizenship or nativity—the Asians in Vassanji’s novel are continuously aware of being neither completely accepted by the Black-Africans nor by the European-Africans. The in-between world is also Lull’s in-between emotional and moral state as a result of his experiences during the gruesome brutality of the Kenyan independence struggle and his involvement with post-colonial government corruption.

The novel is told from Lall’s point of view in exile in Toronto having been officially declared the most corrupt man in Kenya. Vassanji has Lall tell his story beginning with his happy childhood in Kenya with his parents, sister Deepa, his uncle and other extended family members and close family friends. He and his sister’s closest friend was Njoroge, a Kikuyu boy their own age. The three of them became friends with two white children, Annie and Bill. This happy childhood became more complicated as the Mau Mau insurrection entered their lives. Njoroge makes Lall swear a childish allegiance to Kenyatta and Lall discovers a beloved uncle’s secret activities in support of the Mau Mau. It wasn’t just that his uncle worked with the Mau Maus, it was the consequences of his action that troubled Lall, most significantly his feeling that his uncle is implicated in some way in the brutal murder of Annie and Bill and their parents. Lall never recovers from these horrific and tragic events. Vassanji’s character tells his story in a cold and detached manner. Lall expresses little guilt or regret for his shady business dealings. His story is just what it is—neither good nor bad.

Through this story the reader learns of the strange position of the Asians of Kenya in particular, and Africa in general and the post independence corruption that has stalled the development of Kenya and other African countries. The story of racism and corruption is a familiar one that can be picked up and set down on many different settings and time periods including, of course, our own. But this novel is not only a history lesson. Beneath it is the much more intimate story of the fate and fortunes of Vikram Lall and his family.

1st Floor PR9199.3.V388 I5 2004
*Other works by M.G. Vassanji
The Gunny Sack. Heinemann, 1989.
PR9381.9.V37 G86x 1989
No New Land: A Novel McClellend & Stewart, 1991
PR9381.9.V37 N6x 1991
Uhuru Street: Short Stories. Heineman, 1991
PR9381.9.V37 U48x 1991
The Book of Secrets. Picador, 1996.
PR9199.3.V388 B66 1996
Amriika. McClellend & Stewart, 1991.
PR9199.3.V388 A8 1999
When She Was Queen. (short stories) Doubleday Canada, 2005
Elvis, Raja: Stories. Penguin Books, 2005

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.

Reviewed by Dan McCue

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is an intriguing, readable study of social epidemiology. Through interviews, academic research, and case study, Gladwell probes into the reasons why certain products and behaviors have infected our society. I learned how Sesame Street and Blue's Clues became infectious learning tools, the secret behind the six degrees of separation (and its spinoff, the six degrees of Kevin Bacon), why 150 is a magic number, how farejumping and crime in New York City are connected, and why it's cool to smoke. It will make you want to be sticky, spread rumors, and find the connectors, mavens, and salespeople in your own social network.

The Expected One

McGowan, Kathleen. The Expected One. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Reviewed by Crosby

Remember Mary Magdalene? Well, she is in another book. The Magdalene cult has been very strong in Europe over the past two millennia. Now her presence is being felt in the United States.

Some, if they merely read the inside jacket, may think this book is a recycling of The DaVinci Code (2003). It does deal with the same subject matter: Mary Magdalene (MM) and it does deal with conspiracies and secrets and secret codes (MM does seem to lend herself to those; partly because, in the past, a person could be killed for aligning too closely to her supposed history and teachings). But there are many differences. For one, this one is not as suspenseful as the other book. In some ways, it is more like a travelogue of various places where the author visited. And there lies the major difference with the other books: it is really a disguised autobiography.

The first clue is in one of the dedications: “To Mary Magdalene, my muse, my ancestor”

The second clue is in the afterword: McGowan tells us that she did 20 years of research for this book, primarily via folklore because much of the information about MM is not written, but passed on from generation to generation of ancestors and followers. Books can be found and authors killed and the books edited and distorted. Folklore, according to the author, is more reliable and safer for the participants. And McGowan admits that her information was revealed to her only if she kept her sources secret (even today, and that may be because of the descendants of John the Baptist who are out to seek revenge on MM) so, since she cannot have independent confirmation of the data she chose to call this a fictional story so that she could at least get the story out there.

This book goes beyond the basic idea that MM and Yeshua (Jesus) had children. About 2/3 into the story is where the book becomes very fascinating: basically it is a rewrite of the gospel from the point of view of MM. It is very clever with realistic human interactions and explains a great deal that may have been confusing in the original gospels. It also has several surprises (one of which was referenced above: that John the Baptist—the voice in the wilderness, the eater of locusts and honey—had offspring and, um, guess who the mom is? And guess why the progeny of John hate the progeny of Yeshua . . . ?)

This book is the first in a trilogy. The second book is The Book of Love which is about the book written personally by Yeshua. There may be a bit of controversy over that also.
Stewart Library, Grinnell, Iowa--Main Floor

Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man

McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1964

Review by Dan McCue

There's a good chance you've heard the phrase "the medium is the message." Marshall McLuhan, author of Understanding Media, spends most of the book explaining why. One of the ways in which he does this is comparing the mechanical, industrial age of years past with its specialized labor to the decentralized, electric age of today, described as the "global village." McLuhan's broad interpretation of medium means everything from the wheel to the television is examined for how it conveys information in our world.

McLuhan wrote Understanding Media in 1964, but his words seem positively prescient at times. Reading this may help you understand why you watch television, why you don't read a newspaper, and why so many of your friends are on Facebook, MySpace, and PLANs.

1st Floor Burling P90 .M26

The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate in Crisis and the Fate of Humanity

Lovelock, James. The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate in Crisis and the Fate of Humanity. New York : Basic Books, 2006.

Review by Mark Schneider

James Lovelock has a way of writing that sometimes inspires, sometimes irritates. He was not the first person to put forth the notion that the atmosphere, the geology, and the biology of the earth all affect one another in profound ways over geologic time, or even that large scale operation of planetary systems are not unlike those of a living organism. However, in his Gaia hypothesis, he pushed the envelope by claiming the earth system is a living organism, and that it has self-healing mechanisms that have evolved in a Darwinian sense. He was 70 in 1979 when he wrote his first in a string of Gaia books, and as a self-identified “independent scientist,” he didn’t have to cater to anyone.

This latest Gaia book takes a highly provocative tone, making a strong (and to me, plausible) case that overpopulation, overdevelopment, and use of fossil fuels have pushed the earth system beyond the ability of natural biological and climatological regulatory systems to control. He further argues that once we have left this stability, most of the effects of climate change (e.g. melting of polar ice) will only further accelerate global warming (or heating, as Lovelock prefers). He’s not just talking tough times for the ski resorts here, but global famine and death from droughts, storms and flooding. Scary stuff!

What originally drew me to read this book was that, in contrast to many environmentalists, he is not averse to high tech solutions to such problems. For example, he is a strong (I mean STRONG) advocate of nuclear power—ultimately fusion, but regular fission reactors now—as an essential step to minimizing the climate change. He seriously discusses the possibility of using a space-mounted sunshade, and of running jet planes on high sulfur fuel to increase high altitude smog as a heat shield. He even suggests “Gaia as religion” to indoctrinate the young—pretty provocative.

Lovelock recognizes many think he is wrong on various points, and seems to respect that. He seems to understand that being understated is not what is needed now. This is not a scientific treatise, but a science-based call to action, or maybe better, a plea from Mother Earth. Read it!

4th floor Science Library QH343.4 .L694x 2006

Eat the Document

Spiotta, Dana. Eat the Document. New York: Scribner, 2006.

Reviewed by Rebecca Stuhr

Mary Whittaker has had to go underground after an anti-war action during the waning years of the Viet Nam war proves fatal. This means separating permanently from her lover, also involved in the action, her family, and all of her friends; it means changing her name and her history. Mary, with a new social security number, identity, and past, eventually marries and has a child. The novel follows her through the initial stages of her descent to anonymity, and then goes forward, 25 years later, to see Mary through the eyes of her 15-year-old son who is slowly catching on to bits of stories that don’t match up and a strange absence about his mother. Mary’s lover Bobby has become Nash. He runs a counter cultural bookshop that appeals to skate boarders, and young radicals. He continues to live by his ideals, but observing now more than acting. Mary and Bobby have been living near each other in the Pacific Northwest but without knowing it. This is not a love story, but an exploration of American culture, the different shapes of resistance, and most of all, the consequences of decisions and actions. In this particular case, the consequence is the loss of an entire past and a future that may lack joy and meaning. Spiotta’s characters are complex and her depiction of radical movements in the 70s and 90s vivid and convincing. Spiotta is also the author of Lightning Field (Scribner, 2002). Both titles are available at Burling Library.

How Proust Can Change Your Life

DeBotton, Alain. How Proust Can Change Your Life. London : Picador, 1997

Reviewed by Crosby

After some frustration attempting to read Marcel Proust’s mammoth contribution to our literary culture, I put it to one side to read further later.

Then I came across this book. It is charming, humorous and succinct. It makes no attempt to summarize Proust which would be meaningless anyway: amongst this book’s points is that the reason for reading Proust is not to come away with facts or a plot, but rather to experience his internal worldview through his exquisite detailing. DeBotton goes on to say that there is, indeed, a contest to summarize Proust: you must do it in 10 seconds or less. (This is to emphasize that Proust cannot be summarized.)

DeBotton gives various delightful quotes from people who read or attempted to read Proust’s book including that of a publisher who complained why anybody would want to read a book that takes 30 plus pages to describe somebody waking up and another from an American woman residing in Italy who sent a letter to Proust describing herself as young and attractive and that she spent 3 years devoting all her time to reading his book and all she wanted to know from Proust was whether he could just tell her in a couple of sentences what the book was about. (By the way, this sentence comes nowhere near to one of Proust’s run-on sentences, which ran on for some 300 lines: another of the many little items in DeBotton’s slim tome.)

DeBotton pulls out various themes and passages from Proust’s tremendous work. His book has chapters dealing in subjects ranging from love to how to put down a book, and, then, shows how, by reading Proust, you can gain an enriched perspective on life.

Whether you have read Proust or are thinking of reading his gargantuan classic or if you want to fool others into believing you have read and understand him, try DeBotton’s tidbit of a book. It is not weighed down with heavy academia and analysis. Instead, it will give you perspective with a smile. Oh, and it has some drawings.

1st floor PQ2631.R63 Z54917