Book Reviews

The official taxi cab threshold, for anyone who's interested, has been set at 6688. That's a lot of cabs.

Done with 'The Moviegoer' and on to 'Oryx and Crake', by Margaret Atwood. A few things about Walker Percy's 1962 National Book Award winner before moving on to Atwood's novel. First; what malaise! That's the book in one word. I should've remembered this book would put me in a funk. The book is set in New Orleans, in the early 1950's. The plot follows the post-war, stock and bond selling life of Jack 'Binx' Bolling. Binx is close to 30 and has a strong extended family matriarch who, in the absence of closer parents, has set about organizing and setting expectations for Binx. It is her step-daughter, Kate, who Binx identifies with and is the only one who seems to understand Binx's quest. The publisher states on the book jacket, "In his portrait of a boyish New Orleans stockbroker wavering between ennui and the longing for redemption, Percy managed to combine Bourbon Street elegance with the spiritual urgency of a Russian novel." The part referring to "a Russian novel" is a bit too much, for me, I think. Nonetheless, an excellent book that spins a bit too fast towards the end but definitely closes the circle.

Atwood's novel is, at two-thirds of the way through, just short of electrifying. Atwood is a master of the 'plausible science fiction' genre and this tale, of the end of humanity, is not only a good read but a smart one, too. Anyone who enjoys the moral and ethical tug of the current bio-genetic and environmental debate should pick this up at the bookstore (there's one conveniently listed at the bottom of this page) and spend some time in a cozy chair, or airport terminal.

I like to clean up
Loose Ends before moving on
To new thoughts and blogs.