I <3 Books

Mordecai Richler
1997

Ellie Wiesel
1956

This is a true account of Wiesel's experience during the Holocaust.

The Great Depression 1929-1939

The Northern Magus

The Bishop's Man

Last Night In Twisted River

The Manxman

Vanity Fair

Never Cry Wolf

Through Black Spruce

The Promised Land: Settling the West 1896-1914

Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush

Seven Rivers Of Canada

Worlds

Bluebeard

One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich

Moby Dick

Animals Make Us Human

The Road
Cormac McCarthy
2006

This is a post-apocalyptic novel about a man and his son walking south trying to survive.

This novel is what post-apocalyptic writing should be. It doesn't give an inch. There are no flashbacks so we can reconstruct why the world ended. There are no hints at any type of war or disease or other catastrophe. The catastrophe just happened, what happened or why is not important, and McCarthy resists any tempation to imagine why. The story also take place well after the end of the world, when everyone who is going to die, already has. The story is about people dealing with it who have long ago accepted what happened. There's no trauma or crying or looking back, just cruel acceptance and adaptation. The book is riveting, thrilling and easy to read. I read it in three days. McCarthy writes very crudely: no apostrophes, no quotations, broken sentences. The style is opposite a elegant victorian novel. There is no elegance. The text is as crude as the landscape in which the story takes place. An excellent book. (Disturbing even, the scene of people being kept in a basement for food shook me a bit).

Twilight
Stephenie Meyer
2005

This is an adolescent novel about vampires.

This book bothers me because it targets deep thinking pre-teen girls but it is very poorly written. Anne Rice could construct a brilliant sentence and understood the proper use of adjectives. I'm not sure if Meyer is a poor writer, or she has dumbed down her writing trying to appeal to adolescents. Either way, her writing is inexcusable. I read it because I wanted to talk about it wit my students. The story wasn't horrible. The story is basically My So Called Life if Jared Leto was a vampire. She falls in love with him, evil vampires come to fight, and love triumphs. Worse than the writing is Meyer seems to make up her own rules for vampire behaviour, which is sort of over the line for fantasy writers, especially ones that are so widely read. They should respect the tradition.

History of the English Speaking People: The Birth Of Britain
Winston Churchill
1956

This is the first of four volumes on the history of England and the British Empire.

Winston is back. Another big, thick, multi-volume series. Really, Churchill assumes the reader has already moved through a full education in British history. It gets a bit tough when he disuccses battles and reigns in detail without really giving a broad explanation of what is going on. I'm not sure if I'm going to read the next three. There are better books out there on the history of Britain if that is what I'm looking for.

I gained a broad and shallow understaning of British political history, and am able to make some observations: particularly, the throne is always contested. Aside from that, I missed a lot. This book is a bit the oppposite of the Will Durant books which are way to heavy on daily life, and much less on political transitions.

In The Skin Of A Lion
Michael Ondaatje
1987

This is a poetic, descriptive, novel about life in pre-WW2 Toronto, and the building of massive public works projects.


The book takes opens on a lake right near my cottage. I've never known a book to do that. There isn't all that much right near my cottage. The story then proceeds on to Toronto, Bloor Street, Front, east end, Vic Park, the islands, even Muskoka (not Toronto, but, still Toronto). I've known books to take place in Toronto before, and am always happy when they do. Familiarity, I guess, is there from the start with this book. I think familiarity is a pretty major idea in the book too. He intentionally focuses on things that are ultra-familiar - the Bloor Viaduct, Toronto streets, even tap water, and tries to show how they are only so familiar because of all the forgotten, never-honoured workers and work that made them be. He doesn't realy celebrate these people, romanticises them a bit, but just sort of dosuments them. Documents them more beautifully and fluidly than I suppose people are ever really documented.

Basically, Patrick grows up, moves to Toronto, works as a labourer on major pulic works, falls in love, falls in with leftists, blows up a hotel, serves time, and laters settles down to raise a daughter. The story isn't incredibly complicated. The book is more poetry than narrative. It doesn't seem to really matter what happens. It's going to be described beautifully whatever it is. There are some wonderful images. Images that you can absolutely feel and know just from reading. Ambrose pouring hot oil onto Patrick from the roof of his cottage, or Patrick's father covering himself in oil to slide between logs on the river, Harris standing at the edge of the unfinished bridge, herringbone tile, Temelcoffswinging from the bridge, Patrick falling asleep after work and his clothed beign rock solid stiff in the morning, the poor pack horses condemned to live in the undergroud tunnel haulign dirt and dying before ever seeing sunlight again. Wow. Weird, ridiculous images, that, really, have every bit as much chance of having happened as anything else. Some parts are a bit boring, too picturesque, too slow, really slow. No wonder the English Patient film was so boring. It had to be to be true to Ondaatje. The boring is overcome easily. The book is beautiful.

Gone With The Wind
Margaret Mitchell
1936

This is an American novel about social upheaval in the South during and after the Civil War.


Anyone wanting insight and stories on how to live, how to appreciate life, and how to cope, could do much worse than reading Gone With The Wind. The book is steeped in contrasting approaches to life, some noble, some embarrassing. The trauma and disruption from the Civil War was so severe that everyone's capabilities to deal with life come extremely into focus. Many thrive, many wilt. The book is a great love story (with a wonderful, deserved ending), a gripping historical account, and crucial writing on race. But, it is the didactic role that really stays with the reader after the book is done. There are just so many people trying to get by, they are all so tragic, but some of them are admirable, and the rest, pathetic. The admirable ones, all in common, push through, work hard, endure, complain little, and look back rarely. Such a guiding way to live through any stage in life. Those who look back, think about how things were, are left behind. The post Civil War south, was, I suppose, built by those, both black and white, that worked and endured. The ones who lamented, had no role in the building.

The book is excellent. It's not as weighty as Les Miserables, not as vast as Roots, but for an epic novel it is touching and emotional. Getting drawn into it is easy. The characters become familiar. I didn't cheer for them. It's hard to not see them as racist. It's hard to sympathize with them, given that I kind of side with Lincoln and his whole idea of abolishing slavery. But, as a chronicle of the era, the book, I guess is accurate.

I liked it much more for it's historical aspects than the romance. The relationship between Scarlet and Rhett was intense, but it seemed like they could have solved a lot of there problems if they just communicated a bit more. Which is another key part of the didacticism. The writing on the war was as good as Hugo's writing on Waterloo. Much more interesting than a history book, and so much more real.

Straight From The Heart
Jean Chretien
1985

This is a memoir written by Chretien, prior to becoming Prime Minister, about his years in politics.


This book wasn't really read in any context. Chretien isn't really all that on the scene and his book is not the most relevant political book that could be read today. It was on the shelf for a while, and I've been meaning to get it. I'm glad I did. I suppose I also meant to read it before I get to his recent memoir. Again, glad I did.

I don't know if a review exists of this book that doesn't use the word candid. Candid is a trait that really should be standard for all memoirs, and there should be nothing remarkable about a book that is candid. But, it isn't, and there is. This book, I agree, is. Especially compared to Trudeau's embarrassing effort at memoir. This book isn't petty or vindictive, and Chretien does consistently portray himself as honourably, but it seems real. It provides excellent insight into the workings of Canadian governance. Chretien spends a lot of time explaining how things work, and a lot of time giving his opinion on it all. I guess it would be really interesting to sit down with Chretien and have him talk for a couple hours about all he's learned. This book is a bit like that conversation. By the end you feel less cynical about politics, and a bit more hopeful. For all the oportunism and juvenile bickering in politics, Chretien makes it really seem like parliament is populated by people with truly noble ambitions. I've always liked books like this. It is, I think, a bit dry for anyone not into politics. But is also seems to have the same familiarity that made Chretien himself so popular. Reading it could make anyone find politics more real than they had really thought before.

The Manticore
Robertson Davies
1972

This is a novel about a man telling his life story to a therapist. It is the second book in the Deptford Trilogy after Fifth Business.

I don't know anything about the difference between Jungian and Freudian psychoanalysts. I guess the Jungians are into dream interpretation. They also seem somewhat condescending towards the Freudians. Maybe. The book was boring and fascinating. Riveting action there was not, and attachment to the new characters was difficult, because there were so few of them, and they were so secondary. Mostly, David Staunton sits in therapy telling his life story. It dragged a bit. The chief delight was reading this as a sequel to the wonderful Fifth Business. It was just great to see what happens next. And reading so soon after Fifth Business seemed the proper way to read it because it was good to see all the outrageous characters again and find out what they've been up to. It was a lot like reading Lord of The Rings after just finishing The Hobbit. It was just comforting to have a loved and familiar story continue to be told.

Fascinating it was because of the intimacy in which Jungian analysis is revealed. It is fuzzy bit of science, and I think Davies purposely tries to portray it as such. It was a critical and insightful study of someone deep in therapy.

Fifth Business
Robertson Davies
1970

It was good to read this book. I know American history, British history, and Canadian history, but not much Ontario history. More than America, Britain, or Canada, I am a product of people of Ontario and knowing them is to know myself. History books are excellent, but narratives offer a personal aspect that text books cannot touch. The depictions of small town Ontario during the wars was as real as if I was sitting with someone telling me stories about their childhood. I suppose that's what Davies is doing. I have a longing to know more about my past, to know more about the places that have touched me and shaped me. Am I continuing along a path set out generations ago, or did things change at some point.

Dunstan Ramsay is an almost Bilbo Baggins character. Single, eccentric, travels oddly, and to visit a strange crowd of friends. Bilbo is Fifth Business, so is Dunny. He is so philosophical, but so confused. He seems pretty self conscious to be writing as much as he is, and as personally as he is doing it. But, his skil as a writer, and the fact that he is the author, makes you question whether he is intentionally inserting the self conscious aspect to the story. Know him so well after a whole book, we assume. But, we only really know what he has allowed us to know. It is his absolute idealised version of himself, and where does the truth stand?

The spiritual depth to the novel is inescapable, complex. Dunny looks at religion so scientifically, so academically. But, at the same time he is completely consumed by his belief in mystery. Mary Dempster, books could be written about her, is so confusing to him. A saint and a burden, he loves her and she so confuses him. In the end she just kind of wastes away and dies, and he feels guilty. Guilty! He is so studied in the depths of Religion, but he has no control over his own emotions. When it counts, he is as helpless in a trying situation as the simplest of the faithful.

Robertson Davies, I appreciate you know, at last. And I am happy to. High school is much to early for someone to handle a book like this. And it is unfair to Davies to force his books on high school kids, turning them off his genius for, often, ever.

Ocean Ocean: Sandford Fleming's Expidition Through Canada in 1872
George M. Grant
1873
This is a diary written by George Grant as he accompanied Sanford Fleming from Halifax to Victoria in 1972 as they surveyed potential railway routes.

In 1872 George Grant, Anglican minister and later Principal of Queen's University, crossed the country. His companion, in fact leader, was Sandford Fleming, engineer in chief to the building of the transcontinental railway. The railway was then no more than a promise from the mouth of Sir John A. MacDonald, but a promise MacDonald was determined to see through. Fleming, renown as a brilliant engineer (not yet renown for inventing standard time), was charged with choosing which route the railway would take. Never one to make decisions without full study, Fleming set out to see the most likely route for himself. Grant accompanied as official expedition secretary. His notes were published soon after in a book titled Ocean to Ocean. Rarely is the book mentioned as an essential Canadian read, but essential it is. The book played a minor part in opening up the imagination of Canadians to the potential of western Canada for settlement and the possible realization of the railway dream.

At the time, it was something of a feat to cross the entire country. Their travel was difficult. Trains, ships, horses, carts, and canoes were combined with much walking to take these men from Halifax to Victoria. Hard days and nights were endured by the party as they pushed west. The result of all their work, and many many others, was the railroad. Retracing their steps today, along the railroad, is a simple luxury. A ride from Toronto to Vancouver (Grant actualy started in Halifax, but begins the narrative mainly in Toronto writing: "From Moncton, westward, there is much along the line worthy of description... it will be sufficient for our purposes to begin at Toronto.") on Via Rail's flagship The Canadian is an experience in comfort that was all too lacking from Grant's journey (Grant also had only one arm, which, it can be supposed, added to the toil). I took this book with me when I rode the Canadian this summer with some friends. Riding this train while reading Grant's published account of the journey is to immerse oneself deep into the mythology of Canada. It is impossible not to read the book and want to take stock of where we are now. It is impossible not to ride the train and feel the building of the railway irrectractibly tied to the building of the country.

Grant makes it clear in the book that they are aware their not just building a railroad. He is expicilt in stating that the full intention of the trains is to bind together a scattered country. Canada at the time was little more than a smattering of geometric shapes across the map. There was little common purpose early Canadians could find. Rarely did they come into contact with one another and never did they consider themselves countrymen with those in settlements thousands of miles away. Grant knew all this and saw the need for change if the country was going to survive. After only two years of existence Canada had already faced a threat to its unity. It had to, Grant was sure, stand together if it was to make it longer than a mere two years. He, as did others, saw the railway as a key, if not the key, method to building this unity. He knew that the wide open lands needed to be settled and the vastness of the country become familiar to all. In his book he sets right to bringing this familiarity. Amidst the descriptions of treacherous lake crossing, or perilous mountain passes, much of his writing is spent on describing the quality of agricultural land and the possibility for settlement in various parts of the country. In most of these descriptions he is enthusiastic and excited, knowing full well that his attitude will be influential to those he hopes will move to settle.

Grant spends more then a few words on lamenting the fate of the native bands through whose territory the railroad will pass. He understands precinctly how serious and real a death knell is the railway to the traditional hunting life of the plains tribes. He views the westward progress as inevitable and often glorious, but is markedly saddened that the pushing aside of entire cultures.

It is Grant's story. Fleming led the mission and was the political heavyweight upon who's summative report many decisions would lie. But, Grant is the one that colours the narrative with impassioned pleas for a united country. Sitting in the last car of The Canadian, moving westaward out of Winnipeg is a good time to take stock of how far we've come. How pleased Grant would be with it all. He was so optimistic, so hopeful, and he wanted Canada to work so much. It has worked, and is working, a ride on the train is testament to that. Our 142 year old Dominion has survived and will so continue. United we are and to men like Grant we owe much. The unity that was set out to be created some hundred and forty years ago has done us well and seen us through much. Looking back on it all, were he here today, one cannot help but think that Grant would be right pleased with the results of all his work. (Grant is not to be confused with grandson George Grant, author of Lament for a Nation. The younger Grant is sometimes credited with being a founding promoter of Canadian nationalism. Grandson founded much, but grandfather was new the importance of it long before it existed here. It might be noted that later descendant, Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP Michael Ignatieff is carrying on the family tradition in his own way.)


Our history is shared, and we know it. Much of the time on the train is spent talking. And much of the talk with people from all far reaches of Canada is common and familiar. Housing prices are a popular topic, as is the majesty of Canada's wilderness. Griping about Toronto is also pretty popular. There is familiarity between everyone in the country, and regional differences do little to diminish a real and felt common bind. Whether in Sudbury, Winnipeg, Jasper, or the wilds of BC a conversation with locals would inevitably turn to common and shared topics.

Riding the train is a tribute to the men who planned and built the railway to be aware of what they have given us. The death rate among workers was very high. The determination of the men who pushed the railway through is still legendary. It is a tribute to these men to use their railway and to remember them while riding it is to honour them.

The Last Spike
Pierre Berton
1971


This is a history book about the actual construction of the rail road in the 1890's. It is the continuation of a story started in The National Dream.


This book is perhaps Berton at his best. The story continues, told as much as the story of the people involved as the story of the railroad itself. I don't think that everyone is all that into railroad history, but it seems that a lot of people are. For those people, this book is a pleasure. Railroads, I suppose, have a bit of romanticism still attached to them, and their construction is so real and human that a railroad can't be built without thousands of stories coming into existence. Berton connects the best of these stories. I read this book preparing to take the train from Toronto to Vancouver and I couldn't be happier that I did. The train route is steeped in history, and there's no better compliment to the trip than this book.

The National Dream:
The Great Railway, 1871-1881
Pierre Berton
1970
This is the first of two books chronicling the planning and building of the transcontinental Canadian railway.


Pierre Berton has over a dozen excellent books. Any area of Canadian history towards which he has turned his attention has been fortunate. I only wish he had focussed on even more. Two of his books are about the history of the railroad, and they are two books that any full study of Canadian history would be impossible without.

As usual, Berton's history is a story of characters. It focuses on John A. MacDonald and his commitment to build the railroad. Sandford Fleming, George Grant, Hugh Alan, George Etienne Cartier and Edward Blake play their roles in the first round of political fighting. Once MacDonald's government falls and returns almost a decade later the only one who is still around and fighting is MacDonald himself. His political skill and persistence is remarkable. He is genuinely committed to the building of Canadian unity, and he risks his political life, health, and income to realize it. By the end of the book, after 15 years, the railway is still a long way off, but MacDonald has assured that it will be built.

Attention, not enough, but at least some, in this book is devoted to the inevitable bulldozing of the Native way of life by the railroad. The book isn't about natives, but it is such a glaring side effect of the railroad that it would be insulting to avoid it. The railroad symbolizes so much, good and bad. To the natives it was a spike driven right through the heart of their territory. For nomadic plains tribes, the railroad was the end.

The book is excellent. At some points heavy on parliamentary dialogue, but it's scope, while thick sometimes, almost adds an element of respect to the debate. That an entire book can be devoted to solely political dealing without even touching the actual building of the railroad is a tribute to how important those dealings were. That the book can be readable and nearly riveting is a tribute to Berton and his storytelling.

A Long Way Gone:
memoirs of a boy soldier
Ishmael Beah
2007

This is a memoir of a boy in Sierra Leone who fought in a guerrilla war for two years as a teenager before making it to New York.

The book is gripping and quick to read. The stories are shocking and the narrative is real and emotional. It's a world so far disconnected from anything I've known that it fails to resonate deeply. That's my shortcoming though, not the books. It move from one tragic event to another so rapidly that it almost becomes formulaic. Is it important to read books about such wildly different life experiences? What is gained by the awareness brought by this book? It makes me humbled, privileged. It doesn't spur me to act (again, my shortcoming, not the book). The book has to be shocking or no one will read it. But, as shocking as it is, by being published in the book, it becomes just another part of the mass of real and outrageous literature and film that is always being produced. It makes me feel guilty, not for my privilege, but because the massive loss of life and suffering has served to augment my worldliness and make me feel I'm more aware. The story, I think, was cheapened. The book was riveting, but I can't help feeling that is was reduced to typical exploitive shock journalism by being published. I don't know. It made me feel a lot. It made me aware, and it gave the author power.

Jailbird
Kurt Vonnegut
1979

This is a cynical novel about US culture.

I don't think I've written about Vonnegut here yet. It's been too long. Always good to have one of his books on the go. Do fresh. One word. Two words. Three words. And he says so much. Jailbird was as good as any. Maybe better than a few. He criticizes... there's too much. Every page has something to write about. I could never put it all down. I'll leave it at that. Can't wait for the next one.

A Long Day's Journey Into Night
Eugene O'Neill
1942/1956

This is a play about a family falling apart.

I guess Eugene O'Neill wrote this to be sort of autobiographical, or as some sort of a message to his wife. It took him twelve years to write and when he finally finished it in 1942 he sealed and it wasn't performed until 1956, four years after he died. It is extremely personal. I'm not sure what parts are autobiographical, but he seems to be trying to atone for being difficult to his family. I could Wikipedia all this, but I'd rather not. Some parts of the play are heart wrenching. It takes place in four acts, over one day, in the same room. The family members come and go from the room, arguing and wobbling between guilt and resentment towards each other. They slowly reveal a past of mental illness, and are endlessly exposing and then recovering old wounds coming from past anger, neglect, selfishness and self-loathing. The mother is going crazy, and has frequent episodes of anxious paranoia. The father, in his pride and stubbornness is driving his sons away. The sons are wrecks, totally incapable of functioning on their own. They older one is a self-destructive cynic, the younger one is dying. They talk about so much, but underlying it all are the real problems that they refuse to talk about. They're tragic, but pathetic, and have only themselves to blame. It's an incredible play.

Les Miserables
Victor Hugo
1862 This is a long novel about various characters, often miserable, over a 20 year period in post-Napoleonic France.

Long books, like I've said before, offer a richer experience. A stronger relationship is developed with the characters if they're read about over a sustained period of time. In this case it was a month. I thought I could read it over March break but I suppose I was punished for underestimating it. In the finishing it became somewhat of a quest. Today I set out at 2:00pm to get it done, now at 7:30, am done. It's worth it, full immersion into a book offers an experience unattainable by exposure to any other art form. As is clear, I'm moved. The book was stunning. Long, and at points frustratingly circuitous, but in absolutely and totally complete. It's all there, every inch of description, emotion, motive and action is fully laid down and the reader benefits.

The character of Jean Valjean is truly inspiring. Christ like (like so many others, see below) he moves through the story patiently, generously, capable, thorough, humble and able to fully experience the happiness from simplicity. His life is so tragic that a sit on a bench with Cosette is happiness enough for him. I guess he could be like Jason in Douglas Coupland's Hey Nostradamus. So tragic that he finds happiness as soon as the smallest happy thing is presented to him.

It is comparable to John Steinbeck for it's ability to affect and anger. So many, if poor, are just left to die. Hugo's sense of social justice is so stronger than many of the most articulate progressive thinkers today. If Hugo was American, and the story was maybe a 100 years more recent, Jean Valjean would be a bigger iconic hero than Tom Joad.

I loved this book. I'll write more soon.

Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
1985

This is a science fiction novel about a boy who prepares for and leads humanity into battle against aliens.


Like Lord of The Rings, Matrix, Star Wars (even Harry Potter) and so many other fantasy stories, this one follows the same template of events first seen in the Bible. There is an accepted study of 7 or 8 events that Jesus goes through (chosen at birth, shows promise while young, raises people from the dead, leads, dies, is resurrected, etc..) that can be seen in whole or in part in many science fiction stories. Ender goes through perhaps all of them. The chosen one he is, he very quickly distinguishes himself from his peers, he attract followers, has all hope upon him, and at the moment of triumph falls into this death like coma from which he is reawakened and renewed, later ascending (literally, in a spaceship) to lead humanity to a new existence. It's fascinating. It's, I guess, a narrative that has stood the test of time and does not go stale from endless retellings. Neo in the subway station, Frodo with the spider, Harry Potter in that dream place, and Luke Skywalker in that incubator after getting his hand cut off, every time it happens it is one of he most climactic parts of the story, an it's always exciting. Ender's Game is no different. It's a really good book. It falls easily into (or maybe is a founding text of) the sci-fi style that is much more philosophical (technosophical?) than just technological. With Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card would be in good company.

It's pretty obvious that the Buggers will end up being not purely evil, and that the main problem is one of communication between the two races rather than aggression. The humans are presented as ambiguously good/evil. The really are no better than the aliens they are fighting, but, as the argument goes, if the humans don't win, the aliens will. And, after all, they attacked first. The powerful moment comes when Ender is communicating with the dead race and they say, upon realizing the humans are attacking, say "they haven't forgiven us." It becomes pretty clear then that the whole war, like so many, was a farce. The book is not short on cool technology, and combined with the twists and series of surprises near the end, it just sends your mind into so many vast places. Imagining and pondering the vastness of the universe are constant company while reading this book. Sometime, after a part about traveling for 50 years, or battling out beyond Saturn, it's impossible not to pause for a second and just absorb what was just read.

I've only read maybe ten sci-fi books and I've loved all of them, more I will seek out, most likely.

Right Side Up
The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen's Harper's New Conservativism
Paul Wells
2007

This is a recounting of Stephen Harper's rise and Martin's fall.



Knowing the story so well (it only recently happened, and I suppose is still happening) I was still surprised several times in the book. In particular, there are a few shocking moments. Paul Martin is treated mercilessly. The author clearly doesn't think any politician has the right to paralyze government and screw around for a couple years only because of their personal ambition. Two things: Nothing in the original Sheila Fraser report on the sponsorship issue was new. All had been reported before. It was just kind of boring until Fraser put it all together (even then though, it was still pretty boring). And, that all things that should have been done to deal with the corruption had already been done by Chretien in 2001. Martin was so obsessed with distancing himself from Chretien he'd rather ramp up a whole inquiry rather than admit Chretien already dealt with it. Martin's shock and outrage following the report was the stupidest political play I have ever seen. Ultimately, the inquiry came to nothing. It stated that Chretien was on track in 2001 to fix it, and the people who ended up charged were already charged before the inquiry opened. Useless.

The story is largely a parallel of Harper's long calculated arrival coinciding precisely with the early stages of Martin's collapse. Harper was so patient, determined, Martin such a wreck. They were like two ends of a scale, one rising equally and concurrently as the other falls. Wow.

At times Well's analysis is unique and intellectual. His theories about small groupthink insulating Martin's in crowd from being able to make smart decisions is fascinating, and accurate. I've long enjoyed criticizing the crowd that dumped Chretien, brought Martin to power, and then screwed everything up, and Wells happily vindicates my criticisms.

The book, in a lot of ways, is a sequel to Juggernaut by Susan Delacourt, the narrative continues right from one to the next. Martin's rise is so unstoppable in the first book; his fall no less so in the second. How Shakespearean, what a story.

The book is conversationally written, many sentences in it are not complete ones. Maybe Wells is trying to build himself as a new kind of journalist with a more youthful voice, or maybe he just doesn't care about literary convention. Sometimes he gets a little too goofy, but mostly he is effective (maybe the subject is such an absurdity that it doesn't warrant serious writing.)

Dogs
A Natural History
Jake Page
2007


This is a natural science book about the evolution and breeding of dogs.


What was more unlikely, that I would come to like dogs, or that I would come to really like researching dog ancestry. The history of dog breeding explains a lot about the current dog. Dogs started in Asia, probably China, form wolves, but only a few wolves. Almost every dog in the word is descended form 3 or 4 dogs in Asia some 15 000 years ago. Dogs may have been domesticated by humans so we could benefit. Dogs may have domesticated themselves, evolution figuring that it was a safe bet in terms of species survival to get close and cuddly with humans. What a fascinating thought. Kind of reminds me of the mice in Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy. Also, the first dogs came into contact with humans by prowling around garbage at the edge of settlements. The ones who didn't run away when shooed became the good candidates for domestication. The ones who ran away stayed wolves. No wonder dogs are so persistent whe eating garbage. That's why we picked them in the first place! So many ideas, so fascinating. I will read more.

Watchmen
Alan Moore
1986

This is a graphic novel about superheroes fighting evil.

Wow. There are several stories playing out simultaneously in the novel, fitting given that the nature of time is one of its major themes. This book is revered as being the groundbreaking graphic novel, essentially creating a new genre. Aside from it's length, the truly groundbreaking aspect to this book has to be its sheer intellectual depth. Quotes from Bob Dylan are side by side with poetry by Shelley amidst storylines weaving particle physics, existentialism, political philosophy and human emotional complexities. There is more to be interpreted from one frame of this book that from a whole page of a traditional brute force comic. Which, given that the book is hundreds of frames long makes the full weight of its interpretative potential staggering.

There are essentially stories. A loosely connected group of aged and outlawed masked heroes with now supernatural powers tries to cope with their increasing irrelevance. An actual super powered man who keeps the balance of power between Russia and the US in check by his simple ability to destroy any nation with one thought moves beyond the influence of the US government after becoming disillusioned with the human race. A deteriorating and dysfunctional American society slides even further into barbarianism having to cope with too many internal collapses. A billionaire genius plots a way to enrich himself even further while saving humanity from itself. An shipwrecked Victorian era sailor is driven mad by torturous drifting on the endless sea.

Often many groundbreaking works are dwarfed by the later phenomenal works in the genre they created. Thought I've only read only Maus and Give Me Liberty, I can pretty surely bet that Watchmen is not dwarfed by any other graphic novel and won't be any time soon. It is simply a brilliant story told with creativity and boldness. It is entertaining and intriguing to read and it is as engrossing as any full length novel could ever be.

The Gum Thief
Douglas Coupland
2007

This is a novel constructed from letters exchanged between cynical workers at Staples.

I guess I'm moving away from Douglas Coupland. In the end the book was touching. It had the usual offbeat insights, but wasn't as rich as some of his recent, and nowhere near his best. It was a bit like Tom Wolfe writing about Charlotte Simmons. Coupland should move past alienated 20 somethings. I think he's said all their is to say on the subject and after a while the characters stop being endearing and start becoming pathetic. If this was my first Coupland, perhaps I'd be kinder. Some of the imagery in Glove Pond, the novel in the novel, was interesting. And the playfulness of having the characters successively write novels featuring characters that are writing novels worked well, but I didn't feel much weight to it overall. A little gimicky and a bit off.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion Of Freedom
Conrad Black
2005

This is an in depth one-volume biography of Roosevelt.

Big book. Long. Coming so soon after the six-volume study of Churchill, it is easy to compare. Roosevelt was bolder, more arogant, more confrontational and direct, and less willing to compromise. Churchill was (somewhat) of a consensus builder and . Roosevelt was self-serving, Churchill was generous to a fault. Last year at the Elgin Theater I was watching Gore Vidal speak. He said that the reason Roosevelt was able to rise to the challenge and meet Hitler was because the two of them were so much alike. Four terms as President, and with an authoritative command style in which anyone no longer useful was cut loose. And, like Hitler he fostered competition and discord among his subordinates choosing with the result that those beneath him worked harder and more ferociously. Roosevelt was the benevolent dictator US lawmakers had in mind when they amended the constitution restricting presidents to two terms. He was so powerful. He used his power for so much good, but that much power, I suppose, should never be in the hands of one person.


Along the way, as you're getting to know Roosevelt, you get a pretty good impression of Conrad Black as well (unless that impression came not from the book, but from seeing him on the news every night during the months I was reading.).

The book was wonderful. Black's broad, deep, vast, and rich knowledge of history is so complete that anecdotes are offered up in places where the reader only has to wonder again and again: "How does he know that?" It is much more hat a biography of Roosevelt, it is a colourful history of the war and a commentary on the great depression. In some cases it seems like Black is writing about an event, and he knows something unique that is only somewhat related to the event and not at all related to Roosevelt, but he just can't help writing about it because he'll probably never get a chance to offer up that bit of knowledge again (or he's showing off). I like when he does that, it makes the story richer.

The book took a log time to read, bit I'm happy I did. A study of Roosevelt should be pretty important to anyone focusing on electoral politics or management of power. And, as a conclusion to my year long study on WW2, it was indispensable.

Les Canadiens
Rick Salutin
1977

This is a play about Canadian history intertwined with the history of The Montreal Canadiens.

This play is outstanding. It's a unique idea, of the kind which Canadian theater should see much more. It has pride for both the hockey team and the country and approaches the history of each with Salutin's usual unapologetic left wing perspective. It opens on the Plains of Abraham, with the gun used to shoot Montcalme turning into a hockey stick. It goes from there sort of alternating between major events in the history of Canada and major events in the history of The Canadiens. It's not very touching or personal, but it does draw you in, and anyone with a passing knowledge of Canadian history is rewarded with through an understanding of the witty and clever framing of much of our history. I've never seen this play live, and I doubt I ever will (though I would jump at the opportunity to do so were it to come about) but it seems nearing impossible to stage successfully. It is full of action, roller skating, shooting hockey pucks, fights, and transitions from hockey rink to off ice. The only way I could see it being done, other than on a mega-production scale, wouls be to slim it down immensely and leave a lot to the imagination of the audience.

The Wild Duck
Henrik Ibsen
1884

This is a play about a social and family values in late 1800's Norway.

There is a lot in this play. A completely deluded family led by a foolish and unrealistic father live an existence that can not be sustained due to their disconnection from reality. Greggers, an old friend, arrives and tried to set things right by revealing all the family secrets being motivated by the belief that having everything out in the open is the healthiest way for a family to function. Greggers is an idiot, his idea is a dumb one and it results in the destruction of the family. All the characters have serious moral flaws, their selfish and misguided. The play itself is so rich and developed that even the minorest of characters is revealed as deep, complex, and as always, screwed up. It was a joy to read, and would be even better to see live.

Marley And Me
John Grogan
2005

This book is a memoir about a man raising his dog and his family.


The writing gets better near the end as the author seems to be able to write with much more emotion and clarity about recent experiences (including death) with his dog than he managed with more distant memories. There are a lot of cliches and predictable moments in the early chapters, but the end is well worth enduring a bit of tedium. Marley dies and Grogan fully understands the impact Marley has had on his life. Marley is simple, ever content, always curious, and fiercely values companionship and family. Grogan sees the Marley's way of life serves as a guiding beacon to true simple hapiness.
I thought the book was nice, not overly profound, but it acomplishes what it sets out to do. In a way, it comes to the same conclusion as Candide. Focus on what's important and hapiness will follow.

D-Day: June 6, 1944
The Climactic Battle Of World War II
Stephen Ambrose
1994

This book is a historical recounting of D-Day, the day when the allied forces invaded France in order to establish themselves in Nazi occupied Europe.

The value of the information in this book is immeasurable. Ambrose seemed to decide some time back that D-Day was such an important even in world history - which it certainly was - that he need record as many possible personal accounts of the day before the stories are lost forever. He reassembles the events, beginning with some background, but starting primarily before light on June 6, 1944, by combining hundreds of personal memories and official histories to piece together a complete and accurate version of events. The stories are moving. There are many personal memories of being scared or injured making mistakes, bravely pushing forward, and losing many close friends. The emotion of the men who fought is captured with an unsympathetic commitment to recounting both the triumphs and the blunders - both of which there were many. The gravity of the undertaking seemed to be apparent to the men, and few of them shirked their duties. Many were poorly positioned or landed, but for the most part they pressed on to complete either their mission, or if that was not possible, any positive result.

The story depicts the allied forces as well as the allied training regime as strong and effective. It is also fairly critical of the planning and intelligence that led to D-Day. The men were often put into unintended and avoidable danger, and many did not survive. Ultimately however, Ambrose seems to say that, given the resources, available intelligence, and unpredictable weather, everyone did the best they could. Ambrose is impressed with what went on that day, especially with the officers who took control in the absence of any higher control, and the men who fought are most likely proud of, and content with, their portrayal in this book.

This book is a compliment to a deeper study of World War II. Ambrose assumes much of the reader, and explains few details that he believes could be explained elsewhere. It results in a book that is uncluttered and focussed. His goal, as stated above, is accomplished.

The Second World War: Triumph And Tragedy
Winston Churchill
1953
How the Great Democracies Triumphed, and so Were able to Resume the Follies Which Had so Nearly Cost Them Their Life.

This book documents the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the fall of Rome, the possibility of a Nazi secret weapon, Roosevelt's death, the atomic bomb, the end of the war, and Russia ascendancy to aggressive world power.


The story of the human race in the 20th century rivals eclipses any fiction that even the most profound author could ever conceive. A book with depth and vastness - a rich moving story - like Lord Of The Rings, is a pamphlet compared to the vastness of the human story. There is only one narrative, endless in detail and recounting the most tragic of tragedies and the most triumphant of triumphs. This narrative is told from the beginning of time and is added to every day. The world needs people like Churchill to document it, to tell the story. Thank goodness he was never a fiction writer - what a waste! No one could have ever predicted what World War Two would lead to. But with Churchill writing from his first person perspective, at least we know how we got here.

World War One ended with countless unanswered questions and unresolved issues. World War two solved them, forever. But it opened up more and even greater questions with which the world is still grappling today, namely, the titanic struggle between nations to be a world super power. Could anyone have foreseen this terrifying outcome and he close of the bloodiest conflict in human history? Churchill could.

He moves from discussing the day to day of running the war to recounting his growing torment as he begins to see the new world order rising out of the destruction of the war. He details how the victory parties and the massive street celebrations - at which his presence was a major historical event - were empty to him due to his awareness of the even larger still distant threat. He never doubted that England would persevere, and after the US entered the war, he was certain of victory. But, as Nazi Germany was falling apart he was tormented by the realization that Russia had no intention of curbing its meteoric rise to power following its crushing of the German east army. Russia would not stop, Churchill could see it clear. He uses the "iron curtain" term well before the war is even over, and the US state department in shown to be nowhere near as perceptive as he in broadly viewing world affairs. In fact, he tried to warn everyone. Just as he had done in the thirties, but as before, no one paid attention until it was too late.

Six books, each over 700 pages, on World War Two, was an unlikely undertaking. I thought I would spend a few years on them, reading them once in awhile. They turned out to be captivating and enlightening. They raised my interest in historical study from what was previously near non-existent, to something of a minor passion. The books I read after these six attest to that. I'll try to ensure that don't neglect my love of fiction too much, and don't always post about history, but for the next few weeks, that might be tough.

The Second World War: Closing The Ring
Winston Churchill
1951
How Nazi Germany was isolated and Assailed on All Sides.

The allies force their way north through Sicily and up the foot on Italy towards Rome. Mussolini is overthrown and exiled, Italy breaks from the axis to join the allies.

The mood is substantially changed in this book. Everyday is spent managing all the details and keeping all plans on track. The allies know they've won provided they can manage their alliance and avoid any major mistakes. Churchill no longer fears defeat, but is conscious of the possibility of stalemate, and slightly nervous of Russia's commitment to victory. He also begins, in this volume to focus more on post war plans, and ensuring the forces of good are united following the fall of Germany.

The Second World War: The Hinge Of Fate
Winston Churchill
1950
How the power of the Grand Alliance became preponderant.

The tone of the writing moves from defiant and determined in the previous volumes, to confident and deliberate in The Hinge Of Fate. After the US and Russia align with Britain, Churchill sees winning the war as certain, provided the allies move forward together. Accordingly, this volume documents a shift in which Britain moves from a series of ceaseless loses and defeats, to a unbroken crusade of successive victories.

Book one, dealing with the first half of 1942, shows Britain at its weakest and most forsaken. Germany is marching ever forward and fortifying the positions the already hold, while Japan has seized on the preoccupation of Britain and the derelict state of the US Pacific fleet (after being decimated in Pearl Harbour) to march unchalleged as occupiers onto vast ranges of Pacific islands. These assaults included the devastating loss of Singapore to the British Empire, taken to be the largest capitulation in British history. Meanwhile, Britian, unable to battle Germany anywhere in Europe, commits itself to clearing the Nazi's off the North African coast. Even this modest effort is resisted as Field Marshall Rommel holds out against first Auchinleck, then Alexander. These defeats, including the loss again of Tobruk shortly after the fall of Singapore, were the low point of British strategic prestige worldwide.

Fortunes begin to turn early on in book two. American and British planers put together the invasion on North Africa from the West, resulting in such a successful campaign that Italy is soon seen to be the natural next step. Again telegrams and minutes carry much of the narrative, but Churchill does intervene periodically to recounts certain riveting episodes, particularly the death of Admiral Darlan.

Churchill continues to demonstrate his mastery of seeing the war as one interconnected conflict. His vision never tunnels towards only the most pressing issue, as even in times of severe distress he is able to balance the proportionality of every outcome. His one goal is the defeat of Nazi Germany resulting in a peaceful Europe, and throughout the book he recounts how through countless meetings, both international and domestic, and countless telegrams, he never wavers from the goal and works always to strengthen and put to use the ow solid alliance.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
J. K. Rowling
2007

This book met all expectations. It was a thrilling adventure/fantasy novel on it's own, and it was a forcible finale to an exceptional series. The loyal reader of the 6 other novels is rewarded in spades in this installment as events both major and minor from all previous books reappear with varying degrees of surprising importance.

Both the story and Rowling's writing have matured over the ages. The humour from the first two volumes is nearly absent. In fact, previously funny terms or situations, such as the name "Diagon Alley", seem strangely out of place in the now fully dark and serious world of wizards. They are a relic from an era more carefree and simpler, both in Potter's world, and Rowling's. Rowling is no longer writing a children's novel. Her readers have grown up. Anyone who first got started on the books as a child is now in their twenties. And, any kids who begin reading Potter now will do a lot of growing before they get around to the last one. Rowling is no doubt conscious of this and adapts her writing appropriately. She is a much more confident and experienced author by this last book. The words move by at a frentic heavy pace, which is a striking contrast to the silly wizards-are-so-cool style of her first book. Rowling has a point to get to and a story to tell, and she wastes few words getting there.

Every page offers serious plot developments. The knowledge that millions of readers worldwide know the previous volumes in detail has allowed Rowling to dispense with cumbersome back story and repetition. The imaginative and creative details are given full freedom to soar and Rowling can take the story anywhere knowing that readers will be able to stay with her.

At the end of the sixth book the scene is so bleak that war is unavoidable. The conflict between good and evil builds to such a climax that is can only be resolved through massive destruction. In the final book this destruction happens as the conflict explodes into a battle worthy of any fantasy novel. The battle is so vivid and powerful that Rowling seems almost to be rewarding the reader for staying with her so long. It runs multiple chapters and is unquestionably the most thrilling part of any Potter novel. All characters return and in a Hobbit style Battle Of Five Armies, anyone who can fight, fights. The book is a worthy cap off to a tremendous series, and and the final battle if a spectacular finale to all of it.

JPod
Douglas Coupland
2006

Coupland is at the point in his career where his current writings are inevitably compared to his earlier writing, with the new work being classified as either a "departure" or "vintage Coupland." JPod is vintage Coupland. It's an updated post-millennial, post-tech bubble, google era Microserfs. Microsoft is replaced with EA, Seattle with Vancouver, and tech worker arrogance with tech worker insecurities. But, Microserfs was so sharply prophetic and futurist that net connectivity, workstation slavery, and sheer information saturation are all still the same. Life in the age of tech seems the same in 2007 as it did in 1995, minus the above mentioned changes. The information overload in our world, Coupland says, has killed our ability to be shocked. The story is fantastic and outrageous to the point of being beyond believability. Homicidal pot-growing parents, compassionate human-smuggling friends, and absurd coincidences contribute to the dark fantastical mood. Amidst the incredible circumstances that play out in the book, the characters reactions are very indifferent; they act like teenagers when their parents car gets a flat. It is a wonderful metaphor for our information saturated societies that these characters, whether hearing the news, or dealing with their own life, are never surprised by anything. The book is vintage Coupland. The usual indirect insights on modern society, the obsession with and worship/resistance of consumer culture, and the superhuman ability to apply irony to anything are all present. The characters are touching and sensitive, if unbelievable. They are a geek fantasy. Ethan and others work in a tech company making video games. Coincidence and a computer glitch has seen to it that everyone working in a particular cubicle section a last name starting with J, hence JPod. The sit around talking about the trivia of everyday 21st century life. They date a bit, and go on adventures with each other having fun comparable to teens goofing around in a mall.

I really liked the book. It wasn't my favourite, but anything Coupland puts our I am able to find quite a few connections to. I always like the get-along-gang dynamics present in these books. There is a real social utopia created when all friends absent of any other intimacy n their life forge bonds as strong as family. These bonds are what connects JPod to Generation X and Microserfs, and it's what I've always sought out when reading Coupland. Microserfs was my favourite, I think it always has been. It was also the first Coupland I ever read. I was attracted to it because of the bright red and yellow cover bearing pictures of lego figured. JPod has lego figures on the cover too.

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures
Vincent Lam
2006

Touching. Beautiful. Poetic. This book won the Giller prize this year. Like David Bergen last year, Lam also has a career outside writing. He's a doctor. The book is about doctors. Interweaving stories about four or five different characters paint a vivid portrait of the life of a Toronto doctor and, it seems, Lam's life as well. The autobiographical components are hard to miss. Lam's compassion for those applying to medical school, his understanding of the chaotic nature of emergency room work, and his emotional detailing of doctor's and nurse's frantic actions during a crisis could only have been written by someone who has experienced such things first hand. Particularly poignant was the description of the medical community both coming together and fracturing amidst the Toronto SARS crisis. His characters are touching and real. None are perfect, nor are any completely antagonistic. Fitzgerald comes closest to being a dislikeable character, but he is redeemed later on as Lam divulges the pressures and demons he battles. Chen come closest to a protagonist of sorts, even exhibiting heroic qualities. Yet, he too has his qualities balanced out as Lam ends the book with Chen overstressed and difficult. While the book has a significant focus on relationships, personal drama does not overwhelm the hospital and medical stories. Ultimately, the book is about humans, both professionally and intimately. Lam places them in both their personal and professional worlds to depict not what it is like to be a doctor, but what it is like to be a thinking, feeling, living human working as a doctor. Lam's understanding and depiction of the city of Toronto is also a treat. He knows the city and is able use it not only as a backdrop, but as a part of the story that affects and adds to his characters lives.