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Caught me by surprise.

Revisado: 01-28-14

I stumbled onto this book a few years ago. I'm not even sure what first caught my eye. I was not familiar with David James Duncan. And a story about baseball would not normally appeal to me. I am a playoff baseball kind of person. So this was just a spur-of-the-moment purchase.

Isn't it true that this is often how you find your favorite books? That certainly was true in this case. This odd little story about a washed up baseball player's family has become one of my all time favorite books.

This story is viewed through the eyes of several members of the Chance family, primarily Kincaid Chance, the youngest boy. Through their individual narratives, we come to know each of the members: the father who can't seem to catch a break, the rebellious son, the pious son, the religious mother, and the oddball twins. We get to see this family grow and change over decades. The writing, too, changes. For the first chapters of the book, the main narrator is a very young Kincaid Chance. The writing mirrors that of a young boy, but as the years pass and the members get older, the writing matures.

There are passages in this book that brought tears to my eyes. There are passages in this book that I think are stunning. Yes, I believe the writing is that good.

Think a less sexually aggressive John Irving. Also, no bears.

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Best thing about the book is the title . . .

Revisado: 01-28-14

(. . . and the cover art is superb.)

You know, maybe it was my fault; I expected too much. The reviews on Amazon were glowing:

"Sharp and sarcastic . . ."

"A powerful, brilliant, compelling novel about love, writing, fame, fiction and shame."

"So blisteringly funny that I laughed as I hadn’t laughed in years"

Well, I like "sharp and sarcastic." I like "brilliant and compelling." And am I ready to fall down laughing? You bet. So, I plopped down my last credit for "Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles."

Annnnd . . . I don't know, it was okay.

I think part of the problem is that this book is meant to be read. From what I'm to understand, it's a series of small vignettes, and on paper, I think, that would be more apparent. However, while listening, you miss the brakes and it all sounds more convoluted.

Ron is heartbroken. He still fantasizes reunion with Emma, glorious Emma, wonderful Emma. Emma, who is desired by many but is so emotionally remote. Their relationship is, well, complicated. Their sex, painful, to say the least. Ron is also heartbroken over his father's death.

But Ron is also kind of out there. All throughout the book, he goes into these tangents about people becoming robots or something. In the beginning these, what, musings are somewhat interesting, but by the end, you just want to get to the story – what story there is.

And that's the problem, the central point of the story is that Ron faked his suicide (this isn't a spoiler – Ron lets you know that up front in the beginning of the book). He goes through his reasons for this decision, and, I don't know, I just didn't find it believable. I couldn't connect the dots. For most of the book the character has a list of stated goals, namely, Emma. So his reasoning does not connect. At least it didn't for me.

That doesn't mean that there aren't some very touching and funny moments. The scenes with his father and that whole story are very well done. As were the scenes with Emma, again, very well done.

And, on the whole, I was entertained.

But, also unsatisfied.

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One too many . . .

Revisado: 01-24-14

There seems to be moment, at least for me, in the last few books by Wally Lamb where I am going along, enjoying the melodrama for all it's worth, the bad decisions, the broken relationships, and then Wally asks me to jump one hurdle too high.

Annnnnd the spell is broken. I just don't buy it. It is one misfortune too many. This happened for me in the second half of the book with one of the children. I will not get into spoilers but it was at this point where I went, "Nope. This is too much."

Lamb plunges into familiar themes: failed marriages, abusive parents, child molestation, abandoned husbands, repressed wives and random violence. And often times these many stories come off as believable and moving. But just as often I, as the reader, felt manipulated. There was just a little too much handwringing for me.

Each character in We are Water has his or her own sad tale, some sadder than others, but all pandering for your understanding. There is Annie Oh, artist provocateur, who is seeking a new life in the big city with her new love; her ex-husband, who was still trying to come to terms will with his divorce from Annie; there are the children, each struggling to find a foothold on their lives and each struggling to come to terms with their mother's new life.

Is this book badly written? No, of course not. I am glad I read it and will read his next with much anticipation. It is just that this book was heavy-handed, like Lamb doesn't trust the emotions to come through without overt earnestness. In this way the book is different from say a book like Heft where much is in what is not said. This, of course, has been a criticism with most of his work. I just think he was able to pull it off better with his earlier books.

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A Scorched-Earth Masterpiece

Revisado: 01-20-14

I have never been into John Wayne. I have never seen "Shane." Or "How the West was Won." Or anything with Gary Cooper. It took me so long to finally buckle down and get this book. It had been under the "audible essentials" list for so long, billed as a "not to miss" but I was dubious. But I had just finished listening to "Pillars of the Earth" and wanted to dive right into another epic saga. Still, every time I looked at the title, I would shake my head, "no, I'm not that desperate . . . Yet."

And the listenng to the preview with the snakes and pigs and water bubbling, I just thought it was going to be one long, dusty, boring story.

Boy, I was wrong.

It was funny and sad and sometimes very suspenseful. We fall in love with these characters and you grieve with them. And the bad guys are really bad.

It is all that you would come to expect from a Western: there is shootin', and cussin', and cardplayin', and drinkin'. There are hot tempers and fisticuffs aplenty. But there are also moments of quiet grace and excellent writing.

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The book that divided a nation.

Revisado: 01-20-14

I don't think I've ever come across a book that has had so many extremes in its reviews. You would almost think that people were reading completely separate novels. On one end of the spectrum the reviews are glowing: brilliant, extraordinary, book of the year, and so on. The other end, not so much: boring, overrated, pretentious crap.

And I am not here to offer some definitive pronouncement, I'm just throwing my two cents into the hat. I got a tell you . . . I am closer to the glowing end. I can't help it, I think this book is genius.

I'm not going to go into the synopsis; it's been covered ad nausea, but I will say this: as with any novel it is the telling not so much the tale that is key. Though the novel is at its heart a love triangle the branches from this singular root are many and varied. It is also a story of family, a critique on technology and sex and success.

It is true that Walter and Patty, their son and daughter, their friends and neighbors are not often easy to like. They all have their cringe-worthy moments. Even Walter, the most charitable of the bunch, has moments of pure narcissism. But that's what I love, I love it when I, as the reader, understand more about a character's motivation than the character, who, more often than not, is lying to themselves.

There has also been some controversy regarding the narration. Again, count me in the "thumbs up" column. I think David does an excellent job of capturing the tone of the novel. He underplays the absurdity.

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Hopeful and Heartbreaking...

Revisado: 01-17-14

Every once in a while, every now and again, you will stumble along on a book that absolutely speaks to you, as if the author had you in mind while writing it. The story of Arthur Opp and Kel did that for me. The characters just seemed so believable; their struggles and profound loneliness resonated so much with me. Though separated at the start by circumstance, their personal journeys converge in a way that is surprisingly suspenseful.

This story can get rather grim at times and nothing ever comes easy for our protagonists, but it is their struggle for if not happiness at least a kind of peace that keeps us so engaged.

Kirby Heyborne is excellent as always, but it is Keith Szarabajka as Aurther Opp who really shines here. There is a lifelong weariness in that voice. It breaks my heart.

I love this book.

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This Book is an Absolute No-brainer!!

Revisado: 01-17-14

Look, do yourself a favor: don't overthink this, worrying about how you aren't into video games. This book is written for Generation X, those of us who remember shows like Family Ties, Growing Pains, and movies starring a young Matthew Broaddrick. Those of us who sat in geeked-out rapture as we rolled dice during marathon hours of Dungeons and Dragons, played hours of Pac-Man and Joust, and rocked out to Hair-metal.

If the image of John Cusick, donned in a trench coat on a sunny, summer day, holding a boombox over his head means anything to you, then this book is for you. If the phrase, "Shall we play a game?" means anything to you, then this book is for you. If you ever thought that Jean-Luc Picard made THE best Capt. for the Starship Enterprise, then this book is for you.


It is an dystopian/love-story/quest that will have you grinning ear to ear. It is also a nostalgic trip down memory lane. So many times I wanted to shout, "I remenber that!"

Wil Wheaton is excellent. The book is excellent.

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Funny and Upbeat!

Revisado: 01-17-14

See, I am a sucker for the oddballs, the awkward, and the loners.

Poor Don Tillman . . . He just can't attract a mate. Sure, on paper he is a catch: intelligent, physically fit, a great cook, an apartment with a balcony and an amazing view, but it just isn't working. Sure, he gets approached, goes out on plenty first dates; it's the second dates that are hard to come by. A smooth operator he is not. He isn't, as they say, a people person. In fact, he is downright awkward, prone to say the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. His problem: he doesn't pick up on social cues, that tacit knowledge of social interaction most of us picked up on when we are children. And while it is true that some of us are better than others at picking up on these social ticks, almost all of us are better at it than our Don.

But at least he knows he has this problem and he is determined to not let that hinder him from achieving his goal and being the scientist that he is he comes up with a plan: the Wife Project.

What follows next is the stuff of romantic comedies. Is it a bit formulaic? Sure. But then again so was "When Harry Met Sally." And that doesn't stop it from being one of my favorite movies. You go in knowing where it is all going to end. The payoff is in the journey not necessarily the destination. And it is as whimsical and fun as just about anything you will read this year.

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