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A Favorite Quote from Chekhov and The Brass Verdict

When I read a review whether it be of a new book, cd or movie, I'm reminded of a quote from a letter written by Anton Chekov in 1890. "When people talk to me of what is artistic and inartistic, of what is dramatic and not dramatic, of tendency, realism, and so on, I am bewildered, hesitatingly assent, and answer with banal half-truths not worth a brass farthing. I divide all works into two classes: those I like and those I don’t. I have no other criterion, and if you ask me why I like Shakespeare and don’t like Zlatovratsky, I don’t venture to answer." The quote can be found in "The Selected Letters of Anton Chekhov" edited and with an Introduction by Lillian Hellman.

I'm with Anton. If people ask me whether or not I would recommend a book, I'm likely to answer either "I liked it" or "I didn't like it". This Chekhov quote was called to my attention about 25 years ago by Bob Slomovitz, my former branch chief at work. I jotted it down in a spiral notebook I've had since 1983 for keeping track of the books I've read so I don't read the same book twice. There are so many similar titles, especially for murder mysteries.  (The notebook's spiral metal spring has been working its way out of one end so every once in a while I have to carefully re-thread it through the holes. I don't want to tear the paper.) Bob has been my main source for good reading recommendations. I've respected his judgment ever since he told me that he loved the writing of John Steinbeck but couldn't get into Faulkner.

My reference to this Chekhov quote does not mean that I dislike reviews that get technical about the quality of the writing or the story structure or any other aspect of the work being discussed. Besides, who would read a review if its author didn't give reasons for her or his opinion or compare it to some other work. But beware when book reviewers gush over the beautiful or lyrical writing, almost a sure sign that, to be blunt, the story sucks. Generally the author is so busy trying to impress the reader (or himself?) with writing full of words you have to look up, or dream sequences which I hate, that the story advances at a glacial pace. Sometimes, I admit, such writers come up with some great similes or metaphors that I stop and marvel at thinking, wow, wish I had written that. But it's not worth struggling through a four or five hundred page book for a few phrases that you'll soon forget.

I just finished reading Michael Connelly's "The Brass Verdict". My Chekhovian appraisal: I liked it. Couldn't put it down. I've read 19 of his 21 murder mysteries and plan on reading the other two. Connelly is the best of the genre. I didn't read any reviews prior to reading this story and there are plenty of them on line. With his track record, why bother. The book features attorney Mickey Haller of "Lincoln Lawyer" fame and Connelly's most celebrated character, detective Harry Bosch. Nuff said. Happy reading.

Back to Chekhov. He's best know for the plays "The Seagull", "The Cherry Orchard", "Three Sisters" and "Uncle Vanya" and his short stories. There's a 13 volume Tales of Chekhov translated by Constance Garnett. I've read the plays and volumes 1 - 5 and 7 - 10 of the stories so I still have a few to read. Actually, I could read them all and they'd be like brand new since I read all these works in 1990.

Devil in the White City

Erik Larson's "The Devil in the White City" deals with events surrounding the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, officially called the "World's Columbian Exposition", celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America. The subtitle is "Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America". I found out about this book on the back cover of another book, Charlatan by Pope Brock (see post of April 29th).  Someone from the Chicago Tribune wrote "begs comparison with Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City." The title is seductive and I doubt that many readers will be disappointed. The author alternates chapters dealing with the fair and the murders, moving both stories forward at just the right pace. Check out some of the many reviews online for this non-fiction page turner. 

The main characters were architect Daniel Burnham and Herman Webster Mudgett, the latter operating under the name Dr. H.H.Holmes near the white city (the buildings on the fairgrounds were painted white). The cast of characters also includes the fair's landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, Buffalo Bill, who had his Wild West show set up next to the fair and George Washington Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris Wheel - the U.S.'s response to the building of the Eiffel Tower for the Paris exposition of 1889. Mr. Larson provides interesting tidbits such as Walt Disney's father Elias was a carpenter/furniture maker working on the fair and products such as Cracker Jacks, Aunt Jemima's Pancake Mix, Juicy Fruit Gum, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and shredded wheat made their debut. Great read - makes you want to get hold of his other books.

Pope Brock's Charlatan

Based on a review by Janet Maslin online in the NY Times, I added "Charlatan" by Pope Brock, a new author for me, to my ever growing "to read" list. When my wife or kids ask me what I want for Christmas, birthday or father's day, I usually give them the names of a few paperback books from this list to choose from or the names of a cd or dvd. Published in 2008, the book's full title is "Charlatan, America's Most Dangerous Huckster, The Man Who Pursued Him, and The Age of Flimflam". Since I always like hearing stories about con men, snake oil salesmen, etc., getting their comeuppance (remember the "King" and the "Duke" in Huckleberry Finn), this book moved to the front of my list.   

Mr. Brock writes of our nation's special genius for swindle and an unlimited supply of often willing victims. Starting with the patent medicine salesman, whose product cured whatever you had, medical fraud was the king of cons and the virility racket was a sure money maker. Although the story deals with events primarily between the two World Wars, you can see its relevance in today's world as we are constantly assaulted by erectile dysfunction commercials, even at the dinner hour.  Dr. J.R. Brinkley's top selling point was transforming the bedroom bungler into "the ram that am with every lamb" with goat glands. The man was a genius at self promotion, using his own radio station to promote the business that led to his becoming a multimillionaire. He even ran for governor of Kansas. Morris Fishbein, working for the American Medical Association, was the Quackbuster determined to put him out of business. The cast of characters in this non-fiction work also includes Declaration of Independence signer Dr. Benjamin Rush, H.L. Mencken, country music's the Carter Family and Wolfman Jack among others. 

"Charlatan" may be primarily a "guy" read based on the reactions I got after telling my wife and sisters-in-law about the story. Despite my obvious enthusiasm, they didn't ask me to let them read it when I finished. I think they kind of thought the goat gland business was pretty gross. Since I enjoyed Charlatan so much, I'll have to read Mr. Brock's first book, "Indiana Gothic".

Garry Wills

"Negro President: Jefferson & the Slave Power" by Garry Wills crams in quite a a bit of fascinating information in its 230 pages plus notes. (It has nothing to do with Sally Hemings.) The jacket of the book contains an excerpt which explains what was meant by calling Thomas Jefferson the "Negro President". Those calling him so "were challenging his boast that the election of 1800 was a 'Second Revolution' based on the expressed will of a popular majority. It was no such thing, they argued. In terms of actual number of votes cast, John Adams was re-elected." While slaves had no rights, they were counted as 3/5's of a person for establishing a state's representation in the House of Representatives by a bargain struck at the Constitutional Convention known as the "federal ratio". This ratio enabled Jefferson and Burr to garner sufficient electoral votes to eliminate Adams from consideration. The book deals quite a bit with Jefferson foe Timothy Pickering (Secretary of State under Washington, followed by terms in the Senate and House), Aaron Burr, the Embargo of 1807, JQ Adams, etc. 

Wills is probably best known for "Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America"(1992), however he has many other works to his credit including "Henry Adams and the Making of America" (2005), "Why I Am a Catholic" (2002), and "A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government" (1999). 

Building Penn Station

As a commuter on the Long Island Rail Road into Penn Station for over 28 years, I couldn't resist buying a copy of "Conquering Gotham, Building Penn Station and Its Tunnels" by Jill Jonnes. I found it last fall at the Green Valley Book Fair in Mount Crawford, Virginia which is just south of Harrisonburg off Interstate 81. (See www.gvbookfair.com.) It was not a book I was looking for. I hadn't seen a review or heard anything about the book or author although there are some reviews online. The book is 316 pages exclusive of notes and includes over 50 interesting pictures and illustrations. Add a star if you're from the New York metropolitan area. Although Ms. Jonnes does not appear to have her own website (jilljonnes.com is a Sioux Falls, South Dakota real estate website), there is plenty of online info on her and her books. "Eiffel's Tower", her latest effort, is due out in April.

Similar subjects have been treated by David McCullough in his books on the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal, respectively "The Great Bridge" and "The Path Between The Seas". Like Mr. McCullough, Ms. Jonnes tells a real good story that is thorough but not overburdened by the technical details. As someone who is not the least bit mechanically inclined, I am in awe of the accomplishments of the men who  designed and built these bridges, canals, tunnels, etc. in an age that lacked today's sophisticated, computer operated machinery and other technological advances. The men who actually labored in the tunnels, the "sandhogs", risked the "bends", severe injury and death on a daily basis.

Under the heading "things I didn't know" rather than give a full accounting, I'll just mention a few things. I was surprised to find out that the PRR (Pennsylvania Rail Road) acquired the LIRR - described as "a small commuter road active mainly in the summer" - in May of 1900. The president of the PRR at the time was Alexander Cassatt, the brother of famous impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Mr. Cassatt, Charles McKim, William H. Baldwin and Samuel Rea were totally unknown to me before reading this book. In contrast to some other industry leaders and Tammany Hall crooks, these were men of integrity as well as intellect. McKim was the designer of Penn Station and may be known to some since he was a partner in an architectural firm that included Stanford White.

Coonts Classic?

 "The Garden of Eden" by Stephen Coonts, writing under the pseudonym Eve Adams, is  a funny, feel-good story that's tough to put down. I started reading it on New Year's Eve and finished late on New Year's Day. My soft-cover edition is 338 pages. The book was originally published in 2005 and there are plenty of on-line reviews that you can read. I see that Mr. Coonts, born in my birth year of 1946, is the author of quite a few "techno-thrillers" or action adventures, genres I usually avoid due to personal preference not any reflection on their value or quality. Since I enjoyed the writing style of Mr. Coonts so much, I may be tempted to try one of his action novels. 

This departure from the action genre by Mr. Coonts is certainly not unprecedented. In "Wish You Well", published in 2000, David Baldacci demonstrated his versatility as a writer with a very enjoyable novel with a rural setting and John Grisham has successfully ventured away from his legal thrillers with books like "A Painted House", "Bleachers", "Skipping Christmas" and a great non-fiction work "The Innocent Man" (However his latest attempt, "Playing For Pizza", was disappointing).    

May all have a happy and healthy New Year. My wife and I managed to see the ball drop to signal the arrival of '09 but we cheated. Since we're Nashville residents we're on Central Time so we watched the festivities on CNN and got to go to bed just after 11 pm. Even though we've lived here over 2 years now, we feel that our bodies are still on Eastern Time. We generally do not go out on New Year's Eve (last time we did was probably over 30 years ago); we prefer to celebrate at home and avoid the crowds, drunks and overpriced entertainment.  

Richard Russo

I'm now caught up to date with one of my favorite authors, Richard Russo. I just finished "Bridge of Sighs" (2007), his latest and lengthiest effort to date at 642 pages in my soft cover edition. I already had read "Mohawk" (1986), "The Risk Pool" (1988), "Nobody's Fool" (1993), "Straight Man" (1997), "Empire Falls" (2001) and "The Whore's Child and Other Stories" (2002), the last a short story collection. Summaries and reviews are available online so I'm not going to rehash them here. You can find reviews of "Bridge of Sighs" by the NY Times, Washington Post, etc. I didn't read my first Russo novel until 1999 when a friend recommended him. I read "Nobody's Fool" and was hooked. "Nobody's Fool" was made into a movie in 1994 starring Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy and Bruce Willis while "Empire Falls", which won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, became a TV movie in 2005 starring Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt and Paul Newman. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Mr. Russo's novels. When I start one of his books, I'm immediately comfortable with his writing style. His short story collection however, "The Whore's Child",  just didn't do anything for me and I do read short stories on a regular basis. After reading a long novel, historical work, biography or other non-fiction work, I like to read a few short stories before plunging into another lengthy book. Short stories are also good to take on trips, read in a doctor's office, etc.  Since each story stands by itself, you can read a few stories and then put the collection aside for a week, a month, whatever. Since I read it three times, I guess you could say that my favorite short story collection is "Winesburg, Ohio" (1919) by Sherwood Anderson. Give it a try.     

LARGE PRINT

I went to my local library yesterday, after checking the Nashville Public Library website to see if at least some of the books I was interested in were available. My branch only had a large print edition for one of my selections, The Twelfth Card by Jeffery Deaver. What the heck. I'm trying to read his series in order so I take it. I like the large print; it's much easier to read. I find that I don't lose my place on the page as easily. I may make the large print my first option even if they have a regular copy of the book I want. The large print results in more pages and a heavier book, but I often read with the book set down on a computer desk or table and keep it open with my leather book weight.

The leather book weight was a gift from my late mother-in-law. (The Ernie K-Doe song "Mother-in-law" did not apply to her.) I don't remember the specific occasion since it was about fifteen years ago, but I must admit that I didn't know what it was. It wasn't given to me in a box identifying the contents. It's about 8 inches long and about 1 3/4 inches wide of soft leather with weights sewed into each end. The only marking on it was "made in Poland" so I'm thinking maybe this is a gag gift, a Polish joke. Not at all! I've used that book weight many many times over the years.

Back to Mr. Deaver. I've really enjoyed his series about Lincoln Rhyme, a paraplegic detective. The Twelfth Card is the sixth book in the series. The character of Lincoln Rhyme was first introduced in the Bone Collector, a book that was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington. The movie was good but a little too heavy on the violence. Reading about violence I can live with if the story's good. Watching all the blood and gore on the big screen or even on a dvd is another story. I also enjoyed Mr. Deaver's short story collection "Twisted" and he has a new collection called "More Twisted".

In the Mystery/Crime genre where there are recurring characters, my favorite is Michael Connelly's "Harry Bosch" series. I also like the "Prey" novels of John Sandford, Ridley Pearson's "Lew Boldt-Daphne Matthews", John Lescroart's "Dismas Hardy-Abe Glitsky", Ian Rankin's "Inspector Rebus", Robert Parker's "Spenser", Lawrence Block's "Matt Scudder" and Sue Grafton's alphabet series with "Kinsey Milhone".

Founding Sisters

Did you know that in the few years before the ratification of the 19^th amendment in 1920, women were often jailed and sometimes roughed up for picketing at the White House for passage of a constitutional amendment granting female suffrage? Don’t remember ever reading that in my school history books. Jail was no picnic and hunger strikes were dealt with in some cases by forced feeding. (kinda sounds like torture doesn’t it.) I guess that many of us are familiar with the names Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and some with Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. But I had never heard of Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Inez Milholland Boissevain, Anne Dallas Dudley or Harry Burn. As a still learning student of American history, I found Eleanor Clift’s “Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment” (209 pages) very informative and a real good story. Well worth a read – even for a guy.

Star of the Sea

Recently read “Star of the Sea”, a novel by Joseph O’Connor. (Just found out he’s the brother of Sinead O’Connor.) The Star of the Sea is a ship carrying Irish refugees, victims of the potato famine, to NY in 1847. Read the various online reviews; they’ll do a much better job than I will of summing up the story. I thought it was a terrific read and would highly recommend it. I plan on reading O’Connor’s “Redemption Falls” soon.