S.A. Crosby got back to great writing with this book. As much as I lovedBlacktop Wasteland,I felt thatRazorblade Tearswas trying too hard to get aS.A. Crosby got back to great writing with this book. As much as I lovedBlacktop Wasteland,I felt thatRazorblade Tearswas trying too hard to get a Netflix show made out of it. This new book does a better job of giving us an imperfect, but attractive protagonist and a scary mystery to solve. I really got into story from beginning to end and don't wish to risk any spoilers. I was thinking this was ALMOST good enough for a Pulitzer, but Kingsolver'sDemon Copperheadwas just too good and deserved the prize. If you liked Blacktop, you'll love this one....more
I am so pressed with Percival Everett. This is the third book of his I have read and it is both funny and brilliant. The math stuff added a nice flavoI am so pressed with Percival Everett. This is the third book of his I have read and it is both funny and brilliant. The math stuff added a nice flavor (seriously, any book with a character named Eigen Value is great in my book!)...more
This one had potential, but I was disappointed that the origin of all the aliens was never explained. OK, so we get to expose xenophobia and racism whThis one had potential, but I was disappointed that the origin of all the aliens was never explained. OK, so we get to expose xenophobia and racism which was good, and the novel is sort of centered in Nigeria (but also New York, of course), so that was cool. I just never bonded with any of the protagonists. I did enjoy the artwork, but the story was somewhat convoluted and did not always make a lot of sense. I know it was highly regarded as winning both an Eisner and a Hugo, but maybe that was political correctness more than the pure quality of story writing? I hope thatParable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptationworks better for me (the protagonist seems to be drawn almost identically to that of this book!)...more
Maybe I need to read the book as well, because this was quite a confusing hot mess of a comic book. It is a dystopian view of life in LA with societyMaybe I need to read the book as well, because this was quite a confusing hot mess of a comic book. It is a dystopian view of life in LA with society having devolved into a violent stew of tension and horror. The idea of creating a new religion while fleeing and hiding is kind of original even if the story has that kind of Walking Dead repetitiveness to it (oh no, another roving gang of cannibals!). The artwork is interesting, but I found it hard sometimes to distinguish between the characters. This might have been done on purpose, but sometimes it was disarming to this reader....more
This might be the first Green Lantern book I have read, but I enjoyed it a lot. I read the Stone Sky series from N K Jemisin and wanted to see what shThis might be the first Green Lantern book I have read, but I enjoyed it a lot. I read the Stone Sky series from N K Jemisin and wanted to see what she would do with the legendary DC character. The artwork is fantastic and the story engaging. In a nutshell, it is about whether human society would be better or worse off without emotions. I felt the theme was educational without being too dogmatic and left me thinking about the wider implications of the ideas in the book. 4 stars....more
This was an interesting mashup of a murder mystery with social commentary about racism and lynching and political commentary about TFG. It was highlyThis was an interesting mashup of a murder mystery with social commentary about racism and lynching and political commentary about TFG. It was highly readable and goes pretty fast. The end is kind of dystopian, but hardly surprising once the reveals come out in the story. I liked this one slightly more than last year'sTelephone.I might go back and read his previous work....more
A well-written debut about the Reconstruction period immediately following the American Civil War, this book does a good job in character creation andA well-written debut about the Reconstruction period immediately following the American Civil War, this book does a good job in character creation and atmospheric setting. I felt that the story itself had some hiccups along the road, but that I still enjoyed it and found the ending particularly well-articulated.
I really enjoyed Cosby'sBlacktop Wastelandand had high hopes for the followup. I found that he kept up a breathless pace in this book as in the prevI really enjoyed Cosby'sBlacktop Wastelandand had high hopes for the followup. I found that he kept up a breathless pace in this book as in the previous one, a pressure to read on that didn't let up until the end. That being said, I hold back my 5* on this one for a couple of reasons. First off, it is rather predictable. Second, it is obvious that he is channeling Sons of Anarchy - he can't help but name check that legendary biker series towards the end - which just seemed as if he was begging for Netflix to option his book. Lastly, I do appreciate reading about the problems of racism and homophobia, and I agree with the truths about them that I posit throughout ("as King said: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."but in this book, he sort of hits us over the head with it and slaps us around. It was like a school in woke which is then contradicted by other situations where he takes a piss at some hippies, as if the writer realized that he needed to take a more neutral position before being shoved in the woke box forever. I dunno, I feel that - to take an example which I really appreciated - a show like the Expanse was able to pass these messages but without sounding as overbearing as Cosby sounded at times in the book.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and felt that Ike and Bobby Lee were fun protagonists to follow around on their Old Geezer's Ebony and Ivory Vengeance Tour. Buddy Lee was hilarious with his quips ( "he would've banged the crack of dawn if it would've stood still long enough") and Ike evolves a bit even if he gives his Riot alter-ego free rein quite a lot. The secondary characters were fairly two-dimensional stereotypes - violent redneck, hateful white politician, helpless baby doll girl, - albeit with one surprise, but this is clearly not a book with Philip Roth in mind in terms of character portraits. There are some pure" please pick this up as a screenplay "moments, particularly at the climax and the denouement requires a lot of belief suspension by the reader. Nonetheless, it was entertaining.
So, Cosby will not earn a Pulitzer for this one, but he will probably get a film version of this action-packed novel.
This was an interesting book about the relationship between two women with ups and downs. It reads more like a long short story or novella than a noveThis was an interesting book about the relationship between two women with ups and downs. It reads more like a long short story or novella than a novel, because we get nice profiles of the two protagonists, but nothing really gets resolved at the end. I found that rather frustrating. Perhaps, this means I miss understood the title, or I am too demanding of novels.
Here was another book in the lineage ofThe Selloutwhere an attempt is made to analyze racism from a first-person perspective with a sort of anti-herHere was another book in the lineage ofThe Selloutwhere an attempt is made to analyze racism from a first-person perspective with a sort of anti-hero: someone that overtly embraces segregation or ignores the racism around him respectively until they revolt against it. It is also sort of similar to the meta-narrativeHell of a Bookin that it becomes a poignant criticism of racism from the inside out. In this book, our hero malgré lui makes his dreams come true, but at a considerable price. There is an original gimic of breaking the fourth wall in giving sales advice to the reader throughout which gives it a sort of Guy Kawasaki feel. The story itself is interesting and does keep you tuned in. I felt that there were a few moments when I was asked too much in my suspension of disbelief, but overall I felt that the perspective on racism in the workplace and in advertising was an important message....more
I had high hopes for this book given the hype it generated and its recognition by the Pen/Faulkner organization, but honestly, I came away a bit bewilI had high hopes for this book given the hype it generated and its recognition by the Pen/Faulkner organization, but honestly, I came away a bit bewildered and disappointed. The prose occasionally brushes the poetic, but ultimately we are given some interesting characters who do not evolve and many of which do not make it to the end. The conclusion was particularly unsatisfying.
The book talks about a very critical and particularly hopeless problem: the collusion between massive oil companies and corrupt governments in creating economic and ecological catastrophes as well as humanitarian crises with absolute impunity. This is why the Camerounian author references a fictional capital (Bézam), a fictional village (Kosawa), a fictional American oil company (Pexton), and a fictional villainous African dictator (His Excellency): the problem has occured EVERYWHERE where oil and other natural resources have been found from Senegal and the Ivory Coast to Sierra Leone and Nigeria, the African continent has continued to be colonized, raped, abused, and stolen by western interests well after the colonial period ended with WWI and WWII. For that, the book gets three stars.
However, the characters in the book do not have very interesting character arcs with the possible exceptions of Yaya and Thula, and even these are somewhat muted and ultimately unsatisfying. The book is pervaded with a sense of absolute hopelessness despite attempts at change. I am readingAngela's Ashesin parallel and could not tell you which one is more depressing and soul-crushing. I think I needed some glimmer of real change and not a horrifying status quo to make this book really rise above 3 stars, however naïve and unrealistic that might be....more
As the title implies, Kiese Laymon's Heavy is not a light read. He describes his abusive childhood and troubled growing up in poetically and in emotioAs the title implies, Kiese Laymon's Heavy is not a light read. He describes his abusive childhood and troubled growing up in poetically and in emotionally charged terms. There are excellent points made about racism and feminism amid the violence and despair. I am glad that Kiese survived the many trials and tribulations to make this exceptional memoir. Recommended article about this book:https://www.npr.org/2018/10/17/657824......more
This book is so far ahead of its time. Written in 1929, it explores the touchy themes of skin color in an original and dynamic plot. How does a blackThis book is so far ahead of its time. Written in 1929, it explores the touchy themes of skin color in an original and dynamic plot. How does a black woman pass as a white woman and what is the price she pays for passing? The writing was really good and the plot tension builds to an unforgettable climax. This book should be a classic and unfortunately, the author, Nella Larsen, only wrote this one book and a handful of short stories, but she serves as a great eyewitness to the Harlem Renaissance in Passing. It was a far better book than the Pulitzer Winner for 1929, the abysmalLaughing Boy: A Navajo Love Story.It would take 53 more years before a woman of color would win a Pulitzer (The Color Purple.
One nice quote: Clare, it seemed, still retained her ability to secure the thing that she wanted in the face of any opposition, and in utter disregard of the conve- nience and desire of others. About her there was some quality, hard and persistent, with the strength and endurance of rock, that would not be beaten or ignored. She couldn't, Irene thought, have had an entirely serene life. Not with that dark secret forever crouching in the back ground of her consciousness. And yet she hadn't the air of a woman whose life had been touched by uncertainty or suffering. Pain, fear, and grief were things that left their mark on people. Even love, that exquisite torturing emotion, left its subtle traces on the countenance. (p. 190)...more
This is a much more lighthearted read than Colson's Pulitzer winningThe Underground RailroadandThe Nickel Boys,and interesting but I did not thinkThis is a much more lighthearted read than Colson's Pulitzer winningThe Underground RailroadandThe Nickel Boys,and interesting but I did not think it was as well-written as those previous novels. My favorite Whitehead is stillThe Colossus of New Yorkso perhaps I am just old school. The invocation of Harlem in the late 50s and early 60s is ok, but has a narrow focus on a small sub-segment of the cultural vibrancy of the period. The protagonist remains relatively two-dimensional and the denoument felt unsatisfying.
I felt that this was one of the better meta-fiction criticisms of racism sinceThe Selloutand far better thanBlack Buckwhich attempts a similar vibI felt that this was one of the better meta-fiction criticisms of racism sinceThe Selloutand far better thanBlack Buckwhich attempts a similar vibe. The idea of having the author of a book called Hell of a Book narrating the book was interesting and I enjoyed the black humor and irony throughout. There is also a non-negligible criticism of modern publishing. It is a really quick read, but refreshing at times and entertaining while also carrying a scathing critique of police violence towards young black men. I have spoken to fathers of color who all told me that one of their most difficult tasks as a black father (besides avoiding becoming a victim themselves) is the conversations they have to have with their sons about dealing with white figures of authority - a case where white privilege is self-evident because as a white father, I would never need to have this conversation with my son. These points are all very well and artfully stated in this book.
I don't think this is the kind of book that will win a Pulitzer (having read all of them and now having a feel for how the committee decides - and I hope I am wrong), but I can see why it won the National Book Award and would be happy to see it as a runner up.
My list of potential 2022 Pulitzer Prize winnershere....more
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