Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick. In 2021 in San Francisco, bounty hunter Rick Deckard hunts down runaway androids. The book that formed the basis for the movie "Blade Runner" makes great companion reading for fans of the film. It's fascinating to read and see the parts of the book that were lifted almost verbatim and inserted in the movie -- and the parts of the book that were totally left out, or were used but modified. It's not a great book by any means, but for "Blade Runner" fanboys (like myself) it's must reading. Grade: A
Labels: Sci-Fi
The Water's Edge
The Water's Edge (2007) by Karin Fossum. A child killer is on the loose, and Inspector Sejer is on the case. Fossum lives in Norway, and her book is set in Norway. It was translated into English in 2009, and the translation is in places rather clumsy. But the story carries its force regardless -- a couple out for a walk discover the body of a young boy in the woods, after encountering a man who looks like Hans Christian Anderson and who walks with a limp. The male half of the couple becomes obsessed with the crime, even as his wife grows more estranged from him. It's a quick and interesting read, enjoyable but not overlong. Grade: A-
Labels: Mystery
A Happy Marriage
A Happy Marriage (2009) by Rafael Yglesias. A semiautobiographical novel about the 30-year marriage between Enrique and Margaret, two New Yorkers who meet, fall in love, then are separated years later by Margaret's death from cancer. The story is told in the now-familiar style which jumps back and forth in time, telling alternately the tale of their early courtship, alternating with the story of Margaret's last days. It's effectively and touchingly told, and the reader finds himself drawn into the lives of these strangers and their love and loss. A good read. Grade: B+
Labels: Novel
