The Bedwetter

The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee (2010) by Sarah Silverman. By just about any measure, Sarah Silverman is a highly successful entertainer and comedian. She's appeared in many movies and TV shows, and also does well as a stand-up comic. But this is not a self-congratulatory book. Well... not much. She has a lot of fun describing how she learned to curse, why she loves doody jokes, and so forth. Her bedwetting, which continued from childhood through the age of 13, is of course a major theme of the book. Also, she has suffered from depression from time to time. Anyway, this was a fun book to read, if not one to take seriously. I happen to find her pretty funny, so I enjoyed the book. Grade: B+

A Bright and Guilty Place

A Bright and Guilty Place (2009) by Richard Rayner. This book's subtitle is "Murder, Corruption, and L.A.'s Scandalous Coming of Age." Set in the 1920s and '30s, it tells the story of the "L.A. System," a system of graft and corruption that rivaled anything going on elsewhere in the country. The book gets really interesting toward the end, when it describes the trial of Dave Clark, a former prosecutor, for murder. The other character who is focused on is Leslie White, an investigator for the D.A.'s office who becomes a professional writer. It's a fairly interesting book, but is written in less than riveting fashion. It's extremely well researched and sourced, with sources, bibliography and index at the end. Grade: B

So Much for That

So Much for That (2010) by Lionel Shriver. This book has a large but manageable cast of characters. A fair number of them are afflicted in one way or another. The cast is headed up by Shep and Glynis; early on, Glynis finds out she has mesothelioma, the rare, asbestos-related cancer. Then there are Jackson and Carol, whose daughter Flicka has a rare (and always fatal) disorder called familial dysautonomia (FD for short). Jackson, for reasons that are scarcely comprehensible, decides to have penis-enlargement surgery; needless to say, it goes horribly wrong. Shriver's writing in this novel is no less than brilliant, capturing perfectly the distinct voices of the various characters. The plot is compelling, yet I was somewhat disappointed in the ending, which seemed a bit pat. I did get into the book, though. Grade: A-

I Was Told There'd Be Cake

I Was Told There'd Be Cake (2008) by Sloane Crosley. This is an amusing collection of essays from Crosley, who is indeed a woman. Some of the essays include "The Pony Problem," about her collection of plastic ponies; "Bring Your Machete to Work Day," about her enjoyment of an old video game; and "The Good People of This Dimension," about a man in her apartment building who takes his door off and puts it back on rather than touch the door knob. What I was impressed with was Crosley's dry wit and her incredible vocabulary. I think she was educated at some fancy college back east, though I'm not sure which one. I found these essays to be tough sledding at first, as it took me a while to get used to her rhythms and world view. But in the end I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Grade: B+

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (2010) by Aimee Bender. One of the most creative and original works of fiction that I've read lately. This book tells the story of Rose, a girl who at the age of 9 realizes she can taste people's feelings in the food that they prepare. It starts with a birthday cake that her mother makes for her on her ninth birthday, which Rose finds barely palatable because of the taste of "absence, hunger, spiraling, hollows.... It tastes empty," she tells her mother. Rose comes to see this gift as a curse, as she has a hard time enjoying food anymore because of the raging, confusing emotions she tastes in the school cafeteria food and in restaurant food. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Her brother, Joseph, has a habit of disappearing for hours, days, weeks at a time. Her father refuses to even go into a hospital, even for the birth of his two children. It is not until just the right time, near the end of the book, that all the strands of the plot become woven together and make perfectly good sense. At about the same time, Rose comes to terms with her gift, even learns to put it to good use. This is an altogether unusual and satisfying novel. Only the very end lacks punch, the final resolution a little out of focus. Grade: A-

Lunch in Paris

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes (2010) by Elizabeth Bard. Lunch in Paris is not really a love story, unless it's the story of the author's love affair with Paris, the city. The story of her love for her man, a Frenchman named Gwendal, has no drama; they are together when the book starts, they get married, they stay together. The book does deliver on the recipes, however, although the ingredients needed for most of the recipes are practically unattainable in most parts of the United States. Plus, Bard is fond of showing off her French. No doubt she speaks the language well, and I envy her, but it's a disservice to her readers to throw in French phrases with no translation. Also, she just comes off as being a bit smug about everything, with a sense of entitlement the source of which I can't fathom. Still, the recipes are mouthwatering and entertaining to read, even if I know I will never attempt any of them. Grade: B

And Now You Can Go

And Now You Can Go (2003) by Vendela Vida. The plot of this one is pretty easy to summarize. A young woman named El is confronted by a stranger with a gun in Central Park. In the end, he doesn't harm her, but she is left traumatized and spends the rest of the book recovering. Her relationships with others, men in particular, make up a substantial portion of the rest of the book. I found them to be pretty sketchy, and I didn't like her way of referring to men by their outstanding characteristics (good or bad) rather than by their names. Other than that, the book was pretty much worthwhile reading. Grade: B

The Solitude of Prime Numbers

The Solitude of Prime Numbers (2008) by Paolo Giordano. I am very fond of prime numbers, so I was looking forward to a novel that somehow relates prime numbers to a plot about people. I was disappointed, however. Although one of the main characters is a mathematician, and he does think about prime numbers, that fact bears little relationship to the interactions of the characters in the book -- at least not one that was obvious to me. The book is not lacking in drama. Alice, one main character, breaks her leg in a skiing accident at a young age, and never walks comfortably again. Mattia, the other main character, leaves his disabled twin sister in a park so he can go to a party, and she is never seen again. This book has elements of tragedy. But the way the elements of the plot come together just did not ring true for me. One suspicion I have is that perhaps something was lost in the translation from Italian to English. At any rate, this book just didn't quite do it for me. Grade: B-