Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain!

Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! (2007) by Scott Adams. Adams, the author of the Dilbert comic strip, here turns to the essay form to try to milk some more cash out of his minor celebrity. The result is a book of short essays (ranging in length from half a page to several pages) on topics which leap in Adams' brain and onto the page. I must admit that it is a diverting read, but at no time does it threaten to become profound, and it's usually not really ha-ha funny. I found some of the essays wryly amusing, or clever perhaps, but I also found Adams to be at times annoyingly self-congratulatory. Grade: B

Hope: A Tragedy

Hope: A Tragedy (2012) by Shalom Auslander. Hope: A Tragedy is a dark comedy in which the protagonist, Solomon Kugel, discovers that Anne Frank (yes, the Anne Frank) is living in his attic. At first you'll think it must be some kind of a trick, that it must be someone else named Anne Frank, or a fraudulent Anne Frank, but no -- through the course of the book we learn that it is the real Anne Frank (grown considerably older) who is living in Kugel's attic. Naturally, this causes problems with Kugel's wife, Bree, his son, Jonah, and his mother, who is staying with them because she is "dying." The whole book has a comic philosophical subtext, which is explored in Kugel's interior monologue, in which he explores such questions as, "Was Hitler an optimist?" And so on. In its own weird, twisted, profane way, this is a perfect little book. Grade: A-

Ten Thousand Saints

Ten Thousand Saints (2011) by Eleanor Henderson. Jude Keffy-Horn, the adopted son of a pair of die-hard hippies, is a teenager leading a directionless life until his best friend, Teddy, dies of an overdose. Then Jude travels from Vermont to New York City to try to reconnect with his father and with Teddy's half-brother, Johnny. The book is an interesting exploration of generational differences and the so-called straight edge (drug free) culture that Jude becomes involved with. Then there's also Eliza, Jude's stepsister, who was impregnated by Teddy on the last night of his life. What to do about Eliza's baby? It all works out, sort of, and the story ends up with a satisfying ending in which Jude has found himself. Grade: B+

French Lessons

French Lessons (2011) by Ellen Sussman. Three French tutors in Paris -- Nico, Philippe and Chantal -- meet for morning coffee. Then they go about their daily duties, meeting with their clients. Nico meets with Josie, an American high school French teacher. Philippe meets with Riley, a mother of two who is on the verge of leaving her husband. Chantal meets with Jeremy, the American husband of a famous actress. We see each "couple" as they explore Paris on the same day, and we see events through their different eyes. It's a pretty low-key book, with little action, but very readable. It all works out in a rather happy ending, which comes as something of a surprise. Grade: B+

Once Upon a River

Once Upon a River (2011) by Bonnie Jo Campbell. A superb evocation of a place and time. Margo Crane, a teenager living by a river in Michigan, goes on the run after she is raped and her father is killed. Using the river skills she has, she survives -- even when survival means shacking up with some unsavory characters. The detail that Campbell brings to this book, about fishing and hunting and skinning critters, seems incredible. How does she know all this stuff? It all rings true and authentic, and Margo stands out as an unforgettable character. Grade: A

The Compass of Pleasure

The Compass of Pleasure (2011) by David J. Linden. This book certainly sounds enticing -- after all, the subtitle is "How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning and Gambling Feel So Good." Who wouldn't want to read about pleasure, food, orgasm, marijuana, vodka, gambling? But Linden is, first and foremost, a scientist; and the "How Our Brains" part of the title turns out to be the main focus of the book. He goes into brain structures and brain chemistry in some detail. Although he tries to keep it light and not too deep, I found myself skimming page upon page of discussion about why our brains deliver the chemicals they do to the parts of the brain they do and, frankly, I found it boring. There are light moments but mostly this book is a pretty heavy scientific slog. Grade: B

Maine

Maine (2011) by J. Courtney Sullivan. Maine tells the story of the Kelleher clan of New England, and of the special plot of oceanside land that they own in Maine. Alice, the matriarch of the family, spends her summers there, and her children have divided up the summer into June, July and August, times when each may bring their family up to spend time on the property in Maine. But little do the children (now grown) know -- Alice has decided to will the land to the church after her death. This sets up the seismic shift in the plot of Maine, which shifts point of view among three of the children and one grandchild. It's a beautifully wrought story, with true-to-life descriptions of the lives and emotions of the members of the Kelleher family. I found it a very entertaining read, and always diverting. Grade: A

Nothing Daunted

Nothing Daunted (The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West) (2011) by Dorothy Wickenden. In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, close friends from childhood and graduates of Smith College, left home in Auburn, New York, for the wilds of western Colorado. Although neither of them had to work, they chose to take teaching jobs in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse near the tiny settlement of Elkhead. They lived a frontier life for a year, bravely facing winter in the Rocky Mountains and, seemingly, enjoying every moment of it. This book is an entertaining account of the girls' lives before, during and after their Rocky Mountain sojourn. It is by no means a great book, but it is diverting enough, and Wickenden did quite a bit of original research in order to present the lives of the two teachers as accurately as possible. Grade: B

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood (2001) by Alexandra Fuller. From the age of two, Alexandra Fuller (of Scots-English ancestry) grew up in Africa -- first in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), then Malawi and Zambia. Fuller poetically evokes Africa -- the look, the feel, the smell of it -- in Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. She also paints a picture of her family that is neither flattering nor damning, just honest. At the centre of the family's life, to my mind, is the tragic fact that Alexandra's mother Nicola had five children, only two of which survived infancy. It slowly drove Nicola mad, and added an immeasurable ration of sadness to Alexandra's life. But there is also much humor in this book, and it makes for a most enjoyable read. Grade: A

Incognito

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain (2011) by David Eagleman. This book makes an interesting case for the proposition that, rather than assigning blame in criminal cases, brain science is more and more making it necessary to consider the physical condition of the perpetrator's brain. For example, some criminals have been shown to be under the influence of brain tumors when they committed their offenses. Others have committed crimes while sleepwalking -- and been acquitted because they were unconscious of having done anything wrong. These and other conundrums lead Eagleman to suggest that our understanding of the brain is just beginning to scratch the surface, and that wonders beyond our imagining are yet to be discovered. His research is extensive -- the book has lots of notes and bibliography -- and very convincing. Grade: A-