The Passage of Power

The Passage of Power (2012) by Robert A. Caro. One of the finest books I have read, this political biography covers in detail just a few short years in Lyndon Johnson's life -- approximately 1960 to 1964, from the time he became Vice President until the time he ascended to the presidency. This book is part of a series by Caro, titled The Years of Lyndon Johnson. And Johnson is certainly a fascinating character to read about, a man who came from a hardscrabble existence in Texas and rose to be the most powerful man on Earth. But also a man who, as President, got us deeply mired in Vietnam, a subject which will be covered in the next volume of Caro's series. I can hardly wait to read it. Grade: A

The Lower River

The Lower River (2012) by Paul Theroux. Ellis Hock, a retirement-age man who used to run a menswear store in a small town in Massachusetts, is divorced by his shrewlike wife and ignored by his acquisitive daughter; so he decides to take a trip back to his past, to a happier time, to his days with the Peace Corps in Malawi. He travels back to Africa, and makes the journey down to the lower river where he lived and worked for four years, and finds that things have gone horribly wrong. The Eden that he remembers has degenerated into a poverty-stricken hell inhabited by apathetic tribes people who value him only for the money he brings with him. This novel is quite convincing in setting the scene and immersing the reader in the culture that Hock encounters upon arriving at the lower river. The only problem I had with it is that it was tremendously depressing to read about. This is a good-quality book, but I really did not enjoy it. Only at the very end, in the last two pages, is it redeemed, and I found that this was not enough for me. Would I ever want to reread this book? No. Grade: B-

Gone Girl

Gone Girl (2012) by Gillian Flynn. Nick and Amy Dunne are happily married, or so it seems. Then one day, on their fifth anniversary, Amy disappears. Naturally, suspicion falls on Nick. Did he kill his beautiful wife? All the clues point to him, but one thing is missing: Amy's body. At first, I sympathized with Nick, but the more I read, the more I began to suspect that maybe he really did kill her. That was just Part One of the book. In Part Two, everything changes, and numerous twists and turns are added to the story. If you like this kind of book, this one is nearly perfect -- a psychological thriller that keeps up the pressure until the very end. Personally, I didn't care for it much. It started to feel more and more contrived as time went on, and by the end of the book I felt I had been manipulated to within an inch of my life.
Grade: B 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (2011) by Catherynne M. Valente. One night the Green Wind and the Leopard of Little Breezes come to a twelve-year-old girl named September and offer to take her to Fairyland. She of course accepts, and upon arriving in Fairyland has many and varied and weird adventures. Valente's imagination runneth over in creating Fairyland, with strange and unexpected twists being the norm. This book is really intended for children, but it's so creatively impressive that adults can read it without hesitation. I found it a very easy read and fun to follow. It is somewhat reminiscent of "Alice in Wonderland." Not a book for the ages, but certainly a great entertainment. Grade: B+

Canada

Canada (2012) by Richard Ford. When Dell Parsons is 15 years old, his parents decide to rob a bank, and of course this changes everything. He is sent to live with strangers in Canada, and the strangers are very strange. Yet Dell adapts to his new surroundings, and doesn't feel sorry for himself. He in fact thrives, and witnesses events that very few 15-year-olds could ever claim to have witnessed. He later goes on to become a school teacher, and marries well. This is a fascinating book, with sharp characters well drawn. Dell himself is an interesting character, but it is the people in his life, whom he describes so well, that become memorable. This is a really good and entertaining novel. Grade: A- 

Lizz Free or Die

Lizz Free or Die (2012) by Lizz Winstead. Winstead is not famous, but maybe she should be. She helped start The Daily Show on Comedy Central, then was in at the beginning of Air America Radio, the attempted liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh and his ilk, which had a brief life before going bust. She still appears on MSNBC, CNN and Comedy Central. Her book is a collection of essays which approaches, but does not quite reach, memoir territory. She is whip smart and extremely funny -- although I'm not sure I'd want to know her, because she has a Lizzilla personality which emerges when she is irritated. To put any doubt to rest, I enjoyed this book immensely, and would recommend it to any liberal person who enjoys humor. It's really good. Grade: A-