A Wanted Man

A Wanted Man (2012) by Lee Child. This latest installment in the Jack Reacher series offers nothing much that's new. Reacher is still a massive 6-foot-5 former MP who travels light and has no permanent address. He still has a way of figuring things out a couple of steps ahead of everyone else, and he doesn't hesitate to kill when he feels it is justified. In this book, he is picked up hitchhiking by a pair of apparent government agents who turn out to not be what they seem. By the end of the book, Reacher has uncovered a vast conspiracy and a terrorist cell, which he proceeds to dismantle (almost) single-handedly. He's a curiously likable character, but I found this book to be rather outlandishly unbelievable. It was mildly entertaining. Grade: B-

Ant Farm

Ant Farm (2007) by Simon Rich. A slender collection of humorous pieces by Rich, a former president of the Harvard Lampoon. It's hard to describe Rich's style of humor, except to say that he is fond of writing conversations "as imagined by" a third party. This is, I suppose, a very funny book, although I didn't laugh much while I was reading it. It is very short, and thus was a quick read. This is a virtue, in my book. Grade: B

The Privileges

The Privileges (2010) by Jonathan Dee. The book opens with the marriage of Adam and Cynthia Morey, a young couple with everything ahead of them and infinite possibilities awaiting them. Adam is a rising star in the world of private equity, and he eventually manages to make a fortune by cheating the market. But the Morey's are not immune to life's troubles, and they hit a rough patch or two before they finally decide to move on into a life of philanthropy. They also have two children, April and Jonas, and Dee shares with us the privileged lives of these two children, and how their wealth tends to distort their lives and even put them in danger. This was a very good novel, a smooth read and always interesting. Grade: B+

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures (2012) by Emma Straub. In 1920, Elsa Emerson, the youngest and blondest of three sisters, is born in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin. Her parents own a playhouse, and she grows up knowing that she is fated to be an actress. While still in her teens, she marries a man with similar ambitions, and they move together to California. After an interval during which she bears two children, Elsa is discovered by motion-picture producer Irving Green, who falls in love with her and makes her a star. The story of her career in the movies is the fictional subject of this book, although the book seems more concerned with her domestic situation than with her career. She makes disappointingly few films, and even though she wins an Oscar for one of her performances, her career as a motion picture actress seems disappointingly truncated. Still, this is an enjoyable novel, full of heartbreak and triumph, with an (almost) happy ending. Grade: B+ 

Lionel Asbo: State of England

Lionel Asbo: State of England (2012) by Martin Amis. Lionel Asbo is a unique creation by Amis, a character with no redeeming characteristics, who suffers from Anti-Social Behavior Order (ASBO). The story is told largely from Lionel's nephew Des's point of view; Des is 10 years younger than Lionel, and loves him despite his many flaws. The story really gets interesting when, through a fluke, Lionel wins the lottery. After winning 130 million pounds, Lionel never gives a thought to sharing his winnings with his impoverished relations, but keeps it all to himself. I found this book very difficult to read and understand, because Amis is English and writes in what seems to me to be and extremely accurate reproduction of English speech -- which is largely incomprehensible to me, an American. Amis' skill as a writer is not in question, it just didn't come across effectively to me. Thus I can say that this was a very good book, but I didn't like it all that much. Some readers, sharper than I, will enjoy it immensely, but I found  it a chore to read. Thus: Grade: B

Every Day

Every Day (2012) by David Levithan. Every day, "A" wakes up in a different, 16-year-old body. Every day, A has to adjust to new conditions -- male or female, gay or straight, thin or fat, A must survive for a full day as a different person. But everything gets infinitely more complicated when, in the body of a male, he falls in love with a girl. Always in love with the same girl, Rhiannon, he keeps switching bodies and trying to sell himself to her as someone she can love. And she does come to love him, but even so, can they possibly make it work? This book is quite involving, and the premise is a fascinating one. I read it eagerly, looking forward to each time I would have an opportunity to pick up the book and find out what would happen next. This novel is targeted toward younger audiences, but enjoyable by adults. Grade: B+

Skeletons at the Feast

Skeletons at the Feast (2008) by Chris Bohjalian. Skeletons at the Feast tells the harrowing stories, based on true accounts, of people caught up in the closing days of World War II on the continent of Europe. One group, a family of German civilians who do not know how evil the Reich has been, is fleeing from East to West, trying to avoid the advancing Russian armies. One individual, named Uri, is a Jew who has miraculously escaped from a transport heading east to a concentration camp; he is shadowing the advancing and retreating armies, taking on the identities of fallen soldiers as he struggles to survive. And one individual, named Cecille, is a Jewish captive being marched west for unspecified reasons by a group of Third-Reich guards who brutalize and execute members of the group who cannot keep up -- or who try to escape. Bohjalian deftly shifts back and forth between the three parallel stories, showing us in unsparing detail the horrors that are being perpetrated by both sides in the final months of the war. It's a masterful performance by the author, and the reader finds himself easily drawn in and fully involved in the stories of these refugees of war. The book's conclusion is not free of tragedy, but there are enough survivors to make it a "happy ending." I recommend this book highly. Grade: A-

What in God's Name

What in God's Name (2012) by Simon Rich. What would life be like if you were an angel, and God was the CEO of Heaven, Inc.? Your job is to make miracles happen for humans on planet Earth, but God doesn't really care much about what you are doing. He is more interested in sports and xenon production. This is the premise of this delightful novel, in which God threatens to end all life on Earth if an angel named Craig is unable to make two specified people meet and fall in love. The comedy is rich, and the sentiment is rich too, as Craig struggles to get Sam and Laura to meet and ultimately, to kiss. It takes all of Craig's skills as an angel to bring them together and save the Earth. This book was great fun, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a quick, light read. Grade: A-

One Last Thing Before I Go

One Last Thing Before I Go (2012) by Jonathan Tropper. One of the better books I've read recently, this novel explores the world of divorced dads and how they manage to screw up their lives. In particular, one divorced dad named Silver becomes the focus of the book. Two important events mark Silver's life during the course of the novel: He finds out that his 18-year-old daughter, Casey, is pregnant; and he learns that he himself has a life-threatening heart defect which calls for surgery. He does his bumbling best to help Casey, but he refuses to get the surgery that he needs. The book is beautifully, fluidly written, and carries the reader along on a rushing river of words. I read it in two days, which is super fast for me. It's one of those books that is hard to put down, and which the reader looks forward to getting back to. Whether this has anything to do with the fact that I am a divorced dad myself is, I think, self-evident. A wonderful book. Grade: A

When It Happens to You

When It Happens to You (2012) by Molly Ringwald. Yes, it's that Molly Ringwald. The actress has ambitions to be a writer, and in this book she has succeeded. It's a series of interlocking stories that tell the story of a family and the various permutations of relationships that affect it. There's no point in going into detail about the subject matter of the book; it's fairly prosaic. Ringwald has done a competent job of writing "a novel in stories," and it makes for a good read. Not great, but good. She writes with authority and, seemingly, a knowledge of the subjects which her book covers -- chiefly relationships and infidelity. It's moderately interesting -- certainly enough to keep you reading, and it's not a long book, so it's worth a look. Grade: B

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2012) by Rachel Joyce. One day an old pensioner, Harold Fry, receives a letter from someone named Queenie, whom he had known 20 years earlier. Queenie had once done Harold a good turn, and now she is dying of cancer. Harold writes a brief letter in reply to Queenie's letter, then sets off to drop it in the post box. But his walk to the post box becomes a pilgrimage the length of Britain; he decides to walk all the way to the distant hospice where Queenie lies dying, so that he can at last thank her for the favor she did him all those years ago. The book becomes a light-hearted meditation on the virtues of walking, the nature of modern society, and the redemptive powers of having a purpose in life. Along the way, Harold meets many who want to join him on his pilgrimage, and he becomes briefly famous, but more than anything, he resolves the inner demons which have been troubling him and his wife Maureen for so many years. It's really a wonderful book, and one well worth reading. Grade: A