Want to know what’s happening with Steven’s books? Or what’s on his bookshelf? Or what’s been bothering or exciting him? Check out the posts and his social media feeds and feel free to weigh in.
- Micro-Review #144: The Smithsonian Institution
by Gore Vidal It’s 1939. Europe is heading toward war, and America is rushing to develop a nuclear bomb. Enter young T., a math genius who sees limitations in Einstein’s E=mc2 equation. T. has the mental capacity to develop all sorts of nukes—and to throw in time travel and trips through a colorful multiverse in the bargain. This earns him a summoning to the venerable Smithsonian, where the exhibits come to life after hours and T. crosses paths with everyone from Grover Cleveland to Native Americans who dub him “Veal” and want to eat him.
This is an amusing and engaging story, but it’s purely intellectual. The plot exists as a framework for Vidal to muse on all things American. If you’re not versed in, say, lesser-known U.S. presidents and K Street politics, the humor might fall flat. This is Night at the Museum for history nerds—fun and intelligent, but at times dry and a little arcane.
- Micro-Review #143: Blood Meridian
by Cormac McCarthy Wow. This 1985 novel about American expansion in the Old West is one of the most severe, violent and intense works of literature available. The story—about cowboys hunting the Apache without restraint or oversight—contains more unvarnished depravity than many (most?) of today’s readers will be able to stand. The writing style is spare and declarative, but also steeped in abstruse vocabulary. The story subverts conventions of both style and subject matter (in this tale, the cowboys aren’t the good guys; they’re just Americans doing horrifically American things). If you make it through this orgy of murder and moral perversion, you might want to scrub yourself clean with steel wool afterwards. You’ll also be thankful. This is a disturbing, difficult and brilliant book.
- Micro-Review #142: Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
by Salman Rushdie In August 2022, Salman Rushie took to the stage in Chautauqua, New York, to talk about the United States as a safe haven for writers. Before the audience settled in, an assailant appeared out of the sea of faces and stabbed him 14 times. This book chronicles the then-75-year-old Rushdie’s physical and emotional journey back from the ordeal.
Written with clear-eyed simplicity and thought-provoking philosophical asides, Knife is taut and captivating enough to read in a few sittings. It’s at times self-effacing and always honest-seeming—and erudite without being pedantic. It’s political only insofar as it’s impossible for someone with Rushdie’s history NOT to be political. Love or hate his books and his worldview, this is an example of a great writer writing very well after a half year of hell.
- Micro-Review #141: Lost in the Valley of Death
by Harley Rustad Justin Shetler is one of those people who has the ability to succeed at anything. He’s smart and athletically gifted, but he’s also restless. He desires, seeks—needs—ultimate meaning, and expects to find it. Think Somerset Maugham’s Larry Darrell without the Platonic virtue of temperance.
An expert survivalist and chronic world traveler, Justin bounces from country to country, traversing rugged trails, meeting the natives, and throwing himself into the religions. He ends up in India, in a Himalayan valley where foreigners tend to go missing. His problems in the valley are perhaps predictable, but also compelling. Thanks to a brilliantly researched and laser-focused narrative from journalist Rustad, his story is every bit as vivid as anything written by his more popular contemporary Jon Krakauer. Consider this true story unputdownable.
- Micro-Review #140: 11.22.63
Based on the Stephen King novel I reviewed the novel (somewhat unfavorably) a few years back and decided to give the TV mini-series a chance because of its high imdb rating.
English teacher Jake Epping (James Franco) finds a portal to 1960. This gives him three years to stop the Kennedy assassination. He tries his damnedest, with many complications along the way. If you can suspend disbelief and accept the tired time-travel story device, you might decide Jake’s journey is worth following. This is a rare case of the TV adaptation being better than the novel. The era comes alive, the suspense is well placed, and there are worse kinds of unchallenging entertainment available to stream.
The downside: The Stephen King habit of exaggerating character traits transfers to the screen. The last two or three episodes of the eight-part miniseries lapse into soapiness. Rather than building to a breathless crescendo, the story plateaus before a somewhat predictable ending. Still, the acting is good, and if you like time-travel stories, this one is bound to satisfy.
