Stuff I've Been Reading September 2021

Books Read September 2021

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson. (library hardcover and audible audiobook). 464 pgs. 464 running pgs. 1 September.

I heard an interview with the author on the NYTimes book review podcast and was intrigued by the idea of a book about loggers in Northern California in the Carter era cutting down giant redwoods. This was the last time in American history when such logging could still take place. When I saw the book at my local public library I decided to give it a try. The story is mostly about the struggles of the rural working class and the challenges of hoping to get ahead economically when there are few options for those without much education. The book has some signs of being a first book, but, overall, I thought it was good.

Billy Summers by Stephen King. (library hardcover and overdrive audiobook). 515 pgs. 979 running pgs. 4 September.

Here's another book that I read, partly because the book was available at the library. I am not sure I would have stuck out such a long book if it were not for the fact that it was an audiobook. I took several long walks while listening to this book. The story is about a professional assassin who decides to take one last job -- which, of course, goes horribly wrong. Since the story is so long, a lot of things happen in the story including Covid. I do think if you were to read Carrie, King's first book, and then this book, you would see that King has grown a great deal as a writer over the years.

Indignation by Philip Roth. (library hardcover and audible audiobook). 235 pgs. 1214 running pgs. 5 September.

As Roth got older, at a certain point, he transitioned to writing short books somewhere between traditional novels and novellas. Indignation is the story of a working class Jewish college student, Marcus Messner. Messner is full of promise and off to a small liberal arts college in rural Ohio where, despite academic talent and good work habits, he never really integrates into his gentile community.

The Big Green Tent by Lyudmila Ulitskaya. (kindle and audible audiobook). 593 pgs. 1807 running pgs. 13 September.

A long Russian novel that follows three men -- and the people in their world -- through the ups and downs of the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 60s. A lot of downs. Given the length, it is perhaps no surprise that many topics are covered including samizdat literature, Russian music, education, prison camps, love, love affairs, and sex, as well as many other topics. Reminds me of what my mentor Brian Sayers said about the Russian existential writers of the 19th Century -- there is a sort of grim happiness in the face of suffering. I found the book quite satisfying. If you like this book, I highly recommend Svetlana Alexievich's Secondhand Time -- her oral history of the Soviet Union. Remarkable.

The Humbling by Philip Roth. (kindle). 161 pgs. 1068 running pgs. 14 September.

I believe this was Roth's last novel. The story of an actor who realizes he has lost his gift of acting. A meditation of impending death. I suppose it says something about me that I enjoyed the book. I believe I have now read most of Roth's work.

 

Books Purchased September 2021

The Corporation Wars: dissidence by Ken McLeod. (kindle). 6 September.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. (audible audiobook). 14 September.

Brother I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. (audible audiobook). 15 September.

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli. (audible audiobook). 19 September.

Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers. (kindle and audible audiobook). 21 September.

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin. (audible audiobook). 23 September.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (audible audiobook). 24 September.