Have you ever tried to read a book just because you wanted to feel young, cool, and hip? When I first tried reading A Visit from the Goon Squad, it was for purely selfish reasons. It was like I wanted to be able to say I understand post-postmodern literature. Bragging rights that I’d read the book were what I needed. When I tried reading it though, I was pissed. I read to escape work, not read more PowerPoint presentations. And I thought if this is a bestseller, I can write something so much better. Obviously, I was wrong. When I read a review that said to read it like a collection of related stories, then I got it! Now, 10 years later I really get it. Basically, it’s the story of Bennie and his younger troubled assistant, Sasha. It explores all the people which connect Bennie and Sasha. It explores how time (the goon) gets us all. I re-read this book in anticipation of her newest book The Candy House which hits shelves this April. I’ll be reading the book just in time to help me feel like a new spring chicken.
If you are looking for an indigenous author to support in November, then This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger has a great historical fiction read for you. Krueger is a member of the Anishinaabe ( Ojibwe ) tribe. This dialogue between a bit so likable character Jack and the teen narrator Odie will give you a good idea of the story. “Ask me, God’s right here. In the dirt, the rain, the sky, the trees, the apples, the stars in the cottonwoods. In you and me, too. It’s all connected and it’s all God. Sure this is hard work, but it’s good work because it’s a part of what connects us to this land, Buck. This beautiful, tender land.” Jack in Chapter 20. Odie then replies with his theory about how “God is a tornado.” which refers back to when a tornado killed a loving teacher, Mrs. Frost. The book was originally published in 2019 and is great as an audiobook coming in at 14 hours and 19 minutes on regular speed versus 464 pages of hard copy. ...
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