Book Review- Jess Walter's We Live in Water: Stories

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I often give five-star reviews to books that I thought were great for their genre, even if they would not necessarily make my favorites list.

Jess Walter's collection of short stories, We Live In Water,  not only deserves five-stars, but it makes it to my highly selective favorite books list. 

Walter's collection is absolutely fantastic and I cannot believe that this is the first time that I have encountered his writing. A big THANK YOU to Amazon for putting, We Live in Water on their Kindle discount list a few months ago. It often pays to take a chance on a new-to-you author.  

Walter's prose is often beautiful, but the stories in this collection are the polar opposite. Walter takes us to dark places filled with damaged characters. His stories are gritty, stark and haunting. You will feel uncomfortable reading this collection.

Pretty much none of his characters are like myself or people that I know. However, Walter's talent as a writer shines with his ability to make even the more difficult characters human and relatable. Every story felt like embarking on a different adventure into hell and I wanted a ticket for the ride.

I was most taken by his story Don't Eat Cat about a dystopian society where some of the citizens have decided that their lives would be better if they took a drug that turns them into zombies. This story is different from the rest in the collection. It is the only one that dips into the realm of fantasy. It features zombies, but not in a way that is conventional or like anything else I've seen in pop-culture. The story is overwhelmingly sad and unforgettable. In all of his stories, there a twist and an unexpected angle. I loved this constant element of surprise. Walters is a writer with a unique perspective. 

Another stand-out was the very last story in the collection, Statistical Abstract for My Hometown of Spokane, Washington. I finished this story, unsure of whether or not it was fiction. It felt very much like a personal reveal of the author, who is from Spokane, a city that very much influences his writing. Many of the stories are set in or make mention of Spokane. Whether or not it's fiction, this last story is a hard one to read. It has amazing pacing, where it grows in steam and intensity. It's a listing of facts that read like a monologue in a play. It's so powerful.

It's safe to say that I'm now going to read everything that has ever been written by Walters. He completely blew me away.  

Book Review- J. Courtney Sullivan's The Engagements

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I received a copy of J. Courtney Sullivan's The Engagement for my 36th birthday and in a case of excellent timing, I became engaged just a few weeks later! 

Unfortunately, The Engagements was also a victim with regard to timing. I started the novel prior to heading to the UK for six weeks. I read 3/4 of the book before my trip, but  didn't take it with me, because I didn't have room for a giant hardback. It's frustrating to take a long gap when reading a book, as it creates a loss of momentum. I also forgot some of the characters and plot points. Luckily the book was so enjoyable, that I managed to get back in the swing of it within a chapter, although I felt the way I read it was an injustice to the book.

Sullivan's novel is broad, with several story arcs taking place in different eras. The common theme is engagement rings. The first chapter introduces us to Mary Frances Gererty, the real-life copywriter who coined the phrase "A Diamond is Forever" for De Beers in 1947. Sullivan does a clever thing by using chapters involving Gererty as bridges to link the chapters with her fictional characters. Make sure to read the afterward regarding Gererty. 

Each character arc set in a different era is a short story in it's own right. They could exist independent of the story as a whole. Sullivan writes of a married French woman who runs off to America with her lover, a paramedic who makes a bad choice when getting his wife a new ring, a family torn up over their son's divorce and a woman struggling with the concept of weddings in light of a very lavish wedding of her gay cousin.  Each story stands on it's own, but Sullivan cleverly ties them together in the final chapters.

Sullivan has created characters with strong personalities. In particular, I really liked the moral dilemmas presented in the chapter about the paramedic who is struggling to make ends meet. His story is intense and gut wrenching. I also liked the story of Delphine, a woman trying to adjust to living in a new country while wracked with guilt  over cheating on her husband. Delphine is a richly developed character with a strong backstory.

I finished reading The Engagements and was left feeling eager to read Sullivan's other novels. If Sullivan's other novels are as good as The Engagements, I think that she will be a strong voice in modern fiction.

Book Review- Stephen Tobolowsky's The Dangerous Animals Club

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The funny thing about Stephen Tobolowsky is I bought his collection of personal stories, The Dangerous Animals Club, without having a clue about the author. Yet, as I read his book, I learned that he has been a character actor in so many of my favorite television shows, most notably, Deadwood. Midway through the book, I looked him up on IMDB and I had my light-bulb moment. 

As much as I enjoy watching Tobolowsky act, I think that he might be even better as a writer. The Dangerous Animals Club is a broad collection of stories from Tobolowsky's childhood, relationships and career. He even carefully delves into more contentious subjects such as religion and spirituality. 

The element of his writing that struck me the most is that he comes across as very humble. He has had a lot of amazing opportunities in his life and he has a lot of great advice to impart, but it's from the angle of an every man. He writes about life and gives advice from his unique perspective, but does it in a manner that is open and accepting that other experiences might shift his perspective. Tobolowsky comes across as possessing a keen sense of self-awareness.

I enjoyed the entire book, but in particular, I really loved reading about Tobolowsky's childhood.  I loved the chapter that the title of the book comes from, as Tobolowsky recounts a childhood club that he formed with friends, in which they set out to catch and collect all of the most dangerous animals that lived in their area. It's hilarious and filled with so much wonder and naiveté.

I definitely related to it with similar things that I did in my own childhood. Tobolowsky's characterization of himself as a child is just really funny. He has this persistence and curiosity that keeps pushing him forward, even when the world is telling him no. It's this attitude that served him well as an adult in the entertainment industry.

The Dangerous Animals Club is a wonderful collection of stories and it's really irrelevant if the reader is aware of his acting career. The collection has a broad reach and I imagine that most readers would find it enjoyable. I hope that Tobolowsky doesn't wait too long to write a follow-up book.