A book of short stories

A book of short stories

Title: Trigger Warner: Short Fictions and Disturbances
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publication date:  2015

My first exposure to Neil Gaiman’s work came just last year when I read American Gods on the recommendation of a friend. I couldn’t put it down. So when I came upon this brand new release just sitting on the library shelf asking to be borrowed, I didn’t resist.

Oddly, I’m not much of a short story reader or I hadn’t been until this year. This is the third collection of short stories I’ve read in 2015. I find that I like both the pace and the variety.

Trigger Warner includes both original works and previously published stories from Gaiman. There’s no theme per se but the stories work as a collection in my opinion. The stories range in length from three to as many as 40 pages. Gaiman uses different literary devices in many stories including writing several in verse and one in a chronological calendar form (not my favorite).

My favorite stories were Click-Clack the Rattlebag, a short five pages; and The Sleeper and the Spindle, a longer story of 20+ pages. The latter was first included in an anthology of fairy tales and is a reimagining of Snow White with a little Sleeping Beauty for good measure.

“We were approaching the top of the hill. It was dusk. The sky was the color of wine, now, and the clouds in the west glowed with the light of the setting sun …” 

– A Lunar Labyrinth

A few of the fun surprises in this collection included a story inspired by David Bowie The Return of the Thin White Duke and a story about Shadow, our hero from American Gods.

I’m already planning to read more by Gaiman, which is one of the greatest compliments a reviewer can pay an author.

Four stars

Next challenge: A book with antonyms in the title

A mystery or thriller

A mystery or thriller

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Publication date: 2015

It’s easy to understand why The Girl on the Train is being compared to Gone Girl. Both revolve around a storyline that is not quite clear even to those who are telling it. Both are fast-paced and hard to put down. And while I hated nearly every character in Gone Girl, I have less animosity for those in The Girl on the Train.

The story begins with Rachel who commutes via train into London each day to work at a public relations firm. From her seat on the train, Rachel watches the lives of the people who live near the train tracks even creating back stories for many.

We come to know two of the woman who are the subjects of Rachel’s voyeurism: Anna and Megan. Megan lives in Rachel’s “favorite house” and Anna lives in the house that Rachel once lived in herself.

“I feel like I’m part of this mystery, I’m connected. I am no longer just a girl on the train, going back and forth without point or purpose.”

As the mystery unfolds, sections of the book are told from the perspectives of each of the three women. There are flashback scenes and flash forward scenes. Telling much about the mystery, just as in Gone Girl, would spoil the story for other readers. But here’s a snippet that occurs early enough in the story and I love the literary reference:

I think about Ted Hughes, moving Assia Wevill into the home he’d shared with Plath, of her wearing Sylvia’s clothes, brushing her hair with the same brush. I want to ring Anna up and remind her that Assia ended up with her head in the oven, just like Sylvia did.

That’s quite the imagery that Hawkins creates and an interesting comparison to draw among four women. There are those who hated Gone Girl because of its ending or the unsympathetic nature of its characters. Those who loved that book will enjoy The Girl on the Train but the characters are much easier to sympathize with … for the most part.

Four stars

Next challenge: A book of short stories

A book by an author you've never read before

Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Publication date: 1973

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

These words spoken by Mandy Patinkin in the film The Princess Bride have been emblazoned on T-shirts, memes and Facebook feeds for decades.

This was a rare occurrence for me: reading the book after I'd seen the movie. Truth be told, when I first saw The Princess Bride on film, I didn't even know it was a book until I had a job in a bookstore in the 1990s and found myself shelving it in the Fantasy section. As a sucker for a Kindle Daily Deal (sign up here, you won't regret it), I snatched this one up Oscar weekend for $2.99. My next challenge was slotting it in my Reading Challenge because I was determined to read it.

At more than 400 pages (I was surprised too), this book was longer than my average read. I'm very glad to have read it. I learned that William Goldman also wrote the screenplay for the film and wrote Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, which is my favorite film.

It was lovely to find so many of my favorite scenes from the film were lifted word for word from the book.

"He'll never catch up!" the Sicilian cried. "Inconceivable!"
"You keep using that word!" the Spaniard snapped. "I don't think it means what you think it does."

And of course ...

"You seem a decent fellow," Inigo said. "I hate to kill you." "You seem a decent fellow," answered the man in black. "I hate to die."

I confess that even though I read the book, I heard the actors' voices in my head as if I were listening to the audio book. My one criticism of the book is a writing device employed by Goldman in which he alleges to be abridging the novel written "originally" by S. Morgenstern, if fact the book is subtitled "S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure." These anecdotes can be humorous but more often than not they got tiring and made the book longer than necessary.

What can I tell you about The Princess Bride? If you enjoyed the film, I think you'll enjoy the book. In fact, it's inconceivable that you wouldn't.

Three stars (but really good stars)

Next challenge: A famous author's first book

A book based entirely on its cover

Title: Mary Coin
Author: Marisa Silver
Publication date: 2013

The photograph is famous. Iconic even. Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother symbolizes a mother's desperation in a California migrant workers' camp in 1936. Marisa Silver's 2013 novel Mary Coin tells a fictional story about the subject of that photograph.

Weaving together the stories of the migrant mother Mary Coin with the photographer Vera Dare and a social historian Walker Dodge. While some may struggle to abandon thoughts of the photo's true story, I found Silver's characters compelling and was pulled into their world willingly.

We first meet Mary Coin as an adolescent and come to know the Oklahoma girl who already knows who she is. Vera Dare is already a professional portrait photographer in San Francisco when her part of the story is introduced. The book itself however begins with its male lead character Walker Dodge. Despite studying the history of others, Walker struggles to come to terms with his own family history as he cares for his dying father, the patriarch of what was once one of California's farm dynasties (if there was such a thing.)

Mary read local news about wheat prices and articles about the new tractors that could cut and thresh in a third of the time it took a man and a mule to do the job. Her mother claimed these machines were no better than your own two hands, but Mary knew that her mother decided something old was better than something new only to bury want. 

Mary Coin was the selection for my fabulous book club in March. I finished reading it a week ago but delayed my blog until our club met. My club rarely lets me down and this selection will likely be one of my favorite picks for 2015.

Four stars

Next challenge: A book by an author you've never read before