Survivor

By Chuck Palahniuk

I heard an interview with Chuck Palahniuk and decided that he sounded like an author I’d like to try out.  Mostly because of the way he discussed his writing and motivation, as well as his openness and his unique past.  Having not read Fight Club (but did see the movie) I decided to take a gamble on three books that I found at a used book store.  These include Survivor, Haunted, and Damned.

The book begins with Tender Branson on a plane destined to crash while he dictates his story to the flight recorder.  As the fuel gauge counts down towards the end of the story, Tender wants to tell all.  Tender is a survivor of the Creedish Death Cult, a cult based in Nebraska.  The church focuses on training followers in etiquette, and manual labor.  Being the second born of a Creedish family, Tender is sent away from the (“homeland”) to serve the church in the outside world.  Creedish Cult members were trained to work unskilled jobs as a means to provide money to the church and their families.  Tender works as a housekeeper for a rather odd and demanding couple.  His job primarily consists of answering phone calls in regards to etiquette, and sporadic inquiries about what work he is doing around the house.  Due to a newspaper misprint, he also begins receiving phone calls from people contemplating suicide.  He advises callers to go through with it, even offering advice.  “try barbiturates and alcohol with your head inside a dry cleaning bag.”  This is how he meets Fertility, the sister of one of his suicide hotline callers.  He meets Fertility while visiting Trevor’s (her brother) tomb, and the two soon begin a friendship.

Typical to most cults, they ultimately commit mass suicide, partially induced by an FBI raid of their farm.  Continuing to obey church doctrine, the remaining outside members seem to be killing themselves.  Tender discovers that these are actually murders perpetrated by his twin brother Adam.  Tender is soon believed to be the lone survivor, and is thrust into the spotlight.  He becomes a popular religious figurehead, a process which requires both a physical and historical makeover.  He begins working out, using steroids and other pharmaceuticals (such as thyroid medication to stay thin), having various aesthetic surgeries, and his entire backstory is rewritten.  He becomes very commercialized and famous, but like most celebrities his fame begins to wane.  The public demands more and more from him, requesting a number of miracles.  Along the way Tender can feel his brother breathing down his neck.  Following a chaotic event at the Superbowl; Tender, Adam and Fertility are on the run.  This family reunion forces Tender to confront some of the horrific events that occurred on the Creedish farm.  As the plane slowly runs out of gas, Tender delves further and further into details about the cult.  The engines are flaming out, and we wonder if Tender will be able to get out alive like Fertility predicted.

            The most interesting thing about this book would have to be the style of the writing.  All dialogue from the main character is inferred, and he often trails off about how to clean, remove stains, or fix things in extensive detail.  The narrative is punctuated with details of how to clean particular areas and remove troublesome stains.  This creates a very unique kind of dialogue with the reader, as he diverts from the storyline into random asides.  Such as: “Just ask me how to get bloodstains out of a fur coat…The secret is cornmeal and brushing the fur the wrong way.  The tricky part is keeping your mouth shut.”  And “Ask me how to repair stab holes in nightgowns, tuxedos, and hats.  My secret is a little clear nail polish on the inside of the puncture.”  The author’s detail about cleaning techniques, pharmaceuticals/steroids shows that he has extensively researched these details to add to the story.  I respect this attention to detail, and felt it added to the story.  This novel was really interesting, and very different from the style of book I usually read.  I would definitely recommend it, as it was a quick read and a good change of pace from what I was reading at the time.  I look forward to reading more by Chuck Palahniuk.  If you decide to read this book, make sure you check out the author’s website for his own interpretation of the semi open-ended ending.  It wasn’t what I thought while reading the book, and I felt that it was a great explanation.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Bunsen Burners

Up Next: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

Al Capone Does My Shirts

by Gennifer Choldenko

        As a teacher, I am constantly looking for respectable, engaging, and educational books to recommend to my students. I try to set an example for them by reading constantly, I do this not just for myself, but also so I can become more knowledgeable about the books that are currently on the shelves within their reading levels. When it came time to plan a novel study, I had to quickly choose a reputable book to read with my class and I chose this Newbery Honor book. I was thrilled with my decision.
      This young adult book is a historical fiction that takes place on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California in the year 1935. The main character, Matthew Flanagan (Moose), is a 12 year old boy whose father works as an electrician and guard on the island. His family recently moved there for his father's position and for a chance to get Moose's sister Natalie, into a prestigious school for children with disabilities.  Moose has a hard time adjusting to the island and misses his friends back in Santa Monica. He quickly begins to meet other children that live on the island, including the warden's daughter, Piper. Moose soon learns that Piper is always scheming to try and make money or try to meet the infamous Al Capone. Moose not only has to try to stay away from Piper's plots, but try to make friends, and constantly be caretaker for Natalie when his parents are working. This would be hard for any child, but living on Alcatraz has its own set of issues. When Piper comes up with a plan to get kids at school to give her their dirty laundry "to be washed by notorious gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly", Piper tries desperately to get Moose to help her.  
     This book was a fast and entertaining read from the beginning. The wealth of history and knowledge that the author has included about Alcatraz is amazing. She stays true to the time period throughout the book and includes details from her research of actually being on the island herself. She explains the layout of the island, famous convicts that would be prisoners at the time, and inside knowledge about what the guards families saw day in and day out. It was very impressive to read such an in-depth history of Alcatraz, in a very articulate manner. I also loved the easy way my students could make connections with the characters. Despite the time period, my students could easily connect with Moose's dilemmas, emotions, and conversations with peers. One of Moose's biggest relationships is the one with his sister Natalie. In modern day, Natalie would have most likely been diagnosed with autism, given her behaviors and lack of communication. Staying true to the time period, the author never called it autism in the book since it was not diagnosed until 1943. Learning that the author had a sister with autism, this made me understand why the author was so adept at describing the difficulties that the family had dealing with his sister's disorder. Their emotions can easily be felt by the reader. The only critique I would give this book is that some of the content is uncomfortable to explain as it comes from the eyes of a 12 year old boy. Many of these descriptions elicited a quiet giggle from a few students. Otherwise, it was not a big issue at all. Despite this critique I would not hesitate to read this book again to students.
      All of my students are able to comprehend the book and it leads to wonderful discussions as we read. I took two days to teach my students about Alcatraz Island, Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, the prison, the Great Depression, and autism before we read the book. This was beneficial and I would teach it the exact same way again. I will continue to recommend this book to my future students and teachers. Even if you are an adult you will easily enjoy this book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Up Next: Devil in the White City by Erik Larson  

Speaker for the Dead

By Orson Scott Card

            In the second book of the Ender series, Ender has been traveling for ~20 years and Ender has journeyed far into the depths of space.  Due to his near light speed travel (time is slower when you move faster – see Einstein), 3000 years have passed on Earth since he wiped out the buggers.  Ender’s sister Valentine is traveling with him, and Ender is trying to absolve himself of his wrongdoings by searching for a home for the Hive Queen, the last of the Buggers from the first book.  Ender’s writing has also spawned a religion of sorts, and Ender is the equivalent of their priest: A speaker for the dead.  Soon, Ender is called to speak at a funeral on the planet Lusitania. 

            The colony of Lusitania is very unique to other colonized planets.  Most notably are the pequeninos (piggies), a native species which are being extensively studied by the humans that have colonized the planet.  The xenologers (those who study aliens) follow a code to not interfere with the piggies, not transfer knowledge, and basically just observe with minimal interference.  Upon initial colonization of Lusitania, it was discovered that the planet harbored a devastating virus.  Novinha’s parents (Gusta and Cida) ultimately discovered a treatment for the descoldada virus, and have become saints to the people of Lusitania.  Unfortunately this cure did not come soon enough to save themselves.  Novinha, now an orphan, follows in her parents footsteps and begins her studies at a young age with father and son xenologers, Pipo and Libo.  Pipo is eventually murdered by the piggies, and Novinha decides to hide the bulk of her research because she is afraid that her discoveries could lead to the death of others that she cares about.  She marries a monster named Marcão and has a number of children.  Years later Marcão dies, and this is the man Ender is called to “speak” for the dead.  This is a continuation from the end of Ender’s game where he has essentially established a new religion. By “speaking for the dead” he is able to convey why people lived the way they did.  It is a form of atonement for the dead, and allows the family to come to terms with the death of their loved one.  Ender bonds with the family and begins preparing to speak on Marcão’s death.  Ender discovers many secrets Novinha has hidden, and shakes the foundation of Novinha’s family.  While on Lusitania, Ender is also trying to learn about the piggies.  With Ender’s help, the people of Lusitania face a number of ethical questions about their behavior with the piggies.  Ultimately, they must make a difficult decision about living with the piggies, or face the judgement of the Starways Congress.

            From what I have read about the Ender’s Game series, Ender’s Game was written to establish a character for the subsequent books.  I must say that aside from the connections overtly established in the book, I felt that Ender could have been any character.  I noticed and felt little connection to the character which I had become so familiar with in both Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow.  While this would not be an issue in most cases, because the previous books were written to give a backstory to the main character, the connection between the characters should be well established.  (Note: after reading Xenocide, Ender’s background is much more important for the plotline.  The books begin to deal with the relationships between species, and the ethical considerations.  I’ll speak on this later in my review of Xenocide).  While this book was enjoyable, I felt that it was somewhat unfortunate that it could have been a brand new character instead of our familiar Ender.  Overall, I felt this was a significant drop off in quality from Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow.  This wasn’t a terrible read, but I’m starting to think that you can just read Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow and be fulfilled.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Bunsen Burners

Up Next: Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine.

By Paul A. Offit

            Dr. Offit has received a great deal of attention for his books, especially those concerned with vaccines and their potential link to autism.  He certainly has an excellent pedigree (Professor of Vaccinology, Pediatrics, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Director of the Vaccine Education Center, member of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to name a few) and has shared his vast knowledge in this book.  This book examines all forms of alternative medicine from chiropractic care, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, to homeopathic treatment. 

One of the first points that Offit makes is that there really is no such thing as alternative medicine.  Webster’s dictionary defines “medicine” as a substance that is used in treating disease or relieving pain.  Simply put, a substance either does or does not achieve this goal.  Offit shares several stories of people who opted for alternative treatments, when traditional medicine would have offered a greater chance of survival.  At seven years of age, Joey Hofbauer was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymph glands.  Instead of opting for traditional treatment involving chemotherapy, Joey’s parents opted to treat his cancer with Laetrile, and a specialized diet consisting of raw milk, coffee enemas, an “autogenous vaccine” (made from bacteria in his own urine), and massive doses of vitamins.  This controversial treatment almost immediately cast Joey’s family into the spotlight scrutinizing how Joey should be treated.  Initially, Joey had one swollen lymph gland.  After 6 months of unconventional treatment, he had 17 and liver damage from overdosing on vitamin A.  In July of 1980, with lungs riddled with tumors, Joey succumbed to the cancer.  During this three year legal battle, these controversial treatments were studied for efficacy, not a one proved to be an effective treatment for cancer.

Question:  Are vitamins good for you?  What about antioxidants?  Unfortunately the answer might not be as simple as we’d like it to be.  The “antioxidant paradox” is a term coined by researchers who have theorized that massive doses of antioxidants can shift the balance between free radical production and destruction, resulting in an unnatural state which causes the immune system to be deficient in killing harmful invaders.  He also cites several studies which have examined the effect of vitamins on health.  A study of 29,000 long-term smoking Finnish men who took vitamin E, and/or beta-carotene (or the control group with no supplementation) indicated that those taking the supplements were MORE likely to die from lung cancer or heart disease than those who did not.  Men who take a multivitamin were twice as likely to die from advanced prostate cancer, according to a study of 11,000 men by the National Cancer Institute.  More examples are cited, but I think the point is clear.

           

            Overall, this book identifies some crucial questions that must be examined as we think about how we treat diseases, and more importantly how we treat the people.  The placebo effect works, as indicated by numerous studies, but when is it appropriate?  Endorphins released due to acupuncture can help with pain, but acupuncture will do nothing for cancer.  In fact, Chinese medicine was developed by “physicians” who were not allowed to dissect the human body.  Their foundation for healing is based on an application of observable outside events to the human body.  The twelve meridians of the body were chosen for the 12 great rivers in China, and the number of acupuncture points (~360) was determined by the number of days in the year.  The key really is that we need to test “alternative medicine” in the same way that we test traditional medicine.  “There is no such thing as alternative medicine, but rather medicine that works and medicine that doesn’t.”  Alternative medicine has dodged testing thus far by painting the FDA and pharmaceutical companies as the bad guy.  This has nothing to do with cutting into a pharmaceutical company’s profits, and more to do with the safety of product.  Drugs require rigorous testing to assure there are no potentially dangerous degradation products, solvents, or dangerous metals and adulterants present.  These natural treatments should not only require testing to prove efficacy, but also to assure they meet the rigorous standards that are required in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Beware of the celebrity endorsements, just because they have the spotlight doesn’t mean that they know what’s best for us.  Jenny McCarthy doesn’t know shit about vaccines, Steve Jobs might still be alive if he treated his cancer with surgery instead of acupuncture and herbal remedies, Suzanne Somers was a ditzy television star – not a medical doctor.  She understands little about medicine, encouraging growth hormone and estrogen therapy for her followers.  Apparently because she is supplementing with “natural bioidentical hormones” from plants, we don’t need to be concerned about the numerous studies the NIH has conducted linking estrogen therapy with an increase in breast cancer.  Certainly plants (often used in herbal/holistic remedies) contain chemicals which can be used to treat diseases.  There is a whole branch of chemistry based on the synthesis of compounds found in plants (I used to be involved in natural product synthesis).  Yet, after synthesizing, these compounds require years of testing by the FDA, which can cost millions of dollars.  So why should we assume that plants containing chemicals in holistic treatments should be excluded from testing?  There’s a reason we test therapies like we do, to assure that they work. 

We can’t deny the comfort that many find in the world of alternative medicine.  Modern medicine is in a state of flux because of increased information, which can be unnerving.  Nobody wants to hear that their disease is so new, that we have no sure way of treating it and must make our best guess.  Alternative medicine offers a degree of comfort that modern medicine cannot; this therapy has been the same for 5,000 years.  The placebo effect can be powerful in cases where treatment is not crucial.  I can’t offer a better summary than the author did, so I will include it here:

The problem comes when mainstream healers dismiss the placebo response as trivial or when alternative healers offer placebos instead of lifesaving medicines or charge an exorbitant price for their remedies or promote therapies as harmless when they’re not or encourage magical thinking and scientific denialism at a time when we can least afford it.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Bunsen Burners

Up Next: any of 3 Chuck Palahniuk books, 2 Orson Scott Card books (speaker for the dead and Xenocide), or Mystic River.  Also, I got a Kindle for Christmas and have a ton of books on it to read.  I have a feeling my life will never be the same.