The Wolf Gift

by Anne Rice

I've heard good things about Anne Rice.  Her "Interview with a Vampire" is almost always held in high esteem.  Being a sucker for the fantasy genre and being especially enthralled with werewolf stories, I was pretty excited to have the opportunity to read this book.

Rice's writing style is best-described as very flowery.  It was easy to picture the settings and characters she described; she has amazing attention to detail and builds a strong setting with her prose.  Yet at no point did her descriptive details feel like overkill nor did they detract from the story.  I was immediately drawn into the world and the characters who were well-thought-out and believable.

The main action started off rather quickly and was, not surprisingly, a bit predictable.  Young Reuben is the protagonist of the story and the unwitting recipient of a bite from a werewolf.  The first few chapters after the bite proceed as one would expect in a story like this.  He discovers his new form.  Unlike many werewolf stories where the change is painful and the resulting form a curse, Reuben is completely at ease with his wolf side and sees his alternate form as a gift.  He maintains his sense of self but gains heightened abilities: like his ability sense evil and eliminate it.  Reuben's "Man Wolf" side almost becomes a superhero as he dispatches criminals.

I found this book to be an interesting take on the werewolf legend.  While some aspects of it were predictable, there was so much of the story that wasn't.  It was difficult to put down and I found myself up past my bedtime a few nights after saying to myself "just one more chapter. . ."  The characters were well-rounded and very easy to relate to which kept me reading on even when the plot unfolded into predictable points.

There were aspects of the story that seemed a bit tacked on.  Near the ending, especially, when the author slows down the pace to enlighten Reuben (and the readers) as to how this group of werewolves came to be.  While I found it interesting, it almost seemed unnecessary for the advancement of the story.  Perhaps it would have been better left to the second book in the series.  I am not sure.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next book in the series when it comes out in the fall.

I give it 4 out of 5.

On the Road

By Jack Kerouac

I can’t really pinpoint what possessed me to read this book, other than knowing the title from an Our Lady Peace song and having a vague understanding that it is a (classic?) book which exemplifies the “beat” culture.  Regardless, I happened to have an electronic copy and I set out to read it on my Kindle.

The main character is Sal Paradise, and the time period is the late 40’s to early 50’s.  I think the best way to summarize this book is not to divulge the major plot points and discuss what happened first and second and so on.  Rather, this book is written in such a way as you might hear a friend tell you a story of their travels.  Its merit is in the free flowing dialogue extracting a multitude of detail from every scene, and giving you a lens to observe the culture and habits of an adolescent “beat” in the late 40’s.  Sal describes hitchhiking back and forth across the country to spend time with his friends.  At first glance it is easy to say that this is a simpler time, but the story notes many of the same things we struggle with today.  Some of these key ideas include race, sexuality, drugs/alcohol, money, and responsibility.  Race is addressed frequently, and despite being before the civil rights movement I would gather that many “beats” got along with African Americans.  (This is exemplified in the Jazz bars and various interactions with black characters in the book).  Homosexuality is mentioned in the book, identifying characters as “fags.”  Out of context, this might seem overly cruel, but further dissection shows that the characters had little malice towards sexual orientation.  The label intended as much hatred as the designation “colored” did in the 60’s and 70’s.  Sal and his friends spend much of the novel getting drunk or trying to acquire “tea.”  I must admit I didn’t get the tea-marijuana connection until late in the book.  We often think of the late 60’s as the drug explosion, and typically view the 40’s and 50’s as a very innocent time.  I think this is typical that every generation thinks that they are so much worse than the previous, but many times the same activities are taking place and just not mentioned for fear of judgment.  It was somewhat eye opening to think of a group of 20 year olds getting high and drunk frequently in the 40’s.  One of Sal’s good friends, Dean Moriarty, is also quite a lecherous individual.  The boys are frequently trying to “make” girls, but Dean takes it a step further when he ultimately ends up married three times and divorced twice, a deed which had to be done in Mexico.

This book was quite different from what I usually read, and I am definitely glad that I made the effort to finish it.  I say “made the effort to finish it” because it didn’t grab me enough to make me long for extensive reading sessions.  I was able to appreciate this book for what it is, but overall I felt it was a somewhat directionless rambling of a story.  I think this was kind of the point of the story, but I found it hard to really devote myself to the non-cohesive narrative.  I’m torn on whether to recommend reading this book or not.  I’d never tell anyone that they absolutely must read it and would never over-state its entertainment value.  But taking it at face value, it was worth the read for the insight it provided.  Check out Wikipedia, or maybe a review better than mine and make your own decision.  It really is all about what you are looking for.

Rating: Undecided

Up Next:  Damned or Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, Dr. Sleep by Stephen King, or Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

Mystic River

By Dennis Lehane

            As I continue to read more and more, I’m trying to break some of the silly rules I have made for myself.  Some of these rules involve reading all the books in a series straight through, always read the book before watching the movie, only read one book at a time, etc.  Having already seen the movie Mystic River starring Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, and Sean Penn, this was my opportunity to read the book after the movie.

            The novel begins in Boston with three young friends: Jimmy, Sean, and Dave.  The boys are typical rambunctious youths, betting against their own mortality and freewheeling.  One day, Dave is abducted by child molesters and goes missing for several days.  Upon his return, his parents throw him a party and everyone seems to gloss over what he’s been through.  Fast forward to the future, all three boys are grown and still living in Boston.  Jimmy has done time in prison, has a teenage daughter (Katie) and is a widower.  He seems to have gotten his life back on track.  Soon, his daughter’s body is discovered in the park, the victim of a brutal murder.  His former friend Sean is one of the lead detectives on the case, and Dave becomes the primary suspect.  The night of the murder, Dave was involved in an altercation, and his wife has helped him dispose of his bloody clothes.  Despite their mutual trust, Dave’s wife begins to suspect that he may have been involved in Katie’s murder.  In a thrilling story, we dive into Sean’s past, and spend some time inside Dave’s head examining the lasting scars from his abduction.  This novel is intense, and you’ll be left wondering who did it until the end.

I must say that seeing the movie first definitely altered my perception of this book.  Knowing the outcome of the case, I didn’t fully appreciate some of the twists and turns.  However, the book was also able to get into Dave’s head to make you better understand him as a victim.  The dialogue was also brilliant, and I laughed a number of times at how intelligent Dave was when he was interrogated about the murder.  I love Dennis Lehane’s work, and I would strongly suggest you check this book out.  It won’t be spoiled even if you have seen the movie already.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Bunsen Burners

Up Next:  Damned or Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, Dr. Sleep by Stephen King, Xenocide by Orson Scott Card, or On the Road by Jack Kerouac.