Eclectic writing in Telegraph Avenue
582779
Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue is a great novel. Having grown up in the Bay Area, I felt an affinity to these characters. This book was very satisfying. The writing was like reading poetry, that you can understand. I just wish the iPad 2 could define a word at the touch like kindle can. Some words were beyond me but did not deter me from enjoying it.
566552
Jerusalem Lane, a strange 19th century remnant in a most desirable section of London, is home to an unusual group of people. When one of them is found dead, DS Kathy Kolla and DCI David Brock investigate. After several days,  it is decided that foul play was not involved, so the investigation is  called off. Six months later, the second of the three sisters dies, and  Kolla and Brock are called in to investigate.
Maitland's training as an  architect is obvious in this, the first of 5 books in the series. By using  real street names, just moving them around a bit, and changing them  slightly (there is a Jerusalem Passage near the area in which he places  Jerusalem Lane), giving the street and buildings a history, (Marx and  Engels purportedly lived in one of the houses on the Lane) and even  describing the geography of the street, he makes the area one of the  protagonists in the story, at times, the main protagonist in the story.
I  enjoyed this to the extent that I went out and bought the other 3 books  available in paperback by this author(in the UK). I understand that the 5th  in the series has just been published in Australia.
1946986
Travel writing can be tough to enjoy.  Most travel writing is for magazines that want you to visit a certain location and invariably come with suggestions for restaurants and hotels and some gorgeous photography.  Light, fluffy, and good for planning the next vacation getaway, but that's about it.

On occasion, travel writing can be great - it can transport you not only to the heart of a foreign land that you may have never considered before, it can also drop you into the heart of a great story that you want to revisit over and over again.  Such writing lies in "The Best American Travel Writing 2010," edited by Bill Buford.  This collection of twenty-plus tales of varying lengths (Ian Frazier's "Travels in Siberia" is by far the longest and one of the most fascinating) offers the reader a dizzying array of perspectives and settings that for the most part demand a second read.

My personal favorite in this selection is Tom Bissell's "Looking for Judas," in which he looks for the spot where Judas killed himself.  What could have been a tedious slog through the available evidence and the current geography instead becomes a disturbing examination of life in present-day Jerusalem.  Bissell does a terrific job of conveying not only the desolation that hangs over the likely spot of Judas's suicide but also the whole city.

Ian Frazier's long take on Siberia (which he later fleshed out to a full-length book) makes you glad that he took the trip and not you.  Siberia may be fascinating in the abstract, but the journey itself seems to be a dangerous, unhealthy, and depressing slog.  One suspects that Frazier's story is more fun to read than it was to write.

That cannot be said for Avi Davis's "The Undead Travel," in which he takes on the tourist debacle that has inflicted Romania as it tries to capitalize on our never-ending hunger for Dracula lore and knicknacks.  Davis takes great delight in this silly fascination and the Romanians' dedication with wringing every last cent from it.

I'm not going to summarize every article or story here, but in any book that provides selections by Christopher Hitchens, George Packer, and Garrison Keillor is worth checking out.

Not every story is a home run, but that's likely the case with every collection from multiple authors.  I imagine that my favorites are likely to be among those another reader will enjoy least, and vice versa.  But what is undeniable is the range and quality of the writing and the stories contained in this book.
4234327
I remember the first time I saw New York. I was with my parents and we drove down through Pennsylvania from Canada, over the Susquehanna and into New Jersey. As we came around the turnpike, I recognized a city scape  rising up over my left shoulder. Through the dusty car window and the haze,  perspective was compressed and the distant city looked like jutting grey  teeth. Emotionally I realized it was THE CITY, before I could make sense of  the angle. It didn't fit with all the t.v. vistas and documentary pictures  I had been raised on. It was unique, and it was fresh and it was my  discovery.
As years go by and a once distant and monumental city becomes  rationalized by repetitive experience, it is easy to lose the first sense  of discovery, that dreamy feeling of seeing a great city for the first  time.
"New York: Literary Lights" restores that magical quality. The book  is an alphabetical listing of most of the great writers, publishers and  writing haunts and events that have shaped the modern american mythos. More  than just a back to back of mini-biographies, it is a secret map of the  vital human side of New York. Streets that had begun to fade jumped back to  life for me when I read that one of my favourite writers lived or worked  there. The biographies are primarily about writers, but weave a rich fabric  that depicts the literary history of New York. As I read deep into the book  I found myself flipping back and forth, trying to pick up the trail of a  place, or an event and its recurrant impact on New York literature. The  writing is deft and chatty, the kind of writing that satisfies like gossip,  but stays in mind much longer.
Although some of the stories and  characters are legendary and quintessentially Gotham, like, say, Hart  Crane, Norman Mailer, or the bar where Dylan Thomas took his last twelve  drinks, the bulk of the book is deeper and more penetrating. There are  several excellent entries on the Harlem scene, as well as the Jewish scene  before and after the second world war. And I learned much about the  generous nature of Nathaniel West. The merit of the book however, is  Corbett's ability to go beyond the merely encycopedic- to bring out aspects  or facts about a writer's life that I did not know. I learned more about  people I thought I knew such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Edgar Allan  Poe.
Although I did not expect such devices, there is an excellent  sectional map of Manhattan and Brooklyn which details the districts in  which famous writers worked. As well, there is a nice glossary of quotes  about New York, containing both the old familiar ones such as Hemingway's  "Literary New York is a bottle of tapeworms trying to feed on each other"  to Rem Koohaus' "In Manhattan, surrealism is invisible".
I managed to  read this book before my last trip to New York. I regret this action,  because if I had saved it, I could have extended the inevitable imaginal  travel that takes place only when you have physically left a place behind.
I recommend this book highly, both as city guide of sorts and as a great  armchair trip.
1761278
When a Facebook acquaintance posted a recommendation of this book, claiming it to be an excellent and quick read, I had to give it a go. It contains 20 years worth (from 1949-1969) of letters of correspondence between spunky American author, Helen Hanff, and subdued British book seller, Frank Doel. When she learns of the store, she writes to ask that he track down a book, which leads to more (and more, and more) requests of titles that to modern day readers will probably range from very familiar to rather obscure. The neat thing is that she starts sending the book seller and his colleagues foodstuffs that are difficult to obtain in Britain at the time, as gifts, because of which, these persons begin corresponding with her as well. The part where she writes about wanting to visit reminded me of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but reading on showed the differences (and, in fairness, this book is nonfiction and preceded TGLPPPS). The end surprised me because in my obliviousness, I had not realized that it was a true story and I didn't think that an author would choose to end things in the way she did. And Im sure she wished they hadnt ended that way, but as they say, cest la vie. In summary, 84 Charing Cross Road is a neat, entertaining read that contains an intriguing and eclectic list of prospective books for the reader. Also good: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, TGLPPPS by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
4204219
One of the most enjoyable aspects to this collection of short stories is the variety of characters and locations depicted. The characters are from all walks of life from college professor to bellydancer, and each story is set in a different borough of New York City. Each of the short story authors is very familiar with their home turf, and half the pleasure of the book is recognizing neighborhoods you may have known. The plots are intriguing, too! I enjoyed this collection very much.
2705523
It has an array of characters,  I was unable to stop reading .  It b is about people North  of Here.
709760
All Around the Town by Phyllis McGinley takes us all over an anonymous, somewhat dark city-implicitly New York-making stops at each letter of the alphabet.  One might guess that K is for kindergarten and S for subway; but would one guess that C is for circus and H for horse? Not in a city of the nineties.  Still, thanks to the bright, impressionistic drawings-now watercolor, now charcoal-and its sweeping vistas of the city, the book is far from quaint.  Rather, it's beautiful and optimistic.  A small poem also accompanies each letter.  Sadly, the title is out of print, and libraries are apparently getting rid of their copies, as we've found two library discards in the last year.  Each had children's scribbles here and there-no surprise.  We highly recommend the book for people of all ages, but especially New Yorkers.
1904789
Snail Mail versus Email is a rare treat.  The book reads warmly and invites you to sit a spell as the story unfolds.  It follows the experiences and humorous reflections of a small town mail carrier during the post World War II era.  Before computers, electronic messaging and mail sorting machines, the men and women of the American Golden Age wrote, sorted and delivered mail with a neighbor's touch.

The pages walk you down the lane of the author's life, every stop along the way is a new story.  The author describes everything from dealing with attack dogs, outsmarting contriving supervisors, to dealing with politicians while he was working to reform the system.  And with the wit of a grandfather storyteller, he leaves the reader trying to decide which is worse!

While some might object that the book has little to do with Email, I think they're missing the point.  The book is about working people in the pre-electronic age.  I can't think of a grandparent or anyone with a grandparent who wouldn't enjoy Snail Mail.
549698
Bookseller George Sydney has always, when going down Hollywood Boulevard, liked to stop at Graumann's Chinese Theater. Once there, he places three pennies on the tile of actress Jean Harlow. The day comes when a mysterious girl notices his ritual, and George is immediately smitten. For days he seeks her out; all Sidney knows of the girl is 'I'm shy.'

  In the meantime, shopping for books, George discvers a volume of poetry written in 1968, whose author later committed suicide. Adding to its value is the poet's rarely seen signature.

  Finally, we meet a third character, a woman in her seventies, who seems to be watching George and the girl.

  Powers is a terrific storyteller, with an evocative style that quickly enfolds the reader. This story held a gothic feel for me. At its end, you are left wondering to whose soul the title is referring. Each day brings choices; we can only pray the ones we make do not cost more than the value of what is gained.

  JK Potter's illustrations are a perfect match for the novella. Potter is always superb.

  'He crouched beside Jean Harlow's square and carefuly laid one penny in each of the three round indentations below her incised signature,then wiped his wet fingers on his jacket. The coins wouldn't stay there long, but Sidney always put three fresh ones down whenever he walked past this block of Hollywood Boulevard.'
1323414
If you can recall the above saying, that's one indication that you will probably enjoy this book. I was born the same year as the author (1954)and, like him, I'm a native New Yorker. I also come from a similar ethnic background. It is true that good writing is, well, good writing...and this book is well-crafted. But if you are younger than 40 and don't come from an urban background you may not appreciate the short pieces that make up this collection. The events mostly take place in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx. I haven't lived in New York City for 30 years or so, so the book brought back some fond memories. Some of the themes are universal, such as parents not understanding their children, and vice-versa; sibling rivalry; etc. However, some of the pieces will appeal mostly to a niche audience: Mr. Greenberg writes quite a bit about the art of writing, observing people, the difficulties of getting published; ghostwriting and screenwriting, etc. The book can also be a bit of a downer. The author has held down some pretty dreary jobs over the years, and has lived in some depressing places, while trying to scratch out a living as a working writer. Again, this stuff may not be everyone's cup of tea. But I enjoyed Mr. Greenberg's introspection, his deadpan sense of humor, his dogged determination to keep writing despite many years with little or no success. and each of the pieces is a finely-polished gem. The reviewer for The New York Times Book Review said, "Imagine The Talk of the Town as if written by Dostoyevsky." Considering all the leftist politics the author was exposed to in his younger years, "Imagine The Talk of the Town as if written by Eugene Debs and Woody Guthrie" might be more appropriate. But the reference to that section of The New Yorker is quite helpful. Readers of that magazine, and of those short pieces in particular, will enjoy Mr. Greenberg's book.
814020
Rare for American cities, Portland, Oregon is widely loved by its inhabitants despite the fact that the city has so few of the typical tourist attractions other American cities can claim. One of Portland's finest novelists, Chuck Pahlaniuk, had the great idea of celebrating the weirdness of the city in a guide book that emphasizes what makes Portland so singular a city: its odd urban legends, its ghosts, its ever-increasing and especially its ever-present opportunities for seaminess and sex. What you get in the end is a very funny look at a very funky city, enlivened by Palahniuk's sober wittiness. The book does seem a bit of a rush-job in that it doesn't sustain a narrative as much as it could have: many of the ideas seem tossed together, and the work could have benefitted from more historical material (Portland's history is every bit as weird as its present). But nonetheless this is an inexpensive delight.
2308425
I enjoyed the quirkiness of "Motherless Brooklyn" and found this book even more of a pleasure. The bulk of the text deals with the 70s and evokes much of that era in terms of mood, race relations, and music. The book also captures the atmosphere of a gentrifying neighborhood and the world of offspring of self-conciously outre' parents. The book is strongest in dealing with Dylan & Mingus' younger years. The prison section proceeds oddly and the very end seems like a "tack-on" drawing on themes from Lethem's other writing. Ditto Robert Woolfolk's death and the lame set-up. For someone whose main character is a music writer, there are odd errors like attributing a Supremes classic to Gladys Knight & the Pips. Also, any place with a Bloomington, Indiana Rural Route is unlikely to be even close to the interstate and the Kinsey Institute's creepiness (a likely byproduct of Hoosier repressiveness) would have helped set-up the oddity of the mother winding up in a  southern Indiana commune (though such places existed). Bloomington hipsters are people too narrow and afraid to go some place like New York, and a Brooklyn kid would not have lasted very long there. Unlike other reviewers, I did not find the book particularly slow. Nor did I find it pretentious with regard to its subject matter. The book's lampoons of hipsters (of various stripes), self-indulgent parents, the insularity of Berkeley, the shallowness of music journalism, and the sliminess of real estate people are all on target. Yes, the last 40-50 pages could have re-written or even deleted, but the rest of the book is a great piece of fiction. It captures how difficult it can be to escape our past and how we can overcome the most problematic of attachments. In a very naturalistic way, it also describes the fragility of race relations and manages to make a proto-slacker into a likable protagaonist.
4189990
Like Russell T. Sharpe, I spent many of my formative years growing up on Crompton Avenue in East Greenwich. Naturally I was eager to read about what life was like for a boy residing there a half-century earlier. East Greenwich is well known for its wide-ranging collection of village characters, and Russells extended family contributed more than its share. The only one of them I can remember is his cousin of some degree or other, Ray Crompton, from a branch of the family for which the avenue was named.
When I was a kid Ray ran Sharpes Hardware (founded by Russells grandfather) and for years served as president of the Town Council. To me he was an old fogey, and I would have shaken my head in disbelief had I known his strange marital history that Russell reveals in this book. (Youll have to read the book yourself to find out what it was.)
Russell was a decent and responsible boy, but he had his share of fun. His mentioning an old summerhouse to which he retreated as a boy to think long thoughts and where he wrote a novel on some cheap pad of paper, brought to mind one of my favorite books as a kid  Penrod by Booth Tarkington. Tarkingtons protagonist, who lived in the identical period, was a middle-class boy much like Russell and he also had a secret retreat where he wrote a novel on a pad of paper. Maybe thats what boys did then.
The way of life among the Sharpes and their friends and family members was quite different from my own. We had no crystal and cut glass and sterling silver. And there were certainly no cooks, maids, or coachmen. However, everyone who lived on Crompton Avenue shared one thing, no matter what their social status or family income. When a train loudly rumbled by on the tracks paralleling the road, we had to stop conversing until it had passed.
This is a great memoir, not just for Townies, but for anyone interested in family life during the early twentieth century.
3661862
Kennedy's book, a collection of his NY Times columns was a fascinating read (although if you look closely on the cover, there are two discarded NY Times papers on the sidewalk--kudos to the Times for it's oh so subtle product placement).  I do not get to read Mr. Kennedy's columns as I don't subscribe to the Times or read it online enough.  However, I might well check out his column weekly from now on.  The book is a delight.  It is fascinating account of the hidden history of a city.  I think New Yorkers or ex-New Yorkers will love this book the most, but even as someone who ridden the subways as tourist, I can revel in his prose and tales.  It reminds a bit of Joe Gould.  Fine writing and his love the people shines through.
2789670
Being a long-time resident of Portland, Oregon, I know that there are plenty of quirky locations in the city.  Fugitives And Refugees by Chuck Palahniuk reminded me of that...

This is one of those strange little books that will probably only appeal to those who live (or have lived) in the city.  It's sort of a travel guide, personal diary, and social commentary of Palahnuik wrapped into a single small volume.  Each chapter that deals with locations or places to see is followed by a "postcard" from the past that relates a personal experience.  These are really bizarre stories, and you'll either really like them or wonder why they are even in the book.  The chapters on locations list such things as restaurants to see, the most haunted locations in Portland, and museums that are worth visiting.  Many of these sites are *not* five star locations you'll see in any other travel guide, like Wacky Willy's Surplus.  But it will send you down the path to the off-beat side of Portland.

The part I found most interesting is the chapter on the Shanghai Tunnels.  Portland was a notorious port in earlier days, and most of the bars and hotels at that time were connected to an underground tunnel system.  These tunnels were used to "shanghai", or abduct, people and smuggle them onto ships for forced labor.  There were also opium dens and other uses for these underground passages.  Over time they deteriorated, but there are now guided tours and efforts to restore them as part of Portland's past.

Is the book good?  It's got moments...  For me, it was more hit and miss, however...
4061927
This is an unusual, but very readable, book. The descriptions are fabulous, for example: the soothing music in back of each clattering noise like soft leather on a sharp wooden edge. and Ground heat sweltered over the flatness of the railyards, giving the rusty collection of abandoned freight cars a submerged appearance, like an aquarium shipwreck.

You will find many new names of plants and trees, all of which are correct. If you are not an American, you will need to know that VFW means Veterans of Foreign Wars, and is a sort of legion building.

Just to make you curious, this quote from Miss Mary McCloud: Like a snake that had lost all its venom and didn't know it, she hefted the weighty rod in the candlelight of her evening vigilance against the behatted men described to her in childhood by the ghostly grandfather, the one who died in the famous bordello fire near Whitman in 1929, leaving his husbandless daughter and her fatherless child in the tiny adobe house with only a Bible, a gun, and the worthless string of alabaster.

There are a few sly literary references, as in this: The Elsinore Cowboy said goodbye in April, a month no crueler than any other, which contradicts T. S. Eliot in The Waste Land. While it is not necessary to know about this reference, those who do will get an additional free chuckle. Nice writing.

Okay, you ask, what is this book really like? There are eleven short stories, each a great read in its own right. Each is preceded by a line drawing, and a paragraph or so of the regions history. None of this is anything like boring.

The book can be read as social commentary. This is hard to do, as each story carries the reader away. Many examples of natives each in their own form of exile, are presented. Everything takes place in or near a desert community at the edge of California. Characters in one short story appear again in another. There are some mysteries, as you won't be certain of what exactly is in Jonny Earth Tongues sack, or what happens to Dottie in a bizarre encounter.

Why five stars? My personal guidelines, when doing an official KBR review, are as follows: five stars means, roughly equal to best in genre. Rarely given. Four stars means, extremely good. Three stars means, definitely recommendable. I am a tough reviewer. This was good enough for me to reread it in its entirety, just for pleasure. Five stars it is, and highly recommended.

Kindle Book Review Team member.
(Note: this reviewer received a free copy of this book for an independent review. He is not associated with the author or Amazon.)