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Pagan Babies ::
In Pagan Babies we are given Father Terry Dunn as a hero. He is a “priest” and “missionary” (I use those words very loosely) working in Rwanda during the time of Tutsi massacre. He is horrified by what he sees, and he is inspired to help. He returns to the United States, and with the help of his brother, an ex-con-turned-standup-comedienne named Debbie, and a few other bumbling cohorts, he works to collect a big payoff from the mob , all in the name of his fund to save the orphans left to fend for themselves in Rwanda after the massacre.
It’s an interesting book really, and Elmore Leonard has this unique ability to write chapters that work like chunks of programming code, always serving the logic of the plot. But be careful when reading his stuff -- though the story is amazing, the characters are not, and you will be disappointed if you’re looking for some life-affirming tale of selflessness and hope. Which makes this a great book for a plane trip. Just be sure to finish it before you land, because it will stick with you.
Ender’s Game ::
Man. When you’re a boy genius, everyone wants a piece of you. Your peers hate you for being smarter than them, your teachers and parents don’t know what to do with you, and eventually the Powers That Be will want you working for them, fighting a war that you don’t even understand. If you were a “smart kid” growing up, you are probably familiar with at least a few of the conditions described above.OK, maybe not the whole government-coming-after-you thing that I described. In Orson Scott Card’s view of the future, conditions just get worse. Those friends become more violent in their hatered, the enemy is a race of aliens no one has ever seen before; not to mention the whole zero-gravity thing that has to be contended with. Ender, the book’s hero, has a lot to deal with before he even hits puberty. I wonder how he will handle high school.
The Future of History ::
This slim book contains a series of radio interviews Howard Zinn did with Alternative Radio founder/director David Barsamian. In it, all the issues Zinn is known for are addressed: the poor, the dispossessed, and the focus of the political, economic, and media powers that work tirelessly to silence their grievances. Though I get exhausted with Zinn’s tendency toward pedantry, as well as the circular conversations he has with himself while on the air, he is an enduring, important voice in American History, and this book is an excellent reminder that our lives are never as perfect as those in power would like us to think it is, and that it is the responsibility of all of us to rise above those lies and work for justice.
The New American Crisis ::
This book, based on the Open Magazine Pamphlet Series, was published in the mid-1990’s, and served as a counterpoint to the seemingly widely-held belief that the economic prosperity of that decade translated to well-being for all. In it, radical thinkers like Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, bell hooks, and Cornel West contribute essays that paint a very different picture of that decade: one of militarism, of jobs disappearing during a time of economic flux, of voter apathy, and of a two-party political system more interested in protecting corporate interests than in protecting ordinary people. Books like this are important, I think, especially in a time when it appears that because life is good for a few of us, it is good for all. Not only is the voice of dissent critical to our survival, it is critical that we all listen to it.
The Drowned World ::
There are many “literary” books out there that I am disappointed with when I read them. The are unprofound, simplistic, or just poorly written. On the other hand, there are some books sold as genre fiction that I think have some strong literary qualities to them. The Drowned World fits into the latter category. Using a dense, complicated writing style, Ballard tells Robert Kerans, who is fighting his way through London after solar radiation has caused Earth’s temperature to rise, the polar ice caps have to melt, and the city (as well as all others in the developed world) to flood. Jungles are everywhere, and any any attempt to live a “normal” life in what used to be a temperate climate, is thwarted by the burgeoning population of iguanas. While he is awake, Kerans is chased by criminals and military types who have shotguns and alligators at their disposal. When he sleeps, he is plagued by “genetic memories” of an all-consuming sun, of melting into the water that is everywhere. We learn that these memories are reawakened in all the characters as the Earth moves back into a new Triassic period. This is a story that is apocalyptic and bleak, and leaves the hero (and the reader) with but one choice: to fully embrace all of its misery be burned up by it.
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