Tagged: book review

Sun Tzu Was a Sissy

Sun Tzu Was a Sissy: Conquer Your Enemies, Promote Your Friends, and Wage the Real Art of War by Stanley Bing, 2/5

This is the kind of barely entertaining, slightly offensive rubbish that makes me marvel at the publishing standards of our age.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, 5/5

This novel is about the life of the diminutive, brilliant, earnest, prophetic, strangely-voiced, otherworldly Owen Meany, as seen through the eyes of his best friend.  Reading this book was the most surprising literary experience I’ve had since enjoying War and Peace.  I got it out of the library at the same time as The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and unreasonably expected it to be similarly horrid.  However, unlike most modern authors I’ve experienced, Irving didn’t waste my time and leave me feeling dirty and insulted.  The writing was so good, the characters so strangely believable, and the situations so oddly beautiful that the whole endeavor seemed inspired.

Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective

Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie, 3/5

A collection of reasonably entertaining short stories.

The Power of One

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, 3/5

After an unpromising start (mostly consisting of a five-year-old boy thinking about his penis), this book presented a fairly interesting middle section before fizzling out with an anti-climatic, disappointingly shallow ending.  Music played a large part in the story, so it was annoying that Courtenay didn’t bother to to have a knowledgeable proof-reader fix some of the blatantly incorrect, laughably ignorant things he wrote on the topic.  This lack of skill made me doubt his credibility on other aspects of the story, such as boxing and South African history/politics.  I could see some people enjoying the book, but I found it off-putting and ultimately, disappointing.

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, 4/5

These two short novels provide much cause for hilarity, presenting rambling anecdotes in a charming, homely style.  There isn’t much character development or plot, but Jerome’s wit is consistent and contagious.

The Wit & Wisdom of the Founding Fathers

The Wit & Wisdom of the Founding Fathers edited by Paul M. Zall, 2/5

This unsubstantial book is mostly composed of selections from previously published works (some even by the same editor).  A considerable number of the “quotes” are actually anecdotes about the founding fathers, not by them.  Many other quotes are actually just the founding fathers rephrasing other people’s stories and sayings.  This small book is a low-quality money-making enterprise of the gift shop variety.

To Say Nothing of the Dog

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, 3/5

This is written in a charming style, reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse and Jasper Fforde, but by the end, plot issues left me wondering what the point was.

The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce

The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce, compiled by Ernest Jerome Hopkins, 3/5

In this compilation, Bierce’s stories have been roughly categorized into horror, war and tall tales, though there is some overlap.  I feel that the horror stories are decent, but inferior to the work of H.P. Lovecraft (admittedly the only other horror writer I know), being less imaginative and more cliched.  I liked best “The Applicant” and “The Man and the Snake.”  The war stories were more original and interesting, which is not surprising, since Bierce had first-hand experience fighting in the Civil War.  My favorites were “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” “A Horseman in the Sky” and “Three and One are One.”  It was in his tall tales that the bitter sarcasm for which Bierce is so famous really shone.  Of these, “The Captain of the ‘Camel'” and “The Man Overboard” are perhaps the wittiest, jam-packed with the clever humor that is scattered, one sentence at a time, through the rest of the stories.

Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts, 4/5

This book took me completely by surprise.  I expected it to be a dry and boring account of some sort of exploration expedition.  It turned out to be an extremely well-written, engrossing historical fiction about the exploits of Robert Rogers, leader of Rogers’ Rangers, told through the eyes of artist Langdon Towne.  The novel is divided into two parts and I was disappointed to find that Book II did not demonstrate the same wit and unstrained style as Book I (if it had, I would have given the novel 5/5).

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun: The Untold Story by Thomas Hoving, 3/5

Hoving presents an entertaining, if sometimes tedious, expose of the conflict, drama, lies and secrecy surrounding the discovery and exploration of King Tut’s tomb.