69. Die Trying by Lee Child (3 stars) I’m not entirely sure why I keep returning to these kinds of books. I don’t know what “kind” of book it is, other than “airport fiction”. You know the kind; the mass market vaguely defined fiction that goes down easy without leaving much of an aftertaste. Easily digested and forgettable, these books cover the literary landscape without leaving any kind of quantifiable mark. They exist to sell books, and they sell books because they exist. I don’t […]
“They bred dogs for everything else…why didnt they breed them to live longer?”
Yet another post-apocalyptic novel set in the not too distant future. I know. It’s like every fifth book written these days is set during the end of humanity. I suppose that says something about the fatalism of America in a post 9/11, post-truth world. But this isn’t the Walking Dead. There isn’t a zombie in sight, in fact. The Dog Stars is more The Thin Red Line meets The Road. It’s a somber reflection of the end of the world, at times haunting and told in a lyrical […]
Beauty and Brutality in Equal Measure
Like The Dog Stars, which I adored, this book isn’t exactly what I expected. Heller tells the story of Jim Stegner, an artist whose star has been rising for years, but who can’t seem to shake the darkness around him. Coming from working class roots, Stegner came to painting in his twenties and he has had a well-earned reputation as a bit of a wild card—getting into fights, not suffering the fools of the art world graciously, and all that. As the novel opens, Stegner […]
The Road Less Bleak
One of my biggest fears is surviving an end-of-the-world catastrophe. It was recently pointed out to me that I’m worrying needlessly, that in the event of a zombie apocalypse, it’s unlikely I’d survive past the first wave. Probably that’s an accurate statement. I don’t do well without air conditioning or diet Coke. But if I did survive, I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad if I got to live at the airport with Hig and Bangley. Mostly because while Bangley scares the ever-loving daylights out […]