My Revolutions by Hari Kunzru

I suppose that the times of our lives and the changes we witness can be a fascinating journey. Hari Kunzru was born in 1969, so his memories of the sixties would barely qualify as anything at all. It is a testament to his intense novelist powers that his tale "My Revolutions" seems to be drenched in authenticity. 

Of course, life with  my sixties were childhood in suburban Toronto, not hippie revolutionary activism in London, so I am very capable of being fooled.

I felt that "My Revolutions" suffered in many of the same ways that "The Impressionist", Kunzru's first novel did. He dazzles me when he flies from character to character, from place to place (or in "Gods without Men" from time to time) and captures so much with his writer's "eye".

"My Revolutions" has the time travel aspect, but the protagonist had authenticity aplenty and not much else.

The surrounding cast of characters never take hold. Our hero is bewitched at the start by a glimpse of his long lost love Anna. By the time he fully tracks her down the reader is more inclined to want her turned in for the reward money than see her in his arms once again.

So ends my Kunzru novels binge. I am pleased with the task completion and look forward to more Kunzru novels in the future. For now, I am happy to take a rest from him.

Perhaps it is due to Kunzru fatigue, but I award him only a single rejoice.

Transmission by Hari Kunzru

Transmission spans the globe, yet gives you glimpses into lives that resonate with the reader. This feat is enhanced  by Kunzru's unlikely cast choices of Bollywood starlet, young Indian hacker on a visa in the US, desperate English ad man and his Euro P.R. girlfriend. The great talent of Kunzru, imho, is to create these authentic characters with the scantiest of detail.  He then has them populate places that are hyper-authentic or rather his descriptions of their interactions bring both character and setting to life. Few novelists could have a fugitive stumbling around an outlet mall, ordering at Starbucks and buying sunglasses, and place these mundane moments at the height of their tale and make them legendary.

I decided to tackle the novels of Kunzru because I was so taken with "Gods without Men". "Transmission" has some of that magic, the fun a reader has when a novelist is a spell maker and is connecting together his cluttered, random elements both before your eyes or shifting magically offstage.

Should you be a fan of "Gods without Men" I strongly suggest that you will almost enjoy "Transmission" as much.

On my mystery scale I will give it a double rejoice.

The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru

It was my complete love of "Gods without Men" that lead me to explore the earlier novels of Mr. Kunzru. "The Impressionist" was interesting enough to read all the way through, but not quite satisfying. The protagonist might be meant to be a shape-shifter, but following through his adventures you feel that the connections that a person would have at their core go missing. I felt that the novel presented me with three main adventures and involved three different characters. Kunzru's strengths are prominent in this, his first novel. He is descriptive, without being flowery, and connects his characters creatively and thoughtfully to the deeper themes of the modern world. Kunzru weaves in racism, colonialism and imperialism, sexual identity and the class system. Kunzru is not a dull writer, although I felt that his main character became dull as the adventures wore on. I would think that looking back at a first novel , when your introduction to the writer was further in his development, puts the novelist at a disadvantage. If you have not read "Gods without Men", do so. This first novel is for hardcore collectors only...

I would give it a small rejoice and a small rant at the character who has a habit of forgetting his past. 

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Exquisite. A novel that is intricately plotted, but those intricate ways serve to illuminate the central tale by exploring its many facets. The parade of characters are wonderfully written. Sometimes it is not clear what role they play but McCann plays the role of both writer and director, shuffling folks on and off stage. This was the first novel of McCann's that I have read and I am eager to read more of him.

McCann is writing about the lives of New Yorkers on and around the day in August 1974 when Philippe Petit snuck a tightrope between the two World Trade Center towers and then walked between them. It is a moment of joy in the early days of the two buildings that go on to represent disaster, attack and horrible death in the world (9/11 plays no part in the novel). "Let the Great World Spin" does not glorify New York of 1974, instead it goes to the mean streets of The Bronx. Heroin and prostitution might as well be characters too considering the large parts they play.

If we understand the history of the World Trade Centre is one of hopeful to hopeless, this novel builds around people who largely have tales that go in the opposite direction. Of course the ones who fall from that arc will break your heart.

One quibble - it seemed as if too many pop culture references have been scrubbed from the story. Aside from two children watching Sesame Street and one character loving to attend the Metropolitan Opera, it seems a sterile environment. No Yankee scores, pretzels, bagels, pop music or fashion. 

On my still to be fully hashed out rating system, I give this novel quadruple rejoices (with half a rant).

Terrorist by John Updike (2006) purchased in 2013

I don't know what inspired me to purchase this novel. I had read a few Updike titles over the years and enjoyed them. He died in 2009 and I think I am guilty of neglecting him in recent years. Perhaps that should be recent decades. There was a recent review in The Globe and Mail of a new Updike biography that caught my eye. Sometimes I put obstacles between the impulse to buy a new book and reality. The reality in this case was that I had a few unread John Updike books gathering dust around the house, so read them first became my task. I am very glad that I did.

I was amazed that Updike was, if not "hip", very aware of modern life in post 9/11 America. He writes of Islam in the US, of the tension that the holy (of many faiths) feel when faced with the freedoms of the modern world. Updike explores tensions throughout the story. Urban renewal and decline is a current than runs through "Terrorist" as is the impact that patterns of immigration have had on modern USA.
So it is a believable plot thanks to Updike's willingness to make The Koran an important part of the tale. The characters were smartly written (with one exception, Beth Levy the librarian wife of the school teacher Jack). I would be interested to hear what the younger generations say about the teen aged characters. They appealed to me, but was that an old writer to an old reader bias?
I would not recommend the book to a fan of action titles, but it had a fair amount of tension and curiosity as the events built.


Updike loved America.  You detect it in his careful observations and detailed descriptions of old schools, decaying cityscapes and even steeples in this novel. I am inspired to read more. I figure two more titles and then I get to buy the biography.

I have yet to fully work out my rating system, but I am giving Terrorist a double rejoice.

Introduction

For a ranting rebel, my writing seems to seek routine.

I have been writing book reviews in a few places on the digital landscape. It seems like a good time to use the blog format to bring them together under one roof.

Stay tuned.