EUROPE CENTRAL, by William T. Vollmann

Vollmann is an incredibly talented and broad-ranging writer, so much so that it's hard to pin down what his main genre might be. Many of his writings are a kind of dark fictionalized reportage with significant shock/disgust value, often exporing the eroticized underbelly of society, as in his books  Butterfly Tales and Atlas.It's interesting stuff but gets a bit tedious, in my opinion.  Vollmann also has a deep interest in history. In Europe Central, he creates a masterpiece of historical fiction that, despite running nearly 800 pages, is riveting and emotionally draining and awe-inspiringly beautiful at the same time. The story explores the pact of mutual destruction between Hitler and Stalin through and after WWII. The book drags us through the horror of the war and its aftermath in intimate fashion via a set of individuals who were caught up in the titanic struggle. The most recognizable of these protagonists is Dimitri Shostakovich, the Soviet composer. The effect of the book is unlike any other work of historical fiction I have encountered - it's vivid and emotional, painful and disturbing, and intimate despite its epic scope. Very worth the effort to get through.

Click here for a review of the book from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/books/review/03LECLAIR.html

CHINESE TAKEOUT by Arthur Nersesian

Chinese Takeout is the first book I read by Arthur Nersesian and I immediately felt attracted to the street wise, sardonic yet somehow upbeat feel of the book. The book is set in New York City at the turn of the millenium and is the story of a starving artist and his professional and romantic adventures. I've read two other books by Nersesian with similar themes, The Fuck Up, about an aspiring writer, and Unlubricated, about the NY theatre scene.  The books, all with similar settings, protagonists and plotlines, seem to be telling the same story - survival of the struggling artist in an absurd modern society. The stories get told in very compelling fashion - very humorous and ironic without ever being bitter. The loser protagonists stumble through life but remain true to something of themselves it seems. Very enjoyable books by a very good contemporary urban writer.

Click here for a review of the book by Publishers' Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-054882-7

LINT by Steve Aylett

Lint is a kookie, satirical fake biography of an imaginary sci-fi/pulp author named Jeff (or maybe Jack) Lint.. The book traces his life and writings, satirizing a number of well-known writers from the late 20th Century like Hunter S. Thompson, Philip K. Dick and Ken Kesey.  In true Aylett style, some of the most hilarious parts are aphorisms and non-sequiturs, book titles, pseudo-quotes and general silliness peppered generously throughout the book. It's tremendously entertaining and holds its own as a highly absurd dig at contemporary writers and writing. You'll get pages of quotable absurdities out of it. As one reviewer said, "it's hard to slog through a book where every sentence has a punchline but it's worth it in the end."  Very enjoyable.

Click here for a review of the book by CompleteReview: http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/ayletts/lint.htm

WAR WITH THE NEWTS, by Karel Capek

It's hard to believe that this extremely inventive work was written way back in 1936 by a Czech writer, Karel Capek, who is largely unknown in the US. The book is one in a series of resurrected forgotten works called Central European Classics, published by Penguin. War With the Newts is so outrageous and bizarre, and so fun and ironic, that it is more "postmodern" than a lot of typical postmodern works. Of course it can also be read as a kind of political allegory highlighting the absurdity of Czech and 30's world politics.  In fact, the overall characteristic of many of the Central European Classics is their love of irony and clever encoding of political satire - a necessity I guess given the history of the past 70 years in that part of the world. The book is a dystopian fantasy couched as a true history of the discovery and rise of an intelligent species of newts (yes, salamanders) that rise up and eventually battle with humans for domination of the earth! There are "newspaper articles" and scholarly citations, etc. to complete the effect, all the more absurd considering the subject matter of the story. It's a wonderful, clever, inventive and thought-provoking piece - a rare combination.

Click here for a review of the book from SFFWorld: http://www.sffworld.com/brevoff/790.html

FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE by Jonathan Lethem

I stumbled on Fortress of Solitude by accident and it made me a lifelong fan of Jonathan Lethem. It is without a doubt one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. It had a profound effect on me when I read it. It's the story of two friends, one black and one white, coming of age in an economically depressed environment in New York. It's an incredibly tragic tale but one told with great creativity. Parts of the book are positively magical realist in style. The title harkens to Superman's safe haven and superhero comicbook culture is a recurring theme and symbol in the book. It is indeed a transcendent experience reading this book - my favorite by Lethem among a number of great books by him. He is acknowledged to be one of the most gifted of contemporary novelists, and has a significant following. I highly recommend the book.

Click here to read a review of the book from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/books/when-dylan-met-mingus.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

LIKE WE CARE, by Tom Matthews

One of the more enjoyable books I've read recently, Like We Care is an ironic attack on the teen consumer culture we are all drowning in. The story is about an accidental teen hero who leads a nationwide boycott of an MTV-type product called R2Rev, with tragi-comic results. Captures teen angst and the whole cultural milieu very well.

Click here to read some review statements from Bancroft Press: http://www.bancroftpress.com/tmatthews_likewecare_praise.html

THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt

This is an interesting book - set in a small liberal arts college in Vermont USA. The narrator is a disaffected loner from California who gets involved with a small group of rich kids studying Classics (in particular, Greek). At first glance it doesn't seem like a very engaging scenario, but it turns out to be written in a compelling way. Although geeky or eccentric at first glance, the students end up being an interesting, oddball group who become involved in two murders. The story is slow-moving but I don't mean that as a criticism. It's not about the murders per se, as we know who did them, but rather about the psychological ramifications of guilt and the unravelling of the lives of those who are involved.

Click here to read a review of the book from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/04/books/books-of-the-times-students-indulging-in-course-of-destruction.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

A DEAD HAND by Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux is well known for his travel writings - I've read some of them and feel they're of uneven quality but some are quite entertaining. A Dead Hand is a novel, set in Calcutta. It is a mystery that unfolds slowly and interestingly. The story is narrated by a travel writer, Paul T's alterego I guess. In one scene, the narrator meets "Paul Theroux" and finds him obnoxious! A little silly I thought.  The story revolves around the narrator's  relationship with a mysterious American expatriate woman philanthropist and the discovery of a dead child's body in the hotel room of a friend of her son. Ultimately, like most good mystery stories, the mystery is solved in an unexpected way. The growth of self-awareness in the narrator keeps the story from being a completely conventional murder mystery.

Click here to read a review of the book from The Guardian: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/6508805/A-Dead-Hand-a-Crime-in-Calcutta-by-Paul-Theroux-review.html

Submarine, by Joe Dunthome

An enjoyable first novel by a young British author. Published in 2011. Set in Wales, it's a comically told coming of age story told by a 15 year-old male narrator. The story toggles between two plot elements - his early romantic/sexual experiences and his attempts to reconcile his 40-something parents who are undergoing marital stress. It reminds me in some ways of Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi in that both books have young male narrators and share the same two plots. In fact, one parent in each book is attracted to "hippie" or "new ager" elements that end up comically. Submarine is engaging and believable and very skillfully narrated, although I thought the ending a bit anti-climactic.

Click here to read a review of the book from The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/submarine-by-joe-dunthorne-778478.html