La primera de estas historias fue un monólogo de un hombre callejero. Al principio, es una historia muy graciosa, llena de slang mexicano mezclado con el espanglish de Tijuana. Al principio, el narrador me recordó a VÃtor, un personaje del programa "La Hora Pico", porque parece muy naco. Pero a medida que la historia progresa, se convierte en un retrato de un hombre que una vez amaba leer y que entendió la importancia de una familia. Tuvo sueños en esta ciudad que mata sueños para aquellos que no encuentran una ventaja.
La segunda historia no me interesó mucho. No tenÃa el lenguaje de la calle. Trataba de unos gringos en Tijuana, un asunto menos interesante. Pero como solo tenÃa cinco páginas, no afectó a mi calificación.
La tercera historia vuelve al lenguaje callejero tijuanense. Otra vez, tuve una visión de la vida de los barrios pobres de esta ciudad con tanta fama.
Ahora, voy directo a su otro libro, "Idos de la mente"...more
The Accident is the second Chris Pavone book that I felt that sad feeling that the book was ending and I would be saying goodbye to these characters. The Accident is the second Chris Pavone book that I felt that sad feeling that the book was ending and I would be saying goodbye to these characters. The characters are well-defined and fascinating to follow. They’re well-off and worldly, and Chris Pavone’s writing has that same level of sophistication. The characters are fun slices of educated people you might know from the office. Pavone describes the secondary and tertiary characters with some observations of their social status, and with petty annoyances, the type that would bother you about a co-worker.
As Chris Pavone says in an interview at the end of the book, “he Accident, is about ambition, and the permanent weight of decisions made in youth, and the ways we become people we didn’t intend to become.� The characters try to hide the types of people they’ve become, especially from those they’re most intimate with. ...more
This book begins as a mash of the shockingly perverse conditions George Orwell described in his Paris rooming house in Down and Out in Paris and LondoThis book begins as a mash of the shockingly perverse conditions George Orwell described in his Paris rooming house in Down and Out in Paris and London, an Apocalypse Now journey into the darkness of the soul, and plenty of James Bond action. Bourdain knows it’s childishly foolish, but who cares? After living his whole life as a chef, trying to pay the rent on time, this was his time to live the fantasy to its fullest.
Each chapter is a visit to a different country. He adds plenty of interesting tidbits, and then adds the experience of staying in these places. Bourdain often stayed in less-than-optimal conditions, and the few times he stayed at a good hotel, he’s grateful. And Bourdain’s specialty is seeing through it all to what’s good about a place, and coming up with a succinct philosophical point to end each chapter.
Anthony Bourdain was a celebrity chef like no other, shockingly honest and never looking to make money on merchandising. He traveled to both luxurious locations as well as places I would never go to, and those were the exciting chapters. The visits to London, Mexico, and San Francisco were much less interesting.
I love the writing style. It’s direct and honest, and he becomes a character in the book, like a traveling companion you wouldn’t mind having along for the insights and the laughs. This book goes on my “all-time favoritesâ€� shelf here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ....more
Right from the beginning, Walter Mosley shows how the main character, Joe King Oliver (“King�), once hit rock bottom. He lost his job, his family and Right from the beginning, Walter Mosley shows how the main character, Joe King Oliver (“King�), once hit rock bottom. He lost his job, his family and his freedom, and it brought out a dark side he didn't even know he had. Even worse, it all started with a compromising situation with a woman he was supposed to arrest.
You come across this kind of moral ambiguity throughout the book, making the characters feel like real people. We all do the wrong things sometimes. One mistake changed King’s life, testing his strength to rebuild his life. Not everyone has the strength to confront their mistakes. Many of the characters take the easier way out, remaining stuck in their ways.
The plot in Down the River Unto the Sea was hard to follow at times. Some characters and events seem random at first, but it clicks into place as you read. Little by little, it comes together. What's really interesting is how King deals with all these different people. Each of these characters, unintentionally, helps him figure out who he used to be and who he is now.
King's narration is thought-provoking and challenges our preconceptions of race. This book gives you a real taste of NYC life....more
Leonid McGill is a thug-turned-private detective with NYC street smarts gained from a life on the streets, making poor, unethical choices. But McGill�Leonid McGill is a thug-turned-private detective with NYC street smarts gained from a life on the streets, making poor, unethical choices. But McGill’s long-overdue conscience has put him on the right track.
His life is still a mess: a loveless marriage, he has three children (only one is his own), and constant struggles to pay the rent for his office in NYC’s historic Tesla building. But McGill doesn’t let these things worry him too much. He connects with Twill, one of the children who’s not his. Twill’s a smart, well-mannered teenager who seems destined for a life of crime.
McGill knows the city's criminal element intimately, from street hoodlums to corrupt cops, even checking the daily news for familiar names. His past keeps creeping back, though, trying to pull him back down.
The Long Fall is a lot of fun to read. It's an escape into a hidden side of New York City, even for someone familiar with its streets. The fact that he's flawed but striving to be better lets you forgive his past and root for him. the book has its flaws, though, most notably the frequent digressions and tangents that can sometimes disrupt the flow. This book is more about McGill than about the problems he’s trying to solve, so the digressions and tangents worked for me.
This is number one of six in the series of Leonid McGill books, and I put in a request for book two at my library....more
In The Murderess, Laurie Notaro’s historical fiction take on a horrifying murder, the author skillfully evokes a sense of time and place. The book begIn The Murderess, Laurie Notaro’s historical fiction take on a horrifying murder, the author skillfully evokes a sense of time and place. The book begins in the 1920s and continues into the Great Depression, and we get a sense of how difficult life could be, even before 1929, including for ordinary working people. The times are part of the story, economically and socially.
The Murderess paints a backstory of the people involved fitting them into the times they were living. What makes The Murderess intriguing is the way Notaro portrays Winnie Ruth Judd (known as Ruth). The headlines of the day painted Judd as a cold blooded murderer. Notaro makes her a complex and even sympathetic figure.
Laurie Notaro also effectively develops the characters of Ruth’s husband and the victims, weaving all these elements into a gripping story. If you like true crime, this is a compelling story. If you like historical fiction, too, you’ll find this book hard to put down....more
I would never read a book like Girls� Night Out, but I was on vacation in Tulum, the book’s setting. Ashley invites two friends to Tulum in with the iI would never read a book like Girls� Night Out, but I was on vacation in Tulum, the book’s setting. Ashley invites two friends to Tulum in with the intention of repairing a strained relationship with one of them. The authors masterfully integrate Tulum into the plot. They capture all the mystery and magic of Tulum, the Mayan ruins, the cenotes, and the Yucatán jungle perfectly woven into the plot. Ashley was lured by this beauty and mystery. For her, it was an escape from her tormented reality back home. Tulum has that effect on people.
But this book isn’t a book about Ashley, it’s about the intricate relationships between three longtime friends and their tangled lives. Their friendships are shrouded in complexity, and so are their marriages. The interplay between the characters feels authentic.
The plot spirals into an intensity and mystery that I won’t reveal in the review. The characters are haunted by their previous conversations. They second-guess everything as they run through a gamut of emotions. I was waking up early just to pick up from where I’d left off the night before. For a book I read only because of the setting, I’m finished it, ready to read more by these authors....more
This book is filled with complex underworld NYC characters. The protagonist Leonid McGill is a complicated mix of good and bad. It feels real. Here’s This book is filled with complex underworld NYC characters. The protagonist Leonid McGill is a complicated mix of good and bad. It feels real. Here’s a quote from Leonid McGill:
“There was a brief window of time where I might have been able to get back with Gert but I felt bad at what I’d done—even way back then when backstabbing was a way of life for me.�
As a NYer, this felt like a glimpse into some of the lives I see walking down the street. The plot is complicated (that’s the genre) but the characters are so good....more
Stephen King’s 1922 is a confession of a man’s life-changing decision as he gives in to his dark side. The father-son relationship is what left a heavStephen King’s 1922 is a confession of a man’s life-changing decision as he gives in to his dark side. The father-son relationship is what left a heavy impression. A chilling story.
This is a quick read, but it’s a story that stays with you a much longer time. Now it’s time to watch the Netflix version....more
I enjoyed Bridges of Madison County. I like the theme of the book: A few days can be the most memorable of your life� But The Bridges of Madison CountI enjoyed Bridges of Madison County. I like the theme of the book: A few days can be the most memorable of your life� But The Bridges of Madison County hardly stands out as a favorite, even among the only three Robert James Waller books that I’ve read. The other two were: 1. Border Music, and 2. Puerto Vallarta Squeeze.
Bridges of Madison County is a romance novel, with a very sad but touching ending. It will leave tears in your eyes, whether you’re that type or not. Still, the characters are so much less complex than the characters in Border Music....more
This is a book about escaping the absurd reality of the times you’re living in. It’s 1939, a time filled with hate. The hate had reached Mexico, too� This is a book about escaping the absurd reality of the times you’re living in. It’s 1939, a time filled with hate. The hate had reached Mexico, too� at least among the politically-charged sympathizers.
The Consul was in a small town in Mexico, an ocean away, and he couldn’t escape the hate of the world at that moment in time. He turned to alcohol to escape it, but you can’t escape the reality of the times you’re living in. The book’s description on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ says it nicely: â€� one man's constant struggle against the elemental forces that threaten to destroy him.â€�
There’s a little bio about Malcolm Lowry at the end. He and his wife also went to Mexico to escape social and professional pressures.
This book intrigued me, but it’s so full of despair, I guess I could have chosen a more uplifting book to start 2024....more
What fun descriptions in this book, especially when the police are interrogating Marlowe. Sure it’s dated, but it’s still fun to read. I love that it�What fun descriptions in this book, especially when the police are interrogating Marlowe. Sure it’s dated, but it’s still fun to read. I love that it’s set between San Diego and Mexico. Great story....more
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