Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

As a rabid Chuck Palahniuk fan, famous author of the cult classic Fight Club boy was  I tickled to get Pygmy  and start it. As I read the first page, my first response was WTF Chuck?!? Another gimmicky style?  Are you trying to drive off readers or just bend our minds?  

Rant and Snuff weren't enough to tickle your creative fancy? The book is written as if it is a first person account of a person whose primary language isn't English, but the account is written in English. For example, flowers are called "plant genitals." 

I almost quit the book, but I kept on, and I finally adapted to the writing style. The story is about Pygmy and his comrades, who were taken from their parents at a very young age and made into weapons of "the state." We never find out which country--Palahniuk does this on purpose--the country who wants to destroy the USA is a composition of what could be many other countries. Anyway, Pygmy and his comrades all enter the USA as foreign exchange students, with their goal to inflict "Operation Havoc."

I really did enjoy the story, even as distracted as I was by the writing. I really wish Ole Chuck would just weave us a few good novels without the gimmicks. He's a great writer, has a huge base and doesn't need to "play." Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe his gimmicks are forever sealing his fate as one of the greatest contemporary writers of our time.

*Note-after having time to stew over this novel, and looking back at how difficult it must have been to write it, I see it in a different light--Palahniuk is a genius.  I rate this one 4 blooms!


Disclosure:  This book was purchased by me and I received no compensation for this review.

Dazed and Confused: Yes We Were

So last night I was flipping through the channels, in my insomniac daze, and what do I happen upon but the movie Dazed and Confused  Released in 1993, this movie is the ultimate "flashback to my teens" movie for my generation.  The movie is set in Texas, in 1976, on the last day of school before summer vacation.  Brought tears to my eyes, remembering the keggers, the smoke, the hot guys in those pants....why can't those pants come back?  But I digress.  If you get a chance, see this movie.  It rocks, literally. I should know, I own the soundtrack

Did I mention it has Matthew McConaughey in tight pants?

 

Okay he was a little creepy in this particular movie--remember his famous line?

"about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age"

Now just because *I* was a teen in the late 70's & early 80's doesn't mean I'm not aware of similar movies of different decades--all facilitating the memories of youth misspent.  How about
American Grafitti for the 60's crowd, The Breakfast Club  & St. Elmo's Fire for the 80's clubbers and Varsity Blues for those babies who were teens in the 90s?  All great movies.  I'm sure I've overlooked some of your favorites--feel free to set me straight in the comments section!

Disclosure:  I was not given compensation for this post nor was I given any of the DVDs listed in this post.

What Would Susie Say? by Susie Essman

What Would Susie Say?: Bullsh*t Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedy

I've been a fan of Larry David's show Curb Your Enthusiasm for a long time, and one of the reasons that I love the show is because of the character Susie Essman plays.  I saw Susie on Joy Behar's show and she claims she isn't at all like her character, but she did enjoy yelling at her TV husband.  After hearing her talk I had to read her book, so I did.

I really like Susie Essman's frank and explicit way she expresses herself. I love the fact that she's not afraid to be herself and express herself in her own way, even if that way sometimes resembles some rough language. She also exposes a softer side, especially when she's talking about her new husband and his children. It isn't hard to believe that she got her start in comedy--she's a funny lady.

If you are a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll love this book. Essman writes in a conversational style that is a very quick read.  4 Blossoms!

Disclosure: No compensation was given for this post.  I bought the book.

Freebie Friday Book Giveaway: Entertaining Disasters

Entertaining Disasters: A Novel (With Recipes)

Today I'm offering up the advanced reader's copy of Nancy Spiller's Entertaining Disasters. I read and reviewed this book for Elle Magazine for January 2009. My review for this book wasn't chosed for publication (my review for Sky Below was chosen, however) but you can see the review in a previous post in this blog. Just click the label for Nancy Spiller ;)

Here's how to enter to win-

• Post a comment here (be sure I can contact you to let you know you won),
• Comment on my Twitter,
• Tweet with this phrase "Win Entertaining Disasters at Reviewgarden.blogspot.com
• Link to my blog on your blog, Facebook, or message board.

You'll have to send me an email to let me know that you've linked to the blog. Each link and comment will count as one entry. Next Friday I will enter each entry in a random generator app and the winner will be chosen. Results will be posted on here and on Twitter on Saturday. Once I have the winner's address, I'll send the book on to its new home!

Good luck!
Lily
EDITED TO ADD: CONGRATULATIONS TO KATHY!  ENJOY THE BOOK!

Freebie Friday Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to WingsPawsNMagick, our winner of the anthology Frenzy: 60 Stories of Sudden Sex. Thanks to everyone who entered! Better Luck next time!

Sky Below by Stacey E'Rasmo

Sky Below by Stacey E'Rasmo
Book Description:  At thirty-seven, Gabriel Collins works halfheartedly as an obituary writer at a fading newspaper in lower Manhattan, which, since 9/11, feels like a city of the dead. This once dreamy and appealing boy has turned from a rebellious adolescent to an adult who trades in petty crimes.His wealthy, older boyfriend is indulgent of him to a point. But after a brush with his own mortality, Gabriel must flee to Mexico in order to put himself back together. By novel's end, we know all of Gabriel's ratty little secrets, but by dint of D'Erasmo's spectacular writing, we exult in the story of an imperfect man who was tested by a world that is often too much for him and rises to meet the challenge.

Lily's Thoughts- (As published in Elle Magazine, January 2009)
Rich in details, sentences spun as expertly as an artist's brush renders a masterpiece, this novel is a tale for the connoisseur of words. We live Gabriel life along side him; the painful departure of his father and subsequent loss of the mother he remembers as being so creative and attendant, who now must fend for him and his older sister. We endure his long wait for life to begin, for his coming of age that never materializes the way he expects it will. We hold witness to the thin line between reality and fantasy, sometimes unable to distinguish the differences. Gabriel, long into adulthood, holds onto an idea of the past, a world he's created in his mind, a world he can never seem to grasp, even as his moves mindless through real life situations and relationships. To me, more than anything, this novel explores the question "If you think something is true, does that make it real?"  I give this one 4 blooms.

Disclosure:  This book was given to me by Elle Magazine in exchange for a review.

Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story by Laurie Lindeen

Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story by Laurie Lindeen

Book description-

In the years between the meteoric launch of Madonna and Courtney Love, Petal Pusher takes readers on a thrilling journey across rock-and-roll—from the big haired 1980s to the grunge-filled 1990s—when Laurie Lindeen brought her all-girl band Zuzu’s Petals to compete in the indie rock arena.
Minneapolis in the eighties was a musical hotbed, the land of 10,000 lakes and 10,000 bands that gave birth to Prince, the Replacements, and Soul Asylum. For Laurie Lindeen it was the perfect place to launch her rock-and-roll dream. She moved to the city with best friends Phyll (“Annie Oakley meets Patsy Cline”) and Coleen (“former cheerleader gone off the arty deep end”) to crash in decrepit apartments and coax punk rock from crappy used guitars.

Lily's Thoughts- (as posted in Elle Magazine, August 2007)

Choppy and sometimes incoherent, Laurie Lindeen recounts her story of the turbulent beginnings of her Minneapolis all girl rock and roll band, Zuzu's Petals. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll is the anthem screamed by Lindeen's book, regardless of Lindeen's own lack of confidence and obligatory 1980's angst.. There is no doubt, You, the reader, are along on this journey--the good, the bad, the frequently ugly and incomprehensible. Sometimes juvenile, always brutally honest, the story evolves and grows up, finally, leaving the reader with a sense of relief that Lindeen, finally, is at peace with her past and ready to face the future with her head held up high.  3 blooms for this one.

Disclosure:  This book was given to me by Elle Magazine in return for a review.

My Biplar Road Trip in 4-D by Lizzie Simon

Book Description-

Detour is the extraordinary first book by Lizzie Simon, a twenty-three-year-old woman with bipolar disorder. We meet her as she is set to abandon her successful career as a theatrical producer in New York City, with plans to hit the road and find other bipolars like herself -- young, ambitious, opinionated, and truth-seeking. Her goal: to speak with them candidly without judgment, fear, or the slightest trace of anything clinical or jargon-laden. She wants their stories in their words. Detour : My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D

Lily's Thoughts--

Lizzie Simon, a diagnosed bipolar, decides to take leave from her job and drive around the country looking for her "herd," people like her, who, because of a defining moment, were diagnosed manic depressive, but, despite the difficulties, were successful and living life to the fullest. What she discovered was that people with bipolar are complex and at times, very hard to define and that success sometimes is just being able to wake up and say "Hey, I'm alive." A quick, powerful read. Highly recommended 4 blooms.

Disclosure:  No compensation was provided for this post.  I bought the book.

Any Given Doomsday (Phoenix Chronicles, Bk 1) by Lori Handeland

Any Given Doomsday (The Phoenix Chronicles, Book 1)

Any Given Doomsday (Phoenix Chronices, Bk 1)
by Lori Handeland.

Book Description-

Elizabeth Phoenix once used her unique skills as a psychic to help in the Milwaukee Police Department's fight against injustice. But when Liz's foster mother is found viciously murdered—and Liz is discovered unconscious at the scene—her only memory of the crime comes in the form of terrifying dreams...of creatures more horrific than anything Liz has seen in real life. What do these visions mean? And what in the world do they have to do with her former lover, Jimmy Sanducci?

Lily's Thoughts-

Almost condemning Any Given Doomsday from the beginning, I decided to plod on through and eventually found myself enjoying this somewhat of a paranormal romance meets Buffy the Vampire Killer story. Liz Phoenix, a feisty psychic orphan, is destined to be the savior of the earth. With the help of DKs, or Demon Killers, she must lead the battle between good vs. evil. I found this a rather ambitious goal of the author and, although there are entertaining aspects of the novel, I feel that, for the first book of this series, Handeland falls short. The first 1/3 of the novel was choppy, almost incoherent. The second third was better, but was riddled with flat circular dialogue that seems to just be a filler. The last third was where the meat of the story lay. Handeland has the bare bones started for a great series. Let's hope the next book does a better job at entertaining.

3 Blooms

Disclosure:  This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for a review.

Guest Review: Black Baby, White Hands: A View From the Crib

Black Baby White Hands: A View from the CribHello everyone! We have a special guest reviewer today, Sherrie, a good friend that I met through a group we both love! She lives in Texas and is a foster and adopted mother. I'm very proud to call her my friend and happy that she has decided to share a bit of her life with us in this review.

Black Baby, White Hands: A View From the Crib by Dr. Jaiya John, Soul Water Rising, publisher


Sherrie's Thoughts:

I don't know if it was necessarily my favorite book I've read in the last year, but is sure has stayed with me the longest. It's called Black Baby White Hands: A View from the Crib by Dr. Jaiya John

Admittedly, it was a very difficult read for me. When I decided to adopt transracially and as a single parent, I didn't do so lightly. I wanted to read everything written, look at the subject from all sides and go into it with my eyes wide open. I didn't get this particular book until last year as it was on my wish list for a while and honestly, wasn't one that I thought to go out and buy. Boy, I sure wish I would have.

I read TONS of books by adoption professionals, therapists, social workers , adoptive parents, children's books regarding adoption and "non-traditional" families, but truthfully there aren't very many written by adult adoptees especially those adopted transracially or by single parents from from foster care (maybe I should write one heh?? LOL)

Anyway, Dr. John is obviously very well spoken and possesses a gift of the English language - beautiful prose throughout the book. Initially, it was very hard for me to get through the book as Dr John kept pointing out all of the things he had wished his parents had done or not done or did differently, etc, etc. I kept identifying with the adoptive parent (s) and quite frankly vacillated between finding myself lacking as a parent or Dr. John unappreciative and unsympathetic to his parent's journey into transracial parenting with absolutely no map.

However, toward the end of the book, it was obvious that he greatly loved his parents and that things were okay.

It was only after I had read the entire book, and was able to reflect that I was able to take from the book that it was HIS story, not the story of his parent's journey as transracial parents, but a story of a black boy raised in a white home, with white parents living in a (mostly) white community - his feelings of isolation, lack of identity and struggle to find himself. I guess what this book has helped me realize is - until the world is truly color blind, I won't raise my son to be.

I'm not going to raise him wearing rose-colored glasses about the world and the people around him. I'd be doing him a disservice if I did. My son is black and I want him to know that and be proud of it. That's part of who he is.

One of my biggest peeves, is when people tell me that oh, I bet you don't even notice that he's black, he's just your son. That is absolutely not true. Being black is part of who is he, I don't love him regardless of whether or not he is black, one of the many reasons that I love him because he is black.

Speaking of adoption and foster care , of the 19 children that I've fostered, 18 have been children of color. Of those 18 , 9 have been African American. I feel it truly is my calling to foster and adopt African American Children most especially males. They are the hardest to place and to get adopted. For me this is an intently personal issue - and I hope one that resonates for all of those fortunate enough to read this book.