Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

5/5 stars

What's it about? On the Day of the Dead in 1938, former British consul Geoffrey Firmin embarks on the last bender of his life upon the return of his ex-wife Yvonne to their home in Quauhnahuac, Mexico. A masterpiece.

How’d I find it? The Lost Avenue Book Club picked this read.

Who will enjoy this book? For another book about someone’s last day alive, check out A Simple Man by Christopher Isherwood.

What stood out? Geoffrey’s hopeless self-destruction hangs over the novel as he drinks himself into oblivion to forget his personal grief and the world’s descent into violence, the specter of World War II already on the horizon. Among the many achievements of the book is its precision in place and time; this work could have no other title. Under the Volcano is rife with symbolism, the depth of which I only grasped after reading the letter, included in my edition, from Lowry to his publisher defending the manuscript’s structure and length. Lowry had a reason for everything: the number of chapters, the Joycean ride that is chapter 11, and even the opening of the book, which takes place a year after the story’s events.

Which line made me feel something? I wouldn’t dare rob you of the book’s prettiest passages, so I’ll focus on its humor instead. Take this quip from Geoffrey to a bartender: “I love hell. I can’t wait to get back there. In fact I’m running. I’m almost back there already.”

On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan

2/5 stars

How’d I find it? My quest for contemporary Portuguese literature continues! When I learned this was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, I put a hold on a copy from Multnomah County Library.

Why not 3 or more stars? In an isolated penal colony, the rules change when a warden loses his humanity. A book of few surprises in language or plot until the final pages, when a supernatural flourish vanishes as suddenly as it appears.

The Living and the Rest by José Eduardo Agualusa, translated by Daniel Hahn

2/5 stars

How’d I find it? In preparation for a trip to Portugal, I’ve been seeking out contemporary fiction in the language. I don’t remember how I became aware of this title, but I borrowed a copy from Multnomah County Library.

Why not 3 or more stars? Writers convene on the Ilha de Moçambique for a conference, then find themselves cut off from the rest of the world during a storm that seems to annihilate everything beyond the island. This strange, open-ended book embraces metafiction and thoughts on the creative process while navigating its apocalyptic subplot. While dreamy, its mysteries aren’t cohesive, and the disjointed ideas don’t quite add up to a satisfying read.

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

4/5 stars

What's it about? I can do no better than Steinbeck himself in the book’s opening line: “Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.” A snapshot of a neighborhood, its humanity, its dramas.

How’d I find it? This novel was part of the preparation for a family trip to Monterey. Yes, we made sure to walk past the building that inspired Doc’s lab. My particular copy came from Powell’s.

Who will enjoy this book? For another read that focuses on a single community and its lovable yet flawed inhabitants, try Local Souls by Allan Gurganus.

What stood out? I will never get over how deeply Steinbeck writes characters, how he depicts desperation and misery with a smirk. Cannery Row is as brilliant and vivid as any of his other work, but steeped in winsome levity. The frog hunt with Mack and the boys offers sure entertainment.

Which line made me feel something? Just imagine hosting Steinbeck: “These are not parties at all but acts and demonstrations, about as spontaneous as peristalsis and as interesting as its end product.”

Tilt by Emma Pattee

3/5 stars

What's it about? When the Big One hits Portland, Annie happens to be nine months pregnant and grumpily shopping in Ikea. As she makes her way across the destroyed city searching for her husband, Annie examines her life’s joys and disappointments and vows to make a change.

How’d I find it? A coworker recommended this local read, and I picked up a copy for our staff library.

Who will enjoy this book? I read in a review of this book that Death Valley by Melissa Broder is an excellent readalike. I agree.

What stood out? Who doesn’t love a disaster story? Following Annie during an earthquake through the city where I live made for an exciting read and sparked thought spirals about escape plans. Tilt is told through Annie addressing her unborn child, a choice that propels Annie’s personal reckoning amidst the horror around her.

Which line made me feel something? Reality TV in the zeitgeist always makes me feel something. Take the last text Annie gets from her mother: “Just tired now, gonna watch The Bachelor”. Story of my life.

My Murder by Katie Williams

3/5 stars

What's it about? Lou returns to her life as a mother, wife, and professional hugger, chosen to be resurrected as a clone after being murdered by serial killer Edward Early. As Lou struggles to connect with her life, she learns through a support group for Early’s victims that her murder may actually be unsolved.

How’d I find it? After enjoying Tell the Machine Goodnight so much, I had to pick up more of Williams’ books.

Who will enjoy this book? This had the feel of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones for adults. Or Black Mirror in novel form.

What stood out? The vaguely near future of My Murder contains novelties that are an apt setting for a government human replication program: real life avatars called “skins” that can disguise one’s identity, intensely real VR games (one that allows players to experience the murders or murdering, for example), self-driving vehicles. This reality is eerily close to ours, which makes the ethical implications of a society that continues to harm women all the more visceral.

Which line made me feel something? This bit of text from the chapter “Unhappiness:” “The fear was shapeless, so I gave it shapes. It was a lake, and I was under its water. It was a floor, and I was under its boards. It was a mouth, and I was under its tongue.”

An Apprenticeship or the Book of Pleasures by Clarice Lispector, translated by Stefan Tobler

3/5 stars

What's it about? Lóri, a reclusive teacher, undergoes a transformation to embrace life and love under the tutelage of philosophy professor Ulisses. An introspective, romantic awakening.

How’d I find it? I recently went to Portugal and have been amassing works originally written in Portuguese to keep the vacation going. This book was a recent pick by Catherine Lacey’s Irregular Book Club.

Who will enjoy this book? If you enjoyed the feel of The Lover by Marguerite Duras or the 2009 film An Education, you might like this one.

What stood out? This being my first taste of Lispector’s work, I admit that I struggled to spend so many pages in the company of tedious Lóri. She may be on a journey to find joy, but this reader was rooting for her to shed some gender binaries. Why are we listening to Ulisses? That said, the writing is outstanding, and I understand why people worship at the altar of Lispector. I shall try another!

Which line made me feel something? “The heart must present itself alone to the Nothing and alone beat out in silence its palpitations in the shadows. You can only sense your own heart in your ears. When it presents itself completely naked, it’s not even communication, it’s submission. For we were only made for the little silence, not for the silence of the stars.”

Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira

3/5 stars

What's it about? In this hybrid work of poetry, memoir, and gospel, Oliveira proffers a biblical retelling from the perspective of “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Let me tell you: Jesus is horny.

How’d I find it? The staff recommendations shelf at Powell’s strikes again!

Who will enjoy this book? Those who relished On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong will appreciate Dayspring’s sensuality and Oliveira’s way with language.

What stood out? Dayspring is an ambitious book, inventing its form as it spools out in fragments of existing texts, Bible verse, poems, and prose. The story follows no clear chronology, but that matters little—Dayspring deals in mysteries greater than time. Oliveira explores faith, fate, and identity in a gritty love story haunted by intolerance and violence. Our speaker moons over a charming and unabashedly queer Jesus character (whose dialogue is printed in a commanding red), knowing that his inevitable death makes a future impossible. The many sex scenes read real, though phrases like “god’s seed” and “your liquid communion” veer into corny territory. Oliveira includes no references to explain the many allusions to history, mythology, religion, and pop culture that pepper his pages. You get it or you don’t.

Which line made me feel something? “I know how horrible it is to have history notice you out of the corner of its eye”

Last Day by Domenica Ruta

2/5 stars

How’d I find it? I like an end of the world yarn, and Last Day seemed to fit the bill. I borrowed a copy from Multnomah County Library.

Why not 3 or more stars? A large cast of characters and rituals populate Ruta’s novel centered on the last Last Day, a global holiday on May 27th in which everyone celebrates the world possibly ending. Like an anthology film à la New Year’s Eve or Love Actually, this sweetly earnest story is stitched together with suspiciously convenient links between characters. And there are multiple shamrock tattoos.

Erasure by Percival Everett

4/5 stars

What's it about? Semi-successful writer Thelonious “Monk” Ellison angrily scrawls a parody of publishing’s taste for bestsellers simmered in racial stereotype—then watches in horror as his literary career starts to bloom. Meanwhile, family emergencies call him home to Washington, DC to tend to his aging mother.

How’d I find it? I rewatched American Fiction and wanted to read the source material.

Who will enjoy this book? If you like Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, give Erasure a try.

What stood out? Erasure is smart and satisfying, and keeps the reader chuckling as Everett tackles heavy subjects. Intercut into the story are snippets of Monk’s creative process: morsels of writing, lists, criticism. Everett walks the line between absurdity and profundity like it’s easy.

Which line made me feel something? Monk on his hobby: “But the wood, the feel of it, the smell of it, the weight of it. It was so much more real than words. The wood was so simple. Dammit, a table was a table was a table.”