Oil!

Years and years ago I read Upton Sinclair's novel about the meat packing industry in Chicago called The Jungle. I loved that thick book. I also loved Oil! much more than I thought I would because it wasn't nearly as popular as The Jungle. I admire Upton Sinclair for his writing and also for his activism and his inspiration for us to uncover societal wrongs and do better. This book is about the Teapot Dome Scandal where money bribes to the cabinet of President Harding were made to keep money in oil business executives and to destroy the unions that protect oil workers. The Tea Pot Dome scandal is ranked right up there with the Watergate scandal. I liked the first chapter the best. The first chapter is written in the first person narrative while subsequent chapters are written in the third person narrative. The first chapter is about a little boy and his Dad. Bunny (James Arnold Ross, Jr.) is riding with his father (James Arnold Ross) across tarred roads in southern California on their way to a meeting. His father likes to ride at 50 miles per hour even when the speed limit is 30 miles per hour. His Dad shows Bunny how to avoid the speed traps. The story happens after 1900. The love between Bunny and his Dad is very evident. Bunny admires his businessman father. The father is rich and divorced. He has an older daughter who is a society girl, his mother (Bunny's grandmother), and his aunt to help him raise his children. Rather than Bunny going to school, Bunny accompanies Dad on all business. A tutor is hired to help Bunny with his studies between meetings.  When Bunny and his Dad arrive at the meeting in California, Bunny takes a seat on the windowsill while his father tries to convince a room full of landowners to sign a contract with his oil company so he can install oil derricks on their property. Bunny hears a voice of a boy names Paul through the window. Paul convinces Bunny to open the kitchen door so he can grab some food from his aunt who owns the house. Paul convinces Bunny that he will only take what is necessary and will pay his aunt back in the future. To me this sounded like a scam but it turns out that Paul is honest and true. This makes a huge impact on Bunny. As Bunny matures and finishes college, the contrast between Dad and Paul is evident. To his father's dismay Bunny chooses to admire Paul more than his father. As it turns out his father is part of the "good old boys" system of bribes and corruption. What a great story!  

 

 

The Best American Short Stories 2013

Elizabeth Strout is the editor of The Best American Short Stories 2013. One  of the stories, written by Junot Diaz, is one I had read before. I enjoy his writing. This story is called "Miss Lora." If Miss Lora was a real person she'd hopefully be arrested for child abuse because there is no way a high school teacher should be taking advantage of a student. Another story I read before was "Train" by Alice Munro. A veteran is on the train coming home when he impulsively decides not to return home by jumping off the train. In nearly every story there is someone who is broken. One of the stories I really liked was called "The Best Is Yet To Come." This is a story about a young farm wife in New England at the turn of the previous century. She is trying to get by after the death of their baby. She is inporportionately cheered by the visit of the farm wife at the next farm. There are a lot of great stories in this book.

 

 

Oryx And Crake

Oryx and Crake is a dystopian novel that the author, Margaret Atwood, describes as speculative fiction. I think she means a story like this could happen in the future. The story is about a boy named Jimmy. As an adult he is known as Snowman. One day his mother disappears and for years government officials repeatedly question him about her whereabouts. Jimmy lives with his Dad who is a scientist. In this society, each company builds living quarters for their employees to keep them safe and isolated from the crumbling world elsewhere. Jimmy is an average student. One day a new student named Glenn starts at his high school. Jimmy and Glenn spend much time together playing video games and smoking weed. On his extinction video game Glenn uses the handle Crake and Jimmy uses Snowman.  Glenn is a top notch student. After high school Jimmy gets into an art school where he learns how to write advertising. Glenn becomes a genetic pharmaceutical engineer. Later, after they are working for a few years,, Glenn asks Jimmy to help him write advertising for the new humanoid he has designed called Crakers. Things go wrong at this job and Snowman is left starving and barely surviving out of the compound in some trees next to the sea with some Crakers. Two more stories follow this one but I am going to have to pace myself. Maybe I will read one a year. This is an incredibly possible and sad story. 

 

The Book Of Records

 Madeleine Thien is the author of The Book Of Records. This book is speculative fiction. The main characters are Lina and her father who are waiting to migrate at a place next to the sea. They meet other travelers including a poet, a philosopher, and a scientist. Lina's father brought three books on their journey. The three people they meet are featured in the book "The Great Lives Of Voyagers." The three people lived in different centuries and in different parts of the world. The book is heavy with philosophy and, frankly, most of that went over my head. This was definitely not easy reading.  I am glad I read it on Libby because Libby has a feature where you can highlight a word you don't know and the definition comes up.

 

 

Florida

 Lauren Groff is the author of a book of short stories called Florida. All the stories are set in various parts of Florida, from the Everglades to the panhandle. Each story is different. Most of the stories mention snakes but panthers and alligators are also in some. Bad, crime ridden neighborhoods are mentioned in several stories accompanied by women plagued by insomnia who don't feel safe going out to walk or run at night. Most of the stories have bad storms. One has a hurricane. The writing is very precise which made for a captivating read.

 

 

Every Tom, Dick And Harry

 Eleanor Lipman is the author of the comedic novel called Every Tom, Dick, And Harry. In this story a young adult named Emma is taking over her parent's business so they can retire on the Atlantic coast, several hours away. Her parents helped clear out estates. They sold antiques and valuable pieces of art for a 40% commission. Now this is Emma's job. Plus she moved into their house. Her father was a teacher at the local school. He mentions that another teacher from the same school, a guy named Frank, needs a place to live after his wife died so Emma takes him in too.  Her new boarder turns out to be a super helpful house mate. He cooks. He cleans. He gives good advice.  Frank is great at advertising. Together Emma and Frank are succeeding at estate sales. In the book we learn about the other main characters in town such as the mayor, the chief of police, the chief of police's mother, Franks wife and step-daughters, and the owner of a large estate in a tony neighborhood. This large estate was a bed and breakfast on one level and a brothel on another letter. This book was very funny but slightly unbelievable.

 

 

 

 

Roof Walker

Susan Power is an author living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A couple of years ago I read her book The Grass Dancer. Now I read another book called Roof Walker. This book is about Native Americans living in Chicago for work because their reservation in North Dakota did not have many opportunities for employment. Many of the stories included native spiritual beliefs. Most of the stories mentioned the conflict between living in Chicago and living the native way. I liked the book because each story had a strong (get it done!) female character.