Books I Read December 5th, 2022

Took about 3 years but I finally got smacked with the plague this week. I didn’t have the energy to read anything difficult, but I did manage to plow through some light stuff.

Trust by George V. Higgins – A shiftless ex-con gets over-clever trying to pay back a favor to the mob. It gets kind of into the weeds on the specifics of selling used cars but the final act is top notch.

The Jesus Cow by Michael Perry – A cow with the a birthmark of the face of Jesus is born in a small mid-western tow. Light satire ensues.  

Kennedy for the Defense by George V. Higgins – The misadventures of a street-wise middle-class middle-aged lawyer, loosely based presumably on the writer. I liked it less than the other stuff I’ve read by Higgins.  

The Pigeon by Patrick Suskind – The arrival of a pigeon in his apartment building throws an idiot into existential despair. It was OK.   

Monkey Sonatas by Orson Scott Card – A collection of wide-ranging shorts. Uneven and sentimental, but there were some effecting and odd ones likewise.  

The Digger's Game by George V. Higgins – A thuggish bar owner tries to pay back a gambling debt. Brutish, short and fun.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card – I wrote a glowing book report on Ender’s Game in the second grade, and more than thirty years on I can say it stands up. Though the essential conceit – ‘super-special child gets chosen to go to a super special school to save the species’ – remains the most dominant plot in y/a, never again was it done with such poise, thoughtfulness, and above all, brevity. Card’s prose is simple but entirely lucid, the sort of simplicity which speaks of technical talent. His world-building is deft and his characterization effective. Ender’s Game is one of those rare books which both succeeds on and subverts its story. Page to page it is great, pulpy fun to watch our sympathetic protagonist defeat a series of increasingly more terrible enemies – bullies, teachers, space aliens – while the undercutting themes of co-operation and acceptance are delivered without mawkishness or sanctimony.