The Man Who Forgot How to Read: A Memoir by Howard Engel is not a literary masterpiece but it is a masterful work. Howard Engel, author of the Benny Cooperman detective novels, woke up one day and discovered that he could not read the newspaper. Not the newspaper, books, street signs, any written text. In the night he suffered a stroke that affected the part of his brain responsible for reading. He could write but could not read.
The Man Who Forgot How to Read is Engel’s story of his struggle to regain reading, from the day of the stroke to the day of the manuscript completion that is this memoir. I say it isn’t a literary masterpiece because compared to something like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ memoirs, this is plain writing. It’s not literary writing that flows into the memoir. It’s the straightforward story of a man who lost a significant part of his identity over night. An author who cannot read.
I do think it is a masterful work regardless. The incredible journey Engel takes in order to read and write and complete not just this manuscript but a new Benny Cooperman novel is worth recognition. Oliver Sacks, who writes the afterword, thinks it’s remarkable as well.
The Man Who Forgot How to Read by Howard Engel is published by Harper Collins Canada. Check out their website for more details on the book.
I have been remiss in my duties.
SoMisguided is my external brain. I like to post things here about clever online marketing campaigns and the book business but the first part of the year has totally had it’s way with me.
If you have a clever online campaign or if you’ve seen one your really liked, please let me know what I’ve missed. In turn, I promise to pay attention.
Here are 2 big ones I failed to write about in a timely fashion.
Penguin UK, We Tell Stories, http://www.wetellstories.co.uk
Penguin has a fantastic story generator on their website. Fairy tales and other works are revealed based on user input. I love it, really fun idea.
Harper Collins Canada March Mystery Madness
6 weeks, 64 books, 4 conferences, tonnes of “games,” and 1 winner. Deanna from Harper says, “essentially, it’s the NCAA basketball tournament only with mystery books.” A perfect description. I’ve totally missed on this one, but I understand there are 2 books left and you can still vote for your favourites in the poll here: http://www.harpercollins.ca/marchmysterymadness/poll.html
One person wins 64 books.
Know about a clever online marketing campaign involving books? Let me know.
I’m claiming this as a 2007 read although I did save 20 pages for this morning. What a great book.
In 2003 Gruen was working on another book when the Chicago Tribune ran an article on Edward J. Kelty, an American photographer who followed travelling circuses in the 1920s and 30s. She did a bunch of research on train circuses of the times and came up with Water for Elephants.
The premise of the story is that a young Jacob Jankowski, under extreme duress due to the accidental death of his parents, flees his veterinary exams and jumps on a train. The train ends up being the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob spends 3 months on the circus as the vet, falls in love with his boss’s wife, acquires an elephant and almost gets thrown from the train several times.
The story is as fun as going to the circus.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is published by Harper Collins Canada.
I first heard about Ann Patchett from my friend Jennifer who adored Patchett’s novel Bel Canto. I’ve never read the book but I feel that I intimately know the story and I’ve been anxious to read Patchett ever since.
Today I finished Ann Patchett’s latest novel Run.
Run is stellar. And Ann Patchett is an author whose backlist I’m now going to seek out. In particular I want to read The Magician’s Assistant.
But back to Run. This is a beautiful book. The structure is an example of fine writing. Although the story follows chronological order there are nice loops back to the present. At no time do you feel like you know the whole story or where it’s going to go.
What’s the premise of the Run?
Bernadette Doyle is a loving mother who wishes to have more children and cannot. She and her husband adopt a black boy and a short time later they are contacted by the agency asking if they would take the older sibling. The birth mother wishes the boys be raised together. So Tip and Teddy join Mayor Doyle, Bernadette and Sullivan. Sadly Bernadette dies early of cancer, leaving the boys to grow up without their mother. The story picks up again when the boys are in university and one gets hit by a car.
Run is well constructed, the characters are interesting, and the dynamics between the characters are a powerful representation of the alliances and enemies that form in all families.
I first heard about this book when I stumbled across the book trailer for Run on Facebook.
I’m not a fan of most book trailers but I did like this one from Harper Collins. I liked that it used images and quotes from the book to convey the story. I also liked the simple piano soundtrack.
Watching the book trailer now, it’s even more powerful because the images make more sense and I can attribute the quotes to certain characters.
Watch the trailer.
Run by Ann Patchett (Harper Collins Canada) is definitely a top 10 book for the year.
Canadian blogger ... that’s me, Monique Trottier. Here in Vancouver. I review books.
Yah right, where and when you might ask?
Well, I’ve fallen behind recently. I like to post an individual review for each book, but I’m desperate so here’s the quick roundup.
Town House by Tish Cohen
Very funny. Jack is afraid to leave the house. Clinically. This is a novel about the madcap adventures of Jack Madigan, son of legendary rock legend Bas Madigan. It’s quirky. I really liked it. Please have a look at this book.
Falling Sideways by Tom Holt
My first science fiction read. Ok, maybe not the first but the first I remember. David Perkins is the victim of a well-orchestrated scheme to let clones and frogs control the Earth. That’s not entirely accurate but I have 3 minutes before my flight. This was a good book too. Really well written. Not sure if I’m a fan of sci-fi yet, but if it’s all like this, I’ll try it.
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill
If you pick any title in this list to investigate further, sorry no links, then pick this one. Baby is the main character. We follow her from childhood to older childhood. I truly believe that we use stories to make sense of the world. Baby tells herself pretty incredible stories to try to understand her druggie father, her missing mother, her attraction to the wrong sorts of men, the screwed up system of Child and Family Services. Heather has created a strong and confident voice in this character. As a novel it does all sorts of things right. For good or bad, it reminds me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Strange characters, a look inside those characters’ minds, great writing, a bit of soul searching and strong narrative. 5 starts for sure.
The Big Moo by Seth Godin
One-page case studies and inspirational stories from 33 experts and thought wizards. I really enjoyed this book too. It’s business but inspirational business. I think it will sit on my shelf for years to come and will be pulled off frequently. It’s one of those reads that will mean different things to you at different times. Even if you’re not self-employed, if you’re interested in company structures, organizational behaviour and big ideas, have a read.
Many, many apologies for the lack of links but I know you can all Google and Amazon. I’ll fill in the blanks later. Also no spell check so the editors in the crowd, maybe skip this post, or read lightly.
Cheers and now I’m off to Banff for a wedding.
Exit stage left. Zing!
I came across Claire Cameron’s The Line Painter in the HarperCollins Canada Facebook group.
See Facebook is good for something other than finding your elementary school detention partner.
The Line Painter is not a book I would typically pick up. It looks like a thriller. I suppose the quote from Andrew Pyper on the front should have been the clue that it was more literary than it looks. But I judge by the cover.
Anyway, The Line Painter is about dippy-canoe Carrie running away from home. Seems I only read books about run-aways these days. Carrie is an adult running away. Her boyfriend has been killing in an accident. The accident happens moments after they have a huge fight. She’s a little torn by what’s happened and feels lost in her world.
Carrie is unhappy to start with. She doesn’t know where her relationship is going, she doesn’t know where she’s going. Life is hard, confusing, and really not rewarding.
The road trip is meant to take her mind off her sucky life. The problem is the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and the knight in shining armour is a psycho-looking guy who’s painting the highway lines at 20 km per hour. This rescue vehicle is less than flashy, although it does have flashy lights.
The thing that killed me about this book is the suspense. I kept waiting for the line painter to do her in. There are a couple of bears and other shady characters who I thought might get her too, but I really had my money on the crazy, alcoholic line painter.
I’m not going to tell you if I won that bet because I don’t want to ruin your life.
If you’re looking for a fast summer read, and something to make you feel a little creepy-crawlie, pick up Claire Cameron’s The Line Painter.
The stories we tell ourselves and others is how we make sense of the world.
In searching for who said the above quote I came across, “Stories are the most important thing in the world. Without stories, we wouldn’t be human beings at all” (Philip Pullman).
I was searching for the origins of these quotes in reference to Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods. Gaiman has written a book of stories, myths and legends that collide and at times are at war.
American Gods are the gods who have come to America in the minds of its immigrants. Odin, Easter, Ganesh, Anansi. The ancient gods are the left to their own devices, poised to disappeared as they are pushed out by America’s newest gods. The ones we make sacrifices to daily: TV, big cars, the internet, warfare in the name of liberty, the pursuit of happiness.
Both worlds become Shadow’s world. Shadow, who did time for assaulting his bank-robbing partners for cheating him of his share of the proceeds, who is hired by Wednesday to rally the old gods against the new, and Shadow, who represents our look into the shadows. Gaiman asks us to take a closer look at the things that sometimes catch the corner of our eye. The things that we hope not to be true, but deeply believe to exist.
As our protagonist, it is Shadow’s job to make sense of this world. To tell the story. To sort things out. To know under which cup the nut is, into which hand the coin drops.
I enjoyed this book.
Anansi Boys is still my favourite, maybe because I read it first. But American Gods is one of those novels that will hang in my mind like a remembered dream.
I wanted to write about the power of narrative, how it informs what we do, how we understand ourselves, our country, our beliefs. Instead of telling you my story, why don’t you read this one.
