Archive for December, 2011
I Review “Smut” by Alan Bennett
In August, Nicholson Baker blurted out a new book, “House of Holes,’’ his adolescent-like narrative of the sexual escapades of several one-dimensional characters frolicking through an extended dirty joke that might’ve aptly been titled “Smut.’’
“Smut,’’ though, happens to be the new book by British writer Alan Bennett. If Baker’s sense of humor in “House’’ is unrestrained, and ahem, smutty, Bennett’s is subtle and often wry, full of clever word play, innuendo, and decidedly British. Oh, and there are naughty bits, too.
Click the image below to read my review in the December 28, 2011, edition of the Boston Globe.
You can buy Smut at Barnes and Noble.
I Review Paul Theroux’s “Murder In Mount Holly”
Paul Theroux’s publishers market his new book as a comic-mystery-thriller. It’s comic, but it’s not new and the only mystery is why the publisher doesn’t hawk it as satire.
Click the image below to read my review in December 25, 2011, edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
You can buy Murder In Mount Holly at Barnes & Noble.
I Review “Before the End, After the Beginning” by Dagoberto Gilb
“What is it I gotta do?’’ the Mexican asks the cop who suspects him of burglary but has no actual evidence. Several cops arrest him on the catch-all charge of disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, although it appears the cops are doing the most of the disturbing and all of the fighting. The unnamed Mexican narrator is not entirely blameless – he’s been fooling around with his married ex-girlfriend, and like many of the characters in these stories, has a checkered and shady past. “You were born,’’ the cop answers. “Until you die, the rest is on you.’’
Click the image below to read my review in the December 5, 2011, edition of the Boston Globe.
You can buy Before the End, After the Beginning at Barnes & Noble.
