Ich und Kaminski (Me and Kaminski)

by Daniel Kehlmann

Sebastian Zöllner, wanna be bigshot art critic and/or writer, agrees with a publisher to write a biography on one Manuel Kaminski.

Kaminski is a bit a recluse and frail. His career as a painter didn't really take off until he started to go blind. Or did he? There are a few eerie moments throughout when Zöllner gets the feeling that Kaminski can, indeed, see. Anyway, the biography is the plan. For the book to become a success, however, Kaminski would have to die first. Of course, Zöllner doesn't mentioned that to the old man.

The painter is more a means to an end than an actual subject of interest to Zöllner, who is more concerned with how he looks and is conceived in any situation. He bursts into Kaminski's house a day early, inviting himself to an ongoing gathering. Shortly after, he pays the housekeeper to visit her sister, so that he can be alone with the painter on his terms rather than the painter's caretaker, his daughter.

The title of the book, putting the narrator first and the artist second was not chosen so by accident. Zöllner is arrogant and has no scruples to go through the painter's personal documents and simply take him on a roadtrip to see Kaminski's former lover, who the old men thought had died a long time ago.

Also, he is concerned about his hairline. In the beginning of the story, a conductur Zöllner had been rather rude to told him he's going bold and even though Zöllner is convinced that he is not and the conducter was just being rude in return, he checks for signs of boldness every time he looks into the mirror, only to immediately dismiss the notion.

Very short, but very good read. My favorite Kehlmann (my third) so far.

7/10

So Many Ways to Begin

by Jon McGregor

This is my second try with a Jon McGregor book. The previous one, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things - though beautifully written - didn't really do anything for me. It elegantly told of some terrible tragedy that many had witnessed, but was constantly beating around the bush. I assume that in the end we learn what exactly happened but I didn't read that book long enough to ever get to that point.

With that experience behind me, my expectations for So Many Ways to Begin were not too high. I am glad to announce that I finished it. And gladly. The writing, again, is beautiful and elegant. The story is that of David Carter, who wants to work in a museum, or better yet, own his own theater. His live could be perfectly ordinary, with a wife that has bouts of depression, an almost affair, a daughter he adores, and a job lost. It is, however, burdened by the fact that one day, quite unexpectedly, learns that he is not his parent's son.

A family friend, whose mind is quickly declining from dementia, one day casually mentions that some Irish girl gave birth to him in 1945 and disappeared. His mother decided to keep him and raise him as her own. Not even his father, conveniently off at war, knew and thought the boy his. His mother's explanation is simply that she missed the right moment to tell him and thought that it would be easier for him if he didn't know. And it might have been.

As soon as he knows, however, he starts gathering clues that might help him find his real mother. And this is where the book is really clever. The entirety is told through objects, dated, that head anecdotes from his life and his wife's life back in Scotland (which is much sadder than David's really).

There comes a point, when he thinks he has found his mother. It appears almost too good to be true. And so it is.

Lives were changed and moved by much smaller clues, chance meetings, overheard conversations, the trips and stumbles which constantly alter and readjust the course of things, history made by a million fractional moments too numerous to calibrate or observe or record. the real story, he knew, was more complicated than anything he could gather together in a pair of photo albums and a scrapbook and drive across the country to lay out on a table somewhere. The whole story would take a lifetime to tell. But what he had would be a start, he thought, a way to begin. What he had would be enough to at least say, here, these are a few of the things which have happened to me, while you weren't there. This is a small part of how it's been. You don't need to guess any longer, you don't need to imagine or wonder or dream. This is a small part of the truth.

7/10

Mr. Vertigo

by Paul Auster

Mr. Vertigo was one of those books that I read a long time ago and I couldn't remember a single detail beyond the obvious one - a boy being taught how to fly. This, then, is a re-read.

The boy in question is Walter Rawley, an orphan living with his aunt and uncle, who don't really care that much about him. He is more of a burden than anything else. So one day, when he meets a mysterious stranger named Master Yehudi, who makes the promise of teaching him to fly, the replacement family gives him away eagerly for a little money in exchange (I assume).

The teaching part is non-traditional and Walter tries to escape this new life more than once, but always ends up right back in the arms of the master, who always shows up exactly where Walter fled to. The two lose the two people closest to family that they have, a Native American housekeeper/cook and a young black boy that the master has been teaching in other things rather than flying. The two are killed by the Ku Klux Klan with Walter and the master looking on.

Eventually, Walter does fly and becomes a sensation. The two tour from town to town and triumph to triumph until one day, shortly before their biggest show yet in New York City, Walter starts having these splitting headaches right after his flying act. The master realizes that this is an effect of the onset of puberty and closes shop.

Although new ideas are popping up right away, the master himself appears to be suffering and becoming sicker by the day. On their day to Hollywood and the new future, the past in form of Walter's uncle shows up (for the second time in the book, this one being the devestating one).

The rest of the book tells of Walter as an adult and his rise within a criminal organisation and encounters with people from the past.

Really good, but - much like Woody Allen in film - Paul Auster and his stories belong in New York City.

6/10

Everything Changes

Long time no update.

As you see from the column on the right, the currently reading status has been unchanged for a while. Yes, I am still reading The Goldfinch. By now I have handed the trade paperback on to a friend and have gotten an ebook edition of it. See, the actual book is just so heavy, it was no fun reaing for that fact (and that fact alone, the book is brilliant). Even now, it is still a massive thing and it takes some time to get through.

Anyway, I have been known to read more than one book at a time and usually read a smaller volume that will comfortable fit my handbag. This was a few week ago Everything Changes, which flew all the way to New York City and back with, without getting much attention (so much to do!). I did, however, finish it a while back and here are my (admitedly vague) recollections of it.

by Jonathan Tropper

It's another family crisis. Zachary King, oldes of three sons, lives a seemingly normal life and is soon to be married. If only he wasn't so hung up on his late best friend's widow Tamara. Really, his life isn't all that normal.

He lives with a friend in New York without paying rent. This friend of his made a pretty penny before the software bubble burst and got out in time, so now he spends his days on the couch watching TV.

Zach's father has dropped off the face of the earth, having left the family long before when his mother finally caught him cheating red-handed and used the photographic evidence as a family Christmas card. The boys are all upset and took their time in understanding that their father is not as reliable and now, finally, definitely changing for good and become a responsible parent.

Zach is pissed off, so is his little brother who turns his disgust into punk rock songs. His other brother is mentally challenged and does not quite have the same grasp on life as the rest of the world does.

In the midst of his anxiety over his impending nuptials and his adoration for Tamara, his father Norm swoops back into their lives to reconnect with everyone and make amends. And if that wasn't enough to prompt a sudden life change for Zach, he also started peeing blood and obviously expects the worst.

Then his life - helped along by Zach himself starts to unravel. And as the titel suggests, everything does change. Obviously he is not going to marry beautful hope, his medial worries keep gnawing on him and his fathers keeps sticking around for the longest time, no matter how unwanted his presence is.

In the end, he does disappear again and his motives for reappearing in the first place were very selfish in a way. Turns out he has another young son, this one merely four years old that he hopes his former family can provide for.

As usual with Jonathan Tropper books, the family is as unhinged as they come and the read is thouroughly enjoyable.

7/10

Mr Mercedes

by Stephen King

In Stephen King's latest, the evil forces are very much human. Nothing in Mr. Mercedes is out of this world. The killer is the guy next door. He fixes your computer and sells you ice cream.

The stories that are set in the reals of the possible rather than the impossible are somehow more upsetting. This already worked for me in Gerald's Game (aka nobody's favorite book by King), in which also nothing happened that could happen to anyone, anywhere, any day.

The killer, Brady, is a computer-savvy Mama's boy, that one day decided to drive into a group of people and was more surprised than anyone else that he actually got away with it. While his case is on the track to going cold, he contacts the now retired detective that worked it, who decides to take it on himself.

Stephen King, at one point in the book, actually references himself. Such is his cultural stance, that he can easily get away with it without sounding pretentious. Because, when he refers to one of his own stories, everyone actually does now what he is talking about.

'Creepy as hell. You ever see that TV movie about the clown in the sewer?'

Even though this will not become anyone's favorite Stephen King's book ever, it is solid work. Far from his best, but on par with any mystery put out. Basically, we witness Brady trying to plot going out with a final big bang - preferably before he goes to pieces.

Te scariest idea of the thing is when Brady decides to kill the dog of the detective's friend. Which goes horribly wrong, but luckily not for the dog and his family.

Entertaining. Just not as much as Stephen King books can be.

The truth is darkness, and the only thing that matters is making a statement before one enters it. Cutting the skin of the world and leaving a scar. That's all history is, after all: scar tissue.

6/10

The Fry Chronicles

It has been a while since I last updated this blog. There a several reasons for this. For one, I got stuck watching Masterchef Australia (current and previous seasons) and I got even more stuck reading Donna Tartt's latest The Goldfinch. Not that it is a bad book, it isn't. It is just so fucking big and heavy in hand that I grew physically tired of holding it in my hand and the pace of the story (not too fast) does not reel me in deeply enough for me to ignore that fact. And then, of course, there is the World Cup in Brazil to follow. So many ways to get sidetracked.

But, luckily, I do take the public transport to work and the only valid means of entertainment is reading. For this, however, the aforementioned Goldfinch is much too heavy. Therefore,  a smaller volume that fits my handbag has to do for my trips. 

And this has been it for the past few weeks....

by Stephen Fry

The Fry Chronicles are the second autobiography by Stephen Fry. The first, Moab Is My Washpot, covered his childhood and troubled teenage years. This now deals with his time at university and his first steps into the entertainment business.

Does one need to have read Moab before taking on the Chronicles? Not really. One should mostly have read Moab because it is entertaining and sweet and, yes, heartbreaking at times...

Fry is a rather hapless fellow and just plain likable. He forever apologizes for his success and stresses that his talent is inferior to many of the people that he came up with. His group of friends and contemporaries does include some of the biggest names in film and comedy - Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Douglas Adams, and his long-time partner in crime, Hugh Laurie, to name but a few. Fry does seem to stick out like a sore thumb and still doesn't appear to have grasped what people see in him and why he would deserve the success he has had for a few decades now.

I just like the guy.

7/10

Quote. Joe Hill

"Yeah. P.T. Barnum would probably make scientists buy a ticket. He' show it next to a two-headed goat and a fat woman with a beard, and it wouldn't be special anymore. You ever notice that? Because everything at the circus is special, nothing is special? If I could walk on a tightrope, even a little, you'd think I was the most amazing boy you knew. Even if I was only two feet off the ground. But if I walked on a tightrope in the circus, and I was only two feet off the ground, people would shout for their money back."

from: By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain