Inscrutable Cabal

There are books that you read in a haze of wonder, each page feeling like a dream you once had or a memory barely remembered.  Lovely and wondrous and a little bit sad.   Joe Meno's The Boy Detective Fails broke my heart and then, very gently pieced it back together, maybe even a little better and stronger than it was before.  It is a story about mysteries, the small ones and the greatest ones, about growing up and about falling in love.  The year nearly at an end, I can say that this novel was my favorite this year.

The cover of this book drew me in.  I may not judge a book by its cover, but a cover is certainly a good first step in getting me to notice something.

It's a wonderful cover. A giant blue bear in a tiny boat surrounded by mini pirates.  If you find the image charming, you are likely not going to be completely disappointed in what awaits inside.

My first Murakami experience was a little book called Wild Sheep Chase which was soft, magical, exciting by turns and wove its way to a beautiful conclusion.  Thus, my hopes were high for Kafka on the Shore, perhaps even a touch too high.

There are some novels that you wouldn't hesitate to call epic works.   Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, Joyce's Ulysses.   Often they seem epic because they stretch out away from you and portions of them remain far from your grasp. There's a sense that you can't see the whole picture, and maybe you never will.   DeLillo's Underworld for me was both epic in feel, but approachable, containable, visible.  Therein lies the power of the piece.

The old style folk style of this sweet little EP give it a distinct and timeless quality.  Dana Falconberry's crooning voice and sparse but colorful accompaniment are worth the price of a download by themselves, but the song writing it top notch as well.

Reading a Thomas Pynchon novel is always somewhat daunting at the outset.  Somewhat like entering a large maze without any string to lead you back out again.   Still, it's an adventure, and one always worth undertaking.   My first such experience was with The Crying of Lot 41 a veritable short story compared with a tome such as V.