House of Leaves

House of Leaves
By Mark Z. Danielewski
Published by Pantheon Books
2000

Call it an experimental novel, call it a graphic post-postmodern attempt to recreate fiction, just be sure to call it good storytelling. In House of Leaves the story follows four story-lines in a delicate weaving of 1. a non-existing documentary 2. a criticism of said documentary 3. commentary on the criticism of the documentary and 4. edits on the commentary on the crit.. you get the idea. The book is fragmented yet whole because the stories, though they never really come together, manage to affect each other in a trickle down pattern.

Here is enough of the story to get you hooked: 1. There is a house owned by a photographer and his family that inexplicably changes in proportions (entirely on the inside without reflecting the changes on the outside). A door appears with a hallway that the photographer wants to explore. This hallway turns into a frightening series of shifting tunnels and rooms and crazy things happen. 2. This film is being criticized by an old blind man. BLIND MAN who thinks his apartment is shifting as well. He dies (naturally? creepily?) and his writings are found and put in order by 3. Johnny, a twenty-something loser who parties a lot. He comments both on the old man's work as well as his own doings (i.e. his crush on a stripper). Johnny starts going a little crazy. 4. There is a sweet index.

Do you really need to know anymore?

"Beautiful product" and "Dynamite storytelling" and "Sublime reading experience"

Devils in the Sugar Shop

Devils in the Sugar Shop
By Tim Schaffert
Published by Unbridled Books
May 2007

Though the author was entertaining at his signing event in Des Moines, the book's content made it difficult to hand-sell. I'm not a huge fan of books that try to put "fun" back into "dysfunctional." Comical at times, depressing at others, Devils in the Sugar Shop would be for a reader looking for an experience outside of mainstream-fiction.

"Different" and "Interesting"

Messages

Messages
By Jennifer Luing-Schafer
Published by iUniverse.com
March (?) 2008

For about $600 and a little time anyone can publish a manuscript and receive a set of books featuring a genuine ISBN. For some people this is a great opportunity to do a small printing for family and friends. It also allows an author to skip the publishing world drama and try for success outside of the mainstream book distributors.

When it comes to Messages however, I wonder if the world of self-publishing shouldn't have a gate-keeper. I'm not suggesting anything too severe, perhaps an editor to make sure the first sentence is grammatically correct before bestowing "book-ship" upon a piece of work.

Messages is a story of two teenage girls who come across a Ouija board and become involved with an evil spirit. The rest is a jumble of poor grammar with an incoherent storyline. It's told as if a child was asked to describe her worst nightmares and then the book was translated from some foreign language. I feel sorry for the English teachers the author thanks in the dedication.

I rarely write negative reviews, but the story didn't scare me nearly as much as the writing. This book is a warning to would-be authors: be careful what you publish. Someone might read it.

I've missed me too

This is not a figment of your imagination. I have a year's worth of books to review! Time to start losing sleep again!

Men May Come and Men May Go, but I've Still got my Little Pink Raincoat

Men May Come and Men May Go ... But I've Still Got My Little Pink Raincoat: Life and Love In and Out of My Wardrobe
by Gigi Anders
Published by Rayo
March 2007

Ever had a girlfriend or sister or really any female who talks at you instead of to you, and although she's funny and even interesting, she doesn't expect you to add anything to the conversation? Now for fun let's say that she is also fashion-minded, addicted to TAB, treats her shoes like children and appreciates a good meal.

Well if you enjoy that kind of person I'm sure you will enjoy Gigi Anders's trip down ex-boyfriend memory lane in Men May Come and Men May Go, but I've Still Got my Little Pink Raincoat. Anders takes the reader through several relationships, each associated with an article of clothing, a perfume or a lipstick shade. She is charmingly pathetic as she searches for relationship "cures" through shopping, because who wouldn't want to propose to a woman who wore an adorable pink raincoat?

Fortunately for those less fashion-friendly, Anders also captivates her readers with mouth-watering descriptions of food. Don't read this book hungry or right before grocery shopping, but do be tempted to try one of the few recipes she slips in.

Ultimately, Gigi Anders wrote a book about friendship and self-discovery that everyone can appreciate with a few embarrassing stories thrown in to keep us chuckling. If nothing else, you can take away this important lesson: "Lose the guy, keep the lipstick."

My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Published by Simon & Schuster Trade
2005

Upon finishing this book, you will be either angry or deeply touched. That, I believe may be the author's precise intention.

What the Dead Know

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman
Published by William Morrow, Harper Collins
March 2007


Though this is my first time reading Laura Lippman, she kept what good reputation I knew of with What the Dead Know, a novel and quasi-mystery. More a good tale than a who-done-it, I never regretted picking this based on reviews of previous Lippman successes (No Good Deeds, By a Spider's Thread, etc).

Based in Baltimore, a woman who claims to be one of two sisters who disappeared over 30 years ago is involved in a hit-and-run accident. This Jane Doe's story, as well as her family's, unfolds slowly as Lippman weaves the narrative back and forth in time. The police are baffled as there is no possibility of DNA testing nor any record of the girls from the day they went missing.

What the Dead Know has just the right amount of twists and turns and character building to deliver a book that is both readable and enjoyable, though maybe a bit slow at times. Recommended, but check it out from the library before you but it.