Mini Reviews: Odd and the Frost Giants, The Subterraneans and The Deportees

Odd and the Frost Giants
by Neil Gaiman
★★★★
 
Odd is a quiet boy living in a village in Norway. He's been through so much but he hasn't quite found his place in the world. When his path crosses with Odin, Loki and Thor he finds his strength.
 
The story delves into issues about growing up, solving problems without using violence and figuring out who you are. Gaiman's adult novel, American Gods, has similar themes on a much more adult level. One line from Odd about the Gods reminded me so much of American Gods...
 
"No. He doesn't learn. None of them do. And they don't change, either. They can't. It's all part of being a God."
 
It's a sweet book and one that I will definitely be sharing with my nephews and nieces. Also, I should mention the beautiful illustrations by Brett Helquist. They add so much to the book!
 
The Subterraneans
by Jack Kerouac
★★★

As I've said in the past, I think there's an ideal time period in which people should read Kerouac to best appreciate him. When you're young and have little to no responsibilities, the author's beautiful words and carefree life are much more appealing. When you are grown up and have a mortgage, etc. it's harder to embrace his drunken nights, callous treatment of women,  and complete disregard of responsibility.

At the same time, even when I'm frustrated by what Kerouac is saying I still admire the way he says it. His writing is like jazz. There's often no discernible pattern and I'm never sure what will happen next, but it's beautiful. He can always see the poetry in the world around him, but he also seemed incapable of overcoming his own failings.
 
"Just to start at he beginning and let the truth seep out, that's what I'll do."

The Deportees and other stories
by Roddy Doyle
★★★

There are eight short stories in this collection from the famed Irish author Roddy Doyle. Each one deals with Irish natives interacting with individuals from other countries that have immigrated to the Emerald Isle. 

There's the slightly creepy tale The Pram, about a nanny who is worried about a haunting. Black Hoodie about racial profiling and young crushes. Another story, Guess Who's Coming for the Dinner, takes us back to the premise of the Spencer Tracy movie of the same name. The Commitments introduces us to Jimmy Rabbitte, a musician hoping to get a band together.

The connecting line throughout the book is the changing face of a country. As Ireland becomes a more diverse  place its citizens must adjust to the new world around them.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm intrigued enough by Doyle's writing that I would like to read one of his better-known novels, but I wasn't overly impressed with this collection.

The Dharma Bums

The Dharma Bums
By Jack Kerouac
★★★★

This thinly veiled account of Kerouac’s travels and spiritual awakening takes place after the events in On the Road.

I couldn’t help but feel like Kerouac was full of crap through much of this book. He talks about the poor, stupid people who spend their lives working, trapped in one place because they have a spouse and kids. He thinks they aren’t truly living because they aren’t doing exactly what they want to do each moment. This way of thinking is not only incredibly selfish, it’s also unrealistic. Kerouac’s protagonist does travel around doing what he wants, hitchhiking and climbing mountains, but he then returns home and stays with his mother for free.

It’s hard to take someone seriously when they seem trapped in a cycle of arrested development. I know the people around him were frustrated too, because he talks about his brother-in-law being fed up with him staying at the North Carolina farms and refusing to help with any chores. He glorifies his life as being free and wild. Living on the wind and going where he chooses, but in reality he is mooching off everyone around him. He takes advantage of the people he knows and then neglects them for months at a time.

I really enjoyed On the Road when I read it, but that was years ago when I was in college. I think that’s the time to read Kerouac, because if you want until you’re out in the “real” world paying bills, etc., it’s hard to enjoy his condescending ramblings.

But here’s the thing, after all of that I still ended up loving parts of the book. Kerouac’s love of life is infectious. He may be naive, but he’s sincere and you can’t help but see some of that joy in his writing. So although the first half of this review is a bit of a rant, I can’t deny the beauty of his writing.
 
BOTTOM LINE: If I’d read this in high school or college I might have loved it. I’m a bit too logical to ever embrace the gypsy lifestyle, but Kerouac’s romanticized version of Ray’s life made me want to smack him and tell him to get a job. You won’t hear me claiming that the man can’t write though. His words are poetry; it’s the content that bugs me.

“The human bones are but vain lines dawdling, the whole universe a blank mold of stars.”

“The yard was full of tomato plants about to ripen, and mint, mint, everything smelling of mint, and one fine old tree that I loved to sit under on those cool perfect starry California October nights unmatched anywhere in the world.”