Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is a collection of short stories that I purchased after hearing that the movie Arrival was based upon "Story of Your Life" by Chiang. I read the book as part of my goal to read a short story per day. 

There are some wonderful stories in Stories of Your Life and Others but what jumped out at me the most was both the intelligent writing and uniqueness. Ted Chiang is so far above me. But, while I'm not brilliant at math and science — both of which feature heavily in his stories — I'm able to read between the lines. And, if you can read between the lines, this collection is fabulous. 

As expected, "Story of Your Life" was my favorite. I love the movie Arrival and found that the movie stuck pretty closely to the short story. There were some changes, of course, but they weren't so drastic that it would be impossible to float freely between the two without getting ticked about what Hollywood did to ruin the story. They didn't ruin it, although they made a significant change to the story of the main character's daughter and I do prefer the written version to the screenplay in that regard.

There was only one story in this collection that I disliked as I was reading it. But, I ended up appreciating it for the way the hero outsmarted the character who had dire motives. 

Highly recommended - If you're a short story fan and you like unusual, sharply written and even somewhat difficult sci-fi storylines, this is definitely the book for you. I found some of the stories very challenging to read but absolutely worth the effort. 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelly - book and movie

"Frank, she's got chest pain."
"She's got everything," I said. "Ma'am, what does the pain feel like?"
"I don't know."
"Is it like a pressure?" Larry said. "Is it like an elephant sitting on your chest?"
"Yes," she groaned.
"Is it a fluttering pain," I said, "like a bird flying in your chest?"
"Yes."
"Or a burning pain, like eating lit matches?"
"Yessss," she cried.
"She's got the yeses," I said. "Not much you can do for that."

~p. 59

At night the walls went up and the gates came down and the fear chased everyone inside, except for those who spread it, those it caught, and those, like me, brought in to witness.

~p. 134

Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelly is a backlist book, published by Vintage in 1998. I've had it on my shelf for so long I don't remember where or when I acquired it; but, my recent paramedic reading binge had me thinking I should give it a go. And, wow, am I glad I did. As in any book that describes emergency medicine, there are a few graphic scenes that may turn a stomach or two, but Bringing Out the Dead is just . . . it's deep, man.

Frank Pierce's first three years as a paramedic were oddly magical, but now he's burned out. He's been a paramedic working in New York's Hell's Kitchen for a private ambulance service long enough that the ghosts of those he couldn't save follow him everywhere. A young asthmatic teenager named Rose is particularly tormenting Frank, who was unable to intubate her before it was too late. He calls her, "The girl I helped kill". And, a man who should have died but whose heart Frank restarted because he had no choice but to keep doing CPR until the doctor gave approval to stop haunts him. Burke's body is shutting down; he will never return to consciousness and Frank knows it, the doctors know it. But, the family doesn't understand, so every time the man's heart stops the doctors and nurses must resuscitate a man who is never really coming back.

Frank's wife has left him, his boss keeps promising to fire him but won't because the service is short-handed, and Frank is oddly mesmerized by Burke's daughter, Mary, although he knows the good news she desires will never come. What will happen to Frank?

I read a few reviews when I finished reading Bringing Out the Dead and I have to agree with the people who said it's less a book with a definitive plot than a "slice of life". The reader accompanies Frank, feels his pain, watches him treat his patients and sees his ghosts, observes as he drinks himself into oblivion and then, when Frank takes a risk for a patient whom most might think undeserving of life, observes the moment when Frank thinks he is going to die on the job and . . . well, has an epiphany, I guess you could say.

I love the fact that as the book progresses you realize that Frank's not just losing his mind and addicted to alcohol for the sake of killing the pain, he's also addicted to his job.

What I loved most about Bringing Out the Dead:

The dark humor, the theme about learning to live with your ghosts, the peek into the emotional aspect of a job that is stressful, worked mostly by people who are both adrenaline seekers and deeply caring individuals. That second quote, above, is so profound. Sometimes all they really can do is bear witness.

Highly recommended - This book absolutely would not let go of me. I finished it and went straight into a whopper of a slump. Beautifully written, deeply affecting, sometimes graphic and more than a little scary, Bringing Out the Dead is about burnout, addiction and learning to live with the things that haunt you (equally applicable to paramedics and the rest of us, thematically). You will come out of the reading feeling a little nervous about whether or not the people charged with keeping you alive are okay because pretty much all of the characters in Bringing Out the Dead are a little crazy. But, it will also make you think about life and death and where the medical establishment should draw the line when it comes to resuscitation.

Of course, I had to see the movie version of Bringing Out the Dead. I like Nicolas Cage; he's one of those actors who does crazy and depressed, hysterical and suicidal equally well. He was, in fact, excellent as Frank Pierce and I liked the movie. Since I'd read the book not long before I watched the movie, I recognized lines that were taken directly from the pages of Connelly's book and knew when things were altered.

I was disappointed with the ending of the movie. In the book, the final scene is metaphorical. It explains -- through something that can't possibly really happen -- that Frank has decided that in order to go on he must live with his ghosts rather than fight them. It's a stunning scene and it's not in the movie. The ending of the movie is okay; it's just not as meaningful. Still, I liked the movie and I'm glad I watched it. But, it's the book I'll return to. Even as I was reading Bringing Out the Dead, I was thinking about how much I'd like to reread it in the future.

Interesting side note: Joe Connelly had only one other book published. Bringing Out the Dead was a bestseller; Connelly's second book was a flop. In fact, I can't find any information about Connelly at all, beyond a Wikipedia entry that tells absolutely nothing about what's become of the author since the publication of his second book. I hope he's alive and happy and writing poetry on a beach, somewhere.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Note (which I will repeat as long as I'm on a roll): I am currently in the mood to write and am attempting a little catch-up reviewing. I'm planning to go to weekly reading updates on Tuesday, August 23.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami was on my wish list for at least 2 years and it seemed like I was finally getting close to acquiring a copy from Paperback Swap, but when I found a copy at Borders I snatched it up so fast you'd think I was trying to save it from death by bus or dog-chewing or something.

Nah, I just really, really wanted to read it. And, I whipped through it pretty much as soon as I carried it through the door.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is writings about Murakami's many years as a runner (which he wrote within the span of a single year), his experiences and feelings about running and how his running connects to his writing. Although I haven't been able to run in recent years, I guess you never lose that feeling of being a runner at heart. I found myself nodding a lot, thinking how cool it was to read similar thoughts to my own.

Do I think non-runners would enjoy What I Talk About, etc.? Well . . . to be honest, not unless you're truly curious about his thoughts on writing -- and even then, he doesn't talk about the process he personally goes through in any detail, although he does mention the elements he thinks writers need in order to be successful and how he organizes his time. Still, even if you're a writer, you might find yourself shaking your head if you really hate running because that's mostly what the book is about -- and running seems to be a love/hate activity. Near as I can tell, you're either on one side of the spectrum or the other. I'm on the "love" end.

Although I've never been as obsessed as Murakami (he has run many marathons, a number of triathlons and even an ultra-marathon), I get his thoughts, for the most part, and I don't think anyone can help but be impressed by his total commitment to whatever he does. Dedicated fans of Murakami may enjoy the book for the peek into his life, but I specifically recommend What I Talk About When I Talk About Running to runners, past and present.

Update: Former blogger Kookie is not a runner and she had this to say about What I Talk About When I Talk About Running:

"I hate running, but I loved this book. I think his experiences in his sport of choice carry over nicely to other sports. Plus, he has such a pleasant, conversational style. I really enjoy his work a lot."

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kookie!

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

Copyright 2002

Vintage - Fiction/Short stories

132 pages

From the cover (again - a really well-written cover blurb I must defer to):

The economy was booming. People had more money than they knew what to do with. And then the earthquake struck. For the characters in After the Quake, the Kobe earthquake is an echo from a past they buried long ago. Satsuki has spent thirty years hating one man: a lover who destroyed her chances of having children. Did her desire for revenge cause the earthquake? Junpei's estranged parents live in Kobe. Should he contact them? Miyake left his family in Kobe to make midnight bonfires on a beach hundreds of miles away. Four-year-old Sala has nightmares that the Earthquake Man is trying to stuff her inside a little box. Katagiri returns home to find a giant frog in his apartment, on a mission to save Tokyo from a massive burrowing worm. 'When he gets angry, he causes earthquakes,' says Frog. 'And right now he is very, very angry.'

This [...] collection of stories, from one of the world's greatest living writers, dissects the violence beneath the surface of modern Japan.

I've only read part of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, prior to purchasing After the Quake (which, I should add, I am capitalizing in spite of the lack of capitalization of the title in that cover blurb, above). I didn't finish the book for reasons I don't recall, but I was very, very impressed with his writing and I've pretty much been collecting Murikami's books, ever since. After the Quake and Underground are two that I haven't been able to find easily, so when I saw them in a little store I like in London, I snapped them up. Husband just rolled his eyes.

I read the stories in After the Quake after finishing My Dear I Wanted to Tell You (I promise I'll review My Dear, soon - it is yet another story that really swept me away). There is something tremendously quirky yet real about Haruki Murikami's stories. He has a tendency to make you wonder, "Where the heck is he taking me?" and then he suddenly has his characters do something so bizarre, just as you think you may possibly have it figured out, that you just have to keep reading. That's one reason I'm a little perplexed that I didn't actually finish reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle . . . which, by the way, my eldest has since carried away.

I had a couple favorite stories in After the Quake, of course, although I enjoyed the experience of all of them, in general. "Landscape with Flatiron" is probably my absolute favorite. Junko has been living a dead-end life with her boyfriend, Keisuke. Her friend Miyake calls her up to ask if she and Keisuke would like to come join him on the beach as he builds a bonfire. Miyake has a thing for bonfires; he has learned how to tell when the tide will bring in lots of driftwood and with the driftwood he collects, he uses the special technique he's developed to keep the fire going a long time without burning out.

Keisuke is a jerk. He makes a lot of wisecracks about sex and picks on Miyake's refusal to share his history, which Junko eventually draws out of him after Keisuke leaves. Keisuke's departure leaves Junko and Miyake to share their deepest, darkest secrets. Miyake tells about his real home and his recurring nightmare. Junko talks about her emptiness and her favorite short story.

If you know your Jack London -- and most people have probably read the story that's referred to (but not by name) -- then you'll recognize the parallel when you read it, but I don't want to give any details away. Suffice it to say, "Landscape with Flatiron" is a very touching, skillfully rendered parallel to a Jack London short story. It is sad but beautiful.

I don't think I'll rattle on about the other stories, but After the Quake is a slender book at 132 pages containing 6 stories that are all unique in a way that makes your brain curdle just a bit. What an imagination he has! "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" is particularly mind-bending.

The bottom line:

A unique set of short stories by one of the world's most imaginative, possibly somewhat twisted, minds. Definitely recommended, but I'd say it's about a PG-13 because of all the sexual references. Can't remember if there's anything graphic, although one fellow ends up in bed with a virtual stranger. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Murikami.

I don't know how many books I plan to read, but this was the first book I've completed for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge 5. I'll definitely be reading more. I just don't know what and when. Fortunately, this challenge is a long one, from June of 2011 to January of 2012.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Far Afield by Susanna Kaysen

Far Afield by Susanna Kaysen

Copyright 1990

Vintage - General Fiction

338 pages

"Can I try the dryler?"

"No. No." Eyvinder grabbed it and held it to his breast. "Jonathan, I must make a confession." He grinned. "This is really a stone I painted to resemble a dryler. It's very good, no? I have done a beautiful job making it into a dryler. I wanted to give you a full Faroese meal in all its typicality, Anna and I both wanted this. But Anna cannot make dryler. Nobody can make them anymore. We've forgotten how, because they are so stinking bad to eat. They are just like rocks to eat. So, I decided,why not take a rock and make it into a dryler? It's conceptive art, isn't it?"

"Conceptual," said Jonathan.

--from p. 29 of Far Afield

Then he heard the hum. Vibrating in consonance with one of the tones of the ocean's churning, it slid in and out of perceptibility in the way that the landscape disappeared in the mist. But by stilling his breath and, to some degree, his jumping pulse, Jonathan was able to pick it out, the low continuo in the cantata of sea and wind.

--p. 50

He would take refuge in a homey understanding of Faroese ways only to be slapped back to an uncomfortable position as an American by some terrible smell: uncomfortable because he could no more now imagine himself standing at an oak door with a brass knocker, wearing a tie and holding a bottle of Médoc, than he could picture eating rotten meat. He was floating around in cultural hyperspace; nothing felt right.

--p. 210

Jonathan Brand has chosen the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic to do his field work in anthropology. A Harvard graduate student, he's been discouraged from going to the Faroes. The natives are hardly primitive, after all. But, undaunted, Jonathan learns the language and forges ahead with his plan to spend a year in the islands, studying the local customs and traditions, learning about the people and their lifestyle.

His journey begins badly. Lost luggage, terrible weather and cuisine that consists mostly of rotted fish and other dubious meats leave him feeling uncertain about his decision. But, with the encouragement of his native Faroese friend Eyvinder he begins his year in Skopun, on the island of Sandoy, in a rented house. Through experience, hard work and willingness to work at belonging, Jonathan quickly makes friends and finds his place. But, it's not a place he can remain, forever.

What I loved about Far Afield:

Okay, warning time: gushing is imminent. Far Afield is so skillfully crafted, beautifully written and insightful that I can already tell you it's got a pre-built slot in my top reads for 2011. Susanna Kaysen's writing has a depth I haven't encountered for a while and it really blew me away. You not only get such a well-defined sense of place that you feel the cold and the wind, smell the fishy ocean tang and hear the sheep, but also feel as if you come away from the book with a sense that you might just understand this unique island culture. But, you probably won't want to fly there to sample the food.

Far Afield is character-driven and mostly internal. You're firmly planted in Jonathan's point of view and Jonathan is emotionally complex, if not a bit of a wreck. At some point during his year in the Faroes, Jonathan realizes he has been disconnected from his own reality, that he's had some mild delusion that the smarter, better-spoken, more self-assured Jonathan of his imagination would someday step forward and take over.

I would call Kaysen's writing psychologically astute. She certainly did take my breath away; I'll say that much. It's particularly worth noting that Jonathan is at times grandly flawed and in many ways unlikable, yet it's easy to get invested in his life and care about him. I think perhaps that's because he's such a mensch. He screws up a lot but in spite of being a Harvard grad student, born of intellectual parents, he doesn't think highly of himself; in fact, he's hugely critical and aware of his own flaws. In his interactions with people, he treats most of them with such great respect that it's no stretch to believe he could develop friendships, even with people with whom communication is sketchy and whose differences in lifestyle compared to his own are enormous.

There are also some very funny moments, particularly any time Jonathan is around Eyvinder, who is quite a character. After he feeds Jonathan traditional foods on his first visit, Eyvinder tells Jonathan he should return to eat, another time:

"Jonathan. Jonathan. You must not take offense because I have very black ideas. It's my Italian side. You are our friend. You are not from the CIA. I am just spitting up foolishness. Please, you will come back, we will have stuffed puffins and arrange your marriage."

--p. 32

What I disliked about Far Afield:

If you read my blog regularly, you know my predilection for action and pacing. There's plenty of action at times, actually, but the book is so emotional and character-centered that it moves slowly. In spite of that slow pacing, there was never a point that I would have even remotely considered setting Far Afield aside. There's a definite pull to the book, an uncertainty about whether Jonathan will stay in the Faroes and settle or feel obligated to return home. Far Afield is character-driven writing at its best.

The bottom line:

Superb writing, deft psychological insight, uncommonly skillful description and a unique setting make Far Afield a tremendously satisfying read. Highly, highly recommended, particularly for those who like reading about different places and people and enjoy a depth of characterization.

On a related note:

I read that favorite quote about eating stuffed puffins and arranging a marriage for Jonathan to Kiddo and got an interesting reaction. "Stuffed puffin sounds kind of good, actually."

My opinion is a little akin to the famous Ulysses Grant quote about Port Gibson, Mississippi being "too beautiful to burn." Puffins: Too Cute to Cook.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.