Book Reviews

Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen (2016)

Born To Run is really The Essential Bruce Springsteen, by His Hand and in His Voice (even if it isn’t, and it probably is; even if – and because – it could use a stronger editor.) What a book – a tour de force rock ‘n’ roll memoir/deconstruction. Here’s the rock star who decided he WOULDN’T die before he got old, because he sorta liked living.

The Golem and the Jinni (2013), by Helene Wecker, read by George Guidall

Wecker’s debut novel is set in New York City, 1899. She spins a yarn about a golem, a clay creature brought to life by a Hebrew mystic, and a jinni, a creature made of fire. Both supernatural creatures find themselves hiding among poor immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York, an ambience rendered affectionately by Wecker. The novel unspools like a fable, gradually accumulating moral force as Wecker’s plot threads gather together in a complex design.

The Girl With All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey (2014)

I’m not a zombie aficionado – I don’t watch The Walking Dead, and I can’t make it through any of George Romero’s movies. I squirm at the classic horror stories – Frankenstein, Dracula, etc. But damn if I didn’t love The Girl With All the Gifts, damn if it didn’t bring tears to my eyes, damn if it’s not a beautifully written novel about what it means to be human.

Pines, by Blake Crouch (2012)

I hated this novel so much I never wrote about it. Now, I see that Fox has a new show called Wayward Pines. Of course Fox wanted this book – it’s set in a town ruled by a fascist oligarchy. The surprise twist at the end is that it’s all good! (Since it’s Fox, it won’t come as much of a surprise.)