About a Book

            Colum McCann ’s Let the Great World Spin begins in Ireland , from the point of view of young Ciarin, brother to Corrigan. The two boys are raised by a single mother, abandoned by their father. By its end, the novel has introduced and dug into the lives of 11 characters, often from their vantage point.             The book quickly moves from Europe to the United States , specifically New York City , where the majority of the cast is introduced and linked together (somewhat) by an August day in 1974 when Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers . Many of the book’s characters have a connection to Petit: they saw him up there; another is the judge who must penalize Petit for his efforts.             The film “Crash” came to mind while reading the book; lives that should not under normal circumstances intersect fi...

     My friend of 24 years, Chris Clark , recommended I read Dana Schwartz ’s memoir Choose Your Own Disaster.        Chris and I met in 1995 as freshmen at Bradford College . We were always in each others’ orbits as actors, writers, singers, and friends. He directed me at least once, in Edward Albee’s Zoo Story, and he may have directed me beyond that, but I am old and forgetful. I don’t speak to Chris often but I try to keep up with him online. In my mind, he is one of the first writers who made a presence for themselves online, through his website, and has kept pace with how we can stay Internet active and connected as artists. He is also always creating art. He inspires me.      These days, Chris is working on his next novel ( Exquisite Corpse , due out in September), and he’s the administrative coordinator for the Lesley University MFA in Creative Writing program, where he also earned his MFA.       Dana S...

        Who doesn’t like an adventure? One filled with strange creatures with crazy ideas of how the world works, who challenge and push a book’s hero to do and be more than he or she thought possible? Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth delivers just such an adventure with Milo , a little boy who starts the book with intense ennui about life. Enter a tollbooth that mysteriously appears at his home. Once on his way through the booth via a toy electric car, Milo ’s city apartment turns into a wickedly thrilling world with locations like Expectations, Dictionopolis, and Digitopolis. In each location, Juster entices the reader with word play; when Milo is imprisoned, he is told his cell-mate will be a witch, but it turns out to be a Which who has historically been in charge of which words should be used in the book’s Kingdom of Wisdom. As Milo moves forward, he finds a mission, to find two princesses, Rhyme and Reason, who were banished to the Castle in the Air a...

         The reader’s guide at the back of my copy of Michel Faber ’s The Book of Strange New Things asks if the book’s ultimate theme is love, fidelity, faith, or compassion.           All of the above, I say.          Protagonist and English pastor Peter Leigh leaves Earth and his wife Beatrice to act as a missionary on the planet Oasis. His primary goal, at least according the giant corporation that sends him there, is to be the company’s liaison to the planet’s natives, the Oasans, as Peter calls them. The corporation is having trouble getting the Oasans to happily give up the food that they grow, the only food that seems to grow on Oasis, to the small group of Earthling scientists studying the planet. Enter Peter, with a knack for spreading the word of God, and welcomed by the Oasans, who are eager to embrace the lord and Peter’s teachings. Peter is a success both as missionary and a...

On the recommendation of my Oberlin Friend Rossana Rossi, I read Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend this week.  Rossana and I met in 2001 when I was organizing a George Michael tribute concert at Oberlin College .  With my mind on finding backup vocalists, I heard Rossana singing as she walked down the street. I followed her, in love with her tone. I approached her, complimented her, implored her to be a part of the show, and she became an  integral voice in the George Michael Project. These days, Rossana does administrative work for audio/video technicians at the United Nations. By night, she is an herbalist in the Wise Woman Tradition. As she expains it, “I am on a first-name basis with the plants that grow in my area, I use traditional, time-tested methods of plant medicine (tinctures, oils, vinegars, honeys, even smoke blends), and when working with individuals, I simply facilitate their healing. The plants do the work and the person plays an activ...

Welcome to About a Book, my new blog about the 52 books I hope to read in 2019. Why 52? Because I love a challenge, and after semi-successfully answering the self-inflicted call to read a book each week last year (48 isn't bad), I am at it again. Last year I worked off the goodreads.com  book challenge list from 2017; this year I asked friends for suggestions, and I quickly racked up almost 52 book ideas, and saved a couple slots for books that catch my eye at the library . This week I started my new reading challenge with Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, recommended by my college buddy Rossana Rossi. More on I Am Legend in my next blog. In addition to discussing these 52 books, About a Book will be a place for all things related to my own memoir, One Little Bolshevik, the story of my Russian father's adoption by Nazis during World War II. I recently completed a first draft and am chipping away at the chunk that is the initial draft, hoping to sculpt it into somethin...