Unafraid - The Book

My friend and occasional contributor to this blog (reports from the Yearly KOS conference), Jeff Golden, has just introduced his new novel: Unafraid. A fictional look at how this country may have evolved had that bullet missed JFK 45 years ago in Dallas, the new novel is about hope and honesty in government.

Given the current political conversation in the US, the book is quite timely. Jeff, a recovering politician and radio talk-show host himself, has also just launched Immense Possibilities Radio (IPR) over at EQ TV. A gifted interviewer, he always manages to uncover interesting and provocative guests for his wide-ranging conversations. Worth a listen. You can get on his email list by sending him a note at this address. His previous shows are archived on the site. Read his posts to this blog here, here and here.

Dr. Paul Farmer - Great Man, Good Read

Tracy Kidder is one of our greatest storytellers. A Pulitzer prize winning author, Kidder first attracted my attention with Soul of the New Machine. I read that chronicle of the birth of a new computer just as I was moving up in the high-tech industry during my career. It was totally inspirational, and captured the energy, excitment and exhaustion that accompanied the technology revolution. So naturally, I was delighted when my eldest daughter gave me Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains to read on my recent holiday.

The entire title is Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. It is classic understatement to describe this book as an inspiration. Dr. Farmer is a saint, nothing less. And the work he has taken on would crush a normal human. Co-founder of Partners in Health, Dr. Farmer is responsible for much of the current attention on drug resistant TB, and his work in the poorest part of Haiti is now legendary. So without furth ado, this is a great story, told by a wonderful biographer about one of the most interesting individuals on the planet. What's not to love? Buy it now. And prepared to be lifted up and inspired.

On the Road - Words as Jazz

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Jack Kerouac's Beat classic On the Road. To commemorate the occasion, original publisher Viking Press (now a part of the Penguin Group) is issuing an unabridged anniversary edition - a must have for readers.

Kerouac coined the phrase Beat Generation, and influenced countless readers, poets and seekers with his wonderfully beautiful prose. He certainly influenced me. I carried Dharma Bums around in my backpack hitchhiking from Orange County to Big Sur back in the day. Thanks to my early mentor and guide, Diane Smith, for introducing me to the Beat Poets and Kerouac.

A 120 WPM typist, Kerouac famously wrote his breakthrough novel in an often-cited three week marathon - typing on a single scroll so he wouldn't have to change pages and shuffle papers. Rooted in progressive jazz and loosely based on the jounals of cross-country trips he'd kept, the lyrical novel was his attempt at spontaneous, improvisational prose. It *so* worked. Once he finally got the book published, six years and many rejections after it was written, On The Road was an instant best-seller and critical success.

Kerouac's personal spiritual journey led him to jazz and the bliss of spontaneous performance. His contributions were many, including his debut album, Poetry for the Beat Generation, recorded with Steve Allen accompanying Jack on piano in 1959. Jack described himself as a "Catholic," not a Beatnik, but in the end he adopted many Buddhist spiritual practices. Personally, I get the impression that for Jack, it all worked together in harmony, like a tenor sax, bass fiddle with snare drums & cymbals.

Significant cultural movements have many voices. The Beat Generation (Kerouac hated the term Beatnik) had progressive jazz at its musical core and a group of avant garde thinkers, poets and novelists as principal literary proponents. Along with his friends Allen Ginzberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassidy, Jack Kerouac defined an iconic, American age. His life was characterized by hard partying, passion and profound quests of personal discovery - all documented in his books. He died in 1969 of the complications of Cirrhosis at the age of 47, after a life of heavy drinking.

Sweet Little Parlour Mysteries

I love Arturo Perez-Reverte. This fabulous Spaniard writes sweet little parlour mysteries for smarties. Literary entertainment for thinkers. I've got about six of his lush, Euro-centric novels on my bookshelf. He is probably best known for The Club Dumas, which was turned into a wonderful movie starring everyone's favorite actor, Johnny Depp. Dial-up The Ninth Gate from your movie provider and you'll be hooked. Perez-Reverte writes very well researched stories, replete with historic fact, literary references and a level of detail that gives his readers more than expected -without overburdening his prose or cluttering his plots. His characters are indelible, and very earthy. Aging Gypsy divas with spit curls; villains so despicable one can just imagine the tips of their mustaches curling up in ugly sneers; quirky sidekicks and a cast of colorful extras populate his work. And always strong women. Either as protagonists or antagonists.

If you enjoy art, read The Flanders Panel first. The resourceful protagonist in this story artfully restores the work of Flemish masters in her studio next to the Prado Museum. If you are intrigued by fencing and the fine art of the epee, then read The Fencing Master first. You'll meet a very beautiful, but dangerous, woman and learn the secret of the "unstoppable thrust" in a dying world of honor and chivalry. In The Seville Communion, an ancient church is a major character in a convoluted plot involving computer viruses and detective priests. The Queen of the South follows a resourceful drug cartel queen through adventures in Mexico, Spain and Morocco. For lovers of the sea and Explorer's Club sorts, there's The Nautical Chart which unveils a mystery surrounding an ancient and rare sea pilot's chart that is purchased at auction.

Memorable characters, including a lot of strong women; historic settings; engaging plots; and, lush, colorful prose. These titles are all good reads. That said, I know a lot of Perez-Reverte fans and all have at least one book that leaves them less than satisfied. Personally, I attribute that reaction to the fact that the author produces such consistently high-quality and enjoyable work - I'm talking four- and five-stars, that the occasional three-stars one might apply to a single book reflects a statistical regression to the mean. Hey, Johnny Depp starred in one of his elaborate tales. Nuff said.

World Fusion Bookshelf

Receding borders, political realignments, conflict-driven migration and economic necessity have driven large populations and diverse cultures across the globe. As a result, voices from the diaspora are finding their way into mainstream literature.

Non-resident Indians writing in English comprise a growing source of cultural-fusion fiction. Harvard physician, Sanjay Nigam's novel, The Snake Charmer, is a good example. Pulitzer Prize winning Jhumpa Lahiri's offerings: Interpreter of Maladies and Namesake are much celebrated in book club circles. Foothill College professor, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has contributed the Mistress of Spices to the mix.

Vietnamese Americans are also adding to the bookshelf. The Tapestries by New York dentist, Kien Nguyen, is a lush and vivid a tale of mystery and inter-generational betrayal in imperial Viet Nam. A wonderful read.

The conflict in Afghanistan is responsible for driving the family of Khaled Hosseini to California. His first novel about life in his homeland, The Kite Runner, provides readers a rare and intimate perspective on life in that war-torn hotspot.

The children of immigrants are contributing cross-cultural stories of assimilation and conflict. Amy Tan is well known. Kim Wong Keltner's Dim Sum of all Things is another novel with the Chinese-American Zeitgeist that can only be found in San Francisco. And of course, there are many more. Too many to list in a single post.

Just like some of the freshest, most creative cinema is coming from third-world indie producers; and some of the most original and melodic music can be found in the worldbeat category; the world fusion bookshelf is producing some remarkable works by unexpected talents. A good thing for those with discriminating tastes.