A Life Spent Reading

I thought that I had read – or at least heard of – most of the classics in SF, but this one (published as a “Fantasy Masterwork”, no less) had somehow escaped my notice. And that’s too bad, because it’s a very good book. I won’t say that the writing is anything special, but much like Philip K. Dick’s stuff, the concept is so compelling that it doesn’t really matter.

The main idea is that Jeff Winston, a mediocre radio journalist whose midlife prospects aren’t all that great, has a heart attack and dies at age 43… but then wakes up back in time as his eighteen-year-old self, with all his adult memories and experiences intact. Essentially, he gets to replay his life from eighteen to 43 again… and again, and again. It’s a common what-if fantasy that all of us over the age of 30 have probably had, and author Ken Grimwood’s exploration of this idea is what gives the book its strength. It’s one that asks big questions: why are we here, what is the meaning of life, and so on. It doesn’t provide any real answers, of course, but the journey getting to those non-answers will definitely make you think.

One caveat: The younger you are, the fewer the historical/pop-culture references you’re going to get. Not really recommended for those under 30, unless you happen to have a lot of older friends.

This is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and happily it is up to the same high standard. Stieg Larsson has crafted an unusual plot here – I can’t remember ever reading a book where the action was driven to the same degree simply by whether the various members of the supporting cast liked the protagonist or not. But Lisbeth Salander is a very polarizing character, and the device works very well.

The translation here, again by Reg Keeland, is the same odd but workmanlike admixture of British and American English that somehow fits very well in helping to convey the idea that you’re no longer in an English speaking country. I also like the fact that he doesn’t go for the usual cheap trick of throwing in simple greetings and whatnot in the local language. Nothing is worse than trying to get through a novel set in an exotic foreign locale and having to deal with guerilla assaults from italics.

This novel is the second volume of the “Millenium Trilogy”, and unfortunately ends a bit abruptly. (Much different from the first volume, in which the main plot point was solved over a hundred pages before the end of the book.) Apparently the third volume, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, is more along the lines of actually being the second half of this book. All fine and well; I have no problem waiting for the next installment to come out in another six months or so. One piece of advice for those new to the series: I would suggest reading the first volume before tackling this one. While some slightly tedious plot-summarizing occurs at the beginning of this book, you will have a much greater understanding of the various characters’ motivations, which, as mentioned above, is really key to understanding the novel.

The nice thing about reading Barry Eisler, in addition to the technical writing stuff, all of which he does pretty well, is that he actually knows what he’s talking about. You won’t find Japanese sales clerks being rude to their customers, speaking English like California surfer dudes, or otherwise behaving like Americans with unusually straight black hair. His Asian characters are Asian, his Americans American, his Europeans European. Very refreshing, considering the plethora of otherwise sensible writers who have no fucking clue.

This latest installment in the John Rain series matches the first three for quality and ties up most of the subplots that were introduced in those books. Rain also is developing as a character; there has been a gradual interweaving of humor over the last two books, and it helps to balance things out. Sure, being an professional assassin probably isn’t a barrel of laughs most of the time, but escape reading is escape reading, and breaking the tension here and there is a lot more fun than watching Rain being all angsty over the state of the world. Supporting characters Dox and Delilah both help out in this respect as well.

Bottom line: If you like a good thriller with exotic international settings, this will be right up your alley. Read the first three in the series before trying this one though; it’s fine as a standalone novel, but will give you much more satisfaction if you do.

I found a cute little novella on the internet. It’s titled A Happily Ever After of Her Own, and the first two chapters are available here: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2.

The rest are available to author Nadia Lee’s newsletter subscribers (the subscription is free). Thought some of you might want to check it out. Here’s the blurb from her website:

Melinda Lightfoot, a preschool teacher with an unusual ability to flit in and out of fairy tales, never thought she would get into trouble…

…until the Fairy Tale Police arrest her while she is in Beauty and the Beast. They offer her a deal: Find Beauty, who left the story when Melinda trespassed into it, or be charged with the ultimate crime — Fairy Tale Killer. If that’s not bad enough the Beast tags along in search of his true love, and Melinda starts falling for the fairy tale prince. She must choose between doing the right thing and having her own happily ever after.

Warning: This title contains the following: Fairy Godmother, the Wicked Witch, dysfunctional fairy tale families, ax-wielding executioners and a happily ever after (or two).