Somah

Role Models by John Waters (Audiobook Edition)

The King of Filth and Pope of Trash Will Impress You and Make You Laugh
My review on Amazon.com

I'm a big fan of John Waters' irreverent, twisted films. From the cultish "Female Trouble" and "Pink Flamingo" to the mainstream "Polyester" and "Hairspray." I love them all.

John Waters pioneered the campaign of turning filth and perversion into camp and hilarity. When Divine ate dog shit (for real) in Pink Flamingo, I was petrified. But I LOLed at the absurdity of the whole thing.

That's John Waters for ya. The true Prince of Camp.

In this hilarious autobiography, Waters introduces us to some of his role models. Don't be alarmed, not all of them are perverts. The beloved Johnny Mathis is one of them (yes, I gagged at that too.) Tennessee Williams is another.

Waters confesses that he "yearns for bad influence and Tennessee was one in the best sense of the word: Joyous, alarming, sexually confusing and dangerously funny." The anecdotes he recounts of the gayest moments in Tennessee William's life were beyond funny.

The most serious part of the book comes when Waters talks about his obsession with Leslie Van Houten, one of the Charles Manson's girls and a close friend of his today. Waters argues for paroling Leslie, or as he calls her, Lulu. He keeps humor to a minimum in his narrative about Lulu. He also talks about the role of LCD in his own life as well as in the Manson's.

Waters calls the Mansons, "The filthiest people alive," and that's something coming from the King of Filth.

Rey Kawakubo, the "genius fashion dictator" behind the Comme Des Garçon fashion line, is another role model of Waters'. He admits, "Mrs. Kawakubo is my God," and that he would "genuflect to raise destruction of the fashion rules. She is formidable, reclusive, intimidating and as described her work as and exercise in suffering."

He comments that, "what used to be called seconds (cloths that were on sale in bargain basements in department stores because of accidental irregularities) is now called couture." With his wardrobe being a "disaster at the dry cleaners," Waters found salvation in Rey's ill-fitting fashion. Definitely one of the funniest chapters in this book.

The rest of his role models are mainly freaks, perverts and outlaws, most of whom live in Baltimore and Los Angeles. Waters' narrative in explaining his fascination with these characters is funny but also compassionate and kind. His stories about a serious drag queen called "Pencil" and a tough lesbian stripper called "Lady Zorro," both Baltimoreans, were heartwarming and sweet.

Then he moves on to other role models of his, namely the two famous "alternative" porn auteurs, Bobby Garcia and David Hurles. If you are in any way, shape or form a prude, skip this chapter. It's, um, out there. In it, Waters reveals two sexual fetishes he would never try. You gotta read it to find out.

I was also fascinated to learn that John Waters is a fellow bibliophile. He states in a deadpan manner that, "being rich is not about how much money you have or how many homes you own, it's the freedom to buy any book you want without looking at the price and wondering if you can afford it." Amen to that!

He claims owning, "8425 books, all catalogued but no longer in complete order." One of his favorite books (he recommends five) is Denton Welch's "In Youth is Pleasure," which is very controversial and twisted to say the least. He praises it as, "so precious, so beyond gay, so deliciously subversive and is enough to make illiteracy a worst social crime than hunger."

The hilarity never stops with Mr. Waters. He is truly a one of a kind. You will enjoy this read immensely, and who knows, if you're still impressionable, he might become your role model!

The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (Kindle Edition)

A Raw Commentary on Egyptian Society Prior to The January 25th Revolution...and Beyond
My review on Amazon.com

This is Egypt. Its past of glorified and often lamented early 20th-Century grandeur as well as its present of turbulence and increasing desperation and repressiveness are artfully laid out for the reader to analyze, contemplate and invariably pity in this impressive literary work. This is Egypt that everyone knows well but rather not talk about.

The book captures the collective moral and physical destitution of the post-1970s Egyptian society like no other book has; at least none that I have ever read. The countrywide air of angst and despair is so thick you could cut it with a knife. The characters are drawn so skillfully and so realistically their pain is so intense and palpable it makes you wonder why it took so long for a revolution to erupt.

Speaking of characters, this book is rife with a diverse set of characters that are rich with complexity and alive with nuance. The author did an extraordinary job in taking the reader on an unforgettable journey through both the most inexplicable and most banal in Egyptian mores.

Each character represents a distinct reflection of Egypt herself. Her defiance, innocence, bitterness, lightheartedness, fanaticism, tolerance, softness, austerity, corruption, venality, hypocrisy, cowardice and hope.

Allegory definitely weighs heavily in this work of fiction.

Zaki Bey el Dessouki is an aristocrat and a francophile now living a shadow of his pre-1952-revolution posh life. He drowns his disillusion with reality in the pleasures of the flesh.

Zaki is a living reminder of an era that was once promising and hopeful, until Nasser came. Zaki recounts, "Abd el Nasser was the worst ruler in the whole history of Egypt. He ruined the country and brought us defeat and poverty. The damage he did to the Egyptian character will take years to repair. Abd el Nasser taught the Egyptians to be cowards, opportunists, and hypocrites."

Zaki embodies Egypt's murdered past of carefree and happy days. “Cairo was like Europe." He laments thinking of that time. "It was clean and smart and the people were well mannered and respectable ... What times! Every night was filled with laughter and parties and drinking and singing. There were lots of foreigners in Cairo. Most of the people living downtown were foreigners, until Abd el Nasser threw them out in 1956."

His sister, Dawlat, is the complete opposite. Her caustic and vitriolic bouts or rage defined her character since her children abandoned her and emigrated. Her goal in life was to make her brother's life a living hell, and she succeeds in doing so.

Dawlat represents a generation angry at the circumstances that led to the demise of their social standing; a generation so bitter and unhinged at what happened to them they either leave and forget about the old country or stay and unleash their wrath on everyone around them, including their loved ones.

Then there is Taha and Busayna. Two kindred spirits torn apart by reality. These pivotal characters tell the core story of Egypt. Their pure love tainted by poverty and their dreams drowned by a culture defiled by venality, nepotism, sexism, and classism. That is, in a nutshell, the story of Egypt.

And then of course, there is Hagg Azzam, a pious Muslim and a rich man who decides to join the Egyptian Parliament. The Arab world is rife with the likes of Hagg Azzam. They are the kings of hypocrites, the heads of opportunists and the leaders of cowards. They are the embodiment of the culture that's held Egypt and the Arab world hostage to a faulty religion.

Oppressing people and robbing them and killing them, all the while praising God in a sickening expression of sinister piety.

In an exchange between Hagg Azzam and an influential member of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, the man says, "No Egyptian can go against his government. Some people are excitable and rebellious by nature, but the Egyptian keeps his head down his whole life long so he can eat. It says so in the history books. The Egyptians are the easiest people in the world to rule. The moment you take power, they submit to you and grovel to you and you can do what you want with them. Any party in Egypt, when it makes elections is in power, is bound to win, because the Egyptian is bound to support the government. It's the way God made them."

Sadly, that was not a disillusioned perception of reality by the corrupt government. People did grovel. People did obey. The Egyptian psyche has been conditioned since Nasser took office to be subservient.

This comes through in a correspondence between Taha and The President where Taha writes, imploring Mubarak to look into an injustice that has just befallen him. He goes on to say, "Your Excellency Mr. Presiden will see that your son ..." The submissive tone starts with the word "son."

The use of "son" and "daughter" inherently suggests the fallibility and inferiority of the citizenry, like a child that's eager to please his parent. The government, in turn, uses the words "father of the people" to refer to the relationship between Mubarak and the Egyptian people. This sort of condescending rhetoric was used excessively by Mubarak prior to his ouster on February 11, 2011.

Perhaps the most complicated character is that of Hatim Rasheed's, the token homosexual in this cast of "normal" people. Hatim is a successful, smart and good-natured man that lives in a society that considers him a pervert because of his sexuality. Hatim's lover, a simple rural man named Abduh, is a closeted homosexual with a wife and kid and illiteracy to boot. Hatim's tumultuous personal life offers the reader a glimpse of life for the educated liberals in Egypt.

I can go on and on about every character in this book. They are definitely very rich and very well fleshed out, but I'll leave some of that for you to explore on your own.

Reading this novel in the post-January-25th-revolution world makes me wonder about the fate of these characters in this "new" Egypt. Many of the the grievances expressed repeatedly by the author were what erupted the revolution.

Will the likes of Hagg Azzam and his cohorts finally get thrown in jail once and for all? Will Taha's dreams be allowed to flourish? Will Hatim's too? Will Zaki be able to feel proud again?

These are some of the questions you will be asking yourself as you're reading this book. It's very topical and extremely thought-provoking. 

The only gripe I have with this book is the the translation. It's at times awkward and almost inaccurate. Some nuances are lost, as it is with most translated works of literature. Being fluent in Arabic makes it easy for me to spot those errors, but they're probably a nonissue to the non-Arabic reader.

Get this book and learn about the old Egypt, and when you're done, make a prayer that the new Egypt isn't anything like this.

Bossypants by Tina Fey (Audiobook Edition)

Wildly Entertaining & Educational!
My review on Amazon.com

I downloaded the Audible edition of this book right before an impromptu trip to Santa Barbara on one clear, sunny Southern California Saturday morning. I normally like to read my books, but I find funny books that are narrated by the author, are best experienced in stereo. And boy did this one deliver! I was laughing out loud for most of my 4-hour roundtrip drive that day. It also got me thinking about business best practices and social abnormalities. Quite an achievement for one funny book.

The book starts off with hilarious anecdotes from Fey's childhood and early adolescence. The bits about her transition into womanhood, Planet Parenthood, and being a magnet for gay men are too funny they will make you burst out in laughter like a crazy person. It's not just that they are very funny (and believe me they are,) it's the fact that they are *smart* funny. Her humor is definitely highbrow but not in a pretentious, snooty kind of way.

From early personal history, she moves onto her career from the early onset to SNL and 30 Rock. As funny as this part of the book is, what really surprised me and made me really appreciate this book even more was the lessons she shared about business best practices (aka common sense) and the art of being a boss. Lessons like, "the show [SNL] doesn't go on because it's ready, it goes on because it's 11:30," resonated with me quite a bit.

From career to motherhood to family, Tina Fey does a sublime job in expressing her seemingly ordinary journey in the most sophisticated, smart and hilarious prose.

Great food for thought on so many levels. Get this audiobook and enjoy Tina's sage advice and superb humor.

The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi

Engrossing Story of Despair
My Amazon Review

First off, this is one tight book. The translator, Polly McLean, pulled a Hemingway with this one. Every sentence is accounted for and ever word conveyed a specific mood, feeling and image. Kudos to a flawless prose! 

Now to the story itself. 

This short story (136 pages) is about a woman caring for her immobile, stricken husband as she recounts her dark thoughts and secrets to him. The entire story takes place in the room where the husband lies bed-bound, which makes it a great candidate for a play production. 

When the man's wife, who remains nameless throughout the story, visits him to change his soiled cloths and replenish his IV drip, she reveals a little bit about herself and her untold story to him, and to us the readers. The story builds quickly and crescendos with a shocking revelation and a chilling development that will leave you stunned and heartbroken. 

The story is extremely allegorical, which is precisely why the woman was never given a name, which in turn would have given her an identity. She represents Afghanistan with all its anger, innocence, naïveté, perversion, sorrow and pain. At the heart of the story, though, was despair. The woman's palpable wretchedness mirrored the state of her country. The war that was raging outside her house was identical to the one tearing her apart from the inside. 

And there is no end in sight. 

The sick man aslo represents Afghanistan. He represents its hollowed, paralyzed and rigid consciousness that is unable to evolve or to respond to outside stimulants. 

The "patience stone" in ancient Persian folklore is a magical black stone that absorbs the plight of all those that confide in it and explodes when nothing else remains to be said. The woman makes the man her very own patience stone. She confides all her dark secrets in him, hoping he'd explode when she's done laying it all out before him. 

The story makes for a great read. It has tender moments, but it's mostly very intense and heavy. It makes sense that Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns) introduces it. The woman in this story could be one of the close relatives of either Mariam or Laila, the protagonists in A Thousand Splendid Suns. If you loved that book, you will love this one too. 

If you're looking for a slice of life, albeit depressing, in Afghanistan, this makes a great, quick read. Highly recommended.

The Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey (Kindle Edition)

Masturbatory, Preachy and Trite
My Amazon.com Review

I couldn't wait for this book to come out, considering that Frey's "Bright Shiny Morning" is one of my very few all-time favorite books. I ordered both the $50 leather-bound book and the $10 Kindle edition because I wanted to have the story with me wherever I went; to read it whenever I wanted; to savor it whenever I needed.

Well, it didn't quite pan out that way.

My anticipation was met with a colossal disappointment at the third-rate writing (absolutely uncharacteristic of Frey's, by the way,) embarrassingly indulgent themes, underdeveloped characters (another very odd thing coming from Frey) and overtly preachy agenda. I thought the idea behind the book was brilliant (i.e. love conquers all and organized religion is the source of all evil) but the execution was painfully lacking.

The story is about Ben Zion Avrohom, whom Frey goes to explain, is "also known as Ben Jones, also known as the Prophet, also known as the Son, also known as the Messiah, also known as the Lord God." 

Throughout the book, "Ben Jones" reminded me a lot of Jim Jones of Jonestown. It was very disturbing. But I digress...

The book is divided into 16 small chapters, each of which is the story of Ben told from the perspective of a distinct character that meets Ben and is changed by him. There are 12 characters, analogues to the 12 apostles in the Bible, and one of them narrates three chapters.

Amongst the colorful (yet sadly austere and underdeveloped,) narrating characters are a Dominican prostitute, a construction supervisor, an ER surgeon, Ben's sister, Ben's mother, a born-again homosexual Christian evangelical, a rabbi, a derelict, an FBI agent, an evangelical pastor, a priest, an obese white woman from upstate NY, and a Black Public Defender. There is also a recurring character that doesn't narrate and that is Ben's brother, Jacob.

Ben himself didn't have a chapter, although I'm sure there was plenty of writing materials in NYC, where he hung out.

Anyway ...

Through the eyes of this eclectic group of people we get to learn what Ben thinks of government, religion, money, the Gods, Jesus, race, sex, homosexuality, any sexuality, abortion, death, Heaven, Hell, guns, drugs, and of course, the Holy Bible and the Words of God.

It sounds all great in theory, but the way it was written was, in a way, insulting. Not in a blasphemous sort of way, but in an intellectual sort of way. Maybe Frey wanted to book to be so banal to poke fun at the Holy Bible? I'll never know. All I know is it didn't work for me.

The long and short of it is this: God wants us to live and act on all our desires and needs and love and fuck and engage in orgies because in the end ... LOVE IS RELIGION.

I think Frey should have focused more on his writing and his characters rather than the design of the book, which by the way is beautiful. If you're a James Frey fan, you will either love this book or really hate it. If you don't know who James Frey is or haven't read any of his books, run for your life. Read "Bright Shiny Morning" instead.

If you decide to get the book, get the eBook edition first just to make sure you like it. If you love it, buy the leather-bound, Bible look-alike edition. Great for collectors.

I'll give the book this, though. It had the most appropriate title. Because very much like the Bible (old and new,) The Koran and other "Holy" books, it is a waste of paper and ink and a crime against the environment.

I guess "skip it" would be my recommendation.

The Imprefectionists by Tom Rackman

A Commendable Literary Debut and a Gripping Obituary of Newspapers
My review on Amazon.com

 

The deceased is the newspaper industry, symbolized by this particular unnamed English-language daily newspaper in Rome, Italy. The paper's history is celebrated at the beginning of each chapter while the chapters themselves are reserved for recounting the lives and careers of key individuals that give the paper its identify and bear witness to its demise.

Amongst those colorful and often tortured characters are Kathy, the editor-in-chief and a matrimonial avant-garde. Arthur, the obituary writer and a proud indolent who's about to change course. Lloyd, the Paris correspondent and a broken man, beaten down by his past. Winston, the Cairo correspondent and a helpless rookie. Herman, the Corrections Editor and a man about to make corrections in his own personal relationships.

Each chapter is told from the perspective of one character. They all, however, appear in supporting roles in each other's chapters, in turn painting a complete picture of the great times and the bad times through which the paper (and themselves) have gone.

With Rome being the main backdrop of this story, the reader is transported to the world of foreign correspondents with all its glory and tribulations. The international journey then continues to Paris, Vienna and Cairo.

As much as I enjoyed the story, I felt a tad detached from the characters (except Herman Cohen,) hence the 4 stars, but I'm really nitpicking here. I'm pretty sure Tom's future work with cover that dynamic famously.

Highly recommended, especially as a summer read.

The Regulars by Sarah Stolfa

Back in the mid 2000s, a photographer bartended at a dive bar in downtown Philadelphia.  She served her customers beer, whisky or wine, and then took their picture.  The result is a series of portraits that beautifully and honestly tell the story of the city of brotherly love, and in turn, America's.  The stories, the portraits and the wonder they convey is found in The Regulars by Sarah Stofla.

The patrons at McGlinchey's bar, where Sarah bartended, came from every walk of life.  They were black, white and every color in between.  They were old, young or too young to look that old.  They were mostly exhausted, forlorn or anxious, much like the country at the time.

The book doesn't have much prose in it since the complete story is told by these portraits, proving once again the age old adage, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

The book made me wonder about how different the collective story would have been had Sarah taken these portraits in a dive bar in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Dallas.  How about London, Madrid or Tel Aviv What would have the common theme been? 

 

The book has definitely renewed my respect for portrait photography and the simplicity of storytelling that Stolfa does so well.  Definitely worth checking out.

  

The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives by Shankar Vedantam

Fundamentally, Our Species is Flawed
My review on Amazon.com

The author tries to accomplish two things throughout this book: Explain how the hidden brain works and how it influences human behavior. He doesn't, however, explain how the hidden brain has evolved or how it can be changed, which to me is a crucial and expected takeaway when reading about the subject of the hidden, or unconscious, brain.

We come to understand through the extensive psychological research put into this book the reasons behind racial biases, prejudices, sexism and suicide bombings in our collective societies. The author challenges our preconceptions about the "intent" behind these behaviors and explains the real reasons behind their occurrences. The fascinating research shows that our unconscious brain, which is fast and visceral, dictates what our conscious brain, which is rational, deliberate and analytical, does.

One of the things the book draws attention to is the spotlight focus (aka tunnel vision) of the conscious brain and how the unconscious brain compensates for that limitation. Our attention is always focused on what we "choose" to focus on. Our unconscious brain's job is to adjust our behavior based on its own processing of the feedback it receives from everything outside our spotlight focus. This explains the distance we keep between each other while perusing artwork at the museum, for example.

Another fascinating discovery about the hidden brain is that it is influenced by other hidden brains. Ever wonder why in some situations where someone is attacked the witnesses never intervene to help knowing very well that it's wrong to stand idle? Well, it's because no one took the initiative to intervene, so everyone else followed suit. Individual hidden brains relinquish control to the group's "collective" hidden brain. Same thing explains why some floors on the World Trade Center towers were evacuated on 9/11 and some weren't--not even a single person left those perished floors.

My favorite and I believe the most important learning I took away from this book is how the "Tunnel" theory works on the hidden brain. The author argues that suicide bombers, Nazis, Jonestown mass suicide and other violent ideologues out there are not influenced so much by religion or a specific ideology but rather by a "need to belong and to impress others." The "Tunnel" theory is about taking a normal person, isolating her from the outside world, sending her hidden brain consistent and focused messages (aka indoctrinating,) and praising her as a "special" and a "chosen" individual worthy of whatever it is that is promised.

The "Tunnel" theory explains how Hitler was able to control a relatively sophisticated and educated society to follow his barbaric ideas. It also explains how nonreligious young Muslims turn into suicide bombers given the right conditions. 

The hidden brain and the "Tunnel" theory also make me understand the nasty political atmosphere here in America better; The religious fanaticism that exists even within neighborhoods of large and diverse cities.

I personally think homeschooling children is a way of using the "Tunnel" theory on their hidden brains, but that's just me.

This book is full of great examples on how the hidden brain works. To a discerning reader, the information is vital in understanding human behavior and how to manipulate it. Read it.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

More Like a Lost Opportunity
My review on Amazon.com

As it turned out, Dan Brown had squandered a golden opportunity to enthrall his readers with this much anticipated Robert Langdon novel. He also managed to mar his reputation as a serious writer and entertainer with the exceedingly bad characters, including Robert Langdon's, with which this book is rife. As much as I enjoyed reading Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, I'm afraid Mr. Brown has "lost" me with this one.

With that said, I did enjoy some aspects of the book. I'll start with what I liked first.

Dan Brown is known to load up his books with a ton of research on the subjects in question (i.e. Vatican, Rome and Catholicism in Angels and Demons; Christianity, Paris, Jesus and Knights Templar in The Da Vinci Code) and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed reading about the Masons and their history and rituals. I also got to learn about Noetic Science, which I didn't realize existed prior to reading this book. Brown's descriptions of Washington D.C. and the Capitol were immersive and fascinating in the same measure.

But then we had to deal with characters and plot, which brings us to the portion of this review where I get to tell you what I didn't like about the book.

Aside from the fascinating research, everything else was one bad joke after another. The characters, especially Robert Langdon's, were vapid to put it lightly and sadly inconsequential. For the better half of the book, Langdon was inexplicably balking at concepts that a man with his experience (from Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code) would simply not have. Seriously, most of Robert Langdon's lines were a variation of, "yes, but that doesn't make sense" that's shortly thereafter followed by, "God, now it all makes sense." 

And to add insult to injury, the plot was a mess. It was too predictable, weak and embarrassingly contrived. 

I was really disheartened to see such cheap and amateurish work put out by a writer with such a huge platform. You may enjoy reading this book just for the research that's put into it. But if good character development and believable plots are important to you, The Lost Symbol will end up being lost time you wish you get back.

Orangutan by Colin Broderick

Bird's-Eye View of The Descent of Man
My review on Amazon

Colin Broderick starts his memoir with a warning. "This is not a pleasant story," he says. "In fact, it's downright ugly in places. But it's my story and I'm not going to apologize for it." Well, he's right. It is ugly and indulgent, but a fascinating and well-written ugly and indulgent story.

The fact that Colin is still alive is beyond me. He actually touches upon that in the book: "I had not died. I was alive. I had been through car accidents, I had been stabbed and hospitalized and almost drowned, and now I had fallen off a roof and I was alive ... God was telling me that I should drink." As glad as I'm that he's still alive and well, I think the fact that a lot of drunkards, like him, pull through unscathed dampens the cautionary tale their collective experience is supposed to convey: alcohol kills.

There are some genius moments in the book, like the sage advice Colin gives aspiring writers. "To write you must rewrite. You must be willing to sacrifice your darlings. Rip it apart, throw some of it out--throw it all out if you have to--and rewrite." and his ballsy move to hand Colum McCann--author of Let The Great World Spin--the manuscript of his first novel. He definitely has what it takes to get a book like this into my and your hands.

Colin's story sheds light on alcoholism and Irishmen, which is evidently endemic. Colin admits that "the possibility of not drinking at all was out of the question. My fellow country men would never forgive me." It's pretty hard to quite drinking when everyone around you--your friends, your family and your community--are big drinkers.

Aside from his alcohol and cocaine addictions, Colin actually reminded me a lot of myself, which made his story that much more devastating. He's a bibliophile and a writer and a sensitive SOB. He's a great guy if you're lucky enough to catch him sober.

This was a fast read and written really well. I wonder, however, if Colin has another great book in him or if this is it. Whatever you think of Colin the person, the addict or the flake, you gotta hand it to him as a great writer.