Calico Joe, a Review

 Calico Joe is a novel by John Grisham.  I had to keep flipping the book to the front cover to remind myself of that.  No matter how much truth is blended into the story, the fact remains that the book is a novel.  The book is probably one that I never would have picked up on my own, but my buddy Jordan purchased me a copy and gave it to me to read, lauding it as a good story.  Not wanting to put Jordan off for too long, I picked up the short book and started as soon as I finished what I had been reading.

Calico Joe is, on the surface, a story about baseball.  Joe Castle was an up-and-coming baseball star, shattering records and making fans all across the nation.  Paul Tracey, at eleven years old, was obsessed with the game.  His dad, Warren Tracey, was a pitcher for the New York Mets, and from an early age Paul loved the game.  But Warren was a lousy father, often drunk and abusive and critical of everything.  Paul loved his dad but hated him, and this is the true crux of the novel.

The book is formatted into a memoir style.  One chapter is present day, with an odd first-person-limited view being told in present tense action.  Paul is older now, married with children.  The next chapter is a flashback to mid-century America, past tense jarringly obvious.  This format works, though I did find its methodology peculiar.  Regardless, the presentation accomplishes the story Grisham is telling.

The action here is subdued, with a foreseeable climax and a lengthy denouement that’s entirely appropriate.  The mood is tragic—Paul’s childhood was terrible—but the Reader is never all-out distraught.  The story is remarkably simple, but it’s also very accessible.  Grisham tends to do this well, writing prose that hooks the Reader on.  (Maybe that’s why I read pretty much all of his novels in middle and high school?)

I enjoyed Calico Joe.  As I’ve already stated, it was a simple story, but its simplicity made it effective.  The book is especially recommended for folks with daddy issues, or also for people that like reading “coming of age” books.  Baseball fans will undoubtedly love Calico Joe, although I suspect that hardcore fanatics may jump at some of the liberties Grisham took.  Overall, Calico Joe is a quick read.  The book handles the familiar themes of love, forgiveness, and death reasonably well, making an impact as much as to be expected by a popular fiction author.  If you want a summer read that’s appropriate for all sorts of Americana, check out John Grisham’s Calico Joe.

Humble Orthodoxy, a Review

Humble Orthodoxy, by Joshua Harris, is a concise booklet.  It has only four chapters, spanning just 60 pages*.   However, with those 60 pages, Harris writes about a message absolutely relevant to Christians today, and that’s one concerning love.

Humble Orthodoxy is a follow-up book to Harris’ Dug Down Deep (reviewed here).  It’s practical and to the point.  In Chapter One, “Your Attitude Matters,” Harris lays the groundwork for why this book is important.  Too often, Christians are either too humble or too orthodox, and each camp is plagued with problems.  Harris writes,

“Christians need to have a strong commitment to sound doctrine.  We need to be courageous in our stand for biblical truth.  But we also need to be gracious in our words and interaction with other people.” (p. 3,4)

Harris takes no credit for the term humble orthodoxy, but his teaching on the topic is nevertheless powerful.  It’s refreshing that’s he’s candid, for he, too, has much room for improvement.

This book packs a punch.  My copy is filled with underlines and stars.  The message is humbling (intentional pun!) and challenging.  Harris makes his point, and at least to me, it’s one that I am trying hard to infiltrate in my life.  Pride is insidious.  It’s toxic.  It’s detrimental to the gospel and it’s keeping millions of people in sin.  I don’t want my life ruled by pride or by my own personal truths/agendas, and Joshua Harris’ Humble Orthodoxy is an excellent resource to help combat that.

I highly recommend Harris’ little book, Humble Orthodoxy.  It offers a message that each and every Christian needs to hear.  A message on humility is not a fun message, nor is one on orthodoxy, but they are messages that are still important.  I pray that God works in my heart to make it more aligned with His truth.  I want to have genuine love and compassion for each person I encounter in my life.  I want to also hold fast to the Truth that God has revealed.   

* There’s an additional study guide section in the back.

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FTC Thingy: This book was delivered on the wings of a three-winged Pegasus, festooned with spring rolls and lucky Vegas dice.  It also was delivered free of charge in exchange for my honest (to goodness) review.  I was not obligated to review this book positively, nor was I obligated to feed the Pegasus my last Oreo cookie, either, though I did manage to do both.

Red Country, a Review

Shy South is a foul-mouthed piece of barbed wire layered thick over a sandpapered-yet-beating heart.  Her life consists mostly of tending her farm, along with her step-dad (Lamb), her two siblings, and a ranch hand.  When she and Lamb return from a trip to town to find their farm burnt to the ground, the ranch hand hanged, and the children missing, Shy’s life changes.

Temple is a man of many professions, most recently employed as a lawyer to a gang of ruthless mercenaries.  Temple always takes the easy road in life, no matter the cost.  But the years of this taking the easy road are catching up with Temple, and sooner or later something will have to give.

Red Country is Joe Abercrombie’s sixth book in the world of The First Law.  Years have passed since the original trilogy.  The Union is ever growing, expanding to the prairies and empty lands of the Near Country and the Far Country.  Dark skinned Ghosts attack with the wind, quick and sneaky, eager to cut the ears off of trespassers on their lands.  Through this wild and untamed country Shy follows a trail, stopping at nothing to get back her brother and sister.

I find it interesting that Abercrombie, a master of trope subversion, falls back on a rather clichéd incident for Red Country.  A burning farm.  Kidnapped children.  This is nothing original to the Western genre.  Nevertheless, taking these tropes and placing them in the blurred fantasy world Abercrombie does yield some entertaining reading, albeit flawed.

It seems like many people enjoy Abercrombie’s gritty Realism feel.  I like that style to a degree, but this is not the predominant reason I like his books.  Indeed, this was what I rather disliked with Best Served Cold.  Abercrombie writes characters who are amoral and wretched, often portrayed with little-to-no redeeming qualities.  Altruism does not exist in his world.  Because of this, the reading is often heavy and bleak.  What I like about Abercombie’s world is his worldbuilding.  The history is mysterious and deep.  The magic is barely there, but enough to keep me intrigued.  I’m okay with shady characters, but I really connect with the worldbuilding.

Red Country is a Western and it’s a Fantasy.  I’ve been a fan of Westerns for a good portion of my life (at least through film).  I like the slow pacing of a Western, the simplicity of the plot, the landscapes and colors.  Red Country was slow (almost too slow, honestly) when it needed to be, but the action was intense whenever presented.  Abercrombie did a wonderful job of painting the untamed countryside.  He even did a great job blending this genre into his already developed universe.

So after all of this, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed with Red Country.  In some ways it was anticlimactic, as if Abercrombie matter-of-factly orchestrates events for these characters with little fanfare.  I was also somewhat underwhelmed with Shy.  It felt like she was reluctant to open up to even herself, and throughout her POV chapters I often felt as a viewer.  Temple, on the other hand, was engaging and much more interesting.

Despite some disappointment, I still very much enjoyed Red Country.  It improved upon the bleak, violence that Best Served Cold (my review here) offered.  It also had a more interesting plot than The Heroes (my review here), even if the action was less intense.  All in all, Joe Abercrombie knows how to craft an entertaining story.  More importantly, he knows how to keep me interested enough to read more of his works.  I can only hope to get a little more information about the Fantasy side of his universe with future books.  Give me some magic.  Just a little bit.  And stop making everything so bleak.  Red Country probably isn’t for everyone (especially people that despise Westerns), but it is a worthy addition to Abercrombie’s growing catalog.

Album Review: Love Has Come for You, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell

This review was written by request.  A friend emailed me a link to John Scalzi's blog post about the album (here) and demanded a review.  I obliged, being a fan of bluegrass and a self-proclaimed reviewer of life.  So here ya go, Bill!
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Steve Martin is an adept banjo player.  He's also acclaimed for several other things.  Edie Breckell is, according to Google, Paul Simon's wife, and also a folk singer that I've never heard of.  The two collaborated and released Love Has Come for You, a relatively tame but entertaining bluegrass album.  I've reviewed this like an anthology, critiquing each track.  Also, you can listen to the entire album on Youtube right now by clicking here.

When You Get to Asheville – A gentle opening track, perfect for a sunrise.  The banjo work is reminiscent of the sounds I can hear when walking through the Appalachian hills, accompanied by a voice made for country/bluegrass.  The song stays mellow and begs for a crescendo but we’re left wanting.

Get Along Stray Dog – A faster rag, almost Arabic sounding in the middle.  This is what comes to mind when thinking about Martin’s bluegrass songs, light-hearted and fun.

Love Has Come For You – Brickell’s voice really hits the twang here, gushing on love for a newborn baby that was at first unwanted.  Style is similar to the opening track.  This is the title track, which definitely sets the tone for the album up to this point.

Friend of Mine – Relatively unremarkable.

Siamese Cat – Haha.  Great opening line.  This song rises above the minimalist style that has been apparent so far, adding some “ooh-la-las” and more background music.  Still leaves me wanting to hear a more robust sound.  I do like the story this song tells.

Yes She Did – The darkest song that’s been on the album so far.  A mother, married to a drunk, throws herself in the river.  That’s pretty much it.  There’s no musing, just matter-of-fact presentation.  Kind of how a lot of old timey folk/bluegrass music does.  A short lick that’s catchy.

Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby – More upbeat and fun, with a chorus that has Martin (presumably?) lending a vocal harmony to.  I actually heard this song first on the Bluegrass Junction Sirius station.  The twang shines here, too.  Another fun song.

Fighter – I like the beat of this song, and the minor chords really add to the mood.  This is one of my favorite tracks on the record.

King of Boys – This is a bit on the ethereal side, just slightly.  Some reverb might sound pretty cool here.  The cello work in the background is a nice addition, too.

She’s Gonna Shine – An optimistic song, which is increasingly rare in the bluegrass genre.  A simple song, but nonetheless pleasant.

Who You Gonna Take? – No.  Well… the opening is annoying, but the song improves.  The music is perfectly fitting, but I just don’t like this style of talk-repetitive stuff.

Shawnee – The chorus has a line that says, “You know my creepy cousin with the handlebar moustache?  He opened up a cold one and sat down on my lap.”  Great music work and fun lyrics.  Nice beat, too.  One of my favorites on the album.

Remember Me This Way – A suitable ending to the record.  The song has a bit of finality to it.  Nothing special here.

The focus of the album is obviously Martin’s banjo work and Brickell’s vocals.  Martin plays a five-finger traditional style banjo.  His work is tight and polished and completely traditional.  Brickell sings with a powerful voice, but not explosive.  Her voice is heavy on the twang, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Together the two create some great sounds.

Overall, Love Has Come for You is an easily accessible bluegrass album. It does a good job of hitting the traditional mountain music sounds, but it also does a pretty good job of telling some modern stories, too. There are a few notable highlights, but some songs that fall into obscurity, too. If you’re looking to try something different, Love Has Come for You is probably not it. But if you’re looking for some polished studio work and a solid bluegrass record, especially with a head nod to Appalachian music, look no further than this album.

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See also the Rolling Stone review (3-star) here.

I Don't Want to Kill You, a Review

John Wayne Cleaver is a sixteen year old diagnosed sociopath.  His obsession with serial killers and death make him a bit of an outcast, as does the fact that his mom owns the county mortuary, but John is okay being an outcast.  John lacks empathy, after all.  And a man without empathy is a dangerous man, especially one with a dark side like John.

I Don’t Want to Kill You, the final book of the John Cleaver series by Dan Wells, is a satisfying conclusion to the dark and twisted story Wells has created.  Clayton County has experienced a fair deal of death recently, ever since the harrowing Clayton Killer left a string of bodies two years back.  John Cleaver, now a junior in high school, is still struggling with his dark side.  Even more of a struggle is dealing with the terrible secret he knows about the serial killers, a secret that some people want to keep hidden.

I can’t say much about this book without spoiling the previous two.  The short of it is that Dan Wells has created a dark but remarkable protagonist.  John is instantly accessible in that his thoughts and feelings are things all teenagers experience.  Dialogue is poignant rather than cringeworthy.  Action is tense rather than passive.  John is a flawed character that the Reader cannot help but root for.

The structure of this novel is in the same vein as the other two, but slightly different, too.  There are murders and John wants to try and get a step ahead of the killer, thus the teenager once again begins playing whodunit.  I Don’t Want to Kill You continues to up the ante with John’s inner demons until a conclusion that was foreseeable-but-perfect.  I say perfect because honestly I can’t think of a better, more appropriate ending for the series.

On a side note, I Don’t Want to Kill You was my least favorite of this series.  In I Am Not A Serial Killer [my review here], the story was fresh, the plot intense, and the Great Reveal knocked my socks off (metaphorically).  With Mr. Monster [my review here] the pacing was at full-throttle and just macabre enough to not utterly repulse me.  I Don’t Want to Kill You is hard (nigh impossible) to put down, but at the same time the story is also winding down, too.  Dénouement is in the air.  The story is still great and very entertaining, but to me it is less fresh, less urgent than the previous books.

I very much enjoyed the story Dan Wells penned.  It’s always a delight to form a connection with a character, even one as creepy-weird as John Cleaver.  I can very much recommend the whole series to anyone with a stomach for the murders.  Fans of Dexter or CSI should like the stuff, just be advised that the series is not for the faint of heart.  Overall, John Wayne Cleaver is a fascinating character and I’m glad to have read about his story.  It’s a shame that the series is over, but I’m thankful, too, that Wells was capable of writing a satisfying conclusion.  I boldly recommend the whole kit and caboodle.