In a year littered with strong candidates, coming up with the top five books I read in the past 12 months was as difficult as ever. Compounding the challenge was the presence of a couple of books whose cultural impact lent them more consideration than they otherwise would have warranted. As a result, Cory Doctorow’s “Walkway” landing outside the top five by a hair was as tough an omission as I can remember during the Scooties selection process—made even harder by the fact that I exchanged emails with the author during the course of the year. Entering the second decade of the Scooties’ existence, I look forward to more such dilemmas in coming years.
Without
further ado …
#1: "The High Mountains of Portugal," by Yann
Martel
What I Say Now:
In the
spirit of Stephen King, Martel picked up the kernel of a story he began a
quarter-century before, finishing it when he was a more mature and nuanced
writer. “The High Mountains of Portugal” achieves an admirable balance of
shock, brilliance, and the comic absurd in nearly equal parts. To me, Martel is
a treasure, as previous Scooties have demonstrated, and this book is a worthy successor
to his previous works of art.
Passages to Remember:
"When
he looks in his eyes in the mirror when he shaves, he sees empty rooms. And the
way he goes about his days, he is a ghost who haunts his own life."
"A
man or a woman may not need to work so hard to live, but a cog in a system must
turn ceaselessly."
"Long
before Darwin, a priest lucid in his madness encountered four chimpanzees on a
forlorn island in Africa and hit upon a great truth: We are risen apes, not
fallen angels."
"Mostly,
though, we went about with quiet, reserved insanity. It's what you do."
"Odo
is a being of the present moment, Peter realizes. Of the river of time, he
worries about neither its spring nor its delta."
"Because
to suffer and do nothing is to be nothing, while to suffer and do something is
to become someone."
#2: "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," by Betty Smith
What I Say Now:
Essentially an autobiography, this story evoked real emotion
that snuck up on you while building a subtle sense of shared experience with
the characters. Smith’s prose was sparse but moving, elevating this book to
well-deserved stature as perhaps the
defining depiction of poverty-stricken, wartime New York City. As an added bonus, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" served as an ode to reading, spurring numerous hipster tattoos.
Passages to Remember:
"Sometimes
when you had nothing at all and it was raining and you were alone in the flat,
it was wonderful to know that you could have something
even though it was only a cup of black and bitter coffee."
"The
Nolans just couldn't get enough of life. They lived their own lives up to the
hilt but that wasn't enough. They had to fill in on the lives of all the people
they made contact with."
"Feeling
his arms around her and instinctively adjusting herself to his rhythm, Katie
knew that he was the man she wanted. She'd ask nothing more than to look at him
and to listen to him for the rest of her life. Then and there, she decided that
those privileges were worth slaving for all her life."
"The
sad thing was in the knowing that all their nerve would get them nowhere in the
world and that they were lost as all people in Brooklyn seem lost when the day
is nearly over and even though the sun is still bright, it is thin and doesn't
give you warmth when it shines on you."
"One
delves into the imagination and finds beauty there. The writer, like the
artist, must strive for beauty always."
"What
is beauty?" asked the child.
"I
can think of no better definition than Keats': 'Beauty is truth, truth
beauty.'"
"Francie
took her courage into her two hands and said, "Those stories are the
truth."
"Only
let me be something every blessed minute. And
when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living
is ever lost."
"If
there was only one tree like that in the world, you would think it was
beautiful," said Katie. "But because there are so many, you just
can't see how beautiful it really is."
#3: "Doomed City," by Arkady & Boris
Strugatsky
What I Say Now:
This story
by the Strugatsky brothers was hugely controversial in the context of Communist
Russia, but despite that backdrop, it was funnier than expected, evoking
“Animal Farm” and “Catch-22” at times. There was admittedly a lot of symbolism
and satire to wade through, making the book confusing and hard to follow at
times. The brothers were clearly working on a number of levels, but the end
result was an interesting read as well as a compelling political and social
commentary.
Passages to Remember:
"'The Experiment
is the Experiment,' said the Mentor. 'It's not understanding that is required
of you but something quite different.'
'What?'
'If
one only knew ...'"
"Well,
great writers are always grouching too. It's their normal condition, because
they are society's sick conscience, although society doesn't have the slightest
suspicion that they even exist."
"You're
being asked a simple question: Can a society exist without creative
talents?"
"Deeds
should be worshipped, not statues. And maybe not even deeds should be
worshipped. Because everyone only does what he's capable of doing. One makes a
revolution, another makes a tin whistle. Maybe I only have enough strength for
a tin whistle--so that does mean I'm shit?"
"A
myth is a description of a real event as perceived by a fool and refined by a
poet."
#4: "Hillbilly Elegy," by J.D. Vance
What I Say Now:
Vance’s book was trumped (pun intended) as an explanation
for the ascension of Trumpism. However, in retrospect, it’s difficult to view
the story outside the prism of it as a launching pad for Vance’s burgeoning
conservative political career. He rightly points out the “cognitive dissonance”
that Southerners experience when their perception of self doesn’t match up with
reality; the choice to embrace a disconnect between their world and their values.
The book fails, however, when Vance attempts to turn himself into a superhero,
refusing to take responsibility and trivializing violence and destructive
behavior as somehow justified or a rote fact of life in a region. Though a
number of analogies fell short and Vance very clearly and evasively avoids any
talk of potential solutions, “Hillbilly Elegy” ends up here due to its relative
importance in the national discussion and its attempt to explain the
inexplicable.
Passages to Remember:
"There
is a cultural movement in the white working class to blame problems on society
or the government, and that movement gains adherents by the day."
"How
much of our lives, good and bad, should we credit to our personal decisions,
and how much is just the inheritance of our culture, our families, and our
parents who have failed their children?"
"
... being a hillbilly meant sometimes not knowing the difference between love
and war."
#5: "Sleeping Beauties," by Stephen and Owen King
What I Say Now:
The unique father-son writing format drew me in, and the
plot line itself was endlessly absorbing. However, the dialogue felt a bit off
for a Stephen King work, and the book suffered from some repetition and
unwieldy language, which may reflect the impact of son Owen King. The story
fell apart a bit at the end, with some loose ends left untied and a seeming
rush to conclude. Overall, a worthwhile read and an intriguing consideration
due to the father-son dynamic.
Passages to Remember:
"Another
part of getting older: you forgot what you wanted to remember, and remembered what
you wanted to forget."
"
... People loved their pets, often with a degree of openness they couldn't
allow themselves to express toward other people."
"Something
flickered in Lila's mind, the mental equivalent of a glittering fleck in the
sand, quickly washed over by a frothing wave."
"The
Internet is a bright house standing above a dark cellar with a dirt floor.
Falsehoods sprout like mushrooms in that cellar. Some are tasty; many are
poisonous."
"The
rain sounded like an ocean being stirred."
"What
did any of it mean? What was the point?
"Terry
decided the point might be a gun. He got out Frank's flask and had a tug."
"Loss
changes you. Sometimes that's bad. Sometimes it's good. Either way, you eat
your goddam pork chop and go on."
Honorable
Mention (in 10 words or less):
"Walkaway,"
by Cory Doctorow: Absorbing, clever tech tale damaged by
unrealistic, Sorkin-like dialogue.
"Two
Gentlemen of Lebowski," by Adam Bertocci:
Hysterical quick read cleverly translates Dude into highly quotable stanzas.
"Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn," by Samuel Langhorne Clemens:
Reread of literary treasure ineligible for Scooties, but welcomed excellence.
"Letterman:
The Last King of Late Night," Jason Zinoman:
Iffy writing somewhat sabotages biography of tortured entertainment genius.
"Content
Rules,” by Ann Handley & C.C. Chapman: Good, if
dated, resource collection somewhat offset by unlanded humor.
"The
Open Organization," Jim Whitehurst: Manual for tech
innovation through creative abrasion, tension-driven collaboration.
"Zen
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," by Robert M. Pirsig:
Overrated tale of bad father motorcycling, thinking in fortune cookies.
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