Portnoy's Complaint

 

By Philip Roth

The story of a young Jewish boy from about age 13 to 33. Alexander is guilt-ridden and lustful. He doesn't get much emotional support from his parents. His dad works hard and has digestive problems, spends a lot of time in the bathroom. His mom is a bit nuts, using cruel games and tricks to discipline her son, locking him out of the house and threatening him with a knife. 

Alexander manages to survive his teenage years and grows up to become a successful lawyer, doing work he finds important and meaningful. But at age 33, he feels that something is lacking and that maybe he needs to settle down and start raising a family. But instead of doing that, he hooks up with various women, finally ending up with a beautiful New York model that he actually despises. He views her as stupid, ignorant, and slutty, all of which are true, unfortunately. She seriously wants to be his wife but he knows that would be a mistake, for him any way. They travel to Europe and after an adventure with an Italian prostitute, he dumps the  model and runs away to Israel where he tries to rape an Israeli female soldier. Tries. 

The story is told as a session with a therapist but at the end (SPOILER) you find that the session hasn't even started yet: "So [said the doctor]. Now vee may perhaps to begin. Yes?"

I thought this was supposed to be an amusing story but I didn't find it so. It's just 300 pages of Alex whining about his life. He is not a good person, you discover as you read further in the story. He's a dickhead. Does he figure that out in the end? I don't know. Or care. 

How he sees himself, about midway in the story:

"...a brainy, balding, beaky Jew, with a strong social conscience and black hair on his balls, who neither drinks nor gambles nor keeps show girls on the side; a man guaranteed to give them [girls who would like to marry him] kiddies to rear and Kafka to read—a regular domestic Messiah! Sure, he may as a kind of tribute to his rebellious adolescence say shit and fuck a lot around the house—in front of the children even—but the indisputable and heartwarming fact is that he is always around the house. No bars, no brothels, no race tracks, no backgammon all night long at the Racquet Club...or beer till all hours down at the American Legion...what we have before us...is a Jewish boy just dying in his every cell to be Good, Responsible, & Dutiful to a family of his own."

 

So, I found the book kind of dull and Alex's nonstop whining tedious. I would sit down to read a bit of it and within thirty minutes I'd be falling asleep. This happened almost every time I tried to read it. I don't know, maybe I just couldn't identify with Alex Portnoy. 

It does have some amusing moments, like when he molests a piece of raw liver. And when he falls and breaks his leg chasing after a girl. And, this is kind of shitty to say, but his girl friend's note to the lady who cleans her apartment was pretty funny: "dir willa polish the flor by bathrum pleze & dont furget the insies of windose mary jane r"

Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.

 

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Lisa See

Set in China in the early to mid 1800s.

When Snow Flower and Lily were kids, their friendship was arranged by Madame Wang. A contract is drawn up and the girls agree to it and it is supposed to last as long as they are alive. It was a way, perhaps, to give women a relationship that was closer and longer lasting than those of the marital relationship. Because marriages were arranged, love was not a factor and men often took concubines when their wives became older or when the man became bored. So the sworn friend provided that long term, loving relationship lacking in marriage. 

The two girls do become good friends and grow up together and when they can't be together, they send each other messages written in the folds of an ornate fan which becomes a simple history of their lives. 

At first, it is clear to Lily that Snow Flower comes from a higher status family than her own. Snow Flower's clothes are nicer, her speech and manners more refined and her ignorance of household chores indicates those chores are taken care of by servants. Lily teaches Snow Flower the tasks that Lily performs every day, cooking, cleaning, caring for the elderly and the little kids. And Snow Flower teaches Lily the refinements she has been taught in turn. 

Foot binding was common in China at the time. I am not going to discuss a custom that I feel is depraved and barbaric except to say it was part of a young woman's appeal to a potential husband. Because Lily's bound feet were considered particularly appealing, she became the wife of man of higher status and privilege than her humble farming family.

However, even though Snow Flower's bound feet were also considered beautiful, she did not find a high status spouse but instead was married to a butcher. Snow Flower's father was a drug addict and a gambler and he bankrupted his family and a butcher was the best Snow Flower could do for a mate. 

It's not surprising that Lily and Snow Flower were not that close, given the disparity in their adult lives. As Lily's fortunes rose, Snow Flower's declined. Add to that the stress of a war that sent the people fleeing for their lives from their villages to shelter in the distant hills. Lily and Snow Flower became more dissatisfied with each other. While Lily wanted Snow Flower to try harder to improve her life and the lives of her family, Snow Flower wanted Lily to accept her and her life for what it was without nagging her to do better. Lily became distraught and cut Snow Flower out of her life. It was only as Snow Flower was dying that Lily came to understand how she had failed her lifelong friend.

This was a fairly interesting story. I have to admit that I hated the way women were treated in it, everything about the coldness and cruelty made me angry and distressed. On the other hand, the Chinese civilization is thousands of years old and apparently that system worked for them, as vile as it seems to me. 

This is not a happy story, the lives of the women as described in the book are miserable. They are hemmed about by rules and traditions and limited in every way, even the better off women have very little freedom and very little choice in how they live their lives. Throughout the story, we are reminded that women were viewed as evil and as a burden to the families unfortunate enough to produce them. Such sad, miserable lives and I was not sorry to be finished with the story.

Here is a review by Kirkus Reviews.

Savannah or A Gift for Mr. Lincoln

 

By John Jakes

Set in late 1874, this is the story of the citizens of Savannah, Georgia on the eve of the takeover of the town by General Sherman, the Union general famous for the trail of destruction he left behind as he and his army advanced across Georgia in 1864.

The main character is spunky Hattie Lester, twelve, the only child of an landowning widow whose spouse died in the war. Hattie is an ardent supporter of the Southern cause, mainly because her father died for it. 

As Sherman draws closer, the citizens of Savannah are understandably nervous, given the destruction for which he is famous. As the Union forces draw nearer, Hattie and her mother leave their rice plantation and move in with a family friend, Vee, a spinster piano teacher in Savannah. Vee lives in constant fear of being attacked by looters, thieves or Union troops. That is until she makes the acquaintance of a wounded Yankee soldier, who was shot defending her and her home from Yankee looters. 

Meanwhile, Hattie gets into a confrontation with General Sherman and kicks him in the ankle. At the time, she did not know who he was. But whether that would have made a difference in her actions is debatable. The General becomes a benefactor to Hattie because he is missing his own family and she reminds him of his daughter. (I believe this part of the story is entirely made up.)

In the end, the fearful citizens of Savannah had little to fear from Sherman and his arrival ended the Northern blockade of the city, which enabled food and goods to once again enter the city at a time when resources had grown very thin for many people there.

This was a pretty good read, if a bit pat in its handing of the different plots in the story. I did find the first part of the book much less interesting than the later part where the Union Army took over the city. 

Here is a review by the Historical Novel Society.

The Last Kids on Earth

 

By Max Brallier, Art by Brian Churilla

It's an ordinary day and four kids are on their way to school when everything falls apart. Most humans suddenly become zombies and giant, vicious monsters appear everywhere. 

The four kids scatter and thirteen-year-old Jack ends up living in a tree house alone. After struggling to survive for several weeks, he manages to contact his good friend, Quint, the science nerd. Later on Jack and Quint bring the school bully into their gang. Dirk, the bully, is just trying to survive like Jack and Quint and he is strong and brave and a good man to have on your side in a brawl. 

Jack has a crush on a girl, June, and he is determined to see if she has survived the monster/zombie apocalypse and he and his pals head out into a monster plagued world to locate June. Or die trying?

A child, 10 to 13 years old, might enjoy this graphic novel. It's nicely illustrated in full color. Jack and his friends are intrepid and manage to take care of themselves all by themselves. 

I read the book to make sure it was OK to give as a Christmas present. And it is OK. But, wow, was it boring! Kids might not find it so, but I sure did.

FGTeeV Blasts Off

 

By the YouTube stars known as FGTeeV and FV Family; Illustrated by Miguel Díaz Rívas

The FV family, Duddy, Moomy, Lexi, Mike, Chase and Shawn visits the National Space Center and end up taking an unauthorized trip in an experimental space ship. They get tricked into going on an intergalactic trip to find several vital artifacts that are crucial to the survival of humankind, or so they are led to believe. Turns out that was a lie put forth by a conniving little troll known as Xyle, the game store owner with whom the family is very familiar.

Anyways, they have exciting and improbable adventures on exciting and improbable planets and end up bringing a disaster back to Earth where the truth is revealed about Xyle. But the family steps up and counters his evil plans through a variety of video game challenges. 

This was a fairly interesting story, even though meant to entertain kids, which I expect it does. I enjoyed it and was surprised by the Xyle plot.  

I must admit that I have no idea who these YouTubers are. The book claims they are very popular which I suppose is true. I don't watch YouTube for kids. I bought this book as a gift and read it to make sure it was appropriate for the person I am giving it to. Which it is. It's pretty good, really.