An UnderratedRead Revisited : Songs by Honeybird: Peter McDade

Posted on August 16, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff)


#CommissionsEarned


“Find your focus and the story may write itself: music and drugs, race and gender, a tragic barn fire and a missing body. It’s all much more dramatic than one usually sees in a dissertation….”

As I approached the final chapters of Songs by Honeybird, I had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. On the other hand, I was already mourning having to leave behind the fascinating worlds this book explores.

What can you say about a book that slides as easily as a laughing brook through the subjects of academia, songwriting, the music business, race relations in the South in the 60s, Buddhist philosophy, reincarnation, sexism, modern romance relationships, friendship, the story behind how history gets written, parent/child dramas, among other things – and has (a bonus) a talking dog!?

Read it!

Every page is adventure. There are surprises galore. The characters are real people with real reactions to their own lives and to the people in their lives. The dialogue is witty and bright. The pace is perfect. One of the best books I’ve ever read.

I have made a couple of attempts to give you an idea of what the plot is, but I really cannot do it justice. The main characters are Ben and Nina. The first chapter starts two weeks after their break-up. Their relationship was going well, and they were looking at an apartment with the idea of moving in together, when Nina gives in to her need for total disclosure. She tells Ben a secret and he walks out of the apartment and her life. The rest is her story and his story. A delight!

(Note: I wrote this review before I was informed that the book has a soundtrack! Even more interesting! The cherry on the whipped cream on the cake….)

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The Dead Chip Syndicate – Andrew W. Pearson

Posted on August 12, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch)

Exceptional
I’ll admit that I didn’t fall in love with this book right off the bat. But by the second or third chapter, it had really begun to grow on me.

The protagonist is Anthony, a struggling writer (aren’t we all) who ends up getting pulled into the high-stakes world of Chinese money laundering, Macau gambling casinos, AI, and crypto currency. Before long, he becomes the target of an assassin, but who is it? Anthony must figure this all out while trying to simultaneously, smuggle riches out of China, maintain his burgeoning relationship with his new girlfriend, help his estranged twin brother and sister-in-law survive pandemic known as Covid, and keep a pesky detective off his tail.

Author Andrew W. Pearson does an excellent job of keeping the action going without over doing it. The characters are believable, fun, and multi-dimensional. He builds the tension perfectly to the denouement with a surprise ending that wraps up everything neatly.

The Dead Chip Syndicate would make a great movie!

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All-Night Pharmacy-Ruth Madievsky

Posted on August 9, 2023 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung)


#CommissionsEarned


“You have no idea what it’s like being your sister. I’ve never had a day of rest in my life. Chasing after you like a dog. Leaving pieces of myself behind. And every time, you act as if that’s how it’s supposed to be. You lead, I follow, no questions asked.”

Our unnamed narrator has a toxic relationship with her manipulative older sister, Debbie. From drug use and drug dealing, drunken nights at the local bar, and shoplifting, she just shadows her. Debbie has never been there for her, and rehab didn’t change anything.

When Debbie suddenly disappears, our protagonist doesn’t know how to proceed. Should she look for her? Could she be dead? All she knows is that she is finally free. Or is she?

Both women grew up in Los Angeles with a mother who suffered from severe mental illness. Their father abandoned them. They all heard their grandmother’s stories as a Jewish refugee from the Soviet Union; their great grandfather apparently murdered by the KGB. Is their mother’s condition due to her internalizing their grandmother’s stories?

We follow our protagonist’s daily life as a recovering addict with a new job while eagerly waiting to find if she even looks for Debbie. In the meantime, she meets a psychic who is intent on resolving her own ancestors’ traumas in Moldova. She questions if that even makes sense, or should one honor them by making choices they were not free to make.

There’s a lot to process and think about here. Do the tragedies of a family’s past affect future generations? Can toxic and addictive relationships be blamed on a specific person, or are they patterns in one’s psyche?

You’ll ponder these questions in All-Night Pharmacy, while immersing yourself in a captivating story about a young woman’s troubled life. Highly recommended.

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Naked Came the Detective – Glendall C. Jackson III

Posted on August 4, 2023 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung)


#CommissionsEarned


Washington D.C. journalist “Chris” was always thinking about what happened to a high-end call girl he was obsessed with. One day he received an envelope from her, the contents in memoir form. He shares it with us and occasionally intersperses his perspective.

This unnamed woman was no dummy. She studied econometrics at Brown but was a mystery and crime fiction buff. So, when one of her clients, Ben, was found violently murdered close to her apartment, she had to get to the bottom of it. Though the death was initially reported as a mugging, she felt that this was anything but random.

Her clients were powerful and had influence. From politicians to attorneys to successful businessmen and beyond, they could have clues for her.
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The premise and title may sound silly, but this novella is anything but that. Not only do we get a glimpse into the world of elite sex workers, but we are also drawn into the case along with learning about the lives of our protagonist and those of her clients.

At just one hundred pages, Naked Came the Detective is still complete and makes for a fun, summertime read.

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Fakists – John Y Flanagan

Posted on August 1, 2023 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung)


#CommissionsEarned


Readers will be invited into the world of art forgeries in the light crime novel, Fakists. Specifically, we learn a fascinating manner of who can benefit and how.

Tom Landsaw has just been released from prison, and subsequently we learn about the events that led him there. We also discover how talent used for revenge can land one into a lot of trouble.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I found the supporting characters to be more fascinating than the protagonist. From the eccentric visiting art professor from Ireland to the independently wealthy movie theater owner, these quirky characters add such charm and delight to the story. The character that particularly intrigued me was the forensics specialist Sunny Shimura, the surfer originally from Tokyo who was contracted by both the Los Angeles Museum of Fine Art and the FBI to detect art forgeries. I would love to read a novel featuring him and his cases and travels.  In fact, a separate novel could be written by any one of these characters.

That aside,  Fakists cleverly blends crime and creativity into an interesting story. It is a quick read and will add to your summer reading pleasure.

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Las Biuty Queens: Stories- Iván Monalisa Ojeda, translated by Hannah Kauders

Posted on July 28, 2023 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung)


#CommissionsEarned


Upon arriving in New York City from Chile, Iván became Monalisa and worked the streets of New York City. She befriended other Latin American transgender prostitutes, and though they were from different countries of origin, they understood each other and held a unique bond.

Though this is a work of fiction, these fourteen stories are based on Monalisa’s life and those of her friends. They take place over a span of several decades and each from a particular perspective of a character. These are stories of survival, drugs, violence and even death, but also of dreams, hopes and sisterhood.

As Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar states in the introduction (which, by the way, is a must-read), the author doesn’t portray these women as victims. I agree, as I feel that though they face hardships and danger which she doesn’t sugarcoat, she characterizes them as women of strength and determination.

I can’t pick a favorite story, as I found all of them captivating. Iván Monalisa takes us into a world that few of us ever see, with authenticity and grit, and some humor sprinkled in.

Las Biuty Queens is for those interested in exploring the human condition, and reading about the lives of those who have chosen a particular path that we may not quite understand but are willing to learn about.

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Night Candy – Max Tomlinson

Posted on July 25, 2023 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung)

 


1979 San Francisco – A serial killer, referred to as “Night Candy”, has the city on edge. They are killing prostitutes and there are no leads. SFPD Inspector Owens has been working on the case , but when he himself is arrested for murdering his wife, justice does not prevail.

Enter our protagonist, unlicensed private investigator Colleen Hayes who, as a friend of Owens, believes he is innocent and is determined to clear his name and get him out of jail. She has also befriended some of the street sex workers and wants to protect them. The problem is that Hayes is on parole after serving over nine years for killing her husband. Since she cannot carry a gun, most of her cases are catching cheating spouses in the act.

Although the book follows the standard who-dun-it genre, where the PI has managed to accumulate a lot of enemies in law enforcement, it still manages to deliver an enjoyable reading experience. There are a lot of twists, and the characters are well-developed. The author manages to incorporate the gritty side of San Francisco as an effective backdrop to the story. The pacing is brisk, ensuring that the story moves along at an engaging tempo, and the writing style is descriptive yet concise, painting a vivid picture without unnecessary embellishments.

Night Candy is the fifth installment in the Colleen Hayes mystery series; however, it is the only one I have read. This proves that it can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Although I figured the story out before the conclusion, the journey to get there was enjoyable. Fans of crime fiction will enjoy this story of murder, mystery, and personal conflict.

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Artificial Intelligence: What AI Is and How You Can Use It to Make Your Life Easier: A Guide to AI for Beginners – Fred Fuld III

Posted on July 23, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch)

#CommissionsEarned


As someone who mostly reviews fiction, it’s not often that I have the pleasure of reading and reviewing a book about a topic that’s being widely reported and debated upon currently. The topic is AI, or Artificial Intelligence.

I’ll admit that although I came from a technical background, I had very little understanding about AI (especially the myriads of acronyms it has spawned). After reading Mr. Fuld’s book however, I have a much better grasp of this bourgeoning field, its potential – both good and bad, and what its impact could possibly be on humankind. Fuld breaks down the various terms, acronyms, processes in easy-to-understand language, as well as offering examples of what AI can and cannot do. .

My only complaint – and the reason I did not give it full stars, is that although the author mentions the failings of AI and how it can have inbred biases in its conclusions, Mr. Fuld does not offer any examples of these in the book. .

I’m not totally sold on AI and how it will fit into our future, but I am sold on this book and will keep it as a ready reference for a long time to come.

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Down with the Poor! – Shumona Sinha, translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan 

Posted on July 18, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung)

Exceptional
“…the same stories and the same bodies blended in my head, lost all definition and all form, became a dark and shapeless mass of giant bodies, that growled, shouted, demanded, cried, pleaded. Were they inventing a new country, a new nation, unknown wars, hidden genocides?

Our unnamed protagonist who immigrated to France seemed to be making a good life for herself. She worked as a translator between the government and those seeking political asylum. These petitioners included Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus.

So why did she risk it all by crashing a glass bottle over a strange man’s head, an immigrant like herself, while waiting for the metro?

As her interrogator tries to understand her motive, we get a glimpse into her perspective of refugee life. This is through flashbacks, reflections, and present-day dialogues. For example, when she visited the immigrant ghettos outside of Paris, she was sickened by some of their collective beliefs. Not only did she feel out of place, but she was shunned. However, she understood these people. She understood why they lie at their hearings and what they went through in their home countries. What happens if your life is constantly in danger but not for political or religious reasons? That is, how can you claim political asylum?

There is a lot to unpack in this novel. The author skillfully portrays the protagonist’s feelings of alienation and misogyny. While relishing in her lyrical prose, we learn the effects of European imperialism. We gain insight into the historical context and how it reverberates in the lives of immigrants today, influencing their identities and actions. This all takes place while we’re still trying to figure out why she committed this violent crime. The reader is constantly engaged in deciphering the web of emotions and experiences that shaped her into the person she is today.

Down With the Poor is a thought-provoking novel that explores the human condition when faced with adversity. It will encourage you to look at the world in a different light and have you think about these issues long after you finish the book.

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Another Exceptional UnderratedRead Revisited: Philosophy Made Simple – Robert Hellenga

Posted on July 14, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung)

,
#CommissionsEarned

Exceptional
Rudy Harrington, a sixty-year-old widower, is trying to find the meaning of life…his life. Is there any purpose left? To try and answer this question, he takes up the study of philosophy.

Since his wife, Helen, died seven years ago and his three daughters have moved out on their own, he feels that it’s time to move on. At the protests of his girls, he sells the house in Chicago and moves to Texas to grow avocados. During this time, he consults a book entitled Philosophy Made Simple, which was written by his future son-in-law’s uncle, philosopher Siva Singh.

Rudy always considered himself a Platonist, since he sought to find the reality behind appearances. However, Helen was more of an Aristotelian, seeing things for what they physically were. For example, though she loved Renaissance art, she appreciated it solely for its beauty, while Rudy tried to look through the paintings. But Rudy still struggles to interpret Helen’s affair with Bruno Bruni in Italy. Was there meaning behind it, or was it simply an “avventura”?

When he arrives in Texas, Rudy embarks on numerous adventures of his own. As each incident unfolds, he considers a new philosopher and looks past the obvious. Simple events become visions, signs, or omens. But at what point do you leave Plato, Aristotle, Kant, or any philosopher behind and go it alone?

In The Sixteen Pleasures, daughter Margot moved to Italy, but she still resented her father for selling the house in Chicago. This prompted me to pick up a copy of Philosophy Made Simple, to learn Rudy’s side of the story—and I found the book entrancing. Yes, it seems that the subject matter is serious, but, actually, this novel is enjoyably quick, light, and humorous.

Author Robert Hellenga includes so many colorful characters in his storytelling. Among them are Medardo, the grove manager, who reluctantly engages in Rudy’s philosophical discussions while trying to show Rudy how to truly enjoy the moment. Additionally, there’s Norma Jean, the painting elephant, Father Russell, a priest with no congregation, and Rudy’s daughters Meg, Molly, and Margot—as well as all of the characters involved in Molly’s Indian wedding.

To some degree, we’ve all asked the same questions that Rudy does. Should we simply appreciate and accept events for what they appear to be? And is the future really the problem, or is it the reluctance of letting go of the past? Philosophy Made Simple will prompt you to revisit these issues, while chuckling at the same time. You may not have the answers, but you’ll be mulling over them long after you finish reading the book.

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