Author Under the Age of 25 - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Wow.  Such an interesting novel, from such an interesting time in history.  I thought I really didn't like this book, and kind of forced myself through it.  But I've been thinking about The Heart is a Lonely Hunter all week, since I read the last page.  It's stayed on my mind for a few distinct reasons.

One, it definitely framed my thinking that this is by an author under the age of 25.  The writing style, the development of such a wide array of characters, the themes she explores (loneliness, spirituality, otherness) all shock me coming from someone who was 23 at the time of publication.  Read any biography of her, however, and you can glean that the troubled characters in her novels, this included, had something of herself in them.

Then, I've been thinking a lot about the characters.  Character development is a real highlight in this book.  I noticed it a bit while reading, and then I went on Goodreads to rate and shelve the book quickly when I glanced at the first review.  And the reviewer said "Mick Kelley, the main character..." and that simply blew my mind - as the main character is John Singer, and Mick Kelley is simply one of the revolving characters that inexplicably (?) opens up their life to him during the course of the novel.  I realized then that the power in this book andin John Singer himself lies in that fact - that depending on the person reading this book there is a depth to each character that can really sing to you.

While the prose can be a little dreary and a bit Southern Gothic, I pushed through and my reward was lots of deep thinking to accompany into whatever novel I end up with next!

A collection of short stories - Unnatural Creatures

I will read anything with Neil Gaiman's name on it.  Really, I'd buy anything with Neil Gaiman's name on it.  When they come out with Neil Gaiman-branded pens, please let me know.  So, knowing he's just released a series of short stories, I'd start there.

When I went to find these short stories, I also happened to find this set that he had not written but edited.  I love when authors I admire do things like this, because it helps me get inside their heads just a bit more.  I like understanding them through their taste.

Unnatural Creatures is a series of short stories based around the theme of, well, creatures that are unnatural.  The way that this is interpreted is very broad, from the classic werewolf and unicorn set to some very odd safety pins and coat hangers.  I loved two very specific things about this book of short stories.  First, it's clear Gaiman is interested in the sort of wry and peppy British-type humor and writing that I so enjoy, because there is so much evidence of it in this book.  Second, even the more "text book" unnatural creatures included twists in their stories that made them interesting and new. I am glad that I read this.

I lied: there's a third thing I really liked, which was the ending. The last story is a clever beautiful little tale about a woman attempting to meet Death, and I just thought that was a lovely note to end on.

A graphic novel - The Complete Persepolis

Persepolis is the memoir of Marjane Satrapi, who grew up in revolutionary Iran and attempts to reconcile her upbringing with the changes constantly facing her country.

I read The Complete Persepolis in a day, which is one of the advantages of the graphic novel - there are less words, so even paying attention to the pictures, it takes less time to get through. I really enjoyed and appreciated Satrapi's blunt honesty when reading her story.  The things that she experienced as a child, then moving alone to Austria and grappling with growing up alone in another country, and then moving back to experience the strangeness of her own county were all made more impactful by the simple way that they were described. The artwork was an extension of that experience because it was as stark and straightforward as the storytelling.  I admired Satrapi despite (because of?) her admitted faults as well as the love and respect she has for those around her.

I'm very glad I read this novel!

A novel written by or about a member of the LGBTQ community - The Miseducation of Cameron Post

This novel by Emily M. Danforth from 2012 could probably be also filed under the YA category. Emily M. Danforth herself came out in college, and the novel is about (shockingly) Cameron Post, who is identified in the story as a lesbian.

This is certainly an American coming-of-age type story, starting with a very young Cam Post growing up in Miles City, Montana.  Miles City is where the author herself hails from, a fact I found out after reading the novel.  Cam Post realizes very early on that she is attracted to other girls, and the story follows her life through the death of her parents, middle- and highschool, and being send to a "gay reform" camp by her evangelical Aunt Ruth.

This story is very straightforward and the writing is fine.  I think that "fine" or "okay" are the most accurate reflection of what I thought of this book.  The pacing was quite slow in my opinion, but almost always when I'm faced with a YA novel that doesn't have fantasy/sci-fi elements my opinion end up being that pacing is slow. I enjoyed looking into an account of the struggles a pre-teen and then teen faces when coming out in a different setting than the one in which I grew up - I was blessed (#blessed, if you will) to grow up in a very supportive, atheist environment where there was never any question that homosexuality/bisexuality/whatever was the cool thing to call being LGBTQQA at that moment in history was not a matter of choice nor something for which we should ever treat someone differently in my household.

A solid read. I would still like to read some of the others on my "LGBTQ" list and am definitely open to suggestions to get some books to compare this one to!

A sci-fi novel - Authority

The novel Authority by Jeff Vandermeer is part of a trilogy published in 2014.  The first novel, Annhilation, follows a crew of scientists into Area X, a part of the modern world that has been contaminated (?) by something or someone (?) that needs further study.  The mission quickly unravels and goes awry in disturbing ways, and ends with a total dissolution of the unit that initially forayed into the menacing wilderness.

In Authority, we step out of Area X and into the Souther Reach, the government agency responsible for keep tabs on and sending missions into Area X.  The newly established director, who goes by Control, has many different threads to keep track of as he attempts to "solve" the mystery that is Area X.  His strange family history weaves itself into the strange intrigues of the department itself and Control finds himself with anything but his namesake as the novel progresses - or deteriorates, as it were.

I really enjoyed this read, which like its predecessor was rather slim for a novel.  I also enjoy that, for a book so new, the entire trilogy is out for the reading so I can hop right on to the last book in the trilogy, Acceptance.