pres.umptuo.us

My write-up about these three books is long overdue since I read them months ago, but this post is purely for history so I can remember that I did in fact actually read them. These aren’t even gonna be reviews since I’m too lazy to go into their plots, so you’ll just get a lotta mumbling from me.

About a Boy I read because everyone kept telling me to watch the movie and so I read the book so I could then see the movie (which I haven’t yet). Shopgirl I read because the movie was coming out and it looked good, and also cause I got it on sale for a great price in Iowa. Bluebeard was read on Ken’s recommendation.

About a Boy

Nick Hornby is always really easy and enjoyable to read. He creates very distinct characters, and from this book and High Fidelity, he writes about the relationships and interactions between people very well.

I have no complaints for About a Boy, except that looking back on it now, nothing from the book really stuck with me or stood out. Much like High Fidelity again, Hornby’s stories don’t tend to be all that memorable.

Shopgirl

Written by Steve Martin (Yes, that Steve Martin), Shopgirl is being released this month in movie form starring… Steve Martin. This book is so short it’s called a “novella”, and I read through the whole thing on my last day in Iowa and on the plane ride back home. He certainly captures a very somber mode, but the book suffers a lot from telling instead of showing, yut I still enjoyed the book. I look forward to see how the movie turns out.

Bluebeard

This book disappointed me, because I always expect a lot from Vonnegut. It’s not until the middle when we start to get all the great ideas and one-liners from Vonnegut that I’m used to getting, but even then it doesn’t really kick into high gear.

What caught my eye though, was the great passage about how to have a successful revolution. I’m gonna try to paraphrase here:

A successful revolution requires a team of three specialists: An authentic genius, capable of having seemingly good ideas not in general circulation; A highly intelligent citizen in good standing in his or her community, who understands and admires the fresh ideas of the genius, and who testifies that the genius is far from mad; A person who can explain anything, no matter how complicated, to the satisfaction of most people, no matter how stupid or pigheaded they may be.

“…if you can’t get a cast like that together, you can forget changing anything in a great big way.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I fit into any of those three slots, so I’m still eagerly awaiting the revolution.