The following is what I've been reading. The reviews are capsules; if you want to discuss the works in more detail, or recommend something, mail me.
On the nightstand:
- Halting State, Charles Stross
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Near-future Sci-Fi by a fellow who's done his homework.
Recent additions to the library:
- Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr, Nancy Isenberg
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Isenberg's look at Burr is scholarly and deep, and shows an understanding his life and times, particularly his early life. As with many books about this time, it underscores how little the fundamentals of American political players have changed, even though the particular tactics and issues of the day have morphed.
As much a repudiation of Burr's many critics as a conventional biography, Isenberg assumes that the reader knows the basic outline of Burr's history and brings new sources and interpretations to bear on his reputation. For example, while not rehashing all the arguments of the treason case against Burr, she argues compellingly that he was more a man on the outs politically than an actual traitor. Similarly, she prefers to interpret rather than retell the events of the Hamilton duel.
She argues that in many ways Burr was pure of heart, though a man of his times. He certainly made some interesting choices, though many of his core values seem quite sound. Isenberg does good work pulling his reputation away from that of an interesting scoundrel and back towards a fundamentally decent politician caught on the wrong side of the Devil's bargains that career entails.
Either of those extremes probably misstates the case, but this work makes Burr's life clearer.
Recommended if you're interested in early US history.
Hmmmmm.
I really enjoy Keillor's monologues on A Prairie Home Companion: they're hilarious, sweet, and thought-provoking and never dull. Those ten-minute trips are almost never exactly what you expect and usually worth the journey.
WLT shares a tone with many of those monologues, but doesn't have the same range or unpredictability. There are certainly many bits of great writing in here, and they cohere well into a novel. Still, the characters and situations in here don't seem to come alive for me.
That's frustrating to write as a reviewer, even just a capsule blogger reviewer. There's nothing here to dislike; in fact reading this was enjoyable, if ephemeral. It's tough to take someone to task for writing something well that should grab me, but that didn't.
I can't recommend it, but I suspect the failure is with me.