Shelf Talkers

True Grit-Charles Portis

Portis’ 1968 novel has undergone a rebirth of sorts thanks to a new Oscar nominated adaptation from the Coen Brothers.  The movie has certainly revived interest in the book, which went to #1 on New York Times Best Seller chart last month. Make no bones about it, the book is different from both of its cinematic incarnations. The plot is told in hindsight from 1928 by a spinster named Mattie Ross who recounts how she and two other men set out to avenge the killer of her father. What makes Portis’ book so great is that he doesn’t hide the motivations of any of his characters. Although, technically a Western in genre, the book lays out its characters and their desires in a way that is similar to contemporary suspense novels. Then there is the prose. It is quite rich and detailed, calm, cool, collected and purposely deliberate. This helps the reader get into the head of Rooster Cogburn and Mattie in a way that the movies cannot really convey. His dialogue is as tough as the lawmen, and desperados he has created. Then he goes for the jugular by giving Mattie Ross a sense of innocence and loss that hides underneath her steely quest for revenge. What makes True Grit a great novel is the fact that in between all of the bravado, gunfighting and tough talk lay real characters, developed and nurtured along in a way most Western fiction cannot deliver. Portis’ humanity in True Grit is something that only the reader can really latch onto and feel. Although Portis published True Grit 42-years  ago, it still remains an unflinchingly brilliant Western novel.

Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart-Maya Angelou 

Writer/poet Maya Angelou is an American icon whose writings have touched generations. So it is only natural that when she turns her pen to food, culinary arts emerge. Her new cookbook comes from the heart and shares recipes and stories learned from childhood mixed with new ones she’s picked up on her travels. Each recipe is sprinkled with personal anecdotes about cooking, food and meals. What makes this cookbook so remarkable is that Angelou’s unabashed love for food is evident from the start. She offers sensible recipes for dishes, desserts and soups that please the tummy at any time of day. She also deals with portion control, healthy eating and nutrition. Several generations have known Maya Angelou for her flavorful words and poems, now they know her for flavorful comfort food as well.

Swamplandia-Karen Russell  

If you are looking for a compelling read filled with intrigue, suspense, high drama and alligator wrestling then this debut novel from Karen Russell is the book for you. Russell previously penned a wonderful short story collection, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. In Swamplandia, the density and volume of plants and critters of the Everglades serve as a vibrant backdrop for The Bigtrees, a family of alligator wrestlers who are struggling to keep their circus like freak show buoyant amongst changing economic times. Ava Bigtree is 13-years old. She looks after and cares for over 98 alligators in her family’s theme park. Despite her intelligence, resourcefulness and strong will, she's filled with grief and melancholy over the plight of her family which is falling to pieces. When her sister goes missing with a stranger named Louis Thanksgiving, Ava goes after her and embarks on a Southern gothic odyssey of discovery. Like The Everglades, Russell’s novel teams with life. From the snakes and alligators of the swamp to the ‘unique’ Bigtree clan, she has created an energetic and intriguing character tapestry filled with mystery, suspense, and loss set amidst the dangerous and isolated swampy world of Southwest Florida.

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland-Patton Oswalt

Most People know Patton Oswalt from his stand-up comedy or his TV work on King of Queens, Caprica, or maybe from his excellent acting turns in both Magnolia and Big Fan. What people who aren’t his regular fans do not know is that he is an author of several books who has developed a sharp wit and his own unique literary voice. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is a collection of personal essays by Oswalt spanning his days in 80’s suburbia to his time working in a movie theater and eventually to his days on the stand up comedy circuit. Along the way we encounter charming stories of building snow forts, gigging on the road with fellow comics and playing Dungeons & Dragons. Oswalt brilliantly tells one essay, On A Street In New Orleans through the medium of comics as a graphic story with artwork by Matthew Bernier. Throughout this collection of thought-provoking and humorous essays we see not only Oswalt’s approach to developing comedy but we also get to see inside his mind and delve into his personal history.  It is not very often that we get to see what make s a comedian tick inside, yet this book, via personal stories and humorous reflections, does much to help us understand the Oswalt psyche. Oswalt also has a natural gift for storytelling which helps Zombie Spaceship Wasteland resonate as something more then a collection of comedy essays, a collection of adventures told from the heart.

While Mortals Sleep-Kurt Vonnegut

Even in death Kurt Vonnegut remains a huge influence on contemporary writers. While Mortals Sleep collects 16 previously unpublished early career gems from Vonnegut that serve as a lasting testament to his genius for prose, satire and emotional resonance. This wonderful collection (which features a terrific introduction by Dave Eggars and original artwork from Vonnegut himself) highlights early fictions from Vonnegut. From the opening story Jenny, to the wonderful office escapades of Bomar and the appropriately titled ending piece, The Humbugs, we find a writer finding his voice, fine tuning his method and honing his craft as a storyteller. Vonnegut’s most devout readers will be glad to know that most of his familiar topics, fame, isolation, fortune, love and loss are all here, albeit not as dark or satirical as his later writings would be. He also visits a topic he would draw heavily upon in later writings, the desire for empathy and dignity in the modern working environment. Although Vonnegut died in April of 2007, this third posthumous book reminds us that this wonderful moral voice of fiction has not been silenced. 

For over ten years Subterranean Books has been an independently owned business located at 6275 Delmar, in the heart of The Loop.  www.subbooks.com