Thomas Pynchon’s “Against the Day” — A Book Review

My review of Thomas Pynchon’s “Against the Day.” Yeah, it’s a year late, but the paperback just came out, so it’s sort of appropriate. I’ll take any chance I can get to write about Pynchon (and push my deadline back a week).

 — 

“Now single up all lines!” begins Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day, a fairly simple beginning for an author known for being convoluted and obscure. I’ll take any chance I can get to write about Pynchon, and the first paperback release of Against the Day seems to warrant it. In case you missed its original release last winter, the novel typical Pynchon: a sprawling epic filled with hundreds of characters, stretching across the world (and beneath it, and a few other places not on the map) and spanning the era from 1893 to World War I. Although it doesn’t quite equal the achievement of his earlier work, Against the Day is a solid entry into the Pynchon canon, consistently offering enough fantastic characters, absurd and expansive settings, and bizarre humor to make it his most entertaining work to date.

“Gonzo” by Jann S. Wenner and Corey Seymour – A Book Review

 I never like to admit that Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is one of my favorite writers, mainly because I don’t want to seem like the type of person whose favorite writer is Hunter Thompson. In my experience, the average Thompson fan is the kind of moron who only likes him for his excesses, his massive consumption of drugs and alcohol; a person who has seen the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas movie but never got around to reading the book. The popular perception of Thompson is his Vegas phase, but there’s a lot more to his life and work, which Gonzo, a new biography by Jann S. Wenner and Corey Semour, makes clear.

Nick Hornby’s “Slam” – A Book Review

A very short review of Nick Hornby’s latest novel:

 On principle, I should hate a book with a corny last line like “I think that’s what Tony Hawk was trying to tell me all along,” and it’s to Nick Hornby’s great credit that I don’t. Hornby is known for his skilled writing about stunted male adolescence and obsession in his novels High Fidelity and About a Boy and-despite the last sentence that sounds like it was ripped from a middle school essay-his newest novel, Slam, lives up to his well-deserved reputation, providing a quick and satisfying tale of growing up and taking responsibility.

Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” – An Album Review

Another world exclusive! Seen here before it goes into print: my review of Radiohead’s new album, with some help from music critic Paul Atkinson (check out his own blog in the links on the side). Read it:

“The infrastructure will collapse,” sings Thom Yorke on Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows, which describes not only Yorke’s usually gloomy lyrics, but the effect of In Rainbows on the recording industry. More than enough words have been devoted to this in the past few weeks, but here’s a quick run-down, in case you haven’t heard: Radiohead, one of the most respected and commercially successful bands in the world, were without a label after their recording contract with EMI expired in 2003. The band began recording their new album in 2005, fueling two years worth of speculation over what label they would sign with. Then unexpectedly on October 1st they announced they would be releasing the album themselves in ten days, available only online through their website. Not only would the album only be released online, but downloaders could pick their own price, with even the choice of getting the album for free (another option was an $80 disc-box containing a hardcopy CD version, a double 12″ vinyl version, and a bonus CD to ship out in December). No doubt some pretty revolutionary stuff (and from the looks of it, successful too; In Rainbows had 1.2 million within two days of being released), but does the music live up to the immense hype?

Stephen Colbert’s “I Am America (And So Can You!)” – A Book Review

A world exclusive: my review of Stephen Colbert’s new book, seen here before it will be published. Check it out:

If you’re a regular viewer of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, you know Stephen Colbert doesn’t trust books: “They’re all fact, and no heart.” Despite the printed word’s lack of “truthiness,” America’s favorite fake pundit has written a book anyway. I Am America (And So Can You!) has a lot of funny and trenchant moments, but ultimately falls short of the very high standard set by Colbert’s nightly TV show.