Book 31: The Violent Century

The Violent Century

Lavie Tidhar

I have always found stories featuring alternate and parallel histories somewhat enticing, with their visions of a past that, despite being somewhat similar to our own, is not quite right. At their best, these stories open up worlds of alternate possibilities, asking and allowing us to reexamine the ways in which we affect the world around and beyond us. Lavie Tidhar's alternate 20th century, which he aptly terms the "Violent Century", hinges on the presence of Übermenschen, ordinary humans who acquire superpowers after a mysterious quantum event in the early 1930s. Though World War II and subsequent conflicts proceed more or less as expected, the book effectively utilizes narrative tricks to evoke a sense of chaos that parallels the effect of the century's many wars. With its short (and often punchy) sentences, shifting points of view, and occasional flirtation with first- and second-person narration, to say nothing of its constant time-jumping structure, The Violent Century often provides a sense of disorientation that, somehow, doesn't feel out of place. The book quickly settles into a pattern, of sorts, and though the framing narrative and other details occasionally get lost it delivers necessary information at a reasonable pace. The book certainly rewards lengthy spells of reading, as certain bits of information become easily forgotten or lost, but it is remarkably accessible given its inherent complexity.

Some events do seem to get lost, not the least of which is the appropriate character building necessary to lend the book's central relationships an appropriate level of plausibility. Tidhar is also prone to distractions; though his visions of the various superheroes' postwar ventures are as compelling as the depictions of World War II, it is not immediately clear how they are thematically relevant. Likewise, one character's deus ex machina appearance toward the book's climax comes across as incredibly disingenuous, given the vast possibilities offered by their unique abilities; it simply beggars belief that it would not have previously been relevant, even given the novel's chaotic narrative structure. The book is jam-packed with excellent and intriguing ideas, and Tidhar employs a deft hand in bringing them to life, but the book clearly has larger philosophical aspirations that it cannot quite live up to. The questions are posed, if meekly, but the reader is never able to properly consider the implications.

Nevertheless, the book's set pieces are so convincing and impressive that it succeeds on the level of pure entertainment, experimentation aside. From the snows surrounding besieged Leningrad to the steamy jungles of Laos and the concrete maze of September 11-era New York City, the set pieces match the best in the business. Even more impressive is Tidhar's ability to seamlessly weave his Übermenschen into the fabric of oft-studied history, creating a slightly altered world that is as utterly convincing as any that I've recently encountered. What the book lacks in philosophical depth it more than makes up for in pure spectacle, his alternate 20th century a mirror on our own that invites, even if not in a wholly satisfying manner, a fair share of reflection. The book is eerily plausible in the way that it interweaves real and imagined histories, and it is a shame that the characters and their relationships cannot quite match the book's base level of surprising realism. Even if the story is ultimately disappointing, the worldbuilding deserves utmost admiration. The Violent Century may not deliver on all of its aspirations or promises, but it does invite readers to carefully consider the nature of heroism and, besides, offers a compelling alternate history that at times feels far more real than the actual chain of events that led us to today.

Grade: B+

Book 14: 11/22/63

11/22/63

Stephen King

This is the first Stephen King book I've read, and though there are only traces of the horror genre herein, I can see why his writing is so widely admired. King has a way of effortlessly transporting readers into a different era- in this case, the early 1960s- and describes the surrounding world in a thoroughly realistic manner. Somehow, despite the novel's considerable size, the pages fly by, and small events (most of the novel takes place prior to- and much after- the titular occasion) take on significant import. Though the book always revolves around the Kennedy assassination, there is much more to the story than that, as readers (like the protagonist) learn to live comfortably in the 1960s. This balance between the ultimate objective (reaching Dallas by the time of the assassination) and the work that it takes to get there (day-to-day occurrences) allows the novel to settle and to become meaningful beyond its time-travel premise. Despite the comfort that readers and the protagonist ultimately find in the past, however, the novel has a consistent dark undertone that helps it retain a sense of mystery and, to a certain extent, impending doom.

This darkness hovers over the novel, occasionally dipping into obscurity, and informs many of the most pivotal events. Though the book largely focuses on daily life, King manages the time travel conceit wonderfully, from his vision of the fundamental mechanism to its implications. Nothing comes too easily in this novel, and though there is one aspect of the time travel that feels a bit contrived, King's ideas about cause and effect are integrated seamlessly into the text. He plays with the concept of established timelines and manages to make his vision of time travel and the universe's sense of self-preservation fresh, a neat trick in a crowded subgenre. Even though many of the events are foretold and the general shape of the plot is fairly straightforward, the book retains a kind of suspense. King is also to be commended for his take on the historical assassination itself; the temptation to draw up a convoluted alternate theory must have been great, but the chain of events he proposes keeps the novel firmly planted in reality, and that much more believable and effective for it. 11/22/63 is a book that draws you in slowly, but it never relinquishes its hold on the reader once it picks up steam. It's a book that's easy to get lost in and thoroughly enjoyable to read.

Grade: A

Book 24: Rosa

Rosa

Jonathan Rabb

What do you get when you take a  somewhat disgruntled, experienced police detective, a volatile Central European country teetering on the brink of political disaster, a brutal crime, and hints of corruption? Jonathan Rabb's novel Rosa indeed has the classic elements of a noir mystery, and successfully weaves them into the tapestry of pre-Weimar Germany. Detective Nikolai Hoffner is at once unique and standard, a no-nonsense policeman with his own deep character faults who can nonetheless be counted upon to do the right thing. Though he alternately comes across as a cardboard cutout and as a fully fleshed character, he is sufficiently interesting and complex to continually drive the story forward. So it is with the plot, divided into two main halves but placed within the scope of plausible- if slightly unlikely- historical fact. The story combines glimpses into Hoffner's personal life and past with a cascade of discoveries that reveal a much more complex case than either the main characters or the reader initially assumed. Though there is little that is surprising within Rosa, it boasts a strong cast of supporting characters and a nice mid-story plot twist that adds depth and historical interest along with a hint of originality that sets this book apart. Though Rabb easily falls into the historical cameo trap, involving unsavory characters from the future Nazi Germany as well as- somewhat less plausibly- Albert Einstein, he knows his stuff, and convincingly portrays postwar Berlin with the assistance of a strong supporting cast. While there is nothing to particularly recommend the prose, Rabb is efficient and effective at revealing details and maintaining suspense without wielding too much authorial dictatorship. Regardless, the book is tightly plotted, and Rabb should be commended for refusing to allow too many gotcha moments- everything fits together neatly, but appropriately, without undue editorial wrangling. Sure, the scope gets a bit out of hand at times, but can one really erase knowledge of Germany's near future? The book manages to posit an alternate history without vitally altering anything of paramount significance, and gains some thematic depth and historical resonance in the process.  Ultimately, Rosa hits all the right notes and creates a convincing scene and story, satisfactory to mystery fans and historians alike.

Grade: A-

Book 9: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Seth Grahame-Smith

This is a book where you know you're getting exactly what's on the box: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter takes the standard biography of Abraham Lincoln and inserts the unholy undead. It's a clever- and fun- conceit, one that is both the book's greatest asset (somewhat obviously, perhaps) and its largest liability. The promise seems great at first, with a present-day introduction ripped straight out of Hawthorne and a sly twist on Lincoln's early biography that sets up the main idea of the narrative. Unfortunately, however, that twist- namely, and this will surprise no one, that vampires are real- becomes the novel's only surprise, and every insertion of vampires into the standard lore surrounding Lincoln's life weakens the novel considerably. By the time the fourth or fifth Great Crisis has been re-attributed to vampires, readers can be forgiven for thinking the author rather more lazy than creative; sure, the idea of re-crafting one of our finest leaders into a menace to the undead is creative, but simply adding vampires where it is convenient is not. Why vampires? What does this say about our re-fashioned Honest Abe? I hardly expected the book to be a pinnacle of insightful literature, but without even an attempt at these deeper questions of meaning, the book's conceit quickly becomes tiresome, even as the tension increases and the nation plunges ahead toward Civil War. It's not like Grahame-Smith was unaware of the promising ambiguities littered throughout the text; indeed, he even attempts to introduce such moral grappling into his text as different vampires choose sides and begin to spar. Instead of exploring the moral questions raised by this development, which have implications that impact the novel to its very final line, Grahame-Smith seems content to rest on his laurels, which are trifling indeed. His complacency turns a novel from a seemingly slam-dunk romp into a tedious recapitulation of well-trod history. With vampires.

Yet even when he adds vampires in ways more intriguing than "this pivotal death in Lincoln's life was a result of vampire poisoning," Grahame-Smith can't quite pull it all together. I applaud the attempt to weave vampires' unquestioned evils with those of the South, but simply stating a proposition does not a case make. There is so much more that can be done with this premise, and while I understand that the book is meant to be just surface fun, its flippant ability to raise intriguing propositions while instantly proceeding to ignore- or even outright undermine- them is downright maddening. The book so frequently shows potential, only to ignore it for easy laughs that simply stop coming after the first 50 pages or so. That the author does not seem entirely bereft of talent only makes things worse. His grasp on straight-up horror writing is firm, and some scenes are truly chilling, particularly when juxtaposed with what seems at first a silly premise and with hilariously altered photographs and other illustrations. I may question, and be subsequently annoyed by, the choice to refer to Lincoln as a folksy "Abe" throughout the entire narrative, but it does effectively render the famous President far more accessible than more formal histories might. Likewise, a clever usage of dreams is effective, but as similarly over-used, overwrought, and worn as the remainder of the novel's greatest tricks; it's great the first time, but any subsequent reappearances should have been consigned to the cutting-room coffin. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is not meant to be a serious novel, but its intimations of serious implications raise expectations that simply aren't met; the book is fun for a while, but the charm wears off, and instead it is a clever, but ultimately futile, endeavor, exactly what one would expect from the box.

Grade: B-

Book 6: If the South Had Won the Civil War

If the South Had Won the Civil War
MacKinlay Kantor

The alternate history genre that arises from the everlasting intrigue of "what if" is, really, inherent throughout all manner of fictional stories, from those that project a certain understanding onto the otherwise "real" world to the tales of galaxies far, far away from our own. If the South Had Won the Civil War is, however, an example in the vein one would expect from the genre, as amply evidenced in its title. If ever it is appropriate to judge a book not by its cover but from its title alone, MacKinley Kantor's effort is the epitome of such easily-judged literature. With a point of departure originating from the game-changing Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg in July 1863, the book traces the brief continuation of the war and its aftermath until the time of publication, 1961. While there is nothing particularly shocking about the book, as it seems to exist primarily as a series of interesting postulations rather than as an exploration of Kantor's own reality, it is clearly well-thought out and dressed wonderfully.

That the book is engaging at all speaks to its wonderful engagement with its central conceit, and those times when the book goes a bit off script are jarring but in the amusing, overly explained way peculiar to alternate history. Posed as a brief centennial history written in 1961 (a nod to Kantor's own publication date), the book is complete with occasional invented footnotes and little details that flesh out its reality and at its best when subtly dropping sly hints to its core audience of Civil War aficionados. Unfortunately, the book does include the familiar, stereotypical traps of the genre, and while the posing of historical immutability at its introduction successfully and immediately lures readers with its camouflaged irony, the author offers numerous asides to the audience that do not play nearly as well. These nods to the narrator's own "what if" scenarios are few enough in number to be more annoying than actually troublesome, though they temporarily pull readers out of the narrative context and are particularly aggravating for readers who are less familiar with the original history's own particulars.

In Kantor's case, these winks tend to err on the side of tolerability because his knowledge of history is obvious through his meticulous concern to detail. The book is small but possesses a remarkable depth for those who have the background to recognize the many changed details within the book that characterize its wartime segment. Indeed, these are so numerous and trifling that readers less versed in the storied history of the 1860s may feel at times hard-pressed to continue amid the barrage of minor details that seems to reinforce such reader's claims of ignorance. Regardless, the general sketch of events hangs together well enough that the most meticulous portions of the book are worth its post-war vision of a tri-partite North America. It is here most obvious that Kantor has given his scenario a good deal of serious thought, despite a bizarre, wholly unlikely treatment of Lincoln's death. The post-war implications for racial segregation are briefly explained but not dodged, and indeed there are some sentences that seem to originate from a later sensibility than that of 1961 (I had to double-check the publication date after reading what I believed to be a sarcastic reference to presidential resignations), as well as the expected (but intelligently done) cameo appearance of the real-world Cold War. Despite a somewhat pedantic ending, the book satisfies with its enthusiasm and consistency. If the South Had Won the Civil War is a surprisingly rich novella, with bountiful rewards for knowledgeable readers on the subject and enough verve to sustain the merely curious.

Grade: A-

Book 44: Soon I Will Be Invincible

Soon I Will Be Invincible
Austin Grossman

In a world where superheroes are real, it's incredibly difficult to step away from the shadow of the impossibly bright Watchmen, and though Soon I Will Be Invincible has some failures of its own, it does an excellent job of positing a modern-day superhero populace that is quite distinct from the caped crusaders of its predecessor. Grossman is to be commended for the ideas behind this book, the way he has initially constructed his world and his development of an X-Men-like theory of the superhero, where heroes are made by industrial accidents or the hands of men. Likewise, he deploys deft narrative skill in alternating the narrative between the world's most evil and most brilliant supervillain and that of a young cyborg just joining a recently rebooted superteam set on finding one of their own. Grossman thinks out the powers he gives to his superheroes and villains and it is obvious he has put serious thought into developing an extensive set of extras, often mentioned only briefly enough to prove to the reader that, yes, a human with those powers was conceived. This unfortunate sense of bravado pervades the book at times and leads to unnecessary and boring info-dumps, perplexing because they seem to have nothing at all to do with the narrative world.

While it is not unusual to construct an alternate history with superheroes, or one with aliens (who show up in this novel, to no small amount of reader confusion), one simply cannot just throw these elements into the World As We Know It and expect it to turn out the same. The book is alternate history, kind of, but it's more like our exact world except, wait, there were superheroes in it. I mean, it isn't necessary to take the heroes to the Vietnam War, but it's naive and jarring to expect that there were no major changes after it became obvious to the world that superpowered humans existed; you'd think at least the popular culture references, while cute, would change after the tenth time Dr. Impossible tried to take over the world. It is here that Grossman's book fails, utterly and completely; this is a shame because the book itself is interesting and fun. The heroes and villains are compelling and Dr. Impossible is amazingly rendered in 3D prose that puts the reader firmly in his corner, only to switch sides when almost-as-compelling Fatale plays narrator for a chapter. Sure, Grossman relies on some over-used cliches (the cyborg has an identity crisis, the villain was unpopular in high school), but these and the main support characters are interesting and do the job.

Even the plot of the book is different and intriguing, owing mostly, I think, to its unconventional narration. Readers are placed in the awkward position of rooting for both Good and Evil but are moved smoothly from one side to the other; I was personally rooting for Dr. Impossible but there is still a part of me that wants to be sure Fatale ends up okay as well. Dr. Impossible is, in fact, quite the nuanced character, and his constant insistence on taking over the world becomes a moving mantra about the power of perseverence instead of mere evil designs. I quite like him, in fact, but he alone cannot carry the book. The magical gimmicks are hastily and clumsily portrayed, though a few relics and technologies function well and seem to belong in this world; most impressive and coherent are the origin story for hero CoreFire and Dr. Impossible's latest Doomsday Device, which are hilariously over the top and straight out of Bond. The actual physical fights are the most believable elements, with the superheroes squaring off and showcasing their powers for the camera, as well as a particularly moving sequence in which Dr. Impossible conceives the best possible prison for each Champions member. The problem is that the world is too inconsistent and there are far too many extraneous elements: why the mysterious magic and the alien hybrids? Where are the aliens now? Why is the world exactly as we know it though it has been shaped by magical devices throughout and superheroes since at least the 1940s? These problems, along with some shoddy and clumsy writing, plague the narrative and, while the book is fun, it is far from well-written. Soon I Will Be Invincible means well and nails some elements while failing spectacularly at others; it is a novel of great ideas and a great climactic act but too little overall thought to be even fairly good.

Grade: B-

Book 6: Watchmen

Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

This famous graphic novel, soon to be released as a movie, is my first foray into the world of graphic narratives, and what an opener it is! This book has just as much, if not more, depth than many of its more traditional counterparts and provides a perfect balance of mass, pulp appeal and high art. Though I don't have anything to directly compare it to, Watchmen balances its written words and its art marvelously, using both to advance the narrative in ways unique to its medium. Not content to rest on a simple, straightforward narrative, Watchmen utilizes a uniquely complex mix of flashbacks, sub-plots, primary document-fueled backstory, and parallel narratives to completely immerse readers in its hardscrabble alternate future. Combine these intense and extremely well-executed literary techniques with the book's impeccably evocative artwork and Watchmen easily becomes a masterpiece in the world of printed art.

This book would be notable for the successful execution of its story alone. It is difficult to write alternative histories without becoming overwhelmingly didactic or falling into the realm of tired cliches; there are no such errors in the world of Watchmen, which paints its world in vivid colors and whose world is not so foreign to the real climate of the late Cold War. Major details, such as the outcome of the Vietnam War, are changed, but the fundamental climate of fear (and flashpoints of Afghanistan and East Germany) are not, making the world believable and suitably familiar to remain chilling and effective. Additonally, the changes to our accepted timeline are relevant to the book's superhero saga and are all necessary to the mood of the book, which is its strongest point. Its plot, regarding real-life superheroes facing a difficult and often hostile world, characters (who face very real and very complex psychological dilemmas), and setting (both in time and space) combine as perfectly as in any fictional world I've ever seen- each component is carefully considered and balanced against the others to create a completely engrossing story.

The soaring success of Watchmen is largely due to the way that it uses and twists familiar comic cliches. I initially wanted to groan at the appearance of a comic within this comic, but before long it was apparent that this nested narrative is carefully balanced with the book's main plot to expose grand truths about existence and human psychology, besides being an excellent and chilling self-contained story itself. Its characters are likewise the kind of flawed anti-heroes we've come to expect in recent years, but each embraces his or her role in an entirely unique way that defies stereotypes. Even when the plot becomes grandiose in typical superhero-story fashion, it is riddled with moral dilemmas so complex that the book becomes a work of deep and difficult philosophy while remaining enjoyable on its basic story level. Watchmen has layers so deep and complex that it is a trip deep within the human psyche, and even if these considerations become overbearing and a bit confusing at some points, the narrative itself is better for it. This is anything but an easy, breezy read and that is just fine.

Watchmen is the perfect example of art that recognizes and exploits its medium to fullest effect. Complete with backstory-rounding primary documents that illuminate the rich world of the book, this volume creates one of the most complete fictional universes I have ever encountered, to say nothing of its engrossing, thrilling, and completely appropriate plot. In addition to commenting on traditional superhero narratives with enough originality to stay out of the trap of didacticism, Watchmen puts forth a compelling story that fits entirely in to the fears of both its alternate history and its real-world publication date. Moore and Gibbons are able to capture the very specific fears and paranoia of the Cold War while retaining the atmosphere of general fear and doubt that accompanies today's advanced nuclear age. The problems of Watchmen are hyper-specific to its fictional history, real history, and today's continuing history; they are at once specific in time and entirely universal without being dated or at all cliche. Combine Moore's ultra-intelligent writing with the recurring motifs and absolutely stunning and appropriate art of Gibbons and it is no wonder that Watchmen has become such a classic in its own genre and throughout the entire publishing world. This book packs a serious punch and deserves all of its accolades; anyone skeptical of the power of the graphic novel should pick it up immediately, as well as anyone interested in the psychology of trying times. Watchmen defies description and soars above any praise I can humbly seek to bestow upon it.

Grade: A

Book 35: The Yiddish Policemen's Union

The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Michael Chabon

Despite the fact that its primary plot begins as a standard whodunit, with an anonymous body and a police detective badly in need of redemption, Chabon throws enough wrenches into the machinery of the traditional detective novel to keep The Yiddish Policemen's Union fresh even after its mystery aspect goes a bit stale. Blending a typical mystery story with Jewish history and culture and a stunning alternate version of 2007, this book aims high and succeeds in bringing something new to each genre while remaining interesting to the general reader. Central to the plot is Meyer Landsman, a jaded alcoholic detective with nothing to lose...because his entire company is due to be shut down in a matter of weeks. Chabon neither rushes readers into the deep historical reaches of his alternate vision nor creates confusion by introducing complicating and obscure details. Chabon lowers the reader in gracefully and gently, providing historical information as it becomes necessary and dropping certain tidbits as effortlessly as the characters themselves would. The stunning landscape of Jewish Alaska, apparently based on an actual Congressional proposal from the outbreak of World War II, is vividly imagined and is as much of a fully functioning world as many a space colony or other imaginary universe. The Sitka Jews have a rich culture and a vibrant language whose idioms come out even in the supposed English translation (a particularly subtle and effective touch is noting when characters speak "in American," usually when they're swearing). Nor is everything perfect in this temporary Jewish homeland; clashes with native populations, officials from Washington, and even different sects of Orthodox Jews are common and add depth to this rich world.

Chabon doesn't waste this intense and detailed setting for even one moment. He manages to intertwine the pressing issues of the Sitka Jews almost effortlessly into Landsman's own history and experiences, using only as much authorial privilege and ridiculous coincidence as can be expected in any mystery. The fact that his partner has specific ethnic connections or that his father plays chess add to the depth of the character and the only egregious incident of convenient placement is when Landsman's ex-wife steps into the picture and initiates a predictable subplot. For the most part, Landsman is a well-developed and rounded character, if rendered flat to genre readers by typical character traits and development. He functions well enough to maintain intrigue and personal connection as the plot slowly unfurls and reveals much deeper and more sinister intentions than first appear. The major twists in this story showcase Chabon's talent for seeing the greater picture and for imagining the likely consequences of certain actions, as well as a knowledge of Jewish history and the real-world developments in Jewish culture. Despite the fact that the turn events take is absolutely fantastic, it seems frighteningly real and possible even in our own world, a vividness that stems from what is no doubt a keen self-awareness of this book as a definitively post-9/11 novel.

The writing does get a bit haughty at times, with metaphors that ring true but are horribly misplaced in this story. Chabon may be attempting to chip away at the normally flatter prose of the mystery genre, but his highly literary metaphors drag down the action and distract from the excellent subtlety shown in his re-imagining of history. It is ultimately the setting and not the characters or even the solution to the murder that drives The Yiddish Policemen's Union, but that setting is so cleverly plotted and intricately detailed that it alone makes the book worth reading despite its lapses into predictability and certain plot twists that make absolutely no sense across great leaps of logic and events. The book, then, is not without its flaws but creates a stunning alternate universe that can teach us a lot about our own in its direct and bludgeoning nods to our post-9/11 state of mind. Chabon occasionally strays into the wilderness with ill-fitting prose but is always drawn back by the centrality of the Sitka settlement and its unique and compelling history. Though this story takes place near the end of Sitka's history, I would happily welcome additions to the stories of this rich and detailed world, an alternate Alaska that would likely justify any story thrown into it and which is adeptly introduced by the interesting and far-reaching conspiracy at the heart of The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

Grade: A-

Book 15: The Plot Against America

The Plot Against America
Philip Roth

Well, this book is certainly not quite what I expected. It's framed as a memoir, which must be popular as it's the second book I've read in this format in a while. I was expecting the main character to be a government official or something, but instead it is the view of a boy who is affected by a hypothetical historical turn of events. The events themselves, that of Charles Lindbergh's ascension to the presidency of the United States and the consequences felt by Jews, aren't entirely unbelievable.

However, the book loses a lot of its credibility when it reveals an actual plot twist, a conspiracy theory that could work in literature but which ultimately fails in this context. I think this is mostly due to the fact that the book reveals the major national events that occur in late 1942 in the form of newsreel recordings and before the narrator actually experiences them in his childhood. This is a major flaw. I thought that it was very sloppily done.

Here again is a book whose actual writing is quite good, but whose plot is just not working. I will even give credit to the original premise, and the conspiracy theory that motivates it. However, the way that everything jumps around chronologically just doesn't congeal to form any meaningful plot. A character will be introduced and then have a lengthy backstory. This in itself is not automatically destructive, but for some reason I don't think the method ever really worked in the novel, especially since many of the characters introduced in this way only serve very minor functions.

I expected a lot more out of this book and I've only heard good things about the author. However, I felt that this particular effort lacked any reasonable credibility and was not straightforward enough to be meaningful. I think I will try to look into something else by the author, but this particular book was sadly disappointing.

Grade: B-