On the Shelf: Worst. Person. Ever.

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

WORST. PERSON. EVER. | Douglas Coupland | Random House Canada | October 2013

Meet Raymond Gunt. A decent chap who tries to do the right thing. Or, to put it another way, the worst person ever: a foul-mouthed, misanthropic cameraman, trailing creditors, ex-wives and unhappy homeless people in his wake. Men dislike him, women flee from him. Worst. Person. Ever. is a deeply unworthy book about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value. Gunt, in the words of the author, "is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id." He's a B-unit cameraman who enters an amusing downward failure spiral that takes him from London to Los Angeles and then on to an obscure island in the Pacific where a major American TV network is shooting a Survivor-style reality show. Along the way, Gunt suffers multiple comas and unjust imprisonment, is forced to re-enact the 'Angry Dance' from the movie Billy Elliot and finds himself at the centre of a nuclear war. We also meet Raymond's upwardly failing sidekick, Neal, as well as Raymond's ex-wife, Fiona, herself 'an atomic bomb of pain'.

Oh man. This book is cringe-worthy. Coupland has somehow indeed crafted the worst character to ever grace the pages of fiction. There's nothing redeeming about Raymond Gunt. Everything he thinks, everything he does, everything he says is terrible. I doubt there was a time I wasn't staring at the pages in shock while I read Worst. Person. Ever. This book will make you feel uncomfortable, but remember: just because you're reading it (from Gunt's horrible point of view) doesn't mean you agree with anything going on.

I'm pretty sure this book is supposed to be humorous. I don't think I laughed out loud because I wasn't sure I was allowed to. My reaction to this book was mainly me trying to suppress any urge I had to smirk or laugh because Raymond Gunt really is that dreadful. He's crude and selfish. He treats everyone around him with zero respect. Even the people he associates with aren't all that great of human beings. But I guess that's the point. Are any of us really that great if we bear our secrets and inner thoughts?

The plot of Worst. Person. Ever. is insane. Raymond Gunt's word spirals out of control and he goes on a completely unrealistic adventure filled with bad luck and necessary karma. Everything that can go bad does go bad. The book is completely original. You'll have no idea where the plot is going and it's a great, fast-paced, crazy ride.

Worst. Person. Ever. is also filled with well-placed pop culture references and passages similar to footnotes that explain the most random of people, places, and things. These 'footnotes' were my favourite part of the book: informative, but filled with Gunt's detestable wit and humour.

Warning: This book isn't for the faint of heart.

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On the Shelf: Cataract City

Thursday, 3 October 2013

CATARACT CITY | Craig Davidson | Doubleday Canada | 2013

Owen and Duncan are childhood friends who've grown up in picturesque Niagara Falls--known to them by the grittier name Cataract City. As the two know well, there's more to the bordertown than meets the eye: behind the gaudy storefronts and sidewalk vendors, past the hawkers of tourist T-shirts and cheap souvenirs live the real people who scrape together a living by toiling at the Bisk, the local cookie factory. And then there are the truly desperate, those who find themselves drawn to the borderline and a world of dog-racing, bare-knuckle fighting, and night-time smuggling. Owen and Duncan think they are different: both dream of escape, a longing made more urgent by a near-death incident in childhood that sealed their bond. But in adulthood their paths diverge, and as Duncan, the less privileged, falls deep into the town's underworld, he and Owen become reluctant adversaries at opposite ends of the law. At stake is not only survival and escape, but a lifelong friendship that can only be broken at an unthinkable price.

Cataract City hooked me from the start. The back cover copy begins with this amazing line from the book: "Some places you just can't leave. The specific gravity's too strong, keeps you locked in orbit. You've got to be launched out, like a circus performer from a cannon." It's true that the story focuses on the ever-changing friendship between Owen and Duncan, but this book also tells the story of a city and how living in a certain place for so long impacts your personality. For Owen and Duncan, Cataract City (Niagara Falls, Ontario) transforms them in completely different ways, pulling them apart and forcing them back together at every unexpected turn.

I love how Davidson looks at the very different paths of Owen and Duncan. When we're children, it feels like our best friends will be around forever. Friendship is something that falsely advertises eternity and there isn't a thing or a person in the world that can divide us from those we spend time with day after day. Once you grow up, you learn this belief doesn't remain true. Friends come and go as we change and learn and grow. However, what Cataract City shows is that those experiences and memories shared between childhood friends have a lasting impact and intertwine the lives of everyone involved.

The first section of this book narrates the near-death experience that Owen and Duncan suffer through together. The writing is spectacular and completely horrifying in all the right places. I couldn't have put the book down through this beginning sequence even if I had wanted to - it was perfect suspense that made me continue reading even when I wasn't sure I wanted to know the outcome.

The experiencesD of adult Owen and Duncan show the underbelly of a city. Even a town like Niagara Falls, known for its tourism appeal, has a dark side. The lives of the characters and the life of the city fuse together as we learn how these men navigate the decisions placed before them. Even the epilogue in this novel is worth talking about. Sometimes prologues and epilogues seem unnecessary add-ons, but this one is essential. Once I finished the book, I had no doubts about why Davidson is on the Giller Prize longlist this year.

"This was a vital part of my life, right here. And it was gone now. I felt sick with nostalgia. Memory like a sickness, memory like a drug. I stood in the lengthening shadow of the lane, swallowed up by the black hole of my past."

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On the Shelf: Born Weird

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

BORN WEIRD | ANDREW KAUFMAN | RANDOM HOUSE CANADA | 2012

The Weirds have always been a little off, but not one of them ever suspected that they'd been cursed by their grandmother. At the moment of the births of her five grandchildren Annie Weird gave each one a special power. Richard, the oldest, always keeps safe; Abba always has hope; Lucy is never lost and Kent can beat anyone in a fight. As for Angie, she always forgives, instantly. But over the years these so-called blessings ended up ruining their lives. Now Annie is dying and she has one last task for Angie: gather her far-flung brothers and sisters and assemble them in her grandmother's hospital room so that at the moment of her death, she can lift these blessings-turned-curses. And Angie has just two weeks to do it.

I won a copy of this book from a giveaway on My Pen, My Voice at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, life has a silly habit of "getting in the way" and I wasn't able to read Born Weird until last month.

Life also gets in the way for the siblings of the Weird family. Thanks to blursings (blessing + curse) afflicted upon them by their grandmother, the five Weird children go through life expecting things to go smoothly and yet horribly wrong at the same time. Born Weird is completely realistic in its portrayal of family (dysfunctional families really do have a special place in the land of literature), but has a touch of magic realism to make the book a little strange. Or, weird.

The entire book reads like a Wes Anderson film (Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums). I could practically hear the quirky soundtrack in the background as I read. Kaufman's uncanny ability to make short and choppy dialogue charming, and vague descriptions come to life, is a true demonstration of talent. I'm surprised Anderson hasn't already shown up at his doorstep with a screen adaptation.

Born Weird is a short book, and the story flew by quicker than I could turn the pages. It was my first encounter with Kaufman and I'm looking forward to more. If you've read any other Kaufman novels, which one should I pick up next?

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On the Shelf: A Beautiful Truth

Thursday, 9 May 2013

A BEAUTIFUL TRUTH | COLIN MCADAM | HAMISH HAMILTON | MARCH 2013

Walt and Judy are deeply in love, but Judy longs for a child and finds that life is holding few surprises. Walt measures all beauty against Judy but doesn’t want her eyes to get any sadder. They stay side by side and search for distractions, realizing they may never have a family. On a day when hope seems low, Walt finds an unexpected opportunity in the pages of Life magazine. They meet Looee, who was born in Sierra Leone, and they raise him at home in the hills of Vermont and regard him as their son.

At the Girdish Institute, a group of chimpanzees has been studied for decades. There is proof that chimps have memories and solve problems, that they can learn language and need friends. They are political, altruistic, get angry, and forgive. Mr. Ghoul has been there from the beginning, and has grown up in a world of rivals, sex, and unpredictable loss.

Looee and Mr. Ghoul travel distant but parallel paths through childhood, adolescence, and early middle age until Looee, who endures the darker side of Girdish, ends up meeting his kindred spirit long after he moves from Vermont.

I'm so glad that Rachel from Penguin Canada sent me a copy of this novel. It's not a book I would have picked up solely from reading the description, but Rachel's insistence that I would love the prose - and be thinking of Looee long after I finished reading the book - convinced me that this story was not one to miss.

The book is told from the perspectives of humans and chimpanzees. At first, I found it difficult to read from the point-of-view of a chimpanzee. The phrasing is choppy and the sentences don't always make sense, but with time I was able to overlook the structure and I found myself looking forward to these chapters. While hearing the story from the point of view of Walt or Judy is necessary at the beginning of the novel, A Beautiful Truth finds its voice in the minds of the chimpanzees.

Looee is such an impressive character. His actions make sense when you read through his thoughts. It was frustrating to know what he wanted and to understand the motives behind his actions when the humans he's communicating with can't figure out what he's trying to say.

A lot of what I've read about this novel focuses on Looee (which makes sense since he's the main character and has an interesting storyline: a chimpanzee raised as a human boy in a family house), but the character that I loved the most was Mr. Ghoul. Mr. Ghoul's story takes place in an institute and he is taught how to communicate using human language. I loved reading about his story and the way he communicates by pointing at symbols - and how his knowledge affects the interactions he has with other chimpanzees.

The language is at times crude, other times beautiful. The story is terrifying and full of wonder. It's an exceptional literary novel. If you're looking for something different and have an interest in getting inside the mind of an animal other than humans, then give this book a try. I'm still having trouble putting my thoughts into words, so you'll have to read this one for yourself.

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On the Shelf: Bone & Bread

Friday, 3 May 2013

BONE & BREAD | SALEEMA NAWAZ | HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS | APRIL 2013

Beena and Sadhana are sisters who share a bond that could only have been shaped by the most unusual of childhoods -- and by shared tragedy. Orphaned as teenagers, they have grown up under the exasperated watch of their Sikh uncle, who runs a bagel shop in Montreal's Hasidic community of Mile End. Together, they try to make sense of the rich, confusing brew of values, rituals, and beliefs that form their inheritance. Yet as they grow towards adulthood, their paths begin to diverge. Beena catches the attention of one of the "bagel boys" and finds herself pregnant at sixteen, while Sadhana drives herself to perfectionism and anorexia.

I picked up a copy of Bone & Bread because I knew that Saleema Nawaz would be attending the Ottawa Writers Festival and I wanted to be familiar with her work before the night of her panel. This story was a pleasant surprise and it somehow made the connection inherent to sisterhood a topic close to my heart - even though I'm an only child.

Bone & Bread tells the story of Beena and Sadhana - how they cope with life-altering situations, how they grow apart, and how they remain inevitably connected through it all. The "present day" narrative allowed me to connect with Beena, whereas the flashbacks had my heart breaking for Sadhana. It's a complex, literary novel that explores the intricate relationship involved in "family."

I was drawn to the characters more than the story (not that the story disappointed in any way). The two sisters were so realistic that it wasn't like reading a novel at all. You really get to know and understand them. The panel that Saleema Nawaz was a part of at the Ottawa Writers Festival was based on the discussion of family. Nawaz mentioned then - and there is a particularly strong line in the book as well - that perhaps it is being too close with someone that separates us from one another? This happens to the two main characters. It's almost as though they love each other too much for things to go smoothly. But isn't that the case for every family?

The novel is sensitive and honest, bringing to light the harsh realities that go along with two teenage afflictions: pregnancy and anorexia. Bone & Bread is a beautiful debut novel from Saleema Nawaz and I can't wait to read another.

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