A Book Review

Cameron is an aimless, sarcastic stoner who is alienated from his family and has no real friends of which to speak. When he starts having hallucinations and loses control of his body a couple of times, everyone assumes he must be using hallucinogenic drugs. Not true: after getting fired from Buddha Burger, getting suspended from school, being forced into therapy by his parents, and having a run-in with a flaming toaster oven, he is finally diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob (a.k.a. “Mad Cow”) disease. It will deteriorate his brain and kill him.

It is at this point when things get interesting. A pink-haired punker angel, complete with combat boots, torn fishnets, and actual feather wings spray-painted with graffiti, appears to Cameron in his hospital room. She urges Cameron to escape the hospital and undertake a quest to find the mysterious Dr. X, a traveler through dimensions who has inadvertently brought dark energy back with him to our universe. It is this dark energy that is attacking Cameron’s brain, not Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and if he can find Dr. X and get him to close up the wormhole, he will not only find a cure for himself but save the universe!

What follows is a kaleidoscopic adventure full of quirky characters and a million plot twists and details. The book is stuffed with a mess of references, touching on everything from Norse mythology to Star Wars, quantum mechanics to MTV Spring Break. Best of all, some of the hippest “references,” such as the legendary mystical free jazz trumpet player Junior Webster, are actually entirely made up by the author. While the book at times reads like both a Percy Jackson title for the 17+ crowd and Paper Towns on acid, Don Quixote looms large in the background and the idea of living out one’s life in a week’s time hearkens back to Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Hilarious, weird, life affirming, surreal and ironic, above all Going Bovine is just a whole lot of wacky fun. (four stars)

[Flags: this book depicts drug use, pervasive profanity, and an irresponsible and somewhat ridiculous teenage fantasy sex scene. I hate sex scenes in books in general, and this one specifically knocks a half-point off my rating and makes it a definite “high school only” title. But really, if a dying teenage boy actually is dreaming his way through the end of his life, among other things of course he is going to dream himself up some sex, so maybe it can be forgiven?]

Going Bovine
Written by Libba Bray
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
496 pages
ISBN: 978-0385733977
Release Date: 22 September 2009
GoingBovine.com
Libba Bray – Official Website

A Book Review

Nayeli, a recent high school graduate who works at a taco shop/internet cafe in the tiny tropical town of Tres Camarones in Sinaloa, Mexico, arrives one day at a startling realization: there are no men in Tres Camarones. Her own father, formerly the only cop in town, left several years ago for the fabled United States, and so did all the others. Not only do Nayeli and her girlfriends have no one to date and eventually marry, but now they have no one to protect them from the bottom-feeding narcos and bandidos who, anxious for their own territory, have recently moved in on the remote, defenseless village. Watching The Magnificent Seven at the local movie house, Nayeli is inspired with the solution to the plight of Tres Camerones: she will travel North to “Los Yunaites” and round up her father and other able-bodied men to return to Mexico and save their village.  So, with support from the village, Nayeli and three friends begin their hilarious and harrowing journey through Mexico to Tijuana and eventually, hopefully, to the United States, where they expect to quickly enlist seven Mexican “soldiers and policeman” to repatriate and save their village in short order.

This book is at once a winning comedy and an epic adventure tale of a journey into mysterious, dangerous lands (such as Tijuana, Las Vegas, and the Colorado Rockies).  It is also injected with striking moments of social realism, depicting the poverty and desperation of both those who cross the borders and those who stay behind.  It provides a fascinating outsiders’ perspective on the United States as well as a Mexican perspective on border-crossing and immigration. Having read and loved several instances of Americans on adventures or misadventures in Mexico (e.g. Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses / Border Trilogy and Kerouac’s On the Road), it was refreshing to read of Mexicans on an adventure in the exotic United States.

This story is filled to overflowing with endearing, memorable and quirky characters (examples: Nayeli’s formidable Aunt Irma, nicknamed La Osa (“the she-bear”), in her younger years a Mexican bowling champion, now running for mayor or Tres Camerones; and Atómiko, a self-made samurai warrior and superhero refuse picker of the Tijuana garbage dump who gives new meaning to “trash talk.”  The mood of much of this book is such that Jared Hess (writer/director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre) just might be an ideal choice as director of a film version.  Though the characters are amusing and likeable, many of them are a little bit one-dimensional.  The characters’ lack of depth holds the novel back from perfection, but is serviceable enough in a comedic adventure context.

Although marketed as an adult novel, the book might have great appeal to teenage readers because of the age and sentiments of its protagonists, its humorous and exciting storyline, and numerous youth culture references.  Indeed, I almost wonder if, had this been Urrea’s first novel, a publisher might have marketed it as a young adult book. The cover art, though tasteful, does not seem to properly represent the book’s lighthearted tone and contemporary, adventurous story, and was probably designed to visually tie the book to Urrea’s successful adult novel The Hummingbird’s Daughter, which I have not yet read.  It appears as though, in attempting to market this book to Urrea’s existing literary audience, they may have missed out on a potential new and different audience in teenagers.  Furthermore, a quick survey of Internet reviews suggests that, because of this marketing misstep, some readers expecting “serious literature” have been turned off by the comedic elements and simple characterizations, two things that may actually work in its favor as a young adult book.  All in all, I think I would actually recommend this book first and foremost as a book for teenagers; it would be at home in contemporary YA literature.

[Note: the book does contain some explicit language and, of course, an irritating, not-really-necessary and not-entirely-condoned but nonetheless-apparently-obligatory-in-contemporary-literature sex scene. Unfortunately, it's nothing out of the ordinary even for YA literature.]

In her search for heroes, Nayeli becomes the true heroine of the story, her journey rife with ordeals, excitement, distractions, and sorrows. She saves the mission and their lives on numerous occasions, and after trying the hard and dangerous way, always manages to find the help they need in the most unlikely of places and people.  The tragicomic, foreign, and fresh view of both Mexico and the U.S.A. that Urrea portrays through the journey of Nayeli and her companions will stay with the reader for a long time.  Four stars.

Into the Beautiful North: A Novel
written by Luis Alberto Urrea
Little, Brown and Company
342 pages
ISBN: 978-0-316-02527-0
Release Date: May 19, 2009
www.luisurrea.com

A Book Review

Mary lives in a place simply known as the village. It is surrounded by protective fences which must constantly be patrolled and repaired to keep the village safe from the forest beyond and its threat of the Unconsecrated – shuffling, moaning, infected undead that, for all the villagers know, may have overrun the entire earth, save this last sanctuary of normal human life. All her life Mary has heard the folklore passed down through her family telling of the ocean and a world that existed beyond the village and the forest. As much as the fences keep death out, Mary begins to feel that they are keeping her in as well. Her childhood friendships have matured into a troublesome love triangle which puts her at odds with the will of the Sisterhood who control the village, and breaches soon break out everywhere, not only in the fences, but in her family life, friendships,and what she thought she knew of her village and the world outside.

To a certain extent, Carrie Ryan has done with a post-zombie apocalypse world what Stephenie Meyer did with vampirelore, eschewing some of the horror elements in favor of romance and soap-opera-style melodrama. As a main character, Mary causes quite a bit of consternation. She is often selfish, lustful, whiny, fickle, rash, and illogical. On numerous occasions throughout the book I found myself arguing with her or telling her to shut up. It is not entirely clear whether it was the intention of the author to paint Mary in such a disagreeable, morally ambiguous light, or if it is partly due to a lack of details and characterization. For example, what Mary speaks of incessantly as her “love” for Travis we interpret mostly as lust, simply because for much of the book we are given few details about him beyond his good looks and her physical desire for him. My irritation with Mary is actually what kept me going on this book, as I was hoping to finish it just so I could give it a terrible review. However, she did grow on me as the book progressed. She eventually does come to question some of her own actions, asking herself the same questions the reader has wanted to ask her throughout the first part of the book. At one point even she becomes cognizant of the fact that, much like the Unconsecrated that surround her, she is on an inexorable path, ever hungry but never filled. Her selfish flaws and inconsistencies make her a frustrating, but nonetheless real and complex character.

Key questions never answered, too much “telling” of melodramatic feelings and thoughts, and a lazy lack of details keep this from being the book it could have been, but the events are so compelling and Mary’s erratic, destructive behaviors become so fun to follow that it is still an entertaining read. And of course a sequel, The Dead-Tossed Waves, is coming out next year. For the quality of the book itself I would generously give three stars, but for a teen audience four stars because it is a high interest read that may pull in reluctant readers. Thus, 3.5 stars all around.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Written by Carrie Ryan
Delacorte / Random House
310 pages
ISBN: 978-0-385-90631-9
Release Date: March 2009
carrieryan.com

It sounds like a hand-labeled cassette given to you by a friend, or found in an attic or an old drawer.

We have had a lot of rainy days lately around these parts.

It feels like it was recorded in a cabin in the mountains, a homespun recording with the tape hiss in the background to prove it.

It is filled with both simple folk songs and swirling psychedelic jams.

I pretty much live in a cabin in the mountains.

It is as likely to have been recorded four decades ago as four days ago.

With the exception of the giant eyeball UFO.

The songs of this album are full of pattering drums, dripping guitars, and falsetto harmonies. They make me think of the rain when I listen to them.

The cover art might as well be my own home canyon it looks so similar, all green-hued and overcast.

One of the best songs on the album is called “Rain on You,” and features the chorus, “Oh, how the days will rain on you.”

Um, Neil Young.

This is a great rainy day album.

See my pictures of South Fork from last week if you would like a comparison.

Today we found ourselves needing to make an excursion to the the south side of Provo, and, desiring some food on our way there, we took the initiative and finally visited Sammy’s, just off Center Street on 100 West in downtown Provo. Before reaching Provo we were almost sucked into the Five Guys fever that is sweeping Orem and the rest of the Wasatch Front, but luckily for me Gin was strong in the cause of trying the place in Provo, and so we stuck through our hunger until we arrived at Sammy’s.

Walk in and the place feels immediately comfortable. The staff is super friendly. The customers seem to be regulars. Seating is at bar stools around a counter, behind which they ask you what toppings you want on your sandwich and finish putting it together right in front of you while you sit there.

An endearing Provo detail is the wall display for “Supernal Scripture Totes,” apparently handcrafted for $15 each. (I know my wife will roll her eyes that I call this a Provo detail, but where else but in our Mormon college town are you going to see something like this?)

Sammy’s has a great, simple menu. Everything is fresh and made from scratch. For entrees, they mainly feature hamburgers and chicken breast sandwiches, with pretty much anything that you could ever want on a hamburger available for toppings: grilled onions and mushrooms, homemade guacamole, pineapple and teriyaki sauce, bacon or pastrami (that ubiquitous Utah hamburger topping), several types of cheese, and of course the usual lettuce tomato ketchup mustard mayo type toppings. (I neglected to check whether beets were available as a condiment, but there’s always next time.) I tried Sammy’s Masterpiece, a burger with provolone cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms, guacamole, bacon, barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomato. At $5.99 it was a little pricey when compared to many local burger joints, but it was absolutely delicious. The abundance of excellent toppings puts it over the edge. In addition to the burger, what really hit the spot were the sweet potato fries, which come with one of the best renditions of fry sauce I have ever tasted. The picture below depicts Gin’s burger, which didn’t have as many goopy toppings on it as mine (already half-eaten by that point). Those fries are incredible.

Perhaps best of all are their real homemade pie shakes. Yes, you read that right. They have a case full of various flavors of pies, and for $4.00 they cut off a slice and blend it with soft serve ice cream for one of the best shakes you will ever taste. I know this sounds kind of weird; I certainly had my doubts, but at the waitress’ recommendation of the banana cream, Gin and I shared a split coconut/banana cream pie shake, and it was far better than I imagined it even possibly could be. This was another item eaten too quickly for a photo; you can see what was left of ours in the picture above, behind the burger plate.

Sammy’s has been in business for almost a year, and it is an absolute prize of an establishment, a quality place oozing with local character. They have tried to make a hip burger joint and college hangout spot, and in my opinion they have totally succeeded. Only one complaint: there was no music playing?! Come on guys, at a place like this you’ve got to kick out the jams.

My mouth is red from having just stretched to consume that giant burger.

Sammy’s has a blogspot blog of some sort. I haven’t explored in too much detail, but here’s the linkage: http://www.sammyscafe.blogspot.com

Sammy’s
27 North 100 West
Provo, UT 84601
801-805-9208