A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall

A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall Will Chancellor 3/5	Published 2014 First Sentence "-I'm gonna close with a quote from Dr. Johnson: "The certainty that life cannot be long, and the probability that it will be much shorter than nature allows, ought to awaken every man to the active prosecution of whatever he is desirous to perform."
Publisher's Description: A triumphant literary debut with notes of both The Art of Fielding and The Flamethrowers, which introduces the striking figure of Owen Burr, a gifted Olympics-bound athlete whose dreams of greatness are deferred and then transformed by an unlikely journey from California to Berlin, Athens, Iceland, and back again. Owen Burr, a towering athlete at Stanford University, son of renowned classicist Professor Joseph Burr, was destined to compete in the Athens Olympic Games of 2004. But in his final match at Stanford, he is blinded in one eye. The wound shatters his identity and any prospects he had as an athlete. Determined to make a new name for himself, Owen flees the country and lands in Berlin, where he meets a group of wildly successful artists living in the Teutonic equivalent of Warhol’s Factory. An irresistible sight—nearly seven-feet-tall, wearing an eye patch and a corduroy suit—Owen is quickly welcomed by the group’s leader, who schemes to appropriate Owen’s image and sell the results at Art Basel. With his warped and tortured image on the auction block, Owen seeks revenge. Professor Burr has never been the father he wants to be. Owen’s disappearance triggers a call to action. He dusts off his more speculative theory, Liminalism, to embark on a speaking tour, pushing theory to its radical extreme—at his own peril and with Jean Baudrillard’s help—in order to send up flares for his son in Athens, Berlin, and Iceland. A compulsively readable novel of ideas, action, and intrigue, A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall offers a persuasive vision of personal agency, art, family, and the narratives we build for ourselves.
Dear Reader, A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall is very pretentious, but is that the point? Did the Author write the characters that way or did the he want to show off with this writing? I can’t seem to tell. On the other hand, should I care? I found many things to be close to home with this book and the Author does an excellent job describing little things, like a caterpillar dancing, “He watched a caterpillar on the trunk lean back and scribble the air…”, I love that. If the Author didn’t have talent, I wouldn’t have finished this book. I pretty much hated the sections that featured Owen’s father and felt myself wanting to skip them to get back to the art world. I’m not sure if this is subjective since I’m an artist or if this is common amongst all readers. This one scene really had me though, when Owen was describing a shopping excursion when he was little where he would “hide” within the racks of clothes. This was something I did all the time and it was pretty magical, I loved that the Author captured that moment and brought me back to my own childhood. Another scene that brought this close to home was when Owen was told about how pirates use eye patches to keep one eye acclimated to the dark. I’ve used to great little tidbit fact during my work at Nature’s Classroom. We used to tell the kids that in order for a pirate to hop over to another ship and steal all the gold, they’d have to switch the eye patch to the other eye while under the dark deck (where the treasure is located) so they won’t be discovered. I’ve always loved that, and I love that the Author included it. So many questions about art, the artist and the community brought up. I had fun delving into these questions and trying to figure out what side I stood on. For example, someone brings up the idea that “talent is a myth” and that “no one makes it in the art world without a platform.” While I can understand the second statement more than likely being true… does that completely reflect on TALENT? Someone can still be talented but not “make it” in the art world. However, if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it… could be similar, if you aren’t discovered… This was another book I read because of the Tournament of Books, which everyone should check out and follow. I’ll leave you with this quote that I really loved, “…life, a blur of birth and death – both and death being the only two moments of life in which we don’t exist.” Yours, Amber/Arianna

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Half-Blood Blues

Half-Blood Blues Esi Edugyan 4.5/5	Published 2011 First Sentences "Chip told us not to go out.  Said, don't you boys tempt the devil."
Publisher's Description: Berlin, 1939. A young, brilliant trumpet-player, Hieronymus, is arrested in a Paris cafe. The star musician was never heard from again. He was twenty years old. He was a German citizen. And he was black. Fifty years later, Sidney Griffiths, the only witness that day, still refuses to speak of what he saw. When Chip Jones, his friend and fellow band member, comes to visit, recounting the discovery of a strange letter, Sid begins a slow journey towards redemption. From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris, Sid leads the reader through a fascinating, little-known world, and into the heart of his own guilty conscience. Half-Blood Blues is an electric, heart-breaking story about music, race, love and loyalty, and the sacrifices we ask of ourselves, and demand of others, in the name of art.
Dear Reader, This came so close to being a favorite book.  I so wanted it to become a favorite book.  And it was perfect in so many ways - just an excellent story - but, the problem was that in the end, it didn't profoundly affect me as much as my favorites do.  I don't think I'll soon forget it, and I think I will recommend this book to everyone whose ear I can bend in the next few weeks.  So, please don't get me wrong: it's definitely worth reading.  I would even read it again, and that is high praise coming from someone who thinks there are too many books & too little time to read them all, so I don't often reread! The novel revolves around a WWII-era jazz band, and is narrated by Sid, the group's bassist.  It follows their movements through Europe, from Nazi-occupied Berlin to Nazi-occupied Paris and ultimately to Poland, and also recounts bits of Sid and Chip's childhood in Baltimore.  The band connects with Louis Armstrong, which is for them like meeting a god, and the author's portrayal of Armstrong is wonderful and feels very real.  The book doesn't always move quickly, but it feels as if its pace could be matched by one of their own songs: slow bits mixed up with faster bits, impassioned parts intertwined amongst the everyday middle-of-the-road bridges. One issue I had with the story was how frustrated I felt that one big issue was never addressed - an interaction which happened between Heiro (a.k.a. the Kid) and Sid.  I felt that it propelled along quite a bit of the action, but was frustrated that the two of them never discussed it.  They sparred over the same woman, and Sid was often jealous of the Kid, and therefore they found ways to hurt each other, but ultimately, I felt they could have just talked things out.  If they'd figured out how each of them felt, and why they were at odds, they probably could have sorted out their differences and avoided all sorts of difficulties.  Ah, I think this is a guy thing... ;) The characters were all memorable and truly lifelike.  They were flawed men and women - often petty, often misguided - who ultimately looked out for themselves, even when they had the best of intentions.  What they learned was how to also look out for one another.  Throughout the book, their music and their connection of the band was the one constant, and it really held the story together. I had a difficult time hearing the low register of the audiobook reader, but otherwise he was very good at giving the book its rhythm and feel.  I really enjoyed listening to this book, and like I said, would definitely consider reading it again.  Very well-written. Yours, Arianna