The Shadow Year

Children have existed in a universe parallel but separate from that of their parents forever, the two worlds crossing paths on occasion but never quite managing to become one. In one 1960s Long Island suburb two brothers and their sister took things a step farther by building in their basement a scale model of their neighborhood, right down to the little toy people who represented the main characters in their lives.

It was only when strange things started to happen in their real world that the boys noticed that their little sister had the uncanny ability to move people and cars around in their basement “Botch Town” in a way that often predicted what was to happen next. The brothers, as children usually do, managed to give the appearance that they were in full compliance with the wishes of their parents, a father working so many hours every day that he barely saw them and an alcoholic mother who could be counted on to pass out in the evenings just when the boys wanted to sneak out of the house to do a little neighborhood snooping on the sly. But that was in the universe belonging to their parents, not in the one they called their own.

Things didn’t seem so dangerous to Jim and his little brother when the biggest neighborhood concern was the prowler who had suddenly taken to peeping into the bedroom windows of the neighbor women and their daughters. Then a neighborhood boy disappeared and, try as they might, the community could come up with no clue as to his disappearance or whereabouts. But the boys kept their suspicions to themselves even when they spotted a mysterious white car in the neighborhood being driven by a pale man they nicknamed Mr. White.

Jeffrey Ford’s The Shadow Year becomes more and more a nail-biter as the reader begins to wonder just how much truth there is in the crazy speculation that the boys have been involved in for so many weeks. As little Mary moves the pieces of Botch Town around the sheet of basement plywood on which it sits, the boys nervously watch for the danger that is approaching their very doorstep.

The Shadow Year is a coming-of-age novel that should appeal to a wide array of readers because it combines the best elements of that genre with those of a mystery thriller, resulting in a book that gets better and better as the reader turns its pages.

Rated at: 4.0

Ad Placement in Books: Acceptable or Not?

Any movie fan can recognize "product placement" when he sees it. There's nothing like a close-up of your favorite actor, right in the middle of a scene, picking up a can of Coke or his favorite bag of chips to make you flashback to the last television commercial you saw. That kind of thing is extremely distracting and often ruins the effect of a scene. But I never thought we would see the day that authors literally sell "ads" in their novels to the highest bidder...looks like those days of innocence are gone. Of course, Stephen King used to fill his books with so many references to current products and brand names that I often wondered if he had a few deals going on the side, but he doesn't do nearly as much of that now as he did in his early books.

According to this article in The Oregonian, ad placement in books is becoming more commonplace all the time and we, as readers, have some decisions to make. Will we tolerate this kind of thing or does it tell us something about the authors who prostitute themselves this way that turns us off their books forever?

...until 2002 -- when Fay Weldon accepted money from the Italian jeweler Bulgari to title her novel "The Bulgari Connection," books had been the exception to the product placement rule.

Recently, product placement has found its way into kids' books. Two young adult novels -- "Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233" and the Mackenize Blue series -- have drawn attention for the product placement between their pages.

The authors of "Cathy's Book," Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman, exchanged their character promoting Cover Girl makeup for ads on Cover Girl's Web site. The author of the upcoming Mackenzie Blue series, Tina Wells, the CEO of Buzz Marketing Group, is seeking corporate sponsorship for her books.

...

At Annie Bloom's Books, owner Bobby Tichenor has a strong stance on product placement in books. "We have a policy against buying children's books about products predominantly," she said.

Tichenor said product placement "cheapens books." But books have been slowly devalued far longer than the recent trend of product placement. Deep discounts at major bookstores and new and moderately popular authors receiving smaller and smaller advances while a few brand-name authors reap millions are far more detrimental to the value of books.

...

As writers fight over meager freelance dollars and nonroyalties from their poorly marketed and poorly selling books, it's possible that the only people who value the written word are advertisers. Tichenor said readers will see more product placement, "if it works." It may not work for the reader, but it certainly works for the author as a much-needed and deserved added income. And why shouldn't authors take advantage? Everyone else is doing it.

Was Fay Weldon wrong to sell her book title to Bulgari? I haven't read the book so I can't say how much Bulgari was mentioned in the pages of the book and whether or not it turned into a paid commercial for the company. Hopefully, the commercial only went as far as the title of the book, but I doubt it.

Interestingly, the author of this newspaper article is a YA author herself and, as the last paragraph I quoted shows, she seems to be in favor of milking this new cash cow as much and as quickly as possible. "Everyone is doing it"? I quit accepting that excuse from my children by the time they were five years old and it sounds ludicrous coming from the mouth of an adult. I find that attitude to be repulsive and will never take any author seriously who sells out that way. Now, perhaps Ms. Lion is only giving a satirical tongue-in-cheek argument in defense of this trend; if so, I apologize for misunderstanding her intent.

But I don't doubt for a minute that a substantial number of authors will be willing to prostitute their work to the highest bidder. OK, now we know what to call them...we just don't know how much they charge for their service.

Townes Van Zandt

I've been reading a biography of one of my favorite songwriters, Townes Van Zandt, another of those special people who burned so hot with talent that he consumed himself in the very process of living. I won't be doing a review of the book here because it's promised for another site, but I couldn't resist posting this clip tonight. It shows the real power of the man's music, I think, and I hope you enjoy it. Not everyone is familiar with Townes, so maybe this will create a bit more interest in his music.




There are quite a few recordings of the man's work on YouTube and in the record shops (if anyone still shops for music in record shops). This video is a clip from a seventies documentary that featured Townes pretty prominently.

R.I.P. William F. Buckley

It's no secret to anyone who has spent much time reading this blog that I tend to be on the conservative side when it comes to politics. I'm more of a moderate on social issues but when it comes to economic policy and government issues, I'm definitely on the right side of center. I mention that simply as a lead in to acknowledge the death of one of my political heroes yesterday: William F. Buckley.

In an attempt to keep this on the subject of books, however, I've blatantly ripped off SanDiego.com for this list of books written by Mr. Buckley:

NONFICTION

“God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of 'Academic Freedom,'” Regnery, 1951.

“McCarthy and His Enemies: The Record and Its Meaning,” with L. Brent Bozell, Regnery, 1954.

“Up From Liberalism,” Helene Obolensky Enterprises, 1959.

“Rumbles Left and Right: A Book About Troublesome People and Ideas,” Putnam, 1963.

“The Unmaking of a Mayor,” Viking, 1966.

“The Jeweler's Eye: A Book of Irresistible Political Reflections,” Putnam, 1968.

“Quotations From Chairman Bill: The Best of William F. Buckley Jr.,” compiled by David Franke, Arlington House, 1970.

“The Governor Listeth: A Book of Inspired Political Revelations,” Putnam, 1970.

“Cruising Speed: A Documentary,” Putnam, 1971.

“Inveighing We Will Go,” Putnam, 1972.

“Four Reforms: A Guide for the Seventies,” Putnam, 1973.

“United Nations Journal: A Delegate's Odyssey,” Putnam, 1974.

“Execution Eve and Other Contemporary Ballads,” Putnam, 1975.

“Airborne: A Sentimental Journey,” Macmillan, 1976.

“A Hymnal: The Controversial Arts,” Putnam, 1978.

“Atlantic High: A Celebration,” Doubleday, 1982.

“Overdrive: A Personal Documentary,” Doubleday, 1983.

“Right Reason,” Doubleday, 1985.

“Racing through Paradise: A Pacific Passage,” Random House, 1987.

“On the Firing Line: The Public Life of Our Public Figures,” Random House, 1989.

“Gratitude: Reflections on What We Owe to Our Country,” Random House, 1990.

“Windfall: End of the Affair,” Random House, 1992.

“In Search of Anti-Semitism,” Continuum, 1992.

“Happy Days Were Here Again,” Random House, 1993.

“Buckley: The Right Word,” edited by Samuel S. Vaughan, Random House, 1996.

“Nearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith,” Doubleday, 1997.

“Let Us Talk of Many Things: The Collected Speeches of William F. Buckley Jr.,” Forum, 2000.

“The Fall of the Berlin Wall,” John Wiley, 2004.

“Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography,” Regnery, 2004.

“Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription: Notes & Asides From National Review,” Basic, 2007.


FICTION


“The Temptation of Wilfred Malachey,” Workman Publishing, 1985.

“Brothers No More,” Doubleday, 1995.

“The Redhunter: A Novel Based on the Life of Senator Joe McCarthy,” Little, Brown, 1999.

“Spytime: The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton,” Harcourt, 2000.

“Elvis in the Morning,” Harcourt, 2001.

“Nuremberg: The Reckoning,” Harcourt, 2002. “Getting It Right,” Regnery, 2003.

“The Rake,” HarperCollins, 2007.


Novels in Buckley's “Blackford Oakes” series:


“Saving the Queen,” Doubleday, 1976.

“Stained Glass,” Doubleday, 1978.

“Who's on First,” Doubleday, 1980.

“Marco Polo, If You Can,” Doubleday, 1982.

“The Story of Henri Tod,” Doubleday, 1984.

“See You Later, Alligator,” Doubleday, 1985.

“High Jinx,” Doubleday, 1986.

“Mongoose, RIP,” Random House, 1988.

“Tucker's Last Stand,” Random House, 1990.

“A Very Private Plot,” William Morrow, 1994.

“The Blackford Oakes Reader,” Andrews & McMeel, 1994.

“Last Call for Blackford Oakes,” Harcourt, 2005.

Buckley was 82 years old. I'll miss him.

Down River

When Adam Chase left Salisbury, North Carolina, for what he thought would be forever, after being acquitted on murder charges and barely escaping the county with his freedom, he accepted that he would never see the place again. And for five years he managed to push the state and everyone he left behind there from his mind. But a phone call from his old friend Danny Faith asking for his help was enough to finally get him back to Salisbury despite his misgivings about facing the people who were still convinced that Adam had cheated the justice system.

Adam Chase doubted that his family had recovered from his murder arrest and the trial that eventually set him free. After all, the key witness was his stepmother who called the police and identified Adam as the man covered in blood that she spotted outside her window on the night of the murder. As far as he knew, almost everyone in the county still considered him to be a murderer, including his own father who chose to believe his wife’s testimony over the word of his son. Adam was right about the townspeople, but things were much more complicated than he expected.

Danny Faith, Adam’s lone reason for returning to Rowan County, was nowhere to be found and no one admitted to knowing where he might have gone. Robin, the girlfriend he abandoned five years earlier, now a respected police officer and still filled with anger about the way that he treated her was not exactly thrilled to see him again. His father was under pressure to sell off much of the family farm in a deal that would make many in the county wealthy but he refused to even consider it, a situation that promised to turn ugly soon. Things are tense all around and, when bodies start to turn up, Adam Chase finds everyone looking his way again, including the sheriff.

Down River is a book about choices, both those made and those avoided, and the results of those decisions on the ones forced to choose and on those who love them. It is a book about the Chase family, one of the most dysfunctional ones imaginable, a family short on forgiveness and filled with the kind of anger that might outlive them all. If the family is to survive, someone has to bend but no one wants to be the one to give in first. John Hart has created a southern gothic world in which sudden violence and anger are commonplace, the perfect setting for a family that seems more than willing to destroy itself out of sheer stubbornness. There are few shiny white knights in this story where everyone seems to have a secret to hide and a good reason for wanting to keep the truth hidden forever. But after the first domino falls, it becomes only a question of who will be left standing when it is all over.

This is John Hart’s second novel, a nice follow-up to his 2006 Edgar nominated debut novel, The King of Lies.

Rated at: 4.0

Charles Dickens Auction

It's articles like this one that make me wish I had a spare $150,000 or so to really indulge my love of books and all-things-Dickens:

The Kenyon Starling Library of Charles Dickens is expected to fetch more than $2 million when it is sold at Christie's on April 2.

Among the highlights is "The Uncommercial Traveller" (1861), inscribed by Dickens to novelist George Eliot. Its pre-sale estimate is $100,000 to $150,000. (See photo)

A page from the original manuscript of Dickens' first novel, "Pickwick Papers," containing a comedic scene between Pickwick's valet, Sam Weller, and a gentleman, John Smauker, could sell for $150,000 to $250,000.

Now...where did I hide all the spare cash?