Review: Tarzan of the Apes

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Tarzan of the Apes, the first of the Tarzan books, was published by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. The book tells the story of a English Lord, orphaned as an infant in the jungles of West Africa. The boy is adopted and raised by a tribe of gorillas and has to learn to survive in the wild. In time he talks with the animals, swings through the jungle trees, and fights against fierce tigers and lions. Tarzan eventually grows to the strength of his fellow apes and this strength, coupled with his human intelligence enables him to become the king of his tribe of gorillas and king of the jungle.

Eventually other humans enter Tarzan's jungle; first a fierce tribe of cannibals, and then a mutinous shipload of Englishmen. Naturally humanity brings with it all the problems of the "civilized" world. The good news is, they also bring the first white woman, Jane Porter, that Tarzan has ever seen. In the end Tarzan is forced to choose between two worlds.

I loved this book! I had no idea the original Tarzan would be so entertaining. The book is so much better than the Tarzan TV shows and movies I grew up watching. I love the writing style (definitely "pulp") and the way the story is propelled along; it really moves. It's also a pretty amazing feat that Tarzan learned to read English by reading books, speak French in only a few weeks, and a host of other amazing feats. Not bad for a "Forest Man" as the other Englishmen call him. Reading the book you have to overlook the racist stuff and the parochial worldview; Burroughs was definitely a product of his age. Bottom line, I like this Tarzan better than the dumb brute portrayed by Johnny Weissmuller and the early Tarzan movies. I especially liked the way the story ended, with Tarzan doing the classy thing. It really made me want to read the other 23 books Burroughs wrote in this series. If you've got a few hours and want to "cozy-up" with a good adventure story, try this one on for size!

Safe and Sound

Grainy photo of  our little bird.

For the last few weeks we've had a nightly visitor to the deck upstairs off our master bedroom. A little bird - it looks like some kind of sparrow or wren to me - has been sleeping on the tiny ledge where our deck post meets the ceiling. Every night around 8:20 to 8:30 this tiny sleepy-headed feathered friend shows up. The ledge where it is roosting is so narrow that the bird can't even hold his head straight - it has to put its bill up in the air and rest on its chin. When I go to the door to the deck and look out the bird swivels its head to look at me, but doesn't seem threatened.

I've become very attached to this little bird. On the few nights when it hasn't shown up I have become concerned and somehow the whole house seems lonelier and sadder. I'm sure it sounds silly, but there's something comforting about the little bird's presence there every night as it sleeps just a few feet from us. Having the bird under our roof feels like a reminder from God that He can and will take care of all His creatures, just as He does that little bird who has found a safe, cozy place to rest.

There's a beautiful passage in the Psalms that says, "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar" Psalm 84:3 (NIV). It's only a small thing - and a simple one - but I'm grateful for this reminder that God's eye is not only on the sparrow - His eye is on us all.

Review: The Sisters Brothers

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



The Sisters brothers, Eli and Charlie, are hired killers hired sent out to Gold Rush country in the 1850s to kill a thief. Eli narrates the story, and ends up being a fairly likable character despite his many shortcomings. Charlie is a psychopath whom you don't want to cross for any reason.

This book is filled with some very dark humor and quirky characters. I enjoyed the sub-plot of "Dub," Eli's doomed horse, and Eli's hilarious introduction to dental hygiene. In all honesty I found the book enjoyable, but in the same way as when I have a bruise and even though it hurts I keep pushing on it.

This book is definitely not for everyone. Those with an aversion to violence and bad things happening to good people (and animals) will not enjoy it. Otherwise, it's an enigmatic read that you might enjoy.

Review: Calico Joe

Calico Joe by John Grisham

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Calico Joe is a baseball story that's not really about baseball. The story is about brokenness and attempts at reconciliation which are, at best, only partial. The book was deeply troubling to me at some strange level I have yet to fathom (only having finished it last night). Most likely the feelings I have are because of my own up and down relationship with my dad when I was younger, my own little league days, and my own doubts, short-comings and miscues with God, which is what I believe this story is really about.

Paul Tracey's feelings are torn between his father who he grew up despising and his boyhood idol, "Calico Joe" Castle a young major league phenom. Most of the story concerns Paul's (odd?) effort to reconcile the two - figuratively and literally. As stated above, the book felt dark and depressing to me, but maybe it's just me and my "stuff." To be honest, I finished the book late last night and had trouble sleeping afterwards.

Questions remain. Why does John Grisham always use sports stories for his shorter, non-legal-thriller efforts (Bleachers, Playing for Pizza and this book)? And if I didn't really like this short book (I only gave it 2 stars), why did it make me think so much, and why is writing the review revealing and emotionally difficult for me? Maybe I do like the book? Perhaps this experience is like when I read Scripture and find that certain passages trouble me - and yet I know that even as they do God is speaking to me about something I need to deal with. I've always felt it's the passages that are most disquieting to you that you need to pay closest attention to. Maybe that's why this book grabbed my attention even though I didn't "like" it.

One thing I'll be interested in is to see if the story engenders the same feelings in a girl as a guy (assuming Donna reads it). Hopefully answers will come in time.

Timeline

I am reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's journals again. Reading this literary giant's daily musings never fails to inspire me. While starting the book this time I noticed the publisher included a helpful chronology of Emerson's life. Timelines are popular again today, in part due to Facebook's new effort to develop (force?) timelines on all its users' lives.

I noted with interest that Emerson's timeline in the book is limited to 25 items, probably mostly because that's how many items would fit on one page. It's pretty amazing that the life of such an accomplished person can be summed up in twenty-five chronological dates beginning with his birth on May 25, 1803 and ending with his death on April 27, 1882. Even more curious is what the author chose to include in that chronology. Besides Emerson's birth and death the timeline mentions certain years Emerson attended various schools, his marriages, and the deaths of his first wife and his son. Several event markers are used to note the year certain of his literary works were published. Others mention pastorates, house fires and trips to Europe.

My curiosity piqued, I got some paper and numbered a page from one to twenty-five. The first date, the date of my birth, was easy. The last date, the date of my death, I left blank. That left me twenty-three numbers. A few of the dates that make up my timeline were fairly easy. Following Emerson's timeline I included my school years, the date of my marriage and the birth dates of my children. I also included the date of my ordination as a minister, the date of my first mission trip to Africa, and a few vocational turning points. What else I should or should not include was less easy to discern.

In the end, two observations emerged during my little experiment of creating a personal chronological timeline. First, I realized how my priorities reflect the dates I chose to include - or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the dates I chose to include hopefully reflect my priorities. The dates I chose were formative ones for me and I am richer for having been through each and every one. My second observation was that after including everything I felt was important enough to mention, including the hopefully distant yet unknown date of my demise - I still have 14 important life events to fill in!  That tells me that there is major work for me to do in this second half of my life and that gives me hope and motivation to keep running the race.

I enjoyed doing this, and I highly recommend it to you. Try it and see what your twenty-five item personal timeline looks like. Hopefully like me your focus will be sharpened and your energy will be renewed for whatever God has in store for you in your tomorrows.

Review: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book is the compelling, true tale of two men, one epitomizing light and the other darkness, set against the backdrop of the World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago, Ill. While Daniel Hudson Burnham is busy building and overseeing the Fair itself (nick-named the "White City" because all the buildings were white), H. H. Holmes, a charming young doctor and serial killer, is murdering people in a hotel he built for that very purpose within walking distance of the fair.

The book is rich with historical detail and a great primer on life in America at the turn of the 19th century. The story crosses paths with Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney's father (who helped build the fair), Archduke Ferdinand, Buffalo Bill, Susan B. Anthony, Samuel Gompers and a host of other luminaries. Larson also points out that shredded wheat, Juicy Fruit gum, incandescent lighting, AC current and the Ferris Wheel were introduced at the fair. The book is filled with contrasts; light and darkness, old and new, hope and despair. Devil in the White City is also filled with deadline drama: Will the fair be ready to open when promised? Will the people come once it's built? Who will be murdered next? Etc...

I enjoyed the book, though I must admit I got a bit bogged down in the middle. I also found the book just a tad depressing (aren't many true stories that way?). Death, figuratively and literally, abounds in the story, and then there is the shaky rise and sudden fall of the fair itself. In many ways reading this book felt like a twilight stroll through a cemetery - something I enjoy at times, and can't stand at others. I gave the book 2 1/2 stars.

Review: King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village

King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village by Peggielene Bartels

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



King Peggy is the real life story of Peggielene Bartels, a U.S. citizen and secretary at Ghana's Embassy in Washington who three years ago was awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call with news that her uncle had died and that she had been selected to succeed him as king of Otuam, a fishing village on the coast of Ghana. Peggy accepted the crown (actually she was "enstooled") and now divides her time between being a secretary at the Ghanaian Embassy (still) and King of Otuam.

Of course becoming King was just the start of the story. Bartels' book chronicles her difficulties dealing with the corruption, the grinding poverty, and the lack of infrastructure in her tiny village. Anyone who has spent much time in Africa will recognize and appreciate the struggles as well as the usual cast of "characters" in Otuam.

While I enjoyed the book, I found that by the end of the book Bartels' ended up sounding prideful with what all she took credit for ("I brought these people water...I gave them hope..." etc...) Even the concluding words of the complete title (..."How She changed an African Village") was a bit conceited-sounding. I also cringed repeatedly at the mish-mash of religious beliefs Bartels adheres too - like many Ghanaians she ends up coming across as a Christo-Animist and is not shy at all about jumbling prayers to Jesus, her ancestors and a whole assortment of local deities (she boasts her village is home to dozens of local gods). But then I know this is very common in Africa so I tried to make allowance for that.

All in all this is a good book. You will enjoy this improbable tale; it's good story-telling with lots of colorful humor; I gave it three stars.


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Review: The Innocent

The Innocent by David Baldacci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Loved this book and can't recommend it enough. Can't wait for Donna to read it so we can discuss. I really thought Baldacci did a great job with another new character. Will Robie is an assassin but I couldn't help but like him. His interaction with Julie Getty was plausible and consistent. I have no idea how Baldacci keeps all his protagonists straight, but he does. Pick this book up and read it and lose yourself for a few hours!

PS - my regular followers probably think this is a weird post after nothing for so long, but I just figured out how to have Goodreads automatically feed my blog. By the way, those of you who are unfamiliar with Goodreads, it is a great place to track your reading, find new books to read, and to peruse reviews by normal people. Click this link to go there.