Quick Reads

LOST GIRLS AND LOVE HOTELS (Catherine Hanrahan)

I'll read any book that's good, that's at least interesting, no matter the genre. I got called on this a few years ago and reluctantly delved into the world of Chick-Lit. There is some surprisingly good stuff there. Lost Girls and Love Hotels is the first novel of Catherine Hanrahan, about a Canadian girl living in Tokyo, trying to lose herself, trying to find herself. Schrodinger is always pushing me to do one-sentence capsules, and if pressed I might say "Lost in Translation meets a very slutty Bridget Jones." But she's not in charge and I don't have to do that.

Lost Girls speaks authentically of Tokyo, wondering how on earth you can be so lonely in a sea of people, how sold out and conflicted you feel at being a girl in the modern world, demanding equality and opportunity, still shamefully wanting to hear his call, feel his touch, to care for him and have him take care of you. Obviously a girl somewhere between 18 and 40 likely will get the most out of Lost Girls, but I found myself strangely moved. After all, good is good. Best part; unlike most books, Catherine Hanrahan figures out her ending, and nails it in a poignant whiplash that had me gasping. Plus, I learned what nostalgia really means. That's worth it right there. (Recommended for the aforementioned lost girls out there, and any progressive person who enjoys an authentic "voice.")

LAST OF THE BREED (Louis L’Amour)

I’ve never read a single Louis L'Amour western, but maybe I should start, because Last of the Breed is one of my favorite books. I think I’ve read it 12 times.

During the the ‘80s Joseph Makatozi, Joe Mack, a fighter pilot for the Air Force, and most important of all, an American Indian, is shot down and taken prisoner in the middle of Siberia. He promptly escapes, and now must stay hidden, stay alive in Siberia; the most forbidding place on the planet. (For comparison, while America is roughly 3,000,000 square miles, Siberia alone is over 5,000,000; most of it frozen!) Joe Mack has always considered himself an unreconstructed savage, more at home in the wild society, and Siberia transforms from his prison to his battlefield, as Joe Mack fights back against the people who declared war on him.

There’s some jingoism that’s outdated now, (although L'Amour seems to think highly of most Russians, and is only down on Communism, which after all doesn’t even exist in Russia any more, so maybe we cut him slack), but that’s only a minor quibble. As a non-outdoors guy, I loved seeing how Joe Mack lives in the wilderness (including learning about all sorts of new animals, including how to skin them for fur and meat, should the need arise.) I never thought I would go for this book, but I loved it. I got my mom to read it, and she loved it too. In fact, I don’t think anyone wouldn’t love it. Lamour has a plain unpretentious style that’s easy

to follow and easy to digest. There isn’t a single one of you who would love Last of the Breed.