Half-Way Through A Very Long PASSAGE

I'm not the sort to leave a book unfinished (hey, maybe the last ten pages of a book will be brilliant enough to change one's life...) but I've decided to take a break from my vampire thriller THE PASSAGE (give me a break - it's 766 pages long). My main thought thus far: the book seems to be three books in one. ACT I takes place in the near-future and features an entire cast of characters that (so far) do not show up in ACT II which takes place a hundred years later. ACT I feels like a conspiracy drama/chase thriller in which the government, secretly involved in creating a new weapon, goes after a rogue FBI agent who's figured out the hidden plans. But ACT II is more like a Western, with a group of survivors (the apocalypse occurs when that secret weapon - a virus that turns humans into vampire/zombies -- is accidentally released) hiding out in a secured fort in the California wilderness.

Here's the author, Justin Cronin, appearing on GOOD MORNING AMERICA at the start of the summer. Stay tuned until the end of the clip when Stephen King (who has been touting the book) surprises Cronin with an on-air call.



My break from THE PASSAGE starts now -- I'll get back to it in a few weeks.

What Are You Reading?

I don't want to horrify anyone by revealing how many days are left of summer BUT it's time to get serious about summer reading (if you haven't already).

Please let me know what you have read (or are reading) and what your reactions are.

See you in 29 days (whoops, I said too much. Sorry).

What Greg's Reading: THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin

My family and I are off to a beach (and fancy hotel) vacation for the first part of next week and I want to take along the quintessential summer read: an epic thriller about end-of-the-world vampires.

WHAT?!? REALLY?!?

Yes, really. Many big magazines, blogs and book insiders, have called this the "book of the summer," so I'm taking it with me. And as much as it seems that vampires are so everywhere they've gotten tired and dull, I still watch (and immensely enjoy) HBO's TRUE BLOOD. And this one, which is written by an author who has previously turned out literary fiction, comes with a literary pedigree. It's a big one: nearly 800 pages and as heavy as my suitcase. Enjoy the summer!

2 from the 20 Under 40

I've just completed two novels written by two of the authors named by the NEW YORKER as the best writers under 40 years of age working today. It was an interesting experiment reading novels from two authors who now share a common honor but a fascinating one. Morgan and Bynum (sounds like a law firm) could not be more different—in style, language, point of view, structure, theme.

Morgan, the author of ALL THE LIVING writes lyrical, gritty prose about the hardscrabble life of Kentucky farmers; the pace is languid, the images slowly and precisely presented, and the emotions deep and luxurious. Bynum, the author of MS. HEMPEL CHRONICLES, is a quirky humorist who cuts deep into the psyche of her main character, a 7th-grader English teacher, who does not share the unselfconscious, open nature of her classmates. Bynum wisecracks while Morgan seduces with beautiful, elegant prose.

Both books I recommend, maybe ALL THE LIVING just a bit more. For pure emotional impact, this book, which tells the story of a young woman who moves to her lover's farm and describes the difficulties of truth and desire, this book does not disappointment. The pivotal scene, which involves the complicated birth of a calf set against the dismantling of the two main characters' relationship, is made riveting by the many layers of meaning Morgan is able to weave into the moment.

Although I loved Bynum's writing (it's certainly more similar to my own), the book, which is really a collection of stories centered around Beatrice Hempel, former punk rocker turned insecure middle school teacher, felt like a series of fabulous of acts, some of which seemed to me to be the same -- or very, very similar -- act. But one thing Bynum does so amazingly right is to capture the idiosyncrasies of teaching 7th grade, from the tendency to give pop quizzes (which can be graded by students) when the grading work gets to be too much and the extra attention to spelling words correctly and using proper grammar when writing evaluations lest parents think their child's teacher doesn't know what he or she is doing.

From ALL THE LIVING: "They've known suffering, but we are told that whosoever is still among as has his fair share of hope."

From MS. HEMPEL CHRONICLES: "And that was the miracle of it all, how some kids found a way to grow into themselves."

ONE DAY - My Favorite of the Year (So Far)

What is it about books that send us back, thinking about our own lives, how we've lived them and where we've gone right (and wrong)?

As I've written, ONE DAY, by David Nicholls, features two characters, Emma and Dex, who spend an evening together after their university graduation and pledge to become great friends. The book then treats us to one day in their lives (the same day - July 15th) for the next twenty years as these two manage a complicated relationship, regretting that that they've never let themselves fall in love, drifting apart, infuriating each other, then finally.....well, you have to read it.

Despite its high concept, zippy dialogue and wicked sense of humor, I was done in by this one -- touched by the feelings shared, saddened by the missed connections and unexpectedly moved when Emma and Dex paused to look back over the wide span of years to see what they had built.

I normally go for the heavy, dense, often tragic novels -- what does that really say about me? -- but I can't get over this seemingly breezy book. It moved me in a way no other book has this year. As I finished, I couldn't help but think of my own nearly thirty year relationship with my Emma. Married for 17 years, I am glad to know that I've taken heed of this book's urgent message -- grab hold of love.

May 30, 1993

What Greg is Reading: David Nicholls' ONE DAY

Still trying to educate myself about great dialogue, I've picked up ONE DAY by a fantastic English writer named David Nichols. I've heard how funny this writer is and I hope to learn a thing or two about how to make characters sound witty and, at the same time, natural. The book, released last month, received fantastic reviews -- it follows the friendship of two friends -- one an idealistic girl, the other a much wealthier boy -- over the course of twenty years (1988 -2007) by giving us a single day -- July 15th -- in each of the twenty years. Sort of like the 1978 Alan Alda/Ellen Burstyn film SAME TIME NEXT YEAR.

To Be Perfect: Only Connect

E. M. Forster, in his classic novel HOWARD'S END (1910), tells us: "Live in fragments no longer. Only connect...." This theme—the importance and necessity of connecting—pops everywhere in literature. Perhaps it is an idea that is found in every narrative written.

 In any case, that is the key message I've taken from Tom Rachman's THE IMPERFECTIONISTS. I was so-so on the novel through much of the first half, disappointed that it was merely a collection of stories about characters who all worked, either directly or tangentially on an international newspaper based in Rome. All the characters are disconnected from themselves and others, but are given an opportunity (large or small) to understand their need and the value of opening up to others. Some take the chance, but most do not -- hence, I believe, the title. As I read, the stories seeemed to echo each other in wonderful ways and I was caught up in the indelible characters and their complicated natures. And when a copy editor named Dave Belling says to the woman who fired him (they end up coincidentally sitting next to each other on a flight from Rome to Atlanta):

I believe every person on this planet needs human contact to be normal, to be sane. Simple as that...,

the beauty (and the inherent sadness of those who are afraid to heed the call) of THE IMPERFECTIONISTS began to emerge.