Days of Future Passed by the Moody Blues

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I first heard the album Days of Future Passed (1967) in the late 1960’s and played the record over and over, and I continued to remain a fan of the Moody Blues, buying each new album.    I saw them play live three times, the first at the height of their career in the 1970s.    Each album was different, but they always seemed to hit the mark.

Days of Future Passed was a fusion album, a blend of classical music and rock, a leader in progressive rock and the concept album.   The songs tell the story of a day in the life of an ordinary person, with pop-rock melodies interspersed with orchestral sections.   Two of the songs were released as singles – Nights in White Satin and Tuesday Afternoon.    I have many favorite Moody Blues songs, but this album remains as my top pick.

Tuesday afternoon
I'm just beginning to see
Now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me
Chasing the clouds away
Something calls to me
The trees are drawing me near
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh

Gerald’s Game by Stephen King

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Gerald’s Game is a suspense/terror novel, written in 1992.    It is set to coincide with a full solar eclipse in Maine in that year   He wrote 2 books (Dolores Claiborne is the other) and the two books are connected by the eclipse and similar themes (abuse).     This book will challenge the reader at several levels.    It is similar to Misery and perhaps Cujo, but may be more scary and may be distressing, horrifying, and unsettling.

The story starts with a married couple at a remote cabin in the off-season.    The husband (Gerald) wants to play a sex game involving bondage.     He buys regulation handcuffs and uses them, but at the last moment, the wife  (Jessie) doesn’t want to participate, so she objects, and kicks her husband where it hurts, stimulating a triggering of intense pain, followed by a heart attack.    He dies beside the bed.     The keys are across the room and there is no one around.    Jessie is trapped.    Over a couple of days she faces thirst, pain, distress, and a bit of a mental collapse.    Many voices arise in Jessie’s head and she finds herself reliving traumatic events of the past.   To complicate matters, a feral hungry dog and a grotesque stranger come to observe her.   Much of the book follows Jessie’s efforts to free herself and to rail against the demons in her head.    She suffers and becomes delirious, with a similar feel to parts of Duma Key.    If the reader can get past all the suffering (including the reader’s), there is a story of resilience and redemption.    The ending of the book is very strange, but it serves to explain events that may or may not have been real.

It is a very good book, but the topics are not for everyone.    Stephen King always provides fine writing, outstanding characterization, and creative story-lines.    Gerald’s Game is not an easy book to read, but it is a fine one.    Rating – 4.6/5 stars.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

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This may be the most unusual novel you will read. Here are some descriptors that apply to the book:
outrageous, courageous, imaginative, risky, complex, disturbing, multi-voiced, ambitious, chaotic, empathetic, passionate, collage-like, daring, powerful, strange, and tender.

It is the historical account of the death of Abraham’s Lincoln’s son Willy and the “events” that follow. “Bardo” is a Tibetan word, used also in other contexts, referring to the place and state of consciousness between life and the final resting place. When Willy is interred into the marble crypt, many formerly living people are now spirits which linger in the graveyard, witnessing the the addition of the body and the visits of his father. Most of the characters of the story are dead people who have made the choice to inhabit the bardo. Their dialogue, commentary, and interactions fill half of the volume of the story.

In addition, the author provides whole chapters of citations about Lincoln, his wife Mary, his son Willy, the state of the civil war at the time, and from books, articles, and letters of the time.

Within a jumbled plot are strong themes involving existential matters, enriched by many disparate characters, told in a patchwork collage of snippets and scenes. It sometimes feels like trying to read a story through a kaleidoscope. But, it won the Booker Prize in 2017 and the audiobook won the Audie Prize. I listed to the full production with a large cast and enjoyed it.

It is recommended, but it will not appeal to everyone. (4.4 / 5 stars)

The Pretender by Jackson Browne

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Jackson Brown has written and performed many memorable songs for over 50 years.    We first heard him sing Doctor my Eyes on his 1972 album Jackson Browne.  A succession of songs and albums followed and he is still performing.   He has been an activist and has done a significant amount of charity work.    We have always enjoyed the song Load Out and also his many collaborations, but the song shared here is The Pretender, a song about living a life without reflecting on what we are doing.

We're gonna put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone,
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again. Amen.

The Women by Kirstin Hannah

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The Women is a novel based on the memoirs of an army nurse during the Vietnam War.     The author chooses a well-to-do naive young lady (Frankie) who wants to contribute and make her family proud.      As a newly graduated nurse she enlists and after basic training lands in the war zone, as a novice in a Evac Hospital.    The experience is difficult, but she adapts and becomes a competent nurse, then chooses to reenlist for another year.    During her time she experiences all kinds of trauma and heartbreak.    She falls in love and after returning home she awaits her lover, but hears that he was killed in a crash.

Frankie has nightmares, fits of anger, and resorts to alcohol and drugs.     As readers we can see that she is suffering from PTSD, but it takes her years to learn to cope.     Her life is an emotional roller coaster and one disaster follows another.    The author sets up each emotional upheaval for the reader, but the plot felt somewhat contrived and predictable.    Some of the characters are one-dimensional and the plot sometimes feels like melodrama.

The strength of the story is the retelling of the plight of women who went to Vietnam, then returned to hostility and denial.    The author frames all of this with reference to the political history, the protest movements, and the changing culture of American during the war and afterwards.

There were similarities to another book by the author, The Great Alone.    Both books will be enjoyed by many readers, and will resonate for a large sector of the population.    When the book is adapted for the screen it will attract faithful viewers of prime time dramas.   For readers who wish complexity, character development, and a more subtle, imaginative storytelling, there are better books available.

Recommended for many readers, but with the caveats noted -4.0/5 stars.

The Tree of Hands by Ruth Rendell

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Tree of Hands is a psychological thriller about three people, each with their own stories, but there is a small connection between them that results in an unpredictable ending.     The main story is about a child kidnapping, an act by an unstable mother to help her own daughter who lost a child.   In Ruth Rendell’s books there are many shades of grey and even this crime may have some redeeming aspects.     The other stories are of a love-smitten man with a woman of poor character (the kidnapped child’s mother) and of a man swindling his partner of her assets while she is away.

The story is an unusual one, but the storytelling, as usual, is excellent.    The book is moody, atmospheric, and creepy, but there is also pathos, redemption, and hope.     The characters are ordinary people, but are well-developed, though not necessarily likeable.   In the end there are two flights from predicaments and two deaths.     The story appeared to have no possible satisfactory ending and then the  final chapters feel somewhat contrived by the author, but even with that fault, I was happy to have read this book.   This is not the author’s best book, but her books meet a high standard,  so it is the body of her work that brings me back to read one more.

Recommended, but not for everyone.   Rating 4.3/5 stars

One Deep River by Mark Knopfler

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Mark Knopfler has many songs on our playlist, going back to Brothers in Arms with the Dire Straits.    We have had albums over the years and we continue to listen to his music as a singer, songwriter, and collaborator.   One Deep River was his 10th solo album, released in 2024.    Some critics call it his best album in years.       We listened to the album and were immediately won over.    As usual his guitar is top notch, but for this album so is his singing and songwriting.

You’re one deep river, old friend
One deep river, amen

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

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The Silkworm is a British detective story in the Cormorant Strike series, written by Robert Galbraith which is the pen name for J.K. Rowling.   The first book of the series was The Cuckoo is Calling where we are introduced to a private detective, Cormorant Strike and his assistant Robin.   In this book Strike takes on another case, in which an author is killed in a dramatic gruesome manner.    The police warn him away and arrest someone, but he does not agree and follows many very small leads.     It is a longer book with many interviews and lots of detail.    People’s secrets are revealed and the whole plot is expertly wound to an exciting ending.

The characters are all part of the publishing world – editors, writers, publicists, critics, and publishers, something that the author knows well.   She spins a tale of obsession, jealousy, resentments, fame, and ultimately revenge.    The silkworm is boiled to access its treasure, and some of the characters also pay the price for success.

Cormorant Strike and his assistant Robin are further developed in the second book of the series.   The role of women in the business world is explored, the price of fame is noted, and the public profile of authors is compared to their private lives.    We are also provided insights and understanding of the lives of the other  characters, as only a master storyteller can do.   This is a recommended book – 4.6/5

The Children of Men by P.D. James

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The Children of Men by P.D. James is a dystopian novel set in recent times, in a world in which human fertility has failed and no more children have been born for 25 years.   The spirit of the people has been broken and as the population decreases, a universal malaise sets in.    Democracy fails and a dictator (Warden) rules, supported by State Police.    Criminals are sent to penal colonies for life, immigrants are put into service to support the work usually done by younger people, and suicide is indirectly supported by the state.    There is little opposition and any open criticism is met with a harsh hand.   The main character (Theo) is an Oxford Historian.    The early part of the story is slow as it follows Theo and it isn’t until he is approached by a former female student that the story moves along.    A small revolt has begun and Theo supports humanitarian efforts, but gets caught up in the conflict and the inevitable crack down.    It appears that the small revolt will be crushed and all parties eliminated, except that an unexpected “miracle” occurs which changes everything.

This is a speculative fiction story that asks the question of how Society would change if there were no more children being born.   Themes of loss, hope, faith, power, and the human spirit are wound through the narrative.    It is a discouraging tale for most of the chapters, but some hope is provided at the end.

A recommended book, but readers will need patience and some inner strength to finish this fine book.   (4.6 stars/5)

Tangled up in Blue by Bob Dylan

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Tangled Up in Blue was one of the featured songs on his best album Blood on the Tracks.   It is song which looks back at former relationship and themes of loss, love, regret, and the how the passing of time changes us.   It is a bit of a creative piece, but the lyrics stick with us over time:

Early one morning the sun was shining
I was laying in bed
Wondering if she'd changed at all
If her hair was still red
Her folks they said our lives together
Sure was going to be rough
They never did like Mama's homemade dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
And I was standing on the side of the road
Rain falling on my shoes
Heading out for the East Coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
Getting through
Tangled up in blue