The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

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Nickel Boys is narrated by Elwood Curtis living in New York City in the present time, looking back at a period of time when he attended the Nickel Academy (a reform school in Florida) when he was a teenager.   Colson Whitehead tells the story at various points in Ellwood’s life and it isn’t until the end of the story that we find out that there are really two narrators and two lives told in this narrative.   The storytelling is skillfully shifted to different times, different places, and different points of view, all to paint a larger portrait of systemic racism, societal power structures, suppression, greed, and white-blindness to abuses in the American justice system.

The story is told in a quiet, understated narrative by a character we can relate to and fear for.    The author winds the events and the background of the place from a true account of a similar institution,  the Dozier School in Florida, with documented corruption and abuse of young boys.  The story could just as easily have been about the Residential Schools in Canada, with as many unmarked graves in the property behind the school.

In a way, this is also a horror story, a tale of a naive and diligent young man who thinks he can expose the wrongs of the system, but finds instead the powers of the institution to suppress, punish, and silence those who would reveal the truth.   Elwood’s friend Turner has a more realistic view and we benefit from his thoughts from his time at Nickel Academy, but also in the decades that follow.

Colson Whitehead adds some subtle irony in the final chapters as Turner follows up on the investigation into the school, again, inserted without fanfare.    The writing of this book was done with great skill and vision, one that leaves a long-lasting impression on my own journey to understand the lives of others in our collective history.   It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction,  deservedly so.

My rating – 4.9/5

No Regrets by Tom Rush

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No Regrets is a folk-rock song written and sung by Tom Rush.   The album was The Circle Game and it was released in 1968.    I had this album and have listened to the song many times over the years.    It was covered by a number of other artists too, and in soundtracks for movies.

“No regrets
No tears goodbye
Don’t want you back
We’d only cry again
Say goodbye again”

A simple song that resonates with Tom Rush’s distinctive voice.

The Mist by Stephen King

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The Mist is a novella first published in 1980 and also included in the short story collection Skeleton Crew.   It is a horror story complete with horrific creatures, exciting encounters, savage killings, and a desperate attempt to escape.    Characters are well-developed (though most don’t survive).

Stephen King is adept at setting up the “What if” scenario in which he inserts a variety of characters.   As fear and horror develop, conflicts arise, in this case between the people trapped inside the grocery store.    We have seen this type of psychological horror story for 30 years in books like Under the Dome, The Stand, Dr. Sleep, Misery, It, and a number of short stories.

This novel stands alone since we do have a full explanation of the Mist and its denizens, nor do we find an ending that comes full circle, but those elements may be the story’s strength.    The experience of reading the story is like a Lovecraftian fever-dream.

“When rationality begins to break down, the circuits of the human brain can overload. Axons grow bright and feverish. Hallucinations turn real: the quicksilver puddle at the point where perspective makes parallel lines seem to intersect is really there; the dead walk and talk; a rose begins to sing.”

This novel has is a combination of science fiction and psychological horror, with the pace of a thriller.   It is an exciting read, but a disturbing one too.   Classic Stephen King and recommended – [4.5/5]

The audiobook excerpt is read by Will Patton, the best of the Stephen King audiobook readers:

The House on the Cerulean Sea by T. J Klune

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The House on the Cerulean Sea is a fantasy about an orphanage of very unusual magical children.   Each of the children are interesting and unique characters and this could have been the central part of the story, but it is a tale of redemption, compassion, and humanity as seen through the lead character, Linus Baker.   As a worn-out case worker he arrives on the island with some trepidation, sent by Extremely Upper Management to investigate the enigmatic caretaker Arthur Parnassus.

Surprises and revelations unfold as the children and Arthur interact with Linus, but also with people in the outside world.   Linus is a representative of the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, a bureaucratic and distant rules-based organization, but the model doesn’t work for these children and the result is that they are usually treated with both fear and discrimination.  Faced with the unfairness of the situation, Linus grows from the role of inspector to a role of caregiver and protector.  Over a period of time, Linus becomes part of a family and he has to make some hard choices.   Early in the story we meet a number of endearing characters, but by the end of the book, we are also proud to know Linus and Arthur too.

An endearing tale and recommended to anyone whose heart strings need a tune-up.  4.7/5

Conclave by Robert Harris

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Conclave is a fictional story based on the Vatican’s practice of holding a sequestered meeting of all Cardinals after the death of the Pope, in order to elect a new Pope. Robert Harris writes historical fiction which is thoroughly researched, but he also creates fictional characters who are well-defined, believable, and interesting. In this case, he has created Cardinal Lomeli, the Dean of the Vatican, as the main character. It is his job to administer the Conclave, following the centuries old traditions and canons of the Church.

The story’s location is the Vatican and its time frame are the few days of the Conclave, from the gathering of the Cardinals through a series of votes, discussion, and politics, up to the final announcement of the new Pope. There are thriller elements, Church politics mirroring the world outside the Vatican, intrigue, mysteries to solve, and a rich tapestry of the details, rituals, doctrines, and traditions of the Catholic Church.

The book starts slowly, but the second half is a page-turner and there are a number of surprises and ironic elements within the last part of the book. This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend – rating – 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Nobody Loves Me but My Mother by BB King

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I was a BB King fan in the 1970’s and bought the album Indianola Mississippi Seeds in those years.    It was a vinyl record and I played it frequently.    In the years that followed I bought more albums and looked for chances to see a performance on TV (before YouTube).   Then decades later I got to see him perform live in Kamloops.    It was a stunning performance by a master.    He is gone now, but we can enjoy his music in videos.    One is provided here:

If You Could Read my Mind by Gordon Lightfoot

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Gordon Lightfoot’s music became a part of my life in the late 1960s and I followed his songs, albums, and his career for almost 60 years.    I owned a number of his albums and many of his songs are on my current playlists today.    I saw him perform live twice.     He was one of the great storytelling songwriters and singers.   Picking one song is not easy, but I am featuring “If You Could Read my Mind.”   It was inspired by his divorce, and his thought/feelings converted to lyrics are clear and resonant even today.   His distinct voice is etched in our collective memories.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

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All Systems Red is the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series, a popular science fiction series and streaming series on Apple TV.    We watched the series first, then I was able to get a copy of Fugitive Telemetry from the library and thoroughly enjoyed it.   I recently read/listened to the first book in the series.    The streaming series closely follows the first book of the series, but the book fills in more details, and provides more insights into what the main characters are thinking.

The books are well-told, with fresh ideas, action, humor, irony, and suspense.    Best of all, the characters are interesting and grow as the story develops.    Murderbot is a self-aware cyborg that has hacked its own governor module and can act independently, but chooses to protect the humans around him.    It has a hard time understanding social mores and finds the interactions to be awkward.    The stories are told by Murderbot in a refreshing narrative.

Very enjoyable and recommended.    4.6 stars/5.