Osler's Razor

I know I promised that I would start posting junky poetry today, but I realize that I forgot to list my reading from my sojourn at Osler Island. Intriguingly, I followed the same pattern as last year, in which I began with decent books, descended into trash, and then ended up someplace even worse. Here, in order, were the books I read:

1) Made in Detroit by Paul Clemens

This memoir reflects upon the author's years spent living in the city of Detroit before moving to Grosse Pointe. Since my family followed the same pattern, there were many places and events described that overlapped with my own experience. At the center of the story is the issue of race-- as a white growing up in a majority-black city, Clemens has a take on the city that both rings true (at least at times), and makes the reader uncomfortable. In the end, the tragedy is not an individual but the city itself, which devolves into a shambles as the story progresses. It's hard to believe a memoir by a 37-year-old could be worthwhile, but this one is.

Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst

Former student and current Razorite _B_ sent me this one, which I also enjoyed. The premise seems ridiculous-- a man tries to teach his dog to talk so that the dog can explain what happened to his late wife-- but midway through the book it turns into an elegant and profoundly sad tale of a man who is dealing with his beloved's suicide.

Love the One You're With by Ellen Giffin

Let's be honest here: I brought two books and read them too quickly. Desperate, I came upon a borrowed copy of Love the One You're With (which will be the subject of a poem next week). I enjoyed some parts of this book, but its essential trashiness is revealed with one of the most disappointing endings I have read. In short, a woman has to choose between a man who engages her passions but is poor and another whom she feels lukewarm about, but is rich (he mostly plays golf). She chooses the rich one. Oh, sorry-- "spoiler alert." Ah, who cares, the ending is so vapid (it actually describes his big house as a reason to choose him) that it should be spoiled. However, this was not the worst book I read...

4) Bratfest at Tiffany's by Lisi Harrison

Apparently left behind at the island by Sleepy Walleye (it was marked with his name), this is the worst book ever published. Every character is reprehensible, and the heroes are the worst ones of all. Here is a plot summary: Massie and her friends are the coolest and richest girls at Briarwood Octavian Country Day School,with the most expensive clothes and the most exotic lip gloss! In the end, they triumph over the losers at school by spending vast amounts of their parents money! Yay! Suck eggs, only somewhat-wealthy losers! (You can tell who the losers are because they wear clothes from The Gap, and because the author refers to them as "losers"). Now that I think about it, Sleepy never would have brought this book. It must have been his brother...

Lesson for next year: Bring four books.