Mother American Night: My Life in Crazy Times, by John Perry Barlow, with Robert Greenfield. Crown Archetype, 2018

The recently deceased author had a really colorful life. He seems to have known everyone and done everything. Born to a cattle ranching family that was powerful in Wyoming politics, he went to school with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, and later went on to write lyrics for the band. He mentored JFK Jr., and was campaign manager for Dick Cheney. Yes, he was an acid loving, alcoholic, Republican. The cognitive dissonance is still rippling in my head. Later he became a computer hacker and cofounded the Electronic Freedom Foundation, well as writing a book that was basically an ad for Steve Jobs and Apple. He hung at Andy Warhol’s Factory and dated the Dalai Llama’s sister. I’d have thought it was all bullshit, but the people involved say his life really was like that.

All was not sweetness and adventure. As I said, he was an alcoholic. He smoked three packs a day, was a coke dealer, cheated on women, and took off with a $5000 advance for a book he never wrote. He did some of the stupidest things with his health and safety; it’s a miracle he lived as long as he did. One thing his life never was, was dull. And he tells his story in short chapters, as if he was telling them over drinks. At least in the first half of the book; somewhere near the end he sort of … slows down. Given that he was in failing health, I suspect that he just ran out of energy for telling. The prose in the latter part of the book even has a different voice to it, as if the first part was Barlow telling it in full, while the co-author had to fill in a lot in the end. A truly amusing book- I figured I wouldn’t be impressed by the man, but I was. Four and a half stars.

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The Council of Twelve, by Oliver Potzsch. Mariner Books, 2018

In 1672, the executioners of Bavaria are having a meeting of the Council of Twelve, a prestigious group- well, as prestigious as a hangman can be in a time and place where they are considered dishonorable and tainted. Jakob Kuisl takes his entire family there- his married daughter Magdalena, her physician husband Simon, her three children, and his unmarried daughter Barbara, with the thought of finding her a husband there in Munich. The fact that Barbara is already pregnant, and doesn’t even want to get married, complicates matters. Jakob’s son Georg, apprenticed to a hangman of a different city, is also there. Simon is there in hopes of finding a sponsor for his thesis about preventing infections. These strands weave around and into the mystery, which is that young women are turning up dead, all with a certain medallion and all killed in ways that executioners use on female criminals. Of course, the town’s suspicions turn to the group of hangman in their midst. They fear the despised executioners have unleashed a devil on the town.

As Jakob tries to unravel the mystery before the executioners become the executed by mob, more women are found dead- as is one of the hangmen’s own. How are these women connected? What is the common thread? Meanwhile, Magdalena has become embroiled in another mystery and has gone undercover in a silk mill, from which there may be no escape.

I loved this book. I did not realize when I asked for the book that it was the 7^th in a series, but the author made the family relationships clear right away and I was able to jump right in without feeling I was missing anything. Potzsch deftly handles the multiple threads of plot (I haven’t mentioned them all; there are simple too many) and never drops the many balls he’s juggling. He paints a vivid picture of the time and place- all too vivid at times, a lot of things being rather gross and grim back then. From street girls to the royal court, everyone seems to be involved. The story is full of action and the characters all come to life. Five stars.

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A Short History of Drunkenness, by Mark Forsyth. Three Rivers Press, 2017

This is a brief, but fairly detailed, look at how alcohol has been used and regarded through the ages. From prehistory to America’s Prohibition, the 18 chapters tell us how alcohol has been used to see religious visions, to go to work, to end work, to discuss important issues and decisions, to communicate with their ancestors, and just about everything else. Most cultures have used alcohol, and it’s not limited to humans- naturally fermented fruit is enjoyed by both monkeys and elephants.

Forsyth’s prose is witty and irreverent, and a fast read; I read the 230 pages in two evenings- although it’s not a book that demands to be read at once; it’s one of those that you can put down and pick up again at any point. As nonfiction, it’s quite light. Sometimes the wit seems too much, as if he was afraid to write a sentence with no punchline, but all in all it’s very enjoyable. And he has done his homework and there’s a bibliography to prove it. So if you want to know who the Norse god of drunkenness was (it’s Odin) or how the gin craze started (it has to do with grain excesses), this is the book for you. Four stars. 

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How to Love a Jamaican, by Alexia Arthurs. Ballantine Books, 2018

This lovely set of stories brings to life the Jamaican culture and what happens when immigrants from that culture come to North America- and also when they return to Jamaica. These are tales that touch on race, coming of age, mothers and how controlling they can be, sexuality, assimilation, culture, and more. The characters are brought vividly to life with lush descriptions of food, and the use of patois in conversations (no, it’s not that hard to understand). Arthurs is funny and writes sympathetic characters. The stories touch both things specific to the Jamaican experience and things that are universal. Five stars.

The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something- anything- from Amazon, they will give me a few cents.

I received this book free from the Amazon Vine program in return for an unbiased review. 

Neither of these things influenced my review. 

Crashing the Party: From the Bernie Sanders Campaign to a Progressive Movement, by Heather Gautney. Verso, 2018

                    

A brief look at the 2016 Democratic primary, Bernie’s campaign, and the history behind them. Bernie’s own political history is in stark contrast to Hilary’s. He came up from the bottom, representing the poor and people of color, while Hilary (as well as Bill Clinton, and, for that matter, Obama) was funded by, and stood for, the class of people with money to invest in her campaign.

The author, a professor of sociology as well as staffer for Sanders, tells us how the appeal of the socialist message worked. He brought in the majority of the youth vote, and that of the lower classes and people of color. Sadly, the super delegates worked against him, causing him to lose even in states where he won the majority of the popular vote (how ironic that something similar worked against Hilary in the general election). An easy read; it’s the first political book I’ve found readable since Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. Five stars.

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I received this book free from the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review. 

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The Perfume Burned his Eyes, by Michael Imperioli. Akashic Books, 2018

The story starts with 16 year old Matthew in 1976. His estranged, bad example of a father dies, then his grandfather follows shortly. This plunges his mother into a depression that she treats by eating tranquilizers, but it also provides an inheritance that allows them to move uptown and into a fancy apartment building in New York City. When he takes a part time job as a delivery boy for a local Chinese restaurant, he discovers that the people who he thought were a homeless couple when he’d seen them in the lobby actually live in his building, just a couple of floors up. It is, in fact, Lou Reed and his trans girlfriend Rachel. When Reed takes Matthew on as an assistant, it’s down the rabbit hole for Matt. Adding to the surrealness of his life, he falls for a girl at school: Veronica, who is an outlier, a witch, and a part time prostitute. Between Reed and Veronica, Matthews coming of age is more abrupt than most people’s, and definitely weirder. Whether it’s driving a borrowed van having never driven before, accompanying Veronica on a trick, or watching Reed basically melt down, it’s a walk on the wild side.

Matthew comes across as real and a sympathetic character. He’s been torn from his past life at a vulnerable point in his life. He’s smart. While the story takes place when he’s 16, it’s written from his POV at 18, and he looks at himself clearly and maturely. And, despite the grim subject matter, it’s funny. Four stars.

The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something- anything- Amazon will give me a few cents. 

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Neither of these things influenced my review.