Not all bad...

Monty Haaviko is an interesting hero.  A former drug user, thief and murderer, Monty has now settled down in Winnipeg's North End with his wife and young son, and is starting to settle into a quiet life as a babysitter while his wife works realty to support them.

A Criminal to Remember is Michael Van Rooy's third novel featuring Haaviko, and I cannot talk this series up enough.  It is entertaining and honest about the criminal lifestyle (while he sometimes misses the adrenaline rush or the high from the drugs and alcohol, he is very clear about how satisfied he is with his family and current low-key lifestyle).

 To me, this novel is another example of trying to redeem our villains.  Monty says over and over again that he used to be a bad man, he used to do bad things, but he is reformed now (more or less).  His character gives us hope for redemption and rehabilitation.  Yes, his life is full of trials and tribulations, but he overcomes them.  He is always better than the antagonists, either stronger or smarter, or he is able to outlast whatever is happening to him. 

Monty is often playing the bad guys on one side against the bad guys on the other side, while trying to make sure he comes out neutral, with little attention drawn to himself and his family, while also making sure no harm befalls them.  He has had to deal with local mobsters, people smuggling, angry neighbors, crooked cops, and making and keeping friends.  He balances most of these things while raising his son and doing his best to keep his wife, who he clearly worships (without deifying), on the right side of happy.

When I first picked up Van Rooy's first novel in this series, An Ordinary Decent Criminal, I think I took it home with me solely because it's not often I randomly grab books set in Winnipeg, and I was curious.  Usually, when reading, I make myself a map or picture in my head, because rarely have I been to the settings of the books I am reading.  If I have visited a location, my sense of direction is so terrible, that I still don't have a good idea in my head and just sort of go along with a sense of the place.  Having been born and raised in Winnipeg, though, I generally knew exactly where the action was taking place, and I felt like if I went to a certain street corner I might see the building Monty broke into, or a blood stain on the sidewalk where someone was beaten or shot (a little morbid to be excited at that last prospect, but there you have it).  It added another dimension to the story that drew me in.

I cannot wait for Van Rooy's next novel (assuming there is one) to see what trouble awaits the Haaviko family as life goes on.

Rating: 5/5

Sometimes they hit close to home

I can't remember who recommended it to me, but I recently read It's a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.  I found this young adult novel, which Vizzini  wrote after a 5 day stint in the mental ward of a hospital as a teenager, to be well written and very moving.  Personally, I found it hit very close to home.

Today's student (teen or otherwise) gets buried under praise when they do well, scorn when they don't.  This leads in many to a drive to succeed, excel, be the best student.  This can also lead to a fear of failure.  What happens, once these kids move on and realize they aren't the big fish anymore, but only mediocre fish?  

Throughout University, and even beyond, I have felt a little let down by life.  I was a perfect student, often getting A+'s with very little effort, but I was a constant worrier.  My dad once told me, jokingly, that with all the worrying I did I'd get an ulcer.  Guess what?  Then I just worried about getting an ulcer.  

Craig Gilner, the protagonist, comes from a supportive family.  The pressure to succeed comes from within.  He convinces himself he needs to go to a certain high school, college, lifestyle, and in preparing for the entrance exams he believes will start him on the right course, he alienates himself from most of his classmates, with the exception of Aaron, who is also planning on going to this very elite school.

To celebrate acceptance into the school, they have a party, here Aaron hooks up with Nia, and Craig falls asleep in the corner.  Craig tries pot, and over the course of the year becomes a habitual user, and gets more and more overwhelmed by school work and the pressure he puts on himself.  He falls behind.  He begins to have trouble eating and sleeping, and after admitting to his parents that he might suffer from depression, he starts taking Zoloft and seeing a series of psychiatrists.

It's when Craig accidentally checks himself into the mental illness ward of the local hospital that he starts to put his life into perspective.  Over the course of his 5 day stay he makes a few important self-discoveries, and comes out knowing he might not be cured, but understanding a little better what he might need to do to cope and heal (the swift recovery seems a little suspect, but as the author has spent time in such an institution, and I have not, I'm not going to judge his recollections of the time).

How do you explain depression to someone who has never had it?  For healthy people, there tends to be 2 lines of thought regarding depression:  Snap out of it!  Decide not to be depressed anymore, and take charge of your life.  The other thought process is one of skepticism.  What do YOU have to be depressed about?  Everyone goes through tough patches, why should YOU get special treatment?  

How do you even discuss your problems with people like that?

Reading this young adult novel made me feel 2 things.  Paranoia (if this guy needed to be institutionalized, how far off can I be?) and relief.  I am not alone.  If I ever hit rock bottom, I know there is a support system, I know there is help available, and if nothing else, I know there is someone else out there that might know what I'm feeling.

Rating: 4/5

Dug my heels in...

Finally finished Odd Thomas.  Never in my life has it taken me that long to read a book I was remotely interested in.  I am really torn now.  I can't say I was overly impressed with the ending, there was sort of a plot twist that was interesting, then right at the end Koontz went "oh, by the way, here's a character that I never introduced before playing an important role in the finale."  I call BS on that.  Still really like the characters and the story, can't stand the writing.  Still want to read more in the series, despite Koontz killing off a character I really liked.

With Forever Odd on request from the library, I will see if I can make it through book two in less time than it took Koontz to write it.  Glutton for punishment?  I might be!

Armed with a headcold, and a belly full of energy drink, this post may veer off into a rambling mess.  As most of my readers (hi Gibbs!) are people who know me in real life, this will surprise no one.  For anyone that just happened to wander in, I apologize, but make no promises not to do this again in future.  Sometimes, sleep depravation is our friend.  :)

I readily admit that I enjoy a lot of bad movies, and put up with a lot of bad writing for the sake of interesting stories.  Stephen King, in his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, says something (which I am paraphrasing from one of the 13 times I've read it), that resonates with me every time I read a crappy book.  He says that everyone has read books that makes them despair if they are at all interested in writing, a sort of, "well, I'll never be able to do this well" sort of feeling.  However, the flip side is also true.  Everyone has also read a terrible, awful novel that makes them think "I already write better than this."  When I'm reading bad pulp fiction, or a dragging narrative, or about cardboard characaters that I can't possibly relate to, at least I can excuse myself by saying, "this is just a confidence boost."  How long can I go on pretending that I read terrible books, not because I enjoy them, but because they make me feel better about my dream of becoming a writer?  I'm not sure I can keep fooling myself, though, when I haven't written much in years.

I start school again in September.  If high-school (and my first degree) memories can be trusted, I'll get lots of writing done then!  It was never great writing, but judging by the books I read, that shouldn't be a deterrent.  Wish me luck!
 

Forgive me, my brain is melting

Two weeks later (albeit I had a week of Folklorama dancing in the middle), and I'm still slogging my way through Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.  It has never taken me this long to read a book I was even vaguely  interested in.  Normally if I'm not right into it by the halfway point, I just move on.  I've tried, too. I'm reading three books, but I can't get into any of them until I find out what happens to Odd, the protagonist.  The story isn't following what I would normally call a logical thought process, even for a novel about a man who sees ghosts.  

In the meantime, I have also started reading Bonk by Mary Roach, a humourous view of the study of sex and sexuality.  I'm only in the first chapter, but I'm already hooked as she tells tales of the first sex researchers and the personal experiments they had to do in order to start studying sex realistically.

I'm going to see which of these novels I'm able to finish, and with luck I might actually be able to have a review.  Or I'll get fed up and read the latest Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire novel.  Either way it is a win-win for me.