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What is Todd Robins Reading?
Seasons of Todd...
Currently reading:
Something totally Todd-like.
Autumn 2009
Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James
McManus: Read review
Summer 2009
Nobody Move by Denis Johnson:
Read review
Spring 2009
Shadow and Light by Jonathan Rabb:
Read
review
Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution
by Jerome Charyn.
Some readers at least are only willing to consider
the past from the viewpoint of the conventional historian because they "want
to know what really happened," but who can argue that the American
Revolution does not already inhabit the imagination from the time it's first
studied in elementary school? The Boston Tea Party, Valley Forge,
Yorktown--these events are on file in the mind's eye. The novel, then, is
just the medium in which to further explore that state of mind in symbolic,
metaphorical language. The speakers in a novel will be less guarded with
their statements, and the reader is provided the rare pleasure of observing
near mythical historical figures in unexpected settings. Much of the action
in "Johnny One-Eye" unfolds in a New York brothel. The British officers
frequent the place, and George Washington knows the proprietor. The
narrator, John Stocking, happens to have been born in the popular
establishment, though he can't guess who might have been generous enough to
bring him into the world at such a critical point in history. The novel is a
case study in picaresque narrative strategy as Stocking, the mostly
reluctant servant of several masters, paints a vivid picture of the famous
struggle in a compelling cadence. He makes a persuasive case that even the
resilient George Washington was comprised of a multitude of selves.
Late Winter 2009
Casanova: Actor Lover Priest Spy by Ian Kelly.
The author stitches in these meditative "Intermezzo"
sections that
explore the famous 18th century Venetian's devotion to travel, book
collecting, food, and the Kabbalah. Casanova was hoisted in the can
with no trial over a "question of religion," and the authorities confiscated
his Kabbalah and astrology books. Then the man began plotting to
escape. The prison break story has to rank with the all-time best,
culminating with Casanova in Paris, regaling the aristocracy with his tale.
Saul Bellow: Collected Stories by Saul Bellow.
The collection contains one of Bellow's best short
novels, "The
Bellarosa Connection." You get your seventeen dollars worth from that
alone. The Jewish-American narrator arrives at a greater sense of
responsibility toward his spiritual present by remembering the narrative of
a family friend who made a white-knuckle escape from World War II era
Europe. I loved the characters and I expect to read this again before
long.
The Girl In Blue by P. G. Wodehouse.
My only complaint with this novel is that it lacks a
golf course
scene. Nothing beats a Wodehouse golf story, especially when the main
character winds up and whiffs, or dribbles the ball about two feet off the
tee.
Second Sight by Charles McCarry.
Exotic locale and culture are a big part of what
make these McCarry
espionage novels so fun to read.
Oracle Night by Paul Auster.
Even though the character development in this work
would not rival
anything in a Saul Bellow or William Kennedy novel, it's not bad, either,
and I was definitely pulled in by the narratives within narratives and the
exploration of theme.
The Finder by Colin Harrison.
I tore through the first half of this novel in one
day, in a couple of sittings. It was one of those Saturdays where you don't
set the alarm and wake up whenever you feel like it. Eat breakfast, drink
your coffee, then sit down with a good novel. So the day consisted of
reading the first half of "The Finder" as well as running a few errands and
taking about three small naps (late morning, early afternoon, and then
another, fifteen minute snooze late in the afternoon). The novel creates the
world of various New York finance industry operatives, high and low. You get
Chinese gangsters in the mix. So far, I've been happy with every single
scene in this book. Just fun to read. The characters are nice and
uninhibited, and the insider financial chicanery part of the story is
engaging and informative without being tedious.
Winter 2008
Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh.
Basil Seal labors to avoid being drawn into a career
of some sort in this satire set in the early days of World War II.
The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey.
I was already happy with this thing as a solid
detective novel when, about halfway through, the mayor of Chicago tried to
argue that people are out of line a little for wanting to live longer
nowadays. In the mayor's view, 65 years should be enough:
Read review
Summer 2008
Indignation by Phillip Roth:
Read review
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill:
Read review
Spring 2008
Lush Life by Richard Price:
Read review
Winter 2008
Last Night At The Lobster by Stewart O'Nan.
I picked the novel up a couple days ago (as I write,
it's December 22), and went right through it. What a poignant little gem
this is. O'Nan's portrayal of a restaurant, the inner workings and the
personality conflicts, is just right. Mostly, though, I like the main
character Manny, who memorably experiences the pull between longing and
responsibility. This is his story, his day. The author casts the narrative
arc with such skill that he makes it look easy. It's probably wise, however,
to remember the Latin saying, "difficilia quae pulchra." (Things that are
beautiful are difficult to attain.)
Christopher's Ghosts
Charles McCarry.
If you walk in the store and tell me you're looking
for a really good espionage novel, this is what I'm recommending. For the
double whammy, grab Boyd's novel, "Restless," as well.
Brothers: The Hidden History Of The Kennedy Years
David Talbot.
This book offers a compelling exploration of the
Byzantine network of forces that were at play during JFK's shortened
presidency and the Cold War.
Autumn 2007
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson:
Read review
Summer 2007
Exit Ghost by Philip Roth:
Read review
Spring 2007
Restless by William Boyd.
At least three customers recommended this
book, which is
significant: it means they paid $25 and got their money's worth. I paid for
the book in hardcover as well, at least in part because I truly love
hardcovers. Plus, back in January, The Wall Street Journal ran an
interesting article about the author. Truth to tell, it has never been all
that tough to talk me into reading British Secret Service stories. John
Banville's The Untouchable comes to mind. After 100 pages of
Restless, it's clear that Boyd has command of his material about a
half-Russian, half-English woman who becomes a spy in 1939. I put him in the
Ward Just category.
Winter 2007
Prime Green:
Remembering the Sixties by Robert Stone.
Stone
remembers sixties experiments with droll humor. He was out in California
with Kesey, and he was down in New Orleans as a census taker. He also had
comical experiences as a seller of Collier's Encyclopedias. Unlike so many
memoir writers, Stone knows how to be pithy.
Autumn 2006
The Road by Cormac McCarthy:
Read review
Summer
2006
The Civil
War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote:
Read review
Golf in the
Kingdom by
Michael Murphy: Read
review
Spring
2006
True Confessions by John Gregory Dunne.
Just think: if Kevin Kelly's vision comes true, I
could actually read John Gregory Dunne's novel as a snippet. For a detailed
account of Kelly's dream, you need to round up the May 14 issue of The
New York Times Magazine. (I already chucked mine in the garbage.) Kelly
argues that in the future, we will all love computers so much (look at me,
Mom! I'm blogging!) that we will bypass books altogether, just so we
can sit in a chair all day and stare into the wondrous little tube. I'm even
planning to get my food there, simply Google up a virtual plate of spaghetti
and sit around reading snippets all day. Dunne published True Confessions
a long time ago, and I doubt that he envisioned it as a snippet. Here's the
point: I don't want to read it as a snippet. I want to read the whole thing,
from beginning to end, without an interruption from a blogger, some clown
sitting around in his apartment posting links to everything because he can.
I want Dunne's vivid prose and mean voice and his depiction of each
character's inner life. Thunder's Mouth Press recently reissued it.
Apparently they hadn't heard the prophecy.
Consider The Lobster by David Foster
Wallace.
Wallace had to delay covering John McCain's
presidential campaign
for Rolling Stone because "I happen to have dogs with professionally
diagnosed emotional problems who require special care, and it always takes
me several days to recruit, interview, select, instruct, and field-test a
dogsitter." In addition, this author ridicules journalists on the campaign
trail for wearing chinos with pleats. Critics sometimes take shots at him
for using footnotes in his work. I can't help noticing that Wallace is more
interesting than the critics.
Intuition by Allegra Goodman.
As I write this note, I am halfway through the
novel and glad to
be reading it. The characters are intelligent and grounded, yet susceptible
to selfishness and envy. The portrait of these cancer researchers is rich in
detail and nuance and limned with deeper meaning. I can't wait to get home
and pick it up again:
Read review
Winter
2005
Dreaming Of Babylon by Richard
Brautigan.
McComish brought Dreaming Of Babylon over from Watermark West.
This was approximately 13 years ago, sometime after Nebuchadnezzar
died. Speak of the devil, he's a character in Dreaming Of Babylon,
even though the novel is set in 1942 San Francisco. C. Card, the
protagonist, prefers dreaming of Babylon over finding a few bullets for his
gun. Who can blame him? He has a very fine girlfriend there. This book is
highly recommended for people who tend to spend daylight hours in the dream
world. If you've ever had lunch with Amenhotep, for example, you can take
this artifact off our hands.
Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the
Game by John Feinstein and Red Auerbach
Read review
Autumn 2005
Tales
from the Kansas State Sideline by Stan Weber with David Smale:
read
review
Summer 2005
No Country for Old Men
by Cormac McCarthy
I, Fatty by Jerry Stahl:
Read
review
Spring 2005
Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo
The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard.
That old buzzard Elmore Leonard is at it again,
this time dropping you into the Oklahoma oil patch in the 1930's. If you
come from small town Kansas or Oklahoma oil patch country and like crime
fiction, you won't want to miss this book. It's populated with the likes of
Pretty Boy Floyd and his gang. I was surprised that Leonard, who has lived in
Detroit for a long time, could get the dialogue right for this setting, but the
book does ring with authenticity. It makes me want to go back and do a Jim
Thompson novel or two. It's a Midwestern noir extravaganza.
4701
East Douglas/Wichita, Kansas 67218/(316) 682-1181
Hours:
Monday
- Friday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Cafe opens at 7:00 a.m.)
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (Cafe opens at 7:00 a.m.)
Sunday:
Noon - 5:00 p.m.
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