Arrogance by Joanna Scott

I wish I had googled Egon Schiele before I read this book. His paintings are intriguing and surprising and would have helped me understand the book better. At any rate, I didn't really get into this book until I was almost halfway through it. Despite the finely executed writing in the novel, I kept falling asleep anytime I read it for longer than forty-five minutes. Which is all very strange since this is by no means a boring book. It's a story based on a fictionalized account of Egon Schiele, an Austrian painter who lived during the early 20th century. It's an unrelentingly grim book, that shifts narration and perspective between Egon Schiele and various characters closest to him. But perhaps the most intriguing voice is the first person narrator--a nameless young girl who has a brief, intense connection with the artist involving 4 days when she ran away from home and spent it with Egon and his lover, Vallie. She pops up every now and again and offers the redemption that Egon's character sorely needs. In the novel, Egon Schiele is frequently selfish, whiney and a sexual deviant who is in love with his sister and has a thing for children. Not the most endearing character you will meet. But the most interesting aspect of the book for me was the narration, the story weaves in and out through various characters and time periods that forms both the inspiration and justification for the art that Egon creates.

The Divine Comedy of John Venner by Gregory Blake Smith

John Venner's character in The Divine Comedy of John Venner announces himself with the confession of his love for the last Shaker, a virgin from the dying sect of United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing.

Mother Ann:
I am a member of the world's people. I've got the fury and the mire running in my veins and the sickness thing in my soul. The moral mud of America sticks to me like nobody's buisness--ditto the dust of destruction--and if that's not enough, I'm in love with your final virgin.

The irreverently pious, and distinct narrative voice of John Venner is fun to read. There's a lot of great historical information thrown in about the Shakers too. He's not the easiest character to sympathize to as he swings between petulant child and tragic martyr. But then like others in the book, he charmed me by the end of the book. Often funny, and well done, where even a cat named Sometimes-why has a voice and a purpose, DCJV is a quick read and before you know it, you will be clapping shut the book, sorry it ended.

Gregory Blake is a Iowa Writer's Worshop Alumni:)

Story Wallah: Book of Short Stories Edited by Shyam Selvadurai

Last weekend, I went to the South Asian Literary Festival here in DC, and I bought this book immediately when I saw Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahiri, Michael Ondaatjee, and even Rohinton Mistry
on the front cover. I had heard Shyam Selvadurai speak at one of the forums, a Canadian-Sri-lankan writer, and had liked him. Of his compilation of stories, I have read two of them--both dealing with problems that arise from an Indian identity in a foreign country--one in NYC, the other in Kenya. So far, I am disappointed by the sheer mediocrity of the writing, not to mention the stories. Two of them about especially shrill ABCDs who I wanted to slap by the end of the story. There are too many novels and stories written by Indians about either arranged marriages or being Indian in the diaspora. It is difficult to write about the mundane in a fresh, original way and so easy to do it badly.

I loved Jhumpa Lahiri's wonderful book of short stories, Interpreter of the Maladies. The Blessed House (which is showcased in the book) is about a newly married, Indian couple who keep finding Christian relics in the house that they have just moved into. A beautifully written story that deftly captures the uneasy anxiety in the marriage, and the mystery and pleasure of "finding Jesus". Another well-known author in the compilation is Michael Ondaatjee who is most famous for the English Patient, which I have never read. What I have read is his wonderful, Anil's Ghost, a beautiful novel about a woman's return to a war-torn Sri-lanka.

Naked Lunch By William S. Burroughs

Naked Lunch is easily one of the weirdest, most disturbing books I have ever read. It's difficult to read, and hard to understand. Oddly enough, it's also funny, vivid and unforgettable. I am about 3/4 through it, and I read it almost entirely on the metro--a slim book. The other morning, I was reading it on my way to work, and at an especially disturbing scene, I felt distinctly my stomach turn. I haven't picked it up since...but will soon, and finish off the sucker.