Babbitt

 

Sinclair Lewis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930 for the five novels that he had written in the preceding decade: Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, Elmer Gantry and Dodsworth. I remember Kirk Douglas starring in the movie Elmer Gantry (1960), but I don’t remember ever reading Lewis or even hearing of Babbitt. The story of Babbitt came to my attention because I have tickets to see the premier of the play in November with Matthew Broderick at the La Jolla Playhouse. I attend the theater over the course of the year with some dear friends, and I thought I might enjoy the play more if I first read the book. Babbitt was available in audio format on Libby.

 

According to Wikipedia, “Babbitt has entered the English language as “a person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards.” Essentially, Babbitt is a boob of a character who overestimates his value to his family and community. At the start of the book he freely gives obnoxious lectures about his criticisms of people who think outside of society’s norms. In the midst of a midlife crisis, he experiments with trying on progressive values, but in the end, he retreats back to the comfort of being a “normal” guy. This story is a spoof on middle class life in the Midwest during the Prohibition Era. The actual location was fictional, but it could have been any of many towns, including my home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the setting of this blog, the book does include an attempted murder. Babbitt’s best friend shot his own wife, but she survived and this character deeply regretted his action.

 

It amazes me that this was a book that was included in the awarding Lewis with the Nobel Prize. While an interesting period novel, I’m not impressed with the book and would not recommend it, unless you’re headed to the theater. I’m very curious what Matthew Broadwick will do with his interpretation of the novel.

The Far Side of the Desert

The Far Side of the Desert by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is an excellent novel of international crime, terrorism, gun running and financial manipulations. This is a first time author for the blog. Monte and Samantha are sisters who were essentially been brought up internationally as their father pursued his various job in a US government position. They also have an older brother, Cal, and they were all getting together for a city festival in Spain, a town where they had all once lived. The three of them had continued a life of government service and/or journalism that kept them all traveling abroad, so they did not actually see one another very often. However, at the height of the festival celebration, terrorists attacked and killed 23 people, and Monte was kidnapped.

 

The main man of mystery in this was Safir Brahim, who led the team of people that took Monte into hiding deep into the Western Sahara, which lies on the Atlantic Ocean, wedged between Morocco and Mauritania. Safir had grown up in Spain where he was known as Stephen Carlos Oroya. He worked in the world of secret international finance, and he was trying to get information about a leading terrorist known as the Elder, an experienced fighter, but also a man who had hidden a huge fortune.

 

The hunt for Monte is intense across three continents, but the significant family resources to find her came up empty. Her ultimate rescue looked progressively more unlikely. Meanwhile, she was badly treated in captivity and became pregnant, but she could not be certain who the father was. That should be enough to get you interested. This is a book that gets my recommendation.

Bad Influence (#1597)

Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence, written Alison Gaylin’ does not get a good recommendation from me. I found this one on Libby, the library app that I have connected to four Southern California library systems. I wanted an audiobook for my dog walks and this one was available. I thought the protagonist, Sunny Randall, a female detective, former cop, former lover of Jesse Stone, was poorly portrayed. I did not like the cast of characters and did not find the plot believable. I would not even put this one in the category of “airplane books.” On the other hand, if you are entertained by B- detective stories, then have a go at this one.

Higher Animals: vaccines, Synthetic Biology, and the Future of Life (#1596)

 

I learned about this short nonfiction book, Higher Animals: Vaccines, Synthetic Biology, and the Future of Life, as the result of listening to a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell on the last episode of the eighth season of  “Revisionist History.” In the podcast, Gladwell interviewed the author, Michael Specter. The two men have been friends for a very long time. Personally, as a physician who has spent my lifetime deep in the world of science while trying to discern what might bring help to my patients, this discussion by Gladwell and Specter caused me to immediately download Specter’s book and jump it to the head of my reading queue. I was not disappointed at having done so.

 

Specter explained how the MRNA vaccines have helped spark a biotechnology revolution. Biology can now be thought about in the way we think of computer code, but instead of thinking in bits and bytes, we think in terms of genetic letters. That is information that can be shared, with good and bad consequences, on the internet. He defined synthetic biology as being “a field in which scientists seek to combine elements of engineering, chemistry, computer science, and molecular biology.” This new field has a vast positive potential for the earth and human life.

 

Specter also recognizes that as has previously been the case with new technologies, there are people who are reluctant to accept these advances. At the same time of potential benefits, it is also easier for people of ill intent to cause great harm. For example, there are now thousands of people in the world who have the sophistication to design new viruses on the smart phones. The author asks, just as has been asked in the past with other new technology breakthroughs, will we be smart enough to choose which technologies to pursue and which to ban?

 

Higher Animals successfully presents complex scientific issues in straightforward and understandable language. In audiobook format, it’s only a four-hour listen. I’m impressed – it gets my strongest recommendation.

 

Death in Dutch Harbor (#1595)

 

Death in Dutch Harbor is apparently a debut novel by D. MacNeill Parker, and what a banging beginning for this author. As I searched for more information about the author and Dutch Harbor, I learned that there had been five deaths in this small Aleutian outpost in the first several months of 2023, but this book was probably well underway by that time. It’s just another example of life and literature mirroring each other. The novel will be available for purchase in the third week of October 2023.

 

Nonetheless, Dutch Harbor is a tiny place for so many deaths. The protagonist, a veterinarian in Dutch Harbor, Dr. Maureen “Mo” McMurtry, had just interviewed for a new position at an animal hospital in Anchorage where she would have access to new equipment and a team of experienced vets, as compared to her underbudgeted one-person clinic in Dutch Harbor. She also had a relationship with a boat captain in Dutch Harbor, Arlo, but they had not yet committed to a long-term relationship, and she loved living in the relatively isolated town of Dutch Harbor, located on the island of Unalaska. Her four-year contract was up and she needed to decide whether to re-up for Dutch Harbor or go to a much more lucrative position in Anchorage.

 

The book began with a weather-challenged landing by a small aircraft at Dutch Harbor, just a part of living in such a remote outpost. Mo immediately ran into an old acquaintance, Kate, a marine biologist who was on her way to investigate the mysterious death of sea lions. Mo went along, and that led to the discovery of a man’s corpse who had been shot and was tangled in the same seaweed as the dead sea lions which had also been shot. The man was tentatively identified as being a hopeless substance abuser from Dutch Harbor because he only had one eye. Despite being a veterinarian, the police chief engaged Mo to help him identify the cause of death and the time of death of One-Eye Ben. The chief complained that when he turned over such matters to the State authorities or the FBI, they took over full control of the investigation and cut him out of that effort. Mo was able to do as the chief requested.

 

Then, the author talked about the struggle between fishermen and the environmentalists. It was a young environmentalist, Casey, who suddenly appeared in the midst of these problems, and wound up dead in the process. His body was disposed of in a crab pot which had a serial number identifying it as coming from Arlo’s boat. The crab pot with the body was caught in a fisherman’s net, and that led to the discovery of Casey’s body.

 

Parker successfully tied together the multiple themes with strong characters, especially the women, with a believable and exciting plot. I recommend this book and look forward to Parker’s next novel.

City of Dreams (#1594)

 City of Dreams is the second book of a trilogy by a MRB favorite author, Don Winslow. I read and favorably reviewed the first book, City on Fire, in March this year (2023). By the way, City on Fire is about to appear as a movie – can’t wait.) At the end of book one, Danny Ryan had stolen millions from the mob and then escaped Providence, Rhode Island in hopes of getting out of the gangland business and leading a law abiding life. His wife had just died of cancer and he wanted to fulfill his promise to his wife that he would take care of their 18-month old son. Danny chose to lie low, and he advised his team to do likewise. But then he heard of someone’s plan to do a movie about the gang war he had fled from in Providence and he ended up helping to finance the movie and falling in love with the beautiful star. His plan for anonymity quickly evaporated. While his mob activity in Providence had been in the minor leagues, suddenly Danny is forced to contend with big time mobsters. This book is even better than the first, and now I have to wait for the third novel, City in Ruins, which is not yet available.

Spare by Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex (#1593)

 

I’m really surprised that I decided to listen to Prince Harry as he narrated his own autobiography, “Spare.” That decision appears to be the result of my wife’s decision to binge through the TV drama “Suits.” I had never watched it, and as she was choosing to watch the show, night after night through 8 seasons, I got hooked too. Megan Markle, who is married to the Prince is one of the principal actors in the show. So, I’ve wandered as about as far from our murder mystery genre as possible – no murders in this book, although Megan, The Duchess of Sussex, certainly had thoughts of her own death in response to the pressures she was facing.

 

I thought the book was worth reading. Harry described that as the second son of Princess Diana and King Charles, he was the “spare” part of Prince William, the first born, who was the “heir.” Harry grew up with the understanding that he was very unlikely to ever assume the thrown. William or Willy, had obligations that Harry did not. This was a book of palace intrigue, and it seems Harry did not hold back in telling about the intrigue. He talked about the awkwardness of being a royal family member and the expectations for how he was supposed to behave. Harry was a party boy during his youth and into his late 20s, and the English press was brutal in terms of using “paps” or paparazzi free lance photographers to hound him as they had hounded his mother, and then sell their photos for sensational, often entirely made up stories.

 

Harry reviewed his life in school, the loss of his mother, Diana, in 1997 when Harry was just 12 years old. He certainly struggled with his grief over the ensuring years. He said little about his decision not to go to college, although he did become a military captain who flew Apache helicopters. Harry had two tours in Afghanistan, the first of which was abbreviated due to the intense efforts of the Taliban to assassinate him. He claimed to have been responsible for 25 kills in the course of his military duties. He also talked about his love and respect for his grandmother, the Queen.

 

The Prince talked about wanting to find the right woman to marry and have children. In the midst of some wild times with his buddies, he had a couple longer relationships that did not work out. It was when he was traveling that he met Megan Markle, and he very quickly fell for her. This was an American actress who knew little of the life of a royal. The experience of the two of them dealing with the “paps” was awful and it’s hard to imagine the hardships of being in such a fishbowl. Despite the constant negative press, perhaps they would have stayed in London had it not been for their perceived abandonment by the royal family. But with Harry’s and Megan’s perception of being mistreated by their own family, much as Diana had not been sufficiently supported during her marriage to Charles, they chose to opt of their royal duties and move back to Southern California where Megan had grown up.

 

Although there were times when Harry sounded a bit petty, for the most part I found him to be an articulate man who did not pull punches. This was a candid portrayal of his life and his struggles, and it gets my recommendation.

 

Simply Lies (#1592)

 

Simply Lies is a mystery novel by the prolific writer, David Baldacci. His first novel was published in 1995, and Simply Lies is his 51^st book. So, he’s nearly produced two books a year over the course of his career. He’s had multiple series, and my favorite series was the Camel Club which consisted of six books written between 2005 and 2014. At Men Reading Books, a number of his novels have been reviewed. 

This novel was not my favorite. It was a story of multiple people who led very twisted lives, often as the result of horrendous abuse that was done to them. The protagonist was Mickey Gibson, a single mom of two and former cop who had begun working as an investigator for a private investigation company, ProI, so nearly all of her work was done on her computer from home. That worked allowed for her to be with her kids as much as possible, although her parents were there and ready to step in whenever they were needed. For a while, life seemed simple if not boring, until she was pulled into an investigation which led her to go back into the field. Although Mickey was an interesting lead character, the cast of people around her were not people I could identify with. They never seemed real enough to me. Given my failure to buy into the characters, the plot held little interest. I’d rate this book no higher than a 3/5. Enough said. I listened to this one on audiotape, and the actors were good enough. I probably finished the book only because I had so many audiobooks on hold that I did not have anything else immediately available to entertain myself on my long dog walks.