Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

Thanks to all the readers who posted reviews on our Summer Reading blog. Reviews received before the deadline will be posted today.

This short story collection by Hugo and Nebula winning author Joe Haldeman contains some of his best short stories. “More Than the Sum of His Parts” is a science fiction horror story, in the vein of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man. A man is badly burned in an accident and has an arm, half his face, and various other tissues and organs replaced with powerful prosthetic parts. Invariably, power corrupts him.

The most worthwhile read in the anthology is “You Can Never Go Home.” This short story is, in actuality, the second part of Haldeman’s novel The Forever War. Haldeman’s first draft was regarded as too depressing, by his editor. “You Can Never Go Home” is a Vietnam era narrative set on earth between linked war stories; it describes the alienation and confusion of soldiers returning to a homeland they scarce recognize. Haldeman’s anthology contains many other good reads, i.e. ” Lindsay and the Red City Blues” and “Manifest Destiny.” I highly recommend Dealing in Futures.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Joe Haldeman has written many good novels during his career; although Camouflage has some entertaining anecdotes it seems a bit burdened with clichés. Indeed, the plot centers around two aliens; one of whom is nearly identical to Robert Patrick’s character in Terminator II. Secondly, there’s a great deal of gratuitous violence; the scene where the changeling is introduced to a lovely blond Dutch Painter is particularly disturbing.

There isn’t a great deal of character development and the plot reminded me of another James Cameron movie, The Abyss. Although, Haldeman’s prose is sharp, lucid, and witty; as always. If you are on a trip and you need something to read you could do a lot worse than Camouflage. So I recommend Camouflage with a word of warning about the gratuitous violence and the recycled plot.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Recommended with Reservations

Animal Farm was never a required read for me in high school, though it was for many people I knew. Because I already knew the basic plot/storyline, I decided to read it for myself. I am glad I did. It was an enjoyable and easy read. On the literal level, it is about a bunch of farm animals who are tired of being told what to do by Mr. Jones and revolt. On the figurative level, it is about Communist Russia. I recommend that if you have never read it before, please read it. It is much better than 1984, I promise.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Highly Recommended

The Red Pony is a collection of short stories that focuses on a boy named Jody growing up on a ranch in the 1920’s. In my opinion, each of these stories really has no point and does not contain an over-arching theme. Unless, of course, that theme is how depressing can a young boy’s life be. Others have said that it is a book about reaching maturity and learning how to handle whatever life throws at you, or something like that. I just could not enjoy this book, and I would never recommend this to anyone.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Not Recommended

Nathaniel’s Nutmeg is the incredibly true story of the spice trade, and what a story it is! In those days, people started to get the idea that nutmeg was the overall “miracle cure” for any and every ailment. The only problem was that nutmeg, and many other useful spices, could only be found in a small part of the world known as the Banda Islands. Everybody wanted control over the small collection of islands: the English, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, etc. Having control over the islands was important as it kept the spice trade as a monopoly and made sure that the merchants could make a large profit from selling their spices.

Despite the fact that almost every nation tried to gain control, this book only focused on the English and the Dutch adventures in the Banda Islands. Basically, the English had already claimed a few of the islands for themselves, setting up warehouses and keeping “factors” on the island to fill up these warehouses with spices, when the Dutch entered the “spice race.” The Dutch began to do everything they could to overthrow British control, even going as far as massacring English merchants, while the English desperately tried to hold onto their control. Wars broke out between them, with all attempts at compromises ignored. Each side also had to deal with unpredictable and shifting winds, tropical diseases, and the native population at the same time. It was an intense rivalry, where only one nation could come out on top and gain control over the Banda Islands.

This book was one of the only nonfiction books I enjoyed reading. It was not like reading a dry history textbook, so it kept my attention. The only problem I have with the book was the title. It is misleading. It was not just about Nathaniel Courthope, but about the spice trade in general, including various unsuccessful attempts at finding the North-West and the North-East Passages. Courthope himself was not even mentioned until midway through the book. Even though he put up a valiant fight against the Dutch (read book for details), he did not do much to change the course of history. The author never clearly stated his point regarding Courthope, especially since he was never even the main focus, and there were other players on both sides who were equally as important. I think this book should have been called “The Spice Wars” instead. It was still interesting, and I am glad I stumbled upon the book.

Availability: SMCM
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Must Read

When I picked out Little Dorrit from the library, I did not expect to enjoy this book at all. I wanted to read more novels by Charles Dickens, and this was the only book they had available at the time. It turns out that it was really interesting to read, though parts of the novel were dry. The only problem was that it was long, very, very long. But, if you could get past the length, you might find that you enjoyed this novel as much as I did.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Recommended with Reservations

I reread this book, just recently, after reading A Dance with Dragons. I read a great deal of fantasy when I was younger although Martin’s the last author fantasy author I still read. Time magazine called George R.R. Martin the American Tolkien; his books possess a gritty, dark tone at odds with high fantasy. Martin is also adept at portraying the way past events can take hold of people, families, and indeed entire kingdoms. A Game of Thrones is precisely that; a story of four noble families, and their retainers, fighting for a throne. Martin’s settings, Kingslanding, Storm’s End, Pyke, Winterfell etc., are also imaginative and memorable.

Although, even in the final chapters of A Game of Thrones when the fate of the seven kingdoms is on the rocks I was more concerned with the fate of Ned Stark’s tomboy daughter Arya and his bastard son Jon. Martin’s books appeal to readers of every age because they are about family. Lastly, I saw the pilot for the HBO series and it’s a mediocre adaptation of Martin’s novel; the book outshines the series. I highly recommend A Game of Thrones and its sequels.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Read Ken Benjes’ review and Jordan Gaines’ review of A Game of Thrones.

Hard Times was another required read for school that I never actually read, but decided to give it another chance. I actually enjoyed reading this book, and found it to be interesting. It is about a man named Gradgrind, who raises his family to think that FACTS are the only things important to life. Anything that does not make literal sense (such as putting wallpaper up that has horses on it because you cannot literally wallpaper a room with horses), is forbidden. The oldest of his children, Tom and Louisa, know deep down there is more to life than FACTS, but dare not to try and change anything. That is, until Sissy Jupe enters the family household. The daughter of a traveling circus performer, she is abandoned to by her father and becomes Gradgrind’s latest charity case. He believes that he could show her the importance of FACTS. Unfortunately, Gradgrind’s carefully constructed world begins to fall apart until all the characters realize there is more to live than just adhering to FACTS.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Marissa Parlock
Rating: Recommended

I discovered this anthology after reading Hills like White Elephants in a 200 level Lit Course. Men Without Women contains a number of bleak, gritty short stories. “The Undefeated” is a character study of a fatalistically courageous bullfighter; an athlete who has passed his prime. Hemingway’s bullfighter, Manuel Garcia, is the polar opposite of Hemingway’s repentant coward: Francis Macomber. “In Another Country” relates an unnamed protagonist’s convalescence in an Italian hospital and the strange amalgamation of camaraderie and enmity between the American protagonist and his Italian comrades.

The best story in the collection is “Now I Lay Me.” In “Now I Lay Me” Hemingway’s protagonist is a soldier, suffering from PTSD, who believes his soul will slip from his body if he sleeps. I highly recommend Men Without Women, particularly the stories “In Another Country,” “Hills Like White Elephant,” “The Undefeated”, and “Fifty Grand.”

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Read Marissa Parlock’s review of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.