Wingfield's World by Dan Needles

In Wingfield's World, Walt Wingfield, former Bay street stocker turned farmer, writes a weekly letter to the editor of the Free Press and Economist in the town of Larkspur. In these letters Walt details his small successes, his disastrous failures and introduces the reader to a host of eccentric characters that inhabit the Persephone township. This collection is based on the one-man stage plays written by Dan Needles.

I loved, loved, loved this book! It was such a refreshing change from all of the mysteries, thrillers and historical fiction that I've been reading. It's Canadian, wholesome and invokes many emotions. At times, it's touching, other times it's sad, but mostly it frickin' hilarious. Walt has traded his life at the firm for life down on the farm. At least partially, anyway. He knows very little about farming, but really wants to succeed. He applies his business know-how to chores on the farm and while he doesn't always do it the most efficient way, he gets it done, sort of.

The book is broken down into chapters, presumably matching up with the plays. While each is made up of only the letters to the editor with an occasional note from the editor, the book very much reads like a whole cohesive story.

Walt is such a great character. His deadpan delivery is sensational. That and the fact that Needles makes all of the situations so believable are probably what makes this book (and stage plays) so successful.

Many years ago, I had the privilege of seeing one of the "Wingfield" one-man stage plays at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. I think that made this book even more enjoyable for me. I could imagine the brilliant actor, Ron Beatty, acting out these letters and changing his voice, body language and speech patterns to become the different characters. If you ever get the chance to see one of the plays, I encourage you to do so. I've only seen one play, but it was great.

Favourite quotes:

Dry Cry once sold Don a flat of eggs that were so old they started to hatch on the way home on the seat of the truck. Then [Dry Cry] accused Don of stealing chickens. (page 145)

There's a difference between not needing to know and needing not to know. (page 299)

Many of Walt's letters are funny, but a few of them had me rolling on the floor hoping not to pee my pants. Ok, that's probably too much information, but they were hilarious! These include:
- October 27 (page 323-326), regarding the skunk raiding the hen house
- August 27 (page 98-104), about the condominium's open house, where Walt and the neighbours try to dissuade would-be buyers
- November 5 (pages 337-344), about the burning down and potential rebuild of the Orange Hall

I also loved the "Note to the Reader" at the end of the book. It was a wonderful way to finish off this collection.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit the Random House website.

Dan Needles doesn't appear to have a website, but for more information about Wingfield, please visit the Walt Wingfield Official Homepage. (While the information appears to be up-to-date, the "style" is seriously outdated. Time for a makeover, webmaster.)

I'd like to thank those nice people at Random House for this review copy.

Wingfield's World by Dan Needles, Vintage Canada (Random House), ©2011. ISBN 9780307360847(Trade paperback), 435p.

Fall by Colin McAdam

Fall follows the life of Noel, an awkward teenager, who attends St. Ebury's private boys' school. He thinks he has gotten lucky in his senior year because he is rooming with the athletic, handsome and popular, Julius. Maybe things will finally change for him and some of Julius' popularity will rub off onto him. After awhile, Noel he develops an unhealthy obsession with both Julius and Julius's girlfriend Fall. When Fall disappears, the relationship between Noel and Julius dramatically changes. In fact, Noel's life starts to spin out of control; not exactly the changes he was hoping for.

I really enjoyed this book, but it was different from other books I've read. Colin McAdam offers a unique look at teenage angst. The story telling style was clever and a bit quirky. The author used many voices of the characters to tell the story, switching back and forth among Noel, Julius, Ant, Chuck and William. I really liked Noel and felt the most comfortable with the book when he was speaking. I think a lot of people could relate to him because of his desire to fit in.

While the use of the many voices made the story extremely interesting, it also made the story hard to follow at times. I had a little trouble trying to figure out who was talking. Even when I got used to the style I still had trouble following the story through some of the characters. The character of Julius was especially hard to follow. He doesn't appear to be able to complete a single clear thought or sentence. However, his "voice" really gave insight into his character. I thought it was wonderfully done.

I generally don't like making comparisons between books or characters. However, in this case I will. Fall reminded me of Catcher in the Rye and Noel reminded me of Holden Caulfield. Both of these books were original and both of these characters were misunderstood teenagers. While I did find these similarities, the stories and styles are very different.

For a more information about the book, visit the Penguin Canada website.

I'd definitely recommend this book to those looking for an interesting, solid, Canadian novel.

Hitman by David Foster

In Hitman, David Foster goes from young Canadian piano student with perfect pitch to music producer who spent "forty years making music, topping charts & winning Grammys". That's 15 Grammys for those who are counting. David grew up in Victoria, British Columbia the middle of seven children and the only boy and now works as a music producer/songwriter/arranger/performer with some of the biggest names in music. This memoir details his successes, his not-so-successful moments, his children, his foundation to help disadvantaged children and so much more.

This is an awesome book. There's never a dull moment. It was both interesting and educational. I'm not much of a celebrity follower and don't know the in and outs of anyone's career, so a lot of the details were new and fascinating. I was also surprised to learn what producers do; that they have control over the whole music making process, not just the business end. It's so much more than I thought they did. This memoir, too, is much more than it could have been. I'm sure Foster could have filled the pages with just stories of the people he's worked with over the years. However, David shares the intimate of his failed marriages, his guilt over his relationship with his five daughters, his phobias, his health and more. Having said that, at times I thought he could have been a little more open about his feelings and dug a little deeper to show his vulnerability. He came across as a little guarded, but he is writing for a bunch of strangers. I think I'd be guarded, too.

There are many things I loved about this book. One thing was the references to the life lessons he learned along the way. They really tied the memoir together into one cohesive unit rather than a bunch of stories of his life. Another things I particularly enjoyed were the pages of acknowledgments and lists of awards and nominations at the end of the book. It's amazing when you look at his accomplishments all laid out like that. And he's not done, yet!

One of my favourite quotes:

I can only be who I am, and who I am is a guy who writes music that people make babies to--and I'm not going to apologize for it.

One of my favourite artists that David has worked with is Renee Olstead. She's a young jazz singer with an incredible voice. If you haven't heard her sing, you're missing something great.

Foster also made me realize that I'm probably missing out on listening to some great voices. I'm determined to expand my music horizons to include Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli just because of the wonderful things Foster had to say about their talents.

There's many facets to the music industry, but for Foster it comes down to only one thing: music. David Foster certainly is *the* Hitman.

Highly recommended.

Getting the Girl by Susan Juby

In Getting the Girl, Sherman Mack is determined to find who's behind the "defiling" pranks at his new school. All he knows is that someone is posting girls' pictures stamped a "D" on them around the school. The girl then becomes a social outcast and no one will have anything to do with her. He's fancies himself a detective and a ladies' man, so this mystery is right up his alley.

This book is such a fun read. Once I picked it up I didn't want to put it down. Juby's characters are unique and believable. I loved Sherman Mack. He's good at detecting *and* cookery. He certainly loved the ladies and he'd do anything for them. What more can you want in a man? I couldn't quite picture him in my head (a young Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid) or maybe that kid from Malcolm in the Middle.), but his attitude and personality really came through. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the defiled girls. It just reminded me of how cruel high school can be and even though I wasn't a social outcast, I wouldn't go back there if you paid me.

My one complaint is that the story seemed to run out of steam in the middle and not too much happened to advance the story/mystery. However, it picked up again rather quickly and had a really good ending.

I'll be looking for more books by Susan Juby. I also look forward to more "Ask a Juby" posts on The Savvy Reader blog. They are always fun to read.

I'm sure most young people won't have a problem with relating to the situations in this book. Recommended.

Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel

In Starclimber, Canada is setting its sights on space and Kate de Vries, an expert in zoology has been asked to enter the new space program. Her friend and love interest, Matt Cruse, a pilot of a aerocrane, also wants to enter the program, but he must compete for his spot. As they prepare for the mission and eventually lift off, Matt and Kate make every attempt to keep their relationship a secret. This book is the third in the Airborn series.

Oppel presents an awesome and exciting story that's so detailed I felt like I was aboard the Starclimber airship myself. I'm not familiar with the other books in the series, so I was a bit confused with this world that Oppel has created for his characters, but that did not at all keep me from loving this book. I could easily get hooked on this series. The whole thing was fascinating and filled with many memorable characters. From Matt and Kate, to Tobias, Hugh, Shepherd, Mr. Lunardi and many others. All great.

Even though the book can stand alone, there are numerous references to past adventures and events, which probably occurred in the previous books. With other books, I felt like I was missing something because I hadn't read the previous books. Not so with this book. I just made me incredibly curious about these characters and excited to know that I could read more about them. I will definitely keep my eye out for the first two books (Airborn and Skybreaker) in the series. I'm hoping that they will give me a good background into the world in which these characters live. I might even try one of Oppel's other books. ;)

Highly recommended.

Jolted by Arthur Slade

In Jolted, almost everyone in Newton Starker's family has been struck and killed by lightening. That's why he's always on the lookout for bad weather, especially cumulonimbus clouds. To try to break the curse on his family, Newton enters the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Once there, he acquires all kinds of skills that will hopefully allow him to survive the curse and learn to appreciate the outdoors.

What a great book! The story was interesting and fun to read. I loved the "Newton's Rules for Survival" as well as all of the little extras that the author made part of the story (excerpts from newspapers and manuals, letters etc.)

Slade has created a number of great characters in this book, but my favourite was Newton. He penchant for truffles (the fungus ones, not the chocolate ones) was unique and amazing. He had such a sophisticated palate for a youngster. His circumstances made me care about him.

I couldn't help but think of Harry Potter series when reading the book. There are many similarities between Harry and Newton. Lightning (lightning bolt scar, in Harry's case), special school, little to no family left, misunderstood, scary enemy and probably a few more I can't think of right now. This story, though, is not at all dark as the Potter books turned out to be and Newton does not appear to have any other-worldly type abilities.

Recommended. I have Dust on my bookshelf gathering dust (what else?). I'll be sure to push it closer to the top of my to-be-read pile.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants is an incredible story of Jacob Jankowski, who as a young man inadvertently runs away with the circus shortly before writing his final exams to become a vet. Before long, he becomes familiar with the seedy underbelly of the circus world. Both compelling and heartbreaking, this story is told from Jacob's point of view as he sits in a nursing home and daydreams of his former life.

This is an amazing book. I just can't express how much I loved it. It's a sensational story with many wonderful characters. It's engaging, touching and filled with so many stunning details that I wanted to crawl into the story and not come out. My favorite characters include: Marlena and Rosie, both of whom steal Jacob's heart; Camel, a circus worker who helps Jacob get a job and then needs Jacob's help; Walter, a performer who's forced to share his room with Jacob and of course Jacob himself.

Even though the author, Sara Gruen, exposes the sleazy side of the circus life, it still felt romantic. That could be just me, though, because I've always wanted to run away with the circus. Ah, but that's another story for another time. For now, I'm satisfied with reading this book. I found myself routing for my favorite characters and wanting things to work out for them. Don't worry, I'm not going to let you know what happens. You're going to have to read this fantastic book for that.

I love Gruen's use of historical circus photos that precede some of the chapters. They really set the scene and transported me to a time when circuses were in their heyday.

At few years ago, we visited Baraboo, Wisconsin and the Circus World Museum. I fell in love with the place. The old circus wagons, the parade, the calliope, the spectacle; all fabulous. If you like the circus, it's the place to go. Be warned though, it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face and even make the grumpiest of grumps or the most ardent skeptic a circus-lover. For more information regarding the museum, Wikipedia or the official website should be helpful.

I'd highly recommend this book. It's a must read for those who ever thought about running away with the circus or anyone who has been to the circus or anyone who's had a dream, or anyone at all for that matter.

I hope that Gruen has written more books (and continues to write) because I intend to read many more of them. Awesome job on this one.

At A Loss For Words: A Post-romantic Novel by Diane Schoemperlen

In At A Loss For Words, a successful writer with writer’s block shares her story of a failed romance. He broke her heart 30 years ago and now he’s back to do it all again. Luckily she has her closest friends with whom she can commiserate. Meanwhile she tries to break through her writer’s block using suggestions from self-help books.

I really enjoyed Schoemperlen’s story. Most love stories out there are of the happy variety or at least have a happy ending. We don’t usually get to read about the disastrous romances. So not only is the story itself unique, but the way in which it’s written is too. Told in short snippets, it’s quirky and easy to read. I really didn’t want to put it down. The writer shares her inner most feelings and despite her broken heart, she keeps her sense of humor. There are some really funny bits that gave the story an overall lightness. A few times, though, it was hard to read because it reminded me of a few past relationships that I’d rather soon forget.

I questioned a few times whether what she was feeling was really love. Maybe it was, but it was also bordering on obsession. What is it about love that makes us so blind, deaf and well, stupid?

My one complaint is about the last page where the author reveals a previously unknown (to the reader) fact about the lover. At first, I didn’t think the additional information was necessary and somewhat changed my opinion of the book. However, now that I think about it, perhaps that is what the author had in mind. That is, to offer us one piece of information that could possible erase everything we felt previously for the heartsick writer. If that were her plan, it wouldn’t have been the same had she offered that information earlier in the book. It had to be revealed at the last possible moment to make the biggest impact. Interesting concept. I’m still not sure how I feel about it, but it definitely was a shock and invoked a strong response in me.

My favourite quote:

They [Kate and Michelle] remind me that if love is not exactly blind, then certainly it is a master of magical thinking, a wizard at seeing only what it wants to see, a virtuoso at hearing only what it wants to hear, and an unrivaled genius at revising reality to suit itself.

I’d definitely read another book by Schoemperlen and in fact, I already have Our Lady of the Lost & Found on my shelf waiting for me.

Recommended.

Remembering the Bones by Frances Itani

In Remembering the Bones, Georgie has been invited to dine with the Queen of England because they share the same birthday. As she drives to the airport, she loses control of her car and ends up at the bottom of a ravine. She has been thrown from the car and is seriously hurt. As she lies there assessing her physical condition, she recounts events that shaped her life including memorizing the bones of the body using her grandfather’s copy of Grey’s Anatomy.

Essentially this novel is the story of one woman’s life. Each chapter is named for a bone in the human body and loosely relates to that part of the body. I think it’s very cleverly done and I loved it. Itani’s writing is breathtaking, her storytelling superb and her characters wonderful and believable. Her books are such a joy to read. Her characters interact with their environment and events appropriate to the time period in which the story is set. That makes them all the more real.

The last 50 pages or so were so hard for me to get through, but I adored every single word of the ending. I cried my eyes out. Not the “few-tears-I’ll-get-over-it-in-5-minutes” type of cry. This was a “gut-wrenching-all-out-bawl-I-still-felt-days-later” type of cry. These characters will stick with me for a long time.

This is my second book by Itani. While I loved Deafening, I loved this one more. I think it was the character of Georgie that did it for me. She was wonderful.

Highly recommended. I’ll be looking for more of Itani’s work.

The Bird Factory by David Layton

David Layton’s The Bird Factory is an upbeat and peculiar account of a couple’s attempts to get pregnant from a man’s point of view. Julia wants a baby and will go to great lengths to have one. She’s willing to try fertility drugs as well as in vitro fertilization if they can’t have one naturally. As for Luke, he’s apathetic. Not just about the baby, he’s apathetic about everything. He doesn’t want to fix what isn’t broken; he doesn’t want to rock the boat. He’s perfectly content with Julia and his life with her, so he can’t figure out why she wants to bring children into the mix.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fun and quick read with unique, quirky and eccentric characters. While I didn’t like Luke or Julia all that much, I did think Philip was sort of interesting. Even though it was hard to get to know him, he really grew on me after awhile. Luke’s childhood sounded a bit absurd with his father’s homemade river running through his basement and his mother disappearing and reappearing periodically. I’m surprised he wasn’t more screwed up.

My favourite part of the book, though, was the bird factory. Over the years, I’ve developed a fondness for birds, even the wooden kind. I was fascinated with the descriptions of the birds and the factory itself. Even though it was filled with strange characters, it sounds like a place I’d like.

Recommended. I’d definitely read another book by Layton.

Spin Dry by Greg Hollingshead

In Spin Dry, Rachel volunteers for a dream deprivation study after her husband, Leon, has a series of dreams about another man. She hopes to find out who this guy is and enters into “therapy” with the totally wacky Dr. Alex Silver. From there Rachael takes us on a tour of her suburban neighbourhood that is filled with eccentric characters and ridiculous situations abound.

Hollingshead presents a satirical look at the absurdity of modern suburban life in a new development. He pokes fun at shopping malls, therapy, cookie cutter houses, suburbs, support groups (my favourite: Carrot-top, the red-haired persons’ self-esteem raising group), first-grade Dick and Jane books, relationships and many others. It’s unique, creative and an interesting look at our lives. While I didn’t find it laugh-out-loud funny, it was humorous and pretty entertaining. I did find the story a little hard to follow at times because it jumps back and forth in time but once I caught on to this, it wasn’t too bad.

One of my favourite characters was Cam. He’s has agoraphobia and is afraid to leave his basement, runs PAGO (People Afraid to Go Out), seems to subsist on burgers delivered by Leon, has a dismantled school bus in his living room and is in love with the “girl on the bus”. What’s not to love? That’s him in a nutshell (pardon the pun) until he meets Jane. You’ll just have to read the book to find out where things go from there.

This is the first book I’ve read by Hollingshead. It probably won’t be my last.

Recommended.