GREAT BOOKS FOR SUMMER READING.Byline: JAMES BEMIS Commentary As anyone knows who has tried to reach someone lately, most Americans are on vacation in August. And vacation means free time for traveling, relaxing and - if you're like me - reading books. Summer books should grip you so hard you can't sleep, and if you do manage to conk out conk out Verb Informal 1. (of a machine or car) to break down 2. to become tired or fall asleep suddenly [origin unknown] Verb 1. , you wake up reaching for your book. With this as a prerequisite, here are my summer book recommendations: ``The Redhunter'' by William F. Buckley Give Buckley his due - he's nothing if not a gutsy writer. Here, he takes on a daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task - the rehabilitation of Sen. Joseph McCarthy Noun 1. Joseph McCarthy - United States politician who unscrupulously accused many citizens of being Communists (1908-1957) Joseph Raymond McCarthy, McCarthy of Wisconsin, the scourge of the left. Buckley portrays McCarthy, whose 1954 hearings on U.S. government infiltration by communists became a national obsession, as a sincere, somewhat naive figure done in by crafty Democrats, spineless Republicans and error-prone staff members. ``The Redhunter'' is a welcome antidote to the myths about McCarthy, usually portrayed as a combination of the Spanish Inquisition's Tomas de Torquemada Noun 1. Tomas de Torquemada - the Spaniard who as Grand Inquisitor was responsible for the death of thousands of Jews and suspected witches during the Spanish Inquisition (1420-1498) Torquemada and Joseph Stalin, the murderous tyrant McCarthy was trying to protect us from. Of course, recent release of Soviet Union documents prove McCarthy's charges to be essentially true, but that doesn't seem to count for much these days. Buckley's novel is certainly no classic - except for McCarthy, his characters are paper-thin - but it is a brisk, literate and thoroughly countercultural experience, like smoking a cigarette or eating a juicy steak. Reading ``The Redhunter'' is a delicious form of rebellion against today's groupthink group·think n. The act or practice of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially when characterized by uncritical acceptance or conformity to prevailing points of view. Noun 1. - maybe the best reason of all to read it. ``Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare Shakespeare is everywhere in bloom: Not only are stage productions of Shakespeare playing in nearly every local city, but the dreadful movie ``Shakespeare in Love'' even won seven Oscars, ill-deserved though they may be. The guy is hot! If stormy weather is the right time to read ``King Lear'' and the dead of winter perfect for ``Macbeth,'' then summer is ideal for the Bard's great love stories. And ``Romeo and Juliet'' may be his finest romance - timeless - with some of the world's greatest poetry. After reading the play, watch the great 1969 Franco Zeffirelli film starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. (Skip the recent Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11 1974[1]) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor who garnered world wide fame for his role as Jack Dawson in Titanic. version, unless your teen-ager insists. As a trade off, make them read the play if you rent the video. You'd be surprised how many kids love it: Nobody's hipper than Shakespeare.) ``Darby O'Gill and the Good People'' by Herminie Kavanagh What a rare and marvelous gem! ``Darby O'Gill and the Good People'' takes it place alongside C.S. Lewis' ``Chronicles of Narnia'' and Kenneth Grahames' ``The Wind in the Willows'' as among this century's greatest works of moral imagination. There's more poetry and magic here than in all new fiction that will be released this year. Anyone who knows - or wants to know - the heart of the Irish should read this book. Set in turn-of-the-century Ireland, this is the collection of tales on which the wonderful Disney movie was based. Darby's adventures with the fairies and leprechauns (also known as the good people) and local townspeople are simply great storytelling. Long out of print, Darby is once again available in a beautiful paperback edition (a lovely green, of course.) I've given a dozen copies away as gifts and haven't found anyone who wasn't thoroughly charmed and delighted. This book is the sleeper of the year. ``Plague Journal'' by Michael O'Brien Michael or Mike O'Brien may refer to:
O'Brien is a man out of time: In a literate age, he'd be celebrated as a great writer and artist - a Dickens, a Stevenson, a Daniel Defoe. Instead, he labors in near-obscurity, writing remarkable novels for the dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. few who'd rather read than watch TV. O'Brien's apocalyptic stories deal with the end of times, when moral corruption and political correctness politically correct adj. Abbr. PC 1. Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. reach their logical conclusion: an amoral a·mor·al adj. 1. Not admitting of moral distinctions or judgments; neither moral nor immoral. 2. Lacking moral sensibility; not caring about right and wrong. New World Order where dissent can't be tolerated. His long books - ``Strangers and Sojourners,'' ``Eclipse of the Sun'' and ``Father Elijah'' - are marvelous, but this is his best yet. ``Plague Journal'' is so compelling that I started the book one evening, read late into the night and woke up before anyone else so I could finish it the next morning. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , it's the perfect summer book. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion