The Quick and the Dead

The Quick and the Dead—A Collection of Stories by Harry Van Sciver is a book with a remarkable story of its own. After the author’s untimely death at age 65 his widow decided to publish his writing posthumously, “As a way for him to stay with us a bit longer.” She extended copies to family friends to thank them for their support. A friend of mine  received a copy as a thank you for her kind words at the funeral, which she passed on to me to read.

Nestled between a heartfelt foreword written by his wife and a recipe for his excellent version of a perfect Manhattan with a Twist, are two complete and three incomplete short stories that reflect the percipience of a gifted writer, taken too soon.

Despite never having met the author myself, while reading his  words, I couldn’t help but feel the heaviness of the tragic circumstances surrounding his death. I have no intention of critiquing a dead man’s work, nor is it necessary. I enjoyed both of this completed stories and can only imagine how more time could have enhanced this writer’s body of work. Let the cocktail speak for itself.  

Bad Monkey

Phil Cunningham was the first to mention the book Bad Monkey to me recently. It jogged my memory about the author Carl Hiaasen whose writing I’ve been a fan of for quite a while. Then Wayne sent me these photos and said he was enjoying the book for its many uses of the word cunt. 

Years ago, prior to Bonnie’s Book Blog, I read either Skinny Dip or Sick Puppy. I can’t remember which, which kind of goes with the territory. This author’s writing is a tad formulaic but funny as hell. As a teacher I loved Hoot and enjoyed sharing Hiaasen’s other young adult books with my students.

Turns out Bad Monkey is also an Apple TV series now starring Vince Vaughan. Might be time for another free trial ;)

I’m not going to lie, about halfway through, I lost interest in the book’s trajectory. The location in the Bahamas and the island dialect got tedious for me. I didn’t care for the Voodoo Queen character, and I even began to worry about the fate of the bad-tempered monkey. Also, the constant introduction of new characters and shifts between different locations became dizzying!

I found myself laughing more at the beginning of the story and then the quirky bits got old. An unexpected twist energized me toward the end, and of course, I needed to know how it all wrapped up. A quick two-week read that I ultimately enjoyed. 

Fun fact: there’s a character named Bonnie who’s a sexual felon, but not the cunt.

The Dog Who Followed the Moon

It’s apropos that I listened to the audiobook version of The Dog Who Followed the Moon by James Norbury, the day Uncle Ron died, on his birthday, at age 87. It is a sweet story about a lost dog named Amaya who is rescued by an old Wolf who joins her on a quest to find her parents.

As one review states, “Eerie woods, forgotten cities, and other obstacles await Amaya and the Wolf on their adventure. As they make their way through the wilderness, the two learn profound lessons about love, sacrifice, and the importance of embracing change.”

I was moved to tears by the story’s gentle commentary on life’s journey, loss, grief, and death. This quote especially spoke to me and my particular search for meaning:

“Somewhere inside you is a poem that you alone can write—a unique blend of what you love, what you fear, and all the things that only you’ve experienced.”

Here is more of the Wolf’s Zen advice:

“Most of our lives are spent doing the traveling, and the arrival is only a tiny part of that journey. We should do our best to enjoy every part of the adventure. Maybe we will never get to where we want to be, and wouldn’t it be sad if we had not even enjoyed the ride?”

“How do I do that?” asked Amaya. 

“Slow down, look around, breathe, take in the sounds and colors. Imagine you’d chosen this moment as your destination, not just a point along your journey.”

Finally, the Wolf reflects on his circumstances: “He’d led the pack to great victories and bitter defeats. His life was a tapestry of successes and failures, and he wondered what different choices he could have made that would have saved him from dying on this mountaintop exiled from his pack.”

The Wolf’s contemplation of his life is not so different from that of most humans in the end. As it turns out, the wolf was exactly where he needed to be, in a moment that would forever impact his new friend Amaya and countless other lives moving forward. It’s reassuring to know that a life well lived will lead each of us to the same place.

At first, it was disappointing listening to the audiobook because I missed flipping the pages and seeing the stunning illustrations. By the end of the hour-long reading, my weeping eyes would not have been able to focus on the beautiful pictures. I plan to treat myself to a hardcover copy of the book.

 

 

Here One Moment

Here One Moment by Australian author Liane Moriarty is unnerving. It poses a lot of questions about how we live our lives and think about death—the choices we make, coincidences, and how we react to challenges. It’s a mind-fuck of a book.

It delves into personality disorders like sleepwalking, OCD, depression, and introversion. It documents  relationships between spouses, parents and  children, roommates, coworkers and bosses. As SNL’s Stefon would say, “This place has everything!“

During an unexpected delay, an airplane full if people are trapped as an older woman systematically predicts the how and when of their deaths. That in itself is terrifying— being trapped for hours on an airplane with kids puking and babies crying—then some random crazy lady in a trance starts predicting when and how every passenger will die. Her mantra, “Fate can’t be fought.”

I love this reviewer’s perspective: “A riveting story so wild you don’t know how she’ll land it, and then she does, on a dime.”—Anne Lamott