"Rant - An Oral Biography of Buster Casey" by Chuck Pahlaniuk

This bizarre, unexpected, and witty novel from the author of Fight Club takes you into a futuristic world and follows the life of Buster ‘Rant’ Casey, told through the stories of those who loved him, hated him, feared him, barely knew him, or heard of him. According to the story, Rant is a ‘super-spreader’ of rabies, and somehow through the course of his life, creates a pandemic comparable to that of Typhoid Mary.

But Rant is not simply about a rabies pandemic. In fact, very little time is spent discussing the spread of the disease, and is instead devoted to a phenomenon called party-crashing, an underground demolition derby with no purpose other than to find other members and inflict damage on their cars. The underground nature of this violence club is not unlike Fight Club’s fight clubs. Even Pahlaniuk recognizes the similarity here, and mentions it towards the end of the novel.

Rant’s world is segregated – not by race or religion, but by ‘day-timers’ and ‘night-timers.’ Party-crashers are night-timers, and rabies spreads through them and those they come into contact with. Thus, the spread of rabies is connected with night-timers and only divides the already separate cultures further.

Pahlaniuk shows encyclopedic knowledge of the major plagues and pandemics throughout the history of the human race, which is interesting enough standing on its own, let alone in the midst of a borderline science fiction novel. But Pahlaniuk usually dwells on a topic throughout each of his books, as he explained how to fashion bombs out of household ingredients in Fight Club, and how to clean every conceivable stain in Survivor.

Just because you know Pahlaniuk’s style does not mean you can guess what is going to happen or how it is going to happen. The twists and turns in this book are sudden, surprising, and enlightening. It is difficult to discuss a few themes of this book in the review to avoid giving spoilers, but the book also devotes a fair amount to religious traditions, resurrection, time-travel, and immortality. At its conclusion, Rant goes so far as to explain, quite convincingly, the reason for all human suffering throughout history.

This book is not as grotesque as Pahlaniuk’s previous novel, Haunted, but the imagery in Rant will still leave you, quite literally, with a funny taste in your mouth.
If you are a fan of Pahlaniuk's work thus far, you'll enjoy Rant. If you haven't read any of his books, read Survivor first.

My only criticism is that most of the characters seem to speak like Pahlaniuk, making it difficult to believe in the already far-fetched story line. The use of the car salesman we meet in the first chapter is confusing, as he has little connection to the story and has never met the character of Rant. This character seems the most like Pahlaniuk out of the bunch, and it seems as though he only speaks because something needed to be explained more thoroughly. In all, I give this book a 9 out of 10. Like all good books, you will be disappointed it is over so quickly.

Thomas More - Utopia

I found this book compelling and disheartening for the same reason. A society similar to that discussed in Utopia is not out of humankind's grasp, yet any serious attempt to achieve it has not been made since the conception of Marxism, which has proven unsuccessful for reasons too numerous to discuss on this blog, but I digress.

At the time of its publication, Utopia was said to be a social satire, but was obviously something much bigger, as Thomas More was beheaded by King Henry VIII for writing it. The idea of a society devoid of currency, riches, property, and personal pride were contradictions to the values instilled in the population by the monarchy, and continue to be contradictions by today's standards.

As a book, Utopia is easy to read and the concepts discussed within are not difficult to comprehend. It will make you question the world around you, as universal peace was apparently attainable 500 years ago. Perhaps human nature is the biggest obstacle to a Utopian society, which is why I said it was a disheartening book to read. I'm willing to give up money and property for a greater good...what about everyone else?

In short, if you haven't read this book, you should.

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

We is one of those rare novels that is both easy to read and thought-provoking. It is a first-person account of D-503's (the main character, like all other people in the book, are known by a letter and numbers instead of names) life in the dystopian society of OneState. It approaches concepts such as human freedom, mortality, and spirituality through mathematics, comparing the soul to a negative root – unexplainable and invisible but necessary for existence.
As a science fiction book, We is comparable to Bradbury or Vonnegut, and was such a powerful opposition to collectivism that it was banned in the USSR (the author's native country) for sixty years. The book is ahead of its time - not because it is set in the 26^th century A.D. - but because the concepts it discusses (from religion to love) are themselves timeless and the approach is unique. If you enjoyed George Orwell's 1984, (which was written about 20 years after We) I would highly recommend this book. I look forward to reading more of Zamyatin's works.

Travis Olivera

Author, Charles Todd - Ian Rutledge series

One of the benefits of a change in Library Director is that it introduces new authors and subject matter.

Recent acquisitions that I have enjoyed are
Stephen Baxtor - Emperor - an alternate history epic.
Jeff Shaara - The Rising Tide
Carcaterra - Street Boys - how the children of Naples became the defendants of the City.
Michael Weisskopf - himself injured in Iraq - Blood Brothers

But it is American Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge series that I have found most rivetting. The time period is England immediately following World War I. Rutledge has survived the war - but just barely as memories and voices continue to haunt him - as they do most survivors.
He resumes his career as a detective in London. The crimes he investigates in various counties in England are complex and credible. Throughout the series there is continuity in the post war atmosphere of loss and devastation. Historical mysteries at their very best.
To quote Kirkus Reviews "If everyone would just read one book, and book by Todd, and pay close attention to what he's saying, there would never be another war".


Post by Wendy Sexton

The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers

I have enjoyed many of Lilian Jackson Brauns, Cat Who books. Not so the newest one. This book started off promising but soon became stale. The end seemed as if it was an after thought. I think I know where she wanted to go with it but failed to get there. In my unlearned opinion, a quick death should be in order.

PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

I urge anyone who loves love stories to read this book. This book is perfect to read with Valentines Day coming up. It's perfect to read anytime. It shows us that life goes on, and it's worth living no matter how bleak things may look in the present.

Holly and Gerry are best friends, no one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other.
Until the unthinkable happens. Gerry's death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He's left her a bunch of notes to guide Holly into her new life without him.

Holly must wait until the beginning of the month to open a note. She must do exactly what is says on each note, no matter how challenging it may be. The man who knows her better than anyone tries to show her that life will go on. As the year goes on Holly finds herself being braver than ever before.

Life is for living, she realizes - but it always helps if there's an angel watching over you.

I wasn't able to put this book down and I hope you read it to see how amazing love can be.

The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman

I love reading world history; especially the way Barbara Tuchman delivers it. The last several weeks I've been savoring THE PROUD TOWER, her multi-faceted nonfiction account of the build-up to World War I (1890-1914). When I finish I'll return to THE GUNS OF AUGUST, Tuchman's history of the Great War, itself, which I read many years ago.

The last decades of the 19th Century are called the Golden Age and were characterized by seismic developments in science, technology and the arts, with much political upheaval and threats of war on many fronts worldwide. Much that we see in the headlines today is reminiscent of people and events one hundred years ago. Tuchman explores that former period in fascinating detail, with each succeeding chapter revealing more signs of impending doom.

Coming soon to the Waterville Public Library will be Thomas Pynchon's AGAINST THE DAY, a fictional account of the same pre-WWI period. Looking forward to it!