Review: It Can't Happen Here

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bit of a slow starter this one, but once it does get going... wow. Talk about prescient. In ICHH, Lewis imagines (from the viewpoint of 1935) how easily the USA can turn into a fascist state. With Trump in the White House, this book is just as relevant now as it was then when Lewis was warning the US about how easily fascists can take over. Read alongside Roth's The Plot Against America for a double whammy of horror.

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Review: Jesus' Son

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've come late to this superb collection of tales about the outsiders in society. More a series of vignettes creating a whole than a collection of self-contained tales, there's a power to Johnson's portrayal of the broken and the damned.

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Review: The Gospel According to Blindboy

The Gospel According to Blindboy by Blindboy Boatclub
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As much as I'd love to say this is great (because I really find Blindboy an amazing voice for a forward-thinking Ireland), I'm afraid I can't. One or two stories aside, the majority of tales in the compendium have a tendency to lurch (and I think that's really the most apt way of putting it) from an interest-pricking showing to a ineptly handled telling.
And it doesn't just happen once, it happens quite a number of times: taking stories that are just about getting into their stride and strangling the life out of them. Which is a pity because there's the seeds of some really interesting stories that flicker out for want of a serious editing.

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Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some sound advice here. Only give a fuck about the important things. All the rest will just kill you or make you unhappy.

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Review: The Plot Against America

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scarily prescient novel, given what's going on in the US with Trump. Those who don't see the dangers of the Cheeto-in-chief and his normalisation of far-right rhetoric and neo-Nazi ideas would be well advised to read this book, and see how easily the world you think you know can be turned upside down.

A very powerful work.

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