The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more

Book Review: The Whisper Man by Alex North

Book #220 of 2019:

The Whisper Man by Alex North

There’s a definite Stephen King / Joe Hill vibe to this 2019 British thriller about a serial child murderer and a boy who talks to people that others can’t see. It’s creepy verging on terrifying throughout, even though the expected abduction doesn’t happen until fairly late in the novel. And I especially like how author Alex North uses our own genre expectations against us at several key moments. While I do think a few developments are too coincidental, and I wish the female characters could have more of the rich inner life granted to their male associates, I’ve overall really enjoyed the book. I’m not surprised to hear that its film rights have already been optioned by the Russo Brothers.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Book #219 of 2019:

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

I was initially on board for this Poe-inflected retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, but the middle is a bit of a generic YA slog and the ending really goes off the rails with unearned revelations about the setting’s mythology. (It’s fine to have Tortall-style gods and tricksters meddling in the mortal realm, but you can’t just spring that on a reader when the novel is almost over.) I also didn’t care for either of the lying love interests, and I wanted more focus on elements from the original fairy tale like the actual dancing and the contest to uncover how it’s been done. The premise that the sisters are steadily dying off is great, and the atmosphere is suitably creepy, but the story just doesn’t work for me as it goes along.

[Content warning for gore, childbirth, miscarriage, and discussion of suicide.]

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes

Book #218 of 2019:

The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes

There’s a lot going on with this novella, and although I think its ambition surpasses its short length, it contains a worthwhile consideration of generational trauma as a source of both suffering and strength. Author Rivers Solomon has taken a 5-minute song by the rap group clipping. (whose members are credited as co-authors here, although Solomon appears to have done all the writing themself) and remixed and expanded its central idea of mermaids descended from pregnant Africans thrown overboard slave ships into a society that channels its memories into a single vessel a la The Giver. In Solomon’s version, these creatures are also hermaphroditic yet gendered, and the heroine has a sweet love story with a human woman to whom she openly relates such matters.

Ultimately the project feels heavily fractured, and I definitely like some parts better than others or their sum total. But it’s artistic and experimental and weird, and I do feel we need more literary works pushing boundaries like this. I’m looking forward to hearing which of the added elements from this book make it into clipping.’s upcoming EP of the same name.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

Book #217 of 2019:

A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth

I love the magic in this standalone regency fantasy novel, which concerns a temperamental living house that grows flowering vines to caress its caretaker, yet floods her veins with deadly mortar when she channels its power to protect the local countryside. It’s simultaneously beautiful and awful, the sort of uncanny eldritch force that is too rare in this genre. I also appreciate the minor Jewish representation in the supporting cast, which is a rarity in its own right.

Unfortunately, I have some issues with the main storyline, mostly stemming from inexplicable character choices and relationships. Why has the heroine waited nearly a decade before putting her plot into motion? Why does the king’s heir risk her own life and status to overthrow a system she could simply disband once she succeeds her father to the throne? Why is His Majesty’s big secret, hidden even from the princess, apparently known by a random flunky? These questions go unanswered, and along with some cloudy logic surrounding the rules of sorcery, they hinder the volume from showcasing its strengths to their best effect.

★★★☆☆

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Movie Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Movie #12 of 2019:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Thanks to Disney+, I’m finally diving into this branch of the Star Wars franchise that spans the gap between the prequel films Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I’ve heard the ensuing TV series gets better, but this movie-length debut seems pretty nonessential so far. It’s fine enough for something clearly aimed at kids, but the animation and the dialogue both feel a little under-budget (especially now that I’m watching the masterful 2019 show The Mandalorian). Way too many scenes of indistinguishable armored clone and droid soldiers exchanging blaster-fire; not enough interesting worldbuilding, plot, or character work.

[Content warning for queer-coding a minor villain.]

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Book #216 of 2019:

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (Tristan Strong #1)

Middle-grade fiction is very hit-or-miss for me, but I loved this series debut right from the start. #OwnVoices stories rooted in the perspective of their authors’ cultural heritage have become increasingly popular, and this latest novel from the Rick Riordan Presents publishing line is one of the best. Not only does it deliver rare representation in the form of its black seventh-grade protagonist and its inclusion of traditional African-American folk heroes like John Henry and African gods like Anansi; it also just spins a clever and entertaining narrative that’s full of heart and wonder.

It’s easy for books like this to coast by on old tropes retold in diverse settings, but writer Kwame Mbalia brings a refreshing originality to Tristan’s challenges throughout. I would have liked a little more plot resolution at the end, but I’m glad to see that a sequel has already been announced to continue the tale. And I’m really happy that I read this title in time for it to get my vote in the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards!

★★★★☆

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Book Review: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Book #215 of 2019:

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Despite my hopes, Ruth Ware’s mystery thrillers keep not quite working for me. This one takes its obvious inspiration from The Turn of the Screw, adding to that classic framework of a governess beset by her unsettling charges and the possibility of ghosts a modern smart home that may be malfunctioning and questions of narrator reliability. It’s all a bit much, as these various angles unfortunately cut against one another more often than they cohere together. We’re clearly supposed to fear what’s happening at the rural Scottish manor, but the exact nature of the threat stays as a sort of nebulous dread for far too long. I also feel like the requisite twists of the genre are both too telegraphed and ultimately ill-motivated by what we know of the characters.

The atmosphere is sufficiently spooky, and I do enjoy the framing device of presenting the entire story as letters from an inmate to a potential lawyer, but overall I need more depth and cleverness from this type of narrative.

[Content warning for gaslighting, mention of incest, and death of a child.]

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel

Book #214 of 2019:

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel

This volume is part crash-course on traditional wisdom from Judaism and part demonstration of how it can inform modern child-raising. As with most parenting books — or self-help guides more generally — the advice can sometimes feel like plain common sense, but even that is helpful to see written out, and I could imagine referring back to the title when my daughter is a little bit older.

On the other hand, certain aspects seem contrary to either my intuition or my understanding of the latest best practices, and the 2001 text definitely shows its age here and there with a few specific concerns that may have applied to my own generation of children but are less relevant to the one(s) after us. And some are the sort of perennial complaints about ‘kids these days’ that always ring false even if you weren’t one of the kids in question yourself.

But it’s overall still a worthwhile reading experience, especially for those people who, like author Wendy Mogel, feel estranged from their Jewish heritage or who have only recently entered the faith community via marriage and/or conversion. If you are a parent looking for lessons on Judaism for both you and your child, this could be an invaluable resource.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Book #213 of 2019:

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Given a recent string of underwhelming titles, I decided to revisit this old favorite of mine. It was the first Stephen King book that I ever read, and it got me hooked on the author at a stage when I didn’t feel brave or interested enough yet to try his better-known horror stories. Indeed, King had always been synonymous with that dauntingly adult genre to me, so I was amazed when I checked out this book at my uncle’s urging and found it was more similar to the classic works of fantasy adventure that I had loved growing up.

I think a lot of that comes down to the tone of the writing, which is as warm and conversational as Tolkien in The Hobbit or Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia, with lots of “I’ve heard tell…” and “You may think…” authorial asides. And even though I want to be critical about the generic medieval setting, it reads enough like a fairy tale that my usual criteria for worldbuilding are somewhat relaxed, and King does offer plenty of intriguing references that help the realm feel more expansive than we actually get to see.

There are also links to some of his other fiction like The Stand, The Talisman, and especially The Dark Tower, and although none of those are necessary for a reader to pick up on in order to enjoy this novel, they further deepen the narrative and reward a diligent fan. But even taken on its own, this is an exciting yarn of princes, friendship, treachery, and magic. It was great as an introduction to the writer when I was younger, and just as fabulous to reencounter now.

[Content warning for some minor bawdiness and an early reference to male genitalia. It’s honestly light enough that I wouldn’t even mention it, save that it does seem at odds with the general child-friendly vibe of the text.]

★★★★★

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Book Review: Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

Book #212 of 2019:

Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

This volume by infamous CIA/NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden reminds me somewhat of James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty, and not just because I read both of them for my local book club. Each is also half memoir and half political tract, finding a controversial public figure recounting his ethical origins and engaging in a bit of soul-searching to explain certain unpopular decisions… to admittedly mixed effect.

I definitely feel like I have a firmer grasp now on the facts of America’s clandestine mass surveillance program that Snowden leaked to the public, as well as the government operative’s personal history, but I’m not sure the author has satisfied me as to the thought process that led him to take the drastic actions that some have labeled treason. It’s fine documentation mixed with hacktivist advocacy straight out of a Cory Doctorow novel, but a step below Comey and other thinkers who are able to really walk readers through their exact judgment calls.

Although I broadly agree with the positions he articulates herein and can relate to his childhood on the early internet, I still don’t truly understand why Snowden diverged so radically from the rest of the intelligence community — or how the writer positions himself in his own understanding of events. And in that sense, this text seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity.

★★★☆☆

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