the WITCH of lime street, seance, seduction, and HOUDINI in the spirit world

I wonder how long it took the author, David Jaher, to come up with that book title. Anyway, I do like historical fiction and this was a true event. Shortly after WWI, with the loss of tens of millions from the war and the Spanish (flu) plague, the age of Spiritualism commenced. Why people suddenly had the urge to speak to the dead seems strange to me, but a necromancer (or medium) could make some pretty good money fooling the public. Notwithstanding, some upper echelon people, such as, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (yes, he of the Sherlock Holmes novels), and Sir Oliver Lodge (a leading British physicist) became vocal supporters of Spiritualism in England. Both Doyle and Lodge lost sons and had a desire to speak to them after their deaths. Doyle asked, “What is the outcome of death?” and spoke of the New Revelation. Sir Lodge, President of The British Society for Psychical Research, claimed to speak to his deceased son, Raymond, through seances with a medium as did Sir Doyle with his deceased son via a former nanny turned medium. In January of 1920, Sir Oliver Lodge arrived in NYC to lecture his Ether of Space theory. The rage in the USA was the Ouija board game and even Thomas Edison was working on a way to communicate with the dead. At the same time Albert Einstein considered the possibility of contacting the dead before dropping the idea.

During Sir Oliver Lodge’s lecture in Boston, he said, “We all have etheric bodies, he explained, which psychics see as bands of variegated light. When a soldier was cut down, he abandoned his physical body-like a shriveled cocoon-for his perfect and permanent form.” After his lecture, he met Dr. Le Roi Crandon and his wife, Mina.The Globe reported, “Sir Oliver Lodge has put the whole question of spiritism and survival after death in a somewhat new light- a light that appeals to many intellectual people.” Dr. Crandon thought that Lodge’s theory was intriguing, but eccentric. Dr. Crandon’s wife, Mina, finds out that she has the talent to communicate with the dead (primarily with her dead brother, Walter) via her seances in the Beacon Hill area of Boston. “Mrs. Crandon’s forte was the motion of objects without apparent cause. Whether Walter (her brother) was in a violent mood or delivering one of his soothing poems, the Victrola (a old record player) piped his favorite songs.” In 1922, Sir Arthur Doyle arrived in NYC to preach his thoughts on spiritualism and spirit photography. Scientific American Magazine’s publisher, Orson Munn, and his editor, James Bird, became interested in all this talk about psychic research. Sir Arthur Doyle challenged the magazine “to conduct an investigation of psychic phenomena.” Munn’s magazine offered two $2,500 prizes for any medium that can prove physical phenomena or spirit photography. “It was ghost they were after.”

Meanwhile the reader is schooled on the life of Ehrich Weiss, the son of a Rabbi from Hungary. Ehrich will later change his name to Harry Houdini. After the Rabbi died, Harry attended seances in an attempt to contact his father. “The disappointing results, not to mention Houdini’s encounters with spooks on the flimflam circuit, were convincing him that there was no such thing as genuine mediumistic power.” Harry and his brother, Dash, then started work as magicians. Harry marries eighteen year old Bess Rahner (a German/Brooklyn girl), who becomes Harry’s show partner, but the show goes badly, and Harry hires on to Dr. Hill’s Traveling Medicine Show (the lowest rung in entertainment). The owner of the largest chain of vaudeville theaters, Martin Beck, sees talent in Harry and offers to take him on. Houdini becomes known as ‘The Handcuff King’ escaping virtually any kind of restraint. The rest is history. Houdini will spend a lot of time exposing mediums as frauds, so when he was offered a position as one of the five judges in Mr. Munn’s magazine contest...he jumps at the chance to expose more fakes. Many mediums take a crack at the prize money and fail to convince the five judges that they are really contacting the dead. By the way, all of this happens very early in the book (the book is 435 pages). The guts of the story is when the judges run into the convincing seances of the above mentioned Mina Crandon (now known as Margery). “Margery’s challenge was to prove that her brother lived after death.” Houdini needed to prove her a fraud. Let the battle begin!

Although sprinkled with some boring and repetitive seance chapters (from 1924-1926), the book was very informative. I had no idea this was going on after WWI, did you? The book culminates with the deaths of all the main characters, including the great Harry Houdini. Now don’t tell me that I should have a spoiler alert...I think that we all know that these people are no longer living. I believe the author did all he could do to make this book as accurate as possible. I do recommend this book, if anything else, at least to increase the knowledge in your noggin.  

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: I think that it's fascinating to reproduce the original ad for Munn’s $5,000 challenge:

                                                  ANNOUNCING

                                $5000 FOR PSYCHIC PHENOMENA

As a CONTRIBUTION toward psychic research, the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN pledges the sum of $5000 to be awarded for conclusive psychic manifestations.

On the basis of existing data we are unable to reach a definite conclusion as to the validity of psychic claims. In the effort to clear up this confusion, and to present our readers with first-hand and authenticated information regarding this most baffling of all studies, we are making this offer.

The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN will pay $2500 to the first person who produces a psychic photograph under its test conditions and to the full satisfaction of the eminent men who will act as judges.

The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN will pay $2500 to the first person who produces a visible psychic manifestation of other character, under these conditions and to the full satisfaction of these judges. Purely mental phenomena like telepathy, or purely auditory ones like rappings, will not be eligible for this award. The contest does not revolve about the psychological or religious aspects of the phenomena, but has to do only with genuineness and objective reality.

This is merely a preliminary announcement. The names of the judges, the conditions applying to the seances, the period for which this offer will remain open, etc., will appear in our January issue.

SPARX incarnation: order of the undying (vol. 2)

The author sent an autographed copy of his novel to my thirteen year old grandson, Kai, to review:

Order of the undying brings a satisfying close to the Sparx incarnation series. It continues right where I left off (see my review of 10/22/2016). After wandering the caves, tensions between Nud and his friend, Kabor, were rising. Eventually, it leads to Kabor taking Nud’s Sparx stone. This was very unlucky because when Kabor tries to climb up a hole that may lead to the surface, the hole caves in burying Kabor and Nud’s stone. Although Nud finds his stone, he can’t find Kabor in the rubble.

Heavyhearted, Nud is forced to leave the pile for his own survival. However, his spirits are soon lifted when he discovers something that he would not have believed existed had he not seen it. What he discovered was a creature that resembled a white whale, but with horns that fan out. The white whale has immense knowledge and after studying Nud’s story helps him to figure out how to control the Sparx stone. As they part, the white whale gives him directions to Dromeron Odoon (a underground city). From this point on, Nud’s adventure will begin to shift away from escaping the cave to exposing Harrow’s evil secret.

Generally, it was a good series, but I would have liked more elaboration on what happens after Nud dies from old age. Throughout the novel the author, K.B. Sprague, does a good job except for a somewhat inconclusive ending. I would recommend this novel to YA readers 11-14 years old.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: It’s good to have my grandson, Kai, reviewing the YA book requests that I get (I turn down most of them), since I’m a tad tired of them. My main interest is in the classic and historical fiction genres.

BLEEDING KANSAS

The author sent me an autographed copy of his novel to review:

Dave Eisenstark’s novel about a Quaker boy heading west to avoid combat (Quakers have a history of opposing war) during The Civil War isn’t going to challenge the likes of Owen Wister’s 1902 novel, The Virginian (see my review of 5/7/2016), or Zane Grey’s 1912 novel, Riders of the Purple Sage (see my review of 5/13/2015), but his novel was somewhat entertaining. However, based on the author’s credentials, I think he could have done much better. I thought the prose was too simplistic and coupled with non-vernacular language made the milieu seem modern, not 1865ish. I did like the author’s use of real Confederate guerrillas, such as William Quantrill, Jesse and Frank James, and the Cole Younger gang. The novel is of the historical fiction genre since it covers the border war between Kansas and Missouri. It seems Kansas (the Jayhawkers/Redlegs) wanted a free state supported by the Union Army. The Missouri bushwhackers favored a pro-slavery state supported by the Confederate Army. The term Bleeding Kansas was coined by New York Tribune editor, Horace Greeley (yes, the same man that said, “Go west, young man”).
 
James Deeter, a Quaker farm boy, is now eighteen and is expected to join the Union Army. His father, a Catholic, recently enlisted after getting drunk and dared to join by a saloon patron. James’s mom, a Quaker, taught him the theological beliefs of Quakers. He knows he can’t kill, or he is going to hell. The local recruiter, Lou Hansen, his sons, and his dogs come to take James into the Union Army. James runs west towards Colorado and the gold rush. The Hansens doggedly pursue. James manages to dodge the Hansens and looks up his Uncle Reno in St. Louis. His rotund uncle lets James ride free to Kansas City on his stagecoach line. On the stagecoach, James meets eighteen year old Anna Contreras and instantly falls in love. Anna’s maid, Mrs. Tucker, easily keeps him at bay. Anna says that she is going to visit her Uncle Jim Lane, who is a general in the Union Army. During a stagecoach stop, James goes into the woods in search of water for their canteens. When he comes back, he sees the stagecoach being held up. James recognizes the bandits voices...it’s Lou Hansen and his sons. Since the bandits ask Anna and Mrs. Tucker if they have seen James Deeter, they think James is part of the gang. James runs again. I’m only on page 37.

Without wanting to tell you anymore of the story, James Deeter eventually meets William Quantrill and his gang of 200 men. James is sucked into the gang and seemingly not allowed to leave. This is where the story takes off on its way to the ginormous concluding gunfight in Lawrence, Kansas. Does James get Anna? What happens to the Hansens? Does James have to kill a man? Who wins the gunfight in Lawrence? After reading many classic westerns (besides the two mentioned in the first paragraph), this novel just didn’t move me. I need to see the colloquial language of the times used in order for the novel to be believable for me. Just read any of the westerns I mentioned, or any Mark Twain novel, and you will understand what I’m saying. However, I am recommending this novel since I rate it “okay.”

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: According to Americancowboy.com, the following are the top ten westerns ever written (they should know):

1) Lonesome Dove (1985) by Larry McMurtry.
2) All the Pretty Horses (1992) by Cormac McCarthy (see my review of 4/2/2013).
3) Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) by Zane Grey.
4) The Time it Never Rained (1973) by Elmer Kelton.
5) Hondo (1985) by Louis L’Amour.
6) Shane (1949) by Jack Schaeffer.
7) The Shootist (1975) by Glendon Swarthout.
8) The Longhorns (1941) by Frank Dobie.
9) Smoky the Cowhorse (1927) by Will James.
10) The Man who Shot Liberty Valance (1949) Dorothy Johnson.

THE GERMAN GIRL

The historical fiction genre is defined as a novel in which the story is made up but is based on a true event. And in The German Girl, Armando Lucas Correa has written a doozy. In 1939 Nazi Germany, Captain Gustav Schroder (the actual captain) of the S.S. St. Louis ocean liner departed Hamburg, Germany with 937 refugees (mostly Jewish) seeking asylum from Nazi persecution. Their destination was Havana, Cuba. These people gave up their wealth, houses, art work and cars in order to escape sure death if they stayed in Germany. Even though these people gave up everything and paid handsomely for their Cuban visas (where they were to wait in Cuba a few months to two years until the USA approved their visas)...Cuba changed it’s mind when the ship arrived in the port of Havana. America and Canada also denied the ship entrance. What were they to do? This plus the dangerous time spent in Germany are the beginnings of the story. The ensuing chapters switched back and forth to what happened in Cuba and in modern day NYC among the relatives of the Rosenthal family. While Mr. Correa’s prose and plot were outstanding, there was a flaw in his story that somewhat troubled me. The author failed to create tension in his story, mostly when the Rosenthals were still in Germany. It seemed like our protagonist, twelve year old Hannah Rosenthal, and her best friend, Leo Martin, were always romping around Berlin in a somewhat, “Ha ha, catch me if you can” attitude, even after Kristallnacht (the Night of the Broken Glass). I don’t know if any other reviewer noticed this shortcoming. Anyway, I still enjoyed this novel, although this foible almost cost it a five-star rating.

Inside 1939 Germany bad things were happening to the Jewish population. The Rosenthals owned the apartment building they lived in, yet they were basically hiding in their own apartment. Max was a premier college professor until he was fired for being a Jew. His spouse, Alma, was one of the most envied wives in all of Germany until Jews were declared impure. Their tenants wanted them to leave the building. Their daughter, Hannah, and her friend, Leo, scurried all over Berlin listening for news and avoiding the ogres (Hannah’s name for the Aryan populace). Max and Leo’s dad were conspiring to find a way out of Germany before the s**t hit the fan. Hannah had the looks of a pure Aryan and on one of her romps in Berlin with Leo is spotted by a photographer for Das Deutsche Madel (The German Girl) magazine. Her picture is taken before she can run away. Her parents (as Hannah is) are distraught when they see their daughter’s face on the cover of the Nazi propaganda magazine for German girls. Hannah and Leo overhear the latest news on an ogre’s radio, “We were going to have to list all our possessions. Many of us would have to change our names and sell our properties, our houses, and our businesses at prices they dictated. We were monsters. We stole other people’s money. We made slaves of those who had less than us. We were destroying the country’s heritage. We had bled Germany dry. We stank. We believed in different gods. We were crows. We were impure.” The Rosenthals and the Martins had to find a way out of Germany. Don’t get fidgety, I’m only on page 31.

Meanwhile, the novel switches to NYC 2014 where we meet twelve year old Anna and her mom. Her dad, Louis, went to work on 9/11/2001 and never returned. “The day Dad disappeared, Mom was pregnant with me. By just three months. She had the opportunity to get rid of the baby but didn’t take it. She never lost hope that Dad would return, even after receiving the death certificate.” All Anna has of her dad's is a picture of him that she keeps in her bedroom. One day a package arrives from Canada via Cuba. Mom tells Anna, “It’s from your father’s family.” Anna knew that her dad’s parents died in a plane crash but was unaware of any surviving relatives.The envelope is filled with negatives, a postcard of a ship and a magazine with a smiling German girl in profile on the cover. Anna says, “It’s time to find out who Dad is.” Mom says to Anna, “I think it’s time you knew something. On your father’s side, you’re German as well." Anna goes to her bedroom, “In front of the mirror, I try to discover the German traits I must have inherited from a father who up till now I thought was Cuban. What do I see in the mirror? A German girl. Aren’t I a Rosen?” Anna is excited to go to Cuba and meet the woman from Germany who provided for her dad. They develop the pictures but don’t know who the people in the pictures are. Anna and her mom fly to Cuba to meet Great Aunt Hannah.

From hereon in, the novel switches back and forth to 1939 Germany...NYC 2014...the escape from Germany on the ship... the early years for the Rosenthal family in Cuba...to present day Cuba. Normally I don’t like novels that keep switching from present to past, however the author did such a great job with it that I didn’t even notice my past distaste for that writing style. In order for people not to forget, Holocaust books must remain innovative as this novel was. Was this Holocaust novel written without the usual apprehension on purpose or was I right that the author failed to provide any angst? Either way, I highly recommend this historical novel.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: My all-time favorite historical fiction novel/movie involving the Holocaust is Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel, Schindler’s List. It was heartwarming, if that could be said about the Holocaust.

Goodreads.com says, “During the Holocaust at the German concentration camp near Plaszow, thousands of Jews lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis. More than a thousand others would have been counted among the dead if not for a womanizing, heavy drinking, German-Catholic industrialist and Nazi Party member named Oskar Schindler."

THE KILLING GAME

The author sent me a copy of her novel to read and review:

What started out as a somewhat mushy love story slowly turned into a tension filled crime story pitting the FBI against a Mafia Don (Vincent Luca) in an attempted sting operation. How mushy was the love story between our two protagonists: Ives Andrich, head of the New York division of the FBI, and author, Allina Kovar? Do you remember (if you are old enough) the “we can’t keep our hands off each other” schmaltzy TV show, Hart to Hart (1979 to 1984) starring the two lovebirds, Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers? Well, this novel’s romantic duo outdid the TV show’s pair by a landslide, although the Andrich/Kovar love affair got muddled once the sting campaign got underway. Since this novel is 491 pages, can I persevere till the end? Luckily, the author, The Black Rose (that’s her pen name), shifted the story into another gear and came up with a credible and exciting story, but not without some flaws, which I’ll talk about later. I thought the infatuation between Ives and Allina was an important set-up for the novel but lasted a few too many chapters before the attempted sting was in progress. By the way, if you enjoy this novel (I’m sure you will), the series continues with, The Chase and The Lost Days. Okay, let me tell you a little bit about the story...just enough to wet your beak. Do you remember that line from the Mafia Don Fanucci in (I think) the second The Godfather movie?

A man in a library suggest to author Allina Kovar that she should write a book about illegal sports betting. Who is this man? Allina writes a novel, titled The Blood Negotiators. Her normal publisher refuses to publish the book. Why? On a flight to NYC to buy a apartment, she finds herself sitting next to Ives Andrich, a publisher. They both immediately fall in love. She doesn’t know that Ives is FBI. Allina buys an expensive apartment in NYC and Ives publishes her novel. But the FBI bigwigs in Washington, DC believe that she knows the NYC Don Vincent Luca and the contents of her book are real. Ives knows that she knows nothing...it’s just a novel. The pressure is on to cross-examine her and find out the truth. After a night out on the town, Ives and Allina are pulled over and arrested. Allina is sent downtown to be grilled by FBI agent Fogherty, while Ives, who reluctantly knew this was coming down, is uncuffed. Ives observes Fogherty interrogating Allina via the infamous blacked-out window in the next room. Fogherty goes too far and roughs up Allina and exposes Ives as an FBI agent who is duping her. On page 45, Fogherty tells Allina, “He’s standing right behind that mirror over there. He’s been watching you the entire time, laughin’ his ass off.” Why did he do that? Ives goes wacko and has Fogherty dragged out of the room and arrested. When she leaves the room, Ives has no choice but to show her his FBI badge.

Somehow Ives convinces Allina that he has loved her ever since he saw her picture in the FBI file and that he doesn’t care about his career...he only wants to spend the rest of his life with her. After some powerful talking, she believes him and they are lovey-dovey again. But now she is curious about nailing this NYC Don. On page 74, Allina asks, “So what do they (the FBI) want?” Ives says, “They think you can get close to Luca. They know you created the entire story you wrote, but Luca doesn’t know that. Because of what you wrote, he’ll think you understand him, and he’ll want you around. The bureau knows that, and that’s a problem.” By the way, Ives has already infiltrated Luca’s family as a trusted moneyman, so he knows how dangerous Don Luca is. On page 86, Allina shocks Ives by saying, “It can’t be that bad. I told you I would help, and I will.” Can they nail Luca for his illegal sports betting activities and his many killings? What kind of trouble will Allina get into with Luca? Can she avoid his sexual advances? Can the love she has for Ives survive this test? So there you go, I’ve reviewed the first 86 pages of a 491 page novel. The last 300 plus pages are electric and must be read like you were savoring a fine wine. So why am I only giving this novel four stars? Well, my fine-feathered friend, it’s because of the many minor flaws. Okay, Let’s talk about the flaws.

My main beef is the editing...in which the author has to take some blame for since she wrote the novel. It’s customary in the literature world to use italics when someone is thinking something. In this novel they are not used. Instead we have the characters saying everything in quotation marks (or punctuation marks) when really the characters are only thinking, such as, “Oh, lucky me”, She thought. This continues for the entire novel. Is it a big deal? I think so because it’s easier for the reader to know if something is being said or thought if it’s edited properly. Another thing that bothered me was the way Allina continually wise-cracked the Don. What would John Gotti do to her, if she talked to him like that? Also how many times does the author have to write about the breakfast, lunch and dinners Luca and Allina had? The novel would probably be a 100 pages shorter if she only wrote about twenty or more of these repasts. Enough is enough. And finally, every time Luca kisses Allina (which is a lot of times), she has to “fanatically” wipe the kiss off her skin when Luca is not looking. Okay, I know she hates him...stop with the numerous wipes! So as you can see, a lot of things annoyed me, especially the repetitive text...yet I liked the novel. Go figure.
 
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: How funny is it that Andrich Publishing produced Allina Kovar’s fictitious novel and this novel, The Killing Game. Very clever Black Rose or whoever you are. What are you afraid of? What’s your name? Are you also undercover FBI? The days of George Eliot and George Sand are over (Just having some fun). This novel seemed to stretch like a slinky toy with all the repeat facets, but the author picked herself up off the mat by her bootstraps and finished the novel with a flurry.   

SPARX Incarnation: Mark of the Green Dragon

The author sent an autographed copy of his novel to my thirteen year old grandson, Kai, to review:

The Mark of the Green Dragon is an exciting start to a two part series. It starts out with Nud Leatherleaf and his best friend Gariff walking through the bog lands around the town of Webfoot. Nud has just found a mysterious flashing stone. While not sure what to do with it, Nud decides to keep it a secret from his other friends. After some consideration, Nud chooses to visit his grandpa Papolov’s friend, Fyron. The friend is an Elderkin (a race of ancient and wise beings) who Nud calls Uncle Fyron.

Because of a previous strange incident, it took a bit of thought to decide to visit Uncle Fyron. What happened was that Nud found a strange box in Fyron’s attic containing a mysterious creature. Wanting to discover what the creature was, Nud took the box into the woods. Then with a hatchet, he opened the nailed shut lid, but to his horror inside the box was a vile spider-like creature, whose first thought was to attack Nud.

After fleeing, Nud’s experience got even stranger. A group of trees formed a circle around Nud... trapping him. It’s only after one of the trees whipped him in the wrist (leaving a intricate marking that would persist for the rest of his life) that he finds a way to escape and get back to Uncle Fyron’s house.

But he decides to visit his uncle’s house regardless of his previous experience. Nud and his friends are quickly invited in to eat. But after the meal ends and Fyron and Nud are alone, strange things start to happen. This is where the story truly starts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author, K.B. Sprague, did a good job with character development and the plot, but most of all, the author left me wanting to read more. I definitely recommend this book, however you are going to have to read the second book for the conclusion.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Once again, my grandson comes up with a quality review.

HEART OF DARKNESS

As with this 1899 classic novella, sometimes too much descriptive writing can somewhat muddy the waters. Written by Joseph Conrad (pen name for Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) and originally published in three monthly issues of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, I occasionally lost touch with the story as I got lost in his flowery language. This is not a bad thing, just a slight sidetrack from the story. You probably remember this seaman/author best for his famous 1900 novel, Lord Jim. Even the first paragraph had to be read several times before I understood it. The Nellie, a cruising yawl was a two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged sailboat sailing down The Thames River in London, England. Since Conrad spent his first 36 years mostly at sea, he assumed his sailor’s cant was a language known by all his readers. I’m not complaining because the story was enjoyable, just not the cat’s meow for a speed reader. An example of Conrad’s descriptive writing (he was very good at describing a character) can be found on page 54 when he is describing the company’s chief accountant that he finds in the muggy jungle, “When near the buildings I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for a sort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear.” Most of the novel was written with these embellishments.

The story starts out with Our narrator and protagonist, Charlie Marlow, on a cruise ship (the Nellie) anchored on the Thames River telling some of the passengers how he was appointed captain of a steamboat on the Congo River in darkest Africa. Ever since he was a child, he was mesmerized by the blank spaces on maps. The one that intrigued him the most was the Congo and the big snake-like river, The Congo. After many years out to sea, Marlow applies for a riverboat captaincy on a Congo River steamboat with a Brussels, Belgium ivory trading company. He gets the job and heads to the African coast on a French steamer. Most of the story revolves around his difficulties getting to his job, which was more than 200 miles up the river. He gets on a steamer captained by a Swede and gets dropped off 30 miles up river to his company’s first station. It is blazing hot and steamy. He is horrified at the condition of the blacks working on the railroad. They are going to die under these harsh conditions. He takes a caravan of 60 men and travels on foot to the central station where he finds out from the general manager that his steamboat was curiously wrecked. The general manager says they left without him because they were trying to get to a Mr. Kurtz, who was reportedly dying. Is that why they were trying to get to him? Mr. Kurtz ran the trading post in ivory country. Marlow learns that, “Kurtz sends in as much ivory as all the others put together.” By the way, the paragraphs are very long, which was commonplace in that era.

It takes several months to repair the river steamboat before Marlow departs up river to bring back the mysterious Mr. Kurtz from his station. Is Kurtz really sick? Why do the natives adore him? Why does the company want him back? Has Kurtz gotten too big for his britches? The descriptive writing was so good; I felt like I was sweltering on the Congo River in darkest Africa during the entire story. Somehow I missed the crux of Conrad’s novella. Was he chastising Belgium for their imperialistic attitude towards Africa? Or their treatment of the natives? Was he trying to say that (so-called) civilized society should have the right to rule barbarians, or just the opposite? The United States had that attitude in the late 1800s and early 1900s (the Manifest Destiny). Remember Horace Greeley’s famous phrase, “Go west, young man”...and we did, all the way to Japan and China. I know that Joseph Conrad had a reason for writing this novella...I just don’t know what it was. Because of these reasons, I'll give it a weak five star rating (Haha), and I do recommend reading this 117 year old novella.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Conrad’s main character, Charlie Marlow, appears in four of his novels. Besides this novella, Marlow appears in Youth (1898), Lord Jim (1900) and Chance (1914).

In the “Inspired by’ section of Conrad’s novella, we find that, “The adaptation of Heart of Darkness that makes Conrad’s novella particularly relevant to the modern era is Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Apocalypse Now (1979). Apocalypse Now strips away surface and grapples with humanity’s primordial nature, aptly capturing the spirit of Conrad. The film opens with the jungle tree line ablaze with napalm fire and the hypnotic drone of helicopter blades dissolving into a whirring ceiling fan in a hotel room. Captain Benjamin Willard (Sheen) is assigned to track down Colonel Walter Kurtz, a decorated war hero gone missing whom the military has accused of murder. Willard is ordered to terminate Kurtz with extreme prejudice.”

Did Charlie Marlow get orders to terminate Kurtz in Heart of Darkness? Read the novella and you will find out...My Little Chickadee (W.C. Fields, 1940).     

they SERVE BAGELS in HEAVEN

The author sent me a copy of her novel/book to review:

This is the third novel that I’ve read in the last three years exploring the possibility of heaven. Having read Mitch Albom’s highly entertaining novel The First Phone Call from Heaven (see my review of 1/13/2014) and Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander’s near death experience in Proof of Heaven (see my review of 8/10/2013), I was eager to read what Irene Weinberg had to say in her novel. The novel seems to be on the whimsical side only because it involves several mediums, who were either contacted by Irene’s husband, Saul, or had Saul talk through their vocal cords. Logic tells me that the medium business would be the world’s number one occupation if any recently departed loved one could contact anyone through a medium (or necromancer?). Why did Saul get the opportunity to contact his wife after death and not someone like the great Harry Houdini (who vowed to come back from death) Wouldn’t Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have a course on mediumology? (just kidding, maybe they do)

Listen, I’m not accusing Irene of anything. I’m somewhat suggesting (based on their lifelong love affair) that she would be likely influenced into believing she is talking to her husband. The other thing that baffles me (a tad) is that Saul implies that even bad people are in heaven. The only penalty is that they cannot be reincarnated until all the people they have harmed are dead, including their descendants (this could take a long time). Saul also tells Irene through a family therapist/medium that they have had many past lives together (some not as husband and wife). That reminds me of the 1970 Barbra Streisand movie On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Although the story is entertaining, I’m not buying into it as a credible occurrence. There is no mention of Hell in this book by Saul. All he says on this subject is what he said about a delayed reincarnation. And would The Creator and a group of angels sit down with you in Heaven and strategize your next life on earth? Highly doubtful.

Although the story starts out with Saul falling asleep (or did he have a stroke/heart attack?) at the wheel of his car (12/21/1997) with his wife, Irene, in the passenger seat, the meat of the story for me was the supposed previous reincarnated lives they had relayed by Saul to Irene through a medium. Some of them were interesting...is Irene starting to become a storyteller? Okay, the stories were told to her by Saul, but Irene penned them, so I must give her some credit (don’t think for a minute that I believed they came from heaven, but they were entertaining). I particularly liked the story of Yakov and Devorah, which was very sad. Also absorbing was the time Irene was reincarnated alone as a Jewish violinist in Poland during the start of the holocaust. So what do I think? I think that Irene heard what she wanted to hear or believe in. Again, I’m not saying that Irene is a false witness, but I think that Irene, who was madly in love with Saul, can easily be duped by mediums. I do recommend reading this book/novel...your option at to whether you think it’s a book or novel.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: Everybody hopes that there is an afterlife (if you haven’t been wicked), but Saul’s story doesn’t offer much punishment to sinners. Is there a Hell? If not, I coulda been bad! Also strange is that Saul doesn’t tell Irene what religion God harbors. He is only known as The Source or The Creator. No mention of Jesus Christ. Also if I remember correctly, The Bible rejects reincarnation. There are a lot of unanswered questions which make books like this one at best...intriguing.  

AYAHUASCA

The author sent me a copy of his novel to read and review:

After reading Jonathan Huls previous novel, The Nth Day (see my review of 2/10/2016), I didn’t think he could write anything darker than that. Well, I’m wrong, because his second novel is pitch-black! Next stop...Hell. If you are a bit squeamish, don’t read this novel. Nothing pleasant happens to any of the characters in this grisly novel. Ayahuasca is a mind altering drug used by the Peruvian natives along the Amazon River for many purposes. In a way, the drug plays both a small part and big part in this novel. When the novel begins, the reader is unaware of what the two recent college graduates are up to. They tell their parents (who are unconcerned alcoholic party goers) that they are going to Mexico to celebrate graduating college. That seems normal enough, but is that the real reason for the trip? And why do they keep talking about G-88? What does that mean? Do they have an evil pretentious plan or is this trip a normal graduating blow-out? Okay, enough questions, let me tell you a little bit of the story without revealing the explosive conclusion (pages 142-244).
  
Paxton and Damien are life long friends. Paxton just got his private pilot’s license, and they are going to fly to Mexico (the author doesn’t tell the reader how the boys acquired the Cessna Turbo Skylane). The trip will take two months and culminate in Iquitos, Peru. We learn that the boys have always been evil...Damien the most malicious. Paxton has been recording all their vicious adventures in his personal journal since childhood (were they evil as kids?...yep). While in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, they have wild drunken sexual escapades. They hear about a secret nightclub that has sexual acts on stage including a performance that uses a donkey. They find the club, but things go sour and they have to shoot their way out of the club. They fly out of Mexico into Peru immediately. Paxton falls in love with a local girl named Cecita. After a night of binge drinking, Paxton, Damien, Cecita and her girlfriend go into a remote jungle area where the boys are introduced to the drug Ayahuasca by a local shaman. The drug is supposed to purify their spirits but instead makes them hallucinate and vomit. Such a pleasant novel.

I’m reluctant to tell you anything more about the story. Instead, I was going to define what G-88 means, but then I would have to issue a “spoiler alert” which I don’t want to do. The crux of the novel is G-88 and what it brings to the table. Is this the darkest novel I’ve ever read? Well, I read Cormac McCarthy’s Outer Dark (see my review of 3/01/2013), which I considered to be the blackest novel that I ever read. But I have to admit that Jonathan Huls has surpassed the great Cormac McCarthy with this tragic and somber novel. Do you see why this novel is so grim? What happens in Peru is mind-boggling. Those last 103 pages are explosive. I only reviewed the first 118 pages to whet your whistle. I recommend this novel to readers that aren’t faint at heart. Since I thought Jonathan Huls first novel was very savvy and structured better than this novel, I must rate Ayahuasca a notch below The Nth Day.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: For some reason this novel reminded me of the 1994 Oliver Stone/ Quentin Tarantino movie Natural Born Killers starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. It was the same theme...senseless mass murder. A 52 person killing spree in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, then briefly imprisoned before escaping and continuing with more murders. School is still out with me on these types of novels and movies. Are they written to bring light to the serial killer phenomenon or strictly for the entertainment value? I prefer books on this subject that are nonfiction, such as the social miscreant killers in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, or Vincent Bugliosi’s epic book, Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders.