The Galley Way: Six Weeks To Yehida

Six Weeks to Yehida by, Melissa Studdard

This is a review that I’ve actually been putting off writing, because for all of the earnest and lovely writing from Melissa Studdard evidenced in her debut novel, Six Weeks to Yehidah, I’m afraid I actually have to be a bit hard on her.The main crux of the challenge of this book is that yet again we have a Children’s book that, while it contains some lovely language and imagery, strives too hard to be profound and eloquent- even to the point that the language is way over the head of your average child. (see my review of The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant)The book more seems to be a Children’s book written solely for adults, and if that is what it is that is fine. Melissa Studdard obviously has a vivid imagination and does create scenarios that would be humorous to the adult reader; but sadly she isn’t able to harness this vivid imagery into one cohesive message.Overall there is a certain lack of direction to this story- Annalise is constantly learning lessons, but to what end? Ms. Studdard would have probably better off focusing on one moral, one lesson, one kernel of wisdom than the hodgepodge and vastness found in Six Weeks to Yehida.

Ultimately, for all the references to other Children’s classics like The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland the book is more reminiscent of that dream you had after a crazy night out- perhaps not the exactly the typical fodder for the under 18 crowd.

Note: This book is a Goodreads First Read.

Goodreads rating: **

The Galley Way: An Emergency in Slow Motion

An Emergency in Slow Motion: The Inner life of Diane Arbus by, William Todd Schutlz

A few years back I Saw the film Fur starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. (and dorky dad from Modern Family!)- a sort of dramatized imaging of how Diane Arbus came to be the photographer we know her as. After viewing this film I was of course with left with more questions about Ms. Arbus- how did she *really* come to be a photographer of such bizarre and provoking photos? So you can imagine my excitement when I came across Mr. Schultz’s new “psychobiography”.

The book doesn’t fail to deliver a full picture of the late author; and reader beware Diane Arbus’ life makes for as eerie reading as her photos. Even though this book is just a slim 216 page volume it packs a hefty punch as you are treated to the inner workings of Arbus’ mind.

It isn’t so much that Arubs was mean or cruel, but instead, distinctively sad and out of step with the world and even herself. If there is any fault with the book it might be with Schultz’s sometimes circular method of explanation and frequent repeating of several key phrases and quotes- although perhaps this is useful in keeping up with some of the denser psychological theories

Note: This book was a Goodreads First Read.

Goodreads rating: ***

The Galley Way: The Radleys

The Radleys by, Matt Haig

Twilight eat your heart out : )

In this immensely satisfying read Matt Haig presents us with the Radleys- a typical middle class English family that just happens to want to drink your blood. But like good Britons they are fighting against their baser instincts and leading an upstanding existence in a quaint country town. Having recently read Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach the portrait of the, yet again, typically repressed Brits was especially on point.

But more than poking fun at the English stiff upper lip it was nice to see a vamipre story with some actual blood in it’s veins- one that gets down to the nitty gritty of what it would mean to actually be a vampire with out romanticizing it *too* much.

Ultimately, The Radleys was able to take this well-worn genre and have an entirely fresh take on it. It calls to mind something like what The Sopranos did for Mafia films or even a touch of Shawn of the Dead.

So of course the next question is: sequel Mr. Haig?

Note: This book was a Goodreads First Read.

Goodreads rating: ***

The Galley Way: The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant

The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant by, Michelle Cuevas

What to make of The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant? To say that it’s original would be a bit of an understatement. In this book our hero, “Pigeon Jones”, is abandoned by his parents and is discovered and adopted by a Circus Elephant with a penchant for painting. Pigeon spends the rest of his life living only on the back of his elephant, “Birch”.

This book is blessed with illustrations by Ed Young (Caldecott winner,Lon Po Po), and also fun charts and graphs, such as a pie chart of various “Elephant Jobs”.

But, probably the best thing about this story is the language; in her debut novel for children Ms. Cuevas provides us with many lovely passages such as:

“‘rocks are just rocks,’ he’d said, ‘until the day someone imagines them as a palace'”
and
“The most glorious works of art, the ones that bring the purest joy- perhaps they need not to be touched or known, but seen only with the heart”

In fact, there is a lot of higher level philosophizing and very poetic lines, so story doesn’t read much like Children’s book at all, but some sort of fable for adults.

While there are touches of other Children’s authors and books like, Roald Dahl, The Graveyard Book, (and The Jungle Book from which that book was inspired, and even Disney’s Dumbo, with our maternal Birch, it is hard to see myself recommending this to a child.

Of course, if it is a book for adults it is still in a weird gray area: too short to be a novella, to long for a short story. It seems that Ms. Cuevas finds herself in that terrible trap of not being easily “labeled”

Aside from all the issues of how to label the book, ultimately, the book seems a little unfinished and uncertain. With all of the poetic passages, and philosophical notions put forward there isn’t much time to flesh out the characters fully, and sometimes events like the rescue of Dahlia and reformation of the Ringmaster seem a bit rushed and tossed-off.

All in all, The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant is a noble effort but still missing that thing that really grabs you, and for a book meant for children that’s probably the most important thing of all.

Note: This book was a Goodreads First Read.

Goodreads rating: **

The Galley Way: Just My Type

Just My Type by, Simon Garfield

I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads program and am very thankful to have received it.

In this book Simon Garfield gives the reader a crash course in the history of typography from Gutenberg and blackletter to Obama on the campaign trail with his timely choice of Gotham font… and beyond.

I was already curious abut fonts before picking up Just My Type– my greater attention to font was especially sparked when someone on a blog about pointed out the well chosen Helvetica poster adorning an office in an episode of Mad Men (which Mr. Garfield can confirm was astute of the set designers) and I was drawn to how beautiful fonts can be when looked at for their own sake. And, I always a little interested in type: I like to read what type a novel is set in when the publisher’s leave a note at the end of the book, and appreciated the aesthetic beauty of fonts like Bauhaus, Art Deco, and Art Nouveau.

Of course I certainly knew I was nothing of an expert, but reading Just My Type it is now clear that I am at the shallow end of the type enthusiasts. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book was simply the window into this whole culture of “typophilia” where type geeks can tell a font simply by a single “g” on the cover of a book and bemoan when a film set in 1940 uses a font not created until the 1970’s.

My love of type has definitely been confirmed by this book, but I’ll never be in that league where I could name the type of font shown monetarily in a film, or even on a shop window. Fortunately, Just My Type is a great introductory book for us novices. The best thing about the book is how Garfield manages to pack a lot of history and information about type while still keeping the book a light and fun read (Basically lots of nice cocktail-party-worthy anecdotes).

The only weird complaint I have is that sometimes the chapters would end abruptly (including the the end of the book itself). I don’t know if this was due to just the formatting of the galley, and the book will flow a little better in it’s finished form, or it’s a strange backhanded to compliment to the book- that it keeps you wanting more.

Overall Highly recommend this book!

Goodreads rating: ****