The 70 proof staff enjoys three things above all else. And it just so happens that reading is third behind only... well, let's just say it's third.

Every few weeks we'll provide brief reviews of the books we've been reading in hopes of helping you, our valued readers, make better choices the next time you're at the library, book store, or refined brothel.

We rate books on a scale of zero to four shots, with four being a work of true genius.

Feel free to let us know if you have any books in particular you would like us to address.

May 27, 2002

"Rabbit, Run" by John Updike: Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom was a high school basketball player of some note. No, he was more than that. He was a star. He set scoring records. His name meant something... in high school.

Harry's no longer a star. He's actually quite ordinary. He's in his mid-20s, stuck in a go-nowhere job in a go-nowhere town, and he also comes to the painful realization that he no longer loves his wife, Janice, despite their having one young son and another child on the way. The responsibility of this unwanted life is suffocating him. He needs out. Something has to give.

One evening, instead of picking up his son from his mother's house, Harry gets in the car and just drives. He's determined to leave his life behind. He needs freedom. But what he could really use is a map.

Harry returns to town the next morning, but he doesn't return to his wife. He looks up his old high school coach, Mr. Tothero, and is comforted in remembrance of the past. Tothero does more than just give Harry a place to crash for the afternoon, he also fixes him up with Ruth, a girl that's been around the block more times than the ice cream man. Harry and Ruth begin an immediate affair, as two lost souls often do.

"Rabbit, Run" is an extraordinary book. Granted, the beginning is a bit sluggish at times, bordering on the overwritten, but "Rabbit" soon finds its stride and never looks back. It's a wonderful exploration of adulthood, responsibility, and the crush of being normal. It examines the true heart of a man, without flinching or pulling any punches.

Harry Angstrom is hardly a likeable character. He's immature, insensitive, selfish, and downright cruel on more than one occasion. Yet Mr. Updike makes it almost impossible to root against his puerile protagonist.

And the ending is great. It ranks right up there with Kerouac's "The Subterraneans" for memorable closing lines.

Make sure and put "Rabbit, Run" on your reading list.

RATING:

"Chrome Yellow" by Aldous Huxley: Denis Stone is a young poet of modest acclaim that is hopelessly in love with the fair Anne, a woman he grew up admiring since childhood. Yet Anne is four years older and has never seen Denis as anything more than an adorable little boy. Denis hopes to change that during his summer stay with Anne and assorted other guests at her family's country estate.

"Chrome Yellow" was Mr. Huxley's first novel. While there are some memorable characters and a few quality scenes, including a real swell ending, the story is one of fits and starts. Nothing really flows. Detailed descriptions run wild. It's almost guaranteed that the introduction of a character will be immediately followed by one or two paragraphs of physical traits and affectations. Nothing is immune to analysis. Some may like such needless doings, but this humble reviewer has never been one for flowery prose. I know what a tree looks like. Just tell the story.

For all its flaws, "Chrome Yellow" is still interesting in that one can witness the maturation of a magnificent writer. This is where the groundwork was laid for Mr. Huxley's "Point Counter Point." If not for the exercise of handling Denis Stone and the rest of the ensemble cast, the later masterpiece may have never been possible.

So if you're a fan of Huxley, it's worth a read. Otherwise, just save yourself some time and skip straight to "Point Counter Point."

RATING:

"Bend Sinister" by Vladimir Nabokov: First off, let me just say that "Bend Sinister", without doubt, is a wicked cool title. That's just quality. And the first three pages are remarkable and could easily stand alongside the best openings in literature. Sadly, those same pages also have the misfortune of leading to the rest of the book.

Professor Adam Krug has just lost his wife to an ill-fated kidney operation. Still reeling from the loss, Krug becomes entangled in the political intrigue surrounding the rise of a one-party government. Krug, due to his celebrity status as a writer and intellect, is a crucial pawn in the new government's plan to win public favor. You see, this new ruling body, known as the Ekwilist movement, is part socialism, part communism, and all bad news. Things are further complicated by its supreme Ruler being Paduk, an old schoolmate of Krug's.

The problem with "Bend Sinister" is that it's trying to do too much at once. In the beginning, especially in the first three pages mentioned above, Mr. Nabokov spins language to create amazing imagery and uncorks some innovative sentence structure and pace. His style is inspiring. But then he goes and introduces a plot. What was he thinking?

It would have been best to leave this as just a story of a middle-aged intellectual coming to grips with the death of his wife and how it affects his relationship with their son, allowing style alone to carry the day. But instead Nabokov introduces the political thread that transforms the tale into a boring, dull, watered-down mix of Orwell's "1984" and Koestler's "Darkness at Noon." This is definitely a case when style should have taken priority over substance.

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