Chatter Of The Squirrel

Book: The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

So, they made the book into a movie. And I really enjoy time travel movies, top of the list being The Butterfly Effect, Donnie Darko, and of course Back To The Future, in no particular order.

Still, it’s not the kind of book I would budget my limited time on. But I took enough trouble to download the audiobook.

So a man is born with a genetic disorder that makes him randomly pop out of the normal stream of time, arriving as naked as the Terminator. Thus he had to develop survival skills early, learning to steal and pick door locks to get clothing and food cos he doesn’t know how long he’ll be stuck.

Then he meets his future wife in the past. How creepy is a relationship between a middle-aged man and a pre-teen girl? So his future wife knows him years before he even meets her in real time. The entire relationship takes place like this, in and out of time. Fantasy romance. Plenty on the romance. Light on the fantasy.

The write basically used the time travel as a gimmick, and tried to engineer many unusual scenarios to tell the couple’s romance.

Slow moving tale. Early on it tried to be all Sophie’s World, discussing causality and pre-determination or some such lameness. The story climaxed at the same time the time-traveller popped his future wife’s cherry.

Downhill and boring after that. If that were even possible.

He dies in the end. There, that’s the gimmicky ending. I’ve just saved you hours of boredom.

Book: Island Of The Sequined Love Nun – Christopher Moore

It’s such a weird title, I couldn’t resist looking into it.

Happened to have 400+ km of driving to do, and this nearly kept me awake.

Satirical tale of a jet pilot who crashed a plane and emasculated himself on the instrument panel. In desperation, he takes up a cushy job flying a Lear jet for a missionary doctor on the island of Alualu. The islanders are a cargo cult worshiping a dead World War 2 bomber pilot. Somewhere in this, there are Japanese ninjas with Uzis, a talking fruit-bat, an old cannibal, a transvestite navigator, and a ghost.

Just a really odd tale. Not Dirk Gently odd. More like MTV logic odd.

Kind of a cotton candy story. No substance. Not very bad. But I got nothing out of it. Except assuaging my curiosity re: the odd title of the book. The genre is classified as satirical fantasy. Didn’t get the satire.

If I had paid for the book, I would’ve been screaming murder.

Book: Glorious – Eddie Izzard

Technically not a book. Just an audio collection of a transvestite’s stand-up comedy.

A very rants-y British ‘guy’. Random topics. Only thing even half memorable was a random rant about Darth Vader.

Kinda dated. Not all that funny. Even Chris Rock had some moments. Glorious, is somewhere at the level of Everybody Hates Chris on my funny scale.

Maybe if this had come on my radar a decade ago?

Book: On The Road – Jack Kerouac

A most appropriate title to read on a long distance bus ride.

It’s supposed to be some great American novel, written in one continuous ramble with no chapters.

The ramble doesn’t really work in an audiobook cos I can never tell where I’ve gotten in the story when I wake from a doze.

The book is somewhat autobiographical of the author’s hitchhiking stories. One moment he’s shacking up with a Mexican gal, and the next moment he’s missing a friend, and the book is finished.

It’s probably so arty that it went right over my head. I might attempt it again in another circumstance where I might be able to keep awake.

Book: Slam – Nick Hornby

A 15yr old skater-boy gets his girlfriend pregnant. Family drama ensues.

Skater boy also projects Tony Hawk, who gives him life advice.

The book reads like Catcher In The Rye. But without the spoiled brat in the narrative.

It’s a young boy with a real problem. Very real and insightful narrative. Lots of social commentary.

Not really exciting. But very enjoyable.