Larson

I have to admit, when I first began reading The Devil in the White City, I enjoyed it. The more I read, though, the more repetitive, predictable, and boring it became. A better author could have taken the information that Larson gathered and produced a marvelous book from it. Larson’s book fails because of the cheap storyline with Holmes and the overwhelming quantity of details that he offers his reader. If Larson had just written a biography of Burnham, or a less fictionalized account of the construction of The White City, the book could have been a success. The most unfortunate moments of the book are his attempts to fictionalize history, particularly in the Holmes subplot.

I could barely read the sections about Holmes’ young, naive victims. There was too much gore and too much heart-break. As I read each of the Holmes sections, I wondered how Larson’s publishing company let him get away with his Holmes scenes—they were poorly written and distracting. While I’m sure that the company thought that the horrifying murders of these girls would sell books, I find myself incredibly disgusted by these scenes and their presence in The Devil in the White City. I can understand why many people are fascinated by the depths of human evil, but Larson’s treatment of Holmes’ brutal, psychotic murders was completely insensitive, exploitative, and senseless. The tale of the White City didn’t need a distracter in the form of Holmes; and given Larson’s lack of information on Holmes, the Holmes chapters were quite awful and unreadable. How many times did we read a comparison between the blue of Holmes’ eyes and Lake Michigan? Or between placid waters and his eyes? Also, because Holmes (like most serial killers) followed a pattern and chose similiar victims every time, every Holmes section was a repetition of the previous one. The only interesting details about Holmes were related to his hotel and its strange architecture. I’m pretty sure that Larson only included Holmes in the book so that he could have the clever title The Devil in the White City and work with the contrasting plot lines of a heroic architect building a white city, and an evil madman murdering in dark corners of the city.

Bellow

I found Harry Trellman’s fascination with his own Chinese/Japanese appearance to be quite intriguing. Trellman is a sort of mystical character, with his journeys to the East and his penchant for very astute observation. He is aware of the smallest details in the way that people interact with one another. Trellman’s shifting appearance, as a Jewish business man who appears either Chinese or Japanese, depending on who you ask, makes sense in relation to his shifting identity. Trellman is a “first-class noticer”, according to Adletsky (15). It is because of his insights into human behavior that he is selected for Adletsky’s “brain trust.” Trellman looks down on others because of their lack of “higher motives,” yet it is never clear what higher motives Trellman labors under (42). All of the characters of the novel, with the exception of Trellman and Amy, are histrionic egomaniacs or other embodiments of the absurd. Wealth and irascible behavior are linked, particularly in the character of Madge Heisinger, who pours a pot of tea into Amy’s lap in order to get her attention. The world of the über-rich in no way resembles the world of the middle class—anything is permissible with enough wealth.

By far the best scene of the book is the last scene, in which Harry proposes to Amy next to the grave of her dead ex-husband, Jay. Harry’s proposal to Amy is at once the fulfillment of a life-long fantasy, and a form of revenge against Jay, who tortured Harry through various forms of sexual cruelty, including a threesome with Amy, who Jay knew Harry was in love with. Though it took him well over twenty years to confess his love to Amy, he finally does. The theme of exhumation fits well with the project of the text: the actual exhumation of Jay leads to the exhumation of memories. Unlike Jay, who will be reburied, the exhumation of Harry’s feelings for Amy and their discovery that they had both loved one another for many years gives both Harry and Amy a second chance at life.

The Coyote Menace: America's Greatest Threat

It is easy to ignore a problem; it is harder to acknowledge one; and it is much harder to overcome one. Without question, the planet we live on faces a growing number of problems with each passing day. Nevertheless, even the most daunting issues threatening life on our planet − global warming, dwindling fossil fuels, war between nations − have solutions. For example, global warming can be reduced by decreasing pollutants released into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels can be replaced by using alternate energy sources, such as hydrogen cells and solar power. War can be resolved through peaceful negotiations. However, the most imperative problem endangering our planet is one that has no solution: the coyote menace.

Tricksters. That is the name given to the coyote spirit in Native American lore. Many moon cycles ago, our ancestors realized the looming threat coyotes posed on humanity. Despite their wisdom and understanding of the spirit world, however, the countless tribes that inhabited North and South America for millennia were powerless against the indomitable coyote. Since then, civilization has experienced significant progress and mankind has learned to harness electricity and fly across the heavens. Unfortunately, humanity has yet to find a viable solution to the threat posed by the coyote menace. Although the human race remains incapable of preventing the spread of coyote dominance across the globe, modern science has accumulated crucial information on its elusive adversary.
Coyotes look like dirty dogs and eat cats and little kids and dim sung. Biologists have confirmed that they are fluent in hundreds of languages, including Portuguese, Mandarin, Latin, Hebrew, Ket. Due to their vast intelligence, they have learned to manipulate the magnetic field, rendering all weapons composed of metal alloys useless against them. Coyotes have infiltrated several bodies of government and it has recently been confirmed that there are currently seven of them seated in the British Parliament. But many of them you probably wouldn’t even notice as a result of the sophisticated holographic cloaking devices used to disguise their appearance. NASA satellites have shown signs that coyotes are not only capable of traveling through space, but also have colonies on other planets. Most recently, sports journalists have unearthed Muhammad Ali’s birth certificate which confirms that he is a coyote.

The coyote menace kills without mercy, makes love without inhibition, and dies without regret. Although global leaders refuse to accept the fact that humans are an inferior life form, the scientific community acknowledges that coyotes are superior to humans in nearly every conceivable way. Even though humanity is already facing several critical problems − global warming, dwindling fossil fuels, and war between nations − they may not have an impact on the planet for another fifty years. On the other hand, coyotes threaten to have a catastrophic impact on the planet tomorrow. Certainly the dinosaurs did not see the threat coyotes posed, but they certainly felt it when they were obliterated from the face of the earth. In order for human culture to endure for future generations, a solution to the coyote menace needs to be our top priority and survival our most important concern.

Fire Sale #2

Fire Sale #2

After I finished:

Great Character––V.I. Warshawski

After tensions were resolved, I was not very surprised. There was a long string of clues that took a long time to arrive to an inevitable conclusion.

Paretsky has an agenda and it is very noticeable: workers' rights at a big box store, gangs & basketball as their only hope, class issues, the giant chasm that exists between the haves and have nots etc...I don't mind as it is timely and apropos.

Warshawski is the righteous problem solver super hero. She fixes the injustices all over the town. From the small things to the big things. Warshawski's character was consistent, deep and tough. I like her, I don't like the clients & suspects she deals with, and I want her to figure everything out and kick some ass. I want to see the good gal beat up the bad guy. It vicariously heals all the injustices I have dealt with in the past.

Of all people, Warshawski reminded me of the John McClane (Bruce Willis) DIE HARD character. She gets wounded in the first scene, she is then hospitalized, and ends up a walking corpse by the end of the book being hospitalized again. She is beaten up and still relentless.

I don't really have a lot to say about the writing. It is competent and it appropriately delivers the story without getting in the way or drawing attention to itself. In that regard, i was not a participant. more of an observer of the cinematic story.

I think this would make a great movie. It seems to be overflowing with attitude from each character. I have yet to see the film that was already made in 1991.

Fire Sale #1

Fire Sale #1

Here are some of my thoughts as I was reading the book:

I am intrigued to find out what happens to the cheating couple (marcina & roach), the kid & josie, and to find out who started the fire even though i have a pretty good idea.

But, this is dragging on. Not much action happened from the fire in the beginning up until the 2nd half of the book. I like the historical chicago bits of info.

The by-smart, non-union, no benefits, cheap labor overseas, working class hero stuff is wearing on me at this point. Not from this book, but in our society. It is ridiculous that the denial of essential, civilized rights (like benefits and the ability to unionize) could be calmly accepted by the workers.

V.I. Warshawski is preachy, pushing, and a professional meddler, yet most other characters put her in her place and call her out on her behavior. She is also extremely self critical which makes her more believable——like she just can't help being the way she is.

I guess it makes me wonder why ALL private detectives aren't simply ignored by the potential suspects in mystery stories? It's not like you are ignoring the police! Unlike a police detective, a P.I. is just some busybody who everybody can shove aside.

Some scenes are great——like the "punta" scene was pretty funny.

Chicago: City on the make—#1

Chicago: City on the make—#1

I was poking around on Chowhound website trying to find a substitute for one of my favorite restaurants that closed years ago, BUSY BEE. Somebody posted that we should all check out a place called:

Podhalanka (pronounced, poe-deh-lanka)
1549 W. Division St.

Unfortunately, this did not pacify my desire for Busy Bee pierogi. My wife had already taken me there about 8 years ago. She swore they had the best Borscht. She was right. I loved this place and I loved the feeling i had being there eating and just hanging out. It is not chic, hip, or expensive. It is a real place — not a stepping stone to a restaurant chain franchise, not a stop in a sequence of higher schemes. This was it. I REALLy enjoy finding places like this.

Podhalanka reminded me and many others of the Busy Bee restaurant—a peirogi joint at milwaukee, damen and north avenue.

Then something happened...Somebody else on Chowhound responded with this:



I saw the connection. When I think back, people actually used to talk about Nelson Algren at a places i used to frequent—-i confirmed this with my wife as she used to hang out at these places a great deal more than me.

One was Busy Bee the other is the Rainbow club (1150 N Damen Ave., between Haddon Ave & Division St). They serve $2 PBR on a friday night—that says a good deal about this dive bar.

I don't recall much more than the regulars saying that Algren was a regular at the Rainbow Club. I don't think busy bee was around when Algren was alive, but the folks there used to talk about him and they said he hung out at the Rainbow club.

Busy bee was an amazing place, too bad it closed down.

It was amazing in the sense that it was owned and operated by somebody who enjoyed serving people large portions of good, inexpensive food. Sophie, the owner, created a community dinning area - a giant rectangular bar/counter with the servers in the center. There were also tables in an other area.

Policemen would double park out front, jump out run in and pick up there order as the exchanged some happy talk with Sophie as hustlers, hoods, locals and travelers, killing time, ate at the bar. I went in there the first time to fill my belly. My very dear friend is Polish and his mother always had really great food available for me. I walked by Busy Bee, I saw people eating pierogi and rushed in.

It was a place rich with characters and it was a microcosm of the eclectic and strange city in which it resided. It was a place you could write about. It was a place where you could go to eat some great cheap food and write. I can picture Algren sitting there chowing away and getting into frank and curt discussions with the other diners.

The Actual—#2

The Actual—#2

I think The Actual a great example of modern writing in that there is really no emphasis on plot and much of what we encounter are fragments that are decontextualized. Some of the players involved have implied roles, yet offer no true forward momentum to constructing a plot.

There is a collection of cinematic scenes, internal thoughts, and observations. The reader must put all of this together. We end up trying to figure out what the story IS while we are reading. And, it is a bit of a twist to see the fragments i THOUGHT might develop where actually red herrings (as you mentioned). In the end it was a simple old flame who really did make our main, mysterious character truly conscious.

The old flame theme idea rears its head in a completely realistic manner. Life goes on with its monotony on one side and its chaos on the other. Many times during a day one connects with their past—externally and internally. Even if you change locale and friends—its always inside you.

The immediacy of life hit me in the face by the end of the book. Marriage, love, and trying to cope with it all while Death hangs over head. Old relationships, ones that could have been but never where.

There are some people who have a profound ineffable affect on me. There is an attraction way beyond the physical. It is the missed opportunities with those unique people which are often viewed with regret. We all have them.

I am thankful that I attained closure with two unrealized loves from my past. I sought one of them out, and the other found me. I walked away much wiser with a strong acceptance of our attraction and incompatibility. Unfortunately, i am also reminded of all the loves that where realized yet ended unresolved and without closure. There is a residue from these things that lingers until you get so old you forget everything you ever did and everybody you ever knew.