A brief roundup of my reading in August. Less time for reading this month while I devoted more time to running and writing.
1. Tortilla Flat
— John Steinbeck
A beautifully told fable. Steinbeck’s prose is effortlessly brilliant: “The afternoon came down as imperceptibly as age comes to a happy man.” Add to that Steinbeck’s expansive character studies, including the memorable Pirate and his dogs, poetic descriptions of the Californian countryside, and this is such a pleasure — and a privilege — to read. My book of the month.
2. Brief Encounters With Che Guevara
— Ben Fountain
My first by this author. A superb collection of short stories. Reading experience spoiled a little by literally hundreds of typographic errors. Looks like someone made some last-minute global search-and-replace blunders in InDesign shortly before going to print. Inexcusable that so many went to print! Anyway, great writing. Reminiscent of Graham Greene in style. Will seek out more by this author.
3. Children of God
— Mary Doria Russell
Russell’s The Sparrow, for which Children of God is the sequel, was one of my favorite books of 2024. I loved the premise, the humor, and was torn to pieces by the ending. This sequel started off well, but developed too slowly and dwelt too much on the surprise ending to the first novel.
4. The Moon is Down
— John Steinbeck
Working my way through the Steinbeck canon. A timely short story about resistance.
