Best of the Month - December 2011

Even though I recently released my Best Books of 2011, it is necessary to make a smallish amendment to that list. Why? Because in the last couple of weeks I read two of the best books of the year - and both were written in 2011. Eat your heart out Amazon.com!

The Whore of Akron by Scott Raab - I desperately did not want to love this book. I like LeBron James and want to see him win the NBA Championship. Raab shattered any illusions I had, but then he did something else: he shattered any illusions I had about his book as well. The main reason this book is so great? Raab is an amazing writer. This entire text plays out like a primal, existential scream about the slow death of Cleveland (personified through the villainous LeBron) and Raab's own tortured history. The man lives for Cleveland sports but it is passages like the following that will keep me rereading this book for years to come:
"Was it easy LeBron? Did it go down smooth and sweet as peach cobbler? I almost feel bad for you, son. You're not a grown man. You're a kid and you're afraid. What are you so afraid of LeBron, the losing or the winning? Do you finally understand that it's not easy? That it's not meant to be easy. Hard is the only thing that makes it worth anything, the only thing that makes losing or winning worth the pain of trying, the only thing that makes living and dying worth the suffering". I dare you to attempt to find a better written passage that came out this year. When all is said and done with the Miami Heat and dozens of books have been written I have no doubt that this will withstand the test of time as the best.

Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr (Only released in the UK!) - How did I manage to get my hands on the best mystery of the year when I do not live in the UK? An amazing girlfriend who figured out how to get it shipped over. The last Bernie Gunther outing (Field Gray) had its moments, but was mostly disappointing. I wondered, briefly if Kerr was finally going to run out of steam and end the series. Instead, Kerr reinvents his formula again and absolutely crushes a hell of a book. After the opening scenes set in Berling in 1942, Kerr rips into a 2 chapter, 200 page mini-book within a book that features one of the twistiest whodunits since Agatha Christie. The book is a slow burning, gut wrenching roller coaster that is impossible to put down. Trust me. I tried and failed. All I will say about the plot is that is set during Heydrich's reign in Czechslovakia and near the time of his assassination. This is also the first Kerr book to be set exclusively during WW2. Just when I had written him off, Kerr pulls out a taut, staggering novel that easily ranks among the best of the year (and the best he has written). How would I rank his books now (using only the titles):
1) The One from the Other (#4) - After a 17 year break, Kerr reached back and brought a tormented Bernie Gunther out of the war and straight into the most complex plot this side of James Ellroy. The end is so twisty and the rug pulled out so expertly that there is no way to prepare for the astounding finish.
2) A Quiet Flame (#5) - Set in Argentina, this novel featured Bernie's shot at redemption and a new life...which he promptly destroyed.
3) A Pale Criminal (#2) - This book, set during Kristalnacht is still the only book that I woke up early in the morning to read before work. The ending also made me feel sick to my stomach...it is that visceral.
4) Prague Fatale (#8) - See above.
5)If the Dead Rise Not (#6) - Kerr's Bernie Gunther schtick was beginning to get a little thin around this point, but the theme of good and evil (not to mention just how bad Bernie had to be to survive the Nazi years) push this to another level. Originally planned as the final book, I am sure glad Kerr kept writing.
6) A German Requiem (#3) - Originally intended to be the conclusion of the series, this book deals with the direct aftermath of the war and Nazi war criminals. Bernie has to flee to Vienna where he gets caught up in Soviet / American spy games. This book touches on the Cold War more than WW2, and is very informative. The final twist is jaw dropping.
7) March Violets (#1) - The series opener was a great book, but Bernie took some time to develop as a character. A complex, literary thriller, this book is a dark meditation on the excesses of power.
8) Field Grey (#7) - This book is good, but not quite up to the usual Kerr standards. The main reason is all the jumping around: no other book in the series moves around quite as much.
I believe it may be time that Kerr enter the Mystery Writers Mount Rushmore and the Pantheon, 8 great books - more than Pelecanos, more than Lehane, inching up on Lee Burke.

Writer of the Year 2000 - 2010

Each year I read a lot of books. Narrowing down a "best book of the year" is hard enough but what about a Writer of the Year? I decided to try to pick mine from 2000 - 2010. I had a couple of rules: I had to pick one - no ties; there would be one alternate in case whomever I picked was unable to fulfill their duties. There were a few other criteria (people could win for the number of their books I read and enjoyed that year, or simply because they wrote one or two of the best books I read that year, or their books could have impacted me profoundly). Without further ado, my Writers of the Year, through the years.

2000 / 2001: Clive Cussler

Why: Clive Cussler dominated my early adulthood reading through his combination of staggering action and historically-driven plots. Stating that he writes page turners is like saying Russians know a little bit about ballet. During this period I devoured his Dirk Pitt prime from Raise the Titanic - Atlantis Found. Truly no other author I have yet found has ever had such a great succession of novels. As a tribute to Cussler and his impact on my reading habits there are no alternates.

2002: Robert Ludlum

Why: Pick up his Bourne Trilogy and you will understand how great a writer Ludlum was. This is before the franchise was picked apart by second rate-writer carry-oners. It is emminently readable, profoundly complex and dark. Really, the only thing the movies have in common with the books is the idea of an amnesiac main character who was used as a spy / assassin. The main thrust of the trilogy is Bourne's battles with (the infamous and real) Carlos the Jackal. Yep...they forgot that little point when they made the movies. The books however, are all the better for it. Another great Ludlum book for those interested - The Materese Circle a taut spy and conspiracy thriller you will be unable to put down.

2003: Sanika Shakur aka Monster Kody Scott

Why: Shakur's Monster was one of the first inside looks at LA's Crips and a searing portrait of inner city gangs and why young men are inevitably drawn towards them. Shakur does not shy away from his increasing prison time, nor his conversion to African-American activist. He grew up when the Crips became one of the most powerful forces in Los Angeles and his ascent...or is it descent? into his role as Crip leader and feared presence on the streets is fantastic. Gripping, horrifying and life changing, this was Autobiography of Malcolm X for the Crip generation.

2004: Jon Krakauer

Why: Jon Krakauer is a non-fiction writing god and this is when I first discovered his best works: Under the Banner of Heaven, Into Thin Air, Into the Wild. He releases a book once every 4 years and they are always worthwhile reads. Krakauer deeply researches his topics and then goes out and writes the hell out of them. He dares you to put down his books, and secretly knows you will be unable to do so. Additionally, he is really willing to get into his topic - he freaking climbed Mount Everest during one of the worst seasons in history! A true legend.

2005: Robert Kurson

Why: One reason only: Shadow Divers. Quite simply one of the finest books I have ever read. I passed this one on to everyone I know - they all loved it. My grandmother, who has read roughly 10,000 books in her lifetime called it the best book she has read. It is a non-fiction masterpiece and Kurson is one of the best writers ever, if you have not read it you are in for a serious treat.

Alternate: Nathanial Philbrick for his masterful works In the Heart of the Ocean and Sea of Glory.

2006: Dennis Lehane

Why: His Patrick Kenzie / Angie Gennero books are awesome, Mystic River is one of the richest novels of the 2000's and Shutter Island blew my mind. Do you need any more reasons? Okay, try this one: Darkness Take My Hand is the best serial killer book I have read and an incredible meditation on violence in our society and its propensity to swallow us all.

2007: Philip Kerr

Why: Kerr wrote the unbelievable Berlin Noir trilogy which follows a private detective, Bernie Gunther, in Germany during the Nazi era. They are among the most hard-boiled books I have read and the characters pop right off the page. As I finished the three books (which come to a twisty albeit sound conclusion) I discovered that after a 17 year hiatus Kerr had returned to write a new Bernie Gunther book that was easily his best work yet! Not many writers get better over time, but Kerr seems to.

Alternate: Herman Wouk for his magisterial books on World War Two The Winds of War / War and Rememberance which are the best fictional books about the war. Period.

2008: George Pelecanos

Why: Like Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos owns the mantle of best crime writer of a certain city. While Lehane has claimed Boston as his territory, Pelecanos rules DC. His Nick Stefanos trilogy, followed by his DC Quartet and Derek Strange Quartet and his stand alone The Night Gardener (easily his Mystic River) cemented his place in 08. His works show the degeneration of DC after the war and the slow influx of gang crime which led to its ranking among the world's most dangerous cities. A fascinating and complex look through time which easily holds a place among the best crime fiction of all time.

Alternate: Michael Crichton - this was the year I discovered his earlier works which are all unique and all exceptional. One of my favourites: Rising Sun a page turner which makes you think and informs you down to the last page.

2009: Stephen King

Why: A shockingly tough year to pick a champ, despite the fact I read a staggering 14 books by King. He ultimately had the most impact, even though he did not write the best overall book I read that year. From his masterworks It and The Stand through his earlier novels such as Salem's Lot, King kept me more entertained than any other author. Fittingly, the last book I read in 2009 was King's latest opus epic Under the Dome.

Alternate: James Ellroy's American Tabloid was without a doubt the best book I read in 2009. In fact, it may be my favourite fictional book ever. His follow up The Cold Six Thousand was very nearly the equivelent. Awesome fictional accounts of the Kennedy conspiracies (and beyond!) these books are must reads for anyone interested in the noirish side of American history written by someone with a vendetta against any unecessary words. Powerful stuff.

2010: Bill Simmons

Why: So far, this year there are two possibilities for my writer of the year. However, when the full impact of reading (not only books but also weekly columns) is factored in there is no other choice but Simmons. His epic The Book of Basketball not only reignited a love of sports books for me, but also made me a huge basketball fan. Before I could take it or leave it, now, I cannot get enough. Thanks Bill for being so hilarious and such a pop culture master that your book literally had me laughing so hard I could not continue for long stretches due to serious stomach pains.

Alternate: David Peace whose Red Riding Quartet was the most literary work I read this year. Each of the four books ties so beautifully together that only when Peace's full vision is recognized does the reader understand the full, brutal impact of the journey. Haunting, harrowing and among the best crime fiction has ever offered.

Grandmaster Award - James Lee Burke
Burke really could have dominated in any given year due to the sheer volume of his works and the overall quality of each one. In 2007 I read three of his books; 2008 saw five go down; during 2009 I crushed four more; currently in 2010 I have made my way through three more. His works are incredible tributes to the Lousiana with all its seedy, mob-driven darkness and quiet almost mythical beauty. His books are not read but fully experienced. Pick up any one of the 15ish Dave Robicheaux novels and you will see what I am talking about.

Best Characters Part I

Great books are usually a solid combination of plot and character. Thus, I feel it is important for me to lay out some of the greatest characters in fiction.

1) Bubba - Dennis Lehane
Why: Lehane has created some solid secondary characters but he topped himself with Bubba who defies any conventional labels. He is (among other things) a psychopathic gun dealer who kills without conscience and whose apartment is rigged with landmines. Whew. A charmer you would love to bring home to mom...and he is one of the good guys?! Bubba only loves two people, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, and helps them in Lehane's early books. Bubba may not be a star but he certainly leaves and impression and give Lehane credit for not overutilizing the character. He leaves you wanting more Bubba, not sick of him.

2) Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino - Clive Cussler
Why: Why not just one of them? Try picking Redford or Newman - not possible. They are a tag team hell-bent on doing what they believe is right. Naturally they end up saving the world multiple times and killing more bad guys than most small-market dictators. However, they are the epitome of the self-deprecating heroes who never sought the spotlight but made a real difference. They had the best peak (1976 - 1999) of any characters and within that peak the ten year run of Cyclops (1986) - Shock Wave (1996) remains one of the best stretches of thriller fiction in history. Quick with the one liner and endlessly sacrificial, these two had the adventures of a lifetime, thankfully dragging readers alongside.

3) Pete Bondurant - James Ellroy
Why: A pimp, shakedown artist, thug and murderer who ultimately proves he has a heart, Bondurant is one of a kind. He works for Howard Hughes, the CIA, Jimmy Hoffa and the mob and does so with a reckless abandon all his one. Big Pete, haunted by the fact that he murdered his own brother - and did not care!?, is one of the most compelling and morally ambiguous protagonists in modern fiction.

4) Lisbeth Salander - Stieg Larsson
Why: Lisbeth, the heroine of Larsson's Millenium Trilogy is a marvel of character. She is damaged, flawed, peerlessly brave and incredibly intelligent. In an era of strong women in fiction, she may be the strongest. From getting revenge on her rapist to brutally beating a serial killer and going right at evil head on, Salander does not shy away from anything. Thankfully, of course, for the reader.

5) Bernie Gunther - Philip Kerr
Why: Sarcastic, brutal and a complete thug almost as bad as the Nazi's he despises, Bernie is one of a kind. Truly a symbol of justice in the Nazi era (and beyond) he proved just how terrible a person had to be to survive - and thrive - in that time. The hero of six novels, Bernie is about to make his seventh (and final?) appearence in the fall. Here's hoping he is good as ever.

The Ballad of Bernie Gunther

How is it that Philip Kerr continues to ascend my list of top authors as easily as he does?
He is six books into his watershed Bernie Gunther series with a 7th due in October 2010. The first three books in the series (March Violets, A Pale Criminal, A German Requiem) were written in the late 80's and early 90's and were later collected into a one volume edition titled Berlin Noir. These books were tough, tough noir so hard it made your stomach ache like you had been chewing on broken glass. Kerr's books were so taut and twisty they released slowly like a coiled cobra.
One of the reasons the books were so effective was Kerr's lean and powerful prose which was aided immensely by the historical depth of the Nazi era. Of course it helped that his character, Bernie Gunther is a former German police detective with the morality of a pirate. Gunther gets to witness the Nazi depravity before, during and after the war.
Seventeen years after the trilogy finished, with a solid closure, Kerr resurrected Gunther with a novel (The One From the Other) so unbelievable and perfect that it easily kept pace with the other novels and in some ways expanded and surpassed them. This was Kerr writing retrospectively about the Holocaust and showing a new side of the history of his character during the war (during which he has not set a book).
A year later he put out A Quiet Flame which detailed a piece of history Argentina hopes will be relegated to few memories. The novel was set amid postwar decadence in the South American country and it is a slam bang thriller so well written it made my list of 2009's Best Books.
The sixth book If the Dead Rise Not fills in many of the gaps in Bernie's life and adds a worthy new chapter. Kerr's willingness to experiment with new narrative structures (such as two different time periods) has kept the series from growing stagnant or stale.
This sixth book, more than any other, further characterizes Gunther as a moral quandry. He is a reluctant hero, a man trapped by the flow of a dark piece of history and condemned to a brutal existence. He dishes it out - but has to take a fair amount too. And, he is forced to commit horrific acts that are morally reprehensible but understandable given his contemporaries. Gunther is a hero for his time, when a hero was a dark knight who had to be just as brutal as the Nazi's in order to battle them. More than any other character in noir, Gunther is a man haunted and hunted by his past. He is trapped by the sins of an entire nation but shows time and again how much of a surviver he is, as well as a stunning ability to overcome trouble.
One of the more brilliant twists Kerr devised was forcing his character to leave Germany and move to South America with the people he despised most. For the character it was shattering moment, and continues his Dante-like journey through the stages of hell. Kerr leaves the morality of his character's choices up to the reader and that is why the series is so successful.
It is my theory Kerr has written the seven definitive books on the Nazi era. He has gone far and beyond most histories and gives the reader a true feeling of what Nazi Germany (and Argentina....) were like.

The Princes of Crime

I have written things such as "Lehane is my Boston guy" or "Burke is my New Orleans guy" without really explaining the context, so, without further ado - my princes of crime writing.

Dennis Lehane (Boston) - As I have explained multiple times (he made my Mount Rushmore of Fiction Writers) Lehane is an absolute master of the literate thriller. His books are profound, thought-provoking and meaningful. Boston is a fabulous city to write noir about, with a rich crime tradition as one of America's most important city. Lehane owns this town.

George Pelecanos (DC) - Pelecanos owns DC like Lehane owns Boston - with a shotgun pressed right into the face of his reader. His books are character driven, urban noir, semi-western and all awesome. He has written the definitive DC Quartet about the disintegration of the city into one of the crime capitals and continues to write novels that defy the usual conventions.

David Peace (Yorkshire) - Peace is in the unique position of potentially owning two cities as he has also written books about Tokyo after the war. His works about the real life Yorkshire Ripper are so startling and powerfully drawn that one wishes to look away but cannot. A warning, however, The Red Riding Quartet must be read completely before reflecting upon as his themes cross years and books.

Philip Kerr (Berlin / South America) - Kerr actually owns two places, mostly because his character travels quite a bit. However, I would ultimately call him the best novelist about the Nazi era, as his noir detective (Bernie Gunther) transverses their deeds and misdeeds before and beyond World War II.

Ken Bruen (Ireland) - Bruen's "detective" (in the loosest possible terms) "solves" (in the loosest possible terms) crimes in Galway, Ireland. He is a boorish, brutal drunk who has messed up his entire life. The books detail this and more in a prose that feels like poetry.

James Lee Burke (New Orleans) - Burke has been working for many, many years to write about New Orleans and in some cases, Montana and to find the seedy undercurrent that crisscrosses the hazy Southern states. His works are infused with the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of Louisana. You do not read a Burke book - rather, you feel every single page. Haunting, poignant and beautiful.

The Anticipated of 2010

Here now are some of the books I am eagerly awaiting in 2010...

1) Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

Why: Supposedly thirty years in the making, this could end up being the novel about Vietnam. A very important story for the next generation, in order to help them make some sense of the conflicts in which we are currently entangled.

2) If the Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr

Why: A new Kerr book about Bernie Gunther is like a visit from Santa Claus - you know you are going to get a deep story that will spin you around like a top before you finish. After you turn the final page it will haunt you far beyond.

3) Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

Why: This one was a bit of a surprise - I read a review of it that singular work that has a chance to become the novel of the next ten years. A state of the world kind of book that intermarries everything from the coming of age story of one boy with string theory and the economic recession.

4) The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick

Why: It has been many years since Philbrick's fantastic last book (Mayflower) and he will continue to entertain and enlighten readers to previously misunderstood moments in American history. This time he tackles Custler v. Sitting Bull, sure to be a grand history none of us will forget again.

5) War by Sebastian Junger

Why: Junger has written some great true accounts and now he takes on one of the best topics around - the troops in Afghanistan. This book has the potential to rival Generation Kill.

6) Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane

Why: Lehane returns for one final visit with his intrepid (and twisted) Boston PI duo of Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. This book is sixth in the series and works as a direct sequel to Gone Baby Gone and should re-establish Lehane as the master of modern noir. Welcome back Dennis, we have missed you.

7) The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke

Why: Returning to his stand-by character Dave Robicheaux for the first time since his haunting Swan Peak, Burke is sure to have written on of the best books of the year. This time, he puts Robicheaux back in New Orleans to solve a series of grisly murders, this one will be memorable, atmospheric and powerful - what more could a reader ask for?

Book #4

Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr actually comprises the first 3 books of his Berlin Noir trilogy (since expanded to 6 books!) These first three books grab you by the throat and refuse to let go for the entire time you are reading them. In order they are: March Violets (a tale in which intrepid detective Bernie Gunther searches for a missing girl amidst the background of the 1936 Olympics), The Pale Criminal (in which infamous Nazi Reinhard Heydrich brings Bernie back to the police to investigate a murder in 1938) and finally, A German Requiem (which takes place after the war in 1947 with Bernie still struggling to escape the Nazi grip through a shattered Germany and Austria).

These books trace the Nazi arch throughout Europe and, in the next three books of the series South America. What makes these thrillers so fantastic is they are written so beautifully and hauntingly that being drawn in is unavoidable. Philip Kerr mixes humor, with the horrors of the Nazi regime which moves like an inescapable top spinning towards the edge of the table. One of the best things about the books is the way Kerr slowly builds you up and then completely pulls the rug out from under you. His twists are pitch perfect and staggering. Nothing seems out of place, even when Bernie is crossing paths with among others: Herman Goring, Heinrich Mueller, Himmler and Heydrich. He drifts dreamlike amongst the worst of the worst and still comes out seeming to be better than them, even as he frequently drops to their level. Bernie Gunther is a hard nosed detective quick with a quip and his gun. These novels are hard boiled and envoke a range of feelings in the reader. When I finished the second one, centered around the infamous Kristalnacht, I felt almost sick. The third was nearly a spy novel, with Bernie battering between the Americans and Soviets in postwar Europe. The fourth and fifth novels (watch for them in future posts!) were also taut, staggering achievements.

These books combine mystery and history in the best possible way. If you are at all interested in Nazi Germany and like mysteries, READ THIS BOOK! There is also a sixth Bernie Gunther mystery coming out in September, it's already at the top of my "To Buy" list.