Staff Book Review: "The Hunger" by Alma Katsu and "The Best Land Under Heaven" by Michael Wallis

This past winter I read two books about a topic in American history that still has the power to elicit a strong emotional response. The Hunger by Alma Katsu and The Best Land Under Heaven by Michael Wallis both describe the ill-fated Donner Party. The story lingers in our imagination and can instantly set an eerie mood as represented in our popular culture at the beginning of The Shining when Jack Nicholson’s character explains the story to his wife and little boy as they’re driving through the mountains. The short version is that a party of covered wagons gets stuck in snow in the Sierra Mountains and resort to cannibalism to survive.

The taboo and grisly nature of the story make these events ripe for horror stories. The Hunger by Katsu is one of these horror-interpretations, but a mighty good one! The Best Land Under Heaven is a narrative nonfiction. It was interesting to read the nonfiction before the fictionalized account because it gave me some sort of historical basis and litmus test to weigh the Katsu book against. Both of the stories were excellent reads as I really felt like I was in the head of these early pioneers. 

Katsu’s tale jumps right into the trip, later revealing backstory (or inventing it) only to develop characters. She chose to focus on only a handful to keep the storyline tight. We get romantic tensions, jealousy, machismo, and back-stabbing among the party. As I felt she took liberties with a lot of the characters, it was also clear that she did her homework, as many of the journals from the party have survived. As the party moves west and they encounter natural disasters, they begin to feel like some other kind of force is following them. As party members are attacked, and these attacks can be quite gruesome, we learn of some possession taking over these individuals. Fans of horror who like atmosphere will really enjoy the eerie setting and the suspense of the party being plucked one by one. Knowing even a little bit of details from the real story adds to the suspense as you wait to see how Katsu will arrive and resolve the final harrowing chapters. Although this tale is horrific, and she does take liberties with the characters—possibly making some nastier then they actually were—her attention to historical detail gives her story credence. The romantic tension between characters also adds another element of emotional depth.

As much as I enjoyed The Hunger, I feel the Wallis book was exceptional and one of the best books I read in 2017. This factual account of the disaster is far more terrifying than having a supernatural explanation. He ties the story with the theme of Manifest Destiny, the reason why even people of means left everything behind to seek more. We meet many historical figures along the way—including a young Abe Lincoln when he was a lawyer in Illinois. This book definitely moves at a slower pace— I mean they only averaged about 10 to 20 miles a day in covered wagons— but you get to follow the Oregon Trail and experience the awe and difficulties of traversing this country in the mid-19^th century. The historical detail and the story of each character humanizes the tale and, in my opinion, makes it more satisfying than any of the sensationalism often reported around the event.

Neither of these books are comforting reads. Obviously one isn’t after that when they pick up a book on the Donner Party. They do have the power to transport one to another time in our recent history and put in perspective some of the motivations of settlers seeking better lives, for better or worse, and what they risked to pursue their dreams. These books, especially the Wallis text, paint a picture of the hardships they faced on a daily basis before even reaching the Sierras. While I’ll take the nonfiction over the zombie story, I can recommend reading either book. Though the setting can arouse a bit of romanticism in many, including myself, it’s difficult to take our modern comforts for granted when reading these books.

~Ben, Adult Services

Staff Review: Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

Spoonbenders, by Daryl Gregory made me laugh more than any other book I've read lately. Gregory’s story about the Amazing Telemachus family has clever dialog and plot, interesting characters, a tight-knit riotous family, and suspense. All these varying elements come together in a cohesive and enjoyable read.

In the '60s, the Telemachus family were on the verge of stardom with their psychic act. Telekinesis, telepathy, time traveling, lie-detecting, astral-projection – each person had their own specialty. Their glimmer of fame was abruptly doused after being discredited on national television by their soon-to-be nemesis Archibald. Fast forward to the '90s – the family are leading an average existence of working small jobs and supporting the next generation. Two of the three psychic children from the '60s now have children of their own. Hormonally charged 14-year-old Matty is beginning to find out who his family was as he stumbles upon his own power. His single mother Irene is working at ALDI to support the family and flirting with the idea of love in the age of dial-up Internet and chat rooms. Buddy has withdrawn into himself and behaves erratically. Frankie is scheming to get money he owes the mob. Maureen is communicating beyond the grave with letters she left the family to open at specific intervals. Teddy is associating with a CIA agent from his past. 

The novel goes back and forth between the decades of the '60s and the '90s. In the '60s, the family’s origins are explained as Teddy the patriarch meets his wife-to-be, Maureen, at a CIA-sponsored psychic-screening test. The seeds for later developments get planted as well. In the '90s, we get the drama and humor that goes along with the next generation (Teddy and Maureen’s three kids) trying to make sense of their present and reconcile their past. 

All the characters are fully realized and likable. I found myself especially drawn to Frankie. Although he puts the family in danger, he’s a lovable misfit with an optimistic outlook. His short fuse and funny lines are frequently the cause of comic relief. 

Gregory’s novel has a lot going for it. There’s a bit of nostalgia for millennials, and to a lesser extent, a bit for baby-boomers. There’s enough suspense to make it a page-turner with humor to keep you grinning throughout. The writing is intelligent and the characters quirky. Those who might be leery of the science fiction themes can rest assured that the psychic element is more of a backdrop in this family drama. The powers often prove more of a burden than a gift. Spoonbenders offers a bit of escapism as well as an affirmation of the bonds of family, no matter how disorderly.  

~Ben, Adult Services

Staff Review: The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

As the temperature drops, what better way to spend your leisure time than with a gripping true-crime story? The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn is a true-crime story for those who need more than a sensationalized re-telling of the crime itself. The Jonestown massacre looms in our country’s collective consciousness as one of the great disasters of the 20th century. The horrendous nature of the event leads us to look at the characters involved with equal parts fascination and contempt. This book brings the reader into the environment in which the massacre's instigator, Jim Jones, grew up, the people around him who believed in him and his cause, and his rise to power and gradual corruption. Guinn, a former journalist, uses his investigative skills to tell this nuanced story with gripping prose.

In the first part of the book, there are surprisingly few red flags foretelling of looming disaster. Jones had a tendency toward unusual behavior, but didn’t appear to be a complete sociopath early on. We do see a child who takes an unusual interest in religion (neither of his parents were religious) and who has the desire and ability to control people. Jones discovers he has a talent for preaching and manipulating people and he creates congregations to effect social change. 

Peoples Temple, which Jones established in his twenties, had the positive mission of helping the disenfranchised. In the eyes of his wife, Marceline, who stayed by his side until the very end, Jones’s mission was akin to Christ’s and even though she didn’t approve of his means, she witnessed the positive change he was making in the world. In the first half of the book, the Peoples Temple appears to be a force for good. According to Guinn, the Temple played a large part in integrating blacks and whites in the Jim Crow Indianapolis of the 50s. They opened nursing homes and created social outreach programs to help troubled youth. As Jones brings in the disenfranchised by helping them, he gradually unveils his primary objective: the creation of a socialist utopia where everyone gives up their personal property and takes care of each other. It appears that Jones believed in his mission and that he was fighting for equality. He wanted everyone to live as he said God intended—to resist the material temptations of our capitalist society, which glorify the individual, and to take care of each other.

As the story goes on and gets darker, Guinn remains objective and never claims to know Jones’s intentions. Whether or not his heart was in the right place early on, it becomes difficult to believe Jones is fighting for a better world as his cruel and deceitful behavior starts to add up. Physical punishment and humiliation, sexually abusing members, keeping members’ income, selling and taking the property of members, stashing away his fortune in foreign accounts, indulging himself in comforts he denies other members, threatening blackmail for those who try to leave—these are just a few of the acts we find Jones guilty of. Guinn remains objective in his exposition so that the reader can almost understand why Jones's paranoia, grasp of reality, and ego get out of control. A large percentage of his members remain committed to his socialist utopia and want to be examples to the world. They demonstrate, well before the disaster, that they are willing to die for the cause. Their unwavering devotion, mixed with Jones's belief that he is destined to make history, create a toxic cocktail.

Jones started the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis, set up another location in San Francisco, and, spurred by his paranoia of nuclear war, ultimately set up a colony in Guyana. When the media finally caught on to Jim Jones’s misdeeds, he hid in the Guyana camp, Jonestown. The final harrowing chapters in Guyana where a senator and members of the media are murdered and nearly 1,000 people commit mass suicide (whether willingly or not) are equally heartbreaking and allegorical. The Road to Jonestown is a demonstrative story, not as much about fanaticism as about power. Guinn points out that Jones was a demagogue “who ultimately betrayed his followers whether he always intended to or not.” Guinn doesn’t glorify or sensationalize any of the dirty details; instead he treats Jones and the Temple members fairly, revealing Jones as a person gradually corrupted and divorced from reality. With Jones as their infallible leader, most members followed his alternate reality. Guinn handles all these themes and asks the big questions with an eye for the telling detail, bringing both the characters and their setting to life.

~Ben, Adult Services