Lew Welch

Scanning the used books over at the wonderful Book Passage in Corte Madera, I came across several faded paperbacks by Beat writer Lew Welch. One of the lesser-known Beats, Welch is probably best known as the other hopeless drunk in Jack Kerouac’s majestically depressing Big Sur. Flipping through his work, however, I found Welch to be a gifted poet with a value system more in line with the nascent hippie movement that was emerging in the mid-to-late-’60s.

That Welch disappeared into the show more woods around Nevada City with his 30-30 after writing a goodbye note only adds to the mystery of this important writer I had somehow missed during my fascination with all things Beat. Welch’s brief, lyrical chapbook The Song Mt. Tamalpais Sings, originally published in 1969, and reprinted with three additional poems by Berkeley’s Sand Dollar in 1970, features a stunning wrap-around scratch board illustration of the Marin Headlands with a slightly more provincial San Francisco peeking (peaking?) over the hills.

The title poem, the first in a pair of bookends that feature the mountain, intones the mantra: This is the last Place. There is nowhere else to go, as Welch boils down the western movement of humankind.

Centuries and hordes of us,
from every quarter of the earth,
now piling up,
and each wave going back to get some more.

Welch, you have no idea.

The last poem, Song of the Turkey Buzzard, looks deeper into a riddle posed in a triptych of Zen-like riddles (complete with commentary by the Red Monk, whoever that is):

If you spend as much time on the Mountain as you should, She will always give you a Sentient Being to ride … What do you ride? (There is one right answer for every person, and only that person can really know what it is)

Of course Welch, like anyone would, wishes for a cool totem animal like a mountain lion, but the mountain has other ideas:

Praises, Tamalpais,
Perfect in Wisdom and Beauty,
She of the Wheeling Birds

Throughout the course of the poem, the mountain throws some pretty clear hints at him until in the second canto, he finally acquiesces, and given his final act two scant years later, it begs one to wonder if he hadn’t been planning it all along.

With proper ceremony disembowel what I
no longer need, that it might more quickly
rot and tempt
my new form

NOT THE BRONZE CASKET BUT THE BRAZEN WING
SOARING FOREVER ABOVE THEE O PERFECT
O SWEETEST WATER O GLORIOUS
WHEELING
BIRD show less

I enjoy Scottoline’s writing and have read all of her books featuring attorney Bennie Rosato. This is outside of that series and with it, Scottoline has hit a home run! The development of all the various characters is excellent. There is good insight into the mind of a (non sexual) predator and a twist (well more than one) that has you guessing and makes you not want to put down the book until the end. As a bonus, you even learn a little about our government! Be prepared to read this book show more well into the night…… show less

Anna Rose Johnson's debut takes readers to Michigan in the early 1900s to explore themes of family, belonging, and the quest for security and happiness alongside young Norvia, the main character of the story, who has to navigate a new school, new family after her parents divorce and her mother remarries, and new sources of comfort and discomfort as she tries to take control of her life. That constant quest for security and happiness is partially what keeps readers turning pages, as the show more author raises question after story question that the reader must have answers to.

The characters are another part of what makes this story as engaging as it is. Dicta, for instance, the youngest of the children, had a unique sort of personality as well as a physical disability, spoke her mind on all subjects, and was vain and not at all tenderhearted. There's a sort of innocence about her in spite of her curious and disregarding manner, and the way she carried out her ideas with her youthful confidence and enthusiasm brought a certain light to the story.

Elton was the second-oldest after Herman, the brother who left the family to be employed elsewhere, and his time was spent in the fields doing work that he loved and being the steady remaining older brother to his siblings.

Casper's role wasn't as front and center, but he learned valuable things about choice in education, training, and hard work.

And Norvia is the one of whom Dicta remarks in the second half of the book that she is "never happy." I didn't realize that until she pointed it out, after which it became glaringly obvious. She found solace in books and in trying to make things the way they were in some ways, but she wasn't really happy, and she couldn't truly be happy for others either. Part of that has to do with her journey in the book, as she wanted a better life with the ability to make her own choices. Her goals and outlook change as she does, and it was such an intriguing journey.

Of the school friends, Kitty seemed one-dimensional at times, with her unfailing loyalty to the protagonist and the way she was made out to be a flighty, clumsy scatterbrain of a sidekick. I wish we could have seen more of her value outside of her usefulness to the main character. She seemed like such a sweet and kind person, and Norvia's ideas of what Kitty ought to be would certainly not be kind to her if they were carried out.

Altogether, The Star That Always Stays is a children's book geared perhaps towards older children, with its content of messy family relationships, childbirth, and sorrow/helplessness. There's a certain thread of hope that ties the story together, perhaps most evidently at the end, and it creates an experience that is hard to forget. I've enjoyed my time with these characters, and I look forward to reading more by Anna Rose Johnson.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the publisher for review purposes. A positive review was not required.

Content: joking about ghosts and a crazy wife locked in a room, fear in reference to that conversation, fairies and witches mentioned, a character stares into his teacup "as if reading his future in the [tea] leaves" show less

This novel thoroughly irked me. Sure, it was enjoyable enough (though I can't tell exactly why) but there were so many problems I had with it.

In my personal opinion, Rema does not show the necessary skills to become queen. She is kind and beautiful, but has nothing else going for her. A main character should have the right mix of uniqueness to set them apart from the other characters while also making sure they're not overpowered and made to be wayyy better than everyone else. Rema is placed show more on a pedestal compared to all the other characters with no valuable traits to back it up. She should have earned the people's respect, but it was just handed to her.

The plot fairly dull and can be described as "everything revolves around Rema." Really, this series has been all about protecting Rema but it has given me no reason to want Rema to be protected. The pacing was all over the place randomly skipping weeks/days. There were also parts in the novel that just made me cringe that I had to put the book down.

We did get to see more of the side characters. But, I didn't really enjoy them that much. Savenek had the potential to be an interesting character, which he was, but that was quickly ruined. His personality did a complete flip for the worse because of sudden love for Rema. WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT SUDDEN HAREM?!

The love triangle was not necessary AT ALL. It added nothing but extra drama. All the romance in this book seemed to be handled poorly. Not only was there an unnecessary love triangle, but in the midst of a freaking WAR, characters decide to get all up close and personal with each other. WHAT. I THOUGHT WE WERE PAST THIS.

I have very mixed feelings about the ending of this book. I liked the last 10% but in the last 2% I was just really irritated. show less