Richard Wiley

What an interesting read. A woman who considers herself to be mentally fit falls in love with a man who is charming and attentive to her, and then learns the man is considered dangerously mentally ill. That sounds very heavy but this is actually a very playful book. It's not disrespectful of mental illness--but it just allows this relationship to happen. The feelings I had while reading the novel ranged from amused to discomfited. Each scene feels nearly-normal in action and tone and scene, show more and yet, as you get deeper into the scene, you realize it really is not normal at all. What people say is slightly off. What they observe is random and not pertinent to the story. What is reported by the writer/narrator/pov character is always a little off, not square but skewed somehow. In terms of the reading experience it reminds me most of Jane Bowles but it is really quite unique. I'm very glad to have read it. show less

I'm approaching my 300th book of the year (It's Sept.) and I bet I haven't given a dozen books five stars. But Bob Stevenson deserves it. Heck, I'd probably give it five stars for Gerard alone, who has to be the cutest, most genuine character I've read in a while. He was a true pleasure to read and I adored the way people accepted him into their lives and loved him too.

But the rest of the characters were of interest as well. Ruby, who finds herself in a baffling and embarrassing situation. show more Archie/Bob who is fighting his own demons. Dr. Utterson and Bette, who provide the necessary sidekicks, along with Dad and the nun. All engaging in their own way. Granted, you never get to know them deeply, but they fulfill their role succinctly.

The writing is marvelous. I laughed repeatedly at the dry humor. The fact that you're never wholly sure where the surreal stops and the actual paranormal might pick up kept me biting my nails. Lastly, I was thrilled to see non-white main characters and people successfully functioning with disabilities. All in all, a real winner for me. show less

Can Bellevue Literary Press do no wrong? With this charming and edgy collection of short pieces they have produced yet another volume in the humane and thoughtful tradition they are known for. I loved the first -centerpiece- story set in Pat's Irish bar on St Patrick's Day in Tacoma. It has all the weird richness needed to flow through the remaining stories -some not quite as engaging as others yet all fulfilling in their quirkiness and poetry. Not every author could pull off a move as wacky show more as having Orson Wells' daughter (with Rita Hayworth)be a bar regular and make it work . Amazing. show less

Two young Americans of Japanese heritage, Jimmy and Teddy, travel to Japan in 1941 to pursue their careers as jazz musicians. They get sucked into war between the US and Japan, never to be the same. I believe the expression is "carried along by events beyond their control". It is a story told from several different perspectives, one of which is the story of the Japanese people, in particular those living in
Tokyo during the war--a point of view that I have to admit I was not familiar with show more prior to reading this.

I have made a habit of reading aware winners on a regular basis; this novel won the PEN/Faulkner in 1987. I find that most of these aware winners are at least decent and occasionally I come across one that is a real winner for me and often it is by an author I have never read. Soldiers in Hiding falls into the latter category. I have read some very good novels in 2018, but this has been the best. I had to read the entire novel just to determine how I truly felt about some of the characters. My opinion in some cases was changing up to the last few pages. Some readers have described this novel as slow. Not for me. Richard Wiley is now someone who I am going to need to try again. show less