I hardly Ever Wash My Hands

BOOK: I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD

AUTHOR: J.J. Keeler

GRADE: B-

Imagine living your life constantly convinced that you have caused lethal harm to those around you. Every bump in the road is a child you’ve just run over. Every little girl with a hula hoop is a doomed victim of your unconscious rage. Imagine not being able to drive down a highway out of fear that your thoughts are literally killing people as they drive by. And now imagine that the only way to rid yourself of these obsessions is to constantly be turning around to check that the people around you are alive and well over and over again before you can actually go about living your own life. Welcome to the side of obsessive compulsive disorder that goes largely un-talked about. Welcome to the J.J. Keeler’s life.

Keeler has written a memoir of her experiences with OCD out of frustration at the lack of literature available to sufferers like herself; individuals who do not display the trademark OCD qualities like compulsive hand washing, overly tidy rooms and germaphobia. Keeler brings to light the other side of this often dehabilitating illness – the harming obsessions version.

Keeler’s life is one of rituals and compulsively checking on strangers she believes she has killed. She suffers from what is labeled as harming obsessions. Seemingly out of nowhere – without provocation – she will become obsessively convinced of things like there’s a bomb in her teddy bear or running over pedestrians with her car. She will be left with no other choice but to retrace her steps and stare at her alleged victims until she can convince herself they are still alive – sometimes Keeler ends up repeating this checking obsession four or five times before she can go to work or leave the house. Her life is literally run by these fears.

Despite the grave nature of the subject matter, Keeler is able to tell her story with a degree of humor, sensibility and tact. She invites the reader into her world with open arms. Her writing style is elementary and the prose leave a bit to the imagination. One may find themselves feeling as though they are reading the cliff notes version instead of a literary work. Regardless, Keeler’s memoir is an interesting and quick read. Surely other sufferers will appreciate her efforts. 

Beyond Fences

BOOK: Beyond Fences: A Memoir 1937-1970

AUTHOR: Helge Staby Deaton

GRADE: A-

Part autobiography, part history lesson, and part homage to a land its people – Beyond Fences is Helge Staby Deaton’s story of the land she grew up on and the people who embraced her despite the surface differences.

Beyond Fences tells the story of one of the least known regions in Africa; the nation of South-West Africa. South-West Africa (or SWA to the locals) flies so far under the radar that a U.S Postal worker swore up and down to her that such a location does not exist. Incensed, Deaton informed this poor young man that she grew up in SWA and that it, in fact, does exist. The problem was solved and the package was sent – but this speaks to the reason Deaton felt compelled to bring this swath of land and its inhabitants (her family) into the light.

She traces the history of the land back in time through the history of her own family, starting with her great-grandfather J.W. Redecker. J.W. emigrated from Germany in 1867 to colonize this land through missionary work. And the family just never left. Through interviewing family members, raiding old documents and talking to those who knew the land way back when, Deaton is able to paint the most amazing picture of this unknown locale that had me itching to get on the plane to see the wonders for myself.

Overall, this was an amazing read. The homage to her land and its people was touching and compelling. Her research into the past history of the nation was impeccable. The writing was lyrical and beautiful and the storyline flowed wonderfully. I was enraptured from the beginning straight through the end. Beyond Fences has my vote 100 percent. 

The Complete Lockpick Pornography

BOOK: The Complete Lockpick Pornography

AUTHOR: Joey Comeau

GRADE: C-

First off; The Complete Lockpick Pornography is actually a collection of two short novellas: Lockpick Pornography and We All Got It Coming. Both stories explore the sexually explicit world of gender queer folks. Both are x-rated with a touch of warmth underneath. And both had the rather unique ability to make this reader rather uncomfortable.

Lockpick Pornography is a coming of age gender queer adventure. The folks in this story are hell bent on promoting – or demanding – respect for the transgender community. A worthy cause for sure; but gone about in a misguided manner. Vandalism, violence and sexual deviance works its way into the story. However, right below those offputting scenarios are a group of kids desperate for love, acceptance and a place in this world that they feel so separated from. If you can look beyond the lewdness of some of the scenes, Lockpick Pornography is a highly relatable tale of just wanting to fit in and find a place in this life. I, however, found it difficult to look past the XXX parts.

We All Got It Coming focuses on the aftermath of a workplace sexual attack on the protagonist. The main character is sexually attacked at work and seeks revenge before realizing he has fallen in love with his boyfriend. We All Got It Coming’s got heart – and the reader feels that. This sense of substance let me work myself into the characters and feel their struggles as my own. This is something which Lockpick Pornography failed to do – and probably the reason why I enjoyed the second story far more than the first.

If your’e interested in gender queer fiction, this might be the collection for you. If not, I can’t recommend it. 

Kasher In The Rye

BOOK: Kasher In The Rye – The True Tale of a White Boy From Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16.

AUTHOR: Moshe Kasher

GRADE: B+

After an almost unbelievable transformation from a 15 year old mentally ill criminal – addicted to booze, drugs and stealing – into a regular panel member on the wildly popular and totally hilarious Chelsea Lately show, Moshe Kasher has penned a memoir that is equal parts heart breaking and inspirational. Kasher In The Rye is Moshe Kasher’s attempt to make sense of – and shed – his demons while explaining how everything went so very wrong in his life. The result is simply jaw dropping.

Moshe Kasher bizarre life began with his mother kidnapping him from his father and their Chassidic community in NY and moving 3,000 miles away to Oakland, California – where he settled in for a life of being different. A four year old little boy in analysis. A Jew in a Christian home. A white kid in a black school. A drug addict in an affluent middle school. Everywhere Moshe went, it seemed he just could not fit in. That is, until he discovered booze. Then drugs. Then stealing. Life would never be the same again.

Kasher’s slide down the rabbit hole was faster than normal – but his trip is one easily recognizable to anyone who’s ever struggled with an addiction. The beauty in Kasher In The Rye is Kasher’s ability to write in a way that the reader actually starts to feel exhausted – as though you are living his life through every page. Kasher really opens the door for people to see what it actually is like to be so desperately addicted to a substance that nothing else matters; how it feels to literally live for the high. Non-addict readers will be shocked. Readers who’ve shared in this struggle will feel a kinship of empathy for Moshe. I, personally, felt his losses and cheered his success along with him. Nothing made me happier than watching him succeed in the end.

While the writing is relatively pedestrian – and the big F-bomb is dropped into every other sentence – the story carries the reader through some of less than stellar prose. I would recommend this to all. Prepare to be amazed! 

Nude Walker

BOOK: Nude Walker

AUTHOR: Bathsheba Monk

GRADE: A-

In what is one of the best books I’ve read this month, Bathsheba Monk has written a lyrically beautiful and heart wrenchingly moving novel that tugs on heart strings while making the reader notice, analyze and reassess core beliefs on race, gender, love and war. As though that wasn’t enough, Nude Walker tells an insanely complicated story in a language that is relatable and understandable to all. Literature like this reminds me on a visceral level why I want to be a writer. And for that, I thank you Ms. Monk.

The heart of Monk’s novel is the relationship between Kat Warren-Bineki and Max Asad – a modern day Romeo and Juliet tale. Kat’s the daughter of old industrialists and Max is the son of prominent Lebanese family. Both served in the National Guard and a love affair sprung up between them; much to the dismay of all. Most especially, Kat’s long time boyfriend Duck Wolinsky.

Kat and Duck have been pegged for each other for as long as either can remember. They’ve seen each other through thick and thin – both coming from unstable home lives. Kat’s mother is seriously mentally ill and prone to naked walks through the neighborhood (hence the title) and Duck’s family is crazy in it’s own way. They very quickly adopted an “us against the world” attitude and a romance seemed the next logical step. But while logging hours in the National Guard, Kat falls for the Lebanese Max Asad.

Nude Walker is a refreshing look at race and class. Monk manages to weave the tensions between Americans and Middle Easterns into every crevice of this novel. It’s done in a way that transcends everything else out there. Truly an amazing novel and worth reading for sure. You will not regret it – tak

Threads: More Stories From A New York Life

BOOK: Sin & Bone

AUTHOR(s): Bette Golden Lamb and J.J. Lamb

GRADE: B-

Nurses are going missing. Each without rhyme or reason – all seemingly without logic. Most stunningly of all, no one seems to notice. That is – until Gina Mazzio starts getting frantic phone calls from the killer himself. These calls are increasingly disturbing: admitting to the fact that “she’s all cut up” and begging Mazzio to stop the murders. Suddenly, Mazzio finds herself as the only person who can help these women. If only someone would believe her…

Mazzio’s first contact with this mystery killer comes on the eve of her wedding – a wedding she’s postponed three twice already. Because of her history, she can’t find anyone to take her seriously when she sounds the alarm. A classic story of the boy who cried wolf. Mazzio’s world starts to crumble around her. Three more women go missing. Coworkers attack her. Her fiancé leaves her. Flashbacks to a past sexual assault start flooding her. She’s not sleeping or eating. And worst of all, the terrifying calls keep coming.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Eddie St. George is struggling to escape his own hell. A pharmaceutical rep at the same hospital Mazzio works at, Eddie is at the mercy of his psychotic father. Desperate to find his mother, who disappeared almost ten years ago, Eddie is forced to do his father’s dirty business. This means Eddie is responsible for drugging and kidnapping women to bring to good old dad. Then he’s forced to watch as dad slices the women into pieces to sell their limbs and organs on the black market. After being abused by his dad his whole life, Eddie is incapable of disobeying. Plus, dad keeps promising to tell him where he can find his mother with the next body he delivers.

Will Eddie St. George find out the truth about what happened to his mom? Will he escape the wrath of his father and stop kidnapping women? Will Mazzio get the help she needs to figure this puzzle out? Will she ever actually tie the knot? And what will happen to the elder St. George?

With these questions in the back of your mind, it’s hard not to compulsively turn the pages. My only critique would be the grammar. There are some typos that mar an otherwise solid piece of work. If you can get past that, Sin and Bone gets my recommendation. 

Sin and Bone

BOOK: Sin & Bone

AUTHOR(s): Bette Golden Lamb and J.J. Lamb

GRADE: B-

Nurses are going missing. Each without rhyme or reason – all seemingly without logic. Most stunningly of all, no one seems to notice. That is – until Gina Mazzio starts getting frantic phone calls from the killer himself. These calls are increasingly disturbing: admitting to the fact that “she’s all cut up” and begging Mazzio to stop the murders. Suddenly, Mazzio finds herself as the only person who can help these women. If only someone would believe her…

Mazzio’s first contact with this mystery killer comes on the eve of her wedding – a wedding she’s postponed three twice already. Because of her history, she can’t find anyone to take her seriously when she sounds the alarm. A classic story of the boy who cried wolf. Mazzio’s world starts to crumble around her. Three more women go missing. Coworkers attack her. Her fiancé leaves her. Flashbacks to a past sexual assault start flooding her. She’s not sleeping or eating. And worst of all, the terrifying calls keep coming.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Eddie St. George is struggling to escape his own hell. A pharmaceutical rep at the same hospital Mazzio works at, Eddie is at the mercy of his psychotic father. Desperate to find his mother, who disappeared almost ten years ago, Eddie is forced to do his father’s dirty business. This means Eddie is responsible for drugging and kidnapping women to bring to good old dad. Then he’s forced to watch as dad slices the women into pieces to sell their limbs and organs on the black market. After being abused by his dad his whole life, Eddie is incapable of disobeying. Plus, dad keeps promising to tell him where he can find his mother with the next body he delivers.

Will Eddie St. George find out the truth about what happened to his mom? Will he escape the wrath of his father and stop kidnapping women? Will Mazzio get the help she needs to figure this puzzle out? Will she ever actually tie the knot? And what will happen to the elder St. George?

With these questions in the back of your mind, it’s hard not to compulsively turn the pages. My only critique would be the grammar. There are some typos that mar an otherwise solid piece of work. If you can get past that, Sin and Bone gets my recommendation. 

Mirror, Mirror

BOOK: Mirror, Mirror: A Collection Of Memoirs and Stories

AUTHOR: Stephanie Hart

GRADE: B

Mirror, Mirror is the coming of age story of Stephanie Hart; but it is also so much more than that. Hart’s tale is one of heart-wrenchingly honest portrayals of her family, wry and witty philosophical musings on life itself and an amazing spirit of redemption and forgiveness. All of this is accomplished in the format of short and poetic prose designed to pull the reader in and entangle them in the same dysfunctional family dynamics Hart found herself in. This she does with amazing aplomb. I dare you to look away before the last page of this tale.

The story is fantastic; but it’s the writing that sets Mirror, Mirror apart from the rest. Hart as mastered the illusive talent of saying tons in very few words. Every word in the text is vital; none are extraneous. This all makes for an engrossing read and an excellent example for writers to follow.

Stephanie Hart is born into a family of escapees from Russia – the first American born in the family. Her parents are hard working with a sharp tongue and very little patience for anything less than perfection. Her mother is this vastly complex character, who is equal parts verbally abusive and tender as the night. Her father is distant and idolized. Her romantic life is static but secure. Nothing – and no one – in this tale is what they appear. And, that is what makes this coming of age story relatable. There is no sugar coated ending. She relates the complexities we all experience in our familial lives with knowledge, empathy and a good dose of objectivity.

Hart is clearly a literary talent and will almost certainly have a long and prolific career ahead of her. Typos and misspellings are the only marrings on this otherwise excellent read. Nothing a good copy editor couldn’t fix up. Overall, Mirror, Mirror gets my vote. 

El Avispero

BOOK: El Avispero: A Novel

AUTHOR: Kenneth Taber

GRADE: B-

I’ll be honest, Kenneth Taber’s novel did not scream “interesting” to me when I read the back cover. It appeared to a little too earthy and technical for me. That being said, I started reading and after a hundred pages or so was drawn in. El Avispero does not immediately grab you with its town hall meeting opening, nor does it become immediately clear as to what exactly is going on – but after it picked up a little speed, I started to catch on and became moderately interested. That is, until about one hundred pages before its conclusion. Taber, in my opinion, would have done himself well to end his novel a bit faster than he does.

The storylines are plentiful (perhaps too plentiful) and the characters have dimension and likeability: two key factors in a book’s enjoyability. The basic plot line revolves around Mateo Aguillano – a third generation El Avispero nurseryman and his family. The Aguillanos were vegetable farmers on their land until county ordinances forced them to cease growing. Now they wish to build a condominium on their family’s land – but are being contested by the same local ordinance groups. The realization that this land – which belongs to his family – is not as free as he once believed sets further and further into his psyche as the pages turn.

A whole slew of characters – most of them female – are thrown in with different agendas and backgrounds. A love story is added to the mix because what great novel lacks a love story. Backstabbing and betrayal surely worm themselves in. All the while, the reader is intrigued but not glued to the page. Or, at least, that was my experience.

The writing is good. The dialogue is aplenty and masterly handled. The general plot line is interesting – especially in today’s eco-conscious world and Taber’s ability to work in immigration policy concerns is admirable. That said, I believe the novel would have worked better were it much shorter and maybe without a character or two.