Hello friend! Well, it’s been a very long time since the first edition of “Consumed,” the little ongoing series I came up with to let friends know the pop culture stuff I was, y’know, consuming.
This edition is about all the books I’ve read so far this year. As mentioned in previous posts, I travel a lot for work nowadays. While I’m away my evenings aren’t filled with the normal parenting tasks, which is both a luxury and a drawback. Obviously, I’m fortunate my wife and kids can handle things without me on those evenings, but I also miss being a part of pitching in. The advantage of these free evenings is that I’ve had extra time to work on comics projects (more on that soon) as well as hitting the gym before supper with a little more regularity. But that solitude can also mean I have no obligation to put down my phone, stop scrolling with dismay at the shape the world is in and staying up later than I should.
I find reading to be the absolute best activity to wind down before going to sleep. I’ve always loved books, but reading has given me the added advantage of getting me to put down the phone, and prepare my mind for rest. I am always better rested and more productive when I am reading a good book. And this year—so far—they’ve all been pretty great. So here’s all the books I’ve read since Hamnet, in order.
FUTURE BOY by Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry
My love for Back to the Future is something a lot of people know about me. I’ve dressed up as Marty McFly for Halloween multiple times, won trivia contests at screenings, and apart from Crispin Glover, Claudia Wells, and Elisabeth Shue, I’ve met the entire main cast of Back to the Future at various comic-con pilgrimages. I’ve read countless books and heard numerous podcasts about all the behind the scenes stuff and funny stories behind the film, so a part of me did think that there wasn’t much new to learn about the film, even from Marty himself (especially since I’ve read all of Michael J Fox’s previous autobiographies).
But what you might not know is that as much as I love Back to the Future, it was Family Ties that made me become such a huge fan of Michael J. Fox. In fact, even to this day, I’d be hard pressed to answer which I like more, Back to the Future, or Family Ties. So in that way, this book was kinda perfect for me—it was Michael J Fox’s personal telling of the time when he was juggling both Family Ties and filming Back to the Future, getting very little sleep in between. And through that lens, there was indeed stuff I’d never heard before, and lots of amusing anecdotes from Fox’s life in those days.
I imagine it must have been strange to write at times, without it seeming boastful, but just presenting the facts of history would seem braggadocious for someone as successful and talented as Michael J. Fox. Over and over in his life, he’d be underestimated, then walk in and blow everyone away with his talent, his instincts and his charm. But that can be strange to read as a narrative, “the network didn’t want me for this sitcom, but my character became so beloved that they changed the show so the leads were no longer the parents but me. Then I came in to replace another actor in a troubled film production that seemed doomed to fail, but everyone loved it so much it went on to become the highest grossing film of that year, and spawned two more sequels.” But it’s all true, and told as humbly as it can be. So Future Boy gets a big recommendation from me, even if you’ve read Caseen Gaines’ excellent account of the filming, We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy. ★★★★☆
THE UNCOOL by Cameron Crowe
For a long time, Cameron Crowe was head and shoulders my favourite filmmaker. The first four films he directed remain some of my all-time favourites, and while his more recent output wasn’t up to that level, I still find him a fascinating subject. So much of his life as a reporter was fictionalized into Almost Famous, so to read the real story, and see both where it aligned and deviated was very interesting. There was also a lot I recognized in his early years as a teenaged music reporter that I see in my creative friends, and, at the risk of self-aggrandizement, myself. In a previous post, I talked about the little informal (and as I write this, long overdue for another meet-up) supper club I keep with pals Eric Anderson, Mike Fisher and Craig Silliphant. What I admire so much about these guys, beyond just being cool hangs, is their ingenuity and their audacity. Each in our own way, we have noticed a lack in our local culture, and tried to address it in our careers as creatives. And there’s something bold and audacious about that; stepping up and saying “why not me?” As Crowe’s book details, those big swings don’t always result in home runs (as I know well in my own life) but reading his book was such an affirmation to me that I’d always rather be the one trying something that doesn’t work out, than the guy safely scoffing from the sidelines. It’s not a perfect book—by definition autobiographies follow the story of someone’s life, in sequence, which can mean that interest can wane as the life goes on. But for any lover of pop music (the film stuff is largely glossed over), I’d recommend this one. ★★★★☆
THE BURGESS BOYS by Elizabeth Strout
I realized recently that all my favourite current-day novelists are women. Emily St. John Mandel, Sally Rooney, Liane Moriarty, Kate Beaton and Maria Semple all top my automatic-buy list—whenever they release something new, I’m reading it. In fact, now that John le Carré has passed away, Nick Hornby is maybe the only male novelist whose work is on that must-buy level for me. This novel makes a decent case for Elizabeth Strout to be added to that list.
This was the first work of hers I’d read, and given her Pulitzer pedigree, I was a little surprised how simple and accessible this story was. My all-time favourite novel (and yes, I know it’s a cliche) is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (another female author!) and even beyond the small-town lawyer angle, there were similarities between the two stories, and its treatment of contemporary issues. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Burgess Boys places a historical reading on modern-day events, infusing present-day sensitivities and tribalism on a personal family story. But it’s done in such an even-handed deft manner that it doesn’t feel like it’s pronouncing a statement so much as documenting something authentic. Though it reads briskly, it’s far from uncomplicated, as there’s an unsettling thread through the story reminding us of how unknowable people really are. Even the most intimate and familiar relation can shock with what they keep hidden.
★★★⯪☆
HEART THE LOVER by Lily King
I find I’m often drawn to novels about the college years, perhaps because that was such a time of transformation and self-discovery in my own life. And there was plenty I related with in this story: the intersection of faith, first love and hypocrisy. Academic competitiveness, family trauma and love triangles. The clarity that comes with the passage of time also (intentionally or not) comes through in the writing, which seems to get more focused and better observed as the novel progresses. While a few things irk me (the unsung steady partner unable to capture romantic obsession quite like the fleeting youthful flame does) they’re also pretty realistic. Without getting too spoiler-y, I still can’t decide whether this novel is for or against holding grudges. As someone who is well-versed at grudges (and working to let go of some) I found that an intriguing question. ★★★☆☆
THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans
Perhaps the fastest read of the year (I finished it in three days!) for me, this epistolary novel was a fascinating one. In the first place, I love writing letters (and, as this post shows, super long e-mails), so to have a series of communications as the format was welcome. The manner in which the author revealed the protagonist’s flaws was quietly masterful, done in such a way that we could understand the character’s coldness and unforgiveness without necessarily judging it. I find grief still remains an under-explored facet of adult life, so to have a novel weave it so integrally into the story was something I appreciated. Though I found myself unable to put it down as I read it initially, I have also found it has left me almost as quickly, and I don’t really think about it nearly as much as some other books on this list.
★★★☆☆
GO GENTLE by Maria Semple
Perhaps this one was hurt by high expectations as Semple’s previous novels are two of my all-time favourites, but I found myself focusing on the more negative aspects of this novel as I read it. Stoicism as a philosophy works as the backdrop for the novel, but its selfishness and aloofness rankles (to its credit, the book eventually addresses these flaws). I always find analogues distracting, particularly alongside real world references to other, similar things that exist so for the novel to grind to a halt for a long flashback about an SNL-like show that is most definitely not SNL, but exists in a world full of famous people from SNL was unsatisfying. I found the plot a little more madcap and slapstick-y than her previous novels, and unfortunately the precise ending was one I considered early and feared would come true (unlike her two previous novels which were complete and satisfying surprises). But, plenty of acerbic wit, wry observations on parenting, the permanently scarred world after the 2016 election, and a generally likeable protagonist. ★★★⯪☆
THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY by Elizabeth Strout
Another novel delving—tactfully, and never using the name of our modern Voldemort—into the division of our post-2016 world, The Things We Never Say was an accessible and absorbing exploration of age, idealism and disappointment. While some of the themes from other novels repeat themselves to the point of possible author obsession, these issues (betrayal, disillusionment) are described so vividly that the reader can’t help but feel their chill. Though the narrative style would at times undercut the tension of the plot (revealing in a sentence events that would happen in years to come) the uneasiness between fragile hope and resignation is deeply felt. I’ve thought about this one a lot since finishing it. ★★★★☆
And since this is purportedly an art blog, here’s an original drawing I did of the lead singer of the Pinheads, Marty McFly himself, in honour of Michael J. Fox’s book above. Not to get too in-the-weeds about it, but I wanted an image of the post-trilogy Marty, more confident in his performing, unafraid to be “too darn loud”. My concept was that he was leaping and playing guitar, but in this frame it looks like he’s soloing on his knees, which also works. What do you think?
Hopefully more to come from me fairly soon, including some long lost TV appearances, more Consumed posts (I DO still watch TV, you know!) and some info on my next comic.
Until then, thanks for reading, I love you.