Axis Mundi X discussion

I just had this conversation at work.

Friend: Do you think you would have a good book recommendation for me?

Isaiah: (flattered that he would give that impression) Why, yes, I think I just might. What did you have in mind?

Friend: Not science fiction.

Isaiah: (laughs) okay. Let's start more general -- fiction or non-fiction?

Friend: I want a fiction book. But no sci-fi. Or, like, Clancy novels.

Isaiah: (pleased by her implicit rejection of dimestore fare) I think I follow; no genre novelists. Something with more substance.

Friend: Right! But something fast-paced too, I want a good read.

Isaiah: I know just what you mean. Nothing too ponderous.

Friend: Yeah, like that one book, what was it called? They made it into a movie.

Isaiah: (laughs) Well, that doesn't narrow it down considerably. Something by Ian McEwan?

Friend: No, it was, umm... gosh what was it? The Da Vinci Code!! So good!

Isaiah: (head exploding) OUT DAEMON!!! OUT!! MAY A THOUSAND ARCHANGELS SMITE A TERRIBLE VENGEANCE UPON THEE!!


What's a boy to do? I want to make the recommendation, but I clearly must be careful lest her soul waste forevermore in sulfur and ash. I need something which will draw her out of the bowels of Dan Brown and sensationalist kitsch, but is not so brooding and abstruse as to frighten her away from quality.

I'd give her some Umberto Eco. The Name of the Rose, probably.
I would reassure her that it, too, had been made into a movie, with Sean Connery!

Or some Brad Meltzer. The Book of Lies sounds like it would be a good read-alike. And I like the author.

Unexpectedly meeting his long-lost father at the moment of a brutal attack by a would-be killer bearing the ancient mark of the biblical Cain, Cal Harper is unwittingly thrust into a high-stakes pursuit of a fortuitous enigmatic weapon that links him to the Bible's first killing as well as the murder that inspired the creation of the comic-book hero Superman.

The Eight by Katherine Neville has a female protagonist, which might be appealing to your friend.

About to embark on a business trip to Algeria, Catherine Velis meets a mysterious man who offers her an enormous sum of money if she will find the pieces of an old chess service reputed to be in Algeria.

Whoa whoa whoa, I was thinking more along the lines of a book that does not contain:
- codes
- abrahamic religions and/or the desert
- mysteries with clues based on archaeology
- treasure, unless it is the treasure of a woman's delicate flower which is generally okay by me

I think Dan Brown's pretty much got that ground covered.

My first impulse was The Echo Maker: A Novel, but it may be a bit too cerebral? (ha ha ... get it?)

Isaiah, that was a fascinating conversation that you had. I had no idea that you worked.

Well I just put The Eight on my to-read list!

I haven't read it, but House of Leaves seems to be popular with both the popular fiction group and the more, ahem, snooty crowd.

How about The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, then?

Here's the Library Journal review:
This debut novel follows the gritty, outspoken Taylor Greer, who leaves her native Kentucky to head west. She becomes mother to an abandoned baby and, when her jalopy dies in Tucson, is forced to work in a tire garage and to room with a young, battered divorcee who also has a little girl. With sisterly counsel and personal honesty, the two face their painful lot (told in ponderous detail). The blue-collar setting, described vibrantly, often turns violent, with baby beatings, street brawls, and drug busts. Despite the hurt and rage, themes of love and nurturing emerge. A refreshingly upbeat, presentable first effort by an author whose subsequent novels will probably generate more interest than this one. Edward C. Lynskey, Documentation, Atlantic Research Corp., Alexandria, Va. Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information.

Koe! lol

Kingsolver is perfect, Jackie.

I agree with Bunny, Isaiah. Since your coworker gave you The DaVinci Code as an example of the kind of book she likes, the best thing to do is give her the best of that kind of book - a thriller.

I know, Cyril... I don't know which is stranger -- that I work, or that girls talk to me there.

Now you guys are offering me some meat! ("You guys" excluding Koe, ya jerk. Not even I'm an ass enough to read Proust.) I think Kingsolver is probably a good choice.

And, bun, I loved Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West, but I don't think it's in my best interests to be recommended a novel about the scalp-hunting trade on the Texas-Mexican border every time I go looking for a new read.

I loved The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. However, some folks are turned off by the beginning, which is understandable.

Annotation: The spirit of fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon describes her murder, her surprise at her new home in heaven, and her witness to her family's grief, efforts to find the killer, and attempts to come to terms with what has happened.


The three books of The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies have a mystery thread that runs through the stories.
Fifth Business
The Manticore
World of Wonders

UGH to The Lovely Bones!

See, Isaiah! See!

I love Kingsolver... I definitely would recommend Bean Trees, Poisonwood Bible, Animal Dreams.

Or Lonesome Dove is pretty dang gripping throughout.

Kingsolver makes you itchy, Donna? How so?

Hee! Gossip about people you don't know, fun!

Haha but that's what I like, it's like people watching, my favorite thing to do aside from reading, or it's my family but from a very safe distance.

Following Bun's evocative imagery, I think I've dropped Kingsolver. But I am way digging the sound of the Deptford trilogy. That may just end up inspiring a (long-needed) trip to the book store for me. I've also been wanting to pick up First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong (my sort-of hero), and I can always let her borrow the first of the trilogy... after I'm done with it.

Oh good, I LOVED the Deptford trilogy, and went on to read everything by him.