Exploring Villians

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains by Chuck Klosterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always love reading Chuck Klosterman, and I have read every book of his.  I think he is equally good at writing essay books and novels, and I seem to be one of few who do not prefer one to the other or think he stinks at one of those things.

This is his first "theme" essay book.  Killing Yourself to Live was more of one journey than one theme, but all the essays were about rock stars who died in various ways.  I really liked the one-theme essay book this time, which focuses on Villains and how our society views them.

I enjoyed when he described Machiavelli as a man who understood the nature of power and  wrote it down too clearly, and I liked that he stuck with an idea of villainy ("the one who knows the most and cares the least") and applied it to various facts we will all remember.  He asks whether it is scarier to deal with a villain with a motive or without one.  I enjoyed the intellectual calisthenics.

Klosterman has a way of devouring a topic.  He sprinkles his writing with pearls of wisdom that leave an impact.  For example, "It has always been my belief that people are remembered for the sum of their accomplishments but defined by their singular failure."

I do not always agree with what he writes (there were some conclusions in the Joe Paterno section I did not agree with), but I always respect his logical flow.

Of Human Bondage-Review

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5/5. One of those things I like to do when I finish a book that I enjoyed, is to find out more about the book, author, and so on. Wikipedia is a boon for this. And has I searched the Wiki, something funny popped off the page. In a couple of different movies/tv shows, a character recommended the book to another, only to have the advice shunned because they, upon hearing the title, believed the book to be pornographic. Which makes me smile for a couple of reasons. I had a similar occurrence when my sibling, seeing the book on my table, immediately said "Yeah, alright Dave, getting duurrrty."

Monte Cristo IV - Soul Searching

I have finally finished The Count of Monte Cristo.  It sinks in slowly like metal-tank-tread resting on a wood block.  It eases its way into the very core of a reader and lingers with its simple reminder to "wait and hope."

It also leaves almost no witnesses.

The part that lingers for me tonight is the notion of removed action, but there are so many fascinating elements that I don't know where to start.  Nothing done by the Count of Monte Cristo himself would ever lead to conviction, much as with his rivals.  And, yet, he remains guilty and  purposeful in his deeds.  He may not pull triggers or open veins, but he orchestrates the opportunistic actions as purposefully as if he had done it all personally.

When I watched the 2002 movie of the same title, I left the theater impressed by the coldness and intensity of the vengeance portrayed.  My memory recorded an intense experience.  I watched that movie again tonight and came away with a different feeling: The movie is tame.