I don't think *The Fireman* returns us to either *Station Eleven* or *Seveneves* territory. Both books take us post-apocalyptic. It sounds as though Hill concentrates on apocalypse itself. Really Hill has such a different voice than Mandel or Stephenson. To quote Hill:
[quote]
*The Fireman* is actually a pretty sunny, optimistic book for a book about the end of the world.
[/quote]
NoveList lists *The Fireman* as horror fiction; apocalyptic fiction. We would be entering a new genre together (horror), just not fantasy.
@nottelling - I seldom read horror but did read Hillās last book - good stuff - I forgot the genre and went along for the ride.
I lean toward The Fireman, in good part for the differentness of it - a step away from our last few books. Barkskins is historical fiction and we just finished The Dig. That said, it is a strong second choice for me, so I have no problem either way. I am glad weāre looking into something published this year.
I donāt read horror. Well Iāve read a handful of vampire novels, but for other reasons, they were written by authors whose other works I respect. Iām not a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, but I do think it nearly always is interesting to discuss. I thought The Fireman looked interesting and it didnāt sound like horror to me at all.
Would I read Barkskin? Yes, because I think this group can make me appreciate almost anything even if I donāt like it when I am reading it, but I have to admit it sounded sooo boring. I like to get really immersed in a character and a book that spans multiple generations clearly has another agenda. It was my last choice.
I read NOS4A2 and liked it, but I think we ought to read The Fireman. I donāt usually read horror but the NOS4A2 reviews pulled me in. Iām glad they did. Mostly I forgot the genre classification and just enjoyed Hillās writing. I havenāt read much Stephen King either and what I have read falls under genres other than horror. My suggestion is not to worry too much what genre the book is filed under. Think Reading Lolita in Tehran - we all thought the book would be more about the authorās book club than it is. Think Persepolis: I sensed feet-dragging at reading a graphic novel and it turned out to be the favorite of the two books. Iām reading American Gods at the moment. It won many awards: Nebula and Hugo (primarily SF), Bram Stoker (Horror), Locus (Fantasy). As its author Gaiman says, ānobody was quite certain which box it belonged in.ā I agree and kind of felt that way about Hillās writing.
I have some trepidation about The Fireman because although Iām all about the apocalypse, I never read horror and donāt particularly like fantasy. Part of my issue with horror is that there are often scenes too gruesome for my taste.
However, in that regard, Barkskins would not be a walk in the park either. From the Washington Post review:
So when faced with two novels that both appear to be adventurous, character-driven, slightly horrific and untried by any of us, I feel that the tie-breaker has to be outside our comfort zone. @nottelling is correct: thatās why we are in this together.
So Iām calling it for The Fireman by Joe Hill. And Iām looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks come August 1st!
Since The Fireman is such a long book, letās try to touch base occasionally between now and August 1st. That worked well when we read Seveneves and I needed moral support.
Not my usual sort of thing, but Iām game. Iāll admit I have read maybe six or seven Stephen Kings over the years and Iām curious to see what his son is like.
My library has only one hold on it, so I guess Iām good to go.
Thank you, Mary! I am happy to get out of my comfort zone and this should do the trick. I read Hillās first, The Heart Shaped Box and found it a fun and page-turning read.
Other books Iām reading or listening to right now: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (easy but slightly painful because of some of the Austin character updates); Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (a fictional NY restaurant tell all, excellent foodie book); and Running: A Love Story by Jen A. Miller (speedy read about one womanās life experiences with running). Off to order the Joe Hill.
Already mentioned these: *My Name is Lucy Barton/i, *The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu/i
The Ghost Writer, Philip Roth. Read this at nottellingās suggestion and liked it.
Pnin, Vladimir Nabokov. Read this with another book group. I was curious to read something else by Nabokov after Lolita, and it was a āquick and easyā choice.
Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov. This is Nabokovās autobiography. Really good! I wanted to read it because Pnin was about a Russian immigrant and I was curious about Nabokovās own story.
The Death of Artemio Cruz, Carlos Fuentes. Read with another book group. Good, but dark.
The Days of Laura DĆaz, Carlos Fuentes. Thought it would be interesting to read this more recent novel by Fuentes with a female protagonist, but Iām not really liking it very much. Plodding though 500 pages of āmeh.ā
Forgot to list another book I recently read, I and wanted to mention it because I highly recommend it: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americaās Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson.
On my recent reads list:
Beth Hilgartnerās Colors in the Dreamweaverās Loom and * Feast of the Trickster.* Beth was a good friend of mine in college, so I have a special fondness for her work. Colors is a very typical fantasy with trouble teen from our world becoming the savior of the fantasy world she finds herself in. But itās a nicely thought out world and the gods are very interesting. I think the second one is more interesting as she throws the fantasy tropes on end and has the people from this world come to try to bring their friend back to their world. Their take on modern technology can be very funny. Iām really struck though about how much things have changed since it was written. They are looking through phone books trying to find their friend and having to explain long distance calls to parents or employers!
The other book I just finished as it happens is Brandon Sandersonās latest book set in his Mistborn world. Heās also interested in the intersection of magic and technology. Sanderson is one of those authors I often admire more than I like. He cares deeply about the logic of his magic systems and I donāt. The Mistborn books have a particularly complicated system that involves swallowing little vials of suspensions of metals to give you special abilities - just rereading the Wiki summary of how the world works make my head spin. But heās done something interesting with these books. In the first trilogy we are looking at a world that has somehow been wrecked by some previous event. Itās more or less in medievalish fantasy time period though there are some technological innovations that have been suppressed by the rulers. Thereās a great cataclysm and sort of a reset button for the world. The new books are set in a world equivalent to our wild west. Technology is beginning to be developed. There are trains and guns. What happens when the new technology allows everyone to do things that formerly only magic users could do? That all sounds very serious, but heās got a bro pair (Wax and Wayne) that are very funny and I love the woman who our hero is reluctantly engaged to. Itās not a spoiler to tell you that eventually heāll figure out sheās actually a really cool person, if a little OCD. (Okay a lot OCD.)
Finally Iām reading the Joanna Trollope * The Best of Friends* that I mentioned upthread. Nice book about relationships falling apart and reforming. The kids are particularly nicely drawn.
NJTM ā So funny that you just read Pnin! I was going to suggest it for this group but it didnāt fit in the categories we were considering. What a coincidence.
Speak, Memory is one of my all-time favorites.
The best book Iāve read recently is H is for Hawk, though it was glacially slow at times. Absolutely beautifully written.
I also liked (but didnāt love) The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson.
I also just finished Kitchen Confidential, which I liked. (Never read it when it came out, but I wanted to read it before starting Sweet Bitter).
Iāve read a bunch of other uninspired books recently, including Eligible by Curtis Sittenfield which greatly disappointed me and the Nest that didnāt grab me. Several others like that.
Got inspired by the new movie to read Jane Austenās Lady Susan (very short novella). Very fun, but reads as the juvenalia that it is. Not at all comparable to her novels.
Iām just starting Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. And reading Tortilla Flats by John Steinbeck for my real life book club.
Iām behind the times: Just finished Room by Emma Donoghue. Good read, but I thought the first half was stronger than the second half. The movie is next up on my Netflix queue.
^ Thanks, ignatius. Iām going to use the Guardian quote you posted above (#168) in the new thread. Makes me eager to pick up the novel, and I bet it will have the same effect on others.
Iām reading The Invention of Wings for a book club and at first I was weary of yet another book about slavery in the South, but her writing really drew me it. Powerful. Iām about half way through. I really like it.
