Small Government Book Fan Club discussion

I noticed that a few people here eihter recently read, are reading, or marked as to-read this book, so I'm starting a thread to share your thoughts. I will wait to post my full review because I'd like to hear from some of you first. This book does touch on some of my favorite themes, especially that of redemption, and is an unusual combo of noir with inspirational fiction which seems to be Klavan's new style since "coming out" as a conservative Christian. My guess it this is something people will either love or hate with not much in between.

Haha, Masha, I am going to contradict you right off the bat, sorry about that, but I did in fact have kind of mixed feelings about this one. I liked the elements you mentioned, but here's what I had issues with: it seemed too abstract and almost like Pilgrim's Progress or something, where everything that happened was more like an example or symbol of something than the creation of a character, setting or plot element that could stand on its own as a story as well as making his point. Now, I realize that the scenes where he decribes the city (New Orleans?) were supposed to be sort of hallucenogenic and nightmarish, but they felt too visual, too painterly, almost,to have much emotional heft for me. I honestly liked the parts before his "change," better, they seemed more real, and made his character more relatable. But the whole wandering around observing the feverish decadence bit - didn't work for me. It reminded me of my unfavorite parts of Empire of Lies, where he was searching for the girl, or she was walking to his house (memory issues, sorry). Back in the Dynamite Road/Shotgun Alley/Damnation Street days, I felt like AK was still making some thoughtful points about his worldview, but also telling a super compelling story that pulled you in (especially Shotgun Alley), and felt less like, oh, you need some sugar coating to make my message go down, ok, there's a girl, you happy now? Anyhoo, having gotten all crabby now, I did enjoy this, more towards the end, when you could feel some resolution coming. I also loved the old movies element, his descriptions of Casablance and It's a Wonderful Life, especially. So, I did enjoy it, but from a distance, or through a glass, darkly ;)

LOL now I can confess to loving the Bishop/Weiss series- I was pretty pissed to find out it was only 3 books! I wanted a sequel just for the Narrator and Emma- they were so much fun and I wanted to see them more as a couple.

But, back to the topic, maybe I liked this one more because it's not REAL noir (which is not, in its pure form, really my thing). I do agree about a lot of symbolism, but I didn't mind. The woman, though, was crucial, not just a throw in love interest- things just would not happen if she were not there, the redemption or even desire for it would not happen.

Question: Did you recognize the movie description about pilot who has to prove someone loves him so he can escape death? I've been raking my brain on that one.

Hmmm, good point about the girl, although again, I sort of felt she was symbolic of redemption, but she did have a personality, and was one of the most appealing points of the book. That final scene in her house was definitely frightening. Good question about the moview, not sure. Heaven Can Wait, maybe, obvs I haven't googled or anything, I'll take a look, tho. And def could have used some resolution on the Narrator/Emma relationship. She was great, him, a work in progress.

Oh dear, definitely not Heaven Can Wait, I'll keep trying.

I like the book, though I find the redemption angle to be a little indistinct. I mean it's there but I'd like to have followed the process a bit closer.

Fred, I can't say the book put me in mind of Pilgrim's Progress. It;s not nearly so obviously allegorical (or at least i didn't find it so). Was there anything particular that brought it to mind for you?

Masha asked me to post my review. Here's the link if anyone's interested in reading it: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I'm thinking now, and will respond, it's been a while since I read it. You are correct though, I was exaggerating a bit for rhetorical effect, sorry :)

No biggy, just asking.

I thought the whole redemption-through-movie-watching angle charming more than anything else. By the way, now it's Mike's turn to try to identify the movie about the pilot lost in the fog:) I've been thinking, since the other movies are SO easily identifiable and this one isn't, maybe it's not a real movie, just something Klavan made up.

This IS a very "crude" book as Mike pointed out, and the violence gets pretty graphic, but there's also a lot of sweetness underneath, I'm sure intentionally in contrast to the darkness. It's not just the movies that are old, but the love story that becomes the catalyst for redemption is like something from another time, or from a fairy tale. It's a tribute to Klavan's skill as a writer that he can mix these elements together and hold them in a cohesive story. And then, of course, there's the political angle, showing a city (unnamed but easily recognizable) where corruption has risen to a kind of virtue, and the virtue has to scurry around the edges trying to gain a foothold. Definitely not your father's Christian fiction, not by a long shot.

I THINK it's Stairway to Heaven, but I haven't seen it. I searched it out. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p... I think I'll try to find it now.

Our library has it. I reserved it from the library.

Sounds like that's the one. I knew you could do it Mike:) Thanks!

I did see Stagecoach last night (that was one of the movies, I think). At first I was put off by how bad the quality of the sound was, but I did end up getting into it. The ending was really sweet, I expected something very different based on the way the rest of the movie was.

Stairway to Heaven is available at my library, but I think it's a tape, not a DVD and I'm not sure if we still have a tape player at the house. That would be a disappointment since I really want to see the movie now that I know what it is.

I watched it yesterday. Of course being a tough, macho, manly man the emotional parts had no effect on me whatsoever...no really, they didn't, honest..

Anyway...

One interesting thing they did was a sort of reverse on the Wizard of Oz. The "real world" was shot in color and the "after life" was shot on black and white. Considering the story was partly built around a "law vs. justice" theme that might be somewhat symbolic I suppose.

They never really say "heaven" and they don't refer to God. They mention the High Judge and so on. Also they make it a point that everyone seems to find what they would think of in heaven (some American flyers just arriving after being killed find a free Coca-Cola machine that wasn't there a minute before, LOL).

Oh man, I REALLY want to see it now. Crossing my fingers it's a DVD at the library.

I found their care to avoid Christian terminology interesting, especially considering when it was made. It's worth seeing.

I just got Empire of Lies from the library.

Cool. It's a different style, but I think you'll enjoy it as well.

So... The Stairway to Heaven movie from the library turned out to be a VHS, so no-go. BUT it turns out it's available in DVD version under the Brit title A Matter of Life and Death. I might be able to see it yet, I'll know if a few days when the loan arrives.

I think I may have gotten it under that title. The library catalog brought the same movie up under both titles.

Saw Stairway to Heaven/A Matter of Life and Death last night. Very strange, sweet, wonderful, and yes I did tear up a couple of times. It is dated is some ways, with Britain being criticized for its imperialism by the American side(today it would probably be the other way around). Depiction of heaven as bureaucracy reminded me of Beetlejuice (sp.?) I also liked how they did parallel story lines, so the viewer can decide if the heaven part is real or all in his head. I can definitely appreciate how it fits into Identity Man story much better now that I've seen it. Thanks again to Mike for identifying it!

I liked the way the Narrator character ended up in Bishop/Weiss, but you have to read the rest of the trilogy to find out.

Did you review the Homelander series? I didn't see. There was a lot of running/chasing, but once the flashbacks started it got really good with switching the scenes back and forth and mini-cliffhangers in between.

....mumble, mumble.....more books on my to be read list....mumble, mumble.....no time....mumble....I'll never get through this list.....mumble, mumble....plot...mumble...conspiracy....mumble, mumble...

Yeah well, that's payback for me adding a bunch of books from your list.

Both Bishop/Weiss and Homelander series are very quick. You can probably squeeze them in between your epic reads.

I'm on to you!!!!! It's a plot!!!!!!

Sorry, okay getting control again. Sigh. I'm trying to make a deal with myself. Only audio books other then my own books. That way when I can sit down and read I start to make a dent in the huge to be read mountain I own. Then I come across a book like The Word Reclaimed that I can only get in print and really want to read (stops and beats head against wall for a while). Oh well, the library has Dynamite Road in audio. Oh well, again.

sigh.

Yeah I'm not a big fan of audio books but may end up getting some from the library just to get through some of my TBR.

Dany- did you get to see Stairway to Heaven yet? I remember you also wondering what that movie was in Identity Man.

I actually liked the karate stuff, esp. the "fight by proxy" scene (I hope you didn't skip that one, it was really good and humorous). But that may be because I was happy my son was reading it and it night have inspired him to get more seriously into karate. It was also necessary for the plot to make us believe an "ordinary" kid would be that resilient, both mentally and physically. I hate stories where average Joe all of a sudden does incredible things with zero explanation as to where he got the skills.

Stairway to Heaven was one of the movies Shannon saw and it made him believe in second chances and life having meaning based on the power of love.

Just thought I'd let anyone who's interested (and has access to the channel)know. A Matter of Life and Death is on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) tomorrow night (11:30 PM Central Time).

It figures- after it took me this long to find it and get the right format from the library, now it's available on TV. No complaining, though- this movie needs more exposure.

The man who either produced or directed it (I've forgotten which) died this year and TCM is running a set of his movies. I looked through the upcoming movies till I found it LOL.