Fat Ollie's Book by Ed McBain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"It'd been 'Weeks' before he discovered they were both literary people. Now it was 'Ollie.' Next thing you knew, he'd be asking how to utilize metaphor most effectively."

Fat Ollie utilizing metaphors! What is this world coming to? Readers familiar with the cast of Ed McBain's monumental 87th Precinct series know Detective Ollie Weeks as a narrow-minded bigot, fat slob, and in general, a repugnant character. Well, maybe not any more. Fat Ollie's Book (2002), the 52nd installment in the series, shows that no one is beyond redemption. The author seems to eschew the bigotry cliché and understand that human weakness is a natural state. The reader will likely feel the warmth of the author's sympathy toward his characters, flawed or not, criminals or saints. I have not expected this from Evan Hunter (Ed McBain) so I like the novel a lot!

"I realize this is getting boring..."

writes the author in the epigraph and this might be the reason for changing the overall tone of the novel. Also, Fat Ollie shares the novel's focus with Detective Steve Carella, who is - in my view - the character most deserving of retirement in the entire history of crime novel. Is there a Time Off For Carella Society that I could join?

Anyway, the story begins when Fat Ollie has just finished writing his first novel, a crime drama masterpiece based on his professional experiences. A candidate for mayor is shot dead during preparations for a political rally, Ollie arrives at the scene of the shooting and ... his precious manuscript is stolen from his car. Naturally, it is the only copy!

While Detective Weeks is from the 88th Precinct Carella and some others from the 87th are helping him investigate the case because of a debt of gratitude that Carella owes to Weeks. The deal between the two precincts provides a convenient narrative device for the author - the reader enjoys the double first-hand perspective on the investigation.

I very much like the thread that focuses on the search for Carrie. The novel offer various side attractions as well: transvestite hookers, $300,000 coke deal, and Ollie's getting the shock of his life. The reader is also treated to a major surprise toward the end of the novel. Anyway, for me, the counter-cliché nature of the novel is the main attraction, and I will now be looking for the very late installments in the series to see whether the author can sustain the anti-cliché streak. Highly recommended read!

Three-and-a-half stars.


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Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Ever since we discovered that Earth is round and turns like a mad spinning-top, we have understood that reality is not as it appears to us: every time we glimpse a new aspect of it, it is a deeply emotional experience. Another veil has fallen."

In Preface, the author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Carlo Rovelli, a renowned theoretical physicist and a philosopher of science, addresses his book to "those who know little or nothing about modern science." Although I am an applied mathematician, an engineer, and have even taught a course on mechanics (a classical part of physics), I know very little - really next to nothing - about modern physics. I have learned a lot from that tiny book (total of 81 pages!) and I absolutely love Dr. Rovelli's amazing way of making some basic tenets of contemporary physics almost understandable by amateurs like myself. This is the best popular science writing I have ever read!

The first lesson deals with "the most beautiful of theories" - Einstein's general theory of relativity. We read wonderful passages like

"[...] the gravitational field is not diffused through space; the gravitational field is that spaceitself."

We then read about curvature of space and that "it isn't only space that curves; time does too." The second lesson focuses on quantum mechanics, which in layman's terms posits that energy is discrete rather than continuous. And it is here that to my delight (and likely to screams of horror of many people) randomness and probability appear! Dr. Rovelli states at the end of the chapter that the equations of quantum mechanics and their consequences "remain mysterious," and suggests an idea that "reality [of the physical world] is only interaction." So cool!

I am omitting two next chapters in my summary, Architecture of the Cosmos and Particles (with its Standard Model, confirmed experimentally in 2013 yet still considered unsatisfactory). The Fifth Lesson focuses on the contradictions between the current form of the two main theories of physics - general relativity and quantum mechanics - and on the current efforts of physicists to combine the two theories. One such effort is the loop quantum gravity theory and Dr. Rovelli, in extreme modesty, neglects to write that he is one of the founders (if not the main founder - that I do not know) of the theory.

Naturally, the lesson titled Probability, Time, and the Heat of Black Holes, is my favorite! Even a mention of the word "probability" makes my heart beat faster and here it becomes a central mechanism of physics. Dr. Rovelli writes

"This bringing of probability to the heart of physics, and using it to explain the bases of the dynamics of heat, was initially considered to be absurd."

And what about the following stunning passage:

"[...] the intimate connection between time and heat. There is a detectable difference between the past and the future only when there is the flow of heat. Heat is linked to probability; and probability in turn is linked to the fact that our interactions with the rest of the world do not register the fine details of reality."

Finally, in the lesson called In Closing, the author writes about "ourselves" - us, the humans. He dwells on the nature of consciousness and the issue of free will. In a passage that unfortunately becomes more and more relevant with each passing year he points out the "incomprehension and distrust of science shown by a significant part of our contemporary culture." He also offers a sobering prediction that "our species will not last long" and alludes to the damage that the species keeps doing.

A beautifully written book about Very Difficult Things.

Five stars.


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The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling by Lawrence Block
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"I'd prefer to live as a honest man among honest men, but I haven't yet found an honest pursuit that lets me feel this way. I wish there were a moral equivalent of larceny, but there isn't. I'm a born thief and I love it."

Unfortunately, Lawrence Block's third entry in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979), does not reach the same level of literary quality as its two predecessors ( Burglars Can't Be Choosers and The Burglar in the Closet ). It gets a marginal recommendation from me, though, because of the clever setup, some humor, and many passages of Mr. Block's witty, stylish prose.

In quite an amusing beginning chapter, Bernie, the owner of a used bookstore, catches a book thief and tells him that he "is too dumb to steal." Bernie will regret this quip later. Early on we meet the supporting characters in the series - Carolyn, the lesbian dog groomer, and Ray Kirschmann, "the best cop money can buy." We also accompany Bernie on his real job, that is burglary.

It soon becomes obvious that the two threads - Bernie's burglary and the attempted theft - are connected: the author unveils a tremendously complicated plot. Way too complicated for this reviewer: I have lost track of (and interest in) what's going on pretty early and continued reading only to look for occasional pearls of Mr. Block's prose and humor. The bit about the "little Dutch boy," the patron of lesbians, is funny. As is the somewhat meta-literary passage about Bernie's erstwhile fellow inmate who enjoyed a particular bit in a crime story

"[...] where Parker settled the score with an unworthy fellow laborer by breaking three important bones [...] It was the adjective that did it for him, the idea of deliberately breaking important bones."

Bernie is drugged, some characters are left "with more than the traditional number of holes in [...] head," Carolyn is helping the bookselling burglar in his pursuits, yet the latter part of the novel is markedly weaker than the first 70 or so pages. Too much happens, there is too much dialogue and the author does not give enough attention to what he is best at - the witty prose.

I much dislike the setting of the denouement in the Nero Wolfe style. True, there are some similarities between Bernie R. and Archie G. (I wish someone could write a story that would allow them to meet), but I do not think that the setting fits Mr. Block's style. Also, the appearance of the name of a certain Adolf H. seems to be a miss.

Quite readable at the beginning, then much less so.

Two-and-a-quarter stars.


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Freud: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Storr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Where Freud was wrong was in making psychosexual development so central that all other forms of social and emotional development were conceived as being derived from it."

Amen. However, in my view, this is not said strongly enough. But first a disclaimer: In all my 800+ reviews so far on Goodreads I have tried to be as objective and unbiased as I could. I am giving myself a dispensation for this review. It has now been over 50 years since I first read Freud's writings and read about Freud and for all these 50 years I have considered Freud's theories complete nonsense, rubbish, gibberish, and even - in Joe Biden's language - malarkey! To me Freud has always meant Fraud, pseudoscientific fraud.

I reached for this book with curiosity and trepidation: if the author demonstrates that my half-a-century-old perceptions are only biases, will I be able to admit the error of my ways? Luckily, Dr. Anthony Storr, the author of Freud. A Very Short Introduction (1989), quite convincingly demonstrates the major faults and inadequacies of Freud's theory. I do not need to fight my anti-freud bias. I am still allowed to laugh out loud at various idiocies spouted by Freud, such as:

"Freud believed that sublimation of unsatisfied libido was responsible for producing all art and literature."

Dr. Storr quotes numerous sources to identify the potential roots of Freud's misconceptions, such as his "obsessional" (is it the same as "obsessive"?) personality, his tendency to excessive generalization, his lack of experience with severely mentally ill patients. The author also mentions that

"Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings, and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principles of cause and effect."

To me, a dilettante in psychology but a self-avowed probabilist, the strict determinism and overgeneralization are the main reasons for Freud's delusions. I believe that randomness (that manifests itself, for instance, through the context of everything we do) and individual differences between people play crucial role in determining human behavior.

But I, to repeat, an amateur psychologist, also see the third reason of Freud's fallacies: he projected his own sexual hang-ups onto all humans. He built one of the most enduring theories in the history of psychology on his own uneasiness with and awkwardness about all things sexual.

But back to the subject - the book. I very much like how the author succinctly summarizes the major areas of Freud's theoretical work. In Chapters 3 through 6 we read about the phases of infantile sexual development (the oral, anal, phallic, and genital stages - I will refrain from snide remarks), the Oedipus complex. Then free association, interpretation of dreams, and transference. Next comes the structure of the human mental apparatus: ego, id, and super-ego. The human psychological conditions such as aggression, melancholia, depression, and paranoia. The next three chapters are about the psycho-pathology of everyday life, art and literature, and culture and religion. The final three chapters focus on Freud as a therapist and the method of psycho-analysis to which he contributed the most, the state of psycho-analysis today, and its appeal. The author writes:

[...] the general way in which psycho-analysis and other forms of psychotherapy are conducted is still based on Freud's procedure [...]"

Dr. Storr also emphasizes that Freud's most important legacy might be that he taught modern psychotherapists how to listen.

In a rather damning critique Dr. Storr writes

"My own view is that Freud was far more interested in ideas than he was in patients. [...] What was important [to him] was that the cases selected should support his theories about human nature."

What I miss is a diagnosis why Freud's theories gathered such extreme following. Why millions and millions of people bought the bunkum about infantile sexual development being the root of all their problems. Well, I have two answers. First, sex titillates and sex sells. My other answer is even more cynical: Freud's theory gives people a convenient culprit, a reason for their inadequacies, fears, complexes, problems - things that happened to them in their infancy.

A very good, concise, and blessedly critical introduction to the work of Sigmund Freud.

Four stars.

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Wall of Brass by Robert Daley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"'The body is that of an adult, well-developed, well-nourished white male,' he intoned, 'scale weight 172 pounds, measured height five feet ten inches.'"

Robert Daley, the author of Wall of Brass (1994) served as the Deputy Commissioner for the New York Police Department in 1971-1972. He supervised several difficult investigations in tumultuous times for the department, which included the war against Mafia as well as assassinations of police officers by Black Liberation Army. Mr. Daley certainly knows the workings of NYPD and the city politics inside out, which clearly shows in the novel.

Briefly about the setup: when the First Deputy Commissioner of NYPD calls the NYPD Chief of Detectives at 6:30 a.m. and orders him to report immediately it is clear that something really serious must have happened. Indeed, the New York Police Commissioner's body has been found. Harry Chapman has been shot, apparently while jogging, and Bert Farber, the Chief of Detectives is heading the investigation.

While the progress of the investigation is shown in detail - this thread is on the level of the best police procedurals I have ever read - what I find the best in the novel is the well written, realistic and completely plausible account of the departmental and city politics. A new Commissioner will have to be chosen and several candidates, including the Deputy Commissioner, the Chief of Detectives, and several other members of NYPD brass compete for the job. They jockey, manipulate, and try to discredit every other candidate in more or less subtle ways. The ambition of these people and their almost insane drive to get promoted is truly palpable in the account.

The novel contains yet another layer, a backstory. Several chapters are set in the past, about a quarter of the century ago. We learn that patrolman Farber and probationary patrolman Chapman were partners and rode the same patrol car. It was Farber who taught Chapman the basics of police job while Chapman was interested only in plotting his future career: fast promotion to Commissioner, then mayor, finally the President of the U.S.

We also learn that they competed for the same woman. This is where I have reservations about the novel. While the beginning fragments of the thread are captivating and offer an illuminating perspective on the "current" events, the story is overlong in its role as background. The whole thing reads as if Mr. Daley wanted to write a psychological study on the games, rituals, and vagaries of attraction and relationship dynamics. Too much to serve as the background for the main story, yet not enough to become the main story.

I like the ambiguity of the title. It may refer to Biblical term for "strong defense" (Jeremiah 1:18, or Horace's Epistles 1.i.60, which the author quotes in his epigraph) or to the collective leadership of a police department. Despite my reservations Wall of Brass is a very good novel and I will certainly look for more of Mr. Daley's work.

Three-and-a-half stars.

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Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art by Gene Wilder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

""The two most important things I learned at The Actors Studio were: don't use any technique if the situation and the author's words are working for you, by themselves; and try to stay in the moment, which only means that every time you do the same scene [...] the scene will be different each time you do it, and it will be alive. "

I remember Gene Wilder mainly from the title role in the supremely funny Mel Brooks' movie Young Frankenstein for which he received the best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award nomination. His title role in the sweet fantasy family movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has also been universally acclaimed and Mr. Wilder was nominated to Golden Globe Best Actor Award. Kiss Me Like A Stranger. My Search for Love and Art is for the most part a charming memoir by Mr. Wilder. Its general mood resembles the sweet atmosphere of Wonka even if the text sometimes deals with adult, serious, even grim matters.

The memoir is interspersed with brief passages recounting Mr. Wilder's sessions with his psychotherapist. This literary device allows a modicum of freedom from the boring strict chronological flow of the autobiographical narrative. Not only do we read about the trajectory of Mr. Wilder's acting career, beginning from his time in college and his study at the Old Vic Theatre School in England, but we are also offered a frank and personal account of his psycho-emotional problems and compulsive behaviors.

Chapters about the technical aspects of acting are captivating: Mr. Wilder contrasts the "traditional", Stanislavski-influenced method with Lee Strasberg's approach ("be rather than act," in my complete layman's understanding) of The Actors Studio Theater. Mr. Wilder's meeting Mel Brooks becomes a seminal event in his professional career. He receives the nominations for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in The Producers. Well-known movies like Willy Wonka, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein follow.

Between 1984 and 1989 Mr. Wilder was married to Gilda Radner, of Saturday Night Live fame, perhaps the finest female comedian of the generation. Again, the account of their marriage is deeply personal and frank. The passages about Ms. Radner's struggle with ovarian cancer and her death are devastating and deeply moving.

The reader will find quite a bit of more or less delicate humor in the memoir. I love the following passage:

"'I want to do a remake of Sister Carrie,' he said. 'I'm thinking of either you or Laurence Olivier in the man's part, but instead of a woman in Jennifer Jones's part, I want to use a sheep.'"

It's an actor's memoir so it is not possible to avoid name-dropping. Even so, to me it is excessive, and, for instance, the fragment about Orson Welles recognizing him could have been written in a less ostentatious way. The endearing sweetness of the earlier parts of the memoir eventually turns into a bit of cloying schmaltziness towards the end.

Mostly charming and very readable autobiography. The reader will find it very hard not to like Mr. Wilder.

Three-and-a-quarter stars.

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