P&P Picks of the Week

[politicsprose]

A thriller set deep in the Appalachian wilderness, a music bio of “The Only Band That Matters”, poems that give a shape to the pain, a character study in survival and an attempt to better understand human anxiety in response to mortality. This week’s picks span across genres and topics and had us talking for hours.        

Bearskin - James A McLaughlin

Bearskin is an evocative, mesmerizing thriller set deep in the Appalachian wilderness. Determined to lay low from a Mexican Sinoloa cartel killer bent on revenge, Rice Moore gets a job as a warden of a wilderness preserve. But when bear poachers start hunting the property, Rice reverts to his most basic, primal self to catch them, and putting his secrecy on the line. With brilliant and spare prose, the haunting, lush and unknowable Virginia forest preserve is the real protagonist of this expertly woven début. A perfect read for the camping and hiking trip you were planning in the woods this summer. Keith V.   

We Are the Clash: Reagan, Thatcher, and the Last Stand of a Band That Mattered - Mark Andersen and Ralph Heibutzki

Upcoming Event at Politics and Prose Friday, July 6, 2018 - 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

We are The Clash tells a complex story of a key band in the original wave of British punk rock . It’s a Thoroughly researched account of the band’s last years, their struggle to stay true to their ideals and the political climate in both UK and US with the rise of a right-wing power. It’s a biography of “The Only Band That Matters” as much as a political history of the late seventies and early eighties. Andersen and Heibutzki remind us that the greatness of The Clash lay in their willingness to push the envelope on all levels and that their music and their message together made them a band that truly mattered. Marija D.  

Something Bright, Then Holes - Maggie Nelson

My love for Maggie Nelson’s writing grows with every book, essay, and poem I read by her. Something Bright, Then Holes is a reissue of her 2007 poetry collection, and it is a keen and vivid book. It will probably not make you feel better during a dark time in your life or the world, but it might give a shape to some of the pain. Anton B.   

The Shepherd’s Hut - Tim Winton 

After growing up with an abusive father, then living on his own in the outback when he’s barely 16, Jaxie is a character study in survival. Winton’s taut novel The Shepherd’s Hut opens as Jaxie’s father dies in an accident and Jaxie, afraid he’ll be accused of having killed him, bolts—on foot—to the wilds of Western Australia. There he meets Fintan MacGillis, a Catholic priest in exile after unspecified sins involving money. Fintan teaches the younger man about trust; but paranoids do have enemies, and when danger strikes, neither Jaxie nor Fintan are prepared. The novel that started with psychological suspense ends as a thriller that deepens the questions Winton has posed about masculinity and power, chance and faith. Laurie G.  

The Denial of Death - Ernest Becker

At first glance, Ernest Becker’s Denial of Death looks like a self-help book for dealing with the grieving process. However, it is actually much more philosophical than that. From Soren Kierkegaard to Sigmund Freud, Becker appropriates his historical breakdown of philosophy and psychoanalysis to better understand human anxiety in response to mortality. Even though his profession was cultural anthropology, Becker’s work has had a profound impact in social psychology theories. The Denial of Death is controversial to some people because it brushes sides with nihilism. This is because he directly challenges established socially accepted ideologies in religion and politics. Phil R.