I just finished another book last night, which makes 5 that I've read since I posted about Middlesex. After the Eugenides book, I quickly read Joyce Carol Oates's Rape: A Love Story. The title might throw some off, but it is exactly what the book is about. It is told from the point of view of a twelve year old girl, whom, along with her mother, was ganged raped one night while walking home. As a result, the mother became despondent, withdrawing from public, but also from loved ones. The investigating officer, unlike everyone else in the town who believed the mother was a guilty whore, feels badly for the woman. Knowing that the trial will result in acquittal for the 5 or 6 young men who committed the crime, he takes matters into his own hands, picking off each of the assailants one by one while making each death look like an accident. Now, I know I should think, "this is wrong," but I can't help but cheer for this vigilante. That's my kind of man! I believe that in cases like this, justice is served, however unlawfully. The "love story" of the novel, I believe, is twofold. Although the detective knows nothing of the victim (and actually has no knowledge of the fact that the daughter was indeed raped herself), his strange love for them causes him to risk everything to bring them justice. The other love is that of the little girl for the detective. She has a sense that he is her angel who will forever protect her. She is the only one who knows what a sacrifice he has made for her and her mother, and for that, she feels a deep and unparalleled love for the man.

Next, I reached for a much lighter novel: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Indeed, I got a thorough history lesson of the man known as Dracula, Vlad Tepes--the Impaler of Romania in the 18th century. The word "historian" references several characters in the book--each of the many narrators. Essentially though, "the historian" refers to Dracula himself, who has wandered the earth for 300 years, collecting all written works on Earth. The story is exciting and informative, although a bit anticlimactic. The reader spends the entire 800 or so pages waiting with bated breath for the big revelation only to be cozened at the last but an all too quick murder scene. It was very much like Poe in that sense. It felt similar to reading "The Pit and the Pendulum" or "The Mask of Red Death." My heart racing, my body tense as I wait to discover how it will all resolve itself. And then, BAM! It's over before I even had time to read the complete sentence.

Next in line was Death of an Ordinary Man by Glen Duncan, author of one of my favorites, I, Lucifer. I love the way Duncan writes. It's almost like stream of consciousness, which could get annoying, until you realize that it is absolutely necessary for the telling of such a story. Nathan Clark's narration opens the book as he becomes cognizant to the fact that he has died and has shown up at his own funeral. Through a series of flashbacks, the reader learns of what makes this "ordinary" man extraordinary and how that ultimately led to his death. As each part of the puzzle is pieced together, the tale shifts from what that is amusingly tongue-in-cheek to one that is deep and sorrowful. I have here, just a couple of quotes that struck me: "...he...had divided the world into Seekers and Expanders. Seekers were, naturally, searching for something as yet unknown as the possible source of enlightenment. Expanders, on the other hand, concentrated on known pleasures." "He'd seen her not really recognizing him, not really, when it came down to it, caring who he was. It was disgusting, that pain could do that. God should never have allowed pain with the power to do that. What was the point of it, except to shame and disgust everyone? To make a mockery of love? The next book I read was Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue about an 18th century London prostitute. The title refers to a loose fitting garment, and also to a loose woman--who often wore said garment. I didn't know, until after I'd read the book, that the story was based on a real person and true events. This made the story even more tantalizing than I'd already thought. How I love stories about fallen women. The last book was The Immortal by Angela Elwell Hunt. I actually enjoyed this book about a man who claims to have been roaming the earth for 2000 years as punishment for striking Jesus on his way to Golgotha to be crucified. He believes his purpose is to track down the Antichrist and intercede on God's behalf to try to convert him. Claiming that each generation has a possible Antichrist, he tries to extend man's stay on Earth by converting the evil one before the Rapture and the End of Days to allow more time for humans to repent. It's an interesting story, surprisingly spiritual despite all the atheism and agnosticism in the book. The books salvation is that it doesn't become excruciatingly dogmatic. Instead, it's quite enlightened and enlightening.