REVIEW OF HOPE:A TRAGEDY Joe Igoe

Hope- A Tragedy

Shalom Auslander

 

 

Enough already !  Very funny, but just a bit over the top at times.  

I laughed out loud- always a good thing to do on the tube – in several parts, but at the end of the day I thought the booksomewhat outdone by its cleverness.  

There were some decidedly innovative – and negative-explorations of philosophy, after all who would have imagined that Hitler was the greatest optimist of the 20thcentury !  In a way this book is an exploration of Angst.  Angst as a Leitmotiv, unfounded (?) paranoia as the consequence.

The book also has some very good bits of social commentary.  

Very clever dialogue particularly on Anne Frank’s part when you thought she was more or less just a comic figure (that in itself is an achievement).  I also found the real estate agent’s rant quite memorable, but…..enough already.

Stereotypes abound in this book and if, unlike me, you didn’t grow up on Long Island or somewhere else with a decent whiff of Jewish culture and humour, you may have not gotten all the references and schtick.

Kugel is a nice guy, Woody Allen would love him (I’m sure he’s read the book- wait for the film).  Nice guys, however, according to the legendary Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, finish last and this is exactly what happens to our hero.  God bless him.

I liked this book, but would have liked it better if it had been a bit shorter and perhaps better edited.  It is funny, hilariously so in places, but also overegged in other places.  In a way like a joke that is a bit overlong.  Nonetheless the viewpoint and humour were very clever.

Three. Five out of five, just because I’m from Long Island.

REVIEW OF A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

A Gentleman in Moscow

Reviewed by Joe Igoe

 

A very touching, well detailed account of a man exiled to the microcosm of Moscow’s finest hotel.  A man of surprising experience, intelligence and resourcefulness living in a time and place where his origins- and the origins of his self- have been repudiated, outlawed and often executed.

It is a fairy tale and an engaging one at that.  In a way reminiscent of The Avengers in that the main protagonist is incredibly erudite, experienced and cultured.  In a way reminiscent of The Princess Bride in that all the pieces and people come together just so to let the good triumph over the bad and banal. Discrepancies are conveniently glossed over.

While not sacrificing too much to realism, there are elements of the outside world which are allowed to creep in.  Allusions are made to the upheavals of the Russian revolution and the depredations of Stalin as well as the effects of these events on people.  But, somehow, our hero survives and ultimately prevails – with the help of his inexhaustible supply of luck, sophistication, knowledge and money.  He is additionally very sympathetic.  His kindness and ability to connect with people of all sorts and sizes is what makes him appealing as a character.  He also manages to positively affect all deserving souls who meet him as well as outwitting those of a more sinister nature.

The strength of the book is its well-constructed narrative combining events in the hotel, the Soviet Union outside and the insular world of the hotel.  Glimpses of man’s ability to survive, innovate and, at least to a certain extent, prosper in difficult circumstances with kindness and humour are plentiful.  Even the ostensible bad guys, or at least one of them, is allowed a sense of humour and sympathy in his interactions with Alexander, his intervention to save Nadia and his instructions to “round up the usual suspects”.

In the final analysis this “Harry Potter” of a Russian tale is very enjoyable, finely crafted and with a fine bit of Menschlichkeit or humanity.  It’s not “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, but doesn’t purport to be.  I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable book to read.