Book Review, Mosley and Rollins

January 31: Book Review
Walter Mosley’s Fearless Jones was a decent book to read on the commute. Decent, but not a grabber and a little confusing to keep up with all of the characters. This book introduced us to a new character, Paris Milton a used book store owner who suddenly gets tied up in international swindle. Who else can protect him, the one and only Fearless Jones who was imprisoned and forgotten? It’s more than that, but I think he was stretching the plot too much and in the end sewed it back as best he could. Many characters were killed and all somehow were involved in this mysterious monetary bond that had immeasurable value. He threw in a corrupt cop and preacher, and of course the holocaust for good measure, but decided to leave the Nazi’s out of this story. If you want to learn how to create a character, Mosley is a great guide. He captured the early sixties as best he could, incorporating racism, segregation and deep rooted beliefs held by some African Americans. There are times in this book when you feel the pulse of the writer’s creativity and other times when you’d scratch your head and ask where the fuck is this going? Who is that, how do they tie in? Maybe if I read it on a weekend, the book would appeal to me more.

February 2:
Black Coffee Blues Do I Come Here Often? Book II
Henry Rollins hits it with this book. This is my second Rollins book, which contains articles and interviews he wrote and conducted for various magazines. You’d learn more about Rollins as he describes his respect for David Lee Roth and how Nugent was pissed off when the audience at his concert was chanting for the opening band, Van Halen. Johnny Lee Hooker is interviewed as well and we’re warned that the man did not speak. But he opens up for Henry, sharing some stories, his affinity for Van Morrison, that in itself is an incredible endorsement. I’m going to research some of the other musicians who he said were overlooked by mainstream media. Other pieces describe the first Lollapalooza tour, speaking word engagements. He writes about visiting a dying teenager in Australia, bleeding lips and with sores in his mouth who was shocked when Henry came to visit him. Included is a visit to his old neighborhood, and he writes honestly about his parents and his feelings for them. Alright, these emotions, like love is what was missing from Broken Summers, this guy can write and open it up. I actually laughed out loud a few times, describing his disdain for passengers on a small aircraft in Spain, and teenagers on another flight. The women who constantly throw themselves and one in particular who he tries to explain she doesn’t have to do those things, later he sees her coming out of tour bus wiping her mouth, after being with many and looking away embarrassed.