kurtwombat's reviews
883 reviews

 

Having just finished GOING CLEAR the marvelous and lacerating  history of Scientology, I wanted even more Scientology and fell into this. Familiar with Remini’s brassy image—wasn’t sure how that would translate into a narrative. Anticipated a few interesting anecdotes—maybe trying too hard to be funny (or worse, this is too serious to be funny about)  and half expected not to finish it. Pleasantly surprised. Open hearted look at her family dynamics and how they folded into Scientology, I was drawn in immediately to her neighborhood and family. Genuinely funny and self-effacing in ways that enhance the story rather than diffuse or distract from the reality of what’s going on.  Nice companion to GOING CLEAR (which I would recommend reading first) TROUBLEMAKER brings personal detail to the big picture. It’s a given when you start the book that she will leave Scientology—reinforced when she starts dishing the dirt—but there is still drama in what will be the final straw. There is also frustration. Just like in reading GOING CLEAR, it is maddening that in the face of mounting insanity people still cling to Scientology. What ends up being the last straw, the hill she decides to die on—is much less personal than many previous issues but it was just time. Would have loved her to expand on each of these points where they drew her back in. Part of the charm of the book is that it moves briskly but a few more pauses would have helped. Also, the very entertaining fire from the hip brusque narration in time made me start to worry about how close she was sticking to the facts. I don’t doubt anything specific she’s saying, but at least for me there is sometimes an odd disconnect between bravado and sincerity.  Overall, though, an entertaining desert to the multicourse meal that was GOING CLEAR. 

Fascinating look at the religion/cult/pyramid scheme/self-help system/human trafficker that is Scientology. One of the more interesting aspects for me is that I went into it expecting to snidely deride it’s claim as a religion but instead lowered my view of western religions enough to meet Scientology’s standards.  They only sought that status for tax reasons—and I am certainly not saying they shouldn’t pay taxes. I am saying many churches should pay taxes.  There has to be some threshold at which taxes are due. Mega-churches forfeit their sanctity when that much unregulated money rolls in. That modest tirade aside, how could you not love a story about a habitually lying, paranoid schizophrenic, racist, homophobic, wife beating, philandering sci fi writer creating a religion that condones slavery of its membership. That the “slaves” are mostly only bound by the chains of idolatry doesn’t excuse their bondage. Richly detailed from hundreds of interviews with past and present members, this well-structured narrative manages to steadily march through the history of founder L Ron Hubbard and dazzle the whole way.  And when L Ron finally meets his Howard Hughes-esque end, when you thought Scientology might go into decline without it’s leader—a prone to sudden violence sociopath emerges named David Miscavige making Hubbard’s approach seem almost reasonable or quaint by comparison. This transition also moves Scientology from a distant 60’s / 70’s curio to a more immediate and real threat. As the pile of destroyed lives mounts so does the tension and I found many of these stories concerning and stressful. Just a taste—David Miscavige’s wife has been a “willing” prisoner in presumed poverty for over 17 years and has not been seen in public since being briefly allowed to appear at her father’s funeral. Meanwhile, Scientology’s current leader lives an opulent life including acknowledged dalliances. It’s good to be king.

 

(Even after finishing this, I wanted more about Scientology, so I immediately rolled into Leah Remini’s TROUBLEMAKER about her life in and final departure from Scientology * * * *)

Started out pretty good with a few strong poems but kind of devolved into a grocery list of ideas that never made a meal. 

One of my favorite collections of poetry is Pablo Neruda’s 20 LOVE POEMS AND A SONG OF DESPAIR. Simple and precise, manages an amazing intimacy with seemingly little effort. Maybe I love it partly because of it’s singlemindedness, focused intensity on what it was trying to say. Each poem exhibiting a clarity of revelation. And I was young when I read it, when the discovery of poetry is almost as moving as the poetry itself.  Because of this, perhaps my expectations for THE CAPTAIN’S VERSES were unfair. I can’t know, but here we are. THE CAPTAIN’S VERSES contains a handful of superlative poems  {including YOUR LAUGHTER, IF YOU FORGET ME, LETTER ON THE ROAD}  but also a sprinkle I just couldn’t latch on to, even after multiple starts, I simply resolved to look for a few lines of beauty.  Not every voice can be heard, and that might be on me. I appreciate that Neruda is going for a broader spectrum—our love is not to be considered as an isolated thing but as part of the world we live in. Start with 20 LOVE POEMS and then drop by here. 

 

 

  I enjoyed this. Something about it just felt right. Each chapter a brief memory. No forcing it to mean anything beyond what it is. Drops of recollection falling, as if spilling from a cup, over the timeline of a life. A little thin and not much impetus but there is a compounding charm like a pound of feathers. It’s brevity is it’s grace. Where do we go from here? (I might mention that there were a few typos) 

 

 I read this book in two chunks. Read the first hundred pages or so and stopped because my disgust with the people involved got the better of me. Similar to reading a book about Trump, there is a certain nose pinching distance one has to read from. Picked it up a month or so ago and was utterly fascinated the rest of the way. The first part is a little slower, setting up the beginnings of the company and the background of the players, but definitely picks up and runs into pure fascination. Lots of well organized detail presented in a fashion I could mostly understand--can't say I can explain much of it but while reading it I did maintain a decent grasp of the accounting shenanigans. You don't have to love numbers to enjoy this tragedy. There is enough workplace drama, high wire act gambles and operatic human downfalls to keep anyone's attention. There is a rooting interest for those with the most guilt in this debacle to get their comeuppance--and some do--but the ultimate feeling is one of despair for the guilty rarely see that they have done anything wrong, the victims are never made whole and the system keeps rolling merrily along. Many of the same factors involved in the Enron collapse were contributory to the crash of the housing market so what should have been a warning of things to come--was given lip-service instead of being properly addressed. Fascinating read that still applies though the collapse was over twenty years ago. 

WWells at his finest ahead of his time and going well beyond our time. The name is of course familiar but the creativity and vision is amazing--especially when trying to read him as if you are of his time trying to grasp these ideas for the first time. Remarkably unsettling with a great ending--moving right on to another of his books.

Addendum

It is now some time later and I keep finding myself thinking about the ending. Potential spoiler, apparently the main character has time traveled again and after a long amount of time has yet to return. The assumption is his curiosity got the best of him but I've been begun to wonder if he no longer felt a citizen of his own time. Knowing what he knows, could he still live in his native era. The point of our live arc is painfully meaningless when confronted with the vast expanse of all time. Nice work Wells.