Author Jim Harrison reaches into men’s souls to examine feelings and desires that, generally, we prefer to leave wrapped at the bottom of the box. A good example is how aimless wandering would be a preferred lifestyle. Or how making or losing money is often the result of bad choices in women. His earliest novels had at their centers good-hearted but unprincipled rascals who focused on filling their bellies and following their sexual urges — all in all, a sound plan that unfortunately doesn’t mesh with family, job and responsibility.

His latest work, The English Major, mines this theme for wonderful revelations on modern masculinity and pointed commentaries on life at large. Basically a road trip, this short but jam-packed tale gives full voice to Cliff, our spirited 60-year-old hero, as he unravels the puzzles of his long marriage, his questionable farm life, and his connection to the natural world. Along the way he falls in and out of love with waitresses, wrestles high-tech gadgets, and explores unexpected physical and emotional landscapes with humor and wisdom. It’s a terrific novel from the aging Harrison, who’s lost none of his earthy savvy.

Details: This hardback (Grove Press, $24) is also available through the North Central Regional Library. The best of Harrison’s early works includes Farmer, Warlock, and Wolf: A False Memoir.

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Murder, mayhem, intrigue, beauty, wonder and illicit sex — see what crops up when you get a bunch of authors together in one room? That happened last night (Nov.13) when 40 writers and wannabes gathered for the first “Writers Meeting Writers,”  a networking and reading event sponsored by Write on the River. Fifteen brave souls read from personal works — poems to memoirs to novels-in-progress — before an appreciative crowd at WVC’s Van Tassell Center. The free event, which included an unexpected spread of food, was sort of a prep event for the group’s annual writers’ conference in May. 

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Those darn holidays are on the way. I figure we’ve got about 10 more days before we’re drowning in bazaars, concerts, toy discounts, and those seemingly endless performances of The Nutcracker. Thankfully, we’ve got some interesting, non-holiday events coming up this week (Nov. 10-16) to help ease us into the season of joy and giving (which can be a shock to the system):

√ Parades (Tuesday, Nov. 11) — Honoring our military on Veterans Day doesn’t have to be solemn and dreary. Several sprightly parades —with accompanying pomp, ceremony and gunfire — are scheduled through North Central Washington. The marching starts at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Wenatchee, 10:30 a.m. in downtown Ephrata, and 11 a.m. in downtown Chelan. Free.

√ Writers & Readers (Thursday, Nov. 13) — Write on the River hosts “Writers Meeting Writers,” an evening of readings by local scribes at 7 p.m. in WVC’s Van Tassell Center. The plan is for this gathering to be a networking event where authors can also chit-chat about their craft and even publicize or distribute their writings. Info at 509-293-9215. Free.

√ Gallery Opening (Friday, Nov. 14) — Wenatchee’s top gallery, the Robert Graves, presents its annual Members’ Invitational Exhibit in their space at WVC’s Sexton Hall. The show, a mix of media and styles, actually opens Wednesday, Nov. 12, but the reception and art bazaar kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday. Free.

√ Bond-ing Experience (Friday, Nov. 14) — Actor Daniel Craig has reshaped James Bond into a no-sass, kick-in-the-chops hero that’s much more true to the killer in Ian Fleming’s books. His latest adventure, Quantum of Solace, opens Friday at Wenatchee theaters  and, possibly, several others in the region. Admission charged. 

√ Ethnic Food? (Saturday, Nov. 15) — The new Multicultural Festival at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center promises ethnic food booths, performances, and crafts to showcase a bunch of different cultures, including Mexican, Russian, Italian and Native American. Festivities start at 11 a.m. Admission is by donation with a small fee charged for food items, including — yum! — tamales.  

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Good men’s lit is hard to find.

I’m talking about strong stories that address the stuff guys care about — adventure, accomplishment, mortality, sex — and explore big ideas that make the blood pound.  I’m not talking about hard-boiled suspense novels with tough-guy detectives or those old cleavage-vs.-Nazis pulp stories, although those are sometimes a kick in the pants. Best are books that have somehow escaped the pop culture filters of “who’ll buy it?” and “who’ll film it?” and “will Oprah like it?” — those rare ones that feel authentic and true.

Here are three recent novels, filled with sweat and peril, that should grab a guy’s attention, keep him up late, and prod him to think about his place in the universe:

♦  So Brave, Young and Handsome, by Leif Enger (hardcover, $24) — The highly-anticipated second novel from the author of the best-selling Peace Like A River sprawls across the early 20th-century West from Minnesota to Mexico to California. Our heroes, on horseback and in squeaky Model A Fords, move through an unforgiving landscape — plains of hot flat dirt, bad men and raw women, revenge and remorse. This book’s framework is the old-style western, complete with horse play and shoot-’em-ups. But the engaging narrative guides the saga into gray moral areas that leave the reader mulling friendship, romance, impermanence and the meaning of sin.

♦  World Made by Hand, by James Howard Kunstler (hardcover, $24) — The author is best known for his somewhat depressing non-fiction about U.S. oil dependence and land-scarring development. So it’s encouraging to see Kunstler shape those downer ideas into a spirited, uplifting story of survival in a post-disaster world. This isn’t really science fiction, but a more speculative view about how we might live without oil, electricity, and mass food production. His characters are folks we can cheer as they cope with survival challenges that include, of course, rampant lawlessness and radical shifts in our underlying social structures — church, family, courtship, money. This intriguing novel, in ways almost interactive, repeatedly forces us to face fears arising from lack of comfort and order. The unwritten questions hover on every page: “What would you do? Could you survive?”

♦  Five Skies, by Ron Carlson (paperback, $14) — This spare, gripping tale of three rough-and-tumble tradesmen adds up to perhaps the best men’s lit of the last few years. Three disparate toughs at the lip of an Idaho abyss tackle a complex and colossal construction project — a giant ramp for a crazy motorcycle jump across a mini-Grand Canyon. They know it’s a ridiculous enterprise fueled by ego and greed, but they live by the roustabout’s code — shut up and do the job — plus the pay’s good. As work progresses, the hardness in these men begins to crumble and out comes their sometimes grim, sometimes heartbreaking stories. An exceptional book for dark winter nights. 

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The Appeal,  John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, starts with endings — the end of a trial, the end of careers, the end of a certain innocence. Even your innocence, as a reader, will be affected by this compelling trial procedural, even if the writing lacks luster.

It all begins with a jury’s decision to award victims of a company’s toxic dumping a whopping $41 million. The company’s owner, his hotshot defense attorneys, the media jackals, and even the husband-wife legal team who pitched the civil suit in the first place are all stunned by the big-money decision.

The unscrupulous company mogul, fearful of bad publicity and stock losses, turns to one of those shady operations (hush-hush, underground, offshore, background only, etc.) that have become a fixture in Grisham-type novels. Early on, they decide the best way to win the ensuing appeal is to buy a spot on the Supreme Court of the state of Mississippi, a questionable tactic that, nonetheless, kicks this book into high gear.

You legal nitpickers will love the resulting detail, an almost step-by-step process that shows us how low-brow hijinks can float through computers and smoky back rooms. Unfortunately, suspense isn’t as plentiful. But Grisham’s fascination with the excesses of the very rich, mixed with a few deft plot twists, will keep you reading to the end.

Oh yeah, about your innocence … those days of trusting judges to be above the muck are probably behind you. In Grisham’s world, even the best people can be corrupted.

Details: The paperback release of Grisham’s The Appeal is set for Nov. 18. Not really worth the $28 hardcover price, this is definitely worth a read at $7.99.

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