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Book Review: All’s Fair-And Other California Stories by Linda Feyder
When we think of California we often think of beaches, surfing, and getting a tan. Or maybe we think of show business, Hollywood, and glamour. Perhaps we think of the Real Housewives of both the OC and of Beverly Hills. And we can’t forget the California of Silicon Valley or the cable cars of San Francisco.
California is a place to escape for many people, but it isn’t always a place where one finds fame and riches. And these tales are told in Linda Feyder’s book All’s Fair: And Other California Stories.
A majority of characters in All’s Fair are not California natives. They are transplants from places like Mexico and New York. They all seeks lives they believe are promised by California. But are they achieving their dreams or are their lives just like the ones they left?
All’s Fair begins with a story of the same name. A woman named Joyce has just moved to California with her husband Louis. She hopes the dry desert air will help him with his health issues. While attending to her husband she befriends a young albino boy named Brian. It is through Brian she learns more about bigotry and the hate some people receive just for being different.
In the tale “Joint Custody,” a young girl named Emily is spending the summer with her father in a small California town while her mother is doing business overseas. A New York City kid, Emily not only has to deal with a place so different from home, she also has to come to terms with her father dating a much younger woman.
In “Robbie Released,” Isabel is on pins and needles. Her loser brother, Robbie, has been released from prison. Isabel anxiously awaits his return. Will Robbie figure out that Isabel turned him in? And what will happen if he does know of Isabel’s “betrayal?”
In the story “Blind Date,” a man spends an awkward evening with a young woman while pining for two women from his past. He seems to be more into these long-gone ladies than he is with the woman sitting across from him.
All’s Fair isn’t a book filled with a lot of action. Instead, these are mostly stories of reflection in a singular moment in the characters’ lives. Many of them are looking inward, looking back and asking, “What if?” and “What does life have in store for me?” They may not be the glamorous stars of mythical Hollywood, but they are very real. All of the characters are in search of something. If you’re looking for a book with a lot of introspection, you just might like All’s Fair: And Other California Stories.
Book Review: Love People, Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works by Joshua Fields Milburn & Ryan Nicodemus
I have to admit when I came across Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, I had never heard of them. Millburn and Nicodemus are known as The Minimalists. They have a website, podcast, films, and a book. Apparently, these two have helped people live with less and lead lives with intention. Love People, Use Things is their latest book.
Now, unless you’re a complete sociopath, you can probably get behind the idea of loving people and using things. It’s a good concept to consume less, pare down, and strive to live a more meaningful life. Will Love People, Use Things help you? of
Well, yes…and no.
Love People, Use Things is a mixture of memoir (mostly by Millburn), self-help, and how-tos (mostly from Nicodemus). It is divided into seven distinct relationships dealing with stuff, truth, self, values, money, creativity, and people.
Now this book should have been helpful to anyone trying to find more meaning through strengthening relationships and decreasing one’s addiction to having things. Sadly, I found Love People, Use Things to be lacking.
For one thing, Millburn’s memoir is so extensive, it often drowns out the important how-tos. Millburn just rambles on and on. And I really could live without him relaying a racist joke his mom made during his youth and how he cheated on his wife with a nurse taking care of his mom when she was dying of cancer. Eww.
Another quibble I have is with much of the self-help aspect. I found it preachy and tone-deaf when it came to issues of mental health. I know from personal experience eating well and working out are good things, but they are not a cure-all for depression.
Plus, for guys who claim to be minimalists, the book is written is a maximalist style. The writing is overwrought and uses to many fifty dollar SAT words. It became eye-rolling. Also, both Millburn and Nicodemus are writing from a place of privilege, which I found condescending and ignorant with those not as privileged.
Sure, loving people and using things is a great notion, but you’re best ignoring this book and seeking other outlets and venues on minimalism.
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