Ben Douglass Digest

    This 1862 novel, in a vibrant new translation by Peter Constantine, is Tolstoy's semi-autobiographical story of young Olenin, a wealthy, disaffected Muscovite who joins the Russian army and travels to the untamed frontier of the Caucasus in search of a more authentic life.  While striving to adopt the rough and ready lifestyle of the local Cossacks, Olenin falls in love with a free-spirited girl whose fiance turns out to be a formidable opponent. Showcasing the philosophical insight that would characterize Tolstoy's later masterpieces, this long overdue translation is a revelation.

 In 1851 Leo Tolstoy enlisted in the Russian army and was sent to the Caucasus to help defeat the Chechens.  During this war a great Avar chieftain, Hadji Murad, broke with the Chechen leader Shamil and fled to the Russians for safety.  Months later, while attempting to rescue his family from Shamil's prison, Hadji Murad was pursued by those he had betrayed and, after fighting the most heroic battle of his life, was killed. Tolstoy, witness to many of the events leading to Hadji Murad's death, set down this story with painstaking accuracy to preserve for future generations the horror, nobility, and destruction inherent in war.  By and far, one of the best "anti-war" stories of the time. Also, what makes this such a great story is that Hadji Murad is a deeply complex human being with layer upon layer of nuance.

 [This narrative poem was inspired by Charles Bukowski, the giant of "dirty realism" and "transgressive fiction."] i During my innocence (childhood, post-puberty, young adult) And up until three years ago The "A-Okay" hand signal Was my personal sign of approval: I'm okay...you're okay... That hot chick in high school English (the one with the big tits & ass) was okay. Drinking eight cans of Old English 800 (and a fifth of MD 20/20 on 21st birthday) was okay. Scoring Oregon sticky green bud at 26 was also okay. ii Now it all stinks to high hell: Like baby shit... Like the wine shits... Like Metformin diarrhea shits... What-in-the-fuck is wrong with people? iii The Three-Percenters: A slime-ball white supremist group Has stolen my beloved symbol. (cultural appropriation or political thievery?) Now I fear for my peace of mind, To think about it, let alone do it. Because some latte-sipping, turd-like elitist, scumbag Will smear me with their own s...

 Life is a series of episodes; good, bad, indifferent. That is all. Nothing more. So make the best of it, (be good, do good, help others) while you still have time on this pale Blue Dot.

[ When the Dust Settles . Broomfield, Arthur. Ballyfin: International University Press. 1993. 144 pages. Genre: fiction. ISBN: 1-873169-20-5] Mr. Broomfield, known far and wide as a "controversial individualist" and "subversive poet," uses his poetic license in an age of oppressive political correctness, to castrate the Department of Rural Development with vicious comedic force. The first paragraph of Broomfield's book is an opening salvo of hilarious humor, which goes quickly into hyperdrive, resulting in an explosively comedic hot mess at the end of the book. Mr. Sean Scally, a veterinarian, is being interviewed by a local radio station: A strong statement from Mr. Sean Scally of the National Veterinary Organization in today's Independent will worry you mothers of teenage daughters out there. But hold on, we'll be talking live to Mr. Scally after our first break. WILL HORMONE TREATED MEAT REALLY CAUSE TEENAGE GIRLS TO GO SEX WILD? The gist of the story...

 [ Catch and Release: An Oregon Life in Politics. AuCoin, Les. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. 2019. 258 pages. ISBN: 978-0-87071-973-8 ] From the Back Cover: In 1974, at the early age of thirty-two, Les AuCoin became the first Democrat to win a US House seat in Oregon's First District. He was one of the post-Watergate reformers who shook up an insular, autocratic Congress and led fights for affordable housing, "trickle-up" economics, wilderness protection, abortion rights, and nuclear arms control. In the 1980's, the Oregonian called him "the most powerful congressman in Oregon." In this compelling collection of life stories, AuCoin traces his unlikely rise from a fatherless childhood in Central Oregon to the top ranks of national power. Then came a painful defeat in one of the most controversial races in US Senate history, against incumbent Bob Packwood. A fly fisher, AuCoin uses "catch and release" as a metaphor for succeeding and lett...

[ The Joshua Tree . Cabot, Robert. New York: Atheneum. First Edition. 1970. 242 pages. Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 78-103073] From The Inside Cover: At the heart of Robert Cabot's remarkable first novel stands a Joshua tree of the High Mohave Desert. The novel's design centers on a meeting, mediated by the Joshua tree, between old Will of the legendary West and young Lily of today's California. Will Spear: born on the Volga, escaping oppressions to a free life in America - cowpunching, hunting, prospecting, living with the Walapai Indians, mining in Death Valley, ranching in the Mohave - he lives out his convictions of rebellious freedom even as his family leaves him and the desert is threatened with death. Lily Tocca: from her wild childhood in the northern California mountains, forced into suffocation, unable to conform, finding drugs, finding despair, finding love, reaching the high desert, she receives the legacy of Will's uncompromising freedom. Their exp...