Sway: A Novel

By Zachary Lazar

Three out of Five Stars

I’m conflicted as to what I should say about Zachary Lazar’s Sway. The book was a quick, enjoyable read, which is why I gave it three stars out of five stars. Lazar is a more than competent writer, capable of stringing together sentences that paint a vivid picture in the readers mind. Sway is well written, but poorly plotted – or should I say, simply plotted if you’re a fan of the Rolling Stones.

Sway focuses on three real-life figures of the 1960’s. There’s Manson family member and killer, Bobby Beausoleil, who starred in two of Anger’s short films, Lucifer Rising and Invocation of My Demon Brother. Bobby, who wanted to be a musician, was a lost soul, who lost his way even further under Charles Manson’s cult-like spell.

There’s indie filmmaker Kenneth Anger, who had a hard time finding his way as a filmmaker, as well as with coming to grips with his homosexuality at a time when being gay was actually a crime in Great Britain. Anger, who knew Bobby, also came in contact with members of the Rolling Stones.

Finally, there’s the Stones, namely founding member Brian Jones, who while having trouble dealing with fame and his inability to write songs, let his insecurities drive him to drug use, and his eventual release from the band he founded. As a result of this, Jones was the first member of the ’27 Club’ having died at that age, quickly followed by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and in more recent times, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.

Sway is supposed to focus on these three factual storylines, but is really a book about Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones. The other two stories – historical figures – are given short shrift and could be removed without harming the book. As for its fictionalized tale of the Rolling Stones, while Lazar has done his homework, I couldn’t help wondering why I didn’t just read one of the many biographies written about the band or its individual members.

In writing historical fiction, author John Jakes, who wrote the Kent Family Chronicles, which follows generations of the Kent family from the Revolutionary War to the 20^th Century, touches upon American history and historical characters, but sees them through the eyes of his fictional family, allowing us a perspective on these people and events. In E.L. Doctorow’s Billy Bathgate, the author uses the fictional character of Billy Bathgate to explore a period in New York gangster Dutch Schultz’s life, the character arc of the story coming from Billy changing from a youngster who idolizes gangsters to one who sees their true nature and grows as a person. Sway needed a character like this; a character that could interpret the historical events of the Rolling Stones early years during the 1960’s. Without this character, what we’re simply reading is a straightforward history of the Rolling Stones, and if you really want to do that, as I’ve said above, there are some excellent biographies out there.

Having read extensively about the band, I kept questioning why I kept reading Sway, as it offered me nothing new, but instead a rehash; but for those not as well read on the band, it might be an excellent introduction.

The Girl on the Train

By Paula Hawkins

Four out of Five Stars

Paula Hawkins has taken commuting to work and made it a lot more interesting and exciting than it ever should be. The Girl on the Train is a fast, engaging read that very quickly draws the reader into its world of flawed characters, specifically Rachel, a woman whose life is quickly unravelling due to alcoholism.

Rachel rides the train every day to work. This train passes by her old neighborhood, the one in which she lived happily with her husband, Tom. He still lives there with Anna and their daughter – Anna being the woman he had the affair with when they were married. Unable to let go of Tom and what once was, Rachel is still in his life, tormenting him and his wife with her neediness, but on most days doesn’t look to their house, instead observing another married couple, on their back porch or in their back yard when the train passes, and has developed a story of who and what they are. This all changes when that woman goes missing, and for reasons I can’t relay here, Rachel has to insert herself into the police investigation.

Hawkins tale is told in the first person, namely Rachel relaying her thoughts, feelings and actions, along with Megan, the woman who has gone missing, and Anna, the woman who stole Rachel’s husband. While The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller, with a crime involved, its true strength for me was as a character study. While Rachel’s battle with alcohol could have become tedious, Hawkins was able to find the right balance and maintain it throughout the novel, while also making the other characters and their flaws equally as entertaining.

I don’t want to say too much about the book, as its joy lies in the story slowly unfolding; and while I eventually had an idea of where it was going, and wasn’t too surprised, that didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of delving into these characters lives for the time I did spend with them. As such, The Girl on the Train is definitely worth adding to any reading list – you shouldn’t be disappointed.