Two books and one Rx

There’s no accounting for taste, it’s said, or for the kind of books you like or don’t like.

 Just the other day I finished rereading The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz. It’s the fourth book in a six-part series started 20 years ago by Stieg Larsson.

 I had read the first in the series, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but gave up partway through the second volume. Both were just too thick with extraneous detail, I thought. Enough Stieg Larsson.

 I received the three Lagercrantz books from Linda for Christmas several years ago and promptly read the first one and greatly enjoyed it (except for the grisly way he eliminated one likeable character). A few days ago I found myself without a book of fiction in hand, so I thought I’d read it again. Same reaction as the first time. I’ll pick up the next book in the series soon.

I was briefly without fiction to read because I’d attempted to read Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway. It’s billed as “A John le Carré Novel.” That’s because it features George Smiley, a character from the le Carré canon, and le Carré and Harkaway are pseudonyms for father and son.

I don’t recall reading le Carré. I don’t believe I’ll try Harkaway again, at least when he’s trying to channel his father.

Karla’s Choice has been widely praised, but I’m not sure why. I found it ponderously slow, simply uninteresting. As for the celebrated George Smiley … not sure why anybody cares.

Both Spider’s Web and Karla’s Choice are densely plotted, but Spider’s Web moves briskly through it, where Karla’s Choice seems to enjoy taking forever getting from Point A to Point B via several irrelevancies in between. Not my cup of tea.

*  *  *  *

 Two weeks ago, Wendy Chrostek, one of the Resurrection pastors, was speaking about the importance of loving relationships in our lives, and she mentioned the final report of Vivek Murthy as U.S. Surgeon General.

 He issued it Jan. 7 and titled it a Parting Prescription for America.

 At a time when health care professionals increasingly cite loneliness as a major social problem in America, Murthy sounded a theme familiar to those who’ve followed his work: We need more connection in our lives.

 Specifically, he encouraged what he called the “triad of fulfillment”: healthy relationships, service to others and finding a purpose in life – all tied to the core virtue of love. 

“Choose community,” he concluded.

I had read similar comments from Murthy before, but I wanted to read more, so I followed links to the report on the website of the Department of Health and Human Services. It had been there briefly, but the report and all mentions of it have now been scrubbed from the site.

Murthy was appointed surgeon general by President Barack Obama, fired by Trump, then reappointed by President Joe Biden. His term ended Jan. 20. What he said will be remembered – even if the institution he once served no longer values it.