The Year 2021 in Books

Continuing with our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through Friday. Today we share book reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.

(The 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction winner, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, tops our list of 27 books reviewed in 2021 when it comes to our assessment of quality).

Colson Whitehead‘s book 2019 novel The Nickel Boys received the highest rating of all books that we read and rated in 2021, having received 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five. The book is historical fiction based on uncovered horrors of the Dozier School for Boys, addressing specific race-based systemic inequities in the 20th century.

(Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein wrote Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment).

Two other books received a similar 4.25-stars in 2021. The nonfiction book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein discusses sources of inaccuracy, bias and noise in the world of judgment. The counterterrorism book The Last Man by Vince Flynn establishes further narrative possibilities for the Mitch Rapp character following the death of character creator and author Vince Flynn.

(Matt Lynn Digital rated fifteen (15) books at 4-stars. Matthew McConaughey and his memoir Greenlights leads the memoirs with this rating).

Matthew McConaughey wrote the book Greenlights. The memoir looked through his past with recollections captured in journals, snippets of poetry, and having lived his life where and how he has. The positives and difficulties were positive and inspirational. I enjoyed this. Another pair of books that captured my interest included No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox and All In: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King with Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers.

(Another book receiving 4-stars was The Great Glorious Goddamn of it All by Josh Ritter).

The Great Glorious Goddamn of it All by Josh Ritter is a coming-of-age novel of a young boy’s experience during the last days of the lumberjacks looking back as an elderly man at his life, specifically that period as a young man following his father’s death. The Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2019, The Overstory by Richard Powers, reflects a direct push against the notion of the work of lumberjacks and other efforts against nature in an impassioned work advocating environmentalism. The Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2018, Less by Andrew Sean Greer, aims to see the world through the lens of awkward romantic entanglements filled with humorous situations, unexpected consolation and discovery, and, ultimately, a better sense of the experience of love for the older gay man aiming to make his way in the world.

(The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman begins another trio of three books earning 4-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

 The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman begins with an emotionally heart wrenching decision around kids from the beginning of the story that throws much of the lives of the central characters into chaos. The moral struggles blur lines of love and loyalty to shocking degrees that lead to deeply resonant places. The dark corners of motivation in All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage, with the underlying motivation for the relevant action within the book operating from a completely different emotional and broken place. The notion of brokenness melts into class and racially based ugliness with The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.

(The Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness pairs two books that ask the reader to consider motivation and belief within the book’s characters).

The Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness indirectly speaks of imperialism and racism. Diverse audiences debate whether the message Joseph Conrad aimed to offer was indeed itself racist; the question of moral superiority is raised through the eyes of Charles Marlow and his obsessive, perhaps mentally ill view of the arguably successful ivory trader Mr. Kurtz. The Survivor by Kyle Mills places the notion of country, loyalty and motivation based in part on notions of tribal instinct to the test. The questions are couched differently between Mills as inherited from Vince Flynn and Conrad, yet the questions do address questions of values and value in a specific view of life.

(Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson is one of a pair of relatively contemporary political books looking at the sociology of race in the United States that Matt Lynn Digital has rated as 4-stars).

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson makes an affirmative case for systems of caste existing on skin color in the United States. Equivalents are reviewed against the caste systems of India and Nazi Germany. The book Race Matters by Cornel West takes critical looks at eight essay length racial subjects that seemingly aim to promote thinking on race beyond the superficial; this aim is one that I see West sharing with Wilkerson.

(Wes Moore and Erica L. Green wrote Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City, which is one of two books about social unrest in the streets of America that Matt Lynn Digital gave 4-stars in 2021).

The book Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City was written by anti-poverty activist Wes Moore and education policy, civil rights and education equity reporter Erica L. Green. The book looks into the perspectives of eight participants in community uprisings in Baltimore, Maryland following Freddie Gray‘s death while in police custody. The David Zucchino book Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Zucchino‘s book looked into Wilmington, North Carolina race riot of 1898 that included racial intimidation and violence to literally replace the democratically elected government of that community.

(The Cider House Rules by John Irving is one of eight books to receive 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5).

 The Cider House Rules by John Irving uses historical fiction along with the notion of orphanages, abortion and the personal lives of people behaving poorly to see people as they are, arguably as broken people sometimes doing things against decent standards. A portion of the book is tedious before becoming more interpersonally engaging. Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel by Anthony Doerr uses parallel narratives bound together in a unique manner to cope with realities that tie to common narratives across distinct circumstances of tragedy, grief and loss. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles approaches the depths of human feeling, diminishing distinctions of social class and the aftermath of the Russian Revolution with his book. The notion of punishment is captivity through confinement in a hotel in Moscow, Russia where, in confinement, the central character faces moral ambiguity in family life.

(Ill Will by Dan Chaon enters a psychological mystery territory with this work of fiction that earned 3.75-stars).

Ill Will by Dan Chaon connects parts of people’s past and present in showing tricky ways that the mind works to protect itself in the moment. The story takes some dark turns through external manipulations, leading to exceptionally scaring outcomes in the present. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn is the third Mitch Rapp book to land in our review this year. The counterterrorism sensibility coupled with the meddling congress angles remain as strong as ever. Like with Ill Will, I found Pursuit of Honor entertaining.

(Thunderstruck by Erik Larson brings the string of fiction books reviewed in 2021 by Matt Lynn Digital to a close).

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson earned 3.75-stars for the narrative nonfiction telling of the creation of wireless communication across water coupled with the international capture of a murderer through the use of that technology.  The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-Williams uses narrative nonfiction to share herself with her children and husband beyond her 2018 death from colon cancer. Henry Adams uses a story telling approach more in the memoir camp with The Education of Henry Adams: An Autobiography. Adams is the grandson and great grandson of former United States presidents who used his unique perspective as an American historian, diplomat, and posthumously awarded the 1919 Pulitzer Prize winner for biography with this book to offer something engaging.

(George Vecsey wrote Stan Musial: An American Life, a biography awarded 3.5-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey earned 3.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5. The biography tells an interesting base narrative of the man without firsthand interviews with the man. That the story included a bit of a heavy regional slant could have worked better for me, though the information in telling me about the man was helpful.

Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.

Matt – Thursday, December 30, 2021

Mitch Rapp and the book ‘The Survivor’ by Kyle Mills

The character Mitch Rapp has enjoyed a long and adventurous lifespan thanks to the series of books begun by Vince Flynn. The fourteenth book in the Mitch Rapp series when taken in order is The Survivor, which was the fourteenth book in the series when published in October of 2015. Flynn unfortunately died in June of 2013, making The Survivor the first book written by writer Kyle Mills. The sequence of the Mitch Rapp books can be found here.

(Alternate book covers for The Survivor, the first Mitch Rapp book written by Kyle Mills rather than series creator Vince Flynn).

The Survivor picks up from where The Last Man had left us, with traitor Joe Rickman dead. Rickman had accounted for this with a clever scheme involving a lawyer’s office, the Pakistani clandestine services and a corrupt politician bent on political gain by crippling the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), led by Irene Kennedy with tactical support from Mitch Rapp, Stan Hurley, Mike Nash and others.

(Kyle Mills wrote The Survivor, the first book in the Mitch Rapp series of books written by someone besides series creator Vince Flynn).

The scheme hatched by deceased former CIA operative Rickman involved the release of sensitive information meant to attack methods, people, and the counter-espionage efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency. Unlikely alliances and riskier than typical tactics welcome Rapp, and his team, which involves both the aged Stan Hurley and the corrupt Louis Gould. That the means of storytelling ring true to the storyline Flynn left us in the Rapp series, along with the style that Flynn left us, were satisfying aspects of The Survivor.

(Vince Flynn created the Mitch Rapp series of books. Flynn wrote the first 13-books of the Mitch Rapp series).

Given the above elements, it becomes none other than Mitch Rapp who senses the larger stakes in play with the approach that Rickman has left behind for foreign and domestic adversaries to exploit. The increased sense of risk comes with a potential increased sense of bringing that risk under control. Does Rapp save the day? Do contingency plans for a CIA leadership team, agency or presidential confidence have room to continue? Is Mitch Rapp becoming the mental image of Stan Hurley that he fears? Check in on The Survivor for the answers to these questions, and more.

(Kyle Mills wrote The Survivor, which was released in October of 2015).

The Survivor as written by Kyle Mills was an entertaining read in the Mitch Rapp series of books. Mills‘ writing style kept the tradition laid out for us in the earlier books, which made me happy. The book entertained, allowing for me an interest in continuing to read where the larger story goes from here. The book The Survivor by Kyle Mills leads me to a rating of 4-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, November 20, 2021

Mitch Rapp and the book ‘The Last Man’ by Vince Flynn

The character Mitch Rapp has enjoyed a long and adventurous lifespan thanks to the series of books begun by Vince Flynn. The thirteenth book in the Mitch Rapp series when taken in order is The Last Man, which was the thirteenth book in the series when published in November of 2012. The sequence of the Mitch Rapp books can be found here. Flynn would die in June of 2013, making The Last Man the final book written by the creator of this series.

(Vince Flynn created Mitch Rapp, writing The Last Man as his last Mitch Rapp book before his death in June of 2013).

When reading The Last Man carefully, I can see some of the notes of what I take to be Vince Flynn facing his own mortality in the character of Stan Hurley, who has been given six months to live as a storyline snaking through the larger narrative of The Last Man. Hurley was the trainer for series star Mitch Rapp, the latter of which is the unofficial yet leading Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assassin fighting wrongdoing of mischief abroad and at home.

(Books currently in the Mitch Rapp series, including 13 written by Vince Flynn, six written by Kyle Mills, and another outside the series written by Flynn).

The Last Man introduces the CIA operative Joe Rickman to the Rapp storyline, whose knowledge of clandestine methods and personnel in the Middle East and other parts of the world makes him effective. It is that value that immediately makes Rickman a risk should he be abducted, tortured, and a risk to the American and foreign espionage service if pressed for details after abduction. It is just such an abduction, to external understanding, that brings Mitch Rapp to Afghanistan.

(Vince Flynn created Mitch Rapp, writing The Last Man as his last Mitch Rapp book before his death in June of 2013).

Louis Gould, who we last encountered in the Flynn book Consent to Kill, reappears in the context of The Last Man. Gould had killed Rapp‘s wife, Anna, along with Rapp‘s unborn child. The web weaved in bringing characters back from previous works in the Mitch Rapp series, added a depth previously absent from some of the more episodic experiences I’ve had with the series. This shift in narrative style is and was a welcome development for these books.

(The Last Man by Vince Flynn features fictional characters Mitch Rapp, Joe Rickman, Louis Gould, Irene Kennedy, Mike Nash and Stan Hurley).

There is plenty of detail about the nature of what happens in The Last Man that I have deliberately withheld. My encouragement for you is to engage in the series and enjoy to your heart’s content. The book The Last Man by Vince Flynn worked better than many of the books in this series, which leads me to a rating of 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, May 15, 2021