Waxwings

I just finished book #18 of the year, Waxwings by Jonathan Raban. I'd been meaning to get around to getting this one for awhile, as it came highly recommended and received very good reviews. The book was even selected as the Washington Post and the Seattle P-I's best book of the year in 2003 and in 2004 was adapted into a screen play by Julie Beckman for a production at Seattle's Book-It Repertory Theatre.

Waxwings was a very enjoyable read. The coolest thing about it to me is that it's set in 1999 in Seattle, which is about the same time I moved to the city ('98). Raban interweaves pieces of local history, such as the WTO Riots, MyLackey.com, HomeGrocer.com, the trade of Ken Griffey Jr. to the Reds, and the crash of Alaska Air Flight 261 with the fictional events in his story. You can see Raban's background as a non-fiction writer (this was his first novel in 18 years) shining through as he paints a remarkably accurate image of what it was like to be here (and work here) during the dot-com era.

If you want a detailed break-down on what the book is about, I'd recommend checking out the Seattle P-I's review of the book here or the Washington Post's review here.