I think I liked this book best for the education it provided about the rise of the Bolsheviks and the disintegration of Russia. I enjoyed reading abou...moreI think I liked this book best for the education it provided about the rise of the Bolsheviks and the disintegration of Russia. I enjoyed reading about the movement from a working class perspective, rather than from the removed, hilltop view that my old history books seemed to take. (less)
I'm not going to rate this book, because I think this novel was simply a genre mismatch for me.
The first moment I knew something was up was when Tati...moreI'm not going to rate this book, because I think this novel was simply a genre mismatch for me.
The first moment I knew something was up was when Tatiana met Alexandra. The interaction was so...well, emotional. Oddly so. Schmaltzy even. I thought, "How odd." But, I kept going. Then we got to a love scene and I thought, "Wait a minute." Is this a romance novel? It was so...graphic. But, I dismissed that and kept reading.
Then we diverged into true bleakness. The bleakest setting for any novel you can imagine. The author does a great job describing starvation. I was stressed.
But then, I arrived at Book II, which was basically copulation. And the copulation kept going. I mean, for like, 100 pages. Bodices were coming off right and left--only in this case they were Russian peasant outfits and the Russia/American guy from the 1940s kept saying things like, "babe" and "I love your blondness." There were so many pages of this I started to feel cagy. Uncomfortable. Profoundly bored. Did I say profoundly bored? Can I repeat that just one more time?
I put the book down. "This has to be a romance novel," I concluded. I started Google-ing "Avon Harper Collins." "Oh dear God, it was."
I don't think I've ever read a romance novel, until now. Ever. (Although I'm sure someone will start mining through my shelves and tell me that, yes, I have.) I've certainly read lowbrow books and I enjoy a good chick lit tome now and then, but this was on another level.
Is this what bodice rippers are like? It was like listening to Britney Spears for me. Over and over again. And whenever clothes came off we were suddenly transported from 1940s Leningrad to something that felt suspiciously contemporary. The "babes" bits were painful.
And it's a shame, because I think with some editing--i.e. cutting out almost all of the bodice ripping and the comments where our heroine, Tatiana thinks about how young she is (Does anyone young ever think about how young they are? and comment on it to themselves?), you have a really nice book in there. The descriptions of war and the life are vivid and interesting, but those offending 100 pages nearly killed me.
So, next time I'm going to check the imprint online before I buy a book that promises history and a little bit of romance. I thought I liked romance, but not quite that much.
Tolstoy cracks me up. Sometimes his prose is so modern, so spot-on, so genius, so undoubtedly right, that I chuckle as I'm reading. I love when he wri...moreTolstoy cracks me up. Sometimes his prose is so modern, so spot-on, so genius, so undoubtedly right, that I chuckle as I'm reading. I love when he writes things like, "Of course as soon as he left the room, they all began to talk about him. (This is paraphrased.)" Or even better, "Besides the reflections upon the changes and promotions in the service likely to ensue from this death, the very fact of the death of an intimate acquaintance excited in every one who heard of it, as such a fact always does, a feeling of relief that 'it is he that is dead, and not I.'" (The Death of Ivan Ilych).
I enjoyed this grouping of short stories for the variety of topic and as always, his sparkling insights into marriage, death, revenge and adultery. The last story in the series, Hadji Murad, was the only one that dragged on a bit, but I have tendency to tune out when reading about battle scenes. I don't even like watching battle scenes in movies (it's a great time to go get popcorn).
What else can I say? Most people would agree that he's a genius and it's hard to go wrong with his work. Anna Karenina is still my favorite, but I'm willing to go the distance next time (maybe next year) and try War and Peace. (less)
This book gave me a great beginning overview of the history of Russia from the 1800s to Yeltsin. In my gazillion years of education, not once did I ta...moreThis book gave me a great beginning overview of the history of Russia from the 1800s to Yeltsin. In my gazillion years of education, not once did I take a Russain history class or read any Russian literature--kind of pathetic really. All of my references to Russia have been through the filter of ballet so it was nice to see where the Tsars fit in with Diagilev, Balanchine, Mathilde Kschessinska (who taught Margot Fonteyn) and others. I was also interested in the description of the TREST program, which was a trap by the Soviets to lure the monarchists from exile and back into Russia where they could be assasinated. All in all, very enlightening. I think I'm going to explore more Russian literature from this period. (less)
I've had several teachers who worked with Nureyev, and the stories I've heard are not pretty. This biography pretty much confirmed that impression for...moreI've had several teachers who worked with Nureyev, and the stories I've heard are not pretty. This biography pretty much confirmed that impression for me. Although his acts of generosity towards his proteges are carefully documented, in general I found the dancer vile. He treats so many people in his life as if they are expendable and all the beautiful dancing in the world doesn't excuse that kind of behavior. (*UPDATE--I spoke with one of my teachers who worked with him and he changed his tune, saying that Nureyev truly cared about dancers and it upset him greatly the way dancers were treated like children. It's quite a contrast from his previous story.)
I understand that he was an artist with a huge level of suffering: broken by the separation from his family, scorned by choreographers, plagued by political machinations. But the tantrums, screaming and general destructiveness of his personality probably did not help him in his career and private goals.
As a biography, this was some project. I think the author spent 10 years working on it and you can really tell by the intense level of detail--sometimes too much detail. I enjoyed filling in quite a few gaps in my knowledge about the history of 20th century dance. In particular, it was interesting to learn that Nureyev discovered and nurtured Sylvie Guillem, who is dancer with almost inhuman capabilities. I was also interested to hear about his relationship with Baryshnikov and Makarova.
After reading this book, things I respect about Nureyev: 1. His incredible, insatiable, attitude toward the acquisition of knowledge. The man was tireless. 2. His work ethic. I had heard stories from former teachers about how no one had ever seen someone who worked harder than Nureyev in class, and the book confirmed that impression. 3. His conviction that he had to create his own luck and create his own opportunities.
If you are a balletomane, you'll probably enjoy this book, but I don't recommend it for a light study of the art form. It's more historical than narrative. But very well done and thorough. (less)
This is another one of those books that arrived at the office and somehow ended up on my nightstand, vaulting past other, more difficult, reads. It's...moreThis is another one of those books that arrived at the office and somehow ended up on my nightstand, vaulting past other, more difficult, reads. It's a lightweight jaunt through the lives of eight royal brides, some of which I found irritating--Marie Antoinette--and many I thought sounded long-suffering--such as Alexandra of Denmark, and Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil.
Like most non-fiction works, I learned a few things. I was mostly interested to read about the challenges of living in Brazil in the early 1800s and Prussia in the mid to late 1800s. Both places sounded, well, kind of miserable. All in all, I liked Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, the best, mostly because I think Naples is one of the most fascinating contemporary cities I've ever visited and I'm sure that it must have been bewitching in the late 1700s, filled with Neapolitan horses, visitors such as Cassanova, Sarah Goudar, Emma Hart, the Hamiltons, and of course, Italian comic opera. I'd be interested in reading more about Naples during this era. (less)
I felt morally obligated to read an in-depth biography of the dancer for a variety of reasons. This book took me a good six months of slogging, slowly...moreI felt morally obligated to read an in-depth biography of the dancer for a variety of reasons. This book took me a good six months of slogging, slowly, painfully, through the incredibly messy life of Duncan. Perhaps I chose the wrong book for my education. Seroff's book is sort of a reaction to other biographies of the dancer, so there was a lot of, "In this biography, they say this, but it's not true because I knew her and she would never do this or that." According to Seroff, her "My Life" was written for cash, and is a huge exaggeration of her exploits.
After finishing the book, Ducan is still very much an enigma. I still can't figure out if I would have liked her in person if I had met her. Her behavior at times seems horrifically self-centered, which can be excusable--after all she is an artist. At other moments though, it verges on really, really weird. She was so careless with her life and with the way she treated others. Sometimes I wonder if she suffered from a lack of self-reflection, instead using the public as a forum to test out her ideas to great aplomb, or astonishing failure. For example, she was banned in Boston for taking of her top off on stage and pointing at her breasts saying, "This. This is art!"
At other moments, I felt very sorry for her, as many of people she surrounded herself were sniveling sycophants, or users and manipulators.
One this is clear though. Although she made a great hash of her life, she possessed an incredible amount of charisma, the power to whip audiences into a fervor that caused them to hate her or worship her. Charisma is a huge part of dance. As is musicality, which I imagine she had in spades. She also seemed to have this supernatural power with men of all types: the sewing machine heir, the non-english speaking Russian poet, the set designer.
Now that I'm done, I think I'm safe to answer any questions about Ducan, if pressed. But I'm certainly not planning on reading another biography of her. I'm exhausted. (less)
I've never read about Isadora Duncan before and she certainly sounds like a firebrand from this book--and sometimes a real pain. You learn that she wa...moreI've never read about Isadora Duncan before and she certainly sounds like a firebrand from this book--and sometimes a real pain. You learn that she was forthright with her opinions and doggedly followed her artistic vision, which I respect, but I also wondered if perhaps she took pleasure in telling people exactly the opposite of what they wanted to hear. I'm going to read a second biography of her now, so hopefully I can get a clearer picture.
I wish that there was more footage of her dancing; I'm curious to see her movement philosophy in action.
In terms of the quality of this book, it kind of reminded me of one of those biography books I read in fifth grade that I used to write a report (I still remember those reports vividly. My favorites were the ones I did Clipper Ships--I still think those are cool, The Santa Inez Mission--complete with an oil pastel rendition of the facade, and Chile--which sounded like it had great skiing, even to my 5th grade self). But everything was laid out nicely, even a timeline in the back on the book.
Remaining question: I wonder if I would have liked Duncan if I had met her.
p.s. I think it's kind of funny that she is part of the "American Troublemakers" series. She seems like she belongs more to Europe than America based on the way and where she chose to live her life. Sandomir spends a significant chuck of the last chapter explaining why Duncan's behavior and life were classically American. The fact that he needed to do this makes me skeptical, particularly since she seems to have been very vocal about her lack of interested in the U.S. (less)
Loading...
