This is a well-written non-fictional history of the legendary South Dakota mining down, Deadwood. It was the book that the showrunners used in creatinThis is a well-written non-fictional history of the legendary South Dakota mining down, Deadwood. It was the book that the showrunners used in creating the HBO series Deadwood starring Ian McShane and Timothy Oliphant that tried to reproduce the heady goldrush atmosphere in the late 1870s. Having watched the show (and being admittedly a fan) and having read Pete Dexter’s masterful fictional account, Deadwood, I was a tiny bit disappointed not to read more about Al Swearengen and other seedy characters. But this book came out two decades before the TV show and one decade before Dexter’s book, so I had to reset my expectations. What followed was an interesting portrait of the town from a native of the Black Hills, trying to capture the fleeting history of gunmen, whores, opportunists and the like that made Deadwood such an interesting place. There is interesting detail on the technology available at the time to separate the gold from its natural habitat and plenty of tabular data to see economic trends and so forth. One of the funnier anecdotes was the expression “false friends” for beans because “they always talk behind your back.” Recommended for those with an interest in the not so Old West as well as fans of the TV show.
As for the TV show and movie, I just rewatched everything and was blown away once again. The depiction of the town itself is stupefyingly realistic (despite a few anachronisms) and the historical characters such as Will Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, George Hearst, etc were great. It is unfortunate that Wyatt and Morgan Erpp played such a small role at the end of Season 3, but then they were based on Montana in the 1870s before fatefully moving to Arizona Territory in around 1879. I regret that there was no way to show how Seth Bullock became close friends with Teddy Roosevelt, as that would have made for some great storytelling. The performance, of course, of Al Swearengen was over the top, Ian McShane deserving of high praise for his inimitable streams of cocksucker and cleaning of blood stains. As for historical accuracy, there really was both a Gem Theatre and a Bella Union (and, as in the movie, Seth and Sol do end up owning a large hotel), the Deadwood Pioneer was run by Merrick, EB Farnam was mayor of Deadwood for quite some time, and Seth did become a Federal Marshall. The other embellishments (Joanie, Cy, Alma, etc) made for great scenarios but had little historical basis. Overall, I would put the show (and the 2019 movie) in the highest category for TV shows up with the Sopranos, Mad Men, Six Feet Under and just under the cinematographic perfection of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. ...more
Violent but gorgeous, 300 is a fantastic comic book based in the doomed mission of the Spartans against the Persians. Frank Miller brings his unique sViolent but gorgeous, 300 is a fantastic comic book based in the doomed mission of the Spartans against the Persians. Frank Miller brings his unique style mostly known - to me at least - from the masterful Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and illustrates the legendary world from over 2000 years ago with panache. There was, of course, also an epic film inspired by this modern classic....more
My 12yo son loved this book, but I felt it was barely warmed-over The Hunger Games but with a heroine Beatrice/Tris who is far less charismatic than KMy 12yo son loved this book, but I felt it was barely warmed-over The Hunger Games but with a heroine Beatrice/Tris who is far less charismatic than Katniss was. I didn't believe in the five factions either and found the trope a bit faded and overwrought. The structure of the book is nearly identical to that of Ender's Game or, more recently, Red Rising with a testosterone-driven school of violence for kids. Perhaps high school in the US has become far more violent than it was thirty-five years ago and Roth and Brown are working out their anger-management issues? In any case, there is also the sobby love story included for free. Entertaining, but hollow, like the last Star Wars trilogy VII-IX.
On a side note, how is it that some reviewers here stack up hundreds or thousands of likes? I guess that either my reviews are boring or irrelevant, or that I have not understood something important about advertising my reviews. Any suggestions for increasing review visibility happily accepted. Cheers!...more
Close Range is a collection of short stories that all take place in Wyoming by Annie Proulx. I found the quality of the stories a bit uneven, despite Close Range is a collection of short stories that all take place in Wyoming by Annie Proulx. I found the quality of the stories a bit uneven, despite truly appreciating two of them and, of course, having seen the eponymous film made out of the last one, "Brokeback Mountain." Each of the stories features the natural beauty of Wyoming (a state in which I have never set foot), but all are also brutal tales of abandon and violence (mostly against women and, in one case, against homosexuals.) The writing itself is good and visual, as one would expect in short stories where the writer has to capture and hold the reader's attention for just a short while.
Most of the stories focus on an object which is the center around which the characters pivot during the story: a half-skinned steer, a pair of spurs, pictures of Wyoming governors. My favorite ones in the collection here: 'The Half-Skinned Steer', 'Pair a Spurs' and, of course, 'Brokeback Mountain' which was truly exceptional. Here are some random quotes I enjoyed.
From "The Half-Skinned Steer": With the lapping subtlety of incoming tide the shape of the ranch began to gather in his mind; he could recall the intimate fences he'd made, taut wire and perfect corners, the draws and rock outcrops, the watercourse valley steepening, cliffs like bones with shreds of meat on them rising and rising, and the stream plunging suddenly underground, disappearing into subterranean darkness of blind fish..." (p. 31)
It was her voice that drew you in, that low tangy voice, wouldn't matter if she was saying the alphabet, what you heard was the rustle of hay. She could make you smell the smoke from an unlit fire. (p. 33)
From "The Mud Below": It was a hard, fast ride that ended in the mud. He passed a coal train in the dark, the dense rectangles that were the cars gliding against the indigo night, another, and another, and another. Very slowly, as slowly as light comes on a clouded morning, the euphoric heat flushed through him, or maybe it was just the memory of it. (p. 78)
From "The People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water": Other cultures have camped here a while and disappeared. Only earth and sky matter. Only the endless repeated floor of morning light. You begin to see that God does not owe us much beyond that. (p. 97)
From "A Lonely Coast": You ever see a house burning up in the night, way to hell and gone out there on the plains? Nothing but blackness and your headlights cutting a little wedge into it, could be the middle of the ocean for all you can see. And in that big dark a crown of flame the size of your thumbnail trembles. You'll drive for an hour seeing it until it burns out or you do, until you pull of the road to close your eyes or look up at sky punctured with bullet holes. And you might think about the people in the burning house, see them trying for the stairs, but mostly you don't give a damn. They are too far away. Like everything else. (p. 187)
There were times when I thought the Buckly was the best place in the world, but it could shift on you and then the whole dump seemed a mess of twist-face losers, the women with eyebrows like crowbars, the men covered with bristly red hair, knuckles the size of new potatoes, showing the gene pool was small and the rivulets that once fed it had dried up. (p. 198)
The most important story here is that of "Brokeback Mountain" which was a massive hit (3 Oscars) when made into a movie directed by Ang Lee and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger (I had forgotten that he played this role before Joker in The Dark Knight!) I sort of wish I had read the story before seeing the movie, because naturally, rather than conjuring up new images as I read, my mind was busy recalling scenes from the movie as I read the story. As in the film, the story is an unlikely homosexual relationship between two cowboys in the back country of Wyoming, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar.
He has to be packed and away from the place that morning. Again the ranch is on the market and they've shipped out the last of the horses, paid everybody off the day before, the owner saying, "Give em to the real estate shark, I'm out a here," dropping the keys in Ennis' hand. He might have to stay with his married daughter until he picks up a job, yet he is suffused with a sense of pleasure because Jack Twist was in his dream. The stale coffee is boiling up, but he catches it before it goes over the side, pours it into a stained cup and blows on the black liquid, lets a panel of the dream slide forward. If he does not force his attention on it, it might stoke the day, rewarm that old, cold time on the mountain when the owned the world and nothing seemed wrong. The wind strikes the trailer like a load of dirt coming off a dump truck, eases, dies, leaves a temporary silence. (p. 253)
Out west among cowpokes and rednecks and Bible-thumping ignoramuses, there is, of course, no acceptance of homosexuality. The love between the two men is both passionate and doomed, both know it but neither will fully admit it. Jack is the more reckless of the two, but Ennis holds back. And is unable to look Jack in the face. What Jack remembers and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, that silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger. (p. 276)
At the end of the tale, we return the Ennis' dreams: Around that time Jack began to appear in his dreams, Jack as he had first seen him, curly-headed and smiling and bucktoothed, talking about getting up off his pockets and into the control zone, but the can of beans with the spoon handle jutting out and balanced on the log was there as well, in a cartoon shape and lurid colors that gave the dreams a flavor of comic obscenity. The spoon handle was the kind that could be used as a tire iron. And he would wake sometimes in grief, sometimes with the old sense of joy and release; the pillow sometimes wet, sometimes the sheets. There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it. (p. 283)
Ultimately, societal norms destroy what could have been a beautiful love relationship between Jack and Ennis. The two men pass it off at first as just a function of their lonely job on the mountain and as a result of the taboo. However, the fact that they continue to see each other for years points to the fact that there truly was love between them. Personally, I am mystified at how homosexuality can provoke such violence in its detractors, some of whom being repressed homosexuals themselves. This story was incredibly important, because it exposed in an non-confrontational way the real possibility of love between virile men and the tragedy of a society that refuses to embrace their relationship.
This book was a runner-up for the 2000 Pulitzer, won that year by what I considered to be a rather lackluster Interpreter of Maladies which was also a collection of short stories. Not having read Waiting, I cannot speak for that book, but I think that Close Range was stronger than the winner in any case. Proulx is a gifted writer, but I preferred The Shipping News and her description of Newfoundland to this collection of stories about Wyoming. She does have a way of describing great spaces, somewhat analogous, I think, to Pynchon's penchant for describing chaotic, anarchic places....more
Wonder was a fabulous children's story about accepting differences and the courage of being yourself. Auggie was born with a severe facial deformity aWonder was a fabulous children's story about accepting differences and the courage of being yourself. Auggie was born with a severe facial deformity and is going to attend a real school for the first time entering 5th grade. We meet his sister Via, his parents, and his growing group of friends at the new school. We learn of his difficulties in fitting in and feel our heartstrings pulled when he overcomes each challenge that life puts in his way. Written from the perspective of Auggie as well as the other folks that cross his path during this tumultuous year, it is a moving and educational book which I highly recommend. The movie is wonderful as well!...more
Another excellent bit of beautiful and intriguing scifi from the Chinese master Cixin Liu. If you have read his trilogy, you will love this short storAnother excellent bit of beautiful and intriguing scifi from the Chinese master Cixin Liu. If you have read his trilogy, you will love this short story collection.
I just watched the 2019 release of The Wandering Earth based on the eponymous novella in this book thanks to a comment on my review of another Cixin Liu book. The short story was really short and did not leave a lasting impression on me. However, the movie stretches the story to a 2h05 length propagandistic scifi movie. Maybe that is a harsh judgement, but just imagine a really bad American scifi blockbuster, say Independence Day or 2012 but where the good guys are Chinese and the values are all around service, sacrifice, father-son relationships and even the improbably but unavoidable protagonist who is dead in one scene but is alive in the closing credits driving into the sunset. In terms of tech and special effects, Chinese scifi has definitely its own specific look and atmosphere (a bit more of a sharper image on screen, no huge musical theme coming back again and again, and tons and tons of pathos) and yet the budget was only $50M which means they have some really efficient and inexpensive animators with talent! There are also explicit callouts to other classic scifi, in particular to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. I just felt it was very, very predicable and they laid it on too think with the dramatic self-sacrificing speeches. Like in big films of the 80s and 90s, it was racially homogeneous in the extreme - only beautiful Chinese actors and actresses for the entire cast. It seems they took some of the worst excesses of Hollywood as object lessons. But, regardless, it is entertaining. I guess the thing I am trying to say is that I hope that if they ever finally nail down a director and a budget for The Three-Body Problem, that they do not make a tear-jerker, flag-waving film like this one. ...more
I reread Dune for the first time in several decades and immensely enjoyed it. I also went back to watch the feature film and had quite mixed feelings I reread Dune for the first time in several decades and immensely enjoyed it. I also went back to watch the feature film and had quite mixed feelings - while it was close to the overall aesthetic that Frank Herbert describes with the gorgeous desert sets and the terrifying worms, the parts of the story that were necessarily culled out was disturbing (that and the woeful special effects at the time trying (and IMHO failing) to visualize the personal shields that the characters wear in hand-to-hand combat).
For those who are just discovering Dune for the first time, it is essentially a messianic story on a desert planet (think of Jesus or perhaps Mohammed on Tatooine) in a universe dominated by a cartel (the Guild also known as CHOAM) with a monopoly on a drug (called mélange) derived from a rare material (spice) available only on the desert planet Arrakis (Dune). This drug is so powerful that it allows the Guild (and later Maud'dib) to leverage space-time singularities to defy the speed of light and travel anywhere in the universe. Overlaid on this foundation, the epic battle of the feudal houses of the noble Atreides and the evil Harkkonen houses rages, the betrayal of the former by the latter explicitly endorsed by the Emperor (himself an almost impuissant pawn of the Guild as well). All that to say that the fabric of the story is multilayered and as complex and complete a universe as you will find in George RR Martin or Dan Simmons.
There are several enhanced human species running around: the Mentats who have been cerebrally enhanced to be able to calculate like supercomputers and thus give their predictive analytics to their assigned Dukes (or the Emperor) and the Bene Gesserit cult who are a sort of quasi-religious non-celibate nuns who have honed perception and language to the point of having developed nearly superpower-level strengths of persuasion which are almost universally feared and vilified as sorcery in the rest of the universe. Paul Atreides, heir to the throne, is born to Jessica, a Bene Gesserit, possessed some of these powers and when the family moves to Arrakis (part of the aforementioned Harkkonen plot) from their home planet, he appears to the native Freeman population as perhaps a fulfillment of their messianic prophecies and hopes.
In perhaps the most critical departure from the book, the movie does not really show Paul questioning the awesome power that he possesses and his assumption of the mantle as the Arrakis Messiah, the Maud'dib. In the book, one aspect that I loved was how Paul struggled with this messianic destiny and did everything he could to subvert it. One of the unique gifts he received, presumably as the rare and unique offspring of a Bene Gesserit, was the ability to see possible outcomes (like a Mentat) and thus he could take decisions based on the most likely foreseen outcome. It made for great reading.
The other great thing about Dune is the aesthetic of this desert planet with impossibly huge worms under the surface who are mysteriously connected to spice and pose a danger to all creatures in the desert except for the Freeman. The still suit which recycles body water in the deep desert was brilliant as was the ever-present obsession with "water debt" of the Freemen. I really felt like I was walking unevenly (must not attract the worms!) through the sand with Jessica and Paul before their fateful encounter with the Freemen.
Dune is a well-deserved classic for all the reasons I mentioned above and probably much more that I missed. I have read it twice and gotten almost entirely different things out of it each time. I have not gone further in the Dune series as most folks told me that the first one was head and shoulders better than the following ones. Let me know in the comments what you liked about Dune and whether you continued to Dune Messiah or not.
Many feel that Catching Fire was the best volume of the Hunger Games trilogy. Personally, I found the quality rather even in all three volumes. Here iMany feel that Catching Fire was the best volume of the Hunger Games trilogy. Personally, I found the quality rather even in all three volumes. Here in Catching Fire, we have yet another Hunger Games, but only with former Victors (tributes that won the games in the past). The action is much more fast-paced than in the first book and there are the consistent themes of authoritarianism, freedom of expression, and feminism here as in the first book. Katniss is, perhaps, a bit shallow of a character but still an impressively strong female lead. The author does a decent job of speaking of her adolescent body without going into voyeur mode. The risk is high to give away spoilers by discussing too much of the plot here. Suffice it to say, that if you enjoyed the first volume even a little bit, it is well-worth reading the other two. Catching Fire is a quick and relatively satisfying read....more
Hunger Games is a YA sensation trilogy of books that were turned into mega-successful films making Jennifer Lawrence a trillionaire. My kid read all oHunger Games is a YA sensation trilogy of books that were turned into mega-successful films making Jennifer Lawrence a trillionaire. My kid read all of them in French this summer and wanted me to read them in English, so I did! It is a dystopian future in post-apocalyptic America called Panem where the remains of the country is divided into 13 Districts, each handing one pre-defined piece of the economy under harsh surveillance with no freedom of expression. The ruling class in the Capitol created a media event called Hunger Games where one male and one female "Tribute" are "reaped" from each district and sent into an arena to fight to the death until there is a single victor - all shown live on mandatory television to citizens of Panem. Kitness, the narrator later played by Lawrence, who is 16 years old and knows how to hunt really well with a bow and arrow, volunteers to replace her sister at the Games (Vol 1). She wins and learns that her victory sparks a revolution (Vol 2 - Chasing Fire) which presumably pans out to eliminate the oppressors (Vol 3 - Mockingjay). In terms of writing, plausibility and sentimentality, it is heavy handed and predictable. However, after I discussed the series with a kid's librarian at the American Library in Paris, I came to see her point of view as using the book to teach a few valuable lessons to my son: the themes of the dangers of reality TV, fighting oppression, freedom of expression, and strong unconventional female characters are all well-handled and very topical in these days we live in! As for the first volume, we are introduced to Katniss' Panem District 12 prior to her reaping - an oppressed mining community where authorities turn a blind eye to her hunting with childhood friend Gale and to the thriving black market (the Hob). However, the idyllic bit doesn't last long as she is thrust rather quickly into the arena against the 24 other tributes. In terms of action, I felt it got bogged down at several points (particularly in the cave). Also, the Peeta vs Gale bit wore on me (and became a theme throughout all three books of course). That being said, from my son's perspective, the rhythm of the book was perfect. Another cool bit I suppose, was the high tech stuff that Collins throws in - makes for a decent sci-fi aspect. So, I am kind of on the fence on whether I'd give this 3 or 4 stars. My kid would give it 5. I'll split the difference and call it a 4 in terms of teaching some values with which I agree and this without becoming too imbibed with stereotypes or tropes. It is highly original, even if for older readers, it might feel pedantic at times....more
Katniss final battle against Snow (and Coin?) in the overthrow of the Capital comes full center in the final volume of the Hunger Games. From a psychoKatniss final battle against Snow (and Coin?) in the overthrow of the Capital comes full center in the final volume of the Hunger Games. From a psychological point of view, the writer does a good job of showing how difficult a decision it is for her to take on the identity of the MockingJay - symbol of the revolution and the weight of its implications. I think that here we also see a bit more about the challenges of being in the spotlight and living up to others' expectations - often against one's own self-interest. Collins deserves credit, in my opinion, for giving Katniss more depth in this final volume than in the other two. Also, despite a tiny bit of dramatization, she does a decent job of avoiding sentimentalism and leaves plenty of surprises for the end of the book. I have to admit that, as predictable as the first two books felt, this one seemed a bit less predictable. I might even be pressed to say that it is the best written in the trilogy. Overall, the Hunger Games trilogy treats a number of complex subjects around faith in oneself, following orders blindly, the value of freedom, the difference between justice and revenge, and the weight of fame in a manner that is both education and exciting for kids. I'll have to watch the movies now (I think I may have seen the 2nd one) and see how faithful they were to the books....more
Orson Scott Card's science fiction classic Ender's Game is about the fate of Ender Wiggins, brother of the psychotic but brilliant Peter and the his bOrson Scott Card's science fiction classic Ender's Game is about the fate of Ender Wiggins, brother of the psychotic but brilliant Peter and the his beloved sister. It is a dystopia in which a child army is raised against the invasion of the "buggers" which are barely described in the book. There are some conventional Mormon views expressed (thinly veiled anti-Semitism, racism and a bit of sexism) through out which makes me want to take the review down to a "2" or "3". However, the plot advances once Ender graduates early from Combat school and things get really crazy and interested.
There is also a side-story where the sister Valentine and the psychotic Peter become newsnet (the internet as such did not yet exist when Card wrote the book in 1985) celebrities Demosthenes and Locke. This was an interesting precursor and warning about social media's nefarious and insidious influence on current events. The phenomenon becomes so huge and surreal that even their parents are quoting them at the dinner table. Perhaps readers in the 80s would have found this idea preposterous, but recent history has proved this to be uncomfortably close to reality. As intelligent as Valentine is, the description of her character is still flawed in that she is unnaturally explicit with her brother about her period and her sexual development - well unnatural outside a Mormon context perhaps. In any case, I felt it was clear that it was a male writer letting a bit of his taboo fantasies seep into his writing when he was talking about Valentine.
Why is it a classic? Well, because it is sort of a modern sci-fi reading of Lord of the Flies combined with a Machievelian reading of 1984. I felt that the second half of the book was far more interesting than the first half. Naturally, I also saw the massive influence this book had on, say, other more recent sci-fi such as Red Rising. Again, I hesitated between three and four stars, but because of the serious moral failings on behalf of the author, I'll stick with 3 stars just like I gave Starship Troopers....more
I listened to this on audiobook as one of the more promising books published so far in 2017 and was agreeably impressed! The story of Starr Carter andI listened to this on audiobook as one of the more promising books published so far in 2017 and was agreeably impressed! The story of Starr Carter and her path from schizophrenic 16yo black girl living in the projects but going to school in an upscale neighborhood to full-blown community activist is both touching and entertaining. All the other characters, her ex-con dad, her brother Seven, her boyfriend Chris, etc. are all drawn with love and realism. I felt rejuvenated and re-energized reading this fast-paced story of learning and growth and agree with the critics that the voice of Angie Thomas is one that we need to listen to and we will probably hear from again with pleasure many times in the future!...more
One of the greatest trilogies of all time and certainly the measuring stick to which all subsequent fantasy-style writing is compared, The Lord of theOne of the greatest trilogies of all time and certainly the measuring stick to which all subsequent fantasy-style writing is compared, The Lord of the Rings trilogy still stands at the top of the stack. Its realism, the characters and monsters, the storyline, the epic battles, and the quest motif are all drawn with incredible care by Tolkien in his chef-d'oeuvre. My favorite was The The Two Towers but all three are stunning. This edition, despite the awful cover art, contains all three books and the original appendices from The Return of the King. The one issue I have with this one is that the map of Middle Earth that should open The Two Towers is back in the appendices and relatively hard to find. It is also a rather large book and thus unwieldy for public transport commuting.
I wanted to use this review to address a few overall themes of LOTR: symbolism, ecology, sexuality.
Symbolism As for symbolism, as described in Tolkien, Tolkien's politics are not mapped onto the characters of Middle Earth in any obvious way. The symbols he uses go back before the Germanic invasions of Britain around 1000 because his goal is precisely to recreate the mythology that existed in England, Scotland and Wales before this period of instability and wanton destruction. His theory was that there were shards of that previous system of beliefs, fears, mythologies that survived in story form in the Arthurian tales, in Beowolf, in Gawain, and other Old English remnants. Most of the transmission was done orally, so when that generation disappeared after Norman invasions of the 11c (1066 - Battle of Hastings) for the most part, collective memory subsumed some of these images. Tolkien's idea was to extract these and try to revive the uber-myths that they derived from. He was a philologue, meaning that he studies in-depth the origins of the English language and chaired the Philology Department at Oxford for decades. Old English and its offspring Middle English owed their origins to various Nordic tongues (Old Norse, Old Icelandic) and eventually, the invading Norsemen brought their culture and religion and especially their languate ultimately fusing all of these into what became the Modern English that I am writing in now. In fact, Tolkien's translation of Beowolf is still a reference for scholars of Old English even today. All that to say that in reading the oldest extant myths in the "Old" languages, Tolkien got a sense that there was something important that was hidden just beneath the surface, and he spent nearly his entire life as a linguistic speleologue trying to find it - sort of a human Dorin mining Moria to find the original stories. The Elves represent the very first humanoids to arrive in England whereas the Dwarves represent the various invasions from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland before 1000. Men are those who populated the Middle Ages and Hobbits are sort of the archetype of the middle-class, landed but non-aristocratic gentry in the villages of England.
Perhaps the one place where political events in Tolkien's own life affect the narrative is in the episode at the very end of The Scouring of the Shire. Here we see History catch up with the Idyllic and somewhat isolated Shire where violence (the sad, pathetic revenge of Saruman on Bilbo and Frodo for having thwarted his plans) rages across the land, nature is destroyed, and industrialization arises. This represents the Industrial Revolution but also the coming of age for Tolkien himself in WWI and, I would argue, the bombing of Oxford during the Battle of Britain during WWII that he experienced first-hand as well. It is interesting that this is included as a coda after the main action of the epic is already concluded, as if he had this one other thing to say before sending Gandalf, Frodo and Bilbo off to Grey Haven with the Elves, thus definitively ending the pre-Modern Middle Earth (and by extension Medieval and Revolutionary Europe) and entering into the Modern/Industrial Age.
Ecology I wrote quite a lot about Tolkien's sensibility to nature in my previous LOTR reviews (see below), but I wanted to reiterate that in these books, nature itself is a character in the saga. When Tolkien talks about flowers or herbs, his descriptions are lush in detail and even anthropomorphic as it comes to trees (Ents for example). Indeed, recalling what I said above about his pining for an England before the agricultural and industrial revolutions when the great primitive forests still covered England and all of Europe, he bemoans the loss of this environment time and time again. Most poignantly, I think, with Treebeard's sad resignation at the definitive disappearance of Entmaidens which spells certain death for his species. Sam is able to bear the destruction of Hobbiton to a degree, but when he sees the Party Tree under which Bilbo gave his Farewell Speech destroyed and lying dead on the ground, something breaks inside of him.
Nature in LOTR is a living, breathing thing and critical to the success of the mission: without the Ents, the Battle of Isengard would certainly have not been such a definitive defeat for Sarumon (another reason why he attacked not only Hobbits but trees as well in his Scouring of the Shire). The loss of communication between Man and Forest is one of the reasons for the breakdown in relationships between Rohan and Gondor as well as that between Elves and Men, thus the marriages of Faramir and Eowyn and Aragorn and Arwen are so important for reforging those bonds and replanting the forests that were impacted by the war. Once communication has been reestablished and the forests resume their role in connecting communities, peace can once again attempt to thrive.
Lastly, I would point out that this sense of the importance of ecology has completely disappeared from fantasy (and its modern derivation of dystopias) literature (at least as far as I have read). The stories of Harry Potter, Hunger Games, the Grishaverse, and so on have pushed trees and nature into a Hollywood backdrop for the most part. This is rather unfortunate because that means that the generations after LOTR did not really have a solid basis of awareness about man's intimate connection to nature making it easier to deny the grim reality of climate change and ecological destruction since it is seen as superficially unrelated to their daily lives. Fortunately, the tide seems to be turning as evidenced by the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction given to Richard Ford's excellent The Overstory.
Sexuality The last theme I wanted to touch on briefly was sexuality. For the most part, the world of Middle Earth is asexual. The relationships between the paired characters, say, Sam and Frodo and Legolas and Gimli, are those of deep, intimate but strictly non-sexual friendships. In the case of Sam and Frodo, I suppose that it could be argued that Sam sometimes has a man-crush on Frodo, but it is not truly reciprocated nor acted on other than their relationship involving more hugs and handholding than other friendships in the book.
As for the Elves, we have several gorgeous women Elves: Arwen and Galadriel, but both are asexual (at least until Arwen weds Aragorn) despite provoking deep reverence in Merry, it remains platonic and more of a one-sided infatuation. There is little mention of rape in LOTR even during the war, this book having originally being intended as a sequel to the child-focused The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, perhaps that plus the natural British tendency to whitewash unsightly behavior was at play.
For the most part, women play a secondary or tertiary role in LOTR. At one point, Galadriel could become a supremely powerful figure, but she renounces it in The Two Towers after looking into her Mirror and seeing the consequences. The notable exception to this is, of course, Eowyn who revendicates her status of independence from her 'cage' and who slays the King of the Nazgûl in revenge of the death of her father and both protecting Merry and saving the outcome of the battle for the good guys with her immortal: "For no man am I!" speech. That being said, she is obliged to give up her love for Aragorn and settle for Faramir, who fortunately has a good heart and seems to truly love her at first sight. What I am getting at is that Eowyn escapes her fate as a non-actor in history with her act in the battlefield, but does not escape her destiny becoming a wife to a man at the end. Perhaps in that sense, Galadriel does remain a heroic figure, if more passive than Eowyn, she retains her total independence and a modicum of power, being one of the last two Ring holders with Gandalf.
Gandalf's lack of sexuality is interesting. Perhaps folks were put off by the adage that one must never delve into the affairs of wizards because they are of short and violent humor. In any case, he is clearly not homosexual (unlike his distant cousin Dumbledore according to Rowling (https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion...)). He is more an archetype of the Catholic God the Father than the sex-hound Jove.
Suite et fin Well, I hope you appreciated these thoughts about LOTR and that it will encourage you to reread this classic and be more environmentally-aware going forward. Long live Middle Earth!
Coac McCartney's No Country for Old Men is a quick but intense read. For those that saw the Cohen brothers' movie first (as I did years ago), the bookCoac McCartney's No Country for Old Men is a quick but intense read. For those that saw the Cohen brothers' movie first (as I did years ago), the book is as bleak and violent as the movie was. Chigurh is probably up there with The Joker as one of the most evil, conscience-free bad guys in literature. He kills willfully and without a shred of remorse before slinking back into the woodwork unseen and uncaught. Moss is a tragic, but heroic character who gets caught up with something far beyond his abilities (which are great to say the least) to control. Bell is precisely how he was portrayed in the film: tired, old, jaded.
The writing is typically devoid of quotation marks but full of wonderful descriptions: "It was a big redtail...Any small thing might venture to cross. Closing in on the prey against the sun. Shadowless. Lost in the concentration of the hunter." (P. 45). This attention of Bell for the dead hawk mirrors his attention to the various victims of the cartel and Chigurh. "Anything can be an instrument, Chigurh said. Small things. Things you wouldn't even notice. They pass from hand to hand. People don't pay attention. And then one day there's an accounting. And after that nothing is the same." (P. 57). This is sort of the leitmotif of the entire novel. Nothing is ever the same. Moss and the hitchhiker: "What do I gotta do for it? You don't gotta do nothin. Even a blind sow finds a acorn ever once in a while." (P. 233) Moss never asks for help and yet throws himself into what he knows is a deadend quest - for a goal he is not even aware of, other than knowing that he will never reach it.
The last time we see Chigurh with Carla Jean, he again leaves her fate to the toss of a coin: "I only have one way to live. It doesn't allow for special cases. A coin toss perhaps. In this case to small purpose. Most people believe there cannot be such a person. You can see what a problem that must be for them. How to prevail over that which you refuse to acknowledge the existence of." (P. 260)
As in most of McCarthy's novels, there is not really a moral to be found here. There is inescapable evil in the world and at some point you place yourself on one side or the other. When you straddle the line as Moss did, things usually do not come out well. Nonetheless, it is powerful reading and of course was made into an epic film. Hard to forget...more
Breathing Lessons is a dramatic comedy about the uber-busybody Maggie, her longsuffering, solitaire-obsessed husband Ira and Maggie's crusade to get hBreathing Lessons is a dramatic comedy about the uber-busybody Maggie, her longsuffering, solitaire-obsessed husband Ira and Maggie's crusade to get her daughter-in-law to make up with her deadbeat son. The book is all written in the third person, but with Maggie's perspective for Parts I and III and Ira's perspective for Part II. The action of the novel takes place over a single day in which Ira and Maggie are driving from their home in Baltimore to a funeral in Pennsylvania and waylaid by various happenstances during the day. We learn the backstories in long asides as Maggie's and Ira's minds wander throughout the day.
Maggie is notorious for getting into other people's businesses and interfering in her kid's lives - especially in the case of her son Jesse. Before leaving on the roadtrip, she wrecks the fender of her car as she is pulling out of the bodyshop (having repaired all the previous dents and scratches presumably) and just drives off without care. Ira then wisely takes over and drives them towards the funeral. Maggie reminisces about her wedding night: "She had unbottoned her top button and then her next-to-bottom button, just enough to let the negligee slip from her shoulders and hesitate and fall around her ankles. He had looked directly into her eyes, and it seemed he wasn't even breathing. She had assumed that would go on forever. (p. 37). This we have one of the first references to breathing which here represents how Ira, who is introverted, must erase himself (stop breathing) in order to enter Maggie's space. We also notice that he is oblivious to her stripping, only looking into her eyes. We also see Maggie's undying naivete and dreaminess in how she convinces herself that this state will last forever.
The funeral is for Max, the late husband of Maggie's best friend Serena. Serena's widowhood has made her introspective and we get a bit of a mashup of the Bal de Masques of Proust and Once in a Lifetime by The Talking Heads as she talks intimately in a hallway with Maggie: "Would would it be like, I wonder." Serena said. "Just to look around you one day and have it all amaze you-where you arrived at, who you'd married, what kind of person you'd grown into. Say you suddenly came to while you are-oh, say, out shopping with your daughter-but it was your seven- or eight-year old self observing all you did. 'Why?' you'd say. 'Can this be me? Driving a car? Taking charge?'" (p. 53). This kind of aside is what makes the novel pleasant and reminds me a bit of Richard Ford's writing in the voice of Frank Bascombe.
After the funeral, they gather at Serena's house who, still in a nostalgic mood, shows a homemovie of her wedding (making everyone quite uncomfortable). Maggie takes it in:"She glanced around and saw a semicircle of graying men and women, and there was something so worn down about them, so benign and unassuming, that she felt at that moment they were as close as family. She wondered how she could have failed to realize that they would have been aging along with her all these years, going through more or less the same stages - rearing their children and saying goodbye to them, marveling at the wrinkles they discovered in the mirror, watching their parents turn fragile and uncertain. Somehow, she had pictured them all fretting over Prom Night." (p. 87) I found it interesting that so many of the books written by folks in their 40s and 50s look so nostalgically back on high school and realize that I do as well. I wonder what period people looked back to in, say, the 19c century before high schools existed. Or perhaps they never were afforded the gift of hindsight.
Yet another minor disaster occurs around Maggie and Ira who are obliged to leave the wake and head back to Baltimore. Maggie has a moment as they walk back to the car: Now they walked slightly apart, not touching. They were back to their normal selves. Or almost back. Not entirely. Some trick of light or heat blurred Maggie's vision, and the stony old house they were passing seemed to shimmer for a moment. It dissolved into a gentle, radiant blaze, and then it regrouped itself and grew solid again. (p. 121)
In the second part of the book, we have a single long chapter from Ira's perspective as he drives back towards Baltimore and has yet another absurd adventure on the road. His chapter is also funny, if less poetic than those of Maggie. He is not a dreamer: "Ira wished [Maggie] wouldn't keep telling him her dreams. It made him feel fidgety and restless." (p. 130) To avoid this feeling of restlessness, Ira always has a few decks of cards standing by and seems to be able to play solitaire on nearly any flat surface he encounters.
As we go into the final section of the book, Maggie tries to get her son's ex, Fiona, to come back and give her son, Jesse, another try bringing her granddaughter Leroy along with her. This whole section could have also been written by John Updike as it become a very Rabbit-like rocambolesque comedy. As bungling as she is, Maggie is quite observant: "[Fiona] wore rings on every one of her fingers, Maggie saw - some plain silver, some set with turquoise stones. That was new. But her nails were still painted the pearly pink that had always seemed her special color, that could bring her instantly to mind whenever Maggie caught sight of it somewhere." (p. 201)
I'll let you enjoy the splendid mess that Maggie makes of the entire situation. "Sifting through these layers of belongings while Ira stood mute behind her, Maggie had a sudden view of her life as circular. It forever repeated itself, and it was entirely lacking in hope." (p. 315) However, the next day there is the trip to take her daughter Daisy to university and her optimism returns as she falls to sleep: "She felt a little stir of something that came over her like a flush, a sort of inner buoyancy, and she lifted her face to kiss the warm blade of his cheekbone. Then she slipped free and moved to her side of the bed, because tomorrow they had a long car trip and she knew she would need a good night's sleep before they started." (p. 327) Thus, the circle was closed.
Overall, it was a beautiful story, well-told with humor and some touching moments. I have not read Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories so I cannot say whether it was the better choice for the Pulitzer or not. I am on the fence as to whether I'll read Tyler's other highly acclaimed book The Accidental Tourist. I felt that Anne Proulx was funnier and that Carol Shields weaved together a better family drama, if I think about other women writing similar kinds of books. Nevertheless, this was a nice read.
As we roll on towards the explosive conclusion of the epic seven-volume Harry Potter series, Rowling cra[Warning: slight spoiler but no name dropping]
As we roll on towards the explosive conclusion of the epic seven-volume Harry Potter series, Rowling cranks up the heat and lowers the boom on yet another fan favorite before the story is over. The story is quite dark and continues to fill in some of the blanks as her time to finish tie up all the loose ends before time runs out. The Horcruxes of course will be crucial to the final volume. While this one could feel like filler between the action in Order of the Phoenix and the conclusion in the Deathly Hallows, it does have a compelling story and plenty of pathos and tension to be a standalone classic as well. I'd say that perhaps I agree with my 11yo that book 4 was the most exciting with 1, 5, and 7 following that. Even if 6 was really good, I would still rank it somewhere with 2 and 3, not because of low quality here, but of relatively higher quality elsewhere. It is a page-turner and will send you running to your local bookstore for the last one in any case....more
[Warning: some slight spoilers but no name drops] The fifth installment of the Harry Potter gets a bit darker with the death of a fan favorite and a sa[Warning: some slight spoilers but no name drops] The fifth installment of the Harry Potter gets a bit darker with the death of a fan favorite and a sadistic new master of the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Rowling's writing style gets a bit more rounded out and the action is fairly non-stop throughout. The Order of the Phoenix will have a large role to play in these last few books and we start to see a bit more humanity in some characters who have up to now been nearly demi-gods.
I feel like there are a few key themes throughout the HP universe in terms of critical values which I share with the author. One of the ones dealt with in Order of the Phoenix continues to be the mechanics of racism (in this case the (hypocritical) hate of Muggles by Voldemort & Co. The way that Rowling builds this up is a great study in terms of how both Jews in Europe and blacks in the US have been vilified and how even the rare Jew or black can adopt the oppressive mindset due to their own self-hate and just ignore the contradictions. Similarly, the treatment of house-elves which Hermione has so persistently fought for (and for which Ron has consistently teased her becomes a key element to the tragic climax of this particular novel.
Goblet is hand's down my son's favorite Harry Potter novel. From the Quiddich World Cup to the rebirth of Voldemort, it is nonstop action (with quite Goblet is hand's down my son's favorite Harry Potter novel. From the Quiddich World Cup to the rebirth of Voldemort, it is nonstop action (with quite a bit of comedy thanks to Ron and others.) Our favorite characters feature prominently (and none are killed off...yet) such as, her Gandalf Dumbledore and Sirius Black. I found it entertaining and really enjoyed all the inventive ideas around magic that Rowling comes up with. I kept saying to myself, "why didn't I think of that?"
The character development is interesting too as Harry is clearly heading into adolescence and having issues with girls. The Yuletide dance scene was absolutely the best part of the book, I thought. And, for the francophones reading this review, the French translation misses entirely the sly humorous French and Eastern European accents that Rowling uses for the Beauxbatons girls and the Durmstrang boys which were hilarious! That being said, I was a little disappointed with the Fleur Delacourt character from Beauxbatons. As the only girl among the four champions, she totally sucked at all three challenges. Not a very encouraging model for French girls or girls in general. I mean, I know Harry always has to win, but perhaps it would have been a wee bit better and even more suspenseful if Fleur had placed a bit higher.
A note about the movie: it was FRUSTRATING! The movie skipped easily half of the book or more - no quidditch at all :( - and I don't know how folks could have followed the action without having read the book because to my eyes, there were a lot of nonsequitors (like the poor editing of the death eater scene following the Quidditch World Cup.) I definitely would recommend reading the book if you only saw the movie. Far better!...more
[Warning: spoilers ahead but names withheld where possible] The Deathly Hallows was a fantastic, explosive ending to the incredible Harry Potter series[Warning: spoilers ahead but names withheld where possible] The Deathly Hallows was a fantastic, explosive ending to the incredible Harry Potter series. All the work Rowling did to build this story over nearly 3000 pages to reach this climax is quite an accomplishment. The tension between the quest we learned of in Half-Blood Prince for the horcruxes and that we learn in the beautiful fable of the eponymous Deathly Hallows is spectacular. The whole book resonates with dark energy - the attack on wizarding society by Voldemort's minion's honestly reminds me of the unholy alliance of the ammosexual christofascist right and Trump especially in the massive hypocrisy involved - and is extremely well-written throughout.
Overall thoughts on the series: I really liked how Rowling dealt with the janus-type themes of racism and acceptance. The horrors of Voldemort's followers tortures and murders of the semi- and non-magical peoples is a frightening reminder of both the Shoah and of slavery in America. On the other hand, the composition of Team Harry with misfits and a relatively decent amount of female protagonists was a fantastic way to discuss diversity. Sub-themes about freedom of the press, the loss of innocence, the failing of illusions of youth...all of these are treated with delicate precision. That is perhaps what I appreciate most about Rowling's universe - besides the relatively solid consistency from end to end as well as fantastic characters that one wishes they could meet in real life (Hagrid!), there are also subtle and not so subtle calls to a basic pagan morality that doesn't need to call out to the Bible (like in A Wrinkle in Time) or biblical analogies (Narnia).
That being said, it is fascinating how she built her Potterverse with a mixture of Greek (centaurs, phoenixes) and Hindu (Nagini is like the Naga of the Churning of the Sea of Milk story) mythologies. She demonstrates a wide-ranging curiosity and creative power of merging various traditions into her own unique fabric which feels familiar and less foreign than, say, the Tolkien universe.
Deathly Hallows was certainly a worthy place for Rowling to end the legacy of Harry's time at Hogwarts and is a true literary achievement in writing for children and adolescents....more
Like many I suppose, I saw Kubrick's film long ago without having read the book until now. Part punk rock version of Finnegans Wake, part scalding criLike many I suppose, I saw Kubrick's film long ago without having read the book until now. Part punk rock version of Finnegans Wake, part scalding criticism of UK society in the 50s, Burgess' dystopian Center is a real "horrorshow" (in a non-ACO interpretation of the word) of violence. Alex is a terrifying character - every bit as evil as the Joker or Anton Chigurh whose state-sponsored brainwashing is equally disturbing. The prison chaplain's pleas for free choice tend to exemplify the theme of the book. In any case, the Wakesque language that Alex employs, while not entirely opaque, takes a little getting used to, but I found it did not take away from the powerful emotions that the text invokes. I also suppose that many of us who are anti-Trump fear this kind of proto-fascist dystopian state (which in some ways is a cousin to that of Atwood's Handmaiden's Tale) and this is what will make reading this book really resonate. Read at your own risk O my brothers....more
This was a fascinating story (if somewhat terrifying) about LA in the 90s (seen from the 70s) and the future is grim. In a lot of ways, PKD's predictiThis was a fascinating story (if somewhat terrifying) about LA in the 90s (seen from the 70s) and the future is grim. In a lot of ways, PKD's predictions have not bourne out: we don't have scattersuits and no one was using cassette tapes anymore because of the CD. However, the long-term effects of hard drug use are not that off mark. I suspect that Substance D (or "death" as it is known on the street) would today be some kind of crystal meth like Heisenberg's on Breaking Bad, but ingestible with tablets. Its widespread use and devastating impact on users is certainly not understated. That being said, there is also a narrative about spies and counter-spies and how governmental institutions dehumanize agents and occasionally sacrifice then willingly. The overall feeling of the book was kind of like Fight Club meets Naked Lunch or something. I felt it was a great read and prefer it over "Electric Sheep" from PKD.
I really enjoyed how he described the scramble suit using cubist painters, that was a nice touch. I also saw an interesting parallel to Fight Club with the split personality of the protagonist.
I felt that his descriptions of people freaking out on LSD or D, particularly the bug episode, were extremely well done. I can't help but think that DFW's descriptions of addiction and delirium in Infinite Jest and The Pale King were at least partially inspired by PDK although DFW said he had never taken the hard stuff.
I also have owned Linkletter's animated film of the book since the DVD was released and - although I have not watched in in several years - I recall it being quite faithful to the book and that the animation was groundbreaking at the time. I highly recommend both that one and A Waking Life by Linkletter (and Slacker of course!)...more
Philip K Dick was certainly a brilliant man and a gifted writer. His imagined dystopia of a world split between the victorious Reich and Imperial JapaPhilip K Dick was certainly a brilliant man and a gifted writer. His imagined dystopia of a world split between the victorious Reich and Imperial Japan is chilling and realistic. Ok, perhaps colonisation of Mars in 1962 is a bit of a stretch, but the depiction of San Francisco under the Japanese administration was excellent. His characters were vivid and lifelike. His villain was somewhat predicable, but still a fascinating one. The dystopia he describes - particularly the horrors of unbridled fascism in Africa, etc - is terrifying. I enjoyed the internal monologues and the dialogs very much. Perhaps, Haruki Murakami was somewhat inspired by Philip K Dick to leave the story with lots of questions unanswered. That being said, there is a humanity to the characters and I became attached to several of them.
One thing I found a bit incoherent albeit a key to the plot, was the obsession with I Ching. I know lots of Japanese people and have been to Japan a dozen times, and it seems to me highly improbable that the Japanese would turn so obsessively to Taoism and superstition because Shintoism and Buddhism are so ingrained in their culture which - to my understanding- is nearly the polar opposite of Tao. That being said, it allowed PDK to make his typical forays into the psyche of his characters. I wondered also if the Man in the High Castle was not a self-portrait.
Also, the idea of a book of alternate reality (The Grasshopper Lies Heavy) inside this book of alternate reality was a nice touch. PDK was great with these Russian doll moves in his books (reminds me a bit of the recent SNL sketches :-)
I listened to this as an audiobook on Audible and found it pretty good although "Joe"'s accent at times sounded more Russian than Italian. I have not watched the TV show derived from this classic scifi novel but can say that it stands very solidly on its own and is up there with the other novels of PDK that I have read. Highly recommended. Will stick around in your brain for a while after reading it....more
I read this just after the movie came out when I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember loving it but preferring the wonders of the silver screen. I curiousI read this just after the movie came out when I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember loving it but preferring the wonders of the silver screen. I curiously never went back to read it again. Perhaps I will someday......more
I read this when it came out and I was a restless teenager. I never saw the movie. I only gave it three stars because I remember it being exciting butI read this when it came out and I was a restless teenager. I never saw the movie. I only gave it three stars because I remember it being exciting but still considered it pulp fiction. Perhaps the topic of assassinated Supreme Court justices over environmentalism will become a more relevant topic soon and it merits a re-read? Or not. ...more
I remember when Grisham books were all the rage and surely read this one back in the day but honestly, I remember almost nothing about it. I believe iI remember when Grisham books were all the rage and surely read this one back in the day but honestly, I remember almost nothing about it. I believe it was your typical adult thriller but with almost no sex (this was the 80s after all) and just the typical jumping the shark kinds of hijinks. I know it because both a film and a TV series based on the idea of toxic waste by powerful companies and the way they attack whistleblowers and that is all great but I honestly don't recall being blown away by the quality of the writing itself. ...more
In the second volume of The Vicomte of Bragelonne, we are still in the reign of Louis XIV but now getting into intrigues around Fouquet and his fatal In the second volume of The Vicomte of Bragelonne, we are still in the reign of Louis XIV but now getting into intrigues around Fouquet and his fatal ego as well as the Man in the Iron Mask (sometimes used as the subtitle for this book). These will once again present a gordian knot for our heroes that will cause anguish and lead them into the final chapter of their adventures. A page turner that will keep you up late on many successive nights, guaranteed....more
Most people unfortunately stop reading Dumas after either Count of Monte Cristo or Three Musketeers. Some do brave Twenty Years Later, but many are scMost people unfortunately stop reading Dumas after either Count of Monte Cristo or Three Musketeers. Some do brave Twenty Years Later, but many are scared off by the sheer size of the three volume Vicomte ("Vice-Count" or aristocratic rank just under Count and over Baron) of Bragelonne. That is rather unfortunate because for me, it is the pinnacle of Dumas' art. He used ghost writers in much (some would say too much) of his work, but most scholars agree that the lion's share of Vicomte is in Dumas' own hand. And no wonder since he was so invested in these characters. They reminded him of his father (who was screwed over royally by Napoleon despite years of service) and the époque of the Sun King and he achieved some of the most convincing and charismatic characters in French literature. The noble Athos, the innocent and brave d'Artagnon, the titanically strong Porthos and the scheming Artemis - just the names invoke awe and nostalgia. And they are all so unforgettable. In Three Musketeers, they are just cocky young musketeers in some crazy adventures. In Twenty Years later, they are more mature and a bit more developed. But in the Bragelonne series, we have living, breathing characters that grow old and see their friendships strained as they face historical events and their own aging with indifference, misery or opportunity. I can think of few books with four protagonists that are so carefully drawn and so perfectly matched and who have such exciting perilous adventures. This is truly my all-time favorite from Dumas. This first volume happens soon after Louis XIV takes the throne and includes the drama of Louise de la Valliere which is based on historical incidents. A love triangle develops that will have a huge impact on our four heroes. ...more
In the annals of revenge stories, The Count of Monte Cristo has to be at the very top. The betrayal, imprisonment, reappropriation of identity and theIn the annals of revenge stories, The Count of Monte Cristo has to be at the very top. The betrayal, imprisonment, reappropriation of identity and the final stroke of revenge are so perfectly depicted here that it is breathtaking. Dumas' finest work (besides the d'Artagnan cycle in my humble opinion), there is ne'er a dull moment in this classic of epic proportions....more
Capote has a mesmerizing way with words. His description of the aptly named Holly Golightly is splendid and the character herself is a sort of blend oCapote has a mesmerizing way with words. His description of the aptly named Holly Golightly is splendid and the character herself is a sort of blend of Daisy Buchanon and Madame Bovary. The friendship of the narrator Paul/"Fred" with Holly is beautifully and painfully described as are the parties and lovers that she entertains. I must see the film now...(see below) The atmosphere of the book is a sort of bohemian yet preppy post-Beat decadence but with a tragic sexism that poisons Holly's relationships with everyone except the narrator. She is both an actor and a victim of her status as a sex object - this is what transports this story from something banal to something more complex and enduring.
The Diamond Guitar is a tender story of unrequited love as well, albeit homosexual love and longing and disappearance.
House of Flowers is a vivid depiction of a Haitian whorehouse, the Champs-Elysées and the sadomasochistic love of Ollite for Royal that leads her to an indifferent fate at the House of Flowers.
A Christmas Memory is a heartbreaking tale of camaraderie between a young boy and an older woman and their dreams of surpassing their humble existence.
Each of these stories of love, loss, and hope against hope that avoid sentimentalism in their cold rendering of events. It is more the external elements (the weather in New York, the changing seasons at the farm, the bee prophecy and the wind respectively) that color the psychology of the characters and their ambiguous fates. I loved these stories and will read more of Truman Capote's work.
I started watching the movie with the amazing Audrey Hepburn as Golightly and George Peppard as "Fred" and find it captures the essence of the relationship between these two characters. However, why did they have Mickey Rooney do that ridiculous (and perhaps racist) imitation of Yunioshi, why not just have a Japanese actor. The other annoying thing about the movie is the comic spin that it puts to the book which while at times somewhat humorous was for the most part darker and more layered than depicted by Blake Edwards.
I read this one to my kids this year. Of course, they had seen the Disney classic and loved the character. What was surprising in the book was that PoI read this one to my kids this year. Of course, they had seen the Disney classic and loved the character. What was surprising in the book was that Poppins comes off as far more bizarre, detached and haughty than she does in the film. It isn't that she doesn't adore the kids, but she also doesn't hesitate to put them in their place and sometimes her anger is more about her own station in life than some misbehavior of the children. There are of course adorable moments and funny incidents in this loose collection of stories that are not really a continuous narrative but some random adventures. The kids enjoyed the book but have not insisted that I grab another copy. Maybe the written version is just a tad bit more mature than the movie version? Up to you to decide I suppose, but as an adult, it is an entertaining read particularly for parents of young kids....more
Loading...
