Best books of 2005
Out of a total of about 110 books, these are
the best of the lot.
On a scale of 1-10:
Fiction
10
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
The File on H by Ismail Kadare
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostevsky
Voss by Patrick White
9.5
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Hotel World by Ali Smith
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick
Non-Fiction
9.5 and 10
Hitler 1890-1936: Hubris by Ian Kershaw
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Fiction
10
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
The File on H by Ismail Kadare
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostevsky
Voss by Patrick White
9.5
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Hotel World by Ali Smith
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick
Non-Fiction
9.5 and 10
Hitler 1890-1936: Hubris by Ian Kershaw
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Mon - December 26, 2005
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
finished 12/25 ............ contemp US
........... rating 6.5
This was a weird book, very different. It's
highly literary in that it explores new techniques, uses intertextual
references both real and fictional. But it's also in the horror genre due to
the subject-matter, a romance due to the ending and a psychological thriller
because the issues of Johnny Truant are not associated with the horror film.
The frame is provided when Johnny Truant finds a copy of a manuscript called "House of Leaves" which an old man named Zampano wrote before his strange death. The manuscript is a study of a film about a "haunted" house in Virginia and the family which moves in. IT's supposedly a documentary ala "the Blair Witch Project." Metaphors and symbolism are examined, and there are plenty of psychological analyses within the text itself.
In the text of the main story, the interior of the "haunted" house expands and expands and family and friends explore the insides of it, get lost, re-explore, get rescued, etc. .
There are two stories running concurrently, one is the tale of the house - by far the better story - the other is the story of Johnny Truant's adventures in madness as he reads the first story and chases booze and women. For the most part, the t story of the house and family is on top of the page while the tale of the reader is underneath in a different font. There are copious footnotes are beneath that. This structure doesn't remain true for the whole book; parts of the text follow the explorations and go up and down and backwards on the pages. There are enough juxtaposed text blocks that the reader feels lost and just picks and chooses which one to read next.
Overall it was a fun book for the first third. THen I realized that this was all there was - the book was probably empty as the house. Everyone in the book is trying to escape, some from marriage, some from the house, Johnny from his life. The book gets kind of claustrophobic at times and I wanted to escape too. Not a great book because it's just way too long. THere isn't enough story in Johnny's part to hold it together and there is too much textual weirdness in the house part to keep my interest.
The frame is provided when Johnny Truant finds a copy of a manuscript called "House of Leaves" which an old man named Zampano wrote before his strange death. The manuscript is a study of a film about a "haunted" house in Virginia and the family which moves in. IT's supposedly a documentary ala "the Blair Witch Project." Metaphors and symbolism are examined, and there are plenty of psychological analyses within the text itself.
In the text of the main story, the interior of the "haunted" house expands and expands and family and friends explore the insides of it, get lost, re-explore, get rescued, etc. .
There are two stories running concurrently, one is the tale of the house - by far the better story - the other is the story of Johnny Truant's adventures in madness as he reads the first story and chases booze and women. For the most part, the t story of the house and family is on top of the page while the tale of the reader is underneath in a different font. There are copious footnotes are beneath that. This structure doesn't remain true for the whole book; parts of the text follow the explorations and go up and down and backwards on the pages. There are enough juxtaposed text blocks that the reader feels lost and just picks and chooses which one to read next.
Overall it was a fun book for the first third. THen I realized that this was all there was - the book was probably empty as the house. Everyone in the book is trying to escape, some from marriage, some from the house, Johnny from his life. The book gets kind of claustrophobic at times and I wanted to escape too. Not a great book because it's just way too long. THere isn't enough story in Johnny's part to hold it together and there is too much textual weirdness in the house part to keep my interest.
Posted at 08:01 AM
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
finished back in February (!) ...........
contemp fiction - Spain ................ rating 7 (okay - to good)
This is the story of the aftermath of the
Spanish Civil War and old hatred and how the past influences the present. It's
about who is following whom. it's about mysterious love and violent death in a
country of romance. The foreshadowing is a tad heavy handed and it gets a
little long-feeling but it's a fun book.
Posted at 07:48 AM
Mon - December 19, 2005
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
finished 12/19 ............... 19th century,
US, classic.................rating 9
Excellent book and wonderfully read. A story
of tragedy.
Posted at 05:22 PM
Sun - December 18, 2005
The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall
finished 12/18 .............. contemp fiction
(Booker list) ............. rating 8.5
This book was very rough going at times but
I'm very glad I had it done ... er ... read it. It's highly stylized and
dense but it works because tattoos are also very stylized and dense with
color.
Hall is like a tattoo artist where her words are the needles. I did *not* like the experience at the time, (it hurt!) but looking back on the book and seeing it finished, it's beautiful and complete and I love it. I was thumbing through afterwards, remembering the exquisitely written highly detailed prose and I imagined that this was kind of like touching and patting a new tattoo (a rose with a long, windy stem). Hall is a mighty talented writer.
Don't read this if you are squeamish. It's about Coney Island, with all of that, and a tattoo artist who is in love with his incredible best client, Grace. It's about heart and soul, body fluids and love, the sacred and profane. It's about pain and history and all sorts of things, the kind of book that needs to be read more than once.
Hall is like a tattoo artist where her words are the needles. I did *not* like the experience at the time, (it hurt!) but looking back on the book and seeing it finished, it's beautiful and complete and I love it. I was thumbing through afterwards, remembering the exquisitely written highly detailed prose and I imagined that this was kind of like touching and patting a new tattoo (a rose with a long, windy stem). Hall is a mighty talented writer.
Don't read this if you are squeamish. It's about Coney Island, with all of that, and a tattoo artist who is in love with his incredible best client, Grace. It's about heart and soul, body fluids and love, the sacred and profane. It's about pain and history and all sorts of things, the kind of book that needs to be read more than once.
Posted at 06:55 PM
Fri - December 16, 2005
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
finished 12/16 ......... 20th century US
............ rating 7.5
I think I first read this book when I was 12 or
14 or so but I wasn't terribly impressed as the plot wasn't up to my standards.
(g) I generally liked mysteries and light sci-fi.
Yes, I was reminded of Angela's Ashes which I looooved and I certainly don't loove ATGIB. It's probably the way both authors portray the Irish Catholics in dire urban poverty at the turn of the century and with a drunken father that reminds me.
I was also reminded of Little Women but for different reasons. I see the strong all-wise women taking care of themselves in the face of serious difficulties. And I see these books as giving strong moral guidance to teen age girls of their generation and on. Neither ATGIB nor LW are romances in the Harlequin sense of the term because in these books, a good life is not to be had by simply finding a good man to take care of you and living happily ever after (although that's not out of the question). These books show men changing or going off to war or dying. In both of these books, women become the primary financial and emotional support in their families they have to be strong and smart and hard working to make it.
This is a book for the moral education of the young women of the post WWII era (1940s - 1960s). It was not well received by the literary establishment at the time, of course, for the same reasons as "Grapes of Wrath." But later, again, like GoW it became a classic.
We read for more than literary value or plot or history and what I found in this book was another reason that people read; to find or validate moral values.
Smith's character portrayals certainly drew me in, but other than that I was not impressed with much in the book. The sense of "Mother knows best" and "poor, downtrodden girl does good," was overdone. (I was really glad I finished!)
And then I realized that this was really for teenage girls and their moms who want guidance in, or validation of, morals and then I saw the book as being really very good. This is not just a coming of age story but one where the "good," intelligent, hard-working girl/woman wins in spite of all the odds. (the whole metaphor)
You stand by your man. And you work very hard scrubbing floors and recycling and you save the pennies in a tin can. You act like a total family unit against the world. The kids work to help out. And education is very highly valued. And if you fall you pick yourself up and you hang in there. I'm sure there are more
This is not bad advice! What advice would you like your 14 year old daughter to get? Paris Hilton's? Brittany Spears? (g)
Bekah
Yes, I was reminded of Angela's Ashes which I looooved and I certainly don't loove ATGIB. It's probably the way both authors portray the Irish Catholics in dire urban poverty at the turn of the century and with a drunken father that reminds me.
I was also reminded of Little Women but for different reasons. I see the strong all-wise women taking care of themselves in the face of serious difficulties. And I see these books as giving strong moral guidance to teen age girls of their generation and on. Neither ATGIB nor LW are romances in the Harlequin sense of the term because in these books, a good life is not to be had by simply finding a good man to take care of you and living happily ever after (although that's not out of the question). These books show men changing or going off to war or dying. In both of these books, women become the primary financial and emotional support in their families they have to be strong and smart and hard working to make it.
This is a book for the moral education of the young women of the post WWII era (1940s - 1960s). It was not well received by the literary establishment at the time, of course, for the same reasons as "Grapes of Wrath." But later, again, like GoW it became a classic.
We read for more than literary value or plot or history and what I found in this book was another reason that people read; to find or validate moral values.
Smith's character portrayals certainly drew me in, but other than that I was not impressed with much in the book. The sense of "Mother knows best" and "poor, downtrodden girl does good," was overdone. (I was really glad I finished!)
And then I realized that this was really for teenage girls and their moms who want guidance in, or validation of, morals and then I saw the book as being really very good. This is not just a coming of age story but one where the "good," intelligent, hard-working girl/woman wins in spite of all the odds. (the whole metaphor)
You stand by your man. And you work very hard scrubbing floors and recycling and you save the pennies in a tin can. You act like a total family unit against the world. The kids work to help out. And education is very highly valued. And if you fall you pick yourself up and you hang in there. I'm sure there are more
This is not bad advice! What advice would you like your 14 year old daughter to get? Paris Hilton's? Brittany Spears? (g)
Bekah
Posted at 10:25 PM
Sun - December 4, 2005
Voss by Patrick White
finished 12/4 ................ 20th century
Australia - Nobel Winner ................ rating 10
Whew! What a totally magnificent novel! It
is almost perfect, imo. I wish I had time to reread it because I know I missed
a lot.
First, the love story was so powerful I almost wept. The idea of two kindred spirits who recognize each other almost too late (or too late) and are almost, but not quite, too proud to accept each other, was heart wrenching. But the spiritual power of their love is there for both of them in many ways even without much communication. Their love for each other strengthens them and nurtures them and changes them. Voss becomes the loving care-taker of his sick and injured men. Laura becomes the loving mother to the orphaned daughter of her maid. These stories parallel each other and although from some appearances Laura and Voss are opposites, they are made of the same stuff, human arrogance and pride, underneath. (This may be my favorite love story of all time.)
"So the German was despising what he most desired; to peel the whale-bone off he lily stem and bruise the mouth of the flesh." (pg 213) (There was a lily growing in the desert.)
But then, it may be that Voss is sapping Laura's strength with his love and need as he calls on her to help him in the desert. It's possible that she gets sick from his drain on her spirit.
Second, the desert, - wow. The desert is the emptiness within and between people; it's the existential quality of White's writing. Voss and Laura had to deal with their personal and interpersonal deserts. I'm not sure this was developed as fully as it could have been or I missed some details but it's a great metaphor.
"Human relationships are vast deserts; they demand all daring, she seemed to suggest." (pg 192)
Third, the mission - the incredible egotism of man will be his downfall and the humble will survive. Voss had it in his head that somehow he knew and controlled all things (kind of). Judd, otoh, went with the flow. Voss died, Judd survived.
First, the love story was so powerful I almost wept. The idea of two kindred spirits who recognize each other almost too late (or too late) and are almost, but not quite, too proud to accept each other, was heart wrenching. But the spiritual power of their love is there for both of them in many ways even without much communication. Their love for each other strengthens them and nurtures them and changes them. Voss becomes the loving care-taker of his sick and injured men. Laura becomes the loving mother to the orphaned daughter of her maid. These stories parallel each other and although from some appearances Laura and Voss are opposites, they are made of the same stuff, human arrogance and pride, underneath. (This may be my favorite love story of all time.)
"So the German was despising what he most desired; to peel the whale-bone off he lily stem and bruise the mouth of the flesh." (pg 213) (There was a lily growing in the desert.)
But then, it may be that Voss is sapping Laura's strength with his love and need as he calls on her to help him in the desert. It's possible that she gets sick from his drain on her spirit.
Second, the desert, - wow. The desert is the emptiness within and between people; it's the existential quality of White's writing. Voss and Laura had to deal with their personal and interpersonal deserts. I'm not sure this was developed as fully as it could have been or I missed some details but it's a great metaphor.
"Human relationships are vast deserts; they demand all daring, she seemed to suggest." (pg 192)
Third, the mission - the incredible egotism of man will be his downfall and the humble will survive. Voss had it in his head that somehow he knew and controlled all things (kind of). Judd, otoh, went with the flow. Voss died, Judd survived.
Posted at 06:54 PM
Sat - December 3, 2005
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
finished 12/1 ............... 20th century US
fiction ............... rating 8
Malamud is a fabulous author and this is a
classic tale of a man's search for redemption. Malamud uses a typically Jewish
setting and themes of self-pity and love and endurance.
Posted at 07:54 PM
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
never finished - got to page 250 or so
............. ancient Japanese literature ............... no rating til
finished
This so far seems like one romance after the
other which becomes rather tedious. I've read up on some Japanese history of
the period and it may be more interesting now. I may finish it, I may not.
It depends on how much time I have during the holidays.
Posted at 07:49 PM
A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes
finished 11/ 24 ............ non-fiction -
history ................. rating 9
Figes makes the point that the Russian
Revolution was a failure of the People, not the Marxist theorists or the
revolutionaries or the capitalist system but the people of Russia themselves.
He provides an incredible amount of information to back that up and yet, I
somehow feel that to view it that way is blaming the victims and racially or
culturally biased, in a sense.
Anyway, the book rather arbitrarily deals with the time period between 1893 (serious economic difficulties) and 1924 (Lenin's death) and that certainly plays into his basic theme, it focuses on far more than the revolutionaries and Marxism and far less than the whole history of bloody Tsars. The book also uses biographical sketches of people who illustrate Figes' point by being close to peasants or rejecting them.
He also uses more literary references than most historians (well, naturally, who wrote "Natasha's Dance"?). Doing that also lends credibility to the idea of the failure being due to a flaw in the people, because the intellectuals had a love-hate relationship with the peasants; they loved the idea and hated the reality.
So yes, Figes does make his point very clear and I certainly learned a lot about Russian history regarding the revolution (especially the aftermath) but I'm sure that there are other interpretations.
Anyway, the book rather arbitrarily deals with the time period between 1893 (serious economic difficulties) and 1924 (Lenin's death) and that certainly plays into his basic theme, it focuses on far more than the revolutionaries and Marxism and far less than the whole history of bloody Tsars. The book also uses biographical sketches of people who illustrate Figes' point by being close to peasants or rejecting them.
He also uses more literary references than most historians (well, naturally, who wrote "Natasha's Dance"?). Doing that also lends credibility to the idea of the failure being due to a flaw in the people, because the intellectuals had a love-hate relationship with the peasants; they loved the idea and hated the reality.
So yes, Figes does make his point very clear and I certainly learned a lot about Russian history regarding the revolution (especially the aftermath) but I'm sure that there are other interpretations.
Posted at 07:47 PM
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
finished 11/24 .............. contemp
non-fiction / business .............. rating 6
I thought it was written like a series of
columns for a non-business newspaper or magazine. The first chapter was
attention getting in giving the reader some tid-bits and anecdotes regarding the
impact of technology on globalization and a personal touch for many readers who
wonder if their job will be the next to be outsourced. Friedman likes to drop
names implying that he is on a first name basis with the powers that be in these
areas and therefore on the cutting edge of the
future.
I sound like I'm dissing the book because it's so easy to do! But inside this amalgam of chatty, "next big thing," style and mentality I found some interesting factoids. Do they all add up to what Freidman calls the "flattening" of the world? Hmmmmmmmmmm
I sound like I'm dissing the book because it's so easy to do! But inside this amalgam of chatty, "next big thing," style and mentality I found some interesting factoids. Do they all add up to what Freidman calls the "flattening" of the world? Hmmmmmmmmmm
Posted at 07:27 PM
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
finished 11/24 ............. contemp fiction
(Turkey) ............. rating 9
I love Orhan Pamuk! I've read The New Life,
The Color Red and now Snow. I think of the three, The Color Red is probably
the best book however, I liked The New Life best (my discovery of Pamuk
probably) and now Snow is really very good, it has aspects to it that are very
different from the other books. They are all different
though.
Snow is the story of a poet who, after being exiled from his homeland in Turkey, becomes moderately famous and returns. He goes to the small and isolated town of Kars which becomes further isolated by a blizzard. This leads to a number of literary references including Kafka, Doestoevsky, During this blizzard, an attempted coup takes place. Ka, the poet, looks at Kars through westernized eyes until he starts writing poetry and then he becomes just like them. It's not pretty but I appreciate the book even more for it.
I saw love (sex) as being a prime mover of revolution in this book. I think it may have been intended. I'll have to check somewhere. ?????
Snow is the story of a poet who, after being exiled from his homeland in Turkey, becomes moderately famous and returns. He goes to the small and isolated town of Kars which becomes further isolated by a blizzard. This leads to a number of literary references including Kafka, Doestoevsky, During this blizzard, an attempted coup takes place. Ka, the poet, looks at Kars through westernized eyes until he starts writing poetry and then he becomes just like them. It's not pretty but I appreciate the book even more for it.
I saw love (sex) as being a prime mover of revolution in this book. I think it may have been intended. I'll have to check somewhere. ?????
Posted at 07:25 PM
Wed - November 23, 2005
Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawe Jhabvala
finished 11/10 ........... Booker material
.................. rating 7
This won a Booker Prize a few years ago and
then was made into a movie, which I haven't seen, as well.
Tale of a woman who travels from England to India to see where her grandfather and his first wife had their difficulties. The stories intertwine on some levels. This is a distinctly post-colonial work with a few differences.
Tale of a woman who travels from England to India to see where her grandfather and his first wife had their difficulties. The stories intertwine on some levels. This is a distinctly post-colonial work with a few differences.
Posted at 05:44 PM
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (Deathbed version)
finished 11/17................... 19th cent. US
poetry - Americana .................. rating 9
I read the whole thing, the "Death
Bed" edition and, imo, Whitman's attitude or personality (or whatever) changes
significantly in the course of the book (the course of a life,
really).
In the first half of the book (almost exactly), up through "Not the Pilot" in "Drum Taps" he's very exuberant, young, nationalistic (in a sense), as you say and as is befitting a young man in a young country. But then with "Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me" about 3/4 of the way through "Drum Taps" he changes.
Year that trembled and reel’d beneath me!
Your summer wind was warm enough—yet the air I breathed froze me;
A thick gloom fell through the sunshine and darken’d me;
Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself;
Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled?
And sullen hymns of defeat?
The section "Memories of President Lincoln" is really very sad:
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
And then in the next section, "By Blue Ontario's Shore" Whitman seems more mature somehow:
(in Section 12)
What is this you bring my America?
Is it uniform with my country?
Is it not something that has been better told or done before?
Have you not imported this or the spirit of it in some ship?
Is it not a mere tale? a rhyme? a prettiness? - Is the good old cause
in it?
Then he gets older and the poetry is more mellow, I think, more contemplative, finally, with "Good-bye My Fancy" he's in his 70s and he really sounds tired.
Of course, through it all I sense the innate optimism of Whitman, his love for all people and his nation and nature. But I think that the changes give a real sense of trueness to the book. This is what Walt Whitman's life really was.
In the first half of the book (almost exactly), up through "Not the Pilot" in "Drum Taps" he's very exuberant, young, nationalistic (in a sense), as you say and as is befitting a young man in a young country. But then with "Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me" about 3/4 of the way through "Drum Taps" he changes.
Year that trembled and reel’d beneath me!
Your summer wind was warm enough—yet the air I breathed froze me;
A thick gloom fell through the sunshine and darken’d me;
Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself;
Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled?
And sullen hymns of defeat?
The section "Memories of President Lincoln" is really very sad:
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
And then in the next section, "By Blue Ontario's Shore" Whitman seems more mature somehow:
(in Section 12)
What is this you bring my America?
Is it uniform with my country?
Is it not something that has been better told or done before?
Have you not imported this or the spirit of it in some ship?
Is it not a mere tale? a rhyme? a prettiness? - Is the good old cause
in it?
Then he gets older and the poetry is more mellow, I think, more contemplative, finally, with "Good-bye My Fancy" he's in his 70s and he really sounds tired.
Of course, through it all I sense the innate optimism of Whitman, his love for all people and his nation and nature. But I think that the changes give a real sense of trueness to the book. This is what Walt Whitman's life really was.
Posted at 05:41 PM
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
finished 11/21 ......... contemp fiction/
Booker short list ................. rating 8.5
Really quite interesting. It was nominated
for a Booker Prize this year (didn't win) as was White Teeth, her previous best
seller, a few years ago. She wrote another one in the middle but it didn't go
over too well and I didn't care for White Teeth.
On Beauty is based very loosely on Howards End by E.M. Forster (1910?) and is basically the story of one family as it interacts in its world, particularly with another family which is very different in spite of some surface, academic environment similarities, but there are underlying similarities, too. . Within the racially mixed Belsey family, the members are wonderfully individual and each has his/her own problems to confront. There's a fair amount of graphic, and possibly gratuitous, sex starting about midway. I know I will read this again in paper copy because several reading groups are discussing it and I like to have references handy. It's worth the read though, because I want to know more about the similarities and differences within "On Beauty" as well as when compared to "Howards End." There is a good deal about art and life here but Smith never takes herself or her subjects too seriously or without a good chunk of love.
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in literature with an academic setting (Tartt, Lodge, etc.). It's definitely a modernist (not post-modern) "literary" type book in keeping with the 21st century Booker tradition and in the style of Smith. (but she's grown a lot since "White Teeth.)
Bekah
On Beauty is based very loosely on Howards End by E.M. Forster (1910?) and is basically the story of one family as it interacts in its world, particularly with another family which is very different in spite of some surface, academic environment similarities, but there are underlying similarities, too. . Within the racially mixed Belsey family, the members are wonderfully individual and each has his/her own problems to confront. There's a fair amount of graphic, and possibly gratuitous, sex starting about midway. I know I will read this again in paper copy because several reading groups are discussing it and I like to have references handy. It's worth the read though, because I want to know more about the similarities and differences within "On Beauty" as well as when compared to "Howards End." There is a good deal about art and life here but Smith never takes herself or her subjects too seriously or without a good chunk of love.
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in literature with an academic setting (Tartt, Lodge, etc.). It's definitely a modernist (not post-modern) "literary" type book in keeping with the 21st century Booker tradition and in the style of Smith. (but she's grown a lot since "White Teeth.)
Bekah
Posted at 05:30 PM
Sun - October 30, 2005
moving along!
98 books so far this year
This is a whole lot more than I thought was
there but I just counted them up. Yes, some are very short and easy but
others are quite lengthy and/or difficult. I'd say there were more difficult
books than easy ones. Two I read twice (Cloud Atlas and A Room With a View) so
I counted them twice, but I think that those were the only two. Those two were
magnificent and it may happen again with The March.
So, I've got 8 or 9 weeks left of the year and that's probably 20 books or so. I really did not plan this this year.
On the shelf (to be read soon) and these aren't audible listening books. That will be another 5 or so.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes
Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Flu by Gina Kolada
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Who Cooked the Last Supper by Rosalind Miles
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Voss by P. White
So, I've got 8 or 9 weeks left of the year and that's probably 20 books or so. I really did not plan this this year.
On the shelf (to be read soon) and these aren't audible listening books. That will be another 5 or so.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes
Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Flu by Gina Kolada
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Who Cooked the Last Supper by Rosalind Miles
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Voss by P. White
Posted at 01:08 PM
The March by E.L. Doctorow
finished 10/30 ................... contemp US
historical fiction .................. rating 8.5
This has got to be a contender for one of the
best books I've read this year. I'll gladly listen again or read the book if
it comes up on a discussion list.
The setting is General Sherman's March through Georgia at the end of the Civil War. The characters are the people who come along, former slaves, soldiers, prisoners, a doctor and others. This is historical fiction as it should be written. Using the facts we have it brings the people to life. Wow.
The setting is General Sherman's March through Georgia at the end of the Civil War. The characters are the people who come along, former slaves, soldiers, prisoners, a doctor and others. This is historical fiction as it should be written. Using the facts we have it brings the people to life. Wow.
Posted at 12:52 PM
Howard's End by E.M. Forster
finished 10/30 ................. early 20th
cent. fiction / classic ............... rating 9
I enjoyed A Room With a View so much I thought
I'd read this and then I discovered that "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith (2005) was
based on Howard's End I couldn't resist. It was well worth the effort and
I'll gladly read it again if it comes up for discussion on a list. (otherwise I
doubt I'd have time).
Posted at 12:50 PM
Sat - October 29, 2005
Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks
finished 10/27 ........ non-fiction / WWII spys
............. rating 5 (mixed)
This is the story of the master coder at the
SOE in Britain and how he developed the poetry codes and the one-time-pad for
letter transmission. THese were written on silk for ease of transport. The
first 75% of the book sounds hugely egotistical and like the "big boys" didn't
know what they were doing but the young and brash Leo Marks (author) did. The
last 25% is the very touching story of how spies lost their lives. This is a
great book for WWII fans but if you don't know much about the SOE or coding or
spies then I'd start elsewhere.
Posted at 11:03 AM
Loitering With Intent by Muriel Sparks
finished 10/13 .......... Booker winner, UK
............. rating 7.5
Funny, interesting look at a writer who usurps
the memoirs of several people and embellishes them only to find that the leader
of the memoirists has stolen her work and the lives are becoming very similar.
Posted at 10:58 AM
Sat - October 22, 2005
Memoir of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
finished 10/15 ........ contemp US
............... rating 7.5
This is fiction but told like a memoir. It's
an excellent tale with such interesting subject matter that I kept wanting it to
be true. But no, it's even written by a man, although a man who obviously
knows a lot about geishas.
Posted at 11:31 AM
Sun - October 2, 2005
Catching up
whew
I just had to get the books I've read in the
last couple months on here or I'd never catch up. I really read and listened
to a lot of good books over the summer!
Posted at 01:06 AM
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick
finished 10/1/05 ......... rating
9.5
Terrific short story, a classic, about a
mother in a Jewish concentration camp. This was lengthened into a novella.
Posted at 01:05 AM
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
finished 10/1 ........ rating 9
Extraordinarily interesting series of lectures
by premier author. On the necessity of money to buy time and space for women
to write.
Posted at 01:04 AM
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
finished 9/05 ........ rating 4
Interesting idea, very poorly developed.
Mostly hype by the publishing media. Living outside the "grid" two brothers
are the last of the "heros" fighting to preserve their freedom. Will be a
series? (oh my god)
Posted at 01:01 AM
The Short Stories of Anton Chekov by Anton Chekov
finished 9/05 ....... rating 8
He writes beautifully but I'm not sure I
appreciate his point. Lots of unhappiness, some humor, generally misogynist,
imo.
Posted at 12:59 AM
The Narrows by Michael Connelly
finished 9/05 ......... rating 6
suspenseful but generally standard fare good
detective mystery
Posted at 12:51 AM
The Company by Robert Littell
finished 9/05 .......... rating 9
This is the history of the CIA through fiction.
Excellent!
Posted at 12:50 AM
The Closers by Michael Connelly
finished 9/05 ........ rating 5
adequate to good. Standard detective mystery
fiction.
Posted at 12:49 AM
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fjord
Finished 9/05 ........ rating 4
I don't know why I bother with Fjord anymore,
he's way to fantastical.
Posted at 12:47 AM
Little Scarlet by Walter Mosely
finished 9/05 ........ rating 6.5
good standard crime fare. Easy Rawlins is
buzzing around LA helping the cops and staying out of trouble. Solving a murder
case.
Posted at 12:45 AM
Dead Ringer by Lisa Scottoline
finished 9/05 ........ rating 6
Good standard fare. The twist is that this is
a very funny woman criminal lawyer with an evil twin.
Posted at 12:44 AM
Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke
finished 8/05 ....... rating 8?
Great James Lee Burke fare. Very much enjoyed
Robicheaux in his new adventure. The reader is awesome.
Posted at 12:42 AM
A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
finished 10/01/05 ........ rating
9
Great listen. The reader is clear with good
pacing. Good characters without over-reading.
Posted at 12:40 AM
A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
finished 9/30/05 ........... rating
8.5
Very nice book. Pre WWI. comedy of manners
via neo-classical allusions. Funny, memorable, Forster's a great stylist but
not a top-notch author. Actually, I read the book twice and listened to it on
Audible. It was wonderful and then got old suddenly.
Posted at 12:39 AM
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
finished 10/1 ......... rating 9
This is a totally beautifully written book but
as for characters and plot ..... well ...... it's kinda slow. But there is
something that is just so classy about this book! It's slow and rhythmical,
slow like a a deep river. Wonderful book.
I had rated this much lower after I finished it but this is the kind of book that sticks to you.
I had rated this much lower after I finished it but this is the kind of book that sticks to you.
Posted at 12:36 AM
Return of the Golden Age by Marilyn Peake
finished 9/05 ........ rating 9 (children's
book ages 9-12)
The City of the Golden
Sun
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2004
140 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers
A compelling tale of time travel and life in other ages, "The City of the Golden Sun" is the second book in The Fisherman Son trilogy by Marilyn Peake.
In the first book, The Fisherman's Son, Wiley O'Mara, 19th century Irish boy who is grieving for his mother and essentially abandoned by his alcoholic father, travels by the magical dolphin, Elden, to an ancient world and saves six trapped boys.
In "The City of the Golden Sun," Wiley has to take care of the rescued boys while they are in his time and place. The boys have their doubts about Wiley but once they meet Lucinda, a fairy woman from the first book, they realize that he might be telling the truth. Lucinda gives the boys another goblet and reminds Wiley of his ultimate quest, to join two worlds. She also reminds them of the admonition, "Drink deeply of earth and sea, Earth comes only once." They are to meet Elden again so they can return to the city of the past.
So by way of the Elden and his friends, the boys travel underwater back to the ancient city in the days before the catastrophe which ended it. There they live their lives in the splendor of that world but witness a crime and injustice prior to the end.
Again, the incredible realism of the ocean scenes provides a bridge between the reality of life in 19th century Ireland and the near magical ancient city beneath the sea. This is a perfect choice for most children in grades 3 through 5, but "The Fisherman's Son" should be read first.
Reviewed by Becky Alexander
educator
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2004
140 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers
A compelling tale of time travel and life in other ages, "The City of the Golden Sun" is the second book in The Fisherman Son trilogy by Marilyn Peake.
In the first book, The Fisherman's Son, Wiley O'Mara, 19th century Irish boy who is grieving for his mother and essentially abandoned by his alcoholic father, travels by the magical dolphin, Elden, to an ancient world and saves six trapped boys.
In "The City of the Golden Sun," Wiley has to take care of the rescued boys while they are in his time and place. The boys have their doubts about Wiley but once they meet Lucinda, a fairy woman from the first book, they realize that he might be telling the truth. Lucinda gives the boys another goblet and reminds Wiley of his ultimate quest, to join two worlds. She also reminds them of the admonition, "Drink deeply of earth and sea, Earth comes only once." They are to meet Elden again so they can return to the city of the past.
So by way of the Elden and his friends, the boys travel underwater back to the ancient city in the days before the catastrophe which ended it. There they live their lives in the splendor of that world but witness a crime and injustice prior to the end.
Again, the incredible realism of the ocean scenes provides a bridge between the reality of life in 19th century Ireland and the near magical ancient city beneath the sea. This is a perfect choice for most children in grades 3 through 5, but "The Fisherman's Son" should be read first.
Reviewed by Becky Alexander
educator
Posted at 12:29 AM
The End of Faith by Sam Harris
finished ??? ........ rating 1 (if
that)
This is a terrible, horrible book. It
generalizes from the specifics that certain religions believe certain things
therefore all Christians believe those things. Worse, it generalizes that
because some Muslims believe that it is right to kill, all Muslims believe
that. The book says stop the tolerance.
Posted at 12:24 AM
The City of the Golden Sun by Marilyn Peake
finished 9/05 ......... rating (children's book
ages 9-12 ... 9)
Return of the Golden
Age
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2005
138 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers
"Return of the Golden Age" is the third and final book in the trilogy, "The Fisherman's Son" by Marilyn Peake. The 12-year old Wiley O'Mara motherless and abandoned by his drunken father, continues the quest and adventures begun in books one and two. He is to "bring the two parts together," whatever that means, and remember "Drink deeply by land or sea . Earth comes only once."
So far Wiley has discovered a world, (Atlantis?) that was destroyed by meteor thousands of years prior and saved six boys who had been protected by sleep and an air bubble provided by the magic dolphin, Elden. If this sounds far fetched it's because I can't begin to recreate the magical journey that Peake so beautifully and expertly develops. Reading the two prior books, this plot is entirely within the realm of the literarily believable.
As "Return of the Golden Age" opens, Wiley and the rescued boys are deposited on Wiley's island (Ireland?) by a group of friendly dolphins, including Elden. The boys make their way to an orphanage where they find food and shelter and Wiley goes to his own home on the other side of the island where he awaits further instructions from his magical guide, Lucinda. After this the story is full of fantastical adventures in caves with magic rings and powers sure to delight any child or adult interested in good time travel and fantasy books.
But maybe there is more to the book than meets the casual, plot-oriented eye. Perhaps Wiley's real quest is to discover, save and share the very special and ancient heritage of his poverty stricken people. Perhaps he can save them.
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2005
138 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers
"Return of the Golden Age" is the third and final book in the trilogy, "The Fisherman's Son" by Marilyn Peake. The 12-year old Wiley O'Mara motherless and abandoned by his drunken father, continues the quest and adventures begun in books one and two. He is to "bring the two parts together," whatever that means, and remember "Drink deeply by land or sea . Earth comes only once."
So far Wiley has discovered a world, (Atlantis?) that was destroyed by meteor thousands of years prior and saved six boys who had been protected by sleep and an air bubble provided by the magic dolphin, Elden. If this sounds far fetched it's because I can't begin to recreate the magical journey that Peake so beautifully and expertly develops. Reading the two prior books, this plot is entirely within the realm of the literarily believable.
As "Return of the Golden Age" opens, Wiley and the rescued boys are deposited on Wiley's island (Ireland?) by a group of friendly dolphins, including Elden. The boys make their way to an orphanage where they find food and shelter and Wiley goes to his own home on the other side of the island where he awaits further instructions from his magical guide, Lucinda. After this the story is full of fantastical adventures in caves with magic rings and powers sure to delight any child or adult interested in good time travel and fantasy books.
But maybe there is more to the book than meets the casual, plot-oriented eye. Perhaps Wiley's real quest is to discover, save and share the very special and ancient heritage of his poverty stricken people. Perhaps he can save them.
Posted at 12:20 AM
The Fisherman's Son by Marilyn Peake
finished 9/05 ......... rating (children's book
- 9)
The
Fisherman's Son
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2004
176 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers
This is the first book in a trilogy of children's books perfect for either boys or girls in the 3rd through 6th grade levels and maybe also for adults who enjoy time travel and books of magic and fantasy. They are definitely best read in order. "The Fisherman's Son" is the first book, "The City of the Golden Sun" is second and "Return of the Golden Age" is third. The books' style is a combination of magical/fantastical and realistic and includes a bit of time travel. All of this combines to make for a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for children as well as adults.
In the first book, "The Fisherman's Son," young Wiley O'Mara, a 12 year old boy of 19th century Ireland, is grieving his mother's recent death and left pretty much to his own devices as his alcoholic father goes off to get drunk. It's up to Wiley to make his way through a deep and dangerous forest and fetch the priest who can give his mother a proper burial. Along the way he enters a magical world and encounters a beautiful and mysterious woman named Lucinda who gives him a strange quest; he must join two worlds. She also gives him a mysterious golden goblet along with the strange and haunting admonition to "Drink deeply by land or sea, Earth comes only once." But then Wiley meets with a fearsome beast and gets out of the forest by only a hair's breadth.
After the burial of his mother, Wiley is swimming with the dolphins near his home when one of them, Elden, magically asks about the goblet. From then on the story is action-packed with fantastic adventure upon adventure as Peake tells of a young boy's courage and love and generosity of spirit. The underwater world through which Wiley travels is lovingly described in breathtaking beauty and realism, while the mission, including a trip to a time and place not unlike Atlantis, is hugely imaginative, daring and fantastic.
This is a novel of both realism and magic. Poverty stricken Ireland is portrayed probably much as it was. The realism of the underwater ocean voyage is stunningly depicted with all it's abundant and strangely beautiful aquatic life providing a bridge to the fantastic underwater adventures. These scenes give the idea that reality can be as fantastical as magic and that the past is full of wonder and possible treasures.
Reviewed by Becky Alexander
educator
by Marilyn Peake
Double Dragon Press; 2004
176 pages
grades 3 - 5, and all fantasy loving readers
This is the first book in a trilogy of children's books perfect for either boys or girls in the 3rd through 6th grade levels and maybe also for adults who enjoy time travel and books of magic and fantasy. They are definitely best read in order. "The Fisherman's Son" is the first book, "The City of the Golden Sun" is second and "Return of the Golden Age" is third. The books' style is a combination of magical/fantastical and realistic and includes a bit of time travel. All of this combines to make for a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for children as well as adults.
In the first book, "The Fisherman's Son," young Wiley O'Mara, a 12 year old boy of 19th century Ireland, is grieving his mother's recent death and left pretty much to his own devices as his alcoholic father goes off to get drunk. It's up to Wiley to make his way through a deep and dangerous forest and fetch the priest who can give his mother a proper burial. Along the way he enters a magical world and encounters a beautiful and mysterious woman named Lucinda who gives him a strange quest; he must join two worlds. She also gives him a mysterious golden goblet along with the strange and haunting admonition to "Drink deeply by land or sea, Earth comes only once." But then Wiley meets with a fearsome beast and gets out of the forest by only a hair's breadth.
After the burial of his mother, Wiley is swimming with the dolphins near his home when one of them, Elden, magically asks about the goblet. From then on the story is action-packed with fantastic adventure upon adventure as Peake tells of a young boy's courage and love and generosity of spirit. The underwater world through which Wiley travels is lovingly described in breathtaking beauty and realism, while the mission, including a trip to a time and place not unlike Atlantis, is hugely imaginative, daring and fantastic.
This is a novel of both realism and magic. Poverty stricken Ireland is portrayed probably much as it was. The realism of the underwater ocean voyage is stunningly depicted with all it's abundant and strangely beautiful aquatic life providing a bridge to the fantastic underwater adventures. These scenes give the idea that reality can be as fantastical as magic and that the past is full of wonder and possible treasures.
Reviewed by Becky Alexander
educator
Posted at 12:18 AM
The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand
finished 9/05 ........... rating.....
8.5
Exceptional look at post Civil War cultural and
intellectual history of the US with the focus on Pragmatism and the pragmatists,
William James, Oliver Wendall Holmes, John Dewey and Charles Peirce.
I read this a few years ago and it got a much higher rating then, a 10! But that didn't quite hold up for a second reading.
I read this a few years ago and it got a much higher rating then, a 10! But that didn't quite hold up for a second reading.
Posted at 12:17 AM
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
finished 9/05 ......... rating 9
Ground breaking work on Native American
history. This is the story of the battles of the west, the treaties signed and
broken. Incredible. It's told from the side of the Indian. Period. The
author was a white man who was very involved with Native issues, knew Native
culture. Is it a history book? Not really. It's more of a "this is our side"
book. But these polemics are necessary to open the eyes of those who try to
write objective or reasoned history.
Posted at 12:16 AM
Where She Came From by Helen Epstein
finished 9/15.......... rating 6
Pretty good memoir and tribute to a Jewish
mother who lived through the worst of the Holocaust
Posted at 12:15 AM
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
finished 9/05 ......... rating 8.5
The story of Bertha, Rochester's crazy wife,
who lived in Jane Eyre's tower. Brilliant. I'd heard a lot about it before I
picked it up so I was kind of disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype.
Posted at 12:14 AM
The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe
finished 8/05 .......... rating
8.5
Kafkaesque picture of a man trapped in the sand
with a woman. Very reminiscent of Kafka's The Trial. A man is captured and
put into a sandpit where he must dig sand away from a house all day. His only
companion is the woman who lives in the house in the pit and whom he is supposed
to help. He gets angry and tries every way to escape but meanwhile he falls
in love with the woman. The theme is repression in a variety of guises from
subtle of love to the all-encompassing of totalitarianism.
Posted at 12:12 AM
Vernon God LIttle by DBC Pierre
finished 9/05 ......... rating 8
Biting satire of life in a Texas town what with
a teen-age serial killer and all. A coming of age story in a new world.
Posted at 12:11 AM
The Chaneysville Incident by David Bradley
finished 9/05 ......... rating 8.5
A black historian's search for his identity
involves different kinds of methods.
Posted at 12:10 AM
The Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor
finished 9/05 ........... rating 6
Not nearly as good as "Lucy Gault."
Posted at 12:08 AM
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
finished 8/05 ........... rating
7
Interesting alternative history, if Lindberg,
an anti-Semite, had become president.
Posted at 12:07 AM
Mon - August 8, 2005
adding women
looks like the list may contribute to my list
of women authors! :)
"James" Tiptree,
Jr.
Flannery O'Connor Wise Blood
Marguerite Young;
Margarite Yourcenar
the lady who wrote Ice--Ann Kavna(sp?);
Rebecca Solnit Gertrude Stein
Zora Neal Hurston!
Flannery O'Connor,
Muriel Spark,
Beryl Bainbridge,
Caryl Churchill,
Edna O'Brien,
Flannery O'Connor Wise Blood
Marguerite Young;
Margarite Yourcenar
the lady who wrote Ice--Ann Kavna(sp?);
Rebecca Solnit Gertrude Stein
Zora Neal Hurston!
Flannery O'Connor,
Muriel Spark,
Beryl Bainbridge,
Caryl Churchill,
Edna O'Brien,
Posted at 10:27 AM
women authors
Got in a discussion on a book list and their
list of 169 best novels only included 11 by women! So I added to it:
Here are the women from the first list. The
first number is the rank, the second number the number of "votes."
The top 169 novels include these women and their books:
56.. The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton : 9
59.. Two Girls, Fat and Thin : Mary Gaitskill : 8
63.. A Book of Common Prayer : Joan Didion : 8
76.. To Kill a Mockingbird : Harper Lee : 7
89.. The Story of the Treasure Seekers : Edith Nesbit : 5
90.. Always Coming Home : Ursula LeGuin : 5
124.. Beloved : Toni Morrison : 3
139.. Geek Love : Katherine Dunn : 2
149.. Cat's Eye : Margaret Atwood : 2
151.. Messiah of Stockholm : Cynthia Ozick : 1
161.. The Secret History : Donna Tartt : 1
Here are my comments:
****
There are certainly more women authors of quality fiction than that, and the ones listed have certainly written more books! (I'm thinking of Atwood and LeGuin and Ozick, whose last novel was a marvel!).
So I made a brief list of the best of the unincluded: (authors only, some have written dozens of books)
Ali Smith Hotel
Angela Carter Nights at the Circus
AS Byatt Possession
Keri Hulme The Bone People
Pat Barker Regeneration
Helen DeWitt The Last Samurai
Rilla Askew The Mercy Seat
Kathy Acker Don Quixote
Doris Lessing The Golden Notebook
Virginia Woolf A Room of One's Own
Iris Murdoch The Bell
Some other, or not necessarily contemporary, women authors (staying in the 20th-21st century), in no particular order are:
Willa Cather
Annie Proulx
Monica Ali
Zadie Smith
Carson McCullers
Anais Nin
Andrea Levy
Penelope Fitzgerald
Arundhati Roy
Ann Patchett
Carol Shields
Joyce Carol Oates
Jhumpa Lahiri
J.K. Rowling? (g)
There are undoubtedly a bunch I'm neglecting. I think that there are a couple of good up and coming women authors from Africa and India. The current Nobel for Literature is a woman from Poland but I don't know her name right now and haven't read anything by her.
And a few I want to read:
Nadine Gordimer
Jeanette Winterson
Joyce Johnson
Elfriede Jelinek
Buchi Emecheta
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The good ones are out there. Why do we forget them when it's time to do a poll?
Bekah
The top 169 novels include these women and their books:
56.. The Age of Innocence : Edith Wharton : 9
59.. Two Girls, Fat and Thin : Mary Gaitskill : 8
63.. A Book of Common Prayer : Joan Didion : 8
76.. To Kill a Mockingbird : Harper Lee : 7
89.. The Story of the Treasure Seekers : Edith Nesbit : 5
90.. Always Coming Home : Ursula LeGuin : 5
124.. Beloved : Toni Morrison : 3
139.. Geek Love : Katherine Dunn : 2
149.. Cat's Eye : Margaret Atwood : 2
151.. Messiah of Stockholm : Cynthia Ozick : 1
161.. The Secret History : Donna Tartt : 1
Here are my comments:
****
There are certainly more women authors of quality fiction than that, and the ones listed have certainly written more books! (I'm thinking of Atwood and LeGuin and Ozick, whose last novel was a marvel!).
So I made a brief list of the best of the unincluded: (authors only, some have written dozens of books)
Ali Smith Hotel
Angela Carter Nights at the Circus
AS Byatt Possession
Keri Hulme The Bone People
Pat Barker Regeneration
Helen DeWitt The Last Samurai
Rilla Askew The Mercy Seat
Kathy Acker Don Quixote
Doris Lessing The Golden Notebook
Virginia Woolf A Room of One's Own
Iris Murdoch The Bell
Some other, or not necessarily contemporary, women authors (staying in the 20th-21st century), in no particular order are:
Willa Cather
Annie Proulx
Monica Ali
Zadie Smith
Carson McCullers
Anais Nin
Andrea Levy
Penelope Fitzgerald
Arundhati Roy
Ann Patchett
Carol Shields
Joyce Carol Oates
Jhumpa Lahiri
J.K. Rowling? (g)
There are undoubtedly a bunch I'm neglecting. I think that there are a couple of good up and coming women authors from Africa and India. The current Nobel for Literature is a woman from Poland but I don't know her name right now and haven't read anything by her.
And a few I want to read:
Nadine Gordimer
Jeanette Winterson
Joyce Johnson
Elfriede Jelinek
Buchi Emecheta
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The good ones are out there. Why do we forget them when it's time to do a poll?
Bekah
Posted at 10:26 AM
Sat - August 6, 2005
The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham
finished 7/29? ............. 20th century
fiction ........... rating 8.5
I forgot I'd read this with no entry!
This is the very interesting story of a man in search of spiritual enlightenment. It has a lot of interesting (at least for the mid 20th century) aspects including author as 1st person. The characters are wonderfully well-rounded. The story is quite fun in an old-fashioned sort of way but there is apparently a deeper meaning, a higher reality within it.
This is the very interesting story of a man in search of spiritual enlightenment. It has a lot of interesting (at least for the mid 20th century) aspects including author as 1st person. The characters are wonderfully well-rounded. The story is quite fun in an old-fashioned sort of way but there is apparently a deeper meaning, a higher reality within it.
Posted at 07:02 AM
Thu - August 4, 2005
No Country for Old Men by Cormak McCarthy
finished 8/3 ............ contem
fiction............ rating 6
Blood Meridian was McCarthy's one true novel.
Everything before led up to that incredible literary and historical achievement;
everything since has fallen away. So I'm not going to compare them. No
Country is more like an intense Texas Elmore Leonard with an overload of
philosophy and politics. The first 3/4 of the book was great, spellbinding.
The last 1/4 was necessary to give the reader a modicum of hope because that
sure wasn't present in the story. It sure felt like a let-down though, like a
sort of apology. He should have left it alone and gone with a shorter but
probably way more powerful, if hopelessly depressing, book. And
disappointing.
Posted at 09:39 AM
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostevsky read by George Guidall
finished 8/2 .......... classic fiction
(Russian) ......... rating 10
Convinced that it is there is such a thing as
justified murder, the intellectual and nihilist Raskolinov carries it out and
pays the social and psychological consequences that his mind and soul impose.
This book provides a wonderful view of poverty stricken, class obsessed,
religious and patriotic Russia in the 18th century. George Guidall , who
obviously loves this book, is an incredible reader, giving voice to
Dostoevsky's multitude of characters and re-creating his world. He obviously
loves this book and convinced me as well.
Posted at 09:23 AM
Tue - August 2, 2005
Heir To the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick
finished 8/1 .......... contemp fiction
............... rating 8.5
This is the first fiction I've read by Ozick
having been a bit put off by her sometimes very difficult essays. The book is
wonderful. It's the story of an orphan girl who ends up as a
nanny/aide/clerical assistant in the home of a destitute Jewish family,
refugees from Nazi Germany. The father is a scholar studying an ancient sect
who believed that the Koran was the literal word of God. He is not in favor
with his contemporaries so money for his work is almost impossible to come by.
But while the family was living in a temporary boarding house they met James
A'dair, the heir to a huge children's book fortune, an obvious take-off on
Winnie-the-Pooh. James gives the family money from his inheritance which he
despises, in order to help them save their heritage. It's an incredible book
and there were a lot more levels and understandings (glimmerings?) than I got
on a first reading but I think perhaps these might be more carefully buried in
Jewish knowledge than a second reading by me would reveal.
Posted at 09:58 AM
Sun - July 31, 2005
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
finished 6/? ........... contemp. fiction.
UK............ rating 9
Mitchell is a fabulous author. I tried to
read this book but gave up after 200 pages. I then listened to it and was
enthralled so I decided to try to read it again. This time I was mostly
enchanted. Some of the sections were more interesting than others. The problem
was that they didn't seem to link up very well in terms of theme or plot. But I
will look for anything I see from him.
Posted at 11:57 AM
The Last Samurai by Helen DeWItt
finished 7/30 ......... contemp, fiction
........... rating 7.5
I just loved the first half of this book and it
was okay well into the second. But then all the variations on the them of
finding a father made me dizzy.
It was a fast read for me. One day and over 500 pages (and I did a bunch of other stuff too including listen to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment read by George Guidall.
This is the story of Luri, a gifted boy, and his single mom, Sibylla. . She teaches Luri to read by 3, Latin at 4 and so on. And he reads the classics and learns math and science. He is way too smart and knows too much for traditional first grade so she teaches him at home. Sibylla, his mother, watches The Seven Samurai repeatedly on video and Luri picks up Japanese. But he wants to know who his father is.
The second half of the book is Luri's search for Dad. He finds him right off but continues to seek. I think there is a link to the movie in terms of the Samurai and possible fathers but I didn't catch more than that.
It was a fast read for me. One day and over 500 pages (and I did a bunch of other stuff too including listen to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment read by George Guidall.
This is the story of Luri, a gifted boy, and his single mom, Sibylla. . She teaches Luri to read by 3, Latin at 4 and so on. And he reads the classics and learns math and science. He is way too smart and knows too much for traditional first grade so she teaches him at home. Sibylla, his mother, watches The Seven Samurai repeatedly on video and Luri picks up Japanese. But he wants to know who his father is.
The second half of the book is Luri's search for Dad. He finds him right off but continues to seek. I think there is a link to the movie in terms of the Samurai and possible fathers but I didn't catch more than that.
Posted at 11:53 AM
Sat - July 30, 2005
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
finished 7/29 ............... contemp fict.
Czech................ rating 8.5
I read this back in the 80s and loved it. It
feels dated today. This is the way I felt about The Magus, too in the same
situation. There were good things about it There was one part where the dog
was dying and I felt that Kundera was relating something that he had lived.
Kundera's themes include love and desire and the separation between people and
freedom. Much of it is political. Much of it is sexual. There is a connection
between men taking over women and Communist Soviet Union taking over
Czechoslovakia.
There are basically two stories told in seven sections , one story is that of Teresa and Tomas, the other of Sabina and Fritz, although Sabina and Tomas have been lovers. I think each person got his story told, then each couple got their story told, then Kundera wound it up. Kundera has a habit of long philosophical explanations for what each character did. Some of them are absurd, probably pointedly so. I feel like I outgrew this philosophizing about sex and politics the last time I read it.
There are basically two stories told in seven sections , one story is that of Teresa and Tomas, the other of Sabina and Fritz, although Sabina and Tomas have been lovers. I think each person got his story told, then each couple got their story told, then Kundera wound it up. Kundera has a habit of long philosophical explanations for what each character did. Some of them are absurd, probably pointedly so. I feel like I outgrew this philosophizing about sex and politics the last time I read it.
Posted at 12:10 AM
Fri - July 29, 2005
July 29
Very busy day
My goodness.
Julie came at 7:30 and I went and got the car washed/detailed and then to the gym. Then I went and got breakfast at McDonalds and ate it at the park. Then I got my nails done. Then I went got some new shoes the kind I like except they only had pink, limited wearing for that one. Got home and Tom was here for the yard.
I ate and read and listened and read. Finished THe Incredible Lightness of Being and got another few hours into Crime and Punishment. It was really hot again today for about the 17th day in a row!
Getting ready to read "The Last Samurai" by Helen DeWitt - published 2000 (oh yes!) (g)
Julie came at 7:30 and I went and got the car washed/detailed and then to the gym. Then I went and got breakfast at McDonalds and ate it at the park. Then I got my nails done. Then I went got some new shoes the kind I like except they only had pink, limited wearing for that one. Got home and Tom was here for the yard.
I ate and read and listened and read. Finished THe Incredible Lightness of Being and got another few hours into Crime and Punishment. It was really hot again today for about the 17th day in a row!
Getting ready to read "The Last Samurai" by Helen DeWitt - published 2000 (oh yes!) (g)
Posted at 12:01 AM
Thu - July 28, 2005
today
cleaned, listened and got
groceries
My I live a laid back life. Listening to
Crime and Punishment on the Otis, I cleaned house and changed the bedding and
did some laundry. Then I went grocery shopping. Came home and ate a green
salad. Then I read e-mail. Then I cooked up a shrimp salad which I munched
on all night. And I fixed a pitcher of iced tea. And I read and listened and
did my little researches. Yesterday (or day before) I subscribed to Questia
and that's pretty fun to look stuff up with.
Jesse, the neighbor and long time friend, was over in the afternoon for tea and talk. That was pretty fun.
Mom and Noelle and Grace are in ND. They called yesterday. All is well. The renter on the farm has not been taking care of the place but the house in town looks great.
The cleaning lady comes tomorrow at 7:30 so that she can go to the desert for the weekend. I'd better get to bed.
Jesse, the neighbor and long time friend, was over in the afternoon for tea and talk. That was pretty fun.
Mom and Noelle and Grace are in ND. They called yesterday. All is well. The renter on the farm has not been taking care of the place but the house in town looks great.
The cleaning lady comes tomorrow at 7:30 so that she can go to the desert for the weekend. I'd better get to bed.
Posted at 10:12 PM
Tue - July 26, 2005
Listening to books
why I listen to books
I listen to a wide variety of genres with my
little device (I'm getting an iPod, I promise, as soon as this old Otis gives
up the ghost - it was a freebie) and I'm usually reasonably happy although I've
heard a few great ones and some clunkers in all genres. I use tapes to listen
while I clean house, walk, do laundry, play games, etc. A rating of a book
may be due to the book or the reader. More and more I'm coming to realize what
an incredible impact a good professional reader can have.
I'm listening to one now that is probably the best that I've had the fortune to hear. I'm on Chapter 7 of "Crime and Punishment" translated by Constance Garnett and read by George Guidall. It's one of many recorded versions of Dostoevsky's masterpiece. I'm at 216 minutes into a 1500 minute recording (4 hours out of 25 hours, approx). which comes in 3 sections. Guidal, a professional actor, does an absolutely incredible job of bringing this story to life. I'd rather hear it read by him than read it with pages at this point (except for my nasty habit of underlining and otherwise scribbling up which I've remedied by downloading the e-text to mess with.) (g)
Guidall reads very slowly and lovingly. It takes him a good 8 or 10 seconds to get through a page line (I timed it). Now some readers or material can *not* pull this slow read stuff off. They sound choppy and the listener thinks that the reader has actually stopped reading or something (the batteries died). But Guidall is perfect; I think he loves this book, the characters, Dostoevsky, all of it. It's like seeing a play except there's only one reader who, by changing his voice, "projects a world" from the pen of Doestoevsky. It is soooo impressive. I'm going to be looking at everything he's done now. (A sortable item at Audible)
As the story progresses if I get confused or whatever, need to check back for something (a problem with MP3s), I check my downloaded text version.
For example, Chapter 7 has a really choppy place in the story and I checked the download but found no answer; the text is *not* clear at all. The problem is timing of events. So I went and took a look in the "ClassicNotes" analysis and found their answer pretty well skimmed over the issue, too. And when I read it again in the text version, I realized that there is no doubt something wrong here but I'll go with the ClassicNotes explanation. It doesn't make *that* much difference.
My point is, I'm definitely "getting" it from the listening version. With text only I would probably read way too fast and miss some nuances which, because Guidall has studied the text, makes wonderfully clear. I would probably have missed my "choppy place."
The first book which really hooked me into listening was "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," by Carson McCullers. "Cry the Beloved Country" was another one that was just tooo cool when you hear it with the accents and highlights. I want to hear "Their Eyes Were Watching God" although I've read it, just to hear the voices. (That was fun for me to read out loud.) (g)
But the one that got me hopelessly addicted was "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. With the text version, I couldn't even get through the middle chapter which is written in a South Pacific dialect (Hawaii?) and I don't know beans about South Pacific dialects and accents although I've come across a few in my readings.
But listening, I heard the words and just knew what they meant. I caught the music in the rhythm of the speech. I *very much* enjoyed that book which uses six (6) different readers reading their assigned sections. In fact, I liked it so much that I went back and reread the text version and this time, when I read, I heard my little man's voice telling me in lyrical native speech, the story of his Sonmi.
I'm listening to one now that is probably the best that I've had the fortune to hear. I'm on Chapter 7 of "Crime and Punishment" translated by Constance Garnett and read by George Guidall. It's one of many recorded versions of Dostoevsky's masterpiece. I'm at 216 minutes into a 1500 minute recording (4 hours out of 25 hours, approx). which comes in 3 sections. Guidal, a professional actor, does an absolutely incredible job of bringing this story to life. I'd rather hear it read by him than read it with pages at this point (except for my nasty habit of underlining and otherwise scribbling up which I've remedied by downloading the e-text to mess with.) (g)
Guidall reads very slowly and lovingly. It takes him a good 8 or 10 seconds to get through a page line (I timed it). Now some readers or material can *not* pull this slow read stuff off. They sound choppy and the listener thinks that the reader has actually stopped reading or something (the batteries died). But Guidall is perfect; I think he loves this book, the characters, Dostoevsky, all of it. It's like seeing a play except there's only one reader who, by changing his voice, "projects a world" from the pen of Doestoevsky. It is soooo impressive. I'm going to be looking at everything he's done now. (A sortable item at Audible)
As the story progresses if I get confused or whatever, need to check back for something (a problem with MP3s), I check my downloaded text version.
For example, Chapter 7 has a really choppy place in the story and I checked the download but found no answer; the text is *not* clear at all. The problem is timing of events. So I went and took a look in the "ClassicNotes" analysis and found their answer pretty well skimmed over the issue, too. And when I read it again in the text version, I realized that there is no doubt something wrong here but I'll go with the ClassicNotes explanation. It doesn't make *that* much difference.
My point is, I'm definitely "getting" it from the listening version. With text only I would probably read way too fast and miss some nuances which, because Guidall has studied the text, makes wonderfully clear. I would probably have missed my "choppy place."
The first book which really hooked me into listening was "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," by Carson McCullers. "Cry the Beloved Country" was another one that was just tooo cool when you hear it with the accents and highlights. I want to hear "Their Eyes Were Watching God" although I've read it, just to hear the voices. (That was fun for me to read out loud.) (g)
But the one that got me hopelessly addicted was "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. With the text version, I couldn't even get through the middle chapter which is written in a South Pacific dialect (Hawaii?) and I don't know beans about South Pacific dialects and accents although I've come across a few in my readings.
But listening, I heard the words and just knew what they meant. I caught the music in the rhythm of the speech. I *very much* enjoyed that book which uses six (6) different readers reading their assigned sections. In fact, I liked it so much that I went back and reread the text version and this time, when I read, I heard my little man's voice telling me in lyrical native speech, the story of his Sonmi.
Posted at 02:55 PM
Mon - July 25, 2005
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
finished 7/25 .......... contemp fict. British/
Booker Prize ........... rating 8
This is an interesting fictionalized version of
the life of the 18th century poet, Novalis. the pseudonym of Friedrich Leopold,
Baron von Hardenberg. There is much more to it than I got on the first reading
so I'll probably read it again but I want to wait a couple months to when the
20th century reading group gets to it.
It is magical in a way, or at least it tries hard to be dealing with love and poetry and philosophy.
Bekah
It is magical in a way, or at least it tries hard to be dealing with love and poetry and philosophy.
Bekah
Posted at 10:14 AM
Sat - July 23, 2005
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared
Diamond
finished 7/24 ......... general non-fiction
......... rating 9.5
The author of the acclaimed Guns, Germs and
Steel tells us why some societies succeed while others, Norse in Greenland,
Mayan Indians, Easter Island, nativies and more, fail. And there are societies
which, in many ways, are failing today, Rwanda, China, and perhaps the
entire world?
The best part about this book is the organization. I knew a lot of the material in the book, but it was a clutter in my head. Diamond gave all this information (overload) structure and value. It's an amazing book! My only criticism is that Diamond sometimes includes too much oversimplified material.
The best part about this book is the organization. I knew a lot of the material in the book, but it was a clutter in my head. Diamond gave all this information (overload) structure and value. It's an amazing book! My only criticism is that Diamond sometimes includes too much oversimplified material.
Posted at 02:01 PM
The Short Stories of Somerset Maugham
finished 7/23 ........... mid 20th cent.
fiction ......... rating 8.5
Prolific and versatile, Somerset Maugham writes
dry, insiteful satire, insightful, interesting works often about isolated,
colonial well to do people.
Included in this collection are:
"The Outstation" Wow. Longish but great story of two British men in Burma, one is a snob the other a common commoner.
"Appearance and Reality" Incredible story of a very important man with a young beautiful mistress and her lover
"The Three Fat Women of Antibes" hilarious story of three dieting women on the Riviera
"Mr. Know-All" Funny story about a man who "knows" his pearls. Quite short
"French Joe" Surprise ending to a very short but delightful tale
"Masterson" a man in Burma cannot marry his mistress
I'm very interested in reading a novel by him and short stories by other people.
Included in this collection are:
"The Outstation" Wow. Longish but great story of two British men in Burma, one is a snob the other a common commoner.
"Appearance and Reality" Incredible story of a very important man with a young beautiful mistress and her lover
"The Three Fat Women of Antibes" hilarious story of three dieting women on the Riviera
"Mr. Know-All" Funny story about a man who "knows" his pearls. Quite short
"French Joe" Surprise ending to a very short but delightful tale
"Masterson" a man in Burma cannot marry his mistress
I'm very interested in reading a novel by him and short stories by other people.
Posted at 02:00 PM
Fri - July 22, 2005
Love and War in Afghanistan by Alex Klaits and Gulchin
Gulmamadova-Klaits
finished 7/23............ general non-fiction
........... rating 8
This is a compilation of stories of people who
live in Afghanistan, the authors are an Afghani woman and her Peace Corps
American husband. They conducted interviews with survivors of the Soviet,
Muhajadeen, Taliban and War-lord episodes of Afghanistan life. They tell tales
of horror in a truly believable way very convincing from the women waiting for
their men and being unable to support themselves to the Taliban member, the
Communist worker and the small boys and girls. It tells of how they survived
and even found love (usually). Because this is from their own mouths and
through the translation of Islamic it is not colored by Western notions of
"arranged marriages" and "freedom fighters." There is very little about the US
in this book, they weren't involved directly but rather supplying the
muhajadeen with money and arms.
Posted at 04:33 PM
The Last Juror by John Grisham
finished 7/23 ......... contemp,. crime novel
........ rating 7
Pretty typical latter day Grisham. This book
starts out great, the whole first half is intriguing, with a young newspaper
editor in a small Mississippi town being able to espouse his views on a number
of issues. A notorious bad guy is convicted of murder but escapes the death
penalty resulting in "life" imprisonment. The reader is a good pick for this
book and listening is fun. Then we start part two and it suddenly goes downhill
into reflections on Vietnam and pot and other "issues" of Mississippi in 1972.
These were totally boring, I've heard it before and lived it longer ago than
nostalgia permits right now. The religious commentary is not too bad.
Posted at 04:17 PM
what do I like to read?
I've been coming to some conclusions about my
likes and dislikes:
Well, I'm finally coming to some interesting
conclusions about my reading habits, likes and dislikes, rationale
(generalizations).
One kind of unnameable category of fiction which I have very much enjoyed over the years has been works like Underworld, Pale Fire, The Satanic Verses, Foucault's Pendulum, The Crying of Lot 49, The Names, and other books along those lines. They are not based on the personal or emotional themes of love and courage and betrayal and redemption and so on (except that paranoia and displacement may be emotional themes) (lol) My favorite books tend to be those with layers of understanding and puzzles to work out or ideas and themes - like mirror images - to explore. Are these "idea" books? ???
Another category I tend to really enjoy is that of historical novels where the history is "good," solidly researched, interestingly presented, with some style. The history can drive the novel or not. I am only careful about books which have real-life characters and the author puts words put in their mouths, but they never said. But, *to me* these books need to be approached carefully because there is a very good possibility that the author did find those very words in a diary, letter, memoir, etc. Or, the "words" are carefully paraphrased and good reprsentations of the character's feelings and style and so on. Mason & Dixon is like this, The Name of the Rose, Independent People, Kirsten Lavrensdatter. Lots more books in this vein. I've heard that "The Killer Angels" a Civil War novel by Michael Shaara. is exceptional. It's on my wish list.
Another type of historical novel is historical because of the time-frame in which it was written. I'll agree that Anna Karenina is a great novel but probably disagree on why. The history of it is what fascinates me, not Anna's motives. Reading Dickens is a fabulous way to start (or finish) learning about life and customs, culture and society in England at that time.
I honestly don't care if the author has made a light touch of the historical context or not; what is there has to be true to verifiable evidence. (I know this is a point of contention among historians and literary people but I guess we each have our own vices and reasons.)
As far as I'm concerned, the plot, characters and literary devices in these books are, for me, simply there to give substance to ideas which the author has chosen to explore in a novel setting. Literary stuff is not particularly interesting in itself *to me.* The Name of the Rose was a fabulous way to explore semiotics. Underworld explores language. The Satanic Verses explores a immigrant issues, The Crying of Lot 49 explores contemporary life and the conundrum of thinking itself. Foucault's Pendulum is about paranoia.
Btw, I also like plot driven thrillers that are not too gory and are best if they have some real sort of mystery to them. These are just plain fun and like a break for my brain.
I do *not* like books like "The Three Junes" which only develop make-believe characters through life's journey. I do *not* like books which use history as a background only and might as well be set today (this is genre stuff).
One kind of unnameable category of fiction which I have very much enjoyed over the years has been works like Underworld, Pale Fire, The Satanic Verses, Foucault's Pendulum, The Crying of Lot 49, The Names, and other books along those lines. They are not based on the personal or emotional themes of love and courage and betrayal and redemption and so on (except that paranoia and displacement may be emotional themes) (lol) My favorite books tend to be those with layers of understanding and puzzles to work out or ideas and themes - like mirror images - to explore. Are these "idea" books? ???
Another category I tend to really enjoy is that of historical novels where the history is "good," solidly researched, interestingly presented, with some style. The history can drive the novel or not. I am only careful about books which have real-life characters and the author puts words put in their mouths, but they never said. But, *to me* these books need to be approached carefully because there is a very good possibility that the author did find those very words in a diary, letter, memoir, etc. Or, the "words" are carefully paraphrased and good reprsentations of the character's feelings and style and so on. Mason & Dixon is like this, The Name of the Rose, Independent People, Kirsten Lavrensdatter. Lots more books in this vein. I've heard that "The Killer Angels" a Civil War novel by Michael Shaara. is exceptional. It's on my wish list.
Another type of historical novel is historical because of the time-frame in which it was written. I'll agree that Anna Karenina is a great novel but probably disagree on why. The history of it is what fascinates me, not Anna's motives. Reading Dickens is a fabulous way to start (or finish) learning about life and customs, culture and society in England at that time.
I honestly don't care if the author has made a light touch of the historical context or not; what is there has to be true to verifiable evidence. (I know this is a point of contention among historians and literary people but I guess we each have our own vices and reasons.)
As far as I'm concerned, the plot, characters and literary devices in these books are, for me, simply there to give substance to ideas which the author has chosen to explore in a novel setting. Literary stuff is not particularly interesting in itself *to me.* The Name of the Rose was a fabulous way to explore semiotics. Underworld explores language. The Satanic Verses explores a immigrant issues, The Crying of Lot 49 explores contemporary life and the conundrum of thinking itself. Foucault's Pendulum is about paranoia.
Btw, I also like plot driven thrillers that are not too gory and are best if they have some real sort of mystery to them. These are just plain fun and like a break for my brain.
I do *not* like books like "The Three Junes" which only develop make-believe characters through life's journey. I do *not* like books which use history as a background only and might as well be set today (this is genre stuff).
Posted at 01:45 PM
Sun - July 17, 2005
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Finished 7/17 ............... contemporary
fiction / So. Africa ............ rating 10
This is a classic work of racial strife and how
love and courage can work in spite of that. Absalom Kumalo, the son of a
black minister goes to Johannesburg The first half of the book tells the story
of how Stephen Kumalo, his father, journeys to search for him, but by the time
he is located, Absalom has impregnated a young girl and is now in prison for
killing a white liberal activist, Arthur Jarvis. . In the second section of
the book, John Jarvis, the father of the murder victim is horrified and
challenged by his idealistic son's death. The trial takes place and the girl
and the Absalom are married. Samuel Kumolo finds that he lives near Jarvis and
the rest of the story is one of guilt, forgiveness, redemption, salvation,
love, courage, generosity and change.
Posted at 08:50 PM
Happy Birthday 6 years old!
After a trip to a huge water slide park, the
family party was easier this year at Apple Annie's.
The cake had a picture of Grace on it. The picture was actually made out of frosting!. Noelle couldn't bring herself to cut it and Grace wanted to eat her teeth. It was really too funny.
The group, Noelle, Nana, Grace, Grandpa Ron, Grandma Becky, Brodie and Jamie.
Posted at 07:21 PM
Thu - July 14, 2005
daily travels
This was waiting for me when I got home from a
quick trip to the store. Guess what I'm doing this summer!
Posted at 11:57 AM
Dark Harbor by David Hosp
finished 7/14 .................... detective
fiction.............. rating 6
Okay, serial murder has one too many victims
and turns into huge conspiracy in state administration and the "mob." Typical.
Posted at 11:56 AM
Wed - July 13, 2005
The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch
finished 7/12............ contemp fiction
(Brit) ............ rating 8
Typical Murdoch, a mystery and the
introspection of a variety of characters, the moral philosophy of Plato and
heavily laced with allusions and symbolism. Easy to read prose but it got a bit
longish. Sex and love along with selfishness and decency seemed to be the
themes with some characters being "nice" and some being "good."
Posted at 05:57 AM
Mon - July 11, 2005
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (2nd reading)
finished 7/9 ............. cont, fict. US
.............. rating 10
This is such a good book and has so many levels
that I had to read it again just to do it any kind of justice at all. I
usually try to get everything in a first reading and with some books that's ok.
But with the really good books, like some of Rushdie's or Pynchon or a good
many others, it's totally insufficient. On this reading, I focused on the
disruption of communication, the major theme. I also love his humor which
even through themes of paranoia and madness, always stands out in puns and
slap-stick situations. I've read 4 of his books, 2 of them twice, the shorter
ones. (g).
Posted at 10:36 PM
The File on H by Ismail Kadare
finished 7/11 .............. contemp fiction -
Albania ............ rating 10!
"The File on H" is about two Irish academics
who travel to Albania to pursue studies in Homeric poetry. They want to find
out how it developed because there are rhapsodics, traveling singers who recite
epic verses at banquets, weddings and funerals to the accompaniment of a
long-necked, single-stringed musical instrument called the lahuta. who still
live there in the hills. These two bring a newfangled tape recorder with them
to record the verses. The trouble is that they are suspected of being spies by
the local government hacks which proceeds to spy on them. I highly recommend
it! It took a bit over a month to get it from Amazon though. Supposedly it's
not one of his better works so I went and put two others on my Amazon wish list.
I may have found a favorite author!
Posted at 10:07 PM
Sun - July 10, 2005
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre
finished 7/10............. contem. fiction
(English) ........... rating 8
On the surface this is the story of Vernon
Little, a 15 year old boy who finds himself accused of mass murder. It takes
place in a small town in Central Texas which Pierre, an Australian who has lived
in Texas, satirizes with an Exacto knife carving fine slices. Vernon is not a
"nice" boy; he's vulgar and mean and not too bright. He loves his mother and
her friends but hates Mom's boyfriend with good reason. He knows that he's in
deep trouble with this murder stuff and does exactly the wrong thing every time.
Pierre does know how to create a character, Vernon is lovable and the suspense
keeps building. American reviewers tend to hate this book while Europeans
love it. I though it was a kick but not quite up to the hype. This book
reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Afternoon.
This is possibly a satire about capital punishment.
This is possibly a satire about capital punishment.
Posted at 02:08 PM
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
finished 7/6/05 .............. contemp. lit
fict. ................ rating 10
This is an excellent book about one woman's
search for authentic communication (I think). Oedipa Maas and her husband live
on the California coast somewhere between San Francisco and LA. Informed that
she is the executor of a rich old boyfriend's estate, she sets out to
investigate his holdings. She comes up with strange symbols and words. She
finds a conspiracy (or is it?) called Tristero through a play about it. She
needs to find the "right words" for a part of the play but they elude her. She
does not know if this is real or a joke or if she is paranoid. There are
labyrinths of layers and themes in this book and one of the greatest female
characters ever created. I read this book through, turned it over and started
again. It was just one of those kinds of books.
Posted at 01:59 PM
What's the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank
finished 7/4/05.............. non-fiction
politics .............. rating 7.5
Ever since the election of 2004, Democrats have
wondered what happened to Kansas. Frank purports to tell them (us). Christian
sentiments have taken over the voting booths sending big business to the
legislatures. The more nervous and unhappy the Republicans of Kansas become,
the more right wing they go. This is weird because Kansas has a history of
radical left wing, populist sentiments ever since the Civil War. Frank goes
into the history and the current affairs, he explores the religion and the
issues that matter to Kansans today. Frank writes in a humorous but informative
manner. It's a pretty fun read but a bit repetitious.
Posted at 01:54 PM
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
finished 6/25 ............. contemporary
fiction (England) (sci-fi/dystopian?) ........... rating 8
Haunting. On first reading, this was a
moderately interesting and fairly well told tale of a group of clones being
"raised" to supply body parts to humans. They are at first the residents of a
boarding school in England but they grow up and move during the coarse of this
book. The story is told in the first person by Kathy H. remembering her the
friends and places of her early years. As she and her friends grow up they
learn some information about what is in store for them as "carers" and "donors"
but not everything and Ishiguro keeps the suspense up as the story winds its way
to the ending. This book is really about the feelings of the exceptionally
well-drawn characters rather than the morality or the sci-fi part. I rated it
low because it felt kind of fluffy to me, pretty light weight, but I'm not good
at judging the empathetic, sympathetic, feelings driven books, poems, etc.
Posted at 01:17 PM
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
finished 6/22 ............. non-fiction
................ rating 7
I very much liked this book although it's
riddled with biases and prejudice. That's okay, the author is pretty
straightforward about it. This is the story of the daily life of a bookseller
and his family in Kabul, Afghanistan. The author lived with the family of
"Sultan Khan" for 2003 and wrote about it like it was. It goes from
remembering the Russian war through the Taliban to today with more war. There
is a certain focus on the plight of the women having to marry and wear the burka
and pretty much stay in hiding. But the fate of the sons is also discussed and
with father as the dominant male, making all decisions, their lives are not
much better. Their names have been changed.
It's supposedly a true story but it reads like a novel with character and plot development, some suspense and a lot of dialogue. The author herself never appears in the book. After it was published, the real "Bookseller" traveled to Norway to protest the book's effect on the reputation of his family. His identity had been obvious to those who knew him. The question arises, then, did Seirstad "use" the Khan's family for her own purposes?
This is translated from Norwegian. It's supposedly the best selling Norwegian book of all time.
It's supposedly a true story but it reads like a novel with character and plot development, some suspense and a lot of dialogue. The author herself never appears in the book. After it was published, the real "Bookseller" traveled to Norway to protest the book's effect on the reputation of his family. His identity had been obvious to those who knew him. The question arises, then, did Seirstad "use" the Khan's family for her own purposes?
This is translated from Norwegian. It's supposedly the best selling Norwegian book of all time.
Posted at 12:19 PM
Small Island by Andrea Levy
finished 6/ 22 ........... contemporary fiction
(Orange Prize - women) ........... rating 7.5
This is the story of racism in Britain after
WWI. Gilbert Joseph, a Jamaican native has returned to London from WWI and
after awhile his wife Hortense joins him. Their landlady is Queenie who has had
more than her share of struggles during the war. Much of the action takes place
in Jamaica and in a kind of run down boarding house in London. After another
while (about 3/4 into the boo) , her husband, Bernard, shows up and the
interactions begin. The story is told in the 4 different voices of these main
characters and the first half or so is fascinating with the reader discovering
the Jamaica and London of the times. The dialects are wonderful, the historical
connections very well (not over) done. The trouble with this book is that I got
quite bored in the last half and I'm not sure why. Perhaps there were two many
characters and not enough action.
Posted at 11:59 AM
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
finished 6/22 .......... non-fiction biography
........... rating 9.5
Excellent and charming biography of the world
famous diarist. I knew next to nothing about Samuel Pepys when I started this
book and it piqued my interest so that I looked up a lot more about him and even
tried to read an online
version of his diaries. Tomalin's style and her knowledge of Pepys
and his work keep the reader engrossed for hours. Don't let the cover deter
you, it's not as difficult as it looks.
Posted at 11:48 AM
The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman
finished 6/19 .............. contemp. fiction
(light) ........... rating 5
This is a beach read. It started so fun and I
needed a break from Paris 1919. I was kind of charmed up to the middle and then
it just sagged for me and I slogged through it.
Posted at 11:39 AM
The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong
finished 6/20 ............ nonfiction - memoir
............... rating 7.5
Interesting memoir of a former nun who is now a
top notch expert on religion. Karen Armstrong had many difficulties along the
way, she didn't belong in the convent, he PhD thesis was rejected, she was
found to be anorexic and she was "released" from her job as a teacher when it
was discovered that she had epilepsy. Nevertheless, Armstrong is a prolific,
popular and informative writer on matters of religion, particularly Islam.
Posted at 11:38 AM
Paris 1919 by Margaret Macmillan
finished 6/18 .......... non-fiction / history
........rating 9
Excellent narrative of the intrigues of Paris
during the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson, Clemanceau and Lloyd
George are vividly described. The complexities of Eastern Europe are clarified.
The book is considered revisionist because Macmillan hypothesizes that it was
the execution of the Treaty's provisions rather than the
Treaty itself that was flawed and led to WWII. I'm not sure she proved that but there was a lot of interesting material en route.
Treaty itself that was flawed and led to WWII. I'm not sure she proved that but there was a lot of interesting material en route.
Posted at 11:34 AM
The Innocent by Harlan Coben
finished 6/25............ crime fiction
......... rating 6
Typical Coben, easy to read/listen to, fairly
complex plot with lots of twists and good characters.
Posted at 11:31 AM
Mon - June 13, 2005
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
finished 6/13 .......... contemp fiction - UK
(about Botswana) .......... rating 9 (for pure enjoyment - not "value")
After A Cupboard Full of Life (book #5)
I thought that Smith and this series was going downhill. Well, with In the
Company of Cheerful Ladies Smith's score is way back up there. I loved the
characters especially (as usual) but the stories were fun and I smiled most of
my listening time. The narrator was fine after I got used to her and the
pronunciation of names, although it seems strange to listen to, is just like it
is written in the books, Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, and the slowness helps
with the wondrful accent.
Posted at 08:48 PM
Sat - June 11, 2005
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxian
finished 5/30 ........... memoir ...........
rating 7
This was the very interesting memoir of a
Chinese ballet master who defects to the US at the age of 19?
Posted at 06:30 PM
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
finished April ? ......... contemporary sci-fi
........... rating 6
I liked parts of it. I like Adams' humor,
intelligence and originality.
Posted at 06:29 PM
Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard
finished 5/ 20 ........... contemporary
detective ........ rating 6
Pretty good book for a detective thriller.
Elmore Leonard at his best.
Posted at 06:27 PM
No Second Chance by Harlan Coben
finished 6/1 .......... detective fiction
............. rating 6
This was okay detective book. It had its
thrilling moments, and it was unpredictable. But the ending was rather less
than satisfactory.
Posted at 06:26 PM
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
finished 6/6 ........... contemporary fiction /
UK ............ rating 9
This book still sings to me. I read it first
but couldn't get past the center section. So I listened to it and was
astounded. Parts were still boring but overall it was much better. And then
(!) I went and read it again! (whew) Mitchell is a very talented writer.
He's fun. The characters were fabulous. I wish the "stories" had connected a
bit better and I wish he'd had more themes developed. (were there any?) But
it's a wonderful book if somewhat difficult.
Posted at 06:25 PM
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
finished 6/10 ............ literary thriller?
............. rating 7
this book pretends to be a thriller. It was
pretty good. But the thing that made it great was the appendix. That makes you
want to go back and read it again.
Posted at 06:23 PM
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
finished 6/2.......... contemporary fiction
........ rating 8.5
I'll give it a 9. I love this book. It's
about the New York magic (Athansor ) of timeless love and loss (Peter Lake and
Beverly) which, when added to destiny (the karma of Lake with the mission of
Hardesty), brings knowledge (the stars in the dome of Grand Central) and
redemption (Praeger) and the power (the presses) sufficient for the good guys
to win over the evil rainbow bridges of the mad "politicos." In other words,
love and evil are timeless adversaries and love always wins. And Helprin's
language was fully up to the task of writing a magic tale like this
one.
Sad to say that even with all this in place, imo, Helprin aimed too high, trying to gather all possible human themes and storm the gates of heaven with his magic bridge book. And just as the Meade's rainbow bridge failed, so did whatever themes Helprin was wrestling with. But it's quite possible that this "too big to be seen" is the main theme; the book says somewhere (and I think it was mentioned in the discussion) that we have only been given a portion of the full woven fabric, that the whole of human destiny is far too glorious to be seen at one time. I can't remember how Helprin stated it and I doubt I could find it again. Winter's Tale seemed like that. And, I think Susan said this one, the only possible category for this book is "winter tale" (whatever that is), maybe like what Frederick told his fellow mice in Leoni's book of that name?
So yes, it's badly flawed. So what? So am I. I still loved it.
Sad to say that even with all this in place, imo, Helprin aimed too high, trying to gather all possible human themes and storm the gates of heaven with his magic bridge book. And just as the Meade's rainbow bridge failed, so did whatever themes Helprin was wrestling with. But it's quite possible that this "too big to be seen" is the main theme; the book says somewhere (and I think it was mentioned in the discussion) that we have only been given a portion of the full woven fabric, that the whole of human destiny is far too glorious to be seen at one time. I can't remember how Helprin stated it and I doubt I could find it again. Winter's Tale seemed like that. And, I think Susan said this one, the only possible category for this book is "winter tale" (whatever that is), maybe like what Frederick told his fellow mice in Leoni's book of that name?
So yes, it's badly flawed. So what? So am I. I still loved it.
Posted at 06:08 PM
The Liberated Bride by A.B. Yehoshua
finished 6/1......... contemporary fiction /
Israel .......... rating 5
This is the story of a man who breaks
boundaries. He is obsessed with finding out why his son's brief marriage fails
and snoops around until he finds out. It's not a pleasant read. It's hard. I
think that the author was saying that before we can have peace in the Middle
East a bunch of boundaries are going to have to be broken.
It is a marvelously well written book and the translation flows.
It is a marvelously well written book and the translation flows.
Posted at 06:04 PM
The Cunning Man by Robertson Davies
finished 5/15 ........... 20th cent. fiction
.......... rating 5.
An aging doctor in Toronto is witness to the
murder of a priest. The story is what he tells the journalist (god-daughter in
law) who interviews him about it. He can't tell her everything. He edits
himself as far as she's concerned, but reveals much to the reader. His
thoughts are mostly about the people of the community, the odd medicine he
practices, his memories. The philosophy in the book is the duality between
holistic and specialist, church message vs church ambiance, and other
dichotomies. The main reason that the rating is only a 6 is that it drags. It
took me a good 200 pages to get into it and even at that it slipped and slid.
Posted at 06:01 PM
Elizabeth Costello by J. M. Coetzee
finishd 4/?..... Fiction / South Africa-
Australia .......... rating 7.5
Is this a novel? Elizabeth Costello like
Coetzee, is an aging but widely renowned and highly respected author who travels
and gives lectures, etc. She's from Australia which is where Coetzee lives now.
They are both strict vegetarians with strong concerns for animal
rights, equating meat-eating with horrendous violence. They are kind of prickly people, curmudgeonly and brisk. Is Elizabeth becoming more concerned for her privacy? Coetzee is very, very private although not a recluse.
As Elizabeth travels through this novel she gives lectures on several subjects in different places. The point of the book may be that the ideas are not important because they seem to matter less and less. The last chapters are wonderful but overall the book was a bit of a chore.
rights, equating meat-eating with horrendous violence. They are kind of prickly people, curmudgeonly and brisk. Is Elizabeth becoming more concerned for her privacy? Coetzee is very, very private although not a recluse.
As Elizabeth travels through this novel she gives lectures on several subjects in different places. The point of the book may be that the ideas are not important because they seem to matter less and less. The last chapters are wonderful but overall the book was a bit of a chore.
Posted at 05:32 PM
The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCullough
finished 5/28 ................ European
History ................ rating 10
In this thorough examination of the
Reformation, MacCullough explores the ideas
he says drove the Reformation. This book is not in any way concerned
with other motivating factors. Freudian and Marxist approaches are
not really considered until the last chapter and then barely
mentioned. MacCullough is convinced that the Reformation was about
ideas and that although those ideas were from the theologians they
affected the common people, the rulers, the outcasts and others,
everyone who lived in Europe at the time and, ultimately, everyone
who lives in the world today. I can certainly see where Marxist
theory fits here, but that's not MacCullough's point and there's more
to life than Marxist theory. (g)
pg, xx, xxii (these page are excellent)
Recent research on the Latin Church before the
upheaval was that
it was not as corrupt and ineffective as Protestants
have intended
to portray it, and that it generally satisfied the
spiritual needs of
the medieval people.
That recovered perspective only serves to emphasize
the importance of the ideas the reformers put forward. They
were not attacking a moribund Church that was an easy target,
ripe for change; but despite this, their message
could still seize
the imaginations of enough people to overcome the power and
success of the old church structures. Ideas mattered
profoundly;
they had an independent power of their own, and they could be
corrosive and destructive.
So, what were these ideas?
After his "enlightenment," due to some Scriptural passages (Romans),
and also following a reform impasse within the Catholic Church,
Martin Luther, a Northern European scholar and theologian was
outraged that the Catholic Church should be, essentially, selling
salvation through the very profitable indulgences. Luther wanted
this and several other *major* issues to be discussed openly, so he
posted his "Ninety-five Theses"
<http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/ninetyfive.html >
on the Castle Church door at Wittenburg in 1517. These Theses were
the original ideas behind the Reformation.
Luther's main points, from the Theses and his other works, were
1. The grace of God through Jesus Christ is the only way to
salvation. Neither works nor payments could
do it.
2. All man can do is have faith. He is a fallen being,
unsalvageable by his own devices.
3. There is no intermediary between God and Man. Papal
authority was a threat to Christianity. (Luther
wanted a "papal council" at first. This became impossible
and he became ore anti-papal.)
4. There are only two holy sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist.
5. The Eucharist is not a matter of Transubstantiation, a
change in the essence of the bread and wine.
Rather the bread and wine are joined by the body and blood
of Christ. We have to accept this on faith.
6. The Eucharist does not redeem us from our sins. Only God
can do that.
7. Good works naturally follow faith.
8. The Bible should be available to all people in their own
vernacular. (This created some interesting
translations)
9. Predestination, Since God has all fore-knowledge,
"free-will" does not exist.
10. The idea of two-kingdoms, the civil and the heavenly.
The princes rule the civil and the church rules
the religious.
The people, commoners, nobility and clergy, of the northern
provinces of the Holy Roman Empire rather appreciated all that and
John Calvin and others took it further and began their hunt for the
correct theology and then for the perfect community based on that
theology. Their ideas included:
1. Priests should marry. (for a variety of reasons and
Luther agreed with this one)
2. The Eucharist is symbolic for an oath and of the
community of faithful.
3. Baptism is for adults. (Anabaptists)
4. Art and icons are "graven images" (including those of
Mary) and "graven images" are forbidden by a
commandment from God.
5. The Bible is the only source of knowledge.
6. Salvation is predestined and for the elect only
7. Predestination is evil (a few radicals)
8. development of social control within the two-kingdoms theory
9. toleration (local importance in some places)
10. * all of these ideas and more became extreme in the
hands of the radicals.
These ideas were arranged and sorted and forced into dogmatic
"creeds" or Confessions of Faith see:
<http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/confes.htm > (scroll down for links
to all sorts of confessions of faith from the Nicene and Apostle's
(700 AD) to the New Hampshire (1833). This "confessionalization"
shows that reform was not ever going to work to reunite the church.
The fighting was bitter because the stakes were high. Not only were
the construction of the "correct" theology and church structure on
the line, but the souls of all Europe (or the world for that matter)
were at stake.
MacCullough includes quite a lot about the profound impact of the
printing press and other "modern" ideas like the ideas of the
scientists and the renaissance humanists. Fears of the millennium
(1600) and the Ottoman Turks are also discussed. And the Catholic
changes are described, too, although they were "too little, too
late" to prevent the Reformation (they wouldn't have anyway):
1. A single catechism to educate clergy and parishioners
2. Papal authority continued (no councils considered,
bishop's authority was ambiguous)
3. Agreement on the sacraments and many, many more items of faith.
4. Latin services and language (this created a unity in the
community of Catholics with a shared
language and service and other details of religion. One area
was the same as another in most respects.)
5. New or rejuvenated religious organizations (Jesuits,
Capuchin friars, Ursula)
6. Reformation of Manners (scrutiny of sex lives,
witchcraft, - confessional)
7. Church building a priority complete with icons, relics and saints
8. Education of clergy and parishioners using catechism and
printed matter
9, Suppression of indexed books and material (Inquisition)
10. end the sale of indulgences and church offices (corruption)
************
The remainder of the book concerns the spread and development of
these ideas throughout the continent and then the world. Each area
or country was a bit different but the clergy was "usually" at the
forefront of spreading the word. Printed material was also vital,
especially in France and England. The civil authorities and the
nobility were usually converted and they simply dictated to the
commoners what the local religion would be. The Treaty of Augsburg
guaranteed that members of the other religion (Lutheran or Catholic)
could freely leave for a tolerant place. The Reformations of Great
Britain, Poland and Transylvania were quite individual with England
sticking close to Catholic tradition without so much secular power,
and Poland and Transylvania trying toleration.
Close to two hundred years of warfare resulted from these Reformation
ideas in collision with the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic
Church, which provided their own ideas in the Counter-Reformation.
Catholics fought Protestants who were fighting other Protestants
while the Lutherans seemed to find a safety from the Catholics
middle ground (courtesy of the Treaty of Augsburg), while
antagonizing the Protestants. But it was never very safe for anyone.
Meanwhile, America, great bastion of contemporary Protestantism, was
being settled by immigrants from all the participants, Puritans,
Catholics, Calvinists, Anglicans and others made their ways to the
colonies where they found that they had to tolerate each other or die.
Northern Europe became generally Protestant, Southern Europe
remained Catholic and it was Central Europe that was torn with war.
It is estimated that perhaps 40% of Central Europe's population was
killed due to the Thirty Years war which began with the 2nd
Defenestration of Prague in 1618 and ended with the Peace of
Westphalia which took place equally, in two different cities.
Such was the bitterness when the combatants had fought
themselves to a standstill, they could not bring themselves
to negotiate together. (pg 469)
Religion, religious zeal, and religious hatred were
at the heart
of the outbreak of war in 1618 and both sides believed that
they could effectively eliminate those who took a different
view of the Christian message. (pg 470-471)
At the end of the war it was apparent that the Holy Roman Empire was
not going to become a really viable state. It was also apparent that
crusades don't work. The religious wars continued into the 18th
century but they were fundamentally changed with the realization
that the opponents could sit down with each other and work out a
settlement.
Excellent web-presentation of the Thirty Years War:
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Sparta/5414/ >
Some favorite lines from the book:
pg xx
"One conclusion to be drawn from the accumulation of recent research
on the Latin Church before the upheaval was that it was not as
corrupt and ineffective as Protestants have tended to portray it.,
and that it generally satisfied the spiritual needs of late medieval
people."
pg 55
"The fear that this Islamic aggression engendered in Europe was an
essential background tot he Reformation, convincing many on both
sides that God's anger was poised to strike own the Christian world
and so making it all the more essential to please God by affirming
the right form of Christian belief against other Christians."
pg 80
"If there is any one explanation why the Latin West experienced a
Reformation and the Greek-speaking lands to the east did not, it lies
in this experience of listening to a new voice in the New Testament."
(translation process from Hebrew to Greek to Latin)
pg 108:
"The Reformation inwardly considered, was just the ultimate triumph
of Augustine's doctrine of grace over Augustine's doctrine of the
Church." (source B.B. Warfield, "Calvin and Augustine")
pg 152
"The realm of faith needs freedom, but the realm of temporal order
needs coercion and rules. True Christians can know clearly where the
boundaries lay, but there are very few true Christians, so they ought
to submit to worldly powers."
pg 184
"It is worth noting that in 1531 the future of the Reformation seemed
to be in the hands of a city council. Various princes of the empire
had now openly declared for the reforming cause, but still not a
single sovereign monarch had done so. "
pg 527
"If Britain has a role to play in modern world politics, it may be to
interpret the pervasive and exuberantly assertive (some might say
strident) culture of Protestant religion in the United States to a
Europe that has begun to forget what the Reformation meant."
pg 682
"The Reformation arguments were in large part about how human beings
best approached this love of God and whether anything in human
behavior and actions could influence God into saving them from
eternal despair."
Bekah
he says drove the Reformation. This book is not in any way concerned
with other motivating factors. Freudian and Marxist approaches are
not really considered until the last chapter and then barely
mentioned. MacCullough is convinced that the Reformation was about
ideas and that although those ideas were from the theologians they
affected the common people, the rulers, the outcasts and others,
everyone who lived in Europe at the time and, ultimately, everyone
who lives in the world today. I can certainly see where Marxist
theory fits here, but that's not MacCullough's point and there's more
to life than Marxist theory. (g)
pg, xx, xxii (these page are excellent)
Recent research on the Latin Church before the
upheaval was that
it was not as corrupt and ineffective as Protestants
have intended
to portray it, and that it generally satisfied the
spiritual needs of
the medieval people.
That recovered perspective only serves to emphasize
the importance of the ideas the reformers put forward. They
were not attacking a moribund Church that was an easy target,
ripe for change; but despite this, their message
could still seize
the imaginations of enough people to overcome the power and
success of the old church structures. Ideas mattered
profoundly;
they had an independent power of their own, and they could be
corrosive and destructive.
So, what were these ideas?
After his "enlightenment," due to some Scriptural passages (Romans),
and also following a reform impasse within the Catholic Church,
Martin Luther, a Northern European scholar and theologian was
outraged that the Catholic Church should be, essentially, selling
salvation through the very profitable indulgences. Luther wanted
this and several other *major* issues to be discussed openly, so he
posted his "Ninety-five Theses"
<http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/ninetyfive.html >
on the Castle Church door at Wittenburg in 1517. These Theses were
the original ideas behind the Reformation.
Luther's main points, from the Theses and his other works, were
1. The grace of God through Jesus Christ is the only way to
salvation. Neither works nor payments could
do it.
2. All man can do is have faith. He is a fallen being,
unsalvageable by his own devices.
3. There is no intermediary between God and Man. Papal
authority was a threat to Christianity. (Luther
wanted a "papal council" at first. This became impossible
and he became ore anti-papal.)
4. There are only two holy sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist.
5. The Eucharist is not a matter of Transubstantiation, a
change in the essence of the bread and wine.
Rather the bread and wine are joined by the body and blood
of Christ. We have to accept this on faith.
6. The Eucharist does not redeem us from our sins. Only God
can do that.
7. Good works naturally follow faith.
8. The Bible should be available to all people in their own
vernacular. (This created some interesting
translations)
9. Predestination, Since God has all fore-knowledge,
"free-will" does not exist.
10. The idea of two-kingdoms, the civil and the heavenly.
The princes rule the civil and the church rules
the religious.
The people, commoners, nobility and clergy, of the northern
provinces of the Holy Roman Empire rather appreciated all that and
John Calvin and others took it further and began their hunt for the
correct theology and then for the perfect community based on that
theology. Their ideas included:
1. Priests should marry. (for a variety of reasons and
Luther agreed with this one)
2. The Eucharist is symbolic for an oath and of the
community of faithful.
3. Baptism is for adults. (Anabaptists)
4. Art and icons are "graven images" (including those of
Mary) and "graven images" are forbidden by a
commandment from God.
5. The Bible is the only source of knowledge.
6. Salvation is predestined and for the elect only
7. Predestination is evil (a few radicals)
8. development of social control within the two-kingdoms theory
9. toleration (local importance in some places)
10. * all of these ideas and more became extreme in the
hands of the radicals.
These ideas were arranged and sorted and forced into dogmatic
"creeds" or Confessions of Faith see:
<http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/confes.htm > (scroll down for links
to all sorts of confessions of faith from the Nicene and Apostle's
(700 AD) to the New Hampshire (1833). This "confessionalization"
shows that reform was not ever going to work to reunite the church.
The fighting was bitter because the stakes were high. Not only were
the construction of the "correct" theology and church structure on
the line, but the souls of all Europe (or the world for that matter)
were at stake.
MacCullough includes quite a lot about the profound impact of the
printing press and other "modern" ideas like the ideas of the
scientists and the renaissance humanists. Fears of the millennium
(1600) and the Ottoman Turks are also discussed. And the Catholic
changes are described, too, although they were "too little, too
late" to prevent the Reformation (they wouldn't have anyway):
1. A single catechism to educate clergy and parishioners
2. Papal authority continued (no councils considered,
bishop's authority was ambiguous)
3. Agreement on the sacraments and many, many more items of faith.
4. Latin services and language (this created a unity in the
community of Catholics with a shared
language and service and other details of religion. One area
was the same as another in most respects.)
5. New or rejuvenated religious organizations (Jesuits,
Capuchin friars, Ursula)
6. Reformation of Manners (scrutiny of sex lives,
witchcraft, - confessional)
7. Church building a priority complete with icons, relics and saints
8. Education of clergy and parishioners using catechism and
printed matter
9, Suppression of indexed books and material (Inquisition)
10. end the sale of indulgences and church offices (corruption)
************
The remainder of the book concerns the spread and development of
these ideas throughout the continent and then the world. Each area
or country was a bit different but the clergy was "usually" at the
forefront of spreading the word. Printed material was also vital,
especially in France and England. The civil authorities and the
nobility were usually converted and they simply dictated to the
commoners what the local religion would be. The Treaty of Augsburg
guaranteed that members of the other religion (Lutheran or Catholic)
could freely leave for a tolerant place. The Reformations of Great
Britain, Poland and Transylvania were quite individual with England
sticking close to Catholic tradition without so much secular power,
and Poland and Transylvania trying toleration.
Close to two hundred years of warfare resulted from these Reformation
ideas in collision with the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic
Church, which provided their own ideas in the Counter-Reformation.
Catholics fought Protestants who were fighting other Protestants
while the Lutherans seemed to find a safety from the Catholics
middle ground (courtesy of the Treaty of Augsburg), while
antagonizing the Protestants. But it was never very safe for anyone.
Meanwhile, America, great bastion of contemporary Protestantism, was
being settled by immigrants from all the participants, Puritans,
Catholics, Calvinists, Anglicans and others made their ways to the
colonies where they found that they had to tolerate each other or die.
Northern Europe became generally Protestant, Southern Europe
remained Catholic and it was Central Europe that was torn with war.
It is estimated that perhaps 40% of Central Europe's population was
killed due to the Thirty Years war which began with the 2nd
Defenestration of Prague in 1618 and ended with the Peace of
Westphalia which took place equally, in two different cities.
Such was the bitterness when the combatants had fought
themselves to a standstill, they could not bring themselves
to negotiate together. (pg 469)
Religion, religious zeal, and religious hatred were
at the heart
of the outbreak of war in 1618 and both sides believed that
they could effectively eliminate those who took a different
view of the Christian message. (pg 470-471)
At the end of the war it was apparent that the Holy Roman Empire was
not going to become a really viable state. It was also apparent that
crusades don't work. The religious wars continued into the 18th
century but they were fundamentally changed with the realization
that the opponents could sit down with each other and work out a
settlement.
Excellent web-presentation of the Thirty Years War:
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Sparta/5414/ >
Some favorite lines from the book:
pg xx
"One conclusion to be drawn from the accumulation of recent research
on the Latin Church before the upheaval was that it was not as
corrupt and ineffective as Protestants have tended to portray it.,
and that it generally satisfied the spiritual needs of late medieval
people."
pg 55
"The fear that this Islamic aggression engendered in Europe was an
essential background tot he Reformation, convincing many on both
sides that God's anger was poised to strike own the Christian world
and so making it all the more essential to please God by affirming
the right form of Christian belief against other Christians."
pg 80
"If there is any one explanation why the Latin West experienced a
Reformation and the Greek-speaking lands to the east did not, it lies
in this experience of listening to a new voice in the New Testament."
(translation process from Hebrew to Greek to Latin)
pg 108:
"The Reformation inwardly considered, was just the ultimate triumph
of Augustine's doctrine of grace over Augustine's doctrine of the
Church." (source B.B. Warfield, "Calvin and Augustine")
pg 152
"The realm of faith needs freedom, but the realm of temporal order
needs coercion and rules. True Christians can know clearly where the
boundaries lay, but there are very few true Christians, so they ought
to submit to worldly powers."
pg 184
"It is worth noting that in 1531 the future of the Reformation seemed
to be in the hands of a city council. Various princes of the empire
had now openly declared for the reforming cause, but still not a
single sovereign monarch had done so. "
pg 527
"If Britain has a role to play in modern world politics, it may be to
interpret the pervasive and exuberantly assertive (some might say
strident) culture of Protestant religion in the United States to a
Europe that has begun to forget what the Reformation meant."
pg 682
"The Reformation arguments were in large part about how human beings
best approached this love of God and whether anything in human
behavior and actions could influence God into saving them from
eternal despair."
Bekah
Posted at 05:26 PM
Mon - April 4, 2005
Saturday by Ian McEwan
finished April 4 .......... contemp fiction
.......... rating 7.5
most all of this book was boring. There was
one scene in the first section which sets a train of consequences in motion the
climax of which is toward the very end. I'm not a big McEwan fan. Too many
words for the tale, imo. This could have been a fine short story.
Posted at 09:48 AM
Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen
finished 3/30......... contemp. fiction
(Booker) ....... rating 8
Very hard to read and understand. It would
take at least two readings to untangle this one.
Posted at 09:33 AM
Ficciones by Jorge Borges
finished (see below) ...... 3/05 ........
speculative fiction .......... rating 9
very interesting collection of short stories
by one of the top philosophical fiction writers ever! This is more than magical
realism because there really isn't much realism there. (g) It's sometimes
considered sci-fi, but there isn't much science. A good friend of Umberto Eco.
Borges had a great impact on contemporary lit. He's fun but don't read too
much.
Posted at 09:32 AM
Tue - March 29, 2005
I Am Charlotte Simmons
finished 2/? ......... contemp fiction
.......... rating 6 (very mixed)
Okay, I admit it. I have a love-hate
relationship with "I Am
Charlotte Simmons." (My rating is a 6, see below for the
rationale.)
I appreciate what I believe Wolfe was trying to do in using
non-judgmental naturalism and some stereotypes (or caricatures?) in
the exploration of a contemporary cultural community. The theme of
determinism (genetic and environmental) vs free will interested me as
did the sub-themes of peer pressure and the need to belong or be the
best.
But! I had to really sit back, away from the impact of all that
swearing, drinking, sports and sex, to have any objective sense of
the work because my first impression was pure-d puke. It was only
with great effort that I got through over 30 hours (listening) of
pandering tripe.
I suppose this reaction might be along the lines of what the general
turn of the century readership felt when they sampled Kate Chopin's
works, especially "The Awakening" or "A Respectable Woman." The
average contemporary reader of Chopin was unable to disassociate
from the idea that the basics of "The Awakening" were unfit for
publication.
And her words were so comparable to those of Wolfe. Wolfe has
written more. He has focused more on essays. But they both explored
the American psyche with neither fear nor favor. They said that they
presented it as they saw it with no judgment at all. And that's what
caused some of the problem because readers thought that she at least
should have condemned Edna. But no. And neither does Wolfe. He
lets the college crowd off without so much as a waggling metaphoric
finger.
I also really, really liked Charlotte. I loved Charlotte. I saw her
confusion and She was an earnest underdog, striving and confused.
You know how it is, I had to root for her.
So, overall, I'd give it a 5 for a mixed between interesting and
pukey, but Charlotte tips the scales and I'll give it a 6.
Charlotte Simmons." (My rating is a 6, see below for the
rationale.)
I appreciate what I believe Wolfe was trying to do in using
non-judgmental naturalism and some stereotypes (or caricatures?) in
the exploration of a contemporary cultural community. The theme of
determinism (genetic and environmental) vs free will interested me as
did the sub-themes of peer pressure and the need to belong or be the
best.
But! I had to really sit back, away from the impact of all that
swearing, drinking, sports and sex, to have any objective sense of
the work because my first impression was pure-d puke. It was only
with great effort that I got through over 30 hours (listening) of
pandering tripe.
I suppose this reaction might be along the lines of what the general
turn of the century readership felt when they sampled Kate Chopin's
works, especially "The Awakening" or "A Respectable Woman." The
average contemporary reader of Chopin was unable to disassociate
from the idea that the basics of "The Awakening" were unfit for
publication.
And her words were so comparable to those of Wolfe. Wolfe has
written more. He has focused more on essays. But they both explored
the American psyche with neither fear nor favor. They said that they
presented it as they saw it with no judgment at all. And that's what
caused some of the problem because readers thought that she at least
should have condemned Edna. But no. And neither does Wolfe. He
lets the college crowd off without so much as a waggling metaphoric
finger.
I also really, really liked Charlotte. I loved Charlotte. I saw her
confusion and She was an earnest underdog, striving and confused.
You know how it is, I had to root for her.
So, overall, I'd give it a 5 for a mixed between interesting and
pukey, but Charlotte tips the scales and I'll give it a 6.
Posted at 06:12 PM
Mon - March 28, 2005
And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts
Finished 3/23 ......... non-fiction - history?
current events ....... rating 9
First published in 1987, this is the story of
the spread of the AIDS epidemic from its inception to 1985. It's told from
multiple perspectives It seems dated in some ways today but I think that helps
to accurately capture the spirit and essence of the times. There is a wealth of
information here on the science and politics involved as well as the human
stories and statistics. They're all interwoven to give a detective story feel
to the book.
Posted at 06:38 AM
NIghtfall by Nelson DeMille
finished 3/27/05 ....... detective-suspense
............ rating 6
DeMille is one of my favorites for detective
fiction although he's been veering more and more toward terrorist detective
stuff. I think that Gold Coast was my favorite but this one, Nightfall, may be
either tied or the new best. Nightfall is based on the true story of the TWA
800 crash in 1996 which killed 200+ people. Many witnesses from around the
Long Island area say they saw a red flare prior to the plane's blowing up.
DeMille's story follows that line.
Posted at 06:32 AM
Sun - March 27, 2005
A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
finished 3/27/05 .... post-colonial fiction
classic ..... rating 9
This absolutely marvelous book is one of the
highlights of my reading this year, or for several years. The book is written
by VS Naipaul, a native Indian from Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela. The
island was originally Native American Arawaks, the Indians Columbus encountered
when he landed. Then the Spanish settled and they were Catholic, French, free
black, and other non-Spanish settlers came also but Trinidad remained under
Spanish rule until the British captured it in 1797. There was a short-lived
experiment at a Federation with other islands in the area but after its failure,
Trinidad (and Tobago and Jamaica) became a part of the British Commonwealth
Most of the citizens are of Indian (India) and/or African descent and most
speak English although other languages including Hindi and French patois.
There are two dominant folk cultures, Creole and East Indian. Creole is a
mixture of African elements with Spanish, French, and English colonial culture.
Trinidad's East Indian culture came to the island with indentured servants brought to fill a labor shortage created by the emancipation of the African slaves in 1833. Most remained on the land, and they still dominate the agricultural sector, but many have become prominent in business and the professions. East Indians have retained much of their own way of life, including Hindu and Muslim religious festivals and practices.
This is all reflected in the story but fundamentally, the story is about a man, living in this time and culture, going through his life, never feeling at home or having a place. It could be a universal theme, it could be a post-colonial theme, it could be a personal theme. Naipaul pulled it off brilliantly, but then, he is one of the very best writers in today's world.
Trinidad's East Indian culture came to the island with indentured servants brought to fill a labor shortage created by the emancipation of the African slaves in 1833. Most remained on the land, and they still dominate the agricultural sector, but many have become prominent in business and the professions. East Indians have retained much of their own way of life, including Hindu and Muslim religious festivals and practices.
This is all reflected in the story but fundamentally, the story is about a man, living in this time and culture, going through his life, never feeling at home or having a place. It could be a universal theme, it could be a post-colonial theme, it could be a personal theme. Naipaul pulled it off brilliantly, but then, he is one of the very best writers in today's world.
Posted at 07:41 PM
Potshot by Robert Parker and read by Joe Mantegna
finished 3/24/05............. contemporary
detective........... rating 6
Over the years Robert Parker has developed a
character called Spencer who has adventures solving crimes with some pretty
rough elements. The prose is readable and the detective is smart. The plots
are tense and believable, the characters well drawn, the dialogue crisp. But
these books will never rise above genre and they don't really want to, they do
so well within it. So I'll give it a Best of Genre and an overall 6. Read
by Joe Mantegna who is excellent.
Posted at 08:55 AM
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
finished 3/22/05 ............. sci fi/fantasy
classic ............. rating 8
This was a reread for a bookgroup. I listened
to it a little over a year ago. It's superb high comedy and fantasy told as
satire and possibly spoof. There may be a certain Luddite aspect to it in that
all of scientific progress has gone awry in a worst case scenario. However the
tale is told with such gut-busting and intelligent humor that you forget Luddite
sensibilities. Frankenstein's nightmare this is not.
I think that the reason science has gone awry in this book is that humans made the science. Marvin the depressed robot android sounds just like a human and the automatons have all sorts of personality defects. The question about the universe is a human question and this is is a very human book.
I think that the reason science has gone awry in this book is that humans made the science. Marvin the depressed robot android sounds just like a human and the automatons have all sorts of personality defects. The question about the universe is a human question and this is is a very human book.
Posted at 08:44 AM
Sat - March 19, 2005
Hitler 1890-1936: Hubris by Ian Kershaw
finished 3/7/05 ..........
non-fiction-biography ............ rating 10
Was Hitler a total anomaly and as such, we can
disregard him? Did Germany make Hitler or did Hitler make fascist Germany?
According to Kershaw the answer on all counts is yes. Germany made Hitler but without Hitler, there would never have been a Holocaust. We cannot disregard him.
This book is "a history of his power--how he came to get it, what its character was, how he exercised it, why he was allowed to expand it ..., why resistance to it was so feeble,"
Because of this focus, Kershaw focuses quite a bit on the culture and history of Germany itself.
Kershaw is a very good writer. He's clear and the text flows. But he's not brief or concise in any way and his themes get lost in the detail.
According to Kershaw the answer on all counts is yes. Germany made Hitler but without Hitler, there would never have been a Holocaust. We cannot disregard him.
This book is "a history of his power--how he came to get it, what its character was, how he exercised it, why he was allowed to expand it ..., why resistance to it was so feeble,"
Because of this focus, Kershaw focuses quite a bit on the culture and history of Germany itself.
Kershaw is a very good writer. He's clear and the text flows. But he's not brief or concise in any way and his themes get lost in the detail.
Posted at 09:08 PM
Fri - March 11, 2005
Hotel World by Ali Smith
finished 3/6 ........... contemporary fiction -
Scotland ............ rating 9.5
This is one of the most clever, interesting
and challenging books to come out so far in the 21st century. And it's fun too.
:) It's about life and love and death and literary theory set in a world of
puns, poverty and capital greed. (lol)
I read it twice and it may take a third go round. Whew! or as they say, Woooo-ooooo! It's a ride, anyway! (Thank goodness it's short!)
Ali Smith (the genius, imo) has written a book that works (!) on many levels. Following the basic story line of a girl's accidental death and life going on, this book is about death and love and memory and the inter-relatedness of life.
On another level, it's a big metaphor with the Globe Hotel posing as (signifying?) big money capitalism and international business being the "big bad guy," vs all the individual characters as the "little good guys." (This is the level on which first web-site deals with explicitly but in post-modern terms.) <http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap1002/transhotel.htm> (not necessarily a good place to start, it's more about the state of postmodernism today and the political leanings involved.)
But on still another level it's about literary theory with Freud and Lacan and Saussure and Derrida and even some Foucault. It's about the unconscious and signifieds and signifiers and what they mean and, probably more importantly, what they don't mean. This is deconstruction as Derrida uses it, as Foucault (history of sex - communication about sex, etc) goes around it and as Lacan plays with it. I think that Smith is having a great time.
And all through these levels the characters shine through, glowing and present to keep the story moving. The book may be more about the characters than it is about any of the other levels. It's a funny, loving and gentle book, a joy to read after the first go-round. (lol)
I am overwhelmed. I am astounded. I am flabbergasted. This stuff is on every single page, there is not a single throwaway scene.
I read it twice and it may take a third go round. Whew! or as they say, Woooo-ooooo! It's a ride, anyway! (Thank goodness it's short!)
Ali Smith (the genius, imo) has written a book that works (!) on many levels. Following the basic story line of a girl's accidental death and life going on, this book is about death and love and memory and the inter-relatedness of life.
On another level, it's a big metaphor with the Globe Hotel posing as (signifying?) big money capitalism and international business being the "big bad guy," vs all the individual characters as the "little good guys." (This is the level on which first web-site deals with explicitly but in post-modern terms.) <http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap1002/transhotel.htm> (not necessarily a good place to start, it's more about the state of postmodernism today and the political leanings involved.)
But on still another level it's about literary theory with Freud and Lacan and Saussure and Derrida and even some Foucault. It's about the unconscious and signifieds and signifiers and what they mean and, probably more importantly, what they don't mean. This is deconstruction as Derrida uses it, as Foucault (history of sex - communication about sex, etc) goes around it and as Lacan plays with it. I think that Smith is having a great time.
And all through these levels the characters shine through, glowing and present to keep the story moving. The book may be more about the characters than it is about any of the other levels. It's a funny, loving and gentle book, a joy to read after the first go-round. (lol)
I am overwhelmed. I am astounded. I am flabbergasted. This stuff is on every single page, there is not a single throwaway scene.
Posted at 07:09 AM
Mon - February 21, 2005
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Finished 2/20/05........... contemporary,
Nigeria .............. rating 9.5
Written in a style resonant of Gabriel Marquez
(One Hundred Years of Solitude) combined with Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart)
Okri has written a masterpiece. The subjectmatter is the violence and poverty
of contemporary Lagos, Nigeria and one boy's attempts to escape it.
He is trying to escape through the spirit world and the work reads like someone going in and out of a schizophrenic mind set but he's being visited by the spirits of his home world. They want him back. He does not want to go.
Meanwhile his father is escaping into drink and boxing and politics while his mother has no escape.
Only the barroom madam is really set on improving her lot with some interesting results.
Not for the feeble.
He is trying to escape through the spirit world and the work reads like someone going in and out of a schizophrenic mind set but he's being visited by the spirits of his home world. They want him back. He does not want to go.
Meanwhile his father is escaping into drink and boxing and politics while his mother has no escape.
Only the barroom madam is really set on improving her lot with some interesting results.
Not for the feeble.
Posted at 05:35 PM
Sat - February 19, 2005
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin
finished 2/19 ........... non-fiction, memoir
............... rating ?
This was a far better book than I expected.
It was a reading group selection and there were several people who were quite
enthusiastic about it. I thought.... yeah?
But Temple Grandin is an autistic PhD who has specialized in developing cattle chutes and so forth. She describes in pretty good detail and in a very interesting way what it's like to live in her skin. She is obviously of the type that is able to integrate pretty well into society, not all autistic people can. The social skills are lacking. She adresses that and so much more. She talks about her childhood, dating and her work which seems to be the love of her life. She also talks about brain development, the humane treatment of cattle and spiritual matters. She talks about what the readers would be interested in if they could ask her questions.
But Temple Grandin is an autistic PhD who has specialized in developing cattle chutes and so forth. She describes in pretty good detail and in a very interesting way what it's like to live in her skin. She is obviously of the type that is able to integrate pretty well into society, not all autistic people can. The social skills are lacking. She adresses that and so much more. She talks about her childhood, dating and her work which seems to be the love of her life. She also talks about brain development, the humane treatment of cattle and spiritual matters. She talks about what the readers would be interested in if they could ask her questions.
Posted at 10:29 PM
Fri - February 18, 2005
Regeneration by Pat Barker
finished 2-18-05 .......... contemporary
fiction Booker short list 1992 ........... rating 9
I very much enjoy WWI history and the poets
have always touched me since I read Rupert Brooke in High School. This is a
great book which combines the stories of poets Sigfried Sassoon and Wilfred
Owen with their time spent at the hospital where they were treated for
"breakdowns."
There are many themes in this book including pacifism and the treatment of mental breakdowns. Sex and war is addressed.
There are many themes in this book including pacifism and the treatment of mental breakdowns. Sex and war is addressed.
Posted at 10:28 PM
Mon - February 7, 2005
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
finished 2/7/05............ contemp. fiction
............. rating ? 4 out of 10? liked a few parts of it
Don't take my word for it, a lot of people love
this "grown up" Harry Potter, I'm just not one of them. There's plenty to like
about it. It's about magic in England in the 17th century and it's a love
story. Clark has excellent command over the language and the characters. This
is an exceptional debut novel and on top of all that, the reader, Simon Prebble,
is excellent.
That said, it's too long by about 75%. It just keeps going on and on and on. Once in awhile I got very interested and it was great. I laughed out loud a couple of times. But for a 33 hour book to enjoy probably 1 hour total, is not going to hear a recommendation from me. I wanted to like it, I really did. I listened to the whole thing because I was told that the ending is the best part and everything leads up to it. Well, yes, it does. Was it worth it? No comment; I'm glad I'm done.
Let her do the book do it's own PR: http://www.jonathanstrange.com/
That said, it's too long by about 75%. It just keeps going on and on and on. Once in awhile I got very interested and it was great. I laughed out loud a couple of times. But for a 33 hour book to enjoy probably 1 hour total, is not going to hear a recommendation from me. I wanted to like it, I really did. I listened to the whole thing because I was told that the ending is the best part and everything leads up to it. Well, yes, it does. Was it worth it? No comment; I'm glad I'm done.
Let her do the book do it's own PR: http://www.jonathanstrange.com/
Posted at 09:00 PM
Wed - February 2, 2005
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
didn't finish ............ US fiction
.............. rating 4
I have better books to read, so after 100 pages
or so, I put it down and thinking that it was silly and not worth the
time.
Posted at 05:12 PM
NIghts at the Circus by Angela Carter
finished 1/20/05 ............. fiction / UK /
magical realism ............ rating 8
Great book! Very fantastical. I wonder if
it's symbolic. I don't understand. Definitely magical realism or more likely
surrealism.
Posted at 05:10 PM
Unveiling Kate Chopin by Emily Toth
finished 2/2/05 ................... biography /
literary criticism ........... rating 8
biography of Kate Chopin - more
analytical
Posted at 05:08 PM
Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
finished 1/25/05 .............. travelogue
............. rating 7
a travelogue of Africa from South Egypt to
South Africa along the Eastern interior. It was a return trip and Theroux
compared. He definitely has his own opinion of things.
Posted at 05:07 PM
Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography by Per Seyersted
more later
good examination of the life of Chopin. This
one was written early on and includes more info than some more current and more
heavily analytical ones.
Posted at 05:06 PM
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
finished 2/? .......... 19th cent. fiction / US
.........rating 8.5
This is a very ambiguous story. It was banned
in some places in the US because it was considered "dirty." It's not by
today's standards. Chopin is a superb writer. Too bad her talents are wasted
playing games with the reader.
Posted at 05:05 PM
Sat - January 29, 2005
Some more excellent books
they didn't make it to the Fiction Hall of Fame
(top 25) but they're very good books and I highly recommend them Some of them
are kind of old and when I read them were astounding to me. I still have really
good memories of the time spent in these books and although they aren't "great
literature" they touched me for one reason or another. This list is still
under construction.
Anything by Raymond
Carver
All Dave Robicheaux novels by James Lee Burke
Trevanian's books (this is a pseudonym for Rodney Whitaker (see an interesting story about that !)
Headlong by Michael Frayn
Winter's Tale by Mark Halpern
The Magus by John Fowles
The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux
Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
All Dave Robicheaux novels by James Lee Burke
Trevanian's books (this is a pseudonym for Rodney Whitaker (see an interesting story about that !)
Headlong by Michael Frayn
Winter's Tale by Mark Halpern
The Magus by John Fowles
The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux
Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
Posted at 02:52 PM
Sat - January 15, 2005
25 best non-fiction books
Just starting to develop a list, I'll stop at
25
1. Women who run with the Wolves by Clarissa
Pinkola Estes
2. The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menard
3. To the Finland Station by Edmond Wilson
4. Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama
I just thought of this list. It will grow as I remember the books.
2. The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menard
3. To the Finland Station by Edmond Wilson
4. Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama
I just thought of this list. It will grow as I remember the books.
Posted at 06:14 PM
Thu - January 13, 2005
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
finished 1/12/05.......... contemporary world
fiction / Turkey ............... rating 8
I didn't like this one as well as I liked "The
New Life." The story takes place in 16th century Istanbul where a man returns
from 20 years absence and finds his old flame widowed and her father the leader
of a group of miniaturists (the painters who paint the illustrations in the holy
books).
One of the miniaturists is killed and then the woman's father is killed. There are three main miniaturists, the Sultan who ordered a book which might be blasphemy in it's concepts (realistic western style paintings) and although it brings much money it is secret and a source of guilt. The miniaturists are all prime suspects as is the main character, the widow and many others.
The theme is the Westernization of art and the loss of true Persian way. But Pamuk's ideas are much like Salman Rushdie's, seeing the whole conflict between East and West as fallacious.
One of the miniaturists is killed and then the woman's father is killed. There are three main miniaturists, the Sultan who ordered a book which might be blasphemy in it's concepts (realistic western style paintings) and although it brings much money it is secret and a source of guilt. The miniaturists are all prime suspects as is the main character, the widow and many others.
The theme is the Westernization of art and the loss of true Persian way. But Pamuk's ideas are much like Salman Rushdie's, seeing the whole conflict between East and West as fallacious.
Posted at 10:02 PM
25 best fiction of all time
an irregular
update
some are linked to thoughts, summaries, reviews, whatever I did on them. (The link is my work.)
some are linked to thoughts, summaries, reviews, whatever I did on them. (The link is my work.)
Most of these are just generally the best books
ever written and that I've ever read. But! I have also included some books that
just affected me that way. Underworld is one. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance is another. But Ulysses is a great book, although I don't "like" it
all that much, I recognize the incredible wonder of the intertextual allusions,
the stream of consciousness, the telescoping day. So it's here. Gravity's
Rainbow is *not* here. It's sophomoric tripe and no lady should go there
unescorted.
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Ulysses by James Joyce
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Independent People by Halldor Laxness
The Name of the Rose by Umerto Eco
Soul Mountain by Gao Xianjian
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Mao II by Don DeLillo
The Names by Don DeLillo
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Huruki Murakami
The Goldbug Variations by Richard Powers
Shogun by James Clavell
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence by Robert M. Pirsig
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Ulysses by James Joyce
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Independent People by Halldor Laxness
The Name of the Rose by Umerto Eco
Soul Mountain by Gao Xianjian
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Mao II by Don DeLillo
The Names by Don DeLillo
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Huruki Murakami
The Goldbug Variations by Richard Powers
Shogun by James Clavell
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence by Robert M. Pirsig
Posted at 08:26 PM
Tue - January 4, 2005
The Master by Colm Toibin
finished 1/4 ............ general fiction/
British ............... rating 7.5
This work is based quite closely on the life of
Henry James and
he acknowledges the definitive multi-volume biography by Leon Edel which is
based on the 15,000 letters that James kept and thousands more from other
sources. Toibin takes this information and sometimes uses it directly as
quoted material and at other times fills in the blanks with his own imaginings.
This type of work has been called "faction" because it's so
mixed.
I don't know if I liked it or not. Not really, although it was very, very good in places. I couldn't get James out of my head. It wasn't a novel without him. Without the historic Henry James, this work is a nice pile of fluff, pretty words on a topical subject with enough structural difference and complexity to the character to be an award winner.
Toibin did do a good job on the characters. I was not at all impressed with the structure. It supposedly takes place between January 1895 and October 1899. But into those chapters, so neathly arranged by month, there is all the world packed in the order that Toibin has Henry remembering it.
I wish I had liked the book as well as I liked Toibin's Henry.
I don't know if I liked it or not. Not really, although it was very, very good in places. I couldn't get James out of my head. It wasn't a novel without him. Without the historic Henry James, this work is a nice pile of fluff, pretty words on a topical subject with enough structural difference and complexity to the character to be an award winner.
Toibin did do a good job on the characters. I was not at all impressed with the structure. It supposedly takes place between January 1895 and October 1899. But into those chapters, so neathly arranged by month, there is all the world packed in the order that Toibin has Henry remembering it.
I wish I had liked the book as well as I liked Toibin's Henry.
Posted at 07:12 PM
Sat - January 1, 2005
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
finished 1/1/05 ............ general fiction
English 20th century / classic ...................rating 10
This is the story of an English family and a
few of their friends taking holiday on an island off Scotland. The time frame
is set in three parts, the day before WWI, that night or the war and then 10
years after the war. Although WWI is the focal point of the novel, it is
underplayed. Woolf captures the internal aspects of these characters by using a
semi-omniscient narrator and the points of view of about six people. It's a
powerful book but I had to read it twice, the second time quite carefully, in
order to appreciate the originality and difficulty. I've heard it's even better
the third time.
This book lends itself to a number of critical methods including new criticism, feminist, marxist and historical.
This book lends itself to a number of critical methods including new criticism, feminist, marxist and historical.
Posted at 11:16 PM
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Published On: Jan 19, 2009 09:32 PM
Published On: Jan 19, 2009 09:32 PM