Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Panama's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, November 21st, 2009
1:22 pm	Book 29 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Zweig, Stefan — Chess (76 pages) Kinney, Jeff — Meet the Wimpy Kid (55 pages) Lovecraft, H.P. — At the Mountains of Madness (188 pages) Blatty, William Peter — The Exorcist (307 pages) Williamson, Jack — Darker Than You Think (266 pages) Pelevin, Victor — Omon Ra (152 pages) Page count: 6448. I picked this up because it was dirt cheap, I recognized the author and title, and I was intrigued by the title and cover page. I told a friend, who immediately reacted negatively. Well, if it was as bad as she suggested, it wasn't a huge commitment in terms of either cost or time spent reading. And while far from good, it wasn't as bad as my friend implied. Omon Ra is a satire of the Soviet system (fictionalizing Soviet efforts to reach the moon), and it seemed a bit odd that a book published in 1992 would be satirizing the Soviet government of the 1970s. It just seemed dated. (Kurkov's satires are far more effective because they are current.) I felt at times Pelevin was trying to be a bit much like Joseph Heller and coming well short. Still, there were moments when the protagonists observations were thought-provoking or the prose evocative. While it failed to attain any great heights (or, indeed, reach the moon), it equally succeeded in avoiding any unfathomable depths. After a frustrating day at work yesterday, a thought occurred to me on the train: Perhaps this isn't really a satire of the Soviets. No, it's actually a satire of the current worldwide internet scene. The completely absurd and outlandish description of the cosmonaut program captures precisely the sort of thinking that no doubt dominates Microsoft, especially their browser development. Perhaps Pelevin should have made this more obvious. (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
11:18 pm	Book 28 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Zweig, Stefan — Chess (76 pages) Kinney, Jeff — Meet the Wimpy Kid (55 pages) Lovecraft, H.P. — At the Mountains of Madness (188 pages) Blatty, William Peter — The Exorcist (307 pages) Williamson, Jack — Darker Than You Think (266 pages) Page count: 6296. For once I chose the right amount of Halloween reading and timed it perfectly, finishing the last of my three Halloween books on Halloween! Darker Than You Think is a werewolf story with a twist, supposedly the best known American werewolf novel. And it is an enjoyable book, well paced, easy to read, imaginative, engaging. The characters aren't very fully-sketched, more types than characters, but that doesn't detract from the story. It is a bit maddening that the protagonist is so blind to the bleedingly obvious — he does eventually reach the right conclusions, just usually long after the reader did! Williamson does a good job creating the right mood and unfolding elements of the story. It reads a bit like a grown man indulging a teenage fantasy, but it's a lot of fun nonetheless. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
12:26 am	Book 27 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Zweig, Stefan — Chess (76 pages) Kinney, Jeff — Meet the Wimpy Kid (55 pages) Lovecraft, H.P. — At the Mountains of Madness (188 pages) Blatty, William Peter — The Exorcist (307 pages) Page count: 6030. This was a surprisingly quick read (mostly because I didn't want to put it down, at the expense of sleep and practice), so there's hope yet I'll be able to get my Halloween reading done in a somewhat timely way. Yay, I'll have managed one of my reading goals this year! I may catch Mendoza yet! I wasn't sure what to expect from The Exorcist, but I was pleased. The story was well developed, the characters distinctive and memorable, and of course the demonic possession was pretty freaky shit. The story had a sense of authenticity to it, probably due to Blatty's Catholic background, and the plot moved along at a good pace, thanks no doubt to Blatty's experience as a screenwriter. The one thing that disappointed me was the ending, which I thought was a bit of a copout. Blatty took so much care in building everything up, setting the mood perfectly, yet the ending was so abrupt and not at all in line with what Merrin and Karras had been discussing about faith. And the epilogue that followed the ending was just plain cheesy and unnecessary. And then, of course, I watched the movie, to refresh my memory. Only it turns out I hadn't seen it, just thought I had. I guess that's not a surprise with a classic movie: The really memorable bits are in our collective cultural consciousness. Anyway, the movie's great, of course. Sure, they had to sacrifice a subplot and some character development to get the movie to two hours, but they kept all the essential bits and were remarkably faithful to the novel — unsurprising, as Blatty also wrote the screenplay. Really, the only faults I found with the movie were identical to those with the book. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 19th, 2009
10:01 pm	Book 26 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Zweig, Stefan — Chess (76 pages) Kinney, Jeff — Meet the Wimpy Kid (55 pages) Lovecraft, H.P. — At the Mountains of Madness (188 pages) Page count: 5723. I've been meaning to read some Lovecraft for a while, and bought this last year with the intention of reading it for Halloween. When I didn't get to it in time, I decided to set it aside till this Halloween. Of course, now I have other Halloween reading selected for this year, but I wanted to find out what all the hooplah concerning Lovecraft is about. So I set aside my other reading projects and devoted all of October to Halloween reading, starting with this. And now I must say I'm not all that impressed. First, it took way too long to read for such a slim volume. I found Lovecraft's language archaic and some of his descriptive details tedious and unnecessary. He's supposed to be a master of setting mood, but he wasn't setting the right one for me. And as for fear or cosmic terror? Sorry, he failed to excite me. I suppose that's my particular psychological makeup. I don't find farfetched, pseudoscientific tales of ghastly prehistoric civilizations at all creepy, and in that sense maybe I'm too much a product of my own age. To me, At the Mountains of Madness felt like the print equivalent of a cheesy B movie, complete with a laughable monster at the end. The sorts of things that make my skin crawl are those that touch on the mystical or quasi-religious, evoking fears of the sorts of unknown evils that induce feverish praying. The other really famous Lovecraft story, The Dunwich Horror, and several of his stories are supposed to evoke those sorts of evils, so maybe I should check them out some day. The book includes an introduction by China Miéville that I found enjoyable. It warned that it contained spoilers, so I chose to read it after I'd read the story, and I think this was a good call. In fact, most "introductions" I read end up being analyses which would prove far more useful if read after the story it "introduces." So, a thank you to Mr. Miéville for the heads up. I hadn't realize until I read the introduction that Lovecraft was such a racist. Some of the thoughts he espoused were shockingly abhorrent, such that they couldn't simply be dismissed as being "of the time." I don't get, then, how he could profess these views and still be married to a Jewish woman—or how she could be married to him! This book also contained Lovecraft's long essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature." The racist attitudes, which I didn't detect in At the Mountains of Madness, were a little more apparent at times in this essay. Despite this, it was a pretty interesting piece, essentially a survey of "weird" literature from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century. Maybe I found it so interesting because Lovecraft was talking about other people's stories instead of his own! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
11:48 pm	Book 25 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Zweig, Stefan — Chess (76 pages) Kinney, Jeff — Meet the Wimpy Kid (55 pages) Page count: 5535. Today I learned one of the advantages of working in the same building as Penguin Books: Book giveaways! Unfortunately, it was nothing too exciting. I almost didn't take one. But who can resist a free book, even if it is a promotional ploy. (And it's a cheap, easy way to add to my book count!) Meet the Wimpy Kid is a slim collection of excerpts from Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The words "International Bestseller" are emblazoned across many of the book's surfaces, leaving me to wonder what Puffin's definition of "Bestseller" is. I'd certainly never heard of these books, and I'd be surprised if anyone on my list other than ayelle has, as they're fairly Brit-centric. And if they're bestsellers, why do they need to be promoted in this fashion? The excerpts are amusing, but nothing more. A preteen mind might find the material compelling, as it deals with a kid's experiences in middle school. However, I can't really see its appeal extending much beyond this narrow audience, so I can't very well be induced to check the series out. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
1:17 am	Yeah, something like this. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
8:15 pm	Book 24 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Zweig, Stefan — Chess (76 pages) Page count: 5480. This posthumously-published novella is also known as The Royal Game or Chess Story (Schachnovelle in German). Whatever you choose to call it, I never thought I'd find an account of chess matches so engrossing. This is a fascinating little book! The premise is simple. The narrator finds himself on a ship from New York to Buenos Aires with the enigmatic reigning World Champion of chess. The champ consents to a couple of games of chess, himself against the collection of spectators. The games are, shockingly, closer than expected, thanks to the help of a mysterious stranger. As taut and exciting as the description of the chess matches are, they encompass only a few pages of the novella. It's the backstory that is so fascinating. Zweig delves into the history and psychology of the chess champ and the unlikely challenger, where we discover a couple of unusual and disturbing stories. There's not much more I can say about a book as short as Chess without including spoilers. It's a compelling read, a pleasant discovery. (Comment on this)
5:44 pm	Book 23 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Bök, Christian — Eunoia (94 pages) Page count: 5404. "Eunoia, which means 'beautiful thinking', is the shortest English word to contain all five vowels." I received this book free as part of LibraryThing's "Early Reviewers" promotion. The publisher asks only for a review in return. Usually I link from LibraryThing to my LiveJournal reviews, but this time I'll link the other way in addition to my usual post here: LibraryThing review. The concept behind this book is intriguing: Five chapters, one devoted to each vowel, that vowel being the only to occur in its chapter. This could go one of two ways: Clearly, it's a wordsmithing exercise and could easily be what I refer to as "mental masturbation," or it could end up being delightfully euphonic and imaginative. I feel Bök was striving for the latter but that the result was closer to the former. There were certainly moments, as images ethereal flitted by, evoked by words that, because of the nature of the exercise, flowed from subject to seemingly disparate subject in what felt like stream of consciousness. But then there was the awkwardness, as the meanings of words were drastically bent to make them fit the exercise, foreign-language phrases substituted for wrong-vowelled English words, and laundry lists of words gratuitously thrown in. In the end, rather than being delightful to read, I found it mostly tedious. Eunoia describes itself as a novel, but it's more like a prose poem or concept piece. The only chapter that has any coherent sense of plot is Chapter E, a retelling of The Iliad. (Other chapters have plots, but they are so absurd and disjointed that I can't take them seriously.) Now, my friends know that I am anything but a prude, but I found it just a bit disturbing that every chapter contained graphic sex. Then I read the explanatory pages at the very end and it made more sense: "Eunoia abides by many subsidiary rules. All chapters must allude to the art of writing. All chapters must describe a culinary banquet, a prurient debauch, a pastoral tableau and a nautical voyage. All sentences must accent internal rhyme through the use of syntactical parallelism. The text must exhaust the lexicon for each vowel, citing at least 98% of the available repertoire…. The text must minimize repetition of substantive vocabulary…. The letter Y is suppressed." These final few pages should really have been a preface. I might have enjoyed the text more as a word game of sorts had I been aware of these subsidiary rules instead of attempting to parse it as a story. There is more to Eunoia than the exercise in assonance. After the five single-vowelled chapters there is a small collection of "poems". These are also wordsmithing exercises, but they are more enjoyable to read. The elegy for the letter W is particularly delightful. In conclusion, if you like clever, challenging word exercises, you might enjoy Eunoia. But if, like me, you're looking for more, you're likely to find it rather tedious. (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 19th, 2009
1:35 pm	Things to Do in London: September 25, 2009 What: Recital of Russian and American music, featuring English soprano Helen Bailey and Panamanian bass Derek S. Henderson, accompanied by Julian Gallant on piano When: Friday, 25 September 2009, 7:30 p.m. Where: The Pushkin House, 5a Bloomsbury Square, WC1A 2TA (near Holborn Tube Station) Admission: £10 (concession £8), available at door or by telephone, +44 (0)20 7269 9770 More information: Pushkin House website Soprano Helen Bailey and bass Derek S. Henderson were last seen together singing opposite each other in the leading roles in Hampstead Garden Opera's production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, where their performance drew praise from the critics for warmth, power, and authenticity. Now they are reunited for one night only in a fascinating presentation of songs and arias from the Russian and American repertoire. The programme will feature the scathingly satirical "Preface to the Complete Edition of My Works" and "Five Romances on Words from 'Krokodil' Magazine" by Dmitri Shostakovich and the luminous "Hermit Songs" by Samuel Barber, followed by ravishing operatic favorites from Mikhail Glinka, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Piotr Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, and George Gershwin.
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
7:40 pm	When should I eat tomatoes off my plant? When they turn red, or when they get big enough? The first two tomatoes have turned bright red but are still marble sized. Two others are nearly the size of a small billiard ball but still green? Should I assume the red ones aren't getting any bigger and just eat them? What about chilli peppers? Is there a right time to pick them? (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
11:59 pm	Quiz answers I'm rubbish at following up with answers when I post a quiz (which is probably why so few of you venture guesses). However, I got a nudge-nudge-poke-poke today, so I'll post answers to my last two book quizzes. (I'll post the answers behind cuts in case you want to go back and try the quizzes again.) First, the First Lines book quiz: ( answers ) And then the Twitter Novel meme: ( answers ) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
11:20 am	Book 22 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Keyes, Daniel — Flowers for Algernon (217 pages) Page count: 5310. I wanted a quick diversion, and Flowers for Algernon was just that. I doubt anyone reading this is unfamiliar with the story. I remember reading the short story many years ago in school, but I had never read the novelisation. Though I can't remember details, I have the impression that I enjoyed the short story better. I think it was probably tighter and flowed better. I suspect much of what was added is not germaine to the story, simply filler to bulk up the length or add a more adult dimension. I did find some of the assumptions interesting, such as the idea that cynicism and libido correlate with intelligence. What I found most compelling was the increased self-awareness that accompanied Charlie's surge in intelligence and how that uncovered a host of psychological issues. Although not explicitly stated, I appreciate the suggestion that intelligence cannot simply be measured with IQ and that there are other forms of intelligence (social, emotional) that are not easy to quantify. As usual, I didn't like the movie. The best part about it was seeing bits of Boston and Cambridge from the sixties. I don't so much mind that they changed Kinnian's role (and made her a cookie-cutter subservient sixties woman, complete with ultra-short dresses) or altered/omitted several plot elements. After all, the specific situations here don't matter as much as what they tell us about Charly. However, they oversimplified and dumbed down the story. The movie removed all trace of re-awakened repressed memories, the Freudian elements that dominate Charly's relationship with his mother and other women, the idea of schizophrenia and fragmented personality; in essence, they removed the fascinating stuff and left only a story about a dumb guy who temporarily gets fairly (but not too, because they want moviegoers to find him sympathetic) smart. Worst of all, the movie was just plain boring and boorish. I couldn't help notice, though, that Cliff Robertson bears a striking resemblance to Will Farrell. I'd like to see someone else adapt Flowers for Algernon into a movie, done correctly, perhaps starring Farrell. It's not as if it's so complicated a story that all the interesting bits need to be left out, and themes that might have been taboo in Hollywood in the sixties are no longer untouchable. A new movie could prove to be funnier and more poignant. It is, after all, a brilliant story. (Comment on this)
1:31 am	Book 21 ( 1-20 ) Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de — The Figaro Trilogy (David Coward, transl.) (335 pages) Page count: 5093. I think it's obvious why I chose to read the Beaumarchais plays. I like to read the source materials of operas I perform in, and since my current production combines operas of all three plays linked together with Beaumarchais' own dialogue, it seemed even more appropriate to go back to the source now. All three were enjoyable plays. It was quite interesting to trace the development of Figaro, Almaviva, and Rosine and the maturity of plot and subject matter. The Barber of Seville is a lighthearted romp. The Marriage of Figaro adds complexity and intrigue and is perhaps funnier for the increased layering and nuance. The Guilty Mother isn't funny like the first two but has an even more complex plot and is much darker and more sinister than the others. As such, the plays are no doubt accurate barometers of the dramatist's moral and political outlook and of the changing cultural atmosphere. Additionally, the introduction was quite informative (a welcome change from the usual tedious introduction which attempts to analyze a work to death and assumes we've read it). I had no idea Beaumarchais led such a fascinating life! In fact, a biography of his life would probably be at least as suitable a basis for an opera as his plays. In lieu of the usual movie comparison, of course, I must make an opera comparison. (And I refer to the Mozart, Rossini, and Milhaud operas, not any of the other adaptations.) I am biased when I say the operas are better than the plays, because I have long considered The Marriage of Figaro my favorite opera and I love the tuneful Barber of Seville. The effect of adding the musical wit of these composers is synergistic. Rossini's Barber is quite faithful to Beaumarchais. Mozart/da Ponte changed a few characters and situations and excised an entire act, but the end result is perfection. Milhaud (or Milhaud's wife, I believe) simply chopped a few side plots to tighten the drama but essentially uses Beaumarchais' text otherwise. All three operas, as are all three plays, are a delight. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 17th, 2009
7:39 pm	Book 20 ( 1-10 ) Dodge, Jim — Fup (121 pages) Bauby, Jean-Dominique — The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly (114 pages) Fleming, Ian — Casino Royale (219 pages) Blake, Quentin — Clown (30 pages) Weigel, George — The Courage To Be Catholic (249 pages) Ishiguro, Kazuo — The Remains of the Day (255 pages) Orwell, George — Animal Farm (125 pages) Garner, James Finn — Politically Correct Bedtime Stories (81 pages) Robinson, Marilynne — Home (339 pages) Opera Magazine — Basses in Opera: Profiles of thirteen great basses (96 pages) Page count: 4758. This special-edition booklet wasn't exactly what I expected when I ordered it. I thought it would be a contemporary look back at thirteen great basses. Instead, each profile is an article previously published in Opera Magazine. As such, a lot of the information is dated—no, so-and-so isn't singing such-and-such role next month!—and there is no sense of coherence or stylistic unity amongst the pieces. I wanted something more long the lines of: here are some great basses, these are the qualities or criteria that made them great, and here maybe are some examples of their influence on the artform and possibly certain signature roles or defining moments. The thirteen profiled basses are: Norman Bailey, Boris Christoff, Gottlob Frick, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Hans Hotter, Donald McIntyre, Ruggero Raimondi, Samuel Ramey, Cesare Siepi, Bryn Terfel, John Tomlinson, José van Dam, and Willard White. Those of you who know singers will no doubt notice that several of these names—hello, Bryn, Sam, and José—aren't true basses, rather bass-baritones. You'll also wonder about certain inclusions and exclusions. I mean, who the hell is Donald McIntyre??? And does he or Bailey really belong on that list? How can any list of great basses exclude Alexander Kipnis, Pol Plançon, Fyodor Shaliapin, or Martti Talvela, some of the greatest basses of all time??? And strong arguments can certainly be made for the inclusion of Fernando Corena, Jerome Hines, Robert Lloyd, Kurt Moll, René Pape, Paul Plishka, Mark Reizen, Paul Robeson, Matti Salminen, and Richard Van Allen. This booklet suffers greatly for these omissions. That said, there are still nuggets in this book, and I feel better equipped to converse about basses for having read it. Plus, it helped give me ideas about roles I might be singing at some point, either soon or many years down the road. It's not a bad book; it's just dated and incomplete. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
11:58 pm	The lack of professional pride evident in some finished products never fails to surprise (and bother) me. This is something the website I worked on today made me think about. I've seen much worse code, but this looked as if it had been developed by someone who learned some basic HTML skills—enough to be dangerous—five years ago and then focused on back-end technologies. Back-end coders always think they can do front-end code, because front-end code is technically easier. And they almost always produce rubbish code, because they don't keep up on standards and best practices and couldn't care less, as long as the site displays properly, about all the issues I'm paid to care about. Whether the developers who crank out bad code are back-end developers or just bad/lazy front-end developers, they share a common trait: an apathy towards achieving a certain standard of work. I react similarly when I encounter a poorly edited book. Most authors put a great deal of time and thought into their writing, and I think it's borderline criminal and extremely lazy when typographical errors creep into published works. I can appreciate that copy editors have to screen a lot of material. That does not excuse failure to do their job. There is altogether too much reliance on spellcheckers and an inexcusable prevalence of ignorance about style, grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. The occasional typesetting mistake—do printers still use set type?—is understandable, although I would think somebody would eventually catch and fix the mistake in subsequent printings. But when books published by major publishing companies are riddled with the sorts of mistakes that wouldn't pass muster in a remedial English class, it infuriates me. This sort of thing can turn me against a product or line of products. If I know a website is apathetic about accessibility, usability, semantics, page weights, etc., I'm less likely to seek products or services through that site. And if I notice gross negligence in copy editing, I will cease to buy books from a certain publisher. Such has happened with the Oxford University Press: the recent Oxford World's Classics book I read was not the first example of an abysmally edited title from that publisher, and the numerous errors were distracting to the point that I began to think as much about the copy editing as I did about the story. In the bookstore today I was looking at a certain title with interest until I noticed the publisher was Oxford University Press and immediately put the book down. I can't do anything about the other books I already own from that publishing house—there are a few in my collection—but I doubt very much I'll be inclined to buy any more in the future. On the flip side, there are certain publishing houses that will always rate very highly in my estimation, because their attention to detail and the thought they put into every aspect of their catalogues is impressive. I was comparing two different translations of a certain French novel today and knew nothing about the merits of either one. When I discovered they were priced the same, the decision was made for me: I trust Penguin. I am continuously impressed by the high quality of editing that goes into their titles, especially in their Classics and Modern Classics lines. Similarly, all else being equal I will lean towards something in the Norton Critical Editions line. I'm also quite impressed with Macmillan (especially the Picador and Faber & Faber imprints) and Random House (especially the Vintage imprint). This isn't an exhaustive list, of course, and I'm always happy to read something published by the little guys—aren't many of them left, are there? Ultimately, it's got to be about putting each title's best foot forward and removing any obstructions preventing the flow of ideas between author and reader. Bad editing throws up unnecessary road blocks, and I won't be a willing party to such desecration of books (or websites). (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
1:29 pm	Do any of you still use IE6? I don't mean a MultipleIE installation, but a normal installation of IE6. If so, I need your help ASAP. Please e-mail me. Thanks! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
11:55 pm	Book 19 ( 1-10 ) Dodge, Jim — Fup (121 pages) Bauby, Jean-Dominique — The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly (114 pages) Fleming, Ian — Casino Royale (219 pages) Blake, Quentin — Clown (30 pages) Weigel, George — The Courage To Be Catholic (249 pages) Ishiguro, Kazuo — The Remains of the Day (255 pages) Orwell, George — Animal Farm (125 pages) Garner, James Finn — Politically Correct Bedtime Stories (81 pages) Robinson, Marilynne — Home (339 pages) Page count: 4662. When I wrote my review of Gilead a couple of months ago, I commented: “Marilynne Robinson has since published a third novel, Home. The central character of Home is one of the main characters of Gilead. I don't know, though, if Home is a sequel or meant to give another perspective on events recounted in Gilead.” I don't think it is a spoiler to say that the latter is the case: Home covers essentially the same time frame and characters as Gilead. However, I was mistaken in assuming that the central character of Home was Jack, who I alluded to above as one of the main characters of Gilead. Robinson must have felt (and if so, I think her instincts were spot on) that to make Jack the central character would have robbed him of the mystery that makes his character so compelling. Instead, as Gilead was the story of John Ames, the aging and kindly reverend who chronicles his personal history, the town's, and his relationship to the people around him in a letter to his young son, Home is the story of Glory, Jack's little sister, who like Jack returns home in middle age seeking refuge from personal failure elsewhere. In both novels, then, Jack serves as a lightning rod of sorts, drawing the reader in and giving the story focus, and as a foil against which Reverend Ames and Glory's lives can be compared and contrasted. Home is a thoughtfully constructed novel and, alongside Gilead, makes a fascinating study of perspective. We are forced to re-examine our assumptions or interpretations of certain common events. It's a bit of an eye-opener how differently the various characters are perceived depending on the narrator. Both novels are also imbued with a deep preoccupation with religious principles and the main characters' struggles with them. Ames, the Congregationalist minister, gives a lot of thought to ideas of renewal, baptism, and redemption. Glory, Jack, and their father, the retired Presbyterian minister, expend a lot of energy on questions of faith and forgiveness, and the state of the soul. Both novels, stemming from very different circumstances, closely examine the roles and implications of family, community, and other social constructs and relationships. Both are extremely profound and moving novels. There's so much to ponder in each that I haven't even come close to scratching the surface or to doing them justice in these reviews. I urge you to read them both. I don't suppose the order really matters, though I'm glad I read Gilead first. Doing so gave me a sense of dramatic irony as I read Home. It also gave the conclusion of Home a sense of inevitability, even predictability, which was oddly satisfying. I would have had it no other way. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
12:27 am	Book 18 ( 1-10 ) Dodge, Jim — Fup (121 pages) Bauby, Jean-Dominique — The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly (114 pages) Fleming, Ian — Casino Royale (219 pages) Blake, Quentin — Clown (30 pages) Weigel, George — The Courage To Be Catholic (249 pages) Ishiguro, Kazuo — The Remains of the Day (255 pages) Orwell, George — Animal Farm (125 pages) Garner, James Finn — Politically Correct Bedtime Stories (81 pages) Page count: 4323. I started a new contract today. Even though this is the same company I last worked for, the first day went as first days always seem to go: I sat around seemingly forever waiting to be set up with the necessary hardware and software. While I waited, I noticed Politically Correct Bedtime Stories on a colleague's desk and began reading it. I enjoyed the first story sufficiently to keep reading, and I was nearly halfway through before I was sorted work-wise. I asked to borrow the book overnight so I could finish it. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories is a bit of tongue-in-cheek satire of political correctness. ("The Three Little Pigs" read like a cross between a Soviet document and Animal Farm, to give a sense for what some of the stories were like.) Some stories were better than others, all were amusing and had surprise twist endings, none are particularly serious or profound. If pressed, I might have to say my favorite was "Little Red Riding Hood," with its recasting of traditional roles and alternative lifestyles. In all, an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours! (Comment on this)
Monday, July 13th, 2009
4:36 pm	How long after the little yellow flowers die should it be before tomatoes start to appear? And, acknowledging it is better not to err at all, is it better to err on the side of over-watering or under-watering? (4 Comments |Comment on this)
1:57 pm	This is kinda cool, thought I'd share. (Comment on this)