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thelizabeth's reviews
591 reviews
Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos Papadimitriou
3.0
Secret Santa office present! Well can you still call it that when it was one of those Yankee Swap debacles? I will still call it that because I'd rather not acknowledge the Yankee Swap debacle. Anyway good present.
.
Interesting to read, since I am easily impressed by serious work in math. I am easily doubtful, though, too.
I like all the pieces in this book a lot. I like comics and I like nonfiction and biography and even the philosophy lessons, and I like the Oresteia and meta-discussion about what's come after this work of Bertrand Russell's. Unfortunately the more kinds of things there were the less I was sure what the book was meant to be like. So I started to miss things -- Is it bad I don't really understand Russell's Paradox? Why the Greek tragedy, exactly? Where did the story of the second half of Russell's life go?
Particularly, I liked the thematic connection made to the invention of the computer, and the idea of Russell's eventual theoretic victory being proved in that field. I wish there'd been more about it here -- perhaps the creators really are working on a follow-up on that subject, as they meta-joked they could, but if not it seems a missed opportunity to bring it all home. Web programmers I know are interested in the book for these reasons too. It's definitely meaningful.
Probably worth a reread one day.
.
Interesting to read, since I am easily impressed by serious work in math. I am easily doubtful, though, too.
I like all the pieces in this book a lot. I like comics and I like nonfiction and biography and even the philosophy lessons, and I like the Oresteia and meta-discussion about what's come after this work of Bertrand Russell's. Unfortunately the more kinds of things there were the less I was sure what the book was meant to be like. So I started to miss things -- Is it bad I don't really understand Russell's Paradox? Why the Greek tragedy, exactly? Where did the story of the second half of Russell's life go?
Particularly, I liked the thematic connection made to the invention of the computer, and the idea of Russell's eventual theoretic victory being proved in that field. I wish there'd been more about it here -- perhaps the creators really are working on a follow-up on that subject, as they meta-joked they could, but if not it seems a missed opportunity to bring it all home. Web programmers I know are interested in the book for these reasons too. It's definitely meaningful.
Probably worth a reread one day.
The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart
3.0
Hovering at a 3.5, but I'm gonna save room for the sequels. It's awesome the way E. Lockhart takes her stories so seriously, and that's where the real core of it is here -- true it's a book about boyfriends, but specifically, boyfriends that give you panic attacks. Not every girl has boyfriends and panic attacks, but the feelings are not unique to the context.
I like reading books about younger teenagers lately, because I think stories and conclusions about friendship are particularly influential at that period. There are lots of ways to slice it, and Ruby Oliver's recent life in this book is a pretty powerful everygirl disaster. I am so excited she is learning and talking.
I like reading books about younger teenagers lately, because I think stories and conclusions about friendship are particularly influential at that period. There are lots of ways to slice it, and Ruby Oliver's recent life in this book is a pretty powerful everygirl disaster. I am so excited she is learning and talking.
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them by E. Lockhart
3.0
It is pretty much crazy how much these novels read like a handbook for being a person. In context you might think that they are really just an explanation of how one first-world girl is living, with lots of hot tubs and cell phones, though she is not herself the owner of hot tubs or cell phones. And they are that, surely. Mostly because all of the people around Ruby, affecting her, are that context.
But yes. So good that one writer decided to just make it her job to unpack that life and see what files where. I am going to explain everything about what it's like to be a girl this way. Even what it's like to be a girl in one of the least tragic times and places to be a girl in -- someone who's very lucky, taking things very hard, and being a very good person.
I think you can tell that's what these books are about because she does not get the happy ends of comedies. Twice now. The books are light, but still she gets the ends where she has regrets and is back in therapy.
And indeed, it is hard not to kiss Noel your darn self, reading these. And not to tear the book in two when Kim shows up in this new haircut and is still so bad, so mean, am I right ladies.
It's nice there's more to come.
But yes. So good that one writer decided to just make it her job to unpack that life and see what files where. I am going to explain everything about what it's like to be a girl this way. Even what it's like to be a girl in one of the least tragic times and places to be a girl in -- someone who's very lucky, taking things very hard, and being a very good person.
I think you can tell that's what these books are about because she does not get the happy ends of comedies. Twice now. The books are light, but still she gets the ends where she has regrets and is back in therapy.
And indeed, it is hard not to kiss Noel your darn self, reading these. And not to tear the book in two when Kim shows up in this new haircut and is still so bad, so mean, am I right ladies.
It's nice there's more to come.
The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon
3.0
I bought this book when it was new in 2004 and I'd just read Kavalier & Clay, but I didn't read it til two days ago. Funny how it goes.
It was a satisfactory little story, but not a lot of bang. The mystery didn't amount to much, and that would've been nice. The best part is the chapter where the two men go to London and react to the effects of the Blitz. It's great. I'd have squeezed every drop of the story into that setting if it were up to me.
The characters were all right, but have the problem that bugs me in a lot of contemporary fiction. What interesting and quirky and touching attributes can I put into this person? And how many can I fit into one place? A mute orphan boy with a talking parrot! A senile sleuth with a smelly house and incredible powers! And oh look, a chapter from the perspective of the bird. Is this a talented man or what.
Can't seem to manage to put a woman in his book though. Parrots, no problem!
Perhaps that's what they call being overwritten. But I find it grating when there's more traits than character.
Something about the zesty little title kind of bugs me too. Cut your darlings, Chabon.
But that's just my cranky.
It was a satisfactory little story, but not a lot of bang. The mystery didn't amount to much, and that would've been nice. The best part is the chapter where the two men go to London and react to the effects of the Blitz. It's great. I'd have squeezed every drop of the story into that setting if it were up to me.
The characters were all right, but have the problem that bugs me in a lot of contemporary fiction. What interesting and quirky and touching attributes can I put into this person? And how many can I fit into one place? A mute orphan boy with a talking parrot! A senile sleuth with a smelly house and incredible powers! And oh look, a chapter from the perspective of the bird. Is this a talented man or what.
Can't seem to manage to put a woman in his book though. Parrots, no problem!
Perhaps that's what they call being overwritten. But I find it grating when there's more traits than character.
Something about the zesty little title kind of bugs me too. Cut your darlings, Chabon.
But that's just my cranky.
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
2.0
This is a 2.5 stars. Because it doesn't stink. But I really, really didn't like reading it. In fact I nearly re-shelved it after 100 pages, which I never, ever do. But it is no fun. It is so hard to gain any traction when there's not much structure. So boring, and it took me forever because there's so little story here.
I guess it is only reporting, which means very little narrative of any kind. At all. Facts, description, retrospective statements. But I think it thinks there's a readable story, and no. I saw a review that says it reads like a synopsis for a book rather than a book, and yes.
I finally felt somewhat interested halfway through, and once I understood that the book would last as long as the family members' prison terms (ha, ha... it... almost is a joke) there was a bit of a big picture that I did want to see complete. But it's difficult to like. I related to Coco in the beginning, but by the end her failures to act and utter lack of resources are tough to endure.
But: both Jessica and Cesar post-prison are pretty amazing, and it's nice to feel proud of good people. Their oldest kids are also kind of amazing. Actually, Mercedes is THE MOST AMAZING. Five stars for Mercedes. (Who is now doing pretty well, though it's strange there's so little follow-up information for these people on the internet.)
I couldn't anticipate the author's style: often, the pace of the details indicated that suspense was building, a scene carefully set because something important was about to be relayed, but it never worked that way. So while the level of detail was often excruciating -- do I want to know whether the elevator came, or where this pair of sunglasses came from? -- I wanted to know much more. There was opportunity for the author to ask for explanations of big questions in the words of the subjects, but it's not that kind of book.
But I would have loved to hear them talk about, for example, cultural gender divides (can you explain why having a son is important to you?), or why the families don't speak Spanish at home (how many generations are they from Puerto Rico, and how is that different from other Spanish-speaking communities in NYC?). Is it really useful to just repeat what we already know? Less, sometimes? We come closest in the chapter when Coco despairs over teenage girls -- her boyfriend is dating one, and her niece and daughter are becoming some. That was almost really good writing. Pretty close.
Is that just really great reporting I'm complaining about? I guess there's a difference between great reporting and great book-writing. I guess a really, really big one. I FEEL BAD, though. This is a bestseller; LeBlanc received a Genius Grant. And it is... fine. But it is no great read. And I just don't see it as a "Middlemarch of the underclass".
Um, and this is kind of stupid, but I hated the obsession with the phrase "to break the night", an idiom for staying up all night. I've never heard that before, and it was super annoying that people "broke night" three times a page. Just, gah.
I picked up my copy at the closing month sale at Skyline Books, on the New York City shelf. This is another I read off of a best NY books list. It's a thoughtful inclusion, but I didn't find it very exciting.
I guess it is only reporting, which means very little narrative of any kind. At all. Facts, description, retrospective statements. But I think it thinks there's a readable story, and no. I saw a review that says it reads like a synopsis for a book rather than a book, and yes.
I finally felt somewhat interested halfway through, and once I understood that the book would last as long as the family members' prison terms (ha, ha... it... almost is a joke) there was a bit of a big picture that I did want to see complete. But it's difficult to like. I related to Coco in the beginning, but by the end her failures to act and utter lack of resources are tough to endure.
But: both Jessica and Cesar post-prison are pretty amazing, and it's nice to feel proud of good people. Their oldest kids are also kind of amazing. Actually, Mercedes is THE MOST AMAZING. Five stars for Mercedes. (Who is now doing pretty well, though it's strange there's so little follow-up information for these people on the internet.)
I couldn't anticipate the author's style: often, the pace of the details indicated that suspense was building, a scene carefully set because something important was about to be relayed, but it never worked that way. So while the level of detail was often excruciating -- do I want to know whether the elevator came, or where this pair of sunglasses came from? -- I wanted to know much more. There was opportunity for the author to ask for explanations of big questions in the words of the subjects, but it's not that kind of book.
But I would have loved to hear them talk about, for example, cultural gender divides (can you explain why having a son is important to you?), or why the families don't speak Spanish at home (how many generations are they from Puerto Rico, and how is that different from other Spanish-speaking communities in NYC?). Is it really useful to just repeat what we already know? Less, sometimes? We come closest in the chapter when Coco despairs over teenage girls -- her boyfriend is dating one, and her niece and daughter are becoming some. That was almost really good writing. Pretty close.
Is that just really great reporting I'm complaining about? I guess there's a difference between great reporting and great book-writing. I guess a really, really big one. I FEEL BAD, though. This is a bestseller; LeBlanc received a Genius Grant. And it is... fine. But it is no great read. And I just don't see it as a "Middlemarch of the underclass".
Um, and this is kind of stupid, but I hated the obsession with the phrase "to break the night", an idiom for staying up all night. I've never heard that before, and it was super annoying that people "broke night" three times a page. Just, gah.
I picked up my copy at the closing month sale at Skyline Books, on the New York City shelf. This is another I read off of a best NY books list. It's a thoughtful inclusion, but I didn't find it very exciting.
Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale by Belle Yang
3.0
I won this copy via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. So it goes!
I liked this. The family story is nice, and the atmosphere is really strong. I liked seeing a lot of everyday-life stories about early 20th-century China, and these make the book very illuminating. RIYL Persepolis-es. The family relationships are cool, but this narrative is a tad bland at times, as nonfiction can be when it isn't exceptionally well-structured. It's hard to give a fantastic climax to real life. Don't we know it!
My favorite parts were the meditative conversations the author's grandfather and great-grandfather had, and their parallels with Belle and her dad, which elevate the book to something rarer and more special. Those lessons are good. "I'm just going in circles. I'm stuck."/"If your soul achieves peace, you can attain your goals." And especially: "Do not become attached even to your anger."
The theme that Belle is hiding at her parents' to escape an abusive, stalking boyfriend and recover from her terror -- it sets up her opportunity to be told this story by her father, but I was frustrated by the framing sometimes. It's maybe a little too important to be such a small player in this story.
The ARC has some copy issues that will need to be cleaned up, so hopefully there won't be many problems in the first editions. There's some misaligned type (words that don't fit into their bubbles), some asterisks that don't have follow-up notes, some panels where the person in the inset says, "Inset: [whatever I am saying!:]" Also, one panel looked like it had an accidental run-in with the "eraser" cursor in Photoshop. But I could read around those easily enough. And I'm pretty glad I did so.
I liked this. The family story is nice, and the atmosphere is really strong. I liked seeing a lot of everyday-life stories about early 20th-century China, and these make the book very illuminating. RIYL Persepolis-es. The family relationships are cool, but this narrative is a tad bland at times, as nonfiction can be when it isn't exceptionally well-structured. It's hard to give a fantastic climax to real life. Don't we know it!
My favorite parts were the meditative conversations the author's grandfather and great-grandfather had, and their parallels with Belle and her dad, which elevate the book to something rarer and more special. Those lessons are good. "I'm just going in circles. I'm stuck."/"If your soul achieves peace, you can attain your goals." And especially: "Do not become attached even to your anger."
The theme that Belle is hiding at her parents' to escape an abusive, stalking boyfriend and recover from her terror -- it sets up her opportunity to be told this story by her father, but I was frustrated by the framing sometimes. It's maybe a little too important to be such a small player in this story.
The ARC has some copy issues that will need to be cleaned up, so hopefully there won't be many problems in the first editions. There's some misaligned type (words that don't fit into their bubbles), some asterisks that don't have follow-up notes, some panels where the person in the inset says, "Inset: [whatever I am saying!:]" Also, one panel looked like it had an accidental run-in with the "eraser" cursor in Photoshop. But I could read around those easily enough. And I'm pretty glad I did so.
Piece by Piece by Tori Amos
2.0
Man, what a pain! This is a tough call. I'll go with the 2 stars and call it even, I guess.
Unfortunately, I feel like I need to talk about my Tori feelings first. Curse it!
Before reading this, I correctly worried I would find it all so annoying that I'd be sad. But I picked it up because I conducted an experiment where I re-listened to every Tori song that I've had since high school, which I can't say is every song? But is a few hundred. I just shuffled them around for days. I wasn't allowed to skip any, even the horrible ones, except for the song that used to make me cry really hard, just in case. It was a good idea, and giving the new songs some time was good too. And I saw some done in new ways; are you kidding me, P.S. 22? For real, doesn't that make you want to listen to Tori Amos?
But really for each thing that makes me go YES, something else makes me go NO. The unfortunate penchant for role play. And she's kind of obsessed with being skinny. And I have a low threshold for her more dippy beliefs. I even like obscure myths and stuff, but it's just distraction here.
Anyway. This book is not good, and it begins with this narcissistic problem. People do like to read one's thoughts, but they also read nonfiction for facts, and not facts like the name of the paint color of the studio in one's beach house. Which I think we get told two or three times, actually. Once is too many. It could all be less horrible to read if anyone had reined in anyone else, but that clearly didn't happen. Did the editor just give up?
I think the editor just gave up. The problem really is the book itself -- Tori's annoying sometimes, but at least I still respect her a lot at the end of all this, and instead I find Ann Powers the lamest hack ever. BAD. The structure is ridiculous -- it's barely a book at all. And Powers's own insertions are crazy and factless. "The degradation of archetypes within contemporary society has made serving Dionysus a sloppy affair for many." THE WHOLE THING IS LIKE THAT.
But. My favorite part to read was the chapter about touring, because touring is cool, and it was also the most grounded in reality chapter. I like someone telling what it was like when their driver got the upper deck of their bus torn off, and they still slept in it because they didn't know what else to do. And the historical ironies are kind of funny. Like how her first tour manager ditched her in 1992 for They Might Be Giants. You can't make that stuff up. My very favorite was probably Joel Hopkins, Security Director/bodyguard, describing his management of the intense fan base: "I try to keep a close watch on the vulnerable ones." Oh my gosh man. Like a biker with a kitten, that one.
But see, that basically good chapter of a book is titled, "Sane Satyrs and Balanced Bacchantes: The Touring Life's Gypsy Caravan". Ann Powers, are you serious? Because I about have a conniption here with you.
I think Powers's main crime, though, is not questioning one single thing Amos has to say. There are literally no follow up questions, or another point of view. Her authorial method seems to be: 1) bring up thing, 2) copy down what Tori says, 3) publish book. This makes for such indulgent content, plus it looks like total whitewashing over the slightly controversial pieces of Tori's history. It renders a book basically useless.
The actual best chapter is the one about her relationship problems with record labels. How Atlantic warned they'd bury her by making her live out her contract, and when it was done, she would be too old. It's a long story, and her telling it is great because above all it proves that she is no dummy. Not at all.
Too bad none of the people on this project with her could tell it.
Unfortunately, I feel like I need to talk about my Tori feelings first. Curse it!
Before reading this, I correctly worried I would find it all so annoying that I'd be sad. But I picked it up because I conducted an experiment where I re-listened to every Tori song that I've had since high school, which I can't say is every song? But is a few hundred. I just shuffled them around for days. I wasn't allowed to skip any, even the horrible ones, except for the song that used to make me cry really hard, just in case. It was a good idea, and giving the new songs some time was good too. And I saw some done in new ways; are you kidding me, P.S. 22? For real, doesn't that make you want to listen to Tori Amos?
But really for each thing that makes me go YES, something else makes me go NO. The unfortunate penchant for role play. And she's kind of obsessed with being skinny. And I have a low threshold for her more dippy beliefs. I even like obscure myths and stuff, but it's just distraction here.
Anyway. This book is not good, and it begins with this narcissistic problem. People do like to read one's thoughts, but they also read nonfiction for facts, and not facts like the name of the paint color of the studio in one's beach house. Which I think we get told two or three times, actually. Once is too many. It could all be less horrible to read if anyone had reined in anyone else, but that clearly didn't happen. Did the editor just give up?
I think the editor just gave up. The problem really is the book itself -- Tori's annoying sometimes, but at least I still respect her a lot at the end of all this, and instead I find Ann Powers the lamest hack ever. BAD. The structure is ridiculous -- it's barely a book at all. And Powers's own insertions are crazy and factless. "The degradation of archetypes within contemporary society has made serving Dionysus a sloppy affair for many." THE WHOLE THING IS LIKE THAT.
But. My favorite part to read was the chapter about touring, because touring is cool, and it was also the most grounded in reality chapter. I like someone telling what it was like when their driver got the upper deck of their bus torn off, and they still slept in it because they didn't know what else to do. And the historical ironies are kind of funny. Like how her first tour manager ditched her in 1992 for They Might Be Giants. You can't make that stuff up. My very favorite was probably Joel Hopkins, Security Director/bodyguard, describing his management of the intense fan base: "I try to keep a close watch on the vulnerable ones." Oh my gosh man. Like a biker with a kitten, that one.
But see, that basically good chapter of a book is titled, "Sane Satyrs and Balanced Bacchantes: The Touring Life's Gypsy Caravan". Ann Powers, are you serious? Because I about have a conniption here with you.
I think Powers's main crime, though, is not questioning one single thing Amos has to say. There are literally no follow up questions, or another point of view. Her authorial method seems to be: 1) bring up thing, 2) copy down what Tori says, 3) publish book. This makes for such indulgent content, plus it looks like total whitewashing over the slightly controversial pieces of Tori's history. It renders a book basically useless.
The actual best chapter is the one about her relationship problems with record labels. How Atlantic warned they'd bury her by making her live out her contract, and when it was done, she would be too old. It's a long story, and her telling it is great because above all it proves that she is no dummy. Not at all.
Too bad none of the people on this project with her could tell it.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan, John Green
4.0
Birthday present to myself!
4.5 stars, really often. This is the first YA book in a long time that felt weirdly relevant to me. I've been in lots of these places, pretty much yesterday. Interesting how that works.
I've never read a David Levithan book before, so I thought it was funny how immediately in the opening chapter we are name-checking Neutral Milk Hotel songs. Well, that was easy! Now I clearly know a David Levithan book from the herd! But eventually, I was much more impressed than that. I'm not totally sure about the who authored whom thing, so I guess I'll just credit them both with the good work, because that's probably true.
Anyway, it turned out that nearly every single page I dog-eared was uppercase Will Grayson's. In a short book there were like six of them. He said the most good things here. He's put in such a realistic place. The good but less than great life, beneath notice, wondering what you're supposed to do to become amazing, what you would be able to be doing if you were a different kind of person. Feeling you're permanently stuck one way and you've made too many mistakes and missed your chance, even though you're so young that's crazy. Nervous about wanting something very badly.
It's also good work to have made this book about gay characters plus many things. The coming out was so calm. And everyone has a lot of things to think about instead of just that one.
I do have a couple complaints which kept this from total awesomeness for me. The ending is just ok. And I was disappointed early on when the story with the internet boyfriend turned out just to be the catalyst to get the WG paths to criss-cross, instead of a real and rich thing. Lowercase Will Grayson, so deeply upset in his life and also having this one incongruous amazing love thing going on, it's a really good premise, and 100% real. And, I thought John Green was about to score an incredible home run with a meaningful and realistic depiction of what it's like to meet an internet friend. Because there is probably no one better qualified to do so. I hope he does write that someday.
Also I'm sure you will be really mad at me, but I didn't like Tiny's musical that much.
But it was a really good book, and I'm glad I've got it. Because I might need it again later.
4.5 stars, really often. This is the first YA book in a long time that felt weirdly relevant to me. I've been in lots of these places, pretty much yesterday. Interesting how that works.
I've never read a David Levithan book before, so I thought it was funny how immediately in the opening chapter we are name-checking Neutral Milk Hotel songs. Well, that was easy! Now I clearly know a David Levithan book from the herd! But eventually, I was much more impressed than that. I'm not totally sure about the who authored whom thing, so I guess I'll just credit them both with the good work, because that's probably true.
Anyway, it turned out that nearly every single page I dog-eared was uppercase Will Grayson's. In a short book there were like six of them. He said the most good things here. He's put in such a realistic place. The good but less than great life, beneath notice, wondering what you're supposed to do to become amazing, what you would be able to be doing if you were a different kind of person. Feeling you're permanently stuck one way and you've made too many mistakes and missed your chance, even though you're so young that's crazy. Nervous about wanting something very badly.
It's also good work to have made this book about gay characters plus many things. The coming out was so calm. And everyone has a lot of things to think about instead of just that one.
I do have a couple complaints which kept this from total awesomeness for me. The ending is just ok. And I was disappointed early on when the story with the internet boyfriend turned out just to be the catalyst to get the WG paths to criss-cross, instead of a real and rich thing. Lowercase Will Grayson, so deeply upset in his life and also having this one incongruous amazing love thing going on, it's a really good premise, and 100% real. And, I thought John Green was about to score an incredible home run with a meaningful and realistic depiction of what it's like to meet an internet friend. Because there is probably no one better qualified to do so. I hope he does write that someday.
Also I'm sure you will be really mad at me, but I didn't like Tiny's musical that much.
But it was a really good book, and I'm glad I've got it. Because I might need it again later.
Ghost Town: Tales of Manhattan Then and Now by Patrick McGrath
4.0
This is a small one, not sure why it took so long to read. Think I dragged my feet a little.
Thing one: these aren't ghost stories. I thought they were kinda gonna be, but it's ok. Ghostly, though. They're foremost historical fiction (a pretty superb ingredient for ghost stories, but oh well), and very enthusiastic ones. Lots of street names, neighborhood. One I used to live in, so well-appreciated. From the earliest story: "Like my mother I am loath to flee the town at the first sign of trouble. It will kill me, of course, New York will kill me ... I will go down, as they say in the grog shops hereabouts, with my vessel! With my ship!"
First story: 3.5 stars. Should probably be 3, but this gets the sentimental round-up. Taking place in occupied NYC, 1777, in the old downtown: APPROVED. The details are swift and really great. A whole lot is packed in there and I like it a lot. The eventual story of his mother's secret work and martyrdom is ok if simplistic, and might even be appropriate for young readers, since the child's narration is really innocent. Though it isn't exactly gripping.
Still, my favorite creepy detail: the question remaining, how is it exactly that he has his mother's skull in his hands, all these years later? GOOD QUESTION, right? There is clearly something we don't know. Which is really good actually.
Second story: 4.5 stars. I am not quite sure what I enjoyed so much but I did. The story is again simple but so vivid. It's like a fable you don't know the ending to. It's set around 1860. This is the longest story, and still feels compact, well-built. I really enjoyed this a lot. "Somewhere in the recesses of his heart a mortal wound was weeping."
Third story: 2.5 stars. A weird one. The only contemporary piece. I liked the first half, and thought a clear-eyed psychiatrist was an interesting choice of perspective for a 9/11 story, and the story of her patient and his relationship with an escort affected by the attacks. And the 9/11 of it, really, is good, affecting and detailed, difficult. I was on board.
This narrative perspective gets thrown off, though, because she starts to drift. There is an early clue, the story's first line stating that her patient is "like a son", but following with no behavior from her surpassing the professional. Which is weird. And then her behavior does surpass the professional, and I thought, ah, well, no, that's not good. The character seems to change after her visit to the site -- "Until I went to Ground Zero, I had rejected the concept of evil" -- and she quickly turns her judgements on her patient. He's pathologically obsessed, his girlfriend is a sociopath. A Chinese one no less. She fixates on the woman's Americanness.
Which is all an interesting kink in the story, but I felt a bit dislodged. I no longer agreed with the narrator, so perhaps I was meant to agree with the prostitute. But these same events make her begin to drift into badness, too, and I wasn't sure what feeling the author was bringing across any more. I think the ending could have been more unsettling, more something, so I knew what to see.
A bit of a :-\ way to end the book, but really I liked it, and I'll be keeping it.
Thing one: these aren't ghost stories. I thought they were kinda gonna be, but it's ok. Ghostly, though. They're foremost historical fiction (a pretty superb ingredient for ghost stories, but oh well), and very enthusiastic ones. Lots of street names, neighborhood. One I used to live in, so well-appreciated. From the earliest story: "Like my mother I am loath to flee the town at the first sign of trouble. It will kill me, of course, New York will kill me ... I will go down, as they say in the grog shops hereabouts, with my vessel! With my ship!"
First story: 3.5 stars. Should probably be 3, but this gets the sentimental round-up. Taking place in occupied NYC, 1777, in the old downtown: APPROVED. The details are swift and really great. A whole lot is packed in there and I like it a lot. The eventual story of his mother's secret work and martyrdom is ok if simplistic, and might even be appropriate for young readers, since the child's narration is really innocent. Though it isn't exactly gripping.
Still, my favorite creepy detail: the question remaining, how is it exactly that he has his mother's skull in his hands, all these years later? GOOD QUESTION, right? There is clearly something we don't know. Which is really good actually.
Second story: 4.5 stars. I am not quite sure what I enjoyed so much but I did. The story is again simple but so vivid. It's like a fable you don't know the ending to. It's set around 1860. This is the longest story, and still feels compact, well-built. I really enjoyed this a lot. "Somewhere in the recesses of his heart a mortal wound was weeping."
Third story: 2.5 stars. A weird one. The only contemporary piece. I liked the first half, and thought a clear-eyed psychiatrist was an interesting choice of perspective for a 9/11 story, and the story of her patient and his relationship with an escort affected by the attacks. And the 9/11 of it, really, is good, affecting and detailed, difficult. I was on board.
This narrative perspective gets thrown off, though, because she starts to drift. There is an early clue, the story's first line stating that her patient is "like a son", but following with no behavior from her surpassing the professional. Which is weird. And then her behavior does surpass the professional, and I thought, ah, well, no, that's not good. The character seems to change after her visit to the site -- "Until I went to Ground Zero, I had rejected the concept of evil" -- and she quickly turns her judgements on her patient. He's pathologically obsessed, his girlfriend is a sociopath. A Chinese one no less. She fixates on the woman's Americanness.
Which is all an interesting kink in the story, but I felt a bit dislodged. I no longer agreed with the narrator, so perhaps I was meant to agree with the prostitute. But these same events make her begin to drift into badness, too, and I wasn't sure what feeling the author was bringing across any more. I think the ending could have been more unsettling, more something, so I knew what to see.
A bit of a :-\ way to end the book, but really I liked it, and I'll be keeping it.
Love, Again by Doris Lessing
4.0
In lots of ways, this is probably a 3 star book. It's not very exciting. Most things that are suggested may happen never happen. But as with the other Lessing book I've read, the quality of the insight is so good that it can't be discounted. Usually I copy my favorite passages from dog-eared pages into my Goodreads review, but this time there were 20 of those pages and they required their own Google Doc. And, like with the other book, they're a little scary.
I liked this book right away, because a lot of what I like is right in the bones of the thing. It's kind of a miraculous recipe. I heartily approved of Sarah and all of the threads in her life. Her work at the theater is tantalizingly realistic (there is such a thing). Her quick friendship with Stephen is wonderful and touching right away. Her unusual obligation to raising her niece Joyce, though Joyce's parents are perfectly viable but unwilling, felt immediately serious to me. And the exposition of Julie Vairon, the thread stitching everything here together, was extremely appealing.
The characters spend the book at work on a play (with music) about Julie Vairon, an obscure 19th century (fictional) figure who became famous after death as a composer, artist and diarist, of a background "like Napoleon's Josephine". She lived alone in a forest outside a small French town, had a few serious love affairs, and drowned herself while in her thirties.
I am pretty sure that if this all were true, I would really like Julie Vairon the figure. She seems extremely real and I can really imagine the way she would be appreciated now. A Women's History Month kind of person. I don't think however I would like Julie Vairon the play very much, but I suspended disbelief enough to let the characters think so. The play's evolution is one of the book's major signals -- the characters all have very distinct ways of relating to Julie, and their "take" on the play is the way we place them in Sarah's moral spectrum. France and England are characterized by their different responses to the productions, and at the end, we are bitterly disappointed when someone wants to make a musical.
The atmosphere of the book is a really strong element, first the portion during the production in Julie's semi-hometown in France, and then the portion where Sarah becomes a welcome guest of Stephen's English country estate where the next production happens. That place and their relationships to it reminded me a little of Brideshead. I wished she'd spent even more time there, as all the time spent absorbing Stephen's life was excellent, his quiet psychosis and strange marital situation. Really good.
What's funny about this book is that in a lot of ways the plot -- older woman falls in love with younger men, twice -- makes it sound really Oprah-friendly. But Lessing is such a brutal writer. It seems there's always some dark insanity involved. A bit of danger, as these people will never recover from this ordinary pain.
Sarah goes through so much pain with these feelings it's almost enough to disconnect you from the story. All this for Bill, really? Bill sucks! Henry doesn't suck. Henry is great. But much, much time is spent in the detail of her unconsummated passions, which really go nowhere. For all the self-referential comparisons to bedroom farce, not one single bed gets hopped this whole time. (Well, one off-screen, and not Sarah's.) I suppose that's part of the point, but France was mildly oppressive to read through with all of this. (Though maybe because I really didn't care about Bill, at all.)
Once those are over, though, what she's left with is moving, as is her effort at caring for Stephen on his parallel paths. Between Stephen and her brother and Julie, so much of the thematic purpose of the novel comes together in the last 50 pages, it's so strong. A little odd because it seems it wasn't present earlier, but really it was, just quietly. In the scene when Elizabeth is so angry, and says it's so irresponsible, I really thought she was directing the reproach at Sarah, because it sounded exactly like the senseless blame her brother always levied about his daughter. Her reflections on being alone at the end go really deep.
So I'm really glad I read this, even though "nothing happened".
I liked this book right away, because a lot of what I like is right in the bones of the thing. It's kind of a miraculous recipe. I heartily approved of Sarah and all of the threads in her life. Her work at the theater is tantalizingly realistic (there is such a thing). Her quick friendship with Stephen is wonderful and touching right away. Her unusual obligation to raising her niece Joyce, though Joyce's parents are perfectly viable but unwilling, felt immediately serious to me. And the exposition of Julie Vairon, the thread stitching everything here together, was extremely appealing.
The characters spend the book at work on a play (with music) about Julie Vairon, an obscure 19th century (fictional) figure who became famous after death as a composer, artist and diarist, of a background "like Napoleon's Josephine". She lived alone in a forest outside a small French town, had a few serious love affairs, and drowned herself while in her thirties.
I am pretty sure that if this all were true, I would really like Julie Vairon the figure. She seems extremely real and I can really imagine the way she would be appreciated now. A Women's History Month kind of person. I don't think however I would like Julie Vairon the play very much, but I suspended disbelief enough to let the characters think so. The play's evolution is one of the book's major signals -- the characters all have very distinct ways of relating to Julie, and their "take" on the play is the way we place them in Sarah's moral spectrum. France and England are characterized by their different responses to the productions, and at the end, we are bitterly disappointed when someone wants to make a musical.
The atmosphere of the book is a really strong element, first the portion during the production in Julie's semi-hometown in France, and then the portion where Sarah becomes a welcome guest of Stephen's English country estate where the next production happens. That place and their relationships to it reminded me a little of Brideshead. I wished she'd spent even more time there, as all the time spent absorbing Stephen's life was excellent, his quiet psychosis and strange marital situation. Really good.
What's funny about this book is that in a lot of ways the plot -- older woman falls in love with younger men, twice -- makes it sound really Oprah-friendly. But Lessing is such a brutal writer. It seems there's always some dark insanity involved. A bit of danger, as these people will never recover from this ordinary pain.
Sarah goes through so much pain with these feelings it's almost enough to disconnect you from the story. All this for Bill, really? Bill sucks! Henry doesn't suck. Henry is great. But much, much time is spent in the detail of her unconsummated passions, which really go nowhere. For all the self-referential comparisons to bedroom farce, not one single bed gets hopped this whole time. (Well, one off-screen, and not Sarah's.) I suppose that's part of the point, but France was mildly oppressive to read through with all of this. (Though maybe because I really didn't care about Bill, at all.)
Once those are over, though, what she's left with is moving, as is her effort at caring for Stephen on his parallel paths. Between Stephen and her brother and Julie, so much of the thematic purpose of the novel comes together in the last 50 pages, it's so strong. A little odd because it seems it wasn't present earlier, but really it was, just quietly. In the scene when Elizabeth is so angry, and says it's so irresponsible, I really thought she was directing the reproach at Sarah, because it sounded exactly like the senseless blame her brother always levied about his daughter. Her reflections on being alone at the end go really deep.
So I'm really glad I read this, even though "nothing happened".