March Violets

I just finished March Violets (how fitting!) by Phillip Kerr, which is the first book in the Berlin Noir trilogy.  It’s a novel in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, centering around Bernie Gunther, a private detective commissioned to solve a seemingly straight-forward crime involving the theft of a pricey diamond necklace.  However, the setting is the earlier years of Nazi era Germany, and there are lots o’ lots o’ Nazis lurkin’ around this story, unlike the works of Chandler and Hammett.  So I’ve read a lot by Chandler and a few by Hammett, and I’m not sure why, but I really like the ‘noir’ genre – despite it’s often rather misogynistic take on women, (or should I say ‘broads’ or ‘dames’?)  Maybe it’s because these stories are set in the past.  I’m thinking this because I’ve read what I would probably consider the successors to this genre that take place in modern times – the specific example I”m thinking of here is The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos.  I liked that book, but from what I recall, it seemed like the women characters lacked real dimension and were somewhat peripheral to the plot, plus it seemed like they were either whores or mothers with hearts of gold.  Since this is the 21st century, I can’t give that stuff a free pass, this is the world I live in, and it just ain’t like that.  For example, I am neither a mother or a whore, and I most definitely don’t have a heart of gold.  Know what I mean?

But I digress!  March Violets!

I really liked this book.  I was reading a review of this somewhere online where the criticism was that Kerr incorporates every stereotype of the noir genre into the book.  Well, uh, if he didn’t, then I suppose it wouldn’t be ‘noir’ would it?  It would be Nick Sparks or that Twilight lady.  Whatever, I thought it was a great story, with an albeit, VERY dark ending.  My only criticism is there were just so many damn characters and all the German names started sounding the same so I’d have to go back and figure out who they actually were.  Same with all the street names and places in Berlin (ahem, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, anyone?)  But these days I can’t remember a damn thing anymore anyways, so it could just be my own mental deficiencies.

Anyways, I just started Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow, a fictionalized account of 2 real New York brothers – crazy hoarders!  How can you not love a story about hoarders?  Well, we may find out – I’ve only just started.

Must be in a non-fiction mood

I’ve finished several books in the last few months, and I just realized that they are all non-fiction. Weird, considering I hardly ever read the stuff. I tend to find made-up things infinitely more interesting than real life. However, I’ve found a few exceptions.

First, I read “Typhoid Mary,” by Anthony Bourdain (yes, the guy from the food network). For some reason, I’ve had a weird fascination with Typhoid Mary for some time. I read a book review (perhaps of this very book) in the Washington Post probably 15 years ago and that piqued my interest, though I never read the book. Anyway, I was at the library looking for Anthony’s new book, which wasn’t there. In fact, the only one stocked by him was this one, so I checked it out. It’s a skinny book and a quick read. Frankly, even though I do love the cocky and irreverent Bourdain, I wasn’t very impressed with this book. It was interesting enough and I feel like I have a firm grasp on the few details of the case that are generally known. The things I didn’t like about this book were: 1) Even though he claimed to bring the unique viewbook of a cook (Mary was also) a cook, except in a few instances, I don’t think he really pulled this off. 2) He made some strange assumptions about how Mary may have reacted to certain things. Of course, she may have had the feelings he prescribed to her - to me, they seem more like emotions a cocky, easily offended New Yorker named Anthony bourdian may have felt. And 3) I think his research was lazy. There, I said it.

Second up: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt. I know I’m a decade or so behind the bandwagon on this one, but I was going to Savannah so I thought this would give me a good feel for the city. It did! I really enjoyed this book. It’s like a novel, but basically true. I have learned that some things in the book were a bit creative – for example some of the relationships did not exist, and some of the timeline was a bit skewed. That bothers me a bit, but I certainly understand wanting to mold true events into a neater and plusher version. The story was good, the descriptions and character depictions were excellent, and the timing was impeccable. I finished this 2 days before I got to Savannah, and then visited many of the places in the book, and even met one of the characters in person.

 And 3rd, while I was on vacation and had just finished Midnight, I had a sudden hankering for some chick lit. I tend to read quite a lot of books by women, and when I hit a string of men, I get a little bit of withdrawal. After Bourdain and Berendt, I needed a good dose of estrogen, so I went to Barnes and Noble looking for something good. Though I had already given myself mental permission to buy something silly or even trashy, I ended up buying a biography of Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff. I already had an interest in Cleopatra, and it was written by a woman, so I thought this qualified as good chick lit. It’s VERY good. She seems to make a point to say what is known and what is likely or unlikely, rather than speculating and pulling it off as fact. She also quotes historians who have written about Cleopatra and says who is most likely to be telling the truth based on their agenda and time period ,etc. Her descriptions are wonderful and they make me want to go to Egypt. Of course, it wouldn’t be anything like Cleopatra’s Alexandria, and besides, it’s probably not  the safest place in the world right now.

On antoher note, I’ve gotten into the bad habit of watching movies based on books I’ve just read. They’ve been pretty disappointing (Garp, Midnight, etc). Most of the film, I say to Jon “yeah, that didn’t happen in the book,” or “wrong!” or just an irritated sigh. However, last night I watched “The Door in the Floor,” based on John Irving’s “A Widow for One Year.” In this one, they took the intelligent step of not trying to cover the whole book. They took the first 3rd of the book and made that a story in itself (which it really was). I thought it was quite good.

Not sure what I”ll read next, but probably something lovely and made up. I’m thinking a trip to the library is in my future.

Washington Square

I finally finished Washington Square by Henry James.  It actually wasn’t as depressing as I originally was fearing, although it won’t win any awards for happy endings.  Of course I wouldn’t want to read it if it did.  So the story’s about an heiress to a sizeable sum of money who ain’t that purdy and supposedly ain’t that bright who lives with her father whom she adores.  Unfortunately his feelings for her are not mutual – he tolerates her, but does not possess great affection for her.  So then she meets a devastatingly handsome gold digger at a party who sweeps her off her feet.  Of course her father, whom she worships, disapproves, immediately recognizing what this young fellow is after.  So long story short, she goes against her father’s wishes and decides to marry the guy, and in the process has a falling out with Daddy that will never be repaired.  And then Mr. Wonderful backs out of the engagement after learning that her father won’t be giving her any moolah because of his disapproval of the match.  And then, yadda, yadda, yadda, she lives out her life as an old maid.  But as I interpreted it, a fairly happy old maid.  Or maybe that’s just me projecting – I dunno.

So it was interesting, and makes me want to read some more Henry James in the future, but for now I need something completely different.  Like:

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

I’m not sure exactly where this book is going, but based on the book jacket blurb, it ties together themes of nature and human love.  I can’t imagine not liking anything by the author of The Poisonwood Bible, so I’m feeling good about this one.

March Violets by Philip Kerr

This is part of trilogy called Berlin Noir – it’s kind of like Raymond Chandler meets Nazi Germany.  Ja!

Send in the clones

1st completed book of 2011:  Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

(Spoiler Alert!)

This is your typical ‘girl clone meets boy clone and fall in love despite the interference of their other clone friend, then boy clone has all of organs harvested, while girl clone awaits the same fate’ story.  It’s a very interesting premise told through the eyes of Kathy (aka, girl clone) and while there are some things about the plot that I’m not quite sure I understand…

For example, the clones go through 4 separate ‘donations’, presumably of major organs, and yet some seem fairly functional after the first 3 – I mean, aren’t ALL of our organs vital?  You can’t be gallivating around without say, your heart, lungs, a functioning kidney,  etc., you know?  Along those same lines, why not just get it all over with at once, instead of having 4 donations?  Why prolong it?  But you know what?  This whole thing about 4 donations is pivotal to the plot, so I’m just going to let it go.

Anyways, it was a very touching story and towards the end, I was reminded of the animal advocacy movement, and how many people turn their eyes away from the cruelty that is associated with say, the factory farming industry, not because they approve of it or because they’re bad people, but because it’s just easier to not think about where that steak on the table actually came from.

So in summary:  no factory farming! no cloned humans for organ harvesting!

I’ve also been reading Washington Square by Henry James which is extremely short, but I know it’s going to end badly so I’ve been reading a page every 3 days or so.

Oh, no he di’int!

Soo… I was happy to finally have some favorite authors other than Jane Austen. I mean, how embarrasing to always say that your favorite author is Jane Austen! How female! How queer! So I got Murakami, he’s cool. And then I got John Irving. And I was determined to read ALL HIS BOOKS. So I started with “The World According to Garp.” It’s long, folks. Very long. The first 200 pages or so, I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved it. I loved it more than my own life. I didn’t want to do anything but read. I just loved the world he created. The Steering Academy and the kooky Jenny Fields, even though the way she conceived her son, Garp, was, ok, a little weird. And then another hundred pages or so… still good. And then, the car accident. Hence, the blog post title. Oh, no he di’int just do that. I’ll give you a quick recap:

The wife (Helen) in an attempt to get rid of her college student lover, decides to give him a quick BJ in her driveway while Garp (who has just found out that she is having an affair) take their 2 sons to the movies. Ugh, I hate even writing about this… well, it ends up with one kid dying, one kid getting an eye poked out, and the lovers penis being bitten off. Ok, GROSS! It took a lot to get over that scene. In fact, I haven’t. Can I read John Irving again? I”m sure I can, in time. It WAS a good book and he is such an amazing writer, but it does not even compare to A Widow for One Year, which I think is such a good book. I guess all John Irving books have dead children, prostititues, copious affairs, and similar things. Fine. BUT THE PENIS? Was that NECESSARY? Yuk.

Anyway…moving on. I also finished Crossing the HEart of Africa. I’ll be honest, this wasn’t great literature, but it was interesting, and I’ll read pretty much anything about Africa. Actually, the story was good and I even started to “like” the narrator/author by the end. He came off as kind of a prick. The basic premise was that he was engaged to be married to a girl who, to me anyway, seemed quite wonderful despite his asshole-ish behavior. Nervous about getting married, he decides to “find himelf” in Africa, chasing the trail of some other asshole who lived in teh 1800s or some time. The older asshole at least seemed more interesting, but then there was the fact that he liked to shoot all the animals he came across. That depressed me. In the end though, the wimpy narrator won me over with his honest assessment of himself as a wimpy asshole. There’s nothing I like more than self-effacement. I am an Ebinger after all.

I’m going to Savannah in a few weeks, so in preparation I’m reading “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” I’ve HEARD of this before, but didn’t realize what it was about. It’s a true crime non-fiction “novel” and so far it is GOOD. Lovin’ it! It reminds me of that TV show on A&E that I used to be obsessed with called City Confidential, where it talks about a murder but also delves into the personality of the city where it happened. I don’t know why, but I love that shit. And this book is just like it. So far it has really captured the personality of Savannah (at least I think so…I”ll tell you if it’s accruate in a few weeks). I HAVE been to Savannah before, but it was nearly 20 years ago! And I was just a young little kitten with a broken heart at the time. I’m pretty sure I’ll have more fun this time.

I’m reading bits and pieces of other books, which I will never finish by the time they are due back at the library, but that’s ok. There’s one called Sahara: A Natural History of the Sahara (or something)…Interesting but rather text-book like. I did learn where Volkswagen got the name Tuareg from though (desert nomads). So all was not lost. Also, got one by Anthony Bourdain (of cooking fame) called Typhoid Mary, which is very short and I plan to read. (I’m kind of in love with him)

That’s all for now!

L

Samara’s Top 5 of 2010

So it turns out I read 17 whole books in 2010 (and gave up on a few mid way through).

Here are my top 5 of 2010 in no particular order:

1. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

This lady clearly had some issues.  This is a collection of dark dark stories of the south and I love them all.

2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Another collection of short stories but this time in a little town in Maine.   Lovely.

3. Dubliners by James Joyce

More short stories!  Until this year, I was convinced that I didn’t care for short story collections.  Clearly I was wrong!

4. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Yeah, the last chapters of the book drag on a little (Die already, cold blooded killers!) but I found this book very compelling.  A senseless tragedy – an innocent family destroyed for no reason.  Capote is a master story teller.

5. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

A young couple undone before they’ve even hardly started.  Sad and beautiful.

 

What will 2011 bring?  Well, I’ve decided not to create a list of books to read, because, you know, I never ever stick to it.

I’ll play it by ear and see what happens.

 

 

Samara finishes some books!

Happy New Year!  Already finished 2 more whole books!  Well, I actually finished them last week, not in 2011.

The first one is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  This is a collection of stories that take place in a small town in Maine, which I finished reading in…a small town in Maine.  Wee-id!  The title character sometimes plays a lead role in the stories – other times she simply make a brief appearance, and her fellow townspeople instead are featured in deceptively simple stories of everyday life.

I loved this book.  The way Strout paints her characters, even those who initially seem somewhat unpleasant and unlikable, end up sucking up your empathy.  Olive herself is a great example of this – a moody old lady who’s spent a lifetime taking out her frustrations on her husband and son, and is now seemingly alone.

I couldn’t put this book down.  Sure, Crosby, Maine seems to have an unusually high rate of infidelity and unrequited love, but I don’t care.  This is a great book, and worthy of the Pulitzer Prize it won.

My second completed book is On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.  I read this book over the course of 4 or 5 hours during My Endless Day of Travel back in 2010.  I’m a big fan of McEwan, but I’ve always been a little reticent to read this one, because it was a) about a failed marriage and b) very very sad.  This combination just didn’t really appeal to me.  But the book was free and I think Larisa liked it so I figured I’d give it a shot.  And I really liked it.  It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting in that I originally thought it was about an old married couple reflecting on their years of marriage.  Instead it’s about a newlywed couple in the early 1960s who clearly love each other, but due to a uh, misfunction on their wedding night and the words spoken and not spoken in the aftermath, these crazy kids call it quits.  One of the things I like about McEwan’s stories are how seemingly small things, be it actions or words (or lack thereof)  can have huge repercussions all the while unbeknownst to the players involved (Atonement is another great example of this).

Anyhow, me likey very much.  I haven’t read a McEwan book I haven’t liked.

So not sure what next.  I’m about to give up on The Savage Detectives.  It reminds me of a beat novel a la Kerouac or Ginsburg, but much less coherent and less of a plot (as if that were possible).  And I like Jack Kerouac!