Everyday I Write the Book

"The Last of Her Kind" by Sigrid Nunez

I popped into my favorite local backstore a few days ago to browse fiction. One of the books that caught my eye is called The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez, published in 1995. From Amazon:

When Georgette George and Ann Drayton meet in 1968 as freshmen roommates at Barnard College, Georgette marvels that her privileged, brilliant roommate envies Georgette's rough, impoverished childhood. Through the vehicle of this fascinating friendship, Nunez's sophisticated new novel explores the dark side of the countercultural idealism that swept the country in the 1960s. Hyperbolic even for the times, Ann's passionate commitment to her beliefs—unwavering despite the resentment from those she tries to help—haunts Georgette, the novel's narrator, long after the women's lives diverge. In 1976, Ann lands in prison for shooting and killing a policeman in a misguided attempt to rescue her activist black boyfriend from a confrontation. The novel's generous structure also gracefully encompasses the story of Georgette's more conventional adult life in New York (she becomes a magazine editor, marries, and bears two children), plus that of Georgette's runaway junkie sister. Nunez reveals Ann's life in prison via a moving essay by one of her fellow inmates. By the end of this novel—propelled by rich, almost scholarly prose—all the parts come together to capture the violent idealism of the times while illuminating a moving truth about human nature.

The Boston Globe calls The Last of Her Kind a "brilliant, dazzling, daring novel".

Entertainment Weekly says: "Sigrid Nunez teaches an honors-level survey course in the sexual, political, and cultural movements that shaped the thinking (and rocked the world) of so many boomer women. Nunez's voice is unflinching and intimate, her novelistic structure as invitingly informal as jottings in a journal."

Here is an interview with Sigrid Nunez from Small Spiral Notebook.

I had never heard of this book before - has anyone out there read it?

 

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

I've read a few glowing reviews recently of The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. The description from Amazon sounds a bit cheesy, but the reviews I've read have been unanimously, unequivocally positive. Here's the blurb:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

NOW...check out these reviews:

From Booking Mama: "I'm having a very hard time writing this review for The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I think it's because I absolutely adored every page of the marvelous novel and don't know how to express it. I'm worried that I'll start gushing about the storyline, the characters, the writing, etc. and that I won't be able to express myself coherently. But this book really is worthy of some major gushing -- The Help is definitely going to be on a lot of 'Best of...' lists for 2009."

From Bookroom Reviews: "Learning how the three women come together in the story and how things will turn out, kept me anxiously turning the pages. The Help is about hope, loss, bravery, fear, change and love. I think you will not only learn from these incredible characters, but you will also wish they were your friends."

From The Book Lady's Blog: "The Help is addictively, compulsively readable. I couldn’t put it down.  Stockett’s debut is well-written, and it is clear that she really understands Southern life and has made great efforts to understand what life was like for black women who served white families. She presents sad stories that leave a great glimmer of hope, and though she examines our differences and our mistakes, she highlights our humanity to wonderful effect.  And while this is a serious book, it also has wonderfully lighthearted moments, humorous moments, and strikingly funny insights into women and their behavior. I loved this book and can’t recommend it highly enough. This is a wonderful first novel that hints at the promise of a very bright career. 5 out of 5."

Entertainment Weekly says: "When folks at your book club wonder what to read next month, go on and pitch this wholly satisfying novel with confidence. A-"

Wow. I could list 20 more just like that. Sounds like a book I have to read.

 

Book vs. Movie: "The Reader"

One of the movies getting a lot of attention this Oscar season is "The Reader", which is about the relationship between a German teenager who becomes physically and emotionally involved with an older woman in the 60s. The woman turns out to have been a Nazi guard, and is tried in a German court after the Holocaust. The book spans the whole relationship and tell the story from the point of view of Michael Berg, the boy - later the man - whose life was so affected by Hanna Schmitz.

"The Reader" is based on a book of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. I must have bought the book years ago, as it has been sitting on my shelf for a long time with a price tag from The Strand, but I had never read it. I saw the movie a few weeks ago, and decided upon returning home to pick up the book and read it too.

The story is quite compelling. Hanna and Michael develop an admittedly inappropriate sexual relationship after a chance meeting in a street. The relationship, however, goes deeper than that. Hanna - a rather cold, private woman -  asks Michael to read books to her during their afternoon trysts, and it is then that she reveals vulnerability and her quixotic emotions. Michael, a sensitive and inexperienced teenager, quickly falls in love with Hanna and learns to tolerate her mood swings and bad temper.

After a few months together, Hanna disappears without a word. Years later, Michael (then a law student) discovers that she is one of several Nazi guards on trial in a nearby town. He attends every day of the trial as part of a seminar he's taking in law school. The second half of the book and movie explore Hanna's guilt, Michael's reaction to learning about who she really was, and the complex path their relationship takes from there.

I'll start with the movie. I liked it a lot - probably the most of any Oscar movie this season (along with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona".The acting is very good. Kate Winslet does an admirable job of portraying a difficult and often extremely unlikeable woman. Both the younger and the older Michael Bergs (the latter played by Ralph Fiennes) are equally convincing. The movie is sad and serious, and ultimately quite thought-provoking.

The book is equally good, but for different reasons. I appreciated the visual aspect of the movie - getting to see the characters, the courtroom, even the (empty) concentration camp scenes. The book, meanwhile, really fleshed out the moral quandaries of the story in a way the movie simply couldn't. I got a much better sense from the book of how much Michael really loved Hanna his whole life. The book also explored the philosophical questions of guilt and responsibility - the main themes of the story - much more successfully than the movie did. I don't fault the acting (never will a bad word about Ralph Fiennes be written on this blog!), or even the screenplay, for that - there are just certain things a book can communicate better than a movie.

For me, the book and the movie complemented each other perfectly. Each of the experiences of reading and watching were made richer by the other. I loved having the visual hooks of the movie in my mind as I was reading, and reading the book really made the movie even more thought-provoking.

I recommend them both. I usually prefer to read a book before seeing it as a movie, but the reverse worked just fine for me here.

I'd love to hear from others on this - did you have a preference for the book or the movie?

TV Meme

I couldn't resist this TV meme, which is floating around. I love TV almost as much as books, so here goes...

1. Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice: The Office (American version). I can watch this show over and over. Same with Arrested Development.

2. Name a show you can’t miss: The Office, this season of The Bachelor, Mad Men

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show: Alec Baldwin, Jon Hamm (love his arc on 30 Rock), anyone from Arrested Development.

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show: Britney Spears

5. Name a show you can, and do, quote from: The Simpsons

6. Name a show you like that no one else enjoys: Swingtown

7. Name a TV show which you’ve been known to sing the theme song: The Backyardigans. (Such a sweet song!)

8. Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch: Mad Men!

9. Name a TV series you own: I have some of the early seasons of The Simpsons, when it was still excellent. I also have The Office Season 2, and the final season of Six Feet Under, which is worth it for the end of the finale - the best 15 minutes of television I've ever watched.

10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium, but has surprised you with his/her acting choices in television: Alec Baldwin - in a good way.

11. What is your favourite episode of your favourite series? Diversity Day - The Office

12. Name a show you keep meaning to watch, but you just haven’t gotten around to yet:  Brothers and Sisters, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

13. Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad? Desperate Housewives - yuck.

14. Name a show that’s made you cry multiple times: I used to cry watching ER. I had to stop watching it. The finale of Six Feet Under - I cry just thinking about it.

15. What do you eat when you watch TV? Usually nothing, but sometimes popcorn or the weird Japanese ice cream from Trader Joe's that I have recently become addicted to.

16. How often do you watch TV? I DVR everything so I fit it in at night while I am also working, blogging, surfing or emailing. Usually about 1-2 hours at night.

17. What’s the last TV show you watched? Last week's episode of The Office, which I watched last night.

18. What’s your favourite/preferred genre of TV? Drama and reality, with a few select sitcoms.

19. What was the first TV show you were obsessed with? St. Elsewhere.

20. What TV show do you wish you never watched? Desperate Housewives, Joe Millionaire

21. What’s the weirdest show you enjoyed? That fake reality show - The Joe Schmo Show - about 5 years ago. Absolutely hysterical. "You are dead to us."

22. What TV show scared you the most? I hate scary shows.

23. What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched? Arrested Development.

 

"The Local News" by Miriam Gershow

Another book set in high school. Are we all obsessed, or is it just me?

I read about The Local News, by Miriam Gershow, in Marie Claire this month. Here's the short blurb:

You'd think a 15-year-old girl would be devastated if her older brother suddenly disappeared without a trace. Not Lydia Pasternak. She never really liked her bro, a dumb jock who picked on her and called her Titless Wonder. Lydia's almost glad he's gone, especially since his disappearance has made the nerdy brainiac newly popular. Beneath this darkly humorous tale of loss is a keen look at the painfully stratified world of high school, and a reminder that just because we're supposed to feel sad doesn't mean we always do.

Janet Maslin at The New York Times also reviewed The Local News. She wrote:

[T]his story is full of insightful, implicit hindsight as it illustrates how the trauma involving Danny will shape Lydia’s adulthood and forever stunt her ability to get along with others. Ms. Gershow captures the awkward, cringe-worthy friendship between Lydia and David, a good-hearted but charmless classmate who shares her interest in parsing African politics and is as old-shoe familiar to Lydia as he is nerdy. Lydia depends on him without exactly liking him. What she doesn’t realize is that she will never have such a fond, easy friendship again.

I saw some good posts about The Local News on Goodreads, but I am assuming it's not kosher to quote them here because it's a closed community (book bloggers - am I right?).

Has anyone out there read this yet? I'm definitely intrigued.

Valentines in Six Words

The Washington Post did a cute Valentine's Day feature yesterday inspired by Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs By Famous and Obscure Writers. The paper challenged readers to submit six-word descriptions of their love lives.

There are so many good ones. Here are some of my favorites:

• 30th Reunion Northwestern HS 1979
• Kissed in 2008; Married in 2009!
• Too much, too soon, too bad.
• E-Harmony told us both: "No matches".
• Difficult convincing friends I'm happy single.
• Spied on Metro, Now dream fodder. 
• I love him. He loves her.
• Ex called to say he's engaged. 
• Married a cook; dieting now. 
• Miss hon, my love. Stupid cancer.

Check them all out.

March Book Club: "Buffalo Lockjaw" by Greg Ames

I am excited to announce the March book club selection: Buffalo Lockjaw, by Greg Ames. This is a bit of a departure for the EDIWTB book club, as Buffalo Lockjaw is a brand-new book from a first-time novelist, so I don't have many reviews to draw on. I thought it might be fun to try a totally new book - and one from a male author - for the book club this month. It is not due out until April, so we would be reading advance copies.

Here's a description from the publisher, Hyperion:

Ames' debut novel, Buffalo Lockjaw, is the story of a struggling, quarter-life-crisis writer in Brooklyn who returns home to Buffalo, NY -- a town frozen in cold and in the past -- to celebrate Thanksgiving. His mother is in a nursing home, suffering from Alzheimer's, and James and his family struggle with how best to care for her. His mother isn't the only character who is ill -- the town of Buffalo has been dying for decades, and with reconnecting eyes, James explores the offbeat artistic community, the local dives, and old high school buddies who never seemed to move on or move up. Darkly comedic, touching, and well-written, Buffalo Lockjaw is a gem of a story that will resonate with everyone who has ever had to grow up.

I was reminded of Jonathan Tropper when I read this description, though others have compared Ames to Chuck Klosterman or Jay McInerney. 

Hyperion has generously agreed to send copies of Buffalo Lockjaw to EDIWTB readers who are interested in particupaing in the book club. Books will likely go out around the end of February, with the book club being held here on the blog around the third week of March.

To participate, please send an email with your mailing address to [email protected].

Thank you, Hyperion, for providing copies of the book!

UPDATE: We have reached our limit of books from Hyperion, so I am unfortunately no longer taking new names for the book club. 2/16/09

Winner: Giveaway of "Bleeding Heart Square" by Andrew Taylor

Congratulations to the winner of Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor: Ti from Book Chatter and Other Stuff!

"All About Lulu" by Jonathan Evison

Exciting news! I made it through one of the books in the huge TBR pile. I wrote about All About Lulu by Jonathan Evison last week - post is here - and actually finished it yesterday.

I feel like I am turning into a book curmudgeon - I haven't really loved that many books lately. Unfortunately, I was kind of underwhelmed by this one as well. It's about Will Miller, a boy growing up in the 70s in Southern California. (The story follows him through to his mid-twenties, with a short postcript at the end that presumably takes place at the present.) Will grows up with his bodybuilder father and younger twin brothers after his mother dies of cancer.  After a few years, his father remarries, to a woman with a daughter, Lulu, who is a bit older than Will. The two are inseparable for many years, with Will basically idolizing his stepsister, until she goes away to cheerleading camp and returns a changed person. She is distant and cold to him, which leaves him lost and devastated.

The book is about Will's futile attempts to get over Lulu (for by the time she abandons him their friendship has turned into unrequited love on his end), and his obsession with her throughout his young adult years. Will also moves out of his father's house, goes to community college, gets some marginally satisfying jobs, and doesn't meet any other women. He does stay in touch, sporadically, with Lulu, and has some interludes with her at different times with mostly disastrous results. At the end, a secret is revealed which explains her change of heart toward him many years earlier.

I didn't love this book. Here are some possible reasons:

• At the risk of sounding immodest, I am a relatively stable person, and I lose patience with and cannot really relate to mentally unstable characters - particularly women - in books. (I am reminded of both Monica and Bits in Who By Fire - reviewed here.) I also get kind of annoyed when men are drawn in by said instability. Lulu falls into the category of unstable women.
• It's kind of a guy book. There was a pickup basketball game described in great detail, for example, which I completely skipped.
• Some of the supporting characters were depressing and kind of unconvincing, though I think they were intended to be quirky and gems-in-the-rough.
• In the end, I couldn't really understand Will's obsession with Lulu. I get that he was rebuffed by his best friend - one whom he was in love with - at a very vulnerable age, and that this clearly devastated his confidence in himself. But I just wanted to shake Will and say, "MOVE ON. There's a whole world out there worth living."

Jonathan Evison is a good writer. All About Lulu has a nice mix of humor, wry observation and sadness in it, and I'd like to read other books by him, to give him another chance. But this wasn't the book for me. 

For some more positive reviews (and they abound) about All About Lulu, check out:

Three Guys One Book

I Will Dare

Winners of "The Laws of Harmony" and Reviews of "Too Tall Alice" and "Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too"

First, congratulations to the winners of copies of The Laws of Harmony by Judith Ryan Hendricks! They are... Kathy, Alicia, Kelly C., LindseyatAKindredSpirit'sThoughts and Bridget. I will be in touch with you for your contact information. Thanks for entering!!!

Second, here are some reviews of kids' books that I received last week.

The first is Too Tall Alice by Barbara Worton. This is a cute book about an 8-year old who is four inches taller than every other girl in her class. She is very self-conscious about her size, until she has a dream that she goes to a house where every girl is much taller than she is. The tall girls are all happy with their height and have realized their dreams of being whatever they want to be. The book veers off into a little bit of New Agey-ness at this point, with some language that my four year-olds didn't understand (and I didn't love), but the final message is clear: our physical differences make us who we are as individuals and shouldn't hold us back from accomplishing whatever we want to do. This is a nice message, especially for girls, who tend to be self-conscious about how they look. My daughters liked this book, though I suspect it will resonate even more when they get older. The drawings are cute and there are some clever references throughout.  

The second book is Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! by Laurie Dean. It's about a playful puppy who does what puppies do - sitting on couches, running around the house, and generally causing havoc. He runs into the street at one point, and is sent to puppy school. What he wants most is a best friend, which he finds in a young boy who is lonely and looking for a playmate. I thought this book was fine - not great. There isn't much plot (which certainly didn't bother my four year-olds) and the drawings seemed a little cartoonish to me. But my girls enjoyed the book, particularly the part where the dog goes off to puppy training school. This is a cute book for a family of animal lovers, or one that is contemplating getting a puppy.