Friday, January 22, 2010

January in the Tropics by guest blogger Steven Head

One of the joys of reading is being able to journey to a warm sunny place even though the temperature outside is below freezing, the wind is howling, and the snow is more than knee deep. And January is the perfect time for searching or stumbling upon such a read. Here is a candidate.

I was listening to a radio program on books at the end of the year and caught Barbara Kingsolver discussing her new novel, The Lacuna. Barbara was talking about wanting to write of the atmosphere and mind set of the 1950's and how America was capable of doing some shameful things. I cannot claim to be a fan of Ms. Kingsolver, having read only one book Bev pointed me to with "beans" in the title. But I decided to investigate.

The Lacuna concerns the life of Harrison Shepherd, the product of a governmental accountant and a Mexican whirlwind. The book starts with Shepherd at the age of 12 with his mother in Isla Pixol, Mexico. A warm sunny place. The marriage of his parents had dissolved and his mother was involved in one of many relationships with men she hoped would take care of her and make life easy. The first half of the book is a delightful tale moving about Mexico, popping up in Washington, D.C. among the Bonus Marchers of 1932, and returning to Mexico to work and live along side Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Lev Trotsky.

We experience this time through the writings of Shepherd both in retrospect and through journal entries. The use of language is pleasing and the adventures keep you turning the pages. I cannot attest to the historic accuracy of the events of that time although the Bonus Marchers, the attacks and murder of Trotsky by Stalinists, and the flamboyance and conflicts of Rivera and Kahlo appear consistent with agreed upon facts. The descriptions and accounts of the initial half flow like a river and the reader happily bobs along observing it from an comfy innertube.

The second half of this 500 page novel does not move as gracefully. Told in journal entries, newspaper clippings, letters, and official documents, we learn of Shepherd's life as he returns to the US to pursue a writing career. Given his proximity to the known Communists Rivera, Kahlo, and Trotsky, Shepherd gets caught up in the anti-communist frenzy of the late 1940's and early 1950's. But not before establishing himself as a success author writing historic novels of Mexico, ancient civilizations, and foreign conquerors.

Early in the book we encounter an entry by Violet Brown, the self-proclaimed archivist of the documents we are reading. In the second half we learn how Shepherd and Brown joined forces and the dynamics of their non-romantic relationship. And how Ms. Brown assembled the documents for release long after the death of both parties.

The images and language of this book are enchanting. Writing of his mother following her death he observes,

"How could a life of such large hopes be so small in the end? Her last apartment: one room above a lace-and-girdle shop. One trunk of frocks and phonograph records, donated to a coworker. Every casa chica was smaller than the one before. Were the beaux less generous over time? Her assets less marketable? If she had lived to be old, would she have resided in a teacup, to be sipped at intervals beneath some gray moustache?"

Ms. Kingsolver does not sprout books like tulip bulbs in the spring. The Lacuna is her first novel in 7 years. Is it her best effort? I cannot say. I can attest that Ms. Kingsolver offers both a believable masculine voice in Harrison Shepherd and a formal feminine voice in Ms. Brown. And by the end of the novel you know them and are sad their story has ended.
Thanks Steve!
What am I reading? Just finished The 19th Wife (novel about of one of Brigham Young's wives) and moved on to Push, the inspiration for the movie "Precious." Brutal book. To offset that, I picked up a new release called "Being Jane Eyre," a fictional account of the lives of the Bronte sisters.
Thanks for stopping.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Random Thoughts

Like all of you, the situation in Haiti has been on my mind. The news coverage, nearly unbearable to watch, evokes the same emotions that surfaced during 9-11. I admire those people who, in an instant, decided they need to go to Haiti to help, despite the possibility of danger, and the knowledge that the air will shortly fill with diseases because of poor sanitation and because well intended medical help and rescue teams simply cannot work fast enough. Just as quickly as some people assemble to help, the vultures assemble to swoop. I find it hard to believe that there are those who will capitalize upon human suffering, setting up phony charities. Warnings are everywhere for people like me, who want to help, but feel helpless.

I have strong memories of two books with Haitian themes. Because I read them years ago, details have faded, but, their impact remains. Breath, Eyes, Memory so affected me and a few friends that we loaded up the car and headed to an Edwidge Danticat reading in the middle of the work week, in a place far away. We coerced another friend, who was not at all interested in the book, to drive, anticipating we would all need to sleep on the way home. Danticat is a tiny, tiny woman, with exactly the musical voice everyone associates with her Haitain heritage. In addition to being mesmerizing, she was gracious, spending time talking with each of the individuals in line for her autograph. Yes, even our driver was taken with the power of this little lady.




Her book speaks of the haunting sadness, and resilient spirit of Haitian women. 12 year-old Sophia has been raised by an aunt in Haiti while her mother is in New York fighting to make a better life for them. When Sophia finally moves to be with her mother, she finds it impossible to shake the hold that her beloved Haiti has upon her. Despite years of oppression, poverty, racism, and sexism, she longs for the strength, color and magic that made her life so meaningful.


Connie May Fowler's magical realism novel, Sugar Cage, is told through the voice of several characters living in the south of Florida. Most profound among the voices is a Haitian woman named Inez Temple. Inez can "see" things in the sugar crystals at the bottom of people's beverages. Inez teaches us a lot about the meaning behind voodoo rituals, and in her telling, much of the mystery and fear associated with the religion fall away. She speaks with respect for her people and her culture with the same passion as Sophia. This book is lighter than Breath, Eyes, Memory, offering more than one laugh out loud moment.





Give these books a try if the recent events have made you at all curious about the Haitian culture.

If you watched The Golden Globe Awards last night, you saw how emphatically the entertainment community has risen to answer the cry for help in Haiti. Many award recipients prefaced their acceptance speeches with words putting the evenings events in perspective and encouraging viewers to help if we can. Meryl Streep's honest and eloquent words stood out for me. She spoke of the gift of talent she has been given, and the lifestyle her career has afforded her. She said she will give to the cause because she can. People who give to a charity and then tell us all about how great they are because they have done so annoy me. I don't think that was her motivation. I think that in her coy way, she was reminding her peers that they all have the means to help someone, and now would be a good time to stop worrying about designer dresses, $7000.00 hair extensions, or their private island in the Carribean, and start tending to himan issues.

Geogge Clooney has organized a benefit that will air on Friday night. Check TV listings for more details on that.





Before signing off...the Pat Robertson comment about this disaster being caused because the Haitian people made a "pact with the devil"...what do we do with a comment like that? My first reaction was to do a little name calling...Pat Robertson, you are an idiot...but what good will that do? I am confident that no one I know would buy into an insipid belief like that. I am grateful for the intelligent, kind people in my life. If you are so inclined, donate to the Haitian relief fund through the Red Cross, your church, or other organization you trust.




***On a lighter note, My friend, Ludmilla Bollow, just had one of her plays published by Sam French, one of the leading script publishers in the world. She is sending me a copy. Who knows, we may someday see this play produced in Manitwooc, and if we're lucky Luddy can be a the premier.

If you're reading this before noon on Monday, remember that this is Dr. Martin Luther King day. Wisconsin Public Radio always broadcasts a powerful ceremony from the rotunda in Madsion's capitol building hosted by Jonathan Overby. You won't hear better gospel music anywhere. This is a truely inspirational program. 12:00..88.1.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Time to Catch Up


Two customers suggested this book to me last week which I took as an omen...better start reading. Actually, in my own turtle pace, I have polished off a number of books since last writing, some memorable, others not so much. The 19th Wife (not to be confused with The 13th Tale or The Fifth Floor...both worth reading, by the way), blends two story lines, much like one of my top 10 all-time faves, John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. The first plot focuses on Eliza Young, the 19th wife of Brigham Young, founder of the Mormon church. In 1875, she left him and went on a speaking junket reveling secrets of the sect. The parallel narrative, told by a young ex-communicated Mormon man, recounts the murder of his father, allegedly by his mother, another 19th wife. The stories, both fiction, merge in their examination, and critical examination of the Mormon religion. Where fact and fiction merge, I can't tell you, but as far as contemporary fiction goes, this book is fluid and compelling.

My book group chose Sarah's Key by Tatiana DeRosnay for our January discussion. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I not recently read The Book Thief, a far superior novel about the holocaust. The first part of Sarah's Key explores a period in French history i which Jews were rounded up by French soldiers, on Hitler's orders, and housed in inhumane conditions until being transferred to a camp. Apparently, French historians chose to ignore this atrocity, leaving most French citizens with minimal knowledge of France's involvement in these circumstances. The second part of the book...well, it's almost as if the author farmed the last 100 or so pages out to Jody Piocoult to infuse with angst, and drama making the already self-indulgent main character even cooler and less likable than she already was. The author lost her way, I guess. Had the second half been as tight as the beginning, I would give an unconditional thumbs up...but that's not the case.

Until now, I have steered clear of all the vampire/werewolves offerings, mainly because I don't like getting stuck in a series. I picked up a stand alone book, Shiver, on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. It's a human in love with a werewolf story, typical unrequited love stuff, but the writing is solid. Two characters alternate telling the story, and the chapters told by the wolf are particularly well written. He, Sam, is a wild child, living among wolves when he has not shifted. He speaks with reverence about nature, pack life, and the pain of being misunderstood. His passages are lyrical, sensitive and sensual. No, I'm not hooked, and won't be buying Team Jacob tee shirt any time soon.


In an attempt to tidy up my use of those pesky commas, I bought myself a copy of this fun book written by London Times columnist, Lynn Truss. I knew a style guide wouldn't cure my disrespect of punctuation, and thought her pithy examples would be memorable enough for me to apply them in real life writing situations. So, I worked my way thorough the entire book, only to find this passage at the very end: "Punctuation is to the writer is like anatomy to the artist: He learns the rules so he can knowledgeably and controlledly depart from them as art requires."
So, there you have it, my blatant misuse of puntuation is not ignorance, but art. Live with it!


****And now on to the shameless begging portion of the post. If you go to http://lovealocalbusiness.intuit.com/sbo you will find an opportunity to nominate us, or another local business of your choice, for a grant. Intuit will be randomly selecting business in Jan. and Feb. to receive grant money for business to use as they see fit. If you like us enough to answer three little questions, we would greatly appreciate it.


*****Heart-A-Rama is coming up quickly now, so get ready for progress reports.


Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Another short post.....

WOW! So much has suddenly piled up. Luckily, I have a post docked from our ever faithful Steve. The posts stall on the date sent, so to find this one, you will have to scroll past a couple older selections, on to December 6.
What am I reading? Just finished Sarah's Key, and honestly, I am sad to say that I can't remember the last time I was this disappointed in a book. I won't trouble you with the details except to say that the first half was captivating, and then the author seemed to lose her way.
New Year Confession...I have rethought my stance on Facebook. More later...after I finish end of the year paperwork.
Thanks for stopping.