Tad's Books in 2009, Part 4

Time to break up the thread again...it's getting a bit unwieldy.

Part 1 can be found here.

Part 2 can be found here.

Part 3 can be found here.

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Ratings refer to my experience reading the book in regard to its type, not to any judgment about literary merit.

= I can't believe anyone liked this.
to = Disliked, ranging from "didn't finish" to "may have skimmed some"
to = Neutral, ranging from "just fair" to "passed an afternoon"
to = Recommended, ranging from "mildly" to "strongly"
to = Favorites

: Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson by Tricia Tunstall

Memoir, Piano
212 pages



Bottom Line: A pleasant book about that cultural icon: the piano lesson. Not as inspiring as I would have liked. I didn't mind reading it, but I don't really recommend it.

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My Review: It wasn't a bad little book, but it didn't meet my expectations. I was looking for something full of joy about learning to play the piano—a bit inspiring, perhaps.

And, it was...at points. However, much of the book, while pleasant, was just a series of rather ordinary stories about children who were her piano students. Some of them (a rather significant percentage, it seemed) were fairly gifted, others seemed more run-of-the-mill in the abilities. However, very few had stories that seemed anything other what you'd hear if you asked your neighbor about their child.

On the other hand, Ms. Tunstall's love for the piano and love of teaching the piano came through quite clearly and it was a pleasure to share it. I also enjoyed the chapter on recitals, for it perfectly captured the absolute dread that they invoke in students and confirmed my belief that all piano teachers are sadists who enjoy humiliating their students. *smile*

The final chapter of the book, which veered suddenly from everyday stories to her romance with her former husband, divorce and then his death, seemed terribly out of place. Even though he was her final piano teacher, it did not fit with the rest of the book and was awkward to read.

In summary, I didn't mind reading it, but I don't really recommend it.

#2 Tad

"I also enjoyed the chapter on recitals, for it perfectly captured the absolute dread that they invoke in students and confirmed my belief that all piano teachers are sadists who enjoy humiliating their students."

Sorry, Tad--I beg to differ.

Piano Teachers are incredibly loving and kind and want the best for their students, which includes the confidence to perform the music they love for others. Music is a communicative art and doesn't exist without performance!

Performers need to learn to glory in their successful performances and forgive themselves when it's not so successful. After all, no one expects a baseball player to spend an entire career without making an error or to decide to never come back out on the field if they do! Learning to overcome the fear of failure is a wonderful life lesson that applies to all fields--including music.

Off my soap box! And for the record--I don't "require" performance; I only "strongly encourage" it. :-)

I guess I won't add that book to my TBR. I could probably write one--I hope I could make it inspiring, though. :-D

BTW Most of my students do learn to perform in recital and to focus on what went well and forgive themselves if it doesn't go as well as they anticipated. They are a little nervous--which is normal and we learn to use that to help them focus--and also they are well prepared so their performances are always pleasing to the audience even if the student isn't completely satisfied. Maybe the book I should write is "Overcoming Performance Phobia"--I have had a lot of success in that area! :-)

>3 MusicMom41:: Perhaps I should have you as my piano teacher...though a commute of 3000 miles seems a trifle excessive. I'm actually not particularly happy with mine, but the kids like him and I think he does good things with them...he's just not so good with an adult...or, at least, an adult like me.

On the subject of recitals (I do not yield an iota on the secret motivations of you fiends!), a line in the book particularly resonated with me:

grown ups take potential humiliation very seriously.

Such was my case; I was complete humiliated. And patronized ("It wasn't so bad."...what, am I deaf? I may not be able to play the piece but, after 40 years of listening to it, I damn well know what it's supposed to sound like!)

I have a very odd pattern of stage fright: on certain things, standing up in front of people and doing 'X' won't bother me in the slightest, even if it's something I'm not particularly competent or knowledgeable about. Yet, doing 'Y' will have me (literally!!) shaking at the knees and my hands trembling.

Alas, piano playing is a 'Y' activity. I've only recently been able to not succumb to utter dread in a lesson when the teacher says, "Play the whole thing and I'll listen."...and that's just one person whom I've known for a couple of years now!

I did one recital and refused to do others because I, quite truly, felt completely and utterly mortified. I couldn't look a single adult in the eye, nor half the kids. It wasn't just a fear of failure...I can fail at a lot of things and shrug them off with only minor embarrassment. This was a total, cataleptic paralysis. Three simple Bach pieces that the day before...and the day after...I could play easily and confidently. Yet, memory failed me, muscle memory failed me, ability to read music failed me, and I barely stumbled through them.

I'm not attempting to seduce you back away from the Dark Side where you reside but there is something about the format and mechanics of a recital...at least the one I participated in...that replaced any joy at playing music with only embarrassment. I think, perhaps, that if I had piano playing friends, a small get together to play for each other might eventually be fun...Ms. Tunstall says she has started doing those.

But, "go play in front of strangers"...thank you, but no. I agree that music is a communicative art, but it is also an expressive art,and my greatest pleasure is actually playing for myself.

Please take none of this personally...

Tad

I'm going to your profile to answer this--but I want to leave a book suggestion here so you can check it out.

The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green, a co-author of The Inner Game of Tennis

: Farewell to Model T & From Sea to Shining Sea by E. B. White

Essays
34 pages



Bottom Line: Read it.

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My Review: I love essays. I love E. B. White. So, what's not to like about essays by E. B. White?...absolutely nothing.

This was a freebee along with a book order and quite an enjoyable piece of lagniappe.

White's two essays on the Model T evoke a bygone America, a time when some things were simpler and others not (reliable cars were evidently not a facet of American life).

If you can find a copy somewhere that doesn't cost the $13 listed on the cover, give it a try.

Tad, I like any review that properly uses the word "lagniappe". Now I'm in the mood for jambalaya or crawfish etouffee, and this book, which will be added to my wish list. Thanks!

#6: Trying to catch up to me on the number of threads, Tad? lol

I have you starred once again (thank you for reinstating the long reviews, BTW) and am adding your book 95 to the Continent.

>8 alcottacre:: Trying to catch up to me on the number of threads, Tad?

Impossible.

#9: I am sure you could!

Wow, you are getting very close to the century mark on books. Do you have a specific number in mind for the year?

>10 alcottacre:: I started off targeting 150 because I thought I spent a little too much time reading last year. In other words, I was shooting for a lower number.

Don't think that's going to happen. :-(

#11: I do not know whether to say 'I'm sorry' or 'Great!' to that, lol.

I typed this same message last night but it was lost in the ether somehow.

So, I've finished The Time Traveler's Wife and my review is waiting for you to peruse and comment because you were interested in my thoughts. I ran over to your prolfile and caught your review. I obviously liked the book better than you though I aggre with some of your thoughts.

For example, I agree that it is Sci/Fi lite. Though I didn't see the time travel as "just" a plot device any more than a lot of other Sci/Fi books. And, I am sure you've given it much thought and I'd like to know what science in the book is flawed, unless that's asking to much for a thread post. If so, just ignore me.

MILD SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN"T READ THE BOOK.

When did you feel the book lost you? About the time they started trying to have a child? Or some other place? I didn't notice a shift in the quality of the story or characters.

And I thought the ending of the book was appropriate to Niffenegger's themes of suffering through and overcoming loss and lonliness. Clare is the title character and Henry is just what happens to her. And the ending shows her more centered and calm and waiting for her last vision of Henry in old age. Content with just a quick peak and touch because she knows that is all that she will get. Through the book, she grows more and more even with her reactions to his crazy condition.

Anyway, I am eager to here you expand on your review. You can reply here or at my thread where the review is.

: The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti

Non-fiction
222 pages



Bottom Line: I think this is an important book to read. It's not flawless. For some people it will be anathema. Nonetheless, this is a debate we should be having openly and honestly rather than sniping at each other from the gutters.

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My Review: I think that this book can be...largely...summed up with the following quote:

It's time to teach our daughters that their ability to be good people depends upon their being good people, not on whether or not they're sexually active.

In other words, it attacks the notion that females should be defined by their sexual status and that the only theater where they can operate morally is in the decision about whether or not to have sex outside of marriage.

Regardless of what you may have been told about this book, it is not a polemic in favor of promiscuity...the central issue isn't whether a woman decides to have pre-marital sex or not, it's how society views that decision. A footnote she wrote expresses it best:

For the record, I think virginity is fine, just as I think having sex is fine. I don't really care what women do sexually, and neither should you. In fact, that's the point. I believe that a young woman's decision to have sex, or not, shouldn't impact how she's seen as a moral actor.

The book's topics range from the "the desirable women are young girls" message of our mass media (think Britney Spears or the fastest growing type of plastic surgery...vaginal rejuvenation), through the fetishization of virginity (think Purity Balls), to an examination of the problems with Abstinence Only Education (it's not working). Along the way, it touches soundly on rape, the impossible standard of "manliness" our society endorses, abortion, and the legal situation of women in our country today. In other words, this book is going to push a lot of buttons for some people.

I think that's OK. I think it's fine to challenge people's opinions, to make them step up and understand why they think the way they do. If they can do it...even if only to their own satisfaction...at least people are thinking about things rather than just engaging in some patellar reflex. If they can go a step farther and articulate and defend, we move on to honest discussion and maybe doing something about problems.

I'll be forthright: I agree with much of what was said in this book. If that means you want to stop reading this review right now, I'm OK with that. I am concerned about this virgin/whore thing we've got going in this society—that a woman is either one or the other. Yes, I have opinions about sexuality in young girls, but I also believe that they are much more complex creatures than a hymen—I want my daughters to place serious value on "compassion, kindness, courage, or integrity".

The book is not perfect, in my opinion. It is a little strident and reiterative. Perhaps this is necessary to drive the message home against the societal pressures arrayed against it; I don't know. However, that aspect did feel a bit abrasive at time, like I was being shouted at. And, I think it teeters on the edge a few times: not in intent, but in articulation. For example, I would certainly agree with her position that it would be good if a woman did not have to be cautious if she's had a couple drinks and decides to walk home at night from a bar. However, it think it is naïve to endorse that a woman shouldn't be cautious...it is not a perfect world and there are men out there who rape women. I want to be clear: I don't think she actually takes this position, or others like it, but it did read that way to me at times.

This book would make a phenomenal Book Club read...assuming the members could behave like adults and discuss the issues. It homes in on one of the the most central elements of our culture and asks us to take a clear look at it. That would be much more fun than reading a book where everyone agrees!

Read it; think about it; argue about it, if you wish!

WOW! That's an incredible review, Tad. I wasn't planning to read this book, but you've convinced me to get it. Thank you!

Another excellent review TadAD! It sounds really interesting and I'll be getting it as soon as possible.

While not a book that really interests me, a great review.

Congrats on the Hot Review for Purity Myth! I'm sure everyone who reads your thread has been giving you a thumbs up on the great review, as I was the FIFTEENTH person to do so!

Congrats on a really great review receiving a "HOT REVIEW" ovation.
Well done!~!
belva

Tad

Congrats on the Hot Review. Well deserved!

I hope I remembered correctly that you recommended the first 3 novels in the Black Company series by Glen Cook. I had some Border Bucks to use today and I bought a trilogy volume called Chronicles of the Black Company.

I'm about to go on a Scifi-fantasy and mystery binge for some summer fun reading. My brain needs a rest! :-)

>20 MusicMom41:: Yes, Carolyn, I did. I hope you enjoy them. They are dark fantasy but well written.

: Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson

History
862 pages



Bottom Line: Exceptionally easy to read, describes not only the actual conflict but the social and economic forces that caused the war and shaped its outcome. Highly recommended if a history of the Civil War interests you.

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My Review: There are certainly more detailed histories of the Civil War out there—looking at the 2946 pages of Shelby Foote's work I have sitting on my shelf makes that clear. However, it's hard to imagine something approximating this scope that does a better job of explaining the Civil War than McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning book.

Starting in 1847 with the Mexican War, and ending with 1865, the book cycles between political, social, economic and military aspects of these years. Setting the war against the socio-economic backdrop explains not only the war, itself, but gives the reader insight into many of the aspects of what our country has become. This book allows the reader to see quite clearly the premise that the United States of today owes more to the Civil War than it does to the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers. In fact, in his Epilogue, McPherson argues that the South (despite being a slave-owning society) was a better representation of the social order of our European roots, and that the Civil War changed America's future to the less mainstream, Northern vision of society.

McPherson brings the major players of the time to life for the reader. Of course, the result of this was often a feeling of incredulity at how much insubordination, incompetence, timidity and plain old-fashioned back-biting went on in both armies and governments. There were many times in the book where the reader cannot help but wonder if a more decisive general couldn't have ended the war sooner. Though, this may or may not have been a positive thing: had the South not been so completely beaten, then the Northern determination to alter the Southern way of life, by force if necessary, may not have had time to become so fixed in the minds of Lincoln, Republicans and the population who gave them a mandate, and the conflict might have erupted anew later on.

McPherson's easy writing style, seldom dry or pedantic, occasionally humorous, makes this book extremely readable. Though it is long and chock full of content, it never felt slow or dense.

Highly recommended.

: Ragamuffin by Tobias S. Buckell

Science Fiction
342 pages



Bottom Line: Turning out to be a science fiction writer I watch for, not another clone of everyone else's space opera.

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My Review: I haven't been reading much science fiction lately...so much of it seems derivative and cliché and, quite frankly, boring. Therefore, it's a good feeling to find an author who seems fresh and original.

I read Buckell's Crystal Rain last year—this book is the sequel, moving the conflict from a single planet, "Lost Colony" type of story, to the wider, interplanetary backdrop of a space opera. There's something of Reynolds in his plotting and maybe a hint of Cherryh in his depiction of aliens, but his voice seems quite unique to me. One of the interesting things is that a lot of the background in his stories is based on Aztec and Caribbean cultures. It doesn't come across as a gimmick, just a natural part of the story. The larger events of the plot in both of the books aren't particularly surprising; the details of the paths to get there are intriguing and exciting.

With well-drawn characters, good plots and plenty of action, this is fun science fiction. The third volume has been published...I'm looking for it.

I've got Crystal Rain sitting in my TBR pile--I'll have to move it up! I've been feeling the same as you, Tad, re: the science fiction out there.

#23: If you are watching out for Buckell's books, then I better start as well. Thanks for the recommendation, Tad.

You're reviews are always sooo interesting! I especially like your "Bottom Line". I'll be adding Battle Cry of Freedom to my wishlist. Your review of it gets a thumbs up from me.

Congratulations on having 2 hot reviews! I already know Battle Cry of Freedom and think you did a marvelous job reviewing it. I'd heard of The Purity Myth, but wasn't very interested in it until I read your review. Keep up the good work.

Yes, please add my congratulations regarding two hot reviews!

Ditto message #26

: Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Supernatural
312 pages



Bottom Line: A downbeat episode that was a bit formulaic with thin characters and rushed plot. As always, very little closure on things. I'm not entirely happy with what's happening with the series.

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My Review: This, the ninth book in the series, wasn't the best one...I think it may be the "least best". All of these volumes are simply mind-candy adventures in the supernatural world but this one, in addition to being downbeat, had less depth than normal.

All of the returning characters are treated rather abruptly, as if the reader is expected to provide his or her own substance to them by remembering previous volumes. The few new characters introduced are not much deeper than cardboard. The plot is treated little better: a long build-up, then the real story line is introduced...raced through...and completed in about a third of the book. The whole thing felt like it was written to a formula—mysterious things happen around Sookie, people die, Sookie realizes what is wrong but gets in danger, Sookie rescued but more people die—with a lot of words but very little flesh applied to fill out that formula.

I also felt that the story was relying more on shock value than previous ones had done: the sex and violence seemed much more explicit and graphic. (Hmmm, do we have a case of the TV adaptation influencing the written word?)

Honestly, if you're following the series, go ahead and read this one to keep up-to-date on the events...but let's hope that things pick back up soon, instead of continuing a slide into the depths.

Too bad Dead and Gone was disappointing - I have read the first six Sookie novels, and was looking forward to reading the last three later this year. Normally I find them really enjoyable, easy reads, and Harris' world is a pretty interesting one, I think. Hopefully her next book is a return to the earlier stories!

A friend and I were talking about Dead and Gone the other day. She told me that Harris has another Sookie book coming out in the fall. Maybe she is writing too fast. My friend commented that maybe she should put the two books together and only have one come out a year. This one was really thin in length and plot. I hope the next one is better. I really look forward to reading them. I think the TV series really did effect her writing. The series is really very different than the books, which is good for TV but not necessarily reading.

Just posting so I don't lose you in the crowd. You're one of the people I watch for sci fi and fantasy recommendations! My tbr pile would be infinitely smaller if I lost you lol

: Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden

Fiction
207 pages



Bottom Line: A wonderful novel about self-forgiveness and compassion.

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My Review: Elizabeth Fanshawe gets lost in Paris in 1944 during the celebrations over the liberation of the city. She is helped, befriended, ultimately seduced and used by Patrice, the owner of a brothel, who turns her into the prostitute, Lise. Scarred in an accident with a customer, Lise becomes La Balafrée, the successful and worldy madame running the brothel. Her final transformation comes years later when, after imprisonment for a murder, she becomes Soeur Marie Lise, a nun in the order of the Dominicaines de Béthanie.

The story is based upon the real Dominican Sisters of Béthanie, an order whose work includes helping prostitutes, drug addicts, others afoul of the law and which sometimes accepts these individuals into their ranks in accordance with one of their principle sayings: very great sinners have within themselves what makes the greatest saints.

I found this book more reminiscent of In This House of Brede than the other Godden books I've read since. Not only is its religious setting of a convent similar but the manner of the story also has that more serious, even adult, tone that the earlier book had. It is told as a series of flashbacks over Lise's life from the age of 20 into her mid 50s, chronicling her journey of self-forgiveness and discovery of a life that gave her fulfillment and purpose.

I thought it was beautifully written, particularly full of vivid characters.

Excellent review Tad.
Tight, concise and to the point. I didn't get lost in your words once. Makes me want to read the book so........BAM....onto the old TBR listing it goes.
thumbs up!~!
thanx guy,
belva

hmmmm I guess that one will have to go on my tbr pile.I loved House of Brede...

: Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood

Mystery
164 pages



Bottom Line: Another light piece of mind candy in the Phryne Fisher series.

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My Review: The Phryne Fisher books, of which this is the fourth, are quite short, populated with many simple characters, and lightly plotted.

Nonetheless, there is something endearing about the outspoken, bold, wanton Phryne that makes them fun to read. Perfect for a couple of hours on a summer afternoon, I can't help but enjoy these pieces of mind candy.

In the particular episode, Ms. Fisher runs afoul of a band of anarchists in 1928 Australia. Irritated that they shot at her, angered that they shot up her car, and infuriated that they killed a handsome young boy...for her opinion is "You know how I feel about pretty boys—there aren't enough of them in the world as it it—we can't have people wantonly removing them"...she decides the killers must be hunted down and punished, preferably by hanging.

They are best found at the library or second-hand shop, since paying $25 for a 164 page, read-once mystery seems a bit excessive but, if you enjoy this kind of summer reading, give them a try.

Congratulations on hitting the century mark, Tad!

Thanks. So much for my plans for reading this year. :-)

Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy sounds fascinating.

But damn you all for your rec's - I've learned that I have to keep an Amazon tab open when I check this site so I remember what I want to go back to.

A great review of the Godden book, I thumbed ya'. I am gonna have to read a Godden sometime this year; my wife loved In This House of Brede.

Congratulations on reading 101 books! Both of your most recent reads sound great!

#36 Thanks for the review and recommendation - I've placed a hold on the first in the series at the library in hopes it will be available in time to take on vacation. Plus, I've added Five for Sorrow to the wishlist for when vacation is over. I enjoy your reviews.

thumbs up for review # 100, Tad. I must hunt down that Phryne Fisher series - sounds like perfect summer reading.

>14 TadAD: Just catching up on yout thread Tad. What a great review of The Purity Myth.

As one who has looked at morality from a Christian fundamentalist viewpoint all my life I was arrested by this phrase that you quoted from the book: "I believe that a young woman's decision to have sex, or not, shouldn't impact how she's seen as a moral actor."

I have two daughters, both of whom were sexually active before marriage, one is still unmarried. Of course, I do not judge them or criticise them for their choices. It is too easy to take a black and white attitude when it comes to sexuality, there is also a double standard involved.

No one is sexually pure, we live in a sex-saturated society. But I believe no one should be condemned or judged solely based on their sexual involvement or lack of it. There are higher values such as compassion, kindness, mercy, love, etc. that mean so much more.

Thanks once again for a thought-provoking review.

~ TT

>44 TheTortoise:: Thanks, TT.

Hi there, I just wandered into one of your older threads and was so impressed at your reviews. I saw the whole "controversy" from your last thread and I have to say, I love the way you have them setup now (not that I cared either way before).

You don't want to know how many of these 101 books I added to my own TBR pile, hopefully I'll get to them someday! And I'll definitely be stopping back here!

: Sharpe's Rifles: Richard Sharpe & the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809 by Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction
304 pages



Bottom Line: The sixth episode in the Richard Sharpe series—still fun, but not quite as good as the previous five.

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My Review: This is the sixth episode, chronologically, in the adventures of Richard Sharpe, British infantryman during the Napoleonic Wars.

Up front, let me say that this book is still a lot of fun. It's only in comparison to the first five that I downgrade it a bit.

This book was written ninth, which might seem fairly far along in the 24 book series, but it was still before the first five books that preceded it chronologically. I think that this shows in a couple of ways.

You get some hints of this in the facts of the story. In one scene, Sharpe is recounting the battles he has fought in and needs to make a fairly complete accounting. Though he mentions Seringapatam, Assaye and Gawilghur, he omits mention of Trafalgar and Copenhagen...presumably Cornwell hadn't thought of those adventures, yet. There is also a bit of an inconsistency in his reaction to the weight of Murray's cavalry saber, though he used—and liked—a much heavier sword in India during the first three books. However, those types of things are really very minor and don't detract from the book.

What did detract, for me, from the last sixth of the book was Sharpe's character. It seemed less formed that it had in the first five books. Without giving specific spoilers, I thought this was most notable in his reactions to Louisa Parker toward the end: his initial response felt right but, within a day, this brooding, sensitive, sometimes bitter fellow was somehow happy-go-lucky and accepting of rather unfair and certainly unexpected behavior toward him by a couple of individuals. It didn't fit the Sharpe we've come to know and didn't ring true.

On the positive side, we get an exciting opening and, once we get past a bit of mysticism in the middle, a quite exciting ending. We get introduced to Patrick Harper who is almost as an enjoyable character as Sharpe, and who I understand plays a major role in succeeding volumes.

The series is very good; this particular episode is good. I continue to recommend them.

: Death and Judgment by Donna Leon

Mystery
289 pages



Bottom Line: The fourth Guido Brunetti mystery—Leon ups the cynicism factor as Brunetti struggles against the moral vacuum of Venice and Italy.

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My Review: Another wry and cynical pas d'armes between Commissario Brunetti and the corruption of Italian society. Once again, what starts off looking like a simple crime gradually extends tendrils into the world of the powerful and wealthy of Italy, the individuals who not only view themselves as above the law but, to a certain extent, are above it.

Brunetti gave another small smile, "...we need...a list of Signor Trevisan's clients..."

"I want you to bear in mind that these are not the sort of people who are usually subject to a police investigation."

Under ordinary circumstances, Brunetti would have remarked that, except for the last few years, the police had been investigating little except "people like these,"...

Brunetti must work against the criminals, his sycophantic superior and corrupt fellow officers to try to unravel the mystery of a series of murders. In the end, he succeeds in understanding what happened and curtailing some portion of the larger problem. However, unlike the previous three books, this one does not provide a neat and satisfying ending; Leon's disenchantment with the crumbling world of her detective is felt much more strongly in this volume. Don't take this as a negative; I think the atmosphere of this story is deeper for it and I'm looking forward to reading the fifth volume.

>47 TadAD: Tad, I have got the first six or seven of the Sharpe series but have not read any of them yet. I read the first in the Starbuck series and found it enthralling. Have you read any of those? There are four books in the series. I am looking forward to reading those as well.

~ TT

very good reviews!

>49 TheTortoise:: Hey, TT. No, I plan to read the Starbuck series after the Sharpe series. One of the characters in the former is descended from one of the characters in the latter, so it seemed to make sense to do it that way.

>50 mckait:: Thanks.

I'm considering reading the Sharpe series and from your reviews it seems like it might be worth it. With which book does it start?

>52 Emily1:: If you're going to read them in chronological order (my preference), Sharpe's Tiger.

: Potiki by Patricia Grace

World Literature, New Zealand Book Award for Fiction
203 pages



Bottom Line: A calm, lyrical and very compelling story of a Māori community.

---

My Review: This novel tells us of Hemi and Roimata and their children, members of a coastal Māori village in New Zealand. Though the book is filled with many tales, it forms a single story in three parts: introducing us to the family; showing their return toward traditional life following hardships, economic and otherwise, in the white world; finally telling of the conflict between this community and the developers, "Dollarmen", who wanted their land in order to build a resort.

For me, the value of this book lay in the fact that the surface story—the conflict between the indigenous people and those who would exploit them—didn't really form the theme of the book. Recounting that type of conflict has been done before, and often. Instead, I realized that this story was about connectedness in all its forms, about a world view that I found distinctly different and fascinating. Using the traditional carvings of ancestors that decorate the communal assembly hall as a thread that weaves through from the first pages to the last, Ms. Grace touched upon the villagers' feelings of connectedness with their ancestors; with their past history, both good and bad; with each other; with chance strangers who graced them with a visit; and with their land and dwellings.

The result was an interesting shift in perspective. Though the author's voice was politically clear in her beliefs, the result wasn't so much a negative definition, a rejection of the West, rather it was a positive affirmation of themselves—"we are what we have always been" rather than "we are not like you."

It was beautifully done. When the book was over, I felt I had obtained a real glimpse into another culture, and a little of the calm of the story had rubbed off.

Tad;
An absolutely beautiful review and a big fat thumbs up from me. I am on my way to Amazon.com to order this one. I don't even want to bother with the TBR listing. It sounds like a wonderful read. Thank you for a very insightful review.
belva

Wow, you've already been "hit" 3 times.

#54 I had similar feelings when I read Potiki earlier this year. I'm keen to read more of her work.

Wow. Fantastic review - the book sounds great too. I really want to read more NZ lit so this fits in nicely.

Tad

Great review--this is one I am definitely buying! I'm trying to expand my reading in "world literature" and I love reading about different cultures. Thanks for continuing to expand my horizons!

edited for spelling!

Great review! This sounds like a wonderful book, and I'm going to order it from the library.

Great review. My shelves are sadly lacking in books from New Zealand and this one looks good.

I ordered it last night and it shipped today. Should be here early next week. Whoo Hoo!~!
Again, thanx.

CONGRATULATIONS!~!~!
A very well deserved HOT REVIEW!~!
You go dude!~!
belva

#54: Well, if I did not have it on Planet TBR before that review I would certainly have added it after that review! Great job, Tad.

Another "hot review!" Congratulations.

ah poop. I was so pleased I caught up and then got to the "part 4 starts here" LOL BTW I found the poem manly and like it -- and I generally abhor poetry (my probelm -- i generally just don't get it and that irks). Well I'll read the previous 65 posts here on another day.

typos

Potiki was added to the wishlist immediately after reading your review, Tad.

congrats on a fab review!

: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

Fantasy, Young Adult
267 pages
Re-read



Bottom Line: A re-read since so many people in the group are trying it right now. Still a good book. Still the weakest book in the series.

---

As I've noted in other places, I think this book is actually better read second. The Dark is Rising does a better job of introducing the wider series and has many times as much of that "magical-ness" feeling when first encountered. Still, in whatever order you read them, Over Sea, Under Stone is a good book.

: Alexandria by Lindsey Davis

Mystery
338 pages



Bottom Line: Not the best in the series but I enjoy the series so much that it was still good...if that's makes sense.

---

My Review: Some people love their Mosley, some their Leon, Grafton or Parker. For my part, Lindsey Davis' series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an "informer" (private eye) in the Rome of Vespasian's day, are the comfort mysteries I snatch up as soon as they come out. Not only are the plots interesting and the backdrops exotic, but the characters are wonderful—Falco...up from the gutter, tough, honest, loyal and cynical as all hell; Helena Justina...patrician, ascerbic, cultured, loving and cynical as all hell; as well as a wide, ever-growing cast of supporting characters you grow to love or despise as their personalities demand.

This is the ninteenth in that series. It's not the best, having a slight flavor of formula based upon the previous books. I have no idea if this is a momentary dip—as will all series of this length, there have been greater and lesser stories—or whether Davis is tiring of it. I sure as hell hope not the latter.

If you like mysteries and you've never tried this series, I definitely recommend you pick up Silver Pigs (the first book) and give it a try. If you're already reading the series, this one isn't one of the best, but it's still fun.

I have had Silver Pigs on Planet TBR for too many years to count. I am definitely going o have to get my hands on a copy!

: The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, translated by Stephen Sartarelli

Mystery
218 pages



Bottom Line: Not my cup of tea.

---

My Review: Note: I've edited this review after reading an article on the challenges faced by Sartarelli in translating Camilleri.

I picked this up because a fair number of other LibraryThing members have enjoyed it but, I have to say, it didn't work for me.

The locale (Sicily) was exotic and interesting but that's about it for positive aspects.

I found the story awkward and choppy—it simply didn't flow along, one scene leading to another in a graceful fashion. Everything, from the events of the story to the thoughts of the characters, seemed to strike jarringly, sometimes out of the blue, sometimes just awkwardly. More importantly, I did not find the characters enjoyable. They were emotionally flat and somewhat lifeless. I left the book knowing little about Montalbano and caring less.

Finally, I found the language a bit of a distraction. Originally, I thought this was the fault of the translator. However, after reading an essay on the difficulties of translating Camilleri's style, I fault the author. In a plot-driven book, unless the story line deliberately has the protagonist as an outsider, I don't want to feel like a foreigner looking in; I want to feel that these are people I might know. However, the people in this story did not come across like they were speaking colloquially. It sounds like it was the author's choice to do this, but it didn't work for me.

I doubt I'll pick up another in this series. For mysteries set in Italy, I much prefer Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti stories.

#72 - As one of the ardent lovers of Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this book more. I must say that I didn't feel that the story was awkward or choppy, and felt that the translator did an amazing job capturing nuances of speech, which is only helped by his notes at the back of the book. But, I respect your opinion. We can't all enjoy the same books after all! Thanks for giving it a go though :)

#72 Another Montalbano fan here. I also didn't care so much for the first book, but have liked each subsequent book more than the last. This was my first translated mystery. I got the second book in audio and was able to get a better feel for the flow of the language and the sound of the names. Since then, I've been able to read them very happily. The personalities of the characters are revealed bit by bit. I hope you'll decide to give them another chance.

#74 - While I enjoyed the first book - after all it compelled me to continue reading the series - I agree that each story gets progressively better. Part of that is due to Camilleri's measured revelations into the characters, as you so eloquently stated. The third book was especially exciting in this regard.

#75 I agree - it was the 3rd book which really hooked me.

>> The Silver Pigs
Oh, so glad to learn about this series. I really liked the Elizabeth Eyre Curtains for the Cardinal mysteries.

>73 petermc:: felt that the translator did an amazing job capturing nuances of speech

Peter, I guess that's exactly the problem, in my mind: I don't think he did. I felt he did a good job of making a native speaker sound non-native...which aren't the right nuances for a book of this type.

There are some books where the premise of the story is that the reader is peering into a foreign culture. In books of that type, I expect the English to sound a bit stilted or awkward to my American ear. E.g., The book, Potiki, that I just read was such a story.

However, I don't accept that this was the premise here. Camilleri wasn't trying to write about Sicily for foreigners; he was writing in his native tongue for native listeners. In a book of this sort, my expectation is that I feel like I am listening to my native tongue. Otherwise, you have characters sounding like they're speaking a foreign language and the book becomes about the "alien-ness" rather than the plot...not the right thing for a genre mystery.

I think the best translators are able to take the idiom...or nuances of speech, if you will...of one language and translate it to the idiom of another. Individuals like Tiina Nunally do this exceptionally well. However, to my ear, Sartarelli was not so good at it.

>74 sjmccreary:: I hope you'll decide to give them another chance

Sandy, I don't know—maybe some day. It's hard to get excited by "well, they'll get better...read two more" :-D

I wanted to like it in the sense that I like picking up new mystery series for summer reading, but I just didn't warm to Montalbano. I know you say that Camilleri will reveal more of the characters as time goes by but, at this point, Montalbano is just a cardboard character about whom I know little other than that he has a temper and some strange relationship with a woman up on the mainland.

The first was a quick read; I suppose I could try two more. But, my TBR stack is quite high right now, so, are you guaranteeing it's worth it? ;-)

#78 Oh, no guarantees! ;-) But, as you said, they are quick reads. If you think about it, slip one in between two heavies. What have you got to lose?

I totally hear what you are saying about the cardboard character that you know little about. I felt the same way. But I felt that they really began to come to life in the next couple of books.

Although, we may have a fundamental difference of opinion in the translation thing. I agree with Peter that the translator captured the feeling of a native Sicilian speaking to other natives. When I read a book in translation - any book - I want the English to be understandable, but I also want to get a feel for the flow of the original language - I want to be able to peer into the foreign culture, as you put it. There are so many cultural references here that are foreign to me, that if the translation sounded like native English it would just be too inconsistent. By having English that is obviously not native, I am far more sensitive to other components that are also not native to me.

So, if the translation is that bothersome, maybe you are right to say "no more". For me, though, it is a lot of the reason I'm enjoying the series.

>79 sjmccreary:: Well, maybe I'll give it a try on your recommendation. The characterizations (or lack thereof) were the major problem for me in the book. The plot was average—nothing tricky or exciting, but nothing horrible—so, if the characters become more human they might be enjoyable.

I guess we have to agree to disagree on the translation thing. I would side with your sentiments with many...perhaps even most...books but not with entirely plot-driven stuff. For them I want to be part of the crowd, not the outsider—I don't want D'Artagnan sounding like some relic of a strange culture; I want to feel he's someone I know. But, it's OK that we don't agree. :-D

I'm de-lurking from my leech status to ask about the Donna Leon books. I read two of the Camilleri series and agree with you that the characters are completely flat but you say that you enjoy the Donna Leon books more. What is the first book to try by her? Do you read a lot of mysteries?

>81 CanadaPile:: The first is Death at La Fenice. I enjoy them a lot, not only for the characters and plots, but also for Leon's social commentaries.

I wouldn't say that I read a lot of mysteries (certainly not like my mother who polished off 5-10 a week). Like a lot of people here, I read a variety of book types. If you look at the list for this year so far, I think you'll see.

I do, however, tend to read a few more in the summer simply because mysteries and science fiction are the kind of thing I like to take out while watching the kids in the pool, and the amount of good science fiction has plummeted. (Having said that, I'm enjoying The Sparrow right now.)

Well... I'm totally bewildered that anyone can find Camilleri's characters flat, but I suppose we will all have to agree to disagree, and that all right with me!

I actually wasn't going to comment again on this topic, but I thought the following link might be of some interest: Notes from the Purer Linguistic Sphere of Translation by Stephen Sartarelli

As for Donna Leon, I have yet to read anything by her, but I do have her first book Death at La Fenice.

Another book in my collection that is set in Sicily, of the Suspense genre, is M.F. Bloxam's debut novel, Night Battles. I look forward to reading this early next month.

Regards

>83 petermc:: I'm totally bewildered that anyone can find Camilleri's characters flat

Well, sjmccreary found them that way but thought it changed around book #3. Perhaps reading many of the books casts a perspective back on the early ones that those just starting out don't have?

Either way, it doesn't matter; the different reactions make things interesting.

An interesting essay. I will retract my comments then that Sartarelli was clumsy and say, instead, that I find Camilleri's deliberate distancing of language distracting in a mystery.

Thanks for that link.

I've given the book to a friend who was born and raised (until early 20s) in Calabria. It's not Sicily, but it's about as close as you can get geographically. I'll be interested to see what he says.

ETA: I'll be interested to see what you think of Night Battles. The reviews average pretty lack-luster but that might simply mean it hasn't hit the right audience, yet.

#84 - I've given the book to a friend...

Please let us know what your friend thinks.

Perhaps reading many of the books casts a perspective back on the early ones that those just starting out don't have?

I believe that can be true, but here is part of my review of The Shape of Water, written shortly after I read it, without the benefit of reading the following books in the series. I was captured by the characterisation from the very beginning. Anyway, horses for courses. It's been fun :)

"For me the success of a mystery series lies in the characterisation and a sense of place. In my eyes Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse has always epitomised this harmonious marriage of elements. Now, the crown goes to Andrea Camilleri. Set in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata, Montalbano moves through a world dominated by politics and the mafia, amongst rich and engaging characters that capture the spectrum and essence of Sicilian society, rejoicing in the Sicilian passion for good food and good wine. And Camilleri writes with such wit and humour it's hard not to be swept along in the story almost in spite of the mystery!"

Tad,

I hope you don't mind me barging in here. Thank you for leaving open the possibility that The Night Battles has perhaps not hit the right audience yet. This, of course, is what I am hoping, and what I would even argue for. But then I'm the author.

I do feel that the LT Early Reviewers beat the novel up a bit. I suspect that most requested the book expecting it to be more of a conventional suspense/thriller, and then felt somewhat confused and betrayed when they discovered that it was another animal altogether. I would be the first to say that the novel is not for everyone, and was never meant for a large general audience. Many readers may never have read anything like it (it's been compared to DeLillo's The Names), and so may have judged it by standards of plot and narrative style that the book was never intended to meet.

We'll see what Peter thinks.

Best,

M.F. Bloxam

: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Science Fiction
405 pages



Bottom Line: An exception to the "it's hard to find good science fiction nowadays" position and probably enjoyable even by those who don't like science fiction that much.

---

My Review: I thought this was good science fiction, not landing among the pantheon of the Greats, but worth reading.

The entire story centers around a Jesuit mission to be the first to contact the inhabitants of a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. The author deliberately draws upon the parallels with the Jesuit missions to the New World three centuries ago. It is "soft" science fiction—less concerned with spaceships than with psychological issues—and I think it's entirely possible that the only reason it was science fiction at all was because there are no real "first contact" possibilities in the modern world and historical novels are too constrained by, well, the actual events of history. In fact, there's very little science in the story and the only effort you'll have to make is to move the dates of the story by a half-century or more in your mind (your call on the rate of technology progress). If you don't, you'll be wondering why you aren't reading about a few technological advances in today's newspapers...mining the asteroids, for example. For the rest, the author just sort of waves her hands at the mass driver for the spaceship and the hyper-efficient solar panels.

Ms. Russell has succeeded at type of plot structure that I think many authors fail at: the book starts with the present and then, in a series of flashbacks, tells you why the present looks the way it does. I usually find these somewhat boring; the author often fails to make the past anything but completely evident in the present and, so, why bother reading further? However, this book has done a good job of keeping up the suspense. The story opens with Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest who is crippled and mentally unstable, being brought before the head of his order to explain what happened.

Why is everyone else on the expedition dead? Why did the second expedition, who rescued him, accuse him of murdering a child in front of their eyes? Why have all the muscles on his hands been surgically removed? The mysteries go on and on and, by-and-large, are well answered. I say by-and-large because a few of the minor questions have unsatisfying answers, particularly those dealing with the harm inflicted directly on him, but I don't think these ruined the story.

What did I like most about this? The aliens, for one. You get a sense of the fact that Ms. Russell is an anthropologist by trade. I didn't find them to be "humans in funny suits" or cardboard. I thought the action portions of the story also worked well in a John Carter of Mars sort of way. Perhaps it was the lack of science in the story, but there was a real feel of the Golden Age pulps to this. I particularly enjoyed the discussions about celibacy and sacrifice.

What disappointed me? Mainly the spiritual side-story. What was intended to be the major theme here was Sandoz' search for faith and God. However, we never really experience it; we just hear characters talking about it. This was a classic case where you want to say, "don't tell me, show me." The result was that, while I liked him a lot as an individual, I wasn't invested in his spiritual struggle. I didn't get any sense of identification with him and his spiritual triumphs and failures didn't move me or even resonate that much. I felt Ms. Russell simply rushed through this aspect of the book, particularly in the final events on the alien world.

In the end, it was a good science fiction story. It is extremely readable; you end up liking the characters...even the slightly corny ones...and caring what happens to them. It could have been a great one, but it failed to capitalize on its real strength: the spiritual journey of Father Sandoz.

I think this one's got enough mass appeal that you might want to try it even if you aren't a real science fiction aficionado.

Tad;
Congratulations on your Hot Review for The Sparrow!~! Very well done sir and an excellent review. Thank you.
belva

Thanks Belva.

#87 Another excellent review TadAD. I read The Sparrow about 10 years ago and did not care much for it. I've recently added it to the TBR pile for a re-read since my tastes often change.

Please add my congratulations regarding your hot review for The Sparrow. I'm with Lorie on this one...I read it when it was released as an advanced reading copy. My friends loved it. I felt sick after reading it. It was too graphic for me.

But, I appreciate your review nonetheless!

Nice review on The Sparrow. I have to say I'm one of those who loved it because it read like a history and social study as opposed to a science fiction. I find myself getting fed up very quickly of sf that revolve around technology and not around people.

#92: I have to say I'm one of those who loved it because it read like a history and social study as opposed to a science fiction.

I was the same way about The Sparrow, lunacat. I loved the book, but never felt that it was science fiction, despite parts of the book being set on another planet.

>92 lunacat:, 93: Perhaps your definition of science fiction is too narrow? *grin*

: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Popular Fiction
322 pages in hardcover



Bottom Line:Filled with delightful moments of wicked humor; equally filled with pace-destroying philosophical ponderings; an ending that came out of left field—in the balance, I enjoyed this little spin on some fairy tale themes but it wouldn't be my top recommendation from this small press.

---

My Review: I've read and really enjoyed two other Europa Editions books (Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio and Cooking with Fernet Branca) and really expected to love this one, especially since it was a runaway bestseller in Europe. However, I can't say that I did.

I felt like there were two works interleaved with each other.

The first was the story of two of the residents of #7 Rue de Grenelle in Paris. We are introduced to Renée Michel, deliberately striving to hide behind the stereotype of a Parisian concierge and conceal her intelligence, her love for Tolstoy, Mozart and the Dutch Masters. We also meet Paloma Josse, a rich, precocious pre-teen whose skewering observations on her social class lead her to a decision to kill herself on her thirteenth birthday rather than become what she despises. This story is darkly humorous, full of rich and absurd commentary on privilege, popular culture and pretension. It starts a bit slowly but I quickly found myself becoming invested in these two...despite their faults and minor hypocrisies...and impatient to have their stories re-enter the book.

The second is a platform for the author to wax philosophical on the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Through the first few of these interludes, I would simply grin and bear it. By the time I was three quarters of the way through the book, I found them simply mind-numbing. They exuded that faux-profoundness of a group of college undergraduates and absolutely destroyed the pace of a story I was really enjoying.

The ending. I can envision a lively group discussion about the ending. I won't say what it was, of course, though that makes it very hard to discuss. In my opinion, it didn't work. Perhaps it resonates with some particular European sensibility but, despite being (perhaps!) consistent with some of the philosophy expressed by Renée, it was simply too...I'm not sure of the word, perhaps "artificial"?...for my taste.

In the end, I don't think this book lives up to the standard it, itself, sets for books (when you get to the part about plums, you'll know what I mean). I'd like to do a William Goldman on it and create The Elegance of the Hedgehog: The Good Parts Version.

Enjoyed, but definitely not my favorite Europa Editions creation.

Tad
This must be a very popular book. I often try to obtain it from my library but the waiting list is long. I think I'll have to break down and buy it.

Thanks for yet another excellent review!

> 95 I enjoyed your review of Elegance. It sounds like a book I would really like, so I will still give it a try. You've given me some "discussion questions" to think about while I'm reading. :)

I doubt much reading today as I stayed up most of the night watching movies as I sorted through them. It's kind of like trying to organize books...you end up sitting there just re-reading.

Each year, we take three or four movies on vacation with us to the cabin. We invite the neighbors from around, hang sheets over the windows, make popcorn the old-fashioned way (pot, oil, corn...no microwave), fire up a small generator (the cabin is propane powered for lights, stove and fridge, so no electric running normally) and have Movie Night.

What's playing is entirely up to the projectionist (that's me) and is almost always an older movie.

This year's selections will include:

It Happened One Night: One of my favorites. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in the hands of Frank Capra. My daughters love this one.

The Guns of Navarone: Gregory Peck, David Niven. My son and his friends will like this.

The Court Jester: Danny Kaye. Just remember: "The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!" Get it? Got it! Good!

Only Angels Have Wings: Not one of Cary Grant's most famous movies so, hopefully, it will be new to a lot of people up there. Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth...what's not to like?

Casablanca...because it goes up every year...being the best movie ever made and all. ;-D

Friends always tease me about how the "best movie" can star an actress who's not even in my top 5: Ingrid Bergman. My reply is always, "Of course they had to put someone like Bergman in. If they had used someone like Bacall, there's no way Rick would have ever let Ilsa go!"

One day, I'd like to combine Movie Night with another tradition up there, the Floating Cocktail Party. A bunch of people take their boats into a secluded back cove, lash them together and have a cocktail party. There's a cliff in that cove. I'd like to hang a big bed sheet up there and have Drive In Movie. A friend has one of those super-quiet, portable Honda generators we could put on the back of a boat to power the projector. I just can't figure out how we'd avoid attracting a zillion mosquitoes!

ETA: If you like old movies, what are your favorites?

I love old movies! They just do not make them like that any more. My all-time favorite is The Wizard of Oz, but being a huge Bogie fan, I have to throw in To Have and Have Not, his first movie with Lauren Bacall, Key Largo (Edward G. Robinson makes a wonderful bad guy), The African Queen and the aforementioned Casablanca.

It Happened One Night and The Court Jester are wonderful old films.

Others I like:

Mr Smith Goes to Washington, You Can't Take it With You, Arsenic and Old Lace, The More the Merrier (Hilarious) Rear Window, The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, Bringing Up Baby, Meet Me in St Louis, Father Goose, Charade, That Touch of Mink, Operation Petticoat.........I'm sure I'll think of more.

Can you tell I was brought up on old American films??

I love all those you've both mentioned except that I've never seen The More the Merrier.

Stasia, To Have and Have Not generates groans from my son I watch it so often. I'll pretty much watch any Bogie film...if it's got Bacall, it's not even a question of whether I'll watch or not.

We were just having an argument at work about the relative merits of the book ending and the movie ending of The African Queen. I like them both, though slightly favor the book ending.

lunacat, from that list, it looks like you're a huge Grant fan. Last year was Father Goose; I absolutely love that movie though my favorite of his will always be The Bishop's Wife.

I just found my copy of High Noon. I'll have to put that aside for next year! ;-)

Tad, my hubby and I regularly have Bogie film festivals so I can relate!

I'm a huge Grant and Stewart fan. Any film with either of them in is fine by me. I don't think I've seen The Bishop's Wife so I will look out for it.

I don't watch many movies. But, my favorite oldies are On the Waterfront, Raging Bull (does that one count as "old"?), Some Like it Hot, and The Apartment (yes, I'm definitely a Jack Lemmon fan), along with Citizen Kane and West Side Story.

Tad
I love your description of movie night! What a great vacation tradition.

>103 lunacat:: lunacat, just a quick jot as I sit in a rest stop in Massachusetts waiting for my son to get a burger. The Bishop's Wife is my favorite Christmas movie. David Niven as the minister, Loretta Young as his wife, Cary Grant as Dudley, the angel sent to help them who falls in love with her. It's just great! It was remade with Denzel Washington and called The Preacher's Wife but, even though I really like him as an actor, it's nowhere close. Some movies just shouldn't be remade!

It Happened One Night, Casablanca, Only Angels Have Wings are all big favorites in my house! "Calling Baranca" is a catch phrase around here.

I am not a huge Ingrid B. fan but also like Hitchcock's Notorious with her, Cary Grant and Claude Rains.

Also enjoy Hawks' comedies His Girl Friday and I Was A Male War Bride.

I love Jean Arthur and I love her character in Only Angels, which is very like Bacall's in To Have and Have Not. Also like Arthur in the films The More the Merrier and The Devil and Miss Jones.

#107

I forgot about I Was A Male War Bride! Very funny film.

It always surprises me how many films that I love have Jean Arthur as the female lead.

#98 favorite old movies

I'll answer before I read the other posts because I have so many favorites that I'd probably just say "me, too!"

You are taking 3 of my favorites: It Happened One Night; The Guns of Navarone; and Casablanca.

I would add: My Man Godfrey with William Powell & Carole Lombard; either Philadelphia Story or Bringing up Baby with Katherine Hepburn & Cary Grant; The African Queen with Katherine Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart; Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck; and Charade with Audrey Hepburn & Carey Grant.

I'd take more, but it's a short vacation and you really should do something beside watch movies! :-D

Yep--I was right--a lot of "me, too" on those posts. But no one mentioned His Girl Friday!

>107 marise: & 108: I had a total crush on Jean Arthur as a kid after seeing Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the first time.

marise, about your comment "I love her character in Only Angels, which is very like Bacall's in To Have and Have Not:

There's an interesting anecdote over on IMDB about how Hawkes wanted Arthur to subtly sex up the role of Bonnie a bit and she demurred. Later, seeing how Bacall did it in To Have and Have Not, she regretted that choice. The anecdote is here down under "Fun Stuff".

It would have been interesting to see Jean Arthur try that. I always think of her more as the fresh-faced type whereas Bacall was pure, distilled sex appeal in THAHN. However, I think my favorite Bacall role was actually as Vivian in The Big Sleep.

>109 MusicMom41:: Carolyn, I love Roman Holiday and Charade. I love Jimmy Stewart but the The Philadelphia Story isn't my favorite of his roles. I loved him in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Harvey, The Shop Around the Corner (another movie that should not have been remade), and Rear Window. And, of course, the latter segues through Grace Kelly into another wonderful Cary Grant movie: To Catch a Thief...my favorite role of hers, though High Noon gives it a run.

Now I want to go watch movies!

I like The Thin Man, Roman Holiday and Guys and Dolls. I also like the Dagwood and Blondie movies.

>110 MusicMom41:, see #107. I do mention it! One of my favorites. Grant and Russell were friends and Grant introduced Russell to the man she married.

>111 TadAD: Jean Arthur was never lovelier than in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington imho! Something about the way she was photographed in that film, I could watch her forever. Her scenes with Thomas Mitchell are wonderful, don't you think? Her character is somewhat cynical and I like that, too.

Thanks for the Arthur/Bacall anecdote. If I remember correctly, the two characters even have some of the same lines! "I'm hard to get, all you have to do is ask me," is one of them I think. Hawks is one of my husband's favorite directors, especially when there are airplanes involved. Did you know that his brother (Mary Astor's 1st husband, btw) was killed in an aviation accident?

I like Bacall better in The Big Sleep also.

I'm glad you mention The Shop Around the Corner another of my favorites. I don't always like Stewart (or Margaret Sullavan) but this movie charms me into watching it every time it is on TCM. I like Harvey, Rear Window and Bell Book and Candle also. His work with Anthony Mann is good, too.

eta: Vertigo! How could I forget that one?! Love the score, too.

I first saw The Shop Around the Corner after You've Got Mail and couldn't believe how much better the older film was. Why do people insist on remaking instead of making original new films??

>114 lunacat:: Why do people insist on remaking instead of making original new films??

Lack of imagination and creativity?

>113 marise:: I love Hawks also. I own copies of six or seven of his movies and will pick up more as time goes by. I didn't know about his brother.

Mary Astor--there's one actress I've never warmed to; I don't know why. I'll watch something like The Maltese Falcon but it's in spite of her, not because of her.

Kim Novak, now that's a different story! I've only seen her in Vertigo and Bell, Book and Candle but I loved her in both. Sort of the perfect icy blonde—very unlike her spinoff character, Samantha Stephens. ;-)

I'm placing my vote for To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck was outstanding as Atticus Finch.

I'm a fan of the old musicals--Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland--High Society, Meet Me in St. Louis, Summer Stock are all favorites.

#113

Sorry, marise--I must have been reading "every other line!" :-)

#114 luna

The Shop Around the Corner was 1st remade about 10 years after the original. It was called In the Good Old Summertime--even though most of the story takes place in winter--and starred Van Johnson and, I think, Judy Garland (it might have been June Allyson--since she seemed to do a lot of remakes). You've Got Mail at least improved on that remake!

This reminds me of one of my favorite movies I forgot to mention--Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden. The remake of that movie surely has to be in the running for "worst remake ever!"

>119 MusicMom41:

I also like the original Sabrina. I learned how to crack an egg by watching Audrey Hepburn demonstrate in that movie!

Which reminds me of another Audrey movie I love: Two for the Road.

I love:
Mildred Pierce,
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,
Laura,
Little Women, of course with the lovely Kate,
How the West Was Won,
The Great Escape,
How Green was My Valley,
Citizen Kane,
Track of the Cat,
Sorry, Wrong Number,
Rear Window,
The Apartment,
All the old Bette Davis movies,
Shane and the list goes on and on.
My family NEVER lets me choose the video on movie night at our house!~! LOL

I think you have started a new thread Tad and just haven't realized it yet. Ha!
belva

belva

I love your whole list except Track of the Cat--I've never seen it--or heard of it. Now I have one to try to track down! Thanks. :-) Little Women definitely with Kate! The remake was one of June Allyson's--no offense intended; she was perky but no Katherine Hepburn. And no Jo March, either!

Tad

You may have created a "monster!" Who knew so many people were into vintage movies? My family is a little more tolerant than belva's -- probably because I let them watch without me if I don't like the movie they pick! ;-) Unfortunately, where I live now none of my friends like old movies--anything before 1990 is definitely passe to them.

Anybody ever watch Sink the Bismark with Kenneth More and Dana Wynter? Great Naval (British) film! For an American Naval film try the movie version of Run Silent, Run Deep with Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. I like the movie but I like the book even better. Just don't do both in the same year--"only the title hasn't been changed"--an exaggeration but not much of one!

Yes and yes!~! Both of which are excellent. The oldest movie I have seen that I thought brilliant was the silent version of "Ben Hur". Have you seen that one?
"The Track of the Cat" starred Beulah Bondi and Robert Mitchem and came out about 1952 or so I would guess. It's about a cattle ranch waaaaay back in the mountains and winter is on and there is a "painter" after the cattle. So the boys saddle up and go after it. Old Beulah was something, wasn't she?

Maybe we should start a vintage movie thread for the 75 books Challenge Group? Tad might want his thread back!

>122 MusicMom41: Have you seen The Cruel Sea or In Which We Serve? Both British, the last one with Noel Coward, both very moving.

The name doesn't ring a bell. Who was in it?
Your post was only half there when I did mine. that is laff out loud funny. I have never seen that before.
I've not seen the latter. Not sure about the former.

The Cruel Sea is based on a book by Nicholas Monsarrat and has Jack Hawkins, Denholm Elliot, and a very young and lovely Virginia McKenna. I am not as familiar with the other actors.

Another film I just remembered as an absolute joy to watch is Kind Hearts and Coronets . Alec Guinness in eight different parts...........priceless

# 124 marise

I've never seen either of those and they aren't available at Amazon but I will check netflix for them when I have a chance. I've added The Cruel Sea to my wishlist so I'll probably wait a while to watch the move so I won't be too influenced by the book.

#127 luna

That's a great movie! But almost everything Alec Guinness was in was great. Our Man in Havana was one I loved (Burl Ives was a favorite of mine also--both acting and singing) and I recently bought the book--I've never read it. For those who want to "click" for more info: Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene.

ETA "Tad might want his thread back!" Hey, he started it! We're just trying to help him get ideas to add to his movie collection! :-D

I don't mind. This is kind of fun.

>121 rainpebble:: belva,

I saw the TV show of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" before I saw the movie. I found the latter a bit disconcerting at first with the rather different plot but, after it was over, realized how much I preferred its story line.

>122 MusicMom41:: Carolyn,

I think Run Silent, Run Deep is great both as a book and a movie. Have you ever seen U-571? It's a submarine picture, also, which is why it came to mind. I thought it had a real "old movie" flavor to it even though it's fairly modern.

>126 marise:: marise,

I've never seen the movie of The Cruel Sea but I enjoyed the book. I think Monsarrat seems rather unknown these days; so few people I ask have heard of him. His The Kapillan of Malta and The White Rajah are well worth reading in addition to The Cruel Sea.

>119 MusicMom41: & 120: One problem with the remake of Sabrina was that Harrison Ford was way too old for that role! Another was the Julia Ormond is simply no Audrey Hepburn...not even close.

>128 MusicMom41: I also bought Our Man in Havana because I love the movie so much! I haven't read it yet, so if you decide to read it soon, let me know and I will, too. Then we can discuss movie vs book!

>129 TadAD: I have three books by Monsarrat, but have only read one of them, Leave Cancelled. My aunt gave me her copy of this book when I was a teenager, saying that it had been considered scandalous when it came out in 1945 (she was a teen in '45), but that she thought it lovely. It certainly wasn't scandalous by 1970's standards! However, I loved it. Hubby has read parts of Cruel Sea and pronounced it very good. I also have The Nylon Pirates, picked it up just because of the other two. Must look for the two others you mentioned.

I thought of another favorite film: Unfaithfully Yours 1948, with Rex Harrison, directed by Preston Sturges, another of my favorite directors. It is absolutely hilarious!

>131 marise:: I've read The Nylon Pirates. It was enjoyable, though I didn't like it as much as the other three I mentioned. I've also read Smith and Jones and Castle Garac; they were about the same as The Nylon Pirates in my opinion.

I've never read Leave Cancelled and will keep an eye out for it. I haven't thought of Monsarrat for years!

I've now got How to Steal a Million playing, with Peter O'Toole and Audrey Hepburn. It's getting late, but only another 45 minutes or so to go. :-D

>130 TadAD: Well, actually, Bogart was a little old for Audrey, too, but who cares?! I don't even know who Julia O. is, but I know you are right. There was only one Audrey.

On the Waterfront
The Blackboard Jungle
The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
To Kill A Mockingbird
Rebecca
Bell, Book and Candle
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Oh noes, I'm late to the discussion! I adore the Fred Astaire films, and anything with Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart... I think I could watch 'Arsenic and Old Lace' every day of my life and still laugh...

Just my 2 cents :)

And worth every penny!~!
I also watch anything with Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. They never overacted, were always understated and played it just right. Same with Gary Cooper.
But then there is Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, both of whom I love and will watch all their movies and they were both over the top --- always!~!

Love the way this thread is going! This makes me want to start watching all the old movies again.
Recently my boyfriend insisted we watch Psycho - he's a big Hitchcock fan - I had never seen it! It was fun - Hitchcock had such an interesting mind.

>138 dihiba:: My family always plays the game of "find Hitchcock" in the movie. We just saw Saboteur for the first time and it took two watchings to find him.

: The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein

Memoir
320 pages in hardcover



Bottom Line: I ended up captivated by the inhabitants of this memoir about a childhood spent in extreme poverty and religious bigotry.

---

My Review: Somehow, the first pages didn't encourage me. The extremely simple voice made me wonder whether his writing style was going to become tedious. The opening paragraphs made me think "uh oh, another 300 page whine about oppression." I don't know why...just my mood, perhaps.

It didn't really matter. Within a few pages more those thoughts had flown and I was simply reading. The simple writing style did not become tedious. The whines about oppression never appeared—in fact, there was never any whining about anything in a life that held more than its share of hardship.

At age 95, Harry Bernstein wrote his first book, a memoir of his life in a poor Lancashire mill town. Part of the story is about poverty, about a family with so little money that buying any food was, sometimes, a major problem. Part of it is about the trap of too little education and opportunity. More of the story is about the invisible wall—the divide that stretched up the middle of his street: all the houses on one side rented by Christians, all the houses on his side rented by Jews.

What I liked most about this book was that he simply recounted the stories, not particularly taking sides or drawing "larger meaning" from things. We see that, yes, there was a lot of anti-Semitism in the neighborhood but, at the same time, we see bigotry directed against the Christians with equal clarity and force.

The subtitle of the book is "A Love Story that Broke Barriers" and the much of the story focuses on a romance that crossed that wall. The author doesn't try to create a lot of suspense in the story; the reader can predict much of what will happen long before it actually occurs. However, I didn't find this objectionable—he simply tells the story in the chronology that his young self was able to understand or realize things and allows the adult reader to see ahead.

I understand there is a sequel picking up the next phase of his life after his family came to America. I don't know if I'll read it or not; it might be better to just leave things where they ended, allowing the epilogue of the book to let us know how everything turned out.

Definitely recommended. I'm waffling between 3½ stars and a "strongly recommended" 4 stars. I'll start conservatively but may change my mind later.

#140: I have not read the sequel either yet, Tad, even though I read the first book last year. If you do decide to read it, I will be watching for you review.

I can't believe I missed the movie discussion - this is what happens when I take a day off from LT! I'm only just getting into vintage movies - I love them, but being only 23 and all, I haven't seen that many. My family definitely does not share my taste.

Anyway, my favs so far are anything at all with Audrey Hepburn - I absolutely love her, especially in Roman Holiday. I don't think anyone has mentioned Breakfast at Tiffany's yet; I guess it is her most iconic role, and I do enjoy the film, but I don't think it is her best. I also love Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, Philedelphia Story, and An Affair to Remember. I really think he is the most charming, suave man ever. Casablanca is of course brillant, and I love Gone With the Wind, which I don't think has been mentioned either. Clark Cable gets me every time!

Oh, and I also enjoy Olivier's version of Wuthering Heights, even though it isn't very faithful to the book, which is one of my all-time favourites.

I live in a small town without a decent DVD rental store, so the only time I can watch an older movie is if I buy it, or if one happens to be playing on one of our movie channels - which isn't very often. Tad, I am majorly jealous of your movie night, and your collection of movies, which sounds huge!

Oh, and Tad I have to ask - who are your top 5 favourite actresses? What about actors?

I thought of another old movie that I love. "Long Days Journey Into Night" with Katherine Hepburn. She is excellent in that flick. It is one of my favorite plays too.

Oh and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" with Elizabeth Taylor!

>143 Cait86:: It all depends on the criteria: actresses I think talented, actresses I think sexy, actresses that make me laugh, etc. However, if you did some incredibly complex weighting scheme on all factors that boiled down to seat-of-the-pants, it would probably boil down to something like: Barbara Stanwyck, Lauren Bacall, Jean Arthur, Katherine Hepburn, with Audrey Hepburn and Jean Simmons fighting over the last place.

Men? I don't know, probably: Bogart, Grant, Cooper, Guiness and Peck.

>141 alcottacre:: I'll let you know if I read it, Stasia, though I doubt it will happen. I like where The Invisible Wall ended.

I did too which is why I have never gotten around to the sequel :)

Oh LOL on the movies! All favorites of mine listed, but Tad, years ago when I first had no television cable service, but lots of VHS movies, the deal with my kids was we would watch one of "theirs" and one of "mine." That meant, ironically enough, when they reached high school, they didn't think black and white movies were weird. They were also more aware of acting styles and period works than their peers "in the business." And they have favorites too (some of mine not mentioned earlier are included here).

Laura; Tortilla Flat; Sea of Grass; Topper; Arsenic and Old Lace; The Women; No Time for Sergeants; Gaslight; Pat and Mike; His Girl Friday; My Favorite Wife; Palm Beach Story; It Happened One Night; Sullivan's Travels; etc., etc., etc.

Also anything directed by Cukor, Sturges, Stevens. Anything with Clifton Webb or Monty Woolley in it was also acceptable.

Of course, I had to reciprocate with some dillies of "great" films that were current, but I'm pleased to report that their tastes evolved so they can appreciate the great, the near great, and the not-so-great (but often guilty pleasures). I have to add, in truth-advertising here, that I am a huge fan of Jean Claude Van Damm's and Steven Seagal's action flicks. They are the equivalent of a "no-brainer" for the evening.

Laura is one my whole family will watch with me and one of my top 10 favorites. My "guilty pleasure"--and the one hubby uses to bribe me when he really wants to watch a movie with me is The Hunt for Red October.

My guilty pleasures are anything with Kurt Russell in them: Big Trouble in Little China, Captain Ron, Soldier...I like them all.

See everyone in a few weeks.

Have a wonderful vacation, Tad! Take lots of pictures!

>153 TadAD:: Take lots of pictures!

I'm heading out now but I'll leave you with one from last year.

Have you ever wondered what a Poor Man's "Houseboat" looked like?

Now you know.

Hi
I hope you had a wonderful vacation.

Please disregard the message I posted on your home page. I found the directions!

Thanks!

: A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King

Mystery
275 pages



Bottom Line: Third in the Mary Russell series—much more enjoyable than the preceding A Monstrous Regiment of Women, if not quite a return to The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

---

My Review: I was sorely disappointed by the previous volume, A Monstrous Regiment of Women; it was nowhere near as fresh and exciting as the book that introduced this series. If this third book had proved similar, I think I would have abandoned reading them. However, I was quite pleased to find that this book picked up the pace again. It wasn't quite as fun as The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Having thought about it for a bit, I'm not sure why. I can only conclude that Mary Russell married and partner to Sherlock simply isn't as fun as Mary Russell, student and (somewhat) competitor of Sherlock. Still, the mystery is entertaining and the characters are fun to follow.

Friends have said they find Mary's scholarly bend a bit of a distraction from her role as sleuth but I disagree. I find that it rounds out her character quite nicely and provides a clear distinction between her and the decidedly non-scholarly Holmes. I also like the echoes of Harriet Vane in Gaudy Night that are evoked within my mind. And, of course, I enjoyed the opportunity it afforded her of meeting that rather odd fellow pottering about Oxford, Tolkien.

Laurie R. King is one of my favorite writers and I'm glad that this series survived a minor derailment and is back on track.

Welcome back!

I just downloaded from audible.com the first 3 installments of this series so it's nice to know that all three are enjoyable. Very good review as always.

: Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

General Fiction
636 pages



Bottom Line: Just plain a lot of fun to read.

---

My Review: This was a couple afternoons well spent. It's kind of hard to describe how this book came across other than just a much-more-colorful-than-life slice of life. Basically, a comic book concept—golems and fights from secret Antarctic bases—morphed into a novel, all about escape and escapism, heroes and triumphs over adversity.

At 600+ pages, it's not a quick book but I never found it plodding. Chabon sucked me in right from the opening scenes of the meeting between Joe and Sam and I didn't want to put it down. Joe's adventures escaping from the Holocaust and the drama of the pair breaking into creating comic books make the first half of the book fly by.

The book does peter out a bit in the last quarter. What starts out as a novel about two people, full of adventure, somehow ends up a story about just one of them with the other fading off into the background and the story line becoming more prosaic. Still, I was hooked by that time and anxious to find out what happened and there are moments that definitely move the reader even then. The good absolutely outweighs the not-so-good.

It was more upbeat than the other Chabon book I've read (The Yiddish Policemen's Union); I won't say better, just very different.

I definitely recommend this.

dihiba recommended this one.



: Gallows View by Peter Robinson

Mystery
309 pages



Bottom Line: It's not a bad start to a mystery series; hopefully Alan Banks will become more fleshed out in the succeeding books (I believe there are 17 so far).

---

My Review: This book reminded me a lot of Dorothy Simpson's Luke Thanet series. It had that same blend of the small English town with the police procedural feel (rather than a "cozy") and the author's writing style seemed very similar.

I enjoyed this first one. I won't rave about it—Banks is still a bit unfleshed and there's nothing particularly unique or suspenseful about the particular mystery here. On the other hand, a series gives ample time for the main character to be revealed and the book had a pleasant, "normal" feel to it...no extravagant situations or implausible inhabitants.

I'll hunt out the second one, A Dedicated Man.

This field is now in motion! Welcome back, Tad.

: Murder Most Holy by Paul Doherty

Mystery
243 pages



Bottom Line: An enjoyable period mystery, somewhat reminiscent of Ellis Peters' Cadfael books; third in the series.

---

My Review: I lost track of this series after the second book. The first two I found were written under the pseudonym of Paul Harding, later volumes seem to have switched to his real name.

I enjoy this series quite a bit, almost as much as Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series. These books have a similar feel, though they take place about two centuries later: Athelstan is a Dominican friar sentenced by his order to serve as the clerk for the Coroner of London after he broke his vows of obedience.

The mysteries are fun and the characters colorful. If you like historical mysteries, give these a try, starting with The Nightingale Gallery.

: April & Oliver by Tess Callahan

General Fiction
326 pages

Note: The author is a neighbor of mine, living a couple of houses up the street. I don't think that had any real influence on me other than ensuring I read the book, particularly since my reactions are not out of line with other reviews. But, you've been warned. :-)

---

Bottom Line: A very enjoyable story about star-crossed lovers that avoids a lot of the trite aspects we often encounter; a bit frustrating as I was never able to connect with Oliver, though April was very real.

---

My Review: My wife read it first and her comment was, "I enjoyed it but I'm not certain it's your normal type of book." Insofar as I have a normal type of book, this made me a bit uncertain and I wondered if I was in for what she calls "a woman's summer read" (not to be confused with chick lit).

Within twenty pages or so I had completely forgotten those thoughts and was simply enjoying the story. It's not my normal type of read but it was enjoyable. Take a basic story about a pair of friends who might have been lovers if only circumstances and timing worked. Then put some darkness and depth into their lives and don't resolve it with a clichéd fairy tale ending. The result worked for me.

Most of the characters came alive for me—I didn't particularly like them, but they felt real, which is what matters as far as I'm concerned. My only real problem with the book was that Oliver was an exception to this. He never came into focus, particularly as an object of desire for April. As the book progressed, April grew ever more real and rounded but Oliver just stayed fuzzy for me.

The language is very distinctive. It seemed very spare at first, yet the images she created were vivid and compelling. It reads easily and I finished the book in a single sitting.

My type of book or not, I'll read her next one.

Glad to see you back, Tad! And with lots of good book recommendations, too, to top your return off.

: Chindi by Jack McDevitt

Science Fiction
528 pages



Bottom Line: Just fair—it's certainly readable and will pass an afternoon well enough, but some of the characters are more caricatures and the plot fails to satisfy without a sequel.

---

My Review: Several friends who recommended this cited similarities to good Clarke or Heinlein. My response would paraphrase Dr. Evil:

"How about no!"
It does have a writing style similar to that era of science fiction, but I wouldn't go beyond saying that this is a serviceable science fiction story that will pass an afternoon.

It starts well. We are presented with what looks like a mysterious first contact story, perhaps even some kind of sinister surveillance of humanity. Unfortunately, by the end of the book, we aren't much farther along than that. The main plot has no resolution and, instead, we simply take a joy ride through the galaxy having minor adventures. I wouldn't have a real problem with this (that's why sequels exist, after all) if these adventures weren't populated with a set of ludicrously stereotypical characters. The only one that seemed vaguely real to me was Priscilla Hutchins, the ship's captain and main character. Otherwise, we have the self-made zillionaire who keeps getting people killed because "nothing can go wrong"; the egotistical scientist who will stop at nothing in the pursuit of his specialty; the incompetent bureaucrats who take all the credit for what goes right and blame others for all failures; the beautiful actress whose intelligence is not recognized because of her physical attributes...well, you get the idea.

By the end, I just wanted to get on with real story that, I assume, will come in some later book and wished that a few more of the crew had met stupid deaths so I didn't have to read about them anymore.

This book is a loose sequel to Deepsix in that it continues with some of the characters. However, it can easily be started without having read the previous stories. I haven't tried any of the books that follow it and, as I note above, it doesn't stand alone so well on that end—it needs a sequel to provide any real satisfaction.

I don't really recommend this. If you're a hard-core science fiction fan, you'll probably read it anyway but, if you're marginal on the genre, I'd suggest you look elsewhere. I'll probably check out the sequel to see if we get any farther in resolving the very interesting original premise of the book.

: The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

Fantasy
528 pages



Bottom Line: Another of Kay's "imaginary" histories, this one taking its inspiration from 13th century Spanish Reconquista. Definitely a good read, though not quite at the standard of his best works, such as The Last Light of the Sun.

---

My Review: Like his The Last Light of the Sun, this is a fantasy story that reads exactly like historical fiction...the only difference being that the history isn't real. The setting is the thinly-disguised Iberian peninsula during the 13th century as the Jaddites (Christians) attempt to break the Asharite (Moorish) caliphate, with the Kindath (Jews) watching and knowing that "whichever way the wind blows, rain falls on the Kindath."

I don't think this is his best book, but I also think that second-rank G. G. Kay is better than most of the other stuff out there and well worth the time to read. When it comes to simply writing beautiful language, his ability to draw moments and evoke emotions particularly appeals to my tastes.

The story line is well done—intelligent, intriguing, colorful—with all of the characteristic Kay bittersweet resolutions. It also is typical of his work in not glossing over the brutal realities of war, rape, murder and torture. The political and religious machinations which form the basis of the story are well-described and you find yourself actually taking sides and caring about the results.

What set this book a notch down from his best was, in my opinion, the characters. They are just a little too weakly separated from the "consummate general", "beautiful maiden", "cultured warrior-poet" archetypes. As a result, while I did like them and did care for them a bit, I was less involved with them than I have been in other books of his. A death was sad, not a wrench at my emotions. Kay's writing covers this to a great extent when I compare this book in my mind to another author, but it shows when I compare it to his other works.

Also, I could have done without the poetry—suffice it to say that ibn Khairan is portrayed as the greatest poet of the Asharite world...and G. G. Kay is not.

This is definitely worth reading.

Okay Tad--I'll take responsibility for my own addiction--now I'm asking for a recommendation. I have read only one one GGK book--Tigana--but I absolutely loved it! I borrowed it from my Chicago son and he has graciously let me have it for my own--I couldn't part with it and I know I will reread it. What should be my next GGK book? I've been avoiding getting one because I don't want to be "let down!" Have I already read the best?

Tad - Wow! Lots of good choices to add to my TBR. I always enjoy your reviews. I'm especially glad to hear that you liked The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. My book club has that one scheduled for September.

>167 MusicMom41:: MM

The Last Light of the Sun is fantastic.

I agree about the poetry. Also agree about the characterisation. Good review, Tad.

>170 tiffin:: Thanks, Tui.

: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Non fiction, Food
411 pages



Bottom Line: A marvelously-readable book about four meals, each the culmination of a particular food chain: your local supermarket food, something like Whole Foods food, organically/pastorally-produced food, and food directly hunted/gathered from nature.

---

My Review: If you've read Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, this will have a very similar feel and, to some extent, content. I preferred this one, however.

What Michael Pollan does is trace the production of three types of meals, one of them with two subtypes. The first is what you might obtain from your local supermarket—you may be surprised to learn that, no matter what you think you're eating, you're really consuming corn. The second is organic food, from nominally organic from a chain store to the food coming off a sustainable, organic, local-food farm. The last is a meal where he attempts to gather and hunt each ingredient himself.

I really enjoyed reading this. It had just the right pace and right level of detail to accomplish its purpose. It, by turns, horrified me about industrial food production, educated me about the various food cycles (natural and otherwise), amused me in a "laugh or you'll cry" manner with details of government policy, and encouraged me with stories of people who are trying to fix things. It also gave a rather thoughtful perspective on Animal Rights and the ethics of eating meat.

As it predicted, it now takes a deliberate act of "not thinking" to eat certain foods. It also makes me wish I lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains to be near Polyface Farm...where organic really is organic, not just a relatively meaningless marketing term defined into emptiness by the USDA.

This is another one of those books that you can make a case for being worth reading regardless of your particular stance on some of the issues, simply because it encourages you to think.

#172: I just finished another of Pollan's books recently and am going to get to this one some time soon.

: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Classic Fiction
660 pages



Bottom Line: Keep in mind that my ratings apply to how I enjoy books, not any judgment of literary merit.

---

My Review: I will concede that this is an American classic...even the American classic...only if, in return, I get dispensation from having to finish it.

Seriously though, I found the book exhausting and gave up after 250 pages. I think that I needed to be reading this under the care of an expert—say, a college course—or, at least, in a heavily annotated version. I was half-overwhelmed by symbology, usually only dimly perceived, thinking I was being taken on a journey through Christian faith toward atheistic rationalism but never quite being able to appreciate fully the scenery along the way. I did enjoy the humor when I encountered it, but did not enjoy the slog through wordiness in between. And...I certainly reached my limit on whaling-ology, a subject I find myself less interested in now than previously.

To date, my Melville comprised only Billy Budd, which I did not enjoy. I felt the need to attempt his classic but can now say with reasonable certainty that I am not a Melville fan.

Wow, I need a break after that one! Unfortunately, I've got While in the Hands of The Enemy (non-fiction about Civil War prisons), War and Peace (ever so slowly) and Tangerine ('cause my daughter has to read it over the summer) going as my other books, none of which provide the high-fructose-corn-syrup hit of summer reading I need. Maybe I need to hit the library for the next Donna Leon book or something! :-)

I read Moby Dick when I was 15--to put off having to read Wuthering Heights which was assigned. I loved the book but probably because I thought it was a great adventure story and I didn't even mind all the stuff about whales and whaling (just meant I avoided WH that much longer!). However as an adult I have never been able to finish any other book by Melville; I always though I would one day read Moby Dick again. But now, maybe not. It might be better just to keep that happy memory and not spoil it.

And yes, I realize that Wuthering Heights is a great classic and beautifully written. I've read it three times--once for high school, once for a college class, and once many years later for a book group. I've done my penance--I'm still am not fond of it. I'm more the Jane Eyre type.

ETA Tad, you do need a summer read! Summer is almost over. :-)

Donna Leon is definitely a good summer reading choice......I'd advise it strongly :)

Tad
You certainly are zipping through books. I hope your vacation was a good one!

The Omnivore's Dilemma is at the top of my TBR right now - looking forward to it after your review. I loved Animal Vegetable Miracle and I also liked Pollan's other book In Defense of Food.
I'm aware that I probably read (will read) Pollan's two books in the wrong order! Oops...

Like Carolyn, I read Moby Dick when I was young enough to read it simply as an adventure story. I actually read it in fourth grade. Also like her, I've always thought I should go back and read it as an adult to see what all I missed, but after reading your review...maybe not.

I have never even seen a copy of Moby Dick. I've heard of it fairly often, perhaps I will have to pick it up just to because its a "classic".

Welcome Back!!!

Starred your review of April and Oliver and I'm on the lookout for it.....though it's probably not my typical kind of book either.

What a fun set of books you've read. I'm not fond of Kavalier and Clay because it seemed to end repeatedly, but others love it. I have to laugh about Moby Dick because, for some weird reason, I have three copies and have never finished it. However, I read on a thread in this group last year a marvelous note that if you think of the book in thirds, it's easier to read--story, whaling history and methodology, story. So perhaps later this year? Oh, and you managed to add a couple to my TBR *sigh*.

>183 Prop2gether:: Laurie,

No, I don't think later this year. I'm swearing off Melville for the rest of my life. Though, if I ever do pick it up again, maybe I'll just skip to the final part of the story? ;-)

: Historia de Amor by Erich Segal

Pop Fiction
153 pages
Re-read...in a way



Back in 1973-74, I had to learn and use Spanish as my daily language for a year and a half. Except for a couple of trips to Mexico, however, I've never really used it since. I saw this at a garage sale and decided to see if I could still understand it. With the aid of dictionary at times, it wasn't bad going. Unfortunately—because I had forgotten how cheesy the story is! :-D

urqué, urqué, urqué (hairball noise in Spanish)
cheesy indeed

Oh, Tad, I saw the book cover, and nearly screamed. "Why is Tad reading that? I thought he had good taste in books! Aarrgghh!"

I feel better now. I echo tiffin's hairball noise. I don't think I liked it in English back in the days when cheesy stories didn't seem so cheesy to me, but were "romantic."

>187 tloeffler:: Think of it as remedial Spanish rather than reading.

Though, I did find myself laughing at certain images (perhaps not what Mr. Segal had in mind):

Think of a young, blonde Ryan O'Neal looking at his father, then a really bad voice dub comes on and says, "¡Amor significa decir nunca lo siento!" Then some way over-the-top music swells up in the background. Artificial tears are forced. The audience weeps...or is that laughter? ;-)

Sorry, Tad. Even in Espanol it's a cheesy line. Actually, nauseating! And so absolutely untrue!

#188: The audience weeps...or is that laughter?

Love Story, the movie, weeping

What's Up Doc?, the movie, laughing

Same line in each

I remember taking by baby daughter (Amy) to her first visit with the pediatrician. The waiting room was filled with baby Jennifers. It seemed that back in 1972 the movie The Love Story inspired people to name their baby girls in adoration of the character...

Oh gheessssssssssssshhh!

I actually just watched Love Story for the first time the other day, and my Dad came into the room as it was ending and said, "what are you watching that crap for?" It was pretty bad!

: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

General Fiction
343 pages



Bottom Line: Wonderful first half...last third slightly hackneyed? Still, a book I enjoyed and recommend, especially if you like Austen.

---

My Review: The back blurb of my copy has, "Everyone is cheering the return of I Capture the Castle." I'm rather surprised. This book is enjoyable enough that I'd have assumed it was continuously in print.

If you took a plot conceived by Jane Austen, slapped it down in the middle of the 20th century, you'd have the basic structure of the book—although, no promises that things will turn out as rosy as Ms. Austen would contrive. It worked well for me. The main character, Cassandra, was warm and engaging and I enjoyed her voice (the novel is in the form of her journal). The other characters fulfilled their roles reasonably well: her sister, Rose, a bit off-putting; her father, the eccentric; the object of her affection, Simon, somewhat affection-worthy; etc.

What kept the book from a higher rating was that I found the last third...until the last few pages...did not live up to the book's beginning. The first part was full of her 17-year-old observations on her family's condition of abject poverty and the colorful characters around her, sometimes witty, sometimes insightful, sometimes naïve. The story eventually turned into a somewhat commonplace tale of unrequited loves and infatuations. It was still very readable but it didn't have that amusing sense of freshness of before. I could see a teenage girl writing those things but I'm not sure they are so enthralling for the reader. The ending rescued it, however, avoiding the trite for the intriguing.

All-in-all, it was an enjoyable book and I'd recommend it if you like this sort of story.

PS: She's the author of One Hundred and One Dalmatians for those who have loved that story. :-)

I remember reading I Capture the Castle when I was in year......5, so I would have been 9-10. I enjoyed it then but have never read it since!

Perhaps I should give it a re-read at some point.

: The Terracotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri

Mystery, Inspector Montalbano #2
340 pages

sjmccreary suggested (challenged?) me to read at least to #3 in the Inspector Montalbano series after I didn't like the first one. So, I'm doing that. Plus I'll reread the first one. I'll review #2 and #3 once that's done.

>193 TadAD:. I read I Capture the Castle several years ago, and as I recall, I felt the same way about it as you did, Tad. Even to the point of being amused that she had also written One Hundred and One Dalmatians!

: Acqua Alta by Donna Leon

Mystery, Commissario Brunetti #5
387 pages



Bottom Line: Another enjoyable episode in the Commissario Brunetti tales—love this series.

#197 Tad

"love this series."

And you are burning it up! :-) I plan to read the first one this month.

reI Capture the Castle--I read that when I was young and remembered loving it, so I bought it when it was re-released last year but haven't had a chance to read it. I'm putting it on the "short shelf" TBR after your review. I now know what to expect and I think I will enjoy it. I didn't realize she had written 101 Dalmatians--probably because I didn't know that it was a book! I'm only acquainted with the Disney movie.

Keeping up with my kids' reading...



: The Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Stewart H. Holbrook

History, American Revolution, Young Adult
160 pages



Bottom Line: Not a bad history of Francis Marion's exploits during the American Revolution though, as you would expect if you consider the targeted age group, not completely balanced.

---

My Review: He's not as famous as Washington, Revere, Henry or Hale, but Francis Marion—the Swamp Fox—played a not-insignificant part in American history. He's considered one of the originators of modern guerilla warfare and a precursor of the various special operations groups in the military. Modern audiences are more likely to know of his exploits from the loosely-based Mel Gibson movie, The Patriot.

Holbrook's history will be quite readable for young adults, its targeted audience. He makes it read like an adventure story as Marion wages war against the British through the swamps and back woods of South Carolina. You get a real sense of how a band of highly motivated irregulars, refusing to follow the rules of "honorable" warfare, can be extremely effective and strike fear into their enemies.

Some of the harsher aspects of his methods are glossed over...aspects that opponents would probably describe with very different labels than the "American Hero" sentiments of this story. For that reason, readers with British or Tory sympathies will probably find the book less pleasing but, given the age of the intended readers, it struck me as a reasonable decision—discussions of terrorist tactics not necessarily being a good thing for a pre-teen.

Given how little kids seem to know about history today, I give it a mild recommendation. We'll see what my daughter thinks.

I read I capture the castle last year after recommendations from LTers. I think that if I had read it as a girl or teen, I might have loved it greatly. However, reading it from much later in the spectrum, I enjoyed it but didn't bond with it. I concur with your review, Tad. I've never read 101 Dalmatians. Probably never will.

#199 - Flashback, I remember reading The Swamp Fox of the Revolution more then 30 years ago. I think my copy is on my daughter's book shelf, I'll have to recommend she move it to the top of her tbr list if she can stop reading Magic Treehouse books for a minute.

: The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress by Mark Twain

Non-fiction, Travel
757 pages



Bottom Line: As always with Twain, quite funny, though the middle part seemed to get a bit caustic.

---

My Review: Twain's travelogue of an expedition he organized to the Holy Land with a group of American tourists will provide hours of entertainment. He aims his wit at every single aspect of the journey, from the passengers (not excluding himself) to the natives of each country they pass through, skewering each ridiculous situation, or silly behavior he finds.

It's interesting to follow the progress of his mind-set through the story. At the start, there is only the comedy of Americans who need to get over themselves and funny situations in foreign lands. As the book moves into the middle third, his humor turns to cynicism and even anger as he encounters those who prey upon the hopes and beliefs of people in order to make money. Finally, upon reaching their destination, he is able to see past these things and reaches a sort of respect and amazement for the history and faith that lies underneath.

Definitely recommended.

I have been keeping my eye out for Twain to add to the library. I'd love to find used set of all of his titles. I'll will definitely be looking for that one. Thumbs up!

I found 10 volumes of the 1911 Harper edition in a second-hand store at $2 apiece. They seem to be fairly plentiful.

How cool! I just haven't found the right thrift/used store yet. Got my eye out though.

> 202 The Innocent's Abroad sounds really interesting. Love the cover! I have several of Twain's works (four, I think but not this one. I will definately look out for it. I once read a very boring biography of Twain. Quite disappointing, as I am sure he is not a boring man.

~ TT

>206 TheTortoise:: The cover...I wondered if someone would comment about posting the actual cover. :-D

No, he wasn't boring by a long shot.

Tad;
I wanted to pop over and congratulate you on your Hot Review for The Innocents Abroad or The New Pilgrim's Progress by Mark Twain.
Way to go bud!~!
BTW, love the houseboat. Reminded me exactly of our families younger years when the kids were young, the lengths we would go to, to create the best possible time for our family that we could. Just please tell me you didn't dynamite the lake when you went fishing. I don't think "they" are quite as understanding about things like that these days as they were 30 years ago.
I always wanted to see Hal Holbrook in the one man play on Mark Twain like James Whitmore did on Will Rogers. We saw that twice and it was excellent. I am sure the Holbrook one was as well.
Good review and again, congrats.
belva

>208 rainpebble:: LOL, it wasn't my houseboat. Just something that was puttering past one day and I had to take the picture. The Port-O-Potty on the front made it irresistible.

Thanks for the comments about the review but, actually, it seemed a rather ordinary one go me. Oh well, de gustibus non disputandum est.

I never saw the Holbrook or Whitmore one man plays. I do have good memories of Henry Fonda doing one of Clarence Darrow. My parents took me to see it when I was in high school

Obviously you are waaaaaaaaay younger than myself. But Hank Fonda as Clarence Darrow; wow, that would be something to remember.
belva

#208 Belva

I saw both the Hal Holbrook and James Whitmore shows (at different times, of course!) and I wouldn't want to have to pick a "winner"! Each one was able to make the author come alive for the performance. I do wonder, though, if Mark Twain might have been a more difficult subject to portray--he was such a complex man. But maybe I feel that way because I've read more Twain than I have Will Rogers. :-)

Edited to correct touchstone

Hi Carolyn;
I do think that Samuel Clement (Mark Twain) most likely had more depth to him that Will Rogers did. I'm sure both were excellent shows. I know the Whitmore/Rogers show was and cannot imagine that Holbrook/Twain was not. Lucky you!~! And can you imagine seeing Henry Fonda do a Clarence Darrow one man show? Wowza!~!
belva

: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Fantasy
535 pages in hardcover



Bottom Line: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this—recommended.

---

My Review: This was the audio book for a long family trip and was a definite success. I hadn't expected to like it. I had read one previous book by Cornelia Funke, The Thief Lord, and the best I could say about it was, "well, it was OK." This story, on the other hand, had all of us engaged from the get go and, even though we were all pretty sure we could predict a happy ending, we stayed tuned right up to the end.

The concepts and plots were original, the writing and pacing flowed very smoothly (my big complaint about The Thief Lord) and the characters were generally appealing. I think the kids would probably give it four stars in my rating system. I can only give it 3½ because I did have two problems with it. They didn't really interfere with enjoying the story, but they did float across my mind several times while I was listening.

The rather minor one is that I absolutely hate it when one character says to another, "I've figured things out...but I don't want to tell you, yet." And then, of course, they are unable to do so later when that knowledge would have been useful. It's simply a too-artificial way of creating suspense.

The second, larger problem is that the relationship between Meggie and her father, Mo, lacked a little something. We were told that it was very loving and very close. However, I didn't really see that demonstrated. If I hadn't been told many times how much he adored her, I would have thought him a rather distant and stern father.

Still, despite that, the story had enough going for it to make me glad I listened to it and determined to pick up the sequel, Inkspell.

ETA: Lynn Redgrave was wonderful as the reader.

>210 rainpebble:: Obviously you are waaaaaaaaay younger than myself.

Nah. I looked at your profile. 9 years...that's nothin'.

Well, you talk much younger. So there.
The Redgraves are a hit at whatever they put their minds too, aren't they? What a gifted family!~!
I don't do much YA unless it is a favorite from days gone by, but like nonfiction, I am attempting to work it into my reading. This one sounds good so I have it and it's sequel listed for myself for my 10/10/10 challenge. Thank you Tad.
belva

Great review of Inkheart! My son has been read a lot YA fantasy lately (a relief for the hard studying he's doing in his doctoral program) and he just bought the series. It sounds like he'll enjoy it--and I will borrow it from him as soon as I finish the other 3 series of his I have already borrowed! :-)

Next year I may just throw up my hands and read nothing but science fiction and fantasy! :-D Between you and roni (and Stasia, who keeps me going) you have turned me into a fanatic!

Yay!! We've succeeded in our nefarious purpose!

#216

Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd be tempted to do the same! lol

>#213 Tad, I also listened to the Inkheart audiobook narrated by Lynn Redgrave, and also thought that she did a fabulous job with it! It's amazing how much of a difference the reader can make in an audiobook.

My mum loves Lynn Redgrave as a narrator so I'll have to look out for that one...

I found a bit of the back-and-forthing in Inkheart annoying (we run away from the mountain stronghold... we drive back to the mountain stronghold... we run away again), and the film version does cut a lot of that. But my eldest keeps on urging me to read the sequels so I guess I'll crack soon enough. Having seen both Anthea Bell (the translator) and Cornelia Funke at book events this summer, I ought really to do them the courtesy of reading their work.

: The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella

General Fiction
560 pages

Somewhere around to

Bottom Line: Pleasant enough read but does not live up to either The Food of Love or The Wedding Officer.

---

My Review: In a nutshell, I was disappointed with this book, though it wasn't bad.

It has the same writing style as his previous books: pleasant to read and fast paced. It has the same mixture of themes: a love of food, a good love story, a bit of adventure and action, and a bit of heated sex. It has even more plot twists and surprises than did they. What it doesn't have is likable characters.

Bruno from The Food of Love was a lovable Cyrano and Laura a sexy object of desire. James from The Wedding Officer was an amiable everyman and Livia entrancing. Unfortunately, Mr. Robert Wallis from this story is a fairly callow, self-centered and rather unpleasant youth. Even the more mature version we have by the end of the book doesn't seem fundamentally different, just a bit less puppyish. As for the two objects-of-his-affection, I found neither of them that attractive.

So, a well-written story populated by below-average characters. A mild recommendation. I'll read his next one, hoping for something more like his first two.

ETA: As I've sat on this for another day, I'm not absolutely certain I'd give it the mild recommendation, though I definitely recommend his first two books--let's call it somewhere between 2½ and 3 stars.

But beautiful cover art Tad.

Chiming in on the earlier posts regarding Mark Twain and Hal Holbrook's portrayal of him. Alas, last year as a birthday present my husband took me to see Hal Holbrook's show. I was VERY disappointed. I know that he was portraying Mark Twain in his later years, but honestly, Hal seemed too old to effectively give a good performance. His words were mumbled, his speech was difficult to understand and we left mid show, even though the tickets were pricey.

: Selected Readings from the Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker

Short Stories, Poetry, Reviews



Bottom Line: Extremely witty but take in small doses to avoid gloom.

---

My Review: If you've never read any Dorothy Parker, you've missed a great deal of sharp observation, trenchant wit and a talent for the caustic one-liner that is rarely equaled. This is a nice collection of 30 or so pieces that provide a representative sampling of her work from The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Life, and the host of other places that published her work. It includes her O. Henry Award-winning "The Big Blonde".

The thing about her writing is that, while it's bitingly funny, it usually exposes an underlying sadness in people or society. A too steady diet of it leaves me a bit cheerless. Therefore, I suggest sipping from this, keeping in on the nightstand and mixing in a story or review with your other reading.

I have indeed never read any Doroty Parker. So I've missed "a great deal of sharp observation, trenchant wit and a talent for the caustic one-liner that is rarely equaled" ???? Where's my bank card? Must.order.book.now.

ETA: I do not mind cheerless one bit - in fact, it only adds to my enjoyment of a book (usually)

Tad, perfect description of that reaction to her caustic wit. Cheerless is precisely the word. I thought I was the only person to feel that way as everyone else seems to rave about how funny she is.

I never knew she wrote poetry. I thought she just wrote short stories and then was a screenwriter in Hollywood.

>225 girlunderglass:: Then she's your woman! :-)

>226 tiffin:: I think many feel that way...when I speak with people they all admit to that reaction.

>227 CanadaPile:: Not a poet! How can you not be aware of such deathless poems as:

i like to have a martini,
two at the very most
at three, i'm under the table,
at four, i'm under the host!

*smile*

But, yes, she did write a lot of short stories and then was a very successful screenwriter—she was nominated for an Academy Award for A Star is Born. However, I think her best shots came when she worked as a reviewer, things like her comments about another writer, "The affair between Margot Asquith and Margot Asquith will live as one of the prettiest love stories in all literature."

I seem to be reading a lot of masters of one-liners lately. After reading Twain's The Innocents Abroad, I started poking through excerpts from his autobiography and came across: "Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress...but I repeat myself."

Have you read his A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court? That's a particular favourite of mine. Yes, he is killingly funny but doesn't leave you feeling cheerless!

There's a great Dorothy Parker poem about suicide, of which I can only remember the last few lines:

...Guns aren't lawful
Nooses give
Gas tastes awful
Might as well live.

>229 tiffin:: Yes, Tui, I read it back in Junior High and loved it. I see I don't have it in my libary; thanks for reminding me.

>230 FlossieT:: It's in this collection:

Razors pain you; Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give;
Gas smells awful; You might as well live.

I never knew that suicide poem was by Dorothy Parker, I first heard it in the film Girl, Interrupted.

Makes me think I would like her as well. I'm not opposed to some cheerlessness. It usually cheers me up!

I am the type of person who owns, loves, and frequently rereads Complete Poems of Dorothy Parker. I also have Complete Stories of Dorothy Parker. I'm very tempted by The Portable Dorothy Parker, too... I just adore her! Does that one have a lot of essays and reviews, Tad?

And I can't resist, if we're sharing favorite Dorothy Parker poems:

CODA

There's little in taking or giving,
There's little in water or wine;
This living, this living, this living
Was never a project of mine.
Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is
The gain of the one at the top,
For art is a form of catharsis,
And love is a permanent flop,
And work is the province of cattle,
And rest's for a clam in a shell,
So I'm thinking of throwing the battle---
Would you kindly direct to me hell?

And of course,

MEN

They hail you as their morning star
Because you are the way you are.
If you return the sentiment,
They'll try to make you different;
And once they have you, safe and sound,
They want to change you all around.
Your moods and ways they put a curse on;
They'd make of you another person.
They cannot let you go your gait;
They influence and educate.
They'd alter all that they admired.
They make me sick, they make me tired.

>233 allthesedarnbooks:: *sigh* More male-bashing.

: The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri, translated by Stephen Sartarelli

plus comments on : The Terracotta Dog

and a re-read of : The Shape of Water

Mystery, Inspector Montalbano #3
298 pages

The Shape of Water:
The Terracotta Dog:
The Snack Thief:

Bottom Line: The third book is the first I'd really consider re-reading or recommending.

---

I didn't like the first book in the Inspector Montalbano series and sjmccreary suggested that I read at least to the third volume before making a decision...that this is where the series started to overcome some of the problems I had with it.

So I did. I even re-read the first one after the other two. I'll start by saying that the series does get noticeably better by number three.

A re-read did nothing to change my mind on the The Shape of Water. I still find the characters cardboard and the plot a bit choppy. It turns out I'm not the only one to feel that way so, if you have a similar reaction but want to pursue this series, my advice is to just accept it and drive on—the books are extremely fast reads and it won't take long.

The Terracotta Dog was a bit of an improvement. We start to find out a bit more about Montalbano. Though I still wouldn't say there was a lot of depth there, we start to see a bit of roundness in his character beyond just "hardass cop." However, the story line is a big improvement...much smoother and more coherent. It passed a couple of hours pleasantly. Had the series ended there, it probably would never occur to me to recommend it to anyone but I enjoyed myself.

The Snack Thief was a major improvement. Not only is the story a good one but, for the first time, I found Montalbano starting to come alive. It's not just that the story involves his personal life a bit more, Camilleri also gives us those little moments that tell us about his character and those little insights into Montalbano's thoughts that make him more real. I start to see and, more importantly, understand the aspects of him that aren't just profane and in-your-face—the fears and compassions Camilleri put into this story make him more human.

It goes beyond the main character. Montalbano's girlfriend, Livia, becomes more than just a voice on the phone or a body in the bed. Even the town of Vigata and the local police station are starting to take on definition.

I don't think I'm ever going to rave about this series the way others do; it just doesn't mesh with my tastes well enough. It won't be one of those where I'm watching avidly for the next volume. However, I will pick up the fourth at some point and read it, then the fifth someday...

I came to the right thread this evening! I'm tired from work and thus reading all the Dorothy Parker poems is balm for a weary soul.

She happens to be the author of my all-time favorite poem

Indian Summer

In youth, it was a way I had
To do my best to please,
And change, with every passing lad,
To suit his theories.

But now I know the things I know,
And do the things I do;
And if you do not like me so,
To hell, my love, with you!

Thanks Tad...for the smiles!

New thread here.