wookiebender's six degrees of separation

Okay, here goes.

Starting with the current read...

1. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Through the connection of Jewish communities:

2. The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Through a certain Simpsons episode that had Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen brawling with each other (memorable line: "You fight like Anne Rice!"):

3. The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen

Through the fact that both are autobiography/memoir:

4. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Through the theme of death and grief:

5. The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide

And to link the authors together because they're both Australian:

6. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

Voila!

I'll be watching your progress! :)

Okay, finished with Mistress of the Art of Death (the second half was an excellent page-turning whodunnit, and ditched all the forensic investigations that I found jarringly anachronistic in the 12th century), and have (as promised!) moved onto The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

LINK: The accused in Mistress were the local Jewish community living in Cambridge. The townsfolk, when they found their butchered and mutilated children's bodies, accused the local Jewish folk of crucifying their children. Our heroine is brought in to prove that they are innocent and to find the real killer.

And, it's fairly obvious given the title, Yiddish Policemen's Union is also set in a Jewish community.

I found you a very specific TYPU Yiddish glossary.

Thanks SqueakyChu! I'm just guessing the meanings from the context, but there are a few that have had me stumped. :)

You're welcome. I'm wondering if Chabon didn't actually make up some of those words or the context in which he uses them. I'm not sure, though.

I think he was definitely punning in places. (In Yiddish! Oy vey.)

Well, finished The Yiddish Policemen's Union, and thought it was pretty damned excellent. (Sorry, SqueakyChu!) I found it a complete page-turning, rip-snorting, funny, hard-boiled, dry-humoured masterpiece. I can't believe that he could think such a reality up (Israel failed, and there's a Jewish community stuck in Alaska, about to be made homeless (again) as their protectorate has a time limit), and then make it so believeable.

It's about family, friendships, Judaism, politics, gangsters, murder, dispossession, life, drugs, chess. And it's written as a page-turning whodunnit.

It's really quite marvellous, and I love this author for his audacity and talent and ability to pull this one off.

Now, onto book #3 of this challenge: The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen.

The connection? There's certain Simpsons episode featuring both Jonathan Franzen and Michael Chabon (who end up brawling, with the memorable line "You fight like Anne Rice"! which just begs so many questions).

Possibly the Best. Simpsons. Episode. Ever. But I may be biassed.

Finished The Discomfort Zone and it was a good read. I was worried it might be Angry Young Man angst (turns out he's about 50), but he's surprisingly normal. Or at any rate, his upbringing and adolescence (what this book is about) was very normal, if almost scarily normal.

Next book: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Both are autobiography/memoir books.

ETA: But I am being distracted by Sarah Waters' Affinity at the moment, so it'll be a couple of days before I get onto this one. Can't seem to work Affinity into this challenge!

Finished The Year of Magical Thinking and I thought it was an excellent book, really worth reading.

And now I've started The Household Guide to Dying by Debra Adelaide, with the obvious linked theme of death and grief.

I finished The Household Guide to Dying and found it very good, but it did push the emotional buttons a bit too much at times. Am feeling slightly drained now.

And, because Debra Adelaide is an Australian, the obvious jump (looking at my Mt TBR, and given what other challenges are around at the moment!) is to another Australian author, Craig Silvey and his latest book, Jasper Jones.

I think it's a bit of a cop out linking through nationality because I'm Australian, and I read a lot of Oz Lit as it is!! But it's been hovering near the top of Mt TBR, whispering "read me, read meeeeee" seductively, and also fits in nicely with the Global Reading challenge (this month: indigenous people).

I shall post my thoughts when I'm finished. And then start planning my second attempt at this mini-challenge! :) It's rather addictive, you know...

I finished Jasper Jones and thought it was simply marvellous. And it's inspired me to (finally) pick up The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn so I've got an extra step to my challenge. ;)

But I shall be back later to start a new challenge - I've got a few books that need to be read that I can't see fitting into a Six Degrees challenge. I'll knock them off, and then be back.