Book Review: American Pastoral

 

American Pastoral: Phillip Roth: Vintage: Fiction: 432

Roth's landmark novel takes on the insurmountable task of capturing what it means to be American through the lens of the turbulent sixties and seventies.  What Roth arrives at is not a bulleted list of characteristics and flashpoints (a seemingly American way to understand the world) but the reality that both personal and national identity are products of our perception and personal experience anyway. 

America represents tyrannical fascism and morally bankrupt violence to Seymour Levov's weather-underground-vietnam-war-protesting daughter but for himself, a Jewish business man in search of the American dream, it means freedom, industry, and wealth.   

For me, a good book asks more questions than it answers.  Nothing interests me less than a work of fiction that says "here is what the world is and how you should understand it".* **  Roth's book is the anti that book.  For some that's frustrating, but to explore the shifting paradigm of American identity during this time and how it caused us to question the construction of identity itself, it's perfect.  But make no mistake, this novel isn't about a twenty year period in America's history - it's about narrative and national identity.   It's about all the stuff that came before 1968 and what will come after it. 

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have honest relationships with other people.  Trying to really understand them for who they are and not for what you'd like them to be or who you imagine them to be because that's the kind of person you fancy yourself having a relationship with.  It's a hard thing to be really know someone and have your interaction be true - have it be about their reality and not your perception of yourself.  How much harder, then, is it to understand a national identity, to form a relationship with it, when it is composed of such diverse people and experiences?  




*Interesting...that's probably why I don't really like fantasy...hhmm

** But I do love non-fiction.  That's the kind of "this is the world" I'm into :)

Book Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude: Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Perennial: Fiction: 464


One Hundred Years of Solitude chronicles the multi-generational Buendia family in the fictional town of Macondo. After founding the town, familial patriarch Arcadio Buendia sets the blueprint for an inescapable pattern of obsession, selfishness, and vice that plagues the generations of his family throughout the book. Different familial incarnations temporarily triumph and escape their history, but it is almost always short lived. Told in seamless magical realisim, this novel is at once visceral and dreamlike.

Sometimes my favorite books are ones I don't quite know what to do with when I'm finished - I don't know what to make of it or how to fully understand its themes. One Hundred Years of Solitude was a bit of that for me. All the same, I enjoyed its fantastical story telling and the way it touched on issues of nostalgia, obsessiveness, family, and the power we have over our own history - or don't as the case may be. After reading more about the history of Columbia, for which Macondo is said to be a substitute, I understood the book a bit better in terms of a critique of Latin American history.

Not really an upper... and a bit of a "must...slog...through...this... section" at times, but I'm glad I read it.    

Book Review: Jerusalem Reading

I snatched this from something I wrote when we were in Jerusalem but never publicly posted.  It's a bit outdated, but useful for readings related to our time there.    

I reread Everything is Illuminated.  It's one of my favorite books, and this time I got about 2/3rds through it before I lost the thread.  It's much further than I got last time, so that's something.   It's a beautiful, thought provoking, heart breaking, and life celebrating book...that is difficult to entirely "get".  Maybe that's why I like it.  If you want to think about something or be completely baffled, you should read it.   It's about family, history, religion, identity (specifically Jewish Identity), what it means to "love" someone, and a host of other things.

I reviewed Foer's second novel "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" in earnest on the Provo City Library Staff Review Blog (when I was employed there, wipe a tear). 

Four Mothers: Horn, Shifra: Picador: 288 (old habits die hard)

I had never heard anything about this author or this book and it was a pleasant surprise.  It told the story of four generations of women living in Jerusalem through the war of 1948, the Jordanian Occupation (48-67) and then the 6 day war in 1967.  It was epic and sad (two things I love) and did  a great job of fleshing in the un-thought-of details of history.  Great storytelling.

Rashi's Daughters

I actually didn't finish this book. It is a series with several books following that detail the lives of Rashi's daughters.  (Rashi is an actual well known Jewish Medieval Rabbi.)  At first I loved the slow reveal of what life was like for this Jewish group in Medieval France, but after a while it just didn't hold my attention.  It would be great for a YA historical fiction read, but I just wasn't in the mood.  I might try it again later.   

In the Image: A Novel: Horn, Dara: W.W. Norton & Co.: 280

Owf.  That's how I feel about this book. There were moments of genius, but most of the book was a little pretentious and a little contrived.  One moment of genius occurs near the end where the story of Job is retold backwards through the familial history of one of the main characters.  As if to say that the parameters of our present are the product of our our ancestor's tragedy.  When we choose good and happiness despite every historical reason not to we are confirming God and refusing to deny him.  That part stole my heart, but the rest of it just irked me.  Horn didn't give reader's the chance to read between the lines before shoving the obvious down our throats.  Take it or Leave it.

Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths: Armstrong, Karen: Ballantine Books:  1997

Karen Armstrong is really something.  A historian, a religious historian who still thinks that religion is good is hard to come by and she is the perfect balance of skeptical historian and good willed faith affirm-er.  This book is a readable history of Jerusalem and the Holy Land in general.  Fabulous.

The History of Love: Krauss, Nicole

Another repeat.  Last night I almost put it away, but then It reminded me of how good it is.  Similar themes as "Everything is Illuminated" (the authors are married afterall....) and similarly bizarre and thought provoking.   

You might have noticed that every single book I'm reading is about Jews or Jewishness.  Well, when in Rome!  (er Israel)  It's been a good cultural exercise along side living here.  I've also read a slew of travel books - I can't get enough of them.

Book Review: The Lotus Eaters

The Lotus Eaters: Tatjana Soli: St. Martin's Press: Fiction: 386

I am often frusterated with fiction because there is so much telling and so little showing, but I have to say, Tatjana Soli's debut novel "The Lotus Eaters" is a triumph of fiction - vividly showing us the lush landscapes of Vietnam and the devastating realities of war. On a micro scale this book is about the relationships a female war photographer creates during Vietnam and the way she is forever changed at its end, but it is also a much larger narrative about the depths of destruction encountered in war and its slow seduction. It's about "going native" and becoming placeless after the intense experiences of life.

This novel is beautiful, gripping, and utterly transportive. A great adventure and eye opener about war on a personal level.

Book Review: My Life in France

My Life in France: Julia Child, Alex Prud'homme: Kindle Edition: 2006: 336 pages print length.

I didn't know much about Julia Child before reading this book and I wasn't very interested to know more, but this delightful memoir just stole my heart.  The book begins as newlywed Child moves to Paris for her husband's new position in the cultural affairs section of the Paris embassy.  What begins as a whim to occupy her time quickly grows into a lifelong obsession as Child cooks her way through classic French dishes.  Culminating in the publication of her first cookbook and the subsequent success of her television series, The French Chef, this novel is truly a Tour Du France, culinarily and geographically speaking.  

I really came to admire Child's fearlessness and the way she looked life's dissapointments in the face while embracing its joys.  She was certainly uncoventional and describes life long political sparring with her conservative father and being "cold blooded" when one of her cookbook's co-authors wasn't taking on her fair share of the work.  But she was also hardworking, intellectually curious, and fully devoted to her husband.  In fact, this novel is in part a very sweet love story.  At times I wondered if there was more to the events than what she revealed, but her telling of them was marvelous none the less.  

As a traveler, food lover, and wife of a Public Affairs diplomat I was smitten with this book from the first chapter.   

(This was my first completed Kindle book and I can't say how much I love my kindle!)   

Book Review: The Woman Who Fell From The Sky

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen: Jennifer Steil: Broadway: 2010: Non-Fiction/Biography: 336 pages

Yemen.  Not really a place an American woman imagines visiting, much less taking up a permanent residence.  But perhaps American journalist turned author Jennifer Steil is no ordinary woman.  Accepting a short term work assignment in Yemen to train the staff of the Yemen Observer Steil braves the female free streets of Yemen alone and doesn't let an institutionally sexist work environment or the time wasting Qat addictions of her staff slow her down.   (Qat is a very popular amphetamine like stimulant that plagues Yemeni society - it turns teeth brown, is highly addictive, and basically incapacitates its users form doing anything productive)  

This book depicted a Yemen I couldn't have imagined.  Steil gets the inside scoop, if you will, on women's roles in Yemeni society, the Qat addiction that cripples the country, family life and sex, the government loyalty that dominates the field of "journalism", and blatant unfairness in the workplace.  But her book is also several parts travelogue of the best kind - detailed, sensory, and fantastic while still being relatable and realistic.  The prehistoric island of Socotra sounds enchanting and other worldly, but we all know someone like her cantankerous co-editor and just needing a well deserved night off is something we can all relate to.  Although the ending sat a little askew with me (Steil and the British Ambassador to Yemen start a relationship that causes him to leave his wife and daughter) the book as a whole was very enjoyable.     

Here are two links about Socotra - check them out. It is a wild place 
http://www.bestourism.com/items/di/331?title=Socotra-Island-in-Yemen&b=47
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/travel/tmagazine/03well.socotra.t.html  
       

Paul Auster is My Homeboy

I love Paul Auster. I do. At least I loved the New York Trilogy because it blew my mind.

I came home from volunteering at the library tonight (which is also blowing my mind with awesomeness) with a stack of books including Paul Auster's latest novel 'Man in the Dark'. Outside of the 'trilogy', Auster can be a bit...melodramatic? Is that the word? But I always pick up anything I see by him. Anyway, here is a tease from the inside jacket

"I am alone in the dark, turning the world around in my head as I struggle through another bout of insomnia, another white night in the Great American Wilderness." (Oh my, how thouroughly existential)

So begins Paul Auster's brilliant, devastating novel about the many realities we inhabit as wars flame all around us. (I love devastating, go on...)

blah, blah blah, an old man and what I'm sure are crucial plot points

...Passionate shocking, Man in the Dark, is a novel of our moment, a book that forces us to confront the blackness of night even as it celebrates the existence of ordinary joys in a world capable of the most grotesque violence. (well, I'm sold)

Seriously, that's how it happened as I was restocking the new book display tonight. It's kind of why I'm a freak, I guess, and neither my husband or my Mom can understand why I like some of the books I like.

And I'll be honest, I'll probably get to page 40 while Max finishes up his radio shift here at the radio station, and then become enamored with another 'devastating' book. Oh, I finish books, but not even a third of all of the ones I bring home from the library. I think I like mostly the idea of books, or rather the ideas in the books. I like to take them home and own the ideas for a while, think about the implications and scope of what I'm sure lies between the two covers...while not always actually reading them.

I am appreciating the luxuriant reading of a book more and more, but I'm still an ideas girl. If it sounds conflicting and thought provoking and 'devastating' - 'forcing me to confront' the complexities of the world I live in and celebrating the beauty and joy that is also there - hand it over.

I have found, however, that sometimes big ideas fall a bit short of their potential. I am currently reading "The Archivist: A Novel" which is about a librarian who watches over a sealed collection of letters that T.S. Eliot wrote to a woman named Emily. Eliot donated the letters with the instruction that they not be opened until the year 2012. A widower of 15 or so years, our protagonist is intrigued when a young, passionate graduate student tries to gain access to both the letters and his closely gaurded personal life. There is all this jazz about identity and privacy and relationships, and a pretty interesting look into the complex histories of both his wife and new interest's Jewishness. Take a librarian (awesome), some sweet special collection materials, lots of T.S. Eliot references, issues of loss and trust mixed in with a tortured self- perception rooted in The Hollocaust and the Jewish Identity and you've got a great read, right?
Great until about page 135. I haven't given up, but I'm just not entirely committed to the deceased wife's 50 or so page journal rants she wrote from an institution before she committed suicide. I"ll report back.

Did I just ramble into a corner?

Persepolis

Who knew I'd ever really like a graphic novel? I just finished "Persepolis: A childhood" and it was fabulous. Really. Here is my review

For sassy young Marjane Satrapi, growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is pretty confusing. After growing up in a relatively modern society, Marjane is now forced to wear a head scarf in public, wear her jeans only in secret, and stop listening to tapes where people might hear, as these things are now against the law. More seriously, she watches as family and friends are taken away, tortured, and sometimes even murdered.

Told through the eyes of a child, this graphic novel is stunning in its ability to capture the complexities of Iran in the early 80’s while remaining accessible and informative. A really great read for anyone interested in the region.

Some Good Old Victorian Shizzle

THE THIRTEENTH TALE: Diane Setterfield: Contemporary Gothic

When Margaret Lea, a waif of an antique book collector and amateur biographer, is summoned by the most beloved, and secretive, writer of her time, Ms. Vida Winter, to finally write her true biography she is hesitant to say the least. Winter has a history of supplying false "biographies" and keeping her identity securely locked away. But Winter, on her death bed, begins to reveal her sad and oft times violent tale of growing up at Angelfield and the real story is better than any she has or ever could manufacture. In this process of recording Winters' life, Margaret comes to learn more about herself and her own secret past than she ever expected.

Complete with twisting (and sometimes not so twisting) family trees, obsession, Gothic violence(think Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights), Madness, Love, Loss, and secret pasts this book is a page turner from the beginning. Likened to a Modern day Jane Eyre, this book will certainly keep you guessing and ultimately make you believe in the power of storytelling...and ghosts.

Bad Childhoods make for Good Writers?

THE GLASS CASTLE: A MEMOIR: Jeanette Walls: Scribner: Biography: 2006: 288 pages

Growing up Jeanette Walls’ parents weren’t exactly Ma and Pa Cleaver. In fact, they were negligent at best. This book is largely about Walls’ nomadic parents who follow their free spirited whims to many parts of the country—with four children in tow.

While based on a mostly sad childhood, this book doesn’t have an ounce of self pity or really, bitterness. I felt angrier about Walls selfish parents at the end of the novel than she did. To some extent she champions her parents for making life seem like an adventure and teaching her about ‘truth’ as the dedication states. In addition to a memoir of an outrageous childhood, this novel explores the vices that make us human, but also the breaking of unhealthy cycles. A quirky, entertaining read…even if almost ruined by a “Family Christmas Letter” last chapter.

Book Review: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner: Khaled Hosseini: Riverhead: General Fiction: 352

This aching exercise in redemption and self-knowledge centers around two young Afghan boys. Amir is the wealthy son of a prestigious man in Kabul and Hassan is his racially inferior servant. Though Amir has all the bounty that life has to offer, it is Hassan that has all of the courage and character of nobility. When Amir's cowardice stops him from intervening in a brutal attack on the ever innocent Hassan, the shame of the haunting memory permeates his whole life - even after he moves to America. Amir finally finds redemption when he travels back to war torn Afghanistan to face his demons and the characters from his past.

This book was as sad and epic as I wanted it to be, and then some. It did all of the standard "literary" things beautifully: Christ figure, mirroring characters, self discovery, the return home, issues of redemption and forgiveness etc... I thought the story was thought provoking and heartbreaking, not to mention an insightful view into modern Afghanistan. I guess what I liked the most about it was the idea that people have both parts to them; good and bad, and even the bad can "make it right again" as the book suggests - but it won't be easy.

Split Me To The Core

THE MAYTREES: Annie Dillard: Harper Collins: 2007: Adult: 224

The narrative of this book follows sturdy and simple Lou who lives at the edge of the sea with her carpenter husband Maytree. Maytree is easily distracted and after 14 years of marriage moves away to Maine with longtime friend, Deary. The two return 20 years later when Deary is dying and needs hospice that only Lou can offer.

Simple, and seemingly callous in its plot, Dillard's "Maytrees" is anything but. Maybe it’s about the courage it requires to live a life of commitment, or the nuances of forgiveness...I'm not even sure. Either way, the language Dillard uses to describe the sea and this small cast of tragic characters is fresh and truly haunting. This is the first book I've read that was really too much for me: too beautiful, too sad, too poignant, and too otherworldly. It was unreal - in a good way.

Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerism:Daniel Lopez: Basic Books: 2000: Nonfiction: 270

Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerism:Daniel Lopez: Basic Books: 2000: Nonfiction: 270

In his book, Daniel Lopez doggedly "show(s) how the aesthetics of consumerism are the lies we tell ourselves to preserve our individuality even as we enjoy the luxuries of the mass market." Throughout reading this I couldn't help but feel paralyzed by any and everything I have ever been inclined to buy. Lopez sardonically examines almost every aesthetic that is used to sell us suckers things we don't really need: Cuteness, Zaniness, Deliciousness, and Quaintness to name a few.

This book was relentless in its cynical approach to consumerism. In most cases it was a lose-lose situation - you were trendy and shallow if you fell for the advertising tricks or pretentious and self righteous if you didn't. However, except for a few chapters of one rant too many, it was a fascinating read. In a chapter about food Lopez suggests that the can (as in canned food ) had the "same effect on the kitchen as television had on culture, leveling regional cuisine, internationalizing food, and producing a kind of dietary Esperanto in regions once dependent on meats and vegetables of local farmers." Well worth the wade through Lopez' wordy sentences and Ph. D language.