There is a woman author named Mary Roach who has been writing one word humorous science books about bodily functions. I heard about her when I read a review about her latest, Gut, about the human intestinal tract. I want to read this instead of making an appointment for a colonoscopy. So that book is on reserve and meanwhile I read Bonk about well sex. Seems like my lust list keeps going on and on.
Roach brings back my bias that the Irish have a wonderful gift of language and humor. I left out loud when Roach compared a certain adapted stimulating machine to a buffing shoe shiner. A lot of her recounting of early 20th century scientific experiments were flash backs to my lust list reading but her perspective is more an SNL or Mad magazine take.
As I mentioned in my review of Bel Canto, I am typing this while watching the endless loop of the Boston Marathon bombing. All else pales and I won't even be writing this except I want the books returned tonight or tomorrow.
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Notes are a Little Flat
April's book club was Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. We were all very polite in our comments. The club sometimes seems too false: we don't want to hurt the feelings of our hostess or those among us who consider the selection to be one of their favorite books.
Bel Canto was published in 2002 long after the prevalence of hostage taking political tactics. This one occurs in an unnamed South American country at an international event honoring an Asian potential investor who only attends the event because it is a birthday party for him where his favorite opera singer is performing. Despite being called Bel Canto, the book themes the importance of all arts as civilizing factors in an otherwise hostile, threatening and incomprehensible world.
I struggled to finish the book in order to be done before our meeting and the ending is absolutely dissonant and did not make sense given the plot development preceding it.
I really can't write more about the book or the club meeting as I am typing this while watching the bombs at the Boston Marathon, thinking about how political extremists no longer take hostages but kill.
Bel Canto was published in 2002 long after the prevalence of hostage taking political tactics. This one occurs in an unnamed South American country at an international event honoring an Asian potential investor who only attends the event because it is a birthday party for him where his favorite opera singer is performing. Despite being called Bel Canto, the book themes the importance of all arts as civilizing factors in an otherwise hostile, threatening and incomprehensible world.
I struggled to finish the book in order to be done before our meeting and the ending is absolutely dissonant and did not make sense given the plot development preceding it.
I really can't write more about the book or the club meeting as I am typing this while watching the bombs at the Boston Marathon, thinking about how political extremists no longer take hostages but kill.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
They All Die
I have jumped over the book club selection for April to read May: Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. Believe it or not, a Pulitzer Prize winner. Not. Who gets to sit on the awarding committee? Liberal leaning balance the history types who feel compelled to "honor" an oppressive time in American history?
I strongly disliked this book. It reminded me a lot of Ahab's Wife, another historical novel about a notable male told from a woman's perspective in an age when women were oppressed downtrodden ignored demeaned discriminated against under-educated yadda yadda yadda.
Essentially the story is Bethia Mayhew's life:
Her twin brother dies
Her mother dies in childbirth
That baby drowns in the back yard
Her father drowns at sea
Her best friend, Caleb, an Indian on Martha's Vineyard, dies of consumption after graduating Harvard
His best first Joel is clubbed to death returning to Boston to give the valedictory speech
Have we pulled enough heart strings to reach the conclusions that:
Harvard was racist
All of Massachusetts colonists were sexist
Women were indentured officially or de facto
Indians were exterminated but also heathen brutalizers
Enough said
I strongly disliked this book. It reminded me a lot of Ahab's Wife, another historical novel about a notable male told from a woman's perspective in an age when women were oppressed downtrodden ignored demeaned discriminated against under-educated yadda yadda yadda.
Essentially the story is Bethia Mayhew's life:
Her twin brother dies
Her mother dies in childbirth
That baby drowns in the back yard
Her father drowns at sea
Her best friend, Caleb, an Indian on Martha's Vineyard, dies of consumption after graduating Harvard
His best first Joel is clubbed to death returning to Boston to give the valedictory speech
Have we pulled enough heart strings to reach the conclusions that:
Harvard was racist
All of Massachusetts colonists were sexist
Women were indentured officially or de facto
Indians were exterminated but also heathen brutalizers
Enough said
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