Beauty, Sighs, and Love

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

This book grabbed me immediately, and when I wasn't reading it, I'd get flashes of thoughts like, "I wonder what will happen next?" This is the story of two families, one in London, one in New England. Both fathers are academics, and bitter rivals. I thought the family dynamics in this book-- husbands & wives, parents & children, siblings-- were rendered beautifully. There were some great twists, and Smith has an obvious talent for flawless prose.



Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors. I have been enthralled by each and every one of his novels up 'til now (favorites: Empire Falls and Risk Pool ) so I had been hotly anticipating his new book. It's not that I hated it; it's just that it never really pulled me in the way his other books have. Russo has an uncanny ability to capture the intricacies of small towns and the folks who inhabit them. There's some of that in this book,some of his breathtaking description and glorious wit, but there's not enough. The book just never came together for me. So, I beg of you: please read one of his five other novels before you read this one.


What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt

I had this on my 'to read' list for awhile, but I can't recall where I got the recommendation. I had no idea what to expect, but I was captivated by this book. It's the story of a painter named Bill Weschler, an art historian named Leo Hirshberg, and their lives and families. I liked the art angle, though sometimes I got a little bogged down in the descriptions. There were some twists in this book that I never expected, and I think that was my most favorite thing about it. It's a very rich book, full of description and action and intensity. I definitely recommend it.

Backlog Part Three (of Three)

The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq by Rory Stewart

I was eager to read this since I loved Stewart's first book, The Places in Between, so much. Turns out that this dovetailed perfectly with Imperial Life in the Emerald City, too. This is Stewart's account of working for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He was a provincial governor, so he provides a first hand perspective of this daunting work. His account of working in Nasiriyah when there was an uprising is harrowing. His compound was being hit by mortar rounds, and it took hours for help to arrive. As with his first book, Stewart mesmerized me with his fearlessness and grace. He makes an effort to get to know the people he serves, and to know their history. I was particularly struck by this passage, which sums up fairly well the complexity of the CPA's role in Iraq:

"We had promised democracy and believed, as Bremer said, that it was the only legitimate basis of government, but we did not think Iraq was yet ready for elections. We felt we needed to stay but felt ashamed of the occupation. We were controlling the lives of people who had not invited us in and who had not voted for us. We wanted to justify the invasion by doing some good; but we knew little about the people who surrounded us, or their culture. Every day we gambled on insufficient information, trusted and suspected, persuaded reluctant bureaucrats, threatened, rewarded and charmed. I needed to keep taking risks and taking sides, and people were going to be killed almost whatever we chose to do."

The Prince of the Marshes, p. 116

I liked this book a lot, and appreciated Stewart's insight and intelligence immensely.

Backlog Part Two (of Three)

Julia Child by Laura Shapiro

This book is part of the Penguin Lives series of short and excellent biographies. I like them partly because they remind me of the first books I really loved- a series of dramatic historical fiction biographies. There's no fiction here, but they're succinct, and that's a selling point to me. Sometimes I don't want to know every little thing about someone's life: I'd prefer a good overview with some choice details. This book delivers on that premise. I learned things about Julia I never knew (she eschewed the local/organic food movement in the 70s; she had several plastic surgeries) and the author also gave a good sense of how passionate Julia was about food and France. I especially liked this excerpt:
"Today there appear to be two kinds of good cooks: those who want to impress people and those who want to feed people. The meal may be delicious in either case, but you can always tell the difference, in part because it's written across the face of the cook when he or she presents the platter. "Admire me," some of their expressions seem to say. "Here, this is for you, let's eat!" say the others." Julia definitely fell into the latter camp.

ps. This book is a nice companion piece to My Life in France by Julia Child and Julie and Julia by Julie Powell (an account of the author's effort to make all of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

pps I also recommend the Penguin Lives Elvis Presley biography by Bobbie Ann Mason.



Crossing California by Adam Langer

I loved this book. It was one that I didn't want to end, but I was also continually curious to see what the author would do. The characters are outstanding-- the book centers around three families in 1979 in Chicago. We get chapters from the various kids' perspectives, and from the adult ones. I was hugely impressed by Langer's ability to make each character so well formed. He also does a magnificent job in weaving together all of these narratives. I thought the book was hilarious and sad and intricate and hopeful and altogether wonderful.

Backlog Part One (of Three)

I'm a slug for not posting in October.
That said, I kept a list of what I read, so I have plenty of fodder.

First, two books by authors I like that didn't live up to their usual work (in my humble opinion):


The Overlook by Michael Connelly
At first, I started reading more mysteries because they're my mom's favorites, and I love being able to talk about them with her. Now I've really grown fond of a lot of mystery authors, and Michael Connelly is near the top of that list. His books featuring Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch are always suspenseful and well done. That said, this book was my least favorite of all of his I've read. It started as a serial in the New York Times, and this seemed apparent to me. The end seemed kind of uninspired and the book as a whole was not nearly as cohesive as his work usually is. I do recommend this book, just not highly, and I'd recommend any of his other books over this one.



(Not that You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions by Steve Almond

I have been a fan of Steve Almond ever since I read his book Candyfreak, which is about his extreme love of candy. I went to see him do a reading from the book, and he brought candy for the whole audience, which really endeared him to me. I went on to read his two short story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal, and The Evil B.B.Chow. I particularly enjoyed Which Brings Me to You, a novel in two voices that he co-wrote with Juliana Baggott.
I think that essay collections are often dicey propositions. I always seem to find myself thinking, "Haven't I read this essay before?" only to find that half of the collection has been previously published elsewhere. Plus, inevitably some of the essays are not as good as the others.
As with the Connelly book, I would still recommend this latest offering from Almond. It has some hilarious essays-- he has a stinging wit with a particular talent for self deprecation. The essay about resigning from his teaching position at Boston College after finding out that Condi Rice was their commencement speaker was one of my favorites in the collection. The essays about baseball I found to be a bit snoozy, but that may be my personal bias.

American Woman in Baghdad

American Woman by Susan Choi

The bones of this story are eerily similar to the Patty Hearst saga in the 70s-- rich girl kidnapped by "revolutionaries" turns to their side. That said, I liked this book because of that and in spite of it. Jenny Shimada is on the run from the law and agrees to harbor the fugitives who have the rich captive. Jenny has been evading arrest for several years, and it's interesting to see how her attitude differs from the other characters, who are still full of fire and ideas. The characters are compelling, there's a lot of suspense, and I don't seem to read a lot of books set in the 1970s, so I liked that too.


Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Continuing in my Iraq/Afghanistan reading, I picked up this book after it was recommended to me. It's a nonfiction account written by a Washington Post reporter who spent several years in Baghdad. "Truth is stranger than fiction" is a statement that comes to mind when I think about this book. Someone in the book says that the American occupation of Iraq was a series of missed opportunities and that is illustrated thousand fold in scenario after scenario. I'd heard some of these stories before-- unqualified people appointed to important posts just because of their political affiliation or connections-- but it was good (though painful) to get more details. This was a hard book to read, because there is an overwhelming question of "what could have been?" throughout the chapters. It's well written and compelling, and I recommend it, but you have my warning that it might make you want to cry from frustration about how botched things were.

Mountains

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

I don't know what took me so long to read this, but I'm glad I finally did. It's yet another example of exquisite nonfiction. It's the story of Paul Farmer, a doctor who makes it his life's mission to provide quality medical care to poor people. Much of his work is done in Haiti, where he built a medical compound with an incredible ethos: the medicine is community based. He hires Haitians, he is tireless about education, and if someone doesn't show up for an appointment, someone will go to the patient's house to check on them (or Dr. Farmer himself might hike a couple hours to check!) Dr. Farmer's specialty is multi drug resistant tuberculosis, and he is renowned in the world of infectious disease for the advances he has made in treating it successfully.
I realize this all sounds.. weird. boring. too medicine-y. But it's not, I swear. Farmer is one of those characters who is so full of life that I kept thinking "His story could write itself." As I continued reading, I realized that was untrue. Kidder does a masterful job of showing what a complex character Paul Farmer can be.
I found this book incredibly inspiring and really, you should read it. I'll even loan you my copy.

Mishmash

I've been reading a lot, due to a nice vacation in Mexico and my odd schedule.

The recent highlights:





Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, by Steve Coll. I looked like a weirdo reading this at the beach in Mexico, but I didn't care. This is what all nonfiction should be like: engaging, full of incredible facts, suspenseful. I am still thinking about it a month later, and seeing connections to it everywhere. I only knew a bit about the whole Russia/Afghanistan/US connection, but thanks to this book, I know much more and actually feel like I understand it. The roots of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden's madness are also detailed here. I highly, highly recommend this one. Other 9/11 related books that I think are worth reading include Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies and the 9/11 Commission Report. Um, in case you were saying "I wonder what else Laura would recommend?"





Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee. I've now read all of his novels (the others are A Gesture Life and Aloft and if forced to pick a favorite I think I'd pick Aloft) and I am such a fan of this author. His characters are always compelling--they are usually Korean-Americans who are struggling to assimilate. I think he writes great fiction.






Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Full disclosure: I avoided this one for a long time because I was turned off by the title, and the book cover (yes, I know I should know better than to judge a book by its cover..) Plus all of the reviews I read were glowing but I could never get a sense of what the book was actually about. One day it beckoned to me from the New Books shelf at the library and I am so glad that I put aside my first impressions. I really enjoyed this book. It had a great main character, 16 year old Blue Van Meer, and there were twists and turns that I didn't expect.




The Places in Between by Rory Stewart. In January 2002, Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan. He faces not only brutal weather and terrain, but often dangerous situations. Stewart is a historian, and his knowledge of the country's past, along with his ability to speak the language (albeit clumsily at times), allows him to make his way across the land. It is a breathtaking book. I learned so much about Afghanistan's past and present, and I was amazed at Stewart's bravery and grace.

Hi, Internet. I've been meaning to do this for a long time, and kept chickening out, but I'm giving it a shot now. Books! Let's talk about them!

The premise of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life is both breathtakingly daring and simple: Barbara Kingsolver and her family decided that for one year, they would eat only food that they grew themselves, or bought from local farmers. They moved from Arizona to rural Virginia, where they planted a huge garden and began to raise chickens and turkeys.

Farming and rural life are very close to my heart. I lived on a farm until I was ten years old. My mother's side of the family still owns a farm that an ancestor received as payment for being a soldier in the War of 1812. I am part of the first generation on my father's side of the family to not be farmers. I remember being a little kid, riding in the tractor on my Grandpa Scott's lap, looking out the window, thinking that the fields stretched on forever. We rode along on the hayrack while my dad and uncle bailed hay-- I have always loved how bales of hay look dotting a pasture. I gathered still warm eggs from underneath hens, and got my hand away before a beak pecked me. My brothers and I husked thousands of ears of sweet corn sitting on our old picnic table. My dad loved to have big gardens, and I delighted in following behind him, dropping seeds into the furrow he'd created.

I grew up eating food that was grown on our farm or nearby. That reality now seems so far removed from my life, and the world we live in.

Kingsolver's tone is nearly pitch perfect. She never condescends, but it is apparent that her knowledge is vast, and her passion for the topic shines through. The facts she spills out are harrowing. She is aghast that we have become so disengaged from our food and food sources. She hates that organic food is often looked down upon as something that only rich people eat or can afford.

I think this is my favorite passage in the book. It's a bit lengthy, but I couldn't bear to abbreviate it:

"Most people of my grandparents' generation had an intuitive sense of agricultural basics: when various fruits and vegetables come into season, which ones keep through the winter, how to preserve the others. On what day autumn's first frost will likely fall on their county, and when to expect the last one in the spring. Which crops can be planted before the last frost, and which must wait. Which grains are autumn-planted. What an asparagus patch looks like in August. Most importantly: what animals and vegetables thrive in one's immediate region and how to live well on those, with little else thrown into the mix beyond a bag of flour, a pinch of salt, and a handful of coffee. Few people of my generation, and approximately none of our children, could answer any of those questions, let alone all. This knowledge has vanished from our culture.

We also have largely convinced ourselves it wasn't too important. Consider how Americans might respond to a proposal that agriculture was to become a mandatory subject in all schools, alongside reading and mathematics. A fair number of parents would get hot under the collar to see their kids' attention being pulled away from the essentials of grammar, the all-important trigonometry, to make room for down on the farm stuff. The baby boom psyche embraces a powerful presumption that education is a key to moving away from manual labor, and dirt-- two undeniable ingredients of farming. It's good enough for us that somebody, somewhere, knows food production well enough to serve the rest of us with all we need to eat, each day of our lives.

If that is true, why isn't it good enough for someone else to know multiplication and the contents of the Bill of Rights? Is the story of bread, from tilled ground to our table, less relevant to our lives than the history of the thirteen colonies? Couldn't one make a case for the relevance of a subject that informs choices we make daily-- as in, What's for dinner? Isn't ignorance of our food sources causing problems as diverse as overdependence on petroleum, and an epidemic of diet related diseases?"

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. p. 9

I was enthralled by this book and I highly recommend it.