I finished Life of Pi and it was good. I feel like this is my husband's book though, so he should be the one to review it. Without the fanfare I think I would have liked it a bit more, but it was good all the same. I both love and hate books that leave me with questions at the end, as this one did: was it real? Were they animals or were they humans all along? Would we have read and loved the book if they were indeed humans?
I hope no-one reads this without having read Life of Pi first or I might have given the game away.
I gave it four cheese wheels out of five.
After Life of Pi I read a book called "The Borgia Bride" by Jeanne Kalogridis. I had the choice of reading the Adolf Hitler bio, The Beautiful and Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald or this, and asked M to help me choose, and he chose this. It was the right choice. I feel like I've been doing some heavy reading- not serious stuff, but just thought provoking stuff - so it was good to get something a but lighter.
It's funny, after reading really well written books, especially ones which really focus on language and dialogue as a means of technical creativity (think: Evelyn Waugh) how flabby books like this feel. It wasn't bad, it was quite readable, but just not as tight as the last few books I've read. Yann Martel really focused on the conceptual and as I've said, Waugh and the Mitfords on language, so this book just felt a bit indulgent. I really respect writers who keep their work tight and not rambling. This clearly is a bit of a problem for me.
"The Borgia Bride" adds fiction to non-fiction by telling the story of Sancha of Aragon who marries the youngest Borgia and moves to Rome. The Borgias are the notoriously depraved papal family of the 1400s and early 1500s, renowned for incest and the murder of all those they consider "enemies", so much so that the River Tiber was full of dead bodies. The most depraved of all is often claimed to be the one sister, Lucrezia, but I have a feeling this is because she is a woman, and historical women who behave like the men of their era are often not painted with the same brush. Anyway Sancha marries Jofre, but has an affair with Cesare, his brother. Chaos ensues.
I thought that this book might be a bit Mills & Boon with Italian accents, but it wasn't. It was actually difficult to keep track of all the political maneuvering and names. I thought perhaps a few events were included that weren't necessary, perhaps to add to the "based on a true story" element of the book.
But it just didn't grab me by the balls. So I gave it 2.5 cheese wheels out of five.
Now I'm reading "No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman. I got it on Fishpond 'cause it was $14 and it nudged me over the $50 limit you need to get free postage. I thought, by the look of it, that it would be one of those cheaply mass-produced biographies, full of flowery language and monosyllables (usually published by Virgin, on cheap paper, sold for $10.99 and containing a collection of the dealings of serial killers- you know the type) but a bit of research uncovered good reviews. It was No.1 on the NY Times bestseller list, and I actually know Danny Sugerman's work (Wonderland Ave is lying around my house somewhere).
The Doors were very popular at my high school in about 1994-95, I think because of the 1991 film, and remembering I grew up in surburban NSW, Australia, so most of the kids would have had to wait until it was on tv to see it. I tended to stay away from bands or movies that were too popular, not because I wanted to be different, but because I had been burned so many times before by the recommendations that turned out to be crap. So there were a lot of iron-on Doors badges stuck onto bags and Jim Morrison t-shirts floating about.
My brother had the best of cd, and I stumbled across it in about 1997 and thought I'd give it a go. I actually really liked it. I like the music every time I hear it, but I just can't get past the fact that Morrison is such a wanker. I hate people who take themselves too seriously. He did have a way with words, and the music can be hauntingly beautiful, but I don't know how he could have sung some of the ad-libbing on "The End" and "Gloria" without pissing himself laughing. I think if I had found out they all did crack up in the dressing room afterward and say "I can't believe they bought it again" I would have a lot more respect for them.
I've finished Chapter One, Jimbo has just finished high school, his parents are despairing about his wacky behaviour so have enrolled him in college in Florida. He's just about on his way.
PS: My favourite Doors song is "Crystal Ship", followed by "The End". The copy of "The End" that I have on iTunes cuts out early and flows immediately into "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Doris Day. It always freaks people out.
16 February 2009
10 February 2009
Vile Bodies? Not too vile at all
I actually finished this book about three days ago, alright? I've been busy, alright? I'm SORRY. I'll be more punctual in future.
The verdict? I liked it. I thought Waugh was an early 20th century Bret Easton Ellis, without all the guts and black stuff. He shows up the more hollow side of the aristocracy, and why was I glad that it sort of worked for Nina and Adam? I didn't think they were a good couple, necessarily. But it was insightful and funny, and that can't be bad.
So I give Vile Bodies 4 cheese wheels out of five.
Other stuff:
* I found out that if you submit a 50 word review to fishpond.com, you get 20c credit on your account. I did a stack of them in an hour or so. So, if I submit 22 reviews a day (trust me, it's not hard), this is a (free!) book a week. Only problem is, you can't review books that have already been reviewed by someone else. But as I've read so many children's books over the years, I can make this work. Sweet!
* I have succumbed to husbandal pressure and am reading Life of Pi. It's pretty good.
The verdict? I liked it. I thought Waugh was an early 20th century Bret Easton Ellis, without all the guts and black stuff. He shows up the more hollow side of the aristocracy, and why was I glad that it sort of worked for Nina and Adam? I didn't think they were a good couple, necessarily. But it was insightful and funny, and that can't be bad.
So I give Vile Bodies 4 cheese wheels out of five.
Other stuff:
* I found out that if you submit a 50 word review to fishpond.com, you get 20c credit on your account. I did a stack of them in an hour or so. So, if I submit 22 reviews a day (trust me, it's not hard), this is a (free!) book a week. Only problem is, you can't review books that have already been reviewed by someone else. But as I've read so many children's books over the years, I can make this work. Sweet!
* I have succumbed to husbandal pressure and am reading Life of Pi. It's pretty good.
05 February 2009
The distant future with hologram conferences
Here is a list of books I have read many times and will certainly read again:
1. Lolita (read 3 times)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (3 times)
3. 1984 (4 times)
4. Louis Be Bernieres trilogy (Senor Viva etc) (2 times)
5. The Princess Bride (2 times)
1. Lolita (read 3 times)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (3 times)
3. 1984 (4 times)
4. Louis Be Bernieres trilogy (Senor Viva etc) (2 times)
5. The Princess Bride (2 times)
5 books to read again before you die
I will get back to these 5 one day:
1. Catch 22
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. David Copperfield
4. His Dark Materials trilogy
5. Blonde
Bear in mind that this is a list of books I've only read once, and plan to read again. There is another list, of books I've read countless times, and know I'll read again. Maybe, a long time from now, in the distant future, I'll make that list. When we have hologram conferences and flying cars.
1. Catch 22
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. David Copperfield
4. His Dark Materials trilogy
5. Blonde
Bear in mind that this is a list of books I've only read once, and plan to read again. There is another list, of books I've read countless times, and know I'll read again. Maybe, a long time from now, in the distant future, I'll make that list. When we have hologram conferences and flying cars.
Miss Runcible and Mr Outrage
I'm really enjoying this book. It's hard to make the adjustment from non-fiction to fiction, but it's good. The language is a bit of an adjustment too- all the "terribly sick-making" and "simply divine" sort of stuff.
As an aside, I was reading in the bath tub and I dropped the book in the water. I haven't done this in YEARS. I left Alice in Wonderland out in the rain when I was about 10. I didn't mind. When it dried it was all crinkly, like a well loved book without the loving. What was amazing though about today was the speed at which the book swelled up and absorbed the water, 'cause I scooped it out pretty quick.
But I'm a bit worried now that the pages will stick together. Might leave it out in the sun to dry. But it's about 38 degrees today, so I hope it doesn't spontaneously combust. I'd never know if Adam and Nina get married.
As an aside, I was reading in the bath tub and I dropped the book in the water. I haven't done this in YEARS. I left Alice in Wonderland out in the rain when I was about 10. I didn't mind. When it dried it was all crinkly, like a well loved book without the loving. What was amazing though about today was the speed at which the book swelled up and absorbed the water, 'cause I scooped it out pretty quick.
But I'm a bit worried now that the pages will stick together. Might leave it out in the sun to dry. But it's about 38 degrees today, so I hope it doesn't spontaneously combust. I'd never know if Adam and Nina get married.
Vile Bodies #1
Waugh talks about a party in the early hours of the morning:
"There were about a dozen people left at the party; that hard kernal of gaiety that never breaks."
I like that. It's very apt, we have held a few parties in our time, and there is always the group that stays behind after everyone else leaves, in the wee hours. It's usually the best part of the party, by that stage you are worn out, the hosts have usually changed out of their party clothes and into trackies, at least three people are drinking tea. Conversations are free and photos sordid but the experience binds you all together, at least until the next party.
"There were about a dozen people left at the party; that hard kernal of gaiety that never breaks."
I like that. It's very apt, we have held a few parties in our time, and there is always the group that stays behind after everyone else leaves, in the wee hours. It's usually the best part of the party, by that stage you are worn out, the hosts have usually changed out of their party clothes and into trackies, at least three people are drinking tea. Conversations are free and photos sordid but the experience binds you all together, at least until the next party.
04 February 2009
Things I love...#183363
I finished Hons and Rebels today. I found it completely modest and without artifice, unlike Diana Mosley's claptrap. In fact, parts of it made me want to re-read "A Life of Contrasts", but I don't think I could handle it at the moment. I need a Mitford break. But I'm not taking too much of a break, just a detour to Evelyn Waugh's "Vile Bodies". I think.
Jessica MItford ends the book with the her husband Esmond Romilly leaving to go to war at the age of 22 (I think), which would put her at 23. At this age already she had lived two or three lives of normal people.
I found the very brief mention of the death of her four month old daughter (Julia, though she never mentions her by name) particularly poignant- I have a four month old daughter, asleep in her cot, right now. She describes the dreams that Esmond and herself had for the baby, that she would be free of the restraints that were placed upon themselves as they were growing up, of nannies and governesses, and that she would be surrounded by intelligent, interesting people. We have the same dreams for our own little girl, that she is free of the religious indoctrination and prejudices that were forced upon us as children, and that she is free to pursue anything she wants to pursue. She describes their joy at watching her grow- learning to smile and catching her feet with unsteady hands- the very same thing M and I do every day. However, through partial ignorance on the part of a baby nurse and herself, mother and baby both come down with a horrible case of the measles and mother recovers, only to find baby at death's door in an oxygen tent. She struggles on for a few days, and dies. How awful. They flee to Corsica to attempt to, in any way, recover from the terrible shock.
This story is told, amongst others, with consummate grace and poise, not flowery or trite in any way. I have often noticed, in the autobiographies of women, that events like this are placed alongside wars and political intrigues with equal emphasis, which is where I believe they belong too. The death of a baby is more of a tragedy than the death of Eva Braun, for so many reasons. And, for me, made all the more real by my living, breathing, perfect baby, just ten steps away.
So well done, Jessica Mitford, on recreating your heady youth. I think I read somewhere that she has since written a follow-up to this book, describing her departure from Communism. I'll dig it up one day, but not today. For now, it's Arcade Fire and watching my baby sleep.
Jessica MItford ends the book with the her husband Esmond Romilly leaving to go to war at the age of 22 (I think), which would put her at 23. At this age already she had lived two or three lives of normal people.
I found the very brief mention of the death of her four month old daughter (Julia, though she never mentions her by name) particularly poignant- I have a four month old daughter, asleep in her cot, right now. She describes the dreams that Esmond and herself had for the baby, that she would be free of the restraints that were placed upon themselves as they were growing up, of nannies and governesses, and that she would be surrounded by intelligent, interesting people. We have the same dreams for our own little girl, that she is free of the religious indoctrination and prejudices that were forced upon us as children, and that she is free to pursue anything she wants to pursue. She describes their joy at watching her grow- learning to smile and catching her feet with unsteady hands- the very same thing M and I do every day. However, through partial ignorance on the part of a baby nurse and herself, mother and baby both come down with a horrible case of the measles and mother recovers, only to find baby at death's door in an oxygen tent. She struggles on for a few days, and dies. How awful. They flee to Corsica to attempt to, in any way, recover from the terrible shock.
This story is told, amongst others, with consummate grace and poise, not flowery or trite in any way. I have often noticed, in the autobiographies of women, that events like this are placed alongside wars and political intrigues with equal emphasis, which is where I believe they belong too. The death of a baby is more of a tragedy than the death of Eva Braun, for so many reasons. And, for me, made all the more real by my living, breathing, perfect baby, just ten steps away.
So well done, Jessica Mitford, on recreating your heady youth. I think I read somewhere that she has since written a follow-up to this book, describing her departure from Communism. I'll dig it up one day, but not today. For now, it's Arcade Fire and watching my baby sleep.
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