September 2018--Reading while awaiting Elizabeth Bishop's "September rain..."

"Sestina"
by Elizabeth Bishop

September rain falls on the house.

In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears...

*****************

Starting off September re-reading Annie Dillard's magnificent HOLY THE FIRM.

I own a number of books on religion and spirituality but this one is near and dear to my heart.

I finished the absolutely fascinating Caliph of Cairo last month, and have started a collection of articles about the Fatimid Empire (the Fatimid Caliphate edited by Farhad Daftary). I am picking up Dark Money at the library today for some more recent history. Oh, and I also picked up a book of my husband's, The Trojan War by Barry Strauss. It contains neat and evocative photos! I really want to visit Greece and Turkey some day.

On the fictional front, I have Moo on hold but not ready for me yet. Looking forward to that. I have not read any academia-satires since my last David Lodge several years ago. They're always fun.

The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzmán – Louis de Bernières
3.5*** (rounded up for use of language)

The third and final installment in this author’s “Latin American Trilogy” returns to the village of Cochadebajo, in the mountains of an unnamed South American country (presumably Columbia). Many of the characters from earlier novels reappear, including Dionisio Vivo, the General, the President, various rebels, and the giant panthers. De Bernières also gives us a demented Cardinal and his horde of fanatical followers, bent on destroying those who refuse to adhere to their version of the faith.

I love these books. I love his clever writing and vivid imagery, the outlandish plot points, and outrageous scenarios. While I am not a great fan of satire, I enjoy this kind of novel which satirizes and skewers political and religious fervor run amok. There are passages that had me laughing aloud, and others that completely horrified me.

The reader who can suspend disbelief and tolerate a great deal of magical occurrences will be delighted. However, I definitely recommend you begin with the first book in the trilogy: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts

Up the Down Staircase – Bel Kaufman
4****

From the book jacket: Never before has a novel so compellingly laid bare the inner workings of a metropolitan high school. This is the funny and touching story of a committed, idealistic teacher whose clash with school bureaucracy is a timeless lesson for students, teachers, parents – anyone concerned about public education.

My reactions
This is written in a kind of epistolary style – notes in the suggestion box, memos from the school principal or nurse or clerk, letters written to a college friend, messages from fellow teachers, items posted on the bulletin board, etc. There are misspellings and doodles (where the kids are writing in the suggestion box or school assignments), ALL CAPS (memos from the “all important” vice principal), and bureaucratic gobbledygook psychobabble (from the school counselor who fancies herself a Freudian psychoanalyst). Guess we can be thankful that Kaufman wrote this before texting abbreviations! It makes for a fast and very engaging read, and lends an air of verisimilitude.

The novel crams much truth into this wild ride of a semester’s experiences for this brand new teacher. It’s interesting to watch Sylvia Barrett come to recognize her students’ hidden talents, aspirations and needs. It’s also interesting to witness her growth as a professional educator, how she learns the ins and outs of the system, whom to trust, where to seek mentoring, and determining where her future lies.

I loved the way her students interpreted the classics! Some were hilariously off the mark. But many were poignant and reflected their modern-day experiences.

Some of these students have heartbreaking back stories. Children having to take on responsibility for ailing parents and younger siblings, or fearing for their own safety. Kids facing homelessness, tempted by gangs, or struggling with prejudice or bullying. Girls worrying about their appearance; boys concerned with looking tough. As in real life, this good teacher managed to connect to a few of these students, and tragically lost others.

Hard to believe this was written in the ‘60s and still stands up today. I’ve never seen the movie, but am tempted to track it down.

I have finished Moo. Oh my god. It was so funny and so good. I have to read more by this author. Highly recommended, especially if you find satirical stories set in universities to be your thing.

Have you ever read Richard Russo's STRAIGHT MAN, Anna?

It's one of his best, skewering academia, making me laugh out loud on numerous occasions.

Currently reading Possession. Enjoying it so far, and it's much better than the film.

>7 iansales: I remember reading that many years ago. I loved it, it's really my type of book. I have never seen the film because I don't think you're the first person to observe that it is not as good as the book so I decided not to bother.

>8 anna_in_pdx: It's an odd book, I'm finding. Published in 1990 and but feels like it's set in the early 1980s (and the one date I've found so far is 1988, which is implied to be a few years hence). The poet at the centre of the story, well, his poems are pretty awful. And the correspondence which forms the centre-piece of the story reads too arch and coy to really convince as a meeting of minds. The prose is also often very fussy, with a strange fascination of describing domestic bathrooms in great detail. I'm enjoying it. but I'd rate The End of Days or Girl Reading better books.

>7 iansales:, >8 anna_in_pdx: I once worked for Antonia Byatt's ex-husband. Given that Ian talks of her "describing domestic bathrooms in great detail", I find it amusing that Ian Byatt was Director General of Water Services.... :-)

After the Funeral – Agatha Christie
Audiobook read by Hugh Fraser
3***

Originally published as Funerals Are Fatal

From the book jacket: When Cora Lansquenet is savagely murdered with a hatchet, the extraordinary remark she made the previous day at her brother Richard’s funeral suddenly takes on a chilling significance. At the reading of Richard’s will, Cora was clearly heard to say, “It’s been hushed up very nicely, hasn’t it… But he was murdered, wasn’t he?” In desperation the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery.

My reactions
Oh, I love Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. Always entertaining and always keeping me guessing. Here we have quite a number of characters, all of whom seem to have some motive for killing Cora Lansquenet and/or Richard Abernathie. I’m glad I had a text copy along, because it has a family tree printed in it, which is a great help in keeping these various Abernathie relations straight. What a family! Hardly a likeable person in the bunch. I’d have been happy to have any one of them be the murderer. But that’s the joy of a Christie mystery.

The killer and Dame Christie cleverly give us many red herrings, false clues, misleading statements, and seemingly meaningless occurrences to confuse, baffle and thwart any attempts at solving the mystery. But, of course, Hercule Poirot will unveil the person responsible. I was almost as surprised as the culprit when the reveal came.

Hugh Fraser does a commendable job of voicing the audio. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep them straight at time, especially when there is a meeting of two or more women, but Fraser manages quite well. And I do love his interpretation of Hercule Poirot!

Halfway through SPACE ODYSSEY (no touchstone?), an authoritative account of the making of the science fiction classic. Michael Benson is the author.

I've read a lot on the subject, still found some new material here. Recommended.

I picked up a copy of Heinrich Harrer's The White Spider at a charity shop yesterday and started reading it during a spell of enforced waiting in a hospital (I was chauffeur, not patient). One of the original works in a sub-genre of misery memoir dubbed by some as "men with ice in beards"; but with having been to the Eiger, this has a certain immediacy to me.

Finished Gerald Kersh's THE IMPLACABLE HUNTER. It's a well-executed work of historical fiction, centered around Paul, who went from being a sworn enemy of "Nazarenes" to being one of their greatest disciples and advocates.

I heard about Kersh from Harlan Ellison, who, in one of his intros, bemoaned the fact that most of Kersh's books are no longer in print. Kersh wrote in a variety of genres and one of his efforts was the source of the great noir movie "Night and the City".

Seek him out, he's worth the effort.

Hopefully the NYRB press or something similar will re-issue his best titles.

>14 CliffBurns: Hopefully the NYRB press ... will re-issue his best titles

NYRB's site provides a page for making just such suggestions: https://www.nyrb.com/pages/recommend-book

Thanks--I think I'll drop them a line...

>13 RobertDay: A must read for climbers. I've never read his Seven Years in Tibet where he ends up tutoring the Dalai Lama, hard to imagine it's the same person.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm – Kate Douglas Wiggin
4****

Rebecca Randall is the young girl at the center of this classic coming-of-age novel. Living on the idyllic Sunnybrook Farm with her six siblings and her widowed mother, she is sent at age nine to live with her two elderly aunts in Riverboro, Maine. In exchange for her help they will provide room and board, a suitable wardrobe and ensure she receives an education. Her mother hopes it will be “the making of Rebecca.” The novel follows Rebecca through young adulthood.

What a delight this classic is! Of course, I had seen the Shirley Temple movie several times when I was a child, but never read the book. While the novel is very different from Temple’s movie, Rebecca’s irrepressible character is the same. First published in 1903, it is set primarily in the late 19th century.

From the first introduction, as she boards the stagecoach as the lone passenger, Rebecca charms and entertains. She is ever curious, constantly moving, always exploring, and chattering away. She makes friends easily, whether it be with the elderly coach driver, or the girls and boys in her school. She makes mistakes and gets into mischief (what child doesn’t!), but she wins over even her irascible oldest aunt, Miranda.

I wish Wiggin had written a sequel; I sure would read more about Rebecca as a young woman. She’s every bit as engaging and interesting as Anne Shirley (of Green Gables) who was brought to life by L.M. Montgomery some five years after Rebecca Randall debuted.

Finished Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood. A memoir focused on his life just before WWII. Must have been a breakthrough when it first came out but doesn't have a lot to offer these days. Underwhelming.

Started The Book of Disquiet by Pessoa. These are prose fragments that are part philosophy, part poetry. They demand a lot of attention. Not sure if I can finish them now but most of what I've read is really impressive.

God, Dark Money is a really, really grim read. I am having trouble making myself read it. Still plugging along. So far they've torpedoed health care and the stimulus. Reliving these events is surprisingly upsetting.

#20 I've had my eye on that one as well. I've heard interviews with Ms. Meyer, she's an excellent, intelligent journalist.

#19 I have the Pessoa, what a fascinating man (multiple literary personas, etc.). Best taken in small snippets, methinks, to ease the process of absorption/digestion...

>21 CliffBurns:
That's what I was thinking, yes. I can't remember who it was that said that Pessoa was a whole generation of writers all by himself.

Yes, treat him like a poet, resist the urge to binge. Small increments...

Not sure if members are aware of The Long Take ? today it made the short list of Man Booker> below if my LT review:

The Long Take by Robin Robertson (author)

The Long Take (or A Way to Lose More Slowly)
By Robin Robertson

A less audacious modern day, streetwise Odyssey. A Canadian WW II veteran, forsaking his home in Nova Scotia, when discharged stops first in New York City where he finds work on the docks as a longshoreman. Walker, as he is known, then makes his way to Los Angeles where he fast talks himself into a job as a cub reporter at the local Press, and it is not long before he’s writing movie reviews and researches a long human-interest critique of skid row denizens, many of them vets, both in LA and San Francisco.

Along the way he meets hardened city reporters, down and out vets, ladies looking for one night stands, movie directors and actors and other assorted types. Despite this he remains unattached, uncomfortable in his own skin, guilt ridden, battle fatigued and unloving. The closest he has to a friend is a black guy named Billy Idaho whom he meets rooming in the same flop house he resides at.

Reminiscent of Kerouac, this story, written in verse form, sings of be-bop jazz rhythms with a strong dose of Hollywood noirish settings, smoke filled rooms, seedy bars and brutal honesty. Flashbacks of war, tinnitus and wounded pride are all a part of this gripping and creative tale. Visions of war interspersed with reporters chasing down crime scenes like hungry sharks chasing after ambulances to get close to the patient as he is rolled into the ER dropping their business cards on his bloodied torso. Taking place during the late 1940s and mid 1950s, Walker comments on the events of his time, the McCarthy Red-Scare, Emmitt Till, Rosa Parks and Eisenhower running for President.

Near the end the pace picks up as the verse switches quickly from an LA wrecking ball clearing more open lots for new development as it displaces the old and disabled, with horrendous war scenes of first D-Day and then close combat with German SS troops, Walker remembering himself cut off from his comrades, hiding out in the village of Falaise as he is forced to passively witness them being tortured and killed by Nazi monsters.

This juxtaposition of the LA sprawl: “the city expands at pace – to the edges of its territory: the mountains, its neighbors, the ocean’s edge – an infestation, a carcinoma …the city held in balance: always unfinished, always being demolished. If the construction and destruction ever stopped, the city would fail”.
…with scenes of war, a different kind of disease and hell. He waits for night and carefully exits the town crawling with Krauts:
“I’d seen enough, decided to get out of there that night, clear the town and push north-east: try and reach our lines”.

The guilt he’d been living with erupts, “he had to finish telling Billy what he’d done in France. It was eating him up. Eating him alive”.
The tale ends with Walker revealing his horrid tale of revenge, his brutality confessed, all that is left is for him to take a long swig from a bottle.

Robin Robertson has created a masterpiece both in form, structure and depiction of the effects of war on the men who fight to survive. How does one rate such a work, there are not enough stars to recommend this searing tale.

Addendum: Sept 20, 2018
nominated on Man Booker Shortlist. Another excellent recommendation! ( 5 stars )

The Widow Clicquot – Tilar J Mazzeo
3***

The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It.

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born on the eve of the French Revolution. Her wealthy father read the signs of change and positioned himself to ride the wave, saving his textile business, his homes, his fortune and his family. When Barb-Nicole was of age, she married Francois Clicquot, the only son of another wealthy textile merchant, whose family had begun to dabble in wine. As fate would have it, Francois died before his vision was realized, but his young widow took over and cornered the market before anyone realized what she was doing. The dynasty she built remains today as one of the premier champagne houses.

The author, in an effort to not misrepresent, frequently qualifies statements with “perhaps” or “might have.” Mazzeo herself writes about this lack of information.
It is a surprisingly thin biographical record, considering Barbe-Nicole’s celebrity and accomplishments, and writing this book has been an exercise in the oblique. … I wanted to discover not just what she did and when she lived, but how she was able to imagine for herself a different future and how she was able to negotiate those familiar crossroads of grief, despair, and opportunity.

I appreciate that Mazzeo was stymied by scarce records, few (if any) letters or documents that would support a definitive and declarative portrait, and that she wanted to produce a work of non-fiction, not a fictionalized biography. But the result, in my humble opinion, is a book that gives me facts but never brings the lady at the center of the story to life.

I love champagne, though I admit to never having sampled Veuve Clicquot. I also love reading about strong, independent women, especially when they were clearly ahead of their time. But I was bored for much of this book. I wanted more of Barbe-Nicole, herself.

Cold Sassy Tree – Olive Ann Burns
Digital Audiobook performed by Grover Gardner
4****

Thirteen-year-old Will Tweedy narrates Burns’ historical novel which takes place in the small Georgia town of Cold Sassy Tree circa 1906. It starts when his grandfather, E Rucker Blakeslee elopes with Miss Love Simpson. It’s a scandal, given that Blakeslee’s wife was buried just three weeks prior, that Miss Simpson is only half Blakeslee’s age, and even worse, Love is a Yankee!

Oh ,what a treat this novel is! The characters are richly drawn, and cover the gamut of personalities. I was completely engaged in the story from beginning to end, laughing aloud several times as I watched the residents engage in gossip and speculation. Change is a constant theme … from the personal relationships to the introduction of automobiles, the citizens of Cold Sassy Tree manage to adjust, sometimes with grace and other times with more than a little consternation.

Will is a wonderful observer with the curiosity of a young boy, especially when it comes to relationships between male and female adults. I loved the pranks he played and the tall tales he wove. And was touched by the tenderness of his first love.

Grover Gardner does a marvelous job performing the audio. He has a lot of characters to interpret and does a great job of Will Tweedy and Grandpa Blakeslee. He even does an acceptable rendition of the female voices.

Finished James Lee Burke's NEON RAIN.

Gritty, violent thriller, set in N'awlins.

Gripping and well-written, a mystery novel with literary overtones.

Recommended.

Polished off another tight, well-paced book, John D. MacDonald's BARRIER ISLAND.

Land swindles and murder in Mississippi.

MacDonald knows how to tell a story, paint a picture with just a few canny strokes.

Recommended.

Finished reading the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. Seems there isn't a scientific field this fellow isn't willing to plunge into with both feet and tell the reader all about, without dumbing it down any too much. I needed it a bit dumber, but it was still a fascinating look into how Mars could one day be terraformed and settled.

>29 Cecrow: If you like hard sci fi like KSR's stuff I recommend The Swarm by Frank Schatzing.