Cannonball II officially kicks off tomorrow, and I'm now completely caught up on reviews for the books I've read in the past few weeks. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish Antony and Cleopatra in time, but I did, fortunately.
Since this now wraps up Cannonball I for me (I kept reviewing and tracking them because even though I reached 100 and the official end date had passed, I figured my year had started later, so why not), here is the complete list of what I've read this past year, Jan 09-Oct 09, with links to the reviews.
119. Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough
118. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
117. The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
116. The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin
115. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
114. The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov
113. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
112. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
111. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
110. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
109. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
108. Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov
107. Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
106. Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick
105. Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane
104. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
103. Sacred by Dennis Lehane
102. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
101. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
100. Firestarter by Stephen King
99. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
98. Edinburgh by Alexander Chee
97. First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood by Thrity Umrigar
96. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown
95. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
94. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
93. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee
92. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
91. Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane
90. The 25th Hour by David Benioff
89. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
88. Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov
87. Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield
86. The Women by T.C. Boyle
85. Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
84. If Today Be Sweet by Thrity Umrigar
83. A Ship Made of Paper by Scott Spencer
82. The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith
81. The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
80. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
79. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
78. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
77. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
76. The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
75. The Children of Men by P.D. James
74. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
73. Paula by Isabel Allende
72. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
71. Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain
70. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
69. City of Thieves by David Benioff
68. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
67. Away by Amy Bloom
66. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
65. Carrie by Stephen King
64. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
63. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
62. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
61. The Body Project by Joan Jacobs Brumberg
60. Bombay Time by Thrity Umrigar
59. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
58. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
57. Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende
56. The Book of Revelation by Rupert Thomson
55. The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan
54. Affinity by Sarah Waters
53. Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat
52. The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
51. The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende
50. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
49. Shakespeare's Philosophy by Colin McGinn
48. Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
47. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
46. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
45. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
44. Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
43. She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
42. A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis
41. City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin
40. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
39. The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
38. Little Children by Tom Perrotta
37. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
36. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
35. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
34. Fledgling by Octavia Butler
33. With Violets by Elizabeth Robards
32. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
31. Song Yet Sung by James McBride
30. Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
29. Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
28. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
27. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
26. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
25. Peony in Love by Lisa See
24. Who By Fire by Diana Speichler
23. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
22. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
21. Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
20. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
19. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
18. The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich
17. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
16. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
15. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
14. Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti
13. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
12. The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle
11. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
10. The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
9. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
8. A Thread of Grace by Maria Doria Russell
7. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
6. Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
5. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
4. The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
3. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
2. The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
1. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Book 119: Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough
I started reading this series my freshmen year of high school. This should be the last one - especially since I originally thought the one before this, where Caesar dies, was the last one. While Caesar's death definitely was the end of a certain era in Roman history, I think it probably was good to include this part of history in the series as well since it isn't until Marcus Antonius is dead that Octavian really is the undisputed ruler of Rome, and becomes Augustus and the first Roman emperor.
The novels is in this series tend to be long - I remember the first one I read, I enjoyed immensely, but I also skimmed through all the letters because those got kind of dull and long. Fortunately there aren't too many letters in this one. Of course everyone knows the basic jist of the story, but McCullough does a good job of adding in the details, exploring how the propaganda may have worked and mentioning all the minor characters. Seriously, when reading these, it sometimes seems like everybody in Rome has the same name almost or they all have the same three names in different orders. It could easily get confusing in other hands.
So basically, McCullough definitely has the history part down. Therefore, how much someone enjoys the story basically has a lot to do with her portrayal of her characters - if you are sympathetic say to Cleopatra and Anthony (and who wouldn't be - epic love story), then you might not be too happy with the way things go. Especially Cleopatra. McCullough definitely has her moments where she treats all her characters with sympathy and is understanding of their weaknesses, but Cleopatra is probably portrayed in the least favorable light. Octavian, on the other hand, she is obviously very fond of - I guess I can see why, he brought reform and peace to Rome after decades of war, both civil and expansionist. It was actually kind of nice to see things from his perspective for once (one of the other novels I read on this subject was The Memoirs of Cleopatra - guess who is kind of an evil monster) but I still wish Cleopatra hadn't come off as quite such a villain.
Maybe it's just me, but while of course I know of Augustus as a historical figure, he usually seems so much less interesting than Caesar or Anthony or Cleopatra. I think it's just between Caesar's dramatic murder and then the whole Anthony and Cleopatra story (as well as the suicide by snake), it's hard to compete when it comes to taking over the popular imagination. Peaceful reigns aren't exciting to portray in movies although they are good for the people experiencing them.
I started reading this series my freshmen year of high school. This should be the last one - especially since I originally thought the one before this, where Caesar dies, was the last one. While Caesar's death definitely was the end of a certain era in Roman history, I think it probably was good to include this part of history in the series as well since it isn't until Marcus Antonius is dead that Octavian really is the undisputed ruler of Rome, and becomes Augustus and the first Roman emperor.
The novels is in this series tend to be long - I remember the first one I read, I enjoyed immensely, but I also skimmed through all the letters because those got kind of dull and long. Fortunately there aren't too many letters in this one. Of course everyone knows the basic jist of the story, but McCullough does a good job of adding in the details, exploring how the propaganda may have worked and mentioning all the minor characters. Seriously, when reading these, it sometimes seems like everybody in Rome has the same name almost or they all have the same three names in different orders. It could easily get confusing in other hands.
So basically, McCullough definitely has the history part down. Therefore, how much someone enjoys the story basically has a lot to do with her portrayal of her characters - if you are sympathetic say to Cleopatra and Anthony (and who wouldn't be - epic love story), then you might not be too happy with the way things go. Especially Cleopatra. McCullough definitely has her moments where she treats all her characters with sympathy and is understanding of their weaknesses, but Cleopatra is probably portrayed in the least favorable light. Octavian, on the other hand, she is obviously very fond of - I guess I can see why, he brought reform and peace to Rome after decades of war, both civil and expansionist. It was actually kind of nice to see things from his perspective for once (one of the other novels I read on this subject was The Memoirs of Cleopatra - guess who is kind of an evil monster) but I still wish Cleopatra hadn't come off as quite such a villain.
Maybe it's just me, but while of course I know of Augustus as a historical figure, he usually seems so much less interesting than Caesar or Anthony or Cleopatra. I think it's just between Caesar's dramatic murder and then the whole Anthony and Cleopatra story (as well as the suicide by snake), it's hard to compete when it comes to taking over the popular imagination. Peaceful reigns aren't exciting to portray in movies although they are good for the people experiencing them.
Book 118: Skeletons at the Feast
Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
I'm not sure why I got this novel exactly - I'm sure it was recommended by Amazon since I have read a few World War II and Holocaust novels, but this tends to be more as seen from the German side rather than through the eyes of their victims. It is probably a little harder to write from that perspective, especially when trying to make sympathetic characters because there is always that issue of "even if they didn't directly participate in the Holocaust, they were complicit by allowing it to happen or benefited from Hitler's regime in some way."
Anna, the main character, is the eighteen year old daughter of a well-to-do family in the part of Poland that was once German, and then not, and then basically helped serve as an excuse for Hitler to invade. Being of German blood, obviously, the Nazi occupation didn't hurt them and in fact benefitted them. For example, when the novel begins, it is towards the end of the war, and Anna's family has seven prisoners of war under their care to help them with the harvest. After the harvest, all but one are sent back - a young Scottish man named Callum who is in a "secret" relationship with Anna.
However, the novel mainly portrays Anna's family's flight from their home as the Soviet Army drives the Germans further and further west. Along with many others, they form as stream of refugees heading westward. Anna's father and twin brother leave her, her mother, little brother and Callum behind at the beginning of their travels to help make one last stand against the Russians for their home. While Callum does offer some male protection, the family also has to keep him hidden in their wagons because a) any male of his age would be suspicious and possibly shot as a deserter, and b) as a POW, he is probably even more likely to get shot if they run into any German authorities. Of course, Anna's family has Callum along not just for protection but also as an assurance for the future: with his word, if they make it far enough west, they might be accepted by the Allies more easily.
Even this late in the game, the Germans still have faith in Hitler - according to this novel at least, they hoped that the Germans would make an alliance with the US and the UK to fight against the Soviets, the "real" enemy. Bohjalian introduces a few characters to show the different reactions people had and how deeply Hitler's propaganda had worked. Obviously he doesn't want to completely villify the family whose journey he is describing, and shows that in some ways, due to their isolation in the country, some of the incredibly anti-Semitic rhetoric hadn't reached them quite as much. Still, there is also an idea that they chose not to know. Anna's parents had Jewish friends that they offered to help and shelter, but the friends left anyway due to the neighbors. Despite this, Anna's mother was still a staunch supporter of Hitler, possibly blaming things on his officers but also just probably not thinking about it too much because that would invariably lead to questions.
While on the move, the family meets Manfred who appears to be part of the Wehrmacht. In reality, his name is Uri, and he is a Jew from Schweinfurt (my grandmother lived there!) who has been surviving the past two years by donning various military uniforms until people grow suspicious or he kills SS members, thus needing a new role.
In addition to these characters, the novel also has sections told from the perspective of Cecile, a young French woman from a rich family who has been in a work camp. It describes her life in the camp as well the march she is forced to go on and some of the atrocities that take place under the guards.
There is naturally a lot of loss and death in the novel, and it shows Anna and her mother finally recognizing and seeing the crimes that Germany has committed and is now being punished for. While many of the other Germans talk about how horrible and violent the invading Russians are and how it shows how incredibly uncultured and barbarian they are, Anna's mother starts to wonder about what they, the Germans had done to deserve this, and states something along the lines of "we must have done something horrible for them to be so angry." Callum who as a POW is of course an ally with the Soviets still doesn't support all their actions, and believes that if America and Britain were in charge on this side, things wouldn't be quite as brutal because those nations are so much more civilized, which is of course easy to say but the Germans were nowhere near as violent in the countries in the West as on the Eastern front. It is therefore hard to compare reactions. Also, I would say the battles in the Pacific theater might attest otherwise.
I'm not sure why I got this novel exactly - I'm sure it was recommended by Amazon since I have read a few World War II and Holocaust novels, but this tends to be more as seen from the German side rather than through the eyes of their victims. It is probably a little harder to write from that perspective, especially when trying to make sympathetic characters because there is always that issue of "even if they didn't directly participate in the Holocaust, they were complicit by allowing it to happen or benefited from Hitler's regime in some way."
Anna, the main character, is the eighteen year old daughter of a well-to-do family in the part of Poland that was once German, and then not, and then basically helped serve as an excuse for Hitler to invade. Being of German blood, obviously, the Nazi occupation didn't hurt them and in fact benefitted them. For example, when the novel begins, it is towards the end of the war, and Anna's family has seven prisoners of war under their care to help them with the harvest. After the harvest, all but one are sent back - a young Scottish man named Callum who is in a "secret" relationship with Anna.
However, the novel mainly portrays Anna's family's flight from their home as the Soviet Army drives the Germans further and further west. Along with many others, they form as stream of refugees heading westward. Anna's father and twin brother leave her, her mother, little brother and Callum behind at the beginning of their travels to help make one last stand against the Russians for their home. While Callum does offer some male protection, the family also has to keep him hidden in their wagons because a) any male of his age would be suspicious and possibly shot as a deserter, and b) as a POW, he is probably even more likely to get shot if they run into any German authorities. Of course, Anna's family has Callum along not just for protection but also as an assurance for the future: with his word, if they make it far enough west, they might be accepted by the Allies more easily.
Even this late in the game, the Germans still have faith in Hitler - according to this novel at least, they hoped that the Germans would make an alliance with the US and the UK to fight against the Soviets, the "real" enemy. Bohjalian introduces a few characters to show the different reactions people had and how deeply Hitler's propaganda had worked. Obviously he doesn't want to completely villify the family whose journey he is describing, and shows that in some ways, due to their isolation in the country, some of the incredibly anti-Semitic rhetoric hadn't reached them quite as much. Still, there is also an idea that they chose not to know. Anna's parents had Jewish friends that they offered to help and shelter, but the friends left anyway due to the neighbors. Despite this, Anna's mother was still a staunch supporter of Hitler, possibly blaming things on his officers but also just probably not thinking about it too much because that would invariably lead to questions.
While on the move, the family meets Manfred who appears to be part of the Wehrmacht. In reality, his name is Uri, and he is a Jew from Schweinfurt (my grandmother lived there!) who has been surviving the past two years by donning various military uniforms until people grow suspicious or he kills SS members, thus needing a new role.
In addition to these characters, the novel also has sections told from the perspective of Cecile, a young French woman from a rich family who has been in a work camp. It describes her life in the camp as well the march she is forced to go on and some of the atrocities that take place under the guards.
There is naturally a lot of loss and death in the novel, and it shows Anna and her mother finally recognizing and seeing the crimes that Germany has committed and is now being punished for. While many of the other Germans talk about how horrible and violent the invading Russians are and how it shows how incredibly uncultured and barbarian they are, Anna's mother starts to wonder about what they, the Germans had done to deserve this, and states something along the lines of "we must have done something horrible for them to be so angry." Callum who as a POW is of course an ally with the Soviets still doesn't support all their actions, and believes that if America and Britain were in charge on this side, things wouldn't be quite as brutal because those nations are so much more civilized, which is of course easy to say but the Germans were nowhere near as violent in the countries in the West as on the Eastern front. It is therefore hard to compare reactions. Also, I would say the battles in the Pacific theater might attest otherwise.
Book 117: The Robots of Dawn
The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
Asimov wrote the third of his robot mysteries after a long gap. It is obvious that as this point he had decided to incorporate his two series into one since he even throws the word psychohistory out there. While I kind of like how Stephen King links many of his books to The Dark Tower series, I find it rather obnoxious in Asimov. I dislike how in linking the two series, Asimov went from having two rather interesting visions of the future to suddenly having a god-like, all-knowing figure working in the background to preserve humanity (I guess maybe it's not so much the linking that bugs me as the force behind all the actions and greater events and movements of human history).
The other problem is that I think it made this novel rather boring. Baley goes to Aurora to investigate the "death" of a robot, one of only two that look completely human, such as his partner R. Daneel Olivaw. While it wouldn't be tried as a murder or anything, this purposeful destruction of this robot would definitely ruin the suspect's political career. Since he is in favor of Earth beginning a colonization program again, of course, Baley doesn't want this to happen. Baley has to somehow prove that the man suspected didn't destroy the robot and that either someone else did it, or it was just a random computer glitch that caused it to shut down. Of course the suspect is the best roboticist in the galaxy and says that there is no one else that could possibly have the intelligence or understanding to cause something like this.
The outcome of this case will determine the future. Many Aurorans feel that if anyone should colonize it should be they with their greater life expectancies and quality of life. However, they want to use humaniform robots to colonize so all they would have to do is show up on the planet after all the hard work has been done. The only problem I had with all this is that I didn't feel like Asimov gave a very good reason for why the Aurorans or any of the Spacer planets would feel the need to colonize other planets - it's not like everyone didn't already have everything they could possibly want, and furthermore, while they were limited to a certain amount of children, they didn't seem to care - they don't even raise them themselves - in fact since colonization would require a greater population it almost seems like it would be more of an annoyance than anything.
Also, due to reading the Foundation novels, I knew how this debate about colonization would turn out so there wasn't really much of anything riding on the outcome.
Asimov wrote the third of his robot mysteries after a long gap. It is obvious that as this point he had decided to incorporate his two series into one since he even throws the word psychohistory out there. While I kind of like how Stephen King links many of his books to The Dark Tower series, I find it rather obnoxious in Asimov. I dislike how in linking the two series, Asimov went from having two rather interesting visions of the future to suddenly having a god-like, all-knowing figure working in the background to preserve humanity (I guess maybe it's not so much the linking that bugs me as the force behind all the actions and greater events and movements of human history).
The other problem is that I think it made this novel rather boring. Baley goes to Aurora to investigate the "death" of a robot, one of only two that look completely human, such as his partner R. Daneel Olivaw. While it wouldn't be tried as a murder or anything, this purposeful destruction of this robot would definitely ruin the suspect's political career. Since he is in favor of Earth beginning a colonization program again, of course, Baley doesn't want this to happen. Baley has to somehow prove that the man suspected didn't destroy the robot and that either someone else did it, or it was just a random computer glitch that caused it to shut down. Of course the suspect is the best roboticist in the galaxy and says that there is no one else that could possibly have the intelligence or understanding to cause something like this.
The outcome of this case will determine the future. Many Aurorans feel that if anyone should colonize it should be they with their greater life expectancies and quality of life. However, they want to use humaniform robots to colonize so all they would have to do is show up on the planet after all the hard work has been done. The only problem I had with all this is that I didn't feel like Asimov gave a very good reason for why the Aurorans or any of the Spacer planets would feel the need to colonize other planets - it's not like everyone didn't already have everything they could possibly want, and furthermore, while they were limited to a certain amount of children, they didn't seem to care - they don't even raise them themselves - in fact since colonization would require a greater population it almost seems like it would be more of an annoyance than anything.
Also, due to reading the Foundation novels, I knew how this debate about colonization would turn out so there wasn't really much of anything riding on the outcome.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Book 116: The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite
The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin
There was a lot happening in this novel - the main character Lilly was born right before midnight at the turn of the century, the daughter of a Bavarian baron and his mistress from the cabaret. Orphaned before she is two, Lilly is first adopted and then left at an orphanage when she proves to be too headstrong a child. After she has been there a few years, Hanne Schmidt comes into the orphanage as well and she will be the one constant friend and character in Lilly's life from then on. Hanne is already 12 and has a tough life behind her, so she is much more wise in the ways of the world and men than Lilly who has been rather sheltered, and her cynicism and practicality remain constant throughout the novel.
While Hanne leaves the orphanage and works at a cabaret among other places, Lilly starts as a maid. The novel chronicles Lilly and Hanne's hardships during World War I and the '20s in Germany when inflation was wild. Eventually it sees Lilly break into the movie business, much of this due to a Russian director who discovers her.
Even as Lilly starts to become famous (and there is never any question that she will become famous since the novel refers to her later fame from the very beginning, quoting interviews and articles) the reader cannot enjoy this too much. Alongside Lilly's rise, the novel also chronicles the beginnings of the Nazi party and their increasing influence. In that way, it reminded me of the musical Cabaret, especially considering the setting - 1920s Berlin, entertainment industry. I loved Cabaret because it started out as light hearted musical about extreme decadence that ended with the Nazis shutting down the club and ending the party - it takes a very dark turn. Similarly, the Nazis loom here, threatening whatever happiness Lilly might finally find.
Naturally, there is a tragic love story. Lilly and the Russian director fall in love but the director has made a previous promise he can't break which ends their relationship much too soon. By the time they finally do have a chance to reconnect, it looks as if it might be too late. For some reason, most of my favorite movies have epic, tragic love stories and exactly this is the kind that is always the most aggravating or heartwrenching - the couple that is basically perfect for each other but than ends up wasting so much of their time apart that they only get to be happy for a very short period of time. Those tend to be the ones that get to me most. Maybe it's because I don't want to miss out on things until it's almost too late.
Overall, it was fun and colorful but the ending was definitely a downer.
There was a lot happening in this novel - the main character Lilly was born right before midnight at the turn of the century, the daughter of a Bavarian baron and his mistress from the cabaret. Orphaned before she is two, Lilly is first adopted and then left at an orphanage when she proves to be too headstrong a child. After she has been there a few years, Hanne Schmidt comes into the orphanage as well and she will be the one constant friend and character in Lilly's life from then on. Hanne is already 12 and has a tough life behind her, so she is much more wise in the ways of the world and men than Lilly who has been rather sheltered, and her cynicism and practicality remain constant throughout the novel.
While Hanne leaves the orphanage and works at a cabaret among other places, Lilly starts as a maid. The novel chronicles Lilly and Hanne's hardships during World War I and the '20s in Germany when inflation was wild. Eventually it sees Lilly break into the movie business, much of this due to a Russian director who discovers her.
Even as Lilly starts to become famous (and there is never any question that she will become famous since the novel refers to her later fame from the very beginning, quoting interviews and articles) the reader cannot enjoy this too much. Alongside Lilly's rise, the novel also chronicles the beginnings of the Nazi party and their increasing influence. In that way, it reminded me of the musical Cabaret, especially considering the setting - 1920s Berlin, entertainment industry. I loved Cabaret because it started out as light hearted musical about extreme decadence that ended with the Nazis shutting down the club and ending the party - it takes a very dark turn. Similarly, the Nazis loom here, threatening whatever happiness Lilly might finally find.
Naturally, there is a tragic love story. Lilly and the Russian director fall in love but the director has made a previous promise he can't break which ends their relationship much too soon. By the time they finally do have a chance to reconnect, it looks as if it might be too late. For some reason, most of my favorite movies have epic, tragic love stories and exactly this is the kind that is always the most aggravating or heartwrenching - the couple that is basically perfect for each other but than ends up wasting so much of their time apart that they only get to be happy for a very short period of time. Those tend to be the ones that get to me most. Maybe it's because I don't want to miss out on things until it's almost too late.
Overall, it was fun and colorful but the ending was definitely a downer.
Book 115: The Nightwatch
The Nightwatch by Sarah Waters
At one point, early on in the novel, Kay tells a friend about her movie watching habits: "Sometimes I go in half-way through, and watch the second half first. I almost prefer them that way - people's pasts, you know, being so much more interesting than their futures" (110). This basically also describes the structure of the novel, and in this case, Waters is completely correct. Told in a linear fashion, this would be an average story about lives intersecting. Given that Waters is the author, it would of course be better than average, but the stories of love and loss are all rather normal. The thing that makes this novel stand out is that it is starts in the middle or at the end, and then flashes back in time maybe two hundred pages later. Of course, I would still be interested in the characters' futures as well but it's life - it's not like you can ever tie it up completely, and in a way, it is rather obvious where their lives are headed, at least temporarily.
As the novel begins, it is 1947 in post-war London. The story centers around four main characters, who are all related in some way. Kay has become a social recluse, something she can afford to do thanks to her priviledged background. Something happened to her during, and she has not quite recovered from it. She lost someone, but who and how remains rather mysterious. Viv works at a matchmaking agency, and is herself involved with a married man. However, there is some kind of connection between her and Kay, leading to the question if she was Kay's lost love, perhaps. Viv works with Helen, who is in a relationship with Julia and terrified that Julia will leave her for someone else. Finally, there is Duncan, Viv's little brother who works at a factory, and was in jail for a few years for a mysterious reason.
When the novel flashes back to 1944, some of these questions are answered, and there were definitely some surprises in the previous connections between these people. Of all the characters, Helen was the least interesting to me, and I think I liked Viv and Kay the most, two very different people and examples of life in World War II London. Finally, in the very last few pages, the novel goes all the way to the beginning in 1941 and shows how the original people met and what set all the events into motion that would still be affecting their lives six years later.
As I said, the thing that really makes this novel stand out is its structure. It's a great read, though, and I love the way Waters gives the reader hints here and there without ever revealing too much but still having it all make complete sense.
At one point, early on in the novel, Kay tells a friend about her movie watching habits: "Sometimes I go in half-way through, and watch the second half first. I almost prefer them that way - people's pasts, you know, being so much more interesting than their futures" (110). This basically also describes the structure of the novel, and in this case, Waters is completely correct. Told in a linear fashion, this would be an average story about lives intersecting. Given that Waters is the author, it would of course be better than average, but the stories of love and loss are all rather normal. The thing that makes this novel stand out is that it is starts in the middle or at the end, and then flashes back in time maybe two hundred pages later. Of course, I would still be interested in the characters' futures as well but it's life - it's not like you can ever tie it up completely, and in a way, it is rather obvious where their lives are headed, at least temporarily.
As the novel begins, it is 1947 in post-war London. The story centers around four main characters, who are all related in some way. Kay has become a social recluse, something she can afford to do thanks to her priviledged background. Something happened to her during, and she has not quite recovered from it. She lost someone, but who and how remains rather mysterious. Viv works at a matchmaking agency, and is herself involved with a married man. However, there is some kind of connection between her and Kay, leading to the question if she was Kay's lost love, perhaps. Viv works with Helen, who is in a relationship with Julia and terrified that Julia will leave her for someone else. Finally, there is Duncan, Viv's little brother who works at a factory, and was in jail for a few years for a mysterious reason.
When the novel flashes back to 1944, some of these questions are answered, and there were definitely some surprises in the previous connections between these people. Of all the characters, Helen was the least interesting to me, and I think I liked Viv and Kay the most, two very different people and examples of life in World War II London. Finally, in the very last few pages, the novel goes all the way to the beginning in 1941 and shows how the original people met and what set all the events into motion that would still be affecting their lives six years later.
As I said, the thing that really makes this novel stand out is its structure. It's a great read, though, and I love the way Waters gives the reader hints here and there without ever revealing too much but still having it all make complete sense.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Back Home
My plane got into Frankfurt-Hahn last night around midnight, so between getting my luggage and a four hour drive, I didn't get home until about 4:30. I couldn't even really take advantage of driving on the autobahn alone at night since large stretches were under construction, and therefore had rather restricted speed limits, and there were a few patches of fog. And then, of course, I wanted to unpack some to make sure that all my souvenirs had survived the trip (unpack and actually put clothes up - you must be kidding - even today, I only got through getting the dirty clothes washed, and the rest are in a pile in my room; although they are out of the bag - that's actually progress for me).
I had to run a few errands today, but didn't get quite as much accomplished as I wanted due to tiredness/distraction. The only thing that saved me really is the fact that day light savings ended in Germany this morning/last night (I didn't even realize it until I noticed that my computer was "off") so I gained an hour there that I didn't expect. Which basically just means I'm going to bed early. Hopefully, I'll get around to making a few blog entries here in the next few days - I have to leave next Sunday for a work related trip so I still have to get all my stuff together for that, put away quite a bit of laundry (it's all clean) and might be working late to catch up for last week and get ahead for next. I still want to blog about Venice, and also have a few books I still need to write about before Cannonball II officially kicks off on 1 November. I'd wanted to get some of the posts written today but that didn't happen so this entry really is just to make me feel like I did something even if it wasn't everything I'd wanted to.
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