What is the What

11:04 AM matt: did you make it through what is the what?

me: almost! I have about30 pages left!

what were your thoughts?

matt: well

it's too long by about half

11:05 AM and maybe it was very true to the guy's voice, but it seemed pretty flat.

i wasn't a huge fan

me: yeah, that's what I thought too!

11:06 AM matt: but i did like seeing how his refuge community sort of knit itself together

me: I actually thought the "voice" changed a lot-- it wasn't consistent

and I didn't like the narrating to the present day characters-- like the nurse in the ER or the attackers' son

I feel guilty for not liking it more

11:07 AM matt: yeah i didn't like that either - really really pedantic.

11:08 AM i started to feel guilty and then realized that a david eggars book is not to be confused with the actual plight of these people, you know

me: I think he would have done better to have a different ghost writer

Eggers I think was too focussed on his own story

(heartbreaking work of staggering genius)

11:09 AM matt: i also wonder if this type of book is just the P.C. modern version of travel narratives like the heart of darkness and robinson crusoe

me: it did seem politically motivated

matt: which would sort of cast in a light of appropriation of these peoples' story

me: I did like that the story became more real

11:10 AM It made it make more sense to me

I felt sad about William K, and Tabitha...

which isn't something you get from the news necessarily

11:11 AM matt: well true. the book definitely wasn't terrible, and is effective as a educational or political tool, which is probably what it was meant as

but if i'd realized that beforehand i probably wouldn't have started it

when is your book club?

11:14 AM me: book club is Saturday!

I might be the only one who read it

Heart of a Dog

My friend Jane loves Russian literature. She gave me Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov to read years ago and I got about 8 pages into it and lost interest. Russian literature to me is dark, cold and depressing. I've read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich a couple of times and would rather read almost anything else. But after reading Russian Journal I thought maybe I'd better appreciate it. In fact, having Ms. Lee's descriptions of average Soviet citizens did help me better understand this novella. A bourgeois professor and a doctor colleague work to create a new kind of man-- using the body and heart of a mutt, they transfer glands from a recently deceased man and the dog becomes a new man. Each of the characters is over dramatized-- the professor is batty, yet demanding, the doctor possessive of his work, the female employees timid and demure. Citizen Sharik, the newly created beast, is the opposite of the professor and his staff; he's base, crude and aligns himself with the proletariat citizens who are trying to kick the professor and his associates out of their luxorious apartment.
What struck me most about this novella was that it was hilarious! It was easy to imagine as a play with the banter between the characters and the various situations Sharik especially gets himself into (chasing cats and causing a flood in a bathroom which he accidentally locks himself in).
I found this novella easy to read and likely a good introduction to Bulgakov's satire The Master and Margarita. I give this 4/5 netflix stars.

Russian Journal

I put greater trust in people with whom I share a name, Andrea. I picked a primary care doctor only because her name was Andrea and she was fantastic. All the Andreas I've ever met have been amazing. So when I discovered the writer Andrea Lee several years ago, I automatically assumed she would be a great writer. Not only do we share the same first name, but my middle name is Lee, so the sisterhood was sealed. And, true to form, she is a great writer.
Russian Journal is her first book-- it's a non fiction description of her time in the Soviet Union in the late 70s. Growing up in the 80s, the Soviet Union was a place completely off limits-- images of dark, dismal landscapes, people waiting in endless lines for scratchy toilet paper and root vegetables, plus, of course the constant threat of Communism to our freedom loving souls. Ms. Lee carefully paints a picture not unlike that described above, but with even more depth. She does not hide her distaste for the shortfalls of the huge Communist country-- the poverty, miseducation of its citizens and destruction of an imperial history in favor of boxy low rent conformity. But she draws a careful line between the institution that created this and the people who are a part of it. She makes friends who readily criticize the Party as well as friends whose patriotism is unmatched. She uses a journalist's eye to evoke character descriptions of her friends and the total landscape they inhabit. She finds herself missing "luxuries" such as freely speaking and going wherever she would like. She misses the glitzy advertising in the U.S. that is missing from the U.S.S.R. She misses the "whole" movie (sex scenes are edited out of imported movies). But when she arrives back in Boston, she finds she has a much greater appreciation for the lives and struggles of her Russian friends and finds herself appreciating them all the more.
Ms. Lee's descriptions confirmed many of my notions about Soviet Russia-- the coveting of American blue jeans and music, the cold and cramped housing. But now I'll also think of Grigorii, the student assigned to spy on Ms. Lee and her husband, but who they grew close to nonetheless, and his quiet appreciation of the nightingale's song. Or of Ms. Lee's descriptions of the ice breaking up in the spring, and the crisp cool air with eventual lilacs.
This was a beautifully written book so I'm giving if 5/5 netflix stars.

Catch Up

I am way behind on my book entries. It's at the point where I've read so many since posting that it makes me cringe when I think about reviewing all of them! So I've decided to condense them, and write a little bit about each of them instead of my usual long post. It's the only way to get myself back on track!

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE- by c.s. lewis

Again- catching up on some childhood reading. This went much faster than I remembered it as a kid, but was just as enjoyable. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke (yes, the same Digory from The Magician's Nephew), when Lucy stumbles upon an old wardrobe which, when hidden in, brings her to Narnia. Eventually, the other children accompany her, and the adventures with Aslan, the Witch, and the faun Tumnus begin.
Great read- second, third, or twentieth time around.
Netflix rating? 4.5/5 stars.

THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW- by c.s. lewis

At some point, I decided I needed to start at the beginning, and read all of the Chronicles of Narnia. I think I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a kid, but never the other books, and since m. has the whole set, I could easily borrow them from her.
This book was actually written after the rest, but was meant as an explanation for how Narnia came to be. Digory and his friend Polly stumble across a secret tunnel, and accidentally end up in his crazy uncle's attic room. The uncle is a magician, and has found a way of making things disappear into another time, but is too afraid to go himself. He tricks Polly into touching a magic ring, and after she disappears, Digory goes to help her. Their adventures while in this other world show the creation of Narnia, along with Aslan and the witch.
How could I not like this? It's one of the great childhood books!
Netflix rating? 4.5/5 stars.

MY LIFE IN FRANCE- by julia child with alex prud'homme

Bookclub book as you already know from Andrea's review!
This book brings you through most of Julia Child's older life, beginning in her mid-thirties when she moves to France with her husband, Paul. She can't really cook well, but has learned to appreciate good food and drink through Paul, and is excited to move to the perfect place to learn- Paris! She takes classes at the Cordon Bleu, and realizes not only how much she loves cooking, but how much she has to learn! She puts the effort in, and we all know how well that paid off. Much of the book is focused on her writing The Art of French Cooking with new friends Simca and Louisette, and it's astounding to learn how thoroughly they tested every recipe.
I became more excited as I read, because I'd just received her book, The Art of French Cooking for Christmas. I found myself referring to the cookbook several times while reading the bookclub cook. It was great to learn so much about how it was written and illustrated.
Netflix rating? 5/5 stars.