Category: Favorite Books

Tidy Tidbits: Film, Art & Vanessa

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FILM

I recommend Far from the Madding Crowd!  Beautiful countryside, beautifully filmed, and Carey Mulligan is a lovely Bathsheba, intelligent, definite and almost elfin.  And the men—Francis Troy has the required rakish dark hair and eyes, Boldwood (don’t you love Hardy’s choice of names!) is older, but not as sinister seeming as in the novel, and Gabriel Oak, well, he is all that the hero is supposed to be—strong, silent and ever reliable.  I prefer this version to the earlier one starring Julie Christie.  A good romantic film to get lost in!

ART IN SARASOTA

I believe that part of having a successful retirement life is creating something new or at least exploring and experiencing different activities and events.  My spouse and I call this aspect, “the frolic phase,” and we have developed gradations of frolics from micro to mini to mega. Frolics range from dinner at a new restaurant to a museum visit to a full-blown trip like the 5-week one we took to Asia.

This past week, we had what I’d term a mini frolic.  We had been to John and Mable Ringling’s mansion, Ca d’Zan, at Christmas time, but never to the Ringling Museum of Art.  We have now remedied that and were quite impressed.  The Ringlings’ personal art collection, which was bequeathed to the state of Florida upon John Ringling’s death in 1936, is primarily made up of Renaissance and pre-Renaissance religious art, mainly by Italians, but there are representatives of Dutch, French and Spanish artists as well. They are hung in a series of wood-paneled galleries, each of a different wall color, in the original building.  The building itself is modeled on an Italian villa with a bronze copy of Michelangelo’s David looming over the courtyard and is worth seeing.

The addition of the Ulla and Arthur T. Searing Wing provides a contemporary museum space for traveling and temporary exhibits and we got caught up in “Re-Purposed,” sculpture and other art created from trash and cast-off items.  I would also note that we had the pleasure of meeting the late Mrs. Searing several years ago. She was then 92, elegantly dressed and very  proper.  We conversed over tea and Pepperidge Farm cookies on her balcony high up overlooking Sarasota Bay.

NEW BOOK 

Vanessa Bell about 1910 & Virginia Woolf, 1902 [by George C. Beresford/Hutton Archive
Vanessa Bell about 1910 & Virginia Woolf, 1902
[by George C. Beresford/Hutton Archive]
I dashed through Priya Parmar’s new novel, Vanessa and Her Sister, and was simply captivated!  This is Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, but with the attention on Nessa as she was called.  Parmar has created a chatty diary for Vanessa and her dated entries are interrupted by letters and postcards from other family members and friends (Virginia and Nessa to Violet Dickinson and Dorothy Snow,  Lytton Strachey and Leonard Woolf to each other).  The four Stephen siblings, who had lost both their parents and their half sister Stella, were extremely close and formed a tight little social group which was enlivened by close friends dropping by for their Thursday evenings.  The novel makes clear the steadying influence Vanessa had on Virginia and how much Virginia needed and wanted her attention.  Nonetheless,  death, madness,  Clive’s courtship of Vanessa, and betrayal all conspire to disrupt the balance and seeming harmony of the group..

These are 20 and 30-something writers and artists who, without Facebook or texting, are aiming to be successful in their endeavors and falling in and out of love with potential life partners, be they male or female.  Parmar brings their unconventional social milieu to life—so much so that I felt as if I were there and well acquainted with Vanessa.  It is probably helpful to know something about these noteworthy and ultimately famous individuals (I did, being a fan of the Bloomsbury Group), but even if you don’t, their story and their issues of artistic creation and love of all kinds will engage you.  I didn’t want the book to end.

Booknote: Shanghai Jazz & Montana Misery

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WHAT I’VE READ RECENTLY

Nicole Mones is an engaging writer.  Her background includes running a textile business importing wool from China, something she did for 18 years which means she writes knowledgeably and convincingly about that society and its culture.  Several years ago I read her novel, The Last Chinese Chef.  I absolutely loved this book, recommended it to friends and gave it as a gift.  It combined complex characters, food, and an exotic setting in an intriguing mélange of history and romance.  Like a good meal, it was very satisfying.

Recently, I immersed myself in the music scene of 1930’s Shanghai.  In Night in Shanghai, her newest novel, Mones portrays the African American musicians who were lured from the U.S. to be a part of the jazz craze in that more racially tolerant environment.  The central character, Thomas Greene, has his own black jazz orchestra and a big house, but falls in love with an indentured Chinese woman who is also a member of the Communist Party.  Events unfold as Hitler’s tyranny is devastating Europe and Shanghai becomes a safe place for Jews.

There are more minor characters in this novel and more political strands (parties and officials) to keep straight so I had to pay closer attention to the details while reading.  In the process, I learned a great deal about some of the lesser known aspects of this time period (including a grand plan to harbor Jewish refugees) and am now poised to read another of Mones’ earlier works.  You can see and hear her talk about how this book came about at a recent appearance at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ.

Song, (note her name) the love interest in Night in Shanghai is trapped and bound to her master with no ability to come and go as she pleases.  In Smith Henderson’s novel, you might say that all the characters are trapped by something, be it poverty, addiction, or a dysfunctional home scene.  And yet, within these constraints, they exercise what they perceive to be their rights, be it flaunting authority, distrusting the government, abusing someone, or just plain drinking to excess, again and again.  Fourth of July Creek is a long and challenging novel set in 1980 in the small towns and woods of rural Montana.

Pete Snow, a social worker, grapples with families and children whose lives are messed up and messy.  His own life is in pieces too —his wife took up with another man, his 13 year old daughter who lives with her has run away, his brother is out on parole, and he finds solace in drink.  Two of Pete’s cases take center stage as he monitors brother and sister Cecil and Katie’s foster home placement and struggles to get proper help for Benjamin, the untamed son of fundamentalist Jeremiah Pearl.  Father Pearl distrusts everyone, is half crazy, and seemingly has been acting out on the wrong side of the law.  Running in parallel and underneath these situations are Pete’s multi-state search for Rachael, his missing daughter, and a series of interviews with her.  One can debate if these interspersed interviews add to or detract from the novel as a whole.

Henderson is sympathetic to all his characters.  I found I liked Pete despite his shortcomings and eventually saw another facet of the angry, violent Jeremiah that provided some explanation for his behavior.  This is Henderson’s first novel.  While I think it is longer than it needs to be, in language that is painstakingly crafted and honed, it paints a grim and graphic picture of rural poverty and desperation.  The book is on the New York Times Book Review’s “100 Notable Books 2014” as well as being named the best book of the year by several critics.  I wouldn’t go as far as they did, but I cared enough about Pete and the fate of Cecil and Benjamin to plough through.

Booknote: James and Ferrante

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I have returned home from my Asian Adventure and along with re-adjusting to east coast time, I’m back doing more reading.  Here are my latest books.

WSJ Book Club

Sometime ago, I read that the Wall Street Journal was starting an online book club.  I was intrigued, but I was still working and didn’t think I had the time to commit to it.  Now, Colm Toibin, one of my favorite authors, is moderating a 6 week discussion of Henry James’ novel, The Golden Bowl.  I probably last read this novel in college, but vividly recall the Masterpiece Theater production of some years ago.

From www.imdb.com
From www.imdb.com

 

 

 

Now I’m reading it again, this time from the 1922 New York edition of James’ works given to me by my grandfather.  This copy was published on good paper (probably acid-free or mostly so), is in good condition, and comprises two volumes, given its length.  I have the added bonus of a folded sheet of lined yellow paper with my grandfather’s handwritten notes tucked in the front.

James’ sentences are lengthy with many phrases strung together by commas.  I liked Toibin’s advice, in an article about his choice, to just read them and not worry about understanding every nuance.  He also suggested reading at least 50 pages at a time without a break.

Online, a question for discussion is posed each week, and this week’s relates to the names of the characters, Adam Verver, Prince Amerigo, and Fanny Assingham, and their significance.  I have long been a fan of Henry James and this online discussion provides motivation and discipline for my reading.

 

Elena Ferrante 

In between short takes of James, I’m reading the first volume, My Brilliant Friend, of Italian novelist Elena Ferrante’s series about a lifelong friendship between two women.  Ferrante has received a lot of publicity and much praise for her works and occasioned curiosity about her identity and even her sex.  She was born in Naples and has written a number of successful novels, but uses a pseudonym.  As her works have been translated and made available outside Italy, there has been greater speculation about her including an article last year in the New York Times.

BrilliantFriendThe first volume is not an easy read, in my opinion, but I am determined to finish it.  Set in a poor neighborhood, the childhood section is somewhat stream of consciousness with a raft of characters and could be said to mimic how a younger child’s mind recalls events.  The second section, “Adolescence,”  is more straightforwardly presented.  Ferrante easily captures the capricious nature of childhood relationships; she likes me, she hates me, she feels superior; I admire her, but I want to best her, I want her to like me, etc.  Onward, I go!

Tidy Tidbits: Opera & Books

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The Oscars

While not surprised, I was disappointed that Boyhood did not win best picture, but very pleased that Patricia Arquette got an award for her marvelous role in this film.  As one article I read pointed out, the award winners are more and more divorced from what the American public goes to see.  Compared to American Sniper, which I haven’t seen, millions more people saw that than went to view Birdman.

Sarasota Scene

As part of the Sarasota arts smorgasbord, we sampled two Sarasota Opera productions last week.  The theater is small and there is an intimacy not found in San Francisco or New York.  Tosca was very good and The Golden Cockerel a beautifully staged production of an infrequently sung work by Rimsky-Korsakov.  The sets were lavish, colorful, and the equal of any opera we’ve seen anywhere.

Footnote

I finished Galgut’s Arctic Summer and enjoyed the rest of this novel.  It is based on Forster’s diaries, letters, and biographies and one appreciates his reluctance to consider himself a writer and Forster’s struggle bringing to birth Passage to India.  I remember being puzzled by that book when I read it many years ago and much preferred his Howards End.

 On the Road

I will soon be on my way to Asia so have loaded up my Kindle with novels and memoirs and a few other nonfiction books.  I always enjoy the Wall Street Journal’s weekly column, “Five Best,” and last week’s was books about spinsters.  I knew of Winifred Holtby and enjoyed the Masterpiece Theater presentation of her Testament of Youth some years ago and so I now have her novel, South Riding, downloaded and ready to go.  I also decided that it is time to re-read Jane Austen’s Persuasion for the third for fourth time as it is my favorite of all her works.  It too was cited in the column along with that Barbara Pym classic, Excellent Women.