Category: Books

Tidy Tidbits: Reading & Film

JWF Leave a comment

TIMELY NOVEL

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Author Lefteri is the child of refugees from Cyprus and once volunteered at a refugee center in Athens.  Her life experiences obviously informed this novel about a refugee couple who flee from war ravaged Syria.  Nuri was a beekeeper, but the war and the death of their young child force them to leave.  England is their desired destination.  Afra is an artist, but since the trauma of Sami’s death, she is blind and speaks little.  The novel is delicate and poignant as you relive their travails through Nuri’s dreams and reflections.  Despite cramped and crowded living conditions, dangerous travel, and a lack of material goods, these two are survivors, always hopeful for a better life with Nuri’s cousin Mustafa in Yorkshire.  There’s a lightness to the writing, it’s never ponderous; a novel of perseverance and patience midst turmoil. I recommend it!

FILM

The Irishman (Netflix and theaters)

Sherran and Hoffa in The Irishman (thedailybeast.com)

This film about the Mafia and Jimmy Hoffa is long, more than 3 hours.  We decided to watch it at home, and by so doing, were able to pause it twice and view it over several nights.  Robert DeNiro is excellent as Frank Sherran, the Irishman of the title, a corrupt labor union official looking back on his long career. Also excellent is Al Pacino as Teamster Union boss Hoffa.  

I found the first third a bit slow and keeping the characters straight somewhat difficult; after that it became more engaging as Hoffa’s story unfolded.  I remember reading about Hoffa’s “disappearance” in real life and was primed for how it was going to play out here.  Not an action film, but there are a number of efficiently executed murders.  There has been quite a bit of press discussion, even controversy about its effectiveness, about the computer-rendered youthfulness of DeNiro (76), Pacino, and others in the early scenes when they are in their 30’s and 40’s. The Chief Penguin liked this film more than I did.

NEW NONFICTION

Following up on my last blog, here’s a list of nonfiction titles, one of which I’ve read, and others which are waiting to be attacked. Two of them are memoirs. First, though, I’m re-reading the novel, The Maze at Windermere, which I selected for my local book group.

Nonfiction

All the Lives We Ever Lived by Kathryn Smyth

American Fire by Monica Hesse

The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power

The Last Ocean:  A Journey Through Memory and Forgetting by Nicole Gerard

This is a book about Alzheimer’s which includes chapters on current research, information on memory facilities, and the role and care needed for caregivers. It’s based around the author’s account of her father’s decline and eventual death from it. I expected there to be more about Gerard’s own experiences, but it turned out to be more nonfiction than memoir. She resides in Britain so there is a natural focus on resources in the U.K. Sobering and dense, but thought provoking, particularly if you are just learning about Alzheimer’s.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Madera and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Books, Books, Books: 2019 & 2020

JWF Leave a comment

I love books. It’s that simple and consequently, most of my recent Christmas gifts and other purchases were books. Here’s a line-up of books recently  acquired that I’ve added to my ever growing and seldom diminishing book stack. Two of them I have already read.

Here, I’ve listed just the fiction titles along with my favorite titles of 2019. A future blog will include new nonfiction titles.

FICTION TO READ IN 2020

Akin by Emma Donogue 

I actually finished Akin, by the author of Room, on the last day of 2019. It’s the story of a 79-year old man, readying himself for a journey to Nice, France, his birthplace, when he gets a call from social services that a great nephew he has never met needs a place to stay. The 11-year old’s mother is in prison, father deceased several years, and grandmother with whom he has been living has just herself died.

Widower and retired chemistry professor Noah takes Michael in and together they journey to France. The journey and their time together is culture shock for both of them, but you can guess how it will end. Donogue is good at capturing the set-in-his routineness of Noah’s life as well as the haphazard nature of Michael’s upbringing and his lack of manners. Their dialogue is mostly believable, and I only questioned one reference Noah made to Michael about his late wife. Very good overall!

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beach Keane 

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri 

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton 

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout 

Some people I know found Strout’s earlier work, Olive Kittredge too depressing. I thought it was very well done. And I think this new book about Olive is even better, excellent, in fact! I know why it was nominated for awards and on the year’s best lists.

In it, Olive ages from 73 to 86, acquires a second husband named Jack, although she still reminisces about Henry, her first; interacts with a variety of younger people in the town of Crosby, and generally speaks her mind. She can be both cantankerous and kind. There’s a touching chapter called “Light” about Olive’s visits with former pupil Cindy Coombs, a young woman fighting cancer, in which they each reveal insecurities and worries. What Strout does so wonderfully well is capture the awkwardness and indignities of aging along with the vulnerabilities of both young and old. Olive’s relations with her son have been strained, and after he and his wife and children visit her, she’s forced to reflect on how her own behavior has had an impact on the relationship. Highly recommended!

The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson 

Testaments by Margaret Atwood

FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2019 (3 novels & 2 nonfiction titles)

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Upstate by James Woods

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gotlieb

No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder

A Reader

Note: Text and photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Manhattan: Mostly Movies

JWF Leave a comment

Besides spending time with our son and family in this Christmas season, we took in several films and also an exhibit of works by women at the Grolier Club. And, as always, we ate well! Vinegar chicken and an assortment of tasty veggies on Christmas plus good Italian fare at favorite new and old restaurants.

ON SCREEN

Two Popes (Theaters & Netflix)

This is an engaging and witty film.  It’s the fascinating fictional account of a meeting between Pope Benedict and then Cardinal Borgoglio who became Pope Francis.  The cardinal has gone to Rome to submit his resignation to the pope, only the pope refuses to accept it.  The two men are diametrically opposite in both their views and their approach to the pomp of the office; Pope Benedict revels in it while Pope Francis eschews the red shoes and other trappings.  Anthony Hopkins portrays a wry and solitary pope while the cardinal has deep regrets about some actions in his youth that he feels preclude him from ever becoming the pontiff.  While these men did have a meeting in real life, it came later, but with this film, I felt I learned more about Pope Francis’ early career.  

A Hidden Life

I don’t know if I’ve seen other Terrence Malick films, but this one is both beautiful and moving.  I became immersed in the life and fate of Franz Jagerstatter, a real Austrian farmer, who when conscripted into the army, refuses to swear loyalty to Hitler.  A devoutly religious man with a strong moral sense, he risks his life and his family (his wife Fani must manage the farm and their two young daughters with minimal help) for his beliefs.  But, will his sacrifice make any difference in the larger sense?  Scenes of green pastures and mountains alternate with the torture of prison in this three-hour film. The dialogue is mostly English with some untranslated German.  Worth seeing.

Little Women

This “Little Women” is wonderful!  Like many, I’ve read the novel multiple times, seen movie versions, and know the story well.  This is an exuberant version punctuated by sadness, the heartaches of young love, and the toll of grinding poverty.  But these girls, Meg, Amy, Beth, and particularly Jo, romp and bicker and love each other.  They have talents and minds as well as hearts.  I recall Marmee in the book as seeming too goodie-goodie, but here she is a giving neighbor and also a woman occasionally frustrated and angered by life’s lacks.  

The cast is all-star including Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Meryl Streep as cranky, rich Aunt March, Laura Dern as Marmee, and the handsome winning Timothee Chalamet as the irrepressible Laurie Lawrence.  Even Sydney from Grantchester, James Norton, shows up as Meg’s suitor.  My only quibble is that if you don’t know the story, the back and forth jumps in time can be a bit confusing.  But, overall it’s simply marvelous!!

ON PAPER

Five Hundred Years of Women’s Work (Grolier Club)

Although it’s a private club devoted to books and printing, the Grolier Club opens its occasional exhibits to the public at no charge. This current exhibit of works by women is a rich sampling from the Baskin Collection: women as authors, printers, publishers, and bookbinders from the 15th century onward.  The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection is housed at Duke University and these items on display here until early February.  

Many of the works relate to the suffrage movement both in the UK and the United States, as well as to the fight for women’s reproductive rights (contraception, abortion, etc.).  There is correspondence by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as well as between several generations of Pankhursts, a letter by Charlotte Bronte, and works by an early Dutch artist and scientist.  Also treatises on the treatment of African Americans.  One final case highlights lovely examples of elaborate bookbinding.  

Ms. Baskin began collecting rare works by and about women with her late husband, but after his death continued to collect and until 2015, the 11,000 item collection remained in her hands. 

DINING—MORE ITALIAN

It seems that Manhattan has more Italian restaurants than any other cuisine, at least on the Upper East Side!  We tried another one the other night and will add it to our list for a return visit.  Bella Blu is a long narrow space with a bar on the right and walls splashed with bright colors.  Add to that lavish Christmas wreaths and bells and you have sensory overload.  We dined early, but already two-thirds of the tables were occupied in this family friendly place.  

The tasty frisée salad with walnuts and Gorgonzola was big enough to share while the ravioli with guanciale were superb.  We also sampled the fritto misto and the penne with cubes of fresh tuna in a tomato, black olive and oregano sauce.  They also have pizzas and many other pasta and meat entrees that will lure us back.  Service was efficient to brisk, but it is the holiday season and everyone wants to dine out!

Text and photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Tidy Tidbits: Culture Notes

JWF Leave a comment

ON STAGE

The Sound of Music

You’ve probably seen at least one stage production of The Sound of Music or the movie starring Julie Andrews, but did you pay attention to the year and the context?  I don’t think I did until we saw the superb performance at the Asolo Theater.  This is a darker, more nuanced play and one that brings to the fore the rising Nazi presence in Austria in 1938.  The actors are great, especially Captain Von Trapp’s seven rambunctious children, the Mother Superior with a big voice that commands attention, and the always in motion, all arms and legs Maria.  Equally effective is the staging, particularly the last scene when the entire family performs in a competition.  If you live nearby, go see it!

ON THE PAGE

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

Fans of Shetland and Vera, TV mystery series seen on PBS, will recognize Cleeves’ name as the author of the works upon which they are based.  I’ve not read any of these mystery novels, but decided to try the first work in a new series.  The Long Call introduces Matthew Venn, a gay detective married to the manager of a community arts center.  When a troubled man is found dead on the beach and a disabled young woman goes missing, all the leading suspects have ties to the arts center.  

What drew Simon Walden, the dead man, to Barnstaple, and how was he connected to the mentally challenged teenage girl he regularly sat next to on the local bus?  Venn is a complex and fascinating character who grew up in the Brethren faith, but later rejected it.  In working to solve this case, he must re-visit individuals from his past.  I found this mystery intriguing enough to read to the finish and will probably look for the next one in the series.  

ON THE SMALL SCREEN

Unbelievable (Netflix)

On the subject of crime, I’m currently watching Unbelievable, a graphic account of the investigation into a series of rapes that occurred mostly in Colorado.  Based on real events, it’s about two female detectives from different cities who come together to find a serial rapist.  Several victims are portrayed including Marie, a troubled young woman, who under persistent questioning from two male detectives recants her initial account of the rape.  Difficult and disturbing to watch, it is, nonetheless, a painstaking exploration of how rape crimes are handled or mishandled.

ON THE WAY HOME

Appleton Museum of Art

On our way back south from St. Augustine last week, we stopped in the town of Ocala and paid a visit to the Appleton Museum of Art. This small gem of a museum has a voluminous collection of Christmas decorations and figurines which they bring out each December. But, what was of most interest to several of us, was their featured exhibit of paintings from the Reading Public Museum in Pennsylvania. Entitled Across the Atlantic: American Impressionism through the French Lens, it showcases 65 paintings of early French Impressionistic work along with pieces done by American artists several decades later. It is a lovely exhibit and one worth lingering over. The museum also has European and Asian pieces in their permanent collection.

It was almost noon when we finished our tour. We drove into the center of town, admired Ocala’s town square with its brightly decorated Christmas tree, and then had a most satisfying lunch at Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille. From the standard chicken Caesar salad to New Orleans style shrimp creole and the like, there is something for every taste. Service was lightning quick!

Note: Text and photos ©JWFarrington.