AT THE MOVIES
“Madcap,” ” hilarious” and “fun” are all terms I’d use to describe just released espionage comedy, Spy. The women are at the top of their game—mostly—and there is plenty of foreign intrigue and too many bodies getting shot to count. The wonderful cast is led by Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper, a basement CIA analyst who inveigles her way into the field, supported by a tough deputy CIA director, Alison Janney (think CJ on West Wing,) and colleague and agent, Miranda Hart, better known to many viewers as Chummie in Call the Midwife. Rose Byrne plays the prime target while the distaff side is represented by Jude Law and Jason Statham. It’s perfect summer fare.
NOVEL DELIGHT
Heaps of laudatory adjectives, “enthralling, exhilarating, arresting, fiercely intelligent, steamy, compelling” have been applied to Lily King’s novel, Euphoria, and perhaps that’s why I had avoided reading it until now. But read it I did and found it pretty much lived up to the praise. And what a vivid cover and enticing title! Using Margaret Mead, Reo Fortune, and Gregory Bateson’s time in the field in New Guinea in 1932 as a jumping off point, King has created a novel that celebrates anthropology (the title refers to a certain pleasure in the work), raises questions about the methods and motives used to study the primitive tribes there, and sharply delineates the amalgam of professional competition and jealousy, sexual tension, and friendship that unites and divides this talented trio.
The Mead character, Nell Stone, is married to Schuyler Fenwick, known as Fen, but is strongly attracted to Blankson, the younger anthropologist modeled on Bateson, and he to her. The point of view shifts from the narrative third person to Blankson recalling events retrospectively to passages from Nell’s field notebooks. It is worth remembering that these are characters and the story here is not real life. Euphoria was selected as one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year, 2014. Definitely recommend it!
As for Lily King, I was not familiar with her work, but have since learned she lives in Yarmouth, Maine and has written four novels, each of which has been cited for some award or other. Here’s an interview with her from the Boston Globe. Now I need to go back and find her earlier books.
SAVORING SARASOTA
The snow birds have gone home, the spring vacationers have departed the beach and traffic is down to a trickle. But, for those of us still here, June abounds with delights both culinary and musical. For two weeks, many Sarasota restaurants participate in Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week and offer three-course lunch and dinner menus at $15 and $29 respectively. These are seriously good deals!
We enjoyed lunch at Louie’s Modern (trendy cuisine such as kale salad with grilled salmon) and dinners at Bjou Café (scrumptious shrimp and crab bisque to start!) and Miguel’s (traditional fare with a French accent including plump snails in a gruyere cream sauce). I’ve been impressed each meal with both the menu choices and the portion sizes—no stinting on quality or quantity.
Also in June, young musicians from conservatories across the country (who’ve competed for one of the coveted 60 slots) come to Sarasota. They take part in master classes with noted musicians and performers and together present a series of public concerts of chamber and symphonic works. All under the aegis of the Sarasota Orchestra. We have been to one chamber concert already and are gearing up for two more. Especially memorable was flutist Carol Wincenc’s performance last Friday evening.
