Tidy Tidbits: Reading, Cheese & Theater

READING WOMEN

Our local paper included an article from the Washington Post by Alyssa Rosenberg about reading a year’s worth of books written by women.  That’s a fine idea, but she carried it a step further and did a pair of books each month for a total of 24.  I was intrigued and checked to see how many of these titles I had already read, a disappointing five in all.

Some of her pairings were unusual and some I will follow up.  For example, she paired My Brilliant Friend, which I’m happy to report I did finish and enjoyed, with Last Things by Jenny Offill, a first novel set in contemporary Vermont.  Calling each of these “slim,” however, is misleading as the Ferrante novel is a dense 300+ pages.  The Margaret Fuller biography by Marshall is paired with Marriage: A History by Stephanie Coontz—interesting since Fuller spent the bulk of her life as a single woman.  And Louise Erdrich’s beautiful novel, The Round House, is paired with The Secret History by Donna Tartt.  I loved the Erdrich book and certainly know of Tartt’s work; each novel is told from the male perspective.  There are more on Rosenberg’s list, but I’ll leave you to explore the rest.

CHEESE

We were in upstate New York (really upstate in the Finger Lakes region) last week.   Thanks to a recommendation from my sister-in-law, my sisters and I ventured into the countryside to visit the Muranda Cheese Company. It’s outside Waterloo, and on the way, we passed through the pleasant town of Seneca Falls, home of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park.  Seneca Falls was the site of the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention.

On their farm, the Murray family raises Registered Holsteins; the milk from these cows is used for producing a wide range of cheeses which are aged, cut, and wrapped here.  For a modest $2.00 each, we were invited to taste 15 different cheeses.  They included several cheddars, Gouda, Colby, a killer blue, and an array of smoked and flavored cheeses—with garlic and chives, bacon, and sundried tomatoes.  Our host was knowledgeable and friendly and we each went home with more cheese!  And, not a surprise, you can order their cheese online.

CULTURE NOTE

We recently saw a first-rate production of Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz’s play, Sotto Voce.  It focuses on the relationship between an elderly female novelist and a young male student, both of whom have connections to the 1939 doomed voyage of  the S. S. St. Louis.  This boat was taking Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany to Cuba, but was denied entry there and also turned away by the U.S.  The two main characters in the play never meet face to face, and all their interactions happen by phone or e-mail.  It is a play of voices and silences, very creatively staged.