This book was a slow starter for me, and I put it aside for a long time. Decided to give it another chance and found it compelling, though the Sarah character was at first a little contrived and ultimately quite a cliché. Not so Little Bee herself.
Little Bee is a refugee from Nigeria, and Sarah is an English woman of comfortable circumstances. Their worlds meet when Sarah and her husband take Little Bee in when she arrives in England...
Sunday, January 6, 2013
A Quick Peek Back at 2012 – books and films
Well, here we are, one year later--isn't it time I posted to this blog again? An eventful year with a new job in a new city is responsible for taking most of my attention, but I need to be better about making time!
2012 was not a year in which I saw a whole lot of new films, for a variety of reasons, though I recently managed Lincoln and Skyfall. Both have a lot going for them.
Lincoln, based primarily on the weighty but wonderful book by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals, was superb. Marvelous acting by all the principals, extraordinary attention to detail, especially in the lighting, which seemed so period-perfect, and a script that included much of the best of Goodwin's book.
Of course Skyfall is something entirely different, but very compelling. Not your typical James Bond caper, but something much more involving relationships and the complexities of aging. Judi Dench and Javier Bardem gave Oscar-quality supporting performances, and Daniel Craig seemed to show more of a range than just glowering at everyone in sight, as he had in the last Bond flick. Speaking of Javier Bardem, I'm trying to catch him in as many performances as possible. Thank you Netflix, for sending me Love in the Time of Cholera, which awaits at this moment.
I did a lot better on the book side, and read quite a few. One that stands out in 2012 is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I would call it my most memorable read of the year. I was so taken by Victoria, the central character, a lost, angry person who lived her life in foster homes and suffered terrible loss as a child. She comes into her own and reconnects with humanity through her extraordinary work with flowers.
Alexander McCall Smith continues to amaze me with his gentle, wise insights into the human condition. He seems to be one of those rare men who truly seems to understand women. And he is so prolific! The latest Isabel Dalhousie, The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds, was a delight.
A terrible loss for me came with the death of the brilliant Nora Ephron. I'm so glad to have discovered her genius so long ago--she spoke for so many women of her and my generations. RIP, Nora.
2012 was not a year in which I saw a whole lot of new films, for a variety of reasons, though I recently managed Lincoln and Skyfall. Both have a lot going for them.
Lincoln, based primarily on the weighty but wonderful book by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals, was superb. Marvelous acting by all the principals, extraordinary attention to detail, especially in the lighting, which seemed so period-perfect, and a script that included much of the best of Goodwin's book.
Of course Skyfall is something entirely different, but very compelling. Not your typical James Bond caper, but something much more involving relationships and the complexities of aging. Judi Dench and Javier Bardem gave Oscar-quality supporting performances, and Daniel Craig seemed to show more of a range than just glowering at everyone in sight, as he had in the last Bond flick. Speaking of Javier Bardem, I'm trying to catch him in as many performances as possible. Thank you Netflix, for sending me Love in the Time of Cholera, which awaits at this moment.
I did a lot better on the book side, and read quite a few. One that stands out in 2012 is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I would call it my most memorable read of the year. I was so taken by Victoria, the central character, a lost, angry person who lived her life in foster homes and suffered terrible loss as a child. She comes into her own and reconnects with humanity through her extraordinary work with flowers.
Alexander McCall Smith continues to amaze me with his gentle, wise insights into the human condition. He seems to be one of those rare men who truly seems to understand women. And he is so prolific! The latest Isabel Dalhousie, The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds, was a delight.
A terrible loss for me came with the death of the brilliant Nora Ephron. I'm so glad to have discovered her genius so long ago--she spoke for so many women of her and my generations. RIP, Nora.
Endless Love – Portrait of Jennie by Robert Nathan
Portrait of Jennie, another wonderful forgotten novel, a novella, actually – was originally published in 1940. Art, time-travel, a mysterious heroine, endless love...what more could you want? The book was made into a charming movie with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in 1948.
I first read Portrait of Jennie at a very young age, perhaps eleven or twelve. It was part of a compilation of fiction, billed as Stories to Remember, of six novels and thirty short stories, with Thomas B. Costain (a well-known twentieth-century historical novelist) and John Beecroft as editors. Noted illustrators Martha Sawyers and William Reussweg provided the illustrations. Like the Reader's Digest Condensed Books, these compilation volumes were popular choices found in many homes, like my grandmother's.
During the Great Depression, New York artist Eben encounters a young girl in Central Park. They speak briefly, and he sketches her, but then she disappears. She's a charming girl, but he notes that she's wearing the clothing of another era, a puzzling detail.
Until this time, Eben has had little success in gaining interest in his work, but when he draws Jennie, there is an special quality he manages to capture. He needs to see her again, and searches for her in the park. She reappears, they speak, and he works at creating her portrait. But each time he sees her, she's changed – she's older, as though years are passing, not days or weeks, still he presses on, even as it becomes apparent that this idyll must reach an end...or does it?
There is a wonderful innocence to this story of love that knows no time. The author managed to create a gold standard for many successive works of time-transcendent romance. The acclaimed Time and Again by Jack Finney, Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale and Bid Time Return by Richard Mathewson (the basis for the movie Somewhere in Time) are all examples of this unique genre.
I first read Portrait of Jennie at a very young age, perhaps eleven or twelve. It was part of a compilation of fiction, billed as Stories to Remember, of six novels and thirty short stories, with Thomas B. Costain (a well-known twentieth-century historical novelist) and John Beecroft as editors. Noted illustrators Martha Sawyers and William Reussweg provided the illustrations. Like the Reader's Digest Condensed Books, these compilation volumes were popular choices found in many homes, like my grandmother's.
During the Great Depression, New York artist Eben encounters a young girl in Central Park. They speak briefly, and he sketches her, but then she disappears. She's a charming girl, but he notes that she's wearing the clothing of another era, a puzzling detail.
Until this time, Eben has had little success in gaining interest in his work, but when he draws Jennie, there is an special quality he manages to capture. He needs to see her again, and searches for her in the park. She reappears, they speak, and he works at creating her portrait. But each time he sees her, she's changed – she's older, as though years are passing, not days or weeks, still he presses on, even as it becomes apparent that this idyll must reach an end...or does it?
There is a wonderful innocence to this story of love that knows no time. The author managed to create a gold standard for many successive works of time-transcendent romance. The acclaimed Time and Again by Jack Finney, Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale and Bid Time Return by Richard Mathewson (the basis for the movie Somewhere in Time) are all examples of this unique genre.
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