Not many books are written from the perspective of a 96-year-old woman, and it was refreshing to understand what it is like to look back across a lifetime of memories, happiness and disappointment.
Doris lives in Stockholm, and is alone except for her grandniece Jenny, who lives in San Francisco. They maintain contact weekly via Skype, and that relationship is the lifeline for a woman who while mentally strong, and relatively healthy for her age, has a lonely existence, except for the aides who come to help her dress, maintain her apartment, and bring her meals.
When Doris was a young girl, she received a red address book as a gift from her father, and has kept it ever since, recording the names of all those she knew. As her friends and family members died, she crossed out their names and wrote "dead". As she reviews the names in the address book, the novel recounts the experiences of her past, and her interesting life included years in Paris as a fashion model, a great love and deep friendships, privations and loss during World War II, a period of time in New York, and her return to Stockholm.
Alone in her apartment, she has written her memoirs so that her beloved great niece will know the story of Doris's life, and the history of her own. This is unbeknownst to Jenny until Doris becomes seriously ill and Jenny travels to Sweden to be with her.
This is a gentle and touching story that left me feeling satisfied, peaceful and hopeful, and is a reminder that no one, no matter how old, is any less important or is any less complex, than those with many decades ahead.
Note: this book was translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Audio book: The Other Woman by Daniel Silva – Gabriel Allon #18
What a treat to discover an author with book #18 in a series, and know that not only do you have the seventeen preceding titles, but his prior works, to read!
In an exciting espionage plot that jumps back and forth between a small village in Spain to Vienna, Beirut, London, Washington, Beirut, Moscow and Tel Aviv, and over eight decades of back story to the present day, Gabriel Allon, Silva's invention of an art restorer who is also a master spy, unravels a plot that sounds more plausible than fictional.
What if the infamous Kim Philby, the most renowned traitor of the 20th century, who died in 1988, was still indirectly exerting his influence today on the interworkings of both international spy craft and certain events that are affecting our US domestic situation and world affairs today? This is exactly the scenario that Silva has created.
He does a fine job of exploring not just the international institutional relationships, but the human cost that they exact. Things, and people, as we all know, are not as clearcut and forthright as they may appear on the surface. The ambiguity of it all is what makes them, and this book, all the more interesting.
I'd like to add a few words of praise for the audio book reader, George Guidall, who did such a fine job. He's a master of nuance, and handles the accents, ages and sexes of the various characters with aplomb. As frequent listeners of audio books know, the reader's performance makes all the difference. Guidall has also been the reader for recent titles by Faye Kellerman I have heard and many others – over 1300, according to my research, so I must say "Bravo, George!"
In an exciting espionage plot that jumps back and forth between a small village in Spain to Vienna, Beirut, London, Washington, Beirut, Moscow and Tel Aviv, and over eight decades of back story to the present day, Gabriel Allon, Silva's invention of an art restorer who is also a master spy, unravels a plot that sounds more plausible than fictional.
What if the infamous Kim Philby, the most renowned traitor of the 20th century, who died in 1988, was still indirectly exerting his influence today on the interworkings of both international spy craft and certain events that are affecting our US domestic situation and world affairs today? This is exactly the scenario that Silva has created.
He does a fine job of exploring not just the international institutional relationships, but the human cost that they exact. Things, and people, as we all know, are not as clearcut and forthright as they may appear on the surface. The ambiguity of it all is what makes them, and this book, all the more interesting.
I'd like to add a few words of praise for the audio book reader, George Guidall, who did such a fine job. He's a master of nuance, and handles the accents, ages and sexes of the various characters with aplomb. As frequent listeners of audio books know, the reader's performance makes all the difference. Guidall has also been the reader for recent titles by Faye Kellerman I have heard and many others – over 1300, according to my research, so I must say "Bravo, George!"
Friday, June 21, 2019
Rising to the Heights – 5 Flights Up with Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman (released 2015)
A small movie with a big heart, with two of our best actors, Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman, in the leads.
As a couple married for forty years, they are contemplating selling their fifth floor walk-up Brooklyn apartment, where they live with their elderly dog, Dorothy. Both Dorothy and Alex, Freeman's character, are having difficulty walking the long flights of stairs that lead to the sunny apartment, where Alex, a somewhat successful artist, and Ruth (Keaton), a retired teacher, have made a life together. They have faced prejudice as an interracial couple, and the disappointment of infertility, but now aging is the issue.
Ruth's niece, Lily (the hyper Cynthia Nixon, also well-cast), an aggressive real estate agent, has set up a weekend of appointments with prospective buyers, and organized an open house. Ruth has some doubts about selling and moving to a building with an elevator, but Alex is far more reluctant and his recalcitrance puts off some potential buyers. Ruth is willing to do the decluttering every real estate agent demands of their clients, for example, but Alex hates the thought of strangers wandering around the apartment and especially his studio, the apartment's second bedroom, which is crammed with paintings, supplies and the typical mess one expects in to find in such circumstances.
In the midst of all this, Dorothy has an a sudden illness that requires an emergency visit to the vet, and very costly treatment that may not lead to recovery. Both Ruth and Alex are devoted to the dog, and anxious about her, and the money involved.
Ruth and Alex decide to look at apartments that may provide the space and elevator convenience they are looking for, and come very close to making a decision that will change everything about their lives.
In the end, they come to a decision that is right for them, and the crisis comes to a close with a several satisfying outcomes.
Keaton and Freeman have wonderful chemistry, and are perfectly believable as a devoted couple on long standing. They do not play cute, but with a realism that shows off their strengths and the mellowness they have reached in their later years (Keaton, now 73), and 82 (Freeman, now 82). The actors who portray their younger selves (Claire van der Boom as Ruth and Korey Jackson as Alex), have enough physical resemblance and are directed so well that they are nearly seamless in portraying the flashback scenes that successfully capture the personas of Keaton/Ruth and Morgan/Alex.
Watch the trailer: 5 Flights Up
As a couple married for forty years, they are contemplating selling their fifth floor walk-up Brooklyn apartment, where they live with their elderly dog, Dorothy. Both Dorothy and Alex, Freeman's character, are having difficulty walking the long flights of stairs that lead to the sunny apartment, where Alex, a somewhat successful artist, and Ruth (Keaton), a retired teacher, have made a life together. They have faced prejudice as an interracial couple, and the disappointment of infertility, but now aging is the issue.
Ruth's niece, Lily (the hyper Cynthia Nixon, also well-cast), an aggressive real estate agent, has set up a weekend of appointments with prospective buyers, and organized an open house. Ruth has some doubts about selling and moving to a building with an elevator, but Alex is far more reluctant and his recalcitrance puts off some potential buyers. Ruth is willing to do the decluttering every real estate agent demands of their clients, for example, but Alex hates the thought of strangers wandering around the apartment and especially his studio, the apartment's second bedroom, which is crammed with paintings, supplies and the typical mess one expects in to find in such circumstances.
In the midst of all this, Dorothy has an a sudden illness that requires an emergency visit to the vet, and very costly treatment that may not lead to recovery. Both Ruth and Alex are devoted to the dog, and anxious about her, and the money involved.
Ruth and Alex decide to look at apartments that may provide the space and elevator convenience they are looking for, and come very close to making a decision that will change everything about their lives.
In the end, they come to a decision that is right for them, and the crisis comes to a close with a several satisfying outcomes.
Keaton and Freeman have wonderful chemistry, and are perfectly believable as a devoted couple on long standing. They do not play cute, but with a realism that shows off their strengths and the mellowness they have reached in their later years (Keaton, now 73), and 82 (Freeman, now 82). The actors who portray their younger selves (Claire van der Boom as Ruth and Korey Jackson as Alex), have enough physical resemblance and are directed so well that they are nearly seamless in portraying the flashback scenes that successfully capture the personas of Keaton/Ruth and Morgan/Alex.
Watch the trailer: 5 Flights Up
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Time Stretching Machine - a few thoughts on travel
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to set up your own time stretching machine that allowed you to create an alternative universe in which you could read as many books and see as many movies as you like?
One of my favorite travel ideas was to book a cabin on a long-haul freighter, bring along a telescope and a trunk full of books, and cruise around the world for a few months, stopping in at the ports of call if they interested me. This was before the advent of the dangers of the pirate attacks on cargo ships, and before the Kindle and IPad existed, which would have made that travel a whole lot lighter and easier. Unfortunately, it became more a fantasy than an idea as life interfered with unexpected demands, and the Great Recession changed everything.
At this point, I'm not sure freighters accept passengers anymore, but if I had the money for such a voyage, I'd still like to consider it, along with an extensive road trip in the US with no end date, and no specific destination, but lots of books on the Kindle for relaxing stops in interesting places along with visits with friends, and to see landmarks and museums.
One of my favorite travel ideas was to book a cabin on a long-haul freighter, bring along a telescope and a trunk full of books, and cruise around the world for a few months, stopping in at the ports of call if they interested me. This was before the advent of the dangers of the pirate attacks on cargo ships, and before the Kindle and IPad existed, which would have made that travel a whole lot lighter and easier. Unfortunately, it became more a fantasy than an idea as life interfered with unexpected demands, and the Great Recession changed everything.
At this point, I'm not sure freighters accept passengers anymore, but if I had the money for such a voyage, I'd still like to consider it, along with an extensive road trip in the US with no end date, and no specific destination, but lots of books on the Kindle for relaxing stops in interesting places along with visits with friends, and to see landmarks and museums.
Crazy Rich Asians, a film of the book by Kevin Kwan
I saw this movie when it was playing in theaters last year, having read the book when it was first published, and revisited it last night on HBO. I loved the production values – the sets, costumes, location settings, graphics in the opening credits and throughout the film, and the music. The story was a good one too, beautiful and accomplished Chinese-American woman from a modest background, a professor of game theory at NYU, and the scion of Singapore's wealthiest gentry family, working in New York, and complete with his own good looks, a suave British accent, and an abundance of charm, fall in love. Things are going along swimmingly until he decides to bring her to Singapore to join him at the society wedding of the year, where he will be Best Man, and to meet his ultra-snobby family. Until now, Rachel Chu has no idea who her boyfriend Nick Young is in his milieu, and it's a cultural shocker in every way.
Rachel was raised by her single mother, who fled China to escape an unhappy marriage and possible retribution for the illicit affair that made her pregnant. Rachel has been told an edited version of the true events, partly to protect her, and her mother has achieved her own success as the leading real estate broker in Flushing, Queens, the most aspirational of New York's three Chinatowns.
In contrast, the Youngs of Singapore live a lifestyle that surpasses almost anything the average person can imagine, in their private compound hidden from the public. Nick is expected to return to Singapore permanently and become head of the family business. The family may be fabulously wealthy and have all the latest accoutrements of that wealth, but they are traditional and expect family loyalty and obedience to the wishes of the elders. Male children, of course, are the most prized, especially the eldest son.
There is heartbreak, disappointment, embarrassment and a lot of revelation to consider in this tale. There is the conflict between traditional and modern thinking, old world and new world, male and female roles, self-reliance and surrender to the power of the family structure.
How does it all play out? That's for you, my reader, to find out. I am not going to spoil it, but I will say it's worth watching and considering its messages. And, I understand there are two sequel books and possibly another adaptation in the works. Congratulations to author Kevin Kwan!
Rachel was raised by her single mother, who fled China to escape an unhappy marriage and possible retribution for the illicit affair that made her pregnant. Rachel has been told an edited version of the true events, partly to protect her, and her mother has achieved her own success as the leading real estate broker in Flushing, Queens, the most aspirational of New York's three Chinatowns.
In contrast, the Youngs of Singapore live a lifestyle that surpasses almost anything the average person can imagine, in their private compound hidden from the public. Nick is expected to return to Singapore permanently and become head of the family business. The family may be fabulously wealthy and have all the latest accoutrements of that wealth, but they are traditional and expect family loyalty and obedience to the wishes of the elders. Male children, of course, are the most prized, especially the eldest son.
There is heartbreak, disappointment, embarrassment and a lot of revelation to consider in this tale. There is the conflict between traditional and modern thinking, old world and new world, male and female roles, self-reliance and surrender to the power of the family structure.
How does it all play out? That's for you, my reader, to find out. I am not going to spoil it, but I will say it's worth watching and considering its messages. And, I understand there are two sequel books and possibly another adaptation in the works. Congratulations to author Kevin Kwan!
I.M.: A Memoir, by Isaac Mizrahi
Hats off to Isaac Mizrahi for his candid, highly personal memoir. Mizrahi is a true Renaissance Man – fashion designer, cabaret performer, talk show host, QVC presenter, director and writer, who, from childhood, worked hard to develop his talents and has succeeded across the board.
It wasn't easy for Mizrahi to grow up in the conservative, insular community of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn. He broke every norm as an artistic homosexual in an environment that was highly critical of anyone who challenged the status quo. Having lived in Brooklyn for a number of years just blocks from the Yeshivah of Flatbush, the religious day school he attended as a child, and being a mainly non-religious cultural Jew myself, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him from the late '60s into the '70s and beyond.
It is easy to forget just how different things were for the Gay community back in the late '80s when Mizrahi was a young man, where even in New York, rampant, systemic homophobia was everywhere. I worked in the fashion world too, and counted many Gay men among my friends, acquaintances and colleagues, and the horror that was AIDS decimated and changed that world drastically. It is sad to remember the deterioration and deaths of my neighbor just down the hall from my Manhattan apartment, then a co-worker and friend's lover, and every day the sight of so many young men who were once healthy and vibrant barely able to cross a street, and the constant obituary notices in the New York Times of both the famous and unknown (except to their partners, families and friends).
Despite that backdrop, Mizrahi has had a spectacular career, with great successes as a designer and in the theater arts. He tells all, or at least quite a lot, in this recent memoir. Listening to him read his book is both fascinating and excruciating.
It is fascinating and exhilarating to hear of his development of his many gifts from childhood onward, and his relationships and friendships with his clients and friends, who have been legion. He has known, worked for or made clothes for nearly every big name in the worlds of fashion (Perry Ellis, Halston, Richard Avedon, Anna Wintour...), entertainment (Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Sandra Bernhard, Sarah Jessica Parker...), literature, dance, art and design (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Maira and Tibor Kalman). There are so many amazing anecdotes about the famous names in this book that should be for the reader/listener to discover for themselves.
The excruciating yet also enthralling part is his recitation of his painful childhood and family relationships, his struggles with depression, weight and insomnia, and his disappointments in his work, friendships and intimate relationships. It is impossible not to feel for him, especially listening to his story in his own voice. He has experienced more highs and lows than most of us would ever be willing to reveal.
For anyone with any interest in fashion, theater arts, New York life from the 60s onward, especially as seen through the eyes of a true insider, this memoir will keep you listening, or turning the pages, to learn more or perhaps to remind you of your own triumphs and struggles, whatever they may be.
It wasn't easy for Mizrahi to grow up in the conservative, insular community of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn. He broke every norm as an artistic homosexual in an environment that was highly critical of anyone who challenged the status quo. Having lived in Brooklyn for a number of years just blocks from the Yeshivah of Flatbush, the religious day school he attended as a child, and being a mainly non-religious cultural Jew myself, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him from the late '60s into the '70s and beyond.
It is easy to forget just how different things were for the Gay community back in the late '80s when Mizrahi was a young man, where even in New York, rampant, systemic homophobia was everywhere. I worked in the fashion world too, and counted many Gay men among my friends, acquaintances and colleagues, and the horror that was AIDS decimated and changed that world drastically. It is sad to remember the deterioration and deaths of my neighbor just down the hall from my Manhattan apartment, then a co-worker and friend's lover, and every day the sight of so many young men who were once healthy and vibrant barely able to cross a street, and the constant obituary notices in the New York Times of both the famous and unknown (except to their partners, families and friends).
Despite that backdrop, Mizrahi has had a spectacular career, with great successes as a designer and in the theater arts. He tells all, or at least quite a lot, in this recent memoir. Listening to him read his book is both fascinating and excruciating.
It is fascinating and exhilarating to hear of his development of his many gifts from childhood onward, and his relationships and friendships with his clients and friends, who have been legion. He has known, worked for or made clothes for nearly every big name in the worlds of fashion (Perry Ellis, Halston, Richard Avedon, Anna Wintour...), entertainment (Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Sandra Bernhard, Sarah Jessica Parker...), literature, dance, art and design (Mikhail Baryshnikov, Maira and Tibor Kalman). There are so many amazing anecdotes about the famous names in this book that should be for the reader/listener to discover for themselves.
The excruciating yet also enthralling part is his recitation of his painful childhood and family relationships, his struggles with depression, weight and insomnia, and his disappointments in his work, friendships and intimate relationships. It is impossible not to feel for him, especially listening to his story in his own voice. He has experienced more highs and lows than most of us would ever be willing to reveal.
For anyone with any interest in fashion, theater arts, New York life from the 60s onward, especially as seen through the eyes of a true insider, this memoir will keep you listening, or turning the pages, to learn more or perhaps to remind you of your own triumphs and struggles, whatever they may be.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
An Italian Wife by Ann Hood
From my Goodreads review:
Started strong, with an introduction to the central character and matriarch of the family, Josephine. We meet her as a young girl in Italy who is unhappily wed in an arranged marriage, left behind, and then sent-for several years later by her husband, who has gone to America to improve his chances, and settled in Providence, RI.
The structure of the book is very interesting... as the all the characters are linked by their family connections, yet each one is distinct. This is not a family saga that starts out with poverty and ends as an American success story. There are a lot of dark tales here, and this is not the comforting read about the Italian-American experience that you might find from other authors. Still, it is compelling and explores themes of loyalty, sexuality, grief and anger through original characters. I'll be looking at some other works by Ann Hood – I'd like to get to know her better.
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12270027-joan">View all my reviews</a>
Started strong, with an introduction to the central character and matriarch of the family, Josephine. We meet her as a young girl in Italy who is unhappily wed in an arranged marriage, left behind, and then sent-for several years later by her husband, who has gone to America to improve his chances, and settled in Providence, RI.
The structure of the book is very interesting... as the all the characters are linked by their family connections, yet each one is distinct. This is not a family saga that starts out with poverty and ends as an American success story. There are a lot of dark tales here, and this is not the comforting read about the Italian-American experience that you might find from other authors. Still, it is compelling and explores themes of loyalty, sexuality, grief and anger through original characters. I'll be looking at some other works by Ann Hood – I'd like to get to know her better.
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12270027-joan">View all my reviews</a>
Monday, June 3, 2019
A Hollywood Tale of the '60s and '70s - Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.
I was intrigued by this book, not so much by Eve Babitz, whom I'd heard of, but knew little about, but because I was interested in the music scene in L.A. in the 60s and 70s. So many great musicians emerged from that time period, and they are many of the ones with which I most identify, as I grew up with their music and they are still among my favorites today.
It seems Eve Babitz was the premier party girl of those freewheeling times... everybody's groupie, having relationships with a string of musicians and actors. Reading about her sexual exploits, her extreme drug use and freeloading on her lovers and friends became almost distasteful after a while. Too much is ultimately too much.
Babitz was also a writer and album cover artist, though whether or not she was a good one, I don't know. I'll make that judgment once I have read some of her work. The author of this book, Lili Anolik, seems pretty divided in her own assessment of Babitz's writing, though she is clearly obsessed with (and most likely jealous of) her.
Anolik's book is vaguely chronological, but also jumps around so much, it is often difficult to keep track of the events of Babitz's life. Some names appear and reappear so frequently... Jim Morrison, Harrison Ford, Steve Martin, David Crosby, Don Henley, Joan Didion, Michelle Phillips and many others who found their first fame at that time. There are often many references to Marilyn Monroe, whose death seemed to be the divide between the 50s/early 60s and the later years of the 60s/early 70s.
The book drops a lot of names and is peppered with anecdotes, but seems to be without true insight into the period. Some of the outstanding musicians who emerged at the time, Joni Mitchell and Carole King among them, don't even appear, and this seems odd.
The author also inserts herself way too much into the narrative. Is the book about Babitz and the L.A. music scene or is it about Anolik and her compulsion with Babitz? I'm leaning towards the latter, and frankly, that's a bit of a bore.
It seems Eve Babitz was the premier party girl of those freewheeling times... everybody's groupie, having relationships with a string of musicians and actors. Reading about her sexual exploits, her extreme drug use and freeloading on her lovers and friends became almost distasteful after a while. Too much is ultimately too much.
Babitz was also a writer and album cover artist, though whether or not she was a good one, I don't know. I'll make that judgment once I have read some of her work. The author of this book, Lili Anolik, seems pretty divided in her own assessment of Babitz's writing, though she is clearly obsessed with (and most likely jealous of) her.
Anolik's book is vaguely chronological, but also jumps around so much, it is often difficult to keep track of the events of Babitz's life. Some names appear and reappear so frequently... Jim Morrison, Harrison Ford, Steve Martin, David Crosby, Don Henley, Joan Didion, Michelle Phillips and many others who found their first fame at that time. There are often many references to Marilyn Monroe, whose death seemed to be the divide between the 50s/early 60s and the later years of the 60s/early 70s.
The book drops a lot of names and is peppered with anecdotes, but seems to be without true insight into the period. Some of the outstanding musicians who emerged at the time, Joni Mitchell and Carole King among them, don't even appear, and this seems odd.
The author also inserts herself way too much into the narrative. Is the book about Babitz and the L.A. music scene or is it about Anolik and her compulsion with Babitz? I'm leaning towards the latter, and frankly, that's a bit of a bore.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)