1982, 1997 Aerial edition
Nancy Garden
Annie on My Mind
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
Before this, most YA novels with gay characters had tragic endings, ranging from break-up to death. (Death of protagonist, lover, in one case a dog!) Garden does separate the two girls, long enough for Liza to narrate their story, looking back months later, during freshmen year of college, but Liza calls Annie in the last couple pages and they reaffirm their love.
Despite the New York City setting, there's a quaint quality to this book, yes, much more than Divorce Express. There are no topical references, and lesbian subject matter aside, it almost feels like the '50s, with "damn" the strongest swear-word, and one teenaged boy even saying "heck." Liza's private school is particularly a product of an earlier time. And compared to Forever, or even Dinky Hocker, it's very pure and innocent. We know that the girls take off their clothes and go to bed together, but there are no physical details.
This may be deliberate. As Liza says, the relationship is about love, so Garden doesn't emphasize the sexual side, just hinting at it. The novel has nonetheless been challenged in different towns, even burned in Kansas City, and is probably more offensive to homophobes than a more explicit, less romantic story would be, especially since the girls are caught by a homophobic Christian.
I think in a way I'd prefer the book if it were more rooted in its time, or any specific time, if it didn't have a little boy saying, during the girls' pretend sword fight, "I'm for the one in the cape!," which I can't imagine any twentieth-century child phrasing like that. I am grateful for this novel paving the way, but I can't help wishing it were better.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Rock on Film
1982, first edition, from Virgin Books
David Ehrenstein and Bill Reed
Rock on Film
Original price unknown, purchase price £5 (in Oxford)
Worn condition
B-
An intelligent, sometimes funny look at a quarter-century of rock music and musicians on film. The authors are at least as generous as Dave Marsh in their definition of rock, including (as he does) country, reggae, disco, and punk, although they draw the line at Pat Boone. The focus is mostly on American movies, although British cinema is well-represented, so it's not too odd a book for me to have found in an Oxford shop. The role of racism in music and film is addressed, and it's notable that Ehrenstein is biracial and in fact in 2007 wrote the article "Obama the 'Magic Negro.'"
It's good that he and Reed appreciate the beauty and absurdity of rock, especially on screen. (Where else are you going to read that in Shake Rattle and Rock Margaret Dumont "lets fly with a mean funky chicken at the film's conclusion"?) Unfortunately, there are some avoidable errors, not just punctuation, but things like saying that Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison all died in '68, when they actually went (all at the age of 27) in '70 and '71. Still, the book holds up pretty well, even if music videos are still being called "promotional films" a few months into the MTV era.
David Ehrenstein and Bill Reed
Rock on Film
Original price unknown, purchase price £5 (in Oxford)
Worn condition
B-
An intelligent, sometimes funny look at a quarter-century of rock music and musicians on film. The authors are at least as generous as Dave Marsh in their definition of rock, including (as he does) country, reggae, disco, and punk, although they draw the line at Pat Boone. The focus is mostly on American movies, although British cinema is well-represented, so it's not too odd a book for me to have found in an Oxford shop. The role of racism in music and film is addressed, and it's notable that Ehrenstein is biracial and in fact in 2007 wrote the article "Obama the 'Magic Negro.'"
It's good that he and Reed appreciate the beauty and absurdity of rock, especially on screen. (Where else are you going to read that in Shake Rattle and Rock Margaret Dumont "lets fly with a mean funky chicken at the film's conclusion"?) Unfortunately, there are some avoidable errors, not just punctuation, but things like saying that Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison all died in '68, when they actually went (all at the age of 27) in '70 and '71. Still, the book holds up pretty well, even if music videos are still being called "promotional films" a few months into the MTV era.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The Divorce Express
1982, first edition, from Delacorte
Paula Danziger
The Divorce Express
Original price $10.95, purchase price $3.95
OK condition hardcover
B-
From roughly ages 10 to 15, I read a lot of Danziger, Norma Klein, and of course Judy Blume, thinking of them all as East Coast Jewish women I'd have liked to have as my mother. (My own Jersey Jewish mom died when I was three.) But I mostly got their books from the library, and the ones I own now (no Klein I think, but then she wrote less, it seemed) I bought as an adult, and in most if not all cases they're not the ones I grew up with. So it feels odd to be reviewing this rather than The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, which I did actually own, until I read it to death, or even the Danziger novel with perhaps the best title, Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?
This is probably my third or fourth reading. It goes fast, if not expressly. It's set mostly in Woodstock, NY, where Danziger lived for several years. She idealizes the town, and the aging hippies who live there, but if you can get past that, it's a good setting. Fourteen-year-old protagonist Phoebe spends the rest of her time in her old home in New York City, where her mother and stepfather-to-be have more materialistic values. Phoebe's old boyfriend and old best friend start dating in her absence, but she gets a new and better boyfriend, and a best friend whose mother starts dating Phoebe's dad.
This is definitely aimed at younger teens, not only because of Phoebe's age but because of the content. I can't imagine divorce being a particularly controversial topic post-1960s. (I used to own a 1920s book called Children of Divorce, where it was a great tragedy. And by the time Express came out, we had a divorced president.) There is mention of unmarried adults hypothetically having sex, but Phoebe doesn't do more than kiss, and there's no drug usage, other than cigarettes by a minor character. Even Phoebe's hobby of anagrams seems aimed at a younger crowd, although it's actually what I liked best about the book.
Phoebe returns in It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World, although that's from the perspective of best friend Rosie. I remember liking it about equally, so we'll see when we get to 1985.
Paula Danziger
The Divorce Express
Original price $10.95, purchase price $3.95
OK condition hardcover
B-
From roughly ages 10 to 15, I read a lot of Danziger, Norma Klein, and of course Judy Blume, thinking of them all as East Coast Jewish women I'd have liked to have as my mother. (My own Jersey Jewish mom died when I was three.) But I mostly got their books from the library, and the ones I own now (no Klein I think, but then she wrote less, it seemed) I bought as an adult, and in most if not all cases they're not the ones I grew up with. So it feels odd to be reviewing this rather than The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, which I did actually own, until I read it to death, or even the Danziger novel with perhaps the best title, Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?
This is probably my third or fourth reading. It goes fast, if not expressly. It's set mostly in Woodstock, NY, where Danziger lived for several years. She idealizes the town, and the aging hippies who live there, but if you can get past that, it's a good setting. Fourteen-year-old protagonist Phoebe spends the rest of her time in her old home in New York City, where her mother and stepfather-to-be have more materialistic values. Phoebe's old boyfriend and old best friend start dating in her absence, but she gets a new and better boyfriend, and a best friend whose mother starts dating Phoebe's dad.
This is definitely aimed at younger teens, not only because of Phoebe's age but because of the content. I can't imagine divorce being a particularly controversial topic post-1960s. (I used to own a 1920s book called Children of Divorce, where it was a great tragedy. And by the time Express came out, we had a divorced president.) There is mention of unmarried adults hypothetically having sex, but Phoebe doesn't do more than kiss, and there's no drug usage, other than cigarettes by a minor character. Even Phoebe's hobby of anagrams seems aimed at a younger crowd, although it's actually what I liked best about the book.
Phoebe returns in It's an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World, although that's from the perspective of best friend Rosie. I remember liking it about equally, so we'll see when we get to 1985.
Fer Shurr! How to be a Valley Girl-- Totally
1982, undated later edition, from Bantam
Mary Corey and Victoria Westermark
Fer Shurr! How to be a Valley Girl-- Totally
Bought new for $2.50
Slightly worn paperback
C+
Neither as funny or insightful or venomous as the Frank and Moon Unit Zappa song, this is at least a quick, light read that captures some aspects of its time. (The pictures of Some Totally Cool Dudes are Rick Springfield, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, David Lee Roth, E.T., and Morris the Cat! And Princess Di is an Honorary Val.) The first half of the book is a glossary, which makes sense because, unlike the groups in the Anti-Prep book, Vals were mostly known for their vocabulary. I grew up further inland in Southern California, but I can still do the Val accent (a certain kind of singsong) as easily as I could thirty years ago. We made fun of Valley Girls (and Surfer Dudes), but I do remember someone writing without irony, "Have a bitchen summer!" in my 8th-grade yearbook. Also, the fact that "like" is still a filler-word must be at least as much due to the Vals as to the beatnik legacy.
Reading this book now, it reminds me of how with this and other handbooks, I didn't get some of the sexual references, making me retroactively blush for my innocence at 14 or 15.
Mary Corey and Victoria Westermark
Fer Shurr! How to be a Valley Girl-- Totally
Bought new for $2.50
Slightly worn paperback
C+
Neither as funny or insightful or venomous as the Frank and Moon Unit Zappa song, this is at least a quick, light read that captures some aspects of its time. (The pictures of Some Totally Cool Dudes are Rick Springfield, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, David Lee Roth, E.T., and Morris the Cat! And Princess Di is an Honorary Val.) The first half of the book is a glossary, which makes sense because, unlike the groups in the Anti-Prep book, Vals were mostly known for their vocabulary. I grew up further inland in Southern California, but I can still do the Val accent (a certain kind of singsong) as easily as I could thirty years ago. We made fun of Valley Girls (and Surfer Dudes), but I do remember someone writing without irony, "Have a bitchen summer!" in my 8th-grade yearbook. Also, the fact that "like" is still a filler-word must be at least as much due to the Vals as to the beatnik legacy.
Reading this book now, it reminds me of how with this and other handbooks, I didn't get some of the sexual references, making me retroactively blush for my innocence at 14 or 15.
The Mists of Avalon
1982, 1984 Del Rey edition
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon
Bought newish for $10.95
Worn paperback
B-
I can't remember exactly when I got this book, but I'd guess my late teens or early twenties, let's say the late 1980s. At that time I was drawn to Goddess religions, especially Celtic, and I bought the book for that reason, more than because of the Arthurian legends, which I knew only third- or fourth-hand anyway. I've read the book a few times since, though not often, mostly because it's a heavy book, literally and figuratively. And yet, it is in a sense shallow as well.
I still find it a interesting story, and it does evoke what I know of the misty, mystic allure of Britain. (For instance, I've been to Tintagel, which is a bit kitschy nowadays, but with very dramatic cliffs.) There's a large but manageable cast, fleshed out to varying degrees. Much of Bradley's history is anachronistic, but she blends it into the fantasy with panache. The central character of Morgaine convincingly ages from three to roughly sixty. And I like the motif of spinning and sewing that, yes, weaves throughout the novel.
Now for the negatives, what kept me from giving this a B or even a B+. First off, as the longest book I've reread in roughly a century (maybe since, oh, Anna Karenina) it could've used a better editor. Not only are there redundancies and sometimes unnecessarily muddled chronologies (not just when Morgaine is in the Land of the Fairies), but just on the basic level of word usage there are some glaring errors. I caught "cruel" for "curl" and "atone" for "intone, and a laugh-out-loud passage where Arthur says he must greet elderly courtiers, because his legs are young, "and some of them are grey and aging."
I also feel that the character of Gwenhwyfar (AKA Guinevere) could use some work. At times, Bradley slips into Ivanhoe-like blonde vs. brunette stereotyping, made worse by the anti-Christian/pro-Pagan bias. And even the bad things about Gwenhwyfar aren't consistent. She's shy and agoraphobic, particularly in her youth, and yet sometimes she's very bossy, including Schaflily scolding other women for speaking up. And at one point, she goes to talk to her supposed half-brother, Meleagrant, even though it means riding under the open sky and dealing with a brutal man. This leads to Meleagrant raping her and then, in a plot development out of the worst of fanfic, her having comfort-sex with Lancelet.
She and Lancelet have already been to bed a few times, beginning with a threesome with Arthur. Bradley presents Lancelet as more in love with Arthur than with Gwenhwyfar, although the bi/homosexual themes are mostly in the background. (Morgaine is involved with another priestess, but not much is done with this.)
Although the book is pro-Pagan, I have to say that Paganism doesn't really come across well in this book, especially as shown in the characters of Morgaine and her aunt Viviane, both Ladies of the Lake. The latter in particular manipulates people, playing with lives like knucklebones, as Morgaine says. But Morgaine, too, in time meddles with more romances than Mary Worth, and even indirectly murders people who stand in her way. Yes, the Goddess is dark, dealing in death as well as life, but all this scheming seems so pointless and cruel. Also, I got tired of hearing so much about Fate, as if Free Will is a bad idea and you can only act by taking away the freedom of others. (Ironically, this is what Susan Griffin says about pornography, that it pretends that abusing others is freedom.) If Paganism is just as much about being in the hands of God(s) and/or their earthly representatives as Christianity is, what's the point?
All that said, I can still see why this book led me to other books by Bradley, most of which I no longer own. I read two of her Avalon sequels and found them very disappointing. I never quite liked the Darkover series. (Although in fairness, I'm not a sci-fi fan.) And there were two or three others that just didn't have the, well, magic of this story. But we do have Firebrand coming up in 1987, so we'll see how she deals with the women of The Iliad.
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists of Avalon
Bought newish for $10.95
Worn paperback
B-
I can't remember exactly when I got this book, but I'd guess my late teens or early twenties, let's say the late 1980s. At that time I was drawn to Goddess religions, especially Celtic, and I bought the book for that reason, more than because of the Arthurian legends, which I knew only third- or fourth-hand anyway. I've read the book a few times since, though not often, mostly because it's a heavy book, literally and figuratively. And yet, it is in a sense shallow as well.
I still find it a interesting story, and it does evoke what I know of the misty, mystic allure of Britain. (For instance, I've been to Tintagel, which is a bit kitschy nowadays, but with very dramatic cliffs.) There's a large but manageable cast, fleshed out to varying degrees. Much of Bradley's history is anachronistic, but she blends it into the fantasy with panache. The central character of Morgaine convincingly ages from three to roughly sixty. And I like the motif of spinning and sewing that, yes, weaves throughout the novel.
Now for the negatives, what kept me from giving this a B or even a B+. First off, as the longest book I've reread in roughly a century (maybe since, oh, Anna Karenina) it could've used a better editor. Not only are there redundancies and sometimes unnecessarily muddled chronologies (not just when Morgaine is in the Land of the Fairies), but just on the basic level of word usage there are some glaring errors. I caught "cruel" for "curl" and "atone" for "intone, and a laugh-out-loud passage where Arthur says he must greet elderly courtiers, because his legs are young, "and some of them are grey and aging."
I also feel that the character of Gwenhwyfar (AKA Guinevere) could use some work. At times, Bradley slips into Ivanhoe-like blonde vs. brunette stereotyping, made worse by the anti-Christian/pro-Pagan bias. And even the bad things about Gwenhwyfar aren't consistent. She's shy and agoraphobic, particularly in her youth, and yet sometimes she's very bossy, including Schaflily scolding other women for speaking up. And at one point, she goes to talk to her supposed half-brother, Meleagrant, even though it means riding under the open sky and dealing with a brutal man. This leads to Meleagrant raping her and then, in a plot development out of the worst of fanfic, her having comfort-sex with Lancelet.
She and Lancelet have already been to bed a few times, beginning with a threesome with Arthur. Bradley presents Lancelet as more in love with Arthur than with Gwenhwyfar, although the bi/homosexual themes are mostly in the background. (Morgaine is involved with another priestess, but not much is done with this.)
Although the book is pro-Pagan, I have to say that Paganism doesn't really come across well in this book, especially as shown in the characters of Morgaine and her aunt Viviane, both Ladies of the Lake. The latter in particular manipulates people, playing with lives like knucklebones, as Morgaine says. But Morgaine, too, in time meddles with more romances than Mary Worth, and even indirectly murders people who stand in her way. Yes, the Goddess is dark, dealing in death as well as life, but all this scheming seems so pointless and cruel. Also, I got tired of hearing so much about Fate, as if Free Will is a bad idea and you can only act by taking away the freedom of others. (Ironically, this is what Susan Griffin says about pornography, that it pretends that abusing others is freedom.) If Paganism is just as much about being in the hands of God(s) and/or their earthly representatives as Christianity is, what's the point?
All that said, I can still see why this book led me to other books by Bradley, most of which I no longer own. I read two of her Avalon sequels and found them very disappointing. I never quite liked the Darkover series. (Although in fairness, I'm not a sci-fi fan.) And there were two or three others that just didn't have the, well, magic of this story. But we do have Firebrand coming up in 1987, so we'll see how she deals with the women of The Iliad.
Friday, December 28, 2012
One Fell Soup
1982, 1984 Penguin edition
Roy Blount, Jr.
One Fell Soup, or, I'm Just a Bug on the Windshield of Life
Original price $5.95, purchase price $2.50
Worn paperback
B
I can't remember if I first encountered Blount as a writer, likely of this eye-catchingly titled collection, or as a "news" correspondent on Comedy Central. (Or it could've been his introduction to one of my Nancy collections, more on that later.) Both his spoken and his written voice are unique, both goofy and wry. In the introduction here, one of the funniest I've read, he tries to explain what this book is a collection of. With copyright dates going back to 1967, there's poetry and sports writing and "spoofery" and various unclassifiable things that he sees as "juice-swapping" like Huck Finn's food in a barrel. I've tried to select enough tags to cover the bases.
It's hard to pick out a favorite. Usually, there's at least one line in everything, even the sports articles, that catches my fancy, makes me chuckle. His poetry is a bit Ogden-Nash-like, and even when a poem is called a song, it looks impossible to sing, which is OK, because he claims to be singing-impaired. I'm finding it hard not to slip into a Blountesque style, so I'll just conclude with this here quote:
"I once heard Blaze Starr ask an audience whether they would like her to uncover her (larger than life) breasts. When the audience cried out yes, yes, ma'am, they certainly would, she froze; rolled her eyes; replied, with great, pungent reserve, 'I reckon you would like some friiiied chicken."
Roy Blount, Jr.
One Fell Soup, or, I'm Just a Bug on the Windshield of Life
Original price $5.95, purchase price $2.50
Worn paperback
B
I can't remember if I first encountered Blount as a writer, likely of this eye-catchingly titled collection, or as a "news" correspondent on Comedy Central. (Or it could've been his introduction to one of my Nancy collections, more on that later.) Both his spoken and his written voice are unique, both goofy and wry. In the introduction here, one of the funniest I've read, he tries to explain what this book is a collection of. With copyright dates going back to 1967, there's poetry and sports writing and "spoofery" and various unclassifiable things that he sees as "juice-swapping" like Huck Finn's food in a barrel. I've tried to select enough tags to cover the bases.
It's hard to pick out a favorite. Usually, there's at least one line in everything, even the sports articles, that catches my fancy, makes me chuckle. His poetry is a bit Ogden-Nash-like, and even when a poem is called a song, it looks impossible to sing, which is OK, because he claims to be singing-impaired. I'm finding it hard not to slip into a Blountesque style, so I'll just conclude with this here quote:
"I once heard Blaze Starr ask an audience whether they would like her to uncover her (larger than life) breasts. When the audience cried out yes, yes, ma'am, they certainly would, she froze; rolled her eyes; replied, with great, pungent reserve, 'I reckon you would like some friiiied chicken."
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
London Transports
1982, 1995 Dell edition
Maeve Binchy
London Transports
Original price $6.99, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
C+
This is another short story collection, set in and around London obviously. (I think the titles are Underground stops, e.g. "Shepherd's Bush," "Victoria," and "Tottenham Court Road.") They're not as good, since the formula seems to be mostly "Clueless and somewhat unpleasant person(s) getting his/her/their comeuppance or at least realisation in the end." The story that's the greatest exception to this, and one of the better stories, is "King's Cross," where a super secretary remakes one woman's worklife every few months, and then moves on, sort of a nicer Nanny McPhee for the career woman. As with Dublin 4, the time is the present, sometimes with old-fashioned characters having to deal with things like wife-swapping or porn bookshops.
The copyright page says 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982. It also says, "This work was first published in Great Britain in 1978 and 1980," and then mentions copyright dates for a few of the specific stories, including "Euston" in '82. Wikipedia says that Binchy published Central Line in '78, and Victoria Line in '80, then London Transports in '83. Without digging further, my guess is that this is Central and Victoria put together. (With maybe a bit of the Northern Line?) So you can see why I decided, "Screw it, these three Binchys are going in '82." And although Lilac comes before Light, Dublin is earlier alphabetically, and London is definitely last. Thank goodness it's mostly novels for her from here on out.
Maeve Binchy
London Transports
Original price $6.99, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
C+
This is another short story collection, set in and around London obviously. (I think the titles are Underground stops, e.g. "Shepherd's Bush," "Victoria," and "Tottenham Court Road.") They're not as good, since the formula seems to be mostly "Clueless and somewhat unpleasant person(s) getting his/her/their comeuppance or at least realisation in the end." The story that's the greatest exception to this, and one of the better stories, is "King's Cross," where a super secretary remakes one woman's worklife every few months, and then moves on, sort of a nicer Nanny McPhee for the career woman. As with Dublin 4, the time is the present, sometimes with old-fashioned characters having to deal with things like wife-swapping or porn bookshops.
The copyright page says 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982. It also says, "This work was first published in Great Britain in 1978 and 1980," and then mentions copyright dates for a few of the specific stories, including "Euston" in '82. Wikipedia says that Binchy published Central Line in '78, and Victoria Line in '80, then London Transports in '83. Without digging further, my guess is that this is Central and Victoria put together. (With maybe a bit of the Northern Line?) So you can see why I decided, "Screw it, these three Binchys are going in '82." And although Lilac comes before Light, Dublin is earlier alphabetically, and London is definitely last. Thank goodness it's mostly novels for her from here on out.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Light a Penny Candle
1982, 1989 Dell edition
Maeve Binchy
Light a Penny Candle
Original price $6.50, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
B-
Unlike Dublin 4 but like some of the later novels, this is set in the past, in this case 1940 to 1960, mostly in London, England and Kilgarret, Ireland. Binchy also contrasts Protestantism and Catholicism, the title referring to an Irish and/or Catholic custom. During World War II, ten-year-old Elizabeth White goes to stay with the family of her mother's old classmate, Eileen O'Connor, since Ireland is not at war. Eileen's daughter Aisling is the same age as Elizabeth but much more outgoing. We see the girls through awkward adolescences, unhappy relationships (particularly with Johnny, a man who takes both their virginities, years apart), and fairly successful careers, Elizabeth especially.
My two biggest problems with this novel are with the character of Eileen and the melodramatic ending. Eileen is meant to be admirable, but I find it hard to forgive her for not accepting that the alcoholism and impotence of Tony, Aisling's husband, are grounds for leaving him. Even when he hits Aisling, Eileen thinks she should forgive Tony. OK, maybe Aisling can't get a divorce because it's against their faith, and Irish law, but why can't Eileen accept their separation?
As for the ending, it's foreshadowed in the prologue but comes almost out of nowhere. Elizabeth's nice if insecure husband Henry first becomes a whinger like her father, and then becomes paranoid, and then gets drunk and decides to go have sex with Aisling, because she's had sex with a married man (Henry's friend Simon, although Henry doesn't know that). Then, while rejecting Henry, Aisling accidentally reveals that Elizabeth had an abortion years ago (Henry knew about the long-term affair with Johnny, but not about the pregnancy), so he phones Johnny (who didn't know about the pregnancy either), and goes home to confront Elizabeth, who "accidentally" pushes him down the stairs when he threatens to take their daughter away. Almost none of this is in character for anyone. Only the last couple of pages, where Aisling and Elizabeth decide to endure, feels at all likely. I realize that Binchy had a lot of loose ends to tie up, but I would've preferred something like Aisling telling Johnny about the abortion, and immediately regretting it.
So why have I read this book so many times? Well, first of all, I'm a sucker for novels that show how people and their families change over time. Secondly, I do like the two main characters for the most part, and sometimes Eileen. There are a few supporting characters I like, in particular Aisling's kid brother Donal. Binchy is good at creating little Irish towns that feel fully populated. I appreciate that Aisling's mother-in-law and Elizabeth's stepfather are made into sympathetic human beings, rather than evil stereotypes. Partly because of the length (500+ pages), Binchy goes much deeper than she did in any of the short stories in Dublin 4, but that makes the book all the more frustrating, the raised expectations.
Next time (yes, three Binchys in a row), I'll go into the chronology of her writing a bit more. For now I'll say that this is definitely her first novel, and yes, we'll be doing her second, Echoes, in 1985.
Maeve Binchy
Light a Penny Candle
Original price $6.50, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
B-
Unlike Dublin 4 but like some of the later novels, this is set in the past, in this case 1940 to 1960, mostly in London, England and Kilgarret, Ireland. Binchy also contrasts Protestantism and Catholicism, the title referring to an Irish and/or Catholic custom. During World War II, ten-year-old Elizabeth White goes to stay with the family of her mother's old classmate, Eileen O'Connor, since Ireland is not at war. Eileen's daughter Aisling is the same age as Elizabeth but much more outgoing. We see the girls through awkward adolescences, unhappy relationships (particularly with Johnny, a man who takes both their virginities, years apart), and fairly successful careers, Elizabeth especially.
My two biggest problems with this novel are with the character of Eileen and the melodramatic ending. Eileen is meant to be admirable, but I find it hard to forgive her for not accepting that the alcoholism and impotence of Tony, Aisling's husband, are grounds for leaving him. Even when he hits Aisling, Eileen thinks she should forgive Tony. OK, maybe Aisling can't get a divorce because it's against their faith, and Irish law, but why can't Eileen accept their separation?
As for the ending, it's foreshadowed in the prologue but comes almost out of nowhere. Elizabeth's nice if insecure husband Henry first becomes a whinger like her father, and then becomes paranoid, and then gets drunk and decides to go have sex with Aisling, because she's had sex with a married man (Henry's friend Simon, although Henry doesn't know that). Then, while rejecting Henry, Aisling accidentally reveals that Elizabeth had an abortion years ago (Henry knew about the long-term affair with Johnny, but not about the pregnancy), so he phones Johnny (who didn't know about the pregnancy either), and goes home to confront Elizabeth, who "accidentally" pushes him down the stairs when he threatens to take their daughter away. Almost none of this is in character for anyone. Only the last couple of pages, where Aisling and Elizabeth decide to endure, feels at all likely. I realize that Binchy had a lot of loose ends to tie up, but I would've preferred something like Aisling telling Johnny about the abortion, and immediately regretting it.
So why have I read this book so many times? Well, first of all, I'm a sucker for novels that show how people and their families change over time. Secondly, I do like the two main characters for the most part, and sometimes Eileen. There are a few supporting characters I like, in particular Aisling's kid brother Donal. Binchy is good at creating little Irish towns that feel fully populated. I appreciate that Aisling's mother-in-law and Elizabeth's stepfather are made into sympathetic human beings, rather than evil stereotypes. Partly because of the length (500+ pages), Binchy goes much deeper than she did in any of the short stories in Dublin 4, but that makes the book all the more frustrating, the raised expectations.
Next time (yes, three Binchys in a row), I'll go into the chronology of her writing a bit more. For now I'll say that this is definitely her first novel, and yes, we'll be doing her second, Echoes, in 1985.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Dublin 4
1982, 1992 Dell edition
Maeve Binchy
Dublin 4, published with The Lilac Bus under the latter's title
Original price $5.99, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
B-
When Binchy died this past May, my first thought after the oddity of it happening the same day Gore Vidal died, was that it would be a long time till I got up to even the first of her books. But here we are, seven months later, and we'll soon be at her second and third. Dating these works is a bit tricky, since for one thing Lilac Bus was published in 1984. But I decided this one is first, for reasons I'll discuss another time.
She married fairly late, at age 37, and published her first short story collection the next year, 1978. I can't help wondering if this gave her a different perspective on things, two major life changes at the beginning of middle age. Certainly her view of marriage, while not as bleak as that of Sinclair Lewis or Marilyn French, is surprisingly cynical for a writer celebrated for her cosiness. And there are women in her stories who reinvent themselves in their 30s and 40s.
The "4" of the title are all set in the Irish capital and its suburbs, mostly with long-time residents, although "Flat in Ringsend" shows the paranoid fantasies of an 18-year-old country girl trying to adjust to the casualness of bedsitter life. "Decision in Belfield" is also about a young woman, here a pregnant 21-year-old who remembers the mystery surrounding her older sister's pregnancy five years before. "Dinner in Donnybrook" tells of a wife's revenge on her husband and his mistress. And "Murmurs in Montrose" is the saddest story, about a "cured" alcoholic and his family.
Binchy is a strange writer for me to have so much of, because I don't entirely like her writing. It's very readable, and I always want to see what happens next, even when I've read the books a few times before. It's just there's something off, something not quite real, about her characters. They always seem less vivid than she thinks they are. Often the way other characters describe them, including characters whose opinions we're supposed to trust, feels exaggerated. I didn't notice it so much in this collection, but it is notable in her longer fiction. Here, I kept wondering, "How is it that these people seldom really talk with each other, when these stories are almost nothing but dialogue?"
Anyway, I'll try to articulate this more as I go along.
Maeve Binchy
Dublin 4, published with The Lilac Bus under the latter's title
Original price $5.99, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
B-
When Binchy died this past May, my first thought after the oddity of it happening the same day Gore Vidal died, was that it would be a long time till I got up to even the first of her books. But here we are, seven months later, and we'll soon be at her second and third. Dating these works is a bit tricky, since for one thing Lilac Bus was published in 1984. But I decided this one is first, for reasons I'll discuss another time.
She married fairly late, at age 37, and published her first short story collection the next year, 1978. I can't help wondering if this gave her a different perspective on things, two major life changes at the beginning of middle age. Certainly her view of marriage, while not as bleak as that of Sinclair Lewis or Marilyn French, is surprisingly cynical for a writer celebrated for her cosiness. And there are women in her stories who reinvent themselves in their 30s and 40s.
The "4" of the title are all set in the Irish capital and its suburbs, mostly with long-time residents, although "Flat in Ringsend" shows the paranoid fantasies of an 18-year-old country girl trying to adjust to the casualness of bedsitter life. "Decision in Belfield" is also about a young woman, here a pregnant 21-year-old who remembers the mystery surrounding her older sister's pregnancy five years before. "Dinner in Donnybrook" tells of a wife's revenge on her husband and his mistress. And "Murmurs in Montrose" is the saddest story, about a "cured" alcoholic and his family.
Binchy is a strange writer for me to have so much of, because I don't entirely like her writing. It's very readable, and I always want to see what happens next, even when I've read the books a few times before. It's just there's something off, something not quite real, about her characters. They always seem less vivid than she thinks they are. Often the way other characters describe them, including characters whose opinions we're supposed to trust, feels exaggerated. I didn't notice it so much in this collection, but it is notable in her longer fiction. Here, I kept wondering, "How is it that these people seldom really talk with each other, when these stories are almost nothing but dialogue?"
Anyway, I'll try to articulate this more as I go along.
Growing Up
1982, 1984 Signet edition
Russell Baker
Growing Up
Original price $3.95, purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B+
Baker got his second Pulitzer prize for this autobiography, and deservedly so. It's warm but not overly sentimental, with a wry sense of humor. He sees the faults of his family and younger self with affectionate criticism. The most prominent figure is his tough, determined mother, particularly as she struggles through the Great Depression. The book begins and ends with her as an old woman who's lost her sense of time. She didn't get along with her mother-in-law or daughter-in-law, both strong, stubborn women in their own right. Other than the flash-forward to her old age, the book covers roughly the first half of the 20th century, and moves from Virginia to New Jersey to Maryland, plus Baker's travels in the South during World War II. (He never fought overseas.)
It's a very quick read for 350ish pages, but that's partly because there are photos interspersed throughout. Baker's family has interesting faces, and I think I like his no-nonsense sister Doris best. It's too bad that he doesn't seem to have written a sequel to this book, as I would've liked to have read about his early life as husband and father. He's still alive at 87 though, so who knows, although he does seem to have retired from journalism and other writing.
Russell Baker
Growing Up
Original price $3.95, purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B+
Baker got his second Pulitzer prize for this autobiography, and deservedly so. It's warm but not overly sentimental, with a wry sense of humor. He sees the faults of his family and younger self with affectionate criticism. The most prominent figure is his tough, determined mother, particularly as she struggles through the Great Depression. The book begins and ends with her as an old woman who's lost her sense of time. She didn't get along with her mother-in-law or daughter-in-law, both strong, stubborn women in their own right. Other than the flash-forward to her old age, the book covers roughly the first half of the 20th century, and moves from Virginia to New Jersey to Maryland, plus Baker's travels in the South during World War II. (He never fought overseas.)
It's a very quick read for 350ish pages, but that's partly because there are photos interspersed throughout. Baker's family has interesting faces, and I think I like his no-nonsense sister Doris best. It's too bad that he doesn't seem to have written a sequel to this book, as I would've liked to have read about his early life as husband and father. He's still alive at 87 though, so who knows, although he does seem to have retired from journalism and other writing.
The Book of Predictions
1981, later edition, from Bantam
David Wallechinksy, Amy Wallace, and Irving Wallace
The People's Almanac Presents the Book of Predictions
Possibly bought newish for $3.95
Worn paperback
C-
Although you might think it would be fun to look back at predictions of the future some three decades later, this is a mostly boring collection. (It does pick up as it goes on.) I think the two most ironic things are the predicted 1985 headline "KING CHARLES CHOOSES QUEEN" and, more sadly, Jessica Savitch making predictions, when she herself would die in a car accident in 1983, at the age of 36.
Most of the predictions are overly optimistic, with near-utopias by 2030. Even the predictions of technology that came true, such as email, were a decade or two later than expected. Online comments that go into specifics can be found here and here:
http://www.paullee.com/ghosts/bookofpredictions.html
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/06/the-book-of-pre
But the best failures are on the list of National Enquirer failed predictions for the late 1970s, such as "In 1979, Spiro Agnew will win a cinema acting award."
David Wallechinksy, Amy Wallace, and Irving Wallace
The People's Almanac Presents the Book of Predictions
Possibly bought newish for $3.95
Worn paperback
C-
Although you might think it would be fun to look back at predictions of the future some three decades later, this is a mostly boring collection. (It does pick up as it goes on.) I think the two most ironic things are the predicted 1985 headline "KING CHARLES CHOOSES QUEEN" and, more sadly, Jessica Savitch making predictions, when she herself would die in a car accident in 1983, at the age of 36.
Most of the predictions are overly optimistic, with near-utopias by 2030. Even the predictions of technology that came true, such as email, were a decade or two later than expected. Online comments that go into specifics can be found here and here:
http://www.paullee.com/ghosts/bookofpredictions.html
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/06/the-book-of-pre
But the best failures are on the list of National Enquirer failed predictions for the late 1970s, such as "In 1979, Spiro Agnew will win a cinema acting award."
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The People's Doonesbury
1981, undated later edition, from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
G. B. Trudeau
The People's Doonesbury: Notes from Underfoot, 1978-1980
Bought newish for $12.95
Worn paperback
B-
Again, there's far too much about Duke in this collection, including Chinese translator/coed Honey's inexplicable unrequited crush on him, but luckily he disappears into Iran for awhile. I most enjoyed seeing the introduction of "Joan Caucus, Jr.," at this point engaged to Duke's caretaker Zeke. Joan's future ex-husband Mike is still unable to get a date for New Year's Eve, though he tries until literally the last minute. Zonker gets a few plot threads, although the tanning thing gets old. Mark is comparatively apolitical these days, with his most frequent radio guest a writer on "Mellow." (It's a noun as well as an adjective, and maybe a verb.) Bernie gets a Sunday page, but Nichole only merits one Christmas card appearance. On the other hand, Boopsie poses for Playboy at the ripe old age of 20 [sic], and it's fun to see the characters' reactions to that. (The photographer uses a backlash ploy that would become increasingly common, accusing Zonker of sexism for not letting naive Boopsie choose to be exploited.)
This volume gets partially through the 1980 campaign, with Mike an enthusiastic supporter of John Anderson. The best political moment is when Bush tells a group of Preppies that after a year or two in various positions, such as head of the CIA, he thinks he can go the distance of the "big four" as President.
G. B. Trudeau
The People's Doonesbury: Notes from Underfoot, 1978-1980
Bought newish for $12.95
Worn paperback
B-
Again, there's far too much about Duke in this collection, including Chinese translator/coed Honey's inexplicable unrequited crush on him, but luckily he disappears into Iran for awhile. I most enjoyed seeing the introduction of "Joan Caucus, Jr.," at this point engaged to Duke's caretaker Zeke. Joan's future ex-husband Mike is still unable to get a date for New Year's Eve, though he tries until literally the last minute. Zonker gets a few plot threads, although the tanning thing gets old. Mark is comparatively apolitical these days, with his most frequent radio guest a writer on "Mellow." (It's a noun as well as an adjective, and maybe a verb.) Bernie gets a Sunday page, but Nichole only merits one Christmas card appearance. On the other hand, Boopsie poses for Playboy at the ripe old age of 20 [sic], and it's fun to see the characters' reactions to that. (The photographer uses a backlash ploy that would become increasingly common, accusing Zonker of sexism for not letting naive Boopsie choose to be exploited.)
This volume gets partially through the 1980 campaign, with Mike an enthusiastic supporter of John Anderson. The best political moment is when Bush tells a group of Preppies that after a year or two in various positions, such as head of the CIA, he thinks he can go the distance of the "big four" as President.
The I-Hate-Preppies Handbook
1981, undated later edition, from Wallaby
Ralph Schoenstein
The I-Hate-Preppies Handbook
Possibly bought newish for $3.95
Slightly worn paperback
C+
I used to own The Preppy Handbook, along with various other "handbooks," including two for Jewish American Princesses. It wasn't that I wanted to conform to any group, but rather that I thought it was interesting seeing the different types. I got rid of most of the books, not necessarily by choice (details are fuzzy after three decades), but I kept this one and a Valley Girl book, the latter coming up in '82. This one divides non-Preps, or as Schoenstein puts it Anti-Preps, into four categories: Jock, Greaser, Freak, and Nerd. The fact that there's now "The Geek Social Hierarchy" shows that some things have gotten more complex:
http://brunching.com/geekhierarchy.html
This book is mildly funny, with the Photo Quizzes being the best aspect, the acknowledgments of people like Alexander Haig and Fats Domino being second best. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but if you run across it, it might be worth a good skim.
Ralph Schoenstein
The I-Hate-Preppies Handbook
Possibly bought newish for $3.95
Slightly worn paperback
C+
I used to own The Preppy Handbook, along with various other "handbooks," including two for Jewish American Princesses. It wasn't that I wanted to conform to any group, but rather that I thought it was interesting seeing the different types. I got rid of most of the books, not necessarily by choice (details are fuzzy after three decades), but I kept this one and a Valley Girl book, the latter coming up in '82. This one divides non-Preps, or as Schoenstein puts it Anti-Preps, into four categories: Jock, Greaser, Freak, and Nerd. The fact that there's now "The Geek Social Hierarchy" shows that some things have gotten more complex:
http://brunching.com/geekhierarchy.html
This book is mildly funny, with the Photo Quizzes being the best aspect, the acknowledgments of people like Alexander Haig and Fats Domino being second best. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but if you run across it, it might be worth a good skim.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Midnight's Children
1981, 1995 Vintage Edition
Salman Rushdie
Midnight's Children
No American price listed, but AUS $12.95
Slightly worn paperback
C
I've never read Rushdie's infamous Satanic Verses, but there was a time when I was curious enough to buy two of his other books. (The Moor's Last Sigh will be in 1995.) I can't remember reading either of them more than once, and now I can see why, and also why I didn't get rid of this book before. It's not a bad book, but it's not good either. It really is a straight-down-the-middle average C. (It won the Booker Prize, but you've probably guessed by now I don't have much respect for literary awards.) There are times when there are lovely turns of phrase, and times when he's going on and on about snot. In fact, Saleem's (the narrator's) sinuses are a major character! And somehow Rushdie can throw away a whole thousand talented people (the title characters), giving them nothing much to do and yet acting as if they're closely linked to India's fate. Even when he brings in quasi-incest, it's kind of boring.
I liked the early chapters most, the courtship of Saleem's grandparents, but then they got married and she turned into a fat shrew. There's undeniable sexism throughout, with so many of the female characters being horrible people, without any reason. (At least when the men are awful, we understand why.)
This book most reminded me of Tristam Shandy, in that there's a lot about noses and mutilations and family. Saleem's sort of girlfriend Padma complains more than once that he's never going to get around to his own birth, although Rushdie isn't as circular a writer as Sterne. He's also less funny, although there were times when I almost laughed.
Salman Rushdie
Midnight's Children
No American price listed, but AUS $12.95
Slightly worn paperback
C
I've never read Rushdie's infamous Satanic Verses, but there was a time when I was curious enough to buy two of his other books. (The Moor's Last Sigh will be in 1995.) I can't remember reading either of them more than once, and now I can see why, and also why I didn't get rid of this book before. It's not a bad book, but it's not good either. It really is a straight-down-the-middle average C. (It won the Booker Prize, but you've probably guessed by now I don't have much respect for literary awards.) There are times when there are lovely turns of phrase, and times when he's going on and on about snot. In fact, Saleem's (the narrator's) sinuses are a major character! And somehow Rushdie can throw away a whole thousand talented people (the title characters), giving them nothing much to do and yet acting as if they're closely linked to India's fate. Even when he brings in quasi-incest, it's kind of boring.
I liked the early chapters most, the courtship of Saleem's grandparents, but then they got married and she turned into a fat shrew. There's undeniable sexism throughout, with so many of the female characters being horrible people, without any reason. (At least when the men are awful, we understand why.)
This book most reminded me of Tristam Shandy, in that there's a lot about noses and mutilations and family. Saleem's sort of girlfriend Padma complains more than once that he's never going to get around to his own birth, although Rushdie isn't as circular a writer as Sterne. He's also less funny, although there were times when I almost laughed.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Cult Movies [1]
1981, 1985 Dell Trade edition
Danny Peary
Cult Movies: The Classics, the Weird, and the Wonderful
Original price $14.95, purchase price $6.00
Very worn paperback with stains and split spine
C+
While I think that Peary is a good writer, many of the movies he covers here sound unpleasant and/or boring. For many years I've just read the reviews of the movies I like, mostly classics like All About Eve and The Wizard of Oz, and skipped over things like The Brood and The Wild Bunch. Did you know that The Brady Bunch was almost named The Brady Brood? Yes, that's TV trivia, and if you care, you probably already know that. Which brings me to another problem with this book. Some of these movies are no longer cult movies, either because the cults have faded away, or because things like the Internet have mainstreamed quirkiness. It's no longer isolated bunches (or broods) of fans who feel like they're the only ones who have discovered or at least truly appreciated a lost gem of a film. With IMDB and other discussion forums, fans can find each other, even if they live on different continents. (Or you can do what I do, and generally lurk without commenting.)
On the other hand, it's hard to find other lengthy reviews, let alone analyses, of the movies Peary covers, so his book still serves a purpose. If I rated the book just for the movies I care about, it would probably be a B. A less squeamish viewer/reader might get more out of the rest of the book. Whether Peary's left-wing Baby-Boomer perspective is a plus or a minus is up to you. I will note that he's not as bad as the Medveds in concentrating mostly on recent releases. There are a lot of 1970s movies here, and eight more (12.5%) for 1968 alone, but he does include selections from each decade of the sound film.
I liked this book enough originally, reading it in the late '80s at about age 19, when it opened up a whole other world for me (admittedly some of which I immediately wanted to forget) that I went on to buy the sequels, which we'll get to in '83 and '88.
Danny Peary
Cult Movies: The Classics, the Weird, and the Wonderful
Original price $14.95, purchase price $6.00
Very worn paperback with stains and split spine
C+
While I think that Peary is a good writer, many of the movies he covers here sound unpleasant and/or boring. For many years I've just read the reviews of the movies I like, mostly classics like All About Eve and The Wizard of Oz, and skipped over things like The Brood and The Wild Bunch. Did you know that The Brady Bunch was almost named The Brady Brood? Yes, that's TV trivia, and if you care, you probably already know that. Which brings me to another problem with this book. Some of these movies are no longer cult movies, either because the cults have faded away, or because things like the Internet have mainstreamed quirkiness. It's no longer isolated bunches (or broods) of fans who feel like they're the only ones who have discovered or at least truly appreciated a lost gem of a film. With IMDB and other discussion forums, fans can find each other, even if they live on different continents. (Or you can do what I do, and generally lurk without commenting.)
On the other hand, it's hard to find other lengthy reviews, let alone analyses, of the movies Peary covers, so his book still serves a purpose. If I rated the book just for the movies I care about, it would probably be a B. A less squeamish viewer/reader might get more out of the rest of the book. Whether Peary's left-wing Baby-Boomer perspective is a plus or a minus is up to you. I will note that he's not as bad as the Medveds in concentrating mostly on recent releases. There are a lot of 1970s movies here, and eight more (12.5%) for 1968 alone, but he does include selections from each decade of the sound film.
I liked this book enough originally, reading it in the late '80s at about age 19, when it opened up a whole other world for me (admittedly some of which I immediately wanted to forget) that I went on to buy the sequels, which we'll get to in '83 and '88.
Friday, December 14, 2012
The Best of McCartney
1981, first edition, from Hal Leonard Publishing
Paul McCartney, arranged by Len Braunling
The Best of McCartney
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback with number stickers on it
C+
For the first year or so of our relationship, 1984-85, my then-future-ex-husband would buy me books about the Beatles, because I had decided for the 20th-anniversary-of-American-Beatlemania I would find out as much as I could about this band that had always been there in the background of my life. So this book is likely a gift from him, although it has guitar chords and he was the musician, not I. (He probably borrowed it though.) This does, however, have a picture of my crush Paul on the cover. And it shows the lyrics of eleven of his Wings-era songs. Except for "Mull of Kintyre," I could hear the songs in my head as I read the words.
Still, I can't rate this higher because as a non-musician much of it is lost on me, like the strumming fingers being named p, i, m, and a. (P is for "pollex," Latin for thumb, and big toe oddly enough.) Also, for a 1981 book, it's oddly '70s-focused, with not even the catchy "Coming Up" from '80. And, really, these days you can get lyrics and even sheet music from the Internet, so this book doesn't serve as much purpose as it used to.
Paul McCartney, arranged by Len Braunling
The Best of McCartney
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback with number stickers on it
C+
For the first year or so of our relationship, 1984-85, my then-future-ex-husband would buy me books about the Beatles, because I had decided for the 20th-anniversary-of-American-Beatlemania I would find out as much as I could about this band that had always been there in the background of my life. So this book is likely a gift from him, although it has guitar chords and he was the musician, not I. (He probably borrowed it though.) This does, however, have a picture of my crush Paul on the cover. And it shows the lyrics of eleven of his Wings-era songs. Except for "Mull of Kintyre," I could hear the songs in my head as I read the words.
Still, I can't rate this higher because as a non-musician much of it is lost on me, like the strumming fingers being named p, i, m, and a. (P is for "pollex," Latin for thumb, and big toe oddly enough.) Also, for a 1981 book, it's oddly '70s-focused, with not even the catchy "Coming Up" from '80. And, really, these days you can get lyrics and even sheet music from the Internet, so this book doesn't serve as much purpose as it used to.
The Book of Rock Lists
1981, first edition, from Dell/Rolling Stone Press
Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein
The Book of Rock Lists
Original price $9.95, purchase price $7.50
Worn paperback with covers torn off, a bit of my writing
B-
This is obviously more focused than the Wallace/Wallechinsky collections, and it's an interesting general topic, here encompassing everything from bubble gum to punk, with a lot of soul. Marsh, Stein, and their contributors have intelligent and sometimes witty opinions, so it's a good read, even when I disagree with them. (I'm not even a Grateful Dead fan, and I think they're too hard on the Dead.) The best lists are the quirky ones, like the one of '60s Psychedelic Band Names. Unfortunately, I can't easily quote from this book, because it's too long to easily find things.
I have to deduct a notch for the lack of an index, which I think was also left out of The New Book of Rock Lists, which we'll get to in 1994. As I recall, some lists were updated, others deleted, and somehow Ringo had moved up the list of great drummers. This edition came out in the early days of rap and the same year that MTV debuted, so although I suppose it's always true that rock is in a time of change, it was particularly true then.
Back in the day, I found this book most useful in developing my bad-movie collection, using not only the list of worst rock movies (I seem to be the only person who didn't think Xanadu was enjoyably bad, so it got an X rather than a circle), but also their ratings of Elvis movies. (Change of Habit is not a C+ and Spinout a D-, no matter what criteria you're using.) This reading, I found that just the titles of songs would give me pleasant earworms. Which brings me to our next book....
Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein
The Book of Rock Lists
Original price $9.95, purchase price $7.50
Worn paperback with covers torn off, a bit of my writing
B-
This is obviously more focused than the Wallace/Wallechinsky collections, and it's an interesting general topic, here encompassing everything from bubble gum to punk, with a lot of soul. Marsh, Stein, and their contributors have intelligent and sometimes witty opinions, so it's a good read, even when I disagree with them. (I'm not even a Grateful Dead fan, and I think they're too hard on the Dead.) The best lists are the quirky ones, like the one of '60s Psychedelic Band Names. Unfortunately, I can't easily quote from this book, because it's too long to easily find things.
I have to deduct a notch for the lack of an index, which I think was also left out of The New Book of Rock Lists, which we'll get to in 1994. As I recall, some lists were updated, others deleted, and somehow Ringo had moved up the list of great drummers. This edition came out in the early days of rap and the same year that MTV debuted, so although I suppose it's always true that rock is in a time of change, it was particularly true then.
Back in the day, I found this book most useful in developing my bad-movie collection, using not only the list of worst rock movies (I seem to be the only person who didn't think Xanadu was enjoyably bad, so it got an X rather than a circle), but also their ratings of Elvis movies. (Change of Habit is not a C+ and Spinout a D-, no matter what criteria you're using.) This reading, I found that just the titles of songs would give me pleasant earworms. Which brings me to our next book....
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Sunday's Women: Lesbian Life Today
1981ish (copyright 1979 but includes updates to '81), from Beacon Press
Sasha G. Lewis
Sunday's Women: Lesbian Life Today
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
C+
I enjoyed this book less than Sappho Was a Right-On Woman, from almost a decade earlier. It feels like there are more assumptions made without support, as in the idea of "neoadolescence" affecting length of relationships. There's much less about bi women, just one slighting comment. It was interesting to see that lesbians were starting to explore legal avenues, as with wills, but it was sad to read that the closet was still a default, because it was so dangerous to some women's careers, motherhood, and even lives to be out. The idea of marriage between women was still far-fetched enough to be put in quotes. In some ways lesbians had made progress since '72, but violence and prejudice were becoming more common. This update mentions not only Anita Bryant but the Moral Majority.
Not that the book is entirely dated. The comments on "political correctness" and technology would be equally pertinent a decade or three later. I don't know if it's the difference in authors or the times, but I prefer the fresh optimism of the early '70s to the frustrations and fears of the early '80s. Luckily, things would get better, but first they'd deteriorate further, as the impact of AIDS on straight culture led to increased homophobia. I'm not sure when the next "contemporary lesbian" book I own is, maybe not till we get up to Dykes to Watch out For.
Sasha G. Lewis
Sunday's Women: Lesbian Life Today
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
C+
I enjoyed this book less than Sappho Was a Right-On Woman, from almost a decade earlier. It feels like there are more assumptions made without support, as in the idea of "neoadolescence" affecting length of relationships. There's much less about bi women, just one slighting comment. It was interesting to see that lesbians were starting to explore legal avenues, as with wills, but it was sad to read that the closet was still a default, because it was so dangerous to some women's careers, motherhood, and even lives to be out. The idea of marriage between women was still far-fetched enough to be put in quotes. In some ways lesbians had made progress since '72, but violence and prejudice were becoming more common. This update mentions not only Anita Bryant but the Moral Majority.
Not that the book is entirely dated. The comments on "political correctness" and technology would be equally pertinent a decade or three later. I don't know if it's the difference in authors or the times, but I prefer the fresh optimism of the early '70s to the frustrations and fears of the early '80s. Luckily, things would get better, but first they'd deteriorate further, as the impact of AIDS on straight culture led to increased homophobia. I'm not sure when the next "contemporary lesbian" book I own is, maybe not till we get up to Dykes to Watch out For.
"That Woman Must Be on Drugs"
1981, undated later edition, from St. Martin's Press
Nicole Hollander
"That Woman Must Be on Drugs": A Collection of Sylvia
Original price $3.95, purchase price $2.00
Slightly worn paperback
B
As the subtitle suggests, this collection focuses more on Sylvia, which I think makes it stronger, since she has a very definite point of view. I laughed out loud a few times, with my favorite strip the one where Harry the Bartender cries, "My God! Sylvia are you letting that cat smoke?", and Sylvia replies, "It's okay. He doesn't inhale." Not only is this funnier in post-President-Clintonian hindsight, but the expression of the slightly cross-eyed cat cracks me up. Also, Hollander's last book to date is Nobody Owns a Cat, so I'm sure she knows that if the cat wants to smoke, even Sylvia couldn't stop it.
I've read but don't own Hollander's 1980 collection, "Ma, Can I Be a Feminist and Still Like Men?" (to which the answer is "Sure...just like you can be a vegetarian and still like chicken"). I do have 1982's "Mercy, It's the Revolution and I'm in My Bathrobe," so Sylvia will be making a welcome return shortly, no doubt spending the interval taking a bubble bath and making wry comments about televison, sometimes simultaneously.
Nicole Hollander
"That Woman Must Be on Drugs": A Collection of Sylvia
Original price $3.95, purchase price $2.00
Slightly worn paperback
B
As the subtitle suggests, this collection focuses more on Sylvia, which I think makes it stronger, since she has a very definite point of view. I laughed out loud a few times, with my favorite strip the one where Harry the Bartender cries, "My God! Sylvia are you letting that cat smoke?", and Sylvia replies, "It's okay. He doesn't inhale." Not only is this funnier in post-President-Clintonian hindsight, but the expression of the slightly cross-eyed cat cracks me up. Also, Hollander's last book to date is Nobody Owns a Cat, so I'm sure she knows that if the cat wants to smoke, even Sylvia couldn't stop it.
I've read but don't own Hollander's 1980 collection, "Ma, Can I Be a Feminist and Still Like Men?" (to which the answer is "Sure...just like you can be a vegetarian and still like chicken"). I do have 1982's "Mercy, It's the Revolution and I'm in My Bathrobe," so Sylvia will be making a welcome return shortly, no doubt spending the interval taking a bubble bath and making wry comments about televison, sometimes simultaneously.
Pornography and Silence
1981, 1982 Harper Colophon edition
Susan Griffin
Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature
Original price $5.95, purchase price $2.95
Worn paperback with split spine
B-
Although I don't entirely agree with Griffin, particularly in her view of pornography as by definition violent and dehumanizing, I do think she makes some good points about how images can be damaging. (She's the first writer I own to quote Key on subliminal advertising.) The links between pornography and racist propaganda, especially as seen in Nazi culture, are fascinating. She argues that porn is actually anti-erotic, punishing sexual expression and pleasure. Certainly, the examples she gives, as in The Story of O, advocate the abuse and silencing of women. She argues for a culture that will celebrate the body in union with the mind/heart/soul.
It's not a fun or pleasant read most of the time-- both Christians and leatherfolk will probably be offended by parallels between Christ's crucifixion and the "ritual" of BDSM-- but I think it's worth reading once or twice, and drawing your own conclusions.
Susan Griffin
Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature
Original price $5.95, purchase price $2.95
Worn paperback with split spine
B-
Although I don't entirely agree with Griffin, particularly in her view of pornography as by definition violent and dehumanizing, I do think she makes some good points about how images can be damaging. (She's the first writer I own to quote Key on subliminal advertising.) The links between pornography and racist propaganda, especially as seen in Nazi culture, are fascinating. She argues that porn is actually anti-erotic, punishing sexual expression and pleasure. Certainly, the examples she gives, as in The Story of O, advocate the abuse and silencing of women. She argues for a culture that will celebrate the body in union with the mind/heart/soul.
It's not a fun or pleasant read most of the time-- both Christians and leatherfolk will probably be offended by parallels between Christ's crucifixion and the "ritual" of BDSM-- but I think it's worth reading once or twice, and drawing your own conclusions.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
1981, 1992 Time Warner edition
Fannie Flagg
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
Original price $7.99, bought used for 99 cents
Worn paperback
B
It's odd reading this book right after Ramona, since they both have moments where a child tries to crack an egg on his/her head, only to find it's not hard boiled. It happens to 8-year-old Ramona, who's very embarrassed, and it happens to Daisy Fay's 12-year-old best friend Michael, who takes it in stride. Daisy Fay ages from 11 to 18 in this novel written as her journals, and along the way many embarrassing and sometimes even horrifying things happen to her, her friends, and her family, but she's a lot more unsinkable than Ramona. She even ends up as Miss Mississippi! The pageant makes the one in Miss Congeniality looks ordinary.
I could see this book made into a movie, like Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which we'll get to in 1987. It makes sense that this novel was originally called Coming Attractions, because it does have a movie-trailer-like feel at times. Flagg combines outrageous events and people with a dry, understated wit. This is her first novel and probably her least serious, although such issues as alcoholism, divorce, child abuse, rape/incest, abortion, racism, sexism, and homosexuality are addressed. That last issue is interestingly handled, since Flagg is a lesbian (which I didn't know, watching her on game shows and sitcoms as a child), and a long-time lesbian relationship is at the center of Fried Green Tomatoes (less obviously in the film version). As a preteen, Daisy Fay has crushes on women, but seems only interested in men as a teenager. She does, however, have the friendship of an out and proud gay man, Mr. Cecil, and his sequin-sewing Cecilettes.
I remember this as my favorite of Flagg's books, or at least the funniest. We'll see how it holds up to Fried Green and a couple of her others that I own.
Fannie Flagg
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
Original price $7.99, bought used for 99 cents
Worn paperback
B
It's odd reading this book right after Ramona, since they both have moments where a child tries to crack an egg on his/her head, only to find it's not hard boiled. It happens to 8-year-old Ramona, who's very embarrassed, and it happens to Daisy Fay's 12-year-old best friend Michael, who takes it in stride. Daisy Fay ages from 11 to 18 in this novel written as her journals, and along the way many embarrassing and sometimes even horrifying things happen to her, her friends, and her family, but she's a lot more unsinkable than Ramona. She even ends up as Miss Mississippi! The pageant makes the one in Miss Congeniality looks ordinary.
I could see this book made into a movie, like Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which we'll get to in 1987. It makes sense that this novel was originally called Coming Attractions, because it does have a movie-trailer-like feel at times. Flagg combines outrageous events and people with a dry, understated wit. This is her first novel and probably her least serious, although such issues as alcoholism, divorce, child abuse, rape/incest, abortion, racism, sexism, and homosexuality are addressed. That last issue is interestingly handled, since Flagg is a lesbian (which I didn't know, watching her on game shows and sitcoms as a child), and a long-time lesbian relationship is at the center of Fried Green Tomatoes (less obviously in the film version). As a preteen, Daisy Fay has crushes on women, but seems only interested in men as a teenager. She does, however, have the friendship of an out and proud gay man, Mr. Cecil, and his sequin-sewing Cecilettes.
I remember this as my favorite of Flagg's books, or at least the funniest. We'll see how it holds up to Fried Green and a couple of her others that I own.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
1981, 1992 Avon Camelot edition
Beverly Cleary
Illustrated by Alan Tiegreen
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Bought newish for $4.50
Slightly worn paperback
B-
I don't remember owning Beverly Cleary books as a kid. They were the sort I'd get out of the library. Books I liked but didn't love. I feel the same way about this one, rereading it as an adult. This comes fairly late in the series, with Ramona four years older than when she was introduced in Henry Huggins, back in 1950, and two books before the last (to date), Ramona's World (1999), where she turns ten. Although Mrs. Quimby has a job and Mr. Quimby has gone back to college, it's still a very 1950s world. It was weird to see references to not only the Meow Mix commercial (which I recall as mid to late '70s), but also the "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" Alka-Seltzer ad, which was almost a decade old at the time of this book. Somehow these attempts at topicality make the book more dated.
The more timeless moments are Ramona's quarrels at home and humiliations in school, particularly throwing up. Cleary has insight into how kids, parents, and teachers think, although she does verge on cliche, as with the sisters messily making dinner. And the Tiegreen illustrations are cute, but again, not terribly original.
This won the Newbery Honor book, with A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers, which I've never read, getting the Medal. I don't have any other children's books till 1983, so I can't say if this was deserved, but I think the Honor was partially given in nostalgic appreciation. Even 30 years ago, Cleary was already a living legend. She's obviously not my favorite children's author, but it's nice to know she's still around at 96.
Beverly Cleary
Illustrated by Alan Tiegreen
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Bought newish for $4.50
Slightly worn paperback
B-
I don't remember owning Beverly Cleary books as a kid. They were the sort I'd get out of the library. Books I liked but didn't love. I feel the same way about this one, rereading it as an adult. This comes fairly late in the series, with Ramona four years older than when she was introduced in Henry Huggins, back in 1950, and two books before the last (to date), Ramona's World (1999), where she turns ten. Although Mrs. Quimby has a job and Mr. Quimby has gone back to college, it's still a very 1950s world. It was weird to see references to not only the Meow Mix commercial (which I recall as mid to late '70s), but also the "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" Alka-Seltzer ad, which was almost a decade old at the time of this book. Somehow these attempts at topicality make the book more dated.
The more timeless moments are Ramona's quarrels at home and humiliations in school, particularly throwing up. Cleary has insight into how kids, parents, and teachers think, although she does verge on cliche, as with the sisters messily making dinner. And the Tiegreen illustrations are cute, but again, not terribly original.
This won the Newbery Honor book, with A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers, which I've never read, getting the Medal. I don't have any other children's books till 1983, so I can't say if this was deserved, but I think the Honor was partially given in nostalgic appreciation. Even 30 years ago, Cleary was already a living legend. She's obviously not my favorite children's author, but it's nice to know she's still around at 96.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
A People's History of the United States
1980, 1990 HarperPerennial edition
Howard Zinn
A People's History of the United States
Bought new for $12.00
OK condition paperback
C+
My aunt who regularly got me books as gifts gave this one for New Year's Day of 1992, writing, "With love and appreciation for your desire to know." I remember that very little of "the people" was covered in my high school history classes, as opposed to the Founding Fathers et al. Reading this book now though, it doesn't seem particularly earth-shattering. I found my mind wandering quite often. Ironically, I most enjoyed the chapters on the then two most recent decades. Like Wolfe, Zinn would disagree with Pichaske's view that the 1970s were a lull. He points out that while there was no longer the central issue of Vietnam, activism took many forms in the '70s. (I had to shake my head at the use of quotation marks for "gay." Really? In 1980? Or is Zinn trying to convey the novelty of the term a decade earlier?)
There is of course a certain poignancy in reading Zinn's tentative optimism in the last chapter, "The Coming Revolt of the Guards," although he was not just looking at the 1980s but at the world of "our grandchildren" and "our great-grandchildren." He updated and did spin-offs of this book over the next three decades, dying in 2010. The previous year, he said of turn-of-the-previous-century socialism, "Socialism basically said, hey, let's have a kinder, gentler society. Let's share things. Let's have an economic system that produces things not because they're profitable for some corporation, but produces things that people need. People should not be retreating from the word socialism because you have to go beyond capitalism."
The problem is, even within this book, socialism doesn't come across as much kinder or gentler than capitalism. I kept thinking, "Yes, conditions were/are horrible, but socialism isn't the right answer." Not that I know what the answer is. I'll say more about this when we get up to Reagan for Beginners in 1984.
Howard Zinn
A People's History of the United States
Bought new for $12.00
OK condition paperback
C+
My aunt who regularly got me books as gifts gave this one for New Year's Day of 1992, writing, "With love and appreciation for your desire to know." I remember that very little of "the people" was covered in my high school history classes, as opposed to the Founding Fathers et al. Reading this book now though, it doesn't seem particularly earth-shattering. I found my mind wandering quite often. Ironically, I most enjoyed the chapters on the then two most recent decades. Like Wolfe, Zinn would disagree with Pichaske's view that the 1970s were a lull. He points out that while there was no longer the central issue of Vietnam, activism took many forms in the '70s. (I had to shake my head at the use of quotation marks for "gay." Really? In 1980? Or is Zinn trying to convey the novelty of the term a decade earlier?)
There is of course a certain poignancy in reading Zinn's tentative optimism in the last chapter, "The Coming Revolt of the Guards," although he was not just looking at the 1980s but at the world of "our grandchildren" and "our great-grandchildren." He updated and did spin-offs of this book over the next three decades, dying in 2010. The previous year, he said of turn-of-the-previous-century socialism, "Socialism basically said, hey, let's have a kinder, gentler society. Let's share things. Let's have an economic system that produces things not because they're profitable for some corporation, but produces things that people need. People should not be retreating from the word socialism because you have to go beyond capitalism."
The problem is, even within this book, socialism doesn't come across as much kinder or gentler than capitalism. I kept thinking, "Yes, conditions were/are horrible, but socialism isn't the right answer." Not that I know what the answer is. I'll say more about this when we get up to Reagan for Beginners in 1984.
Friday, December 7, 2012
In Our Time
1980, first edition, from Farrar Straus Giroux
Tom Wolfe
In Our Time
Original price $12.95, purchase price $1.00
Good condition hardcover
B
I used to confuse this Wolfe with the novelist Thomas. This is the Wolfe who wrote The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities, but I haven't even seen the movies. So why did I buy this? Was it because it was only a dollar? In any case, in words and pictures, Wolfe captures aspects of what he had earlier named The Me Decade. In contrast to Pichaske's "sober, circumspect, temperate seventies," Wolfe writes, "I keep hearing the 1970s described as a lull, a rest period, following the uproars of the 1960s. I couldn't disagree more. With the single exception of the student New Left movement-- which evaporated mysteriously in 1970-- the uproars did not subside in the least." What's funny is Wolfe sees the '70s as hedonistic and yet, as he tells it, the casualness of the sex and drugs was in fact more notable than the outrageousness. If Yuppies were smoking dope on their coffee breaks, then maybe this wasn't hedonism as such. Were the '70s quietly, modestly loud and brazen?
Some of the art here actually goes back the early 1960s, but I still think of this book as a good encapsulation of the '70s. The chapter "Entr'actes and Canapes" specifically, with it's paragraph-long descriptions of Disco, Punk, Upstairs, Downstairs, George McGovern, Gatsby, Elvis, Jonestown, Designer Jeans, Mondo Brando (and the high-price cameos he and a few others made), the Digital Calculator, Roots, Perrier, Light Beer, Muhammad Ali, Short Haircuts, the Fall of South Vietnam, Woody Allen, Brain Physiology, People, the Fall of Nixon, Sidewalk Stereo, and the Year the New Left Left, covers a wide array of topics any student of the 1970s should know about. And the artwork, much of it caricatures, covers more. Sometimes Wolfe is cruel, as with Carter, but he didn't seem terribly off-base from what I recall and what I learned of the '70s after my childhood.
Tom Wolfe
In Our Time
Original price $12.95, purchase price $1.00
Good condition hardcover
B
I used to confuse this Wolfe with the novelist Thomas. This is the Wolfe who wrote The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities, but I haven't even seen the movies. So why did I buy this? Was it because it was only a dollar? In any case, in words and pictures, Wolfe captures aspects of what he had earlier named The Me Decade. In contrast to Pichaske's "sober, circumspect, temperate seventies," Wolfe writes, "I keep hearing the 1970s described as a lull, a rest period, following the uproars of the 1960s. I couldn't disagree more. With the single exception of the student New Left movement-- which evaporated mysteriously in 1970-- the uproars did not subside in the least." What's funny is Wolfe sees the '70s as hedonistic and yet, as he tells it, the casualness of the sex and drugs was in fact more notable than the outrageousness. If Yuppies were smoking dope on their coffee breaks, then maybe this wasn't hedonism as such. Were the '70s quietly, modestly loud and brazen?
Some of the art here actually goes back the early 1960s, but I still think of this book as a good encapsulation of the '70s. The chapter "Entr'actes and Canapes" specifically, with it's paragraph-long descriptions of Disco, Punk, Upstairs, Downstairs, George McGovern, Gatsby, Elvis, Jonestown, Designer Jeans, Mondo Brando (and the high-price cameos he and a few others made), the Digital Calculator, Roots, Perrier, Light Beer, Muhammad Ali, Short Haircuts, the Fall of South Vietnam, Woody Allen, Brain Physiology, People, the Fall of Nixon, Sidewalk Stereo, and the Year the New Left Left, covers a wide array of topics any student of the 1970s should know about. And the artwork, much of it caricatures, covers more. Sometimes Wolfe is cruel, as with Carter, but he didn't seem terribly off-base from what I recall and what I learned of the '70s after my childhood.
Shelley: Also Known as Shirley
1980, 1981 Ballantine edition
Shelley Winters
Shelley: Also Known as Shirley
Original and purchase price unknown
Paperback that's split in two
B
On the last page, Winters writes, "Perhaps I'm sometimes vague about what took place in which year." For instance, she claims her daughter was two when Winters's second marriage broke up, but Wikipedia shows that to have been in 1954, when her daughter was one. And specific dates in the book are few and far between. She also writes on that page, "TO BE CONTINUED, I HOPE...." Although she talks briefly about some of her movies and other adventures in the '60s and '70s, this volume does end with that divorce. Even in Shelley II, which we'll get to in 1989, her main narrative hasn't advanced more than a decade. I used to hope she'd write Shelley III and maybe get up to The Poseidon Adventure, but she died in 2006 without continuing her autobiography.
The funny thing is, I'm not sure if I've ever seen any of her movies, although I've seen her on television. Her larger-than-life persona (yes, in more ways than one) appealed to me, and so I was pleased to see that that's the way she's written this book. She admits she's a loudmouth, one of the rare people who could stand up to Harry Cohn, but she's also good-hearted. She had at least as many affairs with famous actors as Joan Collins did, though with a few more scruples about dating married men. She also writes about having an abortion, back in the late '30s, as well as being a union organizer around that time. She clearly wasn't afraid of controversy.
The period covered here overlaps with that of Lauren Bacall's main days in Hollywood (Winters is about four years older) and there are surprising similarities between these two actresses. Both were Jewish New Yorkers and felt more drawn to the stage, although the call of Hollywood in the early '40s was irresistible. They were sex symbols (in different ways) while seeing themselves as skinny and plain. Bacall's image was more intelligent onscreen, with Winters sometimes fighting and sometimes playing along with her dumb-blonde image. And both were liberal Democrats with crushes on Adlai Stevenson. (Winters apparently bedded him though, while Bacall just had a long-term flirtation.)
I felt Winters was more realistic about her relationships than Bacall, in the books I mean, although perhaps also at the time. Even as Winters made mistakes, she was less of a romantic than Bacall. I also found this to be one of the funnier autobiographies I've read, although no one can yet match Rosalind Russell.
Shelley Winters
Shelley: Also Known as Shirley
Original and purchase price unknown
Paperback that's split in two
B
On the last page, Winters writes, "Perhaps I'm sometimes vague about what took place in which year." For instance, she claims her daughter was two when Winters's second marriage broke up, but Wikipedia shows that to have been in 1954, when her daughter was one. And specific dates in the book are few and far between. She also writes on that page, "TO BE CONTINUED, I HOPE...." Although she talks briefly about some of her movies and other adventures in the '60s and '70s, this volume does end with that divorce. Even in Shelley II, which we'll get to in 1989, her main narrative hasn't advanced more than a decade. I used to hope she'd write Shelley III and maybe get up to The Poseidon Adventure, but she died in 2006 without continuing her autobiography.
The funny thing is, I'm not sure if I've ever seen any of her movies, although I've seen her on television. Her larger-than-life persona (yes, in more ways than one) appealed to me, and so I was pleased to see that that's the way she's written this book. She admits she's a loudmouth, one of the rare people who could stand up to Harry Cohn, but she's also good-hearted. She had at least as many affairs with famous actors as Joan Collins did, though with a few more scruples about dating married men. She also writes about having an abortion, back in the late '30s, as well as being a union organizer around that time. She clearly wasn't afraid of controversy.
The period covered here overlaps with that of Lauren Bacall's main days in Hollywood (Winters is about four years older) and there are surprising similarities between these two actresses. Both were Jewish New Yorkers and felt more drawn to the stage, although the call of Hollywood in the early '40s was irresistible. They were sex symbols (in different ways) while seeing themselves as skinny and plain. Bacall's image was more intelligent onscreen, with Winters sometimes fighting and sometimes playing along with her dumb-blonde image. And both were liberal Democrats with crushes on Adlai Stevenson. (Winters apparently bedded him though, while Bacall just had a long-term flirtation.)
I felt Winters was more realistic about her relationships than Bacall, in the books I mean, although perhaps also at the time. Even as Winters made mistakes, she was less of a romantic than Bacall. I also found this to be one of the funnier autobiographies I've read, although no one can yet match Rosalind Russell.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The Book of Lists #2
1980, 1981 Bantam edition
Irving Wallace, David Wallechinksy, Amy Wallace, and Sylvia Wallace
The Book of Lists #2
Original price $3.50, purchase price $2.50
Very worn paperback with water damage
B-
I found this marginally better than the first collection of lists, even the chapters on sports and war, although the book did get off to a slow start. It seemed like there were more lists of oddities, which are fun. I think the most ironic in retrospect list is that of "10 Couples Who Married Each other Twice." Not only did Liz Taylor go on to husbands after post-Burton Warner (as I noted before), but Elliott Gould separated from Jennifer Bogart after their second marriage. And there's this entry: "It's a love story that reads like a movie script. They were everyone's ideal young couple in love when they married in 1957. [Then they divorced, remarried, and those marriages broke up.] But Hollywood would not be denied its happy ending. Bob [Wagner] and Natalie [Wood] rekindled their love and remarried in 1972-- to live happily ever after. Pass the popcorn." And the tissues, since she died in Nov. 1981, drowning after a fight with Wagner.
The book also has lists from soon-to-be-president Reagan, as well as ex-president Ford, and Carter's mother, "Miss Lillian," who died in 1983. Sylvia Wallace is the mother of David and Amy, wife of Irving.
Irving Wallace, David Wallechinksy, Amy Wallace, and Sylvia Wallace
The Book of Lists #2
Original price $3.50, purchase price $2.50
Very worn paperback with water damage
B-
I found this marginally better than the first collection of lists, even the chapters on sports and war, although the book did get off to a slow start. It seemed like there were more lists of oddities, which are fun. I think the most ironic in retrospect list is that of "10 Couples Who Married Each other Twice." Not only did Liz Taylor go on to husbands after post-Burton Warner (as I noted before), but Elliott Gould separated from Jennifer Bogart after their second marriage. And there's this entry: "It's a love story that reads like a movie script. They were everyone's ideal young couple in love when they married in 1957. [Then they divorced, remarried, and those marriages broke up.] But Hollywood would not be denied its happy ending. Bob [Wagner] and Natalie [Wood] rekindled their love and remarried in 1972-- to live happily ever after. Pass the popcorn." And the tissues, since she died in Nov. 1981, drowning after a fight with Wagner.
The book also has lists from soon-to-be-president Reagan, as well as ex-president Ford, and Carter's mother, "Miss Lillian," who died in 1983. Sylvia Wallace is the mother of David and Amy, wife of Irving.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Morgan's Passing
1980
Anne Tyler
Morgan's Passing
B
This is part of that set of Four Complete Novels that we last visited in the mid-'60s, with Tyler's first two books. (Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is coming up in '82.) This is my favorite of her novels so far, and yet I can't say I exactly like the characters. They are in turns selfish, passive, and irritating.
Once again, Tyler presents a family of six or seven children (all or mostly female) that is both close-knit and chaotic, living in an old three-story house, a motif that goes back to Ben Joe's family in If Morning Ever Comes. I suppose there's even a self-referential pun, in that "morgen" means "morning" in German. But the Morgan that passes here is the eccentric husband/father/grandfather who passes as several different people, from doctor to minister to Leon, the (real) actor husband of Emily, the young woman he falls in love with, impregnates, and runs away with. So Morgan's wife places an obituary in the paper, feeling that his passing out of her life means that she should treat him as if he's passed away. (It's a hard book to describe, although more solid than Housekeeping of course.)
There are other minor motifs that echo earlier books, like photography and lost loves. I think the main theme of the novel is that people often prefer fantasy to reality, and that's sometimes bad, as when Morgan's sister Brindle marries her lost love and finds that he prefers her photograph to her presence, and sometimes OK, as with the puppet shows that Leon and Emily put on. Emily is an artist, like Jeremy in Celestial Navigation and some of Tyler's other characters, but she does try to cope with the world. She and Morgan have to cope with the differences between their images of each other (especially his of her) vs. reality. There's also a lot here about play-acting, not just Morgan's disguises and the puppets, and I think that's what I like best about the novel. Also, even when I don't quite like the characters, they're interesting to watch. And maybe that has to do with make-believe vs. reality, too.
Anne Tyler
Morgan's Passing
B
This is part of that set of Four Complete Novels that we last visited in the mid-'60s, with Tyler's first two books. (Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is coming up in '82.) This is my favorite of her novels so far, and yet I can't say I exactly like the characters. They are in turns selfish, passive, and irritating.
Once again, Tyler presents a family of six or seven children (all or mostly female) that is both close-knit and chaotic, living in an old three-story house, a motif that goes back to Ben Joe's family in If Morning Ever Comes. I suppose there's even a self-referential pun, in that "morgen" means "morning" in German. But the Morgan that passes here is the eccentric husband/father/grandfather who passes as several different people, from doctor to minister to Leon, the (real) actor husband of Emily, the young woman he falls in love with, impregnates, and runs away with. So Morgan's wife places an obituary in the paper, feeling that his passing out of her life means that she should treat him as if he's passed away. (It's a hard book to describe, although more solid than Housekeeping of course.)
There are other minor motifs that echo earlier books, like photography and lost loves. I think the main theme of the novel is that people often prefer fantasy to reality, and that's sometimes bad, as when Morgan's sister Brindle marries her lost love and finds that he prefers her photograph to her presence, and sometimes OK, as with the puppet shows that Leon and Emily put on. Emily is an artist, like Jeremy in Celestial Navigation and some of Tyler's other characters, but she does try to cope with the world. She and Morgan have to cope with the differences between their images of each other (especially his of her) vs. reality. There's also a lot here about play-acting, not just Morgan's disguises and the puppets, and I think that's what I like best about the novel. Also, even when I don't quite like the characters, they're interesting to watch. And maybe that has to do with make-believe vs. reality, too.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Popeye Story
1980, first edition, from Tom Doherty Associates
Bridget Terry
The Popeye Story
Original price $2.75, purchase price unknown
Very worn paperback
B-
Continuing the theme of "water," this is a behind-the-scenes look at the 1980 Robin Williams/Robert Altman/Jules Feiffer movie about the legendary cartoon hero. I saw the movie as a 12-year-old fan of Williams and Popeye, and then again as an adult in hopes it would be So Bad It's Good. Certainly the songs by Nilsson qualify, but I think the movie is genuinely good, if strange. As for this book, Terry seems to have done a good job of getting the perspectives of many people who worked on the movie, and she does admit the troubles and quarrels of production, but there are times when she gets a bit fan-mag gushy. Yes, there were many talented performers and crew who worked on the movie, and yes, Wesley Ivan Hurt is cute enough as Swee' Pea to justify nepotism (he's Altman's grandson), but was the set really one big happy supportive family? And the quotes on this being a film on the level of The Wizard of Oz sound bizarre in retrospect, particularly since the movie is not a kids' movie per se. (Not with a brothel in it.)
All that said, I've read this book a number of times (partly because I've now seen the movie multiple times) and appreciate the various stories, from how they found the perfect setting in Malta to how Shelley Duvall started publishing a newsletter, with Jules Feiffer drawings of her as Olive. Even if you don't know much about the movie, this is worth a read.
Bridget Terry
The Popeye Story
Original price $2.75, purchase price unknown
Very worn paperback
B-
Continuing the theme of "water," this is a behind-the-scenes look at the 1980 Robin Williams/Robert Altman/Jules Feiffer movie about the legendary cartoon hero. I saw the movie as a 12-year-old fan of Williams and Popeye, and then again as an adult in hopes it would be So Bad It's Good. Certainly the songs by Nilsson qualify, but I think the movie is genuinely good, if strange. As for this book, Terry seems to have done a good job of getting the perspectives of many people who worked on the movie, and she does admit the troubles and quarrels of production, but there are times when she gets a bit fan-mag gushy. Yes, there were many talented performers and crew who worked on the movie, and yes, Wesley Ivan Hurt is cute enough as Swee' Pea to justify nepotism (he's Altman's grandson), but was the set really one big happy supportive family? And the quotes on this being a film on the level of The Wizard of Oz sound bizarre in retrospect, particularly since the movie is not a kids' movie per se. (Not with a brothel in it.)
All that said, I've read this book a number of times (partly because I've now seen the movie multiple times) and appreciate the various stories, from how they found the perfect setting in Malta to how Shelley Duvall started publishing a newsletter, with Jules Feiffer drawings of her as Olive. Even if you don't know much about the movie, this is worth a read.
Housekeeping
1980, 1987 Bantam edition
Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
This debut novel makes an interesting follow-up to Jacob Have I Loved, and not just because I was assigned both books in college. They share imagery and themes, including sisterhood, water, death, and madness; and they both seem to evoke love/hate feelings on Amazon and other review sites. The teenaged protagonist in both is difficult to sympathize with. The time period is less clear than in Jacob, and could be anywhere between 1910 and 1960, although the movie version, which I've never seen, is set in the 1950s. In Jacob, Sarah Louise imagines escaping her island to live in the mountains, while Robinson's town of Fingerbone is set in Idaho hills near a lake.
This is a more melancholy, delicate book, some of the language quite lovely. There's less of a plot, and certainly less of a happy ending. The heroine is even more estranged from her sister, although they were once as close as twins. Sarah Louise has to deal with her cruel, senile grandmother, but Ruthie falls under the spell of her mentally ill, transient aunt.
In Jacob floods, bring death and destruction, sometimes welcome, as with the numerous cats, while here, Ruthie's family seems to be almost hypnotically drawn to drowning. Her sister Lucille hungers for normality, while Caroline was special because she was frail, pretty, and musically talented.
I feel like this is clearly a better written book than Jacob, although that in turn was stronger than Terabithia (which also dealt with siblinghood and drowning, although not madness), and yet I can't say I enjoyed it more than either of Paterson's books. It's meant for adults, but I could actually see someone recommending it over Jacob for an intelligent, sensitive teen, as long as she or he didn't mind no closure at all.
Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
This debut novel makes an interesting follow-up to Jacob Have I Loved, and not just because I was assigned both books in college. They share imagery and themes, including sisterhood, water, death, and madness; and they both seem to evoke love/hate feelings on Amazon and other review sites. The teenaged protagonist in both is difficult to sympathize with. The time period is less clear than in Jacob, and could be anywhere between 1910 and 1960, although the movie version, which I've never seen, is set in the 1950s. In Jacob, Sarah Louise imagines escaping her island to live in the mountains, while Robinson's town of Fingerbone is set in Idaho hills near a lake.
This is a more melancholy, delicate book, some of the language quite lovely. There's less of a plot, and certainly less of a happy ending. The heroine is even more estranged from her sister, although they were once as close as twins. Sarah Louise has to deal with her cruel, senile grandmother, but Ruthie falls under the spell of her mentally ill, transient aunt.
In Jacob floods, bring death and destruction, sometimes welcome, as with the numerous cats, while here, Ruthie's family seems to be almost hypnotically drawn to drowning. Her sister Lucille hungers for normality, while Caroline was special because she was frail, pretty, and musically talented.
I feel like this is clearly a better written book than Jacob, although that in turn was stronger than Terabithia (which also dealt with siblinghood and drowning, although not madness), and yet I can't say I enjoyed it more than either of Paterson's books. It's meant for adults, but I could actually see someone recommending it over Jacob for an intelligent, sensitive teen, as long as she or he didn't mind no closure at all.
Jacob Have I Loved
1980, 1990 HarperTrophy edition
Katherine Paterson
Jacob Have I Loved
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
Well, it looks like I don't like this book as much as I used to. This time, I kept thinking that Sarah Louise complained too much and her twin sister Caroline was much nicer, even if she was spoiled. Also, it's hard to get worked up about Caroline "stealing" Louise's best/only friend Call, when Louise is always putting him down and they have nothing in common except that they're both misfits. (It's not at all on the same level as Amy "stealing" Laurie from Jo, and even there Jo didn't want to marry him.) Unlike some readers, I've never been that bothered by Louise's admittedly strange crush on a 70-year-old neighbor. There aren't that many single men on their small Chesapeake island, and Louise had earlier imagined herself marrying a man who died at 19, if he'd lived, just because she liked his gravestone.
I like the setting, including the 1940s time period, and the characters are well done. The later chapters are rushed, but I'm glad Louise has a happy ending. I just wish that there'd been some sort of closure with her sister.
This won the Newbery, but like some of the other winners, it seems more junior-high level than preteen. I don't own any other children's books from that year, so I can't really argue that there's a more deserving winner.
Katherine Paterson
Jacob Have I Loved
Original and purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-
Well, it looks like I don't like this book as much as I used to. This time, I kept thinking that Sarah Louise complained too much and her twin sister Caroline was much nicer, even if she was spoiled. Also, it's hard to get worked up about Caroline "stealing" Louise's best/only friend Call, when Louise is always putting him down and they have nothing in common except that they're both misfits. (It's not at all on the same level as Amy "stealing" Laurie from Jo, and even there Jo didn't want to marry him.) Unlike some readers, I've never been that bothered by Louise's admittedly strange crush on a 70-year-old neighbor. There aren't that many single men on their small Chesapeake island, and Louise had earlier imagined herself marrying a man who died at 19, if he'd lived, just because she liked his gravestone.
I like the setting, including the 1940s time period, and the characters are well done. The later chapters are rushed, but I'm glad Louise has a happy ending. I just wish that there'd been some sort of closure with her sister.
This won the Newbery, but like some of the other winners, it seems more junior-high level than preteen. I don't own any other children's books from that year, so I can't really argue that there's a more deserving winner.
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