Changes. The Only Thing David Bowie and I Have In Common

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I’m a working lady now. I have to be out of the house before everyone else, after many years of me sending them all on their way. It’s not an easy adjustment. My body is all, “Wtf?” Saturday I was wide awake at 5:30 am and fell asleep at 10pm. On a Saturday. I have to record my shows and reading is nearly impossible. Will this last forever? I hope not.

So, the only book I managed to finish was True Deceiver by Tove Jansson. It was a thinker, so my opinion about it is all over the place. I should have read Dan Brown’s new one instead. My brain is broke.

I did manage to watch my TV shows though.

• Revenge’s season finale was actually interesting. I have hope for Season 3. I’m like a sad girl with a bad boyfriend. I keep believing it will change if I just stick around long enough. C’mon, Revenge, don’t do me wrong!
• The Elementary finale was wack! Seriously, what is happening there? Moriarty. What?! I still love Watson though. I have thoughts I will share at a later date. She is my fashion guru. She rocks a pair of 4 inch heels.
• ABC released the last 8 episodes of Don’t Trust the B- In Apt 23 on iTunes. Since it would cost me $$$, I only downloaded the last episode (cheapcheap). I did not like where it went. At. All. So now I don’t care about it anymore. Boo.

 

Hey, have you signed up for Armchair BEA? It’s coming soon. May 28-June 2. You better get on that!

I better go. I have to freeze my butt off at a BBQ!

Friday Bookish Buzz Is Trying to Keep Up

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I started a new job this week, or just a job –no “new”- since I haven’t had one in years. I’m liking it but I am not used to this schedule yet. I’m sleeping more than reading, so no reviews for awhile. I hope to catch up soon! In the meantime, here are some links.

*For Brits complaining about Americanisms, you’re doing it wrong.

*National Review writer loses his temper at the theatre.

*Are you a book person?

*Dan Brown is an easy target for bad reviews.

*The Diary of Anne Frank is not too p0rny.

*So, what was The Great Gatsby about again?

*Etsy Love: A little button to wear to The Great Gatsby movie from Monster Brand.

Have a good one! It’s a long weekend here. I intend to enjoy it.

Friday Bookish Buzz Has Delicious Books

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Hope your weekend involves some delicious books!

*Not cool, man. Agent gets rights from Harper Lee, she plans to sue.

*Gone Girl themed cupcakes? I don’t think Amy would approve.

*Candace Bushnell gets hacked.

*A tongue in cheek genre reveal party.

*F Scott Fitzgerald’s relationship with Hollywood.

*A list of a little more lady friendly literary magazines from Persephone Magazine.

*Etsy Love: Love The Velveteen Rabbit? How about this brooch from EllyMental?

The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett: Review

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I don’t have a lot to say about this book. It was okay. I read it in an hour for the Readathon.

The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett is the story of an older couple, the Ransomes, who come home from the opera to find their house has been burgled. Of everything. Even the toilet paper. So they have nothing and have to start over. One of them decides that this is a good time to make a few changes, but the other just stays the same.

I found the book rather depressing. I wasn’t expecting that. I had read The Uncommon Reader by Bennett and thought it was a cute little story. Like Uncommon, The Clothes seems like a parable, but what the lesson is, I’m not sure. Mrs Ransome makes positive changes in her life. She steps outside her comfort zone. They’re not huge steps, but considering her narrow little world, they’re big to her. Mr Ransome doesn’t change at all and Mrs Ransome won’t even share her experiences with him because she knows he’d be horrified. This marriage made me sad. I wanted better for them both.

The writing is neat and tidy, very once upon a time, in keeping with The Uncommon Reader.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: Thoughts

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It’s hard to review The Bell Jar so I’m not going to try. It ain’t entertainment. It’s a book about a girl with depression who ends up institutionalized. I don’t think that’s a spoiler since most people know what it’s about (and it’s in the blurbs on the back cover). It’s how she gets there that’s the story.

Esther Greenwood looks like a girl who has it all: a job in New York City, parties, a handsome doctor beau. From the outside, Esther’s life is perfect, but for her it’s anything but. Esther sees the world differently. She has no ambition, no lust for life, and little love for the people she knows. The reader experiences what Esther does, sees what she sees, and it’s a gloomy world.

Reading The Bell Jar is an emotional experience. I found it heavy reading, not the writing, but the atmosphere. I remember seeing a commercial for some new anti-depression drug, where the actors sat in their housecoats looking lethargic. I thought to myself, “This commercial is making me depressed.” That’s how reading The Bell Jar made me feel. I don’t think a book can make someone depressed, but it can give you a good idea of how it feels when done right. Plath knew her stuff, obviously as she was depressed herself.

I had to remind myself not to judge Esther harshly. Yes, she does have opportunities that most people can only dream of having, but she is sick and can’t help how she feels. I never thought of her as whiny. I’ve read plenty of characters who do that all too well. She doesn’t complain, she just doesn’t give a fig.

The “care” Esther gets at first is horrible. I can’t imagine that making anyone well. Things improve later on but still the drugs available today weren’t then. I wonder if that would have made a difference for Esther. Reading about Esther’s experience made me appreciate my own mental health.

If there is anything funny about The Bell Jar, it’s Esther’s pursuit of losing her virginity. Girl goes at getting that done like it’s her job. Most of the guys come off pretty terribly in the book. Sorry, dudes.

I hadn’t read The Bell Jar before. This was my first time. If you haven’t read it yet, make sure you do at some point.

Hey Ladies! Or Unlikeable Female Characters

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In two separate articles, two different female authors were asked to defend their ‘unlikeable’ female characters.

Claire Messaud took umbrage over one reporter’s question of would Claire want to be friends with her character, Nora. “For heaven’s sake, what kind of question is that?” and went on to say that you shouldn’t read to find friends (sidenote: though sometimes you do). Gillian Flynn was called a misogynist for creating an irredeemable female sociopath in one of her books.

These ladies aren’t nice. Is that really such a big deal? It’s not even a new thing. There have been plenty of female protagonists who were awful, nasty, bitches over the years. Why are people acting so surprised by these two recent additions? It took me about five minutes to come up with a list of examples.

Becky Sharp (Vanity Fair): Becky is an opportunist. She had a hard life and will climb her way to the top if it kills her.

Scarlett O’Hara (Gone With the Wind): The biggest bitch in heels there ever was. After nearly starving to death during the Civil War, she vows never to go hungry again. She steals her sister’s sweetheart and works him to death to make sure of it.

Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights): Cathy is a brat. She wants to have her cake and eat it too. In her case, have a rich husband and a sexy, bad boy lover. She drives them both crazy.

Undine Spragg (The Custom of the Country): Another brat, spoiled by her parents. Entitled. Social climber. Doesn’t care who she hurts on the way to the top.

There are more but those ladies came to mind first. With the exception of Vanity Fair, the books were written by women. None of the characters had much in the way of maternal instincts, although they were all mothers. Scarlett and Becky have something admirable about their mad self-preservation skills. They both occasionally do something nice for someone else, but Cathy and Undine are out for #1. Murder? Maybe not, but given the opportunity I’m sure they could do it.

I actually love an unlikeable character. It’s fiction after all, I don’t have to work with these people. They aren’t real. But there is something interesting about exploring the darker side of humanity. Why else would film and TV keep giving us new stories about Hannibal Lector? Why should the guys have all the fun anyway? Ladies don’t have to keep in the kitchens doling out advice about not letting the sun go down on our anger, like Marmee March. Marmee’s okay, but a good slap from Scarlett would set some people straight too.

And it’s true that bitches get stuff done. You might not like the stuff they do, but they sure know how to do it. Women can be just as awful as men. It’s sexist to think otherwise. Unlikeable female characters? I say, bring them on!

Who are your favorite unlikeable female characters?

Friday Bookish Buzz Has Hugs

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Aw, start your weekend with a hug from kitty. Maybe you need one to end your week on a high note. Plus, it’s virtual so you can have one even if you’re allergic. Feel better? Now onto the book news.

*The Beastie Boys to write a memoir of a sort.

*Gillian Flynn talks about Gone Girl and evil women.

*Claire Messaud speaks out about unlikeable female characters. (I sense a theme here.)

*Anne Rice and the bad review.

*Margaret Atwood or Thriller movie plot?

*Parents say Hurray for libraries!

*For one day be more like Hemingway.

*Etsy Love: So pretty! A tiny Elizabeth Bennet necklace from Let’s All Make Believe.

Finally, Henri le chat noir contemplates publishing.

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood: Review

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Marian McAlpin is a young woman living in Toronto with a wild roommate, a dull boyfriend, and a boring job. She’s just sort of floating along, not really in control of her life. She’s mostly waiting to get married.

Her job at a market research firm is a dead end. Even if she can move up the ladder, she’s not going to get far. She can’t see herself staying there, she balks at the pension fund, but doesn’t know where else to go. Her boyfriend Peter is an ordinary guy. She figures she’ll marry him when he asks. However, when he does ask something strange starts happening to her. Food suddenly disgusts her.

At first, it’s anything that drew breath, but soon it’s anything that grew and then pretty much anything edible! She wants to eat but her body won’t let her. Marian struggles to keep this secret from her fiancé who is sure to think she’s crazy, while trying to figure out how to stay alive.

This was Margaret Atwood’s first published novel and while people think it’s feminist literature, she prefers to call it protofeminism. According to her intro, the women’s movement wasn’t a thing when she wrote it in 1964 and she says she’s not clairvoyant. Ha! I agree. Although gender identity is explored in The Edible Woman, Marian seems to be going through an identity crisis. She’s not willing to enter into a conventional life, though she believes that’s what she wants. Her body is trying to tell her what’s what.

The thing is Marian doesn’t think she has many options. She doesn’t want to end up like the “office virgins.” She can’t be like Ainsley whose latest project is to get pregnant and raise a baby on her own. Peter and marriage is it, she thinks. Then she meets Duncan, a graduate student, who rejects reality. He makes up his own rules. She’s attracted to him because he’s unconventional.  He reminds me of a cat. He does what he wants. If he wants to take a nap, he just lies down and takes one. And like a cat, he has people to take care of him, his two roommates, Fish and Trevor.

Marian, and the reader, get to see traditional gender roles rejected or discussed through the other characters. Clara, pregnant with two small kids, isn’t nearly maternal as her husband, Jeff. Ainsley declares that fathers aren’t needed to raise children and picks the most unfatherly of all men as an unsuspecting sperm donor. Len, who only dates teenagers (ew), gets angry with Ainsley for ‘seducing’ him, even though he thought he was seducing her. “You used me!” he declares, on the verge of hysteria. Marian herself is afraid that Peter’s personality will overshadow her own once they’re married. He really only wants Marian as an extension of himself. His reasons for marrying are because everyone else is doing it and he doesn’t want people thinking he’s a homosexual. Yeah, he’s a real charmer. All these personalities clash during a disastrous dinner party, where Marian finally comes to some sort of decision.

I enjoyed The Edible Woman for not only giving me a lot to think about but entertaining me. It’s a very funny story, really. Very clever with lots of odd characters. It’s very much a product of its time. I giggled over some of the old fashioned ideas. Clara is particularly funny when she says she can only drink vermouth- she’s pregnant at the time.

About the Audio: The book is narrated by Lorelei King. She has a pleasant voice and was totally believable as a young woman in the 1960s.

Ratings:

 

Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye: Review

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Hey, want to read a book? A book about growing up and coming of age? How about a book in which every character is a psychopath and murder is the first solution to every problem?

Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone is possibly the most disturbing book I’ve read in a long time. Like, Oh the Humanity! disturbing. The setting is some old German backwater, Hemmersmoor, where the people are superstitious and strangers regarded with suspicion. It never ends well for strangers in this book. People outside of Hemmersmoor don’t much like the villagers either. They are the type that outsiders would say “kept to themselves,” a euphemism for “too many cousins marrying for centuries.” There is something quite wrong with these people. They have a complete lack of empathy.

The book opens with a group of once childhood friends gathering in front of The Big House for a funeral. One of the group plans on turning the house into a hotel. There is bitterness and hatred under the surface and hints at hidden secrets. The book then flashes back to the past when they were all just kids. It is sometime after World War II, though it could be a century ago, the village doesn’t change. The book is a series of alternating points of view, each vignette more disturbing than the next, chronicling their childhood.

The first tale sets the tone for the book. The villagers, in a fit of violence, murder a family of six and burn their house down. No one feels bad about this event. It’s business as usual. The children grow up in an atmosphere of violence. Their parents are superstitious, angry, and deranged. The kids aren’t any better. One boy commits his first murder when he’s just seven years old.

The stories remind me of Grimm’s fairy tales. Tales where random and inexplicable acts of violence are committed. The villagers are quick to forget their own dirty deeds but real and imagined sins are never forgiven and payback is brutal. Old legends are weaved into the memories of the children. The devil makes an appearance though I wonder if the narrator of this tale is reliable since he seems to be the maddest of the group. They do terrible things or are silent witnesses to them.

Even though Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone is crazy loco, I couldn’t stop reading. I had to find out all the secrets. It’s well written too. Some reviews complain about a lack of denouement. It does just sort of end, but I went back and read the prologue and it all seemed to make sense. The town is about to have to deal with changes. Their secrets aren’t going to be their own for much longer. That’s kind of an ending.

This book will give you a sense of unease and while it’s not for everyone, I recommend it.

Readathon 2013: Update #4

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The Readathon is about to begin and I’m just dragging myself out of bed now. Sorry, I do this every Readathon. Before I get the coffee on, I’ll tell you what I’ll be reading.

• The Clothes They Stood Up In. Alan Bennett
• Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone. Stefan Kiesbye
• The Flamethrowers. Rachel Kushner
• The Night Bookmobile. Audrey Niffenegger
• The Edible Woman. Margaret Atwood (audio)

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

1. Nova Scotia, Canada
2. Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone. It looks creepy
3. I have a chocolate bar hidden away.
4. I’m a brunettte with green eyes and I am very tired right now.
5. Probably nothing. I’m always a read when I can readathoner.

I’ll be updating this page during the readathon. Good luck!

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Update #1

It’s 2 and a half hours in and I have finished one book: The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett. Not sure what to make of it. It’s sadder than I thought it would be and very British.

I had some waffles and I’m considering taking a run before moving onto my next book.

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Update #2

I had my run while listening to The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood. I’m really liking it. She was a clever and funny writer, even back in 1965.

As for Mini-Challenges. I did Book Appetit and the Self-Portrait.

I think it’s time for snacks!

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Update #3

Just my Book Sentence Challenge

Rumors surfacing when she flew.

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Update #4

Update the fourth and a mini-challenge! I’m close to done Your House Is On Fire, Your Children All Gone. A seriously disturbing book. Still working on The Edible Woman too.

My Little Pocketbooks asks us to cast the protagonist of our current book.

1. Book: The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

2. Character: Marian McAlpine. She cannot eat since getting engaged and feels that she’s being consumed. I cast Jennifer Lawrence.

3. Why? Marian is young, smart, and funny, as is Jennifer. Plus, Jennifer was already in one hunger related movie, why not another?