I'm referring, of course, to the hamster-running-its-wheel which powers my mind. I feed this hamster books. [Long, uncomfortable pause.] In other words, I want to talk about a couple of books I just read.
1. Fun Home. Alison Bechdel's graphic novel/memoir is incredible. I have such respect for her talents, I can feel myself getting less articulate as I try to convey how clever, funny, artistic, acerbic, deeply sad and loving this book is. She threads the story of her gifted and troubled family through myth and literary references, snakes, home decor projects, even Sunshine Bread. Bechdel has a sophisticated sense of the text-art relationship; her nuanced overlay of word to picture and picture to word was spellbinding. Me likey!
2. On Beauty and . Zadie Smith's latest novel dares to tackle Class and Race in modern academic America, a supposedly class-less and mixed heritage institution. Her vehicle of examination is the Belseys, a mixed-race family, each meeting Life's Problems in his/her own way. I liked this book for its use of voice (each character felt real and offered a unique point of view), but had some problems with its overall structure. I recognize (after reading others' reviews of the book) that it was a remake (re-write?) of E.M. Forster's Howard's End (a book I have never read; the Forster I have read has left me cold), but does Smith need to mirror every inane plot twist and meandering subplot? It felt lopsided, with many Important Questions raised and only a few examined. While the first few pages of the book (Jerome's emails to Howard) hooked me, the rest of the first section seemed to describe a different premise (the clash of the mores of Belseys and Kippses) than what it ultimately built upon: fidelity--to relationships, to morals, to culture. The book gained traction with the second section and set up a rousing final act, but the first section continued to puzzle me. So I re-read it. And I still have no clue how anything in the first part really serves the rest of (i.e. the real) the book.
The hamsters are busy chewing on yet another attempt at True Literature, so I'll have more soon. Until then, support your local libraries and bookstores! I heart Powell's City of Books 4-ever 'n ever!
1. Fun Home. Alison Bechdel's graphic novel/memoir is incredible. I have such respect for her talents, I can feel myself getting less articulate as I try to convey how clever, funny, artistic, acerbic, deeply sad and loving this book is. She threads the story of her gifted and troubled family through myth and literary references, snakes, home decor projects, even Sunshine Bread. Bechdel has a sophisticated sense of the text-art relationship; her nuanced overlay of word to picture and picture to word was spellbinding. Me likey!
2. On Beauty and . Zadie Smith's latest novel dares to tackle Class and Race in modern academic America, a supposedly class-less and mixed heritage institution. Her vehicle of examination is the Belseys, a mixed-race family, each meeting Life's Problems in his/her own way. I liked this book for its use of voice (each character felt real and offered a unique point of view), but had some problems with its overall structure. I recognize (after reading others' reviews of the book) that it was a remake (re-write?) of E.M. Forster's Howard's End (a book I have never read; the Forster I have read has left me cold), but does Smith need to mirror every inane plot twist and meandering subplot? It felt lopsided, with many Important Questions raised and only a few examined. While the first few pages of the book (Jerome's emails to Howard) hooked me, the rest of the first section seemed to describe a different premise (the clash of the mores of Belseys and Kippses) than what it ultimately built upon: fidelity--to relationships, to morals, to culture. The book gained traction with the second section and set up a rousing final act, but the first section continued to puzzle me. So I re-read it. And I still have no clue how anything in the first part really serves the rest of (i.e. the real) the book.
The hamsters are busy chewing on yet another attempt at True Literature, so I'll have more soon. Until then, support your local libraries and bookstores! I heart Powell's City of Books 4-ever 'n ever!
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