A Work in Progress

Around the World in 80 Little Black Books

They're here!  Talk about hitting the jackpot when it comes to really really really good book mail.  My Penguin Little Black Classics arrived and they are little beauties.  Books make me happy in general, but eighty lovely little classics make me almost euphoric.  I have at my fingertips eighty bite-size little classics to read and enjoy and dip into and be tempted by.  There is a little bit of everything here (you can see the whole [interactive] list here).  There are novellas, short stories, books of poetry, excerpts from longer works, some nonfiction, and even a play or two.  I think this set was released a few years ago as a celebration of Penguin's 80th Birthday (Happy Belated Birthday Penguin), and since there have been an additional 46 titles added to the collection (though I don't see a boxed set for those extra titles?). 

I think my first 2017 reading resolution will be to read my way through these books.  I don't imagine I can get them all read by the end of next year (though I can certainly try), but they are rather small and compact.  I don't think there are any that are more than about sixty pages or so, so easily read in a day or so each.  I think I will be well read when I finish this and will finally get a taste of some authors who I have long wanted to read but who have intimidated me in the past--like Ovid or Virgil or Herodotus.  I can get a taste and teaser and see if maybe I want to read a full length work. 

Should I read my way through starting with book one and just read each one consecutively by number? I don't think there is a special order to the set (at least I am not sure how Penguin ordered the books, though they do have numbers on their spines) since there is a Plato that comes before Tolstoy.  However, to just jump right in, I have pulled out book No. 1 and am reading Mrs. Rosie and the Priest which is an excerpt from Boccacio's Decameron.  The book description reads: "Bawdy tales of pimps, cuckolds, lovers and clever women from the fourteenth-century Florentine masterpiece The Decameron."  There are four tales by Boccaccio in this book and I am reading the first right now, "Andreuccio da Perugia's Neapolitan Adventures" in which a young man is soon to be parted from his money by a very pretty Sicilian!  I think after this first little book I will just choose randomly and see where each story takes me.

If I was fretting about not reading so many classics in the last few years, this should help solve the problem nicely.  Even if they are quite short, I think they will lead me to longer works.  'Tis the season it seems, for bookish splurges.  I will have to share the books I am contemplating buying at my library's book sale (I have a stack for consideration on my desk at work, but they are so inexpensive, and the proceeds go to a good cause--the Friends of the Library--I feel like I must do my duty and buy a book or three). 

Did I already mention that books make me really happy?

Short Story Round-up: Bits and Bobs

The last time I wrote a proper short story post was in August.  And the very beginning of August at that.  I have missed writing about them, and more, I miss reading them with the regularity I used to.  If it weren't for the short story exchange Smithereens and I are enjoying, I think all my short story reading might well have lapsed completely thanks to my current reading inertia I seem to be battling at the moment.  So, thank you Smithereens for your patience.  I am finally going to catch up in writing about the stories she has sent and which I have very much enjoyed. 

Just a little note on what we're doing--Smithereens and I are having a postal short story exchange.  Last July I threw out the idea (modeled on Stefanie and Cath's postal poetry exchange) of me sending a short story or two through the mail and my postal friend, in this case Smithereens took up my offer, would reciprocate back with a story or two selected for me to read.  The choice of stories would be a surprise and then the idea is to chat or write about them after we each had a chance to read the stories.  We've had three rounds of story exchanges so far, but I have been a bit slow in writing about them.  As we are getting ready for our next mailing, now is the time to catch up.  So I am going to work backwards from the most recent stories to the first.

I love Joanne Harris's writing and some of her books count among my favorites.  I am not sure I even knew she wrote short stories, as the collection from which the two stories I most recently read has not been published in the US, A Cat, a Hat and a Piece of String.  After reading them, however, I might have to look for a good used copy so I can read the rest of the stories.  How perfect a story like "Would You Like to Reconnect?" for our digital age.  Not just digital age, but living in a world that seems to revolve around social media.  Not only is the story timely, but it is a ghost story of sorts, too, so it made for good October reading.  I wonder how many parents track their children's online activity?  It doesn't have to be in a manner of checking up on a (in this case grown) child, but simply being a part of their life and knowing what they are keeping busy with.  In this story a mother's son introduces her to the world of social media, in particular Twitter, and it becomes a lifeline to his world.  But what happens when a person is no longer part of this world.  When their absence is felt through the lack of tweets.  And the only interactions are the automated reminders that a friend has not posted, with the question posed of, 'would you like to reconnect?'.  In this story the mother's world broadens and is redefined and then closes and narrows with a most curious and unexpected twist along the way. 

"River Song" is a really wonderful story set some time after (am guessing here) WWII in the Congo.  Harris wrote the story after her own experiences in the region.  Children would earn money or food from the foreign tourists staying in a hotel on the river, by jumping into the rapids where the currents were most dangerous and literally riding them downstream.  The children were quite young, as young as the narrator of this story even, ten-year-old Ngok.  It's a rarity that a girl would do such a daring thing, perhaps even more rare that she would be better than the gang of boys who made this their 'job'.  This is such a perfectly described story.  In order to keep her place among those riding the rapids, she dares the head boy to a ride on the most dangerous section.  The winner takes the rapids and the loser will go to work for one of the local boat makers.  They will see who is the best; they'll let the river decide.  Ngok, who was born downriver, finds the challenge exhilarating--"I was not simply in the river; I was the river; I sang its song; and the river sang back to me in its many voices."  The river is unpredictable, however, and one false move-and with two swimmers it at once-will send even a strong swimmer spiraling out of their depth.  The river really does come alive in this story, you can feel it burst down banks, smash into rocks and push everything out of its way.

Ha Jin is an author I had never read or even knew anything about.  He was born in China but emigrated to the US and his work has won a number of awards. Ocean of Words is a collection of stories set on the China-Russian border in the 1970s.  This is a case of reading outside my comfort zone, since the stories are essentially about army life.  More often than not, trying new authors or stories I tend not to read results in a happy experience and that was the case with these.  In "The Fellow Townsmen" Instructor Chen is approached in his barracks by a fellow townsman whose son is ill and asks for help despite bad blood between the two.  The reader is privy to not only the discussion between the two men but the feelings of animosity Chen harbors.  Jin captures so well that ambiguity that a person might feel--the annoyance and aggravation from a former situation yet that glimmer inside of being a moral person and giving aid to someone in need.  Of course the last line of the story shows that sometimes we can't necessarily even explain to ourselves the things we do--in kindness or not.

"Love is in the Air" is a great story of love at first sight, no, at first hearing?  I say first hearing as Kang Wandou is a talented and experienced telegraphist.  He is fast and accurate though maybe not the most imaginative.  Or, maybe it is his imagination actually, that gets him into trouble.  Maybe it was the boredom that accompanies such a lonely job, but when the telephone rings he hears the most amazing "tingling female voice" . . . his heart is "kicking and his throat tightening."  He never would have imagined a woman would call. She gives him a teasing hard time and of course, he's hooked.  And you know how it goes when you find yourself with a crush on someone you don't know, it's impossible to connect with her again on the telegraph no matter when he tries.  He is "bewitched" by her, and if he doesn't stop thinking about her, how will he survive!

"His first love was an unknown voice.  He was scared, because he could not determine whether it was real love or merely a delusion from mental illness.  Did people feel this way when they were in love?  He felt sick and beside himself.  How long would it take for him to grow used to this thing or get over it"?

And does this story end happily?  Is this love reciprocated?  Well, I will only say that Kang may need to find a new career for when he leaves the army!  Some voices just ruin you for life, it seems.

Hilary Mantel's collection, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, gave me my first proper taste of her writing.  She is one of my 'mean to read' authors.  I must say "The Heart Fails Without Warning" was well-done, if slightly disturbing.  I'm afraid too much time has passed for me to write about it in detail, but it does still linger in my mind as it is about a young girl with an eating disorder.  The story is told from the perspective of two sisters--the younger watching her older sister 'disappear'.   Month by month, listening to the sister's squabbles it becomes more obvious just what is going on and how things are going to end up.

And now, drum roll, over to Smithereens who was much more timely about writing about the stories I sent to her.  Do go over and see which stories I chose to send across the pond!  She has been a most receptive postal friend and a very good sport for joining me in this endeavor.  It is always nicer to share stories with friends.  I think I know which author I will send her next.  So far it has been a mishmash of stories by a variety of writers, but I'm thinking (little teaser) I will send a smattering of stories by one writer in particular since it is also fun to compare how stories might be similar or different when written by the same author.  And as Smithereen says, anyone care to join us?  (I must say-thinking about and writing about the stories we have exchanged has me totally short story psyched once again . . . I feel like picking up a collection right now . . .but then I do have these to look forward to). 

Oh, and I should not be envious, but I AM envious.  You would never find something This Cool where I live.  I'm not surprised there is one in Paris, however . . .

A Few Holiday Bookish Temptations

I've managed to (mostly) avoid the retail side of this past long weekend.  I really struggle with the commercialization of the holidays, but I admit I did spend a little time at the bookstore over the weekend.  I took home a few books (including giving in to one of those by three get one free deals) and didn't mind the discount on a couple of magazines.  I have been daily deleting the barrage of email ads trying to get me to buy things I probably don't need, but I do have a weakness for bookish items.  Is it cheating to share a few that have caught my eye lately?   

I personally think you can never have enough tote/book bags, but I especially like this introverts tote bag.  I sometimes think I must appear to people who don't know me as somewhat standoffish, but truly it is a matter of just being an introvert!

My other personal weakness is coffee mugs.  I have a few favorites but that never stops me from adding a new one every now and then.  So, how about this affect/effect mug, or this Bartleby "I would prefer not to" mug (I have the companion bookbag by the way), or this library card mug, maybe this banned books mug, or my own personal favorite (and I am sure I will eventually break down and buy it) this lost art of penmanship mug.  Even Virago has a line of mugs and my favorite is Barbara Pym's Excellent Women mug.  Something for everyone's taste it seems.  I am not so much of a tea drinker these days, but I do have to share this tea cup with attached fisherman tea bag holders--isn't it cool?

I already have my advent calendar ready to go for this year, but I do like the this Victorian Mansion, too.  And any calendar involving dark chocolates behind those daily doors is most welcome, too.

My usual go-to place for bookmarks tends to be Pomegranate Books as they are just the right size and are nice and sturdy, plus they are lovely details from paintings generally.  But for something different I like the very timely and progressive themes found at the Syracuse Cultural Workers shop.  I have ordered their postcards before as well and hope to squeeze in a little order from them soon.

So this brings us to boxed sets.  (Because you have to have some books to put your bookmarks in, right?).  A small confession here.  I ordered the Little Black Classics Set.  I will share them when they arrive.  I simply could not pass them up. Penguin Books just generally does themed box sets really, really well, and then those smaller format books are so nice and attractively fit into your hand.   Here is the list of books I will be reading my way through next year!

There is likely a boxed set of other topics that might strike your fancy, however.  How about the Complete TED Talks? Persephone Books has a number of themed sets to give (or to keep!), NYRB Classics are grouped thematically and they even have a very cool list of children's/YA books, too.

What did I miss?  What bookish goodness have you come across that you hope to get or give?  Personally speaking, books (or their accoutrements) and chocolates (perfect pairing) always make perfect gifts. 

November 24: Holiday Reading Notes

Hooray for long weekends.  Mine starts right now.  Four blissful days of relaxation and much (I hope) reading, maybe a little letter-writing and/or stitching and weather permitting a few walks (because I have every intention of indulging in a piece of pumpkin pie . . . or two.  If you are in the U.S. and celebrate Thanksgiving--Happy Holiday to you!  And for all my friends (here and abroad) many thanks for all the bookishness and friendship we share--you are all very much appreciated!

The painting above is by Doris Lee, and it is called, very aptly, Thanksgiving.  It was painted in 1935.  I first discovered her work several years back when I traveled to Texas and saw this wonderful painting in an exhibit at a museum.  It pretty much sums up the (dis) organization it takes to put on a Thanksgiving dinner.  I will be spending the day with family.  My contribution is chocolate, caramel, pecan brownies.  Not traditional but decadently delicious. 

I know, not yet, right?  We haven't even gotten to December yet, but I thought I would give you a quick peek at the Lauritzen Gardens annual poinsettia display.  I am a member of the botanical gardens and for the last few years I have gone to their member's night to get a first look at the holiday displays.  I will save the rest of my festive photos for later, but the gardens and conservatory were gorgeous and decorated to the hilt.  I am sure I will get there again (like on December 24th when I go with my family), too.  It is a nice way to kick off the beginning of the holiday season and spend my first night of vacation doing something relaxing and festive.

I will be spending most of my reading time with Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy.  I have been reading part six, but it is a long chapter and I have quite a ways to go if I am going to keep up with my section a week reading plan.  I do hope to give my weekly update in the next day or two.  I'm hoping also to read more of Jane Smiley's Early Warning, which is the second book of her Century trilogy.  I think I am still on track to finish it before the end of the month.  If there is any time left over I will be reading more about the Durrell's time in Corfu.  I suspect those few books will keep me more than busy, but you never know what else might tempt me along the way.

Have a wonderful next few days everyone!

'Tis the Season for Short Stories!

I must admit I tend to be in the bah humbug holiday camp at times, but I can totally get behind something like this.  Yes, holiday spirit all around here at a Work in Progress.  Thanks to Buried in Print for mentioning this lovely little boxed set of, drum roll please, 24 wonderful (I know they are going to be wonderful, I can just feel it) short stories.  Enough to lead up to the Christmas holiday (sure to please and fill one with holiday joy).  One story for every day of Advent (each story is in a booklet format and then nicely slicased). 

I had never heard of the Short Story Advent Calendar, but pleased to meet you 2016 edition!  It is from a Canadian company and the teaser they give as to who is included:

• Anakana Schofield (Martin John)
• Daniel Handler (Adverbs, Lemony Snicket)
• Sheila Heti (How Should a Person Be?)
• Charles Demers (Vancouver Special, CBC's The Debaters)
• Katie Coyle (Vivian Apple at the End of the World)
• plus [redacted x 19]!

I'm guessing the authors will be all (or primarily) Canadian, so I will get a nice taste of authors I should know, and now will.  When I saw the box had arrived yesterday I let out a loud mental cheer and then dashed to my bedroom, grabbed the scissors and ripped open the box.  And here it is, what I have been waiting for.  This is so up my alley.  If I have been lax on short story reading of late, I am going to make good in December and hopefully set the tone for 2017.

BiP has a copy and I am sure we will discuss as we go along.  I already checked to see if the plastic wrap came off her box, but as it hadn't, I will leave mine under wraps as well.  It's only a week now until the first day of Advent anyway.  If twenty-four is the lead up to Christmas Day, how will I possibly follow these stories?  I need a Christmas surprise, surely. Right?

Does anyone else have this set?  We could all read along if you do.  I think this is a limited edition, but it seems as though they still have copies.  It was, granted, a bit of a splurge, but I think it is totally reasonable when you think of the cost per story.  If you like short stories, maybe you will be tempted, too?  Now we just need to pull up some comfy chairs, sit in front of a toasty fire with a glass of mulled wine or hot apple cider and let the reading begin!  I promise, no peeking until December 1 . . .

Teaser Tuesday: My Family & Other Animals

I think it was Buried in Print who said even a page a day to get past that 'I don't have a chunk of time to read this' (and must wait until I do, which means I never pick up certain books) to get back into a reading habit has inspired me to do just that.  I love nonfiction, so why am I not just reading a few pages every day until I am once again hooked in a book and don't want to put it down?  I have been reading a little every day of Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals and he is seriously cracking me up.  And I find that it is just what I need at the moment.  A little levity in my life to distract me from topsy turvy world events.

I know I already shared a teaser from this book, but there is so much that is quotable and sharable, that I am going to share a few more excerpts now (on a damp, chilly, very rainy Tuesday).  I mean you deserve a little humor, too.  I guess it is not surprising that the Durrell's are such a bookish family considering that Larry (the famous Lawrence Durrell) and the young Gerry (this is his book) turned out to be famous writers.  There is this marvelous tongue in cheek tone to the storytelling.  Even though this is a memoir of the Durrell family's experiences of living on the Greek Island of Corfu, he writes like a true storyteller (which is my favorite kind of nonfiction).

Larry is quite a character (or is it just Gerry's interpretation of him?  No, I think he really must have been like this . . .).  He is off in his literary world ensconced in a room full of books writing away without much care or concern for his mother and siblings.  The family lives in a little villa on the island and Larry informs her he has invited 'some friends'.  His mother tells him she hopes they are not the highbrow friends as she just can't small talk about poetry and literature like he can.  And he tells her:

"'I don't ask you to discuss art with them,' said Larry testily, 'but I think you might try and conceal your revolting taste in literature.  Here I fill the house with good books and I find your bedside table simply groaning under the weight of cookery books, gardening books, and the most lurid-looking mystery stories.  I can't think where you get hold of these things'."

The conversation continues where Mother tells Larry he had best put the friends up at the local pension, and of course he says that is impossible as there is plenty of room at their villa.  He must write back to them and put them off, but he says it's too late and they are on their way, and sorry he can't quite remember how many he invited but they won't all come and certainly not at once . . . I think we all know where that is headed, right?  I mean, Larry is just looking out for his mother.

"'I don't think it's good for us to live as hermits,' said Larry.  'I only really invited them for you.  They're a charming crowd.  I thought you'd like to have them.  Liven things up a bit for you'."

Hah.  Yes, liven things up.  In addition to the family there will be how many guests?  He tries to persuade her that they need to take a larger villa.  The conversation they have is a hoot.  I can just picture that long suffering attitude of Larry's and his mother's frazzled response!

"'I really think it's rather unfair that you should blame me because your organization breaks down with the arrival of a few guests', said Larry austerely."

"'A few guests! squeaked Mother.  'I'm glad you think eight people are a few guests'."

"'I think you're adopting a most unreasonable attitude'."

"I suppose there's nothing unreasonable in inviting people and not letting me know?'"

"Larry gave her an injured look, and picked up his book."

"'Well, I've done all I can', he said; 'I can't do any more'."

"There was a long silence, during which Larry placidly read his book and Mother piled bunches of roses into vases and placed them haphazardly round the room, muttering to herself."

"'I wish you wouldn't just lie there', she said at least.  'After all, they're your friends.  It's up to you to do something'."

"Larry with a long suffering air, put down his book."

"'I really don't know what you expect me to do', he said.  'Every suggestion I've made you've disagreed with'."

"'If you made sensible suggestions I wouldn't disagree'."

"'I don't see anything ludicrous in anything I suggested'."

And I can just picture it.  I bet he really doesn't see anything ludicrous in inviting a whole group of friends.  I am just now starting the next section of the book where I fully expect a very large group of friends and hangers-on to arrive en masse to Corfu.  The Durrells have taken a new villa, by the way, so the adventure continues. 

I have yet to watch any of the new adaption airing on PBS, but maybe I will save that treat for the winter holidays.  Until then I am enjoying my daily forays into the world of the Durrells and dreaming of going to visit them on Corfu, too!

The Invisibility Cloak by Ge Fei

I think what I like most about my NYRB Classics subscription is the adventure of not knowing what to expect in the mail each month.  I always know whatever is coming will be quality literature and I can pretty much feel assured I will most likely enjoy each book (certainly some a bit more than others but none so far has been a real dud).  I like being exposed to a wide variety of voices and perspectives, but it is always a literary journey that will take me to new and unexplored (in some cases) times and places and into cultures that I am often unfamiliar with.  I love broadening my reading horizons  So as I try and wrap up this year's remaining books I have already renewed my subscription for 2017 and already look forward to what the new year will bring.

October's NYRB Classics book is Ge Fei's The Invisibility Cloak (originally published as Pi feng and translated from the Chinese by Canaan Morse).  This is not a rediscovered classic rather it is a contemporary Chinese novel, and the first by Fei translated into English.  I certainly hope there will be more to come, and I know a novella is available out there as well and will be looking for it.  This might actually even be my first novel by a Chinese author (translated from Chinese that is) I have even read.  It's curious sometimes how stories will take a reader by surprise.  Sometimes it is the story that you don't expect to find an affinity with that turns out to be the best read (and a story that you think is just on the right side of your comfort zone turns out to be more of an uphill battle).

Who would have thought a novel about a man, described in one of the blurbs as a "likable loser trying to stay afloat"), who builds, sells and installs custom stereo sound systems would be so interesting.  And Mr. Cui talks about them in some detail at times, he talks about the kind of music that sounds most beautiful when played on them (classical) . . . he is a true connoisseur of both and has a reputation for his skill in building them.  This is his story and he tells it well.  So well, it turns out to be a rather gripping page turner that I literally flew through.

"You already know that I build tube amplifiers for a living.  If you counted the total number of people in Beijing who still make a living off this racket there wouldn't be more than twenty of us.  It's probably the most insignificant industry in China today."

Yet it is this living of his that drives the story.  His skill at his profession is what will inform his experiences and his happiness and even his future.  In this digital age it is a wonder that Mr. Cui can make a living out of what he does at all.  Economics is his downfall, however--he can barely make ends meet.  Maybe that is why he is divorced (his mother, who seems quite wise to me, told him his ex, Yufen, was not his best match--to put it bluntly "you're marrying this woman for somebody else"--a rather cryptic remark).  And that is definitely why he is living with his sister and her husband, who want him out as soon as possible.  He barely makes ends meet, a fortyish man living with relatives who don't want him there, never quite able to let go of his feelings for his ex-wife (he even tries later to call a new girlfriend by Yufen's name--I think you'll just need to read the story to understand all the dynamics here).  But the possibility of a big job might just set him on the right track and give him the money for the independence he needs.

It is his best friend from childhood who recommends him to a potentially wealthy client.  The money made off the job will give him just enough cash to buy a little cottage he finds and falls in love with.  But the client is dangerous, maybe even mafioso.  A tragic turn of events (though for whom they are tragic is questionable) will send Mr. Cui's path in an unexpected direction.  (That sounds very fortune-cookieish, doesn't it?). 

This is a story that can be read superficially (and as Mr. Cui says in the story, he is "the kind of person who likes to let my perceptions float on the surface of things"), but it is deceptively simple, so there is much more to it all.  There is something very philosophical about Mr. Cui and his outlook on life.  His perception of the world is funny and wise at the same time and he has luck on his side. 

Ge Fei's appeal has been compared to Haruki Murakami (whose work I have had only a small taste of and want to read much more of) and other "fabulists of contemporary irreality" if that helps you imagine what reading his work is like.  He is definitely one of my good finds this year.

A Suitable Boy: Part 5

I fear that the further into this story I get these posts may end up being more for me than for any other reader happening by, so I will try and keep things as general as possible.  But now I am really getting into the story and this is a novel that is very rich in detail, history and character development--to say nothing of the growing cast of characters.  I have decided that A Suitable Boy is not just a love story, but it is really a panorama of post-Partition India.  Part five is longer than any of the previous sections.  It has veered into the realm of history, politics and society yet it continues to intertwine various members of those family trees whose members have been crossing the stage so far, so to speak.

To be honest I have not yet finished reading this section, but I am within twenty pages or so of nearing part six (which is also a long section).  I love reading about the characters and how they interact and what their lives are like and when I saw that such a long part would be about religious/race relations and starts out with a riot, I have to be honest I was a little disappointed and wary of whether this would end up being an uphill week of reading.  As it turns out, it has been quite a page-turner of a story still.  Now, how to describe it in a way that will help plant it all more firmly in my mind and not confuse anyone not reading (and not giving away spoilers) the book.

I don't think I quite have the nuances down of the various ethnic groups in India and more, the various castes, but it is the tensions between these groups that are causing the social unrest.  For example, I am not sure if a word like jatav, which refers to one of the castes/one of the untouchable communities means it is only Hindus who are included or also Muslims.  With Partition, the areas of Pakistan and Kashmir were 'given up' or became Independent when the British left and India gained independent rule.  (My very simplified understanding so far). 

The riots of this section come about as a new Hindu temple is being constructed across the may from a Muslim mosque.  There is grief and frustration on the part of the Muslims about the nearness and it is expressed when a group of them take to the streets in protest.  Violence erupts and several deaths (the result of police intervention) occur.  The police (which seem to be made up of both Hindus and Muslims) use force in turn to try and contain the protesting group and you know how messy such a situation becomes.  It is all the worse as some of the police who are Muslim are protecting a Hindu temple against fellow Muslims, so very messy indeed.  All this happens to take place in front of the Govind Shoe Mart, which means there are repercussions for those business owners and shoemakers (remember last week's discussion of shoes?!--now it begins to come together) in the form of loss of business and income.

What follows is an inquiry into the riot and the aftermath by the local government and here we see some of the older members of the families--namely the Kapoors (Mahesh Kapoor is the Revenue Minister--also Pran's father) and the Khans (I don't think I have mentioned this family in much detail yet) and L.N. Agarwal who are involved in trying to get to the bottom of what happened and who was to blame.  All clear as mud, yes?  What is most important to know, however, is that there is no love lost between the various factions and quite a lot of animosity. 

I do want to mention a new character as I think she is interesting and will be important in how things shake down since she is an independent woman and the leader of the Democratic Party.  She is formidable and is described as "immodest" on occasion (when she needs to be) and aggressive and essentially plays by her own rules.  I like her, but then I always like strong female characters who assert themselves and stand strong.

There is so much I could write about this section.  It is truly a history lesson, but in a good and dramatic (good storytelling) sort of way.  So, the plot thickens, in a way . . .  Lata's 'love affair' played out against this background, so I guess it is all context.  Now it is easier to see why a Hindu girl of good, by all appearances middle class, family falling for a Muslim boy is going to cause more than a few ripples!

Looking ahead to section six, I see I am going to learn more about the Khan family and then there is mention of Veena, so more of the Kapoors, too.  I wonder when Lata will make her next appearance.  Onward.

Not Reading Nonfiction: Reading Notes

I'm having a better reading year this year than last, which is strangely reassuring.  Why is it when my reading is 'off' the rest of my world seems a little off, too?  Last week Stefanie wrote about how her reading this year seems to have tilted from the norm of fiction to more nonfiction and genre fiction.  I seem to have gone the opposite direction.  I love nonfiction, but I don't seem to be making much headway in my own pile of nonfiction reads and the books I have started this year have languished or been set aside.  I started out with a bang with Antonia Fraser's wonderful memoir My History, thinking this was a good omen and the start of what might be a stellar nonfiction reading year, but as it turns out, I seem to have fizzled.

I've read a few of these (photo above) Penguin Lines editions that celebrate the 150th anniversary of London's Underground (must get back to those . . .), there have been a couple of NYRB subscription books and a few other slender nonfiction reads including a graphic novel, a YA illustrated memoir, a very light biography of sorts about Sylvia Plath and the wonderful but sad When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (a book well worth revisiting as a reminder on how to live life).

However, there have been more than a few potentially good reads that I just have let go (maybe to pick up in the new year?), the most recent and the one I really do want to read, is a book on weaving.  But there was a Roger Deakin book on trees that went astray and a biography of Wonder Woman.  I wanted to read about Joan of Arc, a memoir by a young woman working in a New York literary agency and at least two other history books--Colonial American history and a couple of biographies of Colonial-era women.  I have no idea why I cannot stick with nonfiction these days.  I have read several very short books, but anything requiring more time, effort and concentration seems to fall by the wayside sadly.  Where has my attention span gone?

And then there are books on my TBR pile, which is a wishlist of nonfiction reads I wish I could commit to:

Les Parisiennes by Anne Sebba, A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley by Jane Kamensky, Walking Through Walls by Marina Abramovic, and I still want to read some Colonial American History (more so now than ever--maybe a biography of George Washington or Abigail Adams) and would love to get back to Roger Deakin, or read some books about books or about walking (like Robert McFarlane's The Old Ways).

How do I get my nonfiction reading stamina built back up?  In the short term I am going to stick with Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals.  It is not terribly long and will be a test of whether I can focus.  And what I read was quite delightful.  I just need to get  back into the (good) habit of daily nonfiction reading.  Maybe I should pick up a random essay here and there to get my toes wet? 

Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum

I think there has been a good handful (and likely more than just a handful) of really good novels set in hotels.  As a matter of fact, if done well, and I think Vicki Baum's Grand Hotel (Menschen im Hotel published originally in 1929, NYRB edition translated by Basil Creighton with revisions by Margot Bettauer Dembo) is really done well, they show hotel society as a microcosm of the larger world but played out on a much smaller and more intimate scale.  A panorama of life, if you will.  Vicki Baum's hotel is the Grand Hotel in Berlin of the 1920s.  The Great War is over, life is literally a cabaret, and the drama of life is depicted in all it's vibrant hues.  The cover illustration is very aptly chosen by the way! 

It was easier to get caught up in the drama of some characters' lives more so than others, but then isn't that true of life in general.  From the hotel staff to the guests who come and go through that revolving door (can't you just imagine a truly grand hotel with a revolving glass door attended by a nattily dressed doorman?), the guests are the wealthy and the dreamers, the downtrodden and the schemers.  And the staff are called upon to serve them as their own lives play out downstairs and in back hallways--from the hotel detectives snooping on potential thieves to hall porters whose wives are soon to give birth. 

Interestingly Baum had been creating these characters' lives in her imagination from an early age.  Vicki Baum was born and raised in Imperial Austria, specifically in an affluent Viennese, Jewish family.  Her first published story came at the age of fourteen, and she jotted down sketches of people she encountered on a trip as a girl when vacationing with her family.  This notebook was returned to again and again over time.  First came the inspiration for Herr Otto Kringelein, a bookkeeper in ill health, who comes to Berlin to finally get a real taste of Living (yes, capital L), leaving behind his wife in the provinces.  He wants to get in as many experiences before he dies, with which the Baron will help him.  Baron Gaigern, a handsome cat burglar, was plucked from the headlines some time later in a 1920s newspaper, as well as the haughty General Manager Preysing (who also happens to be the head of the company where Kringelein works).  And a visit to the ballet in Berlin where she watched the "fading" Russian prima ballerina, Anna Pavlovna, brought the addition of Elisaveta Grusinskaya to the cast.  Add in the WWI shell-shocked Dr. Otternschlag and hall porter Senf (husband of the expecting wife) and you have most of the guests and some of the staff of Berlin's Grand Hotel.

If you have ever stayed in a hotel and felt something of a voyeur as you people-watch, that's what you can expect from reading Baum's novel.  There is lots of drama, what you might imagine really happening in a hotel.  Think of a luxurious Baroque hotel in Weimar era Berlin, but cut away the facade and see into all the rooms.  There is Kringelein trying to avoid the worst rooms of the hotel (216 and 218), and Gaigern slipping into Grusinskaya's room to steal her jewelry and then getting caught--wiggling out of his attempted thievery by seducing (and then falling for) the elegant, older Grusinskaya who still has her beauty no matter how faded she may seem.  Otternschlag keeps checking the front desk for messages.  And yes, there is the greedy Preysing wheeling and dealing as he tries to close his biggest business deal yet.  Such naughtiness and goings-on in the Grand Hotel, but only what you would expect.

When Baum published the novel it was to much fanfare and acclaim, though it was not her first book.  It was her tenth (talk about plugging away).  She serialized the story initially over several months in 1929.  Almost immediately it was adapted to the German stage, then translated into English, and when it was published in the US it spent months and months on the bestseller list.  She would then move to Hollywood to help in the adaptation to the silver screen (how many of you have seen the film?  It is now on my list of must-sees).  The movie starred Greta Garbo, the Barrymore Brothers and Joan Crawford.  And Wes Anderson's recent remake Grand Budapest Hotel was a cinematic homage to the story (I had no idea and missed it as well, so another one to watch).  That seems quite a literary and visual, too (with the film adaptations) pedigree. 

Vicki Baum ended up staying in Los Angeles when the Nazis came to power and never returned home and while she wrote a number of other books, I think none were ever as successful or as well known as Grand Hotel (how many other authors have been both lucky and plagued to have one such major hit that overshadows all their other work?).  This is a story that has grown on me considerably the more I think about it after the fact.  It was a good, albeit rocky, reading experience.  I loved certain storylines but I must admit some of the business wheelings and dealings did bog me down and turned the story into an uphill read at times.  I suspect matters were not helped much by the disjointed manner in which I read the novel.  But it is a book I am happy to have read and I still think NYRB (this is one of my NYRB Classics subscription books) can't publish a bad book.  Someday I think I need to revisit it with sharper attention to detail, the detail of the world of Weimar Berlin taking place in the background.  It is quite a rich story, indeed.