Book Review: Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

I usually read at least two books at one time, which is why I finished Saving Fish from Drowning within days of finishing Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. They were both really big books, so finishing them at the same time left me with a sense of accomplishment I don’t normally feel when finishing a single book.

I love Amy Tan’s work. I consider her one of my favorite authors and wait patiently for her books to come out because I know I won’t be disappointed. I was, however, very disappointed with Saving Fish from Drowning. I almost put it back with my library donation books when I’d reached approximately page 100, but I decided to give it a chance and finish. I’m not sure which would have been the right decision. If I hadn’t finished it, my curiosity and belief in Tan’s work would have made me want to finish it and think about it, but in finishing it, I’m not sure I’m happy that I did.

In SFD, twelve Americans set out for a Chinese and Burmese vacation that was supposed to be led by their friend Bibi Chen. Unfortunately, Bibi dies a few days before they were to leave, and the friends rationalize that she would have wanted them to go, so they did. Without much guidance they stumble into trouble after trouble that eventually leads to eleven of them being “kidnapped” by a remote tribe who believes that their savior, in the form of the younger white brother, has arrived.

The characterization of the typical American tourist—who goes into other countries and doesn’t understand what’s going on around them…can’t because of their American blinders—is apt, and her depiction of the horrors that have happened in the Burma/Myanmar wars are haunting. Together these two facets of a story could have made for a very good novel, but SFD fails.

I think the reason why I didn’t like this book is that the narrative voice is too all-knowing and there isn’t the challenge of working through a story, understanding the nuances of things but not knowing with certainty WHY something happened the way it did. I also really missed the magical realism usually so present in Tan’s novels.

Book Review: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Part 3, by Susanna Clark

Part 3 of JSMN made Parts 1&2 worthwhile. I so much enjoyed reading every single chapter of this part. I can’t talk about what happens even in a “help you to understand” sense because I fear that would give too much away. So, I’ll talk about the structure of the book and some of the very good points and the writing, of course.

The book is structured in three parts, the first is about Mr. Norrell, the second is about Jonathan Strange and the third is about John Uskglass. This trinity, if you will, of main and important characters are all interacting and struggling for power and understanding throughout the book. The main threads that help tie all these characters together are the characters Vinculus, Mr. Childermass, and the gentleman with the thistle down hair. If you remember in my review of the first two parts, I wasn’t highly motivated about reading the book, and after reading the third part I was seriously questioning if the first two parts were necessary. I do think so, because I’m not sure that the book as a whole would make sense without that foundation and skeleton that is built during the first two sections of the book.

Another good point about the book is that I didn’t completely figure out what was going to happen. I usually figure the plot out even when I don’t read ahead, but this time I was surprised about a few of the ending points. And that’s always nice.

Finally, I thought the writing throughout the novel was excellent. It was easy to understand while still challenging the imagination. The footnotes were such a playful part of the book, and though I read each one as they came up, I think you could probably skip them. However, the enjoyment of the book wouldn’t be nearly as much without the unreliability of the narrator and history being pointed out several times in each chapter.

I know that there are lots of things I did not understand in this book. I would love to hear from anyone who has read it who has a broader understanding of this type of fiction so that they can explain to me some of the allusions, etc., that I have missed.

Halcyon Days

I'm in the middle of a calm spell...classes finished up on Tuesday, work is slow, my kids are mostly behaved, my husband is doing fine and working and happy, I have contentment knowing I'm getting some experience with consulting, David and I are going to see some friends this weekend, my house is finally being renovated. There are things going on, but I feel like I'm drifting without any real need to push or work hard or stress out.

And it's really really nice.

I haven't felt this calm and peaceful in a long time.

The Letter L

The letter L is my favorite letter of the alphabet....it's very convenient that it's the first letter of my name, but when I was little, I thought it was the most beautiful sound. I figured that if it was the initiator of both syllables in MY name and the first sound in my mother's name and the first and last sounds in my grandma's name AND the first sound in both of my other grandma's names, that it was something special indeed. It didn't hurt that the sound the letter L makes is one that you can keep going--it's called a fricative in linguistics. Sounds like F, S, and M share that characteristic with L--you can keep making the sound until you run out of breath...and when you're 3 or 4 that's really fun.

As I got to thinking about the letter L as a kid I realized that it was also the beginning sound of a lot of other really neat words--love, like, listen, lamb, lollipop, lemonade, locomotion (and I did know that word because Mom had the "At the Hop" album collection and "Locomotion" was one of the songs I would twirl my baton to for hours on end.) It seemed to my childish mind that the Letter L was clearly underused and needed to start EVERY word/syllable...so that's just how I started talking.

I wouldn't say things like "Li lant loo lo loo lee lore" (I want to go to the store) where I would replace EVERY beginning sound in a sentence, but I would change the important ones "I lant to lo to the lore." My daddy drove a loylota, my Barbie's drove a lan. Life was good...until Mom got really worried that my hearing was going again and that I was making funny sounds because I couldn't figure out how to talk anymore. She took me to the dr. to have me checked out, and of course I was fine, just goofy (or loofy if you will!).

I grew out of the habit of talking to other people using my "special L language" but I find myself these days talking to my cats that way--my orange kitty is named Loliver, for instance. I still think that the letter L is special and still remember WHY I wanted the letter L to begin all good words...maybe when I'm old and senile it will and people will simply think I'm talking in an alien language or something!

My house!

Is upside down!

Well, not literally, but we have definitely got a mess. The contractor starts to work today tearing down ancient crown molding (that has enough "rotten" spots on it to make it rather unattractive) and putting up newly painted and pretty stuff. I'm so excited I can barely stand it! In truth, I'm not really a big fan of crown molding--I could generally take it or leave it--and if I'm footing the bill, I'd rather not pay for it. However, the builders of our house decided to take the ONE short cut that I've seen so far and only build the wall to within 3 inches of the ceiling, so that means that if we don't have crown molding we have a huge gap in the wall that exposes the ceiling. Thus we have to have crown molding and now it's finally going to happen.

We spent a good bit of the evening yesterday moving furniture and re-setting up our office in our living room/library. My sewing room is partly in the "being remodeled dining room," the kitchen, and the guest room. The chairs that were displaced to allow the office and sewing room to be moved are in the dining room and will hopefully survive the craziness going on around them. Bookshelves, a really big and nice armoir, a filing cabinet and various sundry items are crammed in the middle of that dining room...sure hope Mr. Contractor can move around in there!

So, now that we've found the only contractor in Hattiesburg that is a decent worker and not busy with everyone else in town, we will probably never let him go...there's the fireplace mantle to rebuild, the bathrooms to fix up...painting to be done. Life will be messy and annoying while he's here, but we'll make the best of it becuase when he's gone, I'll FINALLY have my house the way I wanted it when I moved in 5 years ago! Now THAT's something!

Being Right isn't Always Right...

I have trouble understanding why anyone wants to seek conflict. I had a friend once who wanted to fight--with her fiance, friends, family, everyone really but me. I simply wouldn't engage, but she ended up deciding that she wanted to fight with me, too, so I quit talking to her. It wasn't worth the effort to maintain a friendship that I felt was unhealthy.

One of my daughters has begun to seek conflict whenever she is the slightest bit troubled. I've had to call her off of me probably 5 times this week. It's exhausting and troubling because I don't know where or why this urge to seek conflict comes from. Today's was about something that she misunderstood, and when I explained to her what I said, she kept going on about how she heard something else. I told her that she had misunderstood and that it wasn't a big deal, but she kept going on about how she was RIGHT...so I walked out of the room and shut the door on the conversation. My goal is not to engage her, but she doesn't seem to get it and won't let up. The other night after sending her out of the house for 15 minutes, she simply walked back in and started the fight where she left off before going outside. I'm at a total loss about what to do with her. I don't like the aggravation and anger that I feel at her because of her fits and silliness, but I don't know how to avoid them since she won't seem to let go when she has the need to be RIGHT.

And since she's my daughter I simply can't cut off contact with her.

So, I struggle to maintain my anger and frustrationg and not completely lose my temper. The things she wants to fight about are so itty bitty as to hardly matter, but that doesn't make the situation any easier to live with.

Ooooh...Aaaaah...

I'm really enjoying playing with and setting up my new electronic gadgets!

Here is the new computer















The camera takes really nice pictures. Here is the close up of my rubik's cube...you can even see the curlies of the acetate covering over the squares. And the box was on top of a filing cabinet at the end of my office: approximately 60 feet or more.

Life is good. I'll go play some more and hope to have more interesting thoughts in my head in a few days.

New Toys

Oh, I bought some new toys last night and I can't wait to show them off...but there's a learning curve involved and I can't just go out and take a bunch of pictures with my amazing new Sony Cyber Shot until I figure out how to use the blasted thing! Oh, and there's my new laptop which is SO cool...I'll even take a picture of it with my new camera when I get it back (but I'm still having trouble uploading images onto blogger, AND I forgot the cord to plug the camera into my computer). My iTech guy is using the excuse of loading Microsoft Office on it so that he can play with the computer. He was really looking it over when I asked him to come in and load up the Office package...

So, last night when I was playing with my computer, David kind of giggled at me, and I told him that I have never had a computer that was all my own. It's really nice knowing that I've sought out work that has allowed me to buy such a nice piece of equipment. And I'll use it regularly too...especially since the mouse I have has a light in it that changes colors every few seconds. That's not distracting at all. Imagine trying to write a paper and having writer's block! THAT could give you hours of mindless distractions!

So, I'm off to play. Maybe I'll have pictures later today! After 4pm of course, since I have to go home and get the cord!

Quilt Bee 2006

I arrived to much fanfare and picture taking to the 14th annual Thornton Thimblers Quilt Bee. What a fun, fun time we had telling stories, trying to outdo one another with our fabulous food and shopping...and not to forget the main event, the quilting!

The quilt bee is probably my favorite time of year. I love all the laughter and fun that we have. The silliness and showmanship and creativity make for a wonderful time. No responsibilities all us girls to really have a great time. I can hardly wait each year as the bee comes around. I plan and think of gifts and games. Apparently Aunt Carolyn can't wait to sing songs so she writes her own...there are plays which always crack me up...

Next year we're breaking with tradition and coming to Mississippi! I'm honored to host the 15th annual TTQB...but know I won't do nearly as bang up a job as Auntie J...I simply don't have all the bees around to set the ambience...Even so, we'll have a blast as we always do and introduce the young'uns to the bee. No doubt it will BEE delightful.

I'm having trouble uploading the photos into this blog, so they will have to come tomorrow!

Highlights in photos:

Carolyn and me arriving

Mom unveiling the quilt:

Everyone (but me) quilting:

The Friday night play

More Quilting on Saturday

Shopping on Saturday (At least it's quilt related)

Lunch on Saturday

Dinner on Saturday

Grandma Arrives on Sunday!

Bonnie Wins the Quilt :(

Looking at the book

Orange Beach Vacation

I'm just a little late in getting the Orange Beach vacation blog up here...sort of. I read 4 books while I was gone, and did my book reviews last week. I also worked on a cross stitch that isn't quite completed yet. I'll have pics of that when it is. But a highlight of the vacation in pictures:

David serving juice for breakfast. Who could be unhappy waking up to that sweet face?















David and the girls went Parasailing. Here is David taking a picture of himself:














The girls on the boat on the way out there...














This is how high they got...














The girls really liked doing handstands at the beach and in the pool...here are somebody's legs.














Alyssa, Emelie and Elizabeth on the balcony...they are all too pretty. Think the boys know about it yet?














Our very healthy sampling of fruits and vegies. YUMMY!















We did get to pet the baby tigers. Here they are playing in the pool while their caretaker breaks down the box that was scaring them to death.














Leslie and David on the balcony.














And all of us at dinner our last night out. What's funny is that David and I used to have that very same print hanging in our living room!














I wish I could go back on vacation right now, but somebody's got to earn the bucks to that we can vacation from time to time...

Book Review: Darcy and Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberley by Linda Berdoll

This sequel to Linda Berdoll’s Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife delivers mostly what the first book did, only it waited until the last 150 pages to do so. The books have both brought Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to life in a very creative and interesting way. Berdoll imagines them as passionate lovers who are so hot for each other that they have sex whenever and wherever the urge strikes them. They’re filthy rich, so I guess they can do that, and since they live in such a “polite” era, no one would dare even act like they know what the two have been up to. The sex is playful and fun in this book, too, even if there are too many uses of words like tumescence, nether region, instruments, member, and the like. I can overlook that when I’m having a good time reading about someone who I would love to be—who could turn down a world where you have servants to take care of every need, enough money that you could never spend it all, and all you have to think about is the man you love!

That said, the book suffers from being a sequel to a sequel. Berdoll did a great job in her first book at presuming that the reader had already read P&P and if they hadn’t, she didn’t need to inform them of what happened in that book because they should be ashamed for not reading it. In MDTW, however, the story lacks confidence in the beginning—and not just the beginning 2 or 3 chapters, but roughly the beginning 200 pp.

Another thing that was disconcerting (and a little confusing) was the lack of coherence in the timeline of the story. I didn’t mind switching between characters with each chapter or two, but I did mind (quite a bit so) when chapter 13 would be referring to events that took place WAY before those in chapter 10. I felt like I couldn’t keep up with when things were happening, what strings were supposed to be tied together. I’ve read a number of books that had out of sequence chapters, but that lack of sequence was done on purpose. This instance just looked like bad editing.

One more thing before I end my criticisms of this book, I think that Berdoll needs a really good, tough editor who will help tone her stilted language around to a more easily read (and clear) style that will still evoke the time period without seeming silly or pornographic.

Criticisms aside, I enjoyed the ride I went on in this book. It has a satisfying ending, the story is fun, the characters well wrought. If you’re a Jane Austen purist, you would hate these books, but if you enjoy a story re-told, then you may enjoy this…just be willing to put up with some linguistic gymnastics that often fall flat on their back.

Oh My!

Yesterday morning my mother fell and broke both of her ankles. She called at work to tell me and my first inclination was that someone had died. I knew it wasn't my dad, my grandmother or any of my aunts or uncles because her voice sounded somewhat calm, but I could tell that something was distressing her (and since she never calls me at work I knew something was up). So, when she told me that she'd broken both of her ankles, I was most relieved, and then VERY disheartened because that's a TERRIBLE thing to have happen! My poor little mama!

It reminded me of when I broke both of my arms in 6th grade, and that was a terrible terrible time. At least, as she said, she'll be able to feed herself and get dressed. But she will feel pretty miserable for a few days, and then when she starts to mend, she'll be pretty bored and miserable. So, we have to think of things to keep her from going crazy!

UPDATE: Only one of Mom's ankles is broken. The other is very badly sprained, so after a week or so she'll be able to hobble around a little. Thank goodness!

Book Review: Packed up and Ready to Go by Betty Tand

Betty Tand does not disappoint with her second book about her mother, Ms. Emma Thornton, also known as my Grandma. The vignettes add to an understanding of Grandma in such poignant ways—it’s amazing what a glimpse, response or simple action will tell about a person. In the foreword, Janice Fisher describes Grandma as “reaching out to the world” with “fluttering wings.” Betty’s stories show that this woman can fly!

I so much enjoyed reading each and every story. I was smiling and would find myself laughing out loud at some points—causing my neighbors in the airport to look at me askance. I didn’t care one little bit. I teared up thinking about the wonderful person that I’ve been able to know and love and experience.

I am amazed at Grandma’s memory. Several of the stories point out her ability to remember birthdays, directions, or anniversaries simply because they happened to her. Ask her today what she talked to Janice or Carolyn about last week, and she could confidently give you a snapshot. I sat next to Grandma at lunch last Sunday and she turned and said to me, “I don’t think I’ve eaten dinner sitting next to you in a long time.” I had to think back to all those Thanksgivings and Sunday dinners, and I believe she was right. She then said, “You would eat SO SLOW when you were little.” I laughed and said, “I still do.” She then mentioned that when I was little all I would eat was weenies and cheese (American slices no less) and it would still take me forever to finish my lunch. I laughed and asked her if she remembered HOW I would eat that meal every day and she said “yeah, but I want to hear you tell it.”

So, I said, “I would take my slice of American cheese and fold it in half, then half again, then half again and then half one more time to get these little bitty squares. I would take them and place them all around the rim of my plate. After that I would slice up my weenie and place it on each slice of cheese (having to nibble any leftover slices of cheese or weenie real quickly if I had any “blanks”) and then I would eat my weenie and cheese bit by bit, probably telling stories about each one and where it came from and what it had for dinner before it came to be on my plate.”

She laughed and said, “That’s exactly right.”

The book inspires in me my stories about Grandma. She is one of the sweetest people I know. She just loves getting attention, and she praises and loves and sees the wonder in everyone she meets—and from the telling of this book, the girl gets around! It also taught me something about myself that I have never been able to figure out. When someone says something that is absolutely right and true I will respond with “I mean.” I never even realized I said that so much or that it was an unusual response until I was in graduate school in Kentucky and my friend at the time laughed at me (in a nice way) and asked why I always said “I mean” and what did it mean. In the story “Campbell is a Girl’s Name?” Grandma responds to the question “What if a girl wants both [cuddling and sex]?” with “I mean.” Absolutely!
Thank you, Betty, for the gift of this book. I have enjoyed the entire experience of reading this book. Every story is perfectly told and gives me that little Grandma hug I certainly need right now. I will show it off proudly to my friends, all of whom really loved My Mother Told Me. They will be tickled to know that there’s another installment!

Book Review: Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith

I bet you were beginning to think that I didn't like ANY books, or simply liked to review those that I didn't like; however, I DO usually like books, and Morality for Beautiful Girls is one that I liked a lot.

I first read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency late last fall for bookclub. I have to admit that I was really not looking that forward to it. As a rule I don't like detective novels/mysteries. I usually find the ending so contrived that, well, it's just not believable in the way that it should be. But this series is a much different type of detective novel than others I have tried to read but gave up on. So, if you haven't started this series, I highly recommend that you do.

In this third installment Precious Romatswe is busy dealing with personal and professional issues. Her fiance, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is depressed, and she has to get him professional help. her assistant, Mma Makutsi helps out by taking over the garage and getting the lazy apprentices busy. Rose, her housekeeper helps out with the foster children (who are really Matekoni's responsibility, but somehow Precious is taking care of them).

She is also worried about remaining financially stable, so she takes a case she wouldn't otherwise because the client is a big Government Man. He is trying to blame his sister-in-law for attempting to poison his brother. While Precious is working on that case, Mma Makutsi takes a case to find the most beautiful good girl in Botswana.

This is another fast-read by Smith. Discussions about morality focus on how Botswana ways are good and pure. There's a little heaven on earth that Smith introduces us to in this series that really makes you feel that there ARE places in the world where things are good, or at least have the potential to be if you'll just put your mind to making the right decisions and choices. MBG is a delightful, up-lifting read. It is nice to read a book where the characters know where "right" is and seek it for the benefits of its rightness. I can't wait for the next book (and he's just published #7 in this series, so I can read it soon.)

Book Review: The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry

I'm not sure why we like to read depressing books about depressing people living depressing lives in depressing towns--but we do. Or at least we do enough to keep authors writing them. They must sell well or they wouldn't be there, right?

Maybe it makes us feel better about our own lives--we are relieved NOT to be as messed up as these characters. Maybe watching a character's life totally unravel gives us some sort of "greater than though" feeling in that we clearly see where they messed up and know we wouldn't be so foolish. Maybe we just like looking into the lives of characters and seeing how they work things out.

I found LPS to be very dpressing. The writing was quite good--McMurtry is a very talented story teller who creates some pretty crazy characters (All My Friends are Going to be Strangers comes to mind) and LPS is no exception. The isolation and loneliness in the midst of small town Texas resonates pretty strongly with this small town Texas girl, which may be why it is such a depressing book for me.

My friend from California found the book to be really funny--all those crazy kids screwing anything they could (cows, pigs, whores were all fair game). But that aspect of the book I found sad and exemplary of the inability of the characters to find a way out of their miseries. Sex is the central theme of the book--it is almost as if "SEX" were a character in and of itself. Every character has some sexual experience that defines him/her. The sex is infertile, however. It does not generate life, or lead to the characters knowing themselves or anyone else any better. It does not lead to growth or development. Nor does it really form any strong healthy relationships between characters--it just feels like it is a naughty excuse to write a book: "how many ways can I make these people have sex without repeating it?"

There are some really nice scenes, however, that have significant literary weight--when Sonny tries to leave town at the end of the book but can't go past the city limit sign, so he turns around. Then he can't make himself drive back to town. Such a scene exemplifies how strong a hold Thalia really has on him even though it has nothing to offer him. He wants to leave but has no where to go, and the familiar is better than the unfamiliar.

Despite McMurty's talent, I find it difficult to understand the appeal of this book--especially knowing it was made into a movie.

Home Again

My mom tells a story about my oldest brother when he was a baby. They lived in Dallas at the time and had driven down to see the grandparents for the weekend. When they got home again, Scott was so happy to be home that kissed all of his toys and danced and sang.

I didn't feel quite that happy to be home, but I do think that I kissed my bed and pillow before going to sleep last night. I think that's one problem with getting a really comfortable bed and pillow--you're totally spoiled against sleeping comfortably anywhere else.

Highlights from the trip:

• I sat on the beach for 6 days in a row--it was heavenly
• I got to see 3 baby tigers play and then I got to pet them
• I stayed on my "no sweets" diet for an entire 10 day vacation--and though I struggled at times, I DID IT!
• I had some good reading and cross stitching time
• I relaxed
• I spent time with my family at the quilt bee
• My grandma showed up at the quilt bee--what a wonderful suprise that was
• I had absolutely no connection problems at the airport

Not-so-grand points of the trip:

• The toilet in our bathroom at the condo was stopped up for two days because the cleaning people flushed 2 bars of soap down it (who would think to do such a thing?)
• One of my daughters had an attack of the bratty fits
• I did not sleep well
• I had to sit next to a man on the Memphis/Austin flight who believed that his single ticket purchase included my seat
• I did NOT win the quilt :(

All-in-all it was a fabulous vacation. Very family oriented and just what I needed to get me through all the craziness that I'm up against the next couple of months.

I'll have pictures in a few days of some of the highlights, but until then, I promise 2 books reviews (maybe a third if I finish it today or tomorrow) and thoughts of some of my favorite highlights from the trip.