Fifty Two Fifty Two

The Archivist by Martha Cooley

I really enjoyed this novel, in part because of its picture of New York during the Second World War and the years following, but largely because of the discussion of T.S. Eliot. The two main characters are Eliot scholars; they discuss his work in-depth and their lives both parallel his in striking ways. I adore Eliot and have studied him quite a bit myself so this added a lot of depth and meaning for me, but even for an Eliot novice, this is a thoughtful and readable novel.

This book was recommended as the essential Tom Peter’s. It is a big book, designed in a postmodern way, with side bars and arrows, but still read from front to back.  It would have been easier to skim, but I read every word of it.  It is a business book really, but in general has some leadership and insights that can be applied in life in general. It is kind of old now (2003), but the future looks quite a bit like he predicted. I recommend this book as good for some mantra’s but could easily by skimmed or read in parts.  It has some coherence, but not enough to make reading it from front to back more beneficial.

36 / 52: Bleak House / Dickens

So great. I don’t need to tell you about Bleak House – but I will take this opportunity to highly recommend the BBC’s 2005 miniseries. If you weren’t convinced that you loved Inspector Bucket, his appearance in this 7-hour melodrama will definitely convince you.  It’s full of great performances by British actors, and has given us a new ridiculous fake-curse-word in our house: “Burn Gorman! I broke another glass!”

Just a little tidbit for you here: my favorite description of a maid ever-

There is something indefinably keen and wan about her anatomy, and she has a watchful way of looking out of the corners of her eyes without turning her head which could be pleasantly dispensed with, especially when she is in an ill humour and near knives.

I just finished this book and I feel like Jhumpa Lahiri just punched me in the stomach.  It was wonderful.

Although this book presents itself as an “Inquiry into the Value of Work” (at least according to the subtitle), it often reads as something not quite so fair and balanced. Instead, a more appropriate subtitle might have been “An Apologetic for Working with One’s Hands”. Crawford, using general arguments as well as his own experience, attempts to persuade that we have undervalued dirty, hands-on work in favor of (supposed) intellectual work and that we should be more willing to engage in “blue collar” work. While I agreed with the general thrust of what Crawford said based on my understanding of everyone’s individual calling to a particular vocation (or vocations), I would say that he draws too strong of a line. While he was no doubt greatly shaped and influenced by his own life, I think that he tried to make his life too normative for everyone else. However, that certainly is not a great enough of a problem to render this book useless; indeed, it has good insights for everyone on consumerism, consumption, value and independence.

Dark. Apocalyptic. McCarthy crafted a novel that was right up my alley. I loved the elements that formed the core of the novel; upon further reflection, it felt like a zombie movie just without the zombies (and with the written word, of course). It was all there – the destruction of society, the struggle for survival, the ethics of survival, the idea of carrying the torch of humanity. But, in addition to the bleakness, the book was surprisingly tender. The relationship between the father and the son (as well as between the parents) was tender and heartbreaking. I really began to develop a real empathy for the father as he struggles to keep himself and his son human and alive.

And I think that’s where the real attraction of this genre lies. In these apocalyptic  scenarios, it is more than easy to just be one of those two – either human or either alive. You can keep your humanity, but it will usually come with a great price that will be paid quickly as you quickly die. Or you can stay alive by quickly jettisoning your humanity and doing whatever it takes to stay alive (in this case…cannibalism). It’s in that tension between staying alive and staying human that these worlds take flight.

My summer reading took me back to my middle school years with this series.  I am not sure if I would have enjoyed reading them as much if I read them while actually “age appropriate;” but my Mid-to-Late-20′s self couldn’t get enough.

Entertaining, predictable yet left a few surprises.  There is a great void that must be filled (and not just the one in my tote left by the massive books) … I believe a trip to Orlando is in order.

No waiting until I have another clump of books to report: I just finished one I loved. Sing Them Home (Stephanie Kallos) is a long novel that I can best describe as Midwestern US magic realism. Tornadoes, pianos, births, deaths, mysteries. Beautiful images, complex hurts and healings. This is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.