I found this little epistolary novella really uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. I feel like I can see its importance, and yet I did not actually "enjI found this little epistolary novella really uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. I feel like I can see its importance, and yet I did not actually "enjoy" it. It was brutally difficult. Sad and frightening on so many levels. Also interesting reading the foreward and the notes that preceded the book, that this was actually prescient. That gives me chills. Because if the author thought this up at the time, then the consciousness was already emerging and one can see that people of the time had choices to make in the moment - in real time. And failed to make the right ones. The articulation of the political reasoning reflects arguments we hear today, that continue to dehumanize and excuse power, greed, and selfishness, in the name of politics or religion. And this is not history, it is happening all over again in front of our eyes.
I say it again, love always wins. Love always wins. Love Always Wins....more
I absolutely love the canon of this author, but I really did not care for this one. Can I say that I loved the Sisters book, I loved American Wife. I I absolutely love the canon of this author, but I really did not care for this one. Can I say that I loved the Sisters book, I loved American Wife. I liked Prep. Eligible was fine. I expected this one to be funnier and more depthful. I was disappointed and disengaged.
At the heart of the book, is a woman who does not feel particularly attractive to herself or to others, who engages in a relationship with a celebrity, an adored popular musician. She is a quite talented sketch writer on a fictional version of Saturday Night Live, (cute name Sittenfeld picked), and he is the host and musical guest. This is the story of their relationship. During which time, she never feels that she is attractive enough for him to date, nor does she deserve him. There is neither backstory around this for her, nor really any kind of resolution or redemption. She somehow learns to live with this. I found the whole thing rather empty and brainless, and she really did not make herself a likeable character. I guess it was supposed to be a part of her talented comic sketch offensive personality, but she would make these offensive statements, and push him away. She was abrasive for basically no told reason to us. He loved her anyway despite that she self describes as mousy and despite that her personality was kind of awful. That didn't hold weight for me. Beauty may only be skin deep, but when your personality is no winner? I did like that near the end of the book, he calls her out for that. For pushing him away and hurting him because she feels frightened and scared and not enough, and to be honest, I just did a better job of it in this review than he actually does in the book. He is rather flat to me. The author tries to make him vulnerable and human and dimensional, and something about his hair - I don't know, I couldn't engage. But I do not think the author succeeds at this attempt to make him less God-like. I did feel that the author (who is perfectly beautiful) had something to work out. And I fear that she didn't quite. The hope by the end is that she and the main character is still working on it. Good luck CS, you are indeed a talented writer and a beautiful soul and person, inside and out. Good luck in knowing it. ...more
This was a super quick audio. I ran a 5K this morning, and I needed something that was just an hour. I ran for exactly 50 minutes, and then spent the This was a super quick audio. I ran a 5K this morning, and I needed something that was just an hour. I ran for exactly 50 minutes, and then spent the next 11 panting and finishing the story. Which ended exactly as I expected it to.
Three stars. What can I say? Written in epistolary form, this is about a couple doing their paperwork for divorce, and reflecting upon what got them there and what they now want. It's not a not to be missed. And for some particular people it will be the right thing at the right time. For me, it was just perfect for this run.
*I just want to note, that I never consider these short audible original novellas a part of my "count". If anyone was curious about where my yearlong challenge and stats actually are, I have read 86 real books out of 100. Soon its going to tell you I have reached 100. This would be wrong and inaccurate. I will let you know when I have reached a true 100. I will even count it down from 95. ...more
Suspense! This one was a quick read and has it all! So of course I can tell you not even a single detail, but the structure of the tale was different Suspense! This one was a quick read and has it all! So of course I can tell you not even a single detail, but the structure of the tale was different and interesting. It got on the "epistolary" shelf. The entire book reads as a letter unfolds as a young woman tries to tell her side of the unnerving events that occurred. I thought it was well done, and I enjoyed it. Read it in a day and a half!...more
Good God, I just finished this book, and I absolutely loved it! Elizabeth Gilbert, author of another one of my favorite books, the Signature of All ThGood God, I just finished this book, and I absolutely loved it! Elizabeth Gilbert, author of another one of my favorite books, the Signature of All Things has done it again. Told the life of an independent intelligent woman, who has had to forge her own path, despite the expectations, circumstances, and caprices around her. This one has so many things to it - but it highlights a particular period of time, where in New York in the early 1940's a young girl who has failed out of Vassar, finds herself in the company of a Times Square Theater company, as an inadvertent seamstress. Now thrown into the company of a Vaudeville turned Broadway set, showgirls, and producers, and clubbing, and artistry, her on the brink of twenty, and the world on the brink of war. She writes the novel, telling the story of her life to an unknown audience, sharing with us how she became who she ultimately did. Its a story of love, of growth, of forgiveness, particularly self-forgiveness. It has redemption in it too, but the redemption is quite personal and internal. Its about how one reconciles who one is, and how one develops and grows in the face of the circumstances one faces. Such interesting characters, with really complex shades, some that are only hinted at. Aside from our narrator, a lot is left guessing. Its a classic really good novel, well crafted, and developed, and a fabulous ride! Its one you don't easily forget. I loved everything about it. ...more
There is no question that Taylor Jenkins Reid understands relationships, to the highest nuanced degree. I loved every second of this novella, on audioThere is no question that Taylor Jenkins Reid understands relationships, to the highest nuanced degree. I loved every second of this novella, on audio it was only 1hr and 19 minutes. And in that time, in epistolary form, we get to see inside four relationships. I imagined the whole thing could be done as a play, thinking of the well known Love Letters. This was so much fun.
Great moment, when a writer enters their own universe, where the action is happening in the late 70's, and the character references to listening to music, and she names, Joni Mitchell, Daisy Jones, and Carole King. Its like a quick - wait a minute, did she just say Daisy Jones? Because in the world of this author, there was always a Daisy Jones in the late 70's, and for me, there will always be one too from now on. Just loved that.
Two more of TJR's books left to go, and I will have completed the authors' entire body of works to date....more
This absolutely beautiful book, only 48 pages, is a beautiful gift from a father to a son. Read it in less than ten minutes, and took an even longer tThis absolutely beautiful book, only 48 pages, is a beautiful gift from a father to a son. Read it in less than ten minutes, and took an even longer time to simply enjoy the incredible illustrations, which take your breath away. This is a book of memory, of smells and sounds of the past, and the music of an earlier time associated with it. Beautifully written, it captures the immigrant/refugee experience, where you are scared and homeless in an unfamiliar unwelcoming place, where a father comforts a son in the face of the unknown. It stays with you - beautifully done. I wish every family has one of these for every cultural experience. Write everything down friends - its going by so quickly. Beautiful job from a captivating author whose words evoke everything powerful in the senses and memory....more
OK - The Last Christmas in Paris, is what's called an "epistolary" novel, written entirely through letters from a number of characters in the story, tOK - The Last Christmas in Paris, is what's called an "epistolary" novel, written entirely through letters from a number of characters in the story, the setting - World War One. Primarily the letters are between Lieutenant Thomas Harding and Evelyn "Evie" Elliot, woman war correspondent, at a time when women didn't do such things, and it caused an uproar for the Harding's family owned Newspaper, the London Daily Times. The novel is about their unfolding love story through letters throughout the war and over time. Its was a beautiful story and cleverly written. One of the things that I liked about it, was in the after pages, hearing about how the process of co-writing the book between the two authors who had met through a connection, was also a process of letter exchange, that each would unfold the tale by writing letters from various characters at various times. The authors had a unique love story too, in their own vein, and that also raised the experience of the book for me.
The book itself. Much of the time it was a solid three - at times it felt actually "meh." At other points, I was more engaged or interested. There is no real twist, not that there needs to be. Everything is pretty much laid out at the start. In that way, the letters were honest, and expressed something of each of their constructed identities in time.
I admit I did become engaged in a few side themes outside the developing love story. The experience and treatment of PTSD, and how that was experienced or perceived by others in 1916. I was also interested in the related idea of varying views characters took about whether to print the truth about war, in the newspaper, and what that meant for the government and how public perception is shaped or altered. And also about who does and doesn't fight at the front, and I had never even heard of the White Feather Brigade, only mentioned briefly in the books beginning, but the were a lot of questions about men's moral fiber, and what they were intended to withstand. Evie and Thomas and their letter exchange was meant to be a thing of beauty, memory, dreams, and light, in a time where there was none. Its speckled with Shakespeare and other authors, and that added to the book and to the characters and their expression.
I guess I enjoyed it more than I thought I'd had reading it, because in the last 40 pages, I am in bed softly sobbing. Which was not how I'd felt reading it, closer to slight piquing engagement. I went from "Meh" to "moved" at the end. And that grew with the author's notes and interviews. Which shows me something I have always known but love to repeat to you guys. Sharing a book, always enhances one's reading of it. Whether I am writing or reading reviews, being in some kind of a book club, discussing sub themes, or iconic moments.... I have loved books more since book clubs and Shelfari and Goodreads and review writing. Books have become friends, and I now also have made friends from around the world. May this season be a blessing for all faiths, and for all of us - no matter who you are, what you believe or practice. May this time be a time of holiness, together, love, and peace....more
In the nick of time, this gorgeous 5 star read made its way both into my heart and into my top ten list for 2017.
Maybe not everyone would consider thiIn the nick of time, this gorgeous 5 star read made its way both into my heart and into my top ten list for 2017.
Maybe not everyone would consider this a five star read - but everything about this appealed to me. For one, I am a singer and I have always known, understood, felt, and experienced, what music does. it makes joy more joyous, it lifts in times of sorrow. It heals, it transforms, it transcends, it binds. There are a thousand quotes in this story that express this well, but so does its story.
The story is written in the form of letters and journal entries, from five women and eventually one man, chronicling the life and times of the village of Chillbury, England, as seen through the women of the Chilbury Ladies Choir. Three of its narrators are young girls, one on the brink of womanhood. Through war, through bombings, loss, and great personal challenges, they find their strength through music and through each other. This is truly more than a coming of age, its a finding of voice, which is what each woman, younger to old needs to do, and finds their way to.
I think at least for today, my favorite character ever, is Mrs. B., Mrs. Brampton-Boyd, who is not one of our narrators. She is an insufferable nuisance, a bossy old crochety lady, whose nose is entirely out of joint and often stuck in precisely the wrong places. She just makes me laugh.
I spent many of the moments of this book thinking of choirs I have sang with, and times that music has been moments of healing, transcendence, and joy. I love singing in synagogue, and I understand the joy of singing for someone's wedding, engagement, for bris and baby naming ceremonies. I also understand the power of singing for healing, for ritual immersion, for funerals and loss. I think I will never forget singing in church for my close friend's tragic funeral a little over two years ago, and the night before at her wake, missing that to lead a number of women in song, for a dear friends 60th birthday celebration. It was a beautiful Hebrew chant, a niggun, a wordless melody that repeats and grows, and as the women learn it, it gets more full and embodied. Song leading that night, instead of attending that wake, was exactly where I needed to be, not just to keep my promise to my one friend who had asked me to do this special thing, but for my dear friend who had just passed. For my own healing and for her. We had sang together often, and I heard her words in my mind say with regularity, "Women are always stronger together when they sing together. Women need to be always connected in strength through song."
My husband and I had our first date at a Friday night synagogue service, (oddly enough). He had to usher and I had plans on the Saturday night, so we made plans to attend services before going out to a popular dueling piano called Jake Ivories (where we first kissed.) I believe I fell in love with him and the synagogue the very first night, with all the old familiar melodies and harmonies. He tells me that he fell in love with me that very night when he heard me sing. We began to go frequently, because we enjoyed it together, as well as do a thousand other things. He proposed to me 3 months later, and 15 months after that, we were married in that synagogue. And I joined the choir. 8 years after that, we had our first son's bris there, and we danced and sang.
So many communities and friends I have sang with, and sang with over the years. From teen conventions, to acapella groups, to spontaneous caroling and harmony. Most recently, I recall being with four friends at the Women's March in Boston (The Million Women March of January 20th.) They will tell you that 180,000 women and men marched on the common. I will tell you they were wrong. There were over 300,000. Possibly close to four. But the pivotal moments for me, in the long day, was getting all the people on the T to join us in song. This Land is Your Land, Blowing in the Wind, If I had a Hammer. Anything we could think of to match the protests we had heard about when we were young (born in 1968). Would you believe how few young folks knew this music on the T, but when we could get the whole packed car going, it was glorious and powerful.
And 25 years ago, when I worked for a nursing home, as a young new masters clinician, I tried to do "therapy" with the elders, but it often yielded little. So I sang with them - the old jazz standards they knew from when they were young. The songs they fell in love to, danced to, got married to. Many of them didn't even know their own names, but they knew every word. They would see me in the hallways and break out into song. That is where I first learned how healing music is and can be. It was healing, transforming, and transcending.
So years went by, and I sang my children to sleep. I got to be in a musical, two of them, and these experiences remain some of the penultimate bright highlights of my life. I sang in synagogue, sometimes with the choir. I sang with my father for Yom Kippur services every year. I helped out with the Newton Family Singers, and sang in their open sings, and open mikes. I did the Jewish Gospel Concert for years, until that unfortunately ended. I co-directed one 5th grade play. I participated in a talent show or two. Sang with my friends. And now recently, came the Notables into my life.
I had an emotionally tough year (with a consuming work situation, actually three of them.) I needed a lift and life - badly. Last end of May, I walked into my favorite coffee shop and saw a hot pink flyer (now I know posted by my new charming friend Brenda.) Singers wanted for female acapella group - sopranos needed. I believe I called right there on the spot. I sang Bewitched for the audition. They took me, and my life has been forever changed. I re-worked my schedule and my life to be available to sing with them on Wednesdays. These women are incredible. They are each in their 60's and 70's, possibly older, and maybe one or two younger, but I am clearly the youngest in the group. I now have 15 role models on how to age and how to live. These women are the most beautiful, loving, spiritual, dynamic, socially conscious group. They have the most incredible hearts, and their mission is to sing for nursing homes, assisted living, mens clubs, what have you. I often to always think I am the happiest person in the room, but then I look around and these women are just as joyful as I. So happy to be doing this - all songs from the 1920's to the 1970's. But to see how these elders are moved - its an unbelievable gift, and a clear harkening from my past. They are tearful with joy, and they sing along - some of them loudly and boldly. Its amazing. And... They gave me a solo, get this, the one I have wanted my entire life! And I get to sing it every Wednesday. Amazing what music can do. For me, for the other singers, for our audience. For my kids, my family - for life.
So yes, I understood every word about this power of music to transform, heal, and uplift. But the story was great too. Just loved the different voices and unfoldings. 5 stars, 6 or 7. Changing my top ten to include.
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