Madame Bovary

So, the first book of the newly formed "Book Club"(tm) has been read and dissected by our inquiring minds. I have something of a history with this novel. I first read it in French as part of my MA in French for the final exam. My theme for this exam was, roughly translated, "depictions of the self through French literature." The base of my reading list was "The Confessions" by St. Augustine, and I ended with "Nausea" By Jean-Paul Sartre (A novel I loathe with every inch of my soul). "Madame Bovary" was in the 19th century part of the list. It was there because Flaubert so famously said, "Madame Bovary, c'est moi!"

In a way I understand Flaubert's thought. I found the character of Emma Bovary as bovine as her name implies, narrow minded and thoughtlessly selfish. Yet, as a person who spends a lot portion of his life in books, I sympathized with her life. Her desire for Romance...Adventure...Passion! All of us want these things but I guess for me I realized that life is not a never ending orgiastic experience, but I can understand her desire for such a life. Someone in the "Book Club"(tm) pointed out that Emma was probably only 16-17 years old when she married Charles. I had never remarked that before, but it makes her ennui make even more sense.

In the end this is a novel I recommend to anyone. It makes you think, what is the good life? Is reading dangerous? How so? The prose is wonderful and the character compelling.

Fairy-Tale Freak-Out

This was a book I read looking for escapism...and it worked. I have always loved fantasy and fairy tales. This novel fullifilled that love. The story is based on all the various traditional fairy tales, red riding hood, Hasel and Gretal; but they are much darker than what most may remember. I started out the book thinking it was a young adult book. But it was not long before Connolly demonstrated how adult this book really is. I was delightfully surprised by the dark turns the story took. I was, in particular, surprised, and moved by the scenes with the huntress and the woodsman. They were disturbing and moving, in that order. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite my prejudices against it when I started reading. In fact it passed a test that i have started with books that I read. I ride the bus to and from work every day, and during this time I read. I was reading this book on my way home from work. I was so wrapped up in it that I missed my stop and had to get off on the next stop and walk a bit more to get home. This started a new test for me. A book that can engross me to the point that I miss my stop, has to be a good book.

South by South Bronx

This is a novel that I read for a book club I am a part of at Sam Weller's bookshop. I do not quite know what to think of this book. The first hundred pages leave one confused. It also is still not clear to me who the protagonist is supposed to be. Mink and Monk, one a writer, the other a painter, are both inspired by the same blond woman Ava. She is on the run from cops and terrorists whom she works for, or double-crossed, or both. She climbs into the open window of Alex, who is passed out in bed, and climbs in with him.

Also, alternating this story is the story of Sanchez, a chain-smoking (perpetually trying to quit) cop. He teams up with Meyers, a CIA operative who may be in deeper than he claims. At the same time Sanchez is a conflicted character, and like any good crime-noir the stark black and white tones meld into various hues of gray. These cop sections are printed in a different typeface.

This leads to the final aspect of this novel that makes it unique. It is an experimental novel in many ways. there are sections were none of the words are capitalized, especially proper names like mink and monk or ava and alex. starts sentences in the middle and cuts... Anyway in the context of the story some of these flourishes are more effective than others. The opening section, I feel, is the most effective. The choppy, short paragraphs and phrases reflect the confusion of the woman at the beginning and inforces her own confustion and fear.

My First Post and My First Review

So I have created this blog with the desire to write about the books I read as well as any other things I want to send through the many tubes of the interweb. You might think from the title that I am some kind of book snob. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, I am probably more of a book glutton, but as I always say I could be spending my time and money on crack and horses...so don't judge, it could be worse, much worse.

Anyway, the book that I am going to talk about is The Partisan's Daughter by Louis De Bernieres. This is the first novel by De Benieres I have read and it made me want to read more of his work. It tells the story of Chris, a lonely forty-something medical salesman stuck in a loveless marriage (he referes to his wife as The Great White Loaf). In desperation he tries to pick up what he thinks is a prostitute. This is Roza, and though she is not a lady of the evening, she gets in his car and gets a ride home as payback for the insult. During the car ride she begins to tell Chris about her father, a partisan for Tito in Yugoslavia, and invites him back over for coffee sometime. He takes up her offer and is drawn into Roza's life as she tells the, supposedly true, story of her life.

I was drawn into the suppressed tension and the power of the storytelling displayed throughout the story. Chris and Roza, though as different in personality as their age, have good chemistry. This helps overcome the suspension of disbelief that is required to enjoy this type of novel. My only quibble is found in the ending. It is heavily foreshadowed, and I felt it to be too quick and seemed counter to the emotions of both characters which had been built up to this point. Yet, this is only a minor flaw in an otherwise interesting read.

Finally, I do have to say I was drawn to the cover. There is something subtly erotic about a woman with a cigarette that displays a kind of sensuousness that fits perfectly with the content of the novel. The cover image captures my idea of Roza almost perfectly.

(P.S. I do not smoke nor encourage others to do so. I am just making an observation)