Newsletter: March 2023
In the long interval between stack of books newsletters, there have been so many books started and so many not finished. Longer non-fiction used to be my sweet spot. Increasingly, I find it harder and harder to commit the time. Maybe it is part of the hourglass phenomena of getting older. Maybe it is that a certain familiarity begins to illicit a certain impatience. I toyed with writing a letter about the books I STOPPED reading and why. It could be fun and instructive but maybe only for me (HINT: feedback appreciated). The standard time months of the year (my favorite) not only produced many failures to finish in non-fiction but led to a slightly more adventurous and, ultimately, reassuring exploration of contemporary fiction that I too often dismiss. My greatest frustration, however, was in the increasingly popular field of historical fiction. When this genre works, there is nothing better. The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan, Augustus by John Williams, the Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris and the Thomas Cromwell trilogy by Hilary Mantel remain among the most rewarding reading experiences of my life. I have started and stopped many historical fiction novels recently. I am struck by how difficult this type of writing is. If it is only a recreation of a compelling bit of history, it has no intellectual shelf life, no emotional echo. You are better off with the non-fiction version. It must be a reimagining of history. This is a search I will enjoy continuing despite its elusiveness. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Over the past winter, however, many very good books did get read and the following is a pitch for several of them. Included is a list of novellas written in my lifetime that I thought should be on everyone’s stack of books. As usual, longer reviews can be found on the website that begs to be restructured.
Salman Rushdie’s latest and my first … his imagination triumphs over all the noise surrounding his own life.
Jeannette Haien’s 2011 Irish masterpiece that brings home the bracing beauty of a well-crafted novella.
This is NOT Gibbonesque … a contemporary and chillingly relevant recasting of the Roman Empire that speaks directly to us today … all under 400 pages.
Another insight rich therapy session with Elizabeth Strout made even more compelling by the presence of the pandemic.
The English Civil War brought into the fresh light of contemporary scholarship with the sparkle plenty of terrific writing … not the dusty black & white affair you might think it was
Hard to believe I had never ventured into this world of his before. As good romcoms become fewer and fewer, Wodehouse remains at the ready.
I wanted this good multiple point of view drama to be longer. I guess that is about as sincere a compliment from yours truly in these wordy times.
Cormac McCarthy does not want to be your friend. Unsparingly brilliant … a true “take no prisoners” novel.
The opposite of Cormac … as fun as it is instructive … however, while laughing you are learning many things, not just chemistry.
Keep it on your desk, next to your bed … mark it up and occasionally go back to it … a book written to educate at many levels written by a natural teacher.
As a postscript of sorts, because I am still recovering from my annual masochistic viewing of the Oscars, I cannot resist highly recommending an article by the Washington Post movie critics about how wrong the Oscars have been over the past 47 years. If you cannot get in through the link, search for the March 9th article in the Post: “The Oscars always get it wrong …”. I watched the Oscars each of those 47 years, by the way. That says something about me that I am not sure I want to know since I too often turned the tv off after the ritual 3 ½ hours usually disappointed, too often angry. The same applied, to a lesser extent, this year; however, I enjoyed the show returning to its more confident and traditional format (Kimmel is key). Even more comforting was a recent article suggesting that studios are returning to theater only releases as people begin to acknowledge the loneliness and incompleteness of the streaming experience. As the tragically misguided idealist at the end of the film, “Into the Wild”, realized, ‘life is meant to be shared’ and in my limited world view, movies are a lovely part of life.
Now that I am on the subject, I must point out a few awards over the past years that left me speechless and on the edge of tv set demolition. This set of remembrances was not triggered by the article but the Academy’s passing up of the extraordinary acting in “Banshees of Inisherin”. The very abbreviated “victims” list:
Ralph Fiennes as Supporting Actor in “Schindler’s List” … the worst snub of all time
Both “Pulp Fiction” & “Shawshank Redemption” losing Best Picture to the mindless “Forest Gump”.
“Dunkirk” and “Phantom Thread” (both masterpieces) lost to the awful “The Shape of Water” … the WORST film to ever receive Best Picture
Those are my big three pet peeves … appreciate the patience. One of the joys of film is arguing over them and the Oscars stir that drink so well.
