I read this play in preparation for seeing the Broadway production with my friend James yesterday. I think it is a play that really needs to be seen stI read this play in preparation for seeing the Broadway production with my friend James yesterday. I think it is a play that really needs to be seen staged to get it's full impact. I saw it many years ago in Baltimore and remembered liking it a lot. The NY production is excellent. Jackson's direction really brings the play to life, the humor sparkles on stage (Ray Fisher as Lymon really steals the show IMO), and the music interwoven strongly supports Wilson's themes which doesn't come across as clearly on the written page .
Back to the play. I appreciate Wilson's use of the ghosts, manifest and figurative, to show how many African Americans are haunted by the legacy of slavery. How can one move forward without reckoning with the past? How much has changed and how much really remains the same in 1936 (and today)?
"It's an important book. People who don't usually read such stories will be interested."
"The mothers always told so: 'Be careful! A Jew will catch you"It's an important book. People who don't usually read such stories will be interested."
"The mothers always told so: 'Be careful! A Jew will catch you to a bag and eat you!' . . . So they taught to their children."
By now most people have read, or at least heard of, the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. Never having read a graphic novel before, I was especially interested in the drawings. Spiegelman conveys so much with his deceptively simple black and white drawings, especially in the faces of his characters. I am totally immersed in the story and can even hear Vladek's accent. This book ends as Vladek and Anja arrive at Auschwitz.
I'm off to start Maus II.
Thanks to my GR friend Kierstyn for the recommendation....more
Edwin O"Connor's novel The Edge of Sadness is nominally the story of a Catholic priest and his relationship with the Carmody family. What mad4.5 Stars
Edwin O"Connor's novel The Edge of Sadness is nominally the story of a Catholic priest and his relationship with the Carmody family. What made it the Pulitzer Prize winner for 1962 is that it's also the story about the search for purpose, the temptation to slide into isolation, and the yearning to be truly seen.
The following passage can apply to everyone of us, any failure to nourish a long-term relationship.
"The telltale thread wound its way through all: the slow neglect of the nourishment of the spirit, the failure to realize that unless this is daily deepened and enriched, then, when the fervor and the drive of the young priest fade--as they must--there will be no replacement by a living, ever-growing love, and then, when the aging priest going through the years meets the inevitable disappointments, crises, or sometimes just the sudden burden of his loneliness, he may meet them with an emptiness where fullness should be, and the result of that will not be a happy one. Because if a priest has not this continuing current of love, he has nothing. He can turn to no one; his marriage is to God, and if he fails in that, his strength is gone, his very purpose is gone."
And if you do wake up and realize that you need to make a change in your life:
" 'So what does a man do? Does he change? How? That ain't so easy, Father. People get used to you the way you are. How do you change without makin' a clown of yourself? And without givin' up everythin' you worked hard to get? And what do you change to?' "
I completely understand what Charlie is saying here. Once you are in a pattern of behavior it's hard to change it. Our youngest and I had a bumpy time through her adolescence. Once I recognized my part of the pattern (with much input from my beloved), I had to make consistent and persistent changes in my reactions to our daughter. Then she had to trust that these changes were permanent. It was easy to be discouraged while waiting for the whole pattern to change.
" . . . never once saw them for what they were--and that being so, did all the rest matter at all . . .?"
And seeing, and accepting her, for who she truly was, not my idea of who she was, was an element to this change. Don't we all long to be seen and deeply known by those closest to us? I am blessed that my life partner knows me in this way and holds me in love despite my darker side.
These are just a few examples of O'Connor's writing that crept into my soul. This is a quiet, insightful novel. And though melancholy underlies much of the novel, there is humor, especially from the characters Father Danowski and Ray the custodian.
Don't let the book blurb telling you this is a story of a Roman Catholic priest scare you away from this beautifully written look into the human heart.
Thank you to my GR friend Jenn for recommending this book to me.
Louise Erdrich's The Night Watchman is the story of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe in 1953.
Thomas Wazhashk captivated me with his sense of decencyLouise Erdrich's The Night Watchman is the story of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe in 1953.
Thomas Wazhashk captivated me with his sense of decency and his commitment to his family and his tribe. Pixie/Patrice earned my respect and admiration for her intelligence, resourcefulness, and determination to help her family. While this novel centers on these two characters, the secondary characters are also well drawn and relatable.
Erdrich's writing is superb. This is an idea of the treat you are in for when you read this book.
“When Thomas thought of his father, peace stole across his chest and covered him like sunlight.”
“They stood inside their own quiet like a pocket.”
“She gave him a look that would've shaved his face if he had whiskers.”
Based on the story Erdrich's grandfather, the narrative of the fight against House Concurrent Resolution 108 announcing the policy called Termination is told in the context of daily life on the tribal lands. People go to work, they do laundry, they care for their elders and their babies, they attend school, they cook, and so on. Erdrich shows us death stories and customs and herbal cures.
Underneath this story is the shadow of the ongoing nightmare of missing and abused Native women.
And Erdrich has the ability to bring forth laughter as quickly as tears. A pair of Mormon missionaries tries endlessly to convince the Chippewa that they are Lamanites cursed with dark skin, but that if they convert they will gradually turn white; and a parade day is disrupted when two frisky horses decide to mate.
The Night Watchman is the kind of book that you read slowly to take in the details of every scene. Erdrich offers us her world painted with love and humor and pain and heartbreak.
Erdrich concludes her acknowledgements, “Lastly, if you should ever doubt that a series of dry words in a government document can shatter spirits and demolish lives, let this book erase that doubt. Conversely, if you should be of the conviction that we are powerless to change those dry words, let this book give you heart.”...more
4.5 Stars This is a re-read for me. I read this about a decade ago and decided to re-read it after reading Olive Again this spring. I loved this book a4.5 Stars This is a re-read for me. I read this about a decade ago and decided to re-read it after reading Olive Again this spring. I loved this book as much the second time around....more
A great book! I finished it this morning and can't get it out of my head. I keep going back to all the early details that informed later portions of tA great book! I finished it this morning and can't get it out of my head. I keep going back to all the early details that informed later portions of the story. Whitehead's account is nuanced; he depicts violence without being gratuitous which I believe has quite a powerful impact. And the irony of naming the building the White House.... Some things to ponder: Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Little choices we make can impact our whole life. Where are we as a society in combating racism and how can we do better? How does one remain true to oneself? ...more
There are few authors that have Stegner's skill with words. For this alone, I love his work. He has created realistic and complex characters in this lThere are few authors that have Stegner's skill with words. For this alone, I love his work. He has created realistic and complex characters in this look at marriage, the settling of the west, and even some thoughts about the present day. I subtract one star because there are some slow (boring) spots that I had to plow through; a little editing would have made this a 5 star book....more
Having read several books in the last two years set in this time period (they didn't match to caliber of this book), I recently re-read this book to sHaving read several books in the last two years set in this time period (they didn't match to caliber of this book), I recently re-read this book to see if it is as luminescent as I remembered it to be. It is!...more
Beautiful prose and quite thought-provoking. This book triggered several conversations about what lengths we (some of my family members and friends) wBeautiful prose and quite thought-provoking. This book triggered several conversations about what lengths we (some of my family members and friends) would go to for the environment, for our future, and for the future of our children.
I began the book thinking this is a book of short stories; when will they all connect? Let me assure you that they do as the stories of the characters unfold. And Powers skillfully brings the forest in as a character in the story. It is a bit lengthy and a little editing would have helped the last half of the book to a 5 star level....more
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