Read: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Stars: One
Drinking: Wild Blueberry Fruit Tea, Bar Harbor Tea Company
As a disclaimer, this is a book that I voluntarily read but regretted. I have read many, many books for school that I wish I had never read! Also, usually I don't finish books that I am not enjoying, unless it is for school (glad to be finished with that). However, with The Birth of Venus, I kept reading. Part of the reason was that I was convinced that the book would become interesting eventually.
It didn't.
Dunant missed an opportunity to make an interesting story about religion, feminism, and art. Instead, the book is plodding and pointlessly provocative. The setting of Renaissance Florence had so much potential, particularly with the fundamentalist Catholic backlash lead by Savonarola featuring heavily in the plot. Sadly, these fascinating historical events are turned boring by Dunant's writing and lack of real plot. The "coming-of-age" plot, the romance, even a serial killer, are treated as a checklist with no real coherence or connection to the main characters.
If you are looking for a good novel about the Renaissance, this is not it.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Book Club: Fairytale Interrupted
Read: Fairytale Interrupeted: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss by RoseMarieTerenzio
Stars: Four
Drinking: Rooibus Peach Bloom, Teavana
Terenzio spent five years working for John F. Kennedy, Jr., first as a general office worker, then as his personal assistant and a close friend. Kennedy and his wife, Carolyn, were as close as siblings to Terenzio. Their sudden, tragic deaths ripped apart Terenzio's world as it was already fraying.
I really enjoyed Fairytale Interrupted. I was very young when the Kennedys' plane disappeared, and the period from 1992 - 1997 is not one where I was remotely politically or culturally engaged (the Spice Girls notwithstanding). It's interesting to look back at recent history.
The memoir is not a history story, however. It is Terenzio's closure to a wonderful part of her life that ended so abruptly. One day she was "RoseMarie from John Kennedy's office" going to designer shops and hair stylists, meeting important people in New York and Washington. The next, she was lost, missing her close friends, her job, and her life.
My only issue with Fairytale Interrupted is that it doesn't fully live up to it's premise. I think that while Terenzio has healed from the difficult year of her life in which she lost her best friend, her father, and her employer/close friend, the story is certainly romanticized. The jacket flap claims Terenzio saw Kennedy as "an entitled nuisance" but she certainly sees him now through rose-colored glasses. She clearly admired Kennedy - with good reason, it seems - but it means that when she does mention something negative, she immediately downplays it. This elevation of Kennedy, and his wife to some extent, made the book a little less "real" to me. We saw the idealized John Kennedy of Terenzio's memory, rather than the brother/jerk she claims she saw him as. It was not enough to detract from the story however.
Overall, Fairytale Interrupted is a lovely look at a man that shaped America, of the difficulties of celebrity, and the tragedy of lives cut off too soon. I highly recommend it.
Stars: Four
Drinking: Rooibus Peach Bloom, Teavana
Terenzio spent five years working for John F. Kennedy, Jr., first as a general office worker, then as his personal assistant and a close friend. Kennedy and his wife, Carolyn, were as close as siblings to Terenzio. Their sudden, tragic deaths ripped apart Terenzio's world as it was already fraying.
I really enjoyed Fairytale Interrupted. I was very young when the Kennedys' plane disappeared, and the period from 1992 - 1997 is not one where I was remotely politically or culturally engaged (the Spice Girls notwithstanding). It's interesting to look back at recent history.
The memoir is not a history story, however. It is Terenzio's closure to a wonderful part of her life that ended so abruptly. One day she was "RoseMarie from John Kennedy's office" going to designer shops and hair stylists, meeting important people in New York and Washington. The next, she was lost, missing her close friends, her job, and her life.
My only issue with Fairytale Interrupted is that it doesn't fully live up to it's premise. I think that while Terenzio has healed from the difficult year of her life in which she lost her best friend, her father, and her employer/close friend, the story is certainly romanticized. The jacket flap claims Terenzio saw Kennedy as "an entitled nuisance" but she certainly sees him now through rose-colored glasses. She clearly admired Kennedy - with good reason, it seems - but it means that when she does mention something negative, she immediately downplays it. This elevation of Kennedy, and his wife to some extent, made the book a little less "real" to me. We saw the idealized John Kennedy of Terenzio's memory, rather than the brother/jerk she claims she saw him as. It was not enough to detract from the story however.
Overall, Fairytale Interrupted is a lovely look at a man that shaped America, of the difficulties of celebrity, and the tragedy of lives cut off too soon. I highly recommend it.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
30 Days of Books Challenge: Day 27 - A book you would write if you had all the resources
Drinking: Early Grey Classic, Fortnum & Mason
If I had unlimited resources, I would visit every country in the world and write a book about the journey. I have long dreamed of traveling Lost Girls-style around the world. Of course, my book would be much longer than theirs, because I would have no financial or logistical inhibitions to prevent me from visiting any city or country.
I would start my journey by backpacking the Pan-American highway through Central America, trying to hit every country. I'd continue through South America to Tierra Del Fuego, then hop a boat to Antarctica. After visiting with the penguins for a while, I'd head up to South Africa, then work my way north, ending in Egypt to begin a tour of the Middle East and Europe. After travelling through Russia, I'd wander around Asia until I felt like returning to the United States via Canada.
Ideally, I'd have a faithful travel companion in each country or region to translate for me and recommend good places to eat. Since I'll have infinite resources, I can also hire bodyguards or a private army in the more dangerous countries (Hi, Somalia!). I'll be able to linger in places I love and leave places I dislike on a moment's notice. Helicopters, boats, small planes - I'll be able to hire any of them (or learn to fly/drive) to get to the most remote places.
Of course, with the resources I'll have at my disposal, I'll also be able to work with communities to develop what they need, whether it be a school, a better road, or simply someone to talk to. I'll volunteer on farms and in cities. And of course, any of my friends can join me at any time!
The result will be an epic travel journal for the world to travel along via armchair.
What would you write if you had all of the resources?
If I had unlimited resources, I would visit every country in the world and write a book about the journey. I have long dreamed of traveling Lost Girls-style around the world. Of course, my book would be much longer than theirs, because I would have no financial or logistical inhibitions to prevent me from visiting any city or country.
I would start my journey by backpacking the Pan-American highway through Central America, trying to hit every country. I'd continue through South America to Tierra Del Fuego, then hop a boat to Antarctica. After visiting with the penguins for a while, I'd head up to South Africa, then work my way north, ending in Egypt to begin a tour of the Middle East and Europe. After travelling through Russia, I'd wander around Asia until I felt like returning to the United States via Canada.
Ideally, I'd have a faithful travel companion in each country or region to translate for me and recommend good places to eat. Since I'll have infinite resources, I can also hire bodyguards or a private army in the more dangerous countries (Hi, Somalia!). I'll be able to linger in places I love and leave places I dislike on a moment's notice. Helicopters, boats, small planes - I'll be able to hire any of them (or learn to fly/drive) to get to the most remote places.
Of course, with the resources I'll have at my disposal, I'll also be able to work with communities to develop what they need, whether it be a school, a better road, or simply someone to talk to. I'll volunteer on farms and in cities. And of course, any of my friends can join me at any time!
The result will be an epic travel journal for the world to travel along via armchair.
What would you write if you had all of the resources?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Movie vs Book: The Hunger Games
Read: The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins
Book stars: Five
Movie stars: Five
If you've been living under a rock or on a distant planet for the last six months, The Hunger Games is a young adult novel set in a dystopian North America that was released in blockbuster movie form this past weekend. I was able to go see the movie last Sunday after devouring all three books in the trilogy.
The books feature Katniss Everdeen, the mostly reliable, although sometimes whiny, narrator participating in the titular Hunger Games, a fight to the death between teenage "tributes." It's a fast-paced action story with a surprising ending. Katniss is at times not the best character to be in the head of, but I must say the books are well-written and have a depth to them. Although the surface shows only a heartbreaking death match, there are many other layers. Collins has commentary on poverty, class warfare, the power of the media, propaganda and symbolism, and so much more crammed into the short trilogy.
The movie is, for once, an excellent rendition of the first book. Jennifer Lawrence captures the essence of Katniss's struggles in her home and in the arena. The film also shows what is going on outside the arena, and explains things that Katniss narrates in the book rather than bore the audience with Katniss continually talking to herself. I really enjoyed it. The saddest part of the book was well done in the movie, to the point where I actually cried (which I rarely do for movies!). The ending, however, was not as well-done as the book, which it easily could have been.
I highly recommend reading The Hunger Games before seeing the movie, but by all means, do go see it!
Book stars: Five
Movie stars: Five
If you've been living under a rock or on a distant planet for the last six months, The Hunger Games is a young adult novel set in a dystopian North America that was released in blockbuster movie form this past weekend. I was able to go see the movie last Sunday after devouring all three books in the trilogy.
The books feature Katniss Everdeen, the mostly reliable, although sometimes whiny, narrator participating in the titular Hunger Games, a fight to the death between teenage "tributes." It's a fast-paced action story with a surprising ending. Katniss is at times not the best character to be in the head of, but I must say the books are well-written and have a depth to them. Although the surface shows only a heartbreaking death match, there are many other layers. Collins has commentary on poverty, class warfare, the power of the media, propaganda and symbolism, and so much more crammed into the short trilogy.
The movie is, for once, an excellent rendition of the first book. Jennifer Lawrence captures the essence of Katniss's struggles in her home and in the arena. The film also shows what is going on outside the arena, and explains things that Katniss narrates in the book rather than bore the audience with Katniss continually talking to herself. I really enjoyed it. The saddest part of the book was well done in the movie, to the point where I actually cried (which I rarely do for movies!). The ending, however, was not as well-done as the book, which it easily could have been.
I highly recommend reading The Hunger Games before seeing the movie, but by all means, do go see it!
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