They Are a Rotten Crowd

“Americans, while willing, even eager, to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry.” Truth.

14.13 Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby

I am usually not a fan of film adaptations of books, especially those I taught at school, but I have always have a soft spot for Redford and Farrow as Gatsby and Daisy; the foggy lenses, and over acting.  Showing it in class was always hilarious.  The kids eagerly anticipating the gruesome ending and instead laughing out loud at the almost comedic scene.  It isn’t a perfect movie, but it was pretty perfect for what it was supposed to be.  The Great Gatsby is all about what we see instead of who we are, what we imagine instead of what we have, so the over acting was just right because these people were always pretending about everything.  And now we have a remake coming, and I am sad that this original version will be relegated to the classics section.  The remake is being directed by Baz Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge fame so is destined to be gaudy as all get out, but will that take away from the story, from the truth of the book – that in America it isn’t about who we are, but instead about who other people think we are.  I really wasn’t sure, the casting seemed off to me and rumors of the soundtrack sounded crazy but…

Then I saw this:

The pink suit, the pool, the car.  The back-story, the pearls, the green light. All the pretty, and yes, all the gaudy.  But, oh my gosh, I am in – like totally in (except maybe not the 3-D part, can we just kill the 3-D part please.)  And this Tom Buchanan is the perfect Tom Buchanan – am I right? 

So I wasn’t excited about the movie and now I can’t wait and because of this I found out about Trimalchio.  It is an early version of Gatsby that was written in 1924 but published in 2000, along with some of the letters Fitzgerald’s editor sent him in regards to revisions.  For me, it is also the superior book.  It seems to me it is a lot more messy than the original. It feels more obvious to the reader and the characters that Gatsby and Daisy will never have the future they both have imagined, in fact, none of the them will.  All I could think about while reading was how much I wish I had had this edition when I was teaching Gatsby years ago because it seemed a bit more realistic in the end, and maybe this movie will be the same.

Write Me Well

“I immersed myself in books and rock ’n’ roll, the adolescent salvation.” Truth.

1.13 Just Kids

“Write me well.” are the final words Viola speaks to Shakespeare in the movie Shakespeare in Love.  They are the most romantic words.  To trust every bit of the truth of yourself to the person you love and ask them to write your story. To write the whole truth about you… Takes such an amazing amount of trust.  And that is what Robert Mapplethorpe asked of Patti Smith.  He asked her to love him, and stay with him, inspire him, and, eventually, write him.  And my goodness, did she write him well.

I adored every page of this book.  This is a love story that is really about friendship.  It isn’t overtly romantic or passionate.  It is instead honest and trusting.  Two people who needed and depended on one another as they changed and turned into other people.  Do I think she left out some of the dirty details in order to reinforce her poetic existence?  Absolutely.  And I do not care one little bit.  I think we could use a bit less of dragging up the ugly details of days gone by in favor of thanking those people who have touched our lives in some way.

I always wanted to be an artist.  I longed to be able to sketch out all of my feelings, or paint a scene that only existed in my mind. I have countless art supplies: paints, papers, tools. Sadly, I don’t have the chops.  This book has made me see that art isn’t about having the chops, or feeling you were born to do something, it is about living and creating until you find yourself where you are supposed to be.  In the next few weeks I vow to pick up some of those pencils and paper and see what happens.

A Great Comfort

“Unhappy people say lots of things they don’t really mean and do lots of things they wouldn’t otherwise do just to try to forget their unhappiness.” Truth.

56.12 A Great Deliverance

I am not a re-reader.  I just can’t focus on rereading books when there are so many more to be discovered, but I do love the feeling of comfort reads.  So instead of returning to old favorite books, I return to favorite characters, Inspector Lynley and DS Havers certainly fit that bill.

I was first introduced to this pair while student teaching.  Well Schooled in Murder was the best way to get anxious to graduate high school seniors through those last weeks of British Literature.  Many even admitted to it being the first book they had actually read in high school – based on both plot and an appalling lack of Sparks Notes.  Then PBS adapted the series and I have watched every episode, so when I need to book to just read read  I love a good old Lynley.

This is the first in the series and I think quite well done, although I am probably giving it a bit of space simply because I know what else is to come.  I loved seeing Havers and Lynley feeling each other out and getting to know one another – although I had forgotten that Lynley is blonde in the books.  I also hated seeing the weaknesses in both characters because I know how they continue to struggle with them through the series, especially Havers.  Overall, the plot was a bit bloated with outside characters and red herrings, but over all it is a very satisfying mystery if a little dated.

My Best of 2011

So my grand total for books read in 2011 is 61. It would have probably been 62 if I hadn’t started reading 11/22/63. I am about half way through, and so its over 1000 pages will straddle from this year into the next, which honestly feels quite appropriate.

 

Anyway, my award for 2011’s best goes to Moondogs.  It is an odd little book, and certainly isn’t for everyone, yet it somehow found its way to me, and I loved it.  In a big world with many books there is nothing that feels more special and worthy of celebration than the right book finding the right gal.  I hope for many more happy accidents in 2012!

Ka Pow!

42. Moondogs

Wow!  What a book!  So not everyone's cup of tea, but I loved every last inch of it.

The Crew:
Benicio - High school tech support who has decided to visit his father in Manila after a long estrangement.
Howard - Benicio's father and possibly a good guy, but probably a bad guy.
Monique - An ex-pat living in Manila and trying to recapture the wonder of the childhood she spent there, but only succeeding in destroying everything around her.  Literally.
Raynato - The leader of a band of specially selected super-heroes who stand up for the unstandupable.  He supposedly has a special eye for finding people with special talents, but to me he sees talent in everyone he meets, so maybe the truth is that we all have it.
Efrem - The newest member of team Ka-Pow.
Ignacio and Kelog - The Villains

The Ride:
We are privy to all of the story lines of these people over the course of a few days, and to all of the shifts in time and points of view that bring them together for single moments of huge significance.  This is a rare first novel that handles all of these techniques with a masterful hand.The plot clips along at a great pace and even though there is a lot going on the book never tries to lose the reader.  It isn't trying to be something smart and new and different, it is just honestly those things, and you feel it as you read. I can't wait to see what comes next from this young man.

Texas Forever

We interrupt the reading for me to mourn the passing of Friday Night Lights; an amazing TV show that fought the good fight.

I had an odd evolution with the show.  I watched the first season and enjoyed it, but gave up on it during the second when they went all hypo-drama with the murder plot line. Then the schedule got all shuffled around so I only saw some of season three.

Then came season four and Vince, and it was over. I couldn’t possibly be more of a fan.  I remember watching the third episode and breaking down over the realities of kids like this, kids with zero chance. Kids who meet a coach who gives them something to work for and be proud of. Kids who I knew because I taught them.  You do the best you can for them in the few hours a week you see them but then they are gone and you wonder about them always. 

Then came the episode "The Son." I literally stood up and screamed at Tim Riggins, “Don’t you break in to the mortuary Timothy Riggins!” while wielding my pointy teacher finger at the TV. But this is what Riggins does; he isn’t a forward thinker or a planner so when he makes suggestions they are simple and direct, and often exactly right. It was the most honoring and realistic portrayal of kids left to bear the burden of war I have ever seen.

From that point on I watched every episode and look forward to it, but not for the escape I usually seek, but for the reality. The realness of the show makes me feel more normal. The desire to escape from your hometown, and yet always being drawn back to it makes me feel normal. The Taylors marriage makes me feel normal. It also taught me the most important message I have ever learned about marriage: you change and it changes. It isn't about what you expected it to be or what the big plan was, it is about where you are and who you are and asking someone to risk that with you.

For a show about football, I haven't mentioned it much have I?  Well that isn't because it isn’t there. It certainly was but it was kept in perspective and that works for me because my whole life football has been there.  We won state my senior year of high school, I think my feet are still frozen from that day.  The ducks went to the Rose Bowl my sophomore year and we went to the Naty last year. Does it make a difference that I am a girl and 36 years old?  No way, because I am a fan and an alumni and that never goes away (just ask Buddy!). Darren had duck gear before he was born. He says "Go ducks!" and we give him high fives. It is a thrilling and agonizing game to watch, and obviously to play, but at the end of the day it is just a game and FNL never gave it too much more importance than that.  Not everyone gets a happily ever after but they love it while they are there.

So I am sad to see this show go, but in a way I am also happy.  It did run for five seasons, and it got better with each one, which is very rare.  Kids graduated and were replaced with equally intriguing characters.  So I am glad it goes away still being a great show instead of some shows that go on ten years and are just painful to watch by the end.  When I was a teenager I watched 90210 and it taught me that drama was what made you important.  That something bad always had to be going on.  FNL taught me that family, friends and integrity are what make you important.  Man, I wish this show had been around for me then, but thank goodness it was around for me now.

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." - Coach Taylor

**And, on a reading note, I read the book in high school and LOVED it!  It just may be time for a re-read.