Sarah’s Key – Tatiana De Rosnay

With the excitement of an impending break, I joyously fought the holiday traffic to visit Barnes and Noble for my perfect Christmas read. I was looking for a gripping story, and one that could be conquered in just a few days of reading. As I was scanning all of the titles, I came across one that seemed familiar. I remembered that I had actually seen the preview for the film adaptation a few months ago and had been absolutely curious about what the “key” was for — although apparently not curious enough to actually go see the movie…

Sarah’s Key is a wonderful story that tells two stories at first, alternating between the two in each chapter. One is in present day, and the other is a third person perspective of a fairly unknown historical event — when the French police rounded up all the Jews in Paris during the Holocaust, including children. This event was important because the Nazis had not yet mandated children be included in the round ups — to them, it was too obvious that their intentions involved extermination if young children were sent to “work camps.” So, the fact that the French police did this on their own was very significant, and a dark history that many people do not know about.

(Now, the book does be sure to state that the story itself is fiction, but that it is based on real accounts. So that is just something to keep in mind when/if you read it.)

The alternating chapters initially seem unrelated, as we learn about Sarah’s journey during the roundup and then the modern day journey of our main character, journalist Julia Jarmond. Julia receives an assignment form her editor to research the round up (Vel’ d’ Hiv) in preparation for its anniversary. Through her research, our two stories become linked — in more ways than you will expect.

This story was wonderful — I was completely absorbed and the suspense of finding out one secret after another was fascinating. It also whet my desire to read more about the Holocaust. I plan to read The Book Thief next, a book lent to me that is also about that time of our world’s dark history. I will say, the ending was not entirely believable and I was somewhat disappointed after the momentum gained in the early to middle chapters. I would definitely still recommend it is an interesting read and look forward to seeing the film.

Water for Elephants and The Help — The Movies

I must have been picking books to read really well in 2010/2011, because two of the books I decided to read were already being made into films that would later become dramatic successes at the box office just months after I finished reading them. I first became interested in these stories because they were well-loved by people I know and trust for their opinions on such matters. I rarely read reviews when I look for new material — I am a people-to-people review truster and the system has worked quite well thus far.

So, when Water for Elephants and The Help both came out in the theaters, I had every intention of seeing them on the big screen. Time and the ridiculously high ticket price prevented that from actually happening and I have recently watched both films via my long-awaited Netflix arrivals.

Since I reviewed them both on this blog, I thought it would be interesting to think about the movies as well…

I watched Water for Elephants first and it was absolutely captivating. I adored the film rendition. I loved the choice for August, the German actor who I first saw in Inglorious Bastards where he was another perfect villain. Reece Witherspoon was fabulous as usual. But I must say, Robert Pattinson was a bit of a weak link. I thought that he did not convey emotion as well and the connection between his character and Reese’s was also lacking. Overall, I was quite pleased with the film and that is rare when you come to love a book so much. When I read the book, I remember wondering if the whole story was a figment of old Jacob’s (the narrator’s) imagination, as a sort of twisted combination of memories and stories forming within a senile mind. However, the movie lost this bit of plot — so maybe I was alone in this interpretation or the film makers decided they didn’t want to leave that option available. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who have read the book or to those who have not. It was quite good.

The Help did not please me as much as I hoped it would and I can’t quite figure out why. I think that in ways it glossed over the heart of the book — the harsh, unethical, inhumane treatment of African-Americans during that time. Sure, the brutality is referenced. But I think the film spent too much time focusing on the “perfect” appearances of the Junior League crew and Skeeter’s story and an disproportionate time addressing the real story at hand — the maids’ stories. I have read a few reviews that seem to suggest the same thing, like it is a sort of watered down interpretation that will make viewers “feel good” that things are different now…when the film doesn’t even portray the half of it. But, I will leave that to your interpretation. I still love the story, but in this instance, the book is far better and far more meaningful. The movie just feels like a nice story, not the powerful movement that the book propelled.

In summary, the books remain better overall — as usual — but Water for Elephants (the movie) was a wonderful rendition in my opinion. The Help is still a decent movie but I would recommend the book first, and maybe only, if you want to share the importance of the story.

 

Atlas Shrugged – Part 1 — The movie

While perusing new releases on Netflix a week or so ago, I noticed that there was a release of Atlas Shrugged. I was completely surprised because I never heard of it being released in the theatres, etc. etc. The only thing I heard was that there was the possibility of a movie, and that Angelina Jolie was up for Dagny Taggert. At any rate, this discovery was quite exciting and I immediately placed it at the top of my queue.

The film’s entire cast are considered “unknowns” and the film itself was extremely low budget. Which explains why I knew nothing about it… I did recognize one character from Friends (Ross and Monica’s mother) and another from Mad Men. While the DVD was loading, I did a little review reading and was intrigued by how supportive folks were of the film, despite its low budget style and unknown credits. I think that people were so desperate to see it on screen that any form would have pleased them.

You may guess at this point that I was not impressed with the film. However, the story speaks so strongly that even mediocre acting and embarrassing visual effects cannot squelch its power. And maybe that is what those posting reviews also saw. Watching the film brought back the story — and the story is solid.

The things that really stood out as bad include the portrayal of John Gault — it is hokey at best. Dagny is not quite right with an imbalance between the sexy portrayal and the plain, rigid businesswoman with too much on the “sexy” side. I didn’t picture her as glamourous as the character in this film. Also, Hank Rearden was sleazy  – I envisioned a Jon Hamm-like character with a natural charisma. Not an actor with a fake tan and hair with too much product in it.

Now, this was just Part 1 — so maybe they will have more money for Parts 2 and 3 and mysteriously eradicate some subpar actors. But, I will admit, I was captivated the entire time. Atlas Shrugged is a captivating story and it was enjoyable to remember the details of the story that I had forgotten. So, if you have read the book and are dying to see a film version, go ahead and see this one. You will be disappointed, but overall it will be a good experience.

Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe

I started this book in August and it has been a fabulous read. I knew it would be a big book to tackle, but it was absolutely worth it. Tom Wolfe is the ultimate scribe of American life, and in this book he pegs the fall of a Wall Street tycoon with such accuracy that, as a reader, you cannot help but feel the pain yourself as his life falls apart.

The book takes place during the stock market boom of the late 80s — I am not really sure — but it has a timeless quality to the story. As a reader, we follow the journey of Sherman McCoy, a wall street investment banker who has made it big — so big that he is consumed by his own vanity. An affair with another woman takes an unfortunate turn of events when the couple get lost in the Bronx in Sherman’s expensive Mercedes. Through a chain reaction, the car strikes a young black man and the two flee the scene — and thus the downfall is born.

I don’t want to give too much away as usual, but the title itself signals the idea that our protagonist will have a major downfall. I must say, even though Sherman’s character is depicted such that you are supposed to hate him, I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for his plight. I think Wolfe balances this conflict so well, and the writing is just brilliant.

My favorite scene occurred when Sherman is arrested and taken through the process of being booked and submitted before he posts bail. It is the most painfully descriptive segment and I found myself literally cringing while I read the painful words. I think that was the moment of the Bonfire from which the book gets its name, and Sherman even refers to the ordeal as a death of sort.

Anyway, this is a wonderful, wonderful book. The writing is truly masterful, the story alluring, and the end iconically Wolfe. There are elements of racial tension, the corruption of the justice system, mastery of the personality of Wall Street bankers, millionaire housewives, and upper echelon living. I always feel when I read Wolfe’s books that he describes characters so perfectly, as if he were pulling the very descriptions out of my own mind. For example, he calls the millionaire housewives that have dieted and exercised their way into the required physical size “x-rays” — this is so true and dead on.

I still maintain that I am Charlotte Simmons is my favorite Wolfe book, but I do think this one runs a close second. I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

A Short Post Just to Say…

That Step Brothers may be the worst film I have ever seen. EVER.

I was utterly disappointed because I love Will Ferrell. I have watched his audition for SNL at least 25 times. I love Elf, Old School, Anchorman, Stranger than Fiction — pretty much any SNL skit he did. But this? This was utter trash. I turned it off because I just couldn’t stand it anymore. There were NO redeeming qualities. Even my precious new love from Parks and Recreation was in it — and still, no redeeming qualities.

Am I alone here? It received three stars on Netflix ratings which is far more generous than anything I would give it. I even looked to see if it would be possible to give a movie zero stars because I hated it so much.

So, do yourself a favor. If you have taste like mine in any way, DO NOT see this film.

Pollock – Starring Ed Harris

Hello readers! I must apologize for being MIA lately  – I am reading a really long book, have moved, and have had a busy work season so I have certainly had less time to read. I will let you in on what I am reading…I am tackling another Tom Wolfe book, Bonfire of the Vanities. It is truly fabulous and I am a little over halfway at this point, cringing with each page because I can sense the plot before me and it just makes me squirm. And that is good writing! But who would expect anything less from Wolfe…

So I have still been watching movies here and there. Most recently, I watched the biopic called Pollock, starring Ed Harris. I was lucky enough to see a Pollock painting in person in May when visiting a dear friend in Houston and I only wish I had seen the film before or done my research so I would have appreciated it more. I have found that the older I get, the more I have grown to appreciate and become enamored by pieces of art. The walls on my home are bare because I refuse to fill them with anything but art that I have hand-selected, ideal original pieces, and even more ideally — supporting local artists.

That being said, I acknowledge I will have to compromise because I do still work for a nonprofit and all…

Anyway, the film was fabulous. Ed Harris is a wonderful actor, and I had most recently watched him play John Glenn in an adapted Tom Wolfe book (ironically), The Right Stuff. If you know nothing about Pollock and even if you are critical of him, suggesting that he just “threw paint on canvas,” this movie is for you. It will open your eyes to what art is, and how it is created. And it opened my oft-feminist notions to the brilliance of Jackson Pollock’s wife, Lee Krasner — a FABULOUS painter I had never heard of whatsoever. Given, I have taken little to no art history courses and am new to the world of art critique…

All of that being said, this was a really wonderful movie. It sat in my Netflix queue for months, and on my coffee table for weeks, but when I finally watched it I was moved and inspired. I was even inspired to get creating things on my own — what a wonder it is to create, if even something as simple as an elegant meal, a letter to a friend, a stronger body through commitment to exercise. Anyway, I think that is what art is all about and what I got out of this film.

I will say, Pollock was certainly a troubled soul and his troubles eventually cost him his life at a younger age than the world hoped — who knows what he would have been able to achieve if he had conquered his alcoholism.

So, go watch this film! It is highly recommended!

Game Change – John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

As primary season kicks into high gear and 2012 is just a few months away, reading Game Change, a book about the 2008 election, could not have been a more timely decision. I had been told by folks who have read it before me that it might change my opinion of the way the election went and in ways it certainly did. This book was compiled through numerous lengthy interviews by the two authors who are really more like journalists — although it certainly reads like a novel.

Game Change covers the entire spectrum — from the first seeds of thought in Obama’s mind of running for President to Rudy Giuliani’s rise and fall, to Hillary and Bill’s complex journey, to John Edwards’ scandals, to John McCain’s ebbs and flows, and finally the making of Sarah Palin.

The book literally captures every moment in a dazzling array of perspectives from patriotism to egotism to the truly brutal tendencies of human nature when cornered. It will make you lose respect and leave you disappointed in whoever you might have put on a pedestal in 2008′s cast of characters. I think that is the taste in my mouth that I was most surprised to encounter.  Both sides were guilty of dirty politics and a lack of integrity. I know that is something we are supposed to expect as voters and citizens, but I can’t help upholding the naive perspective that maybe it will be different this time…

All of that being said, the book is a must read in my opinion. You need to know what happened in 2008 as we prepare for 2012. The book really helps to contextualize how the falling economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan molded the election, something that will again be important in 2012 as we face a potential double dip recession and wars still being fought in the Middle East. I think the best way to be a good citizen and voter is to be informed and this book certainly is a good way to do it. For the Republicans, you will be able to more accurately assess what qualities will succeed in your candidate in 2012 and for the Democrats, you will see how you can support your party and your campaign by learning the weaknesses the Obama campaign revealed in the book.

I think one thing that really took me aback was how much Sarah Palin has transformed since she was tapped to be the veep candidate just one week before the Republican National Convention. According to the book, at the time she didn’t know what the Fed was, thought Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, and shriveled under the scrutiny of Katie Couric and a debate with Joe Biden. And look at her now — it is an amazing difference.

All in all, this was a fascinating read. I have no idea how accurate the accounts are and I know people on both sides of the political spectrum take issue with it — but I think it is a crucial read for Americans, particularly with the weight of 2012 on our shoulders.

The Kitchen House – Kathleen Grissom

I may be dragging a little bit today because I was up until the wee hours of the morning finishing this fantastic book, and then awake because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I think that one of the reviews on the back of the book sums it up best — that Kathleen Grissom has taken Gone With the Wind and turned it on its head with this tale.

This book was recommended to me by one of my blog readers and friends who actually just got married this Saturday (congrats, MG!). I love recommendations and will almost always take them for a book to read, so continue to send them my way. I think one of the reasons she probably loved it because it would certainly appeal to any history major, or someone interested in learning more about society during various phases of our country’s past.

The Kitchen House is a fascinating story because it describes without any discretion or veiled reference what life was often like for slaves and servants in the antebellum days prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. But, it also has a twist. The story is told by two narrative voices. The first is Abinia, an orphaned Irish girl who has been “adopted” into indentured servitude at the ripe age of three, and Belle, a slave born into her station via the rape of her mother by her master. The two perspectives offer complex understandings of the narrative and enrich the story dramatically.

Because Abinia is so young (and traumatized by the death/loss of her family), she adopts the black slaves that take care of her as her own family. She does not understand the difference in color and learns the art of serving from her new family. As Abinia ages, she must face a difficult challenge of not knowing where she belongs in the world and the caste system of the South during that time. She is childlike in spirit and naive in heart.

The story follows Abinia’s journey in particular, shedding light on the world around her through Belle’s perspective. We learn about the abuse and assault on the slaves, the rape of a young boy by an older male tutor, horrible deaths, mental disorder, the powerlessness of women in aiding the slaves they grow to love, and how mixed up life was in the South during the late 1700s. And there is so much more.

This book made me physically ache at times for the helplessness of the slaves, embarrassment that this ever was a part of our history, and also frustration for the impotent way women were able to participate in their own life choices. There is so much more to discuss about the book, but I think that is best done after you read the book!

If you are interested in pre-Civil War plantations and the non-Gone with the Wind glamorization of what slavery life was really like, read this book. I will warn you — it is graphic, it is gory, it is gruesome. But it is true — though the story itself is not a nonfictional account, it is based on historical experiences. And you will not be able to put it down.

Bossypants – Tina Fey

I picked up this book for several reasons. For one, I love Tina Fey — I think she is brilliant as a writer, an actress, and a human being. For two, she is a strong woman who has taken a male-dominated field by storm. And three– Tina Fey is hilarious.

Her book is an often-rambling, loosely themed tale of how she is “Bossypants” and how she has been able to break through various glass ceilings to achieve such great success in her career. The book is funny and really easy to put down and pick up without trying to remember what has happened in the plot. It is less chronological than it is “provisional” — I made that term up to mean that she offers background to explain something that is the way it is today rather than just going through the milestones of her life in order. Make sense?

At any rate, I really enjoyed getting insights into what life is like behind the scenes of creating a Saturday Night Live production and also the tale behind Tina Fey’s now infamous Sarah Palin impressions. I also laughed out loud at least 30 times from the various things she writes about or allusions she makes to things I certainly could relate to in my own life.

But I think the thing that really charmed me about the book was the lovably honest, self-deprecating, and human qualities that Fey lays out for all to read. She is not an untouchable celebrity who looks perfect and sets out to have everyone believe that her life is equally perfect. She is honest about her struggles with self-image, her obstacles in the field of comedy with testosterone-driven personalities, and her struggles with balancing being a mother/wife and the producer/director of 30 Rock. Her book makes you like her, relate to her, and feel like if you met her she would treat you like a person and maybe even be your friend (crossing my fingers here).

Now, it wasn’t any great work of literature or a profound story — but it was a great read and if you like Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin, or, well…laughing…you should read it, too.

Something Borrowed – Le Book by Emily Giffin

It being the Tuesday after the Fourth of July holiday, it seemed appropriate to write a review of Something Borrowed even though I finished it a couple of weeks ago. If you have read the story, you know that a portion of the plot takes place over the holiday weekend. But, if you also know me…you know that stories about infidelity just do not fly. I may have mentioned it before on this blog, but when I first saw the musical Camelot, I was furious about the affair between Lancelot and Gwenevere, even at the young age of 10.

All of that being said, when I saw the previews for the film adaptation of the story that included John Krasinski as one of the lead characters, I was curious to read the book and see what all the fuss was about. I don’t feel bad telling you that the plot revolves around an affair…well, multiple affairs…because it takes approximately 15 pages for that revelation to occur.

However, the thing that bugged me and made me so furious that I had to read something else in order to sleep at times, is that as readers we are supposed to feel sorry for the “other woman” sleeping with her best friend’s fiance. We are supposed to hear the saga of how the best friend (Darcy) has wronged our heroine since they were children and agree that she “deserves” the catch of the story, even if he is taken. And that just did not sit well with me. Even when the character of Darcy is impugned towards the end. Even when it all seems neatly wrapped up and tied with a perfect bow…

I do not buy it and I don’t like it. It teaches the young girls — because it is 13-16 year olds that are reading — that cheating is okay and sometimes it works out in your favor. It devalues integrity and loyalty and honesty for relationships. Now, I am not arguing that stories should teach a lesson by any means, but I was just annoyed that the popular chick lit of the day features characters wrapped up in affairs as the symbol and model of “good” love.

Now, I have heard that Something Blue (le sequel) is actually the side of the story from Darcy’s perspective and though I have it on my shelf, I am not sure if I can take going through the story again. However, I might need to let Darcy vet her arguments since I am an objective reader, after all…

So onto my recommendations…the story is well written, the pages turn quickly, but the plot is just not my cup of tea for a good chick lit read. I think Emily Giffin may like love stories that include affairs/temptation because one of the other books I reviewed on my blog, Love the One You’re With, included these themes as well. Maybe Emily Giffin is just not the author for me.