January 2, 2010

Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell

Backstory: I just finished a six-week cooking class, and I’m currently obsessed with books about food.  I’ll try to make sure the reviews on the blog maintain some variety, but I should warn you that I’ve read about six food-related memoirs in the last month.  Also, I read Julie and Julia a couple years ago and really enjoyed it, though I have to admit that this is one of the very, very few instances in which I like the movie more than the book.  At any rate, I was excited for another dose of Powell.

One-Sentence Plot Summary: Julie Powell’s second memoir, which starts several years after her first book stopped, chronicles her affair, the (partial?) demise of her marriage, and her apprenticeship with a butcher and subsequent meat-related travels.

Review: Julie Powell is not Amy Adams.  Julie Powell is not Amy Adams.  I had to repeat this sentence to myself over and over as I read the book, even though I knew this to be true already from reading Julie and Julia, which is significantly more sarcastic and profanity-laden than the movie.  If you never read the first book, you’re in for a shock, so ready yourself.

Cleaving is graphic.  Powell describes her butchering experience in occasionally mind-numbing levels of detail, telling the reader exactly how you break down the shoulder of a cow, make head cheese, and slaughter a pig, among other horrors or wonders, depending on your perspective.  And she is no less reticent in relating the graphic sexual details of her affair with a man she refers to as D–as well as the men she sleeps with afterwards to try to forget him.  As practically every review of this book has noted, the world now knows of Powell’s predilection for S&M.

What makes the book most difficult to read, however, is Powell’s obsessive and juvenile behavior following the affair.  We’ve all drunkenly texted or emailed an ex, but past the age of 16, most of us refrain from crossing a certain line, beyond which lies stalker-land.  The knowledge that this is a memoir, not a novel, that Powell really sent those text messages, left those voicemails, and wrote those emails, arouses a generous reader’s pity and a less tolerant reader’s contempt.

If you can wade through the emotional angst, however, the account of Powell’s time at Fleisher’s butcher shop is extremely enjoyable.  The employees there are well-drawn, and the bawdy banter is amusing.  Though her travels do feel a bit tangential, her condensed meat tour of the world is generally interesting.  Unfortunately, the highlights of the book are frequently buried beneath the pile of drama and, as a more minor complaint, an absurdly high number of references to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show, not the movie).

Conclusion: If you like meat or self-destruction, you’ll enjoy this book.  If you’re squeamish about food or sex, I’d steer clear.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.  Also available in Sony eBook, Kindle, and nook formats.

NB: Read more of Julie Powell’s thoughts on her blog.

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January 2, 2010

Update

It’s been a long time.  Too long.

Since my last post, I’ve moved across the country, taken the bar exam, started a job, quit that job, and I’m now planning to move halfway BACK across the country in a month.  I’ve been quite focused on the other areas of my life, to put it mildly.

But with my most recent move and the new year, I’m rededicating myself to things that make me happy, and this blog definitely qualifies.  So look forward to regular posts once again, starting with the one I’m about to write on Julie Powell’s new memoir, Cleaving.

And in other news, the blog’s primary address is now bingereading.com–though .net will still get you here.

Thanks for reading!

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March 18, 2009

Someday My Prince Will Come by Jerramy Fine

Preliminaries: I just wanted to extend a quick apology for the dreadful amount of time I’ve taken to write this post.  I have a pile of books I’ve been meaning to blog about, but life has gotten the better of me lately.  I’m about to move across the country, which involves a hundred tiny details that I’ve been attempting to cross off the world’s longest to do list.  Believe me when I tell you, though, that I’ve missed writing these posts as much or more as you’ve missed reading them.  Things are finally starting to come together, so I hope to get back to a more regular posting schedule.

Backstory: This memoir was recommended to me by a loyal blog reader and good friend.  She’s a bit of an Anglophile, so I immediately knew why this book appealed to her.  She’s also a smart girl with great taste, though, so I figured I was in for a fun read. 

One-Sentence Plot Summary: Stuck in Colorado with her hippie parents, Jerramy Fine has fantasized about being a real princess for as long as she can remember, and she works her way to England to try to make her dream come true–kissing the requisite number of frogs along the way.

Review: This book is both hilarious and ridiculous.  Fine begins her memoir by her discovery at age six of Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, a member of the Windsor family about her age, whom she proceeds to fixate on for the next 300 pages and 20-odd years of her life.  Every life move is designed to get her closer to her goal, from her choice of college, to her study abroad program, and her eventual (inevitable) relocation to England.  Reading the book takes a certain amount of acceptance.  When I first started reading, I wanted to find this girl, shake her, and yell, “SERIOUSLY????  You need a mental health evaluation!”  But if you can get over that and approach the story with a light heart and an open mind, you’ll be thoroughly entertained by Fine’s attempts to weasel her way into the upper echelons of British society.  Her writing is clever and readable; you’ll get sucked in quickly. 

The only significant problem with this book is perhaps an inherent problem with memoirs: life is messy.  What I mean is that a novel imbues every moment with significance and is able to resolve situations with a neat bow where appropriate and leave dramatic cliffhangers in other moments.  A memoir is necessarily limited, however, by what actually happened, and sometimes things don’t work out the way a reader, or author, would wish.  So there were several key moments in the book when I thought, “Aha!  Things are coming together,” only to have them unravel again.  But when I reminded myself of the genre, it actually made Fine far more relatable than the fictional heroines for whom everything works out perfectly.  On a more minor note, the numerous footnotes, most of which contained fairly obvious information, were annoying, though largely ignorable.

Conclusion: An amusing (if slightly odd) quick read.  It must be said, though; it’s the rare man who would appreciate it.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.  Also available in Sony eBook and Kindle formats.

NB: You can find out more about the book and author at Fine’s blog.

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February 16, 2009

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

Backstory: I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for at least eight months now.  (Confession: there are books that have been sitting on my shelf unread for years.  I’m an impulse shopper.  Further confession: by the shelf, I mean the floor.)  The reviews are fantastic–it was a New York Times Notable Book.  But the description on the back, which includes phrases such as “irreversibly damaged,” “extreme paranoia,” and “catastrophic results,” indicated that this wasn’t going to be a light read.  So the book kept getting pushed to the back of the pile, but I’m glad I finally unearthed it.

One-Sentence Plot Summary: A prisoner, Ray, narrates the story of Danny’s reunion with his cousin, Howie–whose death Danny was nearly responsible for as a child–at the medieval Eastern European castle Howie is attempting to turn into a hotel.

Review: The best thing about this book is its originality.  So many books are predictable because you’ve read a thousand just like them (ahem, see my previous post on The Associate).  But with The Keep, though I was able to guess at a few of the book’s twists, the ultimate conclusion was a mystery–perhaps partially because Egan refrains from the impulse to wrap everything up in a neat package with a bow.  Because of these twists, one review compared the book to Russian nesting dolls, which seems accurate.  There is a story within a story within a story, and the degree to which they are interconnected is only revealed as the book progresses. 

Like The Shadow of the Wind (read more about this here), the book contains Gothic elements.  Obviously–a medieval castle in Eastern Europe may be the very definition of Gothic.  But The Keep is more postmodern.  Though some of the danger is real, much of the terror is psychological and self-inflicted.  The castle seems to be a place that releases what is already inside the characters, forcing them to confront their fears and the past.  Because of this internal focus, the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred; the reader is often wondering along with the character if something is real or imagined. 

The only real negative to the book is that it’s not easy to relate to the characters.  They’re certainly colorful.  Danny dresses like a Goth and has his own personal vocabulary; Ray has a wide range of personalities alongside him in prison.  None of them are particularly sympathetic, however, leaving the reader sitting on the sidelines without an outcome to root for.  But fortunately, that motivation isn’t necessary to pull a reader through The Keep. 

Conclusion: The Keep is intriguing, unique, and can appeal to a variety of demographics.  And, as an added bonus, it was a quicker read than I’d initially anticipated.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.  Also available in Sony eBook, Kindle, and audiobook formats.

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February 10, 2009

The Associate by John Grisham

Backstory: Coincidentally enough, John Grisham is another author I started reading at my grandmother’s house (different grandmother, though).  Also, he’s another author that my mother took away from me when I was young; she let me read everything but A Time to Kill.  I remember really enjoying his books when I was younger, but I’ve read the past few out of habit more than anything else.  I was more excited about this one, however, because I have several friends who are associates in big law firms, and I’ve heard plenty of stories.

One-Sentence Plot Summary:Third year Yale law student Kyle McAvoy is forced to take a job and then engage in corporate espionage at one of the world’s biggest law firms to prevent a secret from his past from being exposed.

Review: I don’t judge all books by the same standard.  I’d never expect a quick read to compare to a classic or a Pulitzer Prize winner.  In evaluating a Grisham novel, I’m primarily looking at how it compares to his previous works and similarly situated novels.  Even by these fairly lax standards, however, The Associate falls short. 

Grisham’s novels (at least his legal thrillers) are intended to be plot-driven page-turners.  The Associateis no exception, which makes the lack of a significant conflict a real problem.  The plot depends on Kyle feeling like he has no choice other than to obey the wishes of his blackmailers.  But when he finally decides to take action, the problem is solved with a couple easy maneuvers.  Unfortunately, these options are evident from the beginning, and the explanation for why Kyle waited is unconvincing.  Furthermore, the acts that Kyle has to commit while being blackmailed aren’t that atrocious.  He rakes in $200,000 a year at a job he was considering taking in the first place while occasionally providing his blackmailers with information.  Grisham tries to make this seem very dramatic by having Kyle constantly worry about his “ethical obligations,” but it’s hard to work up much concern.

A related problem is that the main character is never truly threatened.  As Kyle himself points out, his blackmailers’ plan will fail without his continued existence.  To increase the tension, Grisham puts a secondary character at risk instead.  In an attempt to make us care about this secondary character, Grisham invests a significant portion of the novel to this character’s backstory–which has absolutely no bearing on the main plot. 

Finally, the book’s depiction of life in a large law firm (one of my primary reasons for reading it) is shallow and stereotypical.  As previously mentioned, Kyle was considering taking the job before he was forced to do so.  Presumably, he had reasons for considering this, and presumably, there are reasons why many people stay at the firm.  In The Associate, however, everyone at the law firm is immoral or obnoxious, and the only decent people are planning to leave.  Additionally, the horror stories of life at the firm are recycled, familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of law firm life. 

Conclusion: The Associate doesn’t satisfy a craving for Grisham.  Re-read one of his older novels instead; I particularly like The Client and The Pelican Brief.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.  Also available in audiobook format.

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February 3, 2009

Administrative Notes

Thanks so much to everyone who’s been reading the blog.  I’m having a great time writing it, so I hope you’re enjoying reading it, also.  I just wanted to say a few words about some administrative issues.

1. Email Subscription and RSS Feed: I’ve added new widgets on the right-hand side of the page to allow you to subscribe by email to the blog and add it to blog feeds you already use.  The email subscription only comes in a daily digest form, which is a little frustrating given the nature of the blog (see #4), but if you’d prefer to have something land in your inbox rather than remembering to come to my site, it’s a good option.

2. Comments: Please make them!  I was so excited to get my first comment on my The Shadow of the Wind post.  I’d really like for this blog to become more of a dialogue.  If you’ve read the book I reviewed, let me know what you thought of it.  If you haven’t read it, let me know if there was any part of my review you found helpful.  And if there’s anything else you’d like to know about the book, just ask.  You can also email me at bingereader@gmail.com to do any of the above or to give me recommendations for future posts.

3. Facebook Fan Page: You can now become a fan of Binge Reading on Facebook!  Just click on this link, and become a fan.  (Note: You must be already logged into Facebook in order for the link to work.)

4. Frequency of Posts: As you know, this isn’t a typical blog where I write about anything that comes to mind.  I have to take the time to read a book, think about it critically, and write a post.  My goal is to put up about a post a week, but sometimes it depends on what I’m reading.

That’s it for now!  If any of the technology isn’t working, email or comment, and I’ll do what I can.  I’m not extremely tech-savvy, so please bear with me.  Thanks again for your support.

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January 31, 2009

Forever, Erma by Erma Bombeck

Backstory: Sometimes I read books because they look interesting.  Sometimes I read them because I think I should, because every well-read person has.  Sometimes I read books for sheer entertainment, the way other people watch reality TV.  And sometimes I read them for comfort.

When I was little, I used to read anything I could get my hands on.  My mom had to pry her copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover out of my hands at age nine.  (I still haven’t read that, by the way.)  My grandmother kept less mature fare lying around, and on one visit, I tore through her entire collection of Erma Bombeck.  My grandmother passed away recently, and I’ve been doing little things to remember her.  Drinking the cinnamon tea she always made for me in a mug with her favorite sports team’s mascot on it.  Cooking her zucchini pie and molasses cookies.  And re-reading Erma Bombeck.

One-Sentence Plot Summary: A collection of the best newspaper columns from humorist Erma Bombeck’s career, which spanned from 1965 to 1996.

Review: Picking up a book by Erma Bombeck gives me the same feeling as watching an old black-and-white sitcom like Donna Reed or I Love Lucy.  I can’t relate to everything in it, but it’s sweet, funny, and makes me a little nostalgic.  Bombeck wrote humorously about the things that happened in her day-to-day life.  Forever, Erma focuses primarily on her experiences as a stay-at-home mom, with her columns divided into sections such as “Hello, Young Mothers,” “Love and Marriage,” and “Of Missing Socks, Promiscuous Hangers and Other Unexplained Phenomena.”

Most of her columns are hysterical, taking the minor irritants in life that we all experience, such as mysteriously disappearing socks and fights over the thermostat, and speaking about them lightly and irreverantly.  But others are incredibly touching, focusing on difficult themes such as stepparents, mothers who have lost a child, and the passage of time.  With the way the columns are organized, you could find yourself laughing and crying in the span of five pages. 

Some of Bombeck’s subjects feel a little outdated in 2009 (a whole column on shoulderpads–thank god that’s no longer applicable).  Also, she can be a bit repetitve, re-using a few themes, descriptions, and turns of phrase.  This only mildly detracts from the enjoyment, however.  and it’s surprising how relevant most topics still are.  One column in particular, “Working Wife/Maid Communication,” was written in 1982, but it could easily find a home on Passive-Aggressive Notes.com.  And I doubt that a column on the uncomfortableness of women’s shoes will be out of date anytime soon. 

Generally, I prefer Bombeck’s novels, which have a slightly more focused theme.  When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time to Go Home is my personal favorite, though that could be because I read it first.  But Forever, Erma is an excellent introduction to Bombeck and a fitting tribute to her life and work.

Conclusion: I went to my grandmother’s house yesterday to go through her things.  Under my mother’s direction, I took my share of glassware, pottery, and such.  But the things I cherish more than anything else are the glass mug from which I drank my cinnamon tea, the afghan I snuggled under that still smells like Grandma, and her worn, paperback copy of the first Erma Bombeck book I read at her house years ago.   

Though I doubt many of you will have the same personal connection to Bombeck, I urge you to pick up one of her books anyway.  Her stories are warm, funny, kind, and uplifting, qualities that seem increasingly more difficult to find.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.

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January 27, 2009

Nice to Come Home To by Rebecca Flowers–UPDATE

After writing my review of Nice to Come Home To, I checked out the author’s blog and apparently, the novel was based on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  I feel a little silly for not realizing this in the first place, and it calls for a bit of re-evaluation.

Books that adapt Jane Austen or are inspired by her works constitute one of the primary subgenres that I read.  Whenever I see something with Austen in the title or on the cover, I at least stop to take a closer look.  And there have been so many of these books written recently.  In no particular order, there’s The Jane Austen Book Club, Austenland, Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating, The Family Fortune, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Dating Mr. Darcy, Vanity and Vexation, Pride, Prejudice & Jasmin Field, Lost in Austen, Jane Austen in Boca, Jane Austen in Scarsdale, and of course, Bridget Jones’s Diary–just to name a few and not including those books that attempt to write in Austen’s own style and serve as sequels. 

From a marketing perspective, the lack of emphasis on the Austen connection makes no sense.  The sheer volume of this type of book indicates at least a relative degree of success.  And more anecdotally, I feel certain that there are other Austen-lovers who are just as drawn to these types of books.  Yet the only mention of Austen on the book itself is a comment from another author in a blurb, referring to Flowers as “Jane Austen gone mod,” which doesn’t indicate that the book is actually adapted from or inspired by one of Austen’s novels.  Hiding the connection like this prevents Flowers from drawing on an already-created base. 

From an artistic standpoint, it makes a little more sense.  Knowing that the novel is based on Sense and Sensibility creates certain expectations, and Jane Austen is an extremely high standard to set.  Analysis becomes more about how well the book interprets Austen, instead of focusing on the book’s independent merits.  And there are some inherent difficulties in the comparison; a character from Austen’s era wouldn’t undergo the same career difficulties that Pru faces in Nice to Come Home To.

I stand by my earlier review.  In fact, drawing on Sense and Sensibility probably gave the novel some of its depth.  Looking at the two books together, though, presents a different question.  While Nice to Come Home To does a good job of characterizing Pru and Patsy as the Elinor and Marianne-types, it does not seem like the same sort of study in contrasts as Sense and Sensibility.  I think the marketing is partially to blame for this.  The jacket flaps are all about Pru, making it clear that this novel is about her self-discovery.  And the beginning of the novel reinforces this perception; Patsy does not fully enter the narrative for several chapters.  While there is an obvious comparison between the two sisters, Nice to Come Home To is truly Pru’s novel, unlike Sense and Sensibility, where there is a greater balance in order to better illuminate the primary theme. 

Furthermore, Sense and Sensibility is a particularly difficult novel to update because its central conflicts come from an economic system of marriage that, for the most part, is no longer in place.  Elinor and Marianne’s suitors face tremendous pressure from their families to make “suitable,” i.e. economically advantageous, matches.  The men in Nice to Come Home To necessarily face much more internal conflicts, which alters the way we view their actions.  For these reasons, while I continue to appreciate the novel in general, I don’t believe it adds much of value to the Austen canon.

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January 23, 2009

Nice to Come Home To by Rebecca Flowers

Backstory: This is a bargain book I picked up at Borders for about five dollars–so my expectations were low.  Its cover, title, and inside flap made it seem like standard chick lit fare.  But I was encouraged by a blurb on the back from Marisa de los Santos; I loved both of her novels, Love Walked In and Belong to Me.

One-Sentence Plot Summary: 36-year-old Prudence Whistler, fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, begins to re-evaluate her life after seeing a woman who has everything Pru thought she’d have by this point. 

Review: In some ways, this is the classic chick lit novel.  Pru’s primary longing is for a husband and a family; though concerned about losing her job, she has no real passion for it.  The romantic target is readily apparent, and the novel ends predictably. 

However, Flowers’ novel is elevated somewhat by her portrayal of Pru’s family.  Her sister, Patsy, provides a nice foil to Pru.  Where Pru is practical and even a little cold, Patsy is impetuous and passionate.  The two sisters are united, though, by their love for Patsy’s two-year-old daughter, Annali.  Pru’s relationship with them provides the real emotional heart of the novel. 

By contrast, Pru’s relationship with her primary romantic interest, John, feels a little flat.  Pru interacts with so many characters–her sister, her sister’s ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend, her niece, her mother, her gay best friend McKay and his partner, Bill, her friends Fiona and Kate–that John seems to suffer from a lack of screen time.   The interactions between Pru and John are well-written, but it’s easy to forget him while Flowers focuses on the other aspects of Pru’s life.  And as the novel approaches resolution, Flowers chooses to relate most exchanges between Pru and John through Patsy or McKay, which decreases the romantic tension.

To Flowers’ credit, though, the inevitable conflict that arises between John and Pru isn’t artificial or contrived.  There’s no dramatic accident or misunderstanding; the conflict is internal and feels very genuine.  This is also true of the difficulties that Patsy has with her romantic interests in the novel.  In both cases, the problems are realistic and complex.

Flowers has also created multidimensional secondary characters.  McKay isn’t the stereotypical bitchy queen or cutesy sidekick version of a gay best friend.  And Fiona isn’t a cookie-cutter mother figure, which is made clear when she reveals her true feelings about being pregnant again to Pru.

The downside of this complexity, however, seems to be a lack of humor.  The novel as a whole is serious, even a little melancholy.  I didn’t laugh once, which is odd for a novel that, despite its virtues, still feels like a light read. 

Conclusion: Though this book isn’t destined for the literary canon, it’s an enjoyable (if not humorous) story that goes a little deeper than other novels that begin with similar premises, situating the novel in the upper echelon of its genre.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.  Also available in Sony eBook Reader and Kindle formats.

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January 18, 2009

The Heroines by Eileen Favorite

Backstory:I love books about other books.  The characters are usually readers, so I identify with them immediately.  And frequently, these books will provide a fresh take on familiar stories.  It’s almost like getting to read several books simultaneously, which is awesome for a person like me.  So when I saw the blurb on the cover (written by Audrey Niffenegger, no less, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I think is incredible) saying that the book was “a chance to see Scarlett O’Hara and Emma Bovary off duty,” I dove in excitedly. 

One-Sentence Plot Summary:Penny, an angsty thirteen-year-old annoyed by her mother’s preoccupation with the fictional heroines who visit their inn, encounters a hero from a Celtic story and is put in a mental institution because of it.

Review: The Heroines was extremely disappointing, partially because the summary and promotional blurbs were so misleading.  They made the book sound light-hearted, a fun romp with readers’ favorite heroines.  Instead, the story focused on Penny.  Favorite chooses Penny as the first-person narrator (a serious mistake), and so we spend a significant portion of the book institutionalized with Penny.  This part of the book is reminiscent of The Bell Jar or Girl, Interrupted–books I enjoyed but would never portray as light or charming.

The title clearly implies that the heroines are going to be the focal point of the novel, but for the most part, we only get brief glimpses of these characters.  Generally, they stay in the background, crying over their fictional problems.  Franny Glass is an enjoyable exception, but she is only portrayed more fully because of the influence she has on Penny’s development.

Even if the promotional materials were more accurate, this would still not be an enjoyable read.  The two storylines (Penny and the heroines) pull the novel in opposite thematic directions, ensuring that it isn’t successful at developing either of them.  Penny isn’t a pleasant character to spend so much time with; she is typically childish, selfish, and banal.  Her mother seems incompetent.  And the big reveal at the climax of the novel is absurd.  (I won’t spoil it, in case you decide to read the book even after this review, but let me just say that the fictional character used would never do that.)

Conclusion: It seems as if the publishers knew the book wouldn’t sell as written, so they decided to shift the marketing to attract unsuspecting readers like me.  Steer clear.

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s.  Also available in Sony eBook and Kindle formats.

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