Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen (43/81)

Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon
Category: Books about Books

Well, I heard about this from some other LibraryThing readers and could hardly pass up the chance to read something about Jane Austen! This is about an aunt who (much like Jane Austen before her) corresponds with a niece interested in writing novels. The niece, Alice, is a fictional girl of green-and-black colored hair who can't imagine why Jane Austen would be considered relevant today.

The blend of fiction and literary criticism threw me for a loop at first. The first few letters talk about Jane Austen's life and times, then move on to talk about each of her novels in turn; all are peppered with advice about reading, writing, and listening (or not) to critics. In fact, this struck me as much more about the writing itself than about Jane Austen in particular. At times witty, and other times confusing, sometimes I agreed and at others I wholeheartedly disagreed. But that, as I'm sure "Aunt Fay" would agree, is one of the joys of visiting the "City of Invention" that is made of books. 3.5 stars.

Cross-posted at Born Reader.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (42/81)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Category: New-to-me authors

Aibileen is a black woman working for Elizabeth Leefolt taking care of Mae Mobley. Minny is Mrs. Walters' maid, constantly at odds with her employer's daughter for speaking her mind. And Eugenia Phelan (more commonly known as "Skeeter") is an educated white woman who didn't really think about "the help" too much until her own family's maid disappeared. These women at first appear disparate, but find that they are alike where it truly counts.

This historical fiction set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 is surprisingly hopeful in tone, even while depicting tragic and horrific events in history. The narrative voices of Aibilieen, Minny and Skeeter tell us most of the story, each with a distinctive voice and point of view, and the characters feel very real. An emotional but overall uplifting read. 4.5 stars.

Cross-posted at Born Reader.

Watchmen by Alan Moore

Watchmen by Alan Moore
Category: Graphic Novels (uncounted because I decided to count series together)

What if there once had been masked vigilantes, humans inspired by superhero comics, roaming the streets of New York City to keep the world safe? In this dystopian vision of just such a world, such activism has been outlawed since 1977 and most of those who participated have retired. But then one of them is murdered, and no one knows why or if the killer will strike again.

I'm glad to be able to say I've read this title, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. It was gritty and violent and depressing and just not the kind of story I like. It's a complex story that I read much slower than I expected to, and very well-crafted. Recommended for fans of dystopian/apocalyptic fiction, maybe even hard-boiled mystery fans who want to read something a little different. Just not my cup of tea. 2 stars.

Cross-posted at Born Reader.

Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear (41/81)

Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
Category: New-to-me authors

Matthew is a magician in New York City, a member of the Prometheans, who works to protect humans from the Fae that would steal them into their world as changelings. Elaine is a human bound to the Faerie world by the Mebd, one of the Queens of Faerie, and by her loyalty to her son, Ian. She is also the Seeker, one who prowls shadows looking for Fae children. A collision of their worlds seems inevitable, and as players are drawn into events beyond their control the morality of either side becomes ambiguous.

This urban fantasy is a bit different from my normal fare -- darker, more sensual than the fantasy I usually choose to read. I kept going because I wanted to see what would happen to Elaine and the other characters, if their fates were truly predetermined or if they could choose a different outcome. Bear throws readers into her alternate universe and leaves them to discover along with her characters (a knowledge of Arthurian legend and the ballad of Tam Lin would be especially helpful, but I got along alright knowing only basics). I'm interested in seeing where the series heads from here. 4 stars.

Cross-posted at Born Reader.

A Fine of 200 Francs by Elsa Triolet, 9/81

This is a series of stories about the men and women of the French resistance. Triolet secretly published this book during the war, and thus is not merely a chronicle of, but also part of the actual fight against Nazi occupation. Triolet tells stories of men and women who found themselves, either by choice or necessity, engaged with the resistance movement. Given the subject matter, it likely comes as no surprise that these are haunting stories. They are extremely atmospheric: cold, hunger, uncertainty, all are omnipresent in these tales, and are vividly presented to the reader. While these sensory experiences are so vivid, other things have been normalized. Some privations have been so normalized that they pass with minimal comment. Because this was published during wartime by the underground press there are elements of wartime culture Triolet never fully explains. While these must have been self-evident in 1944, they are not necessarily so in 2009. That said, this was a very interesting look at the day-to-day operations of the resistance movement.

Elsa Triolet, A Fine of 200 Francs (Virago, 1986) ISBN: 0140161341

Category: Virago Modern Classics 3/9, 9/81

The Mad Toy (21/81)

El Juguete Rabioso (usually translated as The Mad Toy), the debut novel of Roberto Arlt, was published with the help of Ricardo Güiraldes. It is arguably Arlt's most biographical work, chronicling the (mis)adventures of Silvio Drodman Astier as he attempts to find some way out of the poverty and alienation he has been born into.

Silvio is the parent of immigrants, an outsider in the world of early 20th Century Buenos Aires. He does not lack for ambition, though it often seems that the world works hard to thwart whatever minor dreams he may nurture. Because his father has abandoned the family, he finds himself having to quit school and seek work in order to support his mother and sister. At first he gets together with a couple of other neighborhood kids to engage in some theft, though their first crime--the break-in and robbery of a library--becomes their last after a close call with the police. Later, Silvio goes to work for a dishonest book seller, lands a job with the mechanic corps of the Air Force, and finally works as a paper salesman. The last of these turns out to be such drudgery, that he begins to consider returning to a life of crime.

Arlt expresses Silvio's drive, his hunger for success, in terms that must have been very familiar to him, as the changing circumstances move Silvio to alternate between hope and despair. The title is perhaps a little obvious in its metaphor: Silvio's overwhelming drives and passions combined with his inability to be enact them make him feel like some fierce frivolity. These different poles of existence are expressed in Arlt's unique prose, which combines lyricism with the street language of Buenos Aires.

The Mad Toy, as with most of Arlt's works, is a bracing, sometimes almost painful, work with moments of dark humor or fascinating inventiveness. It pales a bit in relation to Arlt's later The Seven Madmen (arguably his best work), in comparison with which it seems somewhat conventional, but if you've never read Arlt and are interested in encountering his unique representation of the alienation of modern life (Argentine style), The Mad Toy would be a good place to start.

Compulsive Acts by Elias Aboujadude (2/81) Neuroscience/Psychology category

Compulsive Acts is a look into 5 tales of "rituals and obsession."  The author is a young psychiatrist learning his way through the field and in his tales he describes his own challenges and milestones.  Aboujadude learns through different patients his own "weaknesses" as viewed in the field such as his want to cross the boundaries and go beyond to help patients, or his own biases to like some patients over others. These challenges show varying degrees of admirability for our "hero" and, all the while, getting an interesting perspective on those dealing with different obsessive and compulsive disorders. 

The first case study was my personal favorite with the desparate wife of a man seeking help because her husband is helplessly obsessed with his own nose. He is convinced that harm will come to his nose unless he keeps things at least 3 ft away, imagine his eating troubles! Also as his protective distance grows he can't go through doors and so on.  This greatly disturbs his marriage and everyday life. This is the most entertaining case study of the bunch. 

Unfortunately the writing goes downhill from there. Although there are many fascinating people such as the woman who can't stop pulling out her own hair, two kleptomaniacs, a compulsive gambler and a man obsessed with and ultimately choosing to live a life online rather than in the real world, the author tries to be funny, but fails. His writing is not fluid and he organizes and prioritizes in a very odd way. Also the titles of the sections are not clever and have very little to do with the subject material within each section.