Carol's Comments December 2011

Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

December 2011

          Hello, Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. I love biographies especially ones about unconventional, independent women who lead extraordinary lives. Three books on this topic that I read over the holidays were the perfect choice.

          I first selected Wendy and the Lost Boys: the Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein by Julie Salamon. In this provocative and somewhat sensational biography, Salamon painstakingly chronicles Wasserstein’s life from her unconventional childhood and adolescence in the 1950’s and 1960’s through her successful years as a playwright up to her untimely death at 55 in 2006. The revealing book describes how her eccentric family (who the author compares to the madcap Glass family featured in J.D. Salinger’s novel  Franny and Zooey) not only greatly influenced her plays like Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner , The Heidi Chronicles but all her personal and professional relationships. Since her parents didn’t divulge many family secrets, Wasserstein was a young woman before she discovered she had a mentally handicapped brother who was institutionalized before she was born and that her mother’s first husband was her late Uncle George Wasserstein who was her three older siblings’ father.

          Wasserstein also kept many secrets by withholding important personal information from her close friends and family. For instance, she never told anyone about her pregnancy at 48 or revealed the identity of her daughter Lucy Jane’s father.

          Along with offering a fascinating glimpse of the New York theater scene during the past 40 years, this absorbing profile vividly illustrates how Wendy Wasserstein’s plays realistically captured the aspirations and experiences of the Baby Boom generation,

          As many of you know, I absolutely adored The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. So when I read in Maureen Dowd’s New York Times’ column that Harper Perennial had recently reissued Gioia Diliberto’s 1992 biography about Hadley Richardson Hemingway which McLain’s bestseller was primarily based, I rushed to the library to get it.

          Paris Without End: the True Story of Hemingway’s First Wife extensively explores the Hemingways’ loving yet tumultuous marriage from 1921 to 1927.  In this well researched and intelligently written biography, Diliberto vividly depicts the couple’s expatriate life in Jazz Age Paris and also shows how Hadley greatly influenced Ernest Hemingway’s fiction written not only during  the 1920’s but years later. This intriguing biography is an essential companion to The Paris Wife and Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. In fact, I think all three books would make excellent choices for any local area book club.

          Ever since college, I’ve been a big fan of Woody Allen movies especially those featuring Diane Keaton. After thoroughly enjoying the comprehensive two-part Woody Allen documentary on PBS before Thanksgiving, I was very excited when I read in Entertainment Weekly that Diane Keaton had just published her memoir Then Again.

          In his very nontraditional autobiography, Keaton focuses on two lives; her mother’s and her own by interweaving Dorothy Keaton Hall’s journals into her own very readable narrative.

          Then Again examines Dorothy Hall’s aspirations and unfulfilled dreams while also describing Diane Keaton’s acting career, relationships with Woody Allen, Warren Beatty and Al Pacino and being a single mother at 50. More importantly, her mother’s insightful journals reveal how she encouraged her daughter to become the unconventional, independent woman she is today.  Keaton’s direct, conversational writing style was so addictive that I read the book in two days!

          My obsession with Hemingway, life in the 1920’s and Woody Allen continued when Midnight in Paris was finally released on DVD in December. Written and directed by Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson as Gil Pender, a disenchanted screenwriter suffering from severe writers block. While visiting Paris with his fiancée Inez and her parents, he becomes utterly captivated with the city. One night he is magically transported back in time to 1920’s bohemian Paris where he meets F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Picasso. During his midnight adventures, these artistic giants inspire Gil to rediscover his imagination and become a serious novelist. If you enjoy quirky romantic comedies combined with time travel, you’ll love this delightful film.

          These books as well as other Woody Allen movies like Midnight in Paris can be found at all SJCPL locations.  For more information, visit the library’s website at www.libraryforlife.org . Thanks for reading. See you next time.

Previously published at SJCPL blog

Carol's Comments September 2011

Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

September 2011

          Hello, Everyone. Welcome to the fifth issue of Carol’s Comments. Summer is a wonderful time for avid book, movie and TV lovers to indulge in guilty pleasures. I was no exception.  Along with scheduling Mad Men DVD marathons every weekend, I immersed myself in Kate Morton’s other two novels, The House at Riverton and The Distant Hours.

          Like The Forgotten Garden (which I reviewed in May’s column), Morton’s other two novels have very captivating plots because they successfully interweave the present day with the past through flashbacks. The narratives are so spellbinding that the reader has a tough time putting the books down. When I was reading The House at Riverton and The Distant Hours, many evenings I stayed up past midnight engrossed in the storylines.

          All three novels feature independent heroines who discover unknown truths about themselves while unraveling long-buried family mysteries and secrets. If you enjoyed Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough or the entire series of Upstairs Downstairs, you’ll love Kate Morton, my new favorite author. I’m eagerly looking forward to her next book.

          After pulling myself away from Kate Morton, I wanted to focus on more serious themes as autumn approached. When consulting the ever reliable New York Times Bestseller List online and getting recommendations from friends, I found what I was looking for. The two books I selected featured people who faced challenges with courage and determination.

          In the first book,  Nothing Daunted: the Unexpected Education in the of Two Society Girls in the West, Dorothy Wickendon tells the true story of her grandmother Dorothy Woodruff who with her best friend Rosamond Underwood , went to Elkhead, Colorado in 1916 and became schoolteachers for a year. Despite its rather academic style, this well researched biography not only vividly recounts these two remarkable women’s adventures on the Colorado frontier but gives the reader a glimpse of everyday life in early 2oth century America.

          Ironically, I started the second book,  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford on the weekend of the 9/11 tenth anniversary. Set in Seattle during World War II, Ford’s debut novel focuses on the unlikely friendship between Henry Lee, a Chinese boy and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese girl. Through the children’s eyes, the reader dramatically experiences the discrimination and prejudice endured by the Japanese-American community during one of the most despicable yet often forgotten chapters in modern American history.

          After Keiko and her family are evacuated to internment camps first outside of Seattle and then in Idaho, Henry is determined to find her. With the help of a school cafeteria matron and later his jazz musician friend Sheldon Thomas, he travels to both relocation centers to visit her and witnesses firsthand the hardships Keiko’s family have to face daily.

          Despite his father’s adamant disapproval, Henry corresponds with Keiko for over two years. When his letters return unopened in late 1945, he never stops wondering what happened to her. Forty years later, Henry finally discovers Keiko’s whereabouts when he unearths many of her long-lost treasures in the basement of the old Panama Hotel. This heartwarming story poignantly illustrates that time, distance and adversity cannot diminish true friendship.

          These books and other gems can be found at all SJCPL locations. For more information ,visit the library’s website at www.libraryforlife.org . Before I go, I’d like to thank all my readers for your thoughtful insights and comments about the books and movies I’ve reviewed in this column. Thanks for reading!  See you next time.

  

Previously posted at SJCPL  blog        

Carol's Comments July 2011

Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

July 2011

          I’ve never been especially attracted to the Western genre in literature or film. Although I do admit that as a child, I devoured all the books in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series and now still enjoy an occasional sweeping epic like James Michener’s Centennial. But it still seems strange that I would eagerly anticipate the release of Joel and Ethan Coens’ remake of True Grit. However, when I found out that two of my favorite directors had made a more faithful version of Charles Portis’ novel, I decided to read the book first. I soon discovered that it was really a coming of age story disguised as a Western.

          Set primarily in 1870’s Arkansas, this fast paced adventure story revolves around fourteen year old Mattie Ross who travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas to avenge her father’s murder by bringing drifter Tom Chaney back to justice. To do so, she hires the irascible U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn   (a man with “true grit”) to venture into the Indian Territory and capture him. Despite Cogburn’s fervent objections, Mattie is determined to go with him. Before they start their pursuit, Texas Ranger LaBoeuf wants to join them because Chaney is also wanted for a murder he committed in Texas.

Mattie’s exciting narrative lets the reader follow the group’s treacherous journey into the frontier by graphically describing all the deadly situations they face along the way. The main reason why this book is so entertaining is that all the major characters are portrayed very realistically. They exhibit heroic traits as well as flaws. In particular, heroine Mattie Ross displays steadfastness and a maturity beyond her years. In fact, her self-confidence and headstrong personality at times help keep Cogburn and LaBoeuf focused on their main goal of finding her father’s killer.

Ultimately, True Grit remains an essential American classic that can be enjoyed by everyone. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, I think it should be required reading for all middle and high school students.

After finishing the book, I was very curious to see how both films compared in their adaptations of Portis’1968 novel. So I decided to watch the two movies back to back starting first with the 2010 version.

The Coen brothers’ screenplay is more a reinterpretation than a remake of the original 1969 classic starring Oscar winner John Wayne. Their version is truer to the book because Mattie Ross remains the story’s central character by personally narrating the film. Hailee Steinfeld shines in her portrayal of Mattie Ross. She embodies her character’s spunk, stubbornness and tenacity because she was the character’s exact age during filming. The maturity she displays in this part makes her performance very believable especially when acting alongside more experienced actors like Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. Compared to Steinfield’s stellar performance, Kim Darby’s portrayal is very annoying and surprisingly amateur considering she was in her early twenties when she played the role in the first movie version.

Furthermore, both films don’t hide Rooster Cogburn’s notorious past. Jeff  Bridges’Cogburn definitely doesn’t imitate John Wayne’s. However, his crusty, multidimensional portrayal more closely resembles the book’s description of the character. Compared to the 2010 film, the 1969 original plays more like a traditional Hollywood Western. At times, I felt like I was watching a two hour episode of Gunsmoke. Filled with many memorable characters and scenes, Joel and Ethan Coen’s version of True Grit more authentically captures the brutal, rough and tumble atmosphere of the Old West. I highly recommend it.

True Grit as well as other Western books and movies can be found at all SJCPL locations. For more information, visit the Library’s web site at www.libraryforlife.org . So to quote Roy Rogers, ‘Happy trails to you till we meet again.”  Thanks for reading!

Previously posted at the SJCPL blog 

         

Carol's Comments June 2011

Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

June 2011

          Hello Everyone! Welcome to the third issue of Carol’s Comments. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been avidly concentrating on books and movies dealing with two of my favorite topics: the British monarchy and life and literary figures during the pre-World War II era, especially the 1920’s. At first it would appear that the movie and the three books I’m going to discuss would not have a common theme. But they do. All of them illustrate how a person can triumph over tremendous adversity to become very successful in a career they have chosen or reluctantly had to assume.

          I first saw the Oscar winning film The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue. Both actors’ heartfelt and sympathetic performances dramatically show how the British monarch was able to overcome a serious speech impediment through the unwavering persistence of a dedicated man who used unorthodox methods to help the king gain self confidence. In doing so, the men develop a meaningful friendship that lasts a lifetime. If you haven’t seen this inspirational movie yet, I highly recommend it.

          Viewing the film compelled me to seek more information about this critical period in British history. After browsing the New York Times’ Paperback Nonfiction List, I discovered The King’s Speech written by Lionel Logue’s grandson Mark Logue and journalist Peter Conradi.

          Based on Lionel Logue’s recently discovered diaries, this historical biography vividly traces the over 25 year relationship between King George VI and his speech therapist. The book’s lively narrative interweaves the king’s struggle to surmount his stuttering problem with historical events that ultimately changed his life forever. When his brother Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the then Duke of York reluctantly became George VI. Although he had been working with Logue since 1926 to overcome his stuttering, he needed the unconventional speech therapist’s help more than ever. Just as depicted in the movie, Logue was always there to help him prepare and support him for every speech the monarch had to deliver especially during World War II. In addition to describing the great friendship that lasted until George VI’s death in 1952, this succinct history also provides very insightful background biographies about each man before the two met in 1926. This book is an essential supplement for fully appreciating the film.

          After finishing The King’s Speech, I needed a change of pace. I found it when I checked out the new fiction bestseller The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. Set in the 1920’s, this fast- paced, well researched historical novel realistically describes the young Ernest Hemingway’s valiant struggles to become a writer through the unique perspective of his first wife Hadley Richardson Hemingway. Shortly after arriving in Paris, the young couple  meet and befriend such literary giants as Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald and soon  join their bohemian lifestyle. This enchanting novel vividly captures the reckless world of  the “Lost Generation” between the  two world wars.

          Still fascinated by Hadley Hemingway, I decided to read Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast published posthumously in 1964. In this semi-fictionalized memoir, Hemingway poignantly recollects about his time as a struggling young writer in Paris during the early 1920’s. These Parisian experiences inspired his first major novel The Sun Also Rises published in 1926.  More importantly, A Moveable Feast serves as a beautifully loving tribute to his first wife Hadley and is an excellent companion piece to The Paris Wife.

          These books and other Academy Award winning movies like The King’s Speech can be found at all SJCPL locations. For more information, visit the Library’s web site at www.libraryforlife.org . Thanks for reading! See you all next time.

Previously posted at SJCPL blog