Carol's Comments December 2012

Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

December 2012

          Hello, Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. I am a volunteer at the River Park Branch. For some odd reason, it took me forever to find the perfect book to kick off my Fall reading spree. After sampling dozens of titles ranging from Tina Fey’s Bossypants to Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright, nothing seemed to work.

          The only book that really intrigued me was Fifty Shames of Earl Grey, a very hilarious parody of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey which I ironically read during Banned Books Week. Unfortunately, it was far too risqué to review in this column.

          Just when I was about to give up hope of ever selecting the right book, one evening I watched Masterpiece Theatre’s splendid 1997 adaptation of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. The film impressed me so much that I decided to read Collins’ original book. Published in 1860, The Woman in White is considered the first “sensation” novel because it combines the creepy elements of Gothic fiction with Victorian psychological realism. This forerunner of the modern thriller reminded me of a cross between Charlotte Bronte and Edgar Allan Poe. It is also one of the first novels to feature multiple narrators.

          The story centers around two sisters: Laura and Marian Fairlie who discover that they are eerily connected to a mysterious “Woman in White” Anne Catherick who bears a strong resemblance to the younger sister Laura.

          With the help of young artist Walter Hartright, the sisters are able to foil the nefarious plot concocted by the sinister Count Foscoe and Laura’s husband Sir Percival Glyde that could ruin them forever.

          Despite its length and 19^th century writing style, The Woman in White has a very complex and fascinating plot filled with intrigue, terror and madness. This chilling adventure is a terrific way to spend a gloomy autumn evening.

          After finishing The Woman in White and soon realizing that The Flight of Gemma Hardy still had a profound effect on me, I longed to re-inhabit Charlotte Bronte’s world. One Sunday, I read an article in The New York Times which stated that reimagining or updating literary classics wasn’t a recent phenomenon.

          One novel that may have started this trend was Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Published in 1966, Rhys’ book is a prequel to Jane Eyre.      Set in 1830’s Jamaica, this spellbinding tale focuses on Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway, Edward Rochester’s first wife. Told through the perspectives of both Rochester and Antoinette, the story vividly describes the heroine’s rapid descent into madness. Despite its incomplete ending, Rhys’ deeply intense and passionate novel perfectly illustrates how unforeseen circumstances can drive anyone insane.

          While searching SJCPL’s online catalog for this book, I was pleasantly surprised to find a film version of Wide Sargasso Sea. This exceptionally beautiful 2006 BBC production successfully brings Jean Rhys’ novel to life. Stephen Greenhorn’s atmospheric and very mesmerizing screenplay adds essential plot and character development lacking in the original story. This very sensual film allows the viewer to witness Antoinette’s extreme anguish and eventual mental deterioration amidst a tropical paradise.

          When PBS aired Downton Abbey Series 2 again in early December, I suddenly realized that I watched it two times within 6 months! What fascinated  me most about Season 2 was the devastating effects of World War I on British society. I was particularly interested in the war’s dramatic impact on women.

          Although many novels like All Quiet on the Western Front and Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms realistically depict the horrors of war through the soldiers’ perspective, few books capture World War I’s destructiveness through a woman’s viewpoint.

          The landmark work chronicling World War I through a woman’s eyes is Testament of Youth, the heartbreaking memoir by Vera Brittain . Much like Downton Abbey’s Lady Sybil Crawley, Miss Brittain served as a nurse in the  Army Hospital Service and witnessed firsthand the war’s destructive cruelties as well as the utter decimation of England’s young men. The very lengthy autobiography also painstakingly and poignantly recounts how the author lost many loved ones including her fiancé.

          Regrettably, the St Joseph County Public Library doesn’t currently own a copy of this remarkable book.  However, it can be obtained from another library through interlibrary loan. Likewise, the wonderful 1979 BBC TV/ PBS miniseries starring Cheryl Campbell as Vera Brittain is presently unavailable in U.S. DVD format. Ultimately, Testament of Youth is a must read for anyone interested in the tragic aftermath of World War I.

          When I finished Brittain’s memoir, I still wanted read a fictionalized account of World War I’s dramatic impact on English everyday life. While skimming through The New York Times Book Review, I found an article suggesting that Life Class and its sequel Toby’s Room might appeal to Downton Abbey devotees. I immediately checked out Life Class from the library.

          Written by award winning British author Pat Barker, this fast paced novel centers on the complicated relationship between three art students: Paul Tarrant, Elinor Brooke and Kit Neville set against the backdrop of World War I. The book’s absorbing narrative successfully blends historical realism with romantic melodrama. I enjoyed Life Class so much that I plan to read the sequel Toby’s Room very soon.

          For more information about all the books and movies reviewed in my column, visit the SJCPL web site at www.libraryforlife.org . Thanks for reading!

Previously posted at the SJCPL blog

Carol's Comments September 2012

Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

September 2012

Hello, Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. I am a volunteer at the River Park Branch. Since Kate Morton hadn’t published her new novel yet and Mad Men Season 5 ended way too soon, I decided to spend my summer reading quirky books which reimagined the lives of famous artists and beloved literary characters or combined unrelated genres in an unusual way.

Ever since my high school French class went to see a Monet exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, I’ve loved Impressionism. My favorite artists are Monet, Renoir and especially Georges Seurat. In fact, my favorite painting is Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte . I’m so crazy about it that I have an exhibition poster of it hanging in my apartment; it’s the background wallpaper on my laptop and I’ve viewed the gigantic original at the Art Institute many times. So when I found Sacre Bleu the new novel by Christopher Moore at the River Park Branch one day, I was very eager to read it.

Moore’s offbeat and inventive book speculates that Vincent Van Gogh didn’t commit suicide in July 1890 but was murdered instead. Lucien Lessard, a young Parisian baker turned aspiring artist teams up with Henri Toulouse-Lautrec to solve this supposed crime, While investigating their friend’s death, they encounter the mysterious Colorman and his bewitching female accomplice who might be linked to Van Gogh’s killing. Lessard and Van Gogh later discover that this menacing duo also magically fuel every Impressionists’ artistic creativity and eventually haunt them forever.

For added enjoyment, the author intersperses full-color reproductions of famous Impressionist masterpieces throughout each chapter. The paintings are captioned with comical excerpts from the novel. For example, under Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte , the quotation reads, “It was a very small monkey in a very large park,”

Even the most casual art fan will find this enchanting, irresistible story a pleasure to read. I absolutely loved it!

After finishing Sacre Bleu, it compelled me to watch the classic film about Van Gogh, Lust for Life. Directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1956, this magnificent  movie stars Kirk  Douglas as Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar winner Anthony Quinn  as volatile artist Paul Gauguin. Douglas’ brilliant performance illustrates how extreme mental torture, anguished frustration and obsessive creativity ultimately contributed to the artist’s insanity and tragic suicide. This film is a must-see for any devoted art lover.

If you enjoy movies about the Impressionist period, I strongly recommend watching two vastly different versions of Moulin Rouge. Directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2001 , the more surreal interpretation stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. This avant-garde musical integrates contemporary pop music from Madonna, Elton John, Paul McCartney and The Sound of Music into the plot to depict the lives of struggling young artists and writers in 1890’s bohemian Paris.

By contrast, director John Huston’s 1952 Moulin Rouge starring Jose Ferrer offers a more traditional biography of Toulouse-Lautrec. Ferrer’s moving portrayal shows how the artist had to overcome physical deformity while also battling alcoholism and depression to become a renowned artist.

Despite their radically different interpretations of the same subject material, Luhrmann’s and Huston’s films beautifully epitomize the captivating Belle Epoque era of late 19^th century Paris.

The second book I chose was The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey. Livesey’s novel is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre.

Using key plot elements from Charlotte Bronte’s original book, the author has the title character serve as the story’s principal narrator. Set primarily in Scotland during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Gemma Hardy painstakingly recounts how through her own indomitable spirit and fierce determination, she overcomes extreme hardships and cruelties to rescue herself. Filled with many memorable and multidimensional characters, Livesey’s absorbing novel will delight anyone who loves gothic fiction as much as I do. It was such a satisfying read that I didn’t want it to end.

After reading The Flight of Gemma Hardy, I desperately wanted to watch a film version of Jane Eyre. Although there are dozens of excellent screen adaptions of the classic novel such as the 2011 film featuring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska, the best version of Jane Eyre the 1944 movie starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine.

Welles’ strong, multifaceted performance truly captures the extreme guilt and emotional anguish Edward Rochester suffers from his past errors. His portrayal also evokes the passionate yet tender love he feels for his daughter’s governess.

Meanwhile, Joan Fontaine’s portrayal of Jane Eyre poignantly depicts the title heroine’s vulnerability as well as her tremendous strength and courage to overcome adversity and save both herself and the man she loves.  This wonderful film is a timeless classic everyone should see.

I can’t resist coming of age novels. So when I read very positive reviews in The New York Times Book Review and Entertainment Weekly, about the new bestseller The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, I quickly snatched it up.

In her debut novel, Walker deftly blends two seemingly unrelated genres; coming of age and science fiction together to tell the story of  young Julia’s burgeoning adulthood amidst global apocalypse.

As the plot unfolds through Julia’s unique viewpoint, the world’s scientists and eventually the general public discover that the Earth’s rotation has inexplicably slowed down. As a result, the days grow longer and the environment drastically changes. The “slowing” also affects gravity which causes all the birds to die and people develop strange, incurable illnesses.

Even during this worldwide catastrophe, Julia still experiences the pangs of first love, disagrees with her parents and worries about her future, This weirdly disturbing book reminded me of Ray Bradbury’s short story All Summer in a Day.

These books and movies can be found at all SJCPL locations. For more information, visit the library’s website at www.libraryforlife.org . Thanks for reading!

Previously posted at the SCPL blog

         

Carol's Comments July 2012

 Carol’s Comments by Carol Rusinek

July 2012

          Hello, Everyone, Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. I am a volunteer at the River Park Branch. Like over 5 million other PBS viewers, I absolutely adore Downton Abbey. In fact, I’m quite obsessed with the show. I have both seasons on DVD which I watch regularly and own the soundtrack album. I’m also really looking forward to the third season which will take place in the 1920’s, my all-time favorite decade. To ease my withdrawal from the program, I read three books that dealt with different aspects related to the series.

          The first book I selected was Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnarvon. In this well researched quasi-biography, Lady Fiona Carnarvon not only chronicles Lady Almina’s life as the 5^th Countess of Carnarvon but also describes how modern technology and World War I dramatically transformed the lives of all the residents of Highclere Castle, the real-life setting of Downton Abbey. For instance, the book’s very readable narrative discusses how Lady Almina used her fortune inherited from her father, Alfred de Rothschild to convert Highclere Castle into a hospital for wounded officers during the First World War.

          Interestingly, the book also extensively describes her husband George Herbert, the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon’s discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb with his friend, archaeologist Howard Carter in November 1922. Unfortunately, he never got to see the sarcophagus itself because he tragically died of blood poisoning from an infected mosquito bite in April 1923.

          Ultimately, this fascinating and comprehensive biography vividly gives the reader a compelling glimpse of how Edwardian society was irrevocably changed forever by the Great War.

          Next I wanted to find some fiction that explored the same themes depicted in Downton Abbey. After skimming through The New York Times Hardcover and Trade Paperback Bestseller Lists, I found The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin.

Set in the early 1890’s, Goodwin’s debut novel centers on Cora Cash, a vivacious and spoiled nouveau riche heiress from Newport, Rhode Island. When she marries the Duke of Wareham and becomes the mistress of Lulworth, her husband’s ancestral estate, she quickly learns about the idiosyncrasies  and pretentiousness of the British aristocracy during the Edwardian era. This romantic and very enjoyable book is an extremely satisfying summer guilty pleasure. It reminded me a lot of Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers.

Incidentally, in 1995, BBC Television produced a marvelous screen adaptation of The Buccaneers which originally aired on Masterpiece Theatre. If you don’t have time to read Wharton’s original novel, I highly recommend viewing this captivating five part miniseries on DVD.

Finally, the third book I chose was The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes (series creator Julian Fellowes niece). This definitive guide to the series includes complete cast and character lists, a timeline, gorgeous color footage from the show along with extensive archival photographs from the early 20^th century.  Each chapter features such topics as family life, society, life in service, house and estate, romance and war.

Interestingly, the author cleverly interweaves the personal impressions of each character in the miniseries into every chapter’s subject description. This scrumptious treat is the essential companion for either the casual or the most ardent Downton Abbey fan.

These books and both miniseries 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 next time.

Previously posted at the SJCPL blog

Carol's Comments May 2012

Carol’s Comments

May 2012

          Hello, Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. I am a volunteer at the River Park Branch. After reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for SJCPL’s One Book, One Michiana campaign, the mystery really piqued my interest in this genre that I read an eclectic assortment of nontraditional mysteries over the past couple months.

          The first book I selected was Death Comes to Pemberly by noted British mystery writer P.D. James. This wildly popular bestseller is an imaginative sequel to Pride and Prejudice by blending Jane Austen’s beloved characters into a murder mystery.

          Set in 1803, six years after Elizabeth Bennet’s  and Darcy’s marriage, the couple’s serene and happy life is threatened when Elizabeth’s sister Lydia arrives at Pemberly uninvited one dark October night and hysterically proclaims that her husband George Wickham has been murdered. After thoroughly searching the estate, Darcy and his companions discover Wickham standing over Captain Denny’s lifeless body screaming that he has killed his only friend.

          Despite his bitter animosity toward his former childhood friend, Darcy is convinced that Wickham did not murder Captain Denny. To save his family from scandal, he desperately tries to find evidence proving Wickham’s innocence.

          Written in a 19^th century writing style that doesn’t mimic Austen’s original work, James’ book greatly respects Pride and Prejudice’s characters by skillfully placing them in realistic situations. Readers unfamiliar with the original novel as well as Jane Austen and mystery devotees alike will enjoy this engrossing story because James provides a synopsis of Pride and Prejudice’s characters and plot in the mystery’s prologue. Furthermore, she also cleverly integrates characters from other Jane Austen novels into the book’s storyline. Ultimately, Death Comes to Pemberly is a fitting tribute to Austen’s classic masterpiece. I highly recommend it.

          After finishing Death Comes to Pemberly, I realized how much missed spending time with Mr. Darcy and the Bennet family. So soon afterward, I watched my favorite version of Pride and Prejudice, the definitive 1995 screen adaptation starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

          This memorable film faithfully describes the entire novel in six hours. All the characters are so captivating they seem to spring to life onscreen. In particular, Colin Firth’s performance as Darcy is so realistic and compelling that no other actor’s portrayal of this role can compare to his. He IS Darcy. This marvelous miniseries is the essential choice for Colin Firth and Jane Austen fans. Interestingly, Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle reunite 15 years later in The King’s Speech. While he stars as King George VI, she plays Myrtle Logue, Lionel Logue’s wife.

          After being absolutely enthralled by the world of Pride and Prejudice, I needed to find some lighter fare. So the next book I chose was Isis Crawford’s latest culinary mystery, A Catered St Patrick’s Day.

          This mystery series centers on sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons who own the gourmet shop and bakery, A Little Taste of Heaven. It seems wherever they cater an event, murder follows. Flamboyant Bernie and sensible Libby solve these crimes with help from their retired police chief father Sean Simmons and their boyfriends: Brandon, a local bartender and Marvin, a mortician.

          In their newest case, Mike Sweeney, member of the Corn Beef and Cabbage Club is found drowned in a barrel of green beer at a tavern on St Patrick’s Day morning.  When Duncan Nottingham is arrested for the murder, his aunt, prominent socialite Bree Nottingham hires the sisters to investigate and find the real killer.

          These irresistible mysteries are so much fun to read mainly due to the squabbling sisters’ comical interplay with their father, boyfriends and goofy townspeople. As an added bonus, the author includes several yummy recipes at the end of the book for the reader to try.

          Although I’ve enjoyed all eight of Crawford’s mysteries since I first discovered them four years ago, my all-time favorites are A Catered Halloween and A Catered Birthday Party. I think Crawford’s delightful mysteries would make terrific TV movies for the Hallmark Channel.

          After totally immersing myself in everything related to Sherlock Holmes in April, I still craved more. While browsing The New York Times Book Review, I stumbled upon The Pirate King by Laurie R King.

          In this ingenious retelling of Conan Doyle’s classic stories, feisty and self-reliant, Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes’ wife narrates the book and helps him solve crimes instead of Dr Watson. Set in 1924 against the backdrop of Britain’s silent film era, Holmes sends Russell off to investigate criminal activity involving illicit drugs and firearms at Fflyte Films after receiving an urgent dispatch from Scotland Yard’s Inspector Lestrade.  Working undercover as a production assistant on the rollicking film version of The Pirates of Penzance, Russell unravels the sinister motives of the movie’s cast, director and crew before Holmes finally arrives.

          Although I still prefer Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes adventures, I plan to read The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the first book in King’s eleven part Mary Russell mystery series to find out how the heroine’s marriage and crime solving partnership with Holmes began.

          These mysteries and other Colin Firth movies like Pride and Prejudice can be found at all SJCPL locations. For further information, visit the library’s web site at www.libraryforlife.org. See you next time and thanks for reading!

Previously posted at the SJCPL blog