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August Books and Movies

August 18th, 2008

Michael Chabon is clearly brilliant. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (which I’d wanted to read for several months but hadn’t because it wasn’t available for Kindle. When will Amazon stop depriving me of great literature?! I gave them a gazillion dollars for the Kindle, so they should reward me with great reading.) is a masterpiece. Instead of throwing adjectives at you, I’ll just suggest you read it.

Benjamin Rosenbaum’s short story collection, The Ant King and Other Stories is also brilliant. He writes a vampire into the Old Testament! The stories are enlightening and surprising, and they’re super re-readable for inspiration.

Have any of you guys read either book? Liked them?

I finished Davidson’s The Gargoyle. (Oh, how it was hyped! Oh, how I fell for the hype! *gullible*) The subject matter was cool, and there were some really interesting parts in the beginning. The transformation of the main character guy is believable and even touching at times, but in the end, I didn’t find the story to be overly compelling or complex. It might appeal to any Anne Rice fans out there (I love Anne Rice, so this is not a slight on her at all). It shares some of her stylistic techniques but, I would say, not her speculative historical substance.

Movies
The husband and I went to see Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was wonderful! It’s funny, human and beautifully made. Penelope Cruz was fantastic. Plus, Barcelona. I highly recommend it.

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August Books

August 8th, 2008

1.
David Hewson’s The Garden of Evil was a wonderful read. It’s a thriller with all the typical thriller conventions, but it’s super ambitious. It connects a present-day story with a mysterious historical event. It’s written really well, with great characters and prose.

It’s about a piece of art that could have been painted by Caravaggio, a recreation of Annibale Carracci’s Venus with a Satyr and Cupids, and what that sort of thing might inspire (It’s a totally creepy and fascinating painting!). Hewson imagines an answer to why Caravaggio committed murder and left Rome in 1606. If you’re curious, Wikipedia shows the paintings of Caravaggio and Carracci

I’ve been reading a lot of books about 16th and 17th century Rome/Venice/Turkey, and I hope to read more. Makes me wish I’d majored in Art History. Also, I’ve GOT to get back to Italy. *saves money*

2.
I finished Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red. I liked it, but I don’t have anything to say about it. Pamuk’s Snow is still one of my fave books. I’ll read more of his stuff for sure. But, alas, I have nothing to say about this one.

3.
Now I’m reading The Margarets, which I love so far. The young narrator isn’t overly childish. She’s intelligent and likes words and telling stories. Plus the premise is very cool. The writing is super fancy. I might be a new Tepper fan; I’ll report back when I’ve gotten to the end.

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