Shields on Austen

Readers of this blog know that my most-loved author is Jane Austen. It's not original, but that's the way it is. I have read each of her six completed novels over and over and over. A few years ago, I picked up a small (185 pages in a petite format) biography of Jane Austen by the late and much-mourned Carol Shields (Viking, 2001), one of my favorite contemporary writers (see my 2/20/10 post on Shields). A couple of days ago, emptying a bookshelf to move it for some flooring work at our house, I came across it again, and smiled to myself. I read it before with such delight; what could be better than one wonderful writer writing about another? Shields obviously loves Austen as well; she writes with such affection and insight about her life and work. This lovely book is part of a lovely series, the Penguin Lives; its subjects are writers, artists, and historical figures. The books are brief and accessible but not dumbed-down; they are written by some of the best contemporary authors. Writers have obviously been carefully matched with their subjects. Besides the Shields book, I have read Jane Smiley's contribution to the series, on Dickens, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other books in the series include Edmund White on Marcel Proust, Elizabeth Hardwick on Herman Melville, Nigel Nicolson on Virginia Woolf, R.W.B. Lewis on Dante, Janet Malcolm on Anton Chekhov, Hilton Als on James Baldwin, and Mary Gordon (another of my favorite writers) on Joan of Arc, to name just a few. Now I think I will go and re-read Carol Shields on Jane Austen...a pleasure to look forward to!

Picture Books Forever!

The New York Times Book Review of 12/5/10 mentions a recent news story that “the tyranny of standardized testing has stoked anxiety among some parents, who feel they must press chapter books on their offspring at increasingly younger ages, thus diminishing the market for picture books and causing publishers to prune their lists accordingly.” This is completely wrongheaded and extremely saddening. Any parent, teacher, author, child psychologist, kid, or former kid knows that picture books are joyful fun for young children, and stimulate the imagination and the enjoyment of books. Who can forget being read to by our parents or other adults, or reading to our children, such picture books as the following classics? (Some of my personal favorites are starred.)
-Goodnight Moon*
-Babar series
-Dr. Seuss books
-Corduroy series*
-Angelina Ballerina series
-Jamberry*
-Brown Bear, Brown Bear
-Frances series (e.g., Bread and Jam for Frances)*
-Curious George
-George and Martha series*
-Madeline
-Make Way for Ducklings
-The Snowy Day
-Peter Rabbit books
-The Very Hungry Caterpillar
-Where the Wild Things Are
-The Polar Express
-Miss Nelson is Missing
-Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
-Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
-and many many more...

"The Imperfectionists"

Wow! Who is Tom Rachman, and how did he learn to write so well? Granted, he has been a journalist for some years, but "The Imperfectionists" (Dial, 2010) is his first published novel, and it shows amazing control of his material. It builds on some classic topics and themes -- most notably that of the American abroad -- but it is highly original and most compelling. There is not one main character; instead there are many, all connected by being somehow involved with an international newspaper owned by Americans but published in Rome. There are reporters, editors, owners, stringers, spouses and partners, and one lovable dog. Each chapter focuses on one character, but brings in other characters from other chapters. The story ranges over a period of 50 years, and although dates are given, it is sometimes hard to keep track of whose story overlaps whose. Each chapter is a mini-masterpiece. Each character is vivid and illuminated through carefully etched, generous portraits, yet not a word is wasted. A common theme is that of people who stumble into a job and a life and somehow get in a rut it is psychologically hard to escape. Rachman obviously knows this setting and material inside out, not surprising since he also worked for an international newspaper in Paris and was a correspondent in Rome. But the novel goes far beyond the facts, deep into the lives and souls of the characters. Highly recommended.

"Celebrity Chekhov"

"Celebrity Chekhov" (Harper Perennial, 2010) is a collection of nineteen of Chekhov's stories "adapted and celebritized" by Ben Greenman, a New Yorker editor and author of several volumes of fiction. The conceit of the book is that Greenman takes the Chekhov stories as starting points, including plots and much of Chekhov's original (well, translated) language, but substitutes celebrities of today for the characters, and makes other adjustments as needed. Some of the celebrities that now "star" in Chekhov's stories are Michael Douglas, Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler, Simon Cowell, Eminem, Nicole Kidman, Beyonce, Lindsay Lohan, Jay-Z, Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake, and several more...you get the picture. This is obviously a quirky book; as I was reading it, I couldn't decide if it was "quirky brilliant" or "quirky gimmicky." Although it is a real pleasure to revisit Chekhov's stories, and the melancholy wisdom they contain, it is jarring to encounter denizens of US Magazine in these beloved stories. I understand the author's concept of reinvigorating our appreciation of the stories, reminding us of the timelessness and universality of the human feelings and relationships Chekhov portrays. I also appreciate the gentle -- and sometimes not-so-gentle -- humor that Greenman teases out of the original stories and enhances with his own interpretations. I must admit that the book was enjoyable to read, but overall I have to conclude that the experiment is an intriguing but failed effort. However, other readers may well conclude otherwise, so if the concept appeals to you at all, do check it out; it is a quick read, and you will soon know what you think (although some of the best stories are in the middle to later parts of the book, so don't stop too soon).

Ten Favorite Books of 2010

Seeing several versions of "The Best Books of 2010" in various publications, I was inspired to make my own list of my favorite books published in 2010. The list is perhaps idiosyncratic and is quite biased in certain ways: the books included are all fiction, nine of the ten are by women, and all lean toward "domestic drama" and the character- and relationship-driven books that I favor. I have posted on all of these books on this blog, so without further ado, I list my "Ten Best from Twenty-Ten."

All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost, by Lan Samantha Chang
The Gin Closet, by Leslie Jamison
The Hand That First Held Mine, by Maggie O'Farrell
In Envy Country: Stories, by Joan Frank
The Lovers, by Vendela Vida
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, by Helen Simonson
One Day, by David Nicholls
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender
Red Hook Road, by Ayelet Waldman
The Three Weissmanns of Westport, by Cathleen Schine

My Literary Umbrella

On this rainy day in San Francisco, I have been carrying a special, lovely, big, sturdy umbrella given to me some years ago by my dear friend B. It is special because it has on its panels intricate drawings of eight famous women writers: Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Emma Lazarus, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, and Sylvia Plath. I thoroughly enjoy using this umbrella, and I often get admiring comments on it. With other more ordinary umbrellas, I don't mind much if I lend them or lose them. But I take extra good care to make sure I don't leave or lose this one. When I am using it, I always check before I leave a classroom, office, shop, or restaurant to make sure I haven't left it behind. Yes, an umbrella is a simple, utilitarian item, but mine is a depiction of some great literary women, and it gives me pleasure to use it, and to receive compliments on it. Thanks, B!

"America America"

Ethan Canin's novel "America America" (Random House, 2008) features the time-honored device of a young outsider observing and reporting on life among the rich and powerful. Corey Sifter comes from a working class family, but works for and is taken under the wing of the wealthy Metarey family. That family provides support for New York Senator Henry Bonwiller's 1972 run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. As Corey is drawn into the Metarey family and its dynamics and secrets, he is also witness to both the good and bad aspects of the candidate and the campaign. Senator Bonwiller is a great progressive, a champion of the working class and minorities, and a voice against the Vietnam War. But he has his weaknesses as well, and is brought down by a sex scandal clearly reminiscent of that of Senator Edward Kennedy and of the tragic accident at Chappaquiddick in which Mary Jo Kopechne lost her life. The book is occasionally a bit portentous in style; the novel moves back and forth through time, and there is a little too much both of the young Corey's mysterious comments about the future, and of the current narration by the much older Corey, saying things like "if only I had known then..." or "later I would realize..." But overall the writing is good, and the story draws the reader in. The novel is an interesting and sobering reminder of the events of the 1960s and 1970s, especially for readers who remember that time period. There are several well-drawn and intriguing characters. Most of all, the novel is an extended meditation on who has power in a society, and on how it is acquired, kept, and then sometimes lost.