The Fraught Relationships of "Steps"

The stereotype of the cruel stepmother has been with us for centuries, maybe more. We all remember fairy tales and folk stories embodying that stereotype: "Hansel and Gretel" springs to mind. But of course the reality is, in most cases, far different. Most stepmothers want to love and take care of their husbands' children. But often, despite the best intentions, the situations are very difficult. The children may feel resentful of the stepmother, believing that she has separated their parents. Or they may feel disloyal to their mothers if they get along with their stepmothers. On 9/3/10 I wrote about Ayelet Waldman's novel "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits," in which the main character had a very difficult time establishing a relationship with her young stepson. I am now listening to a recording of "Other People's Children," by Joanna Trollope (Viking, 1999), which focuses, as the title suggests, on the very difficult "step" relationship, not only between stepmothers and stepchildren, but also among stepbrothers and sisters. There are several step relationships in this novel, and they are all fraught, to say the least. Josie has one set of adult stepchildren, one biological son, and now has taken on another set of stepchildren in their early teens. Both sets of stepchildren are deeply resentful, despite her very best efforts. Elizabeth is also taking on stepchildren, and in her case, interestingly, the problems are more with her adult stepdaughter than with her young stepson. Both of these stepmothers' relationships with the fathers of the children are threatened by the storms and tensions in the "step" relationship, as the fathers feel torn between their children and their wives. Both books remind us that the "evil stepmother" stereotype is very unfair, and that most stepmothers do their best in often extremely difficult situations.

Last Gasp of Summer Reading

Right now I have two books on my to-read pile with the word “summer” in the titles: "Summer House," by Nancy Thayer, and "Summer Sisters," by Judy Blume. Yes, that Judy Blume, but did you know she writes novels for adults as well as tweens and teens? Hmmm, could I be trying to hold on to the lovely flexibility and fun of summer? I am now three-plus weeks into my new semester, but apparently still caught up in remnants of the summer fantasy: vacations, beaches, summer houses, summer sisters, summer romances, summer friendships, summer drinks, summer books...can you say "chick lit"? As you might remember from my posts on 7/13/10 and on 9/4/10, I have been thinking about the term "chick lit," and how it demeans novels of interest to women. Yes, some of them are a bit lightweight (and that's OK; sometimes that's what one wants, just as sometimes one wants a mystery or other genre fiction), but they often also address issues of interest to women (AND men!). Besides, there are degrees of "chick lit"; some books with that label or in that general genre are quite intelligent and well-written, others not so much. I may or may not write about these particular books here, but just the titles remind me that, consciously or unconsciously, I am not yet ready to let go of summer...just for a little bit longer...

Fun for Foodies

For those who love restaurants, restaurant news, restaurant gossip, restaurant speculation, and more, there are many enjoyable blogs available. My favorite is by the San Francisco Chronicle food critic, Michael Bauer (http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/michaelbauer/). He addresses many interesting topics, including new restaurants, trends in food, tipping, service, restaurant design, what to do when there is a mistake in service, restaurant etiquette, etc. Even people who do not live in the San Francisco Bay Area will enjoy this blog. On the same site, Inside Scoop SF, there is another, more newsy/gossipy blog by Paolo Lucchesi, also fun to read. Another of my favorite sites -- restaurant news in a stylish, even snarky voice -- is Eater SF (http://sf.eater.com/); there are also Eater sites/blogs in various other cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

Today: International Literacy Day

"Today is International Literacy Day. It's a day designated by the United Nations, and it was first celebrated in 1966. The point is to make sure that literacy remains a high priority on the agendas of each country — and for the whole world at large. UNESCO points out, 'Today one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women.' Literacy campaigns are now often linked to women's rights movements." (The Writer's Almanac, http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org, 9/8/10). The Writer's Almanac goes on to note that the United States ties for 21st place on the list of most-literate countries, a startling and sad statistic. For those of us fortunate enough to have a high level of education and literacy, it is important to support global and local efforts to promote literacy for everyone.

200 Blog Entries!

I can't quite believe that I have just posted the 200th entry on this blog! Thanks very much to those of you reading it, whether regularly or occasionally. And please do tell your reading friends about it.

Yet Another "Modern Day Austen"?

Author Allegra Goodman has been dubbed, as have far too many women writers, a "modern day Austen." Her new novel, "The Cookbook Collector," certainly embodies echoes of Austen; it is old-fashioned in the best sense, telling detailed, character-driven stories of family and the search for love. Her main characters are two sisters, Emily and Jess, who are reminiscent of sisters Elinor and Marianne in Austen's "Sense and Sensibility." Emily -- like Elinor -- is the calm, centered older sister; she is the CEO of a tech start-up company. Jess -- like Marianne -- is the more unfocused, more emotion-driven younger sister; she is a dropout from a Berkeley doctoral program in philosophy, a member of "Save the Trees," and a bookstore clerk. But this novel is very contemporary as well, being set in the midst of the tech world on the East Coast and in Silicon Valley. Featured are computer geniuses, start-up tech businesses, sudden multimillionaires, the rises and falls of the stock market, and the events of 9/11. The title alludes to another main character, George, who has made his fortune in technology, is a collector of rare books, and has discovered and acquired an amazing collection of antique cookbooks. The passages on the cookbooks, and on some memorable meals consumed by Goodman's characters, are lyrical and compelling. Goodman is a wonderful writer, and I admire her combination of the classic "big" nineteenth-century-style novel and contemporary topics. But I can't accept the comparison to Austen, not only because NO writer has risen to the level of Austen (I firmly believe that she is sui generis), but also because Goodman doesn't achieve Austen's acute understanding of her characters, nor Austen's delicate but pointed wit.

The New York Times Book Section a Boys' Club?

A Slate article (http://www.slate.com/id/2265910/) poses the question "Is the New York Times' book section really a boys' club?" ("Fact-Checking the Franzenfreude," 9/2/10). (Thanks, B., for drawing this article to my attention). The answer seems to be "yes." The article cites several studies showing that almost two-thirds of books reviewed in the NYT are by men. A related question discussed in the article is whether certain categories of books are gendered. For example, looking at genre fiction, the article notes that legal thrillers and science fiction, more often written by men, are more respected than "chick lit" and romance novels, almost always written by women. The writer Jennifer Weiner (whose recent novel, "Fly Away Home," I posted about on 8/11/10) wonders if Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and David Nicholls (whose novel "One Day" I posted about on 8/16/10) might be considered "chick lit" writers if they were women. I have read novels by all three of these writers, all of which could be classified as forms of domestic drama, so Weiner's point definitely resonates with me. This article is sobering, reminding us that although there are many women writing and publishing, this does not guarantee equal treatment of their work; it also reminds us that equal treatment is elusive, because bias is sometimes subtle, hard to pin down, and deeply rooted.