A Matinee, A Pinter Play...

So Jen and I took in The Homecoming tonight. On the one hand, what a fabulous cast: Ian McShane, James Frain, Michael McKean, and (my personal favorite) Raul Esparza. On the other hand, what an unenjoyable play.

The first act was B O R I N G. A whole lot of set up that really felt like it didn't need to take anywhere near all the time it actually took. The second act picks up a lot, but the plot takes such a turn into the absurd that I felt totally mystified. Jen and I admitted to each other over coffee after the show that we felt like we just weren't getting it. Surely these characters couldn't have really been saying and doing the things they said and did in earnest, could they? They must all be some kind of metaphor or representation for something else, right? We mulled over many half-baked theories, some of which might have made an interesting college essay and none of which made for a particularly riveting night at the theatre.

Most disappointing, really, was my Raul. He just wasn't good. Accents are absolutely not his strong suit, as evidenced in Taboo, Comedians, and any other show where's he's supposed to be British. I'm not sure if he was so focused on the accent that he forgot to act or what, but while the rest of the cast was natural and at least somewhat authentic, he seemed mannered and uncomfortable. I have a theory that now that he's marginally famous, at least in the theatre world, he's scared to take risks. It's like he knows he's being watched and so afraid of getting it wrong that all the raw emotion and intensity that made his earlier performances so powerful gets completely stifled. Truly, a knockout performance still wouldn't have made this show successful for me, but I do look forward to the day that he wows me again.

Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette

So my not so secret guilty pleasure books are those historical novels detailing which people in various royal courts are getting it on, scheming against each other, and plotting for their own ascension to the throne. Philippa Gregory specializes in this genre and is responsible for such fun reads as The Other Boleyn Girl, The Constant Princess, and The Queen’s Fool, among many others. I recently picked up Abundance, expecting something similar and found, instead, a beautifully written account of Marie Antoinette’s successes and failures as dauphine and then queen of France.

Sena Jeter Naslund, who also wrote the extraordinary Four Spirits, approaches Tointette’s (as her intimates call her) story from a very personal perspective. We travel with her as she crosses the border from her native Austria and is reborn as French royalty. We feel her desire to charm and please everyone around her, even as she finds ever luxurious ways to also please herself. Marie Antoinette is presented as selfish, yes, but also as both innocent and determined. Told from this personal perspective, readers are presented with Marie Antoinette’s considerations about her fashion choices, hair styles, and favorite artists more often than the state of French economics and politics. The approach allows us to revel at her early successes and sympathize with her later plight; what we can’t do, is rationally understand what prompts the populace’s about-face. Instead, Naslund richly explores Marie Antoinette’s emotional response to mob mentality, her love and appreciation for her friends and supporters, her sensitivities to both kindness and callousness, and the strength upon which she draws when faced with imprisonment, separation from her family, and, ultimately, the guillotine.

Naslund is a gifted writer, and her talent does not go wasted here. For anyone with an interest in this subject matter or type of character study Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette is a wonderful read.

It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough

My biggest accomplishment of this weekend? Putting up my Christmas tree! I'm really pleased with the way it came out, though I do wish it had a few more lights on it. I blame my mom; growing up, my father was in charge of stringing lights on the tree. After each strand, my mom would assess it and decide it needed more. We always ended up putting enough on to light up the whole room. I bought three strands the other day, thinking that would be more than enough. Thanks to the brightly lit trees of my youth, though, I think I need about twice as many to really look perfect. Either way, I think it looks pretty good, and it definitely feels more like Christmas now!

Fuck Huck

I don't think too many of my readers are of the red persuasion, but just in case any of you have been pulled in by Mike Huckabee's charm (even I'll admit he does well in interviews), I thought you should see these articles.

The first details the role Huckabee played in the release of a rapist, Wayne Dumond. Thanks to Huckabee's advocacy, Dumond was freed and went on to rape again, this time killing his victim. The Huffington Post has covered this issue thoroughly, and Huckabee didn't take too kindly to the critical look they took at him. He fired back through the media, and today the Huffington Post had this response.

I think what's particularly interesting here is not that this horrible person was released and went on to commit more horrific crimes. We don't actually live in the movie version of Minority Report, after all. What happened is awful, and there actually is every reason to believe that the powers that be (Huckabee, the parole board, etc.) could have seen this coming. But human error exists. That aside, though, there is a lot to be upset about here. The apparent political nature of Huckabee's decision making is disgusting, as is his refusal to recognize his contribution to this situation.

Blah, blah, blah

I feel like it should already be the weekend. I went to Nino’s last night for some amazingly delicious vodka sauce with Rena, Carole, and my BFF Gerri. Girls’ night out was so much fun! We sat around laughing and chatting for so long that we wore out our welcome. The Nino’s staff got to the point where they did away with any and all mood lighting and turned on the brightest lights they had in the hopes that we’d finally take the hint (we did). Somehow the night felt much more like a Friday to me than anything else, and now I want to be out of the office doing more fun things.

I’m this close to finishing the book I’m reading and ready to move on. I’ve actually loved the book (I’ll review it soon) and have a book to read for Enfuse this month plus my January book club novel to get to, so I wish I were at home in bed reading instead of at my desk.

And, I’m eager to get my Christmas tree from the dudes who have set up camp across the street from my apartment. That’ll happen tomorrow, and if it turns out as lovely as I hope it will, I’ll post pictures of my festively decorated home soon.

Best of 2007, Take 2

Since we all did pretty badly on the Times 10 Best Books of 2007 list, I'm hoping the
100 Notable Books list will make us all feel better.

At least here I've read a few (The Abstinence Teacher, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Yiddish Policeman's Union) and heard a few authors read excerpts (Richard Russo, Ian McEwan, Michael Chabon).

And if this still seems like a pathetic familiarity with the latest and greatest on the literary scene, I comfort myself with the justification that I like to wait for books to come out in paperback (for easier subway reading) and that most these books will be just as wonderful whenever the hell I get to them. The few exceptions are those so mired in the times that they need to be read within our current world context. And if they're that time sensitive, they certainly won't become part of the canon. And, therefore, no one will remember them in a few years, and I won't forever be embarrassed for not having read them.

Weekend Review

Well, look at me. The minute NaBloPoMo is over, I take a two day break. And this right after I implored everyone to keep blogging a lot. The weekends are often a time when I like to forget that computers exist and focus my energies on watching some Netflix, reading, or (gasp!) actually getting up off my duff. Now it’s Monday and mandatory duff time again as I sit at my desk, so I’m ready to blog again.

I had a book-centric weekend. My first Saturday stop was to what was billed as a used book and music sale in the UWS. The publicity made it sound like it was going to be a great place to find countless unexpected treasures. Instead, it was an old man in a room selling all his old crap. It was actually sort of sad. He seemed kind of jazzed that anyone was there (the place was empty when we walked in), and I didn’t want to totally disappoint him by walking out empty handed. Luckily, I found a copy of Lady Chatterly’s Lover in good condition; since I’ve never read it before, the five dollars he was charging seemed worth it.

Next I was off to an independent book publisher’s conference. Publishers set up tables in the General Society Library in midtown and chatted people up about their books. It was just like all the conferences I attended when I worked in college publishing, except that I was on the other side of the table and not miserable. I didn’t buy anything (though I was sorely tempted), but I did collect lots of info to pass on to Laura for possible Enfuse connections.

Yesterday was more low key, and my big accomplishment was pulling out my box of Christmas decorations. I don’t have a tree yet, but I did string lights all along the railing of my loft. It looks so pretty!