Who Knew There was a Book?

There's a wonderfully quirky, scary, and sometimes romantic movie called Time After Time about H. G. Wells and Jack the Ripper.  In 1893, Jack the Ripper has taken a secret trip in Wells's time machine.  When Wells finds out, he takes a trip of his own - to bring back Jack.  Both men find themselves in contemporary (well, 1979) San Francisco where Jack resumes his killing spree and Wells tries desperately to stop him.

It's a delicious movie - watching Malcolm McDowell as Wells, the proper Englishman, finding himself almost a hundred years in the future.  Seeing cars for the first time.  Walking into a McDonald's ("Pomme frites!").  Meeting feminist Amy Robbins (Mary Steenburgen) and falling in love.  Anticipating utopia, but finding something else. 

When I looked on Wikipedia for information about the film, I was surprised to see it was based on a novel.  The unfinished novel was optioned by Nicholas Meyer, who wrote the screenplay and directed the movie as the novelist, Karl Alexander, completed the book.  The novel and movie both appeared in 1979. 

I've just finished the novel.  It's obviously a lot like the movie, but we spend more time in Wells's head (and in Jack the Ripper's creepy head, too) and learn in greater detail how Wells feels about the future - whoops, not exactly what he was expecting. 

There's a sequel that I haven't read yet - Jaclyn the Ripper.  Jack somehow turns into a woman who kills people (men?) in 2010 Los Angeles.  And, I'm guessing, as Wells and his new wife Amy, try to catch her.

Difficult Books

I couldn’t say I enjoyed reading One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by Åsne Seierstad.  Her book is about Anders Breivik, who in 2011 detonated a bomb outside the prime minister’s office in Oslo killing eight people and then made his way to Utøya, an island youth camp where he slowly and methodically shot and killed sixty-nine people, mostly teenagers.  Not exactly happy time reading. 

But a book I would highly recommend.  Why do tragedies like this happen?  We want to understand what could possibly make a person do something as horrible as a Columbine or the Aurora movie theatre shooting.  Or the massacre in Norway.  Reading about the pain and suffering of the victims and their families isn’t easy.  There were times when I had to put the book down and walk away from it.

 Ms. Seierstad is a well-known journalist and a wonderful writer.  There is a great deal of detail in One of Us – the lives of some of the victims as well as the sad life of Anders Breivik.  When Breivik was very young, his family was observed by the Centre for Child Care and Adolescent Psychiatry and it was suggested he be removed from his family and sent to stable foster care.  One of many "what ifs" that could have prevented the massacre.

The short prologue of the book takes place on Utøya where teenagers are fleeing from Breivik.  We don’t come back till that terrible day until page 272 (it’s 500+ pages).  By then we’ve met many of the victims and the prologue becomes clearer and even more heartbreaking.  One of Us is never exploitative and very respectful to everyone involved, including Breivik’s parents.  Yes, One of Us was a tough read, but in the end it felt like a tribute to the lives lost on that terrible day.    

Books That Surprise You - Sounds Crazy, No?

One of the best parts about reading is stumbling across a book and falling wildly, madly in love with it.

I had medium expectations for Wonder of Wonders, a Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof by Alisa Solomon.  Yes, I like musical theatre (Stephen Sondheim is a god, btw), but a “cultural history?”  That sounded dry, like a failed thesis project.  I’d read a biography of Jerome Robbins, the choreographer/director, and I knew the musical (how did the bottles stay on the dancers’ heads during the bottle dance?  Because they better not fall off, that’s how), so why not give the book a chance?

Wonder of Wonders starts with Sholem-Aleichem, the great Yiddish writer, and explores the world of Yiddish theatre.  I knew a little about Sholem-Aleichem, but not much (okay, nothing) about Yiddish theatre.  And – go figure – it’s fascinating.  The book talks about the making of the Broadway show, but spends as much time talking about about culture and storytelling and the importance of keeping history alive. 

The book is beautifully written.  And parts made me cry – a chapter called “Fiddler While Brooklyn Burns,” about an inner-city school doing a mostly African-American and Hispanic production of Fiddler – amazing. 

Even if you’re not a musical fan, this is a book to read and savor.

"Here in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!"

Looking for a Book to Read?

Over the weekend I was invited to participate in Authors on the Move, an event featuring 40 writers and over 250 guests getting together to eat and drink and raise money in support of the Sacramento Public Library’s Literary Foundation.  The evening was tons of fun and - woo hoo - over $100,000 was raised for the Library’s Summer Reading Program. 

I met many writers, but wanted to share information about my tablemates and their latest work. 

Jan Ellison’s debut novel is A Small Indiscretion, about a woman and her family and secrets in her past. 

Stephen D. Gutierrez has written three books – his latest is a collection of stories and essays, The Mexican Man in his Backyard. 

John C. Hampsey is from Pittsburgh (my father’s hometown) and his book, Kaufman’s Hill, is a memoir about Pittsburgh in the ‘60s.

The only regret I have is that I wasn’t able to meet more writers or buy more books.  So many books, so little time.  

But take a look at these and enjoy!

50 Shades of Blech

I never read 50 Shades of Grey.  But friends (thanks, friends!) insisted on reading parts of the book to me over the phone.  Or emailing especially poorly written passages.  Christian Grey using the word “incentivize,” for example.  Not to mention the gruelingly awful (I’m trying to channel E. L. James) sex scenes. 

I have a hard time with badly written novels.  After the first Twilight novel and several references to Edward’s “perfectly muscled chest,” I was done. 

My experience with erotic fiction is limited.  Very limited.  Four books.  But they’re good and I recommend them.  The Story of O (do women still read that in college?).  Anne Rice (writing as A. N. Roquelaure) and her three Sleeping Beauty books are beautifully written.  Hardcore, not for the timid. 

Senta Holland’s Out of the Shadows surprised me because it’s a story about BDSM, but told with grace and real emotion.  It’s not an easy book to read, you have to let yourself fall into it.  

Yes, good erotic fiction exists.  Why settle for swill?

Nick Hornby, I Love You

Okay, I know you’re married and not available (yeah, I’m married, too, but I bet if I told my husband I was going to run off with you he might not mind too much – he’s a big fan of High Fidelity).  And we'd have a good time together.  I'd compliment you on your writing, bring you tea, learn to like bangers and mash.  Say "gobsmacked" all the time.  

But I’m not really in love with Nick Hornby.  I do love his books very much (Juliet, Naked - what a delicious read).  When a friend told me in December about Mr. Hornby’s latest novel, Funny Girl, I couldn’t wait to read it. 

Uh-oh.  Big problem.  It wasn’t available yet in the U.S.  Thank goodness for Amazon.co.uk. (Plus how cool is it to get a book that costs  £ 8.90?)  My copy of Funny Girl came before Christmas.  Ah, and it's glorious.  Mr. Hornby's prose is deceptively simple and accessible.  His words don’t get in the way, his writing isn’t self-conscious.  And there’s a realness and relatability (is that really a word?) to his characters – you know these people.  You might actually be like these people. 

Funny Girl is about a woman in the ‘60s who dreams of becoming a TV star, like her idol, Lucille Ball.  It’s funny, it’s moving, you will fall in love with Barbara Parker/Sophie Straw and the people around her.  And you'll have a grand time in the '60s.

(By the way, my last blog post was about a neglected TV show, It Takes a Choir - if you haven't checked it out, please do.  I'm not kidding about how good it is.  Available on Amazon.)

Not About a Book - It Takes a Choir

I was planning to start the new year by talking about Funny Girl, the latest Nick Hornby novel.

But I'm going to wait.  Because recently I watched an extraordinary show on television and I bet you've never heard of it.

It Takes a Choir.  Ring a bell?  (Ha, that's funny.  Choir.  Ring a bell.)  Gareth Malone is an English choirmaster who did an excellent reality series in England a few years ago called The Choir, where he taught mostly non-singing students to participate in a choir where they eventually competed in the World Choir Games. How will they do?  Can they learn a song in a foreign language?  Perform in front of a live audience?

My husband and I read that there would be a U.S. version called It Takes a Choir.  We set our DVR.  And forgot about it.  Just before New Year's Eve we noticed that eight episodes of It Takes a Choir had been recorded.  Funny - we'd never seen any promotions or reviews of the show.  When I looked on Google,  I found out the series had been made in 2012 for the USA Network, but its release was continually delayed.  Finally all eight episodes were aired (aka "burned off") on a single day in December.  Luckily our DVR remembered.

We've watched three of the episodes - the first about military wives (and a few husbands) with spouses stationed overseas.  They're not singers.  Can Gareth bring them together and make them sound like a choir?  I admit I'm a big baby - somebody who cries at Folger's coffee commercials.  So it was no surprise when I sobbed my way through the episode.  The same with the other two we've seen.  Gareth Malone is so in love with singing and works hard to bring people together and teach them - he wants them to love music as much as he does.  There's an innocence to this show and not in a mawkish sort of way.  How often do you see something on television and feel genuinely moved?

It Takes a Choir is available on Amazon.  Give it a try.  "Bringin' Back Berwick" is a good episode.  And see if you don't cry when they sing "Let the River Run."  I dare you.